ASSIGNMENT COVER PAGE
Course code BUSM4185
Course name Introduction to Management
Campus Saigon South Campus
Class activity Group 05
Lecturer Ms. Camellia Dinh
Title of Assignment Analytical Insight of Management Practices
(Individual Paper)
File(s) submitted BUSM4185_AT2_Bubble Bar Case Study
Analysis_Nguyen Thi Thu Ngoc_s3977925
Student name Nguyen Thi Thu Ngoc
Student ID S3977925
Assignment Due Date 22 December 2023
Date of Submission 22 December 2023
Number of Pages including this one 14
Word count (excluding cover page, abstract, 1558
table of contents, and references)
I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood, and agreed to
the content and expectations of the Assessment Declaration.
Abstract
The report investigates into the case of Bubble Bar, a Hanoi popular bubble tea brand, founded
in 2015 with 28 franchises and 165 employees nationwide. Despite its efforts, the company is
still at stake due to the inability to generate profit. The reported reason for one of the closures
was found to be poor customer service. In examining the case, this report has further identified
two root causes, namely weak organisation culture without a common set of shared values within
the company and ineffective human resource management. Based on different theories, this
report first critically analyses the two problems and offers theory-based solutions for each,
namely the implementation of Realistic Job Preview, Self-Managed Teams, and High-
Performance Work Practices framework. Afterwards, the report also specifies potential practical
recommendations that Bubble Bar could apply into their case to change the situation, including
democratic ritual design, changes in recruitment and selection process, implementation of
technology, and turnover, retention, and exit management, which are said to find the potentially
compatible employees with required skillsets in the first place, improve the working environment
by empowering employees and fostering cooperation within the organisation, and consequently
contribute to higher organisational performance.
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Table of Contents
Abstract.....................................................................................................................1
1. Introduction.........................................................................................................3
2. Critical Analysis of Key Issues...........................................................................4
2.1. Ineffective organisational culture (OC)........................................................4
2.2. Ineffective human resource management (HRM)........................................5
3. Recommendations................................................................................................7
3.1. Democratic Ritual Design..............................................................................7
3.2. Changes in Recruitment and Selection Process............................................7
3.3. Implementation of Technology......................................................................8
3.4. Turnover, Retention, and Exit Management.................................................9
4. Conclusion..........................................................................................................10
5. References...........................................................................................................11
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1. Introduction
In the scenario of business competitiveness, survival is what every enterprise strives for (Suraya
et al. 2020). To achieve specific objectives, organisations are in need of effective management
system of finance, materials, and human resources (Robbins 2015). This report on Bubble Bar
will present the impacts of ineffective management on its survival, by first analysing current
issues, followed by theory-based solutions before recommending specific practical strategies to
leverage the problems.
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2. Critical Analysis of Key Issues
2.1. Ineffective organisational culture (OC)
OC is the shared norms, values and behaviours within an organisation (Wilson 2001), acquired
through both informal and formal socialisation processes. This would mean that OC cannot be
managed immediately but is established and ingrained gradually in the business. OC can be
divided into strong and weak culture, in which strong equates effective, which leads to
employee’s high commitment and performance, and good customer service (Robbins 2015:96;
Tripathu et al. 2000; Singh 2001).
Figure 1: Comparison between strong cultures and weak cultures
Source: Robbins (2015)
In Bubble Bar workplace, employers and employees do not share a common set of norms,
values, and rituals, creating a discrepancy between expectations leading employees to
misbehave: late for work, poor attitude, abusive excuses of sick leaves, reflecting a weak culture
that presents little connection between shared values and behaviours. Additionally, this weak
culture manifests into Bubble Bar’s bureaucratic operation, characterised by the fact that values
and power are limited to particularly top management (Robbins 2015). This is deeply relevant to
Bubble Bar as all decision-making processes, however trivial they are, have to be approved by
one manager. Specifically, the branch manager of Bubble Bar claimed that even a simple mistake
in an order had to go through him, for the staff to be allowed to prepare a new drink.
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Consequently, due to prolonged processing, this led to their inability to fix the problems
immediately, further leading to poor customer experience.
To resolve, Realistic Job Preview (RJP) is recommended. Specifically, RJPs are materials
providing candidates with both positive and negative aspects of a job. For example, organisation
attraction, the level of compatibility between organisations and individuals regarding values,
objectives, skills, and interests, is one aspect included in RJPs. Those who find themselves
unmatched with the job or organisation are more likely to quit (Breaugh and Billings 1988). With
RJPs, employees can assess their compatibility with the job and organisation before accepting a
job offer, thus determining employee’s commitment. Indeed, reduced voluntary turnover often
stems from the use of RJPs (Earnest et al.2011).
Regarding the bureaucracy problem, self-managed team model to encourage a bottom-up
approach of problem-solving is worth considering, instead of sticking to the traditional top-down
approach that completely relies on only one top manager. According to Batt (2003), this shift in
the division of labour is more effective because workers with the most relevant knowledge to the
case are making operational decisions. Hackman (1987, cited in Batt 2003) also stated that by
involved in self-managed teams, employees will be empowered, consequently improve their
performance.
2.2. Ineffective human resource management (HRM)
HRM is the act of managing human capital within an organisation using specific HR practices
such as recruiting, training, administrating benefits, and facilitating employee relations
(Rousseau and Greller 1994). Generally, effective HRM stimulates employee’s knowledge and
skills, empowers and increases their motivation, consequently increasing job satisfaction,
reducing turnover, increasing efficiency and overall enhancement in organisational performance
(Becker and Gerhart 1996).
