Pillar Restaurant: University Hub for Culinary, Film & TV Production & More - Essay Sample

Introduction

Pillar is a restaurant based in the University of West London. The cafeteria is used by the students of culinary to do their practice. Also, the foods are sold there to the members of the school community. Pillars are sometimes hired for training new staff within a restaurant environment. Besides, it can be used as a scene within a film or television production. Pillars have different customers with various interests. Within the venture, segmentation allows the management to understand the customers' behaviors and preferences while engaging in the food production processes through segmentation, workers, including cooks and nutritionists may be able to acknowledge various consumer desires (Wood 2013, p.13). When these needs are understood, the restaurant is capable of developing the marketing mix based on the wishes of the potential customers. When the market segmentation is conducted creatively, there might be the realization of the new opportunities. Pillar restaurant segments their customers based on the location or neighborhood. It promotes specials that drive students through their doors and brings them together. By preparing the common dishes, students from the neighborhood find the place suitable during meal times. Customers are also classified based on purchase decisions. In Pillars restaurant, each customer has food preferences. There are meat lovers and those who prefer gluten-free meals. All these customers are often taken into consideration by the cooks while preparing different foods.

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Finally, Pillars restaurant applies loyalty when it comes to the classification of its customers. Reliable customers are valuable to any business. In most cases, it is much easier to sell to the existing customers to attract and sell to the new ones. Pillars management usually engages in the decisions to reward repeat or regular customers through the establishment of the preferred customer programs. Through the above process, customers often realize that they are on the exclusive list where they can receive specials that are specifically offered to them. Customer segmentation enhances menu development and the incorporation of dishes that best sells to the potential or regular customers.

Relationship Between Financial Sustainability and Forward

Planning and Forecasting

In Pillars restaurant, developing and maintaining a strong stakeholder relationship, including staff, donors and beneficiaries, is one way of ensuring financial sustainability. On the other hand, acquiring different types of funding, including unrestricted funds also makes the restaurant to become financially sustainable. Building and enhancing financial reserve and managing and accessing financial risks also enhances the achievement of financial sustainability and the management of financial resources. In the Pillars restaurant, there is a strong relationship between sustainability and forward planning, as well as forecasting. A strong stakeholder relationship ensures the financial flow and sustainability. With many students and well as other staff from the neighborhood, there are strong and reliable customers who spend their cash on meals at different times of the day. Also, students from the University of West London have regular practical activities, a situation that ensures financial flow to the restaurant. With a stable income, Pillars management can undertake effective planning processes as well as forecasting in their operational processes.

In Pillars restaurant, the plans for sustainability is not only about getting money but for planning. The restaurant usually raises money through grants, donations, as well as the profits gained from selling food products. The financial sustainability plan may also include different types of resources that might be obtained including the volunteer staff, kind-support, and the shared resources from other organizations. To ensure constant cash flow, which in the long term contributes to sustainability, Pillars restaurant management often engages in convincing other organizations such as the University of West London to support on different projects that are undertaken by the institution. With the constant flow of customers, Pillars restaurant has been able to ensure stable cash stream, a situation that has given the management greater opportunities to engage in the planning and forecasting processes.

Food Production Systems and Objectives

Pillars restaurant, with different customer segments, involves in the production of different dishes or food products. University of West London consists of both the local and international students. Therefore, the production of foods follows cultural beliefs of diverse population. The production of food depends on taste and flavor. For example, the production of buckwheat is done with different flavors to fit the needs of the customer. On the other hand, meat is done with diverse spices to suit the demands of various customers. With the presence of chief chefs, Pillar's restaurant food producer or cooks can incorporate diverse food products to meet the nutritional needs of the repeat customers. For example, the combination of foods rich in carbohydrates and proteins are on high demand by other customers who may want to achieve or enhance their nutritional requirements.

While engaging in the production of foods, the cooks ensure the production of different factors. The proportionality of the ingredient used matters to the clients that those who come for specific foods. On the other hand, packaging, transportation and marketing matters a lot to the safety of the food (Mcvety, Ware, & Ware 2009 p.17). While producing cooked food, Pillars' chefs consider the texture and the food. Depending on the customers, some require fine and well-grained foods. On the other hand, some like rough food materials. Therefore, in the development of the menu, segmentation of customers is essential to enable chefs understand the preferences and tastes of each client.

