Chinese Restaurant in New Castle - Case Study Example

Business Student’s Name University affiliation Business Vivienne, Walter and Stephen with the help of their parents, want to start up a Chinese restaurant in New Castle at the end of the year after they graduate. It is an idea that poses a challenge to them since they are undecided about the type of restaurant to set up, their job descriptions and even the type of workforce they should be employing in order to actualize their project. Even after this is settled, they still have other challenges. Their two major hitch scenarios include: setting up a Chinese restaurant and the model workforce they need. Before advancing with the actualization, there are facts at hand that are to be considered. First, they desired their restaurant to be fashionable enough to attract young people, and for the most part, the overseas students who are in town, but also they wanted to customise it so that it would be a place where people would take their families without discomfiture. They desired a place with excellent food, great service but good value. Walter and Stephen are accountants and lawyers by profession. They are therefore to be in charge of setting up the entire business and accounting arrangements, do the ordering of systems and other related activities while Vivienne is just about to graduate with a degree in Human Resource Management. At the initial instance, Vivienne is expected to think about some of the most essential issues regarding to the personnel that they are required to conscript, where she may be required to start by employing a chef who would be in command of the kitchen. At the same time, cooking is her leisure pursuit, and she likes reading recipes and following cooking programmes in the media. Vivienne and her brothers have all worked in restaurants as part time during school holidays. Lastly, Vivienne is somebody who likes to do things properly. She is very careful and does not want to make any blunders in the course of discharging her duties in the restaurant. Vivienne, Walter and Stephen have got various personalities that when broken down, can help in actualizing the start of their restaurant. To start with, Vivienne loves cooking and at the present, they are lacking a chef. She is also about to graduate with a degree in Human Resource Management and Management. Here, she may be assumed to be the overall supervisor of the restaurant because of this profession. Lastly, she is a perfectionist. It is an attribute that would greatly help in the supervision of all the activities taking place in the kitchen and the restaurant at large. Walter and Stephen would be in charge of all the accounting and legal matters of the restaurant. The lawyer would form the line of defence for the restaurant while the accountant would be involved in record keeping, budget control, ordering of stuff, payment of salaries and the day-to-day reception of cash from the customers at the counter. The nature of the workforce and the work they are expected to perform would influence the actualization of the restaurant. As for the workforce, they may be required to hire six waiters, assuming that a server would be needed to serve five tables in the restaurant. They would also hire a Chinese chef who would provide directions on how to make the Chinese delicacies and also give the customers a feeling of being in China while in the restaurant. They would also need a bartender at the small bar and finally a valet to be attending to the international students who stop by the restaurant. All these people are meant to ease their work at the restaurant at the start and also as time goes by. The main problem they are experiencing so far after the analysis is starting up the business and staying afloat. Therefore, the three proprietors will have to work overtime and multitask over different units with the primary aim being to keep the restaurant running and its operational costs at a minimum. Therefore, an action plan is required. They need to employ at least one Chinese for identity and quality purposes. They are required to source for suppliers of the sea foods and the other Chinese foods that they will be cooking in the restaurant. Again, they will have to decide on the appropriate set up of the restaurant that will favor both the young people and family gatherings without necessarily doing injustices to any group. Also, they have to find ways of publicizing the restaurant and make it attractive such that it would be an ideal place for anybody to stop by and have a bite whenever they feel like. The location of the restaurant is supposed to be also considered to be considered. It is meant to be accessible, preferably in a city center and should have ample parking in consideration of the families and all the other clients. The action plan stipulated above can only be possible if the following assumptions are valid. First, there is no other Chinese restaurant in the vicinity as this would provide competition that may not favor them since it is a young business. The managerial positions are to be taken by the three entrepreneurs alongside other tasks that they will be undertaking on a daily basis because of the small labor force. They do not have financial constraints such that all the expenses are catered for prior to the start of the business. And now that they are all professionals in different fields, they are assumed to have excellent ability in running the business, keeping in mind their areas of academic specializations. In conclusion, Dr. De Gallow, Director, Instructional Services, Helwett Grant agrees that one of the primary features of Problem-Based Learning is that it is student-centred. And that is why there are different approaches that the three entrepreneurs can take to solve the problems at hand. PBL Worksheet Facts Ideas Learning issues Action Plan Vivienne, Walter and Stephen will all be professionals in various fields by the time the business will be operational They can all be incorporated in the day to day running of the restaurant. It is very critical to the success of the business since it is still starting up, and there is the need to reduce operational costs; furthermore it being a start up business, it requires a more hands-on management Vivienne will be employed as the General Manager, Walter will be in charge of accounts and front desk office. Stephen will use his legal skills to acquit the business with the necessary legal papers plus other legal related matters The hotel is meant to serve clientele of different ages and ethnicity. It can be actualised by proper set up of the restaurant plus an excellent marketing plan. It is not easy to host all the above clientele without having a clash of interest. With adequate spacing and clear demarcation of seating areas with comfortable seats designed for different age groups e.g. booths for youth and standard round table with 4-6 seats for families. The hotel requires staffs that are conversant with the Chinese language. It can be overlooked, and the available staff trained on the job or if staffs conversant with the Chinese language then they can be hired. A Chinese restaurant requires waiters with prowess in the Chinese language so that they can be able to be help customers with the description and pronunciations of food on the menu. Staff with a command in Chinese can be hired, or the available but qualified personnel can be trained while on the job. The Restaurant should be strategically located in a city and should have ample parking space. It would be appropriate if the restaurant were at a central place in schools or beside a busy road. There are chances of a larger clientele if the hotel is located in an urban area The three-part owners of the venture should see it fit that the location of the restaurant meets the above or even better. Vivienne has a passion for cooking. A chef can be hired but only in the supervisor role and a trainer to Vivienne. Since the business is still new, it would be expensive to hire a full-time chef. It would be advisable if Vivienne would take up the role of assistant chef as she learns more about the Chinese culinary REFERENCES PROBLEM BASED LEARNING DESCRIPTION. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2015, from http://online.sfsu.edu/rpurser/revised/pages/p Problem-Based Learning Faculty Institute - What is PBL? (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://www.pbl.uci.edu/whatispbl.html Baden, M., & Major, C. (2004). Foundations of problem-based learning. Maidenhead: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press. Baden, M., & Major, C. (2004). Foundations of problem-based learning. Maidenhead: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press. Read More