Do customers in rural and urban markets want the same thing from a restaurant server? While researchers have stressed the importance of sub-culture and made the call for empirical research, few studies have incorporated sub-culture into their research, especially within the hospitality industry. Empirically measuring the differences in sub-culture, may be especially important for restaurant operators as they serve and employ a myriad of different customers in different markets. One under researched yet critical way is through a better understanding of the importance of customer contact employees' behavior. Understanding the importance customers place on standard restaurant wait staff behaviors and time standards may be critical to earning customers satisfaction and patronage, yet few studies have empirically examined this. Developing enhanced ways of understanding how to adapt service delivery behavior to the values of major cultural groups can be extremely beneficial to hospitality managers. This study attempts to close these gaps by investigating the influence of sub-culture on consumer perceptions of behavioral and timing dimensions in a casual, full-service restaurant setting, through methodological sampling concentrating on two main sub-cultural groups: rural and urban restaurant patrons. Results indicated that sanitation and accommodation were the most important behavioral dimensions for both groups. The level of server responsiveness, friendliness, and knowledge were statistically different for the rural and urban samples. Results suggest that casual restaurant wait staff need to tailor service behavior by accommodating and customizing to the cultural and sub-cultural based guest needs in order to maintain a competitive advantage in satisfying customers. This study also demonstrates theoretical and managerial implications and suggests that further research is needed to investigate differences across other hospitality settings. / Master of Science

The primary purpose of this study was to explore a model that examines the relationships among the external environment, entrepreneurial strategy, mechanistic-organic structure and financial performance of restaurant franchisors from the perspective of franchisees. The final structural model indicated that restaurant franchisees perceive that franchisors' entrepreneurial strategy makes a highly positive contribution to franchisors' financial performance. The external environment is perceived to have a negative impact on franchisor's financial performance. Franchisees also perceived that franchisor's entrepreneurial strategy and mechanistic-organic structure could have a significantly and mutually positive impact on each other. The basic value of understanding entrepreneurial strategy is the prediction of certain financial outcomes. Entrepreneurial strategy proved to have a very significant impact on the franchisor's financial performance from the perspective of restaurant franchisees. However, franchisors' entrepreneurial strategy was not always perceived to guarantee financial success because of the negative impact of the external environment in the restaurant franchising industry on financial performance. Furthermore, restaurant franchisees perceived the franchisor's external environment in the industry was unlikely to contribute to the franchisor's entrepreneurial strategy or mechanistic-organic structure. Restaurant franchisees viewed that a high level of franchisors' entrepreneurial strategy had a mutual relationship with their organic structure. It is significant in their perception that their free-flowing relationship, authority, and communication involvement in the franchisor's decision-making process establish high levels of franchisors' entrepreneurial strategy. However, franchisors' mechanistic-organic structure is not necessarily perceived to influence franchisors' financial performance positively. The indirect effect of mechanistic-organic structure on financial performance through entrepreneurial strategy was not perceived to be significant. Restaurant franchisees perceive that franchisors' entrepreneurial strategy is driven by mechanistic-organic structure in the franchising system, not by external environmental change in the industry. It is very understandable for franchisees to perceive this way, because franchisees constantly provide franchisors with local environmental information through franchising communication and relationship channels. Restaurant franchisees compete with other restaurants in many local markets, so that they are knowledgeable about significant changes in the local environment. Restaurant franchisees might perceive that the local environment is a more critical issue to franchisors' entrepreneurial strategy than is the general external environment in the industry. Thus, they might not think of the external environment in the industry as important enough to have an influence on entrepreneurial strategy and mechanistic-organic structure, except on franchisors' financial performance. / Ph. D.

