MBA Internship Report: Sunny Side Fusion Kitchen Experience

This report details a student's internship experience at Sunny Side Fusion Kitchen, providing a comprehensive overview of the hospitality industry and the restaurant's business strategies. It begins with an introduction to the internship's objectives and the student's role as a trainee manager. The report then explores recent trends in the food industry, followed by an industry profile of Sunny Side Fusion Kitchen, including its mission, vision, and location. An internal and external analysis, including a SWOT analysis, assesses the restaurant's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report also applies Porter's Five Forces model to evaluate the competitive landscape. Finally, it reflects on the learning experiences gained during the internship, offering insights into the practical application of theoretical knowledge and the development of professional skills.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENT PAGE NUMBER
Introduction 1
Recent trends in the food industry 2
Industry profile 2
Internal and external analysis 3
Porter five force model 5
Learning experience 8
Conclusion 11
Reference 12

INTRODUCTION
Internship in an organization enables the individual to gain on-the-job training
experience and provide insights on how the industry he/she is pursuing a career work. It
provides industrial exposure where the individuals can gain a lot of insight into their
careers. It is a period of supervised training where the interns or trainees learn practical
knowledge and at the same time utilize their theoretical knowledge. Thus, this training
period helps to blend in the theoretical knowledge and the practical experiences of the
individuals to better understand the career that they are pursuing in a professional
manner. Internships are ideal for understanding the way particular industry functions
and what it would be like to work in that but. Often, individuals who intern with
companies are able to gain valuable insights into their personalities and skills. Such
experience puts them in a better situation to decide whether they are suited for a
particular role within the industry or not. The internship has always been eagerly
awaited by the students of any faculty since it provides an opportunity to get exposed to
the real working environment of the industry and apply what one has learned and learn
new things as well as sharpen skills. It is not just a part of the study but also an
important aspect of a student's life to see and do experience his\her future in the related
field. It has both features and advantages of academic and professional life
It became clear very early on that the Sunny Side Fusion Kitchen was the ideal
destination for an internship as part of my MBA program. The size of the establishment,
the fact it offers delicious and high-quality food, it's commercial positioning, and its
geographical location were all significant drivers. In short, this internship, which is part
of an educational program, and which I consider having been a real success, did not
simply inspire a feeling of professional achievement, but also a deep sense of personal
fulfillment. It has opened up new professional and personal prospects in the hospitality
sector.
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RECENT TRENDS IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY
Food consumption has evolved rapidly during the last decade. Demand for health-
enhancing food products has grown rapidly. The channels through which people are
purchasing food are diversifying. People are increasingly shopping online and using
food delivery services (ARAI et al., 2002). People preferred home environment for food
consumption till covid-19 hit the world. People have become increasingly conscious
about the ethical and environmental causes of their food choices (Saltmarsh, 2014).
Price changes through taxes or subsidies are regressive and disproportionately have
more impact on those with lower incomes because they spend a larger proportion of
their income on food and because they tend to buy relatively cheaper foods; even
where taxes are regressive, those on lower incomes may still benefit proportionately
more from subsidies on their purchases (Saltmarsh, 2014). The use of food labeling
information is particularly high among individuals with health conditions and specific diet
requirements and notably lowers among children, adolescents, older adults, and people
in lower economic categories (Mahalik & Nambiar, 2010). Time and convenience (i.e.
food perceived to be ‘quick’ and ‘easy’ to cook) are important drivers of consumption
choices, particularly for lower-income individuals who often lack time. Costs shape what
people can afford to eat; those in low-income groups often have less expensive food
expenditure practices, consume less healthy food, and fruits and vegetables.
INDUSTRY PROFILE
The Sunny Side Fusion kitchen has been in the hospitality industry for over a decade.
Being a leader in the industry, The Sunny Side Fusion Kitchen aims to be innovative,
creative, intelligent motivated, and professional but above all, they hope their staff will
work as a team. All employees are expected at all times to provide a professional
service. This applies to all members of the public and of course co-workers (Auty,
1992).
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Every customer was welcomed with a warm smile and attended with care and courtesy.
All the staff and trainees worked together in creating a wonderful ambiance for the
customers. They give high priority to the customers as they are well aware that satisfied
customers bring repetitive business which helps in the increment of the overall profit of
the business. Sunny Side Fusion Kitchen also reflects a wonderful and elegant
ambiance for the customers to have the best time of their life with their friends and
families.
