Analysis of a Production System in the Food Industry - Restaurants - Assignment Example

ANALYSIS OF A PRODUCTION SYSTEM IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY - RESTAURANTS Executive Summary In businessactivities, goods and often produced and thereafter, they are distributed and sold to customers, who become the final users of these products. Before the products and brought to the market, they have undergo a production process, which involves a series of stages for value addition. In this value addition process, companies take time to change raw materials into finished products. Different kinds of goods have different process that go into the value addition, while same take a shorter time, other products have series of stages that make their production and manufacturing processes long. For instance, one may not compare the process that go into production of most perishable goods like foods and durable goods like capital goods. Production processes are expected to follow all the outlined steps in the production process in order to enhance their quality and adherence to the legal policies and regulations for effective outcomes. For instance, products that are essential for the health and well being of consumers have to be manufactured and proper health conditions that are outlined by a country’s health department and ministry and the legal provisions for the same (Wiesman 2006, 16). This paper analyses the production systems that are used in the food industry, especially in restaurants. It focuses on how these systems are designed to deal with dynamics that arise in the food industry and in restaurant in particular. Introduction All production systems, irrespective of the type of industry in which they are found, can be termed as essential transformational processes that change raw materials into useful finished products that can be brought to the market for sale or consumed. The process of transforming raw materials into finished products relies on the normal resources found in a business. Fig 1. The production system (Pinedo, 2009) These resources, which are often present in the business include capital (materials, equipment and machinery), labour, space (buildings, land etc.). In economic terms, these resources are often described as factors of production. In some case, project managers sometimes refer to these resources as “five Ms,” where they mean, machines, money, methods, men and materials. When the production system is considered as being a process, it can further characterized by its flow, which are the channels that facilitate movement of the goods (Pinedo, 2009, 47). In this process, it is important to note that in the production process, the physical flow and finished goods by which materials are often associated happen in the transitional stages of the manufacture (often referred to as WIP – Work in progress). In addition, they also involve information flow as well as the compulsory paperwork that goes with the particular paperwork. In a typical production system, physical flows sometimes are subjected to various limitations, which reduce that system’s capacity to achieve its expectations in full (Pil & Fujimoto, 2007, 43). In addition, the ability of the channel that handles information in any production system can also be an essential measure of the output in particular production systems. For this reason, one of the important tasks of production managers is to manage the information flows, control the system and coordinate the planning process so that the desired outcomes are met effectively. Fig 2. The Production Process (Pinedo, 2009) Key Operations in food production in restaurants In the food industry, strict adherence to the laid down policies and produces is important in ensuring that restaurant and other kind of hotels offer excellent food services. For this reason, most of the food directors on these restaurants adopt the foodservice system, but also carries out some adjustments or make new ones to make it achieve their interest. Under the current food environments, it is often had to get adequate labour, something that makes food directors to consider various alternatives towards successful food production. In addition, a great concern is given towards health matters in the food industry; this is done to ensure that safety matters are adhered to effectively. In this case, quality control is necessary to ensure that all consumers in this industry get maximum utility for the services they offer. When any changes are supposed to be made in the production process, knowing other possible alternatives in case of systems failures is paramount. As far as system operations are concerned, production managers are expected to understand the entire flow of the production system so that they can determine how best the system will help to meet the set goals and objectives. In the food industry, and restaurants specifically, food flows take ten main process or stages as shown. Fig 3. Operations in food production in restaurants (Parsa, 2002) It is important to understand that when the food production process is centralized, then the need to have a reliable transportation system arises and has to be met. In a centralized production system, different processes are established including control points that are often considered critical (Katz 2003, 17). This happens for all the centralized food production systems as well as those receiving kitchens, which act as satellite points. Food procession It is always important that production managers in restaurants understand how to manage the production process by using this system. The form in which the food is purchased is important in understanding the specific demands in the foods to sell to consumers (Beckford & Campbell 2013, 36). Managers are expected to make their decisions based on the characteristics of the following continuum. Fig 4. Food processing continuum (Parsa, 2002) Let us consider a restaurant that sells Italian bread; different decisions can be made about the food to be processed in reference to the characteristics of the processing continuum. While some consumers can prefer to buy the ingredients to make the bread on their own, some prefer to buy readymade bread from the restaurant. When consumers purchase the ingredients, the need for prior processing becomes none, so that decisions made are based on the left end of the system. On the other hand, consumers can buy the frozen bread dough and follow the rest of the procedures to produce the particular food. In this case, the purchase is done from the mid-section of the continuum. When readymade food is bought from the restaurants, consumers are only expected to make the serving of the bread at their convenience; this means that the right side of the right side of the continuum is considered. How the organization’s delivery system can fail to align its operational performance measures Before any business invests in any management systems or production process that is deemed essential in enhancing its effectiveness and efficiency in production, distribution and sale of its goods and services, reliable analysis and evaluation of the system and approach is necessary (Vorley 2007, 37). A business has to consider the potential benefits against the costs needed in the design and implementation of the particular system. In this case, a business can adopt the system if it’s perceived benefits outweigh the costs to be incurred. A production system is designed to increase efficiency, effectiveness and accuracy in the production activities in the restaurant. The system enhances quality in the products that are made available to consumers as well as the particular services that accompany the whole process. However, it is important to understand that failure to adhere to the needs of the system can often result in unexpected disadvantages and shortfall in the production processes. In working with this system, food production managers are expected to pay much attention on the characteristics of the particular consumers according to their purchasing patterns and behaviors. Failure to make this analysis can result in various shortfalls in the entire process. Inability to understand demand patterns and behavior One of the failures that can be realized from the food production system is the restaurant’s inability to understand the market demands that often arise from