Food and Beverages Department: Function and Goals - Term Paper Example

Name Class Unit Word count: 1521 1.0 Introduction Hotel and restaurants falls under the hospitality industry. In the hospitality industry, there is act of kindness which includes welcoming the guests, providing foods and accommodation for a fee. In a restaurant, there are many departments. One of the most challenging departments is food and beverage department (Robinson, Lück & Smith, 2013). The food and beverage department in a restaurant is headed by the food and beverage manager. Under the food and beverage department, the main task is to serve the guest. An employee in the food and beverage department does everything possible to ensure that the guest have the best dining experience (Kay & Russette, 2000). This report analyses the food and beverage department in an international restaurant. The report starts by discussing the roles of this specific hotel department. The report then outlines the food and beverage department key internal and external relationships. Lastly, the report identifies the key management competencies that are needed in the food and beverage department. 2.0 Function and goals 2.1 Functions The department is responsible for managing the foods and beverages. Food and beverage department is responsible for serving food and beverage for the guests who are staying in the hotel as well as guests (Davis et al., 2013). The department also prepares the food and beverages that are served. The food and beverage industry have its services worked from the pastry, kitchen and room service. The department is a great source of revenue for the hotel which makes it a vital component. The kitchen acts as the product division for the food and beverage department. All the food and beverage activities are controlled by this division. To achieve the departments’ functions and goals, the department depends on its production department. The department is made up of pastry and kitchen (Robinson, Lück & Smith, 2013). In the pastry, bakery and snacks are made. The section also makes the desserts used by the restaurant. In most restaurants, pastry is part of the kitchen. The most common pastry dishes are; pies, tarts and quiches (Ninemeier & Hayes, 2006). 2.2 Goals The food and beverage department in a restaurant works to meet the customer expectation and exceed them whenever possible. Provide excellence customer service in food and beverage delivery. Serving in timely and professional manner Provision of a clean environment for the restaurant guests 3.0 Internal and external relationships Food and beverage department is able to perform their duties through close interactions with other departments. The communication flow between the departments is critical in the perfoamcne. One of the departments which food and beverage department works close with is the front office department. The communication that is relayed between the two departments is very important. Most of the communication between the two departments is relayed through electronic means. The most important information is number of guests, guest transfers and the expected number of guests in a hotel. Through communication with the front office, food and beverage manager is able to meet the expectations of the customers. Food and beverage manager incoming messages are mostly from the vendors, industry representatives and other departments. The messages are very important for the operation of the department. The food and beverage department collaborates with the front office in order to successfully complete transfer of charges (Kriegl, 2000). In order to predict sales, the supervisors in the food and beverage department rely on the predicted house count figures from the front office. A food and beverage supervisor uses the forecast to determine the number of servers to schedule in a given instance. Timely and accurate information from the front office helps a lot in staffing control. Banquet is a special event which is separated from the main restaurant service. Banquet is made through a guest request and has guests by invite. In a hotel, there is a banquet department which holds and organizes these events (Ninemeier & Hayes, 2006). The Banquet Manager handles such events and is responsible to supervise the work. The banquet department collaborates with the food and beverage department in order to relay correct information to guests. The banquet department has to communicate to the food and beverage department on the food and beverages which the guests require. This information also helps a lot in staffing during an event (Davis et al., 2013). 4.0 Management competencies 4.1 Skills The management of food and beverage department is carried out by the Food and Beverage Manager. This is a job with vital duties and responsibilities in a restaurant. The manager is responsible for both the administrative and operational work in the department. The manager directs, carries out planning and controls all services relating to food and beverage (Davis et al., 2013). The skills required are: Excellent sales and customer care services. Human management skills Excellent communication and leadership abilities Knowledge on products, services, legislations and regulations in food and beverage sector Budgeting Food and beverage manager is responsible for creating the budget for the department. All outlets in their departments are supposed to be allocated a budget. The management is also expected to ensure that every outlet in the department have been able to attain the expected profit margin (Riley, 2005). New menu and wine lists The food and beverage manager is expected to work closely with chef based on the available ingredients to come up with new menus. The department is expected to come up with new menu and wine lists on a regular basis (Kay & Russette, 2000). Quality control As a leader, the manager is expected to ensure that there is good quality control. This is through ensuring that there is high efficiency in all areas. He should ensure that the staffs are all well trained and capable of upholding the standards of the department (Riley, 2005). Manpower development Food and beverage manager holds a leadership position that helps a lot in manpower department. The manager should ensure that recruitment, promotions and transfers and dismissals are carried out in an appropriate manner. This is through holding regular meetings with the other heads of departments. The manager should also give training and motivation to the staff (Ladkin, 2000). Leadership domain The manager is expected to be a team player. The food and beverage department success is based on teamwork. As a leader, the manager is expected to create a dedicated and committed team which can work under any condition. This helps the departments in achieving their goal (Ladkin, 2000). The manager is expected to be of strong leadership skills. The manager should have good communication skills, a good listener and high sense of responsibility. The leader is expected to show consistency. Through leading by example, a leader in the food and beverages department is able to inspire loyalty. The leader is expected to build consensus, offer motivation to others and secure profits (Kay & Russette, 2000). The following management competencies are required for a food and beverages manager based on Sandwith Competency Domain Model (Kay & Russette, 2000). Conceptual creative domain Conceptual skills are vital in the food and beverage department. The manager is able to see the restaurant as a whole and realize the existing interdependence among the departments (Kay & Russette, 2000). As a manager with conceptual skills, it will be possible to grow the business effectively based on the organisation objectives and policies (Ladkin, 2000). Interpersonal domain The manager must have interpersonal skills in order to work with other people in the department. This is through understanding human behaviours which includes their motivation and relations with each other. This will help in discovering the individual needs and combine them to the restaurant goals (Riley, 2005). Administrate domain The manager in the food and beverage section is expected to be good administrators. This is through supervising, coordinating and creating teams. The manager is responsible of assigning the right tasks to the employees based on their abilities. At this level, administrative skills are vital (Riley, 2005). Technical domain The manager is expected to have technical knowledge in the department. This is the ability to use the tools and techniques in the foods and beverage department. The manager should be able to analyse the menu and determine the changes to be made. The skills will enable the manager to work effectively with others in the department enhancing the level of cooperation (Ladkin, 2000). 5.0 Conclusion The food and beverage department in a restaurant is very vital. The department is headed by a food and beverage manager. Food and beverage department have a responsibility of preparing and serving food and beverage for the guests who are staying in the hotel as well as guests. The kitchen acts as the production department for the food and beverage department. Food and beverages department have to collaborate with other departments for smooth running of the restaurant. The main departments in collaboration with food and beverage department are front office and banquet department. The managerial competencies required are strong communication skills, planning control and knowledge on department operations. The manager is expected to have leadership, conceptual, interpersonal, administrative and technical skills in order to perform well in the food and beverage department. Reference list Davis, B., Lockwood, A., Pantelidis, I., & Alcott, P. (2013). Food and beverage management. Routledge. Kay, C., & Russette, J. (2000). Hospitality-management competencies identifying managers' essential skills. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 41(2), 52-63. Kriegl, U. (2000). International hospitality management: Identifying important skills and effective training. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 41(2), 64-71. Ladkin, A. (2000). Vocational education and food and beverage experience: issues for career development. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 12(4), 226-233. Ninemeier, J. D., & Hayes, D. K. (2006). Restaurant operations management. Pearson Prentice Hall. Riley, M. (2005). Food and beverage management: A review of change. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 17(1), 88-93. Robinson, P., Lück, M., & Smith, S. (2013). Food and beverage. Tourism, 171-184. Read More