Operation Management of a Five Star Restaurant in a Competitive City - Coursework Example

Operation Management-Restaurant: Facility format. You are building a Five Star Restaurant in a competitive Competitive, not with reference to general business wise, but hotel industry-wise. Many Five Star Hotels do brisk business in the city. Your proposed Hotel needs to be better than the best. Your customers need to come to not only on the day of inauguration of the Hotel, but ever thereafter .Restaurant facility design and layout has several dimensions. You need to incorporate everything latest, in the industry. Firstly, let us start with the Design and Construction Process. 1. Construction Documents: The general contractor for the restaurant requires scaled construction documents. These documents are drawn on a CAD system of by hand: The drawings give details of elevations, space planning, and the schedule. A pool of consultants joins together, to finalize this important document. Next, submit them to the local Building and Health Department for verification and eventual sanction.(www.mosserdesign.net.) 2. Typical Drawings: Some of the important drawings are, Floor Plan with FF & E( furniture, fixtures and equipment), environmental plan, kitchen equipment elevations, Telephone and electrical plan, etc. 3. Building Codes: Your plans need to in conformity with the building and health codes applicable to your city/location. These plans are required to be approved by County Health Department, Dept. of Building and Safety, Fire Marshall and Special Agencies 4. Food Service Consultants: Once you give the full specifications, they will plan accordingly. You will get specialized opinion from these professionals, as they normally do not do marketing for any type of equipment. It is better not to give the contract for those consultants who do the marketing of the products also, in which case their opinion can be biased in favor of the products which they wish to promote. 5. Certified (or licensed) Interior Designers: They plan the non-structural work. The areas to which they pay attention are, entry, bars, dining rooms, public rest rooms and eating counters. 6. Architects: A very important part of the facility set up They avail the services of a Structural Engineer and submit plans to the Department of Building and Safety. In addition, additional consultant are appointed by them, such as, Mechanical Engineers, Lighting Consultants, Audio Consultants and Electrical Engineers.. 7. Equipment Suppliers and Dealers: This is a key area. Supply firms prefer turn-key assignments. You are offered the free design as well. But you need to take care about the quality of the design. Designing in itself is a specialized job 8. Hiring a General Contractor: Here Again you need to hire the services of a specialist builder, not any other builder. One who has he good track record of building restaurants only must be considered. Check, whether he has the proper license. 9. Publicist: .Any good game in business is all about publicity. Your investment is heavy. You need returns from day one, and restaurant business it is not asking for too much. A good publicist works with imagination. He will not wait for the inaugural ceremony of your restaurant and then send press releases. He needs to send pre-inauguration reviews and should succeed in creating a favorable ground for the grand launch of your restaurant. A restaurant is a multi-disciplinary project. It is not about your menu alone. But, if you have engaged a high profile chef, that is your plus point. This aspect requires wide publicity. “A restaurateur needs to have a space plan based on the operations requirements. A Food Facility Designer will interview you thoroughly and will recommend the best equipment for your type of operation and budget. Because the designer has no alliance with any equipment manufacturers, you dont have to worry about a conflict of interest. You can be assured that what the designer recommends will be right for you.” (www.rooze.com.) Key objectives of the facility design: The key objectives of the facility layout that I have chosen are to achieve my business goals. I know, I am making entry in a tough, competitive business area. Therefore, I leave nothing to chance. Cost is no consideration for me, when it comes to quality. “Penny wise, pound foolish,” is an old, trend-setting adage. In the fierce materialistic world of competition, customers are willing to pay the best for the best. The consultants/engineers/equipments/public relations men that I have engaged for my project, are the best in the field. Measuring profitability is my main concern, but it is not the sole concern in the initial stage of launching the project. I am happy if I achieve he break-even in he first year. I am not going to believe the paper warranty and guarantees of the products. If they are a part of the product sale, it is well and good. But my objective in the purchase of any product for my project is the past performance of the company. I will study market reports, visit some of the sites to satisfy myself about the capability and efficiency of the company of the gentlemen whom I am going to hire, from a short-listed panel. You will find from the above facility layout, that in every area, I have gone for the best. I don’t wish to take any chances. The short tem gain of the cheap rate does appeal to me. I have to stay in this line of business for a long time, and so, long term gains alone take my attention. A warning from the father of Total Quality Management, the late Dr. Deming: "Everyone propels himself forward for his own good, on his own life preserver. The organization is the looser. "I know, every departmental head thinks about the performance and profit of his own section” (www.toolbase.org.) But a superior goal exists over the individual goals. My endeavor is to give proper training and vision to my departmental heads in this aspect. “The astute manager understands how a department’s operating strategies contributes to customer satisfaction and overall company profitability, then seeks measures that reinforce high performance strategies. These managers then use performance measures to guide the actions of their associates”.