Restaurants are the most common among businesses that differ in many aspects such as service understanding, product variety and guest profile. Restaurants, which started to operate in France for the first time in the 1700s, differentiated according..
Understanding Operator Blindness: A Critical Insight for Business Success
In this article, penned by Chef
Ahmet Özdemir, we embark on an exploration of the culinary world from a professional chef’s perspective, beginning with a historical journey from the past to the present of kitchen arts. My years in the kitchen have taught me that cooking transcends mere technical skill, embodying both an art form and a scientific discipline. This piece offers an academic insight into the history of Turkish cuisine and its transmission to future generations of Turkish chefs.
Diving into the depths of gastronomy, I shed light on the evolution of professional kitchens into first-class restaurants. (
Most Successful Restaurants) This transformation is underpinned by kitchens evolving beyond places of flavor creation to develop a brand and corporate identity.
I emphasize the importance of kitchen organization, highlighting how the structure and operation of a kitchen play a crucial role in a restaurant's success. The specialization of departments within professional kitchens not only boosts efficiency and creativity but also ensures quality control.
The process of institutionalization in restaurants, particularly the significance of menu planning and development, is discussed. Menus reflect a restaurant's identity and philosophy, directly impacting customer satisfaction. When creating new restaurant concepts, it's crucial they align with market demands and customer expectations.
sustainability and the use of local produce are highlighted as key considerations. Utilizing local and seasonal products not only enhances freshness and quality but also minimizes environmental impact and supports local economies.
Modern kitchen techniques and equipment are explored, illustrating how technology has increased kitchen efficiency and opened new avenues for creativity. Techniques like sous vide have revolutionized flavor and texture preservation, as detailed in this article.
The importance of culinary education is underscored, with an emphasis on providing students not only with cooking techniques but also with knowledge in kitchen management, menu planning, and food safety.
Global gastronomy trends and their influence on local cuisines are examined, noting how globalization has facilitated mutual learning among culinary cultures and the emergence of innovative flavors, while also stressing the importance of preserving local cuisines and traditional flavors.
Finally, the place of Turkish cuisine among world cuisines and the importance of its preservation and transmission to future generations are discussed. Turkish cuisine, having been influenced by numerous cultures throughout history, stands as one of the most diverse and rich culinary traditions. It's imperative for future chefs to uphold this legacy and represent Turkish cuisine (
Turkish Cuisine History)with dignity on the global stage.
Authored by Chef Ahmet Özdemir, this article offers a deep dive into the gastronomic world through the lens of a professional chef, showcasing that the art of cooking is more than just producing flavors; it is a culture, science, and art unto itself.
Coord. Chef Ahmet ÖZDEMİR
International And Intercontinental
Restaurant Consultant and Kitchen Consultant
World Ambassador of Ottoman and Turkish Cuisine
A Study on the Institutionalization of First-Class Restaurants: The Case of Turkey*
The aim of the study;
The aim is to reveal the relationship between the characteristics of first class restaurants operating in Turkey and the dimensions of institutionalization. For this purpose, first of all, the literature on institutionalization was scanned and the dimensions of institutionalization were determined. After the pilot application, the data of 309 restaurants were reached by using the survey technique.
Descriptive analysis was used to determine the characteristics, explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the institutionalization dimensions of restaurants, and logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between features and dimensions. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that the standardization dimension was added to the institutionalization dimensions of restaurants, unlike the literature. In addition, it has been determined that commercial status, being connected to the chain, management status and flexible working characteristics have a significant relationship with some dimensions of institutionalization.
1. Introduction
Restaurants are the most common among businesses that differ in many aspects such as service understanding, product variety and guest profile. Restaurants, which started to operate in France for the first time in the 1700s, differentiated according to various needs over time, developed rapidly, especially with the widespread use of eating out, and became an important service and work area of the food and beverage industry.
Today, it is observed that many restaurants are opened in our country. However, according to the data in the statistics of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, it cannot be said that this increase is a high rate. For example, when the data between 2004 and 2005 are analyzed, it is seen that approximately 61% of the newly opened restaurants are closed. While there were 49 restaurants with investment certificates in 2004, the increase in the number of restaurants with operating certificates by only 19 units in 2005 also supports this situation.
With the rapid entrances and exits to the sector, it has been understood that 326 certified restaurants operate in Turkey as of 2013 (www.turizm.gov.tr). When we look at the international studies on the subject, it is seen that there is a continuity problem in restaurants, and the rate of closure is high, especially in the first years following its opening (English, 1996).
