Restaurant Management and Operations

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Restaurant Management andOperationsLaurel A. Marshall aa Tourism and Hospitality Department , KingsboroughCommunity College, City University of New York ,2001 Oriental Boulevard, Brooklyn, NY, 11235, USAPublished online: 14 Oct 2008.

To cite this article: Laurel A. Marshall (2001) Restaurant Management and Operations,Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 1:2-3, 169-182, DOI: 10.1300/J172v01n02_10

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Restaurant Management and Operations:A Tourism Virtual Experience

Laurel A. Marshall

SUMMARY. Virtual enterprise (VE) is an inter-disciplinary businesssimulation, where students use technology to trade products and servicesthrough a global e-commerce network of more than 3,000 firms. VECAANESA International Restaurant utilizes the Internet as a major partof the daily enterprise operations. This inner city community of studentsworked in an on-campus office environment as managers of different de-partments, using a web-based instructional platform. The paper is an em-pirical study, demonstrating the course design, development anddissemination of information using regular classroom instruction inbusiness and marketing techniques, as well as the Internet accessed in-structional program. The course information could be accessed at anytime day or night. The usage information is detailed within. The shift inthe comfort level of the students in various skills was measured at the be-ginning and end of the semester when the students took a self-evaluativeskills inventory assessment survey. The survey measured their compe-tency; their ratings are included. [Article copies available for a fee from TheHaworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: <[email protected]> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> © 2001 by TheHaworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYWORDS. Virtual enterprise, Internet, restaurant management

Laurel A. Marshall is Assistant Professor, Tourism and Hospitality Department,Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York, 2001 Oriental Bou-levard, Brooklyn, NY 11235 (E-mail: [email protected]).

[Haworth co-indexing entry note]: “Restaurant Management and Operations: A Tourism Virtual

Experience.” Marshall, Laurel A. Co-published simultaneously in Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism

(The Haworth Hospitality Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc.) Vol. 1, No. 2/3, 2001, pp. 169-182;

and: The Internet and Travel and Tourism Education (ed: Gary Williams, William Chernish, and Bob

McKercher) The Haworth Hospitality Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc., 2001, pp. 169-182. Single

or multiple copies of this article are available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service

[1-800-342-9678, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (EST). E-mail address: [email protected]].

2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 169

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INTRODUCTION

Virtual Enterprise (VE) is an inter-disciplinary business simulation,where students utilize the latest in available technology to trade prod-ucts and services with other enterprises through a global e-commerce(electronic commerce) network. This workforce simulation programgives students the opportunity to put into actual practice all of theircoursework subject areas in a virtual career environment. The VE net-work presently consists of more than 3,000 international virtual firms.The firms are run as actual businesses; the students buy and sell prod-ucts, use a web-based banking system, receive a salary, and mail or faxinvoices and memos to any of the other firms in this global network.The contrivance that makes this operation virtual is: neither the moneynor the products are real. The only real exchange is communication.

In September 1999 the instructor was asked to teach a Tourismcourse in virtual enterprise at Kingsborough Community College of theCity University of New York. Eighteen students, 3 males and 15 fe-males between the ages of 20 and 35 years of age, and the VE Coordina-tor, as the instructor was called, operated a virtual restaurant in anon-campus office designed by the Tourism and Hospitality departmentfor their small business courses. This course was structured to combinethe use of the Internet in and out of the classroom environment, and theactual operation of a restaurant managed by the students in an e-busi-ness (electronic business) setting.

The new enterprise named CAANESA by the students, representscuisine from the various continents of the world: Caribbean-Asia-Af-rica-North America-Europe-South America-Australia; hence, the nameCAANESA. The enterprise was charged with opening from the groundup, including the design of every aspect of the facility, which includedselecting a virtual location, a building design and the smallest detailslike the china patterns and flatware.

