Case Study: Ya Kun Kaya International
Ya Kun was founded in 1944 by Loi Ah Koon, as a coffee shop that served coffee, tea, eggs and toast. Ya Kun International moved to Singapore in 2001, where it now has 32 outlets, and has 27 franchise outlets in other parts of Asia.
Ya Kun has a family-style work environment and an established “promotion –from-within” policy. There is also a strong emphasis on team work, where helping one another is a norm., even between employees across outlets and departments. The top management reinforces this teamwork culture at Ya Kun.
Job openings for the outlet staff are advised in Chinese and English newspapers, as well as through recruitment notices at Ya Kun outlets. Applicants who respond to the advertisements are invited for interviews. Applicants go through two rounds of interviews – one with the senior area manager and one with the operations manager. Job applicants are screened primarily for their level of commitment and willingness to work shifts. Other desirable qualities include integrity, diligence and honesty. Prior experience in the food and beverage industry is not essential.
Most of Ya Kun Singapore`s outlet staff are more than 30 years of age because Ya Kun believes that mature workers generally have better work attitudes. Also the majority of the outlet staff are Singaporeans with small proportion from Malaysia and China.
Most of the outlet staff are full-time workers, with some part-time staff hired to complement the full-time staff when they go on vacation or become ill.
The emphasis on good attitude and character in the selection of outlet staff has helped Ya Kun build a pool of hardworking and committed workers. Loyalty, honesty and fairness are the most important attributes sought in selecting staff managers from among the outlet staff. All these helps make the staff happy and committed to the company, which Ya Kun believes has translated into their serving customers well.
QUESTIONS:1. Read the text and identify the main Work-Related Characteristics (WRCs) used by Ya Kun in the selection process for both outlet staff and staff managers.
- Based on your handouts and textbook, identify and define the process that helps the organizations determine the required WRCs.
- Based on your handouts and textbook, Identify and analyze the different techniques to collect information for job analysis.
- Define diversity and state its dimensions. Can we say that Ya Kun promotes diversity in the workplace? Justify your answer from the text.
