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APPROACHING THE ADOPTION OF LEAN THINKING

PRINCIPLES IN FOOD OPERATIONS IN HOTELS IN EGYPT

ABUELKASSEM A. A. MOHAMMAD

Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Minia University, Minia, Egypt

Lean thinking is a quality management approach that aims to eliminate waste and provide value for
customers. It was originated and successfully applied in the manufacturing business and then trans-
ferred to the services industry. This study aimed to investigate the implementation of lean thinking
in food and beverage operations in hotels in Egypt. A qualitative approach was adopted in this study
using semistructured interview as a tool for gathering primary data. The sample of this study included
19 participants who were experienced in the field of quality and food and beverage operations. The
results of the study revealed that the largest share of hotels in Egypt did not adopt lean thinking
principles in their food and beverage operations. There were some obstacles that have limited the
adoption of lean thinking in hotel food operations (e.g., lack of motivations for hotels; additional
work effort and expenses associated with applying new approach). The results also showed that
applying lean thinking principles in hotel food operations can achieve many operational benefits,
such as reducing operating costs by eliminating wastes and achieving customer satisfaction through
providing added value. The study has provided some practical implications, in a form of proposed
model, that would enable a successful implementation of lean thinking in food and beverage opera-
tions in hotels.

Key words: Lean thinking; Lean service; Food and beverage operations; Hotels; Egypt

Introduction management approaches. Managers of tourism and

hospitality enterprises are also looking for ways to
Many business organizations nowadays are imple- reduce costs and to improve their performance effi­
menting several managerial philosophies, principles, ciency to survive the challenging economy and
and practices to improve their performance and competition (Lancaster, 2011). In this context, lean
gain competitive advantages over their competitors thinking represents a popular managerial tool that
without jeopardizing quality standards (Vlachos, enables organizations to increase their efficiency
2015). Therefore, they tend to disregard tradi- (Awwal, 2014; Lasa, Laburu, & Vila, 2008; Sellitto,
tional ways of thinking and adopt more effective Borchardt, & Pereira, 2003).

Address correspondence to Dr. Abuelkassem A. A. Mohammad, Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels,
Minia University, University post office: 61519, Minia, Egypt. E-mail: [email protected]

365
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 366 MOHAMMAD

Lean thinking is a quality management approach are applied in food and beverage operations in hotels
that was originated in the manufacturing business, in Egypt; second, identify the barriers and potential
namely Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan (Hines, impacts of adopting lean thinking in food and bever-
Holweg, & Rich, 2004; Lee, Olson, Lee, Hwang, age operations in hotels; third, develop a model that
& Shin, 2008; Sellitto et al., 2003). It refers to a would enable the integration of lean thinking prac-
set of principles, philosophies, and processes that tices in food and beverage operations in hotels. Lim-
enable the elimination of waste and improve cus- ited studies have investigated the adoption of lean
tomer satisfaction through adding value to customers thinking in the field of the hotel industry, particularly
(Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013; Womack & Jones, within the context of Egypt, creating a gap in knowl-
2005). Awwal (2014) and Leite and Vieira (2015) edge. Also, lean thinking practices are adopted on a
explained that although lean thinking philosophy limited scale within the context of the hotel indus-
was originated in the manufacturing field, it was try, leaving an area for improvement. This study
adopted in other fields, particularly service orga- attempts to provide some practical implications that
nizations and public sector organizations, due to could enable a better adoption of lean thinking prac-
its huge success in the manufacturing context. For tice in food and beverage operations in hotels.
example, service organizations such as healthcare,
educational, and financial enterprises have imple- Theoretical Background
mented lean thinking to achieve customer satisfac-
Concept of Lean Thinking
tion through added value and efficiency (Awwal,
2014; Vlachos, 2015). Sellitto et al. (2003) argued that there are several
Nevertheless, lean thinking practices are not definitions and descriptions of lean thinking and
widely applied in the service sector, particularly its basic characteristics. According to Hines et al.
tourism and hospitality firms (Lancaster, 2011; (2004) and Bonaccorsi, Carmignani, and Zammori
Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013). This is because (2011), lean thinking can be defined as a manage-
the adoption of lean thinking practices in ser- ment philosophy that enhances the perceived value
vice organizations is relatively new with limited by customers through adding desired features and
reported benefits and methods of implementation. removing non-value-adding activities (i.e., wastes)
Thus, there is a serious need for new strategies that can be concealed in the process. Bhasin and
and approaches for implementing lean thinking in Burcher (2006) defined lean thinking as a philoso-
the service sector (Lancaster, 2011). According to phy that eliminates sources of waste in the produc-
Lancaster (2011), Dora, Van Goubergen, Jumar, tion flow and maximizes the added value through
Molnar, and Gellynck (2012), and Awwal (2014), reducing the time between order and delivery. Accord­
the lack of research in the area of implementing ing to Lee et al. (2008), Tsasis and Bruce-Barrett
lean thinking in the service sector has made it dif- (2008), and Lancaster (2011), the essence of lean
ficult for service organizations because there are thinking is to identify and refine steps in an operation
no frameworks for successful implementations of that the customer considers valuable, and to eliminate
lean thinking practices in service organizations. unnecessary (wasteful) steps in a process. Kanakana
Consequently, researchers can develop conceptual (2013) explained that lean thinking is the identifi-
and empirical frameworks for implementing lean cation and elimination of process waste in order to
principles in the service context. maximize customer value.
Lancaster (2011) and Dora et al. (2012) explained Hotel room cleaning can be considered as an
that due to the similarity of food and beverage oper- example of how lean thinking works. A clean hotel
ations to the manufacturing business, lean thinking room is valuable service for hotel guests. How-
practices can be successfully implemented in many ever, along the process of cleaning and preparing
food and beverage operations. Kanakana (2013) a hotel room, some steps occur that guests may not
suggested that further research should be focused perceive as valuable. Implementing lean thinking
on how lean tools can be adjusted to suit service would eliminate the steps that do not represent value
environments. Therefore, this study aims to: first, for guests without affecting the end product or ser-
explore the extent to which lean thinking practices vice (Lancaster, 2011). Lean achieves this through

