Disney Resort Turkey Legs A Proposal for Disney Resort Turkey Legs Alternatives: Drumettes Introduction Disneyland resort is an entertainment center in Anaheim, California, owned by The Walt Disney Company. Disneyland is known for its diverse products, hotels, dining, shopping, and entertainment (Bae et al., 2018). In its dining, Disneyland offers various snacks, and one of its best snacks being the unique turkey legs. The turkey legs are exceptional, and one of their unique features is their size. Turkey's legs are enormous due to the birds from which they originate. However, their large size makes them impossible to be eaten by a single person, thus often resulting in food wastage, too much time is spent on roasting them, difficulty in controlling heat, and difficulty in getting the sauce in the leg. This proposal's research question is; What alternatives are convenient and cheap to be used in place of turkey legs? The purpose of this proposal is to determine alternatives that can be used in place of the turkey legs to reduce food wastage, control heat, and make it easy to get the sauce in the leg cheaply and conveniently (Baéza, 2020). The proposal will also recommend the most effective alternative to use in place of turkey legs. This proposal aims to help the chef achieve his goal of less wastage, save time, and quickly absorb the sauce into the leg through drumettes in place of turkey legs. From a discussion with Disneyland's chef, the giant turkey leg size is a significant problem due to food waste, time wastage, and difficulty getting the sauce into the leg. According to the chef, it will be constructive to determine an alternative that will reduce wastage and make it easier to get sauce in the leg. I encountered this problem when I went there for a treat and wasted most of the turkey leg as it was too big for me to finish the piece on my own. Current Situation Disneyland is a significant entertainment resort visited by different people from different parts of the country. Disneyland provides signature snacks such as turkey legs; however, the turkey legs size is a significant problem that needs to be addressed. The length of turkey legs can be attributed to the birds' nature, given that the portions are obtained from flightless Australian birds as started by Archives Animal Breeding (Özbek &Petek, 2010). The chef wants to make drumsticks more convenient for both the customers and himself in terms of size, sauce absorbability, and roasting time. According to the chef, drumettes will solve the problem as the size is manageable by a single individual, reducing food wastage, easing heat control, reducing roasting time, and absorbing the sauce. Project Plan The use of drumettes provides a solution to colossal turkey legs that result in food wastage, lack of control overheating, too much time spent on roasting, and difficulty getting the sauce into the leg. To achieve the proposal's primary aim, I recommend in-depth research on the possible alternatives to turkey legs that will be cheap and more convenient. Steps to be used in this case include; • Data collection through conducting interviews among the chefs and customers of Disneyland. • I am summarizing a report with the relevant issues concerning the size of the turkey leg. • They were completing the report by emphasizing the turkey leg size's leading issues and showing their significance. The methodology applied in this research will be interviews and secondary sources such as journals, electronic media, and books. Interviews will be conducted on the workforce of Disneyland, chefs, and customers who have interacted directly with turkey legs. Moreover, information can also be obtained from reviews from customers in the resort's media handles. Benefits of the Project The use of drumettes will be very beneficial to the customers, chefs, and the Disney resort. The customers will benefit by consuming the entire piece they have paid for, thus reducing food wastage and getting value for their money (Watson, 2020). Chefs will help by saving time as drumettes will require less roasting time. Moreover, they will quickly get the sauce into the drumettes, unlike in the turkey legs. The Disney Resort as a whole will benefit from good publicity and positive reviews from customers. Good advertising will increase their market and earn them more revenue (Luo, 2020). Also, the project will show how the use of drumettes is more convenient and cheap, thus shedding light on the limitations of using sizeablesized turkey legs. Project Timeline Activity/Weeks 1 Problem Identification Proposal Development Data Collection Data Analysis Summarizing Report 2 3 4 5 Completing Report Report Submission Activities of the project will be conducted as scheduled in terms of weeks. In the first week, I will analyze Disney Resort to identify a significant problem to solve using research questions. The main problem can arise from different minor issues such as wastage and time. Proposal development will be done by determining the specific situation and addressing it in the second week. The third week will involve data collection and analysis based on the responses given from interviews and information collected from secondary sources. The fourth week will summarize the entire report and complete it through a critical analysis of the proposal's main issues. Lastly, the fourth week will involve submitting the report to the relevant part, the Disney Resort management, to help solve the problem being experienced by applying the report's recommendations. Conclusion The proposed solution involves finding better alternatives to use in place of turkey legs. Transitioning from turkey legs to the use of drumettes has resulted in a significant increase in Disneyland's customers. The positive change can be attributed to effective and more convenient methods applied to reduce costs and meet customers' needs. Disneyland must continue to use drumettes in place of turkey legs to save time, and prevent food wastage and give the chefs and customers an easy time. I hope you put my proposal under consideration as I believe it will lead to a positive outcome. In case of anything, feel free to contact me. Reference List Bae, Y. H., Moon, S., Jun, J. W., Kim, T., & Ju, I. (2018). The impact of consumers’ attitudes toward a theme park: A focus on Disneyland in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Sustainability, 10(10), 3409. This article was published on the 25th of September 2018 by Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development. The article was written by Young Han Bae, Sangkil Moon, Jong Woo Jun, Taiwan Kim, and Young Ju, professionals in marketing and communication. The paper involves an analysis of the attitudes of different consumers in the market regarding Disneyland. Baéza, E. (2020). Characteristics of processed poultry products. World's Poultry Science Journal, 76(4), 719-741. Luo, J. M., Vu, H. Q., Li, G., & Law, R. (2020). Topic modeling for theme park online reviews: analysis of Disneyland. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 37(2), 272-285. This article was published in the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing in 2020. The article was written by Jian Ming Luo, Huy Quan Vu, Gang Li, and Rob Law, experts in tourism and technology. The report provides an analysis of online reviews concerning Disneyland. It shows the different insights and interests of people visiting the park and their opinion about Disneyland. Reichert, K. (2016). Turkey Rediscovered: A Land Between Tradition and Modernity. Haus Publishing. Klaus Reichert first published turkey Rediscovered, S. Fischer, Frankfurt is Main in 2011 and then by The Armchair Traveler at the Bookhaus Limited in 2016 in Great Britain. The book is organized based on occurrences that take place and is written by experienced German Writers. The book shows how Turkey is viewed in the traditional world and the modern world. Özbek, M., Petek, M., & Ardıçlı, S. (2020). Physical quality characteristics of breast and leg meat of slow-and fast-growing broilers raised in different housing systems. Archives Animal Breeding, 63(2), 337-344. Vance, J., & Lacsa, J. (2020). The Key to a Happier Thanksgiving: A Study on the Intricacies of Turkey Preparation. Watson, J. L. (2020). Introduction: transnationalism, localization, and fast foods in East Asia. In Golden arches east (pp. 1-38). Stanford University Press.   