(www.toolbase.org.) My maximum attention will be on the Service Department. I don’t treat customer complaints as complaints. Such a customer is an invisible partner in the growth of our organization. He has spent his time and money to compliant, to improve the efficiency of our organization. He has helped us by sending on to us the valuable gift of complaint. In that area he has scored over others, who were not satisfied and who did not complain. What is important to the customer is the fast response to his compliant. That indeed will make him realize that, ‘the customer is the king.’ When you do right things at the right time, there are no complaints. Complaints originate when you do wrong things at the right time. “Still other builders (project launchers-this addition of two words mine) find that a balance of factors produces the results they desire. K. Hovnanian, a 1997 NHQ winner uses a balanced scorecard for field associates. Overall performance is a weighting of customer satisfaction survey results (30%), build cycle time (20%), budget (20%), zero defect walkthrough (20%), safety and teamwork (10%).”(www.toolbase.org.) Six performance measures: I don’t brag when I say, that as a Operations Director, I am the key official. I am just like the General on the fighting front. Even though my working hours are 9 hours a day, I need to be at the disposal of the Restaurant 24 hours a day. The six performance measures that I consider important to manage the facility are as under:- 1. Finance: This is the keyword in any business establishment, and in a fast-moving industry like Restaurant, where sales and purchases move at a brisk pace, all through the year, 24 hours a day, this is the pivotal area. I will design appropriate control sheets, so that I must get the up to date position, on day to day basis, by calling for the relevant information from the Food Service Supervisor, Food Site Managers and the Purchasing Managers on issues related to food service. Since we run a Chain of Hotels, I need to be in continuous coordination with General Manager and Vice President of Vending Operations. My functions in this department include controls related to food service, profit and loss in the kitchen output, appropriate pricing and controlling the costs, and keep a careful watch on the inventory. Catering projections need constant attention and review, according to the demands of the situation. Not much time is lost when an inventory item become s the dead stock due to lifestyle changes of the customers and seasonal fluctuations in business. Inventory needs to be maintained like a current account. Menu needs to be updated at fixed intervals, or earlier as per the demand of the time. I need to control the tough game of profit and loss. 2. Food Production: This is the key area in any Restaurant from the point of view of the customers. If the food service is not good, customers do not require any further advice, not to visit our restaurant for the second time. The implementing ability in restaurants with regard to facilities provided, safety, maintenance, keep the tools and equipment in the performing level without any difficulty to the customer, the production capacity and ability of the employees as per the menu, execution of the day orders and special orders in an efficient manner. 3. The Human Resources-the Employees: I know, the employees can build or break a service a industry like restaurant. I am not referring to the trade union aspect of the issue. The science of Ergonomics says that you need to find proper men for the proper jobs. I will see that the Kitchen Production Manager not only produces the good stuff in the kitchen, but they reach the customer’s table in an appropriate manner. Each employee in this area is the public relations man for the Organization. The staff requires constant training. I will oversee proper documentation for appointment and termination of the employees. 4. Cost and Food Choices: The customer is the King. His disposition will also be King-like, when he visits an important and costly restaurant like ours. This area requires constant attention, innovation and articulation. All within the perimeters of cost effectiveness! All actions and services are related to profit and loss. It shall be my sincere concern to design and develop new food items, design the menu as per new styles, study the customer taste preferences, the latest eating trends, taking into the factors of healthy eating as per the latest medial research, be in constant dialogue with our Dietician for the purpose of nutritional analysis. 5Cleaning procedures and inspection: I ensure that the sanitation measures are as per the manual of instructions of the restaurant and code. The legal necessities and standards approved by HACCP and FDA shall be strictly complied with. 6. The Public Relations exercise with the customers: Customer is the backbone of this industry. Periodical surveys shall be conducted to know the customer’s response and needs. Opinions of the customers will be gathered both with regard to vending and catering. Canvassing will be done for the Special Events at the top levels of commercial organizations.(career builder.com) References: 1. www.toolbase.org. (Article: Quality performance measures) 2. Career builder.com (Six performance measures) 3. www.mosserdesign.net. 4. www.rooze.com Read More