The College Café Project Essay Sample

The topic of this research paper is setting up a café within a college campus. “ABC café” has been used in this article to represent this new venture. The reason as to why this café is being set up is in order to offer students a chance to hang out after lectures instead of going outside the college. The café will not only be a dining area but a place for students to meet their friends and other people too. Therefore, it will furthermore provide an opportune setting for students to socialize. It will be a very constructive move towards enhancing the development and wellbeing of students on campus because they are not focused on academics only.

The College Café Project in the North Atlantic Qatar

The main idea of this article is to find out the viability of a café at the College of the North Atlantic Qatar. It will explain purpose of conducting the research and outline the students` background. It will further elaborate on the research methods that will be employed in carrying out the study.

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Background of the Research Topic

Due to foreign students different foods from the entire world have been introduced. This has been affected by close association between India and Iran as well as North Africa. For instance, it is illegal to eat, smoke or drink during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Muslims consider that it is wrong to eat or drink as this defiles the sanctity of the fast which is a sacred ritual for all Muslims to keep. The authorities within Qatar have issued stern messages regarding the rules to keep during Ramadan to everyone especially foreigners both Muslims and non-Muslims who happen to be residing or visiting the country. Those who are caught breaking this rule face harsh consequences such as expulsion from the country. The local citizens who violate the fast are served with corporal punishments. During Ramadan all Muslims must keep off from drinking, eating and smoking in the course of the day hours of fasting. Therefore, non-Muslims still will refrain from eating to demonstrate respect and to avoid hurting the feelings of those who are fasting. This means that the café will be losing a lot of sales as non-Muslim community will resort to look for non-public places to have a meal. The ABC Café will not serve its purpose of providing food in times of need. This is because the café will have to comply with the state’s rule in order to avoid being prosecuted for violation of the rule. The authorities in the Gulf have instituted Commissions to increase virtues and decrease vice and to arrest the violators. It is paramount for the café to provide food that will not offend Muslim customers during their fasting period (Advameg, Inc, 2013).

Food in Qatar often depicts Muslim dietary preferences; however, Indian, African, Iranian and international cuisines can be also found. Due to the growing impact of global food preferences recently several restaurants have been opened in Qatar. These are often used by the foreigners as public eating in Qatar is not common. This implies that most restaurants reflect Muslim preferences and it will be very difficult for the school café to be different. In this case, foreigners will resort to restaurants that serve a wide range of meals of their choice. That`s why it is going to be very difficult to integrate Muslim and non-Muslim food preferences (Brokaan, 2013).

Additionally, people in Qatar eat just a bit in morning and evening and they have a large lunch. In this regard the ABC cafe is likely to be preparing its meals in respect to the Muslim culture. This will, therefore, lock out non-Muslims who by nature have light break-fasts and heavy lunch and supper. As a result, non-Muslims most likely will not eat at the school café. In addition some Muslim families are breaking off from this norm and are now taking full meal in the evening. As for Qatari men the ABC Cafe is a good place for them to meet and socialize as they carry out most of their business in coffee houses and restaurants. This requires two eating places as women do not eat in public places. This requires critical consideration of the viability of this project (Advameg, Inc, 2013).

Additionally, Arabic people are fond of drinking coffee, which is made from lightly roasted beans and sweetened and spiced with cardamom. Arabic people also serve sweet coffee especially to the elite. This implies that the café ought to decide on which market segment to focus – whether to focus on Muslims who are fond of coffee or to strike a balance between Muslims and non-Muslims in the school. Muslims do not drink a lot of alcohol drinks, and foreigners can buy alcohol in hotels. Therefore it will be important for the café to decide on the issue related to alcohol. Owing to the fact that with a mere salutation you are handed a cup of coffee in Qatar, the college café will have to make a choice on whether to offer a variety of juices. In the same light Muslims do not eat pork like most foreign students. Muslims consider pork to be dirty and do not even want to go to places where pork is served. They are therefore likely to stay away from the school café if it is going to sell pork. On the other hand, when the café opts not to offer pork so as to respect Muslim taboo and culture, it will lose a number of potential customers who will resort to look for pork in other cafes and restaurants outside the college (Advameg, Inc, 2013).

