| Course | BUS 441 Small Business Operations (BUS/441) |
|---|---|
| Week | 4 |
| Paper type | Small business human resource plan |
| Length | about 1,068 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Business |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUS 441 Week 4
Brewers, Bartenders and a Taproom Manager: Planning the People Laurel Ridge Brewing Needs to Open and Grow
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
BUS/441: Small Business Operations
Week 4 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Laurel Ridge Brewing and all staffing and pay figures are composites written for a model paper; employment rules are summarized generally.
When it opens, the composite Asheville brewery Laurel Ridge will have three owners: two brewers and an operating partner with restaurant experience. The taproom will be open 60 hours a week, and the brewery will brew four days a week. The founders cannot run both operations alone. In a small business, every hire is a large share of the team and the culture, so a staffing plan is as much about who the business will become as about filling shifts. This paper plans Laurel Ridge's human resource needs.
Roles From the Process Map
Production roles include a head brewer, one of the owners; an assistant brewer; and a cellar and packaging worker who handles fermentation checks, cleaning, transfers and kegging. Taproom roles include a taproom manager, the operating partner at first; bartenders; servers or floor staff; and a part-time events coordinator. Administrative tasks such as payroll and permits will be handled by the operating partner with an outside bookkeeper.
The Staffing Schedule
The taproom will be open from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Weekday evenings need two bartenders and one floor staff member; Friday and Saturday evenings need three bartenders and three floor staff. Production work runs on weekday mornings and early afternoons.
Headcount
The plan calls for about 15 employees: the assistant brewer and cellar worker full time, two full-time lead bartenders, six part-time bartenders and servers, three part-time floor staff, one part-time events coordinator and one part-time weekend manager.
Pay Rates
The assistant brewer will earn $21 an hour and the cellar worker $18. Lead bartenders will earn $14 an hour plus tips. Part-time servers and floor staff will be paid a tipped cash wage with tips raising total pay well above minimum wage, as federal law permits when tips cover the difference. The weekend manager will earn $20 an hour.
Tip Rules
Federal law prohibits employers and managers from keeping employees' tips. Tips may be pooled among tipped staff, and if the brewery pays all staff at least the full minimum wage, back-of-house staff such as cellar workers can share in a pool. Laurel Ridge will pay bartenders above minimum wage and create a tip pool including floor staff and bartenders, with clear written rules.
Labor Cost Estimate
Annual wages total about $470,000, including tipped wages paid by the business. Adding employer payroll taxes of about 7.65 percent, workers' compensation insurance and a modest health stipend for full-time staff brings total labor cost to about $560,000 a year, roughly 32 percent of projected first-year revenue.
Recruiting
Brewing staff will be recruited through a nearby community college's brewing program and regional brewers' guild job boards. Taproom staff will be recruited through hospitality networks, social media and referrals. Asheville's tourism economy creates competition for good servers, so the brewery must offer predictable schedules and a pleasant workplace.
Selection
Candidates will complete structured interviews with consistent questions and a short practical exercise: brewing candidates will discuss a cleaning procedure and troubleshoot a fermentation problem, while taproom candidates will describe two beers to a mock customer. Structured methods reduce bias and predict performance better than casual conversations.
Onboarding and Training
Pooling dozens of studies, Bauer et al. (2007) showed that new hires who understand their role, feel capable and are welcomed by coworkers settle in faster and leave less often. Onboarding will include a tour, a written role guide, beer and brewing basics for all staff, responsible alcohol service training, safety training for production staff and a shadow shift with an experienced employee.
Retention
Turnover in hospitality is high, so retention is a priority. Allen et al. (2010) reviewed research showing that managers can influence retention through practices such as onboarding, fair pay, career development and supervisor relationships. Laurel Ridge will post schedules two weeks ahead, offer staff beer education, pay a small bonus after six months and promote from within when possible.
Good Jobs in a Small Business
Ton (2014) argued that companies investing in employees, with better pay, cross-training and simplified operations, can achieve both lower costs from lower turnover and better service. Cross-training bartenders to help with kegging during slow hours and brewers to pour during festivals builds flexibility and skills.
Compliance and Administration
A payroll provider will calculate withholding and file returns, and the brewery will check every new hire's eligibility to work, post required notices, maintain records of hours and tips and carry workers' compensation insurance. An employee handbook will cover policies on scheduling, tips, alcohol consumption at work and harassment.
Seasonal and Event Staffing
Asheville's tourist season and local festivals create peaks well above normal weekends. Laurel Ridge will keep a list of trained on-call staff, including former employees and college students, who can work festival shifts. Brewers will plan production so tanks are full before peak months, and the taproom manager will add a second bar station for large events. Planning for peaks prevents burnout among the core team.
The Founders' Changing Roles
At opening, the operating partner will manage the taproom, and the two brewers will brew. As the business grows, the founders must shift toward managing people, finances and partnerships. The plan calls for promoting a lead bartender to taproom manager within 18 months, freeing the operating partner for business development and administration.
