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Benihana of Tokyo – Case Solution

The Benihana of Tokyo case study looks into the development of a chain of "theme" restaurants. It discusses the production process in Benihana as compared to that of a typical restaurant.

​W. Earl Sasser Jr.; John R. Klug Harvard Business Review ( 673057-PDF-ENG ) October 31, 1972

Case questions answered:

Case study questions answered in the first solution:

• What is Benihana of Tokyo selling? Is it food, atmosphere, hospitality, a watering hole, or what? Is having entertainment in the lounge consistent with the overall image? All the advertising emphasizes the chef and the food, but is that really what the public comes for?
• How do you hedge your bets? Is Benihana at the forefront of a trend of the future with its limited menu, cooking in front of you, and Japanese atmosphere, or is it just a fad?
• How is the Benihana production process different from that of the regular restaurant? What changes have Benihana implemented as compared to a regular restaurant?
• What is the Benihana concept? What is the value proposition of Benihana? How is Benihana different from your everyday restaurant experience?
• How is the cost structure different at Benihana as compared to other restaurants?
• How has Benihana managed to keep its labor motivated by doing the same thing again and again every night?

Case study questions answered in the second and third solutions:

• What are the differences between the production process of Benihana of Tokyo and that of a typical restaurant?
• Examine the production system in detail. What are the major design choices that generate operating efficiencies?

Not the questions you were looking for? Submit your own questions & get answers .

Benihana of Tokyo Case Answers

You will receive access to three case study solutions! The second and third solutions are not yet visible in the preview.

1. What is Benihana of Tokyo selling? Is it food, atmosphere, hospitality, a watering hole, or what? Is having entertainment in the lounge consistent with the overall image? All the advertising emphasizes the chef and the food, but is that really what the public comes for?

There are Five Product Levels in marketing – core, basic, expected, augmented, and potential. The core products for Benihana are ‘food’ and ‘beverage’.

The menu for Benihana was limited to three offerings – chicken, soup, and shrimp. Also, Benihana’s core product offers its augmented product in the form of ‘hospitality’ and ‘Japanese ambiance’ (Hibachi Table Arrangement & Japanese Interior). This added a lot of value to its customer experience.

We can infer the satisfaction level of customers through the respondents to the questionnaire. The restaurant’s atmosphere persuaded about 13% of the respondents to come to the place, and also, 13% of the respondents highlighted that atmosphere was a key factor in their satisfaction.

The USP of Benihana of Tokyo is that it allows its customers to watch its chef while the chef cooks the food. Thus, it sort of makes the cook look like a performing artist.

Furthermore, it serves its three-item menu on the Hibachi Table in a Japanese ambiance (interior).

2. How do you hedge your bets? Is Benihana at the forefront of a trend of the future with its limited menu, cooking in front of you, and Japanese atmosphere, or is it just a fad?

Benihana of Tokyo is a well-thought-out business idea that gives a unique experience to its customers. The customers are welcomed with a specially created bar/lounge area.

After that, they are taken to the ‘Teppanyaki’ table. This was the show-stopper for the business. The customers would place the order, and the chefs would come and prepare it in front of them.

The chefs were the most important asset for the restaurant. They were young, trained professionals who cooked authentic Japanese food.

Apart from the food, Benihana’s décor was that of a traditional Japanese set-up. The wall, ceiling, artifacts, and light were imported directly from Japan. Benihana has successfully understood how to deliver a cultural experience without making its American customers feel unsafe.

It is neither a fad nor a trend. Benihana has the option of expanding only if it gets funds from external sources.

Other factors can limit its expansion plan. Namely, the restaurant has only two carpenter crews, it may face a shortage of chefs and trained staff, the minimum amount to open a new unit is $300,000, and Benihana can only open five units a year.

Benihana also doesn’t consider franchising because of a lack of experienced (in the restaurant business) investors, a shortage of Japanese staff, and a lack of full control and autonomy.

Instead of setting up new units, Benihana of Tokyo can look to…

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• Harvard Business School →
• Faculty & Research →
• November 1972 (Revised July 2023)
• HBS Case Collection

Benihana of Tokyo

• Format: Print
• | Language: English
• | Pages: 17

About The Author

W. Earl Sasser

Related work.

• Faculty Research
• Benihana of Tokyo  By: W. Earl Sasser

Marketing Process Analysis

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• Benihana of Tokyo
• Technology & Operations / MBA Resources

Introduction to case study solution

EMBA Pro case study solution for Benihana of Tokyo case study

At EMBA PRO , we provide corporate level professional case study solution. Benihana of Tokyo case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by W. Earl Sasser Jr., John R. Klug. The Benihana of Tokyo (referred as “Benihana Tokyo” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Technology & Operations. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, . Our immersive learning methodology from – case study discussions to simulations tools help MBA and EMBA professionals to - gain new insight, deepen their knowledge of the Technology & Operations field, and broaden their skill set.

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Case Description of Benihana of Tokyo Case Study

Discusses the development of a chain of "theme" restaurants. The student is asked to evaluate the current operating strategy and suggest a long-term expansion strategy.

Case Authors : W. Earl Sasser Jr., John R. Klug

Topic : technology & operations, related areas :, what is the case study method how can you use it to write case solution for benihana of tokyo case study.

Almost all of the case studies contain well defined situations. MBA and EMBA professional can take advantage of these situations to - apply theoretical framework, recommend new processes, and use quantitative methods to suggest course of action. Awareness of the common situations can help MBA & EMBA professionals read the case study more efficiently, discuss it more effectively among the team members, narrow down the options, and write cogently.

Case Study Solution Approaches

Three Step Approach to Benihana of Tokyo Case Study Solution

The three step case study solution approach comprises – Conclusions – MBA & EMBA professionals should state their conclusions at the very start. It helps in communicating the points directly and the direction one took. Reasons – At the second stage provide the reasons for the conclusions. Why you choose one course of action over the other. For example why the change effort failed in the case and what can be done to rectify it. Or how the marketing budget can be better spent using social media rather than traditional media. Evidences – Finally you should provide evidences to support your reasons. It has to come from the data provided within the case study rather than data from outside world. Evidences should be both compelling and consistent. In case study method there is ‘no right’ answer, just how effectively you analyzed the situation based on incomplete information and multiple scenarios.

