Cibo Espresso Adelaide - Case Study Example

BUSINESS AUDIT REPORT: CIBO ESPRESSO ADELAIDE by Course Professor Institution City and state Date Business Audit Report: Cibo Espresso Adelaide Background and History Cibo Espresso is a coffee shop and café franchise that is based in Adelaide, Australia. The company was founded in the year 2000. According to the company’s official website, four proprietors who have contributed to the formation of the business’ pillars and the practices that underlie the Cibo experience founded the company. They included an Italian Chef, pasticcierre, manager and a barista. The chef delivered exemplary culinary services, the pastry person was concerned with top of the range pastries, the manager delivered exceptional ambience and the barista served perfect coffee in a relaxing atmosphere. In this respect, the four pillars of the business are the mentioned four elements of good food, perfect pastries, good management, and perfect service. The four elements are said to blend together to provide an authentic Italian experience in Australia (Ciboespresso.com.au. 2016). Cibo Espresso has twenty sites in Adelaide and one in Brisbane with plans for further extension into the entire Australian market. The aim of the business is delivering traditional Italian cuisine that is made from ingredients sourced from the locality in the atmosphere that is inherently Australian. Globalization Globalization refers to the continuing and advancing interconnections cutting across state boundaries. As noted, globalization is a major aspect that currently has a significant impact on the hospitality and tourism industry. In consideration to globalization, a business not only caters to the local consumers and clients but also deals with numerous international visitors that come into the country. Such is the business environment in Australia owing to globalization, which has seen many visitors from all over the world coming in to the area (Ruhanen et al., 2013). In this respect, a coffee shop such as Cibo Espresso have to give consideration to the issues associated with globalization and ensure that they have covered major aspects in dealing with both foreign and interstate clients. Since globalization entails international integration, a business in the tourism and hospitality industry has to pay attention to factors such as culture. In auditing the business in focus about globalization, it is important to understand how the concept affects the business and its internal operating environment which include the structure, and culture of the café. Organizational culture Cibo Espresso’s organizational culture which entails the set of beliefs, values and expectations shared by its members and passed down from generation to generation. A sustainable and strong organizational culture gives the business a competitive advantage in the hospitality and tourism industry Dredge et al., (2013). The decision of Cibo Espresso to invest and focus in an area that incorporates another culture into the Australian market underlies the organization’s culture. The environment of the business is enriched by the complexity of the integrated cultures and experiences. The four elements that form the pillars of Cibo Espresso include culinary adventure, perfect pastries, good management and service. The business is focused on providing a perfect Italian experience in Australia. The organizational culture of the business is rooted on elements that are in line with globalization. Through these aspects, they are able to give visitors an experience of another culture while they are visiting Adelaide. It is also notable that the business has managed to create a niche market that conforms to the needs of clients at a time when globalization has become one of the factors that affect the tourism and hospitality industry. Organizational Structure Cibo Espreso has a functional organizational structure that ensures they are able to meet the needs of all the visitors that come through their doors. The operations of the business are divided into sections that include food and beverage, operations and marketing. In this way, the various sections are tasked with providing the best services and products, which are in line with the growing need of consumers for good service, good culinary experience, and perfect ambience. The food and beverage section of the business are concerned with giving the consumers the perfect Italian food and beverages that ensures they get a good Italian experience in Adelaide. The management of Cibo Espresso is concerned with supervising the various sections of the business to ensure that they work towards the common goal of giving clients the best experience they can afford. Staff are trained in the correct manner of establishing and maintaining the Italian experience through service and interaction with clients. Lockyer (2013) notes that the functionality of the business’ organizational structure is based on the focus of management in ensuring that each section of the business focuses on specific tasks that collectively lead to an increase in productivity. Equality of Opportunity and Larger Market Globalization has ensured that the customer base in the hospitality and tourism industry has increased significantly. In this respect, Cibo Espresso has noted the gap in the industry and aims to fill it by enlarging their market in Australia. The company seeks to have a larger market presence by expanding using the franchise strategy. In their official website (Ciboespresso.com.au. 2016), Cibo Espresso seeks individuals interested in owning a Cibo franchise. The business has listed locations in every state in the country that they are looking to expand and tap into. Through such an initiative, the business offers equal opportunity for everyone interested in collaborating with them and who can share the same values that entail provision of the Italian experience to visitors. Cibo Espresso therefore is in line with the factors of globalization in the hospitality and tourism industry. The increase of visitors and clients will necessitate a larger market presence. Demand for such unique experiences as the one offered by Cibo Espresso will mean