Imperial Hotel Case Study

Hospitality is a business activity which provides various services to guests in hotels, bars, restaurants as a source of recreation purpose and meeting each and every needs and demands whenever asked (Merriam-webster.com, 2019). Hospitality industry basically puts emphasis on the satisfaction of the customers and providing the best experiences available. This industry is unique in its nature and provides facilities for its customers arriving for vacation or occasional purposes. The different areas of hospitality industry include different levels of accommodation for all income level of customers, quality food and beverage items, tourism facilities for the customers and transport facilities (Study.com, 2019).

The case study gives relevant information about the staff turnover which resulted in lack of consistency among the employees of the organization and also caused failure to maintain proper values. A negative work culture has been detected among the staff with increased sick leave and attendance that is comparatively poor. The reason is logical because sometimes the employees have to work more than the agreed period and this creates dissatisfaction as well as sickness due to hard work. Female employees who are working for long period also have duties towards family have to maintain number of part time jobs. So being late due to having to continue too many jobs causes attendance issues. London is expensive in terms of living and other expenses which compels low-income people to do multiple jobs. Team spirit is undermined due to various reasons. Management and leadership are ineffective in maintaining the work balance. The monitoring and control procedures conducted by the previous heads of department and staff with supervisory staff were unproductive. Poor guest satisfaction occurred when the front-of-house staff were unable to conduct their responsibilities effectively.

Problem Analysis

1. Market positioning. Peter Farnsworth should adapt his management style to ensure the proper development of the organization. He must recognize the environment of Imperial Hotel and certain factors that affect its performance. Different key perspectives will have to be analyzed such as Macro Environment, Micro Environment, Internal Environment and the External Environment. Michael Porters’ Five Forces method can be analyzed in terms of the company which will give a clear view of how the situation prevails.
2. Threat of new entrants. The threat of new entrants occurs due to international competitors. High capital costs are always a barrier for the new entrants. The Imperial Hotel has the elements necessary to be in a dominant position in the area.
3. Threats of substitute products. Technological changes don’t cause any threat for this type of business. Although there are certain situations like economic crisis where accommodation habits of the guests change. Hotel activities and business becomes temporary and people tend to stay with relatives.
4. Bargaining power of suppliers. A great demand exists in the booking capabilities of hotel industry and global technological changes have made it easier and more comfortable (Cosmesentinel.eu, 2019). Bargaining power arises when competitors start producing specialized products to capture market share. In terms of hotel industry, competitors provide specialized service and facilities to be in the leading position in the market.
5. Bargaining power of buyers. It can be considered as a threat in certain situations because a combined group of guests arrive as organizers, tour operators the profit margin is split and the hotels have to provide necessary discounts which can cause an impact in the financial income.
6. Competition. Competition arises from various factors such as increase in number of rooms, product differentiation in hotels according to ratings, brand image, environmental factors. Strong competition arises due to oversupply.

From the information provided in the case study and by analyzing the problems created due to certain reasons, a clear concept can be understood and various logical factors can be gathered for the situations caused. The core reasons are:

• High staff turnover (80% of the staff leaving within a year). Due to lack of proper training, the employees can’t operate efficiently. Employees are leaving more often because of incapability to perform functions. Managers need to stabilize the situation by retaining the staff in to key supervisory positions, offer remuneration packages, bonuses to increase the loyalty of the employees. Balancing pay scales and proper training initiative can be a solution to this problem.
• Negative work culture. Stock being regularly pilfered and the evidence of staff not meeting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPS) resulting in unusually high operating costs occurred due to the negative work culture among the staff. Manager can implement a strategy by providing motivational speech and initiating reward system for the employees with best performance. This will enhance a better working environment.
• Ineffective leadership and management by department heads: The major issue of hospitality is the salary scheme of employees which is below standard level in many hotels. The employees can be considered as the internal guests of the organization. Managers must have the attitude to satisfy both internal and external guests of the organization (My Customer, 2019).
• Unethical workplace environment. Team spirit is not present in the workplace due to undesirable work environment. The manager must have proper leadership skills to create and design a moral and ethical climatic condition within work premises (Lori Porter, 2019)

The Managerial Approach

Peter Farnsworth should consider Taylor’s 5 principles which will be an advantage for both the organization as well as the employees: 1) using scientific methods to develop new techniques to make the work easier and efficient; 2) better working conditions; 3) training and mutual cooperation; 4) providing financial incentives; 5) Assigning best suited employees according to skills and expertise.