MISSION
“We're passionate about serving tasty high-quality cuisine and our top focus is to meet
our customers' expectations we provide a wide range of outstanding meals made to the
achieve highest standards using the best and freshest ingredients”
VISION
The restaurant will be known for its authentic and innovative concepts, delivered by a
team of well-trained employees. They will be united in spirit and dedicated to
consistently providing customers with warm, attentive, and efficient hospitality.
LOCATION
Sunny Side Fusion Kitchen is located in the city of Preston in Plungington Road.
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ANALYSIS
SWOT Analysis is a comprehensive management-planning tool used to understand the
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in an organization or
business. (Europe PMC, 2019) It is usually presented in a form of a matrix identifying
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the internal (Strengths and Weaknesses) and external factors (Opportunities and
Threats) that help in achieving the organization’s objective. (Leigh, 2010)
Strengths
 Location, ideal for business and Leisure,
 Breakfast quality,
 High Service Standards,
 Great Customer Service and attention to detail,
 Loyalty Program for frequent and regular customers,
 High rating online,
 extensive menu items,
 True legitimacy, good reputation.
Weakness
 Old Rooms: furniture and carpets,
 Low margins,
 No participation in professional networks,
 The entire infrastructure requires refurbishment,
 No marketing and sales force,
 Weak communication via Social Media,
 No parking.
Opportunities
 Infra-structure refurbishment,
 Marketing campaigns, e-commerce,
 Social media regular updates/ communications,
 Salesforce.
Threats
 Competitors,
 United Kingdom economical growth slowing down,
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 London’s business boom stagnated.
The SWOT analysis in Table 1 shows Sunny Side Fusion Kitchen's strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats from an internal and external environment point
of view. If we refer to the strengths, the hotel has the perfect location for business
people attending meetings and in a leisure perspective for people visiting the city for
shopping, eating out or going to events and the theatre as it is London.
The restaurant is also known for the quality of the breakfast, one of the best in town. It
has amazing customer service with attention to detail, as most of the customers return
after an initial visit. In regards to the weak points, the restaurant does not have a car
park or leisure facilities. The rooms are old and furniture and decoration tired.
Communications via social media are not frequent. These points combined may lead
people to choose a different restaurant when looking for a place to eat. In my opinion,
the hotel should start with a slow refurbishment of the restaurant and at the same time
communicate what is on offer to their customers. As we speak about the threats,
London's economical growth slowing down, and European Union pressure might affect
the demand. (Leigh, 2010)
PORTER FIVE FORCES MODEL
Several studies have examined the central role of a business’ position compared to its
competitors in an industry, which plays in terms of organizational success with a focus
on a business’ external conditions and five forces named as the threat of new entrants,
bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of sellers, threat of substitute products
and services and intensity of rivalry among existing firms. In his five forces model,
Porter (1979) evaluates businesses' competitiveness by considering their industry as a
whole and forecasting the firm's position amongst the competitors (Asad, 2012). This
helps the firm to understand the nature of its industry and helps to a position that is
more productive and efficient. Following the evaluation, a business should implement a
competitive strategy, in other words, position itself more advantageously or at least to
compete with vigor to succeed particularly in a hostile environment where there is a
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great threat from available and new entrant competitors, product substitutes, and
bargaining power of suppliers and customers. Each of Porter's competing forces can be
subjected to stakeholder agenda analysis in one way or another. The propellers are
drawn in accordance with the agenda's relative strength once more. These objectives
could be elicited by asking the stakeholders involved, but in practice, they may have to
be inferred directly from their conduct or indirectly from conventional business
knowledge (Cafferky, 2013).
The threat of New Entrants
Some entrance barriers have an influence on the threat of new rivals entering a market.