Case Study Solution of Benihana of Tokyo

We write Benihana of Tokyo case study solution using Harvard Business Review case writing framework & HBR Technology & Operations learning notes. We try to cover all the bases in the field of Technology & Operations, and other related areas.

Objectives of using various frameworks in Benihana of Tokyo case study solution

By using the above frameworks for Benihana of Tokyo case study solutions, you can clearly draw conclusions on the following areas – What are the strength and weaknesses of Benihana Tokyo (SWOT Analysis) What are external factors that are impacting the business environment (PESTEL Analysis) Should Benihana Tokyo enter new market or launch new product (Opportunities & Threats from SWOT Analysis) What will be the expected profitability of the new products or services (Porter Five Forces Analysis) How it can improve the profitability in a given industry (Porter Value Chain Analysis) What are the resources needed to increase profitability (VRIO Analysis) Finally which business to continue, where to invest further and from which to get out (BCG Growth Share Analysis)

SWOT Analysis of Benihana of Tokyo

SWOT analysis stands for – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and Weaknesses are result of Benihana Tokyo internal factors, while opportunities and threats arise from developments in external environment in which Benihana Tokyo operates. SWOT analysis will help us in not only getting a better insight into Benihana Tokyo present competitive advantage but also help us in how things have to evolve to maintain and consolidate the competitive advantage.

- Streamlined processes and efficient operation management – Benihana Tokyo is one of the most efficient firms in its segment. The credit for the performance goes to successful execution and efficient operations management.

- Experienced and successful leadership team – Benihana Tokyo management team has been a success over last decade by successfully predicting trends in the industry.

- Benihana Tokyo business model can be easily replicated by competitors – According to W. Earl Sasser Jr., John R. Klug , the business model of Benihana Tokyo can be easily replicated by players in the industry.

- Low profitability which can hamper new project investment – Even though Benihana Tokyo financial statement is stable, but going forward Benihana Tokyo 5-7% profitability can lead to shortage of funds to invest into new projects.

Opportunities

- E-Commerce and Social Media Oriented Business Models – E-commerce business model can help Benihana Tokyo to tie up with local suppliers and logistics provider in international market. Social media growth can help Benihana Tokyo to reduce the cost of entering new market and reaching to customers at a significantly lower marketing budget.

- Developments in Artificial Intelligence – Benihana Tokyo can use developments in artificial intelligence to better predict consumer demand, cater to niche segments, and make better recommendation engines.

- Growing dominance of digital players such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft etc can reduce the manoeuvring space for Benihana Tokyo and put upward pressure on marketing budget.

- Home market marketing technique won’t work in new markets such as India and China where scale is prized over profitability.

Once all the factors mentioned in the Benihana of Tokyo case study are organized based on SWOT analysis, just remove the non essential factors. This will help you in building a weighted SWOT analysis which reflects the real importance of factors rather than just tabulation of all the factors mentioned in the case.

What is PESTEL Analysis

PESTEL /PEST / STEP Analysis of Benihana of Tokyo Case Study

PESTEL stands for – Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors that impact the macro environment in which Benihana Tokyo operates in. W. Earl Sasser Jr., John R. Klug provides extensive information about PESTEL factors in Benihana of Tokyo case study.

Political Factors

- Political consensus among various parties regarding taxation rate and investment policies. Over the years the country has progressively worked to lower the entry of barrier and streamline the tax structure.

- Little dangers of armed conflict – Based on the research done by international foreign policy institutions, it is safe to conclude that there is very little probability of country entering into an armed conflict with another state.

Economic Factors

- According to W. Earl Sasser Jr., John R. Klug . Benihana Tokyo should closely monitor consumer disposable income level, household debt level, and level of efficiency of local financial markets.

- Inflation rate is one of the key criteria to consider for Benihana Tokyo before entering into a new market.

Social Factors

- Consumer buying behavior and consumer buying process – Benihana Tokyo should closely follow the dynamics of why and how the consumers are buying the products both in existing categories and in segments that Benihana Tokyo wants to enter.

- Leisure activities, social attitudes & power structures in society - are needed to be analyzed by Benihana Tokyo before launching any new products as they will impact the demand of the products.

Technological Factors

- Artificial intelligence and machine learning will give rise to importance of speed over planning. Benihana Tokyo needs to build strategies to operate in such an environment.

- 5G has potential to transform the business environment especially in terms of marketing and promotion for Benihana Tokyo.

Environmental Factors

- Consumer activism is significantly impacting Benihana Tokyo branding, marketing and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

- Environmental regulations can impact the cost structure of Benihana Tokyo. It can further impact the cost of doing business in certain markets.

Legal Factors

- Property rights are also an area of concern for Benihana Tokyo as it needs to make significant infrastructure investment just to enter new market.

- Intellectual property rights are one area where Benihana Tokyo can face legal threats in some of the markets it is operating in.

What are Porter Five Forces

Porter Five Forces Analysis of Benihana of Tokyo

Competition among existing players, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of new entrants, and threat of substitutes.

What is VRIO Analysis

VRIO Analysis of Benihana of Tokyo

VRIO stands for – Value of the resource that Benihana Tokyo possess, Rareness of those resource, Imitation Risk that competitors pose, and Organizational Competence of Benihana Tokyo. VRIO and VRIN analysis can help the firm.

What is Porter Value Chain

Porter Value Chain Analysis of Benihana of Tokyo

As the name suggests Value Chain framework is developed by Michael Porter in 1980’s and it is primarily used for analyzing Benihana Tokyo relative cost and value structure. Managers can use Porter Value Chain framework to disaggregate various processes and their relative costs in the Benihana Tokyo. This will help in answering – the related costs and various sources of competitive advantages of Benihana Tokyo in the markets it operates in. The process can also be done to competitors to understand their competitive advantages and competitive strategies. According to Michael Porter – Competitive Advantage is a relative term and has to be understood in the context of rivalry within an industry. So Value Chain competitive benchmarking should be done based on industry structure and bottlenecks.

