...BenihanaOperations Management Education Review 1: 5-28. © 2005 NeilsonJournals Publishing. Benihana: A New Look at an Old Classic Ricardo Ernst and Glen M. Schmidt Georgetown University Abstract. This short case heavily references the “old classic” HBS case on Benihana, and is intended to be used in conjunction with a simulation that helps students gain insight into how Benihana achieved its profitability. The simulation helps bring out many key operational issues, such as how variability in demand and in processing can negatively impact profitability. The case analysis goes on to show how Benihana reduces variability, and illustrates concepts such as the product-process spectrum, the impact of a bottleneck, and the advantage of simultaneous product and process engineering. Keywords: process analysis, simulation, variability, queueing. 1. Introductory Note Benihana might be thought of as an “old classic” in Operations Management. The original Harvard Business School (HBS) version was published in 1972, but the Harvard case continues to be a best seller. This short case heavily references the HBS case, number 9-673-057 (rev. Dec. 14, 1998), however what has been added to enhance the case experience is a simulation that can be used to gain insight into how the operation achieves its profitability, as compared to other restaurants. There is a set of web sites associated with this case note, intended for both students and instructors, at http://www.msb.edu/faculty/schmidtg/...
Words: 8519 - Pages: 35
...For the exclusive use of Q. Yang, 2014. 9-673-057 REV: JULY 20, 2004 W. EARL SASSER Benihana of Tokyo Some restaurateurs like myself have more fun than others, says Hiroaki (Rocky) Aoki, youthful president of Benihana of Tokyo. Between 1964, when he opened his first location, and 1972 he had gone from deficit net worth to being president of a chain of 15 restaurants that grossed over $12 million per year. Background By 1972 Benihana was basically a steakhouse with a difference--the food was cooked in front of the customer by Japanese chefs, and the decor was that of an authentically detailed Japanese country inn. From a humble 40-seat unit opened in midtown Manhattan in 1964, Benihana had grown to a chain of 15 units across the country. Nine were company-owned locations: New York (3); San Francisco; Chicago; Encino and Marina del Rey, California; Portland, Oregon; and Honolulu. Five were franchised: Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Beverly Hills, Seattle, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The last unit, Las Vegas, was operated as a joint venture with Hilton Hotels Corporation. Rocky, who was a former Olympic wrestler, described his success as follows: In 1959, I came to the United States on a tour with my university wrestling team. I was 20 at the time. When I reached New York, it was love at first sight! I was convinced that there were more opportunities for me in America than Japan. I decided to enroll in the School of Restaurant Management at City College basically...
Words: 5688 - Pages: 23
...Benihana of Tokyo • What is Benihana selling? • Food & Beverages • Augmented product: Ambience, Atmosphere & Hospitality • Keys to Benihana’s success: • Operating costs low by bringing in the whole concept of kitchen to the dining area. 22% of total space of a unit is back of the house, compared to industry norms of 30%. Greater revenue per sq footage. • Limited menu options so food wastage is low and food costs are between 30-35% compared to industry standards of 38-48%. • Labor costs 10-12% of Gross sales, relatively low number compared to other restaurants • Environment (walls, ceilings etc….all from Japan) • Entertainment • Training chefs program in Tokyo • High traffic area • Quick turnover…peak vs non peak times. • Benihana’s operating system- • Production process flow diagram: Arrival (cocktail lounge, seating 8 people) Batching customers - Menu: 3 items Place the order- Appetizer etc. is brought out right away - Chef brings the fresh ingredients to table- Eat and leave. Flows and inventories held? • Since fresh ingredients are used, storage is minimum. The production flow is therefore very short, and limited to food being moved from the cooler room to the tables and being prepared at the table. Inventories are negligible, and consist predominantly of fresh ingredients. The limited meat supply is stored in the walk in cold room. Role of the bar, how large should it be and why? • Keeps restaurant busy and utilizing space. Generating...
