Business Health Check - Marriott International

BUSINESS HEALTH
CHECK

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Objectives of the business.....................................................................................................1
1.2 Factors that impact on business.............................................................................................2
1.3 Potential improvements to the business organisation...........................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Review the effectiveness of the business..............................................................................5
2.2 Develop plans to improve the business, justifying their value..............................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Evaluate the current skills of management and staff............................................................7
3.2 Devise and justify plans for the development of skills for management and staff...............8
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Business health check is referred to overall assessment and evaluation of all critical
elements related to business (Simoneaux, and Stroud, 2011). This health check of business
determines how healthy the organisation is and will also reflect the need of any improvement or
change to the business. Marriott International is one of the leading and well reputed hotel chain
which has been undertaken in this report. This hospitality institution is operating in more than
127 countries and territories all round the world. It is headquartered in Maryland in Washington,
D.C. This report will cover several objectives, factors that impact business, potential
improvement to the organisation. It will also enlighten effectiveness and development of plans to
improve business. In addition to that, evaluation of current skill and plan for skill development
for management and staff is also covered.
TASK 1
1.1 Objectives of the business.
Marriott International was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It
was founded by John Willard Marriott. Marriott International was formed in 1933 when Marriott
Corporation was split into two companies and that is Marriott International and Host Marriott
Corporation. Marriott was the first one to open online reservation of hotel room for people in
1995. Following are some objective and goals made by Marriott International:
Marriott International 2020 Growth Vision in Europe Post Starwood Acquisition:
Hotel is planning to increase their size of their portfolio in Europe across all segments of
industry. This was their first development vision announced for Europe after the acquisition of
Starwood Hotels and Resorts in September 2016 (Marriott International Announces 2020
Growth Vision in Europe Post Starwood Acquisition. 2018.). Marriott are opening the largest and
most diverse portfolio of hotels in the luxury and all other segments in Europe and are planning
to expand this lead through accelerated growth of some of the iconic brands, such as The Luxury
Collection, Marriott Hotel and Sheraton, etc. They have planned this long term goals and
working towards its accomplishment.
Growth plan for opening new hotels across the world: Marriott are planning to expand
their hotel chain by opening new hotels with a total of 235,000 to 300,000 rooms is a short term
1

goal which they will achieve by the end of 2019 (Marriott International Maps Future Growth at
Investor Day. 2018).
Above are two objectives of Marriott Hotel which they want to accomplish in following
years. These both goals fall under “SMART” objectives criteria. Analysis is mentioned below:
Specific (S): This is concerned with the fact that what exactly company wants to achieve
in coming time? Is the goals specific and how they will achieve those? Two above mentioned
goals of Marriott are specific as they know exactly what they want in future and how they will
achieve their targets.
Measurable (M): This aspect is concerned with the tracking and measuring the progress
of the goals. This ensures to stay focused towards goals. As mentioned above, Marriott have set
their targets and they can measure their progress with continuous reviewing which will help them
to accomplish their objectives properly.
Achievable (A): Goals should be achievable and attainable in order to achieve set targets.
Marriott had developed their objectives, which they can achieve within time frame.
Relevant (R): Marriott have developed growth plans in order to expand their hotel chains
and business all over the world. This growth is very important for them as they need to establish
a strong hold in hospitality industry. These target will benefits them in all aspects of business.
Time bound (T): Every goal is set with some time limit in which the company wants to
accomplish it. As above mentioned objectives of Marriott, they have planned short and long term
goals which they will accomplish in certain time period.
From the above description, it is clear that targets of Marriott hotel achieve all SMART
objectives.
1.2 Factors that impact on business.
There are several factors that affect business organisation as well as their daily activities
and tasks. In order to measure the impact, marketers apply different tools and strategies, such as
PESTEL Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Porter's five force model, etc. Following is the PESTEL
Analysis of Marriott International:
PESTEL Analysis:
POLITICAL ECONOMICAL
 The major factor political factor that  Economic factors that affect business of
2