In the international literature, the difficulties experienced in restaurants and the inability to maintain their continuity are generally attributed to various reasons such as quality, marketing, capital, management (Hua et al., 2013; Badalamenti and Hamsal, 2013). As solution suggestions, researches on micro-issues that are thought to be effective in success or failure were carried out and suggestions were presented in this direction. However, no research has been found suggesting a wide-ranging improvement in restaurant management.
From this point of view, in this study, it is aimed to develop solutions for
Brand Restaurant to maintain their economic existence and ensure their continuity. Considering that institutionalization is often suggested in the literature to solve different structural problems in businesses, it has been decided to deal with this problem in
Brand Restaurants within the framework of the concept of institutionalization. The research is important in terms of providing concrete suggestions for the continuity of restaurants, as well as giving information about the institutionalization status of restaurants.
2. Related Studies
Institutionalization is a concept that has been frequently emphasized in recent years and has found application in different sectors; It is a sub-approach or extension of the institutional theory, which is one of the organizational theories in terms of its development process and foundations. Institutional theory is an organizational theory put forward by Selznick and developed by researchers such as Meyer and Rowan (1977), Di Maggio and Powell (1983), Zucker (1987). Institutionalization is accepted by many theorists as an extension of institutional theory in the literature; It is seen that there is a conceptual confusion on the subject in some studies on practitioners and practice (Sargut et al., 2010: 237).
Institutionalization; It is the process where existing norms, values and structure patterns come together under the same roof with new norms, values and structures (Kimberly, 1979: 447).
In the literature, the concept of institutionalization is defined as the process of harmonizing the capacity and standards of enterprises against external threats, and disseminating ideas and values (Selznick, 1996: 271). Although there are many definitions similar to these, institutionalization; It is explained as formations in which the business is perceived as an institution, away from one-man management, and where the business creates an identity. These explanations for institutionalization answer why institutionalization can be a solution for the continuity problem. Because institutionalization is explained as a theoretical strategy, an approach developed in the context of organizational theory, which deals with institutional theory, aims to develop this theory and puts it into practice (Gürol, 2005: 23). Briefly, Institutionalization can be considered to some extent as theory put into action. In the implementation of this strategy, institutionalization dimensions are emphasized as concrete indicators.
The dimensions of institutionalization are gathered under six headings in the literature. These; formalization, professionalization, organizational culture, transparency, consistency and social responsibility. Formalization is the practices carried out for the realization of regular practices and the preservation of standards (Selznick, 1996: 274). The first known studies in the field of formalization in the field of hotel management are the movement and time study carried out by Stouffer in his restaurants, while Statler determined the business standards in his hotels and created the staff organizational structure.
The results of these studies are the first examples of written rules in restaurants. The formalization of service in hotel and Brand Restaurant businesses may be related to the physical environment as well as to the tangible product itself, such as food and beverage production (Genç, 2009: 175). In this context, job descriptions, work flow charts and standard recipes can be given as examples of formalization in restaurants. Another dimension of institutionalization required by formalization is professionalization. Professionalization, which is among the topics that have been frequently examined in recent years, is an important indicator of institutionalization in businesses, it is effective on the activation of the business in the market and is important in ensuring continuity, especially in small and family businesses (Sanal and Efeoğlu, 2013).
Requirements of professionalization in the context of restaurants; It can be listed as having a manager separate from the owner, having a certain employee/personnel policy, health checking of the employees, complying with the hygiene and sanitation codes. However, the distribution of the duties of kitchen workers is important in terms of specialization (Hjalager and Andersen, 2001: 117). Another advantage of specialization for businesses is that it increases the commitment of employees to work (Fine, 1996: 90). Thus, the adoption of organizational culture, which is the other dimension of institutionalization, becomes easier.
Organizational culture has been defined as the level of acceptance and widespread sharing of business culture within the scope of institutionalization (Gottlieb and Sanzgiri, 1996: 1278). So that the enterprise is not the only man, It is possible to serve as a single body. Since the harmony between the kitchen staff and the service staff brings success, it can be said that the effect of cooperation on coordination is more in restaurants (Bodvarsson and Gibson, 1997: 191). This advantage mainly concerns small and family businesses and brings success to such businesses in terms of continuity and compliance (Gilding et al., 2013).
Another important feature of institutionalized businesses is their transparency. In order to be accepted, businesses have to take into account the expectations of their guests, be transparent in their activities and, in a sense, be accountable to the Guest. This practice, which is brought as an obligation to shareholders in joint stock companies according to the rules of the Capital Markets Board, creates pressure on businesses, especially in matters concerning human health, within the scope of restaurants. Food safety quality systems can be considered as evidence of transparency. Quality systems are also important in ensuring consistency in restaurants.
