Wk 8 EOC: 9 to 5 Workplace Harassment

In the movie 9 to 5 there were various examples of workplace harassment. At the beginning one can see gender bias when the boss decides to give a position to a man instead of Violet, who is much more equipped for the position. When telling her she did not get the position, he seems to dance around the real reason she was not promoted, giving her every reason under the sun but the truth.  Another example of harassment was when the boss called Judy inappropriate names in the xerox room. There was no need for him to call her names, no employee deserves to be treated that way. An additional form of harassment was the way the boss acted towards his secretary. No one should have to suffer through such treatment, no matter how badly they need a job. It also seemed highly unnecessary when the boss had an employee who had been let go for a very minor infraction escorted out by company security. There was no need for such a procedure. Such a display may cause every one to be on their toes, which may possibly cause a decrease in productivity. Another form of harassment that was portrayed in this movie was gossip. It was highly inappropriate for the employees in the work room to discuss what they thought was happening between Doralee and the boss. Gossiping can cause un-cohesiveness and lead to a decline in productivity.  Another inappropriate action executed by the boss was when he asked violet to pick up a scarf for his wife and also threatened her possible promotion. An employee should not have to take care of their bosses personal tasks unless it was otherwise discussed and is part of the job description. The boss also showed a form of harassment in this instance when he threatened Violet's possible promotion. It is highly inappropriate for a boss to use a promotion as means of bribing someone to do something.

BOC Week 8: Five Plus Five Soft Skills

What are your soft skills and how can you review them through your resume?

• One soft skill that I possess and was mentioned on my resume was organization. I reviewed this in my resume under Objective. I portray this characteristic in the occupational setting when I create a timeline and a prep-list for an event we are cooking for at work.

•  Although it was not mentioned on my Dropbox resume, another soft skill that I possess is punctuality. I portray this characteristic in daily and work settings when I arrive to my destinations, such as school and work, early or on time. I also make sure that a task for an event is completed by or before its deadline.

• An additional soft skill that I possess that did happen to be mentioned on my dropbox resume was communication. Although I did not state it directly, one can see that I communicate well because I stated that I work well in a team on the objective section of my resume. One can see that I portray this characteristic at my work setting when I work on a team in order to succesfully complete all tasks for a catering event. 

• Even though it did not happen to be mentioned in the resume I submitted in the drop box, another soft skill that I possess that is critical to a work environment is adaptability. This skill is shown in the work setting when last minute details for an event are changed by the customer and our catering team has to adapt to those changes, such as changing a menu item very last minute. 

• Having a friendly personality is an additional soft skill that I possess. I implied this characteristic on my resume when I mentioned positive attitude in the Objectives section. I display a friendly personality at work when I come in with a smile and a positive attitude towards my coworkers and our clients. I do my best to ensure that our customer receives the best experience possible by answering all their questions and assisting them in preparations for and during the parties. 

WK 7 EOC: Profile Statements

Possible Profile Statements:

1. Proactive Culinary Professional with educational experience in World Cuisine, European Cuisine, Garde Manger, and Baking and Pastry. Accomplished in primary culinary techniques and industry procedures. Through catering, experience in high stress culinary environment where positive attitude, teamwork, and quick thinking are essential.

2. Efficient individual of Culinary Arts highly educated in World and European Cuisine, Garde Manger, and Baking. Understanding of essential culinary skills and practices within the industry. Trained in culinary environment with high stress level that sought out individuals who worked well with others, could handle high stress situations productively, and had a positive attitude.

3. Culinary Professional devoted to providing superlative cuisine through expansive knowledge in Asian, World, and European Cuisines, American Regional, and Baking and Pastry. Well-versed in fundamental culinary skills and industry practices. Ability to maintain positive attitude, work well with others, and think quickly through employment in private dining and catering.

Week 6 EOC: Job Analysis

http://hayadams.com/assets/pdf/Assistant-Food-and-Beverage-Manager-2014.pdf


The above link takes you to the job description of an Assistant Food and Beverage Manager position at the Hay-Adams. After reviewing The Hay-Adams Job description and becoming aware of what a job analysis is I can properly describe what being an assistant Food and Beverage manager entails. To successfully hold this position, I believe that an individual must possess the characteristic of being organized, the ability to supervise, and have vast knowledge in all aspects of the food and beverage profession. This is definitely a position where prior work experience is necessary. Other tasks that a person in this position may be required to fulfill as described in The Hay-Adams description are making reservations- so phone skills are a must, conveying the reservation information to F&B and culinary team- so great communication skills are a must, organization of shift and labor information- so organization skills and computer knowledge are a must, supervise staff and retrain if necessary- so managerial skills are a must; According to the text " When well-trained employees have the proper tools, however, managers can effectively market and deliver quality in both food and beverage products." assist in company development through information exchange, plan staff meetings, assist in budget control and management, help adhere to accounting and HR policies, and assure maintenance of POS systems. When staff meetings regarding the budget are conducted the food and beverage manager is one of the individuals who will attend, the assistant may as well.  According to the text  "the beverage manager can advise about beverage costs based on projected revenues."  After knowing the tasks, additional characteristics that were discussed by the description that would be necessary for this occupation include basic math skills- add subtract multiply and divide in 10s and 100s, basic american currency conversions and weight and volume conversions, they must have the appropriate certifications, maintain proper hygiene and etiquette- because they around the customers a lot; "According to the text " Inseparability is another service-related challenge. Inseparability refers to the tendency of restaurant and foodservice customers to connect the quality of service provided with the personal characteristics of the individual staff member who delivers it." The type of experience a customer has and how a restaurant employee acts go hand in hand, so it is important that the employee behaves and dresses their very best, and they must have common sense and the ability to make appropriate decisions if problems arise. The description also did a great job of explaining that additional tasks may be required as necessary. The job description gives an overview of a position, additional tasks may pop up.

