Food and Restaurants Industry Research Group 5 University of Missouri-Kansas City Food and Restaurants Industry Background Information Food comprises part of the everyday life of humans. However, how human beings shop and experience food are different and continue to change with each passing time. The changes have dramatic implications for the food and restaurant industry. The food and restaurants industry is one of the largest industries in the United States, as depicted by the people it employs and serves. The industry is the second-largest private-sector employer in the United States. In 2017, the United States had more than one million restaurants that employed about 14.7 million Americans (Marriott, Schilling, & Gravani, 2018). It, therefore, signifies the growth of the industry and the role in the plays in the economic development of the country. In 2014, the United States Department of Agriculture reported that the food purchased away from home accounted for more than fifty percent on the amount people spent on food. Such statistics show that the country relies on the food and restaurant industry for most of their food produce (Marriott, Schilling, & Gravani, 2018). The major contributing factors to the growing trend of people eating away from home since the 1970s are the increment of women who work away from home and increment in two income-earner households. Increasing popularity in the food and restaurant industry is the preparation of home-delivered meals, particularly among young professionals. It has seen an increment in the popularity of the food trucks that offer quick and convenient food to various homes in the United States. Even with the continued rise of the food and restaurant industry, challenges will arise in the future, particularly on legislative and regulatory measures, cybersecurity issues, and increment in labor costs (Marriott, Schilling, & Gravani, 2018). With the continued growth of competition in other industries for employees, recruiting and retaining employees will become a top priority in the industry. The workforce is changing as depicted by the shift to older workers because of the shrinking pool of young labor. Food and restaurant industry is facing a challenge of shaking off the criticism that the industry is contributing to the growth of the obesity epidemic. The continued rise in the cases of overweight and obesity is consistent with the rise of the food and restaurant industry, as more people prefer to eat outside their homes (Hwang & Lorenzen, 2008). It, therefore, prompted the consideration of the influence of the restaurant industry in the eating habits of Americans as a possible solution to the problem of obesity. The food and restaurant industry responded to the consideration of the industry as a contributor to some of the health problems by adding other healthy options to their menus (Hwang & Lorenzen, 2008). Despite the addition of such healthy options in their menus, the industry has made little efforts in their means to help customers select healthy food choices. Measures of Effectiveness The fast-changing business world has forced most industries to find the right ways of surviving using forms that help them remain in the market for them to become successful in the market. Depending on the location of the restaurant, managers have to find the right means of attracting clients to ensure the growth of the business. Businesses in the food and restaurant industry are accounting the available marketing analysis and promotions to continue growing their business (Nexhipi, 2014). Measuring the effectiveness of the industry or any restaurant entails measuring the performance of the restaurant. Marketing analytics are tools that help in measuring marketing performance and marketing metrics in a restaurant as one looks for measures of performance. Metrics are used in business for explaining the phenomena that take place, diagnosing causes, sharing findings, and projecting results of future events. Metrics comprise an essential means of measuring the effectiveness of any business by ensuring the comparison of observations in different places and periods (Nexhipi, 2014). With the collection of different metrics from different parts of the industry, one can check the progress of the industry and eventually, the effectiveness of the set measures and the overall industry. The restaurant industry is highly competitive, and the satisfaction of the guest is the critical objective, as is the case in most businesses. Challenges restaurant managers face when operating revolve around the provision of quality food to their customers (Kukanja, 2017). The customer satisfaction level is, therefore, another measure of effectiveness in the food and restaurant industry. Individuals operating in the industry strive to gain an advantageous edge over their competitors because of the competitive nature of the industry. Managers develop essential marketing strategies and tools to ensure that they get to the intended customers, foster customer relationship, and establish sustainable market share (Lin, Tou, & Yeh, 2014). The understanding of customer needs is one of the essential steps managers in the food and restaurant industry should take to ensure that they deliver quality services. An effective restaurant has a high number of customer returns since the customers are satisfied with the quality of the food they received from the restaurant (Kukanja, 2017). The best managers implement the best strategies to ensure that they meet customers' expectations by setting out ways of identifying what they want and then strategizing how to meet them. The industry experiences the challenge of understanding how the changes affect their business, but the best business people know that anything that can be measured in the industry can be improved (Tzeng & Chang, 2011). Metric use in measuring the effectiveness of the industry ensures that one can track the issues facing the industry and make changes according to the findings. It, therefore, form