Consistency is one of the dimensions of institutionalization and helps to minimize uncertainty situations. In particular, it is a must to ensure consistency between branches in restaurants with chain structure (Sen, 1998). Consistency of issues such as cleanliness and hygiene, quality of food and service are at the top among Guest expectations (Fatimah et al., 2011; Hwang and Ok, 2013). However, the consistency mentioned here should not bring mediocrity/monoality. Because the atmosphere is always the same and not renewed, it is perceived as boring by the guests and reduces the preference of the restaurant (Ha and Jang, 2013).
Therefore, consistency should not be perceived as uniformity, and change should be given importance. Being consistent with the environment is one of the issues examined in this context. It is important for the continuity of the restaurants to exhibit consistent behaviors against the changes in the environment and to adapt to the changes in the environment (Arnorsson, 2013). In this context, the most common trend in recent years has focused on social responsibility activities. This dimension, which is also expressed as corporate social responsibility, is the last dimension emphasized in the institutionalization literature and can be within the scope of support to society, respect for differences, support for employees and environmental awareness (Sen and Bhattacharya, 2001: 226). The most concrete examples of social responsibility in restaurants are green restaurant practices where issues such as energy and water conservation are discussed (Jeong and Jang, 2013).
Based on the information in the literature, it is noteworthy that the institutionalization of enterprises is generally examined in terms of dimensions and business characteristics. Therefore, in this research, which will be conducted to determine the institutionalization status of restaurants, it was decided to test the validity of the institutionalization dimensions within the scope of restaurants.
Method 3
As of 01.01.2012, the research population consists of 326 first-class restaurant managers with first-class certificates from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (KTB) in Turkey. The preference of first-class Brand Restaurant as a working area can be based on the assumption that the professional structure is established in these businesses. The research was carried out within the scope of all independent restaurants certified as first class restaurants, that is, a full count was carried out. Questionnaire was used as data collection technique. In the first part of the questionnaire consisting of two parts, 15 questions were asked about the characteristics of the institutionalization of the restaurants.
These questions are its commercial status, being open to the public, having a board of directors, being connected to a chain, capacity, year of operation, management type, quality certificate, place of establishment, type of menu used, restaurant feature, being open to service, number of employees, employees. It is about education and working conditions of employees. In the second part of the questionnaire, 65 questions to determine the six dimensions of institutionalization obtained from the literature were prepared using a five-point Likert scale. As a result of the pilot study, item analyzes were applied to the scale and 65 questions related to institutionalization dimensions were reduced to 50 questions.
Data were collected between January and June 2012 by means of interviewers. As of 2012, 309 of 326 first-class restaurant managers participated in the research, that is, a return rate of 94.8%. When the data obtained are analyzed according to the provinces, it is seen that the highest rate is Istanbul with 40%, followed by Ankara with 19%. The obtained data were loaded into the SPSS package program; After validity and reliability analyzes were performed, descriptive analyses, explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis and logistic regression analysis were performed.
4. Findings and Analysis
As a result of the research, findings were obtained in two different groups, namely the general and service-oriented characteristics of the restaurants and the dimensions of institutionalization. In order to evaluate the information about the institutionalization status of restaurants in more detail, the relationships between these findings were examined.
4.1. Characteristics of Restaurants Related to Institutionalization
The general characteristics of first-class restaurants regarding institutionalization can be explained as follows; 67.3% of it is a legal entity enterprise, 14.4% of which has a joint stock company structure. Looking at the status of going public, it was understood that the same number of restaurants were opened with rights. Half of the restaurants are managed by 54.4% boards or directorates, while only 27.2% are chain-linked. According to their capacities, the restaurants have an average capacity of 460 people. This figure is remarkable in that it exceeds the minimum requirements of a first class restaurant (150 people). The fact that a small portion of the restaurants (16.2%) have been in service for more than 25 years as of the years of operation is important in terms of supporting the continuity problem of the restaurants. In top-notch restaurants, management is significantly (64%, 4) carried out by business owners; indicates that professional managers are less employed. It is understood from the 137 quality certificates received that quality is among the issues that are considered important. Since the restaurants are mostly located in the centers (55.4%), it can be said that they appeal to the general markets where they are located.
When the service-oriented features of first-class restaurants are examined, it has been determined that mostly à la carte menus are used (66.5%), specialty/specialty (40.8%) and ethnic (24.6%) predominantly. The fact that these businesses operate all year (98.7%) has emerged as a feature that differentiates restaurants from other tourism businesses. When the characteristics of the employees are examined, it is seen that the number of kitchen (49.6%) and service (44.4%) employees is close to each other, and 52.7% of them are vocational high school graduates. This shows that qualified workers are employed.