The student team decided to establish a 200-seat restaurant on thefirst floor, and a catering facility with a maximum occupancy of 300people on the second floor with the capabilities of catering off-propertyevents. The restaurant was virtually located on East 27th street inManhattan, New York City, near a multinational community calledGramercy Park. The newest and most challenging facet of this coursewas using a newly developed Internet based teaching program calledBlackboard.com to facilitate the students research and maximize theimmediate information flow within the team. The students had variouscomfort levels with using the Internet and with other skills. A self-ad-

170 THE INTERNET AND TRAVEL AND TOURISM EDUCATION

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ministered skills inventory survey was taken by the students during thefirst week of class, and again in the last week. The results are detailed inthis study.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

This empirical study looked at determining the results of applyingasynchronous learning methods to disadvantaged, at-risk inner-citycommunity college students. One author says that this methodology is“inappropriate” for this population, “since freshman and sophomoresmay lack discipline and may pick the Internet class thinking it will be ‘abreeze’ and not do well” (Steinle, 1999). Another author says “that nosignificant academic improvement occurs using technology in theclassroom” (Oppenheimer, 1997). This author does not agree.

Owning a computer and/or having Internet access at home was not aprerequisite to enrolling in this virtual enterprise; neither was havingany knowledge of office and software skills. Those students were ableto access the Internet on one of the college computers or encouraged touse one belonging to a friend or relative.

GOAL

The dominant or principal goal of this empirical study was to explorethe efficacy of using a computer based instructional platform for thispopulation. The secondary goal was to have students access the technol-ogy as frequently as possible using the Internet, as well as other com-puter software programs to communicate and transact business in theglobal VE network.

METHOD

Participants

Eighteen college students initially enrolled in the course, and fifteenstudents actually completed the semester (13 women and 2 men, meanage = 27 years). All of the participants had some prior knowledge ofcomputer usage and some had awareness of office protocol, havingcompleted courses in one or both prior to enrolling for this enterprise,even though neither situation was a prerequisite. Ten of the students had

Laurel A. Marshall 171

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never run a business either actually or virtually, and three of the femaleshad taken a virtual course in hotel management previously.

Design and Procedure

Course Outline

The course outline was developed to give the students a workingknowledge of how a restaurant was operated on a daily basis with eachof the various departments interdependent on each other, and to ensureconstant communication between the restaurant management team, theinstructor/coordinator, as well as the other virtual enterprises. The stu-dents met with the VE coordinator for a one-hour weekly lec-ture/team/staff meeting, and were assigned two hours of lab timeweekly to work on their own in the VE lab. During these lab hours therewas a mixture of students from the various KCC enterprises working ontheir various assigned tasks. The students accessed their assignmentsvia an Internet based instructional program. The students were also re-quired to participate in on and off-campus events. Scheduled for thisparticular semester was a trade show in Montreal, Canada; a businessconference for all of the New York City VEs that operate in the highschools and colleges; and an opening reception for this newest restau-rant enterprise.

The course requirements were:

Regular weekly attendance in class for the one hour team/staffmeetings.Working in the VE lab for a minimum of two hours weekly.Completion of individual assignments for the various departmentmanagers.Signing and adhering to the employee contract.Completion weekly of activity logs showing any work done out-side of the lab (e.g., library or Internet research, contact with otherVEs).Writing a minimum of six business letters and/or memos to teammembers, suppliers and other VEs.Writing an individual business plan for each department bymid-semester.Using software to produce various documents (e.g., letters,memos, slide presentations).


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Designing brochures as needed to promote the enterprise and gen-erate income.Researching recipes and designing and pricing menus for the res-taurant area.Creating forms and invoices for the catering functions.Designing the tables and booths for conferences and trade shows.Researching recipes and designing and pricing menus for the sepa-rate catering area.Buying and selling products from the other VEs in the national andinternational market.Hosting catered events (with real not virtual food) for the variousKCC VE functions.Participating in out of class events on and off-campus.Promoting the enterprise at every opportunity.Preparing individual portfolios of their accomplished tasks at thesemester’s end.Taking the final exam, exit interview, and assessment surveys.

