Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Case Study OM
Case Study OM
1. From your knowledge of restaurants, from the video, from the Global Company
Profile that opens this chapter, and from the case itself, identify how each of
the 10 decisions of operations management is applied at Hard Rock Cafe.
At Hard Rock Caf, these 10 decisions are applied to ensure that the brand, company reputation,
and financial targets are met, as follows.
a. Service and Product Design. Hard Rock Caf applies service and product design decisions
to maintain the Hard Rock ambiance and image. Managers assess different attributes of
target markets and make some slight modifications to the products and services. Still,
these products and services consistently follow the Hard Rock Caf brand image.
b. Quality Management. Hard Rock Caf applies quality management by maintaining a
specific quality assessment role for the operations manager. The manager uses the firms
quality standards to identify issues and weaknesses. Recommended changes are then
applied to ensure compliance.
c. Process and Capacity Design. Hard Rock Cafs process and capacity design refers to
internal business processes and the target capacity of facilities. Internal business
processes include food preparation, order routing, reservations, and others. The target
capacity of Hard Rock Caf facilities is based on the condition of the local markets. The
company applies process and capacity design decisions to maximize capacity utilization.
d. Location. Hard Rock Caf decides on the location of its businesses based on market and
industry analysis. Market research is applied to determine if the market can support a
Hard Rock Caf. Industry statistics are used to determine if expanding the firm through
additional Hard Rock Caf locations is feasible.
e. Layout Design. The company decides on layout design by assessing the expected influx of
customers and the nature of business operations in facilities. Hard Rock Caf themed
restaurants, casinos and hotels have different layout requirements. The companys
operations managers apply layout design for efficient workflow in the limited space
available in these facilities.
f. Job Design. Hard Rock Cafs job design decisions are reached and applied through an
analysis of needs and expectations of the company and its employees. The
appropriateness of job design is evaluated based on employee feedback and company
standards. The companys operations management is focused on optimizing workers
person-job fit, while making it easy for employees to do their jobs to maximize efficiency.
g. Supply Chain Management. Hard Rock Cafs supply chain management decisions are
based on market demand, variety of suppliers, and inventory management costs, among
other factors. The supply chain management decision is applied through the operations
manager and location manager.
h. Inventory Management. The company applies inventory management decisions through
inventory management software. Hard Rock Cafs operations management uses
demand fluctuations and historical records to predict changes needed in the inventory.
The inventory is then adjusted accordingly.
i. Scheduling. Hard Rock Caf makes decisions in scheduling by evaluating current
operations effectiveness. The schedules must satisfy capacity requirements. Also,
operations managers disseminate planned schedules to staff and use their feedback to
make adjustments. The adjusted schedules are then applied to ensure flexibility and
resilience of the business.
j. Maintenance. Maintenance decisions at Hard Rock Caf are made and applied based on
a comparative evaluation of assets and the firms standards. For example, the company
has standards on how much equipment wear and tear is allowed before the equipment
needs repair or replacement. Hard Rock Caf also has standards and policies on how
maintenance should be conducted involving qualified personnel.
2. How would you determine the productivity of the kitchen staff and wait staff at
Hard Rock?
Hard Rock Caf determines the productivity of the kitchen staff and wait staff through a set
of well-defined quantitative and qualitative criteria that reflect performance. Some of the
quantitative criteria used in operations management at Hard Rock Caf are as follows:
a. Kitchen staff productivity: The number of orders that the kitchen staff fulfills within Hard
Rock Cafs standard allotted time versus the number of items ordered by the customers
b. Wait staff productivity: The number of orders that the wait staff serves or delivers within
Hard Rock Cafs standard allotted time versus the number of items ordered by the
customers
c. Kitchen and wait staff productivity: The total number of staff members versus the total
number of orders fulfilled in a day
d. Kitchen and wait staff productivity: The number of late or unfulfilled orders per day
versus the total number of orders for that day
The qualitative criteria for determining kitchen staff and wait staff productivity at Hard Rock
Caf are based mainly on subjective judgment of managers, staff members, and customers. For
example, operations managers use customer complaints and comments to qualitatively monitor
kitchen staff and wait staff productivity.
Hard Rock Caf uses these quantitative and qualitative productivity criteria to assess specific
performance aspects of the kitchen staff and wait staff. The company also combines these criteria
to develop a broader perspective on the productivity and performance of the kitchen staff and
wait staff. These quantitative and qualitative criteria guide productivity decisions at Hard Rock
Caf.
3. How are the 10 decisions of OM different when applied to the operations manager
of a service operation such as Hard Rock versus an automobile company such as Ford
Motor Company?