Foodservice Operations Final
A foodservice has a 35% labor cost, 23% fixed costs, and a desired profit of 12%. Given a raw food cost of $4.55, what would be the selling price of the item when rounded to $0.99 on the dollar?
$15.99 Explanation: 100% - (35% + 23 % + 12%) = 100 - 70 = 30% sales price = cost / divisor = $ 4.55 / 0.3 = $15.16. Round up to $15.99
Full-time employees generally work 236 days per year due to vacation and benefit days. Approximately how many employees are necessary for everyday coverage of full-time positions?
1.55 Explanation: 365 days each year / 236 full-time workdays = 1.55 FTE. 1.55 FTE is required for each FT position.
A foodservice establishment requires thirteen 8-hour positions, four 4-hour positions, and one 3-hour position to meet daily demands. How many FTEs does the foodservice establishment maintain?
15.38 Explanation: 13 X 8 hr = 104hr 4 X 4hr = 16 hr and one 3 hour = 104 + 16+3 = 123 hrs total / 8 hr per day = 15.37 FTE is the answer
A foodservice operation's Net Profit is $41,137, Cost of Goods Sold is $145,350, Average Inventory Value is $7,330, and Total Meals Served Per Day is 200. What is the inventory turnover rate?
19.83 Explanation: The inventory turnover rate is determined by dividing the cost of goods sold by the average inventory. 145,350/7,330 = 19.83.
What number of productive FTEs do you need for two 7-day-per-week positions, working 6:30 am to 3:00 pm?
2.8 Explanation: 2 x 8 hours x 7 days = 112 hours / 40 hours week = 2.8 FTES
Which of the following financial terms represents current liabilities?
Accounts payable, accrued expenses Explanation: Current liabilities are debts that must be paid within 12 months.
Which of the following is a current asset?
Accounts receivable Explanation: Current assets are those that are liquid or can easily be converted to cash. China and small equipment cannot be quickly converted to cash. Retained earnings are the part of income that is set aside by the company instead of being distributed to shareholders. Accounts receivable represent current assets.
When acting as the foodservice buyer, which practice would be acceptable?
Acting as the legal agent for the organization Explanation: As a foodservice buyer, one must ethically represent the organization; sharing quotes and giving out confidential information are not ethical behaviors. Allowing vendors to sponsor parties is unethical.
When using the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) process, which of the following occurs during the plan phase?
Analyze the process, brainstorm, be selective, be persistent, & establish objectives Explanation: Determination of data collection methods occurs during the planning phase. Staff training and evaluation of effectiveness occur after a project has been implemented. Reduction of appointment waiting times would be an example of a quality improvement project goal.
Which statement best describes the "F" component of the FADE performance improvement model?
Choose a specific problem or process to improve Explanation: In the FADE model, "F" stands for focus; during this step, the process to be improved is identified and defined. Review of data is included in "A," or analyze. Action plans are developed in "D," or develop, and pilot studies are conducted in "E," or execute.
Which of the following statements is true?
Conceptual skills are most important at upper levels of management. Explanation: Conceptual skills integrate all activities and interests of the organization; therefore, they are more important at the higher levels of an organization.
Compared to a non-leader, which grouping of words best describes a leader?
Copes with change, empowers, perseveres Explanation: Effective leaders accept that change should and will occur and work with others in order to facilitate the pace and outcome of change. This empowers both themselves and others.
Which of the following business terms represents marketing?
Customer wants, profit-oriented, future growth Explanation: Successful businesses are those that focus on producing goods that customers want while forecasting future growth. Marketers may also focus on being profit oriented, which aims to maximize net profit rather than focus on total sales.
Which statement best describes the "P" component of the PDCA performance improvement model?
Determine how changes will be implemented Explanation: The P component of PDCA includes planning how changes will be implemented. Actual implementation of the changes is included in "D", determining the impact of the change is part of S.
Which ratio would be used to examine an establishment's ability to meet its long-term financial obligations and its financial leverage?
