Mary G. Roseman

A content analysis of kindergarten-12th grade school-based nutrition interventions: taking advantage of past learning.

OBJECTIVE To review the literature, identifying proposed recommendations for school-based nutrition interventions, and evaluate kindergarten through 12th grade school-based nutrition interventions conducted from 2000-2008. DESIGN Proposed recommendations from school-based intervention reviews were developed and used in conducting a content analysis of 26 interventions. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-six school-based nutrition interventions in the United States first published in peer-reviewed journals from 2000-2008. VARIABLE MEASURED: Ten proposed recommendations based on prior analyses of school-based nutrition interventions: (1) behaviorally focused, (2) multicomponents, (3) healthful food/school environment, (4) family involvement, (5) self-assessments, (6) quantitative evaluation, (7) community involvement, (8) ethnic/heterogeneous groups, (9) multimedia technology, and (10) sequential and sufficient duration. ANALYSIS Descriptive statistics. RESULTS The most frequent recommendations used were: (1) behaviorally focused components (100%) and (2) quantitative evaluation of food behaviors (96%). Only 15% of the interventions included community involvement or ethnic/heterogeneous groups, whereas 31% included anthropometric measures. Five of the 10 proposed recommendations were included in over 50% of the interventions. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Rising trend of overweight children warrants the need to synthesize findings from previous studies to inform research and program development and assist in identification of high-impact strategies and tactics.

The Role of Customer Orientation in the Relationship Between Manager Communications and Customer Satisfaction

Within the restaurant and hospitality industry, employee behaviors and relationships are important in determining customer satisfaction. The present study extended the hospitality literature regarding customer satisfaction in three ways using a cross-sectional survey design. First, the relationship between manager communications and customer orientation was explored, and results supported a positive, significant relationship. Second, this study helped confirm past studies that have tested the relationship between customer orientation and customer satisfaction using a single-item customer response measure. Finally, a meditational test examined whether customer orientation carries the full influence of a manager’s communication and the resulting customer satisfaction. Results supported the meditational test. Practical and theoretical implications are explored for both hospitality researchers and practitioners.

The effect of psychological empowerment climate on restaurant food safety, food quality, and financial performance

ABSTRACT Consumer food safety incidences that result from employee accidents and behaviors can be detrimental and costly to a restaurant organization. Restaurant organizations and hospitality researchers have sought multiple methods of increasing food safety performance through training and intervention, but this study suggests that shared agreement of psychological empowerment may be a key factor in improving food safety performance, and in turn, food quality and store revenues. Using data from a national chain of quick service restaurants, this study used groups of restaurant employees’ psychological empowerment as an antecedent to food safety performance, measured in a food safety audit, and found significant support. Moreover, using consumer evaluations of food quality and the organizations store revenue records, indirect and direct relationships among psychological empowerment, food safety performance, food quality, and revenues were found. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Error Management at Multiple Organizational Levels: Impact on Customer Self-Esteem and Delight

A 2 × 2 × 2 experimental study was conducted to examine the influence of error management (service recovery efforts) in the form of apology at three organizational levels (frontline, manager, and company) on customer self-esteem and delight. Results showed significant main effects of all three apology levels and interaction effect of frontline and company apology on customer delight with the service recovery process. Results also support the main effects of frontline and company apology, and the interaction effect of frontline and manager apology on customer self-esteem. Moreover, customer self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between apology levels and delight indicating potential theoretical and managerial implications.

Consumer Perceptions of Nonnutritive Sweetened Coffee in the Quick Service Restaurant Industry

This study aims to explore consumer perceptions of sugar-free specialty coffee in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) segment. Sugar-free specialty coffee products are made using nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS). Participants from a nationwide panel were surveyed about purchase intent of two categories of specialty coffee: syrup-sweetened with sugar or NNS in four popular flavors. Consumer demographics were used in a multistep multiple regression. The study found that, overall, females and younger consumers are most likely to purchase specialty coffee beverages. Additionally, an interaction revealed that younger consumers are most likely to purchase sugar-sweetened coffee beverages, whereas little variation in purchase intent was found between NNS and sugar-sweetened coffee beverages in older consumers.

Does the Gender of Quick-Service Franchisees and Corporate Supervisors and Managers Affect Restaurant Appearance and Food Safety Performance?

The purpose of this study was to examine whether restaurant customer ratings for store appearance and food safety performance are associated with manager gender. Data were collected over a 1-year period utilizing two samples: (1) franchise owners and corporate supervisors and (2) corporate managers. The results of this study showed that female franchise owners and corporate supervisors had higher scores on store appearance than those units owned or supervised by males. Similarly, by utilizing a sample of corporate restaurant managers, and controlling for the leader-member exchange with employees, the results found that female managers had higher store appearance and food safety scores than their male counterparts. This study suggests that hospitality researchers and practitioners should utilize gender differences when identifying ways to improve restaurant cleanliness and food safety dimensions.