This thesis will analyze the influence of the use of technology in the restaurant industry in respect to delivering value to customers and the organization. This technology primarily includes Point of Sale Systems, digitized menus, and online activities such as social media. Interactions with technology include the process of ordering food, efficiency, service time, accuracy, and building customer relations. This thesis looks at the past, present, and future of the use of technology in restaurants and the theories in trying to deliver value and gain competitive advantage. Restaurants and businesses are turning to technology to keep up with customers’ trends and maintain advantage. Through secondary and primary research this thesis describes theories and methods of customer-oriented and technology-oriented businesses. Those organizations that manage to incorporate technology and make creative use of the information available, in addition to having a good product or service, positive business culture, the right employees, investors, and customers will experience competitive advantage, growth, and increase in profits.
The purpose of this study is to investigate business practices, processes, decision-making and other characteristics of Hispanic-owned businesses in an urban area. Due to the fact that immigrant-owned businesses face unique challenges and may have differing approaches to small business management, a close examination of these businesses is an important area of research. A qualitative survey method was administered in face-to-face interviews of a small sample of Hispanic-owned businesses in Elizabeth, NJ. The survey examined the country of origin, possible inheritance, location preferences, capital, marketing, networking, involvement in the local community, struggles within the business, and successes as well as failures. While the study only looked at a small sample of businesses, several findings from these Hispanic-owned business surveys were relevant and can be explored further in a wider sample of businesses. None of the businesses in the sample claimed high success rates, but they all reported earnings were sufficient to stay open and to at least cover their family and business expenses. Although breaking even was a common trend, no one reported plans of closing the business anytime soon, which is strong indicator of the cultural background. it is apparent that profit is not the principal motive for these Hispanic business owners, and that more complex cultural and family influences affect behavior and decision making in many of these firms.
Food is essential to life, the foundation of our existence, and necessary for all organisms. Food and its systems of production, availability, supply, and demand play a critical role in the development, expansion, and detriment of human civilizations. While the globalization of food systems has fostered a greater variety and availability of food, its accessibility is by no means universal. In acknowledging the disconnect relating to economies of the Global North and Global South, everyone did not reap the benefits of globalizing food. The current global food system is unsustainable in all measures: socially, environmentally, and economically, as it is a primary driver of biodiversity loss, accounts for nearly one-third of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) (Benton, et. al, 2021), and contributes to the food waste-hunger paradox as the world produces enough food to feed every people globally simultaneously, while 811 million people remain chronically undernourished (FAO, n.d.). Additionally, as society grows more concerned about the Earth's wellbeing, further amplified by the circumstances of the current climate crisis and the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, resiliency for our global food systems becomes increasingly prevalent to transform our current food system to become part of the solution. I will be conducting my research through the perspective lens of grocery store leaders, supply chain managers, and other experts on these specific topics and providing a thorough literature review of scholarly articles and journals that explore this concept beyond my capacity and provide appropriate applications of these sustainable initiatives and how they would manifest in transforming our current global food system. These models and concepts of a closed-loop, circular economic system in our food supply chain can be recognized as an urgent and important complement to food waste mitigation and regenerative processes that aid in our Earth's recovery from the impacts of global climate change.