In And Out Burgers: Observational Study
In and Out Burgers is one of the most popular fast food restaurants in California since 1948. It has established programs and strategies for inspiring employees and inculcating leadership skills. Hence, I believe that In and Out Burgers presented an opportunity to observe leadership and organizational behavior and leadership in action. Thus, in this observational study, my purpose is to describe what leadership strategies, group abilities and expertise were literally practices by In and Out Burgers employees.
My field study involved visiting one of the stores in the Riverside area during an evening shift. I purchased a meal and sat at a table where I could observe the behavior of managers and employees and customers connections, without impeding regular activities. As a result of my restrictions from lack of proper protocol, I was not able to seize the …show more content…
entire ethos of the corporation. However, during the one hour I spent there, I discovered that In and Out Burgers employees exhibit high standard of leadership and that the corporation as a whole place exceptional effort into inspiring and working for its employees.
The work culture of In and Out Burgers appears to be extremely influenced by the specific line managers on duty at any given point in time.
I would envision that the managers would practically consistently use power position, also the telling style of leadership seeing that most of the employee is young or inexperienced. Certainly, the manager was observed as running the operation in a machine-like manner, because it was during peak business hours. However, in general they demonstrated a high level of composure and sometimes were indistinguishable from the other employees. Although it was obvious that they were the managers, they did not simply give orders, but welcomed their feedback and alternatives to their judgements. The managers normally seem to demonstrate genuine interest and concern in the feelings and happiness of their employees which I wasn’t expecting in this environment. For example, I observed one of the manager inquiring of the employee who was cleaning the floors about her weekend and her kids. There seems to be a genuine effort in order to encourage employees even at the lowest level of
workers.
I noticed that the culture was generally inviting for new employees. It appears to be a laid-back environment and the job itself seems not to be stressful. Even throughout the observed evening rush hours, the employees never appeared to be seriously pressured or perturbed. When there was a lull, in the restaurant, the employees would happily clean their work stations, Chit chat with other employees, or get a drink from the soda fountain. They were very comfortable and for the majority of the time they did not seem to fear their manager or other bosses. This would be an ideal job for a high school student and for the elderly employees. This low stress environment may also be ideal because they would not be overwhelmed with responsibilities that might be unfamiliar to them. A noted also, employees tend to have a casual environment where they are able to talk and socialize while they work. I also observed that belongingness through friendship and team unity. They are also presented with the opportunity to meet new people and develop friendship which is a possibility might continue outside of work. In addition, happy employees lead to happy customers.
Throughout the observation, I was not able to confirm the exact theories of motivation the managers used, but it was clear that the theories were of a needs-based nature. Hence, I could not forget to address the leadership style displayed by the line managers. A middle-of-the-road type of management in which the leaders behave as compromisers, demonstrating both people and task- oriented behavior. Certainly, the managers seem to be somewhat very expedient, approaching a station on occasions when there was a problem and giving directions to the subordinates. The managers appeared to be moderately apprehensive with the person who are doing the job, nevertheless, they were focused on production and primarily product quality.
My field study involved visiting one of the stores in the Riverside area during an evening shift. I purchased a meal and sat at a table where I could observe the behavior of managers and employees and customers connections, without impeding regular activities. As a result of my restrictions from lack of proper protocol, I was not able to seize the …show more content…
entire ethos of the corporation. However, during the one hour I spent there, I discovered that In and Out Burgers employees exhibit high standard of leadership and that the corporation as a whole place exceptional effort into inspiring and working for its employees.
The work culture of In and Out Burgers appears to be extremely influenced by the specific line managers on duty at any given point in time.
I would envision that the managers would practically consistently use power position, also the telling style of leadership seeing that most of the employee is young or inexperienced. Certainly, the manager was observed as running the operation in a machine-like manner, because it was during peak business hours. However, in general they demonstrated a high level of composure and sometimes were indistinguishable from the other employees. Although it was obvious that they were the managers, they did not simply give orders, but welcomed their feedback and alternatives to their judgements. The managers normally seem to demonstrate genuine interest and concern in the feelings and happiness of their employees which I wasn’t expecting in this environment. For example, I observed one of the manager inquiring of the employee who was cleaning the floors about her weekend and her kids. There seems to be a genuine effort in order to encourage employees even at the lowest level of
workers.
I noticed that the culture was generally inviting for new employees. It appears to be a laid-back environment and the job itself seems not to be stressful. Even throughout the observed evening rush hours, the employees never appeared to be seriously pressured or perturbed. When there was a lull, in the restaurant, the employees would happily clean their work stations, Chit chat with other employees, or get a drink from the soda fountain. They were very comfortable and for the majority of the time they did not seem to fear their manager or other bosses. This would be an ideal job for a high school student and for the elderly employees. This low stress environment may also be ideal because they would not be overwhelmed with responsibilities that might be unfamiliar to them. A noted also, employees tend to have a casual environment where they are able to talk and socialize while they work. I also observed that belongingness through friendship and team unity. They are also presented with the opportunity to meet new people and develop friendship which is a possibility might continue outside of work. In addition, happy employees lead to happy customers.
Throughout the observation, I was not able to confirm the exact theories of motivation the managers used, but it was clear that the theories were of a needs-based nature. Hence, I could not forget to address the leadership style displayed by the line managers. A middle-of-the-road type of management in which the leaders behave as compromisers, demonstrating both people and task- oriented behavior. Certainly, the managers seem to be somewhat very expedient, approaching a station on occasions when there was a problem and giving directions to the subordinates. The managers appeared to be moderately apprehensive with the person who are doing the job, nevertheless, they were focused on production and primarily product quality.