Words: 384 - Pages: 2
...1. Situación de la Empresa Benihana of Tokyo fue fundada en el año 1964 en Manhattan por el señor Hiroaki Rocki Aoki, convirtiéndose en una cadena de 15 restaurantes durante 8 años, con ganancias mayores a los 12 millones de dólares al año, contando con 3 locales en Nueva York, Chicago, San Francisco, California, Portland y Honolulu, entre otros. Los restaurantes Benihana tiene gran acogida por el publico americano, llegando incluso a recuperar su inversión en 6 meses en el primer restaurante. El diseño del producto se basa en preparación de platos típicos japoneses, realizando la preparación de los alimentos en vivo y delante de los clientes, en una mesa llamada “teppanyaqui”, todo este proceso se conoce como “hibachi”, preparado por expertos chef nativos de Japón, quienes son capacitados durante 15 largas y duras semanas por un chef japonés residente en America. 2. Problema Central Benihana atraviesa un excelente momento motivo por el cual planea su expansión siendo esta decisión su principal problema. 3. Hechos relevantes 1. Benihana otorgo franquicias por un determinado tiempo a inversionistas que desconocían el negocio de restaurantes, creando perdidas y mala imagen a la empresa, por esta razón Benihana decide absorber estos restaurantes y dirigirlos directamente. 2. Existe un límite en la apertura de locales de l restaurant siendo el máximo de 5 locales por año, debido a la mano de obra americana sujeta a sindicatos que demoran el trabajo de construcción. 3. Rocki...
Words: 942 - Pages: 4
...Week 2 Assignment 1: Benihana of Tokyo The Benihana of Tokyo’s concept was developed many years before its existence in America. The name and concept was adopted from the family business back in Japan, which was a small coffee shop named Benihana, which means “red flower” in Japan. This red flower was “found in the neighborhood streets, which gave Aoki the inspiration for the restaurant’s name.” (1) When Aoki’s eldest son Hiroaki (Rocky) first came to America, he envisioned introducing a different type of food and theme for a restaurant. Rocky came to the States to work to his dream of starting this restaurant, during the day he would work at selling ice cream and at night he would study restaurant management. By the time Rocky could save enough money and borrow the rest to start his first four table restaurant in New York City. This restaurant was named Benihana, and quickly became a steakhouse distinguished from other, by only having a menu of three items (shrimp, chicken, and beef) and actually cooking the food right at the table (hibachi-style) with dazzling effects by highly trained chefs. This concept Rocky came to understand of the American culture to be very intimate with their foods and that they could cut down on wastage as storage and wastage typically contributes significantly to overheads in a restaurant. The actual layouts of the restaurants were different from the normal restaurants that Americans were familiar with. With the hibachi-style tables, Rocky eliminated...
Words: 557 - Pages: 3
...Kamal SLAOUI 08/02/2016 ______________________________________________________________________ BENIHANA RESTAURANT : SIMULATION REPORT (incomplete) Benihana Simulation Analysis Introduction: Our aim is the maximization of the utilization of several inputs into output, through time and the profits made every nights from 6 to 10:30. The inputs we had to manipulate were : Hours of operation, advertising options, Batching, number of seats in the bar and the restaurant. With this in mind we had to design the best operational strategies to generate a maximized profit For the first simulation I decided to put values according to my common sense : Table of decisions : The values in red are the ones I changed in every situation. The situation 5 being the result of my final simulation Situation 2 Situation 3 Situation 4 Situation 5 Bar seats 39 39 39 79 79 Tables 16 16 16 11 11 7pm 55 55 50 55 55 7 8pm 50 50 50 45 45 8 10pm 60 60 60 55 55 Ad budget 2x 1x 1x 1x 0,2 Ad campain Happy H Awareness Awareness Awareness Awareness Opening 6pm 5pm 5pm 6pm 6pm 7pm Batch 4 @ Table 4 @ Table No Batching 4 7 8pm Batch ...
