Deck 14: Implementing Labor Cost Controls

Question 1

Which of the following statements about constructing a staffing guide is TRUE?

A) A staffing guide should be based on the productivity rates of average employees.
B) A staffing guide developed for one type of food and beverage operation is easily used by another type of food and beverage operation.
C) A staffing guide should be developed for each department within a food and beverage operation.
D) A staffing guide should be developed for each position within each department of a food and beverage operation.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following positions in a food and beverage operation is least likely to have a work schedule that varies in relation to changes in business volume?

A) dishwasher
B) supervisor
C) cook
D) server

Answer 2

B

Question 3

If the manager of a food and beverage operation wanted to emphasize productivity, as opposed to labor costs, labor performance standards would best be expressed in terms of:

A) labor dollars.
B) labor hours.
C) variable labor.
D) fixed labor.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

At the Fish Dish Restaurant, the forecast for Thursday afternoon's lunch period was 200 meals served. The manager used the restaurant's staffing guide to schedule employees to work and ended the lunch shift with total labor costs of $425. If the actual lunch revenue amounted to $1,250 and the budgeted lunch labor cost percentage for the month was 32 percent, how close to budget were the labor costs for Thursday's lunch period?

A) 2 percent over budget
B) 2 percent under budget
C) 16 percent over budget
D) 16 percent under budget

Question 5

When constructing staffing guides, managers should:

A) use the productivity rates of good employees as a basis to set labor standards for average employees.
B) keep productivity rates at the levels initially established, despite increases in employee efficiency and proficiency.
C) rely strongly on standards developed in the industry for other similar operations.
D) incorporate all of the above points.

Question 6

Which of the following tools helps a food and beverage manager determine labor standards for each position and shift?

A) variance analysis
B) budgeted labor cost percentage
C) national staffing averages
D) position performance analysis

Question 7

Which of the following staff positions are likely to have work schedules that vary in relation to changes in a restaurant's volume of business?

A) compressed staff positions
B) variable staff positions
C) shared staff positions
D) fixed staff position

Question 8

Actual hours worked by the staff at the Steakhouse Restaurant exceeded scheduled labor hours by an average of 15 hours a week. If the average hourly wage for staff is $7 and the budgeted profit margin is 10 percent, how much additional revenue must be generated during the year to cover the unscheduled increase in labor costs?

A) $5,460
B) $8,320
C) $54,600
D) $83,200

Question 9

Which of the following statements about fixed and variable labor is TRUE?

A) An unexpected increase in business volume will increase fixed labor expenses.
B) Managers have more control over fixed labor expenses than over variable labor expenses.
C) A goal of food and beverage managers should be to eliminate all fixed labor expenses.
D) Fixed labor expenses are costs associated with the minimum number of employees needed to operate a business.

Question 10

Which of the following work scheduling techniques is used to adequately staff a food and beverage operation during periods of uneven work flows?

A) compressed work schedules
B) staggered work schedules
C) expanded work schedules
D) rotated work schedules