Montserrat Perez, Johnny Roberts, Jamie Yates

Jenna Lenhardt, MGMT 215

August 7th 2015
A Growing Empire: Wendys

The Fox Group has grown many franchises that were in ruins to highly profitable
businesses. Richard and Bob Fox targeted the Wendys franchises in many different markets
ranging areas from Rochester and Buffalo, to cities in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, They
have worked with many fast food employees to turn failing businesses into profitable ones.
While many of the markets they have helped they have sold to other owners, the markets in
Rochester and Buffalo are two they will never give up. With twenty- three stores each in both
markets and over 1600 employees the Fox brothers have a very profitable franchise under their
belts that they use to fuel the growth of other ventures. Now that the markets in both cities are
strong they have turned their focus to another food franchise that they have also grown:
Dibellas. Outside of Rochester not many people know the name, but if you ask anyone in the
area where the best subs are they will tell you Dibellas because the bread they bake every day is
perfect. The growth of Dibellas in their contract with Wegmans shows the ease and success the
Fox brothers have had in growing businesses in the food industry. Bob Fox also says that now
that Dibellas has taken off and grown, he can focus again on Wendys and improving the brand
by expanding to new areas such as Webster. The brothers success is primarily due to the strong
foundation in communication and motivation the management teams have created for each store.

Strengths
Motivation

Wendys uses cross training incentives to keep their employees happy and motivated to
do a good job. They understand that motivation is one of the main keys for any business success
because as you provide your employees with a nice working atmosphere and positive
environment, they become motivated to do a good job. This is one of Wendys goals and part of
their company vision.

Wendys organizational culture understands that communication is the key to success in

any business. One of the most common problems at organizations regarding employee's
performance is job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is directly related to performance. It is important
to hire employees who feel good about themselves at their workplace or even identify with the
company. Despite this, dissatisfaction can occur on the run and there are diverse causes. It may
depend on the person, the workplace and the country (McShane & Von Glinow, 2014, p. 70). A
vital aspect to motivation at the workplace is individual behavior and performance. Therefore if
there are large amounts of dissatisfaction, then there is a decrease in motivation. Conversely, if
there is an increase in motivation then there theoretically should be a decrease in dissatisfaction
leading to an increase in productivity.

The method Wendys stores use to motivate their employees, to maintain their success
rate and help them improve their weaknesses, is mostly the Questar Surveys. These surveys are
basically a breakdown of the food, its quality, the presentation, the speed of service provided and
the customer service. Surveys can be done online, and even by phone. After the customers fill
these surveys, they are sent back to the store so they acknowledge their results. These surveys are
not just a numerical score but also offer a chance to write a comment. Many of these are left

blank, and while some may contain negative comments about quality, many of them have shown
more positive comments in the last year about how much fun the crew seem to have while they
are working or how engaged they seem to be.
On the other hand, as incentives, the Wendys team performs huddles, coaching, and
other cross-training incentives. They use this to keep their employees happy and motivated to do
a good job. When they complete their training, they earn rewards. This is why their employees
develop a certain need for achievement because they earn rewards ranging from pins for their
hats, to shoes and pants for their uniforms, and gift cards.
In addition, the stores also conduct what they call huddles. This is a chance for one of the
managers to relate any recent surveys or customer comments to the team. Here, the team leader
or manager is not the only one that talks, but everyone has the chance to speak up and contribute.
Huddles also provide clarity, regarding individual roles and service related goals to accomplish
the stores daily goals. The most important thing that huddles provide is team unity because they
talk about everything that went on during the past week and provide solutions for what the
surveys results reflect. Lastly these huddles allow for team bonding exercises and skits to act out
to demonstrate how everyone feels different situations, from dealing with each other or
customers, should be handled. This allows for people of different cultures to interact and give
different perspectives on situations that may arise during the work day.
There is no job specialization at Wendys. Every employee, from the store manager to
other employees know how to perform everything related to what is done everyday at the store.
The multi-tasking is something that really helps their organizational culture because it shows that
they have a good coordination and that teamwork does really exists. Every team member helps

