Section III Appling Theory X, Theory Y, and Theory XY with Restaurants in Cross strait
I) Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐)
company chairman Yang Jihua possesses. His father Yang Bingyi the founder of the company has taught his son ever since he inherited the business that “honesty and integrity is important
than making money” because any form of dishonesty will ruin the company’s hard earned
reputation. In other words it is difficult to earning trust than earning money. Once trust and integrity is firmly rooted, business will follow after. A straightforward concept with no gimmicks is the only reason that it has successfully turned the restaurant chain into a famous brand in Taiwan. Behind the brand, one can see quality assurance and service integrity written all over it.Another reason that the restaurant chain is successful was due to the superior D.N.A inheritance from the chairman to his company that mirrors his humble and genuine personality. A leader who possesses those qualities will lead his or her company in the right path. Yang has a dual personality of “demon and angel” when it comes to leading and managing his company of employees. Demon symbolizes Theory X management for having strict demands and angel symbolizes Theory Y management for being considerate and a gentle soul which both are a great symbolism to describe the human behaviour that is constantly conflicting in the battle between the two to settle for the right decision. In this case, Yang’s perspective of Theory X is based on demanding near perfection which requires his employees to offer dedication, commitment and motivation to achieve goals. This includes the regulation of quality control in all of the products and services which the company demands from its employees to follow (王一芝，2014).
Since Din Tai Fung is not a listed company that offers public stock option, then there is no details revealing its financial statement. However, according to author 王一芝 (2014), the company has spent 48% of its total revenue to give back to its valuable employees. It is also reported that the restaurant chains has sold over 2,8000 pieces of xiaolongbao in Taiwan of 2013 (王一芝，2014).
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Theory X management
Standard Operating Procedure (Controlled, and monitored)
Theory X management is mostly coming from staff training in the kitchen and in the dining area. Because “quality is life and brand name is responsibility” this notion was instilled deep into Yang’s belief from his father that when customers choose to dine at Din Tai Fung, it is because they put faith in the brand and hence it is a responsibility to deliver quality and service to customers. Upon establishing his Theory X management, Yang laid out three steps leading his empire: Step 1) Absolute Quality Control, Step 2) Total Service Enhancement and
Efficiency, and Step 3) Reassurance among Employees (王梅，2000).
Step 1) Absolute Quality Control:
Just like any other successful companies will absolutely require persistence and passion!
Because a company that has persistence and passion will instantly care for the quality of its product and continue to improve it otherwise. For instance, one cannot make a fuss over food cost because if that happens, the food quality will drastically decline and customers will notice it, and they will not return for patronage. This is why brand reputation is so important for keeping the restaurants in business. For instance in the dining area, returned dishes like fried rice or appetizer, and defective xiaolongbao are considered rejects and must not deliver returned dishes to new customers. This is one of the basic stipulations that employees must comply to ensure food quality (王梅，2000).
In order to assure absolute standardization in product quality, Yang organized a cooking competition in the central kitchen. He then asked six branches from Taipei to send an expert in fried rice to compete with each other. The idea was simple, he wanted to see whether timing and movement from these chefs are identical at the same pace. Luckily, he did not get disappointed, in fact timing and movement was unanimous and the taste was the same! This is one of the
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examples how he demands for near perfection when it comes to assuring for product quality (王 一芝，2014). Besides ensuring its SOP of all its branches locally in Taiwan, Yang Jihua also emphasizes the importance of the restaurant chain’s quality, service and control overseas. In order to maintain the higher standard which he established for his restaurant empire. He regularly sends a mystery shopper overseas to conduct a full inspection to make sure their QSC have met the company’s mandate. Yang himself would also disguise as a mystery shopper in his local branches. He would pay a surprise visit to one of his branches, and if he sees something wrong or did not meet his standard, he would immediately react his discontent by reprimanding the
managers who are responsible for the QSC of that branch. If the poor QSC happens regularly in that branch, Yang would suspend the manager’s ownership and reclaim the restaurant unit. This proves that Yang cares a lot for the SOP of his restaurant chains and would take regular
inspections to ensure that there is no manager in any of his branch tries to ruin the reputation of his hard earned restaurant name (王一芝，2014).
Training: (Pursuing for greater perfection in hellish fashion)
Nitpicking is one noticeable features found at Din Tai Fung as the chairman constantly strives for perfection and if he sees a flaw, the employee will need to redo it until he gets it right!
For instance, when a chef was asked to make xiaolongbao and put it into a steamer, Yang would double-check it and found out the chef made the buns 30 grams in size whilst he made the buns 20 grams in size, it was 10 grams bigger! Without saying a word, Yang threw out the faulty buns and demanded the chef to do it again. Another incidence involved several Japanese chef trainees who were dispatched to Taiwan to learn making xiaolongbao in the pursue of opening branches in Japan. Everyone thought of making xiaolongbao was easy but they all soon underestimated the difficulty that lies within. During the so-called “training from hell” Yang would spare no feelings of others when he sees something wrong and would correct it immediately. One time, Yang
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mercilessly scold at a chef when he sees he is still making the same mistake by poking the bun with too much force. Another chef also had been reprimanded by Yang when he saw the newly made xiaolongbao and called it “garbage.” To unleash his tantrum, he spared no expense by hurling the buns across the room and this reaction frightened the tearful chef as he felt
humiliated. According to the author, this was the same chef who had his buns hurled at least three times by Yang. Yang is truly a demon in disguise but with a heart of an angel (王梅，2000).
