ABSTRACT
A significant portion of the work of the modern nutritionist involves skillful management. The training of food and nutrition professionals involves detailed study of management theory. The areas included are: management theories and their applications; management functions, including planning, organizing, staffing, directing or coordination, and controlling; and labor-management relations. Computer technology, as employed in management information systems, permits sophisticated data manipulation, storage, and retrieval to generate useful documents for managerial decision-making. Food service management information systems must be periodically evaluated to meet changing administrative needs. Three scenarios, developed from typical food service situations, were simulated to test a computer-based decision support system. The scenarios consisted of: an analysis of price changes and discounts from a potential vendor; menu planning and pricing for a holiday dinner for 800 to 900 employees; and a cost comparison between one day of meals for a patient on a general and diabetic diet.
