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Hadyn Ingram: University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
Sue Jones: TGI Friday, Croydon, UK
Introduction
On common with many other sectors of the hospitality industry, the food service sector is expanding, mirroring the growth in travel and disposable income. Although new food service units open regularly, there is high risk of business failure and this is an indication of the complexity inherent in this activity. Restaurants need to be managed so that they satisfy the different needs of a number of stakeholders, including customers, owners or shareholders and employees, and these needs can be difficult to reconcile. This article examines the nature of these tensions and looks at the role of teamwork in the food service sector.
The nature of food service
Although it is a heterogeneous sector, food service or catering operations share some common characteristics. The essence of a restaurant is the provision of food and drink for those who are away from home, and the food service sector of the 1990s is a competitive, multi-cultural one which continues to increase in size and diversity. In the UK, the catering industry has a poor image, perhaps due to associations of low pay, long hours and menial work, and, as a result, it is difficult to attract and retain good calibre staff. Nevertheless, staff turnover is a major concern of food service managers because, it is directly related to key issues such as training levels and customer satisfaction. As restaurants operate from a fixed location, their success is dependent upon offering a product and service that will encourage customers to return.
In most restaurants tasks are divided broadly into front and back-of-house activities. Back-of-house staff are responsible for producing food, while front of house staff serve it, and each activity demands different sets of skills and personality types. Typically, service staff are friendly and outgoing but independent-minded whereas production staff are more skilled and team-oriented. In the highly-charged atmosphere of a meal service, this often leads to arguments and conflicts that can sometimes result in violence.
The hospitality industry is also prone to inter-group rivalry, for example by work function or department. As long ago as 1948, Whyte's study of waiters and chefs in Stouffer's restaurant in Chicago showed how intense inter-group resentment could be...