Debt to assets Explanation: The assets-to-liabilities ratio calculates the percentage of assets provided by debt. Return on assets refers to the profitability of a company. Return on equity is a measure of company earnings compared to total shareholder equity. The debt-to-assets ratio examines ability to meet long-term financial obligations and financial leverage.
After reviewing the results of menu engineering, what is the best way to manage a puzzle?
Decrease the menu item's selling price. Explanation: Menu engineering is the practice of developing menus with the goal to encourage customers to buy certain items. Puzzle items are those that are profitable but not popular. One way to address puzzles is to change the selling price in order to encourage sales.
During a snow storm, the assistant cook (AC) can't get to work. The person working in the "floater" position is unable to take over all AC responsibilities but is somewhat confident and is willing to assist the head cook in preparing items on the daily production schedule. To be most effective, what would be the manager's approach?
Define roles and tasks for the willing employee, provide opportunity for role clarification and questions, and give support. Explanation: Defining roles and tasks and providing opportunity for role clarification and questions allows the floater the opportunity to redefine his or her role and to take on a different task. The manager empowers the floater this way by supporting the new role, which should result in more confidence to change roles.
Which market segmentation variable consists of characteristics such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, income, education, and occupation?
Demographic Explanation: Demographic variables are those that can be used to describe a person, such as age, race, income, and so on. Geographic variables describe a physical location; psychographic variables describe personality, interests, or beliefs; and sociographic variables are those that describe a society.
The Joint Commission outlines patient safety goals annually. Which of the following is NOT a patient safety goal in an outpatient setting?
Demonstrate individual competence Explanation: The medication reconciliation process ensures that the medications a patient is currently taking are compared to new medications that are ordered. Correct identification of patients using at least two patient identifiers decreases the risk for wrong-patient errors. National patient safety goals also include prevention of infections. Individual competence is not a patient safety goal.
Which statement best describes the "C" component of the PDCA performance improvement model?
Determine the impact of the intervention Explanation: Determination of how changes will be made is part of the P component, implementation of the plan is included in D, and maintaining the improvement is part of A.
What word best describes doing things correctly or getting the most output from the least amount of input?
Efficient Explanation: Efficiency is the means to get the most output from the least amount of input.
Which of the following is considered an output of a foodservice system?
Employee satisfaction Explanation: The outputs are the goods and services that result from transforming the inputs of the system. Employee satisfaction, along with customer satisfaction and financial accountability, are desired outcomes.
What decisional roles does a manager perform when committing an organization to specific courses of action and/or determining unit strategy?
Entrepreneur, resource allocator, disturbance handler, and/or negotiator Explanation: As an entrepreneur, a manager initiates change, s/he handles situations that are beyond his/her control, allocates resources based on needs and may require compromise so s/he must negotiate with units.
Which "leadership powers" tend to be related to subordinate satisfaction and performance?
Expert, referent Explanation: Those with expert leadership powers are viewed as competent and those with referent leadership power are well-liked. Legitimate leadership power is based on position in the organization, and reward leadership power allows leader to reward others.
Which of the following financial terms includes accumulated depreciation?
Fixed assets Explanation: Accumulated depreciation is the total depreciation of an asset up to a given date, which is subtracted from the original cost of the item. Accumulated depreciation is included in an organization's fixed assets.
What financial information is obtained by subtracting cost of goods sold from total sales in a given period?
Gross profit Explanation: Net profit subtracts expenses from gross profit; final profit is merely another way of referring to "net profit." Operating costs refer to expenses. Total sales less cost of goods is the gross profit.
Which of the following situations reduces a manager's span of control?
Having a greater dispersion of workers Explanation: Managers cannot supervise effectively when workers are widely dispersed across a department or organization.
Which statement best describes the "D" component of the PDCA performance improvement model?
Implement the intervention Explanation: Determination of how changes will be made is part of the P component of PDCA and impact determination is considered a component of C.
