System approach to food service management views the organization as a unified, purposeful system composed of interrelated parts that interact in ways to achieve goals.
For your information, the groups have been divided into 3 types :
- Commercial - foodservice operations that compete in a freemarket and are open to all customers ; profitable. For examples, restaurant, supermarket, convenience store, snack bars, delis and so on.
 |
| Convenience store |
 |
| Supermarket |
 |
| Snack bars |
 |
| restaurant |
- Non-commercial - This segment prepares and serves food in support of some other establishment’s main function or purpose ; non-profit. For instances, hospital, colleges and universities, nursing homes, governmental organizations, and business.
 |
| college's food court |
 |
| hospital as a non-commercial FS |
 |
| cafeteria in office building |
 |
| vending machine |
- Military - bases and ships provide food services to military personnel.
 |
| military foodservice |
Foodservice Operation...
The nature of foodservice management :
- All organization must have their own mission as a summary of the organization's purpose, goal and objective.
- So, in order to achieve the mission statement, the objective must be developed as specific and measureable target of an organization.
The systems concept and approach...
History :
- Classical approach said that, to reach the goals of an organization, all of the workers need to perform efficiently.
- Social and psychological factors were important measures for employee satisfaction.
Basics of systems theory :
- System : a set of interdependent parts that work together to achieve a common goal.
- Subsystems : the interdependent parts of a system, the parts of a system.
- Systems Theory : viewing the systems as a whole made up of interdependent parts.
 |
| Systems Model |
Definition of key systems :
- Inputs – resources such as money, material, time, information required by a system.
- Operations – the work performed to transform inputs into outputs.
- Transformation – the process required to change inputs into outputs.
- Outputs – finished products and services of an organization.
- Feedback – information on how operations worked or failed or how they should be changed to restore equilibrium.
- Controls – the self-imposed plans and legal documents that impact the organization’s function.
- Equifinality – the same outputs may be achieved from different inputs or transformational processes.
Benefits of systems thinking
- More effective problem solving
- More effective communication
- More effective planning
- More effective organizational development
4 types of foodservice systems
- Conventional ( Traditional ) - raw food are purchased, transformed into final products for service and held at serving temperature until served.
Advantages :
- high quality control of food
- flexibility in menu items
- less freezer storage required
Disadvantages :
- stressful work day
- difficulty in scheduling the workers
- food safety
- higher food cost
Rationale :
- food may be procured with limited amounts of processing
- conventional system demands skilled labor
 |
| Conventional system |
- Ready-prepared ( cook/chill or cook/freeze ) - food is produced onsite, held chilled or frozen, and reheated for a later time.
Advantages :
- reduction in labor cost
- quality and quantity control
- workload is evened out
Disadvantages :
- High initial capital investment for equipment
- need reheating (rethermalization) equipment
- perceived loss of quality
Rationale :
- reduced labor expenses
- decreased labor cost
- volume food procurement may decrease food cost
 |
| Ready-prepared system |
- Commissary - Foods are purchased and produced in large central production kitchen and delivered in bulk to satellite serving areas for final production.
Advantages :
- Lower food and supply costs
- Purchasing power
- Ingredient control is improved
- Lower labor costs
Disadvantages :
- High initial capital investment for building and equipment
- Transportation costs
- Perceived loss of quality
- Food safety problem can affect many customers
Rationale :
- accommodates remote services area
 |
| Commisary system |
- Assembly/serve - known as ‘kitchenless kitchen’. Fully prepared foods are purchased and require only storage, final assembly, heating, and serving.
Advantages :
- less labor and less skilled labor needed
- minimal investment in equipment and space requirement
- portion control easier, less waste
Disadvantages :
- high food cost
- limited availability of desired menu items
- additional freezer space needed
- concern over recycling
Rationale :
- Assuming lack of skilled labor and available supply of highly processed foods, this system can be successful.
 |
| Assembly/serve system |
THE END OF THIS CHAPTER :D
