Economic:- * The recession, spending has dropped, particularly among the elderly customer base of the chain. * Increasing competition which the Lodge has failed to keep up with. Part B:- An ideal model to use for understanding the range of issues involved here is the SWOT model. By analysing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the business, we can identify key areas of improvement whilst acknowledging the positive points and working toward improving all areas. Strengths:- Focus on consistent quality throughout the brand, although less prominent now, is a great strength, one poor chain can have a detrimental effect on the business.
Younger customers have been attracted to this fresher approach leaving Lodge Bistro with an older customer base. • The economic environment is less benign than when your mother founded Lodge Bistro. • The change from a highly motivated visionary leader to a more consensual and informal style has resulted in the recruitment of more independent managers. This has affected the morale of the longer serving managers who resent the new approach and feel that the chain is losing its core market (b) The chosen concepts I have chosen concept 4.3, which lists Drennan’s (1992) 12 key factors that influence business culture. I have selected three factors, which will most identify the business weaknesses.
Managers who failed to follow the rules either changed their ways quickly or were sacked. | Inexperienced staff, food and service quality are below the standards set by the company. | One method of undertaking a SWOT analysis is to consider strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in relation to two different times: until Joyce Lodge retired and when Patricia became to be manager of Lodge Bistro. It can be seen from Table 1 that the main weaknesses arise when Patricia decided, the most important thing is the culture of an organization than formal structures, rules and regulations.
This is an immediate problem for the franchise as this is negatively affecting the morale of the employees and is in conflict with the strategic direction of the organization (i.e. reduce unsold/damage food percentage to drive profitability). Data Analysis There are several different situations that have to be analyzed for this case. They are broken down in to two major categories: leadership of the manager and internal structure. Leadership of the Manager How Did the Issue Arise?
They are losing out on profits by not having the capacity needed to serve their customers. It needs to decide on whether they should lease a new and larger building within Rockbrook Village, lease another building specifically for catering, or start franchising Savor. The problem with these options is finding the budget means to do so. The second issue Savor faces is their catering business. Anna, the new manger there is also responsible for the role of Catering Manager.
Kraft Foods, Inc. is classified in the Food Manufacturing Industry. This industry can be classified as a defensive industry, or one that has little sensitivity to economic cycles. Examples of defensive industries include food producers and processors, pharmaceutical firms, and public utilities. It can be concluded that most defensive industries do well during economic recession because they are necessary to society and will consistently produce revenue. However, while these industries are usually insensitive, they are not completely immune to business cycle conditions.
Manage Personal Work Priorities and Professional Development BSBWOR501A Assessment activity 1 Part A 1. Two characteristics of a positive role model are: * demonstrate sympathy and forgiveness * be able to develop efficient habits Sympathy: Working at the «Absynthe» restaurant I used to be at the different roles as a worker. Started from waitress that was a simpliest one and did not suppose to have many cirtain skills. When a quiet period started it wasn’t nessesarily to keep a lot of staff so our boss decided to cut the staff off. I was in a bad position as long as I was less experienced then other team members.
There are some issues within the case study at the Lodge Bistro which can be thought of in relation to the external environment. First of all there is the sociological factor of changes in the demographic of customers. Secondly and more importantly there are the changes to external environment as we are told that when the business was taken over by Patricia, the country was fully in recession, this economic factor has a major impact on Lodge Bistro. When the Lodge Bistro first opened we are told that it was unique and stood out from their competition “Customers preferred the lively interior over the drab and somewhat dirty alternatives that dominated at the time.” I think part of the reason this is no longer happening is that they have not changed Lodge Bistro to fit in with the demographic changes of who is frequenting their shops. It is all too easy for a business to remain with what has always worked in the past.
We absolutely must improve our service and support. In the next few pages I will propose a plan to improve the overall ratings of our customer service in stores and online. Proposal to Improve Customer Service When we talk about customer service we all remember that one instance that was either good or bad, most of the time, it was the bad service that we remember. Our society today is fast-pace and most people, especially those in the retail field, do not have enough time to spend with each individual customer. Most companies have cut the sales force because of the unstable economy.
However the positive effect of a recession for Tesco is that a lot of customers eat out less and eat more at home which give Tesco an opportunity to increase their output and come up with cheaper alternative meals to getting a takeaway or going to a restaurants. Competing Technology I think the use of technology has made Tesco a top competitor in the market. They have capitalised on the use of online shopping and provide a delivery service through their website www.tesco.com, this is very useful for people who may not have time to go to the shops they can simply order everything they want online. Also I think that the ageing population would also find online shopping more convenient if they were able to assess and utilize the website. Tesco have also set up their own mobile service which is growing in popularity.