Course Procedures

In addition to the general class requirements, each department man-ager had specific tasks. For example, when the students/managers turnedin their weekly activity sheets, they gave them directly to the Human Re-sources Manager who used the Excel program to produce a weekly reportto give to the coordinator and to the Administration and Finance Man-ager. The Administration and Finance Manager calculated their workhours and administered their weekly pay directly into their accountsbased on their activity level using the VE I-Bank, as well as kept track ofthe income and expenses for the restaurant and catering areas in theCAANESA I-Bank account. Human Resources and the Maitre D’ alsodeveloped the employee work schedule for the virtual employees in therestaurant using Excel, and provided training as necessary in the labs orindividually.

The Communications Manager designed the restaurant Web pagelocated at http://ucve.iscool.net and the PowerPoint presentationshown at the trade show and business conference. The Catering Man-ager, Restaurant Manager and the Executive Chef, using MS Wordand Photoshop, designed their respective menus from the recipes theyreceived from all of their class/teammates; ordered virtual food for therestaurant based on their calculation of guests; and selected the foodthat was served (real not virtual food) at all of the KCC VE events. The


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Sales and Marketing Manager used Photoshop and designed all fliers,advertisements and promotions for the restaurant and catering events,and helped set menu prices with the Restaurant and Catering Man-agers.

The Catering Manager, accessing MS Word Wizard, designed the or-

der forms and an invoice used to order the virtual food products, and

called or faxed other VEs selling the catering and restaurant promotions.

The Facilities Manager designed and decorated the whole building inside

and out, and ordered supplies from various vendors found on the Internet,

which included items as large as the air conditioning units and as small as

flatware for the tables. The Kitchen Manager worked with the Facilities

Manager and designed the restaurant and catering kitchens, and re-

searched OSHA regulations to be sure the restaurant was in compliance.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) coordinated all team activities and

kept team members on deadline, acted as the VEs public relations person

speaking when required at on and off-campus events. Everyone utilized

the various software provided and the Internet to fulfill their course re-

quirements/managerial duties by their various deadlines.The students were also required to attend the annual Hotel/Motel and

Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS) and gather information from the boothsappropriate to their departmental functions.

Assessment

One of the tools used to confirm the students’ progress in learning

communication and software skills was to complete a skills inventory

self-assessment survey twice during the semester. At the beginning and

end of the semester, the coordinator administered this inventory to mea-

sure the variance in the actual or perceived comfort levels of the stu-

dents in the following areas:

Computer skills in various software based programs such as MSWord, MS Excel and PowerPoint presentations, scanning soft-ware, the VE banking program, and the Internet.Office skills in email, writing memos, faxing, photocopying, tele-phone etiquette, typing, and filing.General business skills in marketing, accounting, buying, selling,customer service, leadership, decision making, time management,teamwork, oral presentations, and research.


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The students were able to find specific examples of business docu-ments, and organizational information on-line. They were graded ontheir specific tasks: The tasks included:

Researching their projects on and off-line.Making five sales transactions from their personal VE I-Bank ac-counts with the other VE’s globally, which at times required themto convert currency.Weekly oral reports in the team/staff meeting about their depart-mental progress.Participating in a sales or business conference or in a trade show,and designing the table or booth.Writing letters and business memos using the MSWord softwareto the other VE’s, to their team members/classmates and to the co-ordinator.Creating forms using Excel.Writing business letters using MS Word Wizard to the variousvendors to purchase products.Filling out the activity logs that reflected their work hours outsideof class and lab.Using Photoshop to create fliers for sales and promotional events.Using on and off-line resources to find recipes and creating menusby continent for the restaurant and catering floors.Using MS Word Wizard to create forms and invoices for cateringsales.Constructing an individual portfolio of their accomplished tasks.

Web-Based Instruction

Instructional platforms represent the future of on-line education(Bedore et al., 1998), and they are available in various web-based for-mats. The university chose Blackboard.com to supply the Internet-basedsoftware that allowed this course to be created in an intuitive and rela-tively user-friendly environment. The web site is internationally basedand provides a progressive migration for the student’s entry into theworld of e-commerce (electronic commerce) using on-line education. Itbecame a highly effective Internet teaching tool allowing the students touse their cognitive skills to access the URLs (uniform resource locators)to research and obtain their information, and the information was usedby the students to manage their various department operations. Theywere also able to communicate immediately with their coordinator and


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their other team members using email and specific areas within the con-text of this software.