Fairness Between Front and Back
On busy nights, bartenders earning tips may make more than brewers. The founders will discuss this openly, include cellar staff in tip pools when the law allows and set production wages to recognize skill, so the two groups see the pay system as fair.
Culture
The founders want a culture of craft, hospitality and respect. They will hold monthly staff tastings where everyone, not only brewers, discusses new beers, and they will recognize good service publicly.
HR Measures
Measures include turnover by role, time to fill openings, labor cost as a share of revenue, customer reviews mentioning service and staff survey results on fairness and scheduling.
Conclusion
Laurel Ridge needs about 15 employees across brewing and taproom roles, with schedules built around evening and weekend peaks and labor costs near 32 percent of revenue. Structured hiring, research-based onboarding, fair tip practices, predictable schedules and growth paths give the small brewery the best chance to keep good people.
References
Allen, D. G., Bryant, P. C., & Vardaman, J. M. (2010). Retaining talent: Replacing misconceptions with evidence-based strategies. Academy of Management Perspectives, 24(2), 48-64. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.24.2.48
Bauer, T. N., Bodner, T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D. M., & Tucker, J. S. (2007). Newcomer adjustment during organizational socialization: A meta-analytic review of antecedents, outcomes, and methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(3), 707-721. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.3.707
Ton, Z. (2014). The good jobs strategy: How the smartest companies invest in employees to lower costs and boost profits. New Harvest.
What the BUS 441 Week 4 instructions ask
The fourth BUS 441 paper commonly asks students to plan a small business's human resource needs. Typical requirements include identifying roles and responsibilities, staffing levels and schedules tied to operations, wages and benefits, labor cost estimates, recruiting and selection, onboarding and training, retention, legal compliance and how HR tasks will be handled in a small business without an HR department. Some prompts ask for an organizational chart. Base roles on the operations plan, show labor cost calculations step by step, address employment law generally and cite sources in APA format. Explain who will handle HR tasks, since owners often do them alongside everything else.
How this BUS 441 Week 4 example is built
A brewery and taproom open 60 hours a week needs brewers, bartenders, servers, a cellar worker and a manager, and the paper plans them. Roles come from the process map: brewing, cellar work and kegging on one side and taproom service on the other. A schedule concentrates staff on evenings and weekends. Labor costs are estimated at about $560,000 a year, including tipped workers paid a lower cash wage plus tips under federal rules. Hiring draws on local brewing programs and hospitality networks. Onboarding covers responsible alcohol service and safety. Research on good jobs and retention supports fair pay, predictable schedules and growth paths, and the plan covers festival peaks and the founders' changing roles.
BUS 441 Week 4 grading rubric: where the points go
Strong HR plans connect staffing to operations and show the numbers. Instructors credit roles defined by the work, a schedule matched to demand, labor cost estimates that include payroll taxes and benefits, recruiting and selection suited to each role, onboarding that covers safety and compliance and retention practices supported by research. Addressing how a small business will handle HR administration without a department shows realism. An organizational chart and staffing table, with sources cited in APA style, make the plan easy to review. Recognizing how tipped pay and scheduling affect fairness between front and back of house adds depth, since taproom staff can out-earn production staff on a busy weekend, a gap that can strain a small team if it is not discussed openly.
BUS 441 Week 4 help: mistakes to avoid
Students often list jobs without connecting them to the operations plan. Derive roles from the process. Another frequent gap is labor costs that omit payroll taxes, workers' compensation and benefits. Include them. Students also ignore scheduling, which drives costs and retention. Build a schedule. Avoid recommending benefits the business cannot afford; prioritize. Address employment law, such as tipped wages and tip pooling, accurately and generally. Plan onboarding and training. Finally, consider how the owners' own roles will change as the business grows, since founders often become managers before they are ready. Plan for busy seasons and festivals, when temporary help may be needed.
Related BUS 441 sample papers
Other BUS 441 week samples
- BUS 441 Week 1: Regulatory Requirements
- BUS 441 Week 2: Mapping Operations and Processes
- BUS 441 Week 3: Facilities, Suppliers and Technology
- BUS 441 Week 5: The Small Business Operations Plan
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BUS 441 Week 4 questions, answered
What does BUS 441 Week 4 usually cover?
It usually covers planning a small business's human resource needs: roles, staffing schedules, pay and benefits, labor costs, recruiting, selection, onboarding, training, retention and compliance.
Where can I find a free BUS 441 Week 4 sample paper?
A complete HR plan for a brewery and taproom, with staffing schedules and cost estimates, appears on this page. Share your prompt to get a no-cost first draft.
How do tipped wages work?
Under federal law, employers may pay tipped employees a lower cash wage if tips bring total pay to at least the minimum wage, though some states require a higher cash wage, and employers may not keep employees' tips.
How should a small business estimate labor costs?
Multiply hours by wage rates for each role, then add payroll taxes, workers' compensation insurance, benefits and any bonuses to find the total cost of labor.
How can small businesses retain employees?
Through fair pay, predictable schedules, training, recognition, growth opportunities and a good relationship with managers, which research links to lower turnover.
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