OPM300-INTRO TO OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT The Hard Rock Cafe (HRC) has become such a successful business due to the business aspect being adequately managed operationally. Since the first HRC opened in 1971, the household name has continued to expand and succeed. How has a small pub that originated in London, England become one of the most successful enterprises around the world? Hard Rock has over 166 venues in more than 52 countries around the world, including 133 cafes and 14 Hotels/Casinos.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the ten decisions of operations management is applied at HRC and how the productivity of the kitchen and wait staff is determined. Service and product design: Hard Rock Cafe started with a simple design. In the 1970s rock and roll was at its peak in the music world, so what better design than an electric guitar with the words Hard Rock written across. The products and services provided at that time were those of a traditional London pub. Customer requests depicted what services to offer and provide at the first Hard Rock Cafe.
Quality management: It’s unique how Hard Rock Cafe defines quality within their properties. They do this by conducting numerous surveys to get an honest assessment from whom else but their number one priority, the customer. They pride themselves on quality from the music, food, and atmosphere. Their surveys are on a scale from 1-7, and anything less than a 7 is considered a failure. Their menu will change according to customer surveys and feedback. They expand their menu to change with the times and to fulfill customer recommendations accordingly.
Process and capacity design: The process and capacity design is what drives the decision of the locations of their facilities. HRC creates products in an efficient manner, by analyzing them for cost effectiveness and by labor requirements. HRC analyses the whole production process from purchasing food ingredients, to preparing the food, and to serving the food. They ensure their process and capacity design creates a quality meal and dining experience for each and every one of their customers. Location: HRC has always catered to high tourist cities and destinations. In most large cities around the world you can find a Hard Rock Cafe.
Making sure that the location of the operation will have the most exposure for the services that are being provided. Demographics play a vital role in the support of the product being provided. For example Universal Studios Orlando is visited by millions of tourists annually. When HRC decided on Universal Studios as one of their sites, they included in the process on how to accommodate for tourists and locals that filter thru the theme park daily. HRC decided to add state of the art lighting, tall standing pillars, and a stage for concerts at Hard Rock live that accommodates 3,000 people.
Their design was that of the Roman Coliseum made of rock pillars. There are over 400 employees at HRC Orlando which include, wait staff, cooking staff, maintenance staff, and management. Once the facility was complete, the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando stood as the largest HRC in the world and serves more than 3,500 meals daily. Layout design: Like many franchise restaurants, HRCs are based on a set of templates or blueprints, which are chosen based on available space, expected traffic levels and customer flow. However, some of the properties are designed to be unique to fit into the surrounding architecture, or to stand out.
At a minimum, the design should not interrupt the flow of customers as they enter and exit the facility. The typical location has an interior layout which includes a customer service counter with host or hostess, a bar, a lounge area, and a food preparation area. Human resources: Hard Rock strives to make the work environment an enjoyable one. HRC ensures an adequate amount of employees are hired for maximum productive, while minimizing strenuous work duties and tasks for employees. Employees are expected to produce only within attainable means.
The employee to production ratio is always balanced and has a constant oversight. Supply chain management: Managing supplies is a challenge in itself. A lot of the restaurant industry is outsourcing to get most of their supplies from vendors as its cost efficient. Most of the memorabilia and souvenirs come from vendors to maximize inventories and stock while minimizing cost. The available inventory of items and supplies is dictated by the number of sales. HRC uses various formulas to compute what portions or items are to be available by calculating sales on a daily, monthly and annual basis.
Inventory management: Inventory management is primarily specifying the amount and the usage of goods. Management of supplies is essential to protect the normal course of consumption and production against unexpected disturbances such as running out of materials. Inventory management is also the process of forecasting inventory, future inventory cost, and available space for goods and on demand replacement of goods. Balancing these areas of requirements enhances and ensures optimal inventory levels of productivity. Scheduling: Employee scheduling is an essential part of the everyday business process.
Within the scheduling process they evaluate factors such as approved employee requests, hours of availability, normal business hours, the business needs, shift trades, sick days, emergency leave, etc. HRCs prides on creating a work schedule that fits employee needs to create a suitable work environment which contributes to enhanced productivity. Shift scheduling is a strategic challenge that requires adequate time, experience, and solutions to manage the task. Maintenance: Maintenance is mostly outsourced to private contractors. Some of the hotels and casinos have maintenance departments directly on their property.
Maintenance involves fixing and troubleshooting any sort of mechanism or electrical device should it become out of order, broken, or not operating properly. The larger properties have maintenance departments that provide 24 hour support. They are responsible for performing routine actions which keep devices in working order. Furthermore, these departments provide preventative maintenance along with corrective maintenance to ensure maximum efficiency and provide all products and services as they are advertised. Measuring productivity of the kitchen and wait staff: The productivity of the kitchen and wait staff is challenging to measure.
Productivity is measured by using labor hours as a measure of productivity. Also by the amount of orders being processed daily, monthly and annually. Calculating the amount of employees to the amount of services provided and the cost to provide those services. Productivity of the staff in general is measured by the average output per worker or per worker-hour. It’s also measured by the output which is measured in physical terms such as number of meals sold, or in cost terms such as how much is being spent. Measurement of productivity may be referred as the measurement of requirements of the customer and customer satisfaction. ..