influence Marriott are terrorism,
international relations, political climate
of different nations, military conflicts,
etc.
 Terrorist main targets are famous hotels
and in June 2015, 39 people were killed
at the hotel in Tunisia. This has
affected the business of Marriott hotel
as people become scared to visit luxury
hotels (PESTLE Analysis of Marriott
International. 2018).
Marriott are economic disturbance in
Europe, slow growth in China, collapse
of stock market in China and debt crisis
in Europe has greatly affected the
travelling ability of travellers. This has
greatly affected the tapering off of
business travel on which the Marriott is
highly dependent.
 Due to high exchange rate of US Dollar
overseas has discouraged the American
travellers to travel tourist destinations
in other countries and also discouraged
foreign tourists from visiting American
tourists spots.
SOCIAL TECHNOLOGICAL
People from all across the world plan their
vacations and are willing to pay more money
for better experiences. This has resulted in
great rise in business of Marriott hotels
worldwide.
Technological factor have great effect on the
business of hotel as they provide rental
services online like Airbnb. This facilitate
individuals to rent rooms or home directly to
travellers.
ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL
Increase in Fuel costs may affect the business
of Marriott Hotel. If the cost for airlines
increases, then visitors will not travel and will
ultimately reduce the level of income for
hotels.
Airbnb is the major reason that is affecting the
Marriott future business. In some cities, Airbnb
and their hosts are violating different laws such
as zonal laws, hotel regulations as well as
health and safety regulations (PESTLE
Analysis of Marriott International. 2018). .
Following is the SWOT Analysis of Marriott Hotel:
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
3

 Their main strength is that, Marriott
strictly operates their functions
according to their norms and cod of
conduct. Each and every member have
to work accordingly and follow every
detail of set standards (SWOT analysis
of Marriott International Inc. 2018).
 The have strong presences all round the
world, have hotels in more than 125
countries and around 600 properties .
 They mainly focuses on implementing
innovation and commitment in their
procedures and systems in order to
ensure more value to the money.
 Overemphasis on service
standardizations has decreased the
morale level of employees.
 Due to huge expansions, Marriott
sometimes is unable to maintain and
follow all their standards properly and
this leads to destruction of their image.
This also leads to mismanagement of
several hotel activities at hotel.
OPPORTUNITIES THREAT
 People are willing to spend money for
great experiences in luxury hotels and
this rate has been increasing every year.
More travelling will lead to greater
revenues and greater profits.
 High travelling of people with their
family trips and business meetings have
increased the opportunity for Marriott.
 Tie ups with airline companies can
increase their advantages and revenues.
 Marriott have to face tough competition
fro other hotels such as Hilton, Novotel
etc.
 They are mostly vulnerable to terrorist
attack which can greatly adverse their
business operations.
Following is the Porter's Five Force model of Marriott International:
Threat of New Entrants: New entrants bring many different and innovative things
which pressurise Marriott Hotel to lower their prices, provide more value to their customers, etc.
4

in order to manage and tackle the threat of new comers (Five Forces Model Marriott
International Marketing Essay. 2018). They can mash this threat by innovating something
different and building economies of scale which can reduce the fixed cost per unit, etc.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Hotel industry buy their materials form various
suppliers and due to this, suppliers are in the position to negotiate and extract higher prices for
their materials from hotels. Marriott can mask this threat by building effective supply chain with
multiple suppliers.
Bargaining Power of Buyers: Due to demanding nature of buyers, Marriott has great
pressure to provide best product at minimum prices. The smaller and powerful the customer base
is of Marriott International, the higher the bargaining power of the customers. They can
overcome this threat by building large base of customers or by innovating new products.
Threat of substitute: When new products have the capacity to fulfil similar needs of
customers at lower prices, profitability of industry suffers. The threat of substitute become high
when they offer value proposition that is different from others. Hotel can tackle this by
increasing the switching cost for customers, etc.
Industrial Rivalry: Marriott operates in very high competitive industry that affects their
profitability in long term. They can mask this by building sustainable differentiation, etc.
5