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 LEAN THINKING IN FOOD OPERATIONS IN EGYPT HOTELS 367

determining if steps in any process are value add- analysis decomposes production activities into three
ing or non-value adding from guests’ viewpoint major types of actions: activities that actually add
and therefore eliminating non-value-adding steps value; activities that do not add any value but cannot
(Lancaster, 2011). be avoided; activities that do not add value and can
be eliminated from the chain of production.
Value stream mapping represents a common
Principles of Lean Thinking
tool used for analyzing processes into value-adding
The application of lean thinking philosophy and non-value-adding activities (Dora et al., 2012;
depends on five major principles: 1) specify what Lancaster, 2011; Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013).
creates value from customer’s viewpoint; 2) identify Value stream mapping is a graphical flow of all
the value stream/chain; 3) support continuous value process and activities involved in the production
flow; 4) apply a pull approach; 5) seek perfection (Kanakana, 2013). Through using value stream map-
(Bonaccorsi et al., 2011; Leite & Vieira, 2015; Rauch, ping, practitioners can easily identify non-adding
Damian, Holzner, & Matt, 2016; Sellitto et al., 2003; activities or wasteful tasks (e.g., unnecessary move-
Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013). These five principles ments; excess inventories; surplus of staff) and there-
are briefly discussed in the following paragraphs. fore remove wasteful tasks and redesign production
systems accordingly (Serrano, Ochoa, & Castro,
Identify Value. Identifying value represents the 2008; Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013).
starting point of implementing lean thinking (Sellitto
et al., 2003; Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013). Value Create Value Flow. Creating a value flow is the
should only be defined by the ultimate end cus­ third step of implementing lean thinking. According
tomer or end-users. In other words, producers should to Sellitto et al. (2003), Bhasin and Burcher (2006),
provide products that represent value from cus- and Vlachos and Bogdanovic (2013), creating value
tomers’ perspective (Sellitto et al., 2003; Vlachos flow is the process of eliminating waste from all
& Bogdanovic, 2013). Sellitto et al. (2003) further actions and activities of creating and providing
explained that value identification is a critical pro- products/services from raw materials to customer
cess for business competition, continuous growth, service. In other words, it the process of developing
and innovative restructuring. a waste-free production flow through removing all
Bhasin and Burcher (2006) explained that value is types of waste and redesigning the production sys-
what customers perceive to beneficial and appropri- tem accordingly. Vlachos and Bogdanovic (2013)
ate at time and price. Tucker (1999, cited in Sellitto further explained that waste includes all unneces-
et al., 2003) suggested some practices for identifying sary resources, such as materials, tools, working
value, such as: determining whether the organization procedures, and work space, that are not required.
is competing in price or in value; identifying how the Lancaster (2011) added that eliminating waste or
organization can add value to its customers; identify- non-value-adding steps is a powerful tool for sav-
ing the unique characteristics in its value proposal; ing costs. Waste elimination also makes a produc-
identifying its clients; exploring how clients perceive tion system smoother and more feasible (Vlachos
value; determining what the organization should do & Bogdanovic, 2013).
to deliver a better value for its customers. According to Vlachos and Bogdanovic (2013)
and Kanakana (2013), there are seven types of
Identify Value Stream. Identifying value stream/ waste. The first type is overproduction and includes
chain is the second step of applying lean thinking producing products or services that customers do
(Sellitto et al., 2003; Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013). not need immediately. Waiting is the second type
It is the process of breaking down the chain of pro- of waste and involves providing products or ser-
duction into separate activities and steps in order to vices later than expected. The third type of waste
identify value-adding and non-value-adding activi- is known as transport and refers to unnecessary
ties (Sellitto et al., 2003; Singh, Garg, & Sharma, movement of materials. Inappropriate processing
2011; Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013). Sellitto et al. is considered the fourth type of waste and involves
(2003) further explained that value chain/stream all unnecessary procedures or activities that do not

