March 29, 2015
Contrasting Workplaces
The Zingerman’s video depicts how a positive work attitude and behavior propelled the firm to the forefront of the food industry. Having a positive work attitude starts with good leadership within an organization. Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw realized during their initial startup phase that if they portrayed the passion for success, employees will notice and work toward matching that level of passion. Getting employees passionate about a job is a tedious task for any management team but Weinzweig and Saginaw got this done through effective training and engagement. If management engages employees daily and encourages them to strive for success; positivity towards the job normally ensues. Employee engagement goes a long way because it shows the employee that you care about their well-being and the effort they put in daily. This method eventually empowered employees and made them believe in the company’s future while going through the training or orientation method. Since Zingerman’s is in the food industry, it is highly important that you effectively train and sell your beliefs so that employees are motivated to show up every day ready to work. The management technique portrayed in this organization highlighted the fact that instead of pushing production, the managers actually implemented a good balance of production standards and employee feedback. This technique helped balance the mutual respect between the management team and employees. Zingerman’s work methods promotes self-worth which transforms an employee’s work ethic to a positive work behavior among employees and management. Based on the testimonial in the video, employees were motivated to come in and do their jobs according to the company’s guidelines without complaint. When an organization has individuals vouching for their entire organization, it shows that their employer has done a great job preparing these individuals to face any task that arises. While Zingerman’s management techniques may be effective, organizations ran like Wiener Schnitzel should take notes on how to effectively engage and train their employees. Wiener Schnitzel displays the management style used by inexperienced managers in most modern organizations. This method doesn’t encourage employees to become motivated about their jobs. The manager in the video constantly tried to show superiority over his subordinates instead of training the employee. This manager is the complete opposite of the ones highlighted in the Zingerman’s video. The employee seemed like she just started the job and didn’t quite understand how the organization operated. The manager proceeded to belittle the employee and brought up his length of