Recommend ways in which Paulo might solve the current quality problems in some PAC restaurants. Justify your recommendation.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2020). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Knowledge: Definition and importance of quality
2. [1] Knowledge: Link between quality and HR/HRM
3. [1] Knowledge: Staff turnover
4. [1] Knowledge: Delegated powers
5. [1] Knowledge: Link between quality and motivation
6. [1] Knowledge: Meaning of quality in a service industry
7. [1] Application: PAC restaurant staff are likely to be relatively unskilled
8. [1] Application: They are working long hours / under pressure / feeling under-valued
9. [1] Application: Junior staff or those on flexible employment contracts – motivation? Link with quality
10. [1] Application: Reference to quality issues from the case – bad customer service and what this means in restaurant context
11. [1] Application: No mention of staff training in the case
12. [1] Application: Development of reasons for low motivation applied to restaurant
13. [1] Analysis: Possible solutions developed and why these may help to solve the problems. E.g. customer care training may improve customer service as staff aware of expectations, leading to less complaints
14. [1] Analysis: Different solutions may apply to different levels of staff and different situations
15. [1] Evaluation: How could food poisoning have been prevented?
16. [1] Evaluation: Could ERP software help with staffing, take some pressure off?
17. [1] Evaluation: TQM related solutions
18. [1] Evaluation: Essential to solve problems as customers may be lost / company could be sued
19. [1] Evaluation: Long term effect of better staff motivation / lower staff turnover
20. [1] Evaluation: Management delegation issues
21. [1] Evaluation: Relationship with management team issues
22. [1] Evaluation: Are some complaints inevitable in a busy restaurant context?