Introduction The present day global scenario has put always a challenge before all. The work ethics is never confined to the then approach of being satisfied with little. The manifold areas envisage the management to have clear foresight, visualize the future at the moment under the dynamism of management system. Form the above prospect it could be realized that the challenges and responsibilities before the management are abided by certain fundamental principles.
Recruitment , training, motivation, security, competition, standardization , prompt management, , better communication, empathy among the workers, interpersonal relationship, good rapport between management and employees are the basic fundamental areas which are need to be taken care. The present case study aims at studying the major challenges and responsibilities which are much required to be taken care by the managements after the Courthouse Hotel to be owned by another businessman. The challenges are studied vividly with their outcomes and possible responsibilities to overcome them have also been suggested.The courthouse hotel scenario has the following staffing issues: 1.
Recruitment of new Staff Since there is addition of a Porter service, room service operations, new banqueting suits, an a la carte restaurant and a leisure club. So recruitment and training of new staff is a must 2. Training of new and old staff The training of new staff those are recruited and the old staff is very much essential to update them with the latest methodologies of the hospitality operations and this is very important with respect to the case study as the hotel will have an up gradation of the hotel. . Lack of Flexibility in staff Deciphering the case study, it can be seen that the old staffs are not so flexible with their work schedule .
They are used to early shift or late shifts and since it deals with mostly business clients they are not used to weekend works. 4. Employee Motivation The case study reveals that there are many frenetic activities coming ahead hence motivating the employees are very important in order to prevent any chaos in the future. 5. Inefficiency in handling International clientsIt can be seen from the case study that there will be German delegation staying in Courtside hotel and the staffs are not used to handling international clientele. Hence, the management has to improve its service standards for international clientele.
The following strategies may be adopted by the management of the Courthouse hotel to sort the above discussed staffing issues 1. Recruitment and Training Recruitment If employee vacancies exist managers should use the information gathered through job analysis to guide them in recruitment- that is locating, identifying and attracting capable applicants. Bargerstock and Swanson, 1991) The horizons of recruiting sources are plenty. It is the sole decision of the management to choose the right combination of sources.
(See appendix 1) The quickest and cheapest way of selecting a candidate is online recruitment but other methods are more viable and realistic in approach. One such example is current employee referral. (Robbins et al 2010) Training There are different methods to train the employees. Some of the common methods used in the hospitality industry are: `i.
Job Instruction: A detailed explanation of the job specification is conveyed to theEmployee in order to make him/her well acquainted with the job he/she is expected to do. ii. Interpersonal Skill: The skills that a person uses to communicate with other person. In an Organization that is about to get a makeover in all spheres should enhance the interpersonal skills of its employees.
There are several other facets of giving training such as technical training, personal training, problem solving and decision making. B. Motivation Bowen says that Responsibility, Respect, Relationships and rewards are the four R’s that work well together to motivate workers. (Bowen, 2004)Work is a creative process, people generally want to feel that they add values-whether producing service or producing some tangible product.
When work processes are designed collaboratively, Responsibility is automatically built in the process. Respecting the feeling, emotions and work of every employee makes them more motivated. Let there be a two way flow of information in order to create the right work culture and working climate. Relationship matters a lot in an organization.
Being part of a team, working with great people and having fun are the spices of creativity that enhances products and services.Recognition and Rewards are the keys to motivate the employees in the form of – a days off, Dinner in an upscale restaurant, employee of the month, letter of appreciation and the like. (Bowel, 2004) C. Raise standards for International Clientele People today live in a service dominated economy.
Services permeate the daily existence of every person. With the globalization of products and services and widespread impact of media the expectations are extremely high when it comes to service standards and when it comes to an international arena the expectations double up.Hence meeting the challenges of internationalization requires appropriate market driven service strategies. (Day, 1994) Hospitality services are based on fixed points of sale, whereas hotel customers are mostly travelers, the ability of a firm to co-operate with other hotels and service providers has always been a major advantage in strategies to improve service levels and retention of customers. (Kandampully, 2007) Therefore, if the service standards are achieved to an international Criterion then the future of the hotel seems quite flourishing and the business will grow manifolds.
D.Possibilities of Criticism In an organization when there is a change we criticism. Employees may go to strike, disobey rules and if the situations go beyond the zenith, there may be an interference of the local trade union which if not considered seriously can prove disastrous. The era of formal planning department when there used to be a planning team is a passing fade. The demand of the situation is a more practical approach and involvement of the employees from all departments. For instance, at Dell, employees from different departments meet weekly to make plans based on current product demand and supply.
Work teams set own daily schedule and track their own progress. (Robbins et al, 2010) F. Lack of Flexibility Deciphering the case study, it can be seen that the old staffs are not so flexible with their work schedules. Since the nature of the hospitality industry is dynamic and demanding so appropriate staff and scheduling should be done to make the older staffs more flexible. Miller suggests that it is difficult to generate only the regular eight hour day shift.
There are very early hour shift for breakfast, graveyard shift, break shift, late night hours etc. Miller et al, 2007) Hence, the staffs should be given the aforesaid shifts in a rotational basis in order to make them more flexible and get the best out of them. Change Management: Carnall (2010) suggests that a change is the continuous process that can be tackled with corporate strategies; similarly Lewin’s (2006) change management model enunciates change as a thread that connects businesses regardless of its shape and size. When a change is sensed in an organization the people involved may show the following behavior: 1.
