Author: kristin30111f14

Do You Want Fries With That Shake?

Posted on by kristin30111f14

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In today’s growing world, it seems as if every one wants exactly what they want exactly when they want it. To accommodate this growing trend among needy and picky consumers, many businesses have delved into the world of mass customization. Mass customization is a “rapid, low-cost production that caters to constantly changing unique customer desires” (Heizer and Render 274). This process deals with high volume and high variety, with many parts and component inputs that result in many different and unique output versions. Mass customization dominates almost every economic and industrial sector – shoes, clothing, phones, computers, and now…food!

Due to the increasing trend of mass customization and consumer preference, fast food chains such as McDonald’s and White Castle have implemented kiosks into a few of their stores in the United States that allow customers to create their own customized order at their convenience. If you think about it, it really is ingenious. How many times have you gone to McDonald’s or any other fast-food restaurant, ordered a meal with certain specifications, and the cashier did not relay that information to the kitchen, and your order was messed up? As a picky eater, this happens to me all the time, and it is frustrating. Through the implementation of self-serve kiosks, customers can order their weird or picky combinations in their own privacy without having to repeat that same order back to the cashier multiple times to make sure they have it down correctly.

There are many advantages to using kiosks in fast food restaurants: reduced labor costs, enhanced customization, speed, convenience, and standardized menu information and marketing messages (Blank). Much like how Chipotle utilizes its more well-trained employees during peak rush hour times, these kiosks help alleviate pressure from the employees in restaurants by assisting with customer service (Kiosk Europe). However, there are also some disadvantages to using kiosks when ordering food. These include initial cost for purchase, training, and installation, customer support for when the customer does not understand how to use the machine or when the machine does not work, and maintenance. When looking at the disadvantages, I cannot help but draw comparisons to self-checkouts that many grocery and convenience stores utilize, which we briefly touched on in class. While these kiosks and self-checkouts might save time in theory, if a customer is unfamiliar with the technology, the process takes much more time than ordering or checking out from someone who is trained for that specific task.

From personal experience, I think that kiosks are good in theory, but not so much in practice. This summer, I travelled to Berlin and Prague with DePaul for a business seminar/study aboard. In Berlin, a few of us decided to check out a European McDonald’s to see the differences between an European McDonald’s and an American McDonald’s. Besides the change in general atmosphere, we noticed four kiosks, where people were placing their orders. We decided to try…and we failed. Not only was the kiosk in German, but we could not figure out how to change the language settings, and we were not familiar with the European menu!

Have you ever used a kiosk or tablet to order at a fast food restaurant? If so, how was your experience?

Will fast food kiosks go down the same path as self-checkouts at convenience stores, or will they have more success?

Sources:

Blank, Christine. “Burgers By Design.” QSR Magazine. January 2014. http://www.qsrmagazine.com/exclusives/burgers-design

Heizer, Jay and Barry Render. “Process Strategy.” Principles of Operations Management. 272-294.

Kiosk Europe. http://www.kioskeurope.com/ke/why-self-service/markets/fast-food

Meehan, Sarah and Jayne O’Donnell. “Self-lane checkouts boost convenience, theft risk.” USA Today. 9 April 2012. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/story/2012-04-06/self-scanning-checkout/54117384/1

Photo: http://www.qsrweb.com/articles/mcdonalds-aggressive-change-includes-localization-digitization/

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

Posted on by kristin30111f14

Last Thursday (September 18), Larry Ellison, the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Oracle Corporation, announced that he would be stepping down from his position as CEO to become the company’s new Executive Chairman. So who is replacing Ellison as the new Chief Executive Officer? A woman. Well, not quite. Safra Catz, the Chief Financial Officer for Oracle Corporation, has been named co-CEO alongside Mark Hurd.1

Safra Catz, a Chi Omega Fraternity alumna, first joined Oracle Corporation in 1999 as a Senior Vice President. Since her time at Oracle, Safra Catz has risen through the corporate ranks to become one of the most powerful women in business – number fourteen according to Forbes. Catz has served as an Executive Vice President, an interim Chief Financial Officer, a full-time Chief Financial Officer, co-president of Oracle, as well as a member of the board. In 2013, Catz was named as the highest paid executive woman, earning more than $44 million! So why was Safra Catz only promoted to co-Chief Executive Officer?

Since Larry Ellison was known for his “aggressive” business tactics and will power, it will be interesting to see how Safra Catz adopts her own management style.1 In her new position as co-CEO, Catz will be responsible for overseeing all manufacturing, financial, and legal aspects of Oracle Corporation.2 These responsibilities are not unlike what a project manager faces in his or her occupation. Project managers are responsible for many things:

  • Making sure that all activities (especially critical activities) are finished in their order of precedence and on time;
  • Overseeing that the project is completed within budget;
  • Establishing that the project meets its quality goals; and
  • Ensuring that the people assigned to the project receive the motivation, direction, and information needed to complete their jobs.3

Additionally, a project manager knows that project planning is essential for the efficiency of a project. Organizing and planning a project is helpful when:

  • Work tasks are specifically defined and have clear deadlines;
  • The job is somewhat unique to the organization;
  • The work within the project contains complex and interrelated tasks requiring specialized skills, perhaps from various departments;
  • The project is critical to the organization; and
  • The project cuts across organizational lines.3

As co-Chief Executive Officer, Safra Catz will take on many responsibilities, many of which are very similar to what a project manager has to do. As an executive suite-level manager, Catz has cross-functional expertise, is able to lead, negotiate, and reach goals, have the necessary political skills to deal with stockholders, stakeholders, etc., and be able to maintain the perception of her company.4 Project managers, like CEOs, must be able to lead members of their teams, some of which consist of members of various departments (like a matrix project). Project managers must also be able to give the proper motivation and leadership for their team members, as well as provide logistical information. While Safra Catz (and Mark Hurd) may not be as hands-on as a regular project manager, CEOs share many common skills and characteristics of project managers.

Sources:

1) http://fortune.com/2014/09/18/larry-ellison-to-step-down-as-ceo-of-oracle/

2) http://www.businessinsider.com/oracles-new-co-ceo-is-safra-catz-2014-9

3) Principles of Operations Management: Sustainability and Supply Chain Management (class text)

4) http://www.pmi.org/Knowledge-Center/Next-CEO.aspx