The interpersonal role defined by Mintzberg (1973) which includes figurehead, leader, liaison would be the perfect if utilized in this situation (business.com, 2019). Manager should take the responsibility of dividing the work between teams and take steps for the development of the employees. John Adair’s Action centered leadership provides ways of achieving task in groups and managing individuals (Models and Adair, 2019). According to Situational Approach leaders match their style with competence and commitment of the employees so as to get best result. This enables to maintain communication with every level of employees. Implementation of participative style will ensure the subordinates acceptance of decisions by proper motivational techniques to improve productivity and achieve goals (Referenceforbusiness.com, 2019). Directive leadership is required when the team members are less skilled (ThoughtfulLeader.com, 2019). Proper directions will help the employees to complete tasks in proper way. By choosing proper management style, managers can increase trust level with the employees (The Balance Careers, 2019). In some cases, autocratic decision may be required. Democratic decisions should be taken to implement self-motivation and evolve sense of duties among the employees. Providing incentives and promotion will motivate them to achieve goals.

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Changes in the organizational hierarchy can sometimes cause discomfort and resistance. Peter Farnsworth can apply the strategy of Lewin's Change Management Model to better evaluation of situation and ways to tackle problem within due time. The model can be classified in 3 stages. They are: unfreezing, change and refreezing.

• Unfreezing. Making the employees believe a situation of disconfirmation may arise and how to overcome. Initiating survival instincts among the employees. Putting up with psychological anxiety in definite situations and overcome learning anxiety.
• Change. Looking for new ways to achieve task formulation is understood in this stage. Employees will embrace this stage by active participation. Coping up with the changing environment is the main issue in this stage.
• Refreezing. Adaptation of organizational structure is maintained in this stage. Organizational support is provided effectively. Supporting the leadership decisions and complying with the regulations defined by the organization. Identifying the barriers to success and finding out means to overcome them.

Peter Farnsworth must consider better and efficient human resource personnel to achieve the target profit. HR have a tough duty towards the organization. Controlling employee activities and performance are vested on them. He will have to target a new ethical management leadership and ensure better organizational behavior. Idealist behavior needs to be used so that morality is maintained. Relativistic qualities may be service saboteurs in nature but they tend to be more service oriented. Moral and ethical leadership can bring about a positive impact on the organization’s goals.

Planning and Financial Sustainability

According to the case it’s clear that Imperial Hotel is running at 65% rate in the company’s benchmark grading system. Peter Farnsworth should be in the top chain of Hierarchy and get direct access and control over all the departments. He will have to exercise his authority power and decide for the development of the organization. The case also provided a situation where efficiency of room service is below expectation level but the guests are pretty much dissatisfied by the staff’s attitude in general. A 12-month plan should be made with strict procedures, it will help him evaluate measures of performance in chronological manner.

The housekeeping department is comprised with front office, kitchen, food and beverage services, security and maintenances, finance. In this case, a separate executive housekeeper must be appointed who will manage different situations and control overall tasks in this section. The housekeeper shift needs to be divided into 8-hour and will cover 14 rooms with an average of 30 minutes each. The housekeeping department will also have to coordinate with the kitchen regarding the provision of linen and uniforms. Proper responsible and able hands are to be appointed to keep maintenance and assure proper room services. The expectation level of guests can be maintained if these steps are taken.

Conclusion

Imperial Hotel is one of the top leading hotels in London. It provides various hospitality service for its customers and takes utmost care in getting customer satisfaction. According to the case certain situations had arisen which compromised the hotels capabilities to meet needs effectively. Misconducted among the employees had been highlighted due to behavioral factors. Deviant behavior put through situations where goals can’t be achieved (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). Heads of department and supervisors should take specialized human resource programs and training to learn how to inspire the employees rather than just command and behave in autocratic way. The supervisors’ behavior should be accurate so that the employees maintain proper values and adhere to the ethical issues of the organization. Standard operating procedures should be maintained within the organization. Creating a team spirit and bonus schemes will definitely be fruitful for the company. In house training courses will enhance employee abilities. A new recruitment policy can be initiated so that the best skilled employees can be achieved. Psychological screening in recruitment process helps to figure out potential employees who can work in stressful situations (Smallbusiness.chron.com, 2019).

Bibliography

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