A point-and-click interface is used to move to the different areas in theprogram. The student access to the various areas of information in thisprogram differs from the instructor’s access areas, since the instructor ac-tually builds the course and records the students’ progress. The softwarewas set up to allow the students to self-enroll; they must previously havea personal email address, which allow their fellow classmates and the co-ordinator the opportunity to communicate and interface with them usingthe software messaging system or one of the separate Internet email ser-vices. Those students entering class with no prior email address weresigned up to one of the free Internet-based mail systems (e.g., E-mail.com, Hotmail.com, Yahoo.com). Their individual user name and per-sonal password permitted each of them to maintain their individualityand privacy, whether they were using the Internet mail or the softwareprogram.

The software was programmed to allow visitors to preview thecourse content without altering any of the tracking scores that were gen-erated by the students’ usage. The instructor built the course in the areasof information discussed below. The class was given their personalizedaccess code devised to allow them to formally register for the courseand to interface with the various areas, except for the Control Panelarea.

There were several areas in the program that the students and instruc-tor would access jointly, and a separate area for the instructor to insertand edit information for the students. The various areas are:

Announcements–notices of any news relevant to this VECourse Information–specified the restaurant’s parameters and missionStaff Information–how the instructor could be contactedCourse Documents–letters, memos and articles for the CAANESAstaffAssignments–composed weekly for the team as a whole and indi-vidual departmentsDiscussion Board–forum for idea feedbackVirtual Chat–live forum for discussionGroup Pages–for editing student informationCommunication–for sending communication via emailExternal Links–selected articles were posted with their URL’s en-abling a direct link to the Web siteResources–instructor contact with the Blackboard.com home team


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My Blackboard–instructor contact with other instructorsControl Panel area–instructor/coordinator only access area

The instructor restricted Control Panel area contained an Assessmentarea, and a quiz generator, enabling the coordinator to design an elec-tronic skills assessment survey for the students to take on-line at theirleisure. The students were able to gain immediate feedback as they ratedtheir progress in various skills from the beginning to the end of the se-mester. Exam, quiz and survey formats exist in the software, allowingthe coordinator to update, modify and preview any quizzes, exams orsurveys created in the quiz generator. The on-line grade book providedeach student immediate knowledge of their current grade status. Thecourse statistics area furnished the coordinator with a tracking record ofthe usage of the various areas the students accessed during the semester.The database results were electronically recorded, and posted by stu-dent, date, time of day, and frequency of usage, and were displayed inboth graph and table formats for viewing clarity. This became one of themore valuable aspects the educational platform offered, as it providedthe coordinator immediate feedback on the usage of the programmedinformation by individual students. Information could be adjusted asneeded to accommodate the students.

The discussion board allowed asynchronous (threaded) and synchro-nous (real time) communication of ideas to take place among the classon any specific topic that was entered by the instructor. Here the stu-dents were able to get feedback on their perception of the selected arti-cles they read from their peers, as well as from the instructor.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The Internet-based instructional program became a primary way tointerface with the students on an unstructured schedule. And since stu-dent and coordinator alike could access the program any time of the dayand night, everyone was able to manage their time according to their in-dividual schedules. Other advantages included the instructor’s ability totrack usage by student, thereby allowing insight into the dependency ofcertain students to re-read the information and the assignments insertedinto the program. The students were unaware that their “hits” or accessfrequency and locations were being tracked; so they felt free to retrievethe information at will whether it was midday or midnight.


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The area where the links connected directly to specific articles pro-vided less chance for student error in finding the specific URL. Thiswas rewarding for them, because the articles were specific and relatedto an assignment or a project, and because they could go directly to thearticle without wasting time searching for the required reading sites.The VE I-Bank URL was imbedded in this link area, and provided thestudents immediate access to their bank accounts.

Posting the assignments and announcements saved time becausethere was no need for the coordinator to photocopy the information, andthen be sure that it was available for dissemination to the students at allof the lab sessions.

