Author Archives: Toi Chotoosingh

Retention Study Case

What do you think is the most demotivating part of Harper’s job? As someone who has been in harper’s position before, the most demotivating part of harper’s job is not feeling valued for all of the extra work that she took on as well as not having a work life balance. These two problems can cause burnout very quickly and demotivate anyone from wanting to work. Having a constant overload of work on your shoulders is enough for Harper to want to resign from the company she works at, which is the type of situation a company would want. Also the fact that the company has not yet hired anyone to take her old boss’s position to relieve her of the duties that she took on when he resigned, which can also continue to demotivate Harper as it shows that the company has no considerate thought of her as an employee.

If you were an HR manager meeting with Harper’s supervisor, David, what advice would you give to help David re-engage Harper? I would give David three pieces of advice if I was the HR manager. 1) Engage more with Harper and help her prioritize the workload that she has to make it easier for her to know which tasks are most important at the moment. Also to check in more often with Harper to see how she is doing and if she needs help or clarification on anything. 2) Have consistent team building exercises so that everyone can feel included together as a team and to revive the motivation to continue to work. Make sure that Harper is getting time off such as vacations so that she may relax as this shows that David values her personal time as well. Even providing a hybrid remote schedule could be introduced if applicable. 3) Make sure that Harper and all employees are taking on a reasonable amount of workload each day. The amount of workload that an employee does should not be to the point where they are burned out and feel as though they are always behind their to do list. That is a great indicator that an employee has too much work on their plate.

What would be the downside of losing Harper as an employee? The downside to losing Harper as an employee is that she has been with the company for about 4 years and is a great asset to the company due to her senior experience and dedication to her work. She also loves working at the compnay which means that she is a valuable employee who not only is good at her job but also is loyal to helping the company excel in its work performance. Not to mention that if they were to lose Harper, they would have to hire a new employee which would be costly and also require time spent training the employee on the responsibilties the job comes with, the company values and rules, etc.

The Founder

  1. What makes Ray Kroc and the brothers different from each other?

Ray Croc and the brothers are different in how they decide to run the business. The brothers were not interested in expanding McDonalds. Instead, they would have rather stuck with improving the one store that they had. Ray Croc, on the other hand, had a vision of expanding McDonalds and make it into a global franchise. 

2. Do you think the McDonald’s brothers did the right thing by selling out to Ray Kroc? Did Ray Kroc give the brothers a good deal?

If the McDonald brothers did not sell out to Ray Kroc than we wouldn’t have the McDonalds that we know of today. However, I don’t believe that the brothers did the right thing because when one expands their business, there is much more to manage. Then it becomes more of a money grubbing corporation than the heartfelt family business that it once was. Also, Ray did not give the brothers a good deal. They should have gotten a portion of the sales.

3.How did the local store franchisees make money?

Local store franchisees made money by adding new items to their menu and advertising which can attract customers from their curiosity to gain more attraction. 

4. How did Kroc make money? How was that different than the franchisees, running the local stores?

Kroc made money off of the land that all the McDonald’s locations went. He would buy the lot and then sell or rent it to franchisees and then the franchisees would have to pay him a percent of the sales they were making.

5. Does this film change your view of McDonald’s?

This film did change my view of McDonalds. To see how McDonalds goes from this small local Resturant that’s family-owned by two brothers to the global franchise that we know it as now, is very interesting.

Starbucks – Ethics, Social Responsibility, & Employee Relations

One company that I interact with very often is Starbucks. As someone who use to work there, their goal is “With every cup, with every conversation, with every community – we nurture the limitless possibilities of human connection”. Starbucks has done much more than sell coffee; they have taken on social responsibilities and have been pursuing sustainable business practices to achieve their goal of fostering connections.

