Arab Academy for Science & Technology & Maritime Transport

College of Management and Technology

Marketing and International Business Department
7th week – Assignment

Course Title: Organizational behaviour

Lecturer: Dr. Nawal El-Awad/Dr. Waleed Eid Grade: 30 marks
Name: Omar mohamed abdelmaged
Registration no.: 17100732

Case 1: (Ilo 1.1, 2.1, 2.2)

Floyd’s Barbershop: A Cut above the Rest

In 2001, when the O’Brien brothers, Paul, Ron, and Bill, opened Floyd’s 99
Barbershop in Denver, their only experience in the hair care business was as
customers. Lacking tonsorial training, their particular skills, it seems, laid not in
grooming hair but grooming loyal, creative, and hardworking employees. Floyd’s,
named after the iconic barber from television’s classic Andy Griffith Show, was
conceived to be a friendly neighborhood place like the one owned by its namesake.
But that’s where the similarity ends. In the O’Briens’ vision, Floyd’s was not your
father’s traditional barbershop, nor was it a plush, unisex salon that smelled like hair
chemicals. Instead, Floyd’s was designed to be a hip and lively place for
contemporary men. In many locations—there are now 27 Floyd’s 99 Barbershops in
six states—popular music is heard (played by live DJs on Saturdays), posters of rock
stars adorn the walls, and sporting events are shown on plasma TV screens. The place
is so hip that the Floyd’s shop in Hollywood, California, was a location for an episode
of the HBO series Entourage. It’s no wonder that Bill O’Brien refers to Floyd’s as
“Hard Rock meets the barbershop.” Stylists at Floyd’s know all the latest,
contemporary cuts but also include old-fashioned services such as neck shaves with
each haircut, and at reasonable prices (“less than twice the price of lunch” according
to Rob O’Brien). Because it’s impractical for today’s highly mobile young men to
commit to making appointments for haircuts, Floyd’s doesn’t take them. Yet,
acknowledging the importance of timely service, customers can phone-in their place
in line an hour or so ahead of arriving. But for anyone who does have to wait for his
favorite barber (whose working hours be can checked online), it’s not so bad because
pool tables and computers with Internet access are available to help pass the time. Not
only are the O’Brien brothers attuned to what their customers want, they also are
keenly sensitive to their employees. Illustrating this, consider how the O’Briens
responded in March 2003 when a blizzard struck Denver. When the nightclub next
door collapsed onto their shop, managers pleaded with firemen to rummage through
the mounds of debris to retrieve their employees’ tools and personal belongings.
Unfortunately, the building housing Floyd’s had to be demolished due to structural
damage, leading to concerns about the business’s future. Although the building was
broken, the O’Briens’ spirit was not broken—and employees came to appreciate this.
Until a new shop could be built, complete with chrome and leather chairs and a barber
pole out front, current employees were absorbed into other Floyd’s locations and
nobody lost a job. In fact, a billboard and the company’s Web site made light of the
events, adding to the belief that all would be well. Although the O’Briens don’t know
how to cut hair, they surely know how to trim through layers of uncertainty to assuage
their employees’ fears. Employees and industry pundits would be hard pressed to
challenge Bill’s wife, Karen, who said that at Floyd’s, “The founders’ passion,
personalities, and their constant desire to make a positive impact on people, along
with the support of a qualified and professional management team, have poised the
company for national and international expansion.”

Questions:
1. Would you say that the O’Briens have adopted a Theory X or Theory Y
approach to the management of their employees? On what do you base
your answer?

Theory X: Workers are not trusted by supervisors, assuming that they are both lazy
and have no issues and need to be made to work hard. Theory Y: Supervisors believe
workers can work more effectively and are eager to take on more workplace
responsibility. Their approach to human resource management is similar to Theory Y,
which stresses employee value and provides its workers with a healthy working
atmosphere. In the case of a snowstorm, O'Brien's superintendent's brothers called for
a firefighter to help their employees locate their belongings in front of a destroyed
shop and deal with staff who have lost their jobs temporarily. This will give workers a
sense of belonging and automatically pay for the company, improving the work
environment's effectiveness.

2. How might Floyd’s Barbershop: (a) use technology to enhance its business,
and (b) respond to the need for flexibility among its employees? Please provide
examples.

