Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching, Essay Example

Executive Summary

The field of food industry never stops from growing. Food, being one of the most important needs of human individuals, has taken a greater effect on the growth of the human society at present. Today, not only is food seen as an important part of healthcare needs, but also that of the basic foundation of social linkages. Many occasions that human individuals engage in at present end up in sharing food. Special instances such as celebrations certainly mandate the need to prepare special food presentations that would fit the theme of the occasion and the audiences or the people to be fed. This is the reason why the growth of specialized food preparation business organizations continues to gain instant attention in the field of food industry. Catering services is one among the many well known systems of food preparation operations in this particular industry.

For the documentation that follows, a presentation on how TCS, a catering company from Connecticut, shall be introduced in an aim of providing guidance to its administrators with regards the proper impact that the business itself could make in the industry of food preparation services. This presentation shall make a huge indication on the development of the business concerned herein.

About the Company

Danny Jones and Frank Thompson came together to create a food servicing organization that is ready to provide food preparation assistance to individuals wanting to hold particular organized celebrations that are intended to create fun times for the whole family or the whole organization concerned in the said occasions. To make the business operations more defined and well organized, the partners decided to share responsibilities instigating a more fixed process of handling the catering services that they are engaging in. To do this, Danny stands as the front liner dealing with the clients and closing business deals; while Frank remains as the kitchen commander or the backdoor manager which means he is the one handling the cooking operations. He is usually in command when the actual catering procedure is underway.

The institution of this particular process within the operations of the business is intended to create a more arranged process of dealing with the responsibilities that both partners are supposed to consider as they take part in the business. Practically, for some time, this process has been working well for them, giving them the chance to handle occasional celebrations that usually hold at least 1,500 to 2,000 people to be fed. However, as the industry competition heightens, TCS is also seen to have a greater chance of dealing with the competitive stance of the industry through becoming well endowed with the procedures of new technology that could directly benefit the business needs of the company. In the documentation that follow, the procedures that could be taken by Frank and Danny to make the company practically competitive with others in the industry shall be discussed and presented (Heuberger, Barbara – 2004).

Vision

It is the vision of TCS to stand to be among the most sought after caterers not only within Connecticut but also towards the other neighbouring states around the area. Basically, the aim of providing catering services is practically sourced out from the establishment of a properly recognizable name for the company through making a good reputation on every servicing appointment that they are to finish. It is of course a huge consideration of the administrators of the company to practically establish a knowable stability that they have in the industry that they are engaged in. Through this, the administrators aim to practically pre-empt a lengthened establishment of the business in the industry towards further growth and development in connection with the procedures of its operation towards its progressive engagement in the national economy’s struggle for recovery.

On the part of clientele servicing, the business administrators intend to envision their existence as a proper source of enjoyment on the part of the clients who are noted to be frequent party holders. Their loyalty to the business and the service that it is able to provide to the people actually creates a more workable sense of being recommended to others for a larger scope of servicing area targeted by the business administrators.

Goals

It is of course the basic desire of the company to remain in the field of competition. And to be able to do this, they are in dire need of keeping track of the reputation that they are holding in the industry that they are involved in.

In establishing a reputation in the industry of food service provision, it is highly expected by the organization that a particular level of control of their clients, their own people and other matters that are considerably affective on the matters of progress shall be given careful attention to. Hence, the goals of the company is to provide each stakeholder of the organization the proper attention that they deserve to receive thus providing a chance for the entire company to receive a reputable recognition not only from those whom they serve but also from those whom they indirectly affect.

Mission

It is the primary mission of the business to create a workable environment that is basically able to support the needs of the people who are basically expecting support, assistance and services from them. The company realizes their role in the society, and as much as they do, it has become their practical aim to provide good food and outstanding service to the clients whom they are to have appointments with.

It is also the particular mission of the company to have a larger scope of market that they are to serve since they are readily available to extend their capacity of service to whatever or no matter how large the population of target audience to be fed is. Through this, the company further expects its personal concern for the needs of the clients to better be extended and be more definitive in specifically answering to the expectations of the customers practically served by the organization (Heuberger, Barbara – 2004).