Poor HRM at Bubble Bar was apparent in a sense that the company often neglected three cores
of HRM, namely recruitment, benefits, and employee relations. Mr. Hung claimed that his team
was constantly changing, only worked for weeks and quit, reflecting a lack of selection in
recruitment. Also, as shared by an ex-employee, despite her extra efforts and high performance at
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work, Bubble Bar tended to ignore without offering bonuses or special rewards. Additionally, the
company often hired external human capital to become the branch manager instead of promoting
current employees, leading to employees thinking that working at Bubble Bar cannot bring any
career prospects and opportunities. Bubble Bar also undervalued employee relations, in which
there were no formal meetings and social events for staff to socialise, thus resulting in lack of
connection among staff. Altogether, these problems contribute to negative working environment
and job dissatisfaction among employees, crucial factors adversely affect employee retention that
directly influence the organisation’s survival (Trevor 2001).
To handle, the theoretical framework of High-Performance Work Practices (HPWPs) by
Posthuma et al. (2013) can be employed, defined as practical implementations in an organisation,
enhancing employee competencies, commitment, and productivity. Indeed, Gibbs and Ashill
(2013) have indicated that the use of HPWPs asserts a positive relationship with job satisfaction
and organisational commitment, positively contributing to overall operational performance.
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3. Recommendations
3.1. Democratic Ritual Design
Rituals are a continuous implementation of specific behaviours, scripts, and interactions that can
enhance the bond among employees and instill a sense of purpose and identity (Bell 2009, cited
in Ozenc and Hagan 2017). Rituals can also predict change, or enforce the normal order, by
redefining what is considered valid and acceptable in an organisation (Turner 1980).
Based on the aforementioned issue of employees’ lack of identification with the OC leading to
misbehaviour, it is recommended that Bubble Bar deliberately design its unique organisational
rituals with employees’ involvement clarifying what is expected in the workplace context for
better business structure and management. Indeed, Ozenc and Hagan (2017) and Goleman (2000,
cited in Singh 2001) claimed that democratic ritual design and democratic leadership style could
empower employees, facilitate sense of belonging, improve collaboration, create a pleasant
working environment, thus contributing to a high-performing organisation.
3.2. Changes in Recruitment and Selection Process
Recruitment and Selection is the process when an organisation seeks for potential candidates
with a compatible and necessary set of knowledge, expertise, and personalities which will help
the organisation realise its ambitions (Noe et al. 2020:7).
Apparently, most employees at Bubble Bar did not match with the working style and quit after
only a few weeks, reflecting a poor selection process hiring incompatible human capital. Also,
according to the ex-employee, Bubble Bar tended to hire external resource to become managers
instead of promoting internally. Thus, Bubble Bar could consider specifying required skills in the
job description beforehand. Specifically, most workers at a bubble tea shop, except for barista
positions, are front-line employees who directly deal with customers; thus, communication and
problem-solving skills can be required to handle conflicts, avoiding such mentioned problems of
being unable to troubleshoot simple mistakes. With the foundation of successful selection and
recruitment of potential employees with compatible skillset, Bubble Bar can therefore consider
targeting high-performing staff to be promoted instead of outsiders, since newcomers are often
less efficient due to prolonged period of familiarising themselves with the new working
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environment, especially in full-time positions that usually takes months for one to get used to
their job (Ahmad and Azumah 2012).
3.3. Implementation of Technology
Another recommendation worth considering is the implementation of online management
systems to keep track of internal training and development, and simultaneously improve
employee engagement, relations, and a sense of belonging. Specifically, this report recommends
Franconnect and Atiom, allowing organisations to customise training programmes to their own
preferences by providing interactive briefs and gamified learning that can better facilitate
employee engagement compared to formal training. By using these platforms, organisations can
easily identify high-performing employees, and thus develop suitable benefits and rewards
programmes for talent retention policy such as incentive compensation pay plans, bonuses, or
public recognition depending on level of performance. Also, these platforms can stimulate peer-
to-peer support and collaboration within an organisation as it offers communication forums and
newsfeeds for employees to connect. Indeed, Franconnect and Atiom claimed that they provide
solutions for improving operational performance, franchises engagement, frontline employees
training, employee experience, etc. (Franconnect n.d.; Atiom n.d.). This claimed effectiveness
can further be verified by their collaboration with large corporations, namely Reebok, Sofitel
Hotels and Resorts, Domino’s Pizza, etc.
Figure 2: An illustration of Franconnect’s user-friendly interface
Source: Franconnect n.d.
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With technological advancements, e-learning in workplace has increasingly risen in popularity
(Wang 2018), thus adoption of technology-based management systems is practical. Additionally,
for such a nationwide bubble tea brand as Bubble Bar, implementations of these two platforms
can be effective as they help organisations manage their franchises of different locations. Also,
Franconnect and Atiom offer both website and mobile apps, making them more accessible to
employees.
Figure 3: An illustration of Atiom’s mobile apps
Source: Atiom n.d.
3.4. Turnover, Retention, and Exit Management
Turnover, Retention, and Exit Management is responsible for figuring out the underlying reasons
for and address the issues of voluntary turnover. By minimising employee turnover,
organisational performance can be improved (Huselid 1995).
Based on Bubble Bar’s problem of changing team constantly, which reflects groundless lack of
stability within the organisation, conducting exit interviews elaborating the reasons why
employees decided to leave will provide better insights for Bubble Bar to realise and improve
pitfalls in their management system.
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4. Conclusion
In conclusion, this report has critically identified key issues in Bubble Bar case, accompanied by
theory-based solutions. Ineffective OC and HRM were two precedents for the poor customer
service leading Bubble Bar to close. After analysing, practical recommendations are proposed for
Bubble Bar to consider, potentially helping them retrieve their award-winning success and
develop into a more effective organisation.
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