Specialization Dilemma: Café Restaurant's Strengths And Weaknesses

At this stage only a business proposal has to be given The business project is for a Cafe restaurant in Sydney which is serving breakfast dishes and burgers but now wish to expand its operation by turning into a fine dining restaurant.Overall objective: What operational and strategic measures need to be taken by the business to transform itself into a fine dining restaurant.*First Discuss the Strength and weaknesses of the restaurants current operation.*Do a benchmark analysis and see what are the requirements to be met by the restaurant to become a Fine dining restaurant.

*What are the gaps that need to be bridged to complete the transformation.
*What kind of approach should it take to transform itself, should it take a step by step approach or should it go for the full makeover which means there has to be a large capital available or through taking a large bank loan
*Explain whether this transformation would be feaseble and profitable.

1 Develop a project proposal outlining a business plan for an in-depth investigation of a contemporary organisational challenge
2 Analyse and interpret secondary data gathered from a range of sources, to assist in defining and refining the contemporary issue
3 Apply theories, concepts and tools to the challenge faced by the organisation or industry
4 Develop strategies based on the results of analysis of data considering stakeholder objectives and constraints,such as competitive pressures and regulation that demonstrate respect for ethics and diversity
5 Develop insights into theory, research practice and challenges of leadership by assessing the significance of recommendations relative to the dynamic and complex nature of organisations in uncertain environments.

Café Restaurant's specialization on a single meal

As a restaurant serving breakfast dishes and burgers only, Café restaurant in Sydney has had both strengths and weaknesses out of its decision to operate on a single meal basis.  First of all, this company has been in a position to narrow its focus on preparing awesome meals. This is in consideration to the fact that the organization has been experiencing minimal distractions of preparation, selling and management of multiple meals, hence been able to get into hone and finer details of its main meal to make it much better than any others in the market (Goldratt, 2017). The specialization has also enabled the organization to razor-sharp focus on its marketing tactics, by picking the highest quality channels of advertisement and sourcing traffic that has quickly converted into happy customers.

The organization’s razor-sharp focus on breakfast meals has also built its efficiency in delivering quality meals. This is in consideration of the fact that the organization has been targeting customers at specific times, hence being able to develop quality meals rather than splitting its efforts across multiple meals. This has enabled it to get to know its customers and becoming more sensitive to their fluctuating needs. At the same time, this has enabled the organization to become responsive enough to reiterate its meals to cater to the customer needs (Visnjic, Wiengarten, and Neely, 2016, p.36).

This specialization on one type of meal has also had its own weaknesses in Cafe restaurant. The organization has not been able to multiply its revenue through cross-selling complimentary meals to its existing customer base. This has denied it an opportunity of increasing its average order size and lifetime, hence remaining stagnant as far as cash flow and increasing its marketing budgets are concerned.

The organization has also faced it hard when trying to incentivize the customers to return. This is in consideration of the fact that customers are rarely pleased by so much of the same products (Uhl and Gollenia, 2016). This has forced the organization to constantly keep on innovating and updating its meals offering to make them different and better each day which has also been costing the organization heavily. This weakness has limited the maximum revenue which the organization has been making from its customers when compared to other restaurants which offer different kinds of meals mutually.

The single meal operation of Cafe restaurant has also limited its marketing opportunities. Despite the fact that the organization has been running under the single meal, it has been hard for it to get opportunities to market to its customers as a grown organization (Schaltegger, Lüdeke-Freund, and Hansen, 2016, p.265). Although there have been many quality channels where it could tap into to target its niche effectively, it has always been forced to engage in more general marketing techniques in order to reach its full market capacity and which are both inefficient and costly.

Strengths of Café Restaurant specialization

Requirements to be met by the restaurant to become a Fine dining restaurant

Fine dining restaurants are totally different from mere restaurants like Café restaurant. They are characterized by attention to details, perfect service executions, and exceptional services. In addition, today’s fine dining restaurants have evolved into an eclectic blend of cuisines and other dining concepts. For that matter, it is clear that Café restaurant will have a heavy task in its transformation from a mere restaurant into a Fine dining restaurant (Pucihar, Ravesteijn, Seitz and Bons, 2018).

The current employees of Café restaurant are automatically naïve and may not be in a position to meet the standards demanded in a Fine dining restaurant. For that matter, the organization will need to choose either to train its current employees to the standards of Fine dining workers or acquire new employees who are up to Fine dining standards. Either of the two options will be aimed at getting workers who can deliver perfect services to customers, can pay attention to fine details and also who can offer exceptional services (Cowan, 2010, p.400). This is in consideration of the fact that Fine dining restaurants are classic places where the customers demand quality services.

Away from the workforce factor, the organization will have to acquire suitable assets, expert chefs and professional healthcare officers. This is because these restaurants attract prominent people who demand quality meals, unlike the initial café restaurant where low and middle-class citizens can also afford to enter. The reason behind acquiring suitable assets and professionals is to ensure that the meals conform to the standards of these places.

The organization will also have to increase the number of employees to meet the increased demands of its new trend as a Fine dining restaurant (Nitiwanakul, 2014, p.10). This is in consideration of the fact that the transformation will entail an expansion from its initial size as a single meal restaurant. The number of positions will have increased and therefore demanding new workers be filled.  

