Benihana Case Essay

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BENIHANA…. Founded by Hiroaki Aoki (Mr Rocky) in 1964 Originated from Tokyo in Japan after the war under Yunosuke Aoki and his wife Katsu. Benihana Sales: The restaurant sold food and beverages. Food Outline: It has a specific food outline which are: Streak, Chicken and Shrimp(Sea Food) Target Market: Its target customers are:  Business People  Tourist  White Collar. THE PROBLEM The restaurant despite its achievements encountered the following organizational problems. (A.) EXPANSION: The company tried to expand by using the franchise method but this did not work because of the following reasons:  The franchisees owners were not experienced in hotel business, only the investors had knowledge of it.  The cultural differences between the franchisees owner and native Japanese staffs. Also the use of only Japanese carpenters during the construction of new restaurants made the work very slow, thereby reducing their expansion rate as it could only open five (5) units annually. However, it opened units in places of less relevance.. like the unit that was close to gas stations. This location is not conducive for business growth since many people do not spend mu ch time at gas stations. (B.) MAIN COSTS: Another big constraint are the main expenses made by the restaurant. Cost Analysis: (1.) Staffs: All had limited number of staffs.Their employees were all Japanese.Each chef was trained to specialty in order to achieve good customer service. This made the cost of training chefs so high because If a chef gets sick or dies his replacement has to be as trained and qualified as him However, the salary of the chefs should be considered. Since the chefs were vital elements of success of Benihana,
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