How Does Communication Need Managed In Burger King Business Essay

THE purpose of this is to explore “how communication needs to be managed in Burger King”. The study particularly aims at exploring how effective communication needs to be managed and implemented in Burger King New Zealand. This study is divided into 10 sections. The first section is the introduction section, followed by the second section discussing the differences in communication between locations. Third section is about organisational goals, fourth section covers organisational cultures and ethics. The fifth section talks about how effectively knowledge resource is managed in Burger King. Sixth section is about meeting management and the seventh section covers stakeholders of burger King and how effective communication takes place. The eighth section discusses the networks of Burger King that is what communication methods are in place to make contact with others.

This study is based on literature study and interviews.

This study is expected to enhance readers understanding about the communication process and how effectively communication is implemented in Burger King.

1INTRODUCTION

I have chosen to write my report n one of the largest fast food organisation

in New Zealand. Burger king commonly known as BK is one of the largest fast food service ogganisation.There are 75 stores in New Zealand which provides the people with a broad menu of flame grilled burgers.

The motto of Burger King states “have it your way” which directs that nothing can get in the way of providing the customers with the best flame grilled burgers. (http://www.burgerking.co.nz/)

Burger king was first opened in Jacksonville, Florida in 1953. Its menu predominantly consists of French fries, hamburgers, cold drinks ad desserts.BK added its most popular burger the “whopper” in 1957 it still being the most widely sold and demanded burger worldwide. BK launches new products consistently to stay competition with its biggest competitor McDonalds. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burger_King_products 25/11/2010))

My major focus will be on the burger king situated in the Auckland international airport, examples and relevant facts will be based on the communication level in that store.

2Business demographics refer to the total number of people employed by a business organisation. Burger king (BK) is a vast fast food organisation that employs a numerous amount of staffs. Communication is essentially important in this organisation for the smooth running of this business. There are different levels that form a business structure of Burger King which has different forms of communication that takes place.thr restaurant manager is the main in charge of any BK restaurant as it is assumed to be the most important people in the proper functioning of whatever’s happening in the restaurant.

The restaurant manager (RM) instructs their crew as to what is expected out of them. Feedback is received by the RM and they monitor their performance and ensure that staff is trained efficiently. Policies and procedures regarding the process as how burgers are made is pasted on burger boards (the sides on which burgers are dressed) to ensure that crew are aware 0f the correct procedures. The managers and supervisors help the RM in managing the restaurant. There are meetings held on weekly or monthly basis between the crew and the RM to discuss what are the improvements needed in the restaurant where everyone gets a chance to express their views and contribute their ideas.

The RM also as close communication with the area manager (AM).The area manager is in charge of all the restaurants operating in his area. He monitors the operations of the all the restaurants and ensures that there is cleanliness in the restaurant, friendliness from staff to customers and policies and procedures is being followed by the staff. They mostly make quarter month visits to the restaurants to check the status of the restaurant and talk to crew and managers regarding polices and ask questions.

The area manager is supposed to report to the region manger and inform him about all the BK stores that come under him. The region manager is connected with the head office situated in Untied States of America. They are the top level managers in the organisation structure who are in chafe of the entire BK restaurants in the whole world. Their main aim is to make profits while meeting customer satisfaction and needs. They are indirectly connected with the stores but communicate with the store manager and the region manager to keep a close watch on all restaurants.

3 A simple organisation structure of BURGER KING

The top level – the directors and board of directors based in New Zealand

The low level – managers, supervisors, team leaders, crews

The middle level – CEO HR, Operations department, advertising department, sales and marketing departmentOI

42) For any fast food organisation there are certain goals that are set and which need to be met. The main goal of any business system is to make maximum profits and minimise cost. Similarly burger king has certain goals which include efficient and fast customer service that is a customer should receive their order in a maximum of three minutes and reduce customer complains. Staff should be trained so they meet the criteria of making a whopper burger within thirty seconds. There should be minimum wastage in a particular shift for example burgers, buns, meat petty. Another daily goal is to have an increase in the sales based on the hourly basis and the overall sales.

For example the burger king in the international airport has goals set for each week which is told to the crew so that they can work collectively towards meeting those goals. The restaurant manager mostly first discusses those goals that need to be met with the managers and the supervisors to ensure that they are aware of what is expected from them. The managers discuss or rather tell their crew about the goals and objectives that need to be reached and how they are planned to be reached to. Because this Burger King is a franchise there is General Manager who monitors the performance of staff. In order to see if they have achieved what the goals were there are customer comment cards which is a very effective way of receiving feedback. The positive and negative customer comments gives an idea of what other improvements are needed in the restaurant to achieve the future goals. The main aim of this store is to have a excellent speed of service and satisfy customer demands and minimise customer complains. Communication among staff and managers and also with customers is important in achieving these goals.

The communication levels in different determines how efficiently goals will be reached. The goals of Burger King are met with good communication. The general manager communicates with the restaurant manager, the restaurant manager with the managers and the supervisors and then the instructions are forwarded to the crew. This process of communication becomes difficult at times when culture and language becomes a barrier and when there’s ineffective listening and feedback taking place.

53) Culture can sometimes stand as a major communication barrier in a fast food restaurant such as Burger King. As customers from different cultural backgrounds come to purchase food from the restaurant the cashier who attends them to take their orders in some situations are unable to understand the customer’s language and take their orders correctly. The crew however tries to use body language and gestures to understand the customer’s order. However various cultures have different meaning for different gestures and body language. For example bowing of head may mean showing respect in one culture and may mean being rude in another culture.

