Globalization Influence on the Beefeater Grill - Essay Example

? GLOBALIZATION Outline A) Introduction. B) History of Beefeater. C) Services offered. D) Corporate culture. C) Conclusion. Foreword: This research paper analyzes the operation of the restaurant network Beefeater in the UK in its connection with globalization. Thesis: The whole network of Beefeater covers 141 restaurants in the country and several more in the capitals of some European countries. The company under consideration is ‘Beefeater Grill’. It is the net of cafes in the UK. Being a brand of Whitebread organization, Beefeater was set in 1974 with the first cafe in Enfield. As it can be guessed from the restaurant title, it provides mostly substantial meals with a lot of meat. One more peculiar feature is that the prices in this restaurant are quite reasonable. The whole network of Beefeaters covers 141 restaurants in the country and several more in the capitals of some European countries. Each year for about 10-20 new restaurants are introduced in the UK and in the whole world. The great advantage of Beefeater is the opportunity to spend the evening in quiet surrounding, having pleasant communication at a restaurant table. Soft music follows the process of taking food and moreover clients of the restaurant have the chance to have a dance. The space in the restaurant is enough to celebrate remarkable events such as a wedding breakfast, anniversaries and so on. The restaurant interior includes both modern and classical art. The common room suggests the modern design of the interior, while the private cabins are decorated in a floral or classical style. The specialty of the restaurant is meat cooked on grill. It is believed to be a healthy product since it contains small amount of additives, and other harmful products. On the menu there are different kinds of fish, meat and meat dishes. Beefeater represents a restaurant of the pub type. It means that people visit it not only to have a good meal but to honour the tradition of pub-visiting. Beefeater as any other business nowadays is involved in the process of globalization. “Globalisation (or globalization) describes the process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of political ideas through communication, transportation, and trade (Sheila, 2004 ).” It can be said for sure that Beefeater has penetrated into the globalization process. The first thing to be mentioned is that several restaurants of the brand are located in European countries. This process has been taking place for several decades. To enter a foreign market, a company has to fix in the local market and make enough profit to carry out the market research and other procedures abroad. The restaurant Beefeater uses the domestic products while they are quickly-spoiled and cannot be transported from abroad. The design and trends are taken from the American net of restaurants. The very idea of launching the network of the same restaurants in the country belongs to the USA. This network is characterized by reasonable prices, because of the pattern that is copied in every city. With every other restaurant the expenses are reduced by a small percentage, since the organizers know the best way to save money to set up a new building. The cooks can be also referred to the process of globalization since they are invited from other countries. In order to attract even more clients the company has introduced new dishes with the international flavor in the menu. The cooks prepare Indian, Mexican and French meat at Beefeater. The thing is that in order to get employed by the company one needs perfect recommendations, a talent and accuracy. All jobs at the restaurant demand the abovementioned features. The next aspect that connects Beefeaters and globalization is the personal site of the company. On the site www.beefeater.co. one can find the company’s history, menu, services it provides and the working hours. The Internet site also made it possible to leave positive or negative comments on-line. Being on the Internet widens the popularity of the company not only in the UK but also in the whole world. Another important on-line service is the opportunity to locate the nearest restaurant to the place of one’s dislocation. To do this it is necessary just to enter the name of the city a client is in at the moment and the site gives the address and the routs how to get there by car or by public transport. The advertisement of the company sounds the following: “Sit back and relax in our beautiful outdoor patio, enjoy a cozy dinner for two by our fireplace, or have a good time with some friends and a pint in our beautiful pub.” (www.beefeaterspub.com). The network of Beefeater restaurant also offers the opportunity to earn extra money for students during summer holidays. The core staff is allowed to have vocation in summer though someone has to work at the restaurant since they are flooded with tourists. And here the company hires students to work at the kitchen or even as a waiter if a person proves to be a reliable one. This summer I worked there as a waiter for two months in order to earn some extra money and to get some hand-on experience from the company. The abstracts below are dedicated to the conclusion that I have made about Beefeater Company. The management of the company is quite strict towards the employees and rather loyal to a client. To put it another way the rule ‘A customer is always right” is the basic one here. The managerial grid consists of several levels. The head of the restaurant is called the department director. He decides on the specific policy of the certain restaurant taking into account the specific features of the environment. He is to solve the most difficult problems and those that cannot be solved by the managers of the lower level. This position is assigned by the main office management. Next comes a vice director of the restaurant who performs the functions of the director’s deputy. He acts as a director while the latter in on a business trip or on a sick leave. The next position in the managerial hierarchy is a functional manager of the restaurant. His task is to follow weather the functions are performed in a proper way. He also coordinates the functions distribution in the restaurant. Then come managers in charge of the sanitary norms, managers of the food quality, personnel manager and sales manager. A sales manager deals with the advertising, buying from a supplier and regulating prices on food products in the menu. Since the motto of the restaurant is “To provide high quality relaxation and food at reasonable prices, the increasing price policy will contradict the very nature of the restaurant. The key clients of the restaurant are those with an average income, who are looking for a quality food and service. Beefeater