Comida Azteca Business Plan Follow-Up

Comida Azteca Business Plan Follow-Up

This paper seeks to outline a follow-up of Comida Azteca business plan. The follow-up is necessary when determining plan's compliance to the mission and vision of the organization. The follow up shall revisit the composition of the Board of Directors, the employee recruitment process and the sourcing of expertise from specialized firms. It shall also describe in detail the logistical process of obtaining raw materials, with a focus on Just in Time (JIT) Suppliers. According to Bagchi et al. (1987), a JIT policy is imperative to cut the cost of operation through the elimination of the storage cost. The aim of Comida Azteca is to maximize profit and to ensure customer satisfaction. It is the only way that the business entity can survive the competitive nature of the food and catering sector. As such, there is a need to review other successful startups in this sector to determine the realistic measures to be taken.

Mission and Vision

The mission of Comida Azteca is to provide quality traditional food with Spanish taste to tap on the bustling tourist market in Rota, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Andalucía regions of Mexico. On the other hand, the business’ vision is to establish a strong presence in the region whilst influencing the nature of service provision by the local restaurants. 

Board of Directors and their Roles

To attain the mission and vision, Comida Azteca Board of Directors should be formed. The board members should be sourced from the local experts with many years of experience in a similar industry. Specifically, the hand-picked board members should have a proven track record of service in the same industry (Conger et al., 2001). They should be knowledgeable on how to handle the risks that can plague a business startup at its infantry years.  Realistically, the unexplored nature of Spanish market and the specialization in the provision of traditional Mexican food calls for a careful analysis of business’ every step. There is no better way to do this than to involve Mexican experts that possess the necessary skills in dealing with the market turmoil that might ensue in the course of the business establishment. 

Ensuring the Originality in Service Provision

While the introduction of foreign flavors to local Mexican food industry might sound like a viable business idea, precautions need to be taken in order to avoid the cases of loss of authenticity and originality. In fact, such a move will eventually lead to a diversion of the firm’s mission thus crippling the organizational vision in the long run (Martins et al., 2003). As such, an alternative solution would be a set-up of a separate restaurant to serve for experimental food that can include the introduction of western flavors. However, this implies the need for additional resources to cater for the same. Unless the Board of Directors can forge for additional investors in the experimental undertaking, the most viable option would be to put on hold the plan for integration of European flavors to the Spanish food industry by Comida Azteca.

Meanwhile, the plan to establish Comida Azteca as a provider native Mexican traditional food will be on course towards the realization of the long-term goal. However, with the advice from the local experts, Comida Azteca can explore new ways to improve the taste of Spanish food without compromising on the use of locally sourced raw materials.

Minimization of Expenditure

Being a business entity, Comida Azteca needs to minimize the expenditure. Watson (1998) argues that the organization's departmental set-up should be simple to cut on recurrent expenditure on employees. Only the basic departments such as finance, operations, and human resources should be set up. The managers of these departments should have roles that are clearly defined to avoid conflicts and crises. In fact, each employee within the business entity should be categorized in line to the functional departments. Not only will this strategy ensure proper accountability but also, the smooth flow of activities in the organization will be attained. This will lead to efficiency in customer service provision as a competitive edge and thus encouraging consumer loyalty.

Talent Recruitment and Retention

Comida Azteca’s Human Resource Department will be required to recruit employees that are best suited for the Job. There are several ways to recruit the best available talent. Firstly, the firm’s human resource management should utilize technology to select the crème de la crème. Human Resource Information System (HRIS) allows for submission of potential employees resumes and vital personal information that cannot otherwise be made available (Kovach&Cathcart, 1999). From the potential talent database, the HR team should embark on an employee selection process, which is further made effortless by IT use. Eventually, a final interview of the selected employees should lead to the recruitment of those that meet or surpass the threshold.

While the acquisition of HRIS can be costly for a startup business like Comida Azteca, the Return on Investment (ROI) in the long run will be significant. Notably, the best workforce will improve the firm’s innovative nature in traditional Mexican food provision which is importance in the boosting the business’ competition.

Another less-costly way of hiring employees is via established agencies.  Studies on most successful start-ups in the food and hospitality provision industry indicate that hiring employees via agencies is less costly. The agencies bear the burden of the employee selection process, ensuring that their clients (start-up companies) get the best employees at an affordable fee (Houseman et al., 2003).  Thus, a deliberation by Comida Azteca’s BOD should involve consideration of a respectable agency as a provider of talent. The talent retention will depend on the employee performance. Rainlall (2004) observes that the motivation of employees will be achieved through promotional and reward of the top performers, triggering competition among them. For jobs that demand specialized services, it is a cost-effective strategy to outsource the best-performing employees from the competitors. It is possible to forge a deal with competitors to share talented workforce that are costly to retain by one firm.

Logistics

In Rota, El Puerto de Santa Maria, the local suppliers of ingredients of main courses like Albondigas, Arroz con Huevo and Carne are in plenty. The best way for Comida Azteca to minimize the logistical challenges is to get the supplies of raw materials and ingredients to traditional Mexican food from local firms (Bowersox et al., 2002). A quick market study indicates that Corn, pork, and various herbs species can be supplied locally. This way, a strong relationship and a sense of belonging will be ensured. As such, the operations department should ensure that proper procurement procedures are adhered to when awarding tenders for local supplies. Locally unavailable supplies can be obtained through DHL and other international suppliers.

On the other hand, the consumers will be required to make orders for the traditional food. As soon as they make orders, Comida Azteca will work on the orders to customer's satisfaction. The main reason for nonprovision of readymade food is to minimize cases of overproduction that can lead to losses. Besides, most customers enjoy a service of traditional Mexican food that is just out of the kitchen (Murcott, 1983).

Comida Azteca Strengths and Weaknesses

1.      Strengths

One of the strengths that Comida Azteca has includes the availability of a market for Spanish traditional food. Bustling tourism and the need for traditional food in Rota, El Puerto De Santa Maria means that the business can be successful in the region, especially if the necessary measures are considered. Secondly, the entrepreneurial culture adopted by the organization ensures survival during the tough phase of the establishment of the organization (Van de Ven et al., 1984).  As a matter of fact, studies indicate that an insignificant number of startups cannot survive their first year. Lastly, the engagement in local activities (CSR) and the recruitment of the local talent ensures the firm’s acceptance by the local customers.

2.      Weaknesses

Like many startups, Comida Azteca does not have a strong financial background to afford the implementation of extensive marketing strategies as compared to already established businesses (Garvin, 2002). This can extend the length of time it takes for the organization to gain ground. Secondly, the unexplored field of commercialization of traditional Mexican food makes it hard for Comida Azteca to determine the chances of success in the business field. Besides, there are a few specialist professional chefs in traditional Mexican food preparation.  

References

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