The primary purpose of this study was to empirically test Smith's (1967) typology of entrepreneurial type and Miles and Snow's (1978) typology of strategy in the restaurant industry, and then to establish whether or not there is a relationship between type of entrepreneur and type of strategy. A total of 1,000 entrepreneurs were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. One hundred and thirty three entrepreneurs participated in the study, yielding a response rate of 14.76%. From the basis of the objectives and research questions, four hypotheses were derived to identify the presence of Smith's (1967) typology of entrepreneurs (craftsman and opportunistic entrepreneurs), Miles and Snow's (1978) typology of strategy (defenders, prospectors, analyzers and reactors), and the relationship between type of entrepreneur and type of strategy in the restaurant industry. The findings of the hypotheses tests indicated that Smith's two entrepreneurial types may not be mutually exclusive and that there is probably a third group of entrepreneurs, combining characteristics from both Smith's craftsman and opportunistic types. Support was found for Miles and Snow's four generic strategies of defender, prospector, analyzer and reactor. Through the use of discriminant analysis, it was possible to demonstrate a relationship between type of entrepreneur and type of strategy. Furthermore, two moderating variables were found to also be associated with the realationship between type of entrepreneur. / Master of Science

Este trabajo de investigación muestra la relación entre la calidad de servicio y atmósfera del local con la intención de revisita en los restaurantes temáticos, específicamente del sector AB en Lima Metropolitana. Mediante este trabajo se analizarán y evaluarán las diversas dimensiones que poseen las variables mencionadas. A su vez, se observarán las estrategias que utiliza este sector para incentivar el retorno al local. Los restaurantes temáticos son una tendencia actualmente en el mercado, puesto que se diferencian frente a los restaurantes tradicionales. Presentan una temática específica generando una experiencia diferente hacia el consumidor. Destacando su calidad de servicio, es decir, la atención personalizada, conocimiento de carta por parte del mesero y la calidad del producto; y atmósfera: el ambiente del local y elementos de diseño. Sin embargo, dichos elementos no son suficientes para que el exigente consumidor tenga intención de retornar al restaurante. A través del estudio cualitativo y cuantitativo, que incluían entrevistas al público objetivo, expertos en el tema de investigación y encuestas por Google Forms, se comprobó que existe una relación entre la calidad de servicio y atmósfera del local con la intención de revisita. El cliente cuenta con expectativas altas, las cuales el restaurante temático no estaba cumpliendo. Al ser un restaurante diferencial, se espera una atención sumamente personalizada, con buenos productos y un ambiente que traslade al comensal a la temática que propone el restaurante, así como una interacción entre local y consumidor generando que este tenga una buena experiencia y aumente la probabilidad de revisita. / This research work shows the relationship between the quality of service and atmosphere of the premises with the intention of revisiting in thematic restaurants, specifically the AB sector in Lima Metropolitana. This work will analyze and evaluate the various dimensions of the above variables. In turn, the strategies used by this sector to incentivize return to the premises will be observed. Themed restaurants are currently a trend in the market, as they differ from traditional restaurants. They present a specific theme generating a different experience towards the consumer. Highlighting its quality of service, that is, personalized attention, knowledge of the menu by the waiter and the quality of the product; atmosphere: the atmosphere of the place and design elements. However, those elements are not sufficient for the demanding consumer to intend to return to the restaurant. Through the qualitative and quantitative study, which included interviews with the target audience, experts on the subject of research and surveys by Google Forms, it was found that there is a relationship between the quality of service and atmosphere of the premises with the intention of revisit. The customer has high expectations, which the themed restaurant was not meeting. Being a differential restaurant, we expect a highly personalized attention, with good products and an atmosphere that brings the diner to the theme proposed by the restaurant, as well as an interaction between local and consumer generating that it has a good experience and increases the likelihood of revisit. / Trabajo de investigación

