INTAPSLON Academic and Professional Skills

Coursework 1
Opening of Bakery Caf in Kuala Selangor

Tan Eng Kiat Coventry SID : 7570962

IICS SID : J16022785

Module Leader (Lecturer): Dr Sumitha Ganesharatnam

Submission Date: 21 Nov. 16

 1

1.1 Skills Audit Part One

SKILL Can you If yes If no what Priority of skill

demonstrate summarise steps can you development
this skill? how and where take to develop 1= very important
Yes/No you achieved it this skill? 2= quite important
3= not important
Communication Yes Achieved it from 1
(speaking) working
environment as
a sales person
but improvement
is needed.

Communication Yes Achieved it from 1

(written) replying
business email,
and writing
report.

Commercial Awareness Yes Achieved it from 2

working
environment as
a sales person
by doing market
survey also
launching of
new products.

Cultural Sensitivity Yes Achieved it from 2

doing marketing
activity through
working
environment as
a sales person.

Customer Focus Yes Achieved it by 1

servicing
customer.

Data Handling No By practicing in 2

Excel.

Decision Making Yes Trained up from 1

companys
selling skill
training and
practicing
everyday.

Enterprising No Due to 1
companys SOP,
not much
 2

opportunity to
be innovative.
Hope to learn it
from MBA
through
international
marketing class.

Flexibility Yes Achieved from 1

working
environment.
Flexibility is one
of the criteria for
a salesperson.

Initiative Yes Achieved from 1

working
environment, but
improvement
still needed.

Interpersonal Skills Yes Achieved from 1

working
environment, but
improvement
still needed.

Leadership/Managemen No Learn it from 3

t of Others superior and
also volunteer to
be leader in
group during
group
assignment or
project.

Networking Yes Achieved from 1

working
environment by
communicating
with customers
and suppliers
everyday.

Organisational Yes Achieved it from 2

Adaptability secondary
school as a role
of prefect.

Project Management No Improvement in 2

time
management
needed,
sometimes over
confident
 3

causes work not

able to be
finished on time.
Can be
improved by
learning from
past experience
and also try to
put in more
effort in
planning
process.

Problem Solving and No Can be 2

Analytical Skills improved by
being open
minded and try
to think of every
possibility of
way to solve a
problem.
Neutral thinking
is also important
in analysing and
solving problem.

Responsibility No Can be 2
improved by
enhancing own
knowledge.

Teamworking No Practicing 3
working
together with
class mate,
communicate
more and try to
accept peoples
idea.

Time Management No Set priority of 1

each task and
list them down
in a to-do list
and focus on
tasks with
highest priority.

Other
 4

1.2 Skills Audit Part Two

SKILL Can you If yes If no what Priority of skill

demonstrate summarise steps can you development
this skill? how and where take to develop 1= very important
Yes/No you achieved it this skill? 2= quite important
3= not important
Communication Yes Achieved it from 1
(speaking) working
environment as
a sales person
but improvement
is needed.

Communication Yes Achieved it from 1

(written) replying
business email,
and writing
report.

Commercial Awareness Yes Achieved it from 2

working
environment as
a sales person
by doing market
survey also
launching of new
products.

Cultural Sensitivity Yes Achieved it from 2

doing marketing
activity through
working
environment as
a sales person.

Customer Focus Yes Achieved it by 1

servicing
customer.

Data Handling No By practicing in 2

Excel.

Decision Making Yes Trained up from 1

companys
selling skill
training and
practicing
everyday.

Enterprising No Due to 1
companys SOP,
not much
opportunity to
be innovative.
 5

Hope to learn it
from MBA
through
international
marketing class.

Flexibility Yes Achieved from 1

working
environment.
Flexibility is one
of the criteria for
a salesperson.

Initiative Yes Achieved from 1

working
environment, but
improvement still
needed.

Interpersonal Skills Yes Achieved from 1

working
environment, but
improvement still
needed.

Leadership/Managemen No Learn it from 3

t of Others superior and
also volunteer to
be leader in
group during
group
assignment or
project.

Networking Yes Achieved from 1

working
environment by
communicating
with customers
and suppliers
everyday.

Organisational Yes Achieved it from 2

Adaptability secondary
school as a role
of prefect.