WK 5 EOC: 3 Tweets

For this week's EOC assignment we have been asked to select our three favorite tweets we have made about our industry and describe why we made that selection.

 Perhaps my most favorite is this tweet-
"Plan on owning a food stand? Think that recieving a Michelen star for it is a pipe dream? Maybe not..." https://twitter.com/amayAILV/status/763194770130776064. In this particular tweet, we are notified that a food stand in Singapore received a Michelin Star. I enjoyed reading this tweet because it showed me that anything is possible. Typically, when it comes to getting Michelin Stars, the only individuals in the running are restaurants, but Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice And Noodle blew that tradition out of the water. Opening a door for culinarians who are not taking the typical path of restaurant opening to have the ability to gain such an honorable recognition. Not everyone who goes into the culinary field dreams of opening a restaurant, and it is nice to know that those in charge of the Michelin Star assignment recognize that. 
My next favorite tweet is-
"Italy has recently passed law that America should consider, making it is easier to distribute food to those in need." https://twitter.com/amayAILV/status/763196033039863808. This is also one of my very favorites because it shows that Italy's government is trying very hard to do something about their massive food waste problem, an action that I believe America needs to copy. In this article, one finds out that the Italian government is currently trying to back a law that will make it easier for the food industry to donate food, that would otherwise be considered as waste, to those who really need it. Imagine how much progress we could make in solving America’s hunger problem if we made the food donation easier? Imagine how much food would be available to those who need it if we allowed corporations like Walmart to donate their day old bread rather than throw it away?

The final tweet that is one of my favorites is-

"The company Cook N Grow sparks a love for cooking in young minds through a mobile culinary school.What a great idea!" https://twitter.com/amayAILV/status/760669253674545152. I liked this tweet because not everyone is exposed to cooking at a young age and I believe that it is a skill that everyone should possess. Even if a person decides to eat out for the rest of their life or forces someone else to cook for them. It is important for everyone to know the basics!!! Eating is a function required to sustain life, and what better way to fulfill that requirement than to be able to cook your own delicious meals. This mobile culinary school also provides mommy and me classes, which I believe is a fun way to teach your children valuable life skills while spending quality time together.

Wk 4 EOC: Physical Attractiveness

A huge factor in being selected for many hospitality positions is appearance. In occupations such as servers, hostess, or front desk hotel associates, they are the people who most often see the customers. According to the text, "Employees in FOH positions are critically important to the delivery of quality service because these employees have direct contact with guests." The sad truth is that humans are a very judgmental species. We tend to make judgments about a person solely on appearance, even before getting the chance to actually speak with them. When reading the text, I found it interesting that "excellent customer service is more affected by service staff appearance, attitude, and skill than by an operation’s physical facilities." Appearance is one of the very first things we look at, then how we are treated, as well as how efficiently an individual does their job.It is important that hospitality staff put their best foot forward because "The personal interactions between guests and FOH staff members define how guests will feel about their treatment in an establishment (Human Resources)." I believe that positions hired based on appearance are okay if it is clearly stated in the job description. Let the person know how you would lie them to dress, that way they can decide if they are okay with those terms before accepting the position. In class we discussed the matter of personal hygiene where the issue was medical and could not be solved. In the matter of a medical issue regarding personal hygiene and its affect on work performance of others, that person could not be fired for personal hygiene because they could not help it. In the case of tattoos, it depends on the environment. If more formal, the person may be asked to cover it up while at the work place. 

EOC WK 3: This Charming Man

Fairness in the Workplace is a huge part of the Workplace nowadays. According to the textbook, "If employees do not feel trusted or welcome, they will not work hard, their productivity will fall, and their willingness to help each other will diminish dramatically."  No one likes to feel left out, and in response that affects their performance and teamwork. Companies, Organizations, and websites in the 21st century have tried very hard to make sure employees and upper management work together and do not discriminate. Our text states that "Discrimination is the act of treating persons unequally for reasons that do not relate to their abilities, including race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, and mental or physical abilities." One of the organizations that works to fight against discrimination is Workplace Fairness. Upon taking a closer look at Workplace Fairness, the viewer finds that the sponsor for this site is the NELA or National Employment Lawyers Association. I believe the NELA sponsor this site because want to expand their members client base. Getting people to stand up to discrimination in the work place means more possible clients for the employment lawyers. Another item one may stumble upon when studying the Workplace Fairness website is their resources. Resources this site provides are employment and discrimination eBooks, a live Q&A podcast where you can receive answers to any employment questions you may have, and a blog that pertains to employment topics. Besides receiving the information from this site regarding discrimination, the class also learned quite a bit about discriminatory behaviors from a short film called "That Charming Man". In this video we see many issues that may lead a person to seek out help from a site like Workplace Fairness. Items that were brought up in this movie that would cause a person to seek help include discrimination on gender, nationality, race, economic status, and bullying. One example of a discriminatory issue was when the boss at the printing company was being prejudice and would not hire the main character's friend because of the negativity he felt towards that man's ethnicity. According to the text, a prejudice is "a general attitude toward a person, group, or organization based on judgments unrelated to abilities or reality."  The print shop boss was not going to hire the man just because of his ethnicity, without even considering his ability to do the job. Throughout the film someone faced one of the discriminatory behaviors discussed in the prior sentence. After watching the film, visiting the website, and studying in the textbook I find the best ways for a hospitality manager to address and prevent these type of issues would be to speak with an employee individually to find out what the problem is, make sure your employees are educated on what discrimination is and how to avoid it, and make policies regarding this item that all your employees must abide by.