The main objective of the food production processes is to achieve the needs of the customers from all segments. While preparing foods, chefs often consider taste and preferences and thereafter incorporate the ingredients in line with the needs of the clients (Adams 2008, p.21). Another objective is to ensure the production of foods that may lead to high sales, thereby earning more revenues to restaurant management. Finally, the production processes are often transformed to be in line with the increase in the number of customers as well as the demands from the neighborhood. Customer's buying behavior is another factor that is normally considered while producing different types of food in Pillar's restaurant (Genc 2014, p.16). Consumers' buying behavior refers to the preferences, attitudes, decisions, and intentions that the consumers consider before buying goods or services of a given brand. The types of consumer buying behaviors include Complex Buying Behavior.

Key Concept of Menu Planning Criteria

Menu planning is essential, especially in environments where there is various number of customers and needs from different people. One of the key concepts in menu planning criteria is the incorporation of meal ideas. Identification of seasonal meal ideas and identifying what is special and about the food products (Institute Of Medicine et al. 2010, p.18). Also, the menu planning concept requires an understanding of customer purchasing or buying behaviors (Newenham-Kahindi, Kamoche, Chizema & Mellahi 2013, p. 27). The types of consumer buying behaviors include Complex Buying Behavior. In this case, the consumer highly concentrates on the brand of a given food product. Therefore, Pillar's restaurant should provide the details on the diversity of the products when promoting their products to attract such customers.

While undertaking menu planning, there is a need for the Pillar's management in collaboration with the chefs to consider the taste and preferences of some people. More specifically, there is the need to consider eating habits as well as the time of each meal (Van Der Wagen, & Goonetilleke 2011, p.19). The main procedure of menu planning should, therefore, consider the number of clients, preferences to the types of foods, and the time of each meal.

Best Practice Consideration for Effective People Management

One of the best practices in people management is having the right person for the right job. Ensuring the production of high-quality food in Pillars restaurant, there is the need to have the right person as the right place. In other words, there is a need for the management to establish qualified chefs and the management of different departments to ensure the production of high-quality foods that may attract clients or customers (Tanji 2015, p.17). Also, there is the need for the management to understand clearly what the criteria for the job dictates, besides the management need to ensure that skills and abilities are employed in the right job environment. Within the criteria, there are times when a person must be hired from without, as well as times when an individual can be hired from within the workforce (Wellington 2017, p.19). To ensure the development of a positive relationship with the clients, there is a need for pillars management to consider hiring and managing the right people for the right job. The management needs to ensure promotional services to the workers who have the potential to change the operational processes (Griffiths 2016, p.12). In whatever situation, there is a need for the management to have the right person for the right job.

Best Practice Consideration for Environmental

Sustainability of the Operation

Pillar restaurant needs to adopt the best practices that ensure sustainability. Protection of the environment should be the priority (Aras & Crowther 2012 p.15). In the operational processes, restaurants become sustainable when they engage in the sustainable processes that are geared towards reducing waste streams and minimizing the impacts on the environment (Pineda & Brebbia 2016, p.23). Also, the restaurant needs to ensure sustainable principles when they can find ways of cutting down energy use through greater efficiency or the utilization of clean energy (Baldwin 2009, p.14). Even though Pillars restaurant utilizes electricity in the operational processes, there is a need for the management to consider the use of solar and other clean energy sources such as biogas to enhance environmental safety. In the modern market, more corporates inclined towards establishing and implementing Corporate Social Responsibility plans (Jackson, Ones, & Dilchert 2012, p.11). The above inventiveness enables organizations to become more engaged in social responsibilities geared towards creating an impact on the environment. In the old industries, the idea of environmental sustainability was not addressed well especially within some of the restaurants.

Conclusion

In Pillars restaurant, customer's reviews are essential; they are usually applied in the decision-making processes. The management embrace reviews just like the personal recommendations that may be given by any other stakeholder within the business. Pillars management often creates different ways of getting reviews from customers; the process is an ongoing tactic in the restaurant marketing processes. To ensure customer segmentation, the management usually engages in data collection and use the information obtained to upsell or keep customers coming back. In some cases, management surprise clients by offering discounts on food products as well as highlighting items that perfectly complement their choices. In Pillars restaurant, the planning processes usually involve...