Business organization
Introduction
Romano’s Macaroni Grill is a fast food restaurant that began business in 1988. The restaurant relies heavily on Italian culture as the inspiration. The restaurant menu offers a wide range of traditional cuisine from Italy and the Mediterranean region. Romano’s Macaroni Grill has several locations from where it runs its businesses. However, its headquarters is located in Houston, Texas. Despite this, the menu and services offered across all its locations are all similar in quality as well as diversity. The restaurant has a range of items each dependent on the customer’s preference and the menus are designed to satisfy this diversity of preferences. There is several set of menus classified as Lunch-Dinner, Lite, Barra, Kids, Nutritional, Dolce and Vino. Each of the menus offers distinct item and is suited for particular events as preferred by the customer. The restaurant also offers delivery and outside catering services in a convenient manner (Romano's Macaroni Grill, 2013).
The website has four distinct tabs that assist the user in navigation. They include the menus, locations, online ordering, gift cards, catering and “our story”. These tabs do not only help the user in navigation to access the services but also in knowing more about the restaurant and its effectiveness. The menu tab helps the user understand the range of meals and foods available and thus order the food that suits most. The menu tab has submenus that are divided into such a way as to cater for the different aspects of ordering. For instance, the customer is allowed to make an order for any of the classifications of foods as stated in the menu. This ability to offer the client part of the restaurant even from a remote location ensures that only the right products are delivered to the client and at the right time.
The location tab offers the restaurant delivery department with effective mode for reaching the client. Considering that the restaurant has several locations, this tab offers the mode to choose the closest restaurant that can effectively serve the customer. This ability to bring into focus the most convenient location puts into perspective the economic advantage that the website offers. This is because, the closer the restaurant to the client, the lesser the costs of delivery.
One of the most important aspects of the website is the quality to offer online ordering of meals and gift cards. This component of the system opens the business to remote clients while offering a service that creates a sense of ownership and loyalty towards the restaurant (Plumley, 2011).
Inputs
Romano Macaroni restaurant is specialized in Italian cuisine hence its main raw materials are heavily drawn in this area. The main inputs of the restaurant are
Food ingredients such as spaghetti, vegetables, meat, grains, eggs, fish, lobster, bread, butter, spices, water and other food ingredients (Romano's Macaroni Grill, 2013).
The labor, the restaurant, has employed professional chefs, waiters who make the customers are served with quality cuisines, and all their needs while at the restaurant are taken care of.
The owners of the business have invested huge capital into the business to make sure all the operation of the business goes smoothly and all the bills like rent, loans, salaries and insurance are paid on time.
The business premises, furniture and other amenities such as the electricity and water.
Outputs
The outputs of the business are the Italian cuisines that are customized to fit the American market and the services the restaurant offer to its esteem customers. The management makes sure the food quality is maintained at all times. The customers are assured first class services which make sure they are comfortable while in a restaurant.
The main component of the business
The most important component of the business is the customer. The business exists to make sure the customer’s needs are satisfied, and the customers feel at home while in the restaurant. The customers provide revenue and profits to the business. When the customers are not satisfied by the services of the restaurant, they may walk away which can force a business to close down. Therefore, the business must make sure they meet customers’ needs to buy their loyalty and attract new customers (Langer, 2008).
Various functions within the Romano’s Macaroni restaurant have to work together in making business for the restaurant. These functions therefore are the components considered in the evaluation of Romano’s Macaroni restaurant. The restaurants online ordering facility is the main component powering the conduct of business. However, it serves only as a link between the business and its customers, who also need to benefit from the goods and services rendered by the business. The main components of the business therefore are:
- The customers
- The suppliers to the business
- The restaurant website that acts as the link between the customers and the business
In addition to the existing subsystems in the business website, such as:
- Social media connectivity with its customers
- Customer location identification systems
- The restaurant may also include subsystems such as:
- The inclusion of an online payment customer interface
- Loyalty points accumulation platforms for return customers
In addition, supplier information to the clients, for transparency on the source of food served in the restaurant.
Feedback loop
Feedback is an essential addition in ensuring the success of a business. Despite the social media platforms available in the restaurant’s website, the addition of an interface where customers can post feedback on their experience is important. The response to customer grievances and views on the business is an important way of making customers feels part of the business and their needs are catered (Plumley, 2011).
The main process
The main process of the business, start from the suppliers of the inputs of the business who supply the required raw materials of the business on time. They make sure the business has all the requirements all times. When the goods reach the restaurant, they are kept in the store for a while waiting to be used in the kitchen or at the restaurant tables. From the stores, the goods are taken to the kitchen where they cooked and served to the customers. The customers pay for the food and the services. Part of the money from the customers is the use to pay for another round of suppliers and the process repeat itself again.
Interfaces
On the restaurant website, the customers are able to view the menu and a variety of services the customers can place an order through the web. The customers can also book for tables via mail address or ask questions concerning various meals post on the online menu.
Romano's Macaroni website offers the user relevant information on the location of the restaurants in each state. The website has image maps to guide the user in locating the nearest restaurant. The website also provides information on different menus available and the prices of different types of food. In addition, the website guides the user on how to make online orders from different locations within the restaurant’s operational zone. The restaurant has representatives who address the customers’ queries. Thus, a customer can contact the representatives any time of the day since the services is available on a twenty four hour system.
The website is useful since it provides individuals with information that enable them to make orders. An individual can request for gift cards that enable one to make purchases from the restaurant. The gift cards are of different amounts and though login to the website an individual can select the amount preferred and request for a gift card. The information provided on the website guarantees safe delivery of the purchases since the clients receive confirmation e-mails and tracking information to enable the customer check on the delivery status. The terms and conditions for using the gift cards are well stipulated on the website; thus the information guides the customers in making decisions that concern the cards (Langer, 2008).
References
Langer, A. M. (2008), Analysis and design of information systems, London: Springer.
Plumley, G. (2011), Website design and development: 100 questions to ask before building a website, Indianapolis, IN: Wiley.
Romano's Macaroni Grill (2013), Romano's Macaroni Grill and Italian Restaurant, Retrieved from http://www.macaronigrill.com/