AN  EXAMINATION  OF   RICE  FLOUR  VERSUS   WHEAT  FLOUR  IN   BREAD  MAKING   The purpose of this report is to provide information about bread making when substituting rice flour for wheat flour. The functions of basic bread ingredients are given. Nutritional and cost differences between wheat and rice flours are also discussed. Bread was evaluated based on height of loaf, interior and exterior appearances, flavor, and mouthfeel. Wheat flour was found to be superior to rice flour in all areas. It is recommended that wheat flour be used in bread making unless absolutely medically necessary. Prepared  for       Dan  Sterling             on  12/5/14   Memorandum                       To: Dan Sterling, Owner-Founder Breadsmith Bakery From: Alex Gapinski, Food Technologist Date: Friday, December 5, 2014 Subject: “An Examination of Rice Flour versus Wheat Flour in Bread Making” Research Report This memo serves to briefly explain the completed report that was proposed three weeks ago. As I proposed my report includes information for Breadsmith customers about the basics of bread making focusing on rice flour substituted for wheat flour. I hope this report helps us address the problem of consumers’ misconceptions about glutencontaining products and convinces them that wheat is superior for making bread. I found that wheat beats rice in three categories: nutrition, cost, and rheology. I obtained nutrition and cost information by searching the web and reviewing literature. To evaluate the rheological properties of bread made with varying proportions of wheat and rice flours, I enlisted the help of ten family members over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I would like to note that the report was written in with a consumer-friendly tone to explain the science behind my comments. If you have any suggestions for revisions before posting for customer viewing, please let me know. 2 Table  of  Contents     TITLE  PAGE…………………………………………………………………………………Page 1 ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………...…...Page 1 TABLE  OF  CONTENTS……………………………………………………………………....Page 3 LIST  OF  VISUALS……………………………………………………………………………Page 4 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………...……..Page 5 BACKGROUND……………………………………………………………………………....Page 5   Ingredients  and  Their  Functions  …………………………………………….....Page 5     Improvers  for  Wheat-­‐free  breads  ……………………………………………...Page 6     Health  Information…….. ……………………………………….……………….Page 7 Differences  in  Cost  ………………………………………………………………..Page 8   MATERIALS  &  METHODS………………………………………..…..…………………….Page 8   Recipe  ………………………………………………...……………………………Page 8 Method……………………………..……………………………………………….Page 9   Evaluation  …………………………………………………………………………Page 9   RESULTS  &  DISCUSSION…………………………………………………………….......…Page 9 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………....Page 11 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………….…..Page 12 APPENDIX………………………………………………………………………………....Page 13 3 List  of  Visuals   TABLES   FIGURES   Table  1   Page 7 Table  2   Page 8 Table  3   Page 8 Table  4   Page 10   Figure  1   Page 11 Figure  2   Page 11   TABLES   Table  1:  Specific  nutrient  differences  between  rice  and  wheat  flours.   Table  2:  Price  comparison  of  wheat  and  rice  flour.   Table  3:  Proportions  of  wheat  to  rice  flour  for  each  of  the  five  loaves  of  bread.     Table  4:  Summary  of  evaluation  results.   FIGURES   Figure  1:  Baked  loaves  to  observe  color  and  crust  appearance  (Loaves  A-­‐E,  left  to   right).   Figure  2:  Cross-­‐sections  of  baked  loaves  to  observe  crumb  texture  and  air  cells   (Loaves  A-­‐E,  left  to  right).   4 INTRODUCTION   The purpose of this report is to inform current and potential customers of Breadsmith about how making substitutions for wheat flour in bread making affects the physical properties, health aspects, and cost of the product. Although there are many wheat flour substitutes on the market, this study only compared wheat and rice flours. Over the past several years, consumers have become increasing aware of what is in the food they eat. Things added to their food, especially things that have uncommon, scientific names, make consumers wonder about what they are eating. Common terms that have received bad reputations include “additives,” “artificial,” and “processed.” Every ingredient has a function, whether added to the system or naturally present. The background section discusses the functions of the most basic of bread ingredients, possible additives for wheat-free breads, and nutrition and cost differences between rice flour and wheat flour. The materials and methods sections lays out the process used to compare the rheological properties of five bread loaves made with varying proportions of wheat and rice flour. The evaluation of the bread is looked at in the results and discussion section. BACKGROUND   Bread has been made for thousands of years. It is one of the most fundamental foods and is common around the world. Almost every culture has some kind of staple bread associated with them. Common Jewish bread is Challah or the French baguette or tortillas in Latin America, for example. Ingredients  and  Their  Functions   Bread recipes vary greatly throughout the world based on culture and the availability of ingredients. This section explains the functions of the most basic and essential of bread ingredients. Flour: Perhaps the most important ingredient, flour functions as the body of bread. Starch and gluten (in wheat flour) are the two main components. Starch, a carbohydrate, serves as the structure of the final product. The starch granules swell when hydrated and the molecules gelatinize upon baking. This means that the long starch molecules tangle and stick together like overcooked spaghetti. Gluten is a combination of two proteins, gliadin and glutenin, that contributes to the elasticity of bread dough. Without this elastic property, the dough cannot trap the carbon dioxide produced by yeast (described below) (Charley & Weaver, 1998). 5 Liquid: Either water or milk, liquid is essential to bread making. The yeast, sugar, and salt (and other optional ingredients) are dispersed throughout the flour by the liquid. Also, the yeast can’t function without liquid. The liquid hydrates the flour proteins (forming gluten) and the starch (allowing swelling and gelatinization for structure). If milk is used, the final product may brown sooner because milk provides both protein and sugar for Maillard chemistry (browning reactions) (Charley & Weaver, 1998). Yeast: Yeast is a single-celled fungus that ferments (eats) sugars, transforming them into the carbon dioxide responsible for making the bread rise. Yeast is also an important component for the flavor of the bread (Charley & Weaver, 1998). Sugar: A small amount of sugar is often added to the bread dough to serve as the first food for the yeast. Without the addition of sugar, fermentation takes longer because the yeast have to wait to feed until the starch from the flour is broken down by amylase (starch-splitting) enzymes (Charley & Weaver, 1998). Sugar can be added as table sugar or honey. Salt: Usually salt is added to increase the flavor of a final food product. This is the case here, but salt also has an effect on the enzymes in the wheat. Salt encourages the action of amylases and inhibits proteases (protein-splitting). In the first case, the salt helps regulate starch breakdown to supply a consistent supply of sugars for the yeast. In the second case, salt prevents enzymes from breaking down the gluten proteins, which, as stated above, contributes most of the structure to bread. For these reasons Charley and Weaver, authors of Foods: A Scientific Approach, say “[y]east dough without salt is sticky and difficult to manipulate” (225). Improvers  for  Wheat-­‐free  breads   Described below are two food additives used in rice flour products to improve the rheological properties of the final product. Glutathione: Glutathione is a tripeptide (protein chain of three amino acids) that breaks disulfide bonds of protein molecules by reducing them to sulfhydryl groups (sulfur with hydrogen). Disulfide bonds are covalent bonds between two sulfur atoms. With these bonds intact, bread dough resists deformation, or doesn’t expand when proofing or baking. With the addition of glutathione, the disulfide bonds are broken and the dough’s resistance to deformation decreases, effectively improving expansion during proofing (Yano, 2010). Cyclodextrinase: Cyclodextrinase is an enzyme used to improve the quality of breads made with rice flour. Unlike the proteins in wheat (gluten), rice proteins are hydrophobic (water fearing). This property makes them insoluble. The cyclodextrinase acts by breaking down starch to pieces that form complexes with the rice proteins to make them more soluble. These soluble complexes form films that better trap the carbon dioxide produced during 6 fermentation, resulting in better loaf volume. Additionally, the products of starch breakdown form different complexes with fats that soften crumb texture (Gujral, Guardiola, Carbonell, & Rosell, 2003). Health  Information   Despite both being grains, wheat and rice vary in nutritional qualities. Displayed in Table 1 are the basic differences in one cup of each product. Table 1: Specific nutrient differences between rice and wheat flours (Information taken from Willett, 2014). Nutrient   Calories   Fiber   Protein   Carbohydrates   Fat   Vitamins  and  Minerals   Rice   578  per  cup   4  grams  per  cup   9  grams  per  cup   127  grams  per  cup   2  grams  per  cup     Wheat   400  per  cup   12  grams  per  cup   16  grams  per  cup   84  grams  per  cup   2  grams  per  cup   Higher  in  iron,  thiamin,  niacin,   riboflavin,  calcium   As far as protein goes, both wheat and rice are deficient in lysine, an essential amino acid. To supplement this, these grains, and products made from them, can be combined with legumes to ensure complete amino acid requirements (Young & Pellett, 1985). The higher fiber content of wheat is beneficial because fiber is important for feeling full and for digestive health. As shown in the table above, wheat is more nutrient dense than rice. This means that wheat provides more micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) per calorie than rice. The other side would be energy dense. Rice is energy dense because it is almost all starch (a carbohydrate) which packs a lot of calories without the micronutrients. The largest concern with wheat is gluten. There are two types of gluten sensitivity: Celiac disease and non-Celiac gluten sensitivity. In genetically predisposed people (Celiac patients), peptides release during the digestion of wheat are responsible for the primary intolerance (Gujral et al., 2003). Non-Celiac sensitivity is not life threatening, but can cause significant discomfort. Symptoms include bloating, joint pain, abdominal pain, and fatigue ((Brody, 2014). Gujral et al. explain the benefits of rice flour well: “Rice flour has many unique attributes such as bland taste, white color, ease of digestion, and hypoallergenic properties. Low levels of protein and sodium, the absence of gliadin, and the presence of easily digested carbohydrates make it an ideal food for patients suffering from celiac disease. However, despite the numerous advantages of rice flour, the lack of gluten proteins makes it very difficult to obtain an acceptable yeast-leavened product such as bread because of the absence of a proper network to hold the carbon dioxide produced during proofing.” 7 Brandi 12/12/2014 12:12 PM Comment [1]: But isn’t life threatening either, right? What this means is that gluten is also the best part about wheat and its ability to make acceptable bread. Differences  in  Cost   From a consumer’s point of view, rice flour is the least expensive substitute for wheat flour, but it still costs more than wheat flour. Table 2 shows cost differences between the two flours from Target.com. As the table shows, rice flour is five times the cost of wheat flour. Table 2: Price comparison of wheat and rice flour (Price information taken from Target.com). Ingredient   Wheat  Flour   Rice  Four   Brand   Market  Pantry   Gold  Medal   Bob’s  Red  Mill   Quantity   10  lb.   5  lb.   24  oz.   Cost   $4.39   $2.44   $3.59   Price  per  Ounce   $0.0274   $0.0305   $0.1500   MATERIALS  &  METHODS   Recipe   After consulting Charley and Weaver’s textbook, Foods: A scientific approach, the proposed recipe was changed to match the recommended proportions of ingredients. The final recipe used in the experiment is as follows: w w w w w 2 cups flour 2/3 cup water 1-0.25 oz. packet (2.25 teaspoons) active dry yeast 2 teaspoons sugar ¾ teaspoon table salt In order to compare the behavior of wheat flour to rice flour, five loaves were made with varying proportions of the two flours and all other ingredients and treatments the same. Table 3 shows the proportions of flour used for each of the loaves. Table 3: Proportions of wheat to rice flour for each of the five loaves of bread. Loaf  Code   A   B   C   D   E   Wheat  Flour   2  cups   1.5  cups   1  cups   0.5  cup   0  cups   Rice  Flour   0  cups   0.5  cup   1  cups   1.5  cups   2  cups   8 Method   The method used for making the dough in this experiment was the straight-dough method. This simply means that all ingredients were combined and kneaded before being allowed to rise (Charley & Weaver, 1998). Specifically, the dry ingredients were sifted together while the yeast was added to warm tap water (around 110ºF) and allowed to sit for a couple minutes. Once the yeast was activated the water-yeast solution was stirred into the flour mixture. Once the ingredients formed workable dough, it was turn onto a lightly floured surface and kneaded for approximately 8 minutes. Kneading dough develops the gluten network which contributes to elasticity and structure. After kneading, the dough was allowed to rise for 1 hour. Charley and Weaver say to then punch the dough down, shape, and allow to rise a second time for ½ hour (1998). Punching the dough down after the initial rising redistributes nutrients to the yeast cells and prevents the gluten matrix from over expanding. To shape the dough, it was rolled out to approximately ¼ inch thick, rolled up and the ends tucked under to close the seams. After shaping and rising for a second time, the bread was baked at 375ºF for 30 minutes. Brandi 12/12/2014 12:14 PM Comment [2]: turned Evaluation   To evaluate the rheological properties of the bread, a form (provided in the appendix) was given to ten people. The table on the form included five factors: height of loaf, interior and exterior appearance, flavor, and mouthfeel. RESULTS  &  DISCUSSION   The results of this experiment were overwhelmingly one sided. The bread made with wheat flour was voted better in all five aspects. Table 4 summarizes the results of the ten people that evaluated the bread. For the first criterion, the loaves were simply ranked tallest to shortest with 1 assigned to the tallest loaf. Loaf A, made with all wheat flour, raised the most, had the most uniform air cells, was the brownest, most moist, and had the best mouthfeel. All of these attributes are