The construction of the course within the program was very timeconsuming at the beginning, because every single bit of information hadto be inputted. Throughout the semester the time spent imbedding infor-mation decreased, but the time spent with the students critiquing andproviding feedback on their individual projects and assignments in-creased. Students were evaluated and monitored by the coordinator andby their peers for the time they spent working towards the success of theenterprise, and their team members penalized the non-performers. Dur-ing the semester one student was terminated by the team for excessiveclass and lab absences, and for not being a team player. The Human Re-sources Manager wrote the termination letter.

This shift in focus allowed for more interpersonal skills building, asthe semester midpoint and end required students and coordinators toparticipate in a conference and a trade show. The students decidedamong themselves on every operational aspect of the enterprise. De-partmental decisions were made solely or jointly, but only after commu-nicating regularly with other team members, and they frequently usedthe educational platform to communicate via email to the whole team.The students became a more cohesive group as they worked jointly onvarious projects with the different VE’s, often creating packages thatoffered elements from three or more of the KCC VE’s (e.g., air-ho-tel-food-tours-meetings). Professional looking displays were producedthat rivaled actual trade show vendor displays.

The students developed a real sense of ownership, and they often spentup to 80 semester hours working in the VE; double the time normallyspent on other courses for the same amount of credits. Because theygained an entrepreneurial sense, they did not notice the time spent in ad-dition to the class and labs. Some of the students who attended theIH/M&RS were so resourceful that they came away with items given to


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them by the vendors for the VE such as chef’s uniforms and menu fold-ers.

One of the most valuable outcomes of the VE was that the studentscompleted the simulation with a sense of accomplishment. Theirself-esteem was notably increased. They took the success of the enter-prise very seriously and competed to make their company the most out-standing and the most profitable, and they were individually rewarded withplaques and certificates for their outstanding performance at an end of termawards ceremony.

The students left the semester knowing that their skills in software,office and business functions increased (exponentially with their timespent). In their exit interviews and exams many students said that theywould take another VE course, and some actually desire to become en-trepreneurs. Others said that they would rather work for company, be-cause owning and operating a business was too difficult. Whatever theirdecision, they came away with a clear idea based on the experience.

The KCC Tourism department has long been sensitive to the “tech-nology gap” that exists in disadvantaged areas and the inner cities, atopic that President Clinton addressed in his speech to the OperationPush audience in New York City on January 21, 2000. This class is heldin a lab constructed by the department with computers and office equip-ment to enhance the simulation experience, in addition to the collegeprovided computers accessible to the students. The business simulationprepares the students for the technologically advanced work force of thepresent and the future. “According to the presidential task force’s re-port, the number of jobs requiring computer skills . . . increased from 25percent of all jobs in 1983 to 47 percent in 1993 . . . by 2000 . . . 60 per-cent of the nation’s jobs will demand these skills” (Oppenheimer,1997).

Students used the Internet for more than accessing the Black-board.com program. Information was researched on the opening of abusiness, how to operate a restaurant, design a foodservice facility,write a business plan (which each student was required to write), findrecipes from various cuisines to be converted into menus, locate ven-dors from which they purchased food and equipment, locate and dis-seminate employee safety issues and procedures to follow, OSHA andFDA guidelines to review, and how to be successful in the food serviceindustry. Since there was no formal textbook the World Wide Web be-came our text. The students used various search engines (URL sitesstreamlined for targeted searches) to access specific business related in-formation (e.g., Bplans.com, Fastcompany.com, Askjeeves.com).


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There was also an Internet website built with information about thisnew enterprise that was entered into a web page that contained the al-ready existing KCC enterprises. The enterprise needed to be madeavailable to an international audience with Internet access. Studentswho had never constructed a web page learned how to construct a func-tioning, user friendly and aesthetically pleasing website. The restaurantinformation was entered in a specific way so that viewers could find outabout the various facets of this enterprise by point-and-click method ona link, which would bring the users to a whole new set of information.The KCC VE website’s URL is http://ucve.iscool.net.

