HAT302 - Food & Beverage: Financial Management Investigation Report

This report presents an analysis of an interview conducted with the food and beverage manager of Chicken Treats, focusing on financial management and cost control practices within the establishment. The interview explores cost control options in both front and back office operations, highlighting t...Read More

Running head: FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
Financial management of Chicken Treats
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
Table of contents
Analysis of interview findings...................................................................................................2
Effectiveness of the findings on the management of foodservice operations............................2
Appendix....................................................................................................................................7
References................................................................................................................................10

2
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
Analysis of interview findings
Interview was conducted on the food and beverage manager of Chicken Treats. The
focus of the interview was financial management. The aim was to gain information about the
cost control options in the outlet. The manager was specifically asked about the cost control
options used in the front and back office operations. To this, he answered in a very organized
manner. He told that in the front office operations, audits are conducted for regulating the
costs of the food items. This includes the labor maintenance, furniture, electricity and others
(Boella 2017). Records are maintained for tracking the expenditure in the different business.
Here, the manager sounded very systematic, which reflected his satisfaction regarding the
performance of the staffs. However, in case of the back office operations, the managers
pointed out the importance of budgets, which enhances the awareness about the expenditure
in different business areas. When asked about the financial methods, the manager expressed
the significance of audits along with that of the development of budget (Melián and Bulchand
2016).
Effectiveness of the findings on the management of foodservice operations
Management is needed in all of the business aspects, including foodservice
operations. This is in terms of catering to the needs, demands and requirements of the
customers efficiently and effectively. Within this, financial parameter is crucial for reaching
to the specific tastes and preferences of the customers. Lackadaisical attitude in this direction
aggravates the complexities for the hospitality industries (Dopson and Hayes 2015).
Therefore, controlling the cost prices is important for gaining an understanding of the steps
taken by the contemporary brands. Moreover, this control is helpful for securing the position
in the competitive ambience of the market. This interview enlivens the aspect of cost control.

3
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
The responses of the manager are a live example for the businesspersons in terms of
practising a sound financial management.
Dividing the operations into front and back office operations is a systematic approach
towards execution of the business activities (Wood 2018). The receptionist handles front
office operations, which includes catering to the needs, demands and requirements and
queries of the customers. The staff is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining records
and files for the expenditure behind the business arenas. This maintenance helps in enhancing
the awareness regarding the cash flowing from the internal environment to the external
environment. Using latest and modern software helps the managers in averting arrears in the
calculations (Stefano et al. 2015).
The files are regularly reviewed by the directors for identifying the areas, which needs
improvements. For this, financial statements are considered, which is easy available if the
records are maintained. The performance of the staffs is monitored for averting any unwanted
situations and instances. Taking the assistance of the experts is useful, as it reduces the
individual burden of the staffs in terms of doing the calculations. Training the staffs is
beneficial in terms of teaching them the right process of handling the financial issues (Wang
et al. 2015). Post training tests helps the food and beverage manager of Chicken Treats to
assess the capability of the staffs to make practical usage of the learnt skills.
The back office operations are hidden from the customers. It includes the tasks of data
entries, record maintenance, settlement of the clearances, accounting and IT services. In other
words, back office staffs are entrusted with the responsibility of handling the administrative
services. As a matter of specification, the staffs enter the data related to the expenses into the
excel sheets and prepare reports (Wood 2018). These reports are sent to the directors for their

4
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
approval towards the next course of action. This action is assistance in terms of identifying
the areas for which additional financial resources are needed.
Usage of latest and modern software eases the process of calculations, reducing the
chances of mistakes (Sunindijo 2015). Along with this, it also assists in preparing the budgets
automatically. Mention can be made of the MySmartMoney app, which the manager of
Chicken Treats used for management of the financial resources. The manager is also of the
view that meetings and conferences helps in preparing the financial statement and entering
the data. Here, the manager mentioned that skilled and qualified experts are hired for
completing the process at one go (Melián and Bulchand 2016).
The manager of Chicken Treats seemed concerned about stabilizing the financial
parameter. For this, he shed light on the importance of budgets and audits, which act as an
evaluation for the outlet. This is in terms of reviewing the expenditure on the foodservice
operations. The manager pointed out the significance of communication, which results in the
smooth functioning of the business activities (Chen, Abercrombie and Sheldon 2015).
Utilization of effective communication channels enhances the stability between the functional
units of the outlets. Along with this, it also generates teamwork, enabling the staffs to achieve
successful completion of the projects within the stipulated time. This communication is the
agent, which improves the relationship with the stakeholders and shareholders (Boella 2017).
The developed budget is assistance towards setting the prices of the food items. Here,
the manager informed about the partnership with the members of the trade union. This
partnership is crucial in terms of tackling the instances of inflation, fluctuation in the prices of
the raw materials and high exchange rates (Wang et al. 2015). Disseminating the prices of the
food items makes the managers and staffs of Chicken Treats aware of the customer

