CHAPTER I

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Introduction

It is difficult to define what quality is (Lagrosen, 2004). Clemes, Gan, Kao, and Choong

(2008) stated that whatever customers perceive as important are dimensions of quality. Zeithaml

(1988) said that perceived quality could be defined as customer perception about an entity’s

overall experience or superiority. According to ISO 9000:2000, quality is defined as “the degree

to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements”. Ismail, Abdullah, and Francis

(2009) reported that perceived quality is a general assessment of service. Positive perception of

service quality occurs when the customer expectation is meet or exceeded. Service quality is

considered to be a key performance measure for excellence in business and a determining factor

for improved quality as business service providers (Donaldson and Runciman, 1995), with

lasting effects on the customers. While it is quite easy to measure the quality of goods using

certain technical specification, it is more difficult to measure the service quality which depends

on various factors which relies on the customer’s perception and this could be different from the

expected service.

A canteen is a small business. Like any business, it requires good management practices

to be efficient and successful. Adunna (2013) discussed that along the line of canteen
management is the need for an improvement system to boost not only sales but also the

efficiency of its operations. In addition to providing with nutritious and affordable foods, the

canteen should be based on good management practices and the financially self-sustaining.

Experience shows that, with good management and marketing practices. Effective canteen

management requires that: everyone involved knows it goals and objectives and is familiar with

its policies, canteen staff and committee develop an implementation plan to achieve policy
goals, day-to-day operational procedures are structured and enforced staff are adequately

trained and supervised, staff carry out efficient stock managements, accounting and financial

procedures staff are familiar with and comply with relevant legal requirements regarding food

safety, occupational health and safety standards.

School canteens are more than just a system of supplying foods for students, instead they

have a special role to play in education, health and well-being of students and the communities

they serve. May operate under a variety of management structures, depending on the individual

characteristics and the needs of school. Most canteen in schools are run under the directions of,

and are accountable to the school council. Schools may decide to provide a food service to their

customer in several ways. A formal management agreement detailing the terms and conditions of

the management structure should be drawn up and sign by the relevant management parties,

which will usually be the school council and school head. In the current service environment, in

which companies must seek maximum competitiveness, services are becoming increasingly

important as a means to provide customer value and competitive advantage.

The importance of such a service is highlighted by the presence of many stakeholders and

their interests, either educational or social. A strategy of continuous improvement with regard to
quality is important. The study is prompted by the fact that in OCCIDENTAL MINDORO

STATE COLLEGE – Mamburao Campus canteen operates under the direction of, and are

accountable to the marketing head. The marketing head oversees the operation of the school

canteen, including its policies, employment of staff, the disbursement of any profits and the

recoupment of losses. The day-to-day operations of the canteen are managed by a paid worker.

Statement of the Problem:

This study aims to assess the canteen management practices of Occidental Mindoro State

College – Mamburao Campus.

Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions:

1. What is the status of the school canteen practices as perceived by the students, teachers

and canteen personnel in terms of:

a. Quality and quantity of food served;

b. Kinds of service rendered to the customers;

c. Prices of commodities; and

d. Utilization of canteen facilities

e. Management

2. Is there a significant difference between the perception of the canteen personnel and

students respondents on the status of school canteen practices?

3. Is there a significant difference between the perception of the student and teacher

respondents on the status of school canteen practices?

4. What are the comments and suggestions of the respondents to improve the school canteen

practices?
 5. What improvements can be proposed by the researchers to the quality management

services of canteen personnel?

Objectives of the study

This study is intent to assess the canteen management practices of Occidental Mindoro

State College – Mamburao Campus.

The specific objectives of this study are the following:

1. To be able to determine the status of the school canteen practices as perceived by the

students, teachers and canteen personnel in terms of: quality and quantity of food

served, kinds of service rendered to the customers, prices of commodities, utilization

of canteen facilities and management.

2. To be able to know the significant difference between the perception of the canteen

personnel and student respondent of the status of school canteen practices.

3. To be able to know the significant difference between the perception of the student

and teacher respondents on the status of school canteen practices.

4. To be able to determine the comments and suggestions of the respondents to improve

the school canteen practices.

5. To be able to recommend improvement for the quality management services of

canteen personnel.

Significance of the Study

This study assess the canteen management practices Occidental Mindoro State College –

Mamburao Campus. The findings will benefit the following:

 School. The result of the research study will help the Administrator to emphasize the

canteen management practices of the institution and for the well development of the school.

Stakeholders. The information in the study will help them aware from the canteen

management practices. Findings of the study may provide additional knowledge and perception

about their food towards their health and safety lifestyle.

Future Researchers. The study will serve as a guide and may give an idea for

completing the research in order to know the format, and the statistical formula needed.

Researchers. It will serve as a bridge to use to be a competitive students and an effective

employee in the near future. The researchers develop their moral attitude on how to be patient, to

be polite in conducting the study. Also, social approach is improved in terms of communication

and interaction.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study focused on the “Canteen management practices in Occidental Mindoro State

College – Mamburao Campus” for the month of October 2018 to March 2019. Thus, the study

aims to to determine the status of the school canteen practices as perceived by the students,

teachers and canteen personnel in terms of: quality and quantity of food served, kinds of service

rendered to the customers, prices of commodities, utilization of canteen facilities and

management. Furthermore, the respondents of the study include the students, canteen personnel,

and teaching personnel of Occidental Mindoro State College - Mamburao Campus for the

Academic Year 2018-2019.

The limitation of the study is that the researchers do not include all other factors of school

canteen management practices of the Occidental Mindoro State College - Mamburao Campus
because some of the factors were already included by the other researchers and to avoid conflicts

in conducting the research study.

Conceptual Framework

The paradigm of the study described the relationship of the variables. This includes the

status of the school canteen practices as perceived by the students, teachers and canteen

personnel as the basis input of the study. The quality and quantity of food served, kinds of

service rendered to the customers, prices of commodities, utilization of canteen facilities, and

management may serve as the status of school canteen management practices. The processes

included by the researcher are survey questionnaire, data analysis, and interpretation of data

being processed. The expected outputs are the improved canteen management practices of

Occidental Mindoro State College- Mamburao Campus.

Input Process Output

The improved
Survey school canteen
questionnaire, management
data analysis and practices of
interpretation Occidental
Mindoro State
College–
Mamburao
Campus
Operational Definition of Terms

The following are the terms used in the study.

Canteen. This word has been used in this study

1. Status of school canteen
management practices: to refer to a place in a college to promote an enjoyment
a. Quality and quantity of of healthy eating. For students and teachers who use the
food served
b. Kinds of service canteen regularly, the food purchased makes a
rendered to the
customers significant contribution to their total food intake and
c. Prices of commodities
d. Utilization of canteen nutrition.
Fig.facilities
1.Research paradigm.
e. Management Canteen practices. This word has been

used in this study to mean the practice of quality and

quantity of food served, kinds of service rendered to the

customers, price of commodities, utilization of canteen

facilities and management of school canteen in the campus.

Facilities. It refers to a thing that designed and created to serve a particular function and

to afford a particular convenience for service.

Quality. This word has been used in this study to the quality characteristics of food and

service that is acceptable to consumers. This includes external factors as appearance, texture, and

flavor.
 Management. This word has been used in this study to mean the practice of creating

policy and organizing, planning, controlling, and directing a canteen resources in order to

achieve the objectives of that policy.