A PowerPoint presentation was designed for use at the trade show inToronto, Canada, the New York business conference, and at a New Yorkopening reception hosted by the students to present the enterprise. Thispresentation was a short slide show with moving images that informedthe audience about the enterprise’s mission, goals and offerings. ThePowerPoint presentation was more than a marketing tool; it became aneducational one for the designer as well as the viewer. After minimal in-struction on how to construct the web page and develop the PowerPointslide show, students with no previous knowledge of either, handledthese areas of software management effortlessly, and created presenta-tions that could rival any professional’s product.

The data collected about the use of the educational website, and thesurveys, is based upon the fifteen students, consisting of thirteen fe-males and two males who completed the semester. The author has cor-roborated the premise that the students improved their skills,specifically their Internet usage skills and comfort levels, by consider-ing the statistics about student access to the educational program andthe self-assessed skills inventory surveys.

The data illustrated that the areas most accessed or “hit” in descend-ing order were assignments, main page where the announcements werelocated, and course information; followed by external links and coursedocuments. The results of the total course usage by student, and theirskills inventory comfort levels are displayed in Table 1.

The data in Table 1 shows a correlation between the number of times thestudents access the program and their initial comfort level with their skills.The lower the comfort level of the student, meaning that they rated theirInternet skills as “Basic” or “None,” the more frequent was the access tothe program. The higher the comfort level of the student, those that haverated themselves as “Skilled” from the outset, the less frequent their accessto the program. Because the information is electronically sorted and de-tailed by student, the coordinator was able to conclude that the students ac-


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cessing the educational platform the fewest number of times were thosewho had taken a VE course previously, and who also rated themselves“Skilled” and were comfortable using technology. All of the students indi-cated that they felt “Skilled” by the end of the semester.

CONCLUSION

This empirical study was an initial look at determining the applica-bility of asynchronous learning to a disadvantaged at risk inner-citypopulation. The study considered the number of times the students ac-cessed the Internet based educational software, and detailed the varia-tion in their skill comfort levels at the beginning of the course and at itsconclusion.

“People retain about 20 percent of what they see, 30 percent of whatthey hear, 50 percent of what they see and hear, and up to 80 percent ofwhat they see, hear, and do simultaneously” (Karaliotas, 1997). Thiswas evident in the rollover effect, which occurred in students increased


TABLE 1. Student software usage frequency or “hits,” usage percentage rela-tive to classmates, and student skills assessment at the beginning and end ofsemester.

Student Numberof hits

Percentageof total hits

Skillsassessment

September 1999

Skillsassessment

December 1999

Female 1 53 6.71 Basic Skilled

Female 2 3 0.38 Skilled Skilled


Female 4 39 4.94 None Skilled










Male 1 8 1.01 Skilled Skilled

Male 2 224 28.3 Skilled Skilled

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confidence levels from the various improved areas of their skills devel-opment. As a result of their asynchronous learning experience in thelabs and at home, the students further developed invaluable research,interpersonal, communication and cognitive skills. The planning andexecution of hosting the various VE events further developed their or-ganizational, business and communication skills as students completedprojects and presentations, met deadlines and coordinated with otherVE’s to produce professional looking conferences and shows.

Although the study population is relatively small and there is no con-trol group, the author contends that the utilization of an Internet-basedinstructional platform was successful for this population. The authorconsiders that asynchronous learning is an important instructional toolfor inner-city community college students.

REFERENCES

Bedore, G. L., Bedore, M. R. & Bedore, G. L. Jr. (1998). Online Education: The Futureis Now . . . (2nd ed) Phoenix, AZ: Art Press.

Karaliotas, Yannis. (1997). Learning on and over the Internet: Dynamics and Limita-tions. Unpublished manuscript, Open University, UK.

Oppenheimer, T. (1997). The Computer Delusion. The Atlantic Monthly. RetrievedJuly, 2000 from the World Wide Web. http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/97jul/computer.htm

Steinle, P. (1999). Distance Learning Sparks Controversy, Minnesota Daily. April 9th,p. N3.


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13 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014