Operations Management Of The Hard Rock Cafe

Operations Management Of The impenetrable throw off Cafe sturdy flutter Cafe is peerless(prenominal)(prenominal) of the worlds leading and well-known brands in restaurant industry. disfranchised quiver cafe is a chain of casual dining restaurant. prime(prenominal)ly challenging quake was opened in London, 1971. It was found by Isaac Tigrett and spear Morton. The mission of serious rocknroll is to provide their customers with unique view and take out new clients. In the 1980s, serious sway Cafe was the most pop when approximately people eng senior(a) in the hobby of visiting as m all locations as possible and collecting a troublesome endocarp t-shirt bearing the Cafe logo and the location name. The chain began world(prenominal) working out in 1982 when Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton agreed to develop their own cafes crosswise the world. At current date, it has 169 venues in 51 countries worldwide ( delicate sway, 2010). And it continues to grow with some(pren ominal) much in the works. The question being raised here is how has a small knockout pit restaurant that originated in London, England become one of the most well-known brands over the world?Differentiation StrategyThe artifice is non to chance the game better than the competition, solely to develop and play an altogether various game.-Professor C. Markides of the London Business SchoolAnd, yes, onerous Rock has played a different game the escort game impenetrable Rock Cafe is using differentiation strategy to achieve competitory advantage on the market. It is considered a smart strategy. They find the ways to narrow down that create value for customers and that be not easily matched or chintzily copied by competitors. steadfastly Rock sells meals and sells hotel rooms. Many others to a fault do that. level on that point be other harmony related restaurants. But what crystalise the weighed down Rock different from others is that it sells a full Rock give da te.There is an insatiable appetite for music as a monitoring device of the moments in ones invigoration and music roll in the hay generally bring peacefulness in mind and happiness to people. A 20-year-old can come in there and see memorabilia from Godsmack or a 60-year-old can come in and see something from Buddy Holly or Elvis Presley. Music is the tie that binds, irrespective of your age. It is alike about creating a soundtrack to the brand that people recognise. When the customers go inside, it feels long-familiar and that is not just because of how it looks, it is the sound. unstated Rock is built on that concept. That is how a brand becomes multidimensional. And they ar victorful intemperately Rock products are highly cute by customers. Customers develop loyalty to brand and it helps to beat competitors in the marketplace.10 Operations Management stopping point makingStrategy is the kick and scope of an organisation over the long-term, which achieves advantage in a ever-ever-changing environment finished its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholders expectations. The of import target of any unwaveringly is to create competitive advantage over competitors. To create this advantage, firm has to find a proper(a) strategy. problematical Rocks strategy is to provide not simply a custom meal from the menu, but the whole experience with a unique visual and sound experience. The customers can find this experience at nowhere else in the world but unexpressed Rock. And it can be achieved when managers behave effective determinations in 10 Areas of Operations Management. They are collectively known as trading operations decisions.Goods services use severely Rock Caf provides a unique experience with their goods and services passported at the restaurants. laboured Rock gives many amenities from cafes, to hotels to gambling casinos, to live music and to huge Rock fest concerts. Further more, when life-threatening Rock widened to orbiculate, it specified its menu for local anaesthetic smack due to the social norms. For example, when they expanded their chains to the Unites Stated, they modified their menu with authorised American foods such as hamburgers, chicken wings, and include higher-end items such as stuffed veal chops and lobster tails. And as for the menu of Hard Rock Cafs in British, they focuses more on fish and lobster and less on hamburgers and beef (Heizer Render, p.83). Hard Rock also keeps continuing upgrade their menu to meet the customers requirement. ane of the special things about Hard Rock is its music memorabilia appealingness. Throughout the years, Hard Rock has collected a collection of items which are fictional character of the Rock history. They not only solicit donations of music memorabilia, but they also go around the world and leverage a number of items at auctions. Nowadays, Hard Rock becomes the worlds largest collection of such items.Ano ther key that contribute to the success of Hard Rock Caf is the inclusion of its own brand production. About 48% annual r dismantleue of Hard Rock comes from merchandise sales (Heizer Render, p.83). The holy Hard Rock t-shirt was created when the original caf sponsored a local football game team. The shirts became a popular item and lead to the creation of the line of merchandise that is an important part of Hard Rocks argument today. Besides the classic tee, there are many different styles of shirts, hats, jackets, glassware, shot glasses, etc.Many of these items are considered to be collectibles and the customers can generally purchase at Hard Rocks caf, hotel, and casino specific or from its website.QualityHard Rock Caf defines lineament inwardly their properties by conducting numerous surveys to get an honest evaluation from its customers. They pride themselves on lineament from the music, food and atmosphere. Their survey is on a scale from 1-7, and anything less than a 7 is considered a failure (Heizer Render, p.56). It means that they want to transcend to the customers highest satisfaction. Base on customer surveys and feedback, their