Theory Assignment 3

8/3/2019 Theory Assignment 3

1/5

Analysis Paper #3 1

Kenyon Stanley

Dr. White

COMM 604

28 Feb 2011

Analysis Paper #3

When I was in my early twenties, I worked as a bartender at The Keg restaurant

steakhouse and bar. The Keg is a Canadian company and operated differently than other

organizations whose mission it is to serve food to the public. The managers of The Keg put a lot

of effort into building cohesion amongst the entire staff, while in other restaurants managers

would use competitive motivation tools to rally workers into action. By examining the rituals,

stories, performances and values of The Keg this paper will attempt to explain how and why The

Kegs nontraditional workplace culture has contributed to the success of The Keg.

According to E.M. Eisenberg & H.L. Goodall Jr. (2010), rituals dramatize a cultures

basic valuesfor accomplishing tasks (p.105). The Keg had many rituals, some formal, some

informal. One of the formal rituals was our pre-shift team meeting. During the meeting,

management would assign sections to the servers and quiz the front of house staff about the

specials and other menu items. Additionally, the manager would inform the staff about any

overstock of items and encourage the team to suggestively sell such items. Interestingly, in other

restaurants, management would hold competitions for the highest guest check average or offer

monetary compensation for the individual who sold the most of a particular item (e.g. bottles of

overstocked wine). The Keg differed from other restaurants in that the entire team was rewarded

goal achievement. On one occasion, management erroneously ordered 10 cases of an expensive

wine instead of one. Management encourage the food servers and bar staff to push the high


2/5

Analysis Paper #3 2

dollar Merlot. Normally, 10 cases of this expensive wine would last a year. The staff rallied

and we sold the wine out in one month. Although the bar staff sold the most of the wine, every

employee from dishwasher to bartender was rewarded with a paid ski trip to a local ski resort.

One of the informal rituals at The Keg was the after shift socializing at the bar. Although other

restaurants forbid employees to drink after shift in the establishment, The Keg encouraged its

employees to do so. The management believed that the socialization would build cohesion

amongst the different work groups. It worked. The informal and formal rituals at The Keg

helped bond the workers together to create a reality that was collective instead of competitive.

There were many rituals at The Keg and in addition to the creating the reality, the rituals also

provided the plots for the many stories told between the workers.

According to Eisenberg et al (2010), stories communicate to employees the culture,

values, expectations and consequences for violating written and unwritten rules and norms. In

the restaurant business, there is usually a high turnover rate. Surprisingly, The Keg had a low

turnover rate. Employees generally liked the different environment and enjoyed the many perks

that the company provided. However, as with any job, sometimes people quit or got fired.

Although management tried to keep the details of a terminated employee from the staff, the staff

usually found out by discerning the events through storytelling. On one occasion, it was

conveyed to us that a long-term employee had been terminated. We were all very surprised

because the employee was a high performing and liked by everyone. The management was tight

lipped about the whole ordeal and refused to answer questions about the employeehe was just

gone. Soon after he was fired, the employees were socializing at the bar after the restaurant

closed and we were telling stories about our recently departed colleague. The terminated

employee liked to play practical jokes on us. Although the jokes were generally tactful,


3/5

Analysis Paper #3 3

sometimes his jokes teetered on the inappropriate. When we began recounting his jokes, one of

the employees recalled a practical joke he played out on his last night of work. The worker

pretended to be gay at one of his tables. His flamboyant change of character amused his fellow

workers and even one of the managers thought it was funny as well. However, one customer

who observed the servers behavior didnt find it so amusing. Three days after our colleague

was terminated, a corporate memo came down to all stores dictating a no tolerance policy

regarding discrimination in the workplace. An emphasis was placed on sexual orientation and

the drafter of the memo even included a (supposedly) hypothetical situation that mirrored the

actions of our former worker. The departure of a long term employee, the story behind his

termination and corporates response recreated the culture of our work environment.

Specifically, this event served to change the performances of the organization.

According to Eisenberg et al (2010), performances are the creative communication

behaviors used to construct cultures. The Keg used many different performances in creating its

culture. Perhaps the most interesting performance utilized at The Keg was the method they

employed of training and indoctrinating new employees into the Keg family. The Keg

intentionally used the term sponsor as opposed to trainer. A sponsor is responsible for

communicating the rules, monitoring and evaluating growth. Regardless of how long or short it

takes for a new hire to learn the menu, a sponsor stays with the new hire for thirty days. As my

sponsor said, some things about The Keg culture cant be taught and have to be experienced.

After 90 days, the sponsor meets with management staff and they collectively determine whether

or not the employee is a good fit. Its during this initial phase that a new hire must intentionally

adopt the cultural norms and build a connection with fellow teammates. For me, I made sure to

attend the after shift cocktail hours and help others around me who may be struggling with


4/5

Analysis Paper #3 4

keeping up. There were servers who were initially hired that were competent servers but clearly

not willing to help out. The people who didnt look out for the interest of the team were let go

on or prior to the 90 day evaluation period. Although management refused to disclose the

reasons behind any employees dismissal, our conversations usually contained the phrase, not a

good fit. The Kegs method of evaluation was a great tool in creating a culture that rewarded

employees who displayed a collective mindset and punished individualism. The collectivist

culture was embodied in the entire organizations value structure.

According to Eisenberg et al (2010), Values represent a (more or less) shared set of

beliefs about appropriate organizational behaviors (p.106). On the Kegs website there is a

section called The Keg Story. In the story, the organization boasts that they encourage their

employees to have fun and be themselves. My experience at the Keg is consistent with the

websites claim. Although The Keg did reward collectivism and punish individualism, the

organization valued the contributions that diversity brings to the company. Although our

location was centered in a predominantly white upper class community, the staff and

management differed in age and race. Because the organization demanded each store to be

producing cohesive units, as cultural differences came to light the team identified and embraced

the differences as part of our dynamic team. Embracing these differences allowed us to operate

as an open system, flexible and ready to meet the challenges of an ever changing environment.

As with any close team, conflict does arise. At The Keg, whenever any team member had a

disagreement with another, it was agreed that the disagreement would be settled after work

during the employee cocktail hour. Most of the conflicts occurred between servers and cooks.

In most cases, the conflicts were resolved over a couple of drinks and the team grew from the

experience.


5/5

Analysis Paper #3 5

In conclusion, exploring the rituals, stories, performances and values of The Keg has

given me a better perspective about my experience working at The Keg and other restaurants.

The Keg was a wonderful place to work and if I was in my early twenties, I would work there

again. I made lifelong friendships there and look always stop by for a visit when I am in the

Seattle area. Because of their low turnover rate, some of my former colleagues are still working

at The Keg. This is highly unusual for the restaurant industry. The rituals, stories and

performances The Keg employs all contribute to the collective value structure of the

organizational whole and individual restaurants. The Kegs work hard/play hard attitude ensures

that management receive the highest level of effort from their employees while providing an

opportunity to build meaningful connections between management and staff.

References

Eisenberg, E.M., Goodall, H.L., Jr., & Trethewey, A. (2010). Organizational

communication: Balancing creativity and constraint (6th

Edition). Boston: Bedford/St.

Martins.

Documents

Theory Assignment 3