One month has passed and more detailed decisions are now needed on pricing and the...

One month has passed and more detailed decisions are now needed on pricing and the change management issues associated with the introduction of the new menu and hi-tech ordering system.

You have just received the following email from the Finance Director:

From: Matt Spot, Finance Director

To: Financial Manager

Subject: pricing and change management

Hello

Things are moving fast. We have just had feedback from a select group of customers. They were asked to test out the new menu and hi-tech ordering devices. The feedback was very positive, especially about the ordering devices which, they said, add an element of fun to the restaurant experience as well as speeding up the food ordering process. Families with young children were particularly enthusiastic about them and found that even young children enjoyed ordering their own food. They all agreed to keep the project secret, so we're hoping they will!

I have meetings arranged with Bilal Mukherjee, Marketing Director, and Helga Schmidt, Human Resources Director, to draw up plans for pricing and for change management and I need some information from you in preparation for them.

In terms of pricing, I am expecting that Bilal will suggest that we price the new menu quite high to begin with, following the example of a new burger chain which has been successful at charging higher prices for a top quality product and has attracted a lot of young working adults as customers. However, I am not convinced that this will work for Pizzatime.

Bilal has been given permission to organise a major promotional campaign to sell the health benefits of the new menu and show children and young adults having fun using the new ordering devices.

Clearly, there are going be some major changes in the roles and positions of staff within the restaurant team. Now that orders can be placed by customers from their tables the roles of restaurant staff are going to change significantly. Helga is concerned that there are likely to be some job losses and she may be right on that. We need to have a plan in place to make sure we are prepared for every eventuality so that we can manage the changes properly.

I need you to prepare some ideas on the following:

Whether I should support Bilal's suggestion to charge high prices initially. Do you think that this is likely to be a successful strategy for Pizzatime?

What types of concerns employees might have about the new ordering system and how we can best prepare staff for the change and help smooth the process to make this new venture an immediate success.

Matt