New research shows unpredictable work schedules impact restaurant revenue
Nearly a 5% drop in checks handled by servers asked to stay longer
2021-02-25
(Press-News.org) INFORMS Journal Management Science Study Key Takeaways:
Changing an employee's hours during their shift, typically by having them stay longer, hurts restaurant revenue.
Checks for parties handled by servers who'd been asked to stay longer during their shift dropped by 4.4%, on average.
Servers asked to stay longer reduced the effort spent on upselling and cross-selling additional menu items.
CATONSVILLE, MD, February 25, 2021 - Short notice versus no advance notice makes a huge difference when it comes to employee scheduling in the restaurant industry. New research in the INFORMS journal Management Science finds checks for parties handled by servers who were asked (with no advance notice) to stay longer than their scheduled shift dropped by 4.4%, on average.
The study, "Call to Duty: Just-in-Time Scheduling in a Restaurant Chain," conducted by Masoud Kamalahmadi of the University of Miami, Qiuping Yu of the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Yong-Pin Zhou of the University of Washington analyzed 1.5 million transactions from 25 restaurants in 2016 to look at the impact that unpredictable work schedules have on server sales efforts and restaurant revenue.
The research finds giving an employee a couple of days' notice (short-notice scheduling) doesn't affect sales efforts, however, real-time scheduling (changing people's hours during their shift, typically by having them stay longer) hurts revenue.
"Our analysis indicates that this occurred because servers reduced the effort spent on upselling and cross-selling additional menu items," said Kamalahmadi, an assistant professor of management science. Employee fatigue is controlled for in the study.
"We also show that the reduction in server's sales effort is more profound among less-skilled workers, during the weekend or non-rush hours," continued Yu, an assistant professor of operations management and business analytics at the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
The researchers found that stepping away from the heavy use of real-time schedules not only creates more predictable work schedules, but also improves the expected profit by up to 1%.
INFORMATION:
About INFORMS and Management Science
Management Science is a premier peer-reviewed scholarly journal focused on research using quantitative approaches to study all aspects of management in companies and organizations. It is published by INFORMS, the leading international association for operations research and analytics professionals. More information is available at http://www.informs.org or @informs.
Contact:
Ashley Smith
443-757-3578
asmith@informs.org
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2021-02-25
ITHACA, N.Y. - In many cases, unions in Europe have helped nonunionized workers whose jobs are precarious, according to new Cornell University research.
In "Dualism or Solidarity? Conditions for Union Success in Regulating Precarious Work," published in December in the European Journal of Industrial Relations, the researchers surveyed academic articles to see how often they would find evidence of unions helping nonunionized workers or helping only their own members, and which conditions were associated with each outcome.
The paper was co-authored by Laura Carver, M.S. 20, and Virginia Doellgast, associate ...
2021-02-25
On a low-lying island in the Caribbean, the future of the critically endangered Bahama Oriole just got a shade brighter. A new study led by researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) estimates the population of these striking black and yellow birds at somewhere between 1300 and 2800 individuals in the region they surveyed, suggesting the overall population is likely several thousand. Older studies estimated the entire population at fewer than 300, so the new results indicate there are at least 10 times as many Bahama Orioles as previously understood. The research ...
2021-02-25
A group of crustaceans called amphipods can accelerate as fast as a bullet--literally, according to a new study by biologists at the University of Alberta and Duke University.
This study shows that a tiny and unusual species is responsible for making the fastest repeatable movements yet known for any animal in water.
"The high speeds of these repeatable movements reach nearly 30 metres per second or more than 100 kilometres per hour," explained Richard Palmer, professor emeritus in the Department of Biological Sciences and co-author on the study.
"They have the highest accelerations of any animal in water, reaching more than 0.5 million metres per second squared, which is close to the acceleration of ...
2021-02-25
Glycomics researchers at the University of Alberta and CHU Sainte-Justine have reported a discovery that could lead to new treatments for cardiovascular disease.
