Pauline Cooper is a registered dietitian and foodservice director at Memorial Hospital. Increasingly, the hospital's marketing efforts emphasized the importance of its skill in treating diabetic patients. As a result, the number of diabetic meals served by Pauline's staff has been increasing. As a professional member of the hospital's management team, Pauline has been asked to report on how the hospital's diabetic treatment marketing efforts have affected her area.
1. How important is it that Pauline have historical records of the type (i.e., vegetarian, low sodium, gluten-free, and the like) of meals served by her staff and not only the number of meals served? Why?
2. Assume that Pauline's per meal cost has been increasing because diabetic meals are more expensive to produce than regular meals. Could Pauline use sales histories to estimate the financial impact of serving additional diabetic meals in the future? How?
3. What are the other reasons that managers in a food service operation might keep detailed records of meal types served, as well as the total number of meals served?