the basis for the business to develop. Financial breakdown is another measure of effectiveness of any industry. Different organizations have different starting capital and expected the amount to gain after a specified period. Financial ratio, usually converted by businesspeople to monetary outcomes such as return on investment (ROI) is an ideal way of measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of an investment. ROI provides one with a basis of where the business is by directly measuring the amount of return from the investment relative to what an individual invested. Different industries have different levels of effectiveness with the business that has a net positive ROI becoming worthwhile (Nexhipi, 2014). Such financial ratios are essential for industries that seek to expand since they can know whether their business is profitable or not. Profitable businesses are effective in what they are doing while the ones that experience losses are ineffective and require another means to turn around the losses the business is making. Structural Breakdown and Leadership Profiles Leadership is essential in any industry because leaders are at the forefront of the business and influence how the other people within the business function. Leaders influence people towards the desired objective. Leadership and management complement each other in the industry with management focusing on stability while leadership focuses on innovating, adapting, and developing employees. Management ensures that the business copes with the dayto-day activities while leaders look into the future of the business. Leadership play an essential role in the effectiveness of a business by ensuring that employees follow them because they connect with them in some significant way (Hinkin, 2011). Such a connection bodes well with the food and restaurant industry because of the labor-intensive operations within the industry and its focus on people. Leaders set clear objectives in an organization with a reward system for employees that contribute to the reinforcement of the organization's objectives and culture. Sectors that fail to reflect their visions and missions in their performance program due to poor leadership are likely to fail. Leaders in the restaurant industry can establish values such as valuing their people, encouraging their development and rewarding their performance (Hinkin, 2011). Reinforcement of the value entails senior leadership evaluating the performance of each employee and focus on ways of leading people. Leadership influence the effectiveness of business by setting leadership competencies for other people to follow. Some of the competencies to set are demonstrating personal excellence, creating an environment that encouraged team working, building and leveraging relationships, and communicating effectively (Hinkin, 2011). An example is the Darden Restaurants that have an established leadership and management style. However, the restaurant separates its performance management systems into two categories, what the manager does, and how the manager does it. Each category has its part, with the "what" category composing of finances, employee development, process excellence, and impact on the guest. Darden Restaurants tailors the weighting of each objective to the individual based on the responsibility of each individual. The "how" category, on the other hand, focuses on leadership, particularly, personal, business, people, and result leadership (Hinkin, 2011). The focus on leadership by the organization shows the importance of leadership in the success and effectiveness of an organization. Darden Restaurants are successful in their ventures and continue to expand; thus the need to look at their leadership to check on how they perform (Hinkin, 2011). Continued success by Darden Restaurants shows the need for other companies in the sector to adopt a leadership style that fosters the growth of the company. Skills, Knowledge, and Competencies in Leadership Essential skill, knowledge, and competencies in leadership in the food and restaurant industry entail developing an essential plan to ensure the success of the industry. Ideal leaders start by understanding themselves, understanding the organization, acknowledging good performance and correcting poor performance within the organization, establishing objectives and providing guidance to the set goals, and becoming flexible and ready to adapt. Selfawareness is an essential skill among leaders in the hospitality industry since one can understand his or her behavioral patterns as well as internal motivators (Hinkin, 2011). Self-awareness allows an individual to change to adapt appropriately to a particular situation because of the demonstration of self-control. The ability to understand the organization is an essential skill for managers and goes beyond looking at organizational charts to include customers and knowing how workflows through the organization. The food and restaurants industry is a complex sector that a leader should understand all the spheres within the sector for optimal working (Hinkin, 2011). A clear understanding of the sector allows the leader to identify the areas that are not working well and rectify them to avoid the faltering of the sector. With a clear understanding of the organization, leaders can, therefore, establish objectives and provide clear direction for employees to follow. One begins by understanding what to achieve. Since the food and restaurant sector is about attracting more customers and retaining the available customers, leaders should focus on satisfying them as the primary objective (Hinkin, 2011). With satisfied customers, the business continues to grow, which eventually contributes to increased profits. Flexibility and willingness to adapt is an essential skill for restaurant leaders. The hospitality industry is dynamic; thus, the need for flexibility and willingness to adapt to meet customer needs and ensure continuity of the business. The understanding of the organization