Managing Internal Assets:

Financial Assets

Monetary capital is considered to be among the most important assets of the company. For TCS, monetary asset serves as one among the basic foundations of business. Being formed through a partnership agreement, the money invested by both partners to establish the said operating business makes definitely needs to be returned back equally for the benefit of the partners involved in the said business agreement. For this reason, managing this asset effectively needs to be given proper attention by both partners.

In managing the financial assets of the partners involved in the business in concern, the need to hire a third party is necessary. The said third party should not in any way be related to any of the partners involved (Heuberger, Barbara – 2004). Through this approach, the persons involved in the business and the accountability of the expenses as well as the incoming profit in their business shall be well managed without any particular biases that could at some point create issues in the relationship that the business partners have towards each other. The accounting of every financial asset owned by both parties should be well accounted for. To do this, a quarterly accounting is suggested. This shall allow the partners see where their monetary investments have already gone and how much they have already accumulated as profit within three months. Having this monetary accounting process imposed, it is expected that the capital and profit balancing could be better handled and specifically mandated towards stability. This shall provide the partners an understanding and a well accountable figure of profit and loss where they could base their business visions upon for a better catering service venture in the coming years of their business partnership.

Human Resources Management

Besides the partners themselves, TCS employs other on-call individuals who are expected to be readily available when catering appointments are closed as business deals. Having them on-call may be a particular issue for the administrators to handle the needed management procedure they have to undergo. In this particular business scenario, it is very important for the administrators to keep a particular regular record about their employees, their contact information and their available time especially if they are working part time for the business. This process shall provide the administrators a chance to mandate or at least arrange the schedule of each employee according to their recorded availabilities.

Through this management process, it is expected by the administrators that they would have better control of the situation and could easily be able to find alternate service providers in case the other ones in the schedule may not be available for the time being (Heuberger, Barbara – 2004). This is indeed an effective approach in creating a more creative and well manageable system that could establish a more workable environment when it comes to work scheduling and task assignment completion that the company accepts from the primary clients that they are expected to serve.

Innovation Procedures Application and Management

To make employee scheduling and client service more efficient, the application of modern technology into the process is strongly pushed forward. Through the use of computerized record keeping, it is expected and pre-empted that the system of scheduling used by the company towards making a more decisive and well inquisitive way of scheduling everything and everyone for a certain task that needs to be completed for the day (Heuberger, Barbara – 2004). Through this process too, the route way of the catering service delivery could even be established through creating a system that could be connected online for traffic update or some sort of a direction-enhanced guide system that could point out which particular roads are easily passable for the catering service van or truck to pass through to be able to reach the venue of the occasion in no time, giving the administrators a proper way to prepare for the occasion to be celebrated way ahead of time.

Systems Operation Management for Target Clients (CRM) Application

CRM is basically known as the customer relations management. This process is more likely customer-centered approach which dictates the need on the part of the administrators to keep a good record about their clients, their feedback about the service, the events that happened during the service and other recommendations or suggestions that they may somehow have in connection with the kind of service that they want to receive later on when they place a repeat order. The main aim for this particular process is to retain old customers and make them return for the service given to them through improvement of service. Noting all these matters would give the administrators a good chance to see what needs to be improved still and what should be given practical focus when they provide service to that client again (Stuart – 1997).

This process could also be applied through online connections that are better expected to benefit the administrators of the business as they establish an online niche for their business to advertise the services that they offer and further be able to get clients who are readily available to appreciate whatever service they may have to offer.

Standing for the Values of the Organization in the Society:

Political Aspect

The political aspect of TCS may not be that hard to handle as there are only two partners to deal with, each having their own place in the system of servicing that they are handling for their clients, competition may not likely occur between them; especially that they are aiming to support each other to ensure that both of them are properly given the practical care to mandate the proper value that they deserve to receive from the business that they are handling. Meanwhile, on the part of the on call employees, rivalry is considered to have lesser chance of occurring due to the fact that they are not always together making it easier for the administrators to deal with the their employees one at a time.

Economical Aspect

The economical aspect of the business could be considered properly manageable. It is highly considered that the administrators would be able to find a way to handle the issues of monetary control through the involvement of a third-party individual who would be objective enough to compute the shares of both partners in balance in connection with the profit, the expenses and the income that they have gained within a particular span of time.