Huge profits will easily encourage new competitors while entry barriers are low, and
pricing policy will become more aggressive. As a result, the threat of new entrants is
largely determined by the behaviors of existing competitors and entry obstacles, which
include economies of scale, product differentiation, initial capital requirements,
distribution channel access, cost disadvantages, and government laws.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
Customers with clout - the inverse of suppliers with clout - can extract more value by
pressuring suppliers to lower prices. Buyers are influential if they have negotiation
strength over industry participants. When buyers are powerful, they set prices and limit
the profitability of the supplying business. Buyers are more powerful when they are
concentrated, have reliable backward integration options, buy a major amount of the
supplier's output, or can move to other suppliers or substitutes quickly and cheaply.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
By charging higher rates, limiting quality or limiting services, or shifting costs to industry
players, powerful suppliers extract more value for themselves. Providers with influence,
especially manpower suppliers, can squeeze profit out of a firm that can't pass on cost
rises in its own prices. By raising operating system pricing, Microsoft, for example, has
contributed to the reduction of profitability among personal computer producers. PC
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companies, who are fiercely fighting for consumers who can quickly switch between
them, have limited leeway to raise their prices proportionately. (Fung, 2014)
Powerful suppliers can reduce the profitability in an industry, which cannot bear an
increase in any cost. However, the power of any important supplier in any industry is
largely dependent on that industry's features and its relative amount of sales to the total
amount of sales in that industry.
The Threat of Substitute Products or Services
A substitute uses a different method to achieve the same or similar purpose as an
industry's product. For example, video conferencing can also be used in place of travel,
and plastic can also be used in place of aluminum. Whenever a substitute replaces a
buyer firm's product, the threat of substitution can be cascading or oblique. When
pricing changes in other industries influence product demand in the industry being
studied, there is a threat of alternatives. Identical substitutes usually restrict a
company's capacity to increase prices, limiting profitability.
The intensity of Rivalry among Existing Firms
Existing competitor rivalry manifests itself in a variety of ways, including price
reductions, new product debuts, advertising campaigns, and service enhancements. An
industry's profitability is hampered by fierce competition. The extent up to which rivalry
affects an industry's profit potential is determined by the intensity of rivalry, second, also
on the grounds over which they compete. Before designing firm strategies, the company
should determine its market position and act against the competition that threatens its
strategic position. Industry forces have a significant impact on firms' strategies. The
objective of developing a competitive strategy is to find a system where competitive
forces benefit the company the most or harm it the least. Management can choose from
a variety of competitive tactics to combat these competitive factors and thrive in the long
run: Differentiation and cost leadership
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LEARNING EXPERIENCE
I was assigned the role of a trainee manager at Sunny Side Fusion Kitchen for a
duration of 10 months. Basically, the role of a trainee manager includes overseeing the
reception area and kitchen while making sure that the customer receives great food and
customer service. In the 10 months internship period, I had to rotate through the
different departments at the restaurant, performing different activities which involved lots
of multitasking. Despite the internship plan, I had to frequently move to different
departments depending on the requirements of the business. I was assigned to the job
of overseeing reception areas, dining rooms, and the kitchen to ensure that patrons
receive great food and excellent customer service.
Through this industrial training also learned how to identify different shortcomings and
challenges during day-to-day operations, and how to deal with them in an effective and
efficient manner. Hence, it was a phenomenal experience that I will enshrine for the rest
of my life.
I have to oversee every employee who had worn clean uniforms, hairnets, headbands,
caps, or other effective hair restraints, and maintains whether a high degree of personal
cleanliness. Since food service employees are the most important contacts with
customers and the general public, the image they create must be one of an organization
of competent professionals. Careless handling of unnecessary contact with, the soiled
surfaces of tableware or linens should be avoided because it unnecessarily exposes
employees to health hazards and increases the possibility of disease transmission i.e.
consumers.
Main duties
Administration
 To maintain the cash daily logbook.
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 To report “Lost & Found” items.
 To attend daily operations briefing.
 Organize and supervise shifts.
 Regularly review product quality and research new vendors.
 Appraise staff performance and provide feedback to improve productivity.
 Train new and current employees on proper customer service practices.
Customer service
 To deliver the brand promise and provide exceptional customer services at all
times.
 To provide excellent service to customers in an appropriate English language.
 To be familiar with the restaurant products and services policies.
 To handle all customer complaints and inquiries in a courteous and efficient
manner, following through to make sure problems are resolved satisfactorily.
 To maintain positive customer and colleagues interactions with good working
relationships.
 To personally and frequently verify that customer is receiving the best possible
service.
 To ensure that history records are accurately maintained.
Financial
 To ensure that all restaurant and local rules, policies, and regulations relating to
financial record keeping, money handling, and licensing are adhered to, including
the timely and accurate reporting of financial information.
