Kate T. Toledo BSA-2 CBME1 MW 3:00-4:30 Feb.

20,2020

Catherine’s Confectionaries

Question 1. What are the three major types of customers Catherine serves? How do
they differ from one another? What do you think the order winners are for each group?

Answer:

The three major types of customers Catherine serves are: businesses, such as
restaurants and grocery stores, also include individual customers which include
wedding and banquets, and she also serves walk-in customers. Each one of these
customers has different necessities. Businesses require higher volume and flexibility
and possibly more quality compliance and deadlines. On the other hand, individual
customers requires flexibility in timings and require more personal relationship since it
involves high contact with customer. Lastly, walk-in are piece meal ordering, what you
see is what you get, customer service is consistent face to face interaction and orders
are relatively not predictable. The order winner for businesses would include volume
flexibility in order to fulfill large orders, also quality of taste since there are a lot of
competition in the market to choose from and competitive pricing. The order winner for
individuals include customer service options for special ordering and personal
relationship. And for walk-in customers the order winner include reputation and the
quality of product such as taste, presentation and freshness.

Question 2. Consider Catherine’s decision to lease the restaurant space( a structural

decision). Was this decision consistent with the needs of her different customers? Why
or why not? How did this decision change Catherine’s business?

Answer:

Catherine decision to lease the restaurant space was not the best choice and
inconsistent because the space that Catherine leased in order to increase the demand
was not an ideal for her business and the lease was expensive that she anticipated.
Furthermore, that decision changed her business and highly increased costs. It
increases labor in order to facilitate new business necessities and new customers which
in that time she didn’t have enough financial resources to support and cover all the
expenses caused by leasing the restaurant.
Question 3. Consider Catherine’s initial decision to hire unskilled labor to help with
walk-in business ( an infrastructural decision). Was this decision consistent with the
needs of her different customer? Why or why not?

Answer:

Catherine hired unskilled workers, this decision was inconsistent because those
workers needed constant supervision and constant training. According to human
resource decision, hiring unskilled workers increases training costs which is not good
especially on Catherine’s side because she doesn’t have enough funds to finance those
costs. Instead of making the work easier and faster, it only added more work and
responsibilities and additional expenses put the further strain on her finance.

Question 4. Catherine is clearly unhappy with the way things are going right now. What
would you suggest she do? What information would you like to have before making a
decision?

Answer:

For me, the things that I can suggest that Catherine must do are the following; first,
Catherine needs to reflect on what her profits are versus how much time she is putting
into the business. If she is spending more time on business than what she is making, it
might be time to rethink the current strategy. She needs to determine if it is going to
work for her financially and emotionally. She needs to think that business is something
you enjoy and not something you dread going into daily. She must think about the
consequences of her decisions, like if that decision is good and can benefit her as well
as her business or otherwise it will put her business to downfall. The information that I
would like to have before making decisions are; competition, opportunity cost, return on
investment ,it’s pros and cons and lastly knowing it’s risks.