each other learn and develop when it is time to learn a new skill. Many of the guys rally together
to teach each other their methods on the grill while the girls work together to find faster and
better ways to operate the registers.
As we know, the MARS model stands for motivation, ability, role perceptions and
situational factors. This model has been used to understand and try to change human behavior at
any organization because an employees behavior will always affect the common goal for any
organization. Organizational behavior is the study if what people think, feel and do in and around
organizations and it examines how individuals and teams relate to each other and to their
counterparts in other organizations (McShane & Von Glinow. 2014, p. 3). Nowadays,
organizations face issues because of the lack of motivation employees have and because of
situational factors that are often interfering with their daily labor. In Wendys they train their
employees to multi-task and to develop different abilities that go from checking someone out, to
drive thru service. With their great coaching politics, they motivate their employees to perform
at their best behavior and give the best of them to get their jobs done. On the other hand, there is
a clear job perception because everyone understands, thanks to the managing team the role that
corresponds to each team member to do.

Communication
At Wendys, they understand that whenever there is a dispute, both parts need to
understand that problems should be solved in a pacific and cool environment is something really
important. Managers take a big part of it, because they mediate conflicts and help employees not

only to solve interpersonal issues, but also personal things that emotionally drain them and
prevent them from performing at their best.
The upper management tries to talk to employees about their day. Its like giving a
personalized treatment to make sure things are going on the right direction. As well, as we
mentioned earlier, they have a huddles system that focus rather than on the weakness of the
company, on their strengths in order for them to meet the upper managements expectations.
On the other hand, whenever there is a conflict, Wendys managers try to improve their
communication because when there is some trouble, the nonverbal communication rises and they
are not efficient. Some of the reasons of why there are so many disputes at their stores is because
there is a lot of diversity among their employees and the most important detail is the information
overload. Not everyone has the ability to communicate in an effective way and it turns even more
difficult when there is a cultural boundary.
Fortunately, Jen Burdett, the general manager for the Jefferson Road,believes that
communication is the success for any business. For them, it keeps everyone on the same page
and helps cope with stress and issues that might come in during the day. Wendys has always
struggled with the relationship among employees. As we know, not everyone comes from the
same place or even background. Sometimes, employees get angry at each other and do not know
how to solve their issues, or even leave them behind to make a good job. Whenever this happens,
work falls apart and the desired output is not achieved.

Weaknesses
Job burnout is a particular stress consequence that refers to the process of emotional
exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced feelings of personal accomplishment. Sometimes employees

feel an emotional exhaustion, which is characterized by a lack of energy, tiredness, and a feeling
that ones emotional resources are depleted. This is followed by cynicism, which is characterized
by an indifferent attitude toward work, emotional detachment from clients, cynicism about the
organization, and tendency to strictly follow rules and regulations rather than adapt to the needs
of others. The final stage of burnout, called reduced personal accomplishment, refers to feelings
of diminished confidence in the ability to perform the job well.
In these situations, employees develop a sense of learned helplessness, as they no longer
believe that their efforts make a difference. Work overload represents the weight of the hours, the
sacrifice of time, and the sense of frustration with the inability to complete tasks in the time
given. Work overload arises as a complex factor. This drained feeling of helplessness contributes
to a dissatisfied feeling that goes hand in hand with the stress that accumulates as part of fast
paced food service job..
One aspect of working a minimum wage job is the large amount of dissatisfaction and
stress that come as part of the job. To many it is overwhelming and too much work for such
measly pay. While there is much controversy on this subject, the easiest piece of evidence to look
at is the Fight for Fifteen Strike. Fast food employees across the country joined together to rally
for a minimal wage of fifteen an hour. In many places people were outraged by this idea, but if
you speak to many employees they will fight for the idea that the stress they endure is worth
more than what they are making. In New York the change in wage for fast food franchises with
more than thirty stores has possed and will be in full effect by 2021. While the opposing stance
makes a valid argument that fast food workers should not be worth more than people in the
military or in emergency services, like EMTs, it is also valid that the current minimum wage is
not substantial enough to be a living wage. This controversy has valid opinions on both sides but
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it brings up clear evidence that working in Wendys as well as any other fast food joint has a
negative impact on its employees. This impact is not only physically tiring but also mentally
draining. The stress of dealing with difficult customers while maintaining strong service is an
issue not easily dealt with. Kristal Martell, a crew leader at Wendys, says she deals with the
stress sing the mantra her general manager chants: Its just burgers and fries. By this idea the
Jefferson Road store is able to maintain a calm attitude at busy times of day where there may be
long waits for some guests and other customers that are dissatisfied and difficult to handle.
The job dissatisfaction lies primarily with the physically draining and unrewarding work
that comes with most minimum wage jobs. It does not take many skills to work in a fast food
industry and for this reason it leaves an empty feeling in many employees because they feel as if
they are not doing anything important with their lives. While this may be fairly true, it is
important to look at these type of jobs as nothing more than a stepping stone to something better.
If employees viewed their jobs at Wendys as temporary because they are students who are just
making a little side cash or if they saw the job as potential to work up into upper management
then the work itself would serve a purpose. It would no longer be a dead- end job but a means
to an end that is greater than where they started. This eliminates one of the primary reasons for
job dissatisfaction. If this is combined with stress relieving exercises, such as the mantra Jen
Burdett proposes then this has the potential to eliminate more of the negative outlooks on the job
itself.
Conflict
A common stereotype of fast food workers is a rude, ignorant person who is quick to get in a
fight over the smallest thing. While many of the Wendys employees are in fact very personable,