Some may welcome it as a necessity because it gives a new and fresh environment. 2. It will create a new challenge and schedule. 3.
Will maintain healthy work culture While the majority of staff will resist change because: 1. It creates a new routine 2. May involve job transfers 3. May hamper the comfort of belongingness 4.
The environment become uncertain 5. May have to readjust relationships 6. Requires people to come out of their comfort zone 7. People may also have doubts that if there will be any actual change in the organizationThe responses are mixed and hence the supervisor with the help of management should act tactfully to take control of the situation before its too late to bell the cat. (Miller et al, 2007) (Rao and Krishna, 2002) A successful change management requires momentum, enthusiasm and a clear signal that things will never be same again.
(Anon, 2007) Hence, in order to overcome impact of these situations the supervisor should do/implement the following strategies: 1. Effective Communication 2. Active Participation 3. Empathy 4.
Facilitation and support 5.Manipulation and cooptation 6. Coercion (Kotter and Schlesinger, 1979), (Kirkpatrick, 2002), (Rao and Krishna, 2002), Effective communication Dance (1970) defines communication as the process by which people seek to share meaning via exchange of verbal or non-verbal messages. These messages can be gestures words, sounds etc. Open and effective communication strategies adopted by a supervisor addresses a situation very well. He is very much required to communicate to the staffs well in advance about the proposed changes that are to be implemented in the hotel.
The formal approaches of communication which is controlled and endorsed by managers and supervisors the effectiveness of change in the following manners: a. It covers an ever widening distance as the organizations develop and grow b. May inhibit the free flow of communication Hence, a supervisor must identify the importance of effective and sustainable communication because it provides a thread for developing new plans and changes and it also identifies talented workers within the organization. Stoner et al, 2009) Active Participation Participation is a key concept in gaining acceptance in an organization. O’Brien, 2002, pp. 445) beautifies participation by saying that ‘Employee Participation, it is argued, is perhaps the most powerful level management can use to gain acceptance of change.
’ The active participation as identified by (Armenakis et al, 1999) identify three forms of active participation: a. Enactive mastery: Involving people in the process of change in order to see what is happening builds their skills and knowledge. b. Vicarious learning: People involved may observe and learn from others and they know about the changes that will happen c.Decision making: When people know about the changes they become certain and they automatically contribute in the process of change.
Hence, uncertainty is reduced, self interest and social relationships are less threatened. After a series of discussion a change process may likely be accepted because now it involves the people also. Empathy The definition of empathy as given by Kirkpatrick (2002, pp. 42) says empathy is ‘putting yourself in the shoes of the other person.
’ He further has given example about a question asked to fisherman that what is the best quality a fisherman should have and he always got ‘Patience’ as the answer.But according to him the answer is ‘Empathy again. ’ Critically analyzing the asked question and relating it to the courthouse case study, it can be concluded that the supervisor should know each and every staff of the hotel in order to better understand their psychology about the forthcoming changes. Thus, understanding reduces the resistance and enhances morale and initiates effective participation.
Facilitation and Support In a permissive and friendly atmosphere, the supervisor should listen to the pity of his staff.So, when they get support and facility in bad times they also reciprocate when you need their support. Hence, support can tackle fear and anxiety during bad times. (Kotter and Schlesinger, 1979) Manipulation and Cooptation This is a very tricky as well extremely risky in nature.
As a part of this process the supervisor may involve or person from the resistance group and to should try to gain his confidence. Now the leader may think that he is being given due recognition and his presence is valued. Hence, the resistance may loosen up but if not can prove hazardous. Robbins et al, 2010) Coercion At times when the situation is very critical management may use its residuary power and thus pressure can be mounted on the staff to accommodate them with transition phase. Hence, threats, job transfers, pay cuts, no promotion etc are effective tools to engineer the resistance. (Rao and Krishna, 2002) But in case of the courthouse hotel, the coercion hotel may not work in the long run as this organization yet to establish its reputation in the market; possibilities are that the staff may go for rally in public or resort in sabotaging the change.
But apart from management and corporate strategies the holistic approach for managing change is on the basis of Trust. Because trust is the central nerve through which other branches like integrity, loyalty and caring in an organization flows and this trust maintains all the relationships in the organization. At times trust may go beyond individual relationships to culture Individual leadership to make a formidable change in an organization. (Koontz and Weihrich, 2008) Conclusion The above case study has studied all the requirements in detail. The various aspects are examined and analyzed as per the requirements.Hope the different suggestion put forth before the managements will bring out a solid solution there by the hotel will create an important position among the top class hotels in the area .
The strategies has been given looking at the need base and I am confident that the above proposals will be worked out. References Anon (2007) “Change Management” (Accessed on October 24th 2010) Armenakis, A A and Harris, S G (2001) ‘Crafting a change message to create transformational readiness’, Journal of Organisational Change Management 15:2 pp169-183 Bargerstock A. S. nd Swanson G, “Four ways to build Cooperative Recruitment Alliances,” HRMagazine, March 1991, p.
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