Industrial Orientation Assignment German Restaurant Essay Example

discussed in chapter seven. Afterwards, the author’s motivation and team members, is described by using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory and Skinners’ Reinforcement Theory. This report concludes in chapter 9, that the writer is highly motivated. A critical reflection from a supervisor of the author’s work is explained. All in all, the restaurant is satisfied with her. Last but not least the assignment ends with a conclusion of this report and a personal note, which reflects her impression of the hospitality industry. Preface

This Industrial Orientation gives a detailed overview about my work experience in the Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle in Dusseldorf, Germany. I wrote it for my module Resources during my first International Hospitality Management academic year at the Stenden Hogeschool Leeuwarden, Netherlands. It is a possibility to analyze my former work experiences. I got an overview of the company and could refer to several aspects of it in this report. The different functions carried out included waitress, kitchen employees, accounter and owner. Writing this report gave me the chance to think about an exciting and interesting working time in the restaurant.

Due to the fact that she likes to work in this industry, she decided to study International Hospitality Management at the Stenden Hogeschool in Leeuwarden. The employment was the first reason how she got in the hospitality industry. It leaded her to her study choice and writing a report about gained practice. Moreover it offers the possibility to implement new knowledge and compare it to earlier experiences and information. The report focuses on one main question, which will be answered through nine different chapters.

For the author

it was important to find out which role the different resources take within the Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle and how they can be improve to the maximum outcome. Therefore, the different chapters may help to answer this question. The report starts with a Company Analysis of the restaurant and is followed with the chapter Human Resources, where the basic Human Resource Management model is described and combined with the restaurant. Next the author deals with Cultural diversity and the Company’s culture. The Kluckhon and Strodebeck’s theories are applied and the stages of cultural shock are identified.

Then the Legal Position is described by advantages and disadvantages. After this topic the Environment and Motivation is discussed and compared with the help of different theories. The last two chapters focus on the author’s supervisor and the reflection from the author’s side. Finally, the author finishes the assignment with a Conclusion with help of a brief, general rounding-off and a final personal note. All sources are in the reference list of the bibliography the author used in order to write this Industrial report and an appendix where extra materials or pictures can be found. Company Analysis 1. 1 Company description The author gained her first work experiences in the hospitality industry in one of most famous restaurant in its region the Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle. The company is located in Dusseldorf, the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia. Dusseldorf is in the west part of Germany and famous for his wide range of sightseeing, nightlife, restaurants and shopping possibilities. Previously there was a small farm, called Knittkuhle. It was a great stop for breaks, were the horses stretched out and

you got served with tin loaf and butter, bacon pancakes and coffee.

Nowadays the restaurant is a middle class country inn with about 150 seating places divided on two floors. The country inn is run by Hendrik Theelen junior, kitchen chef and was run by Hendrik Theelen senior for over 25 years. It consists of 9 different premises. It is divided in 2 houses, the main building and “Die Tenne”. Furthermore it owns a grill place and a beer garden. The main building consists of 7 different rooms, “Das Kaminzimmer”, “Die Bauernstube”, “Der Stall”. In addition to this, the restaurant offers “Der Runde Tisch”, “Die Stube”, “Die Futterkammer” and “Der Heuboden” for events, but also for regular visits.  The organizational culture shows a long historical meaning. According to Hellriegel, “cultural elements and their relationships create a pattern that is distinct to an organization, just as a personality is unique to an individual” Hellriegel (2005, p. 517) There are four different types of company culture, which Hellriegel describes as bureaucratic culture, clan culture, entrepreneurial culture and market culture. Referring to the Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle, the organizational culture is described as a clan culture.

Due to the fact that the control over the behavior is more gently than in a bureaucratically company. The restaurant provides a friendly and social environment to work in. Furthermore there are rules and formal standards the employees have to follow. Long-time employees take over the roles as mentors and role models for newer members. The author experienced this during her first few weeks, because a long-time employee worked together with her as a team to help her settle down, to

get to know the department and ensure that everything worked in the right way.

Teamwork is an important factor in the restaurant. The formal rules and standards play also an important role in the company, due to the fact that they say how to behave towards guests and what is allowed to wear. 1. 3 Marketing Mix The restaurant includes a great marketing section with a special marketing mix. The marketing mix includes the four elements: product, price, place, and promotion. It is used to make people aware of the restaurant and their offers. Product The venue offers 57 dishes and seasonal food. The products are high quality goods.