What type of budget uses the existing budget as a base and projects changes for the ensuing year in relation to the current budget?
Incremental Explanation: Fixed budgets (also known as static budgets) do not change based on variations in business. Flexible budgets are able to change depending on business activity. Incremental budgets use existing budget numbers as a base with incremental amounts added relative to the current budget.
Which ratio is designed to examine how effectively an organization is utilizing its assets?
Inventory turnover Explanation: The assets-to-liabilities ratio calculates the percentage of assets provided by debt. The debt-to-equity ratio tells what percentage of the company's assets are funded by shareholders' equity and debt. The break-even point is where expenses and revenue are equal. Effective use of inventory assets is reflected in the inventory turnover ratio.
Which "leadership powers" appear to be most important for compliance?
Legitimate, expert Explanation: For compliance, the position in the organization and being competent are leadership powers needed.
Which grouping of words best represents transformation processes for a foodservice system?
Linking processes, management functions, functional subsystems Explanation: The process of transforming inputs into outputs in foodservice involves linking, managing, and building functional subsystems.
Which of the following ratios indicates an organization's ability to meet current financial obligations?
Liquidity Explanation: In order to meet current financial obligations, an organization needs cash on hand (or liquidity). Operating, activity and profitability ratios do not indicate the ability to meet current financial obligations.
In a foodservice operation, which of the following is the most critical point of control?
Menu Explanation: In foodservice operations, menu development provides a critical control point for control of costs, overtime, quality, and spoilage.
The sentence "We will produce nutritious, high-quality food that meets our customers' needs for service within 30 minutes" is a
Mission statement Explanation: A mission statement describes what a company does that is different from others. A vision is a statement of what a company wants to achieve in the future, and strategies are the decisions and actions to assist a company to meet its objectives.
Which of the following is NOT a main component of continuous quality improvement (CQI)?
Multidisciplinary rounds Explanation: Customers—both internal and external—are a major component of CQI. CQI involves use of the scientific method for data collection. Team involvement is key to CQI because teams have greater ability to solve problems than individuals. Multidisciplinary rounds are one form of a team in health care but are not a main component of CQI.
What term is used to indicate the monetary value of a property or business beyond any amounts owed?
Owner's equity Explanation: Total assets are anything owned by the company including liabilities. Gross profit is the difference between net sales and the cost of the items or services sold. Monetary value of a property or business beyond debts is called owner's equity.
The evaluation tool that is used for effective planning and controls functions of management is called
PERT chart. Explanation: MIS processing and HACCP are not tools associated with functions of management. Strategic planning is a management process of determining long-term goals and the best approach to accomplish them. It is used to inform policies and operational decisions but not in evaluation. The program evaluation review technique, or PERT, chart is the evaluation tool for controlling management functions.
____________ should be up to date and reinforced with strong supervision.
Personnel policies Explanation: Personnel policies should reflect current realities of the workplace. Supervisors should employ these policies to ensure that employees are being treated fairly and expectations are consistent.
The average contribution margin (CM) per item on a menu is $6.74 and the menu mix (MM) percentage that is considered to be high is 12. A menu item has a CM of $6.65 and a MM percentage of 14. What menu engineering term would be used to describe this menu item?
Plowhorse Explanation: Plowhorses are items that are popular but don't attain profitable status.
Total Quality Management is best described by which grouping of words
Processes, improvement, customer satisfaction Explanation: TQM is a philosophy where processes are refined with goal of improving performance in response to customer needs and expectations.
Yogurt manufacturers have branched out into Greek yogurt, high-fiber yogurt, parfait yogurt, bacteria-enhanced yogurt, and more because they believe customers prefer yogurt products. By doing so, which marketing concept are these manufactures applying?
Product Explanation: Yogurt manufacturers are using the concept of product when they offer many different types and flavors of yogurt. Selling, manufacturing, and societal marketing concepts don't focus on offering different types of the same product.
What elements comprise the marketing mix?