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 368 MOHAMMAD

actually add value to customers. The fifth type of guest accommodation in a hotel is a pull produc-
waste is the excessive inventory and refers to extra tion, the guest only pulls or prompts hotel activi-
or unnecessary stock that is not needed for pro- ties and operations to provide services whenever
duction or requested by customers. Unnecessary requested (Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013). Sellitto
motion is the sixth type of waste and involves all et al. (2003) disputed that establishing a pull pro-
needless/removable activities or effort by employ- duction approach and implementing it in practice
ees. Defects represent the seventh type of waste and is a challenging issue. This is because achieving
refers to failure of the product or service to meet high response times to customer requests requires
specifications or customer expectations/needs. creating a robust pull system through value flow
In the service industry, waste refers to slightly (Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013).
different issues, such as errors, prolonged waiting
time, and incorrect information (Tsasis & Bruce- Pursue Perfection. Seeking perfection is the fifth
Barrett, 2008). Vlachos and Bogdanovic (2013) step of applying lean thinking. It refers to the con-
discussed hotel reservation process as an example tinuous improvement of all aspects in the organiza-
of creating value flow and eliminating waste in the tion, such as quality standards, cost, delivery, and
hotel industry. They explained that the reservation design (Bhasin & Burcher, 2006; Gürel, 2013).
process includes booking a hotel room, arriving to Vlachos and Bogdanovic (2013) explained that
the hotel, checking in, staying in the hotel, checking perfection refers to the complete elimination of
out, and departing the hotel. Adopting value flow in waste, enabling all activities in the value stream
the reservation operations could show many types of an organization to create value for customers.
of waste that can be eliminated, such as incorrect Although perfection is a goal that is rarely achieved,
bookings, delayed service, luggage loses, transfer it acts as a standard to aspire for. It also enables
jams, unprepared rooms, etc. Once these wastes are organizations to gain a competitive advantage
identified and removed, reservation operations will through the continuous improvement of their oper-
be significantly improved. ations (Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013).
Sellitto et al. (2003) explained that when creating a Seeking perfection can be applied through adopt-
value flow, it is necessary to reconsider and redesign ing the kaizen concept, which means continuous
all activities of different sectors and departments of improvements of every aspect in the organization.
the organization to support a value creation system. It is a constant four-stage cyclic process, known as
Tsasis and Bruce-Barrett (2008) argued that creat- Plan; Do; Check/Study; Act/Improve. It can also be
ing a value flow requires a constant synergy and applied through regular evaluation of operational
amalgamation of all involved activities and parts procedures and how customers perceive value, which
to eliminate waste and create value flow. It also leads to identifying the best practices for eliminating
requires a different type of business relationship waste and creating value for customers (Gürel, 2013;
between organizations to ensure transparency in Vlachos & Bogdanovic, 2013).
every step of the value flow in addition to making
employees interested in lean thinking and behav-
Lean Thinking in the Service and Hotel Industry
ing according to its principles (Sellitto et al., 2003;
Tsasis & Bruce-Barrett, 2008). Although it was originated in the manufacturing
sector, lean thinking has been successfully imple-
Pull Production. The fourth step of implement- mented in some service organizations, such as educa-
ing lean thinking is establishing a pull production tion, healthcare, banking, supply chain manage­ment,
system. Pull production means producing and pro- and hotels (Bonaccorsi et al., 2011; Cuatrecasas,
viding products and services should be prompted by 2004; Kanakana, 2013; Kollberg, Dahlgaard, &
customers/end-users (Sellitto et al., 2003). Vlachos Brehmer, 2006; Rauch et al., 2016; Vlachos &
and Bogdanovic (2013) explained that in pull pro- Bogdanovic, 2013). Adopting lean thinking prin-
duction, customers only trigger the production and ciples in the service sector has been commonly
therefore products and services are provided to them known as lean service. Lean service refers to a
upon request and on time. For example, considering consistent scheme of service operations including

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 LEAN THINKING IN FOOD OPERATIONS IN EGYPT HOTELS 369

only activities that create value for customers. It et al., 2011; Wu, 2003). Furthermore, applying lean
focuses on tangibles and seeks to meet customers’ thinking could result in some transformations, rede-
expectations for both quality and price (Leite & signs, and reconstructions of operations and work
Vieira, 2015; Nascimento & Francischini, 2004). system. Such changes will be resisted and therefore
The effective implementation of lean thinking in the it requires an organizational support in order to be
service industry involves important practices to be successfully applied (Leite & Vieira, 2015; Tsasis
undertaken, such as resolving customers’ problems & Bruce-Barrett, 2008). High employee turnover,
and complaints, saving customers’ time and mini- particularly in hospitality enterprises, is a major bar-
mizing waiting time, and providing the requested rier for applying lean thinking at many service orga-
services precisely and timely (Leite & Vieira, 2015; nizations, which are always threatened by losing
Womack & Jones; 2005). trained and qualified personnel (Bonaccorsi et  al.,
Leite and Vieira (2015) explained that adopting 2011; Wu, 2003).
lean thinking in the service industry differs from Lean thinking can be successfully applied in many
implementing it in the manufacturing business. In departments within a hotel (Lancaster, 2011; Rauch
the service industry, people represent an impor- et al., 2016). Housekeeping, for example, can be an
tant aspect of most of the operations, including ideal department for implementing lean thinking in
both front-of-the house operations and back-of-the order to eliminate waste and create value (Beiser,
house operations. Also, manpower is responsible 2010). Many lean thinking tools and principles can
for a large share of the operating costs in the service be adopted in the housekeeping department, such as
industry. In addition, there is no particular model types of waste, value stream mapping, and the kai-
for applying lean thinking that can be adopted in zen process (Beiser, 2010; Lancaster, 2011). Food
different situations or areas of the service sector. and beverage operations, particularly fast food, can
Alternatively, each organization selects and applies be another major area for implementing lean think-
any model or a set of practices that suit its nature and ing. Famous fast food brands, such as McDonalds
line of service (Allway & Corbett, 2002; Kanakana, and Taco Bell, have successfully applied lean think-
2013; Leite & Vieira, 2015; Maleyeff, 2006). ing in their line of production, which resulted in
The implementation of lean thinking in the ser- improved efficiency and productivity and gained
vices industry has resulted in many significant advan- competitive advantage (Bowen & Youngdahl, 1998;
tages. Such advantages included reduced operating Kanakana, 2013; Leite & Vieira, 2015). Another evi-
costs, improved quality standards of provided ser- dent example of the implementation of lean think-
vices, increased efficiency of operations, improved ing in  food production is the Glostrup Hospital in
business profitability, maximized utilization of Denmark, which resulted in reducing wasted meals
resource, increased customer satisfaction, improved from 10% to 5% (Lancaster, 2011). Nevertheless,
performance of employees, and enhanced competi- lean thinking is applied on a very limited scale in the
tive position (Allway, & Corbett, 2002; Bhasin & hotel industry. Lancaster (2011) reported that Star-
Burcher, 2006; Bonaccorsi et al., 2011; Kanakana, wood Hotels is the only hospitality enterprise that has
2013; Leite & Vieira, 2015; Maleyeff, 2006). fully implemented lean thinking and Six Sigma into
On the other hand, applying lean thinking in the all aspects of its operations (Lancaster, 2011).
service industry is challenged by some barriers and, The application of lean thinking in the service
whenever implemented, some disadvantages. The industry has captured the attentions of many scholars.
implementation of lean thinking requires a serious Kanakana (2013) reported that there are more than
change of peoples’ operating mentality and percep- 90 academic research papers on the applications
tion, as well as a true commitment by all participant of lean thinking in the service industry. However,
people at different levels of the organization, which Awwal (2014) noticed that a very limited number of
is a challenging process (Bonaccorsi et al., 2011; studies have investigated the adoption of lean think-
Wu, 2003). Also, applying lean thinking requires ing with the context of the hospitality industry. For
significant investment of time, capital, effort, and example, Dora et al. (2014) studied the implementa-
other resources in the long term, which could rep- tion of lean thinking in small and medium-sized food
resent a burden for many organizations (Bonaccorsi enterprises; Vlachos (2015) studied lean thinking as