Publish tailor working hours so that consumers can wait easily and use the
official website of the billboard company to educate the public about the
company's results when faced with the use of common audiovisual plasma TV
attraction equipment. The blizzard incident resulted in damage to the
workplace after the job was lost, but the barber shop of Floyd responded by
supplying more shops to the employees so that workers might not lose their
jobs too much as the shop was heavily damaged by a snowstorm, but the
barber manager of Floyd appealed to firefighters carefully working
instruments and their materials
Case 2: (Ilo 2.3, 3.2)

Smiling Might Not Be Such a Safe Way to Treat Safeway Customers

Any training course on the essentials of customer service will advise you always to
smile at customers and to make eye contact with them. In fact, it seems so
commonsensical as to not need repeating. Little would you imagine, therefore, that
doing precisely this actually would cause problems for some supermarket clerks!
Nonetheless, this is precisely what happened to a dozen female employees at a
Safeway supermarket in Martinez, California. The women claimed that their eye
contact and smiles elicited unwanted attention from some male shoppers who mistook
these friendly gestures as acts of flirting. Some clerks even had to resort to hiding in
the store to escape customers who were hungry for services that weren’t for sale. A
produce clerk at one northern California store was even followed to her car and
propositioned by a supermarket shopper who got the wrong idea. The root of the
problem, argue the 12 clerks who filed grievances with the United Food and
Commercial Workers Union, is Safeway’s “Superior Service” policy, which explicitly
requires them to smile at customers and to maintain three seconds of eye contact with
each one. It also expects clerks to anticipate customers’ needs, to help them find items
for which they’re looking, and to call them by name if paying by check or credit card.
This policy was in place for five years before Safeway officials started enforcing it by
using undercover shoppers to spot violators, who were sent letters warning them of
the negative evaluations and disciplinary measures (even firing!) that could result
from failing to comply. Soon thereafter, the incidents of customer harassment began.
The union is seeking a modified policy that gives workers some discretion in the
matter, allowing them to choose whether or not to maintain eye contact or to refuse to
carry a customer’s bags to his car at night. From its headquarters in Pleasanton,
California, Safeway officials acknowledged that although some customers get out of
hand, this is not the result of their policy. They add that not one of the store’s
employees, currently about 200,000, ever has been fired for failing to be friendly.
However, 100 have been sent to a daylong remedial training class on friendliness,
what they call “Smile School.” This says Safeway spokesperson Debra Lambert, “is
not about discipline. It’s about treating customers well and training employees to do
that.” Think about this when you complain about that surly clerk who doesn’t even
look up to acknowledge you the next time you’re in your local supermarket looking
for laundry detergent.

Questions:

1. How, specifically, is the process of attribution illustrated in this case?

The system of attribution in relation to the case referred, flags relative to the action of
the incorrect implication of the customer's eye contact. The case study reported that
thousands of women in some supermarkets claimed the problem of attracting
unwanted attention to maintain eye contact. There was no specific data as to how
many female workers were working there. This may pose many questions about the
internal causes of actions and external causes. The essence of the twelve females was
Unknown with respect to other problems outside their workplace. The case study
obviously does not satisfy the "consistency" of the attribution. This means that in
some cases, the actions of the female workers and the clients they meet function in the
same way to recognize the difference of their arguments. If the case study had met the
claims, then this would have helped to better grasp the attribution principle.
2. What do you suppose is being done to help train people to be friendlier toward
customers? In other words, what would you imagine goes on in Safeway’s “smile
school”?

There is an underlying principle of positive reinforcement that satisfies companies by

treating individuals in the form of revenue or goodwill for the desired returns. They
send their staff to a friendliness school called "Smile School" in the Safeway
supermarket. They make their workers obey such insignificant ways that have a huge
effect on people's positivity, such as smiling face to clients, keeping eye contact for
three seconds, calling people by their name when they are called by their name. Using
a check or credit card to pay.

The smile school tends to implement its practices regardless of the consignment of the
staff, relative to the case study.
Case 3: (Ilo 4.1, 4.2)

