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Read the case below titled "Food Service Quality of Dining Facility at Riverside University" and then: a)

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Read the case below titled "Food Service Quality of Dining Facility at Riverside University" and then:

a). Summarize the case in detail

 

Food Service Quality of Dining Facility at Riverside University

The campus dining facility is often an interesting topic of discussion among students of Riverside University. They discuss food service unofficially in their conversations or officially during student government meetings. Cafeteria billboards are filled with complaints and suggestions. Yet there is no change. Fast-food locations and other small dining venues off-campus are crowded with students. Students who eat on campus often do so because of a dearth of viable alternatives, i.e., they are required to either buy meal plans or there is insufficient time between classes to go off campus to eat.

There was strong concern in last student government meeting about the quality of the campus dining facility. The student government released the following statement in support of student concerns.

It very important that campus foodservice offer healthy, affordable dining options and quality services. Good health and overall wellness are significantly related to diet. Thus, having quality food keeps students healthy. Food habits that one acquires early in life have long-lasting effects on health. Universities and dining service providers, therefore, need to pay attention to improving students' satisfaction and retention, and also to be socially responsible by keeping students and employees healthy and energetic. This, in turn, will positively impact the academic performance of students, and productivity of employees.

It was decided that a formal study should be undertaken to assess food service quality of campus dining facility. A group of enthusiastic business students developed the survey. The survey begins by asking students their demographic information such as gender, year in school and how often they take advantage of campus dining. It is followed by several questions related to the quality of the food, service, and pricing. Subsequent questions are asked concerning overall satisfaction and retention to campus dining services if new options are introduced. Most of the variables are measured on a scale ranging from 1 to 5. The variable names, questions, and how it is measured is given in Table 1.

Another group of students volunteered to conduct the survey. They gathered in front of dining facility between breaks over the period of two days. Students, entering or exiting from dining facility, were asked if they would fill out a survey. Students, who agreed, completed the survey and gave it back immediately. Students were asked whether they had previously completed this survey to make sure they are were not completing it twice. 62 student responses were gathered from the survey. This data is entered in an Excel file which is ready for data analysis.

In addition to the survey data, university administrators provided enrollment statistics of the students for this semester. There are 10,000 students currently enrolled with 55% of them male students. A fairly equal number of students are freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior. Dining facility statistics show that almost 40% of their student customer are freshman, 25% are sophomore, 20% are junior, and 15% are senior. They have almost same number of male and female customers.

Student government is hoping that this study will provide evidence about students concerns and the quality of the dining facility. They also want to check the potential of having an alternate dining facility. How does the current facility fare on various aspects of quality? Are students satisfied with this dining facility? What factors affect their satisfaction? How would students react in if a new dining facility became available? What is the most important aspect in deciding whether to continue eating at the same or at new facility? Are these sentiments homogenous across gender and year in school? When the

Student government previously brought concerns to the administration, the dining facility personnel were quick to reject it saying that it is not reflecting overall student perceptions. How can the student government demonstrate that the results obtained through this study are reflective of students and dining facility visitors? The student government is looking for students taking statistics courses to analyses this data and provide an executive report at the next meeting. As an expert in statistics can you help them?

 

Table 1: Variables and Scale of Measurement Variable Survey Question

D1  How often do you eat at/purchase meals?

D2  Gender

D3  Year in school

Q1  Survey ID

Q2  Attractive food presentation

Q3  Variety of food choices

Q4  Availability of healthy food options

Q5  Taste and flavor of food

Q6  Portion size

Q7  Hot food is hot and cold food is cold

Q8  Quality of ingredients

Q9  Cleanliness of the facility

Q10  Friendliness of service staff

Q11  Speed of service

Q12  Hours of service

Q13  Prices

Q14  Value of the meal

Q15  Overall satisfaction with facility

If a new option became available on campus

Q16  for meals would you stay with this facility or

go with the new option? (retention)

Scale of Measurement

1- Daily
2- 2 or 3 times per week
3- Weekly
4- 2 or 3 times per month 5- Once a month or less 1-Male
2-Female
1-Freshman
2-Sophomore
3-Junior
4-Senior
Number from 1 through 62

Questions Q2 through Q14 were measured on following Scale.
1- Very unsatisfied
2- Somewhat unsatisfied

3- Neither unsatisfied nor satisfied 4- Somewhat satisfied
5- Very satisfied

Questions Q15 measured on following Scale. 1- Very likely stay with this facility
2- somewhat likely stay with this facility
3- Neither likely nor unlikely

4- Somewhat unlikely stay with this facility 5- Very unlikely stay with this facility