On the one hand, the restaurant is famous for their special dishes served in pans, traditional pancakes and on the other hand the menu consists of a big range of beverages, especially the 8 different beer varieties. In addition to that, the special service, which includes a buffet, sparkling wine welcome, decorations for events is very famous. Moreover the venue serves seasonal food like asparagus or goose only when it is fresh and of a high quality. The beer comes from the best breweries in Germany and local breweries in Dusseldorf. Furthermore “Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle” operates a catering service.

Food, especially cold buffets are delivered to all towns in the neighborhood. Price and Target group The prices are variable and depend on the dishes and beverages. Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle has a mid-range price up to high-class price category, which is based on different factors. The prices of the dishes are between € 4,50 for soups and up to about € 32,50 for a

filet steak with asparagus. Soft drinks cost about € 1,95, coffee € 1,80 up to € 2,95, beer € 2,95 up to € 3,95 and wine starts with € 24,95 per bottle. It is high priced because of the freshness and high quality of the ingredients, prepared in a complex way.

Due to the fact that the restaurant has a wide range of food and different buildings for events the target group is quiet broad. According to the owner the restaurant focuses on people from 30 years and older. This includes a lot of business people and as well a lot of individuals, families, pairs, tourists, farmers in the evening and celebrities from around Dusseldorf. Especially families visit the restaurant frequently because they enjoy the experience of having dinner/lunch outside home and having their children with them. In addition to that a lot of regular guest enjoys sitting at the bar in the evening.

Place As mentioned in the previous part the restaurant is located in Dusseldorf Knittkuhle and is lying between the nature and surrounded by fields and forest. Due to the fact that the region offers perfect routes for hiking and bicycle tours many tourist stop by. The freeway is only 5 minutes away, which makes it very easy and fast to reach the venue. Furthermore, there is a bus station, which drives to the city center of Dusseldorf and Ratingen Promotion The marketing of the restaurant is limited to a few advertising on cabs, in the newspaper and in the Internet on its own side www. ut-knittkuhle. de. According to the owner of the restaurant he feels more confident to

use word of mouth propaganda and references of satisfied guests. Due to the fact that it is the most successful promotion to attract new customers. The only disadvantage the author can think of word of mouth propaganda is that it might just spread in the same social state, could provide bad reputations and discourage prospective customer to come. The owner told the author that most guests visit the restaurant frequently.

In addition to that some of the regular guests bring new customers, especially for special events, because the food is good and the cozy and traditional atmosphere. 2 Human Resources This chapter describes the organizational structure of the restaurant the author is working in. It is described with showing an organizational chart and the Human Resource Management strategies regarding to the Human Resource Model. 2. 1 Organizational Structure Figure 1, Organizational Chart, Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle, Dusseldorf The organizational chart above explains the different positions, which can be found in the Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle. An organizational structure is the formal representation that defines tasks by position and unit and indicated how they will be coordinated” Hellriegel, 2002, p. 271) The restaurant employed all in all 19 people and additional temporary staff when needed. On top of the chart the owner, he is daily presented in the restaurant and the top manager. He is responsible for every decision related to the restaurant and the human resource management, which means he is responsible for everything concerning staff, hiring people, appraisals and firing within he restaurant. His wife assists him during every step and is also responsible for the reservations and events. The owner ensures that the daily

operations in the restaurant keep in track and give response to the employees. He tries to reduce weaknesses and tries to motivate and improve knowledge. The controller of accounts/ accounter is responsible for payroll, bookkeeping and to calculate sales estimate. She is also helping with the reservation and making appointments with customers who are interested in arranging an event in the restaurant.

Under the owners is the kitchen chef, who is responsible for the supply of goods, the planning in the kitchen and the introduction for new kitchen employees. He communicates with the owner for menu changes and staff problems. Furthermore, the kitchen staff consists of 9 people and they are all full time employees, including one for the stewarding, who is responsible to clean the floor in the kitchen and the dishes. They helps the kitchen chef to prepare the food, and report him if utilities are missing or needed. If the kitchen chef is off he appoints one of the kitchen staff for taking his part.