because of the gluten network. The matrix of gluten traps the carbon dioxide gas evolved by the yeast. Without this network the gas moves out of the loaf without bringing the structure with it. Because wheat has almost twice the protein of rice, the loaves made with a higher proportion of wheat flour browned further and retained more moisture. Protein is an essential component of Maillard chemistry which is responsible for the brown color of baked products. Protein is also extremely hydroscopic which means it absorbs large amounts of water (200% by weight). This water contributes to moistness of the bread and is converted to steam during baking which assists in leavening. Loaves 3-5 were gritty because the rice proteins are hydrophobic and rice flour is higher in starch than wheat flour. This means that the components of the rice flour don’t dissolve as well and because starch can only hold 30% of its weight in water, less water in retained by the final product. These aspects of the rice flour also made each 9 Brandi 12/12/2014 12:17 PM Comment [3]: C-E? Brandi 12/12/2014 12:17 PM Comment [4]: Omit the wrong word/typo and replace it with the correct one. loaf more difficult to stir and combine into workable dough. For loaf E to come together, an additional 1/3 cup of water was needed. Table 4: Summary of evaluation results. Loaf   A   B   C   D   E   Number:   (Control)   Height  of   Loaf   1 2 3 4 5     Interior   Off-white, Off-white, White, very White, almost White, almost Appearance:   most uniform smaller air minimal nonexistent nonexistent (size,  color,   air cells cells rising air cells air cells uniformity)     Exterior   Minimal Minimal Slight Minimal Appearance:   Darkest, browning, browning, browning, browning, smooth Excessively Excessively (color,   smooth cracking cracked cracked texture)   Flavor:     Most moist, Somewhere Dry, raw Dry, raw Dry, raw wheat in between flour, inedible flour, inedible flour, inedible     Mouthfeel:   (rough,  soft,   Soft rough Gritty Very gritty Very gritty gritty)     Figures 1 and 2 are pictures of the baked loaves. Figure 1 illustrates the uneven browning and surface texture of the different loaves. The loaves are arranged A through E, left to right. Shown in Figure 2 are the cross sections of the loaves. The difference in height and air cell size and uniformity can be seen in this picture. 10 Brandi 12/12/2014 12:18 PM Comment [5]: Comma? Figure 1: Baked loaves to observe color and crust appearance (Loaves A-E, left to right). Figure 2: Cross-sections of baked loaves to observe crumb texture and air cells (Loaves A-E, left to right). CONCLUSION   To conclude, wheat flour is superior for bread making if the consumer wants simple. Using wheat flour to make bread does not require additives. Wheat flour also provides more health benefits than rice flour. At one fifth the cost, wheat flour wins that category, too. Jane Brody, author for the New York Times says “[i]n addition to the inconvenience and added cost, a gluten-free diet can result in a poor intake of fiber and certain essential nutrients.” She advises consulting a registered dietitian before going gluten-free (2014). Brandi 12/12/2014 12:21 PM Comment [6]: Add commas. Brandi 12/12/2014 12:22 PM Comment [7]: Relate the conclusion to the Breadsmith situation. 11 References   Brody, J. (2014, October 6). When Gluten Sensitivity Isn’t Celiac Disease. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/when-gluten-sensitivity-isntceliac-disease/ Charley, H., & Weaver, C. (1998). Foods. A scientific approach, 3rd edn. Merrill. Prentice-Hall, New York. Gujral, H. S., Guardiola, I., Carbonell, J. V., & Rosell, C. M. (2003). Effect of Cyclodextrinase on Dough Rheology and Bread Quality from Rice Flour. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 51(13), 3814–3818. doi:10.1021/jf034112w Willett, B. (2014, January 22). Comparison of Nutrition in Rice Flour Vs. Wheat Flour. Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/356371comparison-of-nutrition-in-rice-flour-vs-wheat-flour/ Yano, H. (2010). Improvements in the Bread-Making Quality of Gluten-Free Rice Batter by Glutathione. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 58(13), 7949–7954. doi:10.1021/jf1003946 Young, V. R., & Pellett, P. L. (1985). Wheat proteins in relation to protein requirements and availability of amino acids. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 41(5), 1077– 1090. Flour search results page. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2014, from Brandi 12/12/2014 12:19 PM Comment [8]: Alphabetize with the rest. http://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=flour&category=9975358|All|matchallpartial rel ALL|grocery & essentials&kwr=y&lnk=lnav_narrow by category_1 12 Appendix   Evaluation form given to each bread analyzer. Loaf   Number:   Height  of   Loaf       Interior   Appearance:   (size,  color,   uniformity)     Exterior   Appearance:   (color,   texture)   Flavor:   A   (Control)   B   C   D   E   Mouthfeel:   (rough,  soft,   gritty)   13 I     Date: To: CC: From: Subject: April 20, 2016 Chipotle Franchise 0365 Dr. Laura Pigozzi Alexander Schultz Analytical Report Attached is the requested report on the turnover issue at Chipotle’s branch at 2600 Hennepin Avenue. Using academic research on the topic and interviews with several former employees I have compiled a list of recommendations on how management can fix these pressing issues. Factors influencing turnover such as scheduling practices, feedback to employees, and wage increases are all explained to provide a full understanding of how to reduce employee turnover. I believe that if these recommendations are put into place your franchise can expect a sharp reduction in turnover over the coming months and years. Several small adjustments to current practices can create the necessary conditions to encourage long employee tenure and high commitment to the organization I look forward to hearing back from you. You can contact me by phone at (651) 356-5311 or by email at schu3302@umn.edu. Feel free to call or email me regarding any questions, concerns, or requests for further information.   II     How to Keep Your Employees Employed Reducing Employee Turnover at Chipotle through Improved Management Practices Schultz,  Alexander.  "Chipotle  Front  Door."  2016.  JPG. Joe Student University of Minnesota 4/4/2015         III   Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................. IV 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 2. Methods............................................................................................................................... 2 3. Results ................................................................................................................................. 3 4. Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 5 4.1 Financial Incentives....................................................................................................... 5 4.2 Feedback and Nonfinancial Incentives ......................................................................... 6 4.3 Aggression towards Employees .................................................................................... 6 4.4 Fair Scheduling Practices .............................................................................................. 7 4.5 Employee Training and Corporate Culture ................................................................... 7 4.6 Application to the Hypothesis ....................................................................................... 8 4.7 Limitations of the Results ............................................................................................. 9 5. Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 9 6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 10 Works Cited .......................................................................................................................... 