Project Management No Improvement in 2

time
management
needed,
sometimes over
confident
causes work not
able to be
 6

finished on time.
Can be
improved by
learning from
past experience
and also try to
put in more
effort in planning
process.

Problem Solving and No Can be 2

Analytical Skills improved by
being open
minded and try
to think of every
possibility of
way to solve a
problem.
Neutral thinking
is also important
in analysing and
solving problem.

Responsibility No Can be 2
improved by
enhancing own
knowledge.

Teamworking No Practicing 3
working together
with class mate,
communicate
more and try to
accept peoples
idea.

Time Management Yes Set priority of 1

each task and
list them down
in a to-do list
and focus on
tasks with
highest priority.

Other

Your Name: Tan Eng Kiat Date: 19-Sep-2016

Your Programme: Coventry MBA Your career goal: Product Manager
2.1 Personal Development Plant Part One
 7

What are my development Priority What activities do I need to What Target date
objectives? undertake to achieve my support/resources for achieving
objectives? do I need to achieve my objective
my objectives?

Time Management, as recently

started working in new working Critical to
environment also enrolled in MBA current & Create to-do list, prioritize
_ Oct-2016
programme, time management is future based on importancy.
crucial in order to have same role
productivity in work and academic.
Learning Japanese language, as
currently working in manufacturing Beneficia
industry, most of the customers are l to
Register for language class Language class Dec-2016
Japanese. Ability to communicate in current
Japanese will be an added value to role
my career.
Emotion management. Stressful Beneficia Try to shift focus from things
lifestyle due to busy schedule from l to that affect emotions by going
Constantly
work and study, leading to bad current to gym. Modify mood with Workout
improve
temper that affects productivity in and active workout allows better
handling tasks. future. productivity.
2.2 Personal Development Plan Part Two

What are my development Priority What activities do I need to What Target date Actual date of
objectives? undertake to achieve my support/resources for achieving achieving my
objectives? do I need to achieve my objectives objectives
my objectives? (only for Part
2)

Time Management, as recently

started working in new working
Critical to
environment also enrolled in MBA Create to-do list, prioritize
current & _ Oct-2016 Oct-2016
programme, time management is based on importancy.
future role
crucial in order to have same
productivity in work and academic.
Learning Japanese language, as
currently working in manufacturing
Beneficial
industry, most of the customers are
to current Register for language class Language class Dec-2016 _
Japanese. Ability to communicate in
role
Japanese will be an added value to
my career.
Emotion management. Stressful Try to shift focus from things
Beneficial
lifestyle due to busy schedule from that affect emotions by going
to current Constantly
work and study, leading to bad to gym. Modify mood with Workout _
and improve
temper that affects productivity in active workout allows better
future.
handling tasks. productivity.
Plan a weekly schedule for
Beneficial exercise like swimming and
to current jogging. Manage time wisely
Gain better and healthy lifestyle. _ Oct-2016 Oct-2016
and in order to get enough sleep.
future. Keep healthy diet and avoid
fast food.
Prioritize on what to spend
Beneficial and how much to save every
to current month, allocate certain Constantly
Long term financial planning. Books _
and amount for investment in the improve
future. next five years and review
progress from time to time.
 Learn how to interpret body Study tips online and bits by
language and apply it on daily life. bits apply it on daily life. Buy Books, YouTube
Critical to
Understanding body languages is body language guidance learning videos, advice Constantly
current _
one of the crucial bullet to from bookstore to improve on from superiors and improve
role.
communicate more effectively with nonverbal communication seniors.
people at work. knowledge.

Review Date:
14-Nov-2016
3.0 Blog (Learning journals)

i. Completing the Skills Audit and Personal Development Plan

Skill audit helps me to understand more about myself by identifying the strength and

weakness in myself. Some of the strengths were obtained from school, such as written

communication skill and teamworking, while some of it were from working experience,

example, communication skill (speaking) and networking skill. Skill audit helps me to

recall where were all these skills from, allow me to reflect I have learned through out

each journey. Besides, it also identifies what are the skills that I am lacking of, and how

important are these skills to me. For example, time management, enterprising and

problem solving are important in my work, and skill audit force myself to think of what

are the steps that I can take in order to develop these skills.

