Food and Beverage Operations Management - Assignment Example

 The food industry is a multifaceted, global network of different business, which serves the food supplies and the food energy consumed by the world’s population. This paper will explore professional food and beverage operations and management systems, towards understanding the production system and the service system. The areas covered include the characteristics of the food and beverage production and service systems, the factors affecting recipes and menus; compare the cost and staffing implications for different systems and justify the suitability of systems for particular food and beverage outlets. Food and beverage production and service systems 1.1 Discuss the characteristics of food production and food & beverage service systems The characteristics of food production include that it covers the commercialized movement of food from the production fields, where the food items are grown and nurtured to the point where the food meets the end consumer, who consumes it (El-Tawila et al., 1998). Traditionally, food production revolved around two major activities, including the labour-intensive input of efforts and resources at the agricultural stage of production, and the second activity was the personalized preparation of food, so that it can become consumable by the end consumer (Ninemeier, 2010). In the modern food production cycle, food production has been influenced largely, by the technological and the cultural changes that have taken place or influenced people over the past 150 years. The food production cycle is characterized by different food-industry components, which work towards the improvement of the experience of the end consumer. These components include regulation, research and development, education, manufacturing, financial services, food processing, agriculture, marketing, retailing and wholesale and distribution. There are different food and beverage service systems. Traditionally, food and service delivery services were viewed like a cycle within an established delivery system. However, food and beverage services cover two different systems, which are required to operate simultaneously, if the system is to serve the target population effectively (Davis et al., 2012). The different systems include the service sequence, which is the service system; it is tasked with the role of delivering beverages and food items to the customers of the services (El-Tawila et al., 1998). The second system is the customer process, which is the system tasked with the responsibility of the experience or the process that the target customers gain. 1.2 Factors affecting recipes and menus for specific systems The factors that affect menus and recipes for specific systems include the need to produce a consistent quality of food quality. This factor entails the inclusion of menu items that allow for quality consistency when served and during the preparation of the food (Ninemeier, 2010). The second factor that influences recipes and menus is customer satisfaction, where the given menus and recipes are chosen, so that the specific system can avoid shortages of servings and to avoid overproduction. This factor is also the area that influences the tastes and the standards that are expected by the customers (El-Tawila et al., 1998). The third factor is the consistency of the nutrient content of foods, which affects the menus and the recipes chosen for specific systems. Food cost control is another factor influencing the menus and the recipes chosen for specific systems, because a change of the ingredients of the food being prepared and served or the model of service can affect the costs incurred. 1.3 Compare the cost and staffing implications for different systems Using the tactical scheduling system, the scheduler does not bother about the specific employees, the minimum staffs to meet the needs of the tasks are chosen, scheduling is done periodically as a component of planning and the scheduling is done by department staffs or operational analysts (Davis et al., 2012). Using these systems, the generalized outlook of the system requires fewer scheduling costs, but it requires the recruitment of more staffs into the system. On the other hand, when using an operational scheduling system, specific employees are identified, current staffs are picked to meet the staffing targets, it is done after every two to six weeks, and it is implemented by the department staff (El-Tawila et al., 1998). The implication of the operational scheduling is more costly, mainly because it requires the recruitment of specific staffs for the task, it schedules current staffs for the task, and it is repeated more often than in the case of tactical scheduling. 1.4 Justify the suitability of systems for particular food and beverage outlets Taking the case of a hotel into account, the hotel is required to have effective and proper control systems, in order to ensure that the management of the operation is easy, and that operations run smoothly (Davis et al., 2012). Also, the system helps the business to avoid the commission of fraudulent activities, among the customers as well as the workers of the hotel. For a hotel, a sales control system works well, and is applied to every stage throughout the food and beverage service cycle. This system is suitable for the hotel, because it allows for taking of the beverage or food order, it facilitates the announcement of the order to the kitchen; it ensures that the order is taken right and in a timely manner, and it checks that the right order is served. Additionally, the system is suitable for the hotel, because it checks that the right bill is issued, and it facilitates the setting of bills for food and beverages (Ninemeier, 2010). The manual checking system is suitable for a bar or offering restaurant services. The beverage checking system allows for the writing of 3 copies of the order; the three copies have the same serialized number, but are different from the other two, in colour. After the order is registered with the service staff, one copy is sent to the bar, showing the drinks to be delivered to the given customer. After the waiter collects the order, the first serialized copy is slipped inside the control box (El-Tawila et al., 1998). The control box remains locked, and is maintained by the department in charge of beverage control, as a way of preventing malpractices and fraudulent activities. The second copy is offered to the cashier and from it; they prepare the bill, which is in double copies. The first copy is given to the customer, and the second is retained by the cashier. The cashier, then attaches the copy of the bill to the copy of the order, and surrenders them, together with the sales summary, to the beverage control at the end of a business day (Ninemeier, 2010). The 3rd copy of the order is retained by the waiter for cross-reference and when serving the order. The third copy may be recalled by the control department, whenever an audit is necessary. Conclusion The food industry network covers different businesses, which serves the food supplies and the food energy needs for the world’s population. From an exploration of professional food and beverage operations and management systems, it was revealed that the system is comprised of two facets, namely the labour-intensive input of efforts and resources at the agricultural stage of production and the personalized preparation of food. From the exploration of the production and the service system; cost and staffing and the suitability of systems for food and beverage systems, different factors come into play. These factors that influence operations and systems include the need to produce a consistent quality of food quality, cultivation of customer satisfaction, meeting tastes and expected standards and cost control. Reference List Davis, B., Lockwood, A., Alcot, P. and Pantelidis, I., 2012. Food and Beverage Management, 5th Edition. London: Rutledge. El-Tawila, M.M., Ashour, M., Awad, O., Al Morshedy, H. and Hassan, M., 1998. Sanitation characteristics of some food processing industries. J Egypt Public Health Assoc, 73(3-4), pp. 345-68. Ninemeier, J., 2010. Management of Food and Beverage Operations, 5th Edition. New York: Educational Institute of the American Hotel Motel Assoc. Read More