HAT302: Investigation Report on Food & Beverage Management Practices

This investigation report delves into the food and beverage management practices of a prestigious hotel, focusing on cost control and financial management. Based on an interview with a Food and Beverage Manager, the report evaluates the effectiveness of employee management, job analysis, and task execution within the outlet. The findings highlight the importance of well-qualified staff, performance-based training, and detailed task breakdown for operational success. The report also emphasizes the role of coaching and problem-solving mechanisms in achieving organizational objectives, ultimately providing a comprehensive overview of the strategies employed to maintain financial control and optimize performance in the food and beverage sector.

Food and Beverage Management 1
Food and Beverage Management
Name of the Student:
Academic Affiliation:
Date:

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Introduction
The major aim of this essay is to enhance skills in the application of the relevant
hospitality concepts to the real world business situation. This is quite importance because it will
ultimately help in comprehending the importance that is associated with both financial
management as well as the cost control prices as it happens in the hospitality industry (Davis et
al, 2018). This essay is based on the interview that was conducted with a Food and Beverage
Manager in one of the prestigious hotels.
The interview questions were developed in consideration of various factors such as the
type of hospitality enterprise managed by the interviewee, the manner in which the interviewee
manages the Front and back of house operations of the hotel, and the financial control methods
used by the interviewee to make the daily business operations of the organization to become
successful. An investigation report that highlights the findings that emanated from the responses
that were gathered in the interview has been presented here. The report is thus an evaluation of
the effectiveness of the cost control as well the financial management of the food and beverage
outlet or hotel in the manner that it conducts its daily activities.
An analysis of the Interview Findings
Based on the interview conducted, it was ascertained that the success of the outlet has
been majorly based on its ability to employ well qualified and trained employees who are
affectively managed. This is achieved through ensuring that each employee is assigned duties
which he or she is best qualified in (Wood, 2018). The interviewee stressed that he ensures that
he carries out a job analysis through four major basic steps namely: the development of a task
list, making a decision on how the tasks can ultimately be separated into smaller activities,

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thinking regarding the performance standards, and finally writing a job description which
indicates the most vital tasks which are part of a specific job position.
The manager highly considered the performance standards because not only did they help
in the specification of the required quantity and quality of the outputs required but also because
they helped in the measurement of the tasks. To ensure that that the correct procedures were
followed, the manager thus ensured that there was inspection of the food and beverage outlet
before it was opened. This was quite essential since it helped in ensuring the availability of
adequate supplies for the outlet (Olusegun, Abdulraheem & Nassir, 2018). Before the
recruitment of the employees in the food and beverage outlet, the manager in conjunction with
the top management ensured that a job description was in place and effectively stipulated the
relevant personal skills and qualifications that were necessary for employees to successful
execute the tasks (Tomczak, Reinecke & Kuss, 2018). It was also found out that the manager
was also tasked with the responsibility of regularly reviewing the job descriptions with an aim of
helping them both plan and evaluate the professional training and development programs in the
outlet.
An Evaluation of the Findings and the effectiveness in the Management of the Food
service operations
To ensure the success of the food and beverage outlet, the manager asserted he normally
used some basic procedures in order to develop task lists and among others included asking both
experienced employees and supervisors in the hotel how they do their normal shifts right from
the start to the end (Mena et al, 2018). To ensure perfection, the manager asserted that he
reviewed prevailing written information regarding various job positions in the outlet as well as
the relevant training materials that are used in the teaching of new employees. In addition to that,

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the manager also observed the managers who were working under him with a view of
ascertaining what they truly did in comparison to what they said they did (Camilleri, 2018).
The manager of the food and beverage outlet asserted that in order to ensure that all the
tasks in the outlet were effectively executed, then there was need for him to ensure that the tasks
were broken down. The major advantages that emanated from having a breakdown of all the
tasks in the outlet were that it ensured that the correct method of executing such tasks was
embraced thus ensuring that all the relevant standards were actually met (Starks & Carroll,
2018). In addition to that, subdivision of the tasks was quite important because it ensures that the
trainees in the outlet benefited from the copies of the breakdown of the tasks that have given to
them since they can also be reviewed whenever needed. That apart, any trainees in the outlet can
also effectively practice each of the steps and then ultimately make a comparison of what they
did in the various steps of the tasks (Moreo, Green & O'Halloran, 2018).
As the manager of the food and beverage outlet, the manager ensured the development of
the various tasks in the firm through watching the experienced staff employee execute the task,
record the steps or activity in sequence, asking staff members to review the information in order
to confirm whether it is accurate, and ensuring that the information was shared with the other
experienced staff members as well as their supervisors. After that, the manager made the relevant
modifications or adjustments that are at par with each and everyone (Lashley, 2018). The
manager will then ensure that there is a review of worksheet with both the employee as well as
the supervisor and confirm the final breakdown of the task through observing of experienced
individuals carrying out the task using the procedures which have been identified.
In order to ensure that the organization achieves its set objectives, the manager ensures
that the employees are effectively trained. The best training that the manager insisted on is the

