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Hospitality Leadership Through Learning
Faculty & Research

Key Issues of Concern for Food-service Managers

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Vol 3 No 4
By: Cathy A. Enz Ph.D.

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Executive Summary: The chief concern for food-service managers remains human resources, a set of problems that embraces many facets. Also high on managers' list of concerns is government regulation. Those are the major findings of a study of 448 restaurant operators, senior managers, and owners completed by the Center for Hospitality Research in conjunction with the National Restaurant Association. In addition to human resources and government issues, the respondents identified key points in the categories of food safety, marketing, the economy, competitive dynamics, accounting, and operations. However, none of those was as salient as human resources.

Issues relating to human resources included benefits, compensation, employee attitudes, immigration, interpersonal conflict, loyalty and satisfaction, recruiting, and retention. Many of those issues are connected with the industry's long-running challenge of finding and keeping willing and talented workers. Indeed, the respondents decried the industry's image as a place where people mark time while waiting for something else to come along. Perhaps the quintessential comment came from the respondent who wondered why there seemed to be no job applicants even though unemployment rates continue high.

The respondents did not speak with one voice on such issues as compensation and training, however. While many managers fretted at the prospects of having to offer increased pay and better benefits (especially as a result of government regulation), others realistically wondered how their employees can make a living on the industry's typical pay scales.

The respondents showed considerable antipathy to government regulations, particularly those relating to tax rates and humanresources regulations. One common theme is that the managers are convinced that regulators and legislators do not understand the industry's distinctive challenges.

While other issues paled in comparison with human resources and government regulation, the respondents were cognizant of the need to expand markets and handle food carefully, among other concerns.

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About Cathy A. Enz Ph.D.

Cathy A. Enz is the Lewis G. Schaeneman Jr. Professor of Innovation and Dynamic Management and a full professor in strategy. She recently served as Associate Dean for Industry Research and Affairs, and served as the Executive Director of the school’s Center for Hospitality Research from 2000-2003. Dr. Enz has published over eighty journal articles, book chapters, and three books in the area of strategic management. Her research has been published in a wide variety of prestigious academic and hospitality journals such as The Administrative Science Quarterly, The Academy of Management Journal, The Journal of Service Research, and The Cornell Hospitality Administration Quarterly. Dr. Enz teaches courses in innovation and strategic management. In addition, she developed The Hospitality Change Simulation, a learning tool for the introduction of effective change, which is available as an online education program of e-Cornell. Three additional courses in hospitality strategic management will be available through e-Cornell in 2008. Dr. Enz also presents numerous executive programs around the world, consults extensively in North America, and serves on the Board of Directors of two privately owned hotel companies. Prior to her academic activities, Dr. Enz held several industry positions including strategy development analyst in the office of corporate research for a large insurance organization, and operations manager responsible for Midwestern United States customer service and logistics in the dietary food service division of a large U.S. health care corporation. Dr. Enz received her Ph.D. from the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University, and taught on the faculty of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University prior to arriving at Cornell in 1990.

For more information visit http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/facultybios/faculty.html?id=27