FRUITES DE MER

Lobster, shrimp, and scallops tossed in a light basil cream with fresh romano, served over thin pasta

$19.45

CATCH OF THE DAY

Fresh fillet of fish sautéed and served with lemon

$14.50

D E S S E R T S

Deep-Dish Apple Pie

$3.50

Banana Beignets with Orange-Caramel Sauce

$4.00

Caramelized Apple-Blackberry Cobbler

$3.50

*Heart-healthy items

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CHAPTER 2

THE CONTROL PROCESS

• LEARNING OBJECTIVES •

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Define control and provide examples of its significance in food and beverage management.

2. Pinpoint responsibility for control in food and beverage operations.

3. Cite eight control techniques used in food and beverage operations.

4. Describe the steps involved in preparing an operating budget.

5. List the four steps in the control process.

6. Prepare a budget given fixed and variable costs for a restaurant.

7. Explain why the cost – benefit ratio is significant when making control decisions.

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INTRODUCTION

A considerable part of the previous chapter on costs and sales was devoted to explaining the meaning of those terms as they relate to the food and bev-erage industry. This chapter will define control, discuss the relationship of control to costs and sales, and outline how a manager institutes control in an enterprise. Later chapters will go into the specific procedures used to insti-tute control in various phases of food and beverage operations; this chapter addresses control and the control process in general terms.

CONTROL

In general, control means exercising governing power over events and situ-ations such that an outcome can be achieved or prevented. In our personal lives, we can normally exercise governing power over our actions, and thus control, to achieve or prevent various outcomes. For example, we leave our homes for work or school each day early enough so that we arrive at a spe-cific time. We drink alcoholic beverages to achieve a desired glow, but we must limit the amount we drink if we do not want to get drunk or sick. Many people give up smoking cigarettes to prevent the possibility of getting lung cancer.

Governments, employers, and parents frequently exercise govern-ing power. In the process, our freedom to act becomes more limited. For example, legislatures enact laws that limit our freedom when driving on the roads — a speed limit of 65 miles per hour on the interstate highway, stop-ping at a red light, and so on. These laws intend to make driving safer so that accidents can be prevented and others are not harmed. Parents make rules for their children in an attempt to control their behavior. Managers of busi-nesses make work rules and establish procedures of various kinds for their employees.

In each of these situations, there are consequences if we choose not to follow the laws, regulations, procedures, and rules that are established. If we do not arrive at school on time, there is the possibility of a penalty for being late for class. If we drive faster than the established speed limit, there is the possibility of a speeding ticket and eventual loss of driving privileges.

Exercising control generally means that there is some human involve-ment. Humans either take some form of action or prevent others from tak-ing an action in order to achieve an outcome. It is important to point out

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CONTROL
41 that in the food and beverage industry, control really means controlling people rather than things. Consider the following: Food does not disappear by itself, without help. Excess quantities of liquor do not get into drinks unless put there by bartenders. Employees ’ wage calculations are not based on the wrong numbers of hours unless someone gives the wrong information to the paymaster. Food is not consumed by rodents unless human beings make that food accessible. Customers seldom leave without paying unless staff members make that possible. In every one of these instances, the prob-lem is the result of human action or lack of it. If a business is to operate prof-itably and reach its financial goals, people ’ s actions must be managed, or, in some cases, limited.

“ People ” may include more than simply the personnel of the food and beverage operation; they may include customers of the establishment and, in some cases, intruders who seek to steal the resources of the establishment — obviously, without the knowledge and consent of management. Thus, install-ing locks on both the front and back doors is one of the most basic control measures one can use to prevent intruders from entering and stealing food, beverages, equipment, and cash when the operation is closed. Locating the cashier near the front door helps prevent customers from leaving without paying their food and beverage charges.

Instituting various sanitation procedures may serve effectively to con-trol infestation by insects and rodents. Obviously, loss of food as a result of nonhuman invaders surely constitutes unwarranted additional cost to any restaurant. The time clock for employees is an example of a simple control device. This serves many purposes, one of which is to prepare accurate pay-roll records so that labor costs will be correct. Another good example is the bartender ’ s use of a measuring device to ensure that each drink will contain the correct amount of a particular alcoholic ingredient.

In the food and beverage business, control is a process used by manag-ers to direct, regulate, and restrain the actions of people so that the estab-lished goals of an enterprise may be achieved. Probably the most common goal for all private enterprises is financial success — a particular profit or return on investment. Other goals may include operating the best restau-rant in the city, having a low labor turnover (dedicated employees who stay with the restaurant for many years), or promoting better health by providing nutritional information on the menu.

To achieve these goals, management must set up subgoals compat-ible with its primary goals. These tend to be more specific and usually more immediate in nature. For example, to achieve the goal of operating the best

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restaurant in the city, it might be necessary to have subgoals of hiring an excellent chef and purchasing the finest ingredients. To have a low labor turnover, it generally is necessary to have subgoals of establishing a pleas-ant working environment, providing good pay, and offering suitable fringe benefits.

A discussion of general business goals is beyond the scope of a text on