Case Study Medici Mediterranean Restaurant

In the first question of the Medici Mediterranean Restaurant case study, it asks if there are any other options that Alissa might consider solving this problem. There are many other options that are not listed in the study that Alissa could exercise in this scenario to make Guido focus more on his job. In this particular case, the head chef Guido has not been through business school like the owner Alissa has. Guido lacks the business skills that are imperative to keep a business well and running, leading to recurring late payments of bills and invoices, deliveries of product that are not on time, and a non qualified wait staff that is hurting the business.

Guido’s focus is in the kitchen and it has become a struggle for him to balance being a head chef, cooking food for numerous customers every day, and being a successful manager. In Medici II, there is a lack of wait staff that does no help to Guido, putting extra stress on him to perform to his best abilities as a chef.

Alissa would also have to decide which of the wait staff at Medici II is worth keeping, and fire the ones that are undisciplined. Hiring a wait staff that has experience in the restaurant business would benefit both Alissa and Guido and increase the profits in both restaurants because of an increase in efficiency. A more experienced wait staff would take stress off of Guido while he was in the kitchen, and would help him focus more on getting meals out to customers. Another option that Alissa may be able to exercise would be hiring an assistant chef for Guido, who has experience aiding to a head chef. This option would leave Guido with more time for taking care of the business side of the restaurant, such as bills and invoices, deliveries, and the wait staff.

It will also give Guido more time during work hours to keep up appearances with customers, which come to the restaurant to see Guido, and eat the food that he prepares. With an assistant chef for Guido, revenue will increase again due to a rise in production output. The aid of an assistant chef giving Guido more time in the business, would lead Alissa to be able to stay at the original Medici location, minimizing the trips that she would have to take to the Medici II location. Helping her focus more on the issues that arise in the original location. The second question of the Medici Mediterranean Restaurant is to evaluate each alternative of the case carefully and to choose one that I think would be the best for this case. The first alternative option in the case is to maintain the status quo that Alissa already has in her businesses. This option entails Alissa and Guido sitting down and discussing a more manageable plan for handling office administration details at the Medici II location. In this option Alissa considers the idea of hiring a full time employee to assist Guido with business details, but Alissa is not sure she will be able to afford another full time employee at this time.

This option is not the one that I would choose for Alissa to exercise in her business. Sitting down in a non-confrontational manner and discussing the administrative side of the business and future of Medici II with Guido would be a step in the right direction, but would not get anything executed. Alissa has already talked to Guido about his work ethic and Guido has always promised Alissa to do better. The relationship between Guido and Alissa is obviously not working. In this option, it says that she will try to figure out his future plans, meaning she would wait to see if he is going to open a restaurant himself or not. This option is wasting valuable time for Alissa, time that she can be putting toward training a new head chef and manager for her business. The second option would be to discipline or fire Guido. This option entails that Guido has been repeating the same problems that have been addressed on previous occasions.

Alissa is worried that firing Guido would put her business in a competition with Guido if he decided to open his own restaurant. With no guarantee that Guido would open a business in the area of Medici, Alissa still thinks that disciplinary steps are futile. This is the option that I would choose. The problems have been adding up for Guido as an employee of Alissa. The business is losing money and it is at the point where something needs to change. Alissa needs to cut ties with Guido, and hire a chef that is responsible in making business decisions and skilled in cooking Mediterranean cuisine.

If Alissa does not fire Guido, Medici II will eventually fail as a business, causing a major set back financially for Alissa. Alissa needs to take this risk of firing Guido, and not worry if Guido will open a restaurant, for that will focus her on everything but what actually needs to be done in her business. At this time in her business, there are more important issues that need to be taken care of, and keeping Guido at the current position would take away time that could be used toward finding a new head chef and manager that may very well be a better employee than Guido.