Teams homework

During this project we as a team will analyse a case study and provide possible solutions to a problem. In our case the problem is low revenue, therefore with the use of team tools we will try to increase the revenue flow in the business, as well as solve other problems which will be specifically mentioned throughout the project.

To begin with, we would like to examine the case study. It is about a couple, Tracy and Oscar, which decided to open a small restaurant, Buko Nero, in Tanjong Pagar. It has a cuisine with Italian cooking accented by Asian sauces, utilizing local, rather than imported, ingredients. Oscar and Tracy are the only workers in the restaurant. It is stated that they work most of the day and have a small amount of time left for rest; as Buko Nero is open 45 weeks in a year, the couple has only 7 weeks off which is very little. Tracy is in charge of the front of house operations, as in the past she was a flight attendant meaning that she has a high level of communication skills. Therefore, she takes care of the service, cleaning the area as well as she is the one who does the shopping. Oscar is taking care of the food preparation and cleaning the back of house area, as he is an Italian who is passionate about culinary science and always dreamed about owning his own restaurant where he will be his own boss in the kitchen.

In order to come up with a solution, we need to first see what the problem is. In our case it is Buko Nero being an inefficient operation. Why is it an inefficient food and beverage operation? We have created a cause effect diagram to analyse this question.

From the tool above we can see possible problems that Buko Nero has and also needs to solve. We believe that they should work on their time-management, concept, and advertisement. They should include more planning and scheduling in order to improve their quantity of free time. Their concept has Italian cuisine with the use of Singaporean ingredients, however the fact that Oscar is alone in the open kitchen may seem boring to watch for the customers. Moreover, as Tracy is also working alone, it can get busy therefore the quality Buko Nero has to offer the guests may be lower than expected which as a result will decrease customer satisfaction. What is more, they do not advertise Buko Nero as their customers have high demand, however, if they truly want to answer “what is next?” they should create a social media and include other technology which will increase the efficiency of their operation.

With the help of this tool, as well as brainstorming and 5 whys, we will answer the four following questions.

· Oscar and Tracy have decided to have children and need to make necessary changes to the operation to allow time for their kids. What changes would you suggest to make this happen?

· Oscar and Tracy would like to increase their income and reduce their time commitment to the daily operations of Boku Nero. What strategies would you suggest to achieve both of these desired outcomes? 

We decided to combine these two questions as the problems have similar solutions. The problem is lack of free time therefore our goal here is to create more time for Oscar and Tracy, so they are able to spend it with their infants. What is more, as children have special necessities, their income should increase to be able to take care of them.

(Garfinkle s.f.)

In order to create more free time for Oscar and Tracy, we decided to look deeper into why they have a lack of the time.

The tool above, “5 Whys”, shows us the root of the problem which is their goal to keep a lower level of costs. Employing more workers is time consuming as they need to be taught a specific level of skills that will satisfy the owners of Buko Nero; that time spent will result in extra costs that will logically decrease the revenue. However, if we try and look from a different perspective, we are able to notice that this extra spending can be an investment in the long run. We thought of providing an example of a future scenario where Tracy and Oscar employ 2 more workers in the kitchen and 2 more in the front of house to provide the service for the guests. In that case Oscar will still be doing what he loves the most but with preparation help from the two employees. That will make the open kitchen look busier which will be more enjoyable to watch for the guests. In the front of house, one employee will be in charge of the beverages and the other will take care of bringing the dishes to the table, while Tracy will be taking orders as she knows the menu by heart. In the short run it will create costs, however, we believe that as it is stated in the case study that the restaurant is always full, the owners of Buko Nero are also able to increase the prices of the dishes by a little bit. For example, increase their Creamy Porcini Mushroom Soup from $7.50 to $8.50. From that increase of $1 they will be able to benefit and pay their workers, while getting a similar demand, if not the same. What is more, by looking at their Net Income, we can notice that they can definitely afford those employees to help them and therefore create more time to spend with the infants.