Finally, when we look at the data on employment policy; It has been understood that 61.5% of the first class restaurants employ permanent workers. Flexible working is generally preferred in large organizations and invitations. When these examined features are evaluated in general, it can be said that restaurants are institutionalized businesses in terms of commercial structure and operation. Issues such as employee training, length of service, and service understanding also point to an infrastructure that supports institutionalization. In order to determine the relationship between these basic features of institutionalization and institutionalization, first of all, it is necessary to determine the dimensions of institutionalization in restaurants. At this stage of the research, factor analysis was carried out on 50 questions asked to determine the dimensions of institutionalization.
4.2. Institutionalization Dimensions of Restaurants
In order to determine the dimensions of institutionalization, firstly, explanatory factor analysis was performed. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that the factors had overlapping values for 50 statements, and therefore, item elimination was carried out. The result of factor analysis is given in Table 1.
Table 1. Explanatory Factor Analysis of Institutionalization in Restaurants
|
Dimensions
|
Eigenvalue
|
Maximum
Factor Load
|
described
Variance 29.8 %
|
Cronbach Alpha
|
Number of Expressions
|
|
|
|
size 1
size 2
size 3
size 4
size 5
size 6
|
8.3
|
,796
|
0.86
|
6
|
|
|
|
3.8
|
,808
|
13.9
|
0.86
|
6
|
|
|
|
1.7
|
,838
|
6.3
|
0.79
|
4
|
|
|
|
1.4
|
,774
|
5.2
|
0.66
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,2
|
,687
|
4.5
|
0.73
|
5
|
|
|
|
1.0
|
,777
|
3.7
|
0.60
|
4
|
|
|
Total
|
63.4
|
0.87 28
|
As seen in Table 1, six dimensions with eigenvalues greater than 1 emerged as a result of factor analysis. The KMO value of the scale was .87; The Bartlett test was calculated as .000 and the total explained variance was calculated as 63.4%; In the reliability analysis performed for each dimension, Cronbach Alpha values were found to be within acceptable limits and the scale was accepted as valid (Alpar, 2011: 286). In the naming of the dimensions, the highest factor load values were taken into account together with the literature.
According to this; The first dimension is organizational culture with the expression of acting with common values (0.796), the second dimension is the use of general principles handbook (0.808), the third dimension is formalization with the expression of general storage instructions (0.838), and the fourth factor is informing the guest in the use of additives (0.774). ), transparency in the fifth dimension, professionalization with the expression of employing separate experts in the hot, cold and sweet sections of the fifth dimension (0.687), and social responsibility with the expression of the reuse of wastes with the recycling system (0.777) in the sixth dimension.
When we look at the formalization statements explained in two dimensions, it was taken into account that the second repeated dimension is related to the documents in which standard procedures regarding storage, purchasing, food costs and food recipes are followed within the scope of quality standards in food and beverage businesses, and it was decided to call it "standardization". . Since it is a scale compiled from the literature and adapted to restaurants, and a dimension (consistency) in the literature was removed and a new dimension (standardization) was added, it was deemed necessary to validate the scale. LISREL package
The results of the second degree confirmatory factor analysis performed with the help of the program are given in Table 2.
Table 2. Institutionalization in Restaurants Second Level Confirmatory Factor Analysis
|
|
t value ( 0.01)
|
Error Coefficients*
|
standardized
Values
|
R
|
|
Professionalization
|
9.91
|
0.68
|
0.92
|
0.85
|
|
Organization culture
|
15.05
|
0.53
|
0.89
|
0.79
|
|
Social responsibility
|
8.15
|
0.68
|
0.81
|
0.66
|
|
Transparency
|
9.19
|
0.61
|
0.80
|
0.64
|
|
Standardization
|
9.05
|
0.73
|
0.55
|
0.31
|
|
Formalization
|
4.95
|
0.73
|
0.32
|
0.10
|
In confirmatory factor analysis, firstly, t values and error coefficients, which are the primary criteria for the scale to be accepted as correct, were examined. As seen in Table 2, t values for all items in the scale are significant at the p>0.01 level (t> 2,576). However, the error coefficients of all observed values were found to be below 0.90. In order to verify the factor structure, chi-square and degrees of freedom ratio (2.67-perfect) and fit indices were examined. When the literature is examined, it is recommended to use more than one fit indices since there is no consensus on which fit indices should be used in the evaluation of the model (Şekercioğlu and Güzeller, 2012: 223). As a result of the analysis, RMSEA 0.07 (good), NFI 0.93 (good), NNFI 0.95 (excellent), CFI 0.95 (excellent), and SRMR 0,
|
chi-square
|
920.39
|
|
Degrees of Freedom ( sd )
|
344
|
|
Chi-square/ sd
|
2.67
|
|
RMSEA
|
0.07
|
|
NFI
|
0.93
|
|
NNFI
|
0.95
|
|
CFI
|
0.95
|
|
SRMR
|
0.09
|
|
*The highest valued error coefficients detected in the observed variables
|
In confirmatory factor analysis models, assumptions about hierarchical relationships between structures are also shown (Cokluk et al., 2010: 282). For this, standardized values are taken into account. Institutionalization according to standardized values, respectively; professionalization (0.92), organizational culture (0.89), social responsibility (0.81), transparency (0.80), standardization (0.55) and formalization (0.32) dimensions. This ranking is also supported by R2 values.