Social Aspect

As repeatedly mentioned through the vision and mission statement of the business during the earlier sections of this reading, it is highly expected that the business would have a great impact on the society through the business values that it practically applies for the completion of every task that it accepts from its valuable clients.

 Environmental

Using environmentally friendly materials for the catering at most time possible could help increase the competency of the company in the field of its environmental involvement. It could be observed that through this, the business could help in the reduction of waste through using plates that are non-disposable, washable utensils, cookware, and other eating tools that would likely be a key towards making a more effective process of waste management on the part of the business operators during and after providing catering services to their clients (Heuberger, Barbara – 2004).

Technological Aspect

As it could be observed on the major presentations made above, the application of technological procedures within the system of the business’ operations in connection with their employees, their clients and their personal shares in the business is expected to create a more workable environment on the part of the stakeholders who are expected to become directly connected to the business itself.

Assessing the Company’s Competitive Measures

Growth Cycle

Basing from this diagram, the growth of TCS in the industry is seen to have a great impact on the process by which the business creates a more beneficial process of operation that could provide future progress for the organization and the stakeholders that take part in the growth that it acquires. Through an enhanced approach in dealing with the company’s marketing, research and management aspects, it is highly expected that the issues of business growth could be perfectly given the right kind of attention that it needs (Heuberger, Barbara – 2004).

Industry Structure

From this diagram, it could be observed how the business should be able to handle the challenge of dealing with the four powers of pressure that comes from the new entrants, the suppliers, the customers and other substitute products or services, that are practically subjecting business institutions into a heightened competition no matter what particular kind of market structure they are enjoined in. Through recognizing these four powers and closely mandating how the business is able to handle the said challenges, TCS would surely gain a business leadership assurance that no matter how tough the competition becomes, their business would remain to be at the top of the game at all times.

Success factors

This diagram intends to show the different aspects of growth that the business itself could take into consideration as it intend to handle the needs of the clients, the employees and the other stakeholders that somehow take part in the success of the organization’s capability to successfully function in the industry that it is enjoined with. Through the presentation above, the different elements of success that could contribute to the growth of the organization as one unified group of people working towards the common good of everyone could be better foreseen as the process itself makes a great impact on the level of progress that the business is currently making in the industry (Banks, James A (2005).

Managing Business Strategies

The Business Culture

Humans are significantly made with personal and innate characteristics in them that are completely different and apart from the others. This idea is mainly because of the certain fact that human beings have their own characteristics of uniqueness and individuality. Thus, human beings become existent in their own personal sense with their own identity differing them from others at some point in their innate qualities. In same manner, cultures and social values are also created and develop with likeness to the concept of individuality and uniqueness since they are created by human beings themselves. Social groups of relative similarities functioned and develop them own system of values and accordance making them united in their own concept and apart from the other social groups. Thus with this concept, cultural diversity has predominantly existed as how society themselves strive and develop to the point of their current state  (Stuart – 1997).

However, this innate and basically natural concept in the society has been always a massive hindrance for the establishment of social unity and uniformity especially on the principal level of a team. Since the team-building concept’s main agenda is the establishment of a uniting factor and bond among its members, their own personal and cultural diversity has always been a challenge for the said aim. Common problems and challenges such as uniqueness in the dominant language, dissimilarities with social norms and acceptable principles, differences concerning perception and opinions, and others often become a problem in the team-building aspect. In general, diversity produces stratification and division thus unification is being hindered. Indeed, cultural diversity in the aspect of team building is one of its main weaknesses.

However, cultural diversity in a certain team can also serves as its potential strength producing advantages apart from its common disadvantages. Having a culturally diversified group is also beneficial because it can basically cover much more grounds than groups of only single culture. This concept is true because having a multicultural society in a single group will produce more and significantly different opinions and ideas and with the merging of these different ideas, a single group can produce a statement or an idea that is generally valid since it actually addresses point of views from each culture. It is like having a representative from each culture joining together to create a concept that will unify their principles and eliminate their differences. In addition, through having a multicultural group, individuals can actually gain an opportunity to learn from the other and become acquainted with other social groups’ culture. Thus, each one can learn to adapt and relate to each other creating a bond that will transcends their culturally differences (Banks, James A (2005).

