Topic: Operations Management Case 1: Operations management processes at The Taste of Africa Eric Ndlovu owns and runs The Taste of Africa, a fast food restaurant in the heart of Soweto. The business opened its doors in April 2010 ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the expectation of tourists' influx in the country. The idea was to offer international and local customers a taste of the delicious South African cuisine in a fast and efficient manner in a welcoming and friendly environment. The restaurant experience would be such that customers would not only experience exquisitely tasty meals, but also be exposed to how to meals would be prepared. The Taste of Africa prides itself on the wide variety of meals on its menu, with its speciality being the Mzansi kota, which is made of a quarter loaf of bread, fried potato chips, a Russian sausage, some sauce, some ham/polony, a portion of fried onion rings, topped up with a vienna sausage and some an extra beef, chicken or rib patty depending on the customer's preference. Eric sources the fresh ingredients from local vegetable outlets around Soweto. He has also handpicked the restaurant staff by selecting top graduates from the School of Tourism and Hospitality management from a local university in Johannesburg to work in his facility where they can hone their skills in his kitchen under the supervision of the experienced head chef Thabiso Sithole. As the head chef, Thabiso takes part in the preparation of advanced items and the creation of recipes. He is responsible for the continued efficiency of the kitchen and the consistent production of quality food over time. As the business owner and general manager, Eric has been able to run the business effectively since its opening. However, as the business started picking up sales and customer demand increased during the World Cup, Eric had to eventually appoint a formal restaurant operations manager, Sam Ngubane. The restaurant's operations manager is responsible for running the daily activities and makes decisions regarding staffing schedule, re-ordering of supplies as well as the layout of the facility and the development of strategies to continuously improve the production of quality meals. This means that Eric is now responsible for more strategic decisions, such as, menu items, supplier selection as well as financial decisions affecting the organisation. He had to formally design the job of the operations manager so that it did not overlap with the head chef's role. After the 2010 FIFA World Cup fever subsided, the restaurant needed to optimise its processes in order to remain sustainable. The process choice, however, seemed to be a delicate decision to make. With the target market orientation changing its focus from mostly international Operations Management 3.1 (EBMAX3A) GA Assignment Guidelines Page 3 of 11 customers to a more regular local market, Eric had to decide using the four dimensions of operations (known as the four V's). Today, The Taste of Africa is a well-established fast food restaurant with two outlets in Soweto, namely at the Maponya Mall and at the University of Johannesburg's Soweto campus. The correct choice of its operations process has led to the restaurant expanding nationally and it can now compete with other local powerhouses in the fast food industry. Case Study Questions and Activities: Question 1 Highlight the problem that forced The Taste of Africa to expand its business to Maponya Mall and the University of Johannesburg? Also, support your answer by quoting from the text. (4) Question 2 The principles of management can be distilled down to four critical functions of management. Identify the four functions of management and explain with respect to the case study how Sam Ngubane can apply these functions to benefit the business. (8) Question 3 Use a diagram to illustrate four V's profile of The Taste of Africa. (12) Total 24 marks