is several ranks higher than the restaurants of fast food with self-servicing. Here one can enjoy the pleasure of being served by polite waiters and metiers. The prices in the restaurant are reasonable because the dishes that the menu suggests do not need any special expensive foreign ingredients. The suppliers of the restaurant are mainly local with a few exceptions. As mentioned above some dressings and greenery are imported from Italy, Spain etc. The suppliers of the restaurant are the farms of the UK rural areas. The suppliers have not changed during the last decade. It signals about the agreement that satisfies both parties. Because of the restaurant specialty as meat, it is necessary to be very careful while buying the raw meat as well as while cooking it. During the whole operation of the network there was not a single case of food poisoning. It can be explained by a strict quality policy that a firm follows. Having even slightest suspicions about the product quality the restaurant refuses dealing with a supplier. The process of globalization is revealed also in the legislation that a restaurant is to follow. The sanitary norms are followed very strictly in the restaurant – the commissions of the fire security, health committee and others check the restaurant very often. That is why it is necessary to check waiters, cooks and housekeeping personnel carefully in order to avoid problems with the commissions in future. The thing is that the requirements to the restaurants have been toughened recently in order to meet the world standards. While serving a client it is necessary to be polite, and surely to give the best smile. Waiters are demanded to be always in good mood but at the same time they are to be restrained and not to be on a friendly terms with a client. Each waiter gets points for serving good or bad. It is made through a special questioner that is asked to be fulfilled after the meal is over. Tips are not obligatory in this restaurant and one can leave easily without paying it. Though, if a client decides to leave tips it usually makes 5-10% from the total price of the order. Such policy is also explained by the increasing competition in this sphere in the world. The personnel of Beefeater are demanded to wear a uniform of scarlet and black. These are the official colors of the restaurant taken from the history of England. A very interesting fact is that in some restaurants at the entrance there is a beefeater helping the clients to get into the restaurant. Therefore, penetrating into foreign markets a company has a national advantage of using the colours of the world-known soldiers. While working at the restaurant I became a part of its corporate culture. Every group in business works out its own code of corporate culture. It is to be mentioned that in Beefeater the hierarchical subordination represents one of the key elements in the whole process of management. Every member of the company fulfills the volume of task ascribed to his position. Any exceeding of the power is punished either by a penalty or even dismissal. The working day starts at 9 am and finishes at 11 p.m. The staff works in shifts. It gives the opportunity to organize the operation of the restaurant in a more efficient way. The restaurant is very interested in the feedback from its clients that is why there is a complains book, where one can express his/her suggestions on what is to be improved in the restaurant. “Beefeater is a perfect place for a romantic night for two, a business lunch, family night, or just about any reason you have to go out.” (www.beefeaterspub.com ) It is the title of the restaurant that brings the national flavor, since beefeaters are the Queen’s guard and they became inherent with the UK history. In the process of globalization, while expanding to the international markets, the title of the restaurants brings great advantage to the owner. It is very exotic to have a meal for example in Spain at a restaurant called with an originally English word ‘Beefeater”. Speaking about advertising, it is necessary to point out that it is rather aggressive. In other words the management promoted the network of restaurants in every possible way. “A new TV advert was produced and has been run on ITV1 and Channel 4 in the Midlands, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire region” (Two-For-One Steak Meal For Every Reader). The company representatives give out leaflets in the streets and newspapers have gigantic pictures of the Beefeater’s logotype in it. The policy of special prices per day is also a kind of advertising. For example, on Monday it is cheaper to order fish. On Tuesday it will be chicken and on Friday it is pork. Only on the weekend there is no special offer, since the restaurant is full anyway. The National Steak week that has become a regular holiday in the UK chose the network of Beefeater as the winner of the week. It means that a network has a great number of clients with the majority of them being satisfied with the service. The jury tasted many steaks but the one of Beefeater’s was claimed to be the best. Considering everything stated above, it is to be mentioned that Beefeater participates actively in the process of globalization, mainly in the economic one. “Economic globalization - realization of a global common market, based on the freedom of exchange of goods and capital. The interconnectedness of these markets, however, meant that an economic collapse in one area could impact other areas“ (Bhagwati, 2004). Due to the globalization Beefeater is able to choose the best location for the restaurant with the view of getting as mush profit as possible. Globalization at Beefeater is developed not only in expanding its production broad but also in being on the Internet. Everyone in the world has the opportunity to get acquainted with it. The title also encourages globalization since it is very advantageous for the restaurant to have the original title – it attracts many clients and puts the business into prosperity. So, Beefeater refers to economic and cultural globalization. REFERENCE 1. ‘Two-For-One Steak Meal For Every Reader’, The Express via Europe Intelligence Wire. October 10, 2002 2. ‘Beefeater set to exploit data for new push. (News).(Beefeater chain will launch database marketing strategy)(Brief Article)’. Precision Marketing. April 4, 2003. 3 www.beefeaterspub.com 4. www.beefeater.co.uk 5. Bhagwati, J, 2004. In Defense of Globalization. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. 6. Sheila L. Croucher, 2004, Globalization and Belonging: The Politics of Identity in a Changing World. Rowman & Littlefield. 7. ‘Special Report - The Global 2000,’ Forbes, April 2, 2008. 8. Reich, R., 1992. The Work of the Nations, Preparing Ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Read More