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 370 MOHAMMAD

a tool for waste reduction in international food sup- confidentiality of their identity as promised. The
ply chain; Rauch et al. (2016) reviewed the applica- sample of this study was selected using snowball
tion of lean thinking practices in some hotels. sampling technique to select quality experts and
random sampling technique to select hotel manag-
ers and food and beverage managers. The sample
Research Methodology
size (n = 19) was considered to be reasonable as
A qualitative approach was adopted in this study Creswell and Clark (2007) argued that qualitative
using semistructured interview as a tool for col- research is characterized by its small sample size
lecting primary data. The semistructured interview to gather rich information and suggested a sample
included three main sections. Section one aimed to size between 4 and 10 units whereas Davies (2007)
explore the extent to which lean thinking principles/ suggested between 5 and 20 units.
practices were implemented in food and beverage
operations in hotels in Egypt, as well as to explore
the barriers and potential benefits of apply lean Results and Discussion
thinking in food operations. Section two aimed to Exploring Lean Thinking Implementations
identify the practices that would enable the imple-
mentation of lean thinking’s five principles in hotel This section discusses the results of the first section
food operations. Section three aimed to gather any of the semistructured interview. The first section
further comments or suggestions that participants aimed to explore the implementation of lean think-
wanted to add. All interviewees were administrated ing in hotel food operations, as discussed below.
by the researcher through conducting a face-to-face
semistructured interview that lasted between 30 Adopting Lean Thinking in Food Operations in
to 45 min each. All interviews were conducted in Hotels. Participants were asked about the extent
Arabic language, transcribed, translated into Eng- to which lean thinking is implemented in food
lish, and reviewed by a quality expert to ensure the and beverage operations in hotels in Egypt. The
accuracy of translated data. Content analysis was results revealed that the perception among 68% of
adopted as a technique for analyzing data where the interviewees (i.e., 13 participants) was that the
gathered data were thoroughly reviewed, basic majority of hotels/resorts in Egypt did not adopt
themes of the data were identified, and then data lean thinking in their food and beverage operations.
were coded according to these themes. They further added that many hotel managers and
The sample of this study included 19 partici- food and beverage managers in Egypt have not even
pants categorized into three major groups: hotel heard about the lean thinking approach. However,
managers; food and beverage managers; qual- four participants (approximately 21%) explained
ity experts (Table 1). All participants can be con- that some hotels in Egypt may adopt random prac-
sidered as experts with an experience history not tices of lean thinking, but they do not implement
less than 10 years in the academic or practical lean thinking as an integrated quality management
field of quality management and food and bever- system. Only two interviewees (10.6% of the par-
age operations in hotels. Anonymity was adopted ticipants) argued that lean thinking may be adopted
in this study through referring to all participants in in chain-affiliated hotels where intentional manage-
codes (e.g., Quality Expert No. 1) to guarantee the ment companies tend to implements new strategies/
trends across its affiliated hotels, such as Starwood
Company. Among participants’ comments:
Table 1
Sample of the study
As far as I know, hotels and resorts in Egypt do not
Participant Category No. (%) apply lean thinking as a comprehensive approach
for managing food and beverage quality. You
Hotel managers 5 (26.3) may find some hotels that randomly undertake
Food and beverage managers 10 (52.7)
Quality experts 4 (21.0)
some lean thinking practices, but not the complete
Total 19 (100.0) approach of lean thinking. (Food and Beverage
Managers No. 3)