Howard Schultz: The Personality behind Starbucks

Contrary to popular belief, Howard Schultz was not the founder of Starbucks. Instead,
Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spice, as it was known, began in 1971 as a small
coffeehouse in Seattle, the vision of three other men, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel, and
Gordon Bowker. A decade later,Schultz, who was selling kitchen equipment in New
York City at the time, became curious when lots of coffee roasting equipment was
being purchased by this small shop in Seattle. This led Schultz to Seattle to see what
was going on. Excited by what he found in this fledgling business, Shultz envisioned
having a chain of friendly, Italian-style espresso bars across the United States. At first,
Baldwin, Siegel, and Bowker didn’t share this image, but Schultz pushed to join the
company so he could learn the business; the threesome eventually hired Schultz as
Starbucks’ marketing manager. After about a year and the company now with four
stores, Schultz convinced his bosses that thinking much larger might not be such a
crazy idea. A few years later, Schultz raised $1.25 million and bought the franchise
from its three owners. From 1987 to 1992 Schultz grew Starbucks to 150 stores, and
by 1990 the company began turning a profit. The template for Starbucks as we know
it today—serving 10 million customers a week from 3,300 stores around the world—
was established. Schultz is convinced that a huge part of the company’s success rests
on his commitment to detail, making sure that every little thing is done right, even the
look and feel of the stores. As he put it, “We took things so fastidiously in terms of
creating the visual, nonverbal cues of what it means to be in a Starbucks store.” Not
all CEOs maintain such a careful watch over such seemingly minor details, but
Schultz has insisted over the years that nothing is too minor for his attention. This is
not to say that he insists on having things his way. Far from it! Schultz always has
been committed to gathering everyone’s ideas and treating his employees fairly so
that they are interested in sharing their ideas. It cannot be said that Schultz’s ego is as
large as his ambitions or his successes, as often is found among successful
entrepreneurs. Although every detail at Starbucks reflects Schultz’s contributions, he
always speaks of the company in collective terms, using we, us and our instead of I,
me, and mine. To him, it’s all about a team of people who collectively buy into the
idea of having a great company by serving exceptional products to people with
outstanding customer service. After all, people can buy coffee anywhere, so keeping
them coming back to Starbucks (which its average customer does 18 times per month)
requires listening to people customers and employees alike—and doing what it takes
to keep them happy. Years ago, for example, business at the typical Starbucks
location slowed down later in the day, leading some stores to close around 7:30 P.M.
In some locations, however, Schultz discovered that sales actually rose in the late
afternoons and early evening hours. Visiting these stores, he discovered why.
Apparently, customers started using the stores as meeting places. College students
would assemble to study and businesspeople would gather for informal meetings
there. Happy to accommodate them, these stores extended their hours and added food
items, such as various pastries and now sandwiches, to the already extensive list of
beverage offerings on the menu. This kind of flexibility was in keeping with Schultz’s
interest in building the business by building successful relationships. To him, it’s not
about the coffee, but all about people.

Questions

1. What particular Big Five personality traits and what elements of core
self-evaluation appear to characterize Schultz?

The top five most prevalent personality traits are

1. Openness- This trait defines the curiosity, intellect and interest of an individual in
diversity. It demonstrates the ability of an individual to adapt to new changes or ideas.
2. Awareness-This characteristic illustrates how an individual act, is accountable,
coordinated and timely.
3. Extraversion- This role demonstrates how a person is socially and likes to meet and
get involved with new people. In this aspect, a person who earns high marks should
be a lover of pleasure and enjoy
4. Harmony - This illustrates how an individual is tolerant, loving, compassionate and
cooperative towards each other.
5. Neuroticism- This trait demonstrates the propensity of a person to be at risk of
dysfunctional feelings such as anxiety, grief, fear, etc.

The basic things for the test are—

1. The faith

2. Self-Employment

3. Region of Management

4. Emotional steadiness
2. How do you think Schultz’s social skills may have contributed to the success of
Starbucks? What other special skills and abilities do you think he has that have
helped the company grow and prosper?

The statement by Howard Schultz, "If they had faith in me and my intentions, they
would not have needed a union," reflects his effective communication skills as a
leader. She knows how to make contact with staff emotionally. At the heart of
leadership is confidence. Without confidence, you cannot gain. Exemplary leaders are
dedicated to building relationships focused on mutual respect and care. His ability to
anticipate company dynamics and continue to succeed for his rivals is a hallmark of
Efficient chief. If you are in a place of authority or in a key position, leadership
incorporates functional knowledge and competencies. However, for those enterprises
which when deciding the terms and conditions of employment, form a connection
between the employer and the combined staff, the union refers to a community of
employees. It also helps to improve working conditions and to discuss pay, medical
reimbursement or medical concerns with employers.
Schultz had faith in his workers as through knowing their expectations, he developed
good relationships with them at Starbucks. The leadership of Schultz has promoted
strong working relationships and personal integration of teams and policies. The
leadership style of Schultz makes staff feel like partners. That's why it's very
accommodating and caring to the leading store staff. He has provided security,
integrity, empowerment and a good working atmosphere for his workers. This is why
Schultz says that Starbucks does not need a union because it does what the union
normally does for the workers.

Best wishes