Karl J. Mayer

A proposed model of the descriptors of service process

This paper presents a two‐dimensional model of service process that is linked to customer encounter satisfaction and is modified by a customer’s perceptual filters, including brand image and customer mood. The first dimension is comprised of fixed (structural) descriptors, while the second dimension consists of variable (situational) descriptors. The proposed model delineates eight descriptors in each dimension. Their origin in the services marketing literature is explained. The model suggests that service process and a customer’s perceptual filters both have a direct influence on encounter satisfaction. The utility and limitations of the proposed model are discussed.

Menu engineering and activity‐based costing – can they work together in a restaurant?

Purpose – This research paper aims to examine whether using menu engineering (ME) together with activity‐based costing (ABC) for menu analysis gives new insights about true menu profitability. The traditional ME approach only uses food cost to determine the contribution margin of individual menu items. This combined approach uses both food and traceable operating costs to estimate contribution margins more accurately.Design/methodology/approach – An improved menu engineering model was developed and tested in a buffet restaurant in Hong Kong. Direct observation of restaurant activities allowed most costs to be traced (not simply allocated) to individual menu items.Findings – The results found that only three of 20 dinner menu entrees were profitable. This unique insight would not have been possible using traditional ME methods alone. The results also showed that ABC methods are applicable to a buffet‐style restaurant.Research limitations/implications – Only a single restaurant and only the dinner menu were...

Human resource practices and service quality in theme parks.

This paper examines the linkage between human resource practices and the delivery of guest services in hospitality using a case study approach. In particular, these practices at a large theme park operation are presented in terms of their significance for service quality. The managerial implications attendant to following such practices are discussed. The paper suggests that other types of hospitality operations might compare their own human resource practices to those outlined in this paper as a benchmark to guide their planning.

The Application of Activity-Based Costing in a Hong Kong Buffet Restaurant

Abstract Previous research has shown that Activity Based Costing is a feasible method for establishing overall menu profitability. In this study, a model for Activity Based Costing that had been applied to a fine dining restaurant was tested in a buffet style restaurant in Hong Kong, China. The outcome of this study indicates that the restaurant model could also be applied to a buffet style restaurant with good results. In addition, the model was able to trace undistributed operating expenses to individual dinner buffet items, thereby revealing that every time the restaurant sold a dinner buffet, it realized a loss of HK

Exploring the use of activity based costing in the restaurant industry.

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Menu Engineering Using Activity-Based Costing: an Exploratory Study Using a Profit Factor Comparison Approach

Abstract Traditional cost accounting systems have been replaced in recent years in the manufacturing sector by Activity Based Costing (ABC) systems. In spite of this trend in manufacturing, ABC systems have made few inroads in the services and hospitality sector, particularly in the restaurant industry. In this study, restaurant controllers in the United States were surveyed to identify their knowledge about, and use of, ABC systems. The results show that the use of ABC in the restaurant industry is almost non-existent for a variety of reasons. However, restaurants may be an ideal setting for the application of ABC tools due to the inherent characteristics of the industry.

Service quality and human resource practices: a theme park case study

Traditional cost accounting systems have been replaced in the manufacturing sector by activity-based costing (ABC) systems. Now in wide use by manufacturing firms, ABC has made few inroads in the services and hospitality sector, including the restaurant industry. Several recent studies have begun to reverse this trend by applying ABC to restaurants. This study extends those works by creating an ABC menu engineering (ME) analysis, and comparing the results with traditional ME results. Four hypotheses were constructed that tested the relationships between the restaurant manager’s perceptions, traditional ME methods, and ABC-based ME. The results suggest that ABC-based ME may be a feasible alternative for examining menu profitability.

Activity-Based Costing Menu Engineering: A New and More Accurate Way to Maximize Profits from Your Restaurant Menu

This article uses a case study approach to examine how human resource practices affect the delivery of guest services at a large theme park. The theme park uses a four‐pronged approach in managing its human resource function to ensure that service quality standards are maintained. Other hospitality firms can compare their human resource policies to those outlined in this article to guide their own efforts.

Credit Fluctuations and Lodging Firms: An Investigation of the Differing Capital Structures in the U.S. Lodging Industry

Abstract Traditional cost accounting systems have been replaced in recent years in the manufacturing sector by Activity-Based Costing (ABC) systems. This study tests and demonstrates whether the incorporation of ABC data into traditional menu engineering methods provides food service managers with an improved tool for cost and profitability analysis. The study uses ABC data collected from a restaurant in a western urban area of the United States. The results reveal that ABC Menu Engineering is a superior method for establishing overall menu profitability, and that a restaurant managers menu management decisions will change dramatically if he or she is confronted with differing results from a contribution margin menu engineering analysis and an ABC approach.

Validating a food safety instrument: Measuring food safety knowledge and attitudes of restaurant employees

In the area of corporate finance, decisions regarding the constituents of overall capital structure are the most critical. These financing decisions are even more critical to lodging firms because of the unique nature of the industry. This study empirically investigates the effect of credit availability on the leverage of the lodging industry in the U.S. using multivariate analysis of variance. Three time points of differing credit availability (low, high, and average) were identified using the Case-Shiller home price index. Leverage, net leverage, and short-to-long-term debt ratios of large and small U.S. lodging firms were analyzed at these differing credit availability time points to assess any significant differences. Significant effects of credit availability were found on the leverage and net leverage of lodging firms, but no significant effect was found on the short- to long-term debt ratio of U.S. lodging firms. Interestingly, the leverage levels were found to be highest at the average availability of credit than when compared to the high and low availability of credit.