The 6 supervisors are below the owner and one of them is working at the bar and is responsible for the working schedule and locking every door after closing time. Furthermore he has to report the accountant about the daily revenues and order beverages when needed. The 5 other supervisors are waitresses, who are a separated in day and night shifts. They represent the company and have personal contact with the guests. Their responsibilities are to set everything up, tables, chairs and light. In addition to that they take orders, serve guests and handle bills.

Moreover, every waitress has his/her own department for the

whole shift. Temporary staff helps the supervisor if needed and have the same responsibilities. Except that they don’t get direct tasks from the owner but from the supervisors. At least there are two house cleaners. Their job is to clean up the restaurant area and the event buildings. In case of problem every employee is free to contact the person above him in the chart, but has also the opportunity to talk directly to the owner, who has a good relation to his personnel.

The author works as a temporary waitress, but she has the opportunity to work almost every weekend and in high season about 5 days in a week. She gets her advices from supervisor, who works in the same department. As a conclusion the author can say that the Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle has a high level of teamwork with a hierarchy, which is not very visible if you provide a good job. This leads to the conclusion that the company is horizontal within the human resource management. 2. 2 The Human Resource Management Model Figure 2, General Human Resource Management Model ( Module Book Resources p. 33)

As stated in the book of Human Resource Management by Gerry Dessler, it is important that managers follow the steps of the Human Resource Management Model. The first three steps are about the work in advance when you want to hire a new employee. The last part is the way in which the employee develops itself during its career in the organization about performance management. To ensure the HRM model is understood the author will explain every step connects it to the Restaurant

Gut Knitkuhle. Planning & Forecasting According to the fact that the restaurant is a small company there is no extra human resource management department.

The owner and the supervisor share the tasks of this department. The owner has to estimate how many employees are needed for the department each day and how many employees are needed for events. New temporary staff is hired almost through the whole year. He also has to know if the staff wants to leave and about their future plans. According to this he can start to plan how many trainees are needed for which period and which position has to be filled. Moreover, he has to think about where and how to find qualified personnel, for example advertisement.

The company offers a number of trainee positions every year, but number of these positions changes every year, due to the number of employees being able to train. Recruitment and Selection The next step is about having a job interview and selecting the best prospective employees. If the company had developed a plan, there are different ways to recruit employees. For example by advertisements, employment agencies, internet and recruiters. The restaurant does not often pay attention to it because there are a lot of people who want to work in this company.

Furthermore, it happens very often that the company gets their new employees by recommendations of other. After the recruitment you need to choose the applicant, who matches the best to the company. This can be done during a job interview and tests, in which the owner can get an idea of his/her knowledge, attitude and personal skills.

After an interview, the owner decides if he makes a verbal agreement with the applicant for a sample working day or if he searches for someone else. This sample working day has been introduced to find out whether or not the applicant is good enough or has the potential to become a good team member.

It is also an opportunity for the applicant to find out if he/she like the working environment and can think of working there or not. Introduction/ Socialization The next step is to introduce and socialize the new employee in the company. He/she will introduce to the new workplace and the workforce, which happens right after the interview or before the sample working day. The new employee will get explanation about the tasks, have look on the menu card and a tour through the different departments and buildings. Performance Appraisal The restaurant does not have a special way of performance appraisal.

There are no written appraisals but every team member can come to complain about problems with employee’s performances. If the owner or a supervisor notices mistakes, they will have talk with the certain person and discuss it. If there will be no improvement, there will be another talk about the problem and it will be decided if the person get fired or if he/she get another chance. Training and Development The organization provides training and career development only for trainees through training sessions. These training sessions are often in the afternoon, when there are fewer guests.

Trainees can learn from supervisor special skills and they can ask questions to gain more knowledge. Apart from these training sessions,

there is the on-the-job training. They get the chance to improve their skill while working with guests and get the chance to work in the kitchen. Those training methods provide trainees for the future so they get a high quality education and represent the company in a good way. Compensation The company has two forms of compensation. First of all the nonmonetary compensation, which is provided by training for trainees, as it is described in the last section, training and development.