Words: 460 - Pages: 2
...Análisis Caso Benihana Integrantes Aimy Bugueño Verónica Ibarra Paulina Morales Katherine Rebolledo Diego Soto Profesor Claudio Thieme Asignatura Dirección Estratégica Fecha 29-09-2011 ------------------------------------------------- [Escriba una cita del documento o del resumen de un punto interesante. Puede situar el cuadro de texto en cualquier lugar del documento. Utilice la ficha Herramientas de cuadro de texto para cambiar el formato del cuadro de texto de la cita.] A. Definición de misión y visión actual (y propuesta de redefinición si el análisis así lo amerita). Misión: “Benihana es un restaurant especializado en servir carnes, diferenciándose de la competencia, en que su comida es preparada delante del cliente, por chefs japoneses, y la decoración reproduce con fiel detalle una hostería japonesa”. A nuestro parecer, la misión que se puede desprender de lo que aparece en el principio del artículo representa la razón de ser del negocio, pero en forma incompleta ya que no tiene todos los puntos esenciales que esta debiese contener. Redefiniéndola a lo que es actualmente Beniaha, esta quedaría de la siguiente forma: “Somos Benihana un restaurant de origen japonés, especializado en preparar y servir distintos tipos de carnes, con presencia en casi todo Estados Unidos, especificando localidades como Nueva York, San Francisco, Chicago, Encino y marina de Rey, Las Vegas, Portland y Honolulu. De esta forma se pretende cumplir con las necesidades de los clientes de...
Words: 2238 - Pages: 9
...Benihana of Tokio 1. Resumen del Caso 2.1. Personajes Principales: * Hiroaki (Rocky) Aoki: joven graduado del City College de nueva York de la escuela de Gestion de Restaurantes a los 25 años con un capital de ahorro de $10,000 más un préstamo del banco por $20,000 abrió su primer restaurant y hasta 1972 había abierto 15 restaurantes con ganancias mayores a 12 millones dólares al año, de estos 9 eran propiedad de la misma compañía y el resto con acuerdos de franquicia o licencia, el de las vegas era un negocio a medias con el Hilton Hotel Corporation * Yunosuke Aoki: Padre de Rocky, abrió el primer Benihana en 1935 en Japón. * Bill Susha vicepresidente de operaciones y de desarrollo del negocio quien tenía amplia experiencia en el rubro y describía su trabajo poniendo metas para cada director y otorgando incentivos a quien las pasara, tenia departamento de contabilidad y de control para supervisar costos. * Allen Saito: Director de operaciones * Glen Simoes: Director de publicidad y relaciones públicas, publicidad diferente y original en el fondo y la forma. * El chef: Clave del éxito, todos jóvenes, solteros y nativos japoneses, todos tenían su titulo y pasaban a un periodo entre 3 y 6 meses en capacitación en Japón donde aprendían ingles, las costumbre americanas y la manera de cocinar al estilo Benihana que era una combinación de teatralidad y exhibicionismo, en EEUU seguían perfeccionándose para convertirse en chef principal. ...
Words: 1225 - Pages: 5
...MISIÓN Ser conocidos y reconocidos como un restaurante autentico japonés, con un ambiente hospitalario lleno de cultura japonesa que brinda una experiencia única al cliente a través de entretenimiento, alta calidad de nuestra comida y servicio. VISIÓN Aspiramos a expandirnos en Estados Unidos y Japón para llevar nuestra propuesta innovadora a diferentes regiones, para ser la mayor cadena de restaurantes japoneses aumentando nuestra rentabilidad y mejora continua. ANÁLISIS EXTERNO En el macro entorno se pueden identificar diversas variables que pueden afectar a Benihana. Por el lado sociocultural y laboral, Japón posee una buena prosperidad como país, sin embargo, posee un sistema jerárquico rígido, basado en clase social, edad y educación. Debido a que prosperar en Estados Unidos y ascender en la cadena del restaurante es más fácil que en Japón, hace atractivo que el personal que requiere Benihana decida irse a trabajar a otro país. Sin embargo, este personal requerido podría tener dificultades a la entrada el del país, así como también tener dificultades por la cultura norteamericana, por lo que genera una amenaza para la empresa sólo poseer personal japonés, por lo que un gran problema en la industria es la escasez y costo de la mano de obra. Por otro lado, americanos disfrutan de comer en ambientes exóticos, pero desconfían de comidas exóticas, no obstante, disfrutan ver como preparan su comida. En cuanto al aspecto económico, la población norteamericana en general...
Words: 1384 - Pages: 6
...Benihana restaurants have been operated many years ago growing up to a mayor Japanese and Sushi restaurant chain valued up to 295 MD. Nowadays this restaurant chain belongs to a mayor private equity firma called Angelo Gordon & Company. But what is it what made de Behinana so successful? How it became one of the most important restaurant chain in the USA? I will try to resume the main key factor that was fundamental to its success. All started with the dream of Rocky Aki back in the mid 60’s when he saw the big opportunity to create a Japanese restaurant in New York. However his first business only did well after he got some good review from the New York Herald Tribune. I can assume with confidence that part of this success besides other point that I will mention later in this short Assay, were related to a good comment from a famous food writer. In the USA the reviews from important people can either push to success or take you directly to bankruptcy. We also have to bear in mind that in the 60’s and 70’s there was kind of the Asian boon in the states. Bruce Lee was a celebrity and many people started to be interests in the oriental culture. Rocky’s aim was to create a Japanese Restaurant with only 3 middle entries with the idea behind on reducing food cost by 35 % and reducing setup times. Some of the main problems the US had were availability and cost of labor. Here he put special attention with a mayor focus on overheads. His business model mainly in food service turned...
Words: 844 - Pages: 4
...Benihana of Tokyo Benihana, Inc., operator of the nation's largest chain of Japanese-themed and sushi restaurants, was founded by Rocky Aoki in 1964. By 1972, Benihana became a steakhouse with Japanese chiefs cooking in front of the customers with a various authentic food. This paper explains the unique features of Benihana and how these impact the financial performance of the company. The first Benihana restaurant opended in Japan in 1935, and was named for the small red flower that grew wild near the front door of the restaurant. The unique features of these early restaurants include authenticity of interior décor, which is similar to the beams, artifacts, and light fixtures in Japanese home. Another feature is that food is prepared at the table by a highly-trained chef. The chefs are native Japanese who have completed a three-year apprenticeship. A third key feature of Benihana restaurants is that customers gather together in groups for seating. Complete strangers are often seated next to each other. The menu itself is a fourth key feature; it consists of three basic items: chicken, shrimp, and steak. These features reduce fixed costs, which lessens kitchen space requirements. Furthermore, the features reduce rent and building costs, impacting the financial performance . Also, benefits included reducing customer anxiety over unfamiliar food and preparation and increasing freshness and appeal of the food in front of the customers. Furthermore, these is increased...
Words: 308 - Pages: 2
...Hiroaki Aoki (Rocky) came to US in 1959 as part of a wrestling team he realized that there were more opportunities for him in America than in Japan, especially in the restaurant business where he felt that he will never go hungry. After 3 years of systematic analysis of US restaurant market, he discovered that although American enjoyed eating in exotic surrounding, they were deeply mistrustful towards exotic foods. Additionally, Americans enjoyed watching their food being prepared. Hence, he gave them Benihana, with a Habachi table that allows preparation of exotic fresh food in front of the customers,delivers it with skillful art and allows customer to participate in the cooking process. To addressed the shortage of skilled labor and keep cost low, Rocky introduced the Hibachi table arrangement, which cuts labour costs while still providing exceptional level of attentive service. Moreover, this arrangement also helped in increasing productive dining space from the usual 70% to 78%. In addition to this, food storage and wastage were reduced by having only three simple “Middle American” entrees on the menu, steak, chicken and shrimp. This move cut food costs up to 35% of food sales, compared with industry average of 38-48%. The bar space was also increased in new sites which brought about increased in beverages sales, which was further enhanced by the low beverage cost of 20% compared to the average industry cost of 25-30%. Because lunchtime business accounted for...
