Clinical nutrition management position: responsibilities and skill development strategies.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the duties of clinical nutrition managers, the factors associated with the performance of the duties, the job specifications for the position, and the skill development strategies used by clinical nutrition managers. DESIGN: Clinical nutrition managers from 700 randomly selected, acute-care hospitals in the United States (with 300 or more beds) received a survey questionnaire. Respondents were asked to indicate performance or nonperformance, perceived importance, and methods used to develop skills for 54 duties related to clinical nutrition management. We requested additional information about position requirements, position characteristics, and demographic information. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: An 82% response rate with 67% usable responses (n = 472) was achieved. Frequencies for performance and nonperformance, mean importance, and frequencies for methods of skill development were determined for each duty. chi 2 Analysis with P < .10 was used to determine if an association existed between performance of a duty and time allotted to the position, number of personnel supervised, and type of personnel supervised. RESULTS: This study validated 46 of the duties as responsibilities of practicing clinical nutrition manager. Three duties not validated were related to financial management. The duty performed least often was conducting research/investigative studies. The number and type of personnel supervised was found to influence performance of duties, but time allotted to position was not an influence. The major strategies used for skill development were continuing education, networking, work experience in clinical dietetics, work experience in management dietetics, and their present job. APPLICATIONS: These results can be used by clinical nutrition managers to assess the characteristics of their current position and develop a plan for enhancing their scope of responsibility. The identification of duties actually performed by clinical nutrition managers can also be used to develop standards of practice with performance indicators and recommended thresholds. Information regarding the skill development strategies of clinical nutrition managers can be used by practitioners to enhance their current skills and knowledge and by others to prepare for career opportunities in clinical nutrition management.

Status of training programs and perceived labor problems in four types of noncommercial foodservice operations.

Training is essential for the effective delivery of quality foodservice products. A well-developed training program is ongoing, comprehensive, planned in advance, and performance based. Such programs facilitate performance and may be beneficial to develop employees and reduce employee turnover rates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinds of training programs that are being developed and delivered to employees in noncommercial foodservice operations. A survey instrument was mailed nationally to foodservice directors and administrators in health care and educational foodservice operations requesting information about training programs used for their nonsupervisory foodservice employees. Information regarding perceived existence of potential labor problems was also collected. Relationships between training programs and perception of labor problems were investigated. Training appears to be conducted in some form within the four types of noncommercial foodservice operations investigated. The most severely perceived labor problems among nonsupervisory employees include low motivation, lack of skills, and poor promotability.

Food item inventory instructional simulation using microcomputers.

The purpose of this study was to teach the management concepts of perpetual and periodic inventory systems to university students through a food item inventory instructional simulation using microcomputers. The objective of the study was to determine the simulation's effectiveness in enhancing students' understanding of inventory systems management. The participants were senior and graduate students enrolled in a foodservice procurement and inventory systems course at Oregon State University, Corvallis. The population consisted of 68 students, with 34 in the experimental group and 34 in the control group. All the participants completed a pretest to measure existing knowledge of inventory management concepts. This was followed by two classroom lectures, each 50 minutes long, on inventory systems management in foodservice facilities. Members of the experimental group participated in using the food item inventory simulation and study guide after attending both classroom lectures. All the participants of the experimental and control groups completed a post-test 3 weeks after the pretest. The difference in post-test adjusted mean scores between the experimental and control groups was significant (p less than or equal to .05) as determined by analysis of covariance. Therefore, the food item inventory instructional simulation using microcomputers was effective in enhancing students' understanding of the management of perpetual and periodic inventory systems.

Productivity management: applying it personally and professionally.

Productivity management is a major step in analyzing and documenting our professional tasks. Defining ratios, measuring, and evaluating are the first steps in accounting to consumers, employees, government bodies, and ourselves for our resources and services. Self-evaluation with empirical productivity data can provide the key information necessary for growth and change in the individual and, in turn, in the organization. Professional productivity management can be a managerial tool essential in documenting our professional worth. The significance of productivity management to the individual and her/his career needs to be self-examined by every dietetic professional. Well-defined goals and documented accomplishments are important, if not essential, to our existence as a profession. We can no longer afford not to accept the responsibility to manage and improve our professional lives.

Robots in food systems: a review and assessment of potential uses.

Management personnel in foodservice, food processing, and robot industries were surveyed to evaluate potential job functions for robots in the food industry. The survey instrument listed 64 different food-related job functions that participants were asked to assess as appropriate or not appropriate for robotic implementation. Demographic data were collected from each participant to determine any positive or negative influence on job function responses. The survey responses were statistically evaluated using frequencies and the chi-square test of significance. Sixteen of the 64 job functions were identified as appropriate for robot implementation in food industries by both robot manufacturing and food managers. The study indicated, first, that food managers lack knowledge about robots and robot manufacturing managers lack knowledge about food industries. Second, robots are not currently being used to any extent in the food industry. Third, analysis of the demographic data in relation to the 16 identified job functions showed no significant differences in responses.

A multi-echelon menu item forecasting system for hospitals.

A multi-echelon system was designed to generate statistical forecasts of menu-item demand in hospitals from one- through twenty-eight-day intervals prior to patient meal service. The three interdependent echelons were: (1) Forecasting patient census, (2) estimating diet category census, and (3) calculating menu-item demand. Eighteen weeks of supper data were utilized to analyze diet category distribution patterns and menu-item preferences, to test forecasting models, and to evaluate the performance of the forecasting system. A cost function was used to evaluate the efficiency of the mathematical forecasting system and manual technique over a nine-week period. The cost of menu-item forecast errors resulting from the use of adaptive exponential smoothing and Box-Jenkins formulations was approximately 40 per cent less than costs associated with the manual system.