contributes to the flexibility and willingness to adapt an individual depicts (Hwang & Lorenzen, 2008). It, therefore, allows an intelligent leader to help the organization achieve its set goals. Since different individuals from different regions have different types of food they like, restaurant leaders need to ensure that they know what the customers want and be flexible enough to provide them with what they want (Hinkin, 2011). Flexibility in providing customers what they want shows them that the restaurant cares, thus increasing their trust in the restaurant. Other notable skills for leaders in the sector are self-management, social awareness, and social skill. Self-management is essential for leaders since one can adjust easily to the changing situations in the organization without necessarily becoming emotionally upset (Hinkin, 2011). It allows an individual to control oneself in difficult situations to ensure that the company continues even when faced with difficult situations. Social awareness entails a leader having empathy for others and understanding the different organizational dynamics (Hinkin, 2011). High social awareness allows the leader to become sensitive to the emotions of others within the organization and understand the perspective of others regarding different issues within the organization. Social skill entails developing effective communication skills, managing conflict, and persuading others in any setting (Hinkin, 2011). A leader who has the requisite social skills is more likely to succeed in his or her endeavors since one can manage different disagreements within the organization and influence others towards the right path of success. Influence of Market, Political, and Environmental Forces on Changes Food intake of people in any given country is influenced by factors such as consumers' income, educational level, and cultural differences. On the other hand, the market, political and environmental forces influence the food and restaurant industry. Market forces play an essential role in the development of the food and restaurant industry. Like any other company, market forces are essential for the survival of an organization since the market keeps an organization (Hanaysha, 2016). Readily available market means the industry can prosper, whereas unavailability of the market hinders the development of the industry. Political forces affect some aspects of the food and restaurant sector, considering that politicians have trade groups and lobbying groups that influence the functioning of different aspects of various sectors. Political leaders influence government spending in the sector, which can either foster or stifle the growth of the industry (Lin, Tou, & Yeh, 2014). Political activities, on the other hand, particularly in developing and politically unstable countries, influence the functionality of restaurants during the electioneering period because of the political climate and the tension that comes with it (Lin, Tou, & Yeh, 2014). Political tension generates some negativity among the people who fear going out and influence tourists from visiting the country, thus hampering the growth of the business. Ethical Considerations and Corporate Social Responsibility Efforts Fundamental changes in the current business environment have seen an increment in the focus of corporate social responsibility and ethical considerations. Some of the key drivers that influence the new focus on corporate social responsibility in the food industry are investor pressure, direct stakeholder pressure, increased the sense of social responsibility, and peer pressure. The continued growth of obesity and weight gain cases in the United States have contributed to pressure on the food and restaurant sector because more people associate weight gain with consumption of restaurant food, particularly fast foods (McCool & McCool, 2010). The moral responsibility of the food industry revolves around providing consumers with products that do not harm customers, and the responsibility outweighs the firm's responsibility of creating profit. Strategic corporate responsibility incorporate caring corporate community service that focuses on accomplishing strategic business goals. Foodservice firm should be at the forefront of engaging in social responsibility, which helps in alleviating obesity. Despite the need to incorporate corporate social responsibility and ethical considerations, foodservice firms continue to make a considerable profit (McCool & McCool, 2010). Increased corporate social responsibility in foodservice firms and the general food industry contributes to essential factors such as environmental sustainability, which eventually boost the neighboring community. Recommendation for sustained effectiveness Ensuring sustained effectiveness in the food sector require some effort from the food industry owners who have to assemble processes and resources needed to produce, process, distribute, prepare, and consume food. Such processes are connected to food supply chains and farm practices, natural resources, and policies for maintaining food for the public. Sustainability of the food system is the production and maintenance of foods that meet the current needs of consumers without necessarily compromising future generations. The food and restaurant industry should ensure the maintenance of quality food that encourages the public to continue visiting the restaurants to take food. Without quality food, consumers may opt to try food elsewhere or in their homes, thus resulting in the decline of the industry. Foods that meet the necessary nutritional status of humans means it maintains the health of consumers without raising health concerns. It, therefore, encourages consumers to continue consuming food from the restaurants. However, increased health concerns from restaurant food would influence people to stay away from the foods, thus making the industry unsustainable. References Hanaysha, J. (2016). 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