What is BCG Growth Share Matrix

BCG Growth Share Matrix of Benihana of Tokyo

BCG Growth Share Matrix is very valuable tool to analyze Benihana Tokyo strategic positioning in various sectors that it operates in and strategic options that are available to it. Product Market segmentation in BCG Growth Share matrix should be done with great care as there can be a scenario where Benihana Tokyo can be market leader in the industry without being a dominant player or segment leader in any of the segment. BCG analysis should comprise not only growth share of industry & Benihana Tokyo business unit but also Benihana Tokyo - overall profitability, level of debt, debt paying capacity, growth potential, expansion expertise, dividend requirements from shareholders, and overall competitive strength. Two key considerations while using BCG Growth Share Matrix for Benihana of Tokyo case study solution - How to calculate Weighted Average Market Share using BCG Growth Share Matrix Relative Weighted Average Market Share Vs Largest Competitor

5C Marketing Analysis of Benihana of Tokyo

4p marketing analysis of benihana of tokyo, porter five forces analysis and solution of benihana of tokyo, porter value chain analysis and solution of benihana of tokyo, case memo & recommendation memo of benihana of tokyo, blue ocean analysis and solution of benihana of tokyo, marketing strategy and analysis benihana of tokyo, vrio /vrin analysis & solution of benihana of tokyo, pestel / step / pest analysis of benihana of tokyo, swot analysis and solution of benihana of tokyo, references & further readings.

W. Earl Sasser Jr., John R. Klug (2018) , "Benihana of Tokyo Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.

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Benihana of Tokyo Case Solution & Answer

Home » Case Study Analysis Solutions » Benihana of Tokyo

Benihana of Tokyo Case Solution

Introduction:.

The foundation of Benihana of Tokyo was in the year 1935, the time when Yunosuke Aoki – father of Rocky (the current youthful president of Benihana of Tokyo) opened his first restaurant chain in the Japan. It was named so when a small sized flower red in color grew near the restaurant’s front door. In 1959, Rocky, during his tour to the United States explored more opportunities in the United States of America as compared to Japan. Though, after spending a period of three years, he had better analysis of the restaurant market of the United States. In 1958, he was worried about the cost rising and increasing competition.

Therefore, in 1963, Rocky opened his first unit to make an effort to apply what he had learned in the West Side with his initial savings of about $10,000 borrowed $20,000. This was paid back within a period of six months. In 1964, opening a humble unit with 40-seat in the midtown Manhattan, Benihana grew to fifteen units chain through the country and a net worth of about $12 Million.

By 1972, it was actually a steakhouse with variation through the way food was cooked in front of customers particularly by the Japnense chefs and the decoration of the unit was realistically detailed like the Japanese country. Among fifteen units of Benihana, nine of them were at company-owned locations and five were franchised.

Problem Statement:

However, Benihana had been quite different and is difficult to intimate, but the thing it lacked involved the high cost of the products which was due to the use of materials from the House of Japan and the involvement of complete staff of native Japanese in the store. Similarly, the service were time-consuming thus lack quick service responses with a long time of queuing.

Operations in the organizational success:

Dining space:.

Generally, the normal restaurant requires 30 percent of the total space of the restaurant as the house back. While, Benihana contained only 22 percent of the total unit space as the house back which includes office space, dressing rooms of employees, dry and refrigerated storage and areas of preparation. This was a significant increase in the floor area proportion devoted to dining space to be productive.

Hibachi table arrangement:

The elimination of conventional kitchen need with the arrangement of hibachi style gave Benihana an unusual attentive service amount and kept the cost of labor at the gross sales of about 10 to 12 percent. This was dependent if the unit was at full volume.

Reduction in menu:

Through reduction in the menu to only three simple entrées of Middle America which included Shrimp, Chicken and Steak. There had been significant storage of food and virtually no food waste. This had cut the costs of food by 30 to 35 percent of the sales of food depending on the meat price.

Historical Authenticity:

The decorative lights, artifacts, beams, ceilings and walls of Benihana were all from Japan. The material of building was collected from old houses which were disassembled in a careful manner and shipped in pieces to the U.S. where reassembling was done by one of his father’s two crews of carpenters of Japan.

Site Selection:

Due to the lunchtime business importance, one basic principle of Benihana was its selection of site i.e. high traffic. Rent was normally at 5 to 7 percent of sales for the area of about 5000 – 6000 square foot for the space of floor. Many of the units of Benihana were located in the business districts with an easy access to the areas of residency.

Advertising Policy:

One of the important factor in the success of Benihana was its substantial investment in public relations and creative advertising. The investment of organization of about 8 to 10 percent of its gross sales in order to be approachable to public. Benihana used entirely different approach for advertisement. As they had visual products to sell. Therefore, it utilized outstanding visuals in its advertisement. The complimentary copy was contemporary but often off-the-wall. This was on the basis of market research to be aware of their potential customers.

The chefs of Benihana were a great key to its success as all the chefs were highly trained. All the chefs were certified, native Japanese speakers, single and young meaning that they had completed their formal apprenticeship of three-years. They were then provided with a course of three to six months in duration in the English language about the manners of American style and the Benihana cooking style which was mainly showmanship in Japan.

The chefs were taken to the U.S. under the agreement of a trade treaty. Training chefs was a continued process in the United States. There was a travelling chef responsible for periodical inspection of each unit and involved in the new units opening. The chefs were not generally concerned with resignation of their job due to the reason which included the possibility to rise in the Benihana operation of America in comparison to the rigid hierarchy on the basis of education, age and class they might experience in Japan.Similarly, other factor included the Benihana’s paternal attitude which took forward all the employees.

As a result, personnel turnover in the United States was quite low, however, many ultimately returned to Japan. Therefore, for full appreciation of success of Benihana, the unusual combination of paternalism of Japan in the setting of America had appreciated.

The restaurants of Benihana adopted accurate and well-defined methods during the selection of sites and chefs training which assisted the organization in reducing the average time of dinner turnover and the unique combination of paternalism of Japan in the setting of United States of America which made it difficult for other organizations to intimate. (Dhruv Gupta, 2013)

Kinds of Services:

Core Benefit – Food

Potential Service – Processor of food

Augmented Service – Concept of Hibachi Table

Expected Service – Customization

Basic Service – Hospitality (chouhan, 2015)

Winning Strategy:

Effective training:.

Benihana invested heavily on the programs of training for the chefs:

• Training of formal apprenticeship for a period of three years with certification in the cooking style of Benihana.
• Three to six months course as for the American manners teaching and training in English language.

Use of training program as a continuous process to be followed………..

