Competition through Operations Strategy at Giovannis and Bellinis Italiano Park Place - Case Study Example

Competition through Operations Strategy Cardiff Business School, Cardiff Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK. Operational strategieshave been employed by many successful corporations to gain competitive advantage over their competitors. The Dine-In shall be the new restaurant to be opened at Park Place, and hence this exploratory report shall look at the operational strategies employed by the other restaurants, and findings, limitations and recommendations shall be discussed. 1. Competition through operational strategies 1.1 Introduction Securing a market niche for a business can be very challenging and may take a long time before the business rises to compete with the pinnacle performers in any industry. However, once a business succeeds in creating a reputable and well known image for itself, it will do all it can to ensure that it stays at the top. Paley (2006) advises that establishing long array plans and strategies are steps that are pertinent in ensuring that a business creates and maintains a competitive advantage. Some of these strategies, as suggested by Valadani and Arbore (2013) include the formulation of long term goals and objectives, a company’s dedicated plans and actions to understand prevailing conditions and expected changes in the marketplace, and establishing strategies that will distinguish a business from its direct and indirect competitors (Slack and Lewis, 2011). All decisions made by the business must therefore support the above objectives. The research conducted here is an exploratory research aimed at identifying how the restaurants in Park Place (Cardiff) compete through their operations. A brief literature review concerning the topic under discussion shall also be presented. Competitive strategies adopted by different restaurants as their competitive strategies shall also be discussed. A conclusion shall thereafter be draw which shall summarize the findings from this work and also highlight limitations that shall be realized from this study. In this work, the new company (restaurant) to be established in Park Place will be referred to as “The Dine-In”. 1.2 Literature review Much has been said pertaining to means, ways and methods that can be adopted by a business in order to succeed. Much has also been suggested on how businesses can outdo their competitors by adopting suitable operations strategy. Operations strategies were first used in the periods between late 1970’s and early 1980’s when the Americans were afraid that the Japanese companies would take over the customers and market due to their popularity (Wiley.Com, 2001). This popularity emanated from the high quality Japanese products as compared to the American goods. Since then, operations strategies have been used by many companies including Dell and McDonalds, and till present, they have commanded attention and a large customer base in their areas of operations. Some people have suggested that there isn’t much difference between operational efficiency and operational strategies with regards to gaining competitive strategies (Slack and Lewis, 2011). Others have not concurred and instead suggest that the two are just related, work together to promote the success chances of a business. Many scholars, as Hoskinson et al (2012) note also agree on the major performance objectives in operations strategy as cost, quality, dependability, flexibility and speed. The scholars agree that these are the most commonly applied priorities in operations strategy. Wiley.Com (2001) also notes that it is important for one, especially while establishing a new business to realize that operational strategies contribute to the success of business strategies. They are a supporting pillar. Most of the scholars also agree on the relationship between a business strategy and the operational strategies to be as shown in the diagram below. Figure 1: Relationship between operations strategy and other strategies 2. Operational strategies at Giovanni’s and Bellini’s Italiano Park Place In Park Place, (Cardiff), there are many restaurants, with each commanding a different market share from the total target market. Some of the restaurants are widely known and have many other branches in different cities, whereas others have little known about them, with their reputation and image brand being very low (Tripadvisor, 2014). However, in this particular work, two restaurants in Park Place shall be considered. Giovanni’s and Bellini’s Italiano Park Place are well known and are, in fact, the most famed restaurants in Park place. The Dine- In shall, therefore, face sturdy competition from these two well established and widely-known restaurants. Operations strategies for this new restaurant are pertinent to its success, and to its chances of future expansion. Lee (2005) defines an operation strategy as a well-designed plan that outlines and shows how resources available shall be used to shore up a business strategy. It is therefore very necessary that they (operational strategies) be and remains aligned to the business strategy adopted by a company). In their competition, the two restaurants, Giovanni’s and Bellini’s Italiano Park Place understand the need to have different, yet effectual, operational strategies. In their day to day running of the business, they also realize the distinction between operational effectiveness and operational strategies. Whereas operational strategies are plans that are laid out on how the firms will compete in the market, operational effectiveness is the business’ ability to carry out its activities in a more effective manner as compared to its competitors. Giovanni’s and Bellini’s Italliano Park Place are very brawny competitors, and they have both adopted different strategies in their competition. Giovanni’s restaurant has adopted a cost operational strategy to outshine its competitor. A close comparison at the food, wine and other eatery products at the two restaurants show that Giovanni’s