Although it is noteworthy that formalization, which is frequently mentioned in the literature and is used with the same meaning as institutionalization from time to time, is the dimension that least explains institutionalization, it can be assumed that formalization is a dimension that has been evaluated since the bureaucracy approach was defended and is now less explanatory because it is internalized by businesses. In other words, while formalization and standardization in first-class restaurants are among the sine qua non for the institutionalization of the business, other dimensions are more decisive in the perception of a business as an institution.
4.3. The Relationship between Features and Institutionalization Dimensions
Logistic regression analysis was carried out in order to determine to what extent the institutionalization dimensions, which were determined at this last stage of the analysis and ranked according to their explanatoryness, explain the restaurant characteristics. Logistic regression; It is a method used to determine the cause and effect relationship with explanatory variables in cases where the response variable is observed in categorical binary, triple and multiple categories (Özdamar, 1997: 461). Although this method is similar to discriminant analysis, it is preferred because it does not require a normal distribution condition (Hair et al., 2010: 341). For expressions with more than two categories, a group size of at least 50 people is needed for each independent variable (Cokluk et al., 2010: 59). Therefore, some of the questions are arranged in two categories. Statements regarding the number of employees and their educational status could not be grouped due to lack of data and were excluded from the analysis; A total of 13 features were analyzed.
According to the results of the analysis, it was statistically determined that only four of the 15 restaurant features that were evaluated affected the institutionalization. These features are business status, being connected to the chain, being managed by the board of directors/directorate and flexible working. It has been determined that the relevant institutionalization dimensions are organizational culture, transparency and formalization.
As seen in Table 3, organizational culture dimension of institutionalization has a significant relationship with flexible working, which is one of the restaurant characteristics. Organizational culture dimension reduces the possibility of flexible working in restaurants by 39%; in other words, it increases the probability of working full-time 0.61 times. Beta value (-332) and Wald values (6,332) showed that this relationship was strong; A low error coefficient (.132) indicates that the explanation is reliable. Sharing is the basis of organizational culture, which is defined as the sharing of various elements such as values, norms, ceremonies, ceremonies, and customs among the members of the organization (Güçlü, 2003: 148).
It can be predicted that the more sharing, the stronger the organizational culture. As a result of the research, it was seen that full-time work was applied in restaurants with organizational culture. This result shows that the staff turnover problem (Parsa et al., 2009: 37), which is common in tourism establishments, is not experienced in first class restaurants. Although its direct relationship with the dimensions of institutionalization has not been determined, the fact that first-class restaurants serve all year also supports this result.
The transparency dimension was found to be important in explaining both the management status and flexible working characteristics of restaurants. Accordingly, the transparency dimension, which is determined to be important in terms of institutionalization, increases the probability of a restaurant to be in a legal structure 1.82 times. Beta (.603) and Wald (15.446) values show that this relationship is very strong. Among all calculations, the strongest relationship is between transparency and the board of directors/management. As mentioned before, the board of directors/directorship and management were included in the study in terms of being a feature brought by the commercial situation of the enterprise. Because the liabilities of joint stock companies are clearly written in the CMB report and there is transparency among them (www.spk.gov.tr).
