El lazo social desde la perspectiva de los miembros de ChasquiNet

Traditional food production/service methods are labour intensive and require good skills in order to obtain high quality products. Cooking is a skilled craft, and a skilled chef has a high market value. This skilled labour is scarce, particularly in institutional food service where rates of pay are generally lower at this level than in hotels and restaurants. The production of food to meet a meal-time deadline has meant that food production has often remained unaltered and the many criticisms aimed at

institutional food results from the necessity of producing freshly cooked food at set meal times. (Glew and Armstrong 1981).

The problem that many managers need to assess is what degree of technological change is strategically best for their operation. In large bulk production operations, a cook-chill system can be advantageous, for example in the case of hospitals and banqueting operations within hotels. In smaller scale traditional production systems, more modem equipment and relocation of present equipment can possibly suffice to increase productivity. Whichever productivity route is followed, long term prospects have to be considered for financial and resourcing purposes. With regard to large bulk operations, Kotschevar (1968) states that if the food service industry changes its traditional production systems so that food can be produced in mass quantities, it would then be possible to take advantage of 'machine' production. Synder (1983) and Brendel et al (1985) refer to the use of cook/rapid chill systems to increase productivity, with less money being spent on employees' salaries and staff hours, because fewer employees are required for production, compared to traditional systems. Also less equipment is used, therefore a reduction in capital costs can be achieved with less energy costs also being incurred.

Boltman (1975) (referred to by Glew and Armstrong 1981) also proposes the use of technology to improve human resource productivity. She estimates that a conventional production system requires one worker per 25-60 meals produced, depending upon the type of service offered, whereas one worker in an equivalent cook-freeze system can produce 100-140 meals. Even twenty years ago Zolber and Donaldson (1970) suggested that hospital food systems were faced with strategic demands not known a decade before - demands for increased production, quality service and maintenance of an optimal balance between labour and food costs.

It would seem that to increase productivity, today's hotel and catering industry must make the decision to incorporate catering technology into their production systems in order to achieve the still growing demand for increased food production. Demand for meals served by caterers in the UK has increased by 200 million a year since the mid 1980's to reach 9.1 billion in 1990 (Woolins, Market Power 1991). The quest for increased productivity is made more urgent by the extent of change that is underway throughout all sectors of the industry. According to the Market Power research, the commercial sector of the catering industry is becoming increasingly penetrated by chains, with one in five of all private sector outlets either owned by a group a franchise, or part of a consortium. Many 'chain' operations now use some form of catering technology to increase productivity and ensure quality control. Therefore with demand for more meals and problems associated with recruiting skilled staff, other production systems beside traditional techniques have to be considered by management to achieve increased productivity.

As labour, space and equipment costs are escalating, Jones (1990) states that catering companies who have changed their "operational strategy and/or process technology" have achieved a competitive edge compared with the traditional hotel and catering operations and no doubt have also increased their productivity. Whatever the volume of business, management needs to try and match production and service capacities with demand.

With reliable forecasting and with optimum demand, an operation is less likely to incur the additional labour costs that result from overstaffing during slack periods. Pickworth (1988) states that labour costs are highly perishable. Once, employees report for work, they have to be paid regardless of the volume of business. Thus labour, unlike some leftover food cannot be stored for use the next day. (However some establishments do send the resource home!)

Other research by Johns and Wheeler (1991) draws a parallel between catering and other service industries since they note that "the retailing and banking industries improved their productivity performances as a matter of strategy during the past two decades. The implication is that a similar strategic emphasis is desirable within the hospitality industry". No doubt productivity within the hotel and catering industry will become a major concern within the next decade. It would seem that areas of service industry which have increased their productivity are involved with technological improvements. According to Jones (op. cit) "Unlike hotels, the food service sector has benefited from technological innovation, which has improved productivity".

3.1.6 Summary

The formal measurement and quantification of productivity within hotel and catering industries is still relatively undeveloped in the literature. Although there are various views on this subject, it would seem there is a way forward by using better production management control systems. Pickworth (1987) states that to some, productivity improvements can be a matter of time and motion studies or investing in labour- saving equipment. To others, it is more an issue of training, application of catering technology, monetary incentives, and management styles. (Witt and Witt 1989). Whichever method or system used, it has to be carefully evaluated by the management team, to assess the attributes of the staff involved, and to control the subtle relationship between quality and productivity. No matter how well designed the food production system, poorly trained or demoralised staff cannot achieve optimum productivity. Any catering production system depends on human behaviour to reach its maximum productivity. However when managed effectively it seems clear that technological advancement can be used to increase productivity without decreasing quality and affecting customer acceptability.