North Tower Dining Hall Case Study

Jorge was recently hired to lead a large food service operation at a major university in New York State after the previous leader left the organization following a long illness. Jorge has a great deal of experience working with food service operations at other colleges and universities, and is well-versed in the operational needs of this new organization—the North Tower Dining Hall—that prepares three meals a day for the 650 students who live in the North Tower residence hall.

Prior to assuming this position, Jorge oversaw the operations of a smaller residential food service operation at a small private university in Pennsylvania, so this position represents an increase in responsibility that he is happy to undertake. Jorge is known as a “no nonsense” manager, who is typically tough, but fair. He expects people to do their jobs and do them well, without much hand-holding. While this leadership style has worked well for Jorge in the past, some people who have worked for him have been unhappy with the way he treats people personally. Jorge wants results, and he doesn’t always care how people feel about his demands.

In his first few weeks on the job, Jorge focused on getting to know his managerial staff and the employees who report to them. He observed the daily workflow of the North Tower Dining Hall and noted both operational strengths and weaknesses in the kitchen and dining hall service operations. Jorge quickly decided that he needed to focus on the strengths and capabilities of his four direct reports, the managers who oversee the various elements of the operations.

They have managed to hold things together after the previous leader, Diana, experienced a significant illness, which kept her away from the organization for long periods of time while she was receiving treatment, and which finally caused her to leave the organization. The effects of Diana’s lack of leadership during her illness and after she left the organization can be noted throughout the organization, and especially in the morale and spirit of the employees who miss Diana and were sorry to see her leave under such unfortunate circumstances. Jorge is aware of the feelings of the managers and staff, but he believes he must take charge of the organization because, in the words of the dean of campus life who hired him, “you need to get this operation working smoothly again.”

The four managers who oversee operations vary in experience and expertise. Dave has been with the organization for several years. He is competent in his responsibilities, and does a reasonably good job overseeing his employees, but he seems to be a bit unimaginative, showing little innovation or drive in planning and a hesitation to try anything new. He seems stuck. Likewise, Cynthia has been with the organization for several years, but she is an effective manager and is far more enthusiastic than Dave. Cynthia frequently raises ideas for improving or strengthening the operations of the dining hall, and Jorge thinks she has great capacity for growth.

Rajeev is a relatively new manager who joined the team last year, and he is keeping up with the work, but just barely. Lack of leadership during his first year on the job means he has been operating without much support, and his operations are suffering, but his attitude seems to be positive and he has expressed a willingness to improve. Finally, Meena has been working in a managerial position for just six months, having transferred into her position from another food service operation on campus. She came into the position with more overall managerial experience than Rajeev, but she seems uncertain about what to do and how to do it. Jorge isn’t certain she can do the job.

In a paper of at least 1,500 words (excluding title, abstract and reference pages), and referencing at least three scholarly sources, in addition to required readings, apply the situational leadership model to describe an optimal approach for Jorge to take in working with the four managers who report to him.

In your paper,

• Apply the situational leadership model to describe the developmental level of the four managers, and what they need in terms of support and direction from their leader.
  • Explain what might happen if Jorge, their leader, fails to acknowledge their developmental level.
• Apply the situational leadership model to identify and describe the optimal leadership approach Jorge should take to work with each manager described in the case study, providing examples, and supporting your conclusions with the literature.
• Describe the challenges Jorge may have in working with each manager because of his natural leadership style.
  • Discuss how his usual way of working with direct reports might clash with the needs of some of the managers who report to him at North Tower Dining Hall.
• Apply elements of the skills-based model to recommend specific skills Jorge might need to develop to be most effective in his new role.

The North Tower Dining Hall Case Study paper:

• Must be at least 1,500 words in length (not including title, abstract, and references pages), and must include references to at least three scholarly sources in addition to required books and articles.
• Must be formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.) (Access the resource How to Check a Word Count in Microsoft Word (Links to an external site.) for help in determining total word count.)
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • University’s Name

• For further assistance with formatting your paper, including the title page, refer to the APA Template (Links to an external site.) from the Writing Center.
• Must be double-spaced, formatted in Times New Roman 12-point type font, and aligned to the left margin.
• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
• Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
  • For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
• Must use at least three scholarly sources in addition to required books and articles.
  • The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for an assignment.
  • To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view this Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.
• Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) guide
• Must include separate abstract and references pages that are formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Writing an Abstract (Links to an external site.) and Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resources in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.