Theory X management in the central kitchen is rigorously demanding as all the fresh ingredients required to make the final products be ready so inspections is a must. For instance, all employees working at each zone must suit up in white uniforms, and wear masks, hats and rain boots. The dress code is just a tip of the iceberg, every employee pre-entering each working zone must have their hands washed and sterilized in the bathing room. Their uniforms will then have the dust blown off repeatedly from head to toe. The procedure must be repeated as employees are entering to another zone. Each working zone is specified for one purpose: seafood zone, pork zone, poultry zone, vegetable zone and dough zone. Yang do not wish to have different
ingredients placed in the same zone so he have them put in different zones to keep the food fresh and sanitary. In order to uphold the sanitary regulation, an inspector will pay a surprise visit by dashing to the room and take out the cotton swab then swipe it on the employee’s hand to see whether it is clean or not. Those that fail the test will immediately be punished. In the seafood zone, there are 40 employees peeling off shrimps within room temperature 15°C to ensure its absolute freshness. The seafood zone is for preparing shrimps for fried rice and other dishes. In the pork zone, all the meat slabs must be prepared within 7°C. The pork is to cut into different pieces that is good for certain dishes and then discard the rest. These parts are prepared for xiaolongbao, sweet and sour soup, and rice dumplings. In the poultry zone, all the chicken meat is prepared for soup and dumplings. In the dough zone, a noodle machine maker is manually operate by men, the noodles then roll up in individual ball. Finally, in the vegetable zone, the
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vegetables are rinse repeatedly by machine and dry up automatically. Inside the central kitchen, one can see that Yang demands the standardized procedure to be as fluid as possible, making sure that every product turns out to be in equal size, weight and taste (王一芝，2014).
Step 2) Total Service Enhancement and Efficiency
Yang has 7 mandatory demands from his employees. Firstly, Yang demands that the servers in the restaurants must mathematically calculate the average turn table rate. Because Yang cares for his customers and tries to improve the situation by not making his customers waiting too long. For instance, on the weekend the restaurant is usually crowded so to provide enough space. Servers will allow the first batch of 60 customers to come into the dining area around 100 tables. Yang will reserve several tables (priority seats) for elders, and parents with children. These types of customers do not need waiting. Right after the first batch of 60
customers is served, servers will temporary block the entrance, allowing the first batch to finish their meals around 40 minutes or more, then the entrance will reopen. This is to enhance the efficiency flow of customers; thus preventing them from waiting (王梅，2000).
Secondly, the affectionate dining service feature from Din Tai Fung, according to the nationality of diners at the table, the meal serving sequences will cater to their likening. For instance, the Europeans prefer their soups to be served first, then appetizers, entrees, and desserts at the end. The Japanese prefers xiaolongbao to be served and later fried rice. The Chinese like to have everything served all at once. All this can be done with a push of a button as every serving details are computerized (王梅，2000).
Thirdly, Yang demands that their servers must put on a happy smile throughout the day which is a basic requirement from every restaurant chain in the industry. The key is to
constantly remind to oneself that “customer is always right”. Yang simply explains this notion to his employees that “I’m the one who pays you salaries but the money is paid by customers”. In
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other words, Yang is the boss of his employees and customers are the bosses of Yang. Therefore Yang wants his employees to serve their customers like bosses, knowing their needs by serving them with sincerity. Servers must practice smiling every day in front of a mirror before stepping out to work (王一芝，2014).
Fourth demand involves flexibility and agility in given situations. For instance, the head supervisor will constantly dropping pairs of chopsticks on the floor and each time the server hears that clinking noise, he or she will deliver a clean pair of chopsticks. Next drilling practice is observation, when seeing a pregnant woman; serve her a glass of water, if it is children, serve them kids meal; when a customer take out his or her medication, serve water instantly; or when seeing customers fanning to cool off, adjust the air conditioner and serve water right away. These are the minor details that Din Tai Fung wanted to achieve from touching their hearts
Fifth demand from Yang, the chairman repeatedly emphasizes that not only we should treat our customers like bosses but we should also treat them like family so we should look after their hard-earned money. Servers are told not to recommend any pricy dishes and never allowed customers make too many orders. Reason is simple, Yang wants to maintain the food’s integrity that it should be finished off in a given time, because the take home leftovers will affect the taste quality if customers cannot finish all the food in one sitting (王一芝，2014).