In a point, building a team with the basic qualities of cultural diversity is indeed a difficult challenge because each member and especially its leaders must be able to eliminate the diversity walls between its people without offending or discriminating as much as a single individual. It is very important that in this aspect, each and everyone must understand the importance of respect for other’s personal culture and their own diversity thus avoiding further complications in the situation like straining the said opportunity. However, the said concept of building a team of multicultural individuals is also a rewarding and an important part of social development of the human beings. Through this course, society can start to bring down the wall that separates them from each other and use the concept of cultural diversity not as their main weakness from conceptualizing social unity but as their potential strength for harmoniously existing as culturally colorful society.

With on-call employees, TCS is expected to handle diversified number of employees and deal with a diversified group of clients. Because of this, only through effective team building shall the business itself actually prosper from.

Strategies of Evaluation and People Empowerment/Motivation

The aspect of team building in the society has always been viewed as a complicated yet very much important concept. This idea is generally considered to be valid because of the fact that people are indeed much stronger when they are have bonded together with other individuals in their course of pursuing their collective goals and tasks. With the application of the concept of teamwork, different individuals with diversified personality and abilities are bounded together helping, interacting and developing each other thus increasing their collective potentials and abilities (Heuberger, Barbara – 2004)..

In the course of applying the concept of teamwork, individual teams might ask at one point in their course if their performance is indeed significant. Each member has the tendency to gauge their group’s performance and their development especially with their collective grasp of the concept of teamwork thus different techniques for evaluating the group’s performance have been develop to answer such inquisition. These techniques have different point that they are focused with in analyzing the teamwork culture of the group. Each of these techniques has their own strengths and weaknesses in appraising the teamwork value of the group however, all of these techniques have the same objective, which is to give way for better performance and team development (Stuart (1997).

Appraising the teamwork efforts of a certain group can either be done in relation to the main culture of the group itself or basing from the performance of the individual members of the group collectively. With this idea, the performance of a certain group can be evaluated through an actual performance test or through basing from previous group performance and surveys.  The first techniques actually manifest more on being an actual test on the group teamwork ability wherein the evaluator can test their values through basing from the result of the activity and their individual and collective performance. In this technique, the group will undergo a specialized activity with actual tasks which is very much complicated and systemized process. The nature of the task will post a change from the usual activities of the group thus requiring a change in the group’s techniques and routine. This technique is perceived to be more effective since it is an actual activity resulting on an actual and practical performance of the group. However, one can actually argue that a single result cannot actually stand hold the whole group’s performance thus creating a spark of ineffectivity in the approach (Heuberger, Barbara – 2004).

Another way is through analyzing the results of the previous activities of the group and the individual performance of its member resulting to their collective outcome to determining the efficiency of the management of the groups and the tea participation of its members. Through this approach, evaluators can actually determine whether the different individuals in the group are indeed working with each other in the concept of teamwork and whether the group itself is functioning as one in their collective pursuit of their goals. Since this approach is based on previous facts, data from an actual test specifically created for the said group is not incorporated in this method however, the basis of the method is still from actual activity performance even though previously and randomly implemented (Banks, James A (2005). Even though different approach is taken in analyzing the group’s teamwork effectiveness, the results are still significantly important for the development of each of the members and their collective organization. Determining the effectiveness of their teamwork culture will indeed boosts up the morale and spirit of the group members and will pave way for rooms for improvements and further development.

Risk Management

From the diagram presented herein, it could be noticed that applying a corporate-based risk management strategy into a partnership business could be much helpful especially on the part of making a good implication on the process by which the business itself makes a remarkable stand in the middle of business challenges. The basic necessity in instilling the culture of awareness and enthusiasm among every member of the organization is seen to be one of TCS’ key factors towards success in the business that it aims to be enjoined with.

References

Banks, James A (2005). Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching. Ally & Bacon Publishing Company. 5th Edition.

Heuberger, Barbara (2004). Cultural Diversity: Building Skills for Awareness, Understanding and Application. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. 3rd Edition.

Kelley, Lydia & Nordensson, Stew & Gellman, Stuart (1997). Teamwork. Top Dog Publishing Company, Arizona.