Systems Theory
What is a system?
This is a set of interdependent parts that work together to achieve a common goal.
What are inputs?
Resources such as money, materials, time, and information.
The three major classifications of foodservice establishments.
What are commercial, noncommercial (on-site), and military?
What is the Conventional System?
Raw foods are purchased, prepared onsite, and served soon after preparation.
What is Sous Vide?
French term meaning "under vacuum" used for vacuum-sealed food preparation.
What are subsystems?
These are the interdependent parts that make up a system.
What are outputs?
Finished products and services produced by an organization.
What is a mission statement?
This document summarizes an organization's purpose, goals, and objectives.
What is the Ready-Prepared System?
Food is prepared on-site, chilled or frozen, then reheated later.
A restaurant allows guests to watch chefs prepare meals in front of them. This foodservice trend is called:
What is display cooking?
What is systems theory?
This term describes viewing an organization as a whole made up of interdependent parts.
What is transformation?
The process that changes inputs into outputs.
Name two demographic trends contributing to foodservice growth.
Examples: changing status of women, single-person households, aging population, growth in Hispanic and Asian populations
A centralized food production system serving multiple satellite locations.
What is the Commissary System?
This trend involves comparing performance measures with industry leaders to improve operations.
What is benchmarking?
What is feedback?
Information that tells managers how operations worked or failed.
What is entropy?
The amount of disorder or uncertainty in a system.
A hospital foodservice department measures customer satisfaction scores, tracks the number of regular customers, and monitors net profit. These are examples of this organizational element.
What are objectives?
The "kitchenless kitchen" system.
What is the Assembly/Serve System?
A foodservice operation hires an outside company to manage all dining services. This trend is known as:
What is contract foodservice?
What is equifinality?
The principle that the same output can be achieved through different inputs or processes.
What is synergy?
When the whole organization produces greater results than individual efforts alone.
What is the difference between a mission statement and objectives?
(Mission = purpose; Objectives = specific measurable goals)
This foodservice system is most dependent on highly processed foods and requires the least amount of skilled labor.
What is the Assembly/Serve System?
Who am I? I prepare food in one location, send it to satellite kitchens, and I'm commonly used by airlines.
What is the Commissary (Centralized) Foodservice System?