In addition to that staff get free drinks during their shift and food from the restaurant. The full time staff gets monetary compensation in form of bonuses, for example Christmas allowances. Moreover, the tip given from guests goes to the staff without any subtractions. Career Transitions Career Transitions does not take place in this organization, because the highest position has the owner itself. The supervisor has no chance to achieve a higher position. The only opportunity to get higher is after finishing the trainee time and become a full-time worker of the company. Working conditions

The restaurant set a handbook for the kitchen staff and for the waitresses with standard rules such as how to handle complaints and how to avoid faults. One of the most important condition is to know the menu and wine card by heart, to provide a professional service if guests have any questions. Furthermore, every waitress has to wear black shoes, black trousers or black skirt, a white blouse/ shirt and an apron. If a staff member has problems with the working conditions he or she can report it to the owner and a solution can be

found.

In addition to that the stages of culture shock the author underwent when entering and starting to work in the organization is described. Furthermore, Stereotype and Prejudice, cultural awareness and an intercultural conflict are introduced by examples. According to Hellriegel “Cultural diversity encompasses the full mix of the cultures and subcultures to which members of the workforce belong. ” Hellriegel (2002, p. 499) These groups are found in different cultural identities, which are represented in the Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle. The company has got an ethnic diversity.

Employees come from different countries of the world, such as Germany, Italy, Tunisia, Indonesia, Jugoslavia, Poland, Russia and Ghana. This is due to the fact that the restaurant is located in North Rhine-Westphalia, where a lot of foreign workers live. In the history of this region, were workforce needed and a lot of workers were imported from different countries. The personal identity of the company is very broad. There are fewer females than males, of the full time workers are 4 women and 15 male. A mixture of both gender keeps the company in balance and different aims in mind.

The age of the employees varies between 18 years (trainees and temporary employees) and 56 years, most of the employees are about 40 years old. Due to the fact that the employees come from different countries they have also different religions as Muslims and Christians. According to that fact, they do sometimes have differences and react differently. German workers for example are very strict with their work, they like to be at work at least 10 minutes earlier. Educated employees and uneducated employees can be

found in the restaurant. There are people with degrees, for example the owner.

On the other side there are workers, such as stewarding who do not have a school-leaving diploma, but all of them manage to earn enough money to have a adequate life according to European standard. Moreover, the restaurant has a multicultural identity; about 11 employees were not born in Germany and grew up in there home country. They did not follow the same education and worked already in different countries. Every employee gained experience in the different countries, which leads sometimes to different opinions. 3. 2 Advantages and Disadvantages of cultural mix

On the one hand it is believed that people from different country learn different types of behavior from each other and gain more knowledge. Furthermore young people bring new ideas and fresh wind into the company. In addition to that, the employees become tolerant and more open-minded. It is important to be open-minded, due to the fact that they have contact with guests with different cultures and make them feel welcome. While working with people with different culture backgrounds, the workforce can learn to be respectful and meet other attitudes.

Concerning the Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle for example, the Italian cook teach the German cook about different cooking methods from Italy and in the other way around. Moreover the Indonesian waitress behaves warmer and is more welcome towards the guest. Which leads to the result that the other employees adapt this behavior and become friendlier. On the other hand the workforce may be divided into small groups, according to their culture backgrounds. This can be seen in the

company, where Italian employees stick together, as they are most of the time talking Italian. The result of it are low integration in the team and low team spirit.

Furthermore, misunderstanding can occur quickly. Due to the fact, that some words have different meanings in different cultures, different expressions and humor is not always the same. Team members may not interact properly with each other. According to the fact people from southern countries, such as the Africans and Italians, are more easy-going and don’t take situations as serious as Germans would do. All in all cultural mix has different influences. Concerning the restaurant, the cultural mix brings advantages and disadvantages with it.

According to Kluckhohn and Strodbeck there are five different values within a culture, which are described in the following sections. Human Nature The first value is human nature, which is based on the character and the basic nature of people. There are three divisions called: Evil, mixed and good. According to the author the company can be seen as good. As a result of good human nature, all employees can be trusted by the owner and are hard working, so they do not need a lot of supervision. They have the permission to decide most things on their own in combination with the guidelines given in a handbook.

Person-nature This section is about the employee relationship to the working environment. This can be explained by three different values: mastery, harmony and submission. In the Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle it can be said that the employees cooperate in harmony. The tasks are done correctly, but also interactions between the team members take

place. The employees keep both in minds and know they need to fulfill their tasks correctly, but also have a good time with their team members at work. Time orientation Time orientation of employees can be divided into three stages: Past, present and future.

