Competing through Operation: KFC Report Essay

INTRODUCTIONThe report focuses on KFC the leading chicken immediate victuals restaurant in the world, and one of the greatheartedst players in the fast regimen market. By using vanadium murder clinicals and various research methods, the report aims to analyze how the restaurant perform and manage its outgrowth force in line of battle to provide qualified solid nutriment and service to the guests.Besides, the restaurants condenser constrains and subject strategies atomic physique 18 discussed rack on the primary data from KFC Union pass, Bristol City centre. It would link to the relationship between Capacity dodging and atomic hail 23 performance accusatives ( ease up et al, 2004), as well as, how they brook each another(prenominal).COMPANY penKFC first starts in 1930s, when Harland Sanders opened his restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky. KFC now spreads surface to much than vitamin C countries with around 15500 outlets worldwide. Of these, there are more than 800 restaurants laid in the UK.The restaurant has tough on fried-chicken-on-bone products under the name reliable Recipe and expanded the offers with other items include chicken sandwiches and chicken wings, as well as, biscuits, mashed potatoes, corn, potato wedges and desserts. The new line-grilled chicken with fewer calories, fat and salt than the Original Recipe- was launched in 2009. It was called one of the biggest new product rollouts in the accounting of the company by the KFC president Roger Eaton. Being tested in numerous regions included the UK this new line has been well received as a healthier alternative which retains good in taste.The following secern end discuss astir(predicate) how KFC applies five performance butts (Slack et al, 2004) into its operation and which of the five clinicals is concentrated on.FIVE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVESThe theory has been utilize for many companies worldwide for all over 10 years in order to manage operating performance. overdue to the square upation of resources, each company tends to put only some of the five objectives in priorityduring particular periods. It is considered as one of smart methods to maximize sugars.Source (Adapted from Slack et al, 2004)FIGURE1. FIVE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVESFigure 1 explains the intellect and meaning of five performance objectives (Slack et al, 2004) in general.QUALITY is the responsibility to constantly provide the good product or service that company has claimed. It in standardized manner requires doing the reclaim thing at the right time and meeting customer specifications, which give customer satisfactions. In KFC, main factors listed as Quality objective are quality of food (delicious, tasty, fresh, healthy, etc), quality of service (clean, supportive, friendly, etc)SPEED is be as how fast the company responds their customers. This is one of the almost important things needed in fast food restaurant, especially in rush hours. Applying to KFC restau rant, speeding objective is considered as the elapsed time between customers placing orders and the food or services being delivered.FLEXIBILITY measures how much variety in products, services, and solutions for a dynamic market environment in order to meet customers need. It is shown as KFCs various menus, the launch of line Grilled Chicken, the more customization, etcDEPENDABILITY is doing things on time as promises. It not only gains customers trust still also has an influence on cost, which are saving money, saving time and giving stability to improve the efficiencies (Strecker, Ulrich, 2011). In KFC, it is on-time deliveries.COST is the product or service price that enables company get by the market, as well as ensure the return. The company aims to maximize their profittherefore, reducing the cost is necessary. Cost objective in KFC is measured by the cost of food, cost of manager and rounds salaries, etc.The wintry diagram below shows how KFC restaurant performs in manag er, staff and customer perspectives base on the data that was collected.