C110E RE-OPENING OF POPPY CAFÉ
Introduction
The following report is aimed at delivering a detailed assessment of the plausible options for Poppy Cafe in reorganizing the interior layout of the company. This was issued as a measure for improving operational proficiency and managing safe and sustainable operations to cope with the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside, the organization is also required to establish long-term operational strategies that can be used to run the business effectively, in case it faces a similar pandemic situation. The revised layout for Poppy Cafe has been analyzed in relevance to the needs described by the employer and thereby its potential benefits and deficiencies has been documented.
Brief about Poppy Cafe and its operations
Poppy Cafe is one of the well-known organisations and it is a very busy cafe in the city centre. It roughly opens at 7:00 a.m. in the morning for breakfast and for lunch it serves till 4 p.m. in the evening. For the past two years it is observed that different kinds of new equipment have been used in the kitchen to cope up with the large volume of orders that the concerned organisation receives. The popularity of the organisation has reached a higher level and the local retail business has knowledge of the cafe in an efficient manner. Important business operations are often observed in various organisations as it helps in bringing forward better efficiency to the organisation and also increases the overall profit percentage (Liu and Liang, 2021). Similar is the case for Poppy Cafe, as it has a small as well as refined menu that matches with the needs of the customers. One of the operations that can be seen for the case of Poppy Cafe is they offer gluten free foods to the customers as well as they have the option of vegetarian and vegan food. In addition to this, it is also observed that dietary requirements are also made by the organisation. High skilled employees offer good hospitality to the customers with better customer handling skills in Poppy Cafe.
4Vs analysis of Poppy Cafe
Figure 1: 4Vs analysis of Poppy Cafe
(Source: Created by author)
Business operations involve different kinds of task-oriented aspects that help in providing better services to the targeted customers. For the hospitality industry, it is seen that bringing about better strategies that are going to enhance the overall customer service gives a significant impact on the business operation. Based on the ideas of Packard and Berger (2021), 4vs analysis is something that is used by various organisations as it helps to provide a deeper understanding about different operation processes that involves raw materials and capital equipment for a better output. Poppy Cafe seems to have had a better operation process before the pandemic situation and the sales of the organisation have also increased because of the better operation processes involved in the organisation.
Volume that is involved in 4Vs analysis says about the volume of various operations that is observed in Poppy Cafe. Different kinds of operations can be observed within this concern organisation when making arrangements for the targeted customers. It is essential that all the important operations are repeated in an effective manner and in a systematic order so that all the important procedures and standards of the work can be done in a low-cost base (Li et al. 2021). The volume of the important operations in Poppy Cafe is high as from cooking meals to serving the mails to the customers involves a higher volume of operations.
A variety of different kinds of products is offered to the targeted customers and this brings about an understanding that a higher variety of products seems to be present in the organisation. On the other hand, variation that is seen in the concerned organisation is slightly less than the number of customised operations seen in the organisation. Therefore, it can be effectively said that the variation seen in the organisation is lower as compared to the other organisation present in the competitive market.
The visibility that is observed within the culture and organisation is higher as it tries to identify the different areas where the customers require special attention. From the viewpoint of Merzeban et al. (2020), visibility often refers to the different dimensions where the customers are able to identify and track their respective experience within the different operational processes in an organisation. For the case of Poppy Cafe, it is observed that the customers are able to understand and visualise the process of making their meals and serving them at the right time in an effective manner. This is done with the help of different skilled employees of the organisation.
Changes in layout of Poppy Cafe
Figure 1: New layout of Poppy Cafe
(Source: Developed by author)
The pandemic situation in the recent time has brought about some significant changes in various hospitality organisations and among them Poppy Cafe is one of the organisations that is making suitable changes. After the love down the concerned organisation is planning to reopen its larger section of food and beverage facilities that involves some significant changes. According to the ideas of Budur et al. (2019), a proper process as well as layout designing is essential for an organisation as it brings about some significant changes in the overall operations of the organisation in an effective manner. Because of the pandemic situation some significant changes in the process and layout design are observed in Poppy Cafe. This is mainly because of the different restrictions that are put forward by the government of the UK to reduce the overall spread of virus and prioritise the safety of the customer.
The service area in the poppy Cafe is changed and a few innovative strategies are considered where the service area is made spacious. In this specific area, 10 tables of 4 people sitting are arranged so that social distancing can be maintained within the targeted customers. In addition to this, 5 tables are set that will involve 6 people and 5 tables are involved where 2 targeted customers will be seated. As stated by Nusairat et al. (2020), making a proper design of the overall service area in the hospitality industry is essential as it brings about a positive energy within the targeted customers and also makes a better space for different operations. This is significantly considered for the case of Poppy Cafe as it is going to change the counter space for the staff as well as the POS counter for the targeted customers in a separate area where less crowd can be involved.