menu will be changed with the measure to fulfill customer recommendations accordingly.In addition, Hard Rock Caf not only focuses on the actual quality of food and merchandise, but also focuses on the visual and auditoria quality as the quality of the unique experience. The experience itself is their product. The employees at Hard Rock Caf are responsible for plentiful the crush quality of their services and products to its customers. The waiters, chefs and crews give their effort by means of their services through catering customers and providing them also the best food which meet their taste and preferences. mold capacity inclinationThe process and capacity creation is what drives the decision of the locations of their facilities. Hard Rock Caf creates products in an efficient manner, by analyzing them fo r constitute effectiveness and by labor requirements.Location selectionUnderstand that location is a major(ip) long-time, and can make or break business strategy Hard Rock has to choose the right locations strategy to expand its cafe chains.Because of Hard Rocks customers are those who not only patronize the foods they offer, but also mania music, Hard Rock Caf chains contend to choose places which is convenient to its valued customers. In addition, they also should be place in the areas that are less competitors as to their line of business. Another important that needed to be pertain is the location decision also needs to be concerned with some challenges such as political risk, currency risk, and social norms.Hard Rock Caf has expanded to more than 157 locations throughout the world. And approximately a 70% of Hard Rock customers are tourists. This is good as far as the best tourist regions are traditionally good markets however, this strategy also makes Hard Rock to depend on the tourism. For example, when the sparing goes downturn, there would be less people who spend their money for travel, it will effect to the productive of Hard Rock. Seeing this disadvantage, Hard Rock develops another strategy is signing a long-term lease for cities that are not standard tourist address such as Manchester and Birmingham. This is a good move for Hard Rock because it can make Hard Rock less dependent on the tourists (Heizer Render, p.83).Layout designHard Rock caf exist for 39 years and it expand its business to a global power managing 129 cafes, 12 hotels, casinos, live music venues and a huge Rockfest concert (Heizer Render, p.56). Each cafe is a museum in the environment of a bar-restaurant. The caller-out also added new layouts and memorabilia to its place in order to capture more customers. Lighting, sound, screens, contemporary music and circulation plans are designed to show memorabilia and expose merchandise to customers.Human resource and job designT he layout, memorabilia, music, and videos are important elements in the Hard Rock experience but it falls on the waiters and waitresses to make the experience come alive (Heizer Render, p.445).Hard Rocks philosophy is to hire only candidates who are best sufficient. The valet de chambre resource department supports the overall theme restaurant strategy by giving aggressive screening, including an evaluation of how the employee will contribute to the Hard Rock experience. Their hiring decision is not only on experiences and qualifications, but also on the candidates ardent about music, their ability to tell a story, and convey the experience to customers. These decision criteria run into that their employees interests and right fit with the company. And that can avoid the hiring mistake, thus restrict the turnover.They give great benefit package and effective indoctrination and training, empowerment. They also have culture of diversity and focus on team world and even outside volunteer work. Hard Rock also creates a slashing working environment so that employees want to be a part of a team. They know that as long as they can make the employees feel important and be a part of that team, the employees would want to put up with their employer. Using pliable schedules are also great strategy and could be the difference between employees staying and leaving the restaurant. The human resource department of Hard Rock recognizes that they responsible for a critical element in Hard Rocks strategy. So they must recruit and retain the human capital that is essential to fulfill that mission and strategy.Supply-chain managementHard Rock work with qualified suppliers to ensure fresh, quality meals. Menu item selection depends on preparation right amount of ingredients from qualified suppliers on timeInventoryTheir schedule consists of unique objects related to rock history, the memorabilia, special decorations and a special menu. The collection includes 1,000s of piece of musics, worthed at $40 million valued memorabilia are catalogued, from separately one piece is known where to be. Memorabilia of all cafes around the world are renewed each 5-6 yearsSchedulingUnderstanding that scheduling plays an important role to the succesful of Hard Rock. A good scheduling can bring to the organization more effectively by serving customers promtly, and more efficiently by profound cost (Heizer Render, 647). To have an effective schedulings strategy, Hard Rock Cafe use the scheduling software, and sales forecast.When forecasting sales in service industry, business must consider several factors related to their business. For Hard Rock Caf, they need to take into these considerations community events in the area, seasonality, holidays, time of day, day of week, sales gallery in last couple weeks, and meals served is necessary for effective forecasting of sales. Events contingency in the area, and using historical data for the year prior is also an e ffective way to the sales forecast. Hard Rock Caf must pick up these factors directly affect sales in the restaurant because by ideal forecasting and giving the customer what they want, they can achieve successful in their businessConsidering seniority is important in staff scheduling. The employees who have worked for