there are more than enough petty squabbles to fill any downtime in the work day. Conflict and
workplace drama is an ongoing issue with many fast food businesses and Wendys is no
exception. The first drawback when it comes to dealing with conflict is the lack of
communication in regards to interpersonal issues. Many employees talk about each other behind
their backs and many arguments stem from this issue.
At employee orientation a manager goes over a dispute policy with the new employee to
explain how to go about managing conflict. Wendys always promotes trying to work the issues
out yourselves and bringing in a manager if necessary to mediate. However in case that fails or
the conflict is more serious, there is a handbook that goes into detail of how to resolve the issue
by taking it up through the lines of corporate and to court if necessary. However, this handbook
is often quickly forgotten by employees and never referenced because many find it boring to read
and remember. For this reason Wendys as a whole has an issue with communicating conflict to
better resolve it when necessary.
A second issue related to conflict in the workforce is managing and resolving the actual
conflict. While often this is due in part because of the lack of communication, it is also due to a
lack of diligence on the management side. When Jamie worked as an assistant manager she dealt
with many issues related to sexual harassment as well as employee threats. She attempted to deal
with the sexual harassment issue on her own by speaking with the few crew members involved,
but she was often still teased by the high schoolers.
One of them had asked her out and many of the crew members friends teased them both
about the idea of the two dating. It was inappropriate because Jamie was their manager, but
because the employee involved is also a minor. Jamie was concerned that this would rise to the
corporate level and brought the issue to her general manager, Jens, attention. Jen talked with the

students individually and the conflict seemed to resolve itself for a few weeks. After awhile the
teasing started up again and Jamie transferred stores. Though the dispute ladder was followed,
there was a lack of enforcement by other managers and this caused the issue to get out of hand.
When Jamie ended up transferring stores, she now had a new problem to deal with. She
did not get along with one of the other managers and attempted to avoid the situation by staying
quiet and ignoring what the other manager had to say. Eventually, Jamie was closing the store
with the other manager, whos name we will pretend is Barb. Barb was saying many nasty things
about Jamie and Jamie ended up flipping out in the middle of a shift. This caused a lot of tension
for the rest of the night and she ended up being threatened by the other manager which ended in
her tires being slashed. Jamie had neglected to speak with anyone on this matter and felt trapped
because she thought she was at fault for not explaining the conflict to anyone else. For this
reason she ended up leaving this new store again and trying to find a place in Wendys where she
fit in.
The lack of managements ability to handle and resolve conflict is a major issue for the
company. Many disputes get swept under the rug and ignored rather than being fixed. This
causes stress and tension in the stores and ultimately leads to employees quitting or otherwise
acting irrationally. When Jen Burdett, the general manager of the Wendys on Jefferson Road,
was asked how she thinks this could be solved she stated that the in- store managers have to be
better at being open to the employees. They need to work together as a management team to
come off as a united team that gets along. Many of the managers bicker amongst themselves
setting a poor example for their crew members who take many of their cues from the managers.
Jens opinion that the best way to open communication about conflict is to absolve and reduce
any conflict or hard feelings amongst those the crew members are expected to talk with. When