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 LEAN THINKING IN FOOD OPERATIONS IN EGYPT HOTELS 371

Barriers of Adopting Lean Thinking in Hotel Food hotels to implement lean thinking. If and when a
Operations. Interviewees were asked about the hotel in Egypt has successfully adopted lean think-
obstacles that limited the implementation of lean ing, there is no official or nonofficial body that can
thinking principles in food and beverage operations in award this hotel a “certificate of excellence” to be
hotels in Egypt. The results showed that participants used for marketing purposes. One of the experts
provided four main reasons that have hindered the explained that:
adoption of lean thinking in food and beverage
operations in hotels. Hotels in Egypt are not bound or adequately
motivated by official or even non-official bodies
First, lean thinking approach is considered to be to apply lean thinking in their food and beverage
an unknown and unestablished quality management operations; no mandatory rules, no support, no
system. The largest percentage of the participants achievement certificates. (Quality Expert No. 3)
(17 interviewees, 89.4%) agreed that lean thinking
approach is not acknowledged or common quality Third, resisting routine change and preference for
management system among hoteliers in Egypt. In traditional operating procedures/systems are also
other words, most food and beverage managers in serious barriers for adopting lean thinking in food
Egypt are familiar with other quality management and beverage operations in hotels. Roughly 63.2%
systems, such as ISO series and HACCP, rather than of the participants (12 interviewees) reported that
lean thinking. Also, there is a lack of leading or even the majority of both food and beverage managers
known hospitality enterprises, either nationally or and employees in Egyptian hotels tend to follow
internationally, that have successfully implemented traditional standard operating procedures rather than
lean thinking in their food and beverage operations. adopting new procedures or work systems they are
Therefore, hotels in Egypt did not adopt a lean think­ not familiar with. Thus, employees may disapprove
ing approach. This result is supported by Lancaster or resist any changes in their routine work system
(2011), Dora et al. (2012), and Awwal (2014). Among whereas implementing lean thinking requires per-
participants’ comments: forming serious changes in the work environment to
create value and eliminate waste. This result is sup-
Lean thinking approach is not as familiar to hote- ported by Tsasis and Bruce-Barrett (2008) and Leite
lier in Egypt, particularly hotel managers and food and Vieira (2015). Among experts’ comments:
and beverage managers, as other quality man-
agement systems (e.g. ISO and HACCP). Thus,
I think both managers and employees may resist
managers tend not to adopt unknown approaches
any changes in their daily work routine that may be
or practices that they are not familiar with. (Hotel
derived from the adoption of lean thinking because
Manager No. 5)
they prefer traditional operational methods. (Qual-
ity Expert No. 2)
I think lean thinking is unknown quality system;
we did not hear about any famous hotels in Egypt
that have implemented lean thinking system in Fourth, implementing lean thinking in food oper­
their food and beverage departments. (Food and ations in hotels may require additional work load
Beverage Manager No. 2) and cost extra expenses. Around 42% of the partici-
pant (8 interviewees) reported that adoption of lean
Second, there is a lack of incentives for imple- thinking approach may involve doing extra work
menting lean thinking in food and beverage opera- by food and beverage staff, food and beverage
tions in Egyptian hotels. Approximately 79% of the manager, marketing director, and general manager.
participants (15 interviewees) argued that hotels in Such extra work load may include activities such as
Egypt are not properly motivated to implement lean continuous improvement of products and services to
thinking principles in their food and beverage oper- create value for customers. It may also cost the hotel
ations. There is no official body in Egypt (e.g., the extra operating expenses to implement lean think-
Ministry of Tourism) that has compelled or even ing principles in food operations. Although these
encouraged hotels to adopt lean thinking. Also, costs will pay off in terms of high-quality products/
there is no nonofficial association or organization services and high satisfaction levels, still managers
that can advise, assist, and technically support may consider these expenses unnecessary. Because

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 372 MOHAMMAD

of the extra work load and extra expenses, hoteliers procedures that result in food products and services
may hesitate to adopt lean thinking. This result is that create value for hotel guests. Some participants
in agreement with Wu (2003) and Bonaccorsi et al. further added that reducing operating costs repre-
(2011). One of the interviewees explained that: sents a strategic target for hotels in Egypt nowa-
days, due to the serious downturn in the tourism
Applying new work system or quality approach industry, to help hotels achieve reasonable profits
such as lean thinking can consume extra expenses or sometimes reach the break-even point. Among
and efforts which eventually creates additional
the comments of the participants:
financial and operational burden for both managers
and staff. (Food and Beverage Manager No. 8)
Hotels in Egypt need to save expenses to obtain
reasonable revenues, particularly during this recent
Benefits of Adopting Lean Thinking in Hotel decline of the tourism industry, and I think that lean
thinking can be the right approach to minimize
Food Operations. Interviewees were asked about costs of food operations. (Hotel Manager No. 4)
the potential benefits that can be achieved through
implementing lean thinking principles in food and Third, enhancing performance of the food and
beverage operations in hotels. Through analyzing beverage department and improving competi-
the responses of the participants, three major ben- tiveness was another advantage of adopting lean
efits/advantages were concluded. thinking. Roughly 68% of the participants (15 inter-
First, achieving guest satisfaction was perceived viewees) agreed that lean thinking approach would
to be an important advantage of implementing lean help food and beverage departments improve their
thinking in hotel food operations. A total of 16 par- performance through providing high standards of
ticipants (84.2% of the interviewees) explained food service quality that meet guest expectations at
that the majority of hotels in Egypt adopt product- practical operating costs. It also can help to improve
oriented marketing approach focusing mainly on the competitive position of a hotel through provid-
their products and services with slight attention to ing valuable products and services to guests at com-
guests’ wants and needs. Therefore, implementing petitive prices. One of the experts argued that:
lean thinking approach will help hotels to better
understand guest wants/needs and properly satisfy Lean thinking approach can also help hotels to
these wants/needs through providing products/ser- improve their performance and competitiveness by
vices that represent value for hotel guests that even- offering valuable products and services to guests at
tually results in high guest satisfaction and loyalty. low prices. (Food and Beverage Manager No. 9)
One of the experts, for example, declared that:
Incorporating Lean Thinking Principles
One of the important benefits of adopting lean in Hotel Food Operations
thinking in hotels in Egypt is increasing guest sat-
isfaction through altering hotel focus from prod- Participants were asked about the practice or pro-
uct orientation to customer orientation to satisfy cedure that can enable hoteliers to incorporate the
guest needs and provide valuable services to them.
(Quality Expert No. 1)
five principles of lean thinking in their food and
beverage operations. The results showed that inter-
viewees provided some suggested practices as dis-
Second, reducing operating costs was considered
cussed in the subsequent paragraphs.
to be another advantage of applying lean thinking
systems in hotel food operations. Approximately
79% of the interviewees (15 participants) agreed Identifying Value. The analysis of the partici-
that implementing lean thinking approach in food pants’ responses showed that they proposed three
and beverage operations will help hotels to mini- practices to be undertaken to help hotels identifying
mize their operating expense through removing the desired value of food and beverage products/
unnecessary work activities that do not result in services from hotel guests’ perspective.
adding value for food and beverage services and First is to directly contact guests to explore the
through instructing employees to focus on certain value of food and beverage products/services from