Words: 696 - Pages: 3
...1. ¿Cuál es el rendimiento monetario por hectárea que espera obtener? El rendimiento monetario que se espera obtener es de U$D 481,40 por hectárea. 2. ¿Cuál fue la inversión inicial? ¿Cuál es la tasa de retorno de esta inversión? La inversión inicial fue de 300 U$D por hectárea arrendada, un total de U$D 300.000. La tasa de retorno de la inversión es del 61 %. 3. Compute el histograma de precios históricos y preséntelo, ¿tiene una distribución normal? ¿Hubiera esperado que sea Normal? Explique. [pic] Con el histograma podemos observar que la distribución parece ser una normal (asimétrica a derecha), ya que la moda es mayor que la mediana en la distribución. 4. Compute el histograma de los cambios mensuales en los precios históricos y preséntelo, ¿tiene una distribución normal? ¿Hubiera esperado que sea Normal? Explique. [pic] El histograma sugiere que los cambios mensuales en los precios se distribuyen normalmente. Como la variación de los precios suele oscilar entre unos valores cercanos a la media y los valores extremos suelen ser outliers, se esperaba que fuese normal. La serie de rendimient, con una media cercana a cero, parece converger a ese número. 5. Ahora evaluemos riesgos de producción. Genere 200 rindes aleatorios en Excel con la función mencionada anteriormente. Muestre el histograma. Basándonos en la distribución triangular, contando con la formula [a + (c-a)*(RAND() + RAND() ) / 2] y utilizando el Add In Simtools generamos rendimientos...
Words: 732 - Pages: 3
...Case Study Analysis Benihana of Tokyo Binus Business School, MM Executive Batch 20 Presented by Group I Alexander Christian Dina Sandri Fani Jenna Widyawati Ridwan Martawidjaja Table of Contents 2 The 70’s Benihana Facing Issues 3 Detailed Analysis 4 Conclusion & Recommendation 5 Key Takeaways 7/28/2014 The Story of Benihana Case Analysis – Benihana of Tokyo 1 2 Table of Contents 2 The 70’s Benihana Facing Issues 3 Detailed Analysis 4 Conclusion & Recommendation 5 Key Takeaways 7/28/2014 The Story of Benihana Case Analysis – Benihana of Tokyo 1 3 Benihana of Tokyo in Years 1st Benihana’s restaurant chain in Japan • 1958 Introduction of Hibachi table arrangement • 1964 Entry in US at West Side, NY • 1966 2nd restaurant chain at East Side, NY • 1967 3rd restaurant in Chicago; Big Blockbuster • 1969 4th & 5th restaurant opened in SF and Las Vegas. Started franchising the unit • 1970 Opened Benihana Palace. Discontinued franchising scheme • 1971 Bill Susha joined Benihana’s management • 1972 15 units in US (9 owned, 5 franchised, & 1 JV). Grossed revenue over $12 mio per year. Considered future expansion 7/28/2014 1935 Case Analysis – Benihana of Tokyo • 4 Americans and Their Eating Behavior Enjoyed eating in exotic surroundings 2 3 Deeply mistrustful of exotic foods Enjoyed...
Words: 2287 - Pages: 10
...Benihana Tokyo case 1. What are the differences between the Benihana production process and that of a typical restaurant? The following are some of the differences between Benihana and other typical restaurants.. * Interactive dining experience – Benihana produces food from point of service through the Hibachi table arrangement, in front of the customer. In normal restaurants, the customer interacts with only the waiter/server whereas in Benihana the customers interact with the waiter and the cook. The customer has a completely different experience in Benihana, one in where he can watch his food being prepared and at the same time speak to the cook who prepares it. This improves customer intimacy and brings the customer closer to Benihana. Quality of the food prepared is high and all this adds up to improve overall customer experience. * Highly trained and skilled chefs – The chefs were one of the major selling points in Benihana and realizing this Benihana paid a lot of attention to training these chefs. Apart from continuous training in cooking, there was also heavy attention paid to learning Engling language and American manners – so essential because of the interaction a Benihana chef has to have with his customer. * Excellent turnover rates, efficient service– Again because of the Hibachi table arrangement and the creative dining experience, a customer would spend on average 45 minutes at Benihana. This is because wait time is really minimal since the...
Words: 1185 - Pages: 5