the company for a long time are more experience and more comfortable about the work. Thus, strategically scheduling each of them in each shift will distribute the experience and expertise. Also be note that 70 % of their guests are tourists so this means that they have to have flexible schedules in their restaurants in order to provide services adapted to different cultures and demands.MaintenanceHard Rock Cafe is redesigning its restaurant to accommodate the changing its tastes. Kitchen, bar, retail shop layout and equipment maintenance and maintenance of memorabilia. The menu review and surveys are also need to be maintenanced to meet the customers requirement.Ex pansion into HanoiAs we critically above, by using effectively operations management strategy, The Hard Rock Cafe has become such a successful business. Since the first Hard Rock Cafe opened in 1971, and its name has go along to expand and succeed. Nowadays, The Hard Rock Cafe has become a well-known brand in the world. Considering an expansion of its business into Hanoi, Vietnam there are operations management opportunities and challenges for Hard Rock to be considered.Vietnam is a developing rural area with a land of opportunities. It is a new emerging market, and is a emf investment destination. The potential for franchise in Vietnam is huge. According to global franchisers, Vietnam is a not place for franchises a young consumer market, high economic growth and stable politics. The rise of the middle class in Vietnam also presents a exploitation market opportunity.OpportunitiesProducts and services design and qualityVietnamese economic system is among the most rapidly grow ing in Southeast Asia. The economy has been growing steadily at 7-8 percent in recent years. Growing economy point to accelerating poverty reduction, and is seeing living standards rise as liquid income increase. Moreover, Vietnam has a population of more than 80 million, and about two-thirds of Vietnamese aged below 30 years, who are brand-conscious, trendy and adore the westerly life style (Vietnam News, 2010). Particularly in the urban areas, consumers demand is surging for higher quality products and services. And the local production cannot satisfy them. Thus, franchising businesses that introduce high-end products and services with a Western lifestyle could help meet that growing demand.Therefore, as for products and services design and quality, Hard Rock is doing extremely well if they expand their business in Hanoi. Hard Rock brand name is well received by local customers who associate them with superior quality, excellent customers service, and a Western life style.Locat ionVietnam is emphatically a safe place to enter because of the politically stable. Understanding that franchises can create jobs for locals, and that they can help drive its economy, Vietnamese Government boost economic development and stimulus package in the Vietnamese market by using flexible policies, and welcomes foreign investment. In addition, Hanoi is a capital of Vietnam and is also a destination of tourism from many countries. And that is a good fix for Hard Rock because its main target customers are the tourists.Human resourceOne of the advantage for Hard Rock open its caf in Vietnam is the low cost of labor. Also, there are many young Vietnamese nowadays are really impassioned about Rock Roll music, and have the ability to convey the experience to the customer. So its totally not hard for the restaurant to find the right employees that fix to the image of Hard Rock Caf.Supply-chain managementAs for the supply-chain management, in Hanoi, Hard Rock can easily find the q ualified suppliers to purchase raw materials with a cheap price but still ensure its fresh, quality meals to serve the customers.ChallengesConsidering an expansion of its business into Hanoi, and to be successful in Vietnam, Hard Rock Caf should take the following concerns into accountProducts service designHard Rock needs to aware of the cultural differences. They should take local culture, habits, and tastes into consideration and adjusts their market strategy accordingly to be successful in this market.They also have to be sensitive to product pricing and franchising fees for expansion in Hanoi. Vietnamese are very price-conscious and local incomes are good lower than many other countries in the region. Moreover, local investors may not be familiar with and are reluctant to invest millions of dollars in a new business concept. This specific of the market will require a flexible approach.Human resourceAnother challenge for Hard Rocks human resource when it comes to decision expa nsion into Hanoi is picking the right winner franchisees. This is the most difficult and time-consuming task of all in the global development of Hard Rock franchise. They need to take time to find, pronounce and conduct diligence on master-franchise candidates. They also need to consider the added cost of training and support across many times zones.ConclusionThe strategy of Hard Rock has been led by the differentiation. The Hard Rock has make unique its products and its services. Hard Rock Caf has brought the concept of the experience economy to its cafe operation. At Hard Rock, the experience concept is not only to offer a custom meal from the menu, but also spread the whole step of rockn roll to its customers. It is successful by using this experience strategy, and Hard Rock Caf became a highly recognized brand throughout the world because of its operations management.After carefully evaluated the operations management strategy of Hard Rock Caf and considered all the opportuni ties and challenges for Hard Rock Caf when considering an expansion of its business into Hanoi, I powerfully believe that the business will be going successful on this market. With a large young consumers market, growing disposable income, stable politic, and also as the locals are becoming more receptive to international brands Vietnam is definitely a good destination and a perfect time for Hard Rock Caf to enter to the market and franchise its brand.