Product, price, promotion, and place Explanation: The marketing mix is a concept used by companies to determine which products they will offer, and is composed of product, price, promotion, and place.
During the marketing evolution, in what era did manufacturers produce what could be made rather than what consumers wanted?
Production Explanation: During the production era, manufacturers were focused mass production. As markets became crowded with product, marketing strategies shifted to various pricing techniques to revitalize sales (sales era). Companies then shifted to marketing techniques (marketing era). The technological era of marketing utilizes emerging technologies to reach potential customers.
Which technique offers the least constructive information to someone being disciplined?
Providing advice Explanation: Documentation on employee behavior includes conduct, performance, appearance, and work availability, which are a part of progressive discipline. Advice is a friendly approach but is not usually documented.
What is the KEY element in disciplining employees?
Providing consistency Explanation: Consistency allows an employee to feel that any other employee would receive the same discipline for committing the same offense. Disciplinary action is the result of an employee's behavior and not personality conflicts.
The average contribution margin (CM) per item on a menu is $6.74 and the menu mix (MM) percentage that is considered to be high is 12. A menu item has a CM of $6.93 and a MM percentage of 11. What menu engineering term would be used to describe this menu item?
Puzzle Explanation: Puzzles are items that are profitable but do not achieve high levels of sales.
Systems thinking is the management approach to considering the entire organization when making decisions or allocating resources. Which is an example of systems thinking?
Reschedule kitchen staff to prepare more foods from scratch to meet customer expectations. Explanation: Rescheduling kitchen staff to prepare food to meet customer expectations changes the kitchen and staff/resource entirely. Making a change to the produce delivery does not change the kitchen.
According to the Joint Commission, which of the following is fundamental to cost-effective performance improvement?
Safety Explanation: Patient safety is a major concern in all health care settings. A focus on safety in performance improvement programs leads to cost savings through prevention of medical errors.
During a snowstorm, the assistant cook (AC) can't get to work. The person working in the "salads" position is unable to take over all AC responsibilities but is somewhat confident and willing to assist the head cook in preparing items on the daily production schedule. To be most effective, which leadership style should the foodservice manager use?
Selling Explanation: Hershey, Blanchard, and Johnson's leadership effectiveness model indicates that when the salad person has low to moderate readiness (R2), the manager needs to use selling leadership style (S2). The leader must be flexible and adaptable to meet the changing needs of employees and each situation.
After reviewing the results of menu engineering, what is the best way to manage a plowhorse?
Serve smaller portions of the menu item Explanation: Plowhorses are items that are popular but do not attain profitable status. If price increases are not possible, one strategy for managing plowhorses is to serve smaller portions. It is not a good idea to lower the price on items that are already not profitable. Items that are already popular should not be given priority in menu listings nor should they be removed from the menu.
An employee finds job tasks to be too demanding. To enhance the employee's performance, which of the following solutions should a manager consider first?
Simplify tasks, lessen the work load, and reduce time pressures Explanation: If an employee feels overwhelmed, the manager must understand the cause of any resulting behavior and be able to make changes to help the employee improve performance. Simplifying a job and allowing employees to work on the task at hand empowers and motivates them to do well.
Which statement best describes the "A" component of the PDCA performance improvement model?
Standardize and improve the process Explanation: Maintaining and continuing improvement is included in the A component of the PDCA model. Determination of how changes will be implemented is part of P, implementation of the plan is included in D, and determination of the impact of the plan is included in C.
In the systems model, transformation is dependent on the requirements of the functional subsystems. Which resource would be most important for the distribution and service subsystem of a school cafeteria?
Steam table Explanation: Functional subsystems are classified according to their purpose and may include procurement, production, distribution and service, and sanitation and maintenance. Distribution and service subsystems of the cafeteria include steam table because storeroom and delivery do not fit that subsystem.
