Case Study D - Strategic planning

Organisation Z is a catering company that works exclusively to provide high-quality foods for events and functions. They work with several events companies to provide catering on a mid- to large-scale. They have twenty-six staff and use agency catering staff for large events or to assist with any late bookings.

Currently, they respond to requests from the event companies to provide catering as required; they have supplied a range of menus to these companies, which then allows them to choose and plan catering in advance with their clients. Menus are changed and updated regularly, and on request. The organisation also provides menu alternatives for special dietary requirements, such as persons with food allergies or intolerances.

This set-up means that Organisation Z has little administrative involvement in organising events and has no direct contact with clients. They only have their own business administration and reporting requirements to carry out. The organisation provides savoury and sweet foods; this can be for sit-down meals, prepared buffets or canaps.

The stakeholders

Organisation Z was founded by two sisters, five years ago. They are both trained chefs, but currently divide their time between catering and management duties. However, with the success of the business, the organisation has also appointed two further managers to assist with the arrangements for catering events. Other employees at the company include four kitchen managers, and a further twenty chefs and kitchen staff. Delivery is currently managed by the events companies.

Business objectives

The sisters now want to branch out on their own and work directly with clients at events; they have the skills and the experience to cater for a wide variety of functions. Their previous objective was to gain experience of catering for events, and now this goal has been reached their new objective is to become known as a catering company in their own right. They want to work with clients to provide an individual high-quality culinary experience.

Their previous strategy was to cater for as many events as they could manage, and for a variety of types, so they could build on their experience and catering portfolio. Now, their strategy must change to suit the new business objective.

The values of the business remain the same; i.e., to provide quality foods using fresh and sustainably sourced ingredients. The mission of the organisation is to provide clients with a menu of foods that taste and look better than they have ever had before. The vision of the organisation is to become a highly-sought events catering provider.

Capabilities

However, they are aware it will not be easy; this is a competitive business, and it only takes one or two negative responses from clients to impact how well they do. They must make sure that they operate fairly and only commit to catering events that they have the capability and resources for.

They must make sure they can:

Maintain food hygiene standards (according to food safety law)

Produce foods according to menus and special dietary requirements

Store and transport foods to events.

They have the workspace to produce fresh, quality foods, and they have food suppliers in place to sustain food supplies. Their core team of staff are on board with the new direction of the organisation; they will only need to invest in three or four delivery vans/trucks and drivers, and put processes in place to manage the bookings and administrative side of catering directly to clients. This will mean investing in technologies to manage bookings, schedules and communications. They must adopt efficient practices and processes to ensure nothing gets missed and that time and resources are planned and managed properly.

Strengths and weaknesses

The organisation has the following strengths and weaknesses:

Strengths:

oevents catering experience

ocatering contacts and suppliers

osolid reputation in the events industry

opremises and staff in place

Weaknesses:

ono experience in working directly with clients

ono administrative systems and processes for client bookings.

They are also now in competition with the events companies they previously worked for; this will mean that bookings will need to be pitched for. They must develop the skills to interact and present to clients. This brings them opportunities to produce a wider range of menus and to choose the type of events that they want to cater for.

Next steps

The sisters need to work with the managers and their staff to develop new processes and to work as an independent events company. They will need to identify how they will coordinate and implement the changes in their business.

From the above case study, answer the following questions:

Refer to Case Study D - Strategic planning

1.Reading the case study information, short summary that identifies and analyses the business requirements .

2. a text that could be used to communicate these business requirements as strategic plans to the stakeholders.

3.Explain how you would present and lead a discussion on this information in a meeting with the stakeholders.

4.Explain how you could review organisational data to identify internal or external trends that impact on the business and its use of resources.

5.Suggest a new strategy that could be used by the organisation and identify if assistance from other persons is needed and how.

6.Explain how you would go about seeking feedback or advice on your new strategy from others in the organisation, including the communication skills you would use.

For your strategy, identify the requirements for producing a flexible plan to implement this (taking into account capabilities, efficiencies and effectiveness).