The company has mix of all three stages. The owner of the restaurant thinks often in the past, and he does not want to change any decorations in the restaurant, because it is a traditional German building with historical items. Furthermore, the menu does not change very often, due to the fact that it consists of traditional German dishes. Employees take initiative and focuses on doing there best everyday, moreover they come up with new trends and ideas. Especially younger employees are future oriented, try to find new trends and always looking for achievements. Relation to each other

The question behind this section how is the relationship between the management and the employees and the relationship between the employees. This can be described as hierarchical relationship, collective relationship and individualistic. In this company a collective relationship is present. All employees get along with each other well and share there point of view According to this work runs smoothly and if any problems occur the employees help each other while having guidance by the owner. The owner has a good relationship to his employees, he knows everyone personally.

According to this fact, employees do not have a problem to ask him for help and to discuss personal problems. Activity orientation The last value describes the motivation of the employees. One natural reason is that they want to earn money.

Furthermore, the workforce is motivated because of the good working environment. Another aspect is that especially trainees want to gain more knowledge and develop their working skills. They are motivated to leave the company with a good education. The focus in this case is to improve themselves and not to earn money. Conclusion

As a conclusion the author can say that the values of the employees in the restaurant are great, because the employees are satisfied with the working environment and therefore are willing to work hard. According to Samovar, there are four different stages of culture shock. They describe the different phases when entering a new country or a new company. Those phases can be described as optimistic phase, cultural phase, recovery phase and adjustment phase. They will be applied in the following paragraphs. Figure 3, Stages of culture shock

The author experienced the optimistic phase when entering the company. It was easy to get in the business, which leads to the category optimistic phase. During the first phase she got the impression that working in the restaurant was very nice. According to the fact that she knew already the owner and all supervisors before. She got an introduction of the company and the tasks. Furthermore, she could always ask questions and felt comfortable in her working environment and enjoyed being there. As everything was new and exciting, which is also described as honeymoon phase.

The next step is the cultural phase. The author did not experience cultural problems, because she worked in her own country. She had already meet different cultures and her supervisor comes from the same country as

her parents. However, she was shocked by the working environment in the next view days, when it was busy and she had no time for insecurity. In the recovery phase the author started to get a picture of the company and integrated in the team. She knew the tasks of a waitress and how to fulfill them. The author became more secure and asked problems if any problems occur.

After a view month the adjustment phase started. The working process becomes routine and the author do not have to think about it anymore. In addition to that she is able to help new employees. Expectancy Model Before starting in the new company the author had certain expectations, such as friendly working environment. The author could adapt the working process more quickly and would be more motivated, if the expectations had been met. This can be described as the expectancy value theory. However, the author worked in a smaller and less profitable restaurant before, where it was very easy and not as many hours.

On the first day at Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle she worked for approximately 9 hours. According to this the author was overwhelmed and might have acted negatively towards the guest. 3. 5 Stereotype and prejudice It is believed that stereotyping and prejudicing are two things every human being does, sometimes unintentional and sometimes intentional. Those factors play an important role in the hospitality industry. Due to the fact that every guest should be treated equally. In the next paragraphs the author gives an example of one case in the Restaurant Gut Knittkuhle. A group of Arabians entered the restaurant to have

dinner.

The group consists of two children, with their parents and an elderly woman. One of the trainees, in this case the author describes him as waiter A, started to moan and to look very annoyed at the group. He said to another trainee that Arabians always leave a lot of rubbish, have extra wishes, are loud and especially the children can never behave themselves, which cause always chaos. He ignored them, neither did he welcome them and avoid taking orders. A supervisor, who was responsible for another department had to come and serve the group. When the father gave a sign to ask something, he went to the table and seemed on edge.

The father asked him, what the soup of today was, but waiter A was unwilling to help and answered with a shrug. Luckily, the supervisor took care of the group, otherwise the restaurant would have lost customers because of stereotyping and prejudicing. The behavior of waiter A towards Arabians may come from negative experiences with other customers before. If he was on his own without other waiters, nobody would serve this group or only in an unacceptable way. According to this, the family would feel uncomfortable in the restaurant and may not come again, which leads to loss for the company.