The researchers identified a new mechanism responsible for the buildup of plaque on artery walls, a process known as atherosclerosis. This plaque, made up of fats, cholesterol and other substances, can restrict blood flow and is a major factor in cardiovascular disease.
"We identified a new mechanism underlying atherosclerosis," explained Chris Cairo, professor in the Department of Chemistry and co-lead author of the new study. "We also demonstrated that this can be addressed pharmacologically. Using inhibitors ...
2021-02-25
Key takeaways
Opioid prescribing guideline is unique, taking into account each patient's perception of pain, rather than prescribing opioids based on type of operation.
Surgeons play a pivotal role in minimizing opioid use in their patients by setting expectations for pain management.
Opioid disposal rates dramatically increased because surgeons told patients about specific FDA-compliant methods for pill disposal, the location of a convenient pharmacy drop box, and made a reminder phone call.
CHICAGO (February 25, 2021): A prescribing guideline tailored to patients' specific needs reduced the number of opioid pills prescribed after major surgery with researchers reporting ...
2021-02-25
Spring snowmelt in the Alps is occurring earlier in the year due to climate change and as a result triggering abrupt deviations in mountain ecosystems. These changes could negatively affect the functioning of these valuable ecosystems.
New research has demonstrated that vitally important microbial communities within Alpine soils are under threat as a direct result of increasing global temperatures caused by ongoing climate change. These belowground microbes critically support aboveground life because they recycle the key nutrients upon which all animals and plants depend, ...
2021-02-25
Smartphones could be used to scan people's eyes for early-warning signs of glaucoma - helping to prevent severe ocular diseases and blindness, a new study reveals.
Some of the most common eye-related diseases are avoidable and display strong risk factors before onset, but it is much harder to pinpoint a group of people at risk from glaucoma.
Glaucoma is associated with elevated levels of intraocular pressure (IOP) and an accurate, non-invasive way of monitoring an individual's IOP over an extended period would help to significantly increase their chances of maintaining their vision.
Soundwaves used as a mobile measurement method would detect increasing values of ...
2021-02-25
A safe, fast and cheap testing method that uses magnetic nanoparticles to detect viruses in both clinical and wastewater samples has been developed by KAUST researchers. The centrifuge-free approach is compatible with magnetic bead-based automated systems that are already used to process hundreds of samples.
"Our silica magnetic nanoparticle-based workflow can be assembled from scratch by any researcher," says lead author Gerardo Ramos-Mandujano. "It rivals commercial viral-RNA extraction kits while lowering the risk of handling potentially infectious samples."
To diagnose COVID-19, clinicians extract SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA from different types of clinical samples, such as nasopharyngeal swabs, and detect the virus using ...
2021-02-25
Air pollution from fuel combustion is one of the greatest environmental problems, especially in urban environments. In densely populated cities, the presence of nitrogen oxides, very small carbon particles, and carbon monoxide (CO) in the air seriously harms the human health and increases mortality. A collaboration between researchers from the University of Barcelona and from the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk (Russia) opens the way for reducing emissions of automotive pollutants. In a recent study, the scientists ...
2021-02-25
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is key to various fundamental biological processes. It transfers genetic information, translates it into proteins or supports gene regulation. To achieve a more detailed understanding of the precise functions it performs, researchers based at Heidelberg University and at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have devised a new fluorescence imaging method which enables live-cell RNA imaging with unprecedented resolution.
The method is based on a novel molecular marker called Rhodamine-Binding Aptamer for Super-Resolution Imaging Techniques (RhoBAST). This RNA-based fluorescence marker is used in combination with the dye rhodamine. Due to their distinctive properties, marker and dye interact in a very specific way, which makes individual RNA molecules ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] New research shows unpredictable work schedules impact restaurant revenue
Nearly a 5% drop in checks handled by servers asked to stay longer