According to Arabic culture family is a vital element of life and this is required by culture and religion. The culture recognizes the need of people to come together as families thus the café will be a better platform for people to interact (Brokaan, 2013).

The café will also have to take into consideration Islamic religious holidays. During such holidays especially those after Ramadan there is a tradition to eat special food such as meat, vegetables and grains. The café will have to know how to provide the food needed for these occasion as well as still serve other food to foreigners. If the café opts to serve only Muslim food then it will lose foreign customers in the college. At the same time, failure to focus on Muslim preferences will lead to the fact that Muslim customers will be lost (Marful, 2013).

The region of Qatar is mostly characterized with camel meat and sea food such as mackerel, shrimps, crab and lobster among others. Thus, Qatari people are fond of these products and hence will expect the school café to be considerate to this. On the contrary, numeral foreigners prefer other types of food and hence a clear balance is needed so as to satisfy both Muslims and non-Muslims in the college. With the influx of foreigners a clear balance is necessary. Therefore, in relation to dining etiquette it is important to observe a number of etiquette rules. For this reason there is a need to observe dressing and dietary restrictions of hosts or guests either Muslims or foreigners. This implies that there is a need to examine the issue of etiquette rules so as to have an understanding of what is expected. The café must exercise caution as traditions are diverse in terms of dressing and dietary rules (Brokaan, 2013).

The country social stratification is divided into classes and castes. It is important for ABC Cafe to bear this in mind. This is because these groups do not often integrate and some are held superior to others. This implies that they cannot easily intermingle, as well as a foreigner who also does not easily intermingle with Muslims. This means that the café will have to be designed in a manner that accommodates all these classes of people in order to ensure good business for ABC Cafe. Again, most of the Arabs especially the Bedouins are very suspicious and prefer to maintain a low profile of their personal background. The Bedouins are often encountered with the challenge of lifestyle. Therefore there is a possibility of men to hang out at ABC Café in bid to interact with people from other cultures especially from western cultures. According to the Arabs, eating is regarded as vital social and family ritual and people are accustomed to taste as well as share a lot of dishes while eating. This is going to be very difficult especially bearing in mind that Muslims and non-Muslims have different preferences and traditions when eating. Therefore, sharing of food at ABC café, as required by Arabic tradition, is not going to be possible. (Advameg, Inc, 2013)

Purpose of the Research

The purpose of this research paper is to outline the crucial role that the café will play. The article will also illustrate how helpful it is to have places for students to socialize on campus. The findings of the study are likely to provide useful information to anyone who is willing to invest in the hotel business. The researcher also hopes that the research findings will lay grounds for future researchers to explore the research topic in depth.

Meeting an Existing Need

It has been found out that most students on campus prefer hanging around the college after classes. However, even if this is the case, there are only a few facilities on campus to accommodate the ever growing number of students. Consequently, the students leave the college premises because they do not have a comfortable and convenient place to hang around (Stuttgen, 2007). The new café will come in handy to address the urgent need for having a social place to hang out. “ABC café” has been used in this article to represent the name of this new venture.
The café will provide a relaxing environment. Reading and studying are very tiring and exhausting to students at times. It sometimes tires the mind. This ranges from reading, memorizing, writing and calculating. It wears out a student’s mental and physical alertness (Stuttgen, 2007). The ABC café will set a place where students can come and relax. The premises will be set aside purposely for those who are willing to relax and those who want to study. A lot of students in the world believe that it is better to study in cafes as they enjoy a cup of coffee with their fellow students and friends. The café will be a place where students will meet, order their favorite beverages and relax.

The ABC café will also be a convenient place to study; it will be fitted with free Wi-Fi. Most students spend their time outside the school’s internet cafes. The ABC café will provide a place where students can sit and do homework as they enjoy delicious meals and drinks. It is easier to study when someone is studying as he/she eats something. Studying in this café will be motivating and fun.

As for disabled students, they usually have hard time going outside the school to hang out after classes. Most of the time, they don’t have somewhere to go because of the fact that they cannot travel long distances (Migoya, 2010). Their solution will be the ABC café. There will be special staff who will be purely involved to serve these students. In terms of food and drinks, students will be served like other people but in case they need something they will be assisted.
Entertainment is a need of every student. The café will have entertainment facilities for students (Thompson, 2010). Most students like watching movies, football etc. In this college, students go to nearby bars and restaurants to entertain themselves. They do this as they drink beer and other alcohol drinks. The ABC café will be the best place for entertainment. We will fit the facility with large screen televisions. Our customers will have an experience of the best entertainment. They will be able to watch football matches, movies and other entertainment programs as they share delicious meals and enjoy their drinks.

The student fraternity will provide the immediate market for the products and services sold at the ABC café. However, it is expected that even other groups on campus such as lecturers and workers will be potential customers. The café is therefore projected to grow very fast and attain profitability very soon. Sales returns are expected to increase each year owing to the ever growing number of students enrolling at the college. The café will be having appealing interior and exterior designs to make customers comfortable. We believe that providing exciting, enticing and gratifying experience to the customers, they will immediately accept and like our services.

Objectives of the ABC Café

• The business projects to break even after 2 years. It projects to make net profits of over 30 percent.
• The ABC café will open another branch on the neighboring campus by the end of second quarter of third year.
• The business intends to open a third branch in second quarter of fourth year.

Mission of the ABC Café

The café is committed to provide high quality, finger-licking dishes and beverages at affordable prices to the community on campus. The business will always focus on providing gratifying and satisfying services so as to encourage customer loyalty. The café will provide an environment where students and other customers will interact. This will improve the social status of the school and ensure that students from different departments interact and share ideas.

Our mission will also include treating our customers in a warm and welcoming manner. We will ensure that the students enjoy their time in the ABC café. By doing this, we will have the café employees who will work hand in hand with the customers to ensure that their needs are satisfied. The café will ensure that the employees have the highest degree of customer handling skills including courtesy, cheerfulness, tidiness, and good public relations. The employees will be focused on pleasing our esteemed customers.

It will be the mission of the café to provide satisfactory services that will provide students with a possibility to experience a refreshing environment. We will be committed to providing catering services at the college during annual events, conferences, and board meetings whenever they happen. We will provide students with entertainment services during the weekend to help students interact with their colleagues. The entertainment services will go in line with the ethical standards of the school and the surrounding community. The café will create a lot of opportunities for students who are attending catering and hospitality courses. Upon completion, the best students will be offered a job in the café.

Overview of ABC Café

The ABC café will be offering an upscale, intimate dining experience to all customers. Whether you are coming for a quick lunch or a casual meal, the café will definitely take care of all customers without any discrimination. The café will offer high quality food and beverages at pocket friendly prices. The menu will comprise mainly Arab dishes; however, there is a possibility to order food of Western origin such as burgers and other types of fast food owing to the cosmopolitan nature of the neighborhood. The only thing that will not be served at any given time is pork, because it is prohibited in Qatar. Apparently, the largest population in the area is Muslims. Beverages such as different variants of coffee and tea will be served. Other types of meals found in the menu will be salads, appetizers and desserts. In addition, soft drinks will be served but not liquors. The café will be located on campus to satisfy the needs of all students equally as much as possible. The café will be open every day for all types of dining services as described above. This will ensure the café serves the customers who wish to have breakfast, lunch or supper.

Startup Costs

In most cases, the capital needed to start up a business is a challenge to many people. However, in our case, finances will be pooled from savings, and the investors will top up the remaining amount. Some of the expenses to be incurred include hiring and training of employees, acquiring the premises as well as all necessary equipment for the project. Cost of advertisement and branding will also be factored in. Caution will be taken to avoid food wastage especially during the first days of operation. We have tried to reduce some of unnecessary spending at the initial stage. For instance, the business will be started as a limited partnership but later on it will be incorporated into a limited liability company. Money that will be made from the first sales will be used to expand the café both in its operations and structure.

