THE CONTROL PROCESS

Control- means exercising governing power over events and situations such that an outcome can be
achieved or prevented. In our personal lives, we can normally exercise governing power over our actions,
and thus control, to achieve or prevent various outcomes.

Consider the following:

• Food does not disappear by itself without help

• Excess quantity of liquor doesn’t get into drinks unless put by the bartender

• Food is not consumed by rodents unless people make that food accessible

• Customers seldom leave without paying their bill unless staff members make that possible

• Employees’ wage calculation is not based on the wrong numbers of hours unless someone gives
the wrong information

Major expense categories that must be controlled by the food service management:

• Food and beverage costs- Include actual cost of food and beverage as well as transportation
costs.

• Labor Cost- Includes salaries and wages and other employee benefits such as paid holidays, sick
leaves, uniforms and meals, insurance benefits, and social security contributions.

• Overhead Cost- Includes all costs other than food, beverage, and labor.

Definition of Terms

Control is a process used by managers to direct, regulate and restrain the actions of people so that the
established goals of an enterprise may be achieved.

Cost Control is defined as the process used by managers to regulate cost and guard against excessive
costs.

• The principal causes of excessive cost are

• Inefficiency

• Waste

Sales Control refers to the process of taking steps to insure that sales are made and recorded accurately.
Sales Control is important to ensure that all sales result in appropriate income to the business.

• Control System refers to the collection of interrelated and interdependent control techniques
and procedures in use in a given food and beverage operation.
 • Cost/Benefit Ratio is a concept of the relationship between the costs incurred in instituting and
maintaining a single control or control system and the benefits or savings derived by doing so.

Objectives of Cost Control System

• Determine the critical point of sales that will enable business to survive and to make profit.

• Set up a budget or cost ratios which will serve as ceiling for expenditures so that expenses can
be regulated to conform to the budget.

• Install system, policies, tools and procedures for keeping costs within the budget and to protect
the business from unnecessary or excessive expenditures.

• Executive check and balance in the operations such as that losses, anomalies, pilferage and
discrepancies in transactions can be avoided.

• Monitor business performance against targeted sales and cost and to track down variances so
that corrective measures can be undertaken.

• Provide tools for analysis of variance and for trouble shooting cost variances so as to protect the
business from recurring losses.

Where Control is Needed

• Forecasting, budgeting & standards setting

• Distributing responsibilities & defining accountabilities for results

• Menu Planning

• Ordering & Purchasing

• Receiving of Stocks

• Storage and Inventory

• Requisition and Issuance

• Production and Service

• Audit and Recording Transactions

• Corrective Measures

The Control Process

Consists of the following four steps:

 • Establish standard and standard procedures for operation.

• Train all individual to follow established standards and standard procedures.

• Monitor performance and compare actual performance with established standards.

• Take appropriate actions to correct deviations from standards.

The Control Techniques

1. Establishing Standards

Standards - are defined as rules or measures established for making comparisons and judgments.

A. Quality Standards.

B. Quantity Standards

C. Cost Standard or Standard Cost

2. Establishing Procedures

• Procedures are the methods employed to prepare products or perform jobs.

• Standard Procedures are those procedures that have been established as the correct methods,
routines and techniques for day-to-day operations.

3. Training

is a process by which managers teach employees how work is to be done, given the standards
and standards procedures established.

4. Setting Examples

Employees in an operation follow the examples set by the manager — the manager ’ s behavior,
manner, responses to questions, and even a failure to speak or take action in some situations.

5. Observing and Correcting Employee Actions

One of the manager’s important tasks is to observe the actions of all employees continually as
they go about their daily jobs, judging those actions in the light of the standards and standard
procedures established for their work.

6. Requiring Records and Reports

Recording and reports is an important element in control as these information helps in decision
making, judgment & comparisons of the operations. One such report is the statement of income.

7. Discipline Employees
 Discipline is defined as the action taken to admonish, chastise, or reprimand an employee for
work performance or personal behavior incompatible with established standards.

8. Preparing and Following Budgets

Preparing and following budgets may be the most common technique for controlling business
operations

• Budget is defined as a financial plan and may be described as a realistic expression of

management’s goals and objectives expressed in financial terms.

• Operating Budget is the most important type of budget that a food and beverage manager can
prepare.