South Garden Chinese Restaurant - Company Analysis - Research Paper Example

? South Garden Chinese Restaurant – Company Analysis The survival of businesses in the modern market is depended on their ability to compete their rivals. South Garden Chinese Restaurant is a firm with a significant presence in the restaurant sector of Miami. The firm’s success in the last 15 years cannot be doubted; however, the competition in the particular sector has been significantly increased. In order for the firm to survive, a series of changes should take place in several business areas. The solutions available to the organization to improve its performance are described below. It could be noted that the stabilization and the further growth of the company could be achieved under the following terms: the measures suggested should be supported both by the management team and the employees. Cooperation across the organization should be improved; in this way, the resistance to the suggested changes could be controlled, a fact that could increase the chances for successful implementation of the relevant plans. In general, the current business structure and operational rules can be characterized as satisfactory (as also described in the business website). However, the declining popularity of the business is a problem, which should be, resolved the soonest possible – before leading to severe loss of profits. The quality of food is a key criterion for the competitiveness of the organization. Currently, the business offers a menu, which is rather common – among restaurants of this type; however, it is clear that a gap exists in the menu: the needs of people who prefer organic meals are not addressed. The introduction of recipes based on organic ingredients would increase the restaurant’s customer base; also, long-term customers would also appreciate the specific initiative – an increase in orders from existing customers could be also achieved (Liu and Jang 338). The realization of such plan would require the training of the restaurant’s chefs, a plan that could be easily developed though taking into consideration the level of expansion of such initiatives in the restaurant sector worldwide. It should be noted that the above plan would also require an accurate cost management plan, meaning that the profits generated – or those expected – from these meals would be higher compared to the cost of the ingredients used for their preparation. Because of the increase of organic farms across USA, a balance between cost and profit could be easily achieved, especially if appropriate arrangements are made with the firm’s existing suppliers. Another business sector, which would be reviewed, trying to improve organizational performance, would be the workplace. Reference is made to the firm’s employees who are, in the their high majority Chinese. This practice should be changed; Americans should be also hired trying to show the lack of discrimination in the organization; another benefit of such initiative would be the following one: the number of Americans visiting the restaurant would be increased – preferring to being served by people of the same nationality. At the same time, the firm’s existing employees should be offered appropriate training, aiming to improve their communication with customers. Moreover, the use of innovative features for improving the image of the restaurant – as a competitive business in Miami – could be proved particularly helpful towards the increase of the firm’s competitiveness: the provision to the customers of a unique Chinese cooking show on a regular basis, for instance once a week or every month, could be a successful strategy of such type. One of the business sectors, which should be thoroughly reviewed for improving organizational performance, would be marketing. Currently, the business uses a common method of marketing, leaflets with the restaurant’s menu and its offers are distributed locally, to residents and businesses of Miami. Moreover, a delivery service is used for reaching customers who do not have the time to visit the restaurant. However, these practices have not particularly helped to the increase of the business profits. In fact, the review of the restaurant’s last financial accounts proved that a decline in profits has not been avoided, despite the efforts of manager. It is clear that the need for increasing the advertising of the restaurant is emergent; a series of strategies are available to the restaurant’s manager – depending on the funds available for the realization of such plans. Primarily, an advertisement for the restaurant should be published in Local Magazines. Local TV should be also employed in the specific project, at the level that that relevant cost can be covered without causing pressures or delays to other organizational needs. Interactive media, such as E-mail and Facebook should be also used for promoting the restaurant; the above media have the following advantage: they can address a significant number of people within an extremely short period of time; another important advantage of the above media is their cost: in fact, these media are costless, i.e. no funds are required for their use (Hsu and Jang 260). These media can be used for the development of marketing plans for free, a fact that does not affect their performance as marketing tools. The development of the above-suggested plans could help the restaurant to increase its performance – both in the short and the long term. However, at this point, the following issues appear: is the business appropriately prepared for such changes to be initiated? Reference is made to the business principles and the willingness of employees to participate in the suggested changes. At the next level, the availability of resources for the realization of the relevant plans should be also checked in advance. In the literature, the successful introduction of changes in organizations is usually related to the ability of the leader to promote the changes within the organization, the willingness of employees to support the relevant plans and the competition in the organizational environment – firms that operate in a highly competitive environment are more likely to attempt organizational changes compared to firms that control a significant part of their market. The introduction of certain measures could increase the chances for effective implementation of changes in the particular business. These measures would, indicatively, include: a) regular review of the business performance; a meeting should be held each Monday in which employees in all business sectors would participate; employees should share with the manager their views on the firm’s current performance and highlight any issues that should be addressed; this meeting could also help towards the improvement of communication within the business, a fact that could lead to the increase of employee performance and the limitation of conflicts across the business, b) introduction of reward schemes; reference is made to the rewarding of employees in accordance with their performance for a particular (pre-defined) period of time; this plan also would increase employee satisfaction, leading also to the increase of employee performance, c) review of employment policies; all parts of the firm’s employment policy would be reviewed (Noone 23). Emphasis should be given on the change of the hiring process, aiming to hire employees who can respond to the needs of the organization – the differentiation of the criteria for the racial background of employees, as explained above, would be included in the firm’s new employment practices. Of particular importance would be also the monitoring of the firm’s plans, as suggested above. The changes initiated across the organization should be carefully reviewed in advance – as of the resources/ time/ expected benefits; additionally, a mechanism should be developed for the monitoring of these plans, aiming to ensure that the targets set will be achieved within a particular period of time. In this way, the chances for success of the particular initiatives would be significantly increased. In any case, the effective alteration of the business practices, as suggested above, is depended on a series of factors, as already explained. Moreover, risks cannot be eliminated; however, the monitoring of all phases of the above plans could reduce the chances of failures emphasizing on the achievement of the targets set, meaning especially the increase of the business popularity in the local market. Works Cited Hsu, Li-Tzang, Jang, SooCheong. “Advertising expenditure, intangible value and risk: A study of restaurant companies.” International Journal of Hospitality Management 27.2(2008): 259-267 Liu, Yinghua, Jang, SooCheong. “Perceptions of Chinese restaurants in the U.S.: What affects customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions?” International Journal of Hospitality Management 28.3(2009): 338-348. Noone, Breffni. “Customer perceived control and the moderating effect of restaurant type on evaluations of restaurant employee performance.” International Journal of Hospitality Management 27.1(2008): 23-29. South Garden Chinese Restaurant. 19 June 2011 Read More