Table 3. General Characteristics of Restaurants and Dimensions of Institutionalization
|
|
|
Business Status
|
|
|
Being Chained
|
|
Board of Directors / Directorate
|
|
|
Flexible Working
|
|
|
Professionalization
Organization culture
Social responsibility
Transparency
Standardization
Formalization
Disclosure Rate
|
B
|
sh
|
W
|
Sig .
|
Exp (B)
|
B
|
SH
|
W
|
Sig .
|
exp
(B)
|
B
|
SH
|
W
|
Sig .
|
Exp (B)
|
B
|
SH
|
W
|
Sig .
|
exp
|
|
,one hundred
|
,141
|
,504
|
,478
|
1.10 5
|
,076
|
,146
|
,269
|
,604
|
1.0
79
|
-.138
|
,136
|
1,028
|
,311
|
,871
|
-,002
|
,133
|
,000
|
,987
|
|
,069
|
,142
|
,239
|
,625
|
1.07 2
|
-,046
|
,144
|
,102
|
,749
|
,95 5
|
-,095
|
,133
|
,508
|
,476
|
,909
|
-.332
|
,132
|
6,332
|
,012
|
1.39
|
|
,027
|
,139
|
,037
|
,847
|
1.02 7
|
-,180
|
,158
|
1,291
|
,256
|
.83 5
|
-,060
|
,141
|
,181
|
,671
|
,942
|
-,019
|
,135
|
,020
|
|
-
|
,148
|
2,149
|
,143
|
,805
|
,195
|
,151
|
1,661
|
,197
|
1,2
15
|
,603
|
,153
|
15,446
|
,000*
|
1.82 8
|
,336
|
,132
|
6,531
|
,011
|
1.40
|
|
,136
|
1,049
|
,306
|
1.15 0
|
-.042
|
,155
|
,073
|
,787
|
,95 6
|
,062
|
,144
|
,186
|
,666
|
1.06 4
|
-.065
|
,136
|
,229
|
|
,027
|
,138
|
6,886
|
,009
*
|
1.43 6
|
-,571
|
,174
|
10.78
2
|
,001*
|
,56 5
|
-.463
|
,145
|
10,131
|
,001*
|
,629
|
-,199
|
,137
|
2,108
|
,147
|
,820
|
|
|
|
74.4
|
|
|
|
|
70.4
|
|
|
|
|
66.3
|
|
|
|
|
64.9
|
|
|
|
chi-square
|
|
|
7,322
|
|
|
|
|
15,704
|
|
|
|
|
30,543
|
|
|
|
|
15,449
|
|
|
|
Degrees of Freedom
|
|
|
one
|
|
|
|
|
one
|
|
|
|
|
one
|
|
|
|
|
one
|
|
|
|
Hosmer & Lemeshow
|
|
|
,706
|
|
|
|
|
,317
|
|
|
|
|
,194
|
|
|
|
|
,311
|
|
|
|
omnibus sig .
|
|
|
,007
|
|
|
|
|
,015
|
|
|
|
|
,000
|
|
|
|
|
,017
|
|
|
Although there are no definite rules in limited companies as in joint stock companies, the regulations of the Turkish Commercial Code are taken into consideration (www.adalet.gov.tr). Considering that approximately 70% of first-class restaurants are legal entities, the existence of board of directors/directorships is commonplace as a result of the research. The decisions taken by the board of directors are actually the obligation of joint stock companies, and according to the results of the research, it can be said that other legal enterprises adopt a similar policy. Although there was no direct question asked about how the decisions were made in the survey, the regular meeting of the boards and the discussion of long-term strategic decisions in these meetings support the idea that the decisions are taken jointly in restaurants.
can be said.
Another feature explained by the transparency dimension is the flexible working situation. According to the result, transparency increases the probability of working full-time in restaurants by 1.4 times. When the expressions in the scale are taken into consideration, it is understood that the expressions constituting transparency are in the direction of transparency towards the Guest. The fact that this is related to the flexible working situation may seem interesting at first glance. However, the result is not surprising considering that the research is based on managerial perceptions. Managers do not prefer flexible working due to reasons such as employing low-qualified employees, low commitment of employees to the business, and difficult motivation.
On the other hand, it is known that employees who prefer flexible working experience the problem of not owning the job and the business due to both job security and wage problems (Çiçek, 2013: 10). Therefore, considering the transparency statements on the scale, such employees cannot be expected to adequately inform their guests about the additives used for bleaching mushrooms, the places where the food is purchased, and the brands used. This explains why transparent restaurants tend towards full-time employment.
Formalization, which forms the basis of institutionalization, is the dimension that most explains restaurant characteristics. According to the results of the research, formalization explains both the commercial status of the restaurants, the status of being connected to the chain and the status of being a board of directors/director. According to Table 3, formalization increases the probability of restaurants to be a legal entity by 1.43 times. Considering the strength values, it is noteworthy that the Beta value (.027) is low. However, considering the explanatory power (74,4) and the Wald value (6.886), it can be said that the relationship still has a strong explanatory power.