that they have to look into aggressive expansion if they are to meet the needs of clients without getting overwhelmed. The business also offers equal opportunity in the sense that they advertise on their official website for available vacancies. In doing so, the company includes the various aspects and traits needed in required personnel which does not lock any interested party out. Outsourcing Outsourcing is one of the emerging issues in the tourism and hospitality industry. The concept of outsourcing entails contracting out some business functions to another entity. With the rising number of visitors in the Australian hospitality and tourism industry, it sometimes becomes necessary to outsource in order to meet the client’s demand and to keep delivering the best quality in the industry. The concept of outsourcing can help businesses to perform exceptionally well by getting experts to perform business processes that the firm is unable to perform to the highest level of perfection. In this way, it is important to note that the hospitality industry is one where perfection and quality rule and as such, outsourcing has become a necessary element that strives to meet the industry requirements. Franchising Franchising is the distribution of a well-known and established brand and the associated products and services. However, it can be thought of as an aspect of outsourcing. Through the years from the time of establishment to the present time, Cibo Espresso has built an organization with a strong and reliable brand in Australia’s hospitality and tourism industry. They are known to provide the bet Italian experience in Australia more like a little Italy inside Australia. In this way, the demand for what Cibo Espresso offers has risen. In this way, the company is looking to expand into other locations in the industry and to successfully achieve this, they have adopted a strategy that is in line with emerging trends in the hospitality and tourism industry. Cibo Espresso in their expansion efforts have adopted the franchising strategy which can be attributed to an aspect of outsourcing. This is in realization that they cannot solely expand and meet the market demands on their own. In this way, they are seeking individuals who can open a Cibo Espresso store in various locations while staying true to the tradition established by the original proprietors of Cibo Espresso. The locations of the business that are being set up will need indisviduals who are highly motivated, knowledgeable, ready to learn and driven among other factors listed in the official website. However, it is important to note that some of these locations will also need to find personnel who are good at creating and maintaining Italian cuisine and ambience if they are to stay true to the experience that the business has built its brand around. In this way, the business through franchising may set a motion in which labor and expertise will have to be outsourced to fill in the gap. For instance, the outsourcing of chefs with and expertise in Italian cuisine, pastries, and wine to work in the franchised locations around the country in order to meet the industry demand and customer needs. The adoption of outsourcing as a strategy by Cibo Espresso is a move that meets the current issue in the industry in the sense that the expansion of the industry needs adoption of various strategies chief among them is outsourcing (Gustavo, 2013). A business such as Cibo Espresso is well equipped to adopt the strategy that a lot of businesses in the hospitality and tourism industry are adopting to deal with an overwhelming demand for quality and excellence among other factors. The management at Cibo Espresso note that it is sometimes difficult to train personnel in the art of Italian cuisine and experience and as such, it necessitates the outsourcing of labor from experts in the field be it from other countries such as Italy. In addition, creating and Italian atmosphere and ambience in setting the chain’s tradition as said by the manager may sometimes need them to outsource labor from Italy. Such experts are better able to create the image and atmosphere that Cibo Espresso need to sell to the consumers in the industry. The manager notes the importance of setting an authentic Italian theme and atmosphere rather than an imitation of the same and further adds that sometimes this can only be done by someone from an Italian setting. Lastly, Cibo Espresso in their outsourcing efforts is in pursuit of experts who can produce and develop authentic and traditional Italian dishes since the restaurant produces their own pastries, dishes, and coffee from scratch. Ethics Due to the continually changing market and environment in the hospitality and tourism industry, businesses in this industry have to adopt strategies and practices aimed at sustainability and progress in order to keep up with the competition (Sloan et al., 2013). In this respect, the management of Cibo Espresso has noted the importance of adopting other ways of staying relevant in the industry and having a competitive advantage that is not based on price and quality alone. The business has come to the realization that competing on the basis of price solely in a market that has increased in competition is no longer the only option. The significance of ethics in the industry has developed as one of the emerging issues affecting the hospitality and tourism industry. Ethics in a business like Cibo Espresso helps in the establishment of good working relationship with visitors as well as other people entailed in the business such as suppliers, employees and the community. It is important to note that currently there has been a lot of focus on ethics in the tourism and hospitality industry and ethics concerning businesses in the industry. Cibo Espresso through the practices they have adopted in running their business has come to the realization that ethics in business in relation to client and employees have the potential of generating long-term benefits and sustainable competitive advantage. Ethical Sourcing of Coffee The management of Cibo Espresso has instituted ethical practices in the running of their business in various ways. The