Workbook: Bistro Technology*
Analyze the technology used in three different restaurants-McDonald's, Subway, and a typical family restaurant.
Visit all three restaurants and infer how the work is done, according to the following criteria.
You are not allowed to interview any employees, but instead you will be an observer. Take lots of notes when you are there.
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McDonald's
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Subway
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Family Restaurant
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Organization goals: Speed, service, atmosphere, etc.
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Authority structure
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Type of technology using Woodward's model
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Organization structure: Mechanistic or organic?
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Team versus individual: Do people work together or alone?
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Interdependence: How do employees depend on each other?
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Tasks: Routine versus non routine
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Specialization of tasks by employees
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Standardization: How varied are tasks and products?
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Expertise required: Technical versus social
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Decision making: Centralized versus decentralized
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Questions
1. Is the technology used the best one for each restaurant, considering its goals and environment?
2. From the preceding data, determine if the structure and other characteristics fit the technology.
3. If you were part of a consulting team assigned to improve the operations of each organization, what recommendations would you make?