The entry and the exit point will also be considered effectively as it will create a proper space for the targeted customers to enter without any kind of hassle. The designing of the area where customer dealing will be made is required to be done in an effective manner so that a positive ambience can be created and all the works can be done without any delay (Shimmura et al. 2017). The changes in the entry and exit point of the organisation create a space for better service to the different tables. In addition to this, the designing of the toilets will be made near the exit points so that less traffic or one way traffic can be avoided.
Process type of Poppy Cafe
The process of conducting operations for the Poppy Cafe in the post-pandemic condition is determined to require a long-term planning approach. In this case, an SME organization must re-define its operational plan, with the incorporation of well-aligned change management protocols with more focus provided towards supporting efficient performances from the employees and reviewing key organizational dimensions (Breier et al. 2021). This can effectively enable the cafe to develop a framework of conducting service operations that is effectively ‘future-proof’ to potential similar outbreaks like the COVID-19 pandemic. The core objectives of operations management for the majority of small-scale businesses around the world in the aftermath of the pandemic has been directed towards achieving long-term sustainability and resilience (Alonso et al. 2020). Therefore, the Poppy Cafe needs to undertake fast problem-solving measures to configure applicable improvements and develop innovative strategies that allow the workforce to adapt and contribute towards continuous changes. Implementing a process of continuous changes can also help the staff to develop a suitable level of experience and practice for effectively addressing the customer demands, and readjusting its product line-up in relevance to the customer’s dietary preferences.
The operational process at Poppy Cafe also needs to abide by the social distancing protocols to offer satisfactory customer service. As such, an organization is required to develop dynamic capabilities, primarily through implementing digitization strategies, which can effectively enhance a firm’s agility and adaptive capabilities to changes in the business environment (Donthu and Gustafsson, 2020). In this case, the organization will need to deploy strategic organization processes that can include; product re-development, identifying and forming new sustainability focused partnerships and value-based decision making based on long term objectives (Seetharaman, 2020). The main purpose of these operational strategies is aimed at manipulating and customizing the existing resources at the company in reference to value-adding techniques. Considering the case of Poppy Cafe and the need for reorganizing the interior layout for improving operations, adopting such an operational procedure can be highly effective to organize a productive, resilient and sustainable operational management plan.
Layouts of Poppy Cafe and its benefits and limitations
Layout of Poppy Cafe
The re-designed layout for the Poppy Cafe has been constructed with dividing the eating area into two sections. One section holds a collection of 10 tables that have been arranged to offer sitting and serving arrangements for four people, additional seats and tables have been placed in between the sitting areas to comply with the social distancing protocols and arranging a minimum of 1 meter distance between customers. The other section of the cafe has two separate sitting arrangements, with a grouping of five tables arranged for allowing space to six customers. For more exclusive and health concerned customers, another five tables arrangement has been prepared but only allowing a two-customer sitting preference. Furthermore, in order to eradicate the complexity of understanding these arrangements, the organization needs to post signages at visible locations around the cafe (Santos, 2019). One signage outside needs to inform incoming customers about the imposition of pandemic protocols, while other signage will need to illustrate the sitting arrangements and location of other areas for customer use, such as the bathroom and exit area.
Benefits
Some of the major benefits of the redesigned layout for the Poppy Cafe are as follows;
- The distanced sitting arrangements ensure that customers can enjoy a safe and satisfactory experience while eating in the cafe
- The staff at Poppy Cafe has the potential to effectively address a diversity of customer eating preferences and have easy access to all food preparing and serving requirements
- The customer can have a direct access to the sitting location and the kitchen to review the menu and interact with the staff
- The bathrooms, entry and exit points are safely distance from the sitting areas, which allows a creates a more hygienic interior for the cafe, in spite of social distance protocols
Limitations
- The location of the bathrooms near the exit area can become an inconvenience of customers
- The kitchen counter is located near the entry point of the cafe, whereby the food can potentially become contaminated
- The obligation of social distancing measures, imply that the cafe cannot accommodate large groups of customers, while customer visiting is small groups can also find the distancing measures to be an inconvenience to interacting
Conclusion
Poppy Cafe is a well-known restaurant that serves quality food to its targeted customers and is currently planning to make some changes in its organisation so that all the restrictions and guidelines of covid-19 can be effectively maintained. Process and layout design of Poppy Cafe have some benefits and limitations. However, keeping in mind all this is that proper and creative changes in the layout are made in Poppy Cafe. This is going to be beneficial for the organisation as it will improve the overall operations and also increase the overall customer satisfaction level.
Reference List
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