Análisis operativo y administrativo de la fabricación de chocolate en Ecuador

Ecuadorian cocoa is one of the main biological assets that the international market demands, especially in Europe, due to its advantageous aroma and flavor; however, the limited development of the transformation of raw material to final product, the erosion of promotion policies, the lack of capital and resources have been an obstacle for Ecuadorian cocoa to be processed and sold as chocolate by small producers. The objective of this article is to conduct an analysis of the administrative and operational process of chocolate manufacturing, based on a bibliographic study of the elements and stages that require an administrative-operational analysis oriented towards industrialization, whose purpose is to promote a culture of administrative management with a technical and academic approach in entrepreneurs of the cocoa agro-industrial sector in the province of El Oro. The research is of a bibliographic nature, with an analytical-synthetic method with a solution-oriented approach to a problem. It was found that many ventures linked to the nature of this activity end up failing in the short term, due to the absence of planning in business models and inadequate operational management in the agricultural production sector. Therefore, the authors presented a comprehensive proposal based on a flow chart of the cocoa cultivation and production process and also for the production of chocolate for export, aimed at small entrepreneurs and companies in the agro-industrial sector. El cacao ecuatoriano es uno de los principales activos biológicos que el mercado internacional demanda, especialmente el de Europa, producto de su ventajoso aroma y sabor; sin embargo, el desarrollo limitado de la transformación de la materia prima a producto final, el desgaste de las políticas de fomento, la falta de capital y recursos han sido un obstáculo para que el cacao ecuatoriano sea procesado y vendido como chocolate por los pequeños productores. El objetivo de este artículo es realizar un análisis del proceso administrativo y operativo de la fabricación de chocolate, a partir del estudio bibliográfico de los elementos y etapas que requieren un análisis administrativo-operativo orientado hacia la industrialización, cuya finalidad es promover una cultura de gestión administrativa con enfoque técnico y académico en emprendedores del sector agroindustrial cacaotero de la provincia de El Oro. La investigación es de carácter bibliográfico, con método analítico-sintético con un enfoque direc