Sixth demand from Yang, servers working at Din Tai Fung should never make customers leave when the restaurant is near closing time. In fact if there are customers sitting at tables chatting, servers should get as far away from them to avoid disturbance. When elderly customers leave the restaurant, make sure they get a taxi and when it is raining, grab an umbrella “愛心 傘”for customers to protect them from getting wet. These simple and kind gesture may leave a pleasant memory on every customer (王一芝，2014).
The seventh and final demand from Yang which he requires all employees from each division: mangers, assistant general managers, chefs, servers, dish washers and janitors all must
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submit a working log recording any particular incident happened on that day. This involves method of solution to problems and self-reflecting after dealing with the problem. Besides recording the working incidences on diaries, they can also include suggestions or
recommendations that benefit the company’s progress. Or when employees feel depressed or have personal issue can also be stated on the diary. As Yang explains why it is necessary to submit diaries; for instance, an incident involved with a customer complaining about
xiaolongbao’s taste as it was stated on a server’s diary. Yang and his manager quickly rewind the tape from the security camera to observe the incident, this process helps reduce further issues as Yang and his teams tried to find out and resolve the issue. This is one of the typical examples how Yang manages to maintain product and service quality for all these years (王一芝，2014).
In sum, trainees and interns that sent to work at Din Tai Fung will not only help training their skills but also their characters as well. They all turn out to be well-behaved, motivated and disciplined. This is the importance of Theory X management called tough love, Yang will take care of their employees like their own children because he wants these kids to actually learn something and so sometimes these harsh training are just a mere reflection of his tough love; he cares for his employees and that is why he is demanding so much from them. According to the HRM from Din Tai Fung, the retention rate is 70%. That is 70% of these interns choose to stay because Din Tai Fung makes them feel they are at home (王一芝，2014).
Other miscellaneous strict procedures involved servers marching vigorously in pair side by side; xiaolongbao must be made in 18 folds as the golden standard; servers must wear leather shoes instead of sneakers to feel classy and respectful around customers; every made product must be weighted on scale accordingly to a given gram and the number must be precise, otherwise redo it; drinking water must be soften by a water softener because hard water cannot brew good drinkable tea so that is why it is important to convert all drinking water from hard to soft; the washroom must be cleaned by the minute, and finally, every servers must clean and clear
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the table and disinfect it with cleaning alcohol and every tableware served on the table must be new and there must not have cracks or rips around edges of cups, bowls, spoons or chopsticks, otherwise these defects must be discarded and be replaced with newer ones on the table (王一 芝，2014).
Theory Y management
Step 3) Reassurance among Employees
This is a critical step as to continue the success of the restaurant chain business, Yang must find methodical ways to keep his senior employees working for Din Tai Fung. He thought about opening multiple branches for them to manage so in that way, it will enhance their desire and motivation continue working at Din Tai Fung, this explains the low turnover rate due to Yang’s sincerity and kindness that touched every employee’s heart. Yang’s benevolence on his employee is well known. For instance, as soon as he learns that one of his employees is sick, he would personally book a clinical appointment for that employee (王梅，2000).
Employee Assistance Program (welfares)
Yang’s other part of management is Theory Y which he cares for his employees’ health and well-being because he treats them like family and that they are the company’s most valuable asset. Here are several examples of his Theory Y management approaches in which Yang
conducts in his employee assistance program. He hires a nutritionist, several blind masseuses, and four social counsellors to serve his beloved employees.
1. Each branch will provide employees a nutritionist because their health and psyche is the company’s responsibility and so Yang must make sure they get a well-balanced diet before going off to work. Besides concerning their nutritious balance, he also wants his employees to
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get enough rest. Hence there is a resting room for each branch so that employees must get plenty of sleep for his or her next shift. On average, working every two hours must rest for 15 minutes.
Rest is one of the major components as Yang put it “our employees must be in their best shape
and so rest is an essential part of working which shows vigor in their performance” (王一芝，
2013b).
2. Each branch will provide a blind masseuses to give employees backrubs as to soothe off the pain on the specific area. They also provide employees two foot massager machines if they failed to book for massages. This helps reduce their anxieties and stress.
3. The head-quarter of Din Tai Fung has a room that says “Happy Counselling”.
There are four professional counsellors waiting to assist any of the employees’ personal problems or just need someone to talk to. The purpose to include the counselling services is because Yang explains the company now has over a thousand employees and they have one thousand families to take care. It is the company’s responsibility to make sure that they are well nourished in the mind and spirit. This is logically understandable for employees working in such an intensive environment like Din Tai Fung, there are bound to be pressure, stress and
depression. Yang wants their employees to get a certain relief from working in a stressful day.
Once their mental and physical stress is relieve, they will continue working. So this is a rinse and repeat behaviour as Yang wants his employees to maintain their absolute vigor which their performance will not be affected.
Theory Y management
Explore the world through learning: (Learning through visitations)
Besides being a fatherly figure to those young interns he is also generous enough to take them on field trips, allowing them to explore the city while they still can. Yang not only wants
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his interns to acquire working experience but he also wants them to be knowledgeable. He
his interns to acquire working experience but he also wants them to be knowledgeable. He