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Benihana of Tokyo Case Analysis and Case Solution

Posted by Peter Williams on Aug-09-2018

Introduction of Benihana of Tokyo Case Solution

The Benihana of Tokyo case study is a Harvard Business Review case study, which presents a simulated practical experience to the reader allowing them to learn about real life problems in the business world. The Benihana of Tokyo case consisted of a central issue to the organization, which had to be identified, analysed and creative solutions had to be drawn to tackle the issue. This paper presents the solved Benihana of Tokyo case analysis and case solution. The method through which the analysis is done is mentioned, followed by the relevant tools used in finding the solution.

The case solution first identifies the central issue to the Benihana of Tokyo case study, and the relevant stakeholders affected by this issue. This is known as the problem identification stage. After this, the relevant tools and models are used, which help in the case study analysis and case study solution. The tools used in identifying the solution consist of the SWOT Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, PESTEL Analysis, VRIO analysis, Value Chain Analysis, BCG Matrix analysis, Ansoff Matrix analysis, and the Marketing Mix analysis. The solution consists of recommended strategies to overcome this central issue. It is a good idea to also propose alternative case study solutions, because if the main solution is not found feasible, then the alternative solutions could be implemented. Lastly, a good case study solution also includes an implementation plan for the recommendation strategies. This shows how through a step-by-step procedure as to how the central issue can be resolved.

Problem Identification of Benihana of Tokyo Case Solution

Harvard Business Review cases involve a central problem that is being faced by the organization and these problems affect a number of stakeholders. In the problem identification stage, the problem faced by Benihana of Tokyo is identified through reading of the case. This could be mentioned at the start of the reading, the middle or the end. At times in a case analysis, the problem may be clearly evident in the reading of the HBR case. At other times, finding the issue is the job of the person analysing the case. It is also important to understand what stakeholders are affected by the problem and how. The goals of the stakeholders and are the organization are also identified to ensure that the case study analysis are consistent with these.

Analysis of the Benihana of Tokyo HBR Case Study

The objective of the case should be focused on. This is doing the Benihana of Tokyo Case Solution. This analysis can be proceeded in a step-by-step procedure to ensure that effective solutions are found.

• In the first step, a growth path of the company can be formulated that lays down its vision, mission and strategic aims. These can usually be developed using the company history is provided in the case. Company history is helpful in a Business Case study as it helps one understand what the scope of the solutions will be for the case study.
• The next step is of understanding the company; its people, their priorities and the overall culture. This can be done by using company history. It can also be done by looking at anecdotal instances of managers or employees that are usually included in an HBR case study description to give the reader a real feel of the situation.
• Lastly, a timeline of the issues and events in the case needs to be made. Arranging events in a timeline allows one to predict the next few events that are likely to take place. It also helps one in developing the case study solutions. The timeline also helps in understanding the continuous challenges that are being faced by the organisation.

SWOT analysis of Benihana of Tokyo

An important tool that helps in addressing the central issue of the case and coming up with Benihana of Tokyo HBR case solution is the SWOT analysis.

• The SWOT analysis is a strategic management tool that lists down in the form of a matrix, an organisation's internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. It helps in the strategic analysis of Benihana of Tokyo.
• Once this listing has been done, a clearer picture can be developed in regards to how strategies will be formed to address the main problem. For example, strengths will be used as an advantage in solving the issue.

Therefore, the SWOT analysis is a helpful tool in coming up with the Benihana of Tokyo Case Study answers. One does not need to remain restricted to using the traditional SWOT analysis, but the advanced TOWS matrix or weighted average SWOT analysis can also be used.

Porter Five Forces Analysis for Benihana of Tokyo

Another helpful tool in finding the case solutions is of Porter's Five Forces analysis. This is also a strategic tool that is used to analyse the competitive environment of the industry in which Benihana of Tokyo operates in. Analysis of the industry is important as businesses do not work in isolation in real life, but are affected by the business environment of the industry that they operate in. Harvard Business case studies represent real-life situations, and therefore, an analysis of the industry's competitive environment needs to be carried out to come up with more holistic case study solutions. In Porter's Five Forces analysis, the industry is analysed along 5 dimensions.

• These are the threats that the industry faces due to new entrants.
• It includes the threat of substitute products.
• It includes the bargaining power of buyers in the industry.
• It includes the bargaining power of suppliers in an industry.
• Lastly, the overall rivalry or competition within the industry is analysed.

This tool helps one understand the relative powers of the major players in the industry and its overall competitive dynamics. Actionable and practical solutions can then be developed by keeping these factors into perspective.

PESTEL Analysis of Benihana of Tokyo

Another helpful tool that should be used in finding the case study solutions is the PESTEL analysis. This also looks at the external business environment of the organisation helps in finding case study Analysis to real-life business issues as in HBR cases.

• The PESTEL analysis particularly looks at the macro environmental factors that affect the industry. These are the political, environmental, social, technological, environmental and legal (regulatory) factors affecting the industry.
• Factors within each of these 6 should be listed down, and analysis should be made as to how these affect the organisation under question.
• These factors are also responsible for the future growth and challenges within the industry. Hence, they should be taken into consideration when coming up with the Benihana of Tokyo case solution.

VRIO Analysis of Benihana of Tokyo

This is an analysis carried out to know about the internal strengths and capabilities of Benihana of Tokyo. Under the VRIO analysis, the following steps are carried out:

• The internal resources of Benihana of Tokyo are listed down.
• Each of these resources are assessed in terms of the value it brings to the organization.
• Each resource is assessed in terms of how rare it is. A rare resource is one that is not commonly used by competitors.
• Each resource is assessed whether it could be imitated by competition easily or not.
• Lastly, each resource is assessed in terms of whether the organization can use it to an advantage or not.

The analysis done on the 4 dimensions; Value, Rareness, Imitability, and Organization. If a resource is high on all of these 4, then it brings long-term competitive advantage. If a resource is high on Value, Rareness, and Imitability, then it brings an unused competitive advantage. If a resource is high on Value and Rareness, then it only brings temporary competitive advantage. If a resource is only valuable, then it’s a competitive parity. If it’s none, then it can be regarded as a competitive disadvantage.

Value Chain Analysis of Benihana of Tokyo

The Value chain analysis of Benihana of Tokyo helps in identifying the activities of an organization, and how these add value in terms of cost reduction and differentiation. This tool is used in the case study analysis as follows:

• The firm’s primary and support activities are listed down.
• Identifying the importance of these activities in the cost of the product and the differentiation they produce.
• Lastly, differentiation or cost reduction strategies are to be used for each of these activities to increase the overall value provided by these activities.