The social responsibilities that Starbucks has taken on include “Opportunity for All” and “Strengthening Communities”. “Opportunity for all” allows for Starbucks to create more jobs opportunities for both they employees and their customers. Their goals focus on “hiring more Opportunity Youth, refugees, veterans and military spouses. To date, we have hired over 25,000 veterans and military spouses and look to hire 5,000 more each year”. Starbucks has also created a program with Arizona State University for their employees called the Starbucks College Achievement Plan. This program allows for Starbucks partners to work at Starbucks while simultaneously obtaining a bachelor’s degree of their choice. Another social responsibility is “Strengthening Communities” which focuses on the fact that every Starbucks store is within a community therefore, Starbucks gives back to the communities that they are apart of. One way that Starbucks gives back to the communities is donating food to local food banks. Every day, “Starbucks partners collect surplus pastries and fresh food to donate. Refrigerated trucks pick up the donations and transport them to a nearby distribution center. From there, donations are sorted and delivered to local food banks and mobile food pantries”. These responsibilities have been helping Starbucks achieve their mission of being able to connect people together through not only their coffee, but through their endless opportunities for their employees and customers alike, as well as, helping those in need.

The sustainable business practices that Starbucks has been using include “Greener Retail” and “Sustainable Coffee”. “Greener Retail” is Starbucks efforts of creating a better and “greener” way of reducing their carbon footprint. They are “building and operating stores with an aim to minimize our environmental footprint. We plan to build and operate 10,000 greener retail stores, improve the recyclability of our cup and invest in 100% renewable energy”. With this in practice, Starbucks can help create a better environment and help reduce climate change. Another sustainable business practice is their “Sustainable Coffee”. Right now, Starbucks is working with other industries to make coffee the first sustainable agriculture product. They plan to invest in “training and financing for coffee farmers, and providing 100 million coffee trees by 2025”. These practices help Starbucks not only connect with their employees and customers, but also with those who they work with in other industries and to gather others to help with reducing the carbon footprint on a larger scale.

While Starbucks does have many ways to keep their business as an ethical and socially responsible company, there are a few other practices that Starbucks can create to maintain this. Incorporating the awareness of plastic and global warming is a good way to be socially responsible considering that Starbucks cups can be plastic and they also provide plastic straws. Team exercises that revolve around helping the community is another one. It allows for coworkers to bond together while simultaneously helping the community in different ways, wether it be cleaning up trash on the beach or volunteering at a soup kitchen. Another one is to be more aware of diversity and culture. In order to connect people together, understanding each other’s identities and culture is very important to achieve that goal. Having a variety of pastries or drinks from different cultures could be a good way to make everyone, partners and customer’s alike, feel included in a community.

Cites:

https://www.starbucks.com/careers/working-at-starbucks/culture-and-values/

https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/people/

https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/

Toi Chotoosingh

My name is Toi, I'm from Queens. I actually already graduated with a bachelor's in psychology at Baruch. I really like reading books and watching youtube videos. I also love videogames, and even just journal writing. I'm always open to trying new things and love to go on adventures around the city. I have recently been getting into broadway plays as I just saw the Lion King for the first time on boradway. if you haven't gone, i definitely recommend it, it was amazing! I am also very into instruments. I play the flute and a bit of piano. I really want to learn how to play the violin next. Overall though, it's really nice to meet you guys and I hope we can have a great summer semester together!

My BMCC email is: TOI.CHOTOOSINGH05@STU.BMCC.CUNY.EDU

Toi Chotoosingh

My name is Toi, I'm from Queens. I actually already graduated with a bachelor's in psychology at Baruch. I really like reading books and watching youtube videos. I also love videogames, and even just journal writing. I'm always open to trying new things and love to go on adventures around the city. I have recently been getting into broadway plays as I just saw the Lion King for the first time on boradway. if you haven't gone, i definitely recommend it, it was amazing! I am also very into instruments. I play the flute and a bit of piano. I really want to learn how to play the violin next. Overall though, it's really nice to meet you guys and I hope we can have a great summer semester together!

My BMCC email is: TOI.CHOTOOSINGH05@STU.BMCC.CUNY.EDU