Manager of the Three-Star Hotel

When offered promotion to manager of the three-star Abbotts Oak hotel, Pat Morgan’s reactions had been a mixture of pleasure and surprise, tempered with concern about the added responsibilities of the position.

Two months after Morgan’s promotion, Peter Carlton was appointed head chef at the Abbotts Oak by the joint owner, Mary Parker. Shortly after taking up his appointment Parker informed Carlton that he was expected to improve the performance of the kitchen in whatever manner he thought appropriate.

At first there were no signs of any problems and as far as Morgan was aware Carlton appeared to confirm his reputation for being very competent and hard-working. Within a matter of weeks, however, the manager started to hear rumblings of discontent among members of staff. A receptionist had mentioned to Morgan that Carlton was surly and had an offensive manner. But no one had complained formally to Morgan and customers appeared to be very pleased with the standard of the meals.

A couple of weeks passed and then the manager overheard two members of the kitchen staff talking about Carlton. They said that he worked very hard, certainly knew his job and was obviously a very good chef. But they were moaning about his disgusting behaviour, that he was swearing all the time and rude to everyone.

Morgan listened carefully and then replied that trade in the restaurant was increasing and customers seemed very pleased. The manager continued, “We are always told that good chefs tend to have a temperamental nature so I suppose we have to make some allowances. But leave it with me and I will look into things.”

Matters reached a head two weeks later, however, when Morgan felt compelled to reprimand Carlton for disparaging remarks to a waitress who had clearly been distressed. “Now