11 Appendix A: Interview Questions ........................................................................................ 12   IV     Executive Summary The intention of this report is to address the problem of employee turnover at Chipotle. Disconnects between management and employee desires have created an environment that does not encourage long employee tenure at the company. By interviewing several employees and doing a thorough reading of academic research on employee turnover I have compiled a list of possible causes as well as recommendations to fix this problem. Through the synthesized information from these different sources I was able to come up with several recommendations to reduce employee turnover. Suggestions include: • • • • • Tying wage increases to training and employee performance. Ensuring that no employee is made to work undesirable shifts repeatedly in a short period. Offering verbal feedback to employees, both formally in periodic reviews and informally during normal operation. Keeping records of training so management knows what employees are suited to what roles Implementing formal systems of social recognition. The conclusions from this research suggest that the main causes of employee turnover are a poor sense of growth within the company and lack of employer concern for employee wellbeing. By implementing the policies above the firm should be able to create an environment where employees feel committed to the firm and remain working there for long periods.         1   1. Introduction The nature of the fast food industry opens up a wealth of issues that management needs to address. Positions in fast food come with a lot of high-intensity work that involves moving around, inconsistent hours and scheduling, and low wages and benefits create an atmosphere where holding onto employees is a struggle (Peterson and Luthans 158). Employee turnover can have huge costs for firms that can amount to about half the salary of each employee that leaves. A potential cost of over $9000 for a minimum wage employee that quits can add up to massive costs over the lifetime of a company (McConnell 271). The large costs of employee turnover in the form of hiring, training, and equipping new employees for the job makes reducing turnover rates an important step in improving business function. Management can struggle to find the exact causes of turnover and often just prefer to let employees go instead of making change to compensation policies or other management practices that are driving turnover (McConnell 272). The truth is that without quality employees that have long tenures at a company it can become impossible for a firm to build up a strong and reliable workforce to provide quality service to the customers. The Chipotle Mexican Grill on Hennepin exhibits all of these issues. The franchise, which is positioned right on the edge of the uptown neighborhood in Minneapolis, regularly has lunch and dinner lines that stretch out of the door. Waiting for lunch can be a fifteen to twenty minute process for employees struggling to keep up with the swelling crowds (Lockwood). The franchise is kept extremely busy due to the location, but handling this crowd can be an issue with inexperienced and insufficiently trained staff. Fixing the issues with turnover at this Chipotle could help to reverse many of the issues that the franchise faces. In this report I hope to look at the causes of turnover at this branch and in the overall food services industry. Recommendations on the proper way to fix these issues can be made with a full understanding of what drives turnover so management can institute policies to reverse the causes. A variety of research has been done to find the factors that influence employee turnover. A study done on fast food franchise concluded that financial incentives, such as bonuses and pay raises, have the largest influence in reducing turnover. The same study concluded that motivating employees through positive feedback can lead to a decrease only slightly less dramatic than the offer of bonuses (Peterson and Luthans 161). A larger study done on a variety of industries pinned the causes of turnover on a lack of perceived organizational support. Adequate compensation, participation in decision making, and opportunities to grow in the company all correlate with an increase in perceived organizational support. Employees feel as if the company is concerned about them and their well-being, so in the long run organizational commitment and job satisfaction will grow while turnover falls (Allen, Shore, and Griffeth 101). For a low-wage and undesirable fast food position addressing the issues of turnover can be hard, but by offering fair compensation for their     2   work and showing concern for employee well-being employee retention can be sharply increased. Through analysis of academic research and testimony from former employees this report will explain how employer concern and fairness in pay can reduce employee turnover. 2. Methods Information for this report came from three different types of sources. A majority of the sources used are peer-reviewed journal articles to provide academic information on the issues surrounding employee turnover. An electronic source located by searching reputable news sites provides advice on dealing with the issue, and empirical research gives information specific to the branch that is being analyzed for this report. Together these three types of sources provide the information necessary to answer the research question and test the hypothesis. The empirical research for this report was gathered through two interviews with former employees of the Chipotle branch in question (see Appendix A for interview questions). The first interviewee had worked at Chipotle for slightly over a year when she quit. She was a part-time employee who was working to provide extra money in order to supplement her work study job. She had a full time class schedule, a part time job at her university, and the position at Chipotle for most of the time that she was there. She was hired on as a parttime employee while having very little employment history. She left the position about three months before the interview took place (Schultz). The other interview was with an employee who worked at the franchise for a longer period. He worked there for approximately two years in a full time capacity. During the time that he was there he transitioned from a position as a team member up to being a kitchen manager. He has since moved on to working in a different food service position so he has an understanding of how his experiences at Chipotle compare to similar positions within the same industry (Lockwood). The interviews were conducted at public restaurants and no audio recording was taken. They were both asked a series of questions (see appendix 1 for questions) that began with yes-no questions regarding certain issues that correlate with employee turnover and ended with open-ended questions offering them a chance to air any grievances about their time employed at Chipotle. The questions were prepared after consulting a variety of academic literature on the causes and issues surrounding employee turnover. The print sources that are used in this paper are all sourced from the University of Minnesota’s library database systems. Multiple databases were searched to find different sources to ensure that perspectives from different fields are included. Business sources offer understandings on the financial effects of turnover on businesses as well as management techniques that can reduce turnover rates in the long term. Psychology     3   sources analyze how different factors in the working world can drive turnover intention so it is possible to understand why people are likely to quit. All sources come from peerreviewed journals to ensure that the information contained within them is reputable and agreed upon by academics in the field. The final source used is electronic. There is a chance of finding unreliable information online through a blog or another unedited source so it is necessary to make sure that the source is reputable. The electronic source that contributes to this comes from the website of a print newspaper and an author who works in business so the information inside can be trusted. With these eight sources synthesized together a full understanding of the issues surrounding employee turnover in the fast food industry and the Hennepin Chipotle branch in particular. The combination of the academic research and the empirical studies provided an interesting set of interwoven information that provides a full picture of what steps need to be taken to reverse the trend of high employee turnover. 