Products and Services

The ABC café will offer finger licking food and beverages. The main goal of a good café is to offer good products and services and that is what the ABC café will be worried about. We will be committed to offering a variety of food products. Considering that the North Atlantic College is a cosmopolitan institution, we will be providing all products regardless of culture, religion and race. Our full range of products will be as follows.

Specialty hot beverages will include Americano, cappuccino, macchiato, white mocha, chai, tea flavored with cardamom and sugar, lemonade, coconut milk etc. Others include Espresso, Earl Grey, and Darjeeling. Some of the specialty cold drinks will include Café frappe, Belvoir Presse, Ubuntu fair-trade Cola, Juice Burst Drinks etc. We will offer late breakfast dishes and all day lite-bites which will include: Panini, wraps, sandwiches, soup of the day, salad bowls, Breakfast Ciabbatta, cold pasta salads, sushi, freshly cooked pasta and pastries among others.
Students will be able to taste the best desserts. They will include coconut balls and mango mousse and ice cream. Others are kajukatri, butter and cashew nut paste made products, peda etc. They will enjoy a variety of fresh fruits, crisps, nuts, raisins and others.

There will be a variety of foods that will go in line with a customer’s religion and preferences. Considering that, non-vegetarian Hindus tend to avoid beef, Muslims eschew pork while many Buddhists commonly feed on vegetables. Christians are not much sensitive to food unless it’s at some times of the year like Easter holiday. Recipes will include chicken and mutton which are mostly preferred by customers in Qatar. We will also provide Chaat, aromatic mix of potatoes, samosas, fried meat and veggie dumplings. We will offer traditional dishes like Diwali, halwa, and other popular meals. Customers will have their requests catered for in regard to their taste and preferences.

Our menu will be also packed with juicy, thick steaks coated with flavorings and zesty spices. There will be mouthwatering prime rib, butter roasted and toasted chicken dishes, fresh grilled seafood etc. Others will include, but not limited to, burgers, sandwiches, soups, appetizers and other delicacies. The bottom line during provision of services to our customers is to have attentive and compassionate staff members (Thompson, 2010). The ABC café has a very appealing customer service policy, which states that the customers must leave the café happy with the food and services provided to them. As it will be discussed later, provision of good customer service will be one of the key aspects that will give the business a competitive edge. In order to ensure that everything works out well and effectively, there will be a kitchen manager as well as a dining room manager. The kitchen manager will ensure that preparation of food is done without any delay and high quality standards are met. On the other hand, the dining manager will ensure customer satisfaction.

There will be many employees in the dining reception and dining rooms to receive customer orders and serve them. We will also place some employees outside the café who will be receiving and welcoming guests. The serving employees will observe high levels of cleanliness both of body and attire. This will definitely improve the quality of services and customer satisfaction.
On the same note, the cafe will have a systematic way of making payments and orders to avoid congestion, loss of cash and lateness in delivery of services. Students will be required to use cash when purchasing drinks and food. The cafe will also use electronic payment means. This is aimed at offering efficient and quick services. This will involve the use of university students electronic Cards. The card will be fitted with food purse where you will have to update your fee before buying anything. The credits in the purse will not be transferred to another person but they can be used to purchase food to more than one person.

Competitive Edges

The ABC café has highly experienced staff members. This will help the new business to spring to effective performance within a short time after its opening owing to the expertise of its employees. Knowledge within an organization is a very valuable asset, which is mainly invested in human resource. Therefore, if the ABC café has skillful staff members, who have long years of work experience, it will be a great boost for the business. Also, the customer policy for the ABC café is second to none and therefore it becomes part of the competitive edge.
The ABC cafe will employ the most experienced employees in the region to offer the best services ever. The café will absorb the best students studying hospitality management in this university so that they can implement their expertise in the field.
With the dishes that the café is offering, it will undoubtedly be the best café for students and college employees where they can come to spend their time and to eat. The prices of will be very customer-friendly, and appreciation or depreciation of prices will be communicated in advance.