Personal development plan (PDP) is slightly different with skill audit. In PDP, I will have

to identify other than the skills that I lack of, what are the things can be done or learned

to further improve myself either in personal life or work. Similar to skill audit, I will also

have to plan what can be undertaken to achieve the objective. Besides, deadline for

achieving each development plan has to be set to prevent myself from losing focus.

This helps me to be a more organized person, also forces myself to stay out of comfort

zone and strive to achieve my objectives.

ii. writing a literature review

I have had experience in writing literature review few years ago, which was during my

final year project of my science's degree. But during that time, I was only given a short

briefing on knowledge and some basic skills only writing a literature review. However, in
 the class of "writing literature review" this week, I learned the knowledge in detail of

writing a literature review and also acquired skills to further enhance my writing skill that

are beneficial for preparing my dissertation.

During the class, I learned the four main objectives of literature review, which are

surveys the literature in the are of my study, synthesize information from literature into

summary, critically analyze the research that done by others also present the literature

in organized way. Before this, I always thought that a literature review is only to

summarize works done by others, but in fact that I can actually identify the limitations

and gaps of knowledge from the research and also provide my points of view or

recommendations to the studies.

While for writing skills, I learned how to write a better introduction by not only brief the

history of the research, but also present arguments which can lead to my conclusion. I

was also given plenty of examples of how to start my sentences either in the

introduction or to highlight a controversy more professionally. Other than writing skills, I

got to refresh all the techniques in writing references, such as to writer's ideas or to

previous researches.

iii. Designing a questionnaire

In designing questionnaire's unit, I learned the fundamentals of creating questionnaire,

also tips of designing questionnaire. This would be useful for designing my own

questionnaire for doing project assignment later. Before this, I never know there are so

many things to be looked into and considered when designing a questionnaire.

Before creating questionnaire, things should be considered are sample size, cost and
 ease of distribution, type of questions and etc. Type of questions to be asked can be

open or closed question. While when designing questions, it has to be designed in a

way that respondent will understand and respond in the same way, so that results

collected are more reliable. Besides, all questions should be numbered for ease of

analysis and also presented in logical way. Other than this, "funneling" method can be

used for probing question, which question can be asked from general to specific

question. Another key consideration is awareness of respondent fatigue, questions have

to be short and precise, so that respondent will not be bothered and results collected

are more reliable. Moreover, questions have to be filtered so that respondents do not

need to answer questions that are not applicable to them.

For key issues should be aware of are managing non-response, the cost of

questionnaire distribution also sample size management.

iv. Collecting and analysing data

In unit 5, I were taught about how to analyze data that collected from questionnaire. I

have learned about these skills during degree study. Unit 5 allows me to refresh on the

skills that I have learned. There are several analytical methods can be used such as pie

chart, bar chart and graphs by using excel. Besides, statistical analysis such as Mean,

Median and Mode can be used to analyze tabulated data. "Mean" can be used to

identify the average of a set of data; "Median" can be used to to identify the mid-point of

a set of data; also; "Mode" can be used to identify number that occurs most frequent in

a set of data. Moreover, cross tabulation can be used to analyze more than one

variables that are cross-classified with a category more effectively. For example, if you
 want to relate job satisfaction with income from a group of employees, cross-tabulation

can be used. In overall, analytical skills that I have learned through unit 5 are quite

useful for me to analyze data that collected from questionnaire more effectively.

v. Presenting the research

We were asked to present about our research on opening new bakery in Kuala

Selangor in group, and this gives us opportunity to practice working as a team by

listening to others, accepting idea from others and also contributing during group

discussion.

We also received feedbacks from the lecturer after our presentation which will benefit us

on our assignment and dissertation, for example, comparing with rival and how our

proposed bakery has advantages over competitors, giving recommendation at the end

of each research, compare conclusion from literature review to questionnaires result

and the choice of words to be used to avoid confusion or misunderstanding. Besides,

the lecturer also suggested us to do a pilot test on our questionnaires before using it to

collect data. Pilot test can help to eliminate questions that are not appropriate to

participants also to eliminate problems to the questionnaire that may lead to biased

answers.

