Principles of Management and its Link in Food Service Operations

Henri Fayol, a French industrialist, was the pioneer of the principles of management in the nineteenth century. Today, his theories have been accepted world-wide and Fayol was convinced that acquiring managerial excellence is merely a theoretical aspect, which can be easily instilled into someone merely through vision and training. He was able to develop fourteen principles with the accompaniment of six management functions for the first time in 1916, according to article writer Alamin Sumon. This was what shifted the working class of people, allowing managers to develop a system and sense of structure within their companies. Many have tweaked it since then; with focus solely on management functions rather than Fayol’s principles. However, the five functions will be my focus as they are basically equal and go hand-in-hand with each other.

Principles of Management

In order to effectively comprehend the functions of management, it must be defined. Management is defined as: “coordinating and overseeing the activities of others so that their activities are completed efficiently and effectively.” according to John R. Walker in the text Introduction to Hospitality.  For this reason, management has a responsibility to overlook the mission, goals, and vision of various companies within the Hospitality Industry. These functions are planning, organizing, and decision making, staffing (human resources), directing, and controlling.

Planning is the very first and most basic function of management as it seeks to lay out a future course of action for pre-determined thoughts and ideas. Within the Food Service Industry, planning sets the goals and objectives of the company with intentions to develop plans to execute and exceed these goals. This simply exercises decision making and problem solving. It is usually done through a process called strategic planning which includes assessing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT Analysis) of the establishment. Factors such as reliable food suppliers, effective kitchen layouts, and décor for great dining experiences are all examples of how planning is implemented in the vision of a Food Service company.

Once planning is out of the way, organizing is implemented. “To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful or its functioning i.e. raw material, tools, capital, and personnel” according to Henry Fayol. In essence, organizing decides what needs to be done and evaluates who is most responsible to get it done, grouping tasks effectively. In the kitchen, a pastry cook is solely responsible for preparing desserts whereas an executive pastry chef manages and controls the kitchen environment to ensure that everyone is fulfilling their duties efficiently and effectively.

Making Decisions is very important aspect of management as it involves all of the other functions. It is the number one factor when aiming to accomplish the set goals of the establishment; for example, determining what to put on the menu, scheduling employees, and responding to guests wants and needs. When these decisions are made and may prove to not work well with clientele or customers, it is simply replaced with better solutions and more decisions are made to correct these issues; for example if an employee has to undergo surgery and cannot follow through with the work schedule, a decision is made to either hire a part time person to cover the period of time that he/she is seeking medical assistance or allocate more hours to current employees to cover the hours that are not met.

According to the staffing principle, a person is not capable of doing all types of work. Each job is specialized and is assigned to the appropriate person i.e. the saucier handles all sauces, soups, and stocks for food service, whereas the butcher is responsible for fabricating and marinating all protein items. This principle also highlights Human Resource management as they are the key factors who are responsible for the recruitment of the appropriate person for each job. They assess whether or not this individual has the experience required to complete the tasks at hand.

Directing is the aspect of management which deals directly with influencing, guiding, supervising, and motivating sub-ordinate for the achievement of organizational goals. Communicating is also necessary for this function because it is a requirement to get the job done. Also, it also includes the elements of supervision, leadership, and motivation. The Food Service Industry is one of the most difficulties areas in which anyone can work. Work schedules always vary and the speed at which service should be held by employees holds very high standards. Therefore, it is important that managers focus on what needs to be done, and should think of how they can motivate staff to continuously enjoy the work that they do enough to exceed customer expectations. Managers should show a sense of appreciation whilst watching and directing work and workers such as saying “great job” or “excellent; keep it up, you’re doing wonderful so far”.

“Controlling includes the setting of standards and comparing actual results with these standards.” (John R. Walker) In essence, whenever plans are not executed as planned, corrective measurements are put in place immediately to deter any further implications, whilst resolving the issue. This way, unexpected actions can be avoided and everyone is fully aware of what exactly is expected and is needed to be done. An example of this may be considered during the preparation of menu items by a line cook. If the presentation appears to look sloppy and does not represent the standard (in terms of plating technique and presentation) the Executive Chef or Sous Chef has the authority to request that the meal be plated – as it would then demonstrate errors and showcase how it should be presented. This controlling technique is usually followed up by monitoring employees to allow growth to take place to figure out whether they have learned from their mistakes.

Sources:

Addams, Lon, Fan Yuhong, and James R.Morgan. “Teaching Management Principles By
Integrating Video Clips to Enhance Learning.” Business Education Innovation Journal
5.2 (2013): 58-67. Business Source Complete. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.

Walker, John R. Introduction to Hospitality. Sixth ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice
Hall, 2013. Print.

Sumon, Alamin. “Henry Fayol 14 Principles in Management” Academia.edu. N.p., 6 Aug. 2010. Web. 25 Jan.                                         2014. <http://www.academia.edu/384009/Henry_Fayols_14_principles_in_Management>.