 Create detailed reports on weekly, monthly, and annual revenues and expenses.
Operational
 To have full working knowledge and capability to complete all duties and tasks in
the assigned place of work.
 To be entirely flexible and be able to be rotated within the different sub-
departments as assigned and as necessary.
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 To adhere to the telephone procedure of handling calls.
 To be aware of the company brand standards.
 To be aware of all restaurant activities and promotions.
 To hand over the pending points for the next shift for proper follow-up action.
 To balance the cash report and remittance envelope at the end of the shift.
 To handle cash and credit card transactions, and tally them at the end of the
shift.
 To have a thorough understanding and knowledge of products and the ability to
up-sell alternatives.
 Coordinating daily restaurant management operations.
 Delivering superior food and beverage service and maximizing customer
satisfaction.
 Estimate future needs for goods, kitchen utensils, and cleaning products.
 To follow up/ report to supervisor all customer comments and complaints.
 To follow up the special requirements requested by the customer that it is met.
 Control operational costs and identify measures to cut waste.
Marketing
 Recommend ways to reach a broader audience (e.g. discounts and social media
ads).
 Promote the brand in the local community through word-of-mouth and restaurant
events.
Personnel
 Support the implementation of the people brand, demonstrating and reinforcing
Sunny Side Fusion Kitchen Values and Culture characteristics.
General
 To understand and strictly adhere to the Rules & Regulations established in the
handbook and the restaurant policy on Fire, Hygiene, Health, and Safely.
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 To report for duty punctually wearing the correct uniform and name tag at all
times as per standards.
 To fully support the departmental trainers function in the department assigned.
 Ensure compliance with sanitation and safety regulations.
CONCLUSION
Working for the Sunny Side Fusion Kitchen was a great learning experience. The
restaurant has everything planned since the intern rotates through all departments from
bottom to top, starting by doing small tasks, which will later give a better understanding
of how management works. After finishing the whole process of internship, I have the
following conclusions:
 The internship helped me to understand business as well as to expand my
vocabulary in trade topics.
 Teamwork in a department is of vital importance. Good communication between
colleagues helps tasks to be more efficient and shows better results.
 In the restaurant business, customer service is the main factor for its good
functioning. That is why having an efficient workgroup capable of understanding
aspects such as languages, culture, or behavior and enforcing the preferences or
tastes of the customers, is the key to making the company prosper. In addition, it
is worth mentioning that in a city as diverse as Preston, it is necessary to meet
these characteristics for the satisfaction of customers.
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REFERENCE
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MOROTOMI, M., SHIMIZU, M., KUWATA, T., & KAMINOGAWA, S. (2002).
Recent Trends in Functional Food Science and the Industry in Japan.
Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 66(10), 2017–2029.
https://doi.org/10.1271/bbb.66.2017
Asad, M. (2012, January 17). Porter Five Forces vs Resource Based View - A
Comparison. Papers.ssrn.com. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?
abstract_id=1986725
Auty, S. (1992). Consumer Choice and Segmentation in the Restaurant Industry. The
Service Industries Journal, 12(3), 324–339.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069200000042
Cafferky, M. E. (2013). The Porter Five-forces Industry Analysis Framework For
Religious Nonprofits: A conceptual analysis. KnowledgeExchange@Southern.
https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/facworks_bus/5/
Europe PMC. (2019). Europe PMC. Europepmc.org.
https://europepmc.org/article/med/30725987
Fung, H. P. (2014, December 17). Using Porter Five Forces and Technology
Acceptance Model to Predict Cloud Computing Adoption Among IT Outsourcing
Service Providers. Papers.ssrn.com. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?
abstract_id=2539720
Gurel, E., & Tat, M. (2017). SWOT analysis: a Theoretical Review. Journal of
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https://doi.org/10.17719/jisr.2017.1832
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Leigh, D. (2010). SWOT Analysis. Handbook of Improving Performance in the
Workplace: Volumes 1-3, 1-3(2), 115–140.
https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470592663.ch24
Mahalik, N. P., & Nambiar, A. N. (2010). Trends in food packaging and manufacturing
systems and technology. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 21(3), 117–128.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2009.12.006
Saltmarsh, M. (2014). Recent trends in the use of food additives in the United Kingdom.
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 95(4), 649–652.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.6715
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