While studying for my Communication Theory class I began to realize a quality of myself. I find it very difficult to study minatenous material. A grade is not really a good enough reason to encourage me to activate my mind to absorb the material. As I was reading, and trying to focus, on a communication theory about Managerial communication I began to find myself applying the information to my everyday life. Voula!! I was in! My mind began to take the vocabulary terms in but only if I could apply them.
So what are you going to apply Managorial Communication theories too? Well I began to critic the managorial practices at my work. I am simply a waitress in a restaurant that has been around for 32+ years so what ground to I have to critic anything. OH WELL! I am going to critic anyways! :)
I started to realize, through my readings, that my restaurant is extremely outdated and, more specifically, the managorial style was extremly old fashioned. The owners still use fear and threats to manage the workers. For example, the owner came in the other day and, strolling around the restaurant, chuckles out, "this feels like a good day to fire someone"! How lame of a human and a terrible boss. These threats are not productive to the business and are even counterproductive because it makes the employees loose their sense of job security and puts them on edge.
So I am going to do something about it! I have decided to write up a report that I believe will point out some major errors of the business. Of course, I will put it in a very professional and noncritical way.
Suggestions:
1) update the computer systems
- This is something that I feel that I shouldnt have to point out to anyone. In part of the restaurant they literally have the original computer that they started with 32 years ago. Because there is no where to type specific order desires many errors happen in the restaurant. Of course, instead of taking responsiblity for the fact that the waiters and waitresses are having to work with faulty technology, the owners put the blame on the workers as personal errors. If a specific order comes in the waitress has to walk into the kitchen and directly tell the chef the specifics! How inefficient! It also alows so much room for human error!
2) Make a suggestion box
- Currently there is no way that a waitress or waiter can make any suggestions on the workplace. They obviously cant go to the owner for risk of being fired and so the problems simply stay in place and worked around. This is all to the detrement of the business of course because there are problems that they do not know about and therefore can never fix. The restaurant has so many workers that have worked in other, more modern restaurants, and therefore the restaurant has a wealth of knowledge right under their roof. Instead of having to take time and resources to research effective restaurant techniques they could simply tap into the knowledge that each worker posses. Seems so simple and yet ridiculously hard to express in a sensitive manner.
3) Make a simple restaurant newsletter every month or two.
-By the owners taking the time to explain new policies being put in place, new food items that will be coming into the restaurant and encouragment to employees to do the best job possible it will increase workers efficiency and decrease uncertaintly. I can not tell you how many times I have heard conflicting rules about how something should be done! By informing the workers the owners will increase satisfaction and, therefore, increase loyalty within the business.
These things are all off the top of my head and I plan to do a wealth of research on each suggestion before I type my final report, sit down with my manager and make these suggestions.
My family, of course, keeps asking me if I am afraid of the consequences of such actions. To this I say "yes". Of course I care about keeping my job but I am even more concerned about working for a company that continuously sees the workers as fault and not taking responsibility for their actions, or lack of actions. Bacon, a communication theorist, talks alot about seeing unfair treatment and making a stand against it. Paraphrased, he says that a person must see a problem and then have the courage to do something about it, no matter what the outcome. I am at a position in my life where I have the ability to make such a stand without fear of the consequences. If they fire me "oh well", they are not the only restaurant that I could work for. And even further, if they do fire me then my reservations will be confirmed. I would hate to work for a place that takes a suggestion so critically and continues to use ridiculous tactics to make a dollar.
I think that if they are well minded humans then they will see that my suggestions are simply for the best of the business and not for gaining personal power.
If you have any suggestions of how to proceed, please let me know.
Final thoughts: In the words of Ghandi, "Be the change you want to see in the world". We all have role to play in this world. We can start small, suggestions to a work place, but with this attitude leading us into every aspect of our lives we may one day find ourselves solving many of the worlds problems.
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