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Standardization VS Customization

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Standardization VS Customization
Standardisation VS Mass Customisation

Introduction
Hospitality and tourism industry represent 5% of global Gross Domestic Product, it is also responsible for over 235 million jobs globally or one in every 12 jobs worldwide (UNWTO, 2013). Furthermore, it is the fourth largest export sector in the world (UNWTO, 2013). These facts prove that hospitality and tourism is a really large and promising industry. According to Cassee (1983), hospitality is ‘a harmonious combination of tangible (products) and intangible (service) components; food and beverages, beds, ambience and environment, and attitude of the staff’. Hospitality industry’s main segments are lodging operations and food and beverages operations.

In recent years, dining out in restaurants is an ubiquitous, important, and growing international phenomenon. In a survey held by Restaurants and Institutions magazine (2010), it was found that 98 percent of people surveyed ate out in America. They prefer to buy food outside because it’s more effective, especially for busy people, they eat outside as they don’t have any time to cook. Most of them prefer to have fast food, so nowadays, the quick-service restaurants/ fast food increasing in popularity. This is because quick-service restaurants provide a consistent product at a low price with fast service and strategic locations. It is usually related with international brand names, for example McDonald’s, Subway, KFC, and Burger King.

McDonald’s is the largest restaurant chain in the world, it has more than 30,000 branches around the world. McDonald’s applies standardisation as its operating system, while Subway as McDonald’s competitor in fast food industry prefer to use mass customisation. Subway is the largest sandwich restaurant chain in the world with more than 37,000 locations around the world. This essay will identify and analyse standardisation and its alternative, which is mass customisation, and also its application in real businesses.

Standardisation



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