The adoption of formal structures in restaurants shows that they are formalized within their own functioning. Therefore, restaurants that are already formalized can easily adapt to the legal entity structure. Thus, it may be possible to benefit from privileges such as tax deductions and credit opportunities given by the state.
According to the results of the research, formalization reduces the probability of restaurants not being connected to the chain by 56%, that is, it increases the probability of being connected to the chain by 0.54 times. This situation, in which a very strong relationship was detected (B= -.517, W= 10.782), can be interpreted as the fact that restaurants in formal structures do not avoid the bureaucracy brought about by chaining. In addition to many advantages such as purchasing power, ready-made theme, technical possibilities, low risk and high credit (Khan, 1999), many operations in the kitchen and service, starting from the supply process, are carried out according to the standards determined by the chain. (Ninemeier, 2000) brings with it obligations.
In this context, it will be easier for formalized restaurants to adapt to chain business conditions. However, 27% of top-notch restaurants are chain-linked. Considering the distribution of chain restaurants within themselves, it is seen that the number of local and national chains is dominant. In this context, it can be said that local and national chains form their own formal structures.
Finally, it was observed that the formalization dimension reduced the probability of not having a board of directors/directorships in restaurants by 63%, that is, it increased the probability of not having a board of directors by 0.37 times. When evaluated together with the general characteristics, it has been understood that although few restaurants have legal sanctions in this sense, half of the first class restaurants constitute these boards.
This shows that the formalization in restaurants is formed by the board of directors/directorates, even though there are no legal sanctions. There are many data and documents that need to be evaluated in certain periods, especially about cost calculations (Yılmaz et al., 2005) and menu engineering (Stevens, 1990: 56) in formal enterprises. In this context, it can be said that there is a need to make decisions together in order to make regular and systematic decisions in formalized restaurants. This can also be considered as an indication that the opinions of the employees in the restaurants are given importance.
When the analysis made so far is evaluated briefly, it has been seen that the dimension that explains the restaurant feature the most among the institutionalization dimensions is formalization. Since formalization has been the most talked about dimension since the first days of institutionalization, it is an expected result to determine the most relationship with features.
However, this result indicates that formalization remains important for the institutionalization of restaurants. The three features of formalization that increase the effect of legal entity, chain affiliation and management with board of directors/directorship can be explained by the fact that it facilitates restaurants in adapting to legal and sectoral pressures. The strongest relationship among all calculations is between transparency and the board of directors/directorship. This situation is basically linked to legal sanctions. Considering that, in general, the companies in the structure of joint stock companies go public due to their legal obligations, it can be said that this is an important tool in transparency.
The fact that restaurants are among the large enterprises in terms of person capacity suggests that more restaurants may have the potential to open to the public. Going public is generally preferred by large enterprises and provides important conveniences to enterprises in terms of institutionalization. Considering its relationship with formalization, it can be thought that going public can be an advantage, especially in the institutionalization of chain enterprises.
In the results of the research, it was seen that professionalization, social responsibility and standardization, which are the most important dimensions of institutionalization, do not explain the general characteristics. This situation can be explained by the inability to categorize the general characteristics of employees statistically or the uneven distribution of data in terms of service characteristics.
However, another important result that should be noted is that while professionalization is the dimension that explains institutionalization the most, its relationship with any feature has not been determined. This may be related to the fact that restaurants are largely managed by business owners. In this case, the employment of professional managers in restaurants and the non-interference of business owners in management will be an important step in terms of institutionalization. It can be said that it is not enough to take the decisions with the board of directors and directorates and it is a necessity to employ professional managers in order to move away from the "one-man" management in the definition of institutionalization.
5. Conclusion and Recommendations
Restaurants have an important place in people's daily life and among tourism businesses. Restaurants that cater to a basic need are increasingly diversifying, gaining different features and turning into more original structures. However, statistics indicate that there is a continuity problem in restaurants in general, and this problem is especially experienced by newly opened businesses. The continuity problem is explained by the inability of enterprises to adapt to their environment and is discussed within the scope of adaptation/adaptation approaches in the literature. In practice, different adaptation tools are proposed for businesses.
In recent years, one of the issues that have been examined as a means of adaptation to the environment and continuity is institutionalization. Institutionalization envisages a continuity that is not limited to human life in terms of covering the entire organization without being dependent on a single person. From this point of view, the institutionalization dimensions for the solution of the continuity problem of restaurants were examined in the research.