5
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
approaches. Herein lays the effectiveness of the survey and feedback forms, which reflects
the customer relationship management.
Cost control can be correlated with the systematic approach of the manager.
Moreover, it can be a way to attract more customers towards the brand. Along with this, it is
also an initiative to secure the position within the competitive ambience of the market. The
manager has correctly pointed out that budgets are only means, which enhances the
awareness about the expenditure towards the different business arenas (Dopson and Hayes
2015). Review of the developed budget helps in discovering the mistakes, which results in
exploitation of the financial resources. In this review, the stakeholders and stakeholders are
involved, which improves the decision-making process (Stefano et al. 2015). Meetings,
conferences and discussions act as a platform for the staffs in terms of voicing out their
opinions regarding the issues, which they are facing (Sunindijo 2015).
Adopting social media for disseminating the important information to the customers
proves beneficial. This is in terms of adding to the stock of customers. Uploading the
information about the latest financial conditions on the official websites and the social
networking sites is helpful in terms of gaining suggestions regarding improving the standards
and quality of the foodservice operations. Maintaining consistency in this evaluation is
assistance in terms of reaching to the benchmark level of performance (Dopson and Hayes
2015).
Social media would be an innovative platform for Chicken Treats in terms of bringing
innovation in their foodservice operations. Typical examples of this are the quizzes and
contests, which would lure the attention of the customers. Regularly the customer reviews
need to be tracked for maintaining the pace with the ever changing needs of the customers.

6
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
Consciousness and rationality in this direction is assistance in terms of gaining trust, loyalty
and dependence of the clients and the customers.

7
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
Appendix
Interview transcript
Interviewer: Hello sir!
Interviewee: Hello.
Interviewer: Firstly, I want to thank you for giving us time from your busy schedule.
Interviewee: Oh! That’s ok.
Interviewer: Shall we begin?
Interviewee: Yes, sure.
Interviewer: Let me brief you that the interview would revolve around the cost control option,
which you adopt for stabilizing the financial parameter.
Interviewee: Ok, I got it.
Interviewer: Firstly, tell me about the hospitality enterprise, which you manage?
Interviewee: Well, I am proud to say that I am the food and beverage manager of Chicken
Treats.
Interviewer: Thats great. So, what are your responsibilities?
Interviewee: Well, I ensure that the provision of foods and its maintenance are done
efficiently and effectively.
Interviewee: Oh, can you shed some light on the maintenance part?

8
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
Interviewee: Yes, sure. The operations at Chicken Treat are divided into two parts: front
office and back office operations.
Interviewer: That sounds great. This must be helpful in managing the operations properly.
Interviewee: Yes, the burden is reduced. I divide the charge of the operations equally among
the front office and back office staffs.
Interviewer: Its very systematic.
Interviewee: I believe that systematic approach towards the business activities helps in the
achievement of positive outcomes.
Interviewer: Interesting. Now can you tell me about the cost control options, which the front
office and back office staffs, can avail for doing the calculations.
Interviewee: Well, in the front office, audits are done for the prices of the food items.
Records are maintained for reviewing the prices of the items. The receptionists maintain
records of the expenditure towards labor, electricity, furniture, utensils among others.
Interviewer: Ok, and what about the back office operations? What are the cost control
operations there?
Interviewee: In the back office operations, budgets are the main agents, which are used for
controlling the costs.
Interviewer: That’s right. Now, can you kindly tell me about the financial methods, which
you use in the daily business operations?
Interviewee: Budget is the main agent, which helps in stabilizing the financial parameter.
Regular evaluation is done for the developed budget.

9
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
Interviewer: Thank you so much for the precious time, which you gave us.
Interviewee: My pleasure.

10
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
References
Boella, M., 2017. Human resource management in the hotel and catering industry.
Routledge.
Chen, Q., Abercrombie, R.K. and Sheldon, F.T., 2015. Risk assessment for industrial control
systems quantifying availability using mean failure cost (MFC). Journal of Artificial
Intelligence and Soft Computing Research, 5(3), pp.205-220.
Dopson, L.R. and Hayes, D.K., 2015. Food and beverage cost control. John Wiley & Sons.
Melián-González, S. and Bulchand-Gidumal, J., 2016. A model that connects information
technology and hotel performance. Tourism Management, 53, pp.30-37.
Stefano, N.M., Casarotto Filho, N., Barichello, R. and Sohn, A.P., 2015. A fuzzy
SERVQUAL based method for evaluated of service quality in the hotel industry. Procedia
CIRP, 30, pp.433-438.
Sunindijo, R.Y., 2015. Project manager skills for improving project
performance. International Journal of Business Performance Management, 16(1), pp.67-83.
Wang, X.L., Yoonjoung Heo, C., Schwartz, Z., Legohérel, P. and Specklin, F., 2015.
Revenue management: Progress, challenges, and research prospects. Journal of Travel &
Tourism Marketing, 32(7), pp.797-811.
Wood, R.C., 2018. Strategic questions in food and beverage management. Routledge.