The reaction of the waiter complies with scale two on the Allport-scale, which is described as avoidance. The waiter ignored the family and tried to avoid any contact with the Arabians. Moreover, when the father asked him a normal question, he responded unfriendly. He kept the contact towards the guest at a minimum level and did not

fulfill certain standards, such as welcoming the guest. (Allport, 1979) 3. 6 Cultural Awareness The writer chooses a supervisor, who works already for 6 year in the company and acts in the conscious competence, also known as cultural contingency.

It is the standard base for communication and includes getting aware of the cultural values, beliefs and behavior. Employees, who acts according to the conscious competence is open for all cultures. For the supervisor it does not matter where her team members come from. She has a lot of knowledge about different cultures and is very interested in them. Moreover, she tries to understand and get to know other people before starting to judge. Even when she has problems to understand her colleagues, she tries to keep calm. The supervisor shows respect towards other cultures and has an objective attitude. . 7 Intercultural conflict and Emotional intelligence According the Goleman “emotional intelligence refers to the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships. ” Goleman (1998, p. 317) There are four sub-competencies of emotional intelligence, self-awareness, social awareness, self-management and relationship management. Due to the fact that the restaurant has different cultural identities intercultural conflict may occur.

The author identifies a conflict in the kitchen, where different nationalities are represented. In the following example a kitchen employee from Russia and the kitchen chef from Germany had a misunderstanding. The chef asked the kitchen employee to leave out the whipped cream and put hot cherries on the waffles, but the kitchen employee did not understand the order correctly and

put strawberries on the dessert. When the kitchen chef came back to check on it he started yelling at the employee. This was a misunderstanding, because of language difficulties.

The owner was in thick of the action and tried to solve the conflict with both participants in a conversation, which is the phase of self-awareness. Both participants had the opportunity to talk about their feelings and view on the situations, they were therefore able to understand each other point of view. He showed social awareness when he listened to both sides to understand their problem and their emotion. The owner was able to calm the kitchen chef down and cheered the employee up. The owner had the ability to get his point right and showed self-management. To show respect to both and to be fair, the owner found a compromise.

If uncertainty shows up the kitchen employee need to ask before he start to prepare and the kitchen chef need to be more patient as well helping to gain knowledge to improve the communication effectively, which shows that the owner is able to conduct relationship management. The writer is of the opinion that the owner managed this intercultural conflict good and effectively according to emotional intelligence. He has taken into consideration the feelings of his employees and also gave his own opinion. In addition to that he tried to find a solution for the future to improve the communication between different nationalities. Legal Position The following chapter is about the legal position of the company and its advantages and disadvantages. 4. 1 Legal constuction Applying to the restaurant Gut Knitkkuhle, it is a

GmbH, which stands for “Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung” which is similar to the LLC (limited liability company). The GmbH is most common in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. GmbH cannot trade shares on the public market. Furthermore, every GmbH needs to be registered in the Commercial Register to have a full legal status. 4. 2 Advantages and disadvantages of a GmbH The father, of today’s owner, bought the restaurant.

He thought about the advantages and disadvantages of a GmbH. The first advantages was at the same time the biggest reason, why he chose this legal position is that in case the company would go bankrupt he is only liable with the capital of the company and not his own. He would only lose the money, which he had invested in. Another reason for choosing this legal position, is the advantage that only the founding person is necessary to build up a company with limited liability. Moreover, a limited liability gets a general franchise, this has the result that the company is able to run its own business dealings.

Every GmbH can freely select its own business name. Big disadvantages of a company with limited liability are the capital of € 25000, which is needed to build up a GmbH. Another point is the double taxation. The capital and the earnings, the shareholder’s income and assets are charged twice through the finance authority. Furthermore, the amount of paper, which is needed. Every company has to be registered in the commercial register, and the articles of association have to be signed by the owners at a commissioner of oath s. (Swiss Company, 2011, http://www. swiss-company. h/en/rechtsformen_gmbh_vor.

asp) 5 Labour Agreement In this chapter the author’s job and task is compared with the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Furthermore, the gross and net salary is explained with help of a pay slip. 5. 1 Comparison with Collective Bargaining Agreement guidelines The Collective Bargaining Agreement with the abbreviation CBA includes different conditions of an employment, such as working hours, holidays, salary etc. Full time employees get 30 days of paid holidays every year, and working after 2 am is rewarded with additional salary.