According to the results of the research conducted on first-class restaurants in Turkey, it has been seen that restaurants are generally suitable for institutionalization. Commercial status, education level of employees, interest in quality certificates, establishment locations, menu types, restaurant features, working status and openness to service show that first-class restaurants have a large institutionalization infrastructure. In addition to these positive features, the fact that most of them have been operating for less than 25 years and that restaurants are managed by business owners, that is, not employing professional managers, does not coincide with institutionalization. Considering the institutionalization dimensions of restaurants, respectively; professionalization, organizational culture, social responsibility, transparency,
The fact that the dimension that explains the institutionalization the most is professionalization, coincides with the fact that the subject with the highest expectations of the guests in the literature is professionalization. However, the management of restaurants by business owners is the biggest obstacle to the institutionalization of restaurants. Therefore, restaurant owners who want to increase the level of institutionalization should employ professional managers. In addition, activities such as employing the right people in the right job for professionalization, ensuring that employees participate in training activities where they can gain more expertise and improving themselves within their expertise, and ensuring active participation in decisions by giving more authority and responsibility to employees can be carried out.
Organizational culture, which is in the second place, is of great importance for service businesses. In particular, the fact that restaurants are at the top of the institutionalization process supports this. For this purpose, practices with more effective and concrete outputs can be realized through employees in order to adopt organizational culture in restaurants. For example, it may be suggested to organize social activities among employees to increase shared values. However, as in the examples in countries such as France and Italy that can be considered pioneers in gastronomy, the fact that the restaurant's work teams are at the forefront in marketing activities can strengthen the employee's sense of feeling important and of being a part of the restaurant.
The fact that the social responsibility dimension, which is determined to be in the third place, is at the top can be explained by the increasing importance of the concept of sustainability today. The concept of sustainability has developed in various fields and has become a research topic in itself. Both publicity and awareness-raising activities on an international scale have increased the number of sensitive consumers. According to the research, social responsibility in restaurants is mostly manifested by the importance given to practices on waste recycling and energy saving.
Considering the effect on institutionalization, it can be suggested that restaurants also carry out activities to protect local values. Transparency, which ranks fourth, can be thought of as an extension of the perception of social responsibility. Because in transparency, it is generally mentioned that the guests should be informed about health. The high degree of disclosure of transparency indicates a necessity beyond legal regulations. In this sense, the fact that restaurants have many and various quality certificates besides tourism certificate is another proof that quality is considered important. However, the perception of transparency can be increased by increasing the quality documents and ensuring that the stakeholders see this care. Transparency towards employees in institutionalization has been associated with making decisions with the board of directors/directorate.
Standardization and formalization, in the last two rows, have less impact, among other dimensions. This has been evaluated as a result of the adoption of the two dimensions by businesses now. However, it has emerged that in liberal economies where human relations have increased and guest-orientedness has been adopted, it is necessary to go beyond formalization and standardization. In other words, formalization and standardization have an important role in the continuity of restaurants; however, it will not be enough to realize these two dimensions for a restaurant to operate for many years. However, these dimensions must be provided in order to put restaurants on solid foundations as the beginning and first step of institutionalization. Based on the research results,
Professionalization, organizational culture and social responsibility dimensions, which are accepted as important dimensions of institutionalization in first-class restaurants, have important functions in ensuring continuity in all restaurants, especially in new ones. Important clues have been obtained that having strong practices in these areas will be effective in the institutionalization and continuity of restaurants. Accordingly, it has been determined that institutionalized restaurants differ from non-institutionalized restaurants in terms of commercial status, being connected to a chain, being managed by a board of directors/directorate and flexible working policies.
These features of restaurants are affected by organizational culture, transparency and formalization dimensions. In restaurants that are not yet institutionalized, it can be suggested that managers (such as adopting a full-time employment policy) bring the strategies related to these dimensions to the fore by providing the specified features. In order to ensure continuity in restaurants, it is also necessary to carry out social responsibility and standardization activities, especially professionalization. For example, various social responsibility activities such as the consumption of local raw materials, the preference of healthy cooking methods, the use of organic products and the addition of traditional flavors to the menus can be carried out.
This research was carried out within the scope of first class restaurant managers operating in Turkey and the results were evaluated within this framework. In summary, it can be said that the dimensions of institutionalization can be used as a basis for evaluating the current situation in restaurants and eliminating inadequacies. However, considering that this research is limited to the perceptions of restaurant managers in Turkey, the subject is; it can be said that it is open to being fed by different researches such as comparison with practices in other countries, the perception of institutionalization of employees.
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The original text accepted as the source is as follows. Google translate is used in translation.