3. Results There are a number of inherent difficulties in dealing with turnover rates in the fast food industry, but through the results of my Table 1. research I have found that there are a number of factors managers can control Effects of Management Practices on Employee to reduce turnover rates. Both of my Attitudesa interviews provided information that is Factor Interview #1 Interview #2 consistent with the information pulled Starting Pay Positive Positive from academic sources on the topic. Pay Raises Negative Negative The results of the interviews (see table Training Negative Negative 1) provided very similar opinions with Feedback on Negative Negative differing thoughts only on the results of work customer aggression towards Scheduling Negative Negative employees. According to McConnell Incentives for Negative Negative one of the largest source of employee quality work discontent is dissatisfaction with wage Customer Neutral Negative levels (274). The starting pay at aggression Chipotle, which is several dollars Sources: Lockwood, Leo. Personal interview. above the minimum wage, attracted 26 Mar 2016; Schultz, Anna. Personal both of the interviewees towards the interview. 25 Mar 2016. job, but both of them agreed that the a. The responses here are the effects of lack of consistent pay raises led to a each factor on the interviewee’s feelings desire to find work elsewhere. The towards their respective jobs. A negative effect results of Peterson and Suzanne’s study would suggest an increase in turnover intention. agreed that financial incentives were   4     the strongest cause of reducing employee turnover with a 20% drop over a nine month period (161). Allen and Shore agree with this claim. Their study found that sufficient pay creates feelings of commitment to the organization and makes employees feel like they have to pay their employers back through long tenure (112). Employee  Turnover   Percentage Peterson and Suzanne also look at how nonfinancial incentives can encourage employee retention through employee feedback and recognition (see fig. 1). This can take the form of both organized feedback and awards (such as Employee of the Month awards) as well as informal recognition of their efforts (158). Across the two interviews there was an agreement that 300 insufficient feedback 250 was provided for work. 200 Both former employees 150 believed that 100 50 recognition was not 0 provided for quality 0 3 6 9 work. Neither of them Time  in  Months receive regular periodic reviews of how they Control Financial Nonfinancial were doing and rarely received any Figure 1. Effects of Financial and Nonfinancial Incentives on spontaneous Employee Turnover. Source: Peterson, Suzanne J., and compliments on their Fred Luthans. "The Impact of Financial and work. “Employee of Nonfinancial Incentives on Business-Unit Outcomes the Month” programs Over Time." Journal of Applied Psychology 91.1 also do not exist at (2006): 156-65. EBSCO MegaFILE. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.   Chipotle (Schultz). The two interviewees had differing responses to the effects of customer aggression. One of the interviewees, who was in a position that involved more time spent in the kitchen than on the line, did not believe that customer attitudes affected his opinion on his job (Lockwood). The other interviewee spent more time on the line and stated that sexual harassment and aggression from employees strongly tempered her fondness for working at Chipotle (Schultz). The results of Dupré, Dawe, and Barling’s study on the topic found that directly experiencing customer aggression decreases commitment and increases turnover intention when compared with those who only heard about it (2365). One complaint that both interviewees emphasized was the management’s inflexibility to provide them with the hours they were looking for. One interviewee, who was attending classes at a university during the time that she was working for Chipotle, claimed that when she was hired she was told that they would be flexible in working around her school schedule. She provided her class schedule and requested that she only work part time, but after a few weeks the managers began increasing her number of hours and requesting that she occasionally skip class to cover certain busy shifts. She was scheduled for more than     5   forty hours per work on some occasions and any time she complained they would adjust her schedule for only a few weeks before going back to more than full time (Schultz). Excessive overtime and working frequent weekends can cause rapid burnout in employees (Brookins). The other had a family emergency while working and found management to be uncooperative. He had a hard time getting the hours off to deal with the situation and stated that their inflexible scheduling was his main reason for leaving (Lockwood). Allen and Shore found in their research that employees feel more committed to their positions when they are given the chance to make decisions. Feelings of powerlessness to influence management’s decisions and disrespect reduce commitment to the organization and correlate with turnover intention (111). 76% of workers claim they “risked it all” when starting a new job. People are often stressed out when starting a new job, but by providing proper training and integrating workers into the company culture these stresses can be minimized (Crush 40-41). The interviewees also claimed that training was insufficient and they were often asked to perform tasks without being informed by any more experienced employees on the proper way to do it. Management did not focus at all on new employees and multiple former employees feel like they were alienated from the corporate culture (Lockwood, Schultz). 4. Discussion 4.1 Financial Incentives The difficulties that face the fast food industry does make employee retention a challenge, but by understanding the main causes it is possible for management to manage employee turnover. The results of the interviews match with the academic research on the topic and support the thesis that the key to employee retention is encouraging employee commitment to their position through perceived organizational support. By creating conditions where employees feel like the company is dedicated to their well-being employers can create situations where employees feel a need to repay their employers. Putting focus on higherthan-average pay offerings and employee-oriented human resources practices allows lowpaying companies like Chipotle offset the challenges of employee turnover. The beginning of employee retention through fair wages starts immediately at hiring. Chipotle offers a starting wage above what most similar food service positions offer and both of the former employees interviewed stated that the slight advantage in pay was a major reason for them choosing to work at Chipotle (Lockwood; Schultz). The fact that wages higher than the average for that industry will bring in better workers is well established. Efficiency wage