Other than this, through out the presentation, we were able to observe how other

groups present their idea, which can give us ideas on how to improve our presentation

skill. Besides, we also learned different styles of presenting that able to gain attention

from audience, for example, telling a short story before starting a presentation that can
link to the idea that we are going to present later to make whole presentation more

interesting.

(vi) Setting priorities for the following semester

We were taught about learning styles, such as Honey & Mumford learning style and

Visual Auditory Kinesthetic learning style. I have been exposed to the latter since

secondary school, this unit gave me a recall on what I have learned and try to apply it

into current situation. Besides, other than learning style, I was also given idea and

suggestion on selecting research topic for dissertation as well. There are basically three

considerations when selecting research title, that is feasible, worthwhile and

relevant. I also learned on writing skill, avoid of plagiarism, importance of team-

working, communication and presentation skills that are beneficial for my future role.

In career planning lesson, I was told to start planning my future and my goal if I havent

got one now. This is always my issue even before my degrees graduation. DOTS model

breaks down career planning into four components, decision, opportunities, taking

action and self-awareness. Self-awareness helps me to understand more about

myself, eg: interests, dislike, strengths and weaknesses. Follow by opportunities, that

helps me to identify current options and sources, also helps me in getting myself ready

to undertake opportunities. After that, decision can identify the possible outcomes of

each decision made, such as pros and cons, also helps in making decision by

evaluating SWOT. Finally, taking action is the implementation of strategy after

considerations and evaluations. This also helps to prepare for the next circumstances.
4.0 Research report

Factors that affecting consumer behaviour towards bakery caf

4.1 Introduction

Kuala Selangor is a district in Selangor that situated around 50km north of Klang and

70km away from Kuala Lumpur town. The whole district consists of 205,257 of

population, while 18,834 for the Kuala Selangor town (Kuala-selangor.com 2012).

This research study will determine the feasibility of opening a bakery in Kuala Selangor.

The only competitors in the Kuala Selangor are JiaPings bakery and Kings

Confectionery Bakery. In order to increase the attractiveness of the business, the

proposed business will be a combination of bakery and caf, where it allows consumers

to spend time with friends and family while enjoying bakery products, also for

consumers to work on their assignments or business by providing facilities such as wifi

and charging port. Literature review and questionnaire will be done to determine the

feasibility of the proposal.

4.2 Literature Review

Asia Pacific has the highest growth in global pastry sales and also the highest

contribution in sales of the pastry industry. Among the bakerys companies in Asia

Pacific, BreadTalk from Singapore has the highest growth, which grew from $300 million

to $590 million within 4 years since 2010. Besides, 85C Bakery Caf from Taiwan has

79% of CAGR between 2008 to 2015 (Malowny 2015).

In Malaysia, research from Koo, Abdul Jalil and Abd Talib (2014) discovered that 27.2%

of schoolchildren were taking bread daily as their breakfast in Kuala Lumpur. Other

foods that schoolchildren were taking as breakfast were biscuits, cereal products, and

etc. while bread occupied the highest quadrant. Besides, findings from AK, M and K et

al. (2008) show that bread was one of the top 10 foods consumed by Malaysian through

the survey of 6,742 of male and female from age of 18 to 59. Bread has mean

frequency consumption per day of 1.24 and 56.92% among the subjects consume

bread weekly (AK, M and K et al. 2008). Both of this data suggest that bakery products

have significant demand in Malaysia.

Other than consuming bread as a breakfast or appetizer, people also consume it as

snack. A survey has been conducted to study the choice of foods that consumer will

choose as their snack and they were allowed to select more than one option. Result

shows that selection of bread as snack is 50% among all the respondents globally

(Nielsen 2014).

To start a bakery business, other than food quality, facility and atmosphere play an

important role. Due to modernisation of society and the influences from mass media and

peer group, consumers are seeking for commodity that are more innovative to satisfy

their lifestyle needs. For instance, Tous Les Jours allows consumers to sit back and

spend time with friends and families in the caf while enjoying their bakery products,

also enjoying aroma from the freshly baked. In current society, food consumption is not

only a basic need, and bakery product is not the only commodity of a bakery business.

Type of facilities, such as internet access, music and TV, and the atmosphere of the
setting are also commodities that can be packaged with food products and sell to

consumers. (Astuti and Hanan 2011).

