Research Topics: Industrial Relations Topics

INDUSTRY BOUNDARIES FOR RESTAURANT AND FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

INDUSTRY BOUNDARIES FOR RESTAURANT AND FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY   From the word boundary itself which means a border or a limit, industry boundaries could be defined as the point at which industries ends or beyond which it becomes something else. This means that industry boundaries are the demarcations between two distinct industries, and so it encompasses both the supply and demand trajectories. Porter (1980) assert that delineating the industry boundaries purports the separation of industries based on the dynamics of competition, strategic position, profitability and attractiveness, through PESTEL analysis, that is. Understanding the industries and its sectors and monitoring the macroeconomic environment are the two main objectives of industry boundaries whereby organizational strategies are at the core of the business conduct. Strategizing is an important element in the existence, survival and functioning of any group or organization. Many organizations are well aware of the fact that their success if highly dependent on the quality and effectiveness of such dimension. As organization grows in size and complexity, the necessity for efficient and effective strategies multiplies. Strategies that will address the different threats imposed by the internal and external environment and at the same time can explore the opportunities that the new business environment provides are critical. The two industries that the paper will going to consider are: restaurant and food and beverage. Both are offshoots from the hospitality industry, but are now considered to be increasingly growing and birthed as new emergent industries. According to Grant (2005), the restaurants industry has strategically significant segmentation variables such as price level, service level, cuisine and alcohol license (p. 118). The restaurant industry belongs to the foodservice category which mainly consists of eating establishments from expensive restaurants to fast food chains. The food and beverage industry, on the other hand, mainly concerns retailing of food and beverages merchandise from fixed point-of-sale locations. The establishments under such industry are endowed with special equipments including freezers, refrigerated display cases and refrigerator for the purpose of displaying food and beverage goods. Likewise, they have in-house staffs trained to process food products, guaranteeing proper storage and sanitary conditions required by regulatory authority. Both industries are growing and are two of the leading retail employer in the world; these industries make for booming industries. Food is always been the top priority when it comes to spending, which explains the growth in the quantity of restaurants, fast-food places, delis, diners, coffee shops, cafeterias and bistros, making these industries as usable unit for analysis. As evident, however, the definitions of the two industries are somewhat overlapping, considering the examples provided. Grant (2005) also noted that the key challenge is defining the relevant industry because a single business operation may belong to multiple numbers of industries. The simplest definition of industry is a group of firm that supplies a market thereby pointing that industry boundaries means to identify the relevant market (p. 86). With competition as its central relationship, market’s boundaries are could be defined by substitutability in the demand and supply side. In the industries we are taking into account, the difficulty lies in determining the relevant actors and the categorization of product offerings. The challenge of establishing a concise definition for both industries is on the lack of understanding of the dynamics of vertical and horizontal integration and the competition between inter and intra sectors. For instance, the vertical boundary between the two industries will include the buy or make. Full-service restaurants and grocery stores’ prepared food shops and catering businesses both specializes in service and prepared foods; but we cannot consider food shops and catering as part of the restaurant industry because they are not part of the foodservice industry. Nonetheless, the nature of the business is the same. The horizontal boundaries also exacerbates the demarcation between the two industries, comprising of the scale and the scope of the activities as well as the market power, the degree of entry barrier and the cost per unit of the product. To reconcile, the paper will define the restaurant industry as eating establishments where meals and drinks are sold and served to customers on the basis of price level, service level, cuisine and alcohol license whereas the food and beverage industry deals with value-for-money foods and beverages and are consumed at home or elsewhere. Taste, palatability, cost, convenience, diversity and availability are the key in consumer decision-making (Davis, Lockwood and Stone 1998). Although both industries are within the context of customer-driven service management schema, the main border that is evident lies on the framework of services provided.       Reference Davis, B., Lockwood, A. and Stone, S. (1998). Food and Beverage Management. Butterworth-Heinemann.   Grant, R. M. (2005). Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Concepts, Techniques, Applications. Blackwell Publishing.   Porter, M. E. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors. New York: The Free Press.               Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

INDUSTRY BOUNDARIES FOR RESTAURANT AND FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

INDUSTRY BOUNDARIES FOR RESTAURANT AND FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY From the word boundary itself which means a border or a limit, indu...

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS WITHIN THE GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE:UNIONISATION, COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND WORKPLACE PERFORMANCE

THE GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE: UNIONIZATION, COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND WORKPLACE PERFORMANCE           Political history shows that the first country to experience independence in Sub Saharan African country is Ghana Republic. However during those time of the late 50’s their economic condition is not stable and causes almost a 100 percent high rate of inflation. During those times they have experience economic depression and natural drought that result in low agricultural production, high priced commodity and unemployment. Economic issues and controversies cannot be controlled; military uprising occurred, these are all the reason that seems to make this country unable to surpass such economic deficiencies and lacking of fundamental control.  This results in tremendous economic deterioration and faltering government system.         It was only until1983 when the government created the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank working together to design a stability structured policy that will uplift and promote the economic and political orientation of their country. This program makes it possible and hope for efficient restoration using the lending system of the banks and their resources. This show an evident result and somehow effective but not in the labor sector and manpower service. Still low salaries and wages of people are exercised but according to employers the cost of operating expenses is high, that brought about another problem.        Enterprises are force to choose massive layoff or closure of their companies until the labor casualisation has taken effect to protect the enterprise and not the people. Employers says that this is justifiable program rather than suffer by all means, while labor workers take pride of their job security and benefits to be negotiated by both parties and that if casualisation takes effect there will be no future in their company since most of them are not securely capable of such benefits.       In the study of casual labor force in University of Ghana’s Estate Department found out that there are about 40 to 45 percent casual employees in every company and they are the candidate for clean-up or mass layoff if such company deemed to be wise. Actually it was September 8, 1945 when the trade union congress in Ghana was established this union consists of small labor group. Its primary function is to encourage the formation of trade union to avoid the Industrial revolution and workers struggle and hardship against their employers but it has gone to history since it has not been applied in a long period of time the economy and labor forces still struggling over their foreign employer especially in salaries and wages.        In the year 1993 starts another trade union breakaway by some workers in the textile industry that has been followed by another 5 trade union in different industry and another breakaway in 2003 mostly in public sector.  There are major services that this union is offering subdivided into three major classifications 1. Are collective bargaining agreement that usually covers the employer’s total conditions of their contracts including minimum salary and wages, bonus, benefit, productivity, and the laborers working conditions and most of all the laborers protection. 2. Grievance handling – if an employee has a grievances he can seek and address this to their immediate superior or if not satisfied with the decision he has receive then he can consult the labor union pertaining to the solution of his grievances or seek a mediator upon the resolution of some problems so as to eliminate violent reaction that causes massive strikes and workers absences and 3. Workers education – by having a thorough knowledge and the position upon employment, this will indicate his standings have not been disregarded and he knows all his right and privileges inside the company. These unions somehow managed to secure agreement that grows within the various industries. But some has cost job losses in establishing such union. It has been said that such rallies and strikes of workers are illegal, since it does not conform within the government predominantly within the labor laws since they are consist of small labor force.       There is so much to be studied in terms of labor laws but in conclusion this trade union would like to find their way a decent standard of living and would not want to be a slave in their own country by finding their rights in conformity of their services rendered. In fairness to their foreign employers, to be able to have a long term engagement, they must give whatever the laborers deserved after all the laborers are the ones who handle the toughest job to make the company grow.                            Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS WITHIN THE GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE:UNIONISATION, COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND WORKPLACE PERFORMANCE

THE GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE: UNIONIZATION, COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND WORKPLACE PERFORMANCE Political history shows that the fi...