A continuous and systematic process in which decisions are made about intended future outcomes, and how success is measured and evaluated is known as:
Strategic planning Explanation: This is the definition of strategic planning: it is a continuous and systematic process in which people make decisions about intended future outcomes, how outcomes are to be accomplished, and how success is measured and evaluated.
Which of the following must be included on the program evaluation review technique (PERT) chart?
The amount of time needed to complete an activity. Explanation: Activities and times are detailed on a chart for planning and evaluation control purposes. Cost, impact, and consumer acceptance are not included on the chart.
What name is given to standard methods of accounting and presentation of financial statements that provide comparability of financial data within an industry?
Uniform systems of accounts Explanation: A balance sheet is a statement of assets, liabilities, and business capital. Common-size statements are presented as percentages instead of dollar amounts, while cost accounting can be defined as recording all the costs associated with doing business. Uniform systems of accounts represent standard methods of accounting within an industry.
The DTR receives information from the patients about food temperatures. The line cooks receive information from the RD about recipe modifications. The dish room provides information for the health inspector. Are these interactions examples of feedback?
Yes, because feedback can be from the internal and external environments. Explanation: Feedback is processes by which a system continually receives information from its internal and external environment. In this case, all three levels within the system are interacting with each other to give internal feedback and providing information to the health inspector to give external feedback.
As a manager, you were instructed to prepare a budget without relying on the figures from previous years. This is known as a:
Zero-based budget Explanation: A top-down budget is prepared by top management and given to each operating units. In a bottom-up budget, individual units prepare their own budget that is then sent to upper management. A baseline budget starts with the previous budget and adjusts for current conditions. A zero-based budget starts with no previous figures before costs, outlay, and inflows are determined.
A foodservice facility posted signs indicating that all employees must wash hands before returning to the production area after a break. This is referred to as
a policy. Explanation: Policy indicates what should be done whereas a procedure indicates how it should be done. There is no such thing as foodservice law. A single-use plan is not applicable in this context.
The management functions of planning, organizing, and staffing:
are used to coordinate subsystems to achieve objectives. Explanation: Management functions include planning, organization, staffing, directing, and controlling used to manage the operation including human resources, finance, and marketing (which are subsystems)
A foodservice operation has a 1.93 current ratio. This value indicates to creditors that the foodservice operation most likely will
be able to pay bills when they are due. Explanation: A current ratio signals to investors if the company has sufficient assets to pay debts over the next 12 months. Current ratios that are greater than 1 indicate the operation will be able to meet its financial obligations.
Quality in the foodservice system is
defined by the customer through his or her satisfaction. Explanation: According to Gregoire and Spears, quality in foodservice systems is defined by the customer through satisfaction. Quality in foodservice systems should lead to decreased costs through elimination of errors and mistakes.
A facility director is charged with evaluating whether it is worthwhile to complete a project. The best approach would be to
conduct a cost-to-benefit analysis. Explanation: A cost benefit analysis would include all the other responses and determine if the project is profitable.
A manager always defers to her workers to reach an agreement among themselves, then she adopts the majority decision. Her leadership style is
democratic Explanation: Autocratic leaders take total control, make decisions, and assume full responsibility. Consensus leadership requires the entire group to come to an agreement. Participative leadership seeks input from others before making a management decision, whereas democratic leaders accept the decision made by the group majority
In classical management theory, the unity of command specifies that
each individual should be accountable to only one supervisor. Explanation: A coordinated approach toward the same objective signifies unity of direction, whereas authority and responsibility flowing one way from high to low signifies a scalar chain. A facility, regardless of the size, can have as many managers as is needed. Each individual reporting to one supervisor signifies unity of command.
Having the same or similar outputs result from different inputs is called:
equifinality Explanation: Equifinality is defined as same or similar output that can be achieved by using different inputs or by varying the transformation process.
