Workplace Observation Report

The organization I chose to observe, and interview three people at is called Shorty’s Lunch, my family’s business. It is a small restaurant located in Washington, PA that has been around for over eighty years. The people I chose to observe, and interview were; Steve the owner, Leslie the head waitress, and John the general manager.

Steve the owner of the restaurant has worked there since he was around sixteen years old. Out of the three people I interviewed, he possesses the most power and authority. He oversees the overall running of the business and all the employees. He is able to make the final decision in regards to anything that has to do with the business. Some of his daily responsibilities include, but are not limited to; food preparation,

Her responsibilities include; waiting on customers, cleaning the restaurant, and bussing tables. In terms of authority, she has minimal authority over other employees. She does however change the scheduling between her and the other waitress if necessary and has flexibility in her schedule. She also at times makes changes to the décor throughout the restaurant and presents ideas to Steve. Ultimately, Steve makes the final decisions on whether her ideas are implemented or not. Throughout the work day I observed the types of behaviors Leslie had shown. She was very customer focused and continuously checked on them to ensure their satisfaction with the food. She went above and beyond to make sure the customer had everything they needed and was satisfied with the overall experience. She not only behaved like a waitress, but also as a leader. Leslie jumped in and would help ring people out or help with to go orders. These are not common behaviors of a waitress. She is loves being a team player and influencing the people working around her. Leslie always asked Nicole, the other waitress, if she needed help with anything such as delivering food. Based on these behaviors, Leslie behaves more as a leader than as a manager. In the article, it highlights a major difference between leaders and managers which is “They influence unity among a group of people whereas a manager is there to get a job done and not unite the

As a general manager, his responsibilities include; overseeing the employees, running the day to day operations, and ensuring customer satisfaction to make the sale. In terms of authority, John is allowed to enforce rules and regulations on the employees, make decisions on ordering products, and make choices regarding customers. If the employees are not following protocol or acting inappropriately he is in charge of taking action and putting a stop to their inappropriate behaviors. When the companies call to take our order for our food and drinks, sometimes John is in charge of seeing how much product we have and determining how much to order. Lastly, he has the authority to give free food to customers if for some reason they are unsatisfied with their food. In some situations, he must seek the approval of Steve before making any decision. While I was observing John, he possessed a variety of behaviors. Even though he is the general manager, he still had a lighthearted and friendly relationship with the employees. Instead of getting angry when they made mistakes he took it as a time to teach them what they should have done in that situation and how to correct it. In the article, it defines leadership as the “ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically” (Plachy, 1981, p. 59). John follows the definition of leadership because his relationship with the employees influences them to