Brooke Fountain
Axia College of University of Phoenix
BUS210—Foundations of Business
Developing Good Business Sense
1. The three different companies I chose to observe are Subway, Outback Steak House, and AT&T Wireless. I wanted to observe three different types of business to get a better understanding of how businesses work. I felt that this would give me a broader scope of the way different Operations and Materials Management operates. I have been on both sides of these businesses. I have worked as a server in a restaurant, as well as selling wireless service to customers. I am also an AT&T customer, so I have the benefit of seeing how other employees treat their customers. 2. There are many differences in the input, operations, and output for these three companies. At Subway, the input operation would have to be certain that it has the freshest vegetables, bread, and meat to offer the customer. This is what makes them stand out as a sandwich business. They also have to have trained employees to make the sandwiches customer ask for and be able to work the cash register. This is not the way that most businesses operate. Most businesses that I have observed have a separate cashier to handle the money on a day to day basis. Outback Steak House’s input operations would have to stay competitive by offering the best quality of steak to their customers. They also have various other items on the menu that make them stand out from other steak houses. An example if this would be the blooming onion. Outback has to employ the right cooks to serve the meant how the customer wants it cooked without over or under cooking it. They also have to employ an exemplary wait staff, as well as management to operate on the level of excellence. The wait staff is often what customers will gage their total dining experience on, although, it is a combination of many things. AT&T wireless