In the Burger King airport the customers mainly consists of departing passengers who come from different cultures and most of them do not understand the language. For example the Chinese customers who do not speak English while it’s the national language have difficulties in placing their orders to the cashier. So in order to make them understand the cashiers uses sticks to point out in the menu board to clarify what the customer wants to order. At other times the cashiers use sign language such as making signs of burgers and drink so that the customer understands what the cashier is referring to. In some cases the customers are not sure of what they are ordering as they come from different places and cultures; in these circumstances the food sample is shown for better understanding example people get confused between nuggets and tenders.

Physical space comes in action which varies from culture to culture. There is a need to respect other culture as well as language as a result communication will be improved and there will be a reduction in arguments and conflicts.

There are certain ways in which crew at BK are encouraged to respect cross cultural people:

*positive thinking

*be patient with customers

*have effective listening; that is listen carefully as listening is the major way of effective communication.

*be sensitive

*fake it till you make it, to act happy and confident when you are not.

(http://www.volstudy.ac.uk/Interpersonal Skills.hmtl 26/11/2010)

64) At Burger King the main knowledge sand resources centre is the “environment of burger king itself”. From business point of view, “clean & safe, hot & fresh, friendly & fast, teaching & coaching and guest track” are the knowledge we derive from this burger king branch. There are also certain steps which lead to success if a trainee has being oriented by skilled trainer – “preparation, explanation & demonstration, performance and praise, lastly follow-up.”

(Managers Pocket Guide, Burger King, 2005, p.35)

Orientation day is the first day at the burger king where new employed staffs are being taught of the inside and outside criteria and other resource materials which are delivered to them. This branch empowers people through training and education either in store or at selected centres for example, “First Aid Course” or “Management Training” or “Guest service Course.” The trainee also get lesson on how to manage “Fire Drill” – demonstrated in store or at selected centres for example, “first aid course” or “management training” or “guest service course”. The trainee also gets the variety of forms to fill out on different steps. For example, application form, leaving granting form, IRD forms and immigration forms depends on your visa. Knowledge and experience are shared in h=this organisation. The knowledge seniors have been delivered in a demonstrated manner which is easy to understand to the junior crew. Communication is effective in a way that it doesn’t take long to make decisions. At this branch most of the serious issues are solved at the middle level reason being of well knowledge and experienced staff.(http://www.facebook.com/pages/Grace-Resources-Centre/268659978612, 26/11/2010)

75) Burger King being an enormous organisation deals with a vast number of people that includes customers and staff and has to deal with conflicts regularly. There are certain teams that are developed within the organisation that is the kitchen team and the front counter team. There are also first aid teams and other sports teams created with the staff. At certain stages there are conflicts which arise between staff or staff and the managers. There is a policy and a standard procedure that needs to be followed when solving these conflicts. A chain of command has to be followed which tells that who will report to who.

For example the chain of command of the international departures BK is if there is an argument between two staff than the matter is first taken to the manager’s attention. The manager does effective listening and hears the both party and makes a decision. If both the staff are still not satisfied with the decision made by the manager than the matter is forwarded to the restaurant manager. The RM judges the matter by being unbiased and makes another decision referring to the follow up received from the manager. If the staffs are satisfied with the RMs decision then the matter is successfully solved. If there are still issues than the matter is taken to the higher authorities that is the general manager.

Every manager who works with the team, always try to have effective communication to support team development and handling of conflict.

86) Burger King organises meetings to discuss issues that are important in the uplifting of the company’s performance. The meeting is mostly between the general manager and the restaurant manager with the other managers. Before the meeting begins the agenda of the meeting is told to those attending the meeting. For example there was a recent meeting in burger king on the 2nd November regarding new customer service procedures that was going to be implemented. The agenda of the meeting was handed to al the crew members and the managers. In this meeting the new procedure was explained to everyone and the concept of having an expeditor was agreed to. Meetings are done to make decisions.

In management meeting there should be effective listening and effective feedback to be followed. These skills enable a more efficient decision to be made where everyone gets a chance to express their views and opinions. The minutes of the meeting are also recorded for future reference.

97) Stakeholders are those people who are directly or in directly associated with the organisation.

At fast food restaurant, besides shareholders, there are customers, suppliers, IRD departments, immigration department, managers, workers, security, community, bankers, ACC and other business. LEVEL OF INTEREST AT BURGER KING

OTHER

BUSINESS

ACC IRD

SECURITY CUSTOMER BANKERS

COMMUNITY

SUPPLIERS FAMILY ELECTRICITY

EMPLOYEE

IMMIGRATIONS

Burger king deals with many departments. Most popular department is ACC which provides accident cover. Mostly slip and trip are serious injuries in this store. So, if someone is injured, ACC will cover the cost of treatment. A good reflection of ACC is that, it is a helpful way to sort out a problem before it becomes a serious issue. Immigration is another stakeholder who keeps updated accounts for those on student and work permit visas. The most targeted point immigration today is that all students must work exactly for 20 hours per week. Finally, organisation is not separate but surrounded and bounded by other departments.

http://drsl.co.nz/dealing.with.disputes/acc-disputes-reviews/how-acc-process-works.Retrieved Date: 19/11/10

108) ICT (Information Communication Technology) is the major form of networking system that is use in Burger King. This network enables the three minute service to take place.

Customer places an order

Order taken and entered in the POS system

Through the help of ICT kitchen, fry station/main counter/supporting

System and the main system get that order on their screens

This network system helps to increase sales, compare sales, improves communication, helps to enhance productivity and quality and minimise cost.