managers are struggling to get along and work together it makes it theoretically impossible for
the crew members to work together as their primary source of leadership is failing at this aspect.
Now even if the communication to management is fixed, conflict cannot be solved unless
there is follow through on resolving the issue. One such way Jen says is to not ignore the issue
and actually force the employees to work near each other. If the people in question are isolated
from each other they are not able to work out their differences as a team. The next step is to
create a more clear and easy- to- use dispute system. This can easily be discussed in the huddles
that the store has every day. In the huddle they typically discuss goals for great service as well as
new products. In addition it would be very easy to change some of the questions or scenarios
discussed to focus on resolving conflict and creating a new dispute system. By taking input from
crew members that deal with these interpersonal conflicts it allows the management team to
enforce a system the employees agree with and acknowledge.
The main goal of every organization, is to meet their vision, mission and their standards.
Company growth is one of the fundamental aspects that Wendys has always tried to achieve.
One of the most effective ways of company growth is to offer your products and services at other
states and countries, developing new products and enhancing the ones that are part of your menu.
With more than 6,500 restaurants all over the world, the have decided to open a new store at
Webster, Rochester. The opening of this new store shows their innovation and creativity. It
promises to be one of the most profitable stores in the Rochester and Buffalo franchise under the
Fox Group and exemplifies the strengths and achievements Dick and Bob have had in growing
their business.

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Interviews
Jen Burdett: GM (Jefferson)
Why do you think communication is key to success?
Communication keeps everyone on the same page and we are all able to have fun
with it. We have made up codes to stress what the issues may be or what we need so that
its easy for everyone to know what is going on in the store.
What is the best way to solve conflict issues in the store?

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 Take the two parties involved and have a manager mediate the issue. Separating
the individuals ignores the issue so by placing them away from each other they do not get
the opportunity to learn to work together.
Always take it higher as needed and make sure both sides understand the
importance of solving the conflict
Ensure employees understand that management is always there to listen and help
solve any issues
How does the fight for 15 affect you guys?
Yes, it sucks for the people who are not going to be making 15 and are working
minimum wage jobs, but it makes it easier for us to be picky with who we hire. It gives
current employees something to work for because they are now worth a higher price in a
sense. We also can hold employees to a higher expectation giving them a goal to work
harder than anyone else.
How is this job stressful and how do you tell your employees to deal with it?
Its always stressful because we care about our service. We want to do well, not
just to make money but to please anyone who come into our store. I tell people to just
take a breath and remember that while quality is important, its just Burgers and Fries
so dont stress about it or take the issues home with you.

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Name: Kristal Martell (Jefferson, Crew Leader)

Do you think there is an issue with how conflicts are handled?
Depends on the issue. A lot of times people get angry with each other and rub
each other the wrong way, but come back for another shift and end up working fine
together. However for when everyone is angry with each other it seems everyone falls
apart and doesnt know how to handle the situation.
How can this be improved?
Have the crew members help think of a new system that they want and will use.
Happier, more supportive management that seem easy open/ more open to talk to.
Do you think the diverse cultures in the store are assets, or negatives to the business?

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 Yes and no. Sometimes because of peoples background they are just naturally
rude, so they dont do well here. However most of the time because everyone comes from
somewhere different we make one big happy family. We all have at least a few things in
common be it school, music, or our love for our family we all understand why its
important to get along and work together.

Works Cited

McShane, S. L., & Von Glinow, M. (2014). Organizational behavior (3rd ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw Hill Education.

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