Recognizing value creating activities and enhancing the value that they create allow Benihana of Tokyo to increase its competitive advantage.

BCG Matrix of Benihana of Tokyo

The BCG Matrix is an important tool in deciding whether an organization should invest or divest in its strategic business units. The matrix involves placing the strategic business units of a business in one of four categories; question marks, stars, dogs and cash cows. The placement in these categories depends on the relative market share of the organization and the market growth of these strategic business units. The steps to be followed in this analysis is as follows:

• Identify the relative market share of each strategic business unit.
• Identify the market growth of each strategic business unit.
• Place these strategic business units in one of four categories. Question Marks are those strategic business units with high market share and low market growth rate. Stars are those strategic business units with high market share and high market growth rate. Cash Cows are those strategic business units with high market share and low market growth rate. Dogs are those strategic business units with low market share and low growth rate.
• Relevant strategies should be implemented for each strategic business unit depending on its position in the matrix.

The strategies identified from the Benihana of Tokyo BCG matrix and included in the case pdf. These are either to further develop the product, penetrate the market, develop the market, diversification, investing or divesting.

Ansoff Matrix of Benihana of Tokyo

Ansoff Matrix is an important strategic tool to come up with future strategies for Benihana of Tokyo in the case solution. It helps decide whether an organization should pursue future expansion in new markets and products or should it focus on existing markets and products.

• The organization can penetrate into existing markets with its existing products. This is known as market penetration strategy.
• The organization can develop new products for the existing market. This is known as product development strategy.
• The organization can enter new markets with its existing products. This is known as market development strategy.
• The organization can enter into new markets with new products. This is known as a diversification strategy.

The choice of strategy depends on the analysis of the previous tools used and the level of risk the organization is willing to take.

Marketing Mix of Benihana of Tokyo

Benihana of Tokyo needs to bring out certain responses from the market that it targets. To do so, it will need to use the marketing mix, which serves as a tool in helping bring out responses from the market. The 4 elements of the marketing mix are Product, Price, Place and Promotions. The following steps are required to carry out a marketing mix analysis and include this in the case study analysis.

• Analyse the company’s products and devise strategies to improve the product offering of the company.
• Analyse the company’s price points and devise strategies that could be based on competition, value or cost.
• Analyse the company’s promotion mix. This includes the advertisement, public relations, personal selling, sales promotion, and direct marketing. Strategies will be devised which makes use of a few or all of these elements.
• Analyse the company’s distribution and reach. Strategies can be devised to improve the availability of the company’s products.

Benihana of Tokyo Blue Ocean Strategy

The strategies devised and included in the Benihana of Tokyo case memo should have a blue ocean strategy. A blue ocean strategy is a strategy that involves firms seeking uncontested market spaces, which makes the competition of the company irrelevant. It involves coming up with new and unique products or ideas through innovation. This gives the organization a competitive advantage over other firms, unlike a red ocean strategy.

Competitors analysis of Benihana of Tokyo

The PESTEL analysis discussed previously looked at the macro environmental factors affecting business, but not the microenvironmental factors. One of the microenvironmental factors are competitors, which are addressed by a competitor analysis. The Competitors analysis of Benihana of Tokyo looks at the direct and indirect competitors within the industry that it operates in.

• This involves a detailed analysis of their actions and how these would affect the future strategies of Benihana of Tokyo.
• It involves looking at the current market share of the company and its competitors.
• It should compare the marketing mix elements of competitors, their supply chain, human resources, financial strength etc.
• It also should look at the potential opportunities and threats that these competitors pose on the company.

Organisation of the Analysis into Benihana of Tokyo Case Study Solution

Once various tools have been used to analyse the case, the findings of this analysis need to be incorporated into practical and actionable solutions. These solutions will also be the Benihana of Tokyo case answers. These are usually in the form of strategies that the organisation can adopt. The following step-by-step procedure can be used to organise the Harvard Business case solution and recommendations:

• The first step of the solution is to come up with a corporate level strategy for the organisation. This part consists of solutions that address issues faced by the organisation on a strategic level. This could include suggestions, changes or recommendations to the company's vision, mission and its strategic objectives. It can include recommendations on how the organisation can work towards achieving these strategic objectives. Furthermore, it needs to be explained how the stated recommendations will help in solving the main issue mentioned in the case and where the company will stand in the future as a result of these.
• The second step of the solution is to come up with a business level strategy. The HBR case studies may present issues faced by a part of the organisation. For example, the issues may be stated for marketing and the role of a marketing manager needs to be assumed. So, recommendations and suggestions need to address the strategy of the marketing department in this case. Therefore, the strategic objectives of this business unit (Marketing) will be laid down in the solutions and recommendations will be made as to how to achieve these objectives. Similar would be the case for any other business unit or department such as human resources, finance, IT etc. The important thing to note here is that the business level strategy needs to be aligned with the overall corporate strategy of the organisation. For example, if one suggests the organisation to focus on differentiation for competitive advantage as a corporate level strategy, then it can't be recommended for the Benihana of Tokyo Case Study Solution that the business unit should focus on costs.
• The third step is not compulsory but depends from case to case. In some HBR case studies, one may be required to analyse an issue at a department. This issue may be analysed for a manager or employee as well. In these cases, recommendations need to be made for these people. The solution may state that objectives that these people need to achieve and how these objectives would be achieved.

The case study analysis and solution, and Benihana of Tokyo case answers should be written down in the Benihana of Tokyo case memo, clearly identifying which part shows what. The Benihana of Tokyo case should be in a professional format, presenting points clearly that are well understood by the reader.

Alternate solution to the Benihana of Tokyo HBR case study

It is important to have more than one solution to the case study. This is the alternate solution that would be implemented if the original proposed solution is found infeasible or impossible due to a change in circumstances. The alternate solution for Benihana of Tokyo is presented in the same way as the original solution, where it consists of a corporate level strategy, business level strategy and other recommendations.

Implementation of Benihana of Tokyo Case Solution

The case study does not end at just providing recommendations to the issues at hand. One is also required to provide how these recommendations would be implemented. This is shown through a proper implementation framework. A detailed implementation framework helps in distinguishing between an average and an above average case study answer. A good implementation framework shows the proposed plan and how the organisations' resources would be used to achieve the objectives. It also lays down the changes needed to be made as well as the assumptions in the process.