business ensures that the coffee they use in their business is sourced ethically which means that the farmers and the producers of the coffee adopt ethical principles that exclude aspects such as child labor and unfair compensation. The restaurant sources its coffee from reputable vendors and helps in the sustainability of the environment; a practice that is in line with business ethical tenets. The management of the organization noted that sometimes, businesses in the industry consider ethics to be a limiting factor in business. For instance, sourcing good quality coffee beans that is produced ethically is expensive. However, the manager of Cibo Espresso noted that this was a short-term limitation in comparison to the long-term benefit of establishing an ethical business and an ethical environment. These factors also help in building the image of the business and relationship with stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry (Bharwani and Jauhari, 2013). Ethics in Hiring Cibo Espresso also practices ethical principles in the hiring of their employees. The business ensures that they only hire the best people with principles that reflect the tradition of the organization. As seen in the official website, the company offers equal opportunity to everyone and highlights the values they would like their personnel to have. Such values are in line with ethical practices in the industry since the hospitality and tourism industry is a service-oriented market (Fennell, 2015). The company in hiring offer both online and in-store training aimed at imparting skills and knowledge that would ensure the personnel are equipped with sufficient knowledge that would enable them to offer the best service to visitors and to manage every area of the business. The company also has a section that offers information to parents of would-be Cibo Esperesso employees. The information given elaborates on what it means to work at Cibo, the values of the business and future career prospects, which are all ethical practices to guarantee transparency. It is important to note that transparency is an essential part of any business in the tourism and hospitality industry and Cibo Espresso strive to ensure that the business and the processes entailed in the business are as transparent and clear as possible. In the current diversified tourism and hospitality industry, managers of businesses such as Cibo Espresso are often faced with a multitude of ethical issues including cases of harassment, discrimination, and dishonesty among other issues. The management at Cibo Espresso takes these issues seriously and as such, it has gone an extra step to minimize issues related to lack of ethics in the industry. For instance, the prices of service and products at Cibo Espresso are standardized to avoid issues of dishonesty or unfair charging for products and services. The business has also dealt with the issue of discrimination through their hiring process that is open for all regardless of speciality. In addition to this, Cibo Espresso offers training and additional skills to their team. The company has policies in place to deal with other ethical issues such as workplace harassment and further teaches their employees on how to treat and serve customers fairly and in a friendly and ethical environment. Fennell and Markwell (2015) observe that most ethical issues in the hospitality and tourism industry are often not clear and as such, the management at Cibo Espresso through covering the numerous aspects related to ethics and ethical practices continually seek a deeper understanding of issues that might arise. The business management faction of Cibo Espresso also reiterated that the Cibo Team periodically undergo training on how to deal with various ethical issues and other issues related to the industry. The goal of the business is to provide the best Italian experience to clients and doing so means they have to consider possible ethical issues that might affect the multitude of diverse clientele they serve on a daily basis. Terrorism According to Day et al. (2013), terrorism and the rising cases of terror attacks have become a global issue affecting the hospitality and tourism industry. The level and sophistication of these attacks necessitate measures to be taken in ensuring safety concerns for visitors in the Australian market. Currently, the attacks have been directed at what is termed soft targets, which do not include major locations. Businesses such as Cibo Espresso are among the soft targets in relation to terrorism and the associated attacks. In this respect, the businesses in the industry have adopted various methods of ensuring the safety of visitors who walk into their premises on a daily basis. Cibo Espresso in responding to the issue of terrorism has instituted steps geared towards ensuring that their premises are safe for visitors and employees alike (Bharwani and Butt, 2012). Safety Measures Cibo Espresso in efforts to mitigate the issue of terrorism in the industry have adopted various safety strategies that work to limit the possibility of attacks. Noting that the business deals with a high number of various visitors on a daily basis, the business has installed surveillance cameras in their premises to help with monitoring activities in their restaurant. Security surveillance cameras can help the personnel in the business observe the activities that go on in the premise for the entire day. Through such surveillance, it is easy to note any unusual activities by anyone that may be a threat to the security of the people in the premise. The management at Cibo Espresso have a dedicated personnel stationed to focus on the activities of the restaurant throughout the day. In addition to this, the management periodically updates their security systems and reviews them in order to be up to date with the latest surveillance technologies. According to Korstanje and Skoll (2013), installations of better and upgraded security surveillance equipment afford the business better quality images in a timely manner and as such, it is easy to spot any weird activities. Cibo Espresso additionally trains their personnel on safety and emergency issues in order to limit