By taking a look at the brainstorming we have done earlier, one can see that there are other numerous solutions to the problem, such as changing the concept. They can still allow some guests to eat inside Buko Nero, however limiting the number of tables and the capacity of the restaurant as well as the working hours. When the restaurant is closed for the guests to eat inside, Tracy and Oscar can create a grab and go service. It will be easier for Tracy to manage the front of house as she does not need to serve the guests, rather only make sure the orders are correct and that will provide her with more time that she will be able to spend with the children, while keeping their income high.

The reason for which their revenue is not growing is because the business cannot increase or grow more. For that specific reason we would recommend them to enlarge their operation.

Create a space with 13 tables (capacity approximately 50 people), as well accordingly hire employees. We suggest hiring 3 to 4 more employees in the kitchen, while Oscar will be managing the kitchen; 3 more workers in the front of house: 1 at the bar, 2 waiters and Tracy will be welcoming guests, as well as managing the staff. In order to make that reconstruction, they will need to invest some of their savings, but in the long run we believe that this will create a larger profit margin for them. Moreover, the construction may create extra time to spend with their children and make them bond as the infants can bring their little touches to the interior design and create a memory.

· Oscar must leave for several months to care for an ailing family member, but needs the financial support of the restaurant. What changes should Tracy make to continue operations without Oscar?

Our goal in the current situation is to continue the operations without Oscar and provide financial support for him. That means that we should look for way to increase the revenue of the Buko Nero operation. In order to do that we should decrease the costs (Revenue – Costs = Profit).

In case of Oscar leaving the country, we believe before his departure they should both sit down, plan and schedule their days, as well general further actions. As Tracy cannot be both in the kitchen and

· Oscar and Tracy would like to utilize technologies to increase their income from Boku Nero and reduce their time commitment to the daily operations of Boku Nero. What technologies should they engage to achieve both of these desired outcomes? Hint: social media

In this scenario we must consider the technology that can make daily operations easier and more efficient.

We as a group advise Tracy and Oscar to utilize a minimum of 3 technologies to reduce the time commitment and increase their income. The first one in our opinion is web-page creation, where their potential customers can find information about the restaurant, their owners to create a closer bond and promote advertisement. Moreover, on the website Oscar and Tracy can promote self-pick service to enjoy their delicious dishes at home, by the guests with the access to the menu. They can be a case as their capacity is only 20 seats and as the restaurant is not located in the centre of the city, the customers from other parts of Tanjong Pagar can try this unique cuisine.

As stated in the extract Buko Nero has high demand and is always full. Exactly due to that reason, we recommend them to include a reservation system. This will not only help Tracy and Oscar to better organise their daily commitment and create efficient schedules, but also their plan the costs by having the knowledge of the number of guests to arrive that day or evening. The guests will also benefit from this system as they can easily access this system and check availability.

Even though by looking at their income numbers without a large use of advertisement we can see they are creating a substantial amount of profit, however with such a low cost of investment they can enlarge that profit. Buko Nero is listed in the online restaurant guide, but we believe it is not enough. They should also create their own social media and promote their brand in networks such as Facebook and Instagram. By communicating with customers, they will create an even stronger bond; encourage guests to become part of the Buko Nero brand and thus create loyalty. It is will not cost them money, but it will take up some free time in order to keep up with the posts, however the publicity will create a higher demand and therefore increase the profit margin.

Last but not the least another time saving technology would be the self-order system. It will indeed make daily operations easier for Oscar and Tracy and will therefore allow them to concentrate on the quality of service and other aspects that may influence the customer satisfaction. This system will also save money as they do not need to hire a person who will do that and save time for Tracy and the orders will be sent straight to the kitchen in order for Oscar to prepare. However, on the other hand, this system is usually used in fast food operations and as stated in the extract Buko Nero is a more expensive café but is certainly more than a café. The self-order system will take away the human contact of the order process which indeed does lower the quality of service but it does save time.

We would like to conclude by stating what solutions they should consider and implement in the daily operations. To start with if Oscar is leaving, they should not enlarge the place for now, however it should be in their plans for the future. In order to

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