• A proper implementation framework shows that one has clearly understood the case study and the main issue within it.
• It shows that one has been clarified with the HBR fundamentals on the topic.
• It shows that the details provided in the case have been properly analysed.
• It shows that one has developed an ability to prioritise recommendations and how these could be successfully implemented.
• The implementation framework also helps by removing out any recommendations that are not practical or actionable as these could not be implemented. Therefore, the implementation framework ensures that the solution to the Benihana of Tokyo Harvard case is complete and properly answered.

Recommendations and Action Plan for Benihana of Tokyo case analysis

For Benihana of Tokyo, based on the SWOT Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, PESTEL Analysis, VRIO analysis, Value Chain Analysis, BCG Matrix analysis, Ansoff Matrix analysis, and the Marketing Mix analysis, the recommendations and action plan are as follows:

• Benihana of Tokyo should focus on making use of its strengths identified from the VRIO analysis to make the most of the opportunities identified from the PESTEL.
• Benihana of Tokyo should enhance the value creating activities within its value chain.
• Benihana of Tokyo should invest in its stars and cash cows, while getting rid of the dogs identified from the BCG Matrix analysis.
• To achieve its overall corporate and business level objectives, it should make use of the marketing mix tools to obtain desired results from its target market.

Baron, E. (2015). How They Teach the Case Method At Harvard Business School. Retrieved from https://poetsandquants.com/2015/09/29/how-they-teach-the-case-method-at-harvard-business-school/

Bartol. K, & Martin, D. (1998). Management, 3rd edition. Boston: Irwin McGrawHill.

Free Management E-Books. (2013a). PESTLE Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/dldebk-pdf/fme-pestle-analysis.pdf

Gupta, A. (2013). Environment & PEST analysis: an approach to the external business environment. International Journal of Modern Social Sciences, 2(1), 34-43.

Hambrick, D. C., MacMillan, I. C., & Day, D. L. (1982). Strategic attributes and performance in the BCG matrix—A PIMS-based analysis of industrial product businesses. Academy of Management Journal, 25(3), 510-531.

Hill, C., & Jones, G. (2010). Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach, Ninth Ed. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.

Hussain, S., Khattak, J., Rizwan, A., & Latif, M. A. (2013). ANSOFF matrix, environment, and growth-an interactive triangle. Management and Administrative Sciences Review, 2(2), 196-206.

IIBMS. (2015). 7 Effective Steps to Solve Case Study. Retrieved from http://www.iibms.org/c-7-effective-steps-to-solve-case-study/

Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2004). Blue ocean strategy. If you read nothing else on strategy, read thesebest-selling articles., 71.

Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2010). Principles of marketing. Pearson education.

Kulkarni, N. (2018). 8 Tips to Help You Prepare for the Case Method. Retrieved from https://www.hbs.edu/mba/blog/post/8-tips-to-help-you-prepare-for-the-case-method

Lin, C., Tsai, H. L., Wu, Y. J., & Kiang, M. (2012). A fuzzy quantitative VRIO-based framework for evaluating organizational activities. Management Decision, 50(8), 1396-1411.

Nixon, J., & Helms, M. M. (2010). Exploring SWOT analysis – where are we now?: A review of academic research from the last decade. Journal of Strategy and Management, 3(3), 215-251.

Panagiotou, G. (2003). Bringing SWOT into Focus. Business Strategy Review, 14(2), 8-10.

Pickton, D. W., & Wright, S. (1998). What's swot in strategic analysis? Strategic Change, 7(2), 101-109.

Porter, M. E. (2001). The value chain and competitive advantage. Understanding Business Processes, 50-66.

Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance (Vol. 2). New York: Free Press.

Porter, M.E. (1979, March). Harvard Business Review: Strategic Planning, How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. Retrieved July 7, 2016, from https://hbr.org/1979/03/how-competitive-forces-shape-strategy

Rastogi, N., & Trivedi, M. K. (2016). PESTLE Technique–a Tool to Identify External Risks in Construction Projects. International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET), 3(1), 384-388.

Rauch, P. (2007). SWOT analyses and SWOT strategy formulation for forest owner cooperations in Austria. European Journal of Forest Research, 126(3), 413-420.

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Case Study Solutions

Benihana of Tokyo

Subjects Covered Corporate strategy Expansion Multinational corporations

by W. Earl Sasser Jr., John R. Klug

Source: HBS Premier Case Collection

17 pages. Publication Date: Nov 01, 1972. Prod. #: 673057-PDF-ENG

Benihana of TokyoHarvard Case Study Solution and HBR and HBS Case Analysis

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Benihana of Tokyo

• Harvard Case Studies

Benihana of Tokyo Case Study Solution & Analysis

In most courses studied at Harvard Business schools, students are provided with a case study. Major HBR cases concerns on a whole industry, a whole organization or some part of organization; profitable or non-profitable organizations. Student’s role is to analyze the case and diagnose the situation, identify the problem and then give appropriate recommendations and steps to be taken.

To make a detailed case analysis, student should follow these steps:

STEP 1: Reading Up Harvard Case Study Method Guide:

Case study method guide is provided to students which determine the aspects of problem needed to be considered while analyzing a case study. It is very important to have a thorough reading and understanding of guidelines provided. However, poor guide reading will lead to misunderstanding of case and failure of analyses. It is recommended to read guidelines before and after reading the case to understand what is asked and how the questions are to be answered. Therefore, in-depth understanding f case guidelines is very important.

Harvard Case Study Solutions

STEP 2: Reading The Benihana of Tokyo Harvard Case Study:

To have a complete understanding of the case, one should focus on case reading. It is said that case should be read two times. Initially, fast reading without taking notes and underlines should be done. Initial reading is to get a rough idea of what information is provided for the analyses. Then, a very careful reading should be done at second time reading of the case. This time, highlighting the important point and mark the necessary information provided in the case. In addition, the quantitative data in case, and its relations with other quantitative or qualitative variables should be given more importance. Also, manipulating different data and combining with other information available will give a new insight. However, all of the information provided is not reliable and relevant.

When having a fast reading, following points should be noted:

• Nature of organization
• Nature if industry in which organization operates.
• External environment that is effecting organization
• Problems being faced by management
• Identification of communication strategies.
• Any relevant strategy that can be added.
• Control and out-of-control situations.