the magnitude of damage in case of an emergency. In this way, everyone at Cibo Espresso is knowledgeable about the various security and emergency concerns that might arise including terrorism and the associated attacks. Semrad et al. (2012) reiterates that equipping personnel with security knowledge and training them on response ensures that instances of any security concern can be noted with efficient effectiveness and mitigated before they cause extensive damage and expose clients to danger. In addition to this, the surveillance cameras in the premises are advantageous in assuring visitors that their security is a top concern for the business. Clients want to go to a business that takes maters of security seriously and seeing cameras reassures them that they are in a secure business premise (Purohit and Purohit, 2013). The cameras being visible also act to deter potential terrorists from their activities since they know that they are being watched. The management at Cibo Espresso also hires security personnel who deal with the screening of luggage that comes inside the business premise in addition to body screening equipment at the door to detect any weapons. The initiative limits any potential weapon from accessing the premises and causing a security threat. Most activities of terror rely on weapons such as guns and bombs. By screening luggage and people, Cibo Espresso ensures that such weapons cannot access the business and be used in terror attacks (Korstanje and Clayton, 2012). Cibo Espresso has a loyalty program where visitors can use their cards to gain points and pay for the services. The use of such cards also advances security since the cards work by the details of the client. Identifying clients in this way limits the number of people who might cause a security concern since most criminals and terrorist do not like using their identification details. The loyalty cards also act to reassure the visitors that the business cares about their safety since they go an extra step to know who they are dealing with. Another aspect of safety measure by Cibo Espresso entails the availability of online ordering which also works to limit the potential of people who walk in and may be a security concern. The premises at Cibo Espresso are also installed with fire extinguishers, which are accessible and easy to use. This is a security measure in the sense that any threat such as fires can be dealt with rapidly ad effectively exposing the visitors to minimal danger. The steps taken by the management of the business acknowledge the effect that terrorism has on the hospitality and tourism industry and the fact that this effect is a negative one. Businesses in the industry rely on visitors and as such, they cannot become fortresses since they have to deal with a multitude of people from various locations. In this way, the best way to deal with security concerns such as terrorism is to instigate measures, strategies, and steps that limit the business’ exposure to potential attacks. References Ciboespresso.com.au. (2016). CIBO Espresso. [online] Available at: https://www.ciboespresso.com.au/terms-conditions [Accessed 4 Sep. 2016]. Ciboespresso.com.au. (2016). CIBO Espresso. [online] Available at: https://www.ciboespresso.com.au/our-coffee [Accessed 4 Sep. 2016]. Ciboespresso.com.au. (2016). CIBO Espresso. [online] Available at: https://www.ciboespresso.com.au/about-us [Accessed 4 Sep. 2016]. Fennell, D.A., 2015. Ethics in Tourism. In Education for Sustainability in Tourism (pp. 45-57). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-662-47470-9_3#page-1 Day, M., Walo, M., Weeks, P., Dredge, D., Benckendorff, P., Gross, M.J. and Whitelaw, P.A., 2013. Analysis of Australian tourism, hospitality and events undergraduate education programs. Office of Learning and Teaching. www.​ olt.​ gov.​ au/​…/​ CG9_​ 1020_​ Dredge_​ 2012_​ Analysis_​ THE_​ undergraduate_​ education.​ pdf. Accessed, 12. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pierre_Benckendorff/publication/236120583_Building_a_stronger_future_Analysis_of_Australian_tourism_hospitality_and_events_undergraduate_education_programs/links/5574b30908ae7536374ff12d.pdf Fennell, D. and Markwell, K., 2015. Ethical and sustainability dimensions of foodservice in Australian ecotourism businesses. Journal of Ecotourism,14(1), pp.48-63. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14724049.2015.1080716 Dredge, D., Benckendorff, P., Day, M., Gross, M.J., Walo, M., Weeks, P. and Whitelaw, P.A., 2013. Drivers of change in tourism, hospitality, and event management education: An Australian perspective. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 25(2), pp.89-102. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10963758.2013.805091 Lockyer, T.L., 2013. Global cases on hospitality industry. Routledge. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=An2DClVvnvQC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=Ethics+in+the+tourism+and+hospitality+industry+of+Australia&ots=tHV6buyb2Q&sig=me39wwXSHPwZ1Lhpg9Y1Bi-4QTs&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Ethics%20in%20the%20tourism%20and%20hospitality%20industry%20of%20Australia&f=false Gustavo, N., 2013. 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Challenges for the global hospitality industry: an HR perspective. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes,4(2), pp.150-162. Sloan, P., Legrand, W. and Chen, J.S., 2013. Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry 2nd Ed: Principles of Sustainable Operations. Routledge. Korstanje, M.E. and Clayton, A., 2012. Tourism and terrorism: conflicts and commonalities. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 4(1), pp.8-25. Ruhanen, L.M., Mclennan, C.L.J. and Moyle, B.D., 2013. Strategic issues in the Australian tourism industry: A 10-year analysis of national strategies and plans. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 18(3), pp.220-240. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10941665.2011.640701 Korstanje, M.E. and Skoll, G., 2013. Discussing concepts: terrorism and tourism in the spotlight. Turismo y Desarrollo: Revista de Investigación en Turisme y Desarrollo Local, 6(14). Read More