MGMT 121 Case Study: Leadership Analysis of McGuffey's Restaurant

This case study examines the leadership and management challenges faced by Keith Dunn at McGuffey's Restaurant. Dunn's initial dissatisfaction with employee feedback led to rash decisions and a realization of a disconnect between his perception and employee experience. The analysis identifies symptoms such as lack of planning, poor employee engagement, and inflated ego among owners. Problems include disregarding employee feedback and making hasty judgments. The root causes are attributed to rapid success and a flawed understanding of employee satisfaction. The study proposes alternative solutions like creating a planning board, restructuring competitions, and establishing a line of advisors. The recommended solution involves implementing a planning board to foster collaborative decision-making and improve employee relations. Desklib offers a platform for students to access similar case studies and solved assignments.

Running head: CASE STUDY: KEITH DUNN & MCGUFFEY’S RESTAURANT
CASE STUDY: KEITH DUNN & MCGUFFEY’S RESTAURANT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CASE STUDY: KEITH DUNN & MCGUFFEY’S RESTAURANT
Part 1
Synopsis
Keith Dunn was gravely dissatisfied and angry with the reviews he received from the
employees concerning an organizational survey. He received zero from a number of employees
and quickly went on to fire them. However, he realized later that contrary to his beliefs of his
well treatment of employees, the employees of his restaurant did not feel well treated. Keith
Dunn was well aware of the issues of the restaurant industry as he had spent 13 years in the same
business. He was unhappy as he had earlier thought that he was in good terms with the
employees. Keith Dunn opened his restaurant with his partner in Atlanta and was able to garner
significant revenue of 415 thousand dollars. However, the company was approached by an
interested mall agent who wanted the restaurant to make a further 300 thousand dollars. The
restaurant still agreed despite ending the year in red due to making large payments. The new
venture is Ashville was an initial huge success but began to lose ground. Sometime later the
CUDA contest was initiated that resulted in unfair internal competition. The company received
further setback due to unfair competition and irregularities in team performances.
Symptoms
The symptoms of this case are lack of planning, ineffective engagement of employees,
intolerant attitudes towards employee feedback, development of excessive ego among the
owners.
Problems
The problems that can be identified are the lack of respect for the feedback of the
employees. Moreover, there is a problem in regards to the quick decisions that are taken by the
owners. The fact that the owners in the end introduced systems to increase productivity that did

2CASE STUDY: KEITH DUNN & MCGUFFEY’S RESTAURANT
not work well were also significant problems that can be identified. The employers made many
rash and at times harsh judgment.
Causes
The causes related to the problem were the rapid success factors leading to the growth in
ego of the owners. A significant problem was the thinking pattern of the owners where they
made decisions based on their perceived notion about employee satisfaction (Stouten, Rousseau
& De Cremer, 2018).

3CASE STUDY: KEITH DUNN & MCGUFFEY’S RESTAURANT
Part 2
Alternatives
Three alternative solution can be provided in regards to the given case.
1. Dunn could have created a separate planning board in order to frame and discuss all the major
changes and strategies that could have taken place with regards to the restaurant. The formation
of the board could have made making effective decisions easier.
The advantage of this will be that the mangers will be better prepared to make effective
strategies. The disadvantage will be that group thinking may arise.
2. The restaurant could have created monthly competitions that recognized the top performers of
each team, the top performers considering all the teams and the top team rather than the team
competition (Lee, Hallak & Sardeshmukh, 2016).
The advantage is that in this case there would have been lesser instances of negative
rivalry between teams of the same organization. The disadvantage is that there will be a
significant requirement of resources for this more investment need to be made.
3. The third solution is the creation of a line of advisors that could help the owner take effective
decisions.
The advantage of this will be that the advisors will be better equipped to handle the issues
related to the organization. However, a disadvantage will be that some of the advisors can
manipulate the thinking of the organization.

4CASE STUDY: KEITH DUNN & MCGUFFEY’S RESTAURANT
Proposed solutions
The creation of a planning board is a very feasible option in regards to the better
management of the restaurant. The planning board can be made up of the experienced
employees, experienced new mangers and can have as the head the owners of the organization.
The board will make sure that no ego issue persists as a many people will be involved in the
decision making process. The board members will not only be taking decisions in consensus but
involve the employees where necessary for valuable feedback. This will be a good alternative.
Implementation
The implementation of the process need to be immediate. The partners, Mr. Dunn and a
long term manager can be the part of the first board that can be created. Moving forward other
people can be joined. After the board gets significantly large, a voting process can be in place for
the selection of new members of the board. The board have to make decisions in consensus with
each other. The board also have to make sure that an employee grievance policy is in place
through which the employee issues can be well found. The board can also work in accordance
with growth reports.

5CASE STUDY: KEITH DUNN & MCGUFFEY’S RESTAURANT
References
Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to
the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.
Heo, C. Y. (2016). Exploring group-buying platforms for restaurant revenue
management. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 52, 154-159.
Lee, C., Hallak, R., & Sardeshmukh, S. R. (2016). Innovation, entrepreneurship, and restaurant
Stouten, J., Rousseau, D. M., & De Cremer, D. (2018). Successful organizational change:
Integrating the management practice and scholarly literatures. Academy of Management
Annals, 12(2), 752-788.