the processing continuum. Production managers have to make decisions on the kinds of foods they sell depending on the purchasing behaviors of the consumers. For instance, while some consumers prefer buying readymade food from restaurants, other prefer buying raw ingredients to make it from their own convenience. Other often buy read made food and other buy the semi-processed foods according to the continuum. In this case, decisions on what to sell should be made on the characteristic of the continuum. Making false assumptions The second major shortfall that can arise from the production system is the tendency to make false assumptions about the demand patterns in the system. In most cases, production managers direct the stocking process with the assumption that the demand patterns in the organization will remain constant. This is can be a very unfavorable move especially in the phase of changing customer preferences. The restaurant is expected to make all its sticking and sell process according to the projected demand patterns as outlined from previous performance from the processing continuum. Food production managers should therefore establish the right prediction about the expected market pattern sin the process of managing their production and processing systems. Lean production Lean production refers to a management approach to production that focuses on reducing the unnecessary wastes in production, while guaranteeing quality in the products and services produced (Askin & Goldberg 2002, 23). This method of production applies to all kinds of businesses including the food industry, ranging from the design all the way through production and distribution. The major objective of this production method is to reduce operating costs while increasing business efficiency and responsiveness to changes in the market. In its practice, the method cuts down all the activities done in the business, but do not add any meaningful value to the production process (Black 2008, 17). Some of the activities that the method aims at eliminating include unnecessary holding of business stock because of failures in demand forecasting, unnecessary movements of people and repairs to products that may not be beneficial to the business. Application of the lean approach in food production From the foregone discussion, it is evident that lean production has the main aim of simply getting more profits with fewer resources. In this case, an organisation that effectively applies this method reduces the quantities of resources required in the production of services and other products for their consumers. In food processing, this method, when effectively used can reduce the shortfalls that arises with inefficiencies from unreliable demand forecasts (Tin & Ribeiro 2012, 46). Lean production can enable the food production mangers to reduce stock purchases in anticipation of favorable market demands that may never arise in the business considering the unpredictable changes that happen in the customers’ tastes and preferences. It is important to understand that the use of the production method in the food industry cannot only reduce the operational costs, but also pass these savings to their customers in terms of increase in the value of goods. Some of the benefits that can be passed on to improvement of customers’ value include continuous improvements in the processing process. This involves creation of an organisational culture that is persistently engages in creating and improving on the quality and value of the production process. Another advantage that food production processes and systems like restaurants can have by incorporating lean production is that it can enhance just-in-time production process. In this case, the restaurants adopt an approach where materials are demanded and used according to the rising demand. In this case, restaurants can eliminate the habit of keeping large amounts of stock levels in anticipation of a rise in demand. Another advantage of lean production approaches in the restaurant is that it reduces the time that is wasted in particular business operations. In this case, the restaurant ends up adopting a flexible workforce that has a multiplicity of workers. In addition, workers in the restaurant get the responsibility to get this right in the first time. How the lean approach can assist restaurants in their aligning operational performance measures. Principles of lean production are regarded as essential in increasing efficiency and effectiveness in the business functions. When implemented, the approach can reduce performance inn efficiencies while increasing the restaurants returns from their production activities. By reducing unnecessary procedures and practices in the course of its operations, a restaurant can transfer these costs towards improving and enhancing the value of their customers as far as effective service and product delivery is concerned. Manpower Reductions The first advantage that restaurants can have in the course of the food production processes is reducing its manpower reductions. Quality in restaurants cannot be achieved by having more employees, but rather employees that are effective to manage in terms of reducing production efficiencies and unnecessary diseconomies. By adopting the lean approach, restaurants can manage to establish standardized work practices that offer increased efficiencies. In this case, the capacity to work with less people and achieve desired results becomes evident. However, the staff reduction is not expected to cause widespread unemployment (Haley-Lock 2011, 827); instead, the restaurant can decide to train and empower them to perform other activities and maintenance of the system after its implementation Ease of management The second advantage associated with implementation of lean production in restaurants is the way it enhance ease of management. In implementing lean production approaches, the restaurants is able to restructure its human resource functions, giving job descriptions to employees that can manage them effectively (Dennis 2002, 57). It is important to understand that in as much as problems may arise in the course of operation, which is common in all management functions; the lean approach enhances efficiency in solving them. In restructuring its business and operation functions, restaurants can train the extra employees they reduce so that they can become important support groups for the business. The restaurants can retrain these extra staff so that in such case, it makes good use of them and enhance their effectiveness and efficiency in business performance. Improved employee morale During the initial stages, the lean approach faces much resistance from employees who always complain of staff reduction though reductions (Blokdijk, 2008, 32). However, restaurants have to cope with this development effectively by engaging them differently, for instance, the restaurant can decide to train them on their skills in the hope of using them as support groups when as need arises in its functions. Later, as the restaurant remains with a lean staff, employee morale and confidence in the restaurant’s functions become real. Having a small staff enables the restaurants to empower them effectively and address their concerns with due conveniences, something that enhances their morale and confidence in work practices (Nicholas 2011, 39). It is important for production managers to understand that, just like any other form of management, change is essential and inevitable. In addition, the change process is always very desirable; it is always bound to face resistance from various sections of the business. In this case, the production manager has to have a firm belief in the intended strategies considering the overall short and long-term advantages that the business stands to get amidst competition and the changing business environment in the marketplace (Mosavi 2012, 93). Bibliography Askin, R., & Goldberg, J. 2002. Design and analysis of lean production systems. Wiley, New York. Beckford, C., & Campbell, D. (2013). Domestic food production and food security in the Caribbean building capacity and strengthening local food production systems. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Black, J. 2008. Lean production: Implementing a world-class system. Industrial Press, New York, NY. 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