The high employee turnover rate in the U.S. restaurant industry constitutes a major expense for restaurants. The research problem for this study was to determine if restaurant employees' perceptions of their supervisor's servant leadership practices were associated with the employees' organizational commitment and perceived organizational support, which have been shown to reduce turnover. Greenleaf's servant leadership theory provided the theoretical framework. The research question for this study was whether restaurant employees' perceptions of their supervisor's servant leadership practices were associated with the employees' organizational commitment and perceived organizational support, thereby potentially reducing employees' turnover rate. A purposive sample of 88 nonsupervisory employees of several South Florida casual dining restaurants completed a demographic questionnaire, short forms of the Servant Leadership Scale and Survey of Perceived Organizational Support, and the Organizational Commitment Scale. Correlation analysis was used to determine any significant (p < 0.5) relationships between the independent and dependent variables. The study correlation results suggested that instituting a servant leadership approach may enable casual dining restaurants to raise their nonsupervisory employees' organizational commitment and perceived perception of organizational support, thereby possibly retaining them longer. The findings have implications for social change because they may motivate casual dining restaurants to institute servant leadership, thereby potentially increasing the well-being and job satisfaction of their employees and the service experience of their customers.

The importance of environmental analysis in the strategic management process and the effects of economic value drivers on firm or industry performance have been discussed conceptually and empirically by researchers in corporate failure, and in the areas of finance, accounting, strategic management, and the hospitality industry in the past. The belief is that the more systematic and frequent the scanning performed by managers the higher the chances of improving the firm's or industry's performance. The present study is an attempt to identify economic value drivers that impact the casual theme sector of the restaurant industry and to ascertain the degree of the impact during the period 1994-2003. The statistical analysis was based on time series data, using Cross Correlation, Granger Causality, and Multivariate Regression. An exhaustive range of economic value drivers within ten categories were tested: commodity market; foreign currency market; labor market; inflation; stock market; national income and output; interest rate; government revenue, spending, debt, and taxes; money supply; and consumer spending. The unit of analysis was done at the industry level, and an index of operational cash flows of the casual theme sector of the restaurant industry was developed. Economic value drivers within the categories of commodity markets, labor markets, inflation, stock market, national input/output, government revenue/spending/debt/taxes, money markets, and consumer spending indicated co-movements with and causality to the index of operational cash flows per unit in the casual theme restaurant industry. A high variance in the operational cash flows in the casual theme restaurant industry was explained by a set of economic value drivers within commodity markets, inflation, and labor markets. In broad, practical terms, the study intends to support the importance of assessing the economic environment for better performance of the restaurant industry and to provide food service managers with a conceptual model to understand the unanticipated effects on the performance of existing or new strategies. In real terms, the model and set of economic value drivers in the model would help them decide what kinds of action or investment in a firm or industry's weakness should be taken to buffer future operational risks against value drivers within economic environment. / Master of Science

The proposed winery is located near the village Strachotín in South Moravia. Plot on which the proposal is located is surrounded by vineyards on the north and steeply slopes to the middle reservoir of the Nové Mlýny on the south. Part of the winery is in addition to the actual production, sales and wine tastings, a restaurant with accommodation and wellness. The idea of the proposal is based on the views of the surrounding countryside. The proposal is situated on the edge of the slope - even underground floor opens to the south and affords a view of the whole Palava - the water area and the Pavlov Hills.

The aim of thediploma thesis is to design an architectural study of a new synagogue in Opava for the Jewish community. Content of the work is also a community center and administration. In the deign is a set of three buildings serving the Jewish community. The design is solved as an interconnected space between the public and the Jewish community. With its openness and permeability, it offers the opportunity to look into the Jewish community. The main object, the synagogue, for believers is directly linked to the construction of the Jewish community, where at the same level we can find mikve for ritual purrification. The second object, the Jewish community, offers two business units in the first floor. The important part of the Jewish community is education, and therefore the design of the Jewish community also contains a library and a clasroom connected to this library. The administration itself is located on the private last floor with a terrace. A third building, a community center, has been created to make the public familiar with the Jewish community, its religion and culture. The first floor is used by the kosher restaurant, which can use the central space between the park landscaping for sitting. The Community Center provides a lecture hall on the second floor and a spacious gallery for Jewish artists on the third floor.

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