Food bloggers deal significant impact in food service industry. In recent years, online

blog has become a popular tool for one to share their personal life. Bloggers make use

of social media to share their feelings and experience from a restaurant and caf in a

form of text and photos. Business owner or restaurant manager would use this as a

marketing strategy by inviting food bloggers to review their food and environment, as

they know that consumers will usually seek information and advice online before visiting

a restaurant or caf (Nur.Hanifati 2015).

4.3 Reference:

AK, N., M, S., K, J., Haslinda, S., H, Z., S, R., S, F., Norazlin, S., BK, P., M, K., MS, Z.,

WM, W., S, F. and MY, A. (2008) "Food Consumption Patterns: Findings From The

Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey(MANS)". Mal J Nutr [online] 14(1), 30. available from

<http://nutriweb.org.my/publications/mjn0014_1/mjn14n1_art2.pdf> [13 November 2016]

Astuti, S. and Hanan, H. (2011) "The Behaviour Of Consumer Society In Consuming

Food At Restaurants And Cafes". Journal of ASIAN Behavioural Studies 1 (1), 79-80

Koo, H., Abdul Jalil, S. and Abd Talib, R. (2014) "Breakfast Eating Pattern And Ready-

To-Eat Cereals Consumption Among Schoolchildren In Kuala Lumpur". Malay J Med Sci
[online] 22(1), 32. available from <http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?mj15005> [13

November 2016]

Kuala-selangor.com. (2012) Kuala Selangor - The Land Of History, Firefly, Seafood And

Eagle [online] available from <http://www.kuala-selangor.com/> [21 November 2016]

Malowny, L. (2015) Bakery & Pastry M&A Update [online] Evolving consumer lifestyles

driving M&A activity. Mergers Alliance. available from

<http://www.norgestion.com/uploads/publicaciones/pdf/Corporate_Finance._Bakery_an

d_Pastry_MA_Autumm_2015.pdf> [10 November 2016]

Nur.Hanifati, A. (2015) "The Impact Of Food Blogger Toward ConsumerS Attitude And

Behavior In Choosing Restaurant". International Journal of Humanities and

Management Sciences [online] 3 (3), 149,151. available from

<http://www.isaet.org/images/extraimages/P515008.pdf> [13 November 2016]

Nielsen (2014) "What Consumer Are Reaching For Around The World". Snack Attack

[online] 6. available from

<http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsenglobal/kr/docs/global-report/2014/Nielsen

%20Global%20Snacking%20Report%20September%202014.pdf> [13 November 2016]

4.4 Questionnaire

1. Gender
- Male
- Female

2. How frequent do you purchase bakery products?

- More than once a week
- Once a week
- Once every two weeks
- Once a month
- Rarely
- Never

3. How often do you visit a caf?

- More than once a week
- Once a week
- Once every two weeks
- Once a month
- Rarely
- Never

4. What would you purchase from a bakery?

- Breads
- Pastries
- Cakes
- Cookies
- Others

5. Purpose of purchasing bakery goods

- Snacks
- Breakfast
- Substitution of lunch or dinner due to pack schedule

6. How much do you willing to spend for bakery products? (excluding cakes)
- < Rm5
- Rm6 - RM10
- Rm11 - RM20
- > RM20
7. How importance are the following factors when visiting caf?
Not Least Moderately Very
important important important important
Atmosphere
Facilities, eg: wifi,
charging port, etc.
Food variety

Food quality

Price
Convenience of
location

8. Which source would you seek for advice before visiting a caf?
- Social network users review (eg: facebook, Instagram, foursquare, etc.)
- Food blog
- TV programme
- Friends and family
- I dont do this

9. What attract(s) you to a new caf?

- Promotional event
- Social media
- Design and ambience of the caf
- Brand
4.5 Data analysis

Gender

Male; 36%

Female; 64%

Male Female

Figure 1 Gender

Data from questionnaire was collected from 70 respondents, 64% female and 36%

male. Respondent for female is higher due to numbers of male refused to answer

questionnaire as they do not consume bakery products.

How frequent do you purchase bakery products?

