UNIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE                             MANAGERIAL SELECTION AND LEADERSHIP TRAITS                                                                                                                         Date: 5 Jan 2018Course name – BUS5113 Organizational theory andbehaviorGroup project – Units 7-8 Teammembers: Prakruthi Prabhu – Team Leader – content, coordinator,editing and structuring of the paper, citations/references, proof readingAbiola Jimoh – Team runner – conceptualist, Getting contentfrom good sources, citations/referencesAnthony Poku – Team member – providing contentLine Turagaiviu – Team member – providing content,citations/references       Abstract – This is a group project by the students ofThe University of The People for the course Organizational Theory and Behavior.The paper evaluates the skills required for a manager of a fast food restaurantand the process of selection and recruitment of the right candidate.

Weconsider the leadership traits required for the job and design an approach andthe process for selection. Therestaurant business is a fast-growing business that requires a manager that canbe multifaceted when the need arises. This write up will harness organizationaland behavioral theories to recruit the right person for the job. Keywords – Managerialselection, interview process, leadership traits          “Selecting the right person for the right job is thelargest part of coaching” Phil Crosby.INTRODUCTIONThe fast-food industry is worth approximately $570Bworldwide and $200B in the USA. It’s typically driven by numerous franchisesand corporate locations offering an extensive mix of fast food and casualdining (Franchise Help, 2017). When selecting a candidate for a managerialposition in such a restaurant, we must evaluate the skill set, experience, andqualification.

Recruiting a manager for a restaurant with 30 employees with abig turnover and high attrition rate is challenging. THE DESIRABLE LEADERSHIP AND BEHAVIOR TRAITS FOR THE JOBThe strategy to select a candidate should be carefullydesigned by considering the needs of the organization and its employees. Arestaurant manager needs to plan and promote the daily schedule of employeesand the business, interview, hire, coordinate and discipline employees, makesure the kitchen is stocked, clean and in proper working order, create andmaintain budgets, and coordinate with and report to senior management in therestaurant.The new manager will be leading 30 employees whichmeans he needs to be tough and assertive if he wants to command respect andensure discipline among his employees. At the same time, he must be someone whomakes exceptions to the rules sometimes (for example, when someone is sick ortheir closed one needs to go to the doctor) and empathizes with his employees.This ensures retention of employees. The position requires a person with highcommunication and interpersonal skills.

This individual should be able tocommunicate effectively with a large group of diverse cultures. He shouldbe someone who acknowledges and celebrates the team achievements. The managershould have expertise to train others as many don’t feel they would be in therestaurant business for long. The person hired should be able to teach othersthe nuances of trade. The manager should preferably have a degree in managementas he will be managing the employees, finances, overseeing waste managementetc. Adaptability is another characteristic that a candidate should possess,being able to conform to any situation and scenario that may arise in such afast pace business. The manager should be adept at handling resistanceright from the start as he would not be welcomed because he will beoverstepping others for promotion.

He should be good at managing performanceand appreciating them when he can as there are very few opportunities forrewards. He should not be afraid of giving feedback. A good manager must bedecisive on any issue related to the restaurant, whether it’s easy ordifficult. Since the environment is fast paced, with an emphasis to deliveringgood customer service in a limited time frame, the atmosphere can be hot, noisyand bustling.  Therefore, he should also be good at time management astime is money. APPROACH FOR SELECTIONFirst, we will analyze the requirements of the job andadvertise it.

Advertisements can be through print, internet or word of mouth. Accordingto Van Hoye, Weijters, Lievens and Stockman (2016), organizations seek toutilize the power of word-of-mouth in recruitment and explore ways in which itmight be stimulated most effectively.  Word-of-mouth recruitmentcould an effective way that the fast-food restaurant can use as a method tohelp recruit its worker for the managerial position.  Further (VanHoye et al.

) states that, ”in a recruitment context, sources of word-of-mouthwho work for the organization themselves are likely to be seen as possessinghigher expertise than sources not working for theorganization”.  This validates the fact that word-of-mouth to be anethical way of promoting workers within organizations since the sources have ahigher knowledge-base of the fast-food restaurant then workers fromoutside. Second, we should take the resumes of the experiencedcandidates as the qualities we are looking for hiring a manager are best suitedin an experienced candidate. Third, we can use certain tools to predict thecandidate’s performance. see process for selectionFourth, we should start setting up interviews for themand at the same time spread positive stories about how the new person will behelpful to the organization. This is the most critical stage. In this stage,you have the chance to learn everything you want to know about your candidateand it is also their opportunity to learn everything about you and thebusiness. A well-structured interview between a candidate and the senior managementis effective.