theory supports this result. Offering these higher wages will increase organizational efficiency because the wages attract high quality employees and discourages turnover (Peterson 162). Employees that are getting paid more than others in the industry will want to remain working at their current employer because it is not likely that they would increase their pay by switching to another job. Chipotle’s policy of     6   offering higher starting pay brings in good employees, but after the initial hiring is when management begins to run into problems. The starting pay might be higher than the industry average, but low potential for pay raises offsets these advantages as employees remain at Chipotle for long periods. Chipotle employees are normally expected to cover a variety of duties that include cashiering, preparing meals for customers, and cooking the food in the back. Employees are expected to learn all of these different duties and more during their first few months, but very small pay raises are offered (Lockwood; Schultz). After all of this training employees should expect to be compensated fairly. Employees will feel more competent after learning this variety of tasks, so increased pay will be expected to meet this change (McConnell 274). The high pay early on encourages employees to stay, but as they remain at Chipotle the lack of significant pay raises makes the possibility of moving onto a different company an appealing prospect. Employees who do not feel supported through pay raises will naturally have reduced commitment, and soon this reduced commitment will lead to an increase in turnover intention. 4.2 Feedback and Nonfinancial Incentives With the myriad of duties expected of hourly employees it can be difficult for employees to gauge their own competency. Chipotle’s management has been lax in providing clear feedback to employees on the quality of their work. Regular and periodic performance reviews are nonexistent and spontaneous and informal feedback is rare (Lockwood; Schultz). When applied effectively both informal and planned feedback can be an extremely effective tool in encouraging employees. Regular informal feedback about work motivates employees and improves their attitude at work (Peterson 158). With the complicated tasks and high number of new employees at Chipotle applying both of these methods would be extremely effective. Regular performance reviews encourage positive behavior and can improve employee efficiency with the hope of reaping financial rewards in the future (Peterson 159). The informal use of feedback through spontaneous compliments of quality work recognizes any quality contributions and would improve employee attitude. Happier employees would be more interested in their work, and as a result less likely to search for employment elsewhere. These systems all rely on personalized feedback, but a way to provide system and regular feedback that also leads to social recognition is through “Employee of the Month” programs. By providing a prominent regular award to top performers management can encourage employees by creating a desire for recognition (Peterson 160). 4.3 Aggression towards Employees The public-facing nature of employment in fast food means dealing with the negativities of the public. One of the interviewees was in a kitchen-oriented position that involved less time out on the line, but the interviewee who spent most of her work time interacting with     7   the public had a number of complaints about public aggression (Lockwood). Sexual harassment from male customers was a common sight and she had several stories of customers getting irate for things behind her control, such as one type of salsa being out. Management refused to allow her to move to back-of-house work after being verbally abused by customers and she stated that this was one of the major reasons that she ended up leaving Chipotle (Schultz). By experiencing aggression from customers employees will begin to associate their employment with these negative experiences. Negative thoughts about work will drive down employee commitment and in the long term will lead to increases in employee turnover. Managing how often employee are exposed to aggression from customers and allowing them a moment to calm down after these experiences can prevent them from spreading the negative attitudes around the business (Dupré 2365). 4.4 Fair Scheduling Practices Fair compensation is a major driver of employee commitment, but other actions taken by management can convince employees that the company cares about them. In an hourly pay industry like fast food scheduling can be a major issue for management. Chipotle’s management has to deal with the competing schedules and requests for hours of all hourly employees. There are times where it may not be possible to make all employees happy, but flexible scheduling is important for employee commitment. Providing the same employees with weekend shifts can lead to discontent over the long term and forcing employees into “clopenings”, where an employee closes one evening and opens the following one, will frustrate hourly workers (Lockwood; Schultz). These undesirable shifts should be shuffled between employees to ensure none of them feel victimized by their managers. Another issue with scheduling is to be uncooperative with employee requests for certain amounts of hours. Forcing an employee who was hired as a part-time employee to work full-time hours will lead to extremely rapid employee burnout. Needing to saddle employees with long hours each week is often a symptom of high turnover, but attempting to fix the problem by increasing the other employees’ hours will only exacerbate the issue. One former employee interviewed was hired on for twenty hours per week that would work around her full-time college schedule, but she claimed that only a few weeks after starting she was being asked to work full-time during periods when she had classes. This led to her losing enjoyment in the position and quitting not long after. Hiring college students may be common for low-wage positions, but refusing to cooperate with their class schedules will just lead to a revolving door of disgruntled employees (Schultz). 4.5 Employee Training and Corporate Culture Employees at Chipotle are normally expected to rotate between different duties. A new hire may start on the cash register, but within a few months of hiring that employee will be expected to perform back-of-house duties as well. This system offers maximum flexibility to management, but former employees complained that they were not properly trained for     8   new duties. The variety of work expected requires hours of training to ensure competency at each position, but former employees agree that they were often expected to perform duties before being trainer. Management was often unaware of who was trained in what positions which would lead to someone only experienced on the line being asked to wash dishes (Lockwood; Schultz). The stress of doing work one may not be trained in will lead to employees feeling that they are not being supported by their employer. This lack of support will lead to frustration and feelings of incompetence which both drive employee turnover intention (Peterson 161). Training is an important part of ensuring that new employees are made to feel like part of the company but another important aspect can be ensuring that the employee is involved in the branch’s corporate culture. In fast food almost half of new employees leave their positions within three months and a third leave in less than a month (Crush 40). To prevent this early turnover employees need to feel involved in their working environment. Neither of the employees that were interviewed believed that there was any effort made to involve them in the company’s culture. They both felt alienated during their early tenure at the branch and believed that a strong clique-oriented environment was keeping them out. (Lockwood; Schultz). Many employers struggle to make employees feel involved, but some simple methods can be used to encourage employee integration into the firm. Other firms have used a buddy system where employees are paired with another employee in the same position to ensure that they have access to someone that they can ask about the firm and its operations (Crush 41). 