Everyone in the company get one day off per week. Due to the fact that the author only works as a temporary employee her job description has nothing to do with the CBA. However, full time employees work under the guidelines of the CBA. 5. 2 Gross and net salary These employees work for example 40 hours per week, and get € 9,00 per hour. The gross salary would be € 1440,00. This is the pure payment without charging any taxes, insurance charges and additional costs. In Germany it is obligatory to pay for the health insurance between 12,8% to 14,8%, it epends on the health insurance company.

The pension insurance charge is 19,19%, the unemployment insurance 3,3% and the nursing care insurance 1,95%. Moreover, there are additional costs, like the solidarity tax, the wage tax and the church tax, which is between 9% and 10%, depends on in which state you live. According to this fact, the net income is € 1038,98, which is described as followed: Salary Euro Charges 2011 Euro Gross Salary: 1. 440,00Wage tax: 90,41     Solidarity tax: 1,88     Church tax: 8,13 Salary

after taxes: 1. 39,58 Taxes in total: 100,42     Pension insurance: 143,28     Unemployment insurance: 21,60     Health insurance: 118,08     Nursing care insurance: 17,64 Net salary: 1. 038,98 Social insurance in total: 300,60 (Gehaltscheck. de, 2011) 6 Environment Nowadays people are confronted with drastic environmental problems, such as natural disasters and global warming. The governments become more concerned about the problems and try becoming green, environmental friendly. Every company can do something to make the environment better in following guidelines.

The environment protection law is called “Umweltschutzgesetzt”, which includes the waste, the noise, the smell and building in nature reserve. The waste plays an important role in polluting the world. According to the restaurant Gut Knittkuhle, there are certain guidelines to follow. In Germany everything, which can be recycled, such as paper and plastic has a “green point” on it. Paper is put in blue containers, plastic in yellow bags and biological waste, like left overs are put in green containers. General waste, which cannot be recycled, is put in black containers.

Figure 4, Furthermore, the water waste is controlled, because additional fee has The sign of the green to be paid, if too many water is used. Also the air pollution in the point (Der Grune restaurant is controlled by filter and ventilation systems. Punkt, 2011) The use of chemicals is followed by certain rules and regulations. It secures the health of the guests and employees, and avoids polluting the nature and the water. The smell, especially in the kitchen is removed by the ventilation system, which is also responsible for avoiding the air pollution.

The

company provides as well double glass windows, which should keep the heat inside. Moreover, every lamp has energy-saving bulb, to safe energy. Due to the fact, that the owner owns the venue and some of the land, which surrounds the restaurant, he has no problems with building a terrace or a new building. Moreover, there aren’t any neighbors in the next 200m, which leads to the affect that there are no rules regarding the noise. It is possible to listen to music and celebrate the whole day. Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs A need is a strong feeling of deficiency in some aspect of a person’s life that creates an uncomfortable tension. That tension becomes a motivating force, causing individual to take actions to satisfy the need, reduce the tension, and diminish the intensity of the motivating force. ” Hellriegel (2005, p. 407) Hellriegel states in this quotation that every human being needs to be motivated to reach his/her highest values.

One day in a week off give the employees enough time to relax and do private things. The safety needs is as well very important in the company. The security and safety rules need to be followed according to German standards. Every employee is aware of the equipment he or she has to work with. They can feel secure and able to work carefully. Furthermore, the team members respect each other, which cover the safety feeling of the workforce. Another point is the alarm system and the fire system, which is tested every year, to ensure that in case of fire or robbery the police/fire brigade will come.

Afterwards, psychological needs are reached

by the colleagues and the owner. They support each other and are a good team. Help from other employees is natural. Some of the employees meet after their shifts to play some card games, which leads to a good relationship between the employees. Moreover, the workforce is respected and loved, but is also able to be respectful towards others. The self-esteem is fulfilled, by acceptance in the company and feedback given by guests and the workforce. Everyone is treated fairly and discrimination is not accepted.