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 LEAN THINKING IN FOOD OPERATIONS IN EGYPT HOTELS 373

their point of view. The largest percentage of the that create value for guests. One of the participants
participants (79%, 15 interviewees) proposed that argued that:
hotels can identify the value of their food and
beverage products/services from guests’ standpoint I think guest preference sheets and databases can
through direct contact with guests using various also be used as tools for identifying value for cus-
tomers through analyzing data contained in these
methods, such as: guest comment cards; surveys; sheets/databases about guests’ preferences of food
focus groups; staff interaction with guests. Through and beverage products/services. (Food and Beverage
contact with guests, hotels can identify the charac- Manager No. 6)
teristics of food and beverage products/services
that create value for their guests, in terms of quality
Value Stream Mapping. Participants also pro-
standards, prices, service time, specific description
vided some suggested practices for applying value
of items, etc. Among the participants’ comments:
stream mapping in food and beverage operations
in hotels. The first practice included designing a
Hotels can use several tools to explore perceived graphical chart of all activities in the food and bev­
value of food services by guests. Such tool include:
comment cards; market survey; staff observa-
erage operations. A total of 14 participants (73.6%)
tion of verbal and non-verbal feedback of guests. explained that in order to map a value stream in
(Hotel Manager No. 2) hotel food and beverage operations, managers need
to develop a graphical flowchart of all activities,
procedures, practices, and operations that take
Second is to conduct an in-depth market research
place in food and beverage department, including
study. Approximately 63% of the participants (12
the smallest details, from the start point to the end
inter­viewees) reported that hotels can identify food
line. They further explained that first food and bev-
and beverage value from customers’ viewpoint
erage operations should be broken down into some
through undertaking a profound investigation of
sets of practices and then demonstrative images can
the market in order to: explore market and demand
be used to graphically describe every set of prac-
trends; identify potential guest segments; explore
tices to provide a clear visual description of food
dietary habits, wants, needs and preferences of poten-
and beverage operations. This result is supported by
tial guest segments regarding food and beverage
Kanakana (2013). Among participants’ comments, a
services. Sales and marketing departments would
quality expert explained that:
perform this task, which can be done using tradi-
tional methods, such as analyzing market informa-
food and beverage manager need to first draw a
tion and trends, or using other methods, such as the visual map or flowchart of all activities in all food
Internet and social media engagement. Among par- and beverage operation areas using image of real-
ticipants’ comments, Quality Expert No. 1 explained life activities. (Quality Expert No. 4)
that, “thorough market research is another method
for hotels to explore guest perception of food and The second proposed practice involved evaluat-
beverage value.” ing every operation, practice, and procedure within
Third is to produce and maintain detailed and food and beverage operations. Approximately 58%
updated reports on food and beverage sales and guests of the interviewees (11 participants) explained that
preferences. A total of 11 interviewees (roughly 58%) the next step after graphical mapping is to conduct a
suggested that hotels can also identify value through critical evaluation of every practice and procedures
creating updated and detailed reports, profiles, or in food operations. This means assessing every sin-
databases on sales and guest preferences with regard gle work action to explore: whether it add value or
to food and beverage products/services, including: not; does it needs any improvements; will it provide
preferred items; affordable/acceptable prices; service better results in terms of creating value and saving
standards and styles; acceptable service/waiting times; time/effort if it is done differently. This assessment
restaurant atmosphere. Through analyzing the data of can be done by a qualified team, including hotel
these reports/databases, hotels can conclude and pro- manager, food and beverage manager, and quality
vide the characteristics of food and beverage services experts. One of the interviewees explained that:

