Critical appraisal of article in operation management Essay

Critical appraisal of article in operation management - Essay Example It is due to this reason that the researchers and economist have carried out studies the study due to the significance and contribution of this industry in the country's annual GDP. Different theorist has described services in different ways which helps the management to understand the positioning and formulation of strategies to organize the resources. There conclusions can be used to get the wider view and all the dimensions of the various theorist, based on that the management can draw their own conclusions from their own understanding. These researchers covered different areas of the service industry but this paper specially discusses the implication of operation management in the Australian service industry. In order to understand the challenges faced by the management it is very important to understand the characteristics of the services. Operation management is a technique which can help to resolve the problems faced by the company. Before that there is an overview of the different researchers. Their work has helped to form the basis of understanding. Nie and Kellogg distinguished the services into some unique characteristics which makes services different from manufacturing. A service oriented business has more customer interaction due to which the entire process of delivering the service also becomes important. Services are intangible, there can be variations in the output, they are perishable, there production delivery and consumption all takes place at one time and they are more labor intensive. Schmenner has come up with one of the most useful topology of service industry which can be applied in all kinds of service oriented professions. He has defined these degrees in a simple matrix form which is indicating a high and low level of labor intensity and customer interaction. Such distinction can help the management in classifying each profession into a certain area like service factory professions have low labor intensity as well as customer interaction. Similarly professional services like doctors have high customer interaction as well as high labor intensity. Based on this the management can increase their focus and see which area needs more attention. Schmenner's theory can be connected to Wright and Mechling conclusion which explains that how these topologies can be used in the planning and controlling process. The key performance indicators are the managerial tools which help an organization in achieving its long term goals. Once the goals are set and strategies are implemented there has to be a way to measure the progress or success and KPI is one of the ways. These are measurable indicators. It can be one or many depending on the organization. For the service oriented businesses the key indicator can be the number of clients per month in an auditing firm. KPI is a useful management tool because when you know the strengths and weakness of your business and your goals are specific and clear to all then one can define a certain indicator to measure its evaluation and performance over the period of time. These can be applied in different service processes such as the framework of Armistead which had categories like delivery system and the volume of output. Such measures can be taken as as an indicator and can be used to upgrade the entire process. Service industries face many problems which can be resolved through the implication of the operational management tools. Operations

Food and Beverage Operations Management Assignment

Food and Beverage Operations Management - Assignment Example As a result of that different service and production system pertaining to the industry has been framed for the purpose of incorporating hygienic production and distribution system which ultimately results in health and nutrition of every consumer. Reports have also suggested that food and beverage industry has been the mainstay in the development of any country’s economy. According to Blazey (2009), whether it is a chemical or Pesticide Company, a biotech or a genetics firm, hotels, restaurants, or even large supermarkets such as the Walmart, Costco or Target Corporation; each of the business or industry revolves around beverage and food sector. Now, in the context of food and beverage production and service system, it has unique characteristics in comparison to the production and service delivery system of other products. The following are the characteristics: - The demand for food and beverages occurs at the peak time such as breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, other than these periods food industry generally experiences a lean phase. The demands for food might vary according to the time of the year as well as the events taking place in the surroundings. Hence, on the basis of the season and time of the year, the production and distribution system undergoes enormous amount of change. The food production and services are highly labour intensive. The industry requires both unskilled and skilled labour. The menu changes at regular interval of time and hence the production and distribution system changes (Dunne, Lusch and Carver, 2011). Both food and beverages are perishable in nature and as a result of that foods are required to be handled properly before, after and during the process of preparation. Figure 1 - Flow of Food (Source: Hollensen, 2007) 1.2 Discuss factors affecting recipes and menus for specific systems The recipes and menus get strongly affected by a number of factors. Broadly, food service systems are classified as a cook and chill, conv entional, assembly and commissioners serve (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2011). The conventional food service is the type of service where food is prepared and is eaten at the same place. Cook and chill are the service where food is prepared and is eaten after a certain period of time, the commissioner is the system where food is prepared and is taken somewhere for eating and lastly in assembly service the food is brought to a new location and it requires reheating before actually consuming it. The factors which affect the recipes and menus for a specific system are as follows: - Demand of customers: - The consumer demands are probably the most vital factor that affects the recipes and menus. The tendency of customer demands is observed and a menu is prepared on the basis of that only (Lingar, 2007). Seasonality: - Seasonality is a major factor. Being a perishable product, it has strong dependence on season. For example, ice cream or cold drinks are hardly consumed during winters and as a result of that menu needs to be changed and alternate items such as juice need to be on the menu. Budget and Ability: - The budget and ability of the restaurant are also considered before finalizing the menu. For example, if there is a shortage of staff members or lack of ingredients, the menu list needs of to be shortened (Nazarko, 2004). 1.3 Compare the cost and staffing