When reading the case for second time, following points should be considered:

• Decisions needed to be made and the responsible Person to make decision.
• Objectives of the organization and key players in this case.
• The compatibility of objectives. if not, their reconciliations and necessary redefinition.
• Sources and constraints of organization from meeting its objectives.

After reading the case and guidelines thoroughly, reader should go forward and start the analyses of the case.

STEP 3: Doing The Case Analysis Of Benihana of Tokyo:

To make an appropriate case analyses, firstly, reader should mark the important problems that are happening in the organization. There may be multiple problems that can be faced by any organization. Secondly, after identifying problems in the company, identify the most concerned and important problem that needed to be focused.

Firstly, the introduction is written. After having a clear idea of what is defined in the case, we deliver it to the reader. It is better to start the introduction from any historical or social context. The challenging diagnosis for Benihana of Tokyo and the management of information is needed to be provided. However, introduction should not be longer than 6-7 lines in a paragraph. As the most important objective is to convey the most important message for to the reader.

After introduction, problem statement is defined. In the problem statement, the company’s most important problem and constraints to solve these problems should be define clearly. However, the problem should be concisely define in no more than a paragraph. After defining the problems and constraints, analysis of the case study is begin.

STEP 4: SWOT Analysis of the Benihana of Tokyo HBR Case Solution:

SWOT analysis helps the business to identify its strengths and weaknesses, as well as understanding of opportunity that can be availed and the threat that the company is facing. SWOT for Benihana of Tokyo is a powerful tool of analysis as it provide a thought to uncover and exploit the opportunities that can be used to increase and enhance company’s operations. In addition, it also identifies the weaknesses of the organization that will help to be eliminated and manage the threats that would catch the attention of the management.

This strategy helps the company to make any strategy that would differentiate the company from competitors, so that the organization can compete successfully in the industry. The strengths and weaknesses are obtained from internal organization. Whereas, the opportunities and threats are generally related from external environment of organization. Moreover, it is also called Internal-External Analysis.

In the strengths, management should identify the following points exists in the organization:

• Advantages of the organization
• Activities of the company better than competitors.
• Unique resources and low cost resources company have.
• Activities and resources market sees as the company’s strength.
• Unique selling proposition of the company.

WEAKNESSES:

• Improvement that could be done.
• Activities that can be avoided for Benihana of Tokyo.
• Activities that can be determined as your weakness in the market.
• Factors that can reduce the sales.
• Competitor’s activities that can be seen as your weakness.

OPPORTUNITIES:

• Good opportunities that can be spotted.
• Interesting trends of industry.
• Change in technology and market strategies
• Government policy changes that is related to the company’s field
• Changes in social patterns and lifestyles.
• Local events.

Following points can be identified as a threat to company:

• Company’s facing obstacles.
• Activities of competitors.
• Product and services quality standards
• Threat from changing technologies
• Financial/cash flow problems
• Weakness that threaten the business.

Following points should be considered when applying SWOT to the analysis:

• Precise and verifiable phrases should be sued.
• Prioritize the points under each head, so that management can identify which step has to be taken first.
• Apply the analyses at proposed level. Clear yourself first that on what basis you have to apply SWOT matrix.
• Make sure that points identified should carry itself with strategy formulation process.
• Use particular terms (like USP, Core Competencies Analyses etc.) to get a comprehensive picture of analyses.

STEP 5: PESTEL/ PEST Analysis of Benihana of Tokyo Case Solution:

Pest analyses is a widely used tool to analyze the Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Environmental and legal situations which can provide great and new opportunities to the company as well as these factors can also threat the company, to be dangerous in future.

Pest analysis is very important and informative.  It is used for the purpose of identifying business opportunities and advance threat warning. Moreover, it also helps to the extent to which change is useful for the company and also guide the direction for the change. In addition, it also helps to avoid activities and actions that will be harmful for the company in future, including projects and strategies.

To analyze the business objective and its opportunities and threats, following steps should be followed:

• Brainstorm and assumption the changes that should be made to organization. Answer the necessary questions that are related to specific needs of organization
• Analyze the opportunities that would be happen due to the change.
• Analyze the threats and issues that would be caused due to change.
• Perform cost benefit analyses and take the appropriate action.

Pest analysis

PEST FACTORS:

• Next political elections and changes that will happen in the country due to these elections
• Strong and powerful political person, his point of view on business policies and their effect on the organization.
• Strength of property rights and law rules. And its ratio with corruption and organized crimes. Changes in these situation and its effects.
• Change in Legislation and taxation effects on the company
• Trend of regulations and deregulations. Effects of change in business regulations
• Timescale of legislative change.
• Other political factors likely to change for Benihana of Tokyo.

ECONOMICAL:

• Position and current economy trend i.e. growing, stagnant or declining.
• Exchange rates fluctuations and its relation with company.
• Change in Level of customer’s disposable income and its effect.
• Fluctuation in unemployment rate and its effect on hiring of skilled employees
• Access to credit and loans. And its effects on company
• Effect of globalization on economic environment
• Considerations on other economic factors

SOCIO-CULTURAL:

• Change in population growth rate and age factors, and its impacts on organization.
• Effect on organization due to Change in attitudes and generational shifts.
• Standards of health, education and social mobility levels. Its changes and effects on company.
• Employment patterns, job market trend and attitude towards work according to different age groups.

case study solutions

• Social attitudes and social trends, change in socio culture an dits effects.
• Religious believers and life styles and its effects on organization
• Other socio culture factors and its impacts.

TECHNOLOGICAL:

• Any new technology that company is using
• Any new technology in market that could affect the work, organization or industry
• Access of competitors to the new technologies and its impact on their product development/better services.
• Research areas of government and education institutes in which the company can make any efforts
• Changes in infra-structure and its effects on work flow
• Existing technology that can facilitate the company
• Other technological factors and their impacts on company and industry

These headings and analyses would help the company to consider these factors and make a “big picture” of company’s characteristics. This will help the manager to take the decision and drawing conclusion about the forces that would create a big impact on company and its resources.

