BUS363: Hawker food has become a part of Singapore’s culture Not only Singaporeans often Consume their meals from Hawker Centers: Total Quality Management Report, SUSS, Singapore

SECTION A
Background
Hawker food has become a part of Singapore’s culture. Not only Singaporeans often consume their meals from hawker centers, the food also becomes a tourist attraction. Traditionally, hawkers operate in open air or sheltered hawker centers and coffee shops. As the country progresses, many hawker stalls are clustered in air-conditioned shopping malls, commercial buildings and even institutes of higher learning, in the form of food courts or canteens.

In this ECA, we are focusing on a chain of food courts managed by an operator under one brand name in Singapore. The operator rents the space from the property owner and sublets the stalls to hawkers. It often decides the food court settings to attract customers and implement operational processes to achieve efficiency. Currently, food court operators are facing challenges from many angles. While some operators have long been in business, several who might once thrive, such as Banquet, consequently failed or being acquired. There is an impetus for food court operators to implement Total Quality Management to survive.

Requirements
You must demonstrate written proficiency by producing a report of not more than 13 pages (including diagrams, but excluding the cover page, and the reference list) in Microsoft Word 2010 or later (*.docx) format, with Times New Roman fonts of size 12 and single line spacing.

Key illustrations and diagrams should be shown in the main report.

You must address the following questions in sequence. Your analysis and the written report shall be developed in the context of the food court industry, your chosen food court operator, and its current situation.

Question 1
(a) Identify four (4) different food court customer segments. For each segment, examine what the customers want most from the food court. Apply a common definition of quality (Ref. Study Unit Section 1-1) related to the customers’ want and recommend action for any food court operator to satisfy this want.

Note: In total, you must use at least three (3) different definitions of Quality, one for each customer segment.

(b) Many providers of hawker food have their own brandings associated with their food. They enjoy a large customer base, e.g., City Satay. You are required to identify a popular branded local hawker food (other than City Satay) that can be purchased from a food court or a hawker center.

Use any three (3) of Garvin’s eight quality dimensions to illustrate how its producer achieves food quality.

Question 2
You are required to select one food court chain (thereafter called the “Food Court” in the ECA questions, but you must use its actual name in your report) which has at least three food courts in Singapore.

Assume you are a Quality Consultant contracted by the Food Court to analyse its business and apply Total Quality Management (TQM) concepts and practices to help it improve it is business.

(a) Identify the Food Court (include the food court’s brand name, head office address in Singapore, and, if any, website address). Appraise how the Food Court positions itself in the market.

(b) The Food Court’s senior management has contracted you to implement a Total Quality Management program for its business. Before you design the program, you are required to assess three (3) potential pitfalls the Food Court may encounter. For each pitfall, recommend an action by the Food Court’s management to prevent or mitigate it.

Question 3
Identify a problem you observe at a food court (need not be the one chosen in Question 2). Organise Six Sigma DMAIC processes seamlessly to solve the problem. You must begin by introducing the DMAIC process to the food court’s management.

For each step of DMAIC, select one (1) quality tool and examine how it can be used in the Food Court’s situation.

Note: The tools used shall be prescribed in the textbook: Foster, S. T. (2016). Managing quality: Integrating the supply chain (6th ed.). Chapter 13, Fig 13-5, or in BUS363 Study Guide Units 5 and 6. Each tool can be used at most once.

SECTION B
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Food Court has requested you (the contracted Quality Consultant) to make a presentation to the management team on your findings and recommendations based on Questions 2 and 3 (assume the Food Court faces this problem) in Section A.

Develop a video recording of the presentation of at least 3 minutes but not exceeding 6 minutes.