Finally, selection of the best candidate and preparinghim/her for the resistance. PROCESS FOR SELECTIONThe process of selection will start through anadvertisement. We will use certain tools to predict the performance of thecandidate.·        General Mental Ability (G.M.A. orCognitive ability) ·        Situation Judgement Test (SJT) General Mental Ability isalso known as GMA or Cognitive Ability is an approach that effectively predictsfuture performance in every type of job, at all job levels.

GMA test needs little to no customization when usedfor different jobs. The tests are affordable, quick and easy. It does notrequire special training to administer the tests although expert guidance isusually required to build GMA testing into the organization’s selected system.Situation Judgement Test (SJT) has been described as a multiple-choicequestionnaire equivalent to structured interviews. The method predicts howapplicants respond to complicated decisions and therefore makes SJT one of thebest approaches for managerial and technical positions.We will also use structured interviews wherecandidates will be interviewed by the senior management by asking questionsabout his cognitive abilities, his accomplishments, his goals etc. (Gatewood,R. D.

, Field, H. S., & Barrick, M. (2011).  Human ResourceSelection)Generally, there are countless of tools, methods, andapproaches to making good selection decision but the reason why we use thesemethods are due to the decades of applied organizational research these onesare the most successful, accessible method. QUESTIONAIRE FOR THE INTERVIEWThe questions to be asked in the interview are basedon the leadership traits that we are looking for in the candidate. These are -·        Describe your experiences working in theprevious organization? By asking this question we can know about the kind ofenvironment he was in, how comfortable he was in it or why he wants a change.

·        How do you think you will manage theemployees who have been working here for several years? Here, we find out howhe plans to encounter resistance and change while dealing with the experiencedemployees.·        What are your expectations if you get thisjob? This question deals with his goals, his salary requirements, promotionexpectations etc.·        What is your management style and howeffective do you think it would be in this restaurant? This question deals withhis leadership style and his confidence level. A person with good people skillsand self confidence is a good candidate for a manager.·        How will you handle a difficult employee?Could you share an incident where you handled the situation well? Thisspecifically deals with how good the candidate is with conflict resolution andempathy. Leadership should be aware of the issues affecting the employees and canhandle a difficult employee. ·        How will you achieve the targets set bythe management? Organizational goals are important too. This query isspecifically to see what strategies will be employed to achieve goals.

·        What are your strengths and weaknesses? Bythis question we can find out how comfortable a person is in admitting hisweaknesses. The sign of a good leader is to not to shy away from his weakpoints. ·        How would you deal withan unhappy customer? This question reflects on how the candidate isplanning on providing solutions to customers. A good leader knows how to handledifficult situations and provide solutions.

·        What are some challengesyou could face in this position? Describe steps that you would take to help youovercome these challenges.Selection of a candidateshould be accompanied by training and accountability measures to ensure properrunning of the restaurant. Role should be explained carefully, andresponsibilities should be understood by the candidate. When expectations are clear,and the right candidate has been chosen, we can focus on achievement oforganizational goals. References – https://www.thebalance.

com/manager-interview-questions-and-best-answers-2061211http://www.scontrino-powell.com/2012/the-most-effective-to-employee-selection-methods/Gatewood, R. D., Field, H.

S., & Barrick, M.(2011).  Human ResourceSelection (7th ed.

), South-Western Publishing.Christian, M.S., Edwards, B.D., J.C. (2010).

Situational Judgment Tests: constructsassessed and a meta-analysis of their criterion-related validities. PersonnelPsychology, 63, 83-117.Schmidt, F.L., & Hunter, J. E.

(1998). The validity and utility of selectionmethods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implication of 85years of research findings, Psychological Bulletin, 124, 262-274.http://www.

thriveglobal.com/2017/designing-an-approach-to-selecting-a-manager/Van Hoye.G, Weijters.B, Lievens.F and Stockman.

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