STEP 6: Porter’s Five Forces/ Strategic Analysis Of The Benihana of Tokyo Case Study:

To analyze the structure of a company and its corporate strategy, Porter’s five forces model is used. In this model, five forces have been identified which play an important part in shaping the market and industry. These forces are used to measure competition intensity and profitability of an industry and market.

porter’s five forces model

These forces refers to micro environment and the company ability to serve its customers and make a profit. These five forces includes three forces from horizontal competition and two forces from vertical competition. The five forces are discussed below:

• THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS:
• as the industry have high profits, many new entrants will try to enter into the market. However, the new entrants will eventually cause decrease in overall industry profits. Therefore, it is necessary to block the new entrants in the industry. following factors is describing the level of threat to new entrants:
• Barriers to entry that includes copy rights and patents.
• High capital requirement
• Government restricted policies
• Switching cost
• Access to suppliers and distributions
• Customer loyalty to established brands.
• THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES:
• this describes the threat to company. If the goods and services are not up to the standard, consumers can use substitutes and alternatives that do not need any extra effort and do not make a major difference. For example, using Aquafina in substitution of tap water, Pepsi in alternative of Coca Cola. The potential factors that made customer shift to substitutes are as follows:
• Price performance of substitute
• Switching costs of buyer
• Products substitute available in the market
• Reduction of quality
• Close substitution are available
• DEGREE OF INDUSTRY RIVALRY:
• the lesser money and resources are required to enter into any industry, the higher there will be new competitors and be an effective competitor. It will also weaken the company’s position. Following are the potential factors that will influence the company’s competition:
• Competitive advantage
• Continuous innovation
• Sustainable position in competitive advantage
• Level of advertising
• Competitive strategy
• BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS:
• it deals with the ability of customers to take down the prices. It mainly consists the importance of a customer and the level of cost if a customer will switch from one product to another. The buyer power is high if there are too many alternatives available. And the buyer power is low if there are lesser options of alternatives and switching. Following factors will influence the buying power of customers:
• Bargaining leverage
• Switching cost of a buyer
• Buyer price sensitivity
• Competitive advantage of company’s product
• BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS:
• this refers to the supplier’s ability of increasing and decreasing prices. If there are few alternatives o supplier available, this will threat the company and it would have to purchase its raw material in supplier’s terms. However, if there are many suppliers alternative, suppliers have low bargaining power and company do not have to face high switching cost. The potential factors that effects bargaining power of suppliers are the following:
• Input differentiation
• Impact of cost on differentiation
• Strength of distribution centers
• Input substitute’s availability.

STEP 7: VRIO Analysis of Benihana of Tokyo:

Vrio analysis for Benihana of Tokyo case study identified the four main attributes which helps the organization to gain a competitive advantages. The author of this theory suggests that firm must be valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable and perfectly non sustainable. Therefore there must be some resources and capabilities in an organization that can facilitate the competitive advantage to company. The four components of VRIO analysis are described below: VALUABLE: the company must have some resources or strategies that can exploit opportunities and defend the company from major threats. If the company holds some value then answer is yes. Resources are also valuable if they provide customer satisfaction and increase customer value. This value may create by increasing differentiation in existing product or decrease its price. Is these conditions are not met, company may lead to competitive disadvantage. Therefore, it is necessary to continually review the Benihana of Tokyo company’s activities and resources values. RARE: the resources of the Benihana of Tokyo company that are not used by any other company are known as rare. Rare and valuable resources grant much competitive advantages to the firm. However, when more than one few companies uses the same resources and provide competitive parity are also known as rare resources. Even, the competitive parity is not desired position, but the company should not lose its valuable resources, even they are common. COSTLY TO IMITATE : the resources are costly to imitate, if other organizations cannot imitate it. However, imitation is done in two ways. One is duplicating that is direct imitation and the other one is substituting that is indirect imitation.  Any firm who has valuable and rare resources, and these resources are costly to imitate, have achieved their competitive advantage. However, resources should also be perfectly non sustainable. The reasons that resource imitation is costly are historical conditions, casual ambiguity and social complexity. ORGANIZED TO CAPTURE VALUE : resources, itself, cannot provide advantages to organization until it is organized and exploit to do so. A firm (like Benihana of Tokyo)  must organize its management systems, processes, policies and strategies to fully utilize the resource’s potential to be valuable, rare and costly to imitate.

STEP 8: Generating Alternatives For Benihana of Tokyo Case Solution:

After completing the analyses of the company, its opportunities and threats, it is important to generate a solution of the problem and the alternatives a company can apply in order to solve its problems. To generate the alternative of problem, following things must to be kept in mind:

• Realistic solution should be identified that can be operated in the company, with all its constraints and opportunities.
• as the problem and its solution cannot occur at the same time, it should be described as mutually exclusive
• it is not possible for a company to not to take any action, therefore, the alternative of doing nothing is not viable.
• Student should provide more than one decent solution. Providing two undesirable alternatives to make the other one attractive is not acceptable.

Once the alternatives have been generated, student should evaluate the options and select the appropriate and viable solution for the company.

STEP 9: Selection Of Alternatives For Benihana of Tokyo Case Solution:

It is very important to select the alternatives and then evaluate the best one as the company have limited choices and constraints. Therefore to select the best alternative, there are many factors that is needed to be kept in mind. The criteria’s on which business decisions are to be selected areas under:

• Improve profitability
• Increase sales, market shares, return on investments
• Customer satisfaction
• Brand image
• Corporate mission, vision and strategy
• Resources and capabilities

Alternatives should be measures that which alternative will perform better than other one and the valid reasons. In addition, alternatives should be related to the problem statements and issues described in the case study.

STEP 10: Evaluation Of Alternatives For Benihana of Tokyo Case Solution:

If the selected alternative is fulfilling the above criteria, the decision should be taken straightforwardly. Best alternative should be selected must be the best when evaluating it on the decision criteria. Another method used to evaluate the alternatives are the list of pros and cons of each alternative and one who has more pros than cons and can be workable under organizational constraints.

STEP 11: Recommendations For Benihana of Tokyo Case Study (Solution):

There should be only one recommendation to enhance the company’s operations and its growth or solving its problems. The decision that is being taken should be justified and viable for solving the problems.

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Benihana of Tokyo Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Home >> Harvard Case Study Analysis Solutions >> Benihana of Tokyo

We discuss the development of the chain "theme" restaurants. Students were asked to evaluate the current operational strategy and to offer long-term development strategy. "Hide by W. Earl Sasser, Jr., John R. Klug Source: HBS Premier Case Collection 17 pages. Publication Date: November 1, 1972. Prod. #: 673057-PDF-ENG

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