Research Method

This chapter will focus on various research methods that are applied in this study. In order to get noteworthy results from the research maximum attentiveness and adherences to a sound process are required that will allow the researcher attain the intended goal. The study will adopt positive philosophy and qualitative and quantitative methods. Research philosophy can be defined as the use of reason and argument when seeking for truth and knowledge. Philosophy relates to the development and nature of knowledge. Scholars with positive philosophy generally utilize the quantitative analysis to process data in order to measure certain relations. For the sake of efficiency, it requires the researcher to embrace research methods that are appropriate and it is at this point that research strategy comes in handy. Fundamentally, a research strategy refers to an organized plan of action that offers directions to researchers enabling them to conduct the research more methodically rather than chaotically. It helps the researcher remain focused, minimize frustrations, improve the quality of the work done and save time in the long run. This chapter outlines the proposed research design, population, sample, data collection instrument, procedures, and method of data analysis.

Methods of Data Collection

There are various methods that will be employed in collection of data as explained below:

• Direct observation: This strategy involves observing the subject, often in a natural setting. While an individual observer is sometimes used, it is more common to utilize a group of observers.
• Interviews: it is one of the most important methods of gathering information in case studies. An interview can involve structured survey-type questions, or more open-ended questions.
• Use of questionnaires whereby the respondents are required to fill in the questions and submit the results.
• Use of available literature and previous documents such as letters, newspaper articles, administrative records, to gather relevant information.

Location of the Study

The research will be conducted at the College of the North Atlantic Qatar.

Target Population

The target population consists mainly of students, lecturers and other support staff. The size of the population is around 850 people, comprising of about 700 students, 100 workers and 50 lecturers.

Sampling Techniques

Simple random sampling technique will be used in order to get the results. Random sampling allows the results of the survey to be generalized to the entire student population of the university.

Research Instruments

Questionnaires will be used as the major tool for data collection because the target population is widely distributed. The researcher will administer questionnaires with different sets of questions to each group. For students and lecturers, the researcher will use the questionnaires to gather information. The responses gathered will be recorded immediately due to validity reasons and prevention of distortion.

Questionnaires

The structured questions are preferred by the researcher because they are easier to analyze and the responses are more predictable. The respondents will be required to tick off the items on the list. However some questions will be open to allow some freedom but responses will be categorized into specific groups during analysis. The questionnaires will be delivered by hand and collected in person to avoid delays.

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Interview Schedule

A structured interview will be employed too. Fixed alternative questions are the common forms of the interview because they are easy to mark and saving time. An interview is flexible and adaptable to individual situation.

Data Analysis

The collected data will be analyzed and discussed qualitatively and quantitatively using statistical procedure for social science (SPSS). The study will examine the results through a series of operations. The refined data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics involving frequency, percentages and scores to determine concentrations and standard deviation. The descriptive statistics is a valuable tool for data analysis as it portrays the typical respondents and reveals the general pattern of response. The findings of the study will be presented using frequency tables, graphs and pie charts.

Ethical Considerations

There are a number of key issues that need to be checked to try to protect the rights of the participants of the research. The principle of voluntary participation requires people not be coerced into participating in the research. The researcher will be concerned with the ethical treatment of the obtained data and the subjects. The supervisors will also review the research proposal thoroughly to assure the ethical treatment of human subjects.

The researcher will inform the potential subjects of aspects of research procedures that might influence their decision to participate. The participants will not be forced to participate in the research study. Coercive influence will not be used on the subjects make them participate. The subjects will also be permitted to withdraw from the study anytime they desired with the researcher ensuring that the subjects are protected from physical harm and psychological distress. The information provided by the respondents will be treated with complete confidentiality. The names of the respondents and their genders will remain anonymous.