restaurant offers meals that are almost similar to those offered at Bellini’s Italiano Park Place, but at a cheaper price (Tripadvisor, 2014). A good example is on the price of pizza, where at Giovanni’s; the price of Pizza is €7.80, whereas the same pizza at Bellini’s costs €8.60 (Bellinisitaliano.com, 2014; Giovanniscardiff, 2014). The cost difference realized means a lot to their daily customers that frequent these places, and, therefore, some of them would rather eat here as compared to Bellini’s. Speed/time is also the other stratagem that has been adopted at Giovanni’s. This is evidenced from the fact that the consumer service is quick, efficient and prompt. When one goes for a meal at Giovanni’s, the staff serves quickly and upon ordering, one waits for about ten minutes (the maximum length of delay during a busy day). Rapid delivery is one of the specialties at this restaurant, placing it way ahead of other restaurants. Comparing this to Bellini’s, it is way better as compared to the latter, on a busy day at the restaurant, one can wait for about twenty minutes before their order is delivered (Tripadvisor, 2014). On the other hand, Bellini’s also commands its own share of the larger restaurant market in Park Place. To counter the strategy adopted at Giovanni’s, Bellini’s operates under a quality strategy to promote its competition. Even though one waits for a longer time on a busy day, the quality of food is of very high quality. Reviews written about the restaurant and customers expressions are that of satisfaction in terms of food quality (Tripadvisor, 2014). Even though the food is expensive in this restaurant as compared to Giovanni’s, the food’s quality ensures that the restaurant is able to have its share of customers in order to realize their profits. Unlike Geovanni’s, this restaurants competitive advantage is largely based on one strategy, the quality strategy. The managers and staff are therefore keen in ensuring that the quality of customer service and food is not compromised. The two restaurants discussed above are the major restaurants in Park Place, and the customer number is a substantiation of the success of the strategies adopted. In the recent past, the two restaurants, with special emphasis on Giovanni’s have tried to adopt the flexibility strategy. The flexibility approach demands that a business should readily and with ease, change with the change in the market as Lee (2005) notes. The change should be in response to the needs, preferences and sophistication of the customers. Giovanni’s has recently been trying to hold events and sessions where worldwide known celebrities are invited (Tripadvisor, 2014). In addition, if the celebrities come here, their photographs are taken and pinned to the walls. This is a strategy aimed at luring more customers and clients as the wave of celebrity associations and relations is trending. The full impact and results of this strategy is yet to be well evidenced. 3.0 Conclusion This research has helped in identifying the fact that a restaurant business in Park Place, with good management and proper operational strategies has huge chances of success. Apart from identifying the two most frequented and preferred restaurants, this research also shows that these hotels have not exploited their maximum potential. For Giovanni’s, the quality of their food is not as high as it should be. Low prices should not be a route to poor quality of products and services. For Bellini’s, adopting a price strategy or a speed strategy should help the sales soar higher. Even with their high quality food, the prices are above what some part of a potential target market can afford. To establish The Dine-In at Park place, a permutation of the two strategies adopted by the two restaurants will maximize its chances of success, even if it shall be a newly opened business. According to Valdani and Arbore (2013), further research should always be done by businesses on the most apt strategies that one should apply to their businesses. Different businesses have adopted different operational strategies to maximize their competitive advantage. Before venturing into a business, therefore, it is important for one have operational strategies that effectively align with the business strategies in order to remain outstanding in the market (Wiley.Com, 2014). All the five options that have been forwarded by researchers and scholars work differently for different businesses. It may not be possible for a single business to apply all operational strategies, but with careful planning, deliberation and an effectual business strategy, any of the chosen operational strategy can effectively function in strengthening the competitive advantages of a business. 4.0 References Bellinisitaliano.com.,2014. Bellini’s Italiano Menu. Bellinisitaliano.com. [Online], Available at < http://www.bellinisitaliano.com/menuchoice.html> Accessed 6th March 2014]. Giovanni’s cardiff.co.uk, 2014. Company Profile. www.giovanni’scardiff.co.uk. [Online]. Available at Accessed 6th March 2014. Hoskinson, R., Hit, M., Ireland, R., and Harrison, J., 2012. Competing for advantage. London: Cengage Learning. Lee, R., 2005. The everything guide to starting and running a restaurant: Secrets to a successful business. London: Everything Books. Paley, N., 2006. The manager’s guide to competitive marketing strategies. Chicago: Thorogood Publishing. Slack, N., and Lewis, M., 2011. Operations Strategy. Chicago: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Tripadvisor. Com., 2014. Giovanni’s Restaurant. Tripadvisor.com. [Online], Available at Accessed 5th March 2014. Tripadvisor.Com., 2014. Bellini’s Restaurant. [Online], Available at Accessed 5th March 2014. Valdani, E., and Arbore, A., 2013. Competitive Strategies: Managing the present, imagining the future. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Wiley.com., 2001. Operations Strategy and Competitiveness. WWW.Wiley.Com. [Online], Available at < http://www.wiley.com/college/reid/0471320110/pdf/i_ch02.pdf> [Accessed 5th March 2014]. Read More