TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Business people who aren't from the islands surely get sick of hearing that "Hawaii is unique." Local style management
becomes exportWell, too bad. It is.
One of many reasons Hawaii special is that we local folks make family where none exists.
Leave it to a kamaaina, then, to find a way to apply that concept to an "organizational learning system."
"Ohana Time" was developed by Impact Change International Inc. President Kathryn Freitas of Kona to generate "continuous improvements through education and communication," according to a company statement. The former quality director for the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua hotel, Freitas set out on her own to do strategic planning and leadership training, develop quality improvement methods and provide one- and two-day leadership seminars.
However, when one of her clients could not afford to fly her in for a seminar, they asked if she could send materials to keep their managers refreshed.
"I think all of a sudden, 'for the cost of bringing me in -- they could get the whole learning system for a year,' " she said.
Freitas developed the "Ohana Time" series of management exercises and a similar program called, "Team Time," the latter of which has been exported to mainland clients. Local clients include the Mauna Kea Beach Resort, where managers "spend short blocks of time -- five minutes a day, educating staff and creating open discussions about various topics." The program is designed to get the staff "jazzed about the business of running a hotel, or cooking in a kitchen," so employees adopt an ownership frame of mind.
"It's different than the skills and the tasks," Freitas said. For instance, in food service operations they discuss how to improve food quality, relation- ships within the staff and with consumers or how to rearrange the kitchen to increase efficiency. "It's hard to come to work when you feel left out in running the department," Freitas said. "We kind of have a motto; everyone here is a hired head, instead of a hired hand."
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com