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 374 MOHAMMAD

Once the graphical mapping is completed, food used focusing on food and beverage items that rep-
and beverage manager need to review each action resent value for guests.”
and practice independently to determine if it really
Third, train and qualify food and beverage per-
adds value or should it be changed or eliminated.
(Quality Expert No. 1) sonnel. A total of 10 interviewees (about 53%)
reported that food and beverage managers need
The third suggested practice was detecting all to qualify employees and train them on: produc-
problematic areas or weak activities. Roughly 53% ing items that create value for customers; reducing
of the participants (10 interviewees) reported that unnecessary movement; minimizing food and bever-
after mapping and assessing every action, food age waste. Participants further explained that adopt-
and beverage managers should be able to detect ing cross-training for food and beverage employees
challenging operation areas, unnecessary activi- is important to maximize the productivity through
ties, and excessive practices that do not add value enabling one person to do additional tasks. Also,
or require enhancement or removal. Once these some participants recommend that food and bev-
areas/activities are detected, correctional produc- erage managers should encourage employees and
ers should be undertaken through improving weak welcome any suggestions that can reduce waste/cost
areas and eliminating excessive practices, activities and increase productivity and value.
or materials. This suggested practice concurs with Fourth, control utilities consumption. A total
Vlachos and Bogdanovic (2013). Among the com- of 9 interviewees (about 48% of the participants)
ments of the interviewees, Hotel Manager No.3 explained that hoteliers need to control and mini-
explained that, “through using graphical map, all mize utilities consumption in food and beverage
extra or weak areas and activities will be detected departments, including: energy/power (e.g., lighting,
and reported for enhancement or removal.” heating, and cooling systems); water; gas. Exces-
sive usage of these utilities is a major type of waste
that costs the hotel a significant amount of money.
Value Flow. When it comes to creating value flow Participants also suggested considering the usage of
and eliminating waste, participants provided five natural energy/lighting sources to reduce expenses
main practices to be undertaken. First, rearrange and adopt ecofriendly approach.
or change food and beverage operating procedures Fifth, minimize food waste and garbage. Approx­
and working area/spaces. A total of 16 participants imately 37% of the participants (7 interviewees)
(84%) reported that food and beverage managers discussed that food and beverage managers need to
need to redesign the work environment of food and efficiently manage food waste (e.g., wasted ingre-
beverage departments through altering and adjust- dients and leftover) and other garbage (e.g., pack-
ing their operating areas, procedures, and practices aging, etc.) to reduce expenses and waste disposal
in order to eliminate different type of waste, such as: costs. Participants also added that quantity of pro-
wasted time; extra movements and efforts; excessive duced food and beverage items (for an open buffet
materials; unexploited spaces. Among interviewees outlet for instance) should be produced based on an
comments, Hotel Manager No. 2 argued that, “food accurate forecasting to keep leftovers at minimum
and beverage work system need to be changed to and therefore reduce waste. Participants’ comments
remove any unnecessary activities/procedures and included:
maintain only value-adding activities.”
Second, develop and update menus. Roughly Food waste and leftover are serious challenge of
74% of the interviewees (14 participants) proposed waste elimination in food and beverage opera-
restructuring and updating food and beverage menus tions that should be handled practically and eco-
nomically to reduce waste and then cost. (Quality
considering guests’ wants and needs. This updat- Expert No. 2)
ing can involve procedures such as: offering value-
adding items; reducing costs by offering seasonal
food and beverage items; eliminating low-sales Pull Production. Interviewees were also asked
items. For example, Food and Beverage Manager about the practices that enable the implementation
No. 9 explained that, “updated menus should be of pull production in food and beverage operations

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 LEAN THINKING IN FOOD OPERATIONS IN EGYPT HOTELS 375

in hotels. The results showed that they have sug- items, quality standards, time of service, style of
gested three practices discussed below. serves, etc.), the base upon which all food and bev-
First, conduct realistic and detailed demand erage operations and procedures should be adapted.
forecasting. The majority of the participants (17,
approximately 90%) agreed that the first step to
Pursing Perfection. Interviewees were asked about
apply pull production concept in food and bever-
the implementation of continuous improvement at
age operations in hotels is to conduct a realistic and
food and beverage operations in hotels. Through
detailed forecasting of demand for food and bev-
the analysis of the interviewees’ responses, three
erage products/services. Such forecasting should
suggested practices were concluded.
involve basic data such as: estimated quantity and
First, perform regular collection and analysis of
description of items to be sold at certain time; qual-
guests’ feedback. The largest percentage of the inter­
ity standards; attributes of items that represent value
viewees (79%, 15 participants) reported that food
for guests. Participants also added that in order to
and beverage managers need to regularly collect
provide reliable forecasting, managers need to use
and analyze guests’ comments and feedback about
different computer software alongside manage-
food and beverage services and products in order
ment/employees’ expertise. Based on this forecast-
to make sure they provide satisfactory and valuable
ing, food and beverage departments will be able to
services and products to guests. It will also enable
provide the right quantity and quality of items that
them to detect any weak points and improve them,
satisfy guests’ wants and needs.
as well as explore the strong points to support them.
Second, procure the appropriate amount and
Among participants’ comments:
attributes of food and beverage supplies. Roughly
74% of the interviewees (14 participants) discussed
Hotels should regularly consider guests’ feedback
that ordering and buying food and beverage supplies about food and beverage services in relation to
should be at the right quantity and adequate quality added value and quality standards in order to con-
characteristics, which will be determined by demand tinuously enhance their services. (Hotel Manager
forecasting. This would help hotels to avoid over- No. 4)
stocking and storing and help to get fresh ingredients
on a regular basis. Among interviewees’ comments, Second, systematically improve food and beverage
Food and Beverage Manager No. 7 declared that, quality standards and operations. Roughly 63% of the
“purchasing food and beverage supplies should be interviewees (12 participants) suggested adopting a
based on accurate forecasting of potential demand systematic and continuous enhancement of food and
for food and beverage products.” beverage operations in hotels through constant four-
Third, prepare food and beverage items upon step process Plan–Do–Check–Improve. In this con-
guests’ request. A total of 13 interviewees reported text, this process means the constant adoption of four
that another essential procedure for applying pull consecutive steps: planning work system in food and
production is to prepare and serve food and bever- beverage operations; applying new practices and
age items upon guests’ demand with regard to: time activities; check the efficiency of the new practices/
of preparation/service; quantity of prepared items; activities; improve ineffective practices/activities.
attributes of requested items. This will result in Third, stimulate and encourage employees to
reducing waste and leftovers through producing only continuous improvements. Around 47% of the
the required quantity, as well as to creating value for interviewees (9 participants) proposed that food and
guests through taking into consideration the specific beverage managers need to motivate employees to
characteristics/attributes they have requested. In this continuously improve their performance and regu-
context, some participants proposed using standard larly enhance quality standards, as well as motivate
recipes for food and beverage items including esti- them to adapt to changing operating procedures/
mated time of item preparation and services. systems. Executives are also advised to apply an
In a broad sense, pull production principle can be open-door policy to welcome employees’ ideas/
applied through considering guest demand for food initiatives and passion for constant improvement
and beverage (in terms of quantity and attributes of of food and beverage products and services.