The writer is motivated in the restaurant and can fully concentrate on the highest need, the self-actualization. She is able to concentrate to gain more knowledge for her future and train new skills. Spontaneity and bringing new ideas is also an important factor. The author gets more responsibility and is able to help planning events. In addition to that, she needs to work independently to reach a continuously high standard. Overall, the author is highly motivated, because all needs are fulfilled and she is able to concentrate on herself to improve herself for the future. Herzberg’s Two Factors According to Frederick Herzberg, his two-factory theory “states that two separate and distinct aspect of the work context are responsible for motivating and satisfying employees. ” Hellriegel (2005, p. 402) This quotation gives his idea of the two factors hygiene and motivators, which influence a human being’s motivation. Hygiene factors determine how satisfied the workforce is. They include non task characteristic such as working conditions, level of responsibilities and salary.

According to the fact that the restaurant provides working conditions, according German standards, such as paid holidays, salaries, the employees

are highly motivated. When hygiene factors are present and employees feel satisfied, the restaurant can concentrate on the employees, who feel excited about their job. According to the fact, that almost everyone get self-responsibility and important task are given, the job keeps challenging and motivates the workforce. (Hellriegel, 2005) All in all, if there are no hygiene factors and motivators the employees are not satisfied, which leads to the result of unmotivated staff and low performance. Skinner’s Reinforcement Theory According to Skinner, the reinforcement “theory assumes that employees will learn what is expected of them simply by experiencing the consequences” Hellriegel (2005, p. 391) Certain behavior of the employees is influenced by earlier experiences. If the employees work hard and is always in time, no negative reward is given. In comparison to reward is punishment. For example, when the author came to late, she was punished my the owner and had to go home again. She could not work at this day and does not earn money.

According to this incident, she never comes to late again to avoid punishment again. Another example of punishment is, one time when the author dropped orange juice on the guest’s blouse, she did not get any tip, which leads her to work more carefully in the future. All in all, the supervisors have the function of role models, and their behavior is adapted by the trainees and the author. 8 The Supervisor 8. 1 Main turning points in her career This chapter based on a personal talk with the author’s supervisor Ms. Teng. She works for 6 years in the restaurant Gut Knittkuhle.

She is Indonesian

and came to Germany 26 years ago, because she was mot satisfied with her earlier life. After she graduated High School in Indonesia she started to work in a small restaurant in Surabaya, Indonesia. She did not do an apprenticeship, which is very important in Germany to get a qualified job. When she came to Germany she started to work in different Chinese restaurant with a very low salary and bad working conditions, such as unpaid holidays and long working hours with irregular breaks. Ms. Teng tried to find a new job, due to the fact she wants to aim higher in her life and got under contract in an employment agency.

They gave her the opportunity to work in different hotels and events, which brought her to the restaurant Gut Knittkuhle. After a few events at the restaurant she quitted the job at the employment agency and got under contract in the restaurant. It was never her plan to stay in the hospitality industry for ever. However, since she works in the employment agency, Ms. Teng works under conditions of German standards and is happy with her work. Furthermore, with her work experiences and her knowledge in the hospitality industry she is able to train trainees and improve their working skills in the restaurant Gut Knittkuhle. L. Teng, personal communication May 28,2011) 8. 2 Typical day at work Ms Teng’s day starts not always at the same time. It depends on day and evening shifts. The day shift starts at 10am, ends at 6pm and the evening shift starts at 5pm and ends after every guest leaves the restaurant. She works usually for

6 days in a week and start her shift with checking in. Every employee has his own card, which he has to put in a machine. This machine checks him in and checks him out. According to this, the owner can check the exact working hours of the employees. Secondly she has to take a look of the reservations.

Who is coming? How many people are coming? When are they coming? What needs to be arranged? What is still needed? Her tasks are arranging the tables and the buffet with help of the kitchen. If needed, she is responsible to check the bar in the second floor. Are there enough beverages and is everything working? Furthermore, she is serving guests, communicates between the kitchen, if she need something and is responsible to bill. Last but not least, after every guest leaves she has to count the money she earned and compare it with the restaurant system, where every order should be listed in. 8. Style of Management by applying Theory X+Y and Z In this chapter the management style of the author’s supervisor is described. According to Douglas McGregor, who developed the Theory X and Theory Y, this are “ways to contrast two sets of assumptions and beliefs held by leaders” Hellriegel (2005, page. 423) Theory X describes employees, who do not like their work and need control over their work and direction, which represents a negative way of human nature. (Hellriegel, 2005) In contrast to Theory X is Theory Y, which describes employees, who like to work, are motivated and willing to achieve goals.