Question

Case Study 1 – Bob and Communication Barriers

Bob is a 25-year old manager at a newly opened fast food restaurant. Bob is very keen to play his role and he loves his job. Bob is responsible for supervising and managing all employees under his supervision. The Employees range in age from 16 to 55 years. In addition, the employees come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For many, English is not their primary language. Bob is exposed to food hygiene training in his previous employment and tries his best to keep up with food safety issues in the kitchen, but he admits it’s not easy. Employees receive “on the job training” about food safety basics (for example, appropriate hygiene and handwashing, time/temperature, and cleaning and sanitizing). Unfortunately, with high turnover of employees, training is often rushed, and some new employees are put straight into the job without training. Eventually, most employees get some kind of food safety training. The owners of the restaurant are supportive of Bob in his food safety efforts, because they know if a food safety outbreak were ever linked to their restaurant, it would likely put them out of business. Still, the owners note there are additional costs for training staff and making sure food is handled safely.

One day Bob comes to work and is rather upset, even before he steps into the restaurant. Things haven’t been going well at home and he was lucky to rummage through some of the dirty laundry and find a relatively clean outfit to wear for work. He admits he needs a haircut and a good hand scrubbing, especially after working on his car last evening. When he walks into the kitchen, he notices several trays of uncooked meat sitting out in the kitchen area. It appears these have been sitting at room temperature for quite some time. Bob is frustrated and doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is beating his head against a brick wall when it comes to getting employees to practice food safety. Bob has initiated many measures to get employees to be safe in how they handle food. He has huge signs posted all over the kitchen with these words: KEEP HOT FOOD HOT AND COLD FOOD COLD and WASH YOUR HANDS ALWAYS AND OFTEN. All employees are given a thermometer when they start so that they can monitor the temperature of food. Hand sinks, soap, and paper towels are available for employees so that they are encouraged to wash their hands frequently.

From the above situation, discuss ONE (1) type of communication barrier Bob experienced and THREE (3) possible ways Bob might use to overcome the barrier and motivate employees to accept the guidance on hygienic food handling practices. Use relevant examples.

Answer 1

Ans) Communication barriers are things that prevent us from understanding ideas, point of views or messages from others. They are a hindrance in clear communication between people.

The communication barrier Bob experiences are:-

Cultural barriers- The restaurant staff comes from different cultural backgrounds. Every individual is brought up in a different cultural environment and may not necessarily understand and accept the customs and lifestyle of any other culture. This creates confusion and indifference towards one another. Cultural barriers include barriers in age, language, gestures, terms, attitude, perception and a lot more as every individual has different views regarding them due to the difference in their culture.

Bob can overcome these barriers by:-

- Changing the communication technique and language:-

One of the most effective ways of overcoming a cultural barrier is to communicate with the staff in the language they are comfortable with and have grown up speaking in. Putting up posters instructing the employees to work following safety rules, in English, a language incomprehensible to several employees doesn't seem like a good idea.

He can hang posters in different languages which his staff is familiar with or use pictures for better understanding. Learning a few phrases or gestures from his staff's cultural backgrounds can boost the staff's morale and provide a sense of belongingness.

- Employing diversified training techniques:-

Bob should try prevent rushing the training sessions and procedures. Detailed training will help the staff understand the safety measures better. It will cost higher inputs of time, effort and money but the result will be better and more efficient than before. He can also adjust the training programs according to the staff. The young workers can be taught speedily as they might be much more eligible for handling pressure than the older staff members. He can print instructions in different languages on pamphlets or cards and distribute them accordingly.

- Celebrate cultural differences:-

Bob can organise seminars and meetings to get to know and learn about his employees' and their culture. He can ask them for ideas on how they practice sanitization and safety measures while cooking food in their native place and according to their culture. He can instill their cultural practices on hygiene in his own kitchen. This will create unity and greater understanding among the staff.