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 376 MOHAMMAD

Further Comments and Suggestions to improve quality standards and provide products/
services that add value to their guests.
Participants were asked if they have any addi-
tional comments or suggestion to make with regard
to the implementation of lean thinking in food and
Conclusions and Recommendations
beverage operations in hotels. A total of 7 interview­
ees (36.8%) discussed that applying lean thinking Despite the applicability of lean thinking in hotel
in hotel food operations represents a long-term food operations and the significant advantages that
process that requires the commitment of both hotel can be achieved through applying it, the vast major-
management and employees. It may also involve ity of hotels in Egypt did not implement lean thinking
changing the organizational culture and shifting in their food and beverage operations with only very
employees’ mind-set from just doing their job duties/ limited applications of random lean practices. This
tasks through adopting traditional operating proce- study also revealed that there were some barriers that
dures to regularly developing innovative procedures have limited the implementation of lean thinking in

5- Pursuit perfecon 1- Idenfy value

Monitor and analyse guest feedback to make sure Contact guests directly and closely to explore
provided services and products are sasfactory and
aributes that create value
valuable to guests
Improve systematically food and beverage quality Conduct in-depth market research to explore your
standards and operaons through the four-step
target potenal guests' wants and needs
process Plan-Do-Check-Improve
Stimulate and Encourage staff ideas/iniaves and Generate and maintain detailed and updated reports
passion for constant improvements
on sales and guests preferences

4- Pull producon 2- Value stream mapping

Conduct realisc and detailed demand forecasng Graphically map your food and beverage operaons
(quanty and descripon of items)
to the smallest detail
Order your food supplies according to forecasted
demand Asses every acvity or chain of pracces considering
Set standard recipes for items including preparaon value creaon and cost reducon
and service me Detect any problemac areas or acvies that
Prepare food items upon guest request produce lile or no value by qualified team
Serve prepared items on me

3- Value flow
Re-arrange operang procedures and working area of all F&B operaons to
reduce wasted me, effort and spaces
Eliminate all acvies that waste me, effort and material or do not add value at
all
Improve necessary acvies and work staons that reduce value or increase
wasted me and materials
Develop and diversify F&B menus regularly and enhance quality standards
Train and qualify employees to provide value and reduce waste and costs
Monitor ulies consumpon (water, gas, electricity) and consider renewable
energy resources
Minimize food waste, leover and other garbage to cut waste disposal expenses

Figure 1. A proposed model of incorporating lean thinking practices in food operations in hotels.

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 LEAN THINKING IN FOOD OPERATIONS IN EGYPT HOTELS 377

food and beverage operations in hotels, such as: lean hotel managers/food and beverage managers and
thinking approach was considered to be unknown quality experts, only 19 interviewees have partici­
and unestablished quality management system; extra pated in this study. However, the adoption of a
expenses and extra work needed for applying lean qualitative approach has helped to overcome this
thinking; lack of incentives for applying lean think- limitation as discussed above. Also, the results of
ing. Some potential operational and marketing advan­ this study were based on the hotel industry in Egypt
tages could be obtained through implementing lean where there are a large number of hotels and resorts
thinking, such as: gaining guest satisfaction via pro- (1,168 hotels/resorts), most of which are operated
viding products that present value for them; reducing by international hotel management companies that
operating expenses by eliminating different types of run many hotels around the globe. Therefore, the
waste; improving hotel competitiveness. implications of this study can be carefully gener-
This study has contributed to the industry through alized to other destinations with similar attributes.
providing a total of 21 suggested practices, com- However, future studies can provide more general-
bined in five main sets of practices, which would izable implications through incorporating primary
enable the implementation of lean thinking princi- data from multiple destinations and focusing on
ples in food and beverage operations in hotels. The pioneer cases of applying lean thinking.
suggested practices were incorporated in a model This study suggests some opportunities for future
(Fig. 1) that represents a customization of lean think­ research in this area. A research could be conducted
ing principles to food and beverage operations in to judge the proposed practices in this study by a
hotels. Despite the existing academic research on panel of experts or test it in practice. Also, further
lean thinking implementations in food production/ research can be done on the applicability of lean
operations (e.g., Dora et al., 2012; Gürel, 2013; thinking in other departments or operations in the
Lancaster, 2011; Rauch et al., 2016; Vlachos & hotel, such as housekeeping or recreational facili-
Bogdanovic, 2013), partial or limited contributions to ties. In addition, research studies can be conducted
both theory and practice were provided. Thus, this to investigate case studies of leading hotels that
model fills such a gap in knowledge and enriches have successfully adopted lean practices to explore
our understanding with regard to the application of and share their lean experience.
lean thinking principles in hotel food and beverage
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