Shady Lane Inn

Marietta was extremely glad that she had been hired as an apprentice at the prestigious Shady Lane Inn. She felt that her successful completion of the three-year apprenticeship in the kitchen would lead to opportunities in the nest restaurants around the country. Marietta had wanted to be a manager ever since she first began to help her Mother in the kitchen. Starting at the age of 12, one of her greatest treats was to pre- pare food for her family and friends. She was eager to learn the “right way” to prepare food.

Marietta’s first day, she reported to General Manager, Mrs. Fulani at 8am and Mrs. Fulani immediately sent her to the Human Resource of office to complete paperwork. After she completed the necessary paperwork, one of the Human Resource of officers quickly reviewed the benefits package. She was also given an employee handbook and instructed to read it carefully so that she would be familiar with the various company policies. After signing a form acknowledging that she had received a copy of the handbook Marietta was told to report to Chef Terrell. It was 9:30 am.

Chef Terrell met with Marietta and explained to her that as an apprentice she would be rotated through various areas of the kitchen and would receive training from virtually all the cooks and managers.

He gave her a training manual and training journal. Chef Terrell instructed her to familiarize herself with the manual and to ask her first lead to show her how to keep a record of her training in the journal. He said that he reviewed the journal of each apprentice on a weekly basis. Chef Terrell explained that her first assignment would be the banquet kitchen because it was an excellent place to learn and refine her basic skills. He said she could expect to be in the banquet kitchen for 6–8 weeks. He also told Marietta that generally on Mondays he brought all the apprentices, there were a total of 12, together to discuss how their training was progressing and discuss any concerns they might have.

Chef Terrell escorted Marietta to the banquet kitchen where he introduced her to the banquet chef, Hank. It was 10:15 am. When Chef Terrell left, Hank told Marietta that he was extremely busy and would meet with her later. He introduced her to two other apprentices, Jim and Gale that were prepping for that evening’s banquet. Hank told the apprentices to give Marietta some work to do and told her he would speak to her when things slowed down. Marietta noticed that Jim and Gale gave each other a “Yeah right!” look as Hank walked away.

Gale told Marietta that she could start by peeling and fine dicing fifty pounds of onion. She showed Marietta where the cutting boards were located and where to work. As she walked away she told Marietta “welcome to the grunt squad.” Later, when Marietta was about half finished with the onions, Jim told here that it had been decided that the onions needed to be thin sliced rather than diced and that she would need to start over.

He told her to put the diced onion in containers, label it and place in the walk-in refrigerator “because someone would use it for something.” It was 11:30 am. He also told her that before she started cutting onion again they would go get some lunch in the employee dining room. During lunch, Gale and Jim told Marietta all about being an apprentice or as they called it a “grunt” at the Shady Lane Inn. She asked how long they had been at the Inn and they each said four months. She asked why they were still in the banquet kitchen since Chef Terrell had told her she would be their only 4-8 weeks. Jim and Gale said that the training schedule in the manual was rarely followed and that Chef Terrell had never reviewed their training journals. Marietta asked if the schedule and journals were discussed in the Monday meetings and they said there had not been a Monday meeting in three months. Jim and Gale made it clear to Marietta that they were both looking to leave the Inn as soon as they could get another position because they did not feel they were learning anything. They said all they ever did was cut and chop things and sweep and mop floors.

After lunch Marietta started peeling and slicing onions. It was 12:15 pm. Marietta finished peeling and slicing the onions and then cleaned the area where she had been working. Jim then told here to sweep out the store rooms and walk-in refrigerators associated with the banquet kitchen. At 5:30 pm Hank came by and told her that she could leave for the day that he would meet with her at 7:30 am the next day and give her a work schedule and discuss her duties with her. He asked her what she thought of being part of the team at the Shady Lane Inn and she said, “It’s ok, I guess.” Hank told Marietta that she better get a more enthusiastic and positive attitude or she would not last long at the Inn.

Case Study Analysis Questions

What is the overall reason for Marietta’s perceived lack of enthusiasm and positive attitude?

What are the primary causes for Marietta’s perceived lack of enthusiasm and positive attitude?

What role did leadership and supervision/management play in Marietta’s perceived lack of enthusiasm and positive attitude?

What specific steps could have been taken to avoid Marietta’s perceived lack of enthusiasm and positive attitude?

What, specifically, can be done by the Shady Lane Inn to avoid a repeat of Marietta’s perceived lack of enthusiasm and positive attitude by future apprentices?