20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Figure 2 Frequency of purchasing bakery products

Figure 2 shows the frequency of respondents purchase bakery products. Frequency of

purchasing bakery products is high, almost 20 respondents purchased bakery products

more than once a week and once a week.

How often do you visit a caf?

25

20

15

10

Figure 3 Frequency of visiting cafe

Figure 3 shows that majority of the respondents visit caf once every two weeks follow

by once a month. Besides, there are 10% respondents visit caf more than once a week

and almost 20% of respondents visit once a week. This indicates the demand of caf in

the market.
 What would you purchase from a bakery?

Others

Cookies

Cakes

Pastries

Breads

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Figure 4 Types of bakery products purchased

Figure 4 shows the popularity of products in bakery. Bread products have highest

popularity compare to pastries, almost 60 respondents visit bakery for breads, while

there are 45 respondents will visit bakery for cakes and follow by pastries. This indicate

key products that will contribute the most sales to bakery. Breads are the key focus

product, follow by cakes and pastries.

Purpose of purchasing bakery goods

Substitutions

Breakfast

Snacks

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Figure 5 Purpose of purchasing bakery goods

Figure 5 stated that 50 respondents purchase bakery goods for breakfast, and there are

40 respondents select bakery goods as snacks, while substitutions of rice or noodles

are 19. This supported that consumers prefer convenient and light food as breakfast,

thus bread goods should be made into easy serving form in terms of packaging or food

properties to suit consumers needs.

How much do you willing to spend for bakery products? (excluding cakes)

1%

23% 24%

51%

< RM5 RM6 to Rm10 Rm11 to RM20 > RM20

Figure 6 Consumers expenses on bakery products

Figure 6 indicates expenses that consumers willing to spend on bakery goods excluding

cakes. RM6 to RM10 has more than 50% of respondents, follow by < RM5 and RM11 to

RM20. This indicates that majority of respondents are comfortable to spend RM6 to

RM10 on bakery products, while bakery offer their products within this price range may

be able to attract majority of consumers.

How importance are the following factors when visiting a caf?
70 58
60 47
50 36
40 31 32 29 28 32 30
30 17 19 19
20 10 6 1 7
10 1 1 6 2 4 3 4 4 2 5 2 4
0
0 0

Not important Least Important

Moderarely important Very important

Figure 7 Importance of factors when visiting caf

Figures shows the importance of atmosphere, facilities, food variety, food quality, price

and location to consumers. Food quality was rated the most very important follow by

food variety and price. This indicated that investment has to be focused more on food

quality and food variety.

Which source would you seek for advice before visiting a caf?
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Social network users' review TV programme I dont do this

Figure 8 Source that consumers would seek for advice

Figure 8 shows that social network users review and friends and family are the source

that respondents use the most to seek for advice. Thus, important key factors stated

above such as food quality and food variety must be well taken care in order to gain

positive reviews and recommendations. Besides, food blog also deals significant impact

to respondents, which supports findings from Nur.Hanifati 2015.

What attracts you to a new caf?

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Figure 9 Factors that attract consumers to new caf

A newly opened caf usually attract consumers by promotional event, making use of

social media, branding and cafs architectural design. Figure 9 shows that design and

ambience of the caf attract near to 80% of the respondents. While social media and

promotional have similar significant effect on consumers as well.

4.6 Conclusion

By referring to data collected from questionnaire, opening a new bakery caf in Kuala

Selangor is feasible, especially data from question 2, more than 50% of total

respondents visit bakery more than once a week and once a week. Besides, in the case
of combination of bakery and caf, supported by result from question 3 which indicates

that respondents visit caf frequently.

On the other hand, selecting bakery goods as breakfast is more than 70% according to

question 5, result is relatively corresponding to discussion in literature review. Also,

result collected from question 5 shows more than 50% of respondents would consume

breads as snacks, which further support findings from Nielsen (2014).

For facilities, result from question 7 shows that 29 responded moderately important

and 19 out of 70 responded very important. These support research from Astuti and

Hanan (2011), although the result is not strong.

Lastly, research from Nur.Hanifati (2015) stated that food bloggers deal strong impact

on consumers decision is supported by 39 respondents that selected Food blog as

their source of advice seeking. But impact from social network users review and

recommendation from friends and family are stronger.

5.0 Group presentation slides