31.2 Management Functions, Theories, Leadership Styles, and Managing Change in Food Service
Key Takeaways
The basic functions of management are planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.
Katz's managerial skills are technical, human, and conceptual, with conceptual skills most important for top managers.
Herzberg's hygiene factors such as pay and working conditions prevent dissatisfaction, while motivators such as recognition and achievement create satisfaction.
Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership matches the style (telling, selling, participating, delegating) to the follower's readiness.
Lewin's change model has three stages: unfreezing old behavior, changing, and refreezing the new behavior.
Management carries 14% of Foods and Food Service Systems and covers management theory, leadership, productivity, organizational change, human resources, finance, training, labor laws, professional laws and ethics, and marketing. Human resource management and labor laws are covered in their own sections.
Functions of Management
| Function | Description | Food service example |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | Setting goals and deciding how to reach them | Annual budget, menu cycle, new service plans |
| Organizing | Arranging tasks, people, and resources | Organization chart, job descriptions, work schedules |
| Staffing | Recruiting, selecting, training, and placing staff | Hiring cooks; orientation |
| Directing (leading) | Guiding, motivating, and communicating | Daily briefings, coaching |
| Controlling | Measuring performance and correcting deviations | Food cost reports, temperature logs, audits |
Gulick's POSDCORB expands these into planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting.
Levels of management: top (department head or director), middle (unit managers), and supervisory or first-line (cook supervisors, tray line supervisors).
Katz's managerial skills:
- Technical: knowledge of methods and procedures, most important for supervisors.
- Human: working with and motivating people, important at all levels.
- Conceptual: seeing the organization as a whole and planning strategy, most important for top managers.
Management Theories
| School | Key ideas |
|---|---|
| Scientific management (Taylor) | Time-and-motion studies; one best way to do a task; work simplification |
| Administrative theory (Fayol) | 14 principles, including division of work, unity of command, chain of command, and span of control |
| Bureaucracy (Weber) | Formal rules, hierarchy, and positions filled by competence |
| Human relations (Mayo, Hawthorne studies) | Attention to workers and group norms affects productivity |
| Systems theory | The organization is a set of interrelated parts with inputs, transformation, outputs, control, and feedback |
| Contingency theory | The best approach depends on the situation |
| Quality management (Deming) | Continuous improvement and customer focus |
Motivation Theories
- Maslow's hierarchy of needs: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization; lower needs must be met first.
- McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y: Theory X assumes people avoid work and need control; Theory Y assumes people seek responsibility when committed.
- Herzberg's two-factor theory: hygiene factors (pay, policies, supervision, working conditions, job security) prevent dissatisfaction; motivators (achievement, recognition, responsibility, growth, the work itself) create satisfaction.
Leadership Styles
| Style | Features | When useful |
|---|---|---|
| Autocratic | Leader decides alone | Emergencies; inexperienced staff |
| Democratic (participative) | Group shares in decisions | Skilled teams; building commitment |
| Laissez-faire | Leader gives little direction | Highly skilled, self-motivated experts |
| Transactional | Rewards and penalties for performance | Routine operations |
| Transformational | Inspires a shared vision and change | Organizational improvement |
Situational leadership (Hersey and Blanchard):
| Follower readiness | Style |
|---|---|
| Low ability, low willingness (new employee) | Telling (directing) |
| Low ability, willing | Selling (coaching) |
| Able but unsure or unwilling | Participating (supporting) |
| Able and willing | Delegating |
Organizational Principles
- Unity of command: each employee reports to one supervisor.
- Chain of command: the line of authority from top to bottom.
- Span of control: number of employees a supervisor manages effectively; narrower for complex work.
- Line and staff: line positions carry out the main work; staff positions advise (such as a clinical ND advising on diets).
- Delegation: assigning authority and responsibility, while the manager remains accountable.
Communication and Conflict Management
Managers spend much of their time communicating through briefings, memos, meetings, and one-on-one coaching. Effective communication is clear, timely, two-way, and suited to the audience; written instructions supplement spoken ones for critical procedures such as diet changes and allergen alerts.
Conflict-handling styles (Thomas-Kilmann):
| Style | Description | Best used when |
|---|---|---|
| Competing | Pursuing one's own position | Quick, unpopular decisions are needed, as in safety emergencies |
| Collaborating | Working together for a solution that satisfies both | The issue is important and time allows |
| Compromising | Each side gives up something | A temporary or middle-ground solution is acceptable |
| Avoiding | Postponing or sidestepping the issue | The issue is minor or emotions need to cool |
| Accommodating | Yielding to the other side | Preserving the relationship matters more |
Decision-Making Steps
- Define the problem.
- Gather information.
- Develop alternatives.
- Evaluate alternatives.
- Choose and implement the best alternative.
- Monitor and evaluate the results.
Productivity
Common measures are meals per labor hour and labor minutes per meal. For example, if a kitchen produces 1,200 meals using 240 labor hours, productivity is 1,200 ÷ 240 = 5 meals per labor hour, or 60 ÷ 5 = 12 labor minutes per meal.
Managing Organizational Change
Lewin's three-stage model:
- Unfreezing: explain why the change is needed and create readiness.
- Changing: introduce the new methods with training and support.
- Refreezing: reinforce the new behavior through policies, rewards, and monitoring.
Reasons for resistance: fear of the unknown, loss of status or job security, extra workload, and poor communication. Reduce resistance by involving staff early, explaining benefits, training, piloting, and recognizing progress. For example, when a hospital moves from bulk ward service to centralized tray service, involving ward staff in planning and running a pilot on one floor makes adoption smoother.
A food service manager notices that raising salaries stopped complaints but did not make staff more enthusiastic about work. Which theory explains this?
Herzberg's two-factor theory
Taylor's scientific management
Weber's bureaucracy
Lewin's change model
A newly hired cook has no quantity cooking experience but is eager to learn. According to situational leadership, which style should the supervisor use first?
Delegating
Participating (supporting)
Laissez-faire
Telling (directing)
Before introducing a new computerized diet ordering system, the manager holds meetings explaining problems with the old paper system and how the new system will help. Which stage of Lewin's model is this?
Refreezing
Changing
Unfreezing
Controlling
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