Work Task - Workshop Exercise
I tried this before (see Identify Knowledge Work Tasks - Workshop Exercise) and received some really good feedback. So, I’ve changed the scenario. As a reminder, this will be used as part of a workshop with the goal of having people:
1. Identify what (knowledge work tasks / methods) Chef Hannes should do?
2. I will then group these into categories of knowledge work tasks according to the knowledge work framework.
3. Later I will use this scenario to illustrate some places where newer knowledge work strategies and methods might apply.
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Here’s the scenario (I will likely add a bit more flavor to it when I present it live).
Chef Hannes is a local restaurant owner in our small town located on the west side of Los Angeles. He competes mostly with large chain restaurants. He does pretty well with his restaurant, but he would like it to do better. What types of things should he do to figure out how to improve his business?
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Help please:
1. If you were sitting in the workshop, what would you say that he should do?
2. Does this scenario work better than the engineering company scenario?
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June 26th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Hello Tony Carrer,
animated by your help call in your blog in got to your example. My first impression was, that I spontanius wont be able to guide, what he should do. Then i took a break and thought why. Perhaps there is a little information missing.
I asked myself why he should aim to be a knowledge worker. Then I started a bit of thinking - handling with the word “better”.
So here my result of my short brain voyage: Your figure must be a knowledge worker. He is in competition to “anonymus” “sterile” large chain restaurants. So he must be somebody getting a personal access to his customers - sharing knowledge … otherwise he hasbeen closed before.
Sorry if this is now not the direction you wanted to go but if you add a piece information before - the “,but he would like to be better” could go in a more concrete direction. Otherwise it is very, very open.
Compared to the engineering scenario this is itself more flexible. But in my point of view it maybe a bit risky to get the line to the knowledge work framework.
Anyhow - greetings from Germany and please forgive typos.
Andreas Auwärter
June 26th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
We did a similar exercise in one of my Training & Performance Improvement classes. Only the restaurant scenario had specific pluses and minuses. For example, the chef was known for his breads and people lined up around the block for his toast and homemade jams; waiters were to make the toast; toast was being burnt and returned; waiters also had to sweep and keep the restrooms clean. So with these tidbits, what would I as a performance consultant suggest he do?
In this, I am guessing you want the audience to tell you that he could perfect a dish, do more marketing, give out coupons, etc. Those are the three things I would suggest. I’d also ask him what he thinks he does well and not well. What do the customers rave about and complain about?
Off the cuff, I’d say a signature dish, marketing, and coupons.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Ok here it is my suggestion:
1 - Divide and conquer:
Analyze the selling records and choose the best selling drinks,dishes, entries and desserts.
For each favorite choice analyze again the small variations taken from a specific time delay regarding de condiments, garniture etc. Choose again the ones that have the most gap value , correlating price and sells .
2 - Try and error:
Advertise the ones chosen from the above analyses adding the variations suspected to be the cause of client satisfaction
If failure chose another path from the variations studied.
3 - Feedback data and start new process analyzing and correlating again data reflected on the bills.
Stay well - Forgive vocabulary
June 27th, 2008 at 9:21 am
I would suggest that he should focus on the things that make him different from those big chains.
First of all, it is HIS restaurant - the others will be managed by employees. So he has the opportunity to stamp his personality all over the place - the decor, the presentation, the ambience. If he is a mildly eccentric chap (and many chefs are), so much the better
Second, he is in control of the menu - it’s not handed down to him from on high. So I would recommend that he should scrap the idea of a pre-printed menu that hands around for years, and go with the idea of a chalkboard. When he goes shopping in the market today, he should be free to buy whatever takes his fancy and set up the menu for the day based on that.
Third, he can offer the personal touch. Yes, his patrons want to know that he’s in the kitchen doing the cooking (or at least the supervising), but every so often, he should come out and press the flesh with the patrons, greeting by name those he remembers (and he should make a point of remembering as many as he can).
How about developing a signature event for which he becomes well-known? Perhaps a once-a-week open mike/jam session, or a once-a-month secret menu (so you don’t get to order - everyone gets the same dish and you get to vote on it afterwards), or perhaps he could invite his regulars to come and work at an annual quarterly charity meal, where they serve free meals to the homeless.
It all boils down to emphasising the personal touch, where he has the advantage over the chains.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:59 am
So nice to get diverse feedback. Andreas - I have a lot of cousins near Munchen (Munich) so nice to have you join from Germany.
During the session, I will be pointing to some of these answers and saying…
Better means … new customers, repeat more often, higher tab …
What if Hannes doesn’t really know how to set up a coupon program?
What if he doesn’t really know how to set up marketing? Where to market?
This seems to be at least heading down a reasonable direction that I can lead them to.
Christiana - likely you lead folks a bit in yours, but you definitely set it up more.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Off the top of my head, a few ideas of knowledge/work tasks he could do:
1 - Ask his customers (informally or formally) why they patronize his restaurant (and conversely why they go to the competitors’ restaurants)
2 - Research his competitors for himself, e.g., “secret shop” to see how they compare/how he can differentiate his restaurant and offerings
3 - Consult local resources for small business, such as the chamber of commerce or small business owners’ association, to get new ideas, network, and locate publicity opportunities
4 - Analyze his own sales and traffic data to inform future offerings and create promotions
As for the question about the engineering scenario: I wasn’t involved in the original conversation, so it is difficult to compare. I find the shorter (chef) scenario easier to digest and more open-ended, although I identify more with the learning professional. I actually preferred stepping outside of the learning role in the chef scenario.