(Adapted from Slack et al, 2004, p58)FIGURE2. POLAR DIAGRAM OF KFC RESTAURANTThe gelid diagram is excogitationed by the result of KFC managers interview, staffs questionnaire and customers questionnaire (Appendix 1.0, appendix 2.0 and appendix 3.0).According to KFC manager, the restaurant is performing quite an well in quality, cost and dependability objectives charm speed inescapably to improve, especially in rush hours (1600pm to 2000pm). Staff and customers sport the equal opinion about improving speed objective in KFC. Although we have 8 queues as the manager it is hard to serve a enlarged number of customers at 19pm. However, we tend to give the staffs more training sessions to adjoin their speed in taking order and cooking. Focusing on peck will push up dependability, flexibility and speed all. (Appendix 3.0) It is the fact that most of the customers want a lower price for their food and servi ces. However, with a fit(p) price tag, the restaurant tries their scoop out to prove that the food and service offered to customers are worth their paying.The next part of report will focus on how the restaurant meets its customers fluctuating demand.CAPACITYThe competency of an operation is the highest level of value added after certain period of time that the member would be able to achieve under certain conditions (Slack et al, 2001). It includes actual issue, design capacitor and effective capacity.FIGURE3. CAPACITY OF KFC RESTAURANT ON UNION STREET, BRISTOL plan losses Avoidable losses actual capacity 1929 people plotted losses impelling capacity 2331 people Design capacity 2680 people(Adapt from Slack et al, 2001)The figure is resulted from calculations below.DESIGN CAPACITYDesign capacity is the capacity which its technical designers had in mind when they commissioned the operation (Slack et al, 2001, p335). The KFC restaurant on Union path is the largest KFC outlet s in Bristol which can serve maximum hundred customers a day (approximate number from KFC manager).Design capacityDaily100 people periodic670 people (7 functionals days, less functional hours on Sunday)Monthly2680 peopleEFFECTIVE CAPACITYWhile design capacity is everything correspond to a plan, effective capacity helps to show what susceptibility happen if something not goes as a plan. Effectivecapacity is calculated as design capacity electronegative planned losses, which is 13% (from KFC manager).Effective capacityDaily87 people (100 10013%)Weekly582people (670 67013%)Monthly2331 people (2680 268013%)ACTUAL OUTPUTActual output is the amount of a product that a production facility actually produces, as opposed to the amount that it could produce if it were to run at full theoretical capacity. It is calculated as design capacity minus planned losses and forfendable losses which is 15% (from KFC manager).Actual outputDaily72 people (100 100x13%+15%)Weekly482 people (670 670x13%+15%)Monthly1929 people (2680 2680x13%+15%)Planned losses Public holidays (Christmas, naked as a jaybird Year, etc)Human issues (Illness, pregnant )The time customers waiting to be servedAvoidable losses Weather (Storm, heavy snow, etc)Machine failure.CAPACITY CONSTRAINTSCapacity constraints are considered as factors that limit the number of customers served by operation (Dettmer, 2003). For KFC, these are number of staffs, number of queues, on tap(predicate) eating space, speed of cooking and delivering. These factors would push the restaurant to its limit points of operation, which called Bottle necks.NUMBER OF STAFF at that place are many evoke of working hour a day in KFC. The maximum number of staffs that needed in rush hour is 12 people most (with 8 front-men taking customers orders and cleanup spot, 2 middle-men making burgers and chips, and 2 cooks in the kitchen working strenuously). At the busiest hour, the staffs face pressure of too many customers waiting in the queues, shortage of food available, and the mess in eating place. 2 or 3 front-men have to make burger and chips in order to provide food on time.NUMBER OF QUEUE It often happens in the fast food restaurant that long lines of customers are waiting to be served. Although KFC Union Street has 8 queues, it does not mean that there are always staffs available. open EATING SPACE It is hard to find a clean send back in rush hours because of the large number of customers and the busy staffs.SPEED OF grooming AND DELIVERING To ensure the fresh of food provided to customers, the middle-men just make some available. Hence, if a big order is located or many orders are placed at once, it will take time to make more burgers. just about constraint factors would be solved by staffs working flexibility, some, however, could not avoid because they links to other factors. For example, KFC could make more burgers available to avoid customers waiting time and increase speed performance objec tive however, the foods will not as good as the just-in-time one, which reduces quality performance objective. Therefore, it is essential for the restaurant to decide which objectives are priorities.The analysis of KFCs capacity and capacity constraints lead to the following part which will discuss about which strategy it uses to manage the operation.CAPACITY STRATEGY(Sasser, 1976)There are 2 evidences from the data collected that shows Chase demand plan (Sasser, 1976) is the strategy KFC following. There are different staff numbers and the amount of food do in a day.Due to staff contracts, the manager arranges a large number of staffs for rush hour, which is from 1600pm to 2000pm each day bandage reduce staffs at the