The Food & Beverage System - Essay Example

The Food & Beverage System – Fundamentals Introduction The food and beverage system is a complex system that comprises various subsystems which interact to ensure successful operation of the entire system. This essay will evaluate the fundamental aspects of the food and beverage system, including the subsystems in this system, the interactions involved and how they affect the operations of the food and beverage service in terms of meeting customers’ needs. To understand how the subsystems function, the significance of strategic management in the food and beverage system will also be discussed. The essay will also discuss the foodservice systems model to show the operations involved in a food and beverage service setting. In particular, managers of food and beverage organisations have to make critical decisions regarding the basic input, process, output model of the foodservice system to ensure that such organisations not only meet the needs of their customers but also increase their productivity. The food and beverage system: its subsystems A food and beverage system can be defined on the basis of the definition of the term ‘system’. A system can be defined as an interaction of all components of subsystems in a given unit, with the whole not equal to but in fact bigger than the sum of its components (Davis et al. 2012, p. 308). A food and beverage system such as a hotel has many subsystems functioning within it. For instance, the food and beverage section in a hotel will typically comprise a series of subsystems that are closely linked, such as the kitchen, restaurants, bars, and many others, which combined, make up the whole – that is the food and beverage system (Davis et al. 2012, p. 308). The various subsystems included in this example (kitchen, restaurants and bars) must function harmoniously in order to ensure that the food and beverage system (that is the hotel) functions optimally and meets the needs of its customers. A typical food and beverage system would generally involve at least three subsystems, with each of the subsystems also having further subsystems (Waller 2011, p. 157). For instance, a model of a hotel restaurant system as presented by Waller (2011, p. 157) shows that the hotel restaurant has various subsystems including the food production system, the drinks service system, and the food service system. Each of these subsystems has other subsystems such as reception, taking orders, provision of products, billing and tilling. Further, these subsystems are associated with different staff activities. For example, reception involves greeting clients, seating and presenting the menu. Taking clients’ orders involves dealing with enquiries and problems. Provision of products requires staff to apply their skills and techniques. During the billing process, the hotel staff have to check whether the customers have been satisfied with the services and products provided or not. Finally, when it comes to tilling, the hotel staff have to thank the customer in order to increase chances of the customer coming again and hence promote further sales. The relationships between the various subsystems in the hotel restaurant system are illustrated as shown in figure 1. Figure 1: The food and beverage system and subsystems Source: Waller (2011, p. 157) Interaction of the various subsystems and customer focus Whatever the mode of production used in a food and beverage system, the customer is the most important part of the production line (Waller 2011, p. 156). This means that the various interactions between the subsystems have to be focused on meeting the expectations of customers. According to Waller (2011, p. 156), customers look for reliability and consistency. This means that if a service or product that is offered today is good, it has to be the same or even better tomorrow and the day after. Customers also have a series of expectations regarding the hospitality organisation that they visit Davis 2012, p. 33). They concerned with the type of service they will receive, the amount of money they will be charged, the expected atmosphere and mood within the hospitality organisation, and so forth. Customers’ expectations are many and varied, and can range from the organisation (such as hotel or restaurant) which the customers frequent because they want their presence to be felt and to participate in the organisation’s atmosphere, to the small quiet restaurant which customers visit because of the restaurant’s intimate and personal nature (Davis 2012, p. 33). The most important aspect of customers is that they expect quality service and this is attained when the food and beverage system delivers a number of requirements as explained next. First, the organisation must deliver tangibles such as good physical equipment, facilities as well as appearance of service personnel. Secondly, the food and beverage system needs to assure customers of reliability by being able to carry out the promised service unfailingly and perfectly. Also, the food and beverage system needs to show responsiveness by having willingness to assist customers and offering timely service. More importantly, the organisation must be reassuring by its employees having the knowledge and courtesy as well as ability to inspire trust. Further, the food and beverage system needs to show empathy by showing a caring attitude and having individualised attention towards the needs of customers (Saleem & Baloglu 2010, p. 136; Giritlioglu, Eleri & Avcikurt 2014). In order to ensure that the various subsystems in a food and beverage system work to meet the needs of customers, the food and beverage system’s manager must strive to attain quality in all the different areas of operation. Waller (2011, p. 157) notes that the manager’s role is to identify customers’ predetermined expectations and ensure that they are provided for. To achieve this, the manager needs to apply strategic management concepts. Strategic management implies allocating organisational resources and designing actions that are aligned with the organisation’s purpose of meeting customers’ needs (Roberts 2011, pp. 113-114). For instance, in order to achieve high quality in the four areas of customer expectations that have been discussed (tangibles, responsiveness, reassurance and empathy), the management must have a quality assurance plan in all the activities in which its staff are involved. Along this line, apart from having the necessary equipment, there is need for the management to have progressive human resource management practices such as training, communication, performance appraisal and empowerment of personnel (Kusluvan 2003, p. 41). Such practices have been found to have a positive correlation with a food and beverage organisation’s performance, especially customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, as well as financial performance (Kusluvan 2003, p. 41). A foodservice systems model can be used to guide an organisation’s operations as explained in the following section. The foodservice systems model Food and beverage operations typically follow “a basic input, process, output model” (Davis et al. 2012, p. 162). The inputs to the system include beverage and food ingredients and materials; the process encompasses preparation, storing, cooking, and so on; and the outputs include beverages and meals that are sold through the service concept (Davis et al. 2012, p. 162). However, there are other inputs and outputs that are not captured in the foregoing statement. These include inputs such as human labour (skills, labour), facilities (space, equipment), operational inputs (time, money, information, utilities); and outputs such as customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and financial accountability (Gregoire n.d., p. 5). The inputs and outputs are subject to controls such as plans (standards, goals and objectives, programmes, policies and procedures), contracts (for instance with suppliers of various inputs) and laws and regulations as defined by local, state and federal jurisdictions (Gregoire n.d., p. 5). Further, a successful link between the inputs, outputs and controls can only be attained when there is feedback from either side of the loop supported with record keeping for financial information, personnel management and business forecasting purposes (Gregoire n.d., p. 5). At the same time, all these factors interact with the environment in which the organisation operates. More importantly, the management of the food and beverage organisation is at the heart of ensuring a balance in these factors by being in charge of transformation processes that include management functions, controlling the functional subsystems of the entire organisation, and linking various processes. This information is illustrated in figure 2 below.  Figure 2: The foodservice systems model Source: Gregoire (n.d., p. 5). It is apparent from the foodservice systems model that the management of any food and beverage system has a critical role to play in ensuring that such organisations meet their targets. This role is especially essential because food and beverage service operations are part of the group of units which have shared characteristics such as perishable products, operating within a given product range, and having demand which is highly variable over a short period of time (Wood 2009, p. 2029). These characteristics present a key problem to the task of attaining and quantifying productivity in the food and beverage systems. These are: having to take into consideration very short-range fluctuations in demand; and having to take into consideration the discrepancy between what has been provided and what has been consumed – due the fact that the system is dealing mainly in perishable products and services (Wood 2009, p. 2029). As such, food and beverage organisations always have to deal with two sources of uncertainty: never being certain how many clients will come, and not being aware of that they will consume from what has been offered (Wood 2009, p. 2029; Mukherji 2006, p. 214; Dopson & Hayes 2011, p. 58). An organisation can do all it can to entice customers into its premises, but once they are inside they may choose narrowly from what is provided. As well, a food and beverage organisation may offer a narrow selection of products and end up losing customers who want something else outside of what has been offered (Wood 2009, p. 2029). Therefore, the management always has to make strategic decisions concerning the various subsystems of the entire food and beverage system (input-process-output) in their attempt to satisfy the needs of different types of customers and increase productivity. Conclusion In conclusion, a food and beverage system such as a hotel is a complex system made up of subsystems like the food production system, drinks service system and food service system. These subsystems further have subsystems such as reception, taking orders, serving products to customers, billing and tiling – all managed by different categories of staff and requiring different types of skills. The most important thing however is that all the operations in the different types of subsystems have to be focused on the customer. Customers have different needs and expectations, and food and beverage organisations should attempt to anticipate them and fulfil them. The foodservice systems model, which consists of a ‘basic input, process, output model’, can be used by managers to ensure that the needs of customers are met by determining the inputs required, the processes to be followed, as well as how the outputs benefit customers and the organisation. Strategic management concepts are necessary to ensure that the decisions that are made enhance smooth operation of all the subsystems of the organisation. References Davis, B, Lockwood, A, Alcott, P & Pantelidis, I 2012, Food and beverage management, 5th edition, Routledge, Oxon. Dopson, L R & Hayes, D K 2011, Food and beverage cost control, 5th edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Giritlioglu, I, Eleri, J & Avcikurt, C 2014, Measuring food and beverage service quality in spa hotels: A case study in Balıkesir, Turkey, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 183-204. Gregoire n.d, ‘HAT202: Hospitality & tourism management’, Lecture 1 presentation, Kaplan Business School, Australia. 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Wood, R C (ed) 2009, Strategic questions in food and beverage management, Routledge, New York. Read More