ABC Hospital Food and Nutrition Department prepares and delivers meals to other healthcare operations in a large metropolitan area. Other hospital foodservices in the metropolitan area have recently begun offering meal delivery service. ABC Hospital modified its service to offer home meal replacements to the healthcare staff in addition to its' other meal delivery service. ABC Hospital is using
focus strategy. Explanation: Focus strategy uses a cost leadership or differentiation strategy to target a specific, limited-size market niche. ABC Hospital changed its service to reach out to a specific population/market niche in home meal replacement to health care staff. The other hospital is using a competitive approach against ABC hospital.
Commercial and onsite foodservice operations share many similarities in their subsystems. However, some characteristics are unique to a type of operation. A commercial buffet restaurant and a school nutrition program are distinguished by
how food is distributed and served. Explanation: Commercial foodservice operations sell food as the primary activity and a profit is desired. A commercial buffet restaurant sells food for profit and the variety of food offered may be greater than the school nutrition program. Also, the speed of food distribution affects the style of service.
The two financial statements primarily used by foodservice managers to analyze operational effectiveness are the
income statement and balance sheet. Explanation: The inventory valuation record contains an accounting of the cost of items kept in the inventory. The balance sheet is a list of assets, liabilities, and capital, and the income statement is a financial statement that shows all operating results for a desired time period.
A supervisor noted that the quality of work produced by an employee was declining because of excessive tardiness. The best initial course of action would be to
issue a verbal warning to the employee. Explanation: Transferring the employee to another position does not guarantee improved quality or punctuality. There was no indication that the employee work hours decreased to necessitate a change in employment status. Reporting the employee to the facility manager gives the impression that the supervisor cannot do his or her job. The supervisor should be able to document that the employee was given a verbal reprimand before further actions can be taken.
Strategic management of a foodservice system means
organization and environmental analysis to achieve goals. Explanation: Strategic management process involves analysis of the company and its environment, creating and implementing strategies to move a company toward its goals and evaluating progress.
Customer and employee satisfaction are both:
outputs of the foodservice system. Explanation: The outputs are the goods and services that result from transforming the inputs of the system and express how objectives are achieved. Customer and employee satisfaction and financial accountability are desired outcomes in a foodservice system.
In conducting a value analysis, the production manager should bear in mind that all the following are true EXCEPT:
product improvements are always cost effective. Explanation: Improving the quality of a product may cost more. It may not be worth the added cost and may not affect the overall value. Even if the product costs more, it may have little or no added value.
A storeroom staffed with a full-time employee would be considered a(n) ___________ of a university residence hall foodservice.
subsystem Explanation: A subsystem is a complete system unto itself (such as a storeroom) that is part of a larger system (in this case, a university residence hall foodservice).
To generate revenue, the bakery department produces a photo sheet of their decorated cakes and distributes it to all units in the hospital. The cafeteria bundles the decorated cake service with a discounted coffee service, which is an example of:
synergy Explanation: Synergy is working together to create greater outcomes than would be possible working individually. The cakes plus the discounted coffee service allows the bakery to sell more cakes.
Conflict between nursing personnel and food and nutrition personnel over responsibility of patient tray service occurs because:
the interface between subsystems is often marked by tension.
A foodservice director using a systems approach to evaluate the effect of a new tray delivery service on the dishroom and the nurse stations is considering:
the internal and external environments. Explanation: Environmental factors are things outside the system that can impact the operation of the system in this case the tray delivery service.
The distinction between a franchise quick service restaurant (QSR) located in a shopping mall and the same franchise QSR located in a medical facility is that
the medical facility's QSR purpose is secondary to the purpose of the shopping mall. Explanation: The onsite foodservice operation is where sale of food is secondary to the goal of the organization. Foodservice in the hospital serves a secondary purpose while the QSR in the shopping mall serves as the primary purpose.
The formula for determining value analysis is V=Q/P, where V= value; Q=quality; P=price. If P increases, and there is no change in Q, then the value (V):
will most likely decrease. Explanation: No change was indicated for Q. If the denominator (P) increases and Q remains the same, the only definite change to be noted in V would be a decrease.