Gaps that need to be bridged to complete the transformation

The current employees of Café restaurant who are not professionals will have to be replaced or taken through training sessions in order to equip them with the necessary skills required in Fine dining restaurant. This is because, unlike in the Café restaurant where prices of the meals play important role in consumer perception, in Fine dining restaurant quality is the key factor attracting customers and capturing their loyalty to the organization. Professionals and experts are therefore required to ensure that meals meet the expectations of the consumers (Rozekhi, Hussin, Siddiqe, Rashid and Salmi, 2016, p.45).

Weaknesses of Café Restaurant specialization

Organization assets will also have to be upgraded to conform to the expected quality in the restaurant. This touches right from the seats in the restaurant which must give customers the necessary comfort while taking their meals. The utensils used in the restaurant must also be upgraded to conform to these standards and make the customers more delighted while in the organization premises.

The organization will also have to increase the number of employees to meet the increased demands of its new trend as a Fine dining restaurant (Schjøll and Alfnes, 2017, p.580). This is in consideration of the fact that the transformation will entail an expansion from its initial size as a single meal restaurant. The number of positions will have increased and therefore demanding new workers be filled

Kind of approach should it take to transform itself

The best approach for this organization to transform itself would be going for a full makeover. This is in consideration to one of the main factors driving the reputation of Fine dining restaurants, quality of products and services. Adopting a step by step approach will mean that some stones will be left unturned at the initial stages of its transformation. The initial customers are therefore likely to be scared away by the low quality products and services which may make them shy away from the organization for life (Goldratt, 2017).

This disqualifies step by step approach in this scenario because although it would have been a cheaper and economical, its impacts would be severe as it will scare away customers who are the main driving force behind the success of any business. The organization will, therefore, be expected to achieve the full makeover approach through acquiring a huge bank loan to enable it to set up everything into the required standard before being opened. This will enable the customers to experience quality services and meals as expected and capture their loyalty to the new organization (Jin, Goh, Huffman, and Yuan, 2015, p.460).

Explain whether this transformation would be feasible and profitable

Diversifying its operations to start offering a variety of meals enable the organization to overcome some of the major weaknesses identified with its initial operations as a Cafe restaurant. The organization will be able to multiply its revenue through cross-selling complimentary meals to its existing customer base. This will give it an opportunity to increase its average order sizes and lifetime, hence improving its cash flow and increasing its marketing budgets.

Requirements to become a Fine Dining Restaurant

The organization will also be able to easily incentivize its customer returns. This is in consideration of the fact that customers will find pleasure in the variety of meals offered in the new brand. This will enable the organization to save on innovating and updating its meals offering since the customers will have a variety of meals to make choice (Amelia and Garg, 2016, p.100). This will help increase the maximum revenue which the organization makes from its customers when compared to other restaurants which offering single meal like it in its initial Café restaurant brand.

Diversifying its operations will increase its marketing opportunities. Getting opportunities to market itself to its consumers will be easier compared to when it was operating on a single meal basis. A large number of quality channels available will enable it to tap into to target its niche effectively, it will not have to engage in more general marketing techniques in order to reach its full market capacity and which are both inefficient and costly because it will have more options to secure market opportunities. 

References

Amelia, M. and Garg, A., 2016. The first impression in a fine-dining restaurant. A study of C Restaurant in Tampere, Finland. European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality, and Recreation, 7(2), pp.100-111.

Cowan-Sahadath, K., 2010. Business transformation: Leadership, integration and innovation–A case study. International Journal of Project Management, 28(4), pp.395-404.

Goldratt, E.M., 2017. Critical chain: A business novel. Routledge.

Jin, N., Goh, B., Huffman, L. and Yuan, J.J., 2015. Predictors and outcomes of perceived image of restaurant innovativeness in fine-dining restaurants. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 24(5), pp.457-485.

Tiwanaku, W., 2014. A Comparative study of customer perceived value as a driver for fine dining restaurant selection. AU Journal of Management, 12(1), pp.1-13.

Pucihar, A., Ravesteijn, M.K.B.P., Seitz, J. and Bond, R., 2018. Managing Complexity of Digital Transformation with Enterprise Architecture.

Rozek, N.A., Hussin, S., Siddique, A.S.K.A.R., Rashid, P.D.A. and Salmi, N.S., 2016. The influence of food quality on customer satisfaction in a fine dining restaurant: Case in Penang. International Academic Research Journal of Business and Technology, 2(2), pp.45-50.

Schjøll, A. and Alfnes, F., 2017. Eliciting consumer preferences for credence attributes in a fine-dining restaurant. British Food Journal, 119(3), pp.575-586.

Schaltegger, S., Lüdeke-Freund, F. and Hansen, E.G., 2016. Business models for sustainability: A co-evolutionary analysis of sustainable entrepreneurship, innovation, and transformation. Organization & Environment, 29(3), pp.264-289.

Uhl, A. and Gollenia, L.A. eds., 2016. Business transformation management methodology. Routledge.

Visnjic, I., Weingarten, F. and Neely, A., 2016. Only the brave: Product innovation, service business model innovation, and their impact on performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 33(1), pp.36-52.