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one that is performance based. This was attributed to the fact that not only was it organized but it
was also delivered in a correct manner that ensured the employees performed all of the duties in
the task list (Laska et al, 2018). In addition to that, performance based training implied that the
training of the employees highly emphasized on what was supposed to be known by the
employees, what they were capable of doing and also ensure that they performed on the levels of
standards, quality, and quantity that was expected.
In order to ensure that all the operations in the food and beverage outlet were effectively
executed, the manager ensured that there was positive identification of all the tasks and that there
was determination of the skills and knowledge that were required in doing each task. Moreover,
the manager also ensured that the relevant training was provided in order to develop the relevant
skills and knowledge in performing the tasks. In order to ascertain whether the training was
successful, an evaluation process was normally conducted (Weerakit & Beeton, 2018). The
manager asserted that there were numerous benefits that emanated as a result of training and
these include among others enhanced job performances, reduction of the operational costs,
satisfaction of customers, reduction of work stress, enhanced advancement opportunities, fewer
operating problems, and higher work quality (Leung, Wen & Jiang, 2018). That apart, the
manager also embraced coaching to ensure that the managers who worked under him did the
correct thing and embraced effective problem solving mechanisms.

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Appendices
Questions to the interviewee
 What makes the food and beverage outlet becomes successful?
 How are employees assigned duties in the outlet?
 How is job analysis conducted in the outlet?
 How is the task list developed in the organization?
 How the tasks were effectively executed in the organization?
 How does the organization achieve the set objectives?

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Reference List
Camilleri, M.A., 2018. Integrated Marketing Communications. In Travel Marketing, Tourism
Economics and the Airline Product (pp. 85-103). Springer, Cham.
Davis, B., Lockwood, A., Alcott, P. and Pantelidis, I.S., 2018. Food and beverage management.
Routledge.
Lashley, C., 2018. Education for Hospitality Management. In Innovation in Hospitality
Education (pp. 33-48). Springer, Cham.
Laska, M.N., Sindberg, L.S., Ayala, G.X., D'Angelo, H., Horton, L.A., Ribisl, K.M., Kharmats,
A., Olson, C. and Gittelsohn, J., 2018. Agreements between small food store retailers and their
suppliers: Incentivizing unhealthy foods and beverages in four urban settings. Food Policy.
Leung, X.Y., Wen, H. and Jiang, L., 2018. What do hospitality undergraduates learn in different
countries? An international comparison of curriculum. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport &
Tourism Education, 22, pp.31-41.
Mena, C., Van Hoek, R. and Christopher, M., 2018. Leading procurement strategy: driving value
through the supply chain. Kogan Page Publishers.
Moreo, A., Green, A.J. and O'Halloran, R., 2018. What certifications are important in the
hospitality industry?. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 17(1), pp.121-135.
Olusegun, O.O., Abdulraheem, I. and Nassir, B.A., 2018. Workforce Diversity Management
Strategies and Organisational Performance in the Food and Beverage Industries in Lagos State,
Nigeria. Scholedge International Journal of Management & Development ISSN 2394-3378, 5(1),
pp.1-14.

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Starks, P. and Carroll, W., 2018. Hospitality Business Simulations Today: New Generation
Simulations for New Generation Students in a New Generation Marketplace. In Innovation in
Hospitality Education (pp. 181-193). Springer, Cham.
Tomczak, T., Reinecke, S. and Kuss, A., 2018. Market-Oriented Corporate PlanningMarket-
oriented corporate planning. In Strategic Marketing (pp. 49-95). Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden.
Weerakit, N. and Beeton, R.J.S., 2018. Leadership competencies for hospitality management
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Wood, R.C., 2018. Strategic questions in food and beverage management. Routledge.