Pizza Hut-The Complete Package

Pizza Hut, The Complete Package

Management: Theory, Practice, Application

MGT/330

Pizza Hut: The Complete Package

Today we live in a society that demands convenience and accessibility. The food service industry has demonstrated its ability to grow and lead this revolution of convenience through some of the most creative initiatives to date. Many fast food chains such as McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut continue to satisfy their customer base by planning initiatives that refine their products and suit the taste of their customers. By organizing, Pizza Hut ensures that they have presented the best alternative to dining out. Pizza Hut is currently leading the food chain industry by providing a convenient service to a variety of venues. Pizza Hut also has complete control over their vision. Currently located in 90 countries and territories (Pizza Hut, 2006), they continue to focus on globalization. They control how they treat their customers and, more importantly, how they treat their employees. Pizza Hut believes (Pizza Hut, 2006) that they have a corporate responsibility to develop a workforce that is diverse in style and where everyone makes a difference. In concerning themselves with how they differentiate from their competitors, Pizza Hut has an emerging new e-business and a superior focus on the product and service they provide to the customers and employees. Throughout this paper we will discuss the factors of globalization, e-business, and diversity, and the impact that these factors have on the four functions of management.

People around the globe are more connected than ever before. Information and money flow more quickly than ever. Goods and services produced in one part of the world are increasingly available in all parts of the world. International travel is more frequent, and international communication is commonplace. This phenomenon is known as "globalization" (Porter, 2006). As the world's population increases, technology continues to decrease the distance between men and women, both physically and culturally. Globalization has caused companies to re-evaluate the way they do business, particularly the way they manage their business. Companies today are no longer dealing with one specific customer with tailored needs. All businesses are forced to expand their markets and management styles. With globalization come mass growth and expansion, and these developments force business managers to implement enhanced planning and organization. Managers are planning and organizing on a much larger scale than ever before. A good example of this is the following:

By implementing combination operations with our sister companies Taco Bell and KFC, we're reaching thousands of new customers . . . Pizza Hut pizza is now being enjoyed in school cafeterias, sports arenas, major airports, shopping malls, and office settings. As a result, Pizza Hut is greatly expanding its share of the off-premise, fast-food market . . . (Pizza Hut, 2006). Managers must now also lead and control their business functions on a much broader scale. They must lead employees from many different ethnicities and adapt to different beliefs and customs from all cultures, to form cohesive working teams beneficial to their business. In addition, controlling markets is no longer simply community-based. Globalization plays a major role in how a company must advertise and create its products, and therefore has changed the steps companies take to control their markets world-wide.

Electronic business, or e-Business, has become so commonplace that it is hard to find a company in the market today that does not have some portion of business on-line. Consumers should not be shocked that even restaurants are getting into the e-Business game. Pizza Hut began as a family business in 1958 (Pizza Hut, 2006) when two brothers borrowed six hundred dollars from their mother to open a pizza parlor, which was a relatively new concept for that time. Since 1958, times have changed and through effective management and successful business direction, Pizza Hut has changed to keep up with the times. PepsiCo, Inc acquired Pizza Hut in 1977, adding the family business to a corporate list sharing space with Pepsi-Cola® brand soft drinks, and Frito-Lay® brand snack foods. In October of 1977, PepsiCo founded Tricon (Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell) and on May 16, 2002 Tricon officially became Yum! Brands.

Pizza Hut has experienced many changes in the way they do business over the years, with leadership and ownership being only two of the most important changes. Franchising expanded the revenue and the visibility and brand knowledge. Home delivery set Pizza Hut apart from the crowd, but the newest addition to the Pizza Hut family of options, the ability to order a pizza on-line and have it delivered to a family's doorstep, has gone a long way in proving that e-Business is a force to be reckoned with. The emergence of e-Business opened new money-making opportunities to businesses once thought to only exist in the physical marketplace.

As with any business, opportunities require planning and effective management. Restaurant Business, Fortune, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal