Answer questions in a short paragraph. CASE 3.1 Sang M. Lee tells of a meeting with two Japanese businessmen in Tokyo to

[answerhappygod]

Answer questions in a short paragraph.
CASE 3.1 Sang M. Lee tells of a meeting with two Japanese
businessmen in Tokyo to plan a joint U.S.–Japanese conference to
explore U.S. and Japanese management systems. As lunchtime drew
near, his hosts told him with much delight that they wished to show
him the “most productive operation in Japan.”
Lee describes the occasion: “They took me to a sushi shop, the
famous 100 Yen Sushi House, in the Shinzuku area of Tokyo. Sushi is
the most popular snack in Japan. It is a simple dish, vinegared
rice wrapped in different things, such as dried seaweed, raw tuna,
raw salmon, raw red snapper, cooked shrimp, octopus, fried egg, and
so on. Sushi is usually prepared so that each piece will be about
the right size to be put into the mouth with chopsticks. Arranging
the sushi in an appetizing and aesthetic way with pickled ginger is
almost an art in itself.
“The 100 Yen Sushi House is no ordinary sushi restaurant. It is
the ultimate showcase of Japanese productivity. As we entered the
shop, there was a chorus of Iratsai, a welcome from everyone
working in the shop—cooks, waitresses, the owner, and the owner’s
children. The house features an ellipsoid-shaped serving area in
the middle of the room, where inside three or four cooks were
busily preparing sushi. Perhaps 30 stools surrounded the serving
area. We took seats at the counters and were promptly served with a
cup of Misoshiru, which is a bean paste soup, a pair of chopsticks,
a cup of green tea, a tiny plate to make our own sauce, and a small
china piece to hold the chopsticks. So far, the service was average
for any sushi house. Then, I noticed something special. There was a
conveyor belt going around the ellipsoid service area, like a toy
train track. On it I saw a train of plates of sushi. You can find
any kind of sushi that you can think of—from the cheapest seaweed
or octopus kind to the expensive raw salmon or shrimp dishes. The
price is uniform, however, 100 yen per plate. On page 87closer
examination, while my eyes were racing to keep up with the speed of
the traveling plates, I found that a cheap seaweed plate had four
pieces, while the more expensive raw salmon dish had only two
pieces. I sat down and looked around at the other customers at the
counters. They were all enjoying their sushi and slurping their
soup while reading newspapers or magazines.
“I saw a man with eight plates all stacked up neatly. As he got
up to leave, the cashier looked over and said, ‘800 yen, please.’
The cashier had no cash register, since she can simply count the
number of plates and then multiply by 100 yen. As the customer was
leaving, once again we heard a chorus of Arigato Gosaimas (thank
you) from all the workers.”
Lee continues his observations of the sushi house operations:
“In the 100 Yen Sushi House, Professor Tamura [one of his hosts]
explained to me how efficient this family-owned restaurant is. The
owner usually has a superordinate organizational purpose such as
customer service, a contribution to society, or the well-being of
the community. Furthermore, the organizational purpose is achieved
through a long-term effort by all the members of the organization,
who are considered ‘family.’
“The owner’s daily operation is based on a careful analysis of
information. The owner has a complete summary of demand information
about different types of sushi plates, and thus he knows exactly
how many of each type of sushi plate he should prepare and when.
Furthermore, the whole operation is based on the repetitive
manufacturing principle with appropriate just-in-time and quality
control systems. For example, the store has a very limited
refrigerator capacity (we could see several whole fish or octopus
in the glassed chambers right in front of our counter). Thus, the
store uses the just-in-time inventory control system. Instead of
increasing the refrigeration capacity by purchasing new
refrigeration systems, the company has an agreement with the fish
vendor to deliver fresh fish several times a day so that materials
arrive just-in-time to be used for sushi making. Therefore, the
inventory cost is minimum.
“. . . In the 100 Yen Sushi House, workers and their equipment
are positioned so close that sushi making is passed on hand to hand
rather than as independent operations. The absence of walls of
inventory allows the owner and workers to be involved in the total
operation, from greeting the customer to serving what is ordered.
Their tasks are tightly interrelated and everyone rushes to a
problem spot to prevent the cascading effect of the problem
throughout the work process. “The 100 Yen Sushi House is a
labor-intensive operation, which is based mostly on simplicity and
common sense rather than high technology, contrary to American
perceptions. I was very impressed. As I finished my fifth plate, I
saw the same octopus sushi plate going around for about the 30th
time. Perhaps I had discovered the pitfall of the system. So I
asked the owner how he takes care of the sanitary problems when a
sushi plate goes around all day long, until an unfortunate customer
eats it and perhaps gets food poisoning. He bowed with an
apologetic smile and said, ‘Well, sir, we never let our sushi
plates go unsold longer than about 30 minutes.’ Then he scratched
his head and said, ‘Whenever one of our employees takes a break, he
or she can take off unsold plates of sushi and either eat them or
throw them away. We are very serious about our sushi quality.’”
Questions
Prepare a service blueprint for the 100 Yen Sushi House
operation.
What features of the 100 Yen Sushi House service delivery system
differentiate it from the competition, and what competitive
advantages do they offer?
How has the 100 Yen Sushi House incorporated the just-in-time
system into its operation?
Suggest other services that could adopt the 100 Yen Sushi House
service delivery concepts.