4.6 Application to the Hypothesis The results of the interviews and academic research agreed with my hypothesis that the big driving forces behind employee retention and turnover are recognition for their work and the belief that their employers are concerned about their success and well-being. The complaints about poor pay raises and the lack of feedback from the former employees suggest that they felt the compensation was not fair for their position. By refusing to increase wages employers can make their employees feel like their growth is not rewarded by the company. The lack of feedback makes it hard to judge this growth and can alienate employees in the long-term. Other issues, such as customer aggression and scheduling inflexibility, highlight the lack of employer concern. Employees were made to feel like their well-being was not a concern of the company when management refused to make schedule adjustments for family emergencies. The lack of training would suggest that the employer is not concerned with the growth of their employees. Together these management practices combine to alienate employees from their managers and drive the turnover that plagues this Chipotle branch.     9     4.7 Limitations of the Results The interviews done were focused on a small subset of former employees. Both of the interviewees are young, lack a college degree, and do not have significant employment history. Neither of the interviewees have children or families that they need to care for or any large financial obligations, such as a mortgage or student loan. These limiting factors could provide a biased set of complaints and interviewing a wider group of people with large variations in age, employment history, and education could provide more varied data. Employees who have families that they need to provide for or other strong ties are likely to be driven by different factors than young and relatively commitment-free employees. Another issue with the two chosen to be interviewed is that both of them left in a similar period. Chipotle’s turnover results in variation in managers as well as employees so a group that left six months before or after the interviewees might have completely different motivations. The small size of the sample is an issue. The large rate of turnover in the food service industry means that there was likely a far larger group that left the franchise even just in the last year. Surveying every one of these people would provide a more complete view of what issues affect Chipotle’s employee retention, but issues in contacting every one of these former employees makes it financially and temporally impossible with the scale of the assignment. The academic research that was used as a foundation for the conclusions and discussion in this report have limitations of their own. Not all information comes from the fast food industry, which has a set of problems unique to the industry. Without knowing the exact conditions that these studies were done under it is not possible to understand how applicable the results of these reports are on employee retention in this specific situation. 5. Recommendations   Despite the large problem that the Chipotle branch has with employee turnover several simple changes can be made to rectify the issues. Management practices have to be adjusted to show concern for the employees and communicate interest in employee growth. Some suggested management techniques to rectify these issues follow. • • •   Employees should be given regular, periodic performance reviews to communicate how they are performing Regular wage increases should be offered and tied to employee performance over the recent period. Keep clear records of employee training to ensure employees are trained in the duties they are assigned. 10     • • Implement an “Employee of the Month” program to offer social recognition to quality performers Schedule employees for the desired number of hours and make sure that employees don’t always get undesirable shifts such as weekends or early mornings.   6. Conclusion Chipotle’s struggles with employee turnover are serious, but they are not unavoidable. Proper action taken by management can create a more pleasing work environment that will bring in and hold onto skilled employees. The results of the interviews done for this report suggest that the same issues affect most of the employees at the company. Following the recommendations laid out in this report and listening to the complaints of employees will allow for a management style that encourages long-term retention and helps employees grow. The costs of turnover, which amount to about half of the salary of low wage employees, provide long-term stress on company finances and the lack of trained employees won’t help to deal with the long lines that strike this branch on a daily basis (McConnell 271). The fight against employee turnover is not one that can be easily won, but it will be necessary to improve the status of the company. When management can find a selection of employees that are willing to work hard for them for long tenures Chipotle will be able to improve not only its reputation with employees, but also its reputation with the public.     11   Works Cited Allen, David G., and Lynn M. Shore. "The Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Supportive Human Resource Practices in the Turnover Process." Journal of Management 29.1 (2003): 99-118. Sage Premier. Web. 9 Mar. 2016. Brookins, Miranda. "Ways to Prevent Employee Turnover in Fast Food Restaurants." Chron. Demand Media. Web. 20 Feb. 2016. Crush, Peter. "How to Stop Your New Joiners Quitting." People Management (2014): 4041. Business Source Premier. Web. 9 Mar. 2016. Dupré, Kathryne E., Kimberly-Anne Dawe, and Julian Barling. "Harm to Those Who Serve: Effects of Direct and Vicarious Customer-Initiated Workplace Aggression." Journal of Interpersonal Violence 29.13 (2014): 2355-377. Sage. Web. 14 Mar. 2016. Lockwood, Leo. Personal interview. 26 Mar 2016. McConnell, Charles R. "Addressing Employee Turnover and Retention." The Health Care Manager 30.3 (2011): 271-83. Ovid. Web. 9 Mar. 2016. Peterson, Suzanne J., and Fred Luthans. "The Impact of Financial and Nonfinancial Incentives on Business-Unit Outcomes Over Time." Journal of Applied Psychology 91.1 (2006): 156-65. EBSCO MegaFILE. Web. 9 Mar. 2016. Schultz, Anna. Personal interview. 25 Mar 2016.   12     Appendix A: Interview Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.   Did the managers give you the amount of hours that you wanted while you worked at Chipotle? Were the managers flexible about scheduling around other obligations, such as school or family emergencies? Do you feel the pay was satisfactory for your position? Do you feel like you were sufficiently trained for your duties? Did the managers clearly communicate when you were doing well? Did you receive periodic reviews of your work? Were any incentives offered for quality work? When you began working at Chipotle did the managers work to include you in the company culture? What were your biggest motivations to leave your position? What did you like about working at Chipotle? Did you have any negative interactions with customers? If so, did this affect your attitude about your position? What advice would you give to the managers after your time at Chipotle? Do you have any other information about your time at Chipotle that you think I should know?
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