opening (930am) and the closing time (2200pm). In 30 minutes before closing, the kitchen stops working and the front-men focus on cleaning rather than standing behind order place. This arrangement is based on which time customers usually come to the restaurant. It he lps reduce cost of staff salaries and avoid human surplus on the time not many customers. Besides, working flexibility is required for all the staffs, which are ability of working in different positions (front, middle or in kitchen), doing different tasks and even overtime, if needed.The other one amount of food ready in a day does show that KFC is applying Capacity leads demand theory (Sasser, 1976). KFC always provides the amount of food slightly over than customers demand so as to ensure available service in working time. The food left(p) changes to waste because it could not be stored due to KFCs quality standard. This waste, according to the manager, is not significant and enables to bear with. From the analysis above, it is clear to see that KFC is doing right because the strategy not only fits to identity of fast food market, but also expresses KFCs customisation, which highly focus on satisfy its customers. after(prenominal) discussing about five performance objectives (S lack et al, 2004) and capacity strategy (Sasser, 1976), the final part will clarify relationship between those and how they support each other.THE human relationship OF CAPACITY STRATEGY AND FIVE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES (Slack et al, 2004)Before having strategy, the objectives have to be set. It could be simply explained that objectives are the place you want to drive to while strategy is vehicle that helps to get there. For KFC as a whole, the company expresses its constriction on Quality objective done the slogan Dont worry. Eat happy (http//www.kfc.co.uk/dontworryeathappy) and various actions to be healthier for the customers, such as Get fresh inspiration from our Deli Deluxe Range, Were fighting trans-fats, not flavour, Weve done away with 25% of utter(a) fats, or Fitted out with green energy, etc. Quality is cognize as the vital factor to compete with other big brands like Subway, MacDonalds, Burger King, and gain fast food market share when customers health concern is inc reasing more and more.(http//www.propertyweek.com, Dominos pizza tops the market article)FIGURE4. FAST-FOOD MARKET SHARE IN THE UKHowever, for small scale, according to the manager of KFC Union Street, therestaurant put Speed objective as their first priority to strive because quality standard as well as promotions is already fixed. It is KFC Companys labor to raise and spread out how good the food is. Said the manager Our job is to provide food with the same standard, and serve the customers those come to our restaurant best services, and it is speed. Hence, the restaurant tends to increase the factor it can control, which differentiates it among the others.Following the objective above, the Chase demand plan (Sasser, 1976) is decided to make it done. This strategy fits to fast food restaurants identity so as to use time, human, and money resources. Then, considering either capacity lags demand, which allows demand never less than capacity or capacity leads demand (Sasser, 19 76), which is that capacity always meets forecasted demand, KFC Union Street chose the second one. The restaurant gives up waste in order to mend its service for customers. Amount of food available reduces waiting time for delivering, as well as, waiting time to be ordered. The customers would be more satisfy thanks to fast service.CONCLUSIONTo sum up, the report is designed from result collected at KFC Union Street, Bristol. With five performance objectives (Slack et al, 2004), capacity, capacity strategy (Sasser, 1976) analysis, it clarified how KFC operates and how theories links to each other, as well as, are applied into practice with particular circumstances.REFERENCESDettmer, H.W., 2003. Strategic Navigation A Systems Approach to task Strategy. ASQ Quality Press.James, P., Rowland-Jones, R., OBrien, L., 2010. Operations and BusinessSystems management, 2nd Ed., Harlow Pearson.Samuelson, Paul A., Nordhaus, William D (2009). Economics, 19th Ed., McGraw-Hill Higher Education.S lack N, Chambers, S., Johnston R., 2001, Operations management, 3rd Ed., London Pittman Publishing.Slack N, Chambers, S., Johnston R., 2001, Operations management, 4th Ed., London Pittman Publishing.Slack N, Chambers, S., Johnston R., 2001, Operations management, 5th Ed., Harlow learner Hall.Schoenborn, G., 2009, Personal Communication.Strecker, S., Ulrich, F., 2011. Information Systems and E-Business Management. A modelling method in support of the reflective design and use of performance measurement systems e-journal 7(1). Available through Springer.http//www.kfc.co.uk/dontworryeathappy