Apppicable Courses
Introduction to Management Accounting; Performance Management and Organizational Control; Introduction to Business Strategy.
Description
The interview with Anik Seth highlights his use of incentive systems and a supportive leadership culture to deliver great experiences for employees and customers at Tim Hortons. The key take-aways from the interview include:
- Anik’s philosophy is valuing people, products, and performance. The order of these has profound meaning to Anik as he views people – both employees and customers – as his top priority.
- Given this philosophy, Anik leverages a variety of techniques to increase employee engagement [addressing the lack of motivation control problem]. Some are more traditional like incentive systems [result control]. Others are more innovative like cultivating a culture that features security, leadership, and the opportunity for advancement [cultural control], all of which are shown to increase engagement.
- Anik stresses how managing employee engagement starts by identifying and hiring the right people, and then designing an onboarding system that emphasizes firm culture [personnel control].
Assignment Options
Below are two assignment options that can be used in conjunction with watching the interview.
Option 1: Short-form Reflection
Assignment
Please provide a brief (no more than 200 words) response to the following required:
Anik’s Tim Hortons restaurants use a variety of personnel and cultural controls to address (potential) employee control problems. Select one of those controls. Using what you learned/know about Tim Hortons’ employees, explain why you think the selected control is either effective or ineffective.
Grading Rubric
| 0 (No attempt) | No reasonable attempt was made to respond to the requirement |
| 1 (Weak attempt) | Some attempt was made to respond to the requirement; however, the response showed little depth and/or integration of course content |
| 2 (Strong attempt) | Response to the requirement showed depth and/or integration of course content |
Option 2: Long-form Reflection
Assignment
Please address the following two requirements on a 1‐page submission (1-inch margin, 12pt font, single-spaced document):
- Select TWO lessons you learned or re‐learned about employee engagement from listening to the interview with Anik Seth. Describe each lesson and connect the lesson with the comment/discussion in the interview that triggered the lesson.
- Select ONE tool or technique that Anik uses to engage his Tim Hortons employees. Describe the tool/technique and whether you believe it is likely to sustain its effectiveness over time.
Grading Rubric
| Criteria | Weak | Solid | Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reflecting on Thoughts and Learning | Described some content from the interview, but a more specific example of the defining/stand‐out moment is needed. Briefly discussed what has been learned and potential impacts. | Supported thoughts about the event using a specific example to identify the defining/stand‐out moment. Briefly identified lessons and impacts with some consideration of how to apply what was learned. | Shared thoughts about the event and his/her engagement in the event to depict the defining/stand‐out moment. Clearly articulated lessons and beliefs and how to apply what was learned. |
| Communicating Messages | Demonstrated one of the following:
|
Demonstrated two of the following:
|
Demonstrated all of the following:
|