Source: Porter's Five force model, 2018.
1.3 Potential improvements to the business organisation
Marriott International have established a strong hold in the hospitality industry and they
keeps on working in order to accomplish growth and success (Lencioni, 2012). They keeps on
identifying potential source for improvements which can maximise their profitability. Hotel can
use Ansoff's Matrix in order to develop possible improvement option. Matrix is mentioned
below:
Market penetration: In this, hotel tries to grow in existing markets with the help of
existing products or services. They mainly expand in order to gain maximum market share in
current market situation. This can be achieved, if the hotel decreases their prices of their services,
or by increasing their promotion, etc.
Market development: In this strategy, hotel can try to expand in different and new
markets by using their existing services or products. This can be achieved by expanding business
in new countries, etc.
Product development: In this, hotel can try to achieve growth by developing innovative
products or services in existing markets where they are operating. This can be developed by
proper research on the needs of customers, etc.
6
Illustration 1: Porter's Five force model.

Diversification: In this strategy, organisation tries to achieve growth in new markets by
introducing new products and services to customers.
Above are some strategies which can be used by Marriott Hotel to achieve growth and
desired success by offering new and existing products or services into new and existing markets.
TASK 2
2.1 Review the effectiveness of the business.
Effectiveness is concerned with the level of outputs generated by employers and
employees. It is accomplished when each and every members in the staff put their best efforts in
order to achieve their targets and set objectives. This ultimately help in increasing the
effectiveness of organisation (Fotiadis, Vassiliadis and Piper, 2014). As Marriott Hotel is the
largest hotel chain in the world and operate their hotels according to strict code of conduct and
ethics. They perform each task with perfection and allow their employees to perform their duties
with efficiency. Every employee working at Marriott follow all standards set by management in
order to accomplish their main vision which is “ to enhance the lives of our customers by
creating and enabling unsurpassed vacations and leisure experiences”. Due to these reasons,
they are counted as best hotels in hospitality industry. They also believe in continuous
improvement and reviewing of their effectiveness so that they can improve whatever lacking in
time.
Through business health check, they can review their growth and success. It allows
overall assessment of all critical activities that are ongoing in hotel. This allow close look at how
the business is functioning and provide organisation with important information related to
progress of goals and objectives. There are certain departments which require critical review and
they are mentioned below:
Product or services: In order to measure the effectiveness, manager and other superiors
can evaluate their products or services which they are offering to their customers. After proper
reviewing, if they found out some non-essential services and products, they can replace them
with better services that can fulfil customer demand and satisfy them in all aspects.
Marketing: This is an essential process which facilitate hotel to market their services and
brand in outside world in order to attract people and business persons. With critical analysis,
marketers can identify their loopholes and develop better strategies to improve their marketing
7

plans (Heerde and et al, 2013). This also help managers to remain updates with trends going on
in the market.
Finances: These are important aspects as they facilitate hotel to carry out their activities.
Marriott Hotel requires huge amount of funds in order to implement their business activities in
practical. Proper budget plan can avoid wastage of money and will be able to operate their
activities.
Business image: As image is necessary in hospitality industry to attract people and
Marriott Hotel chains have powerful brand image across the world. Superiors can review this and
make improvement where they find damage in their brand image.
2.2 Develop plans to improve the business, justifying their value.
Planning is necessary for organisation in order to achieve target in right and appropriate
manner. It helps firm to schedule their activities and follow accordingly. Following are some
steps that help to improve business performance:
Financial management systems: With proper planning of funds and investments,
Marriott will able to implement necessary activities and will also save money instead of wastage.
This system will allow managers to track and manage all their funds properly.
Roles and responsibilities of management and staff: If every employee and staff
members perform their duties in proper manner, organisation will able to maximise their profits.
Market analysis: By proper analysis, Marriott can improve their functioning and can
implement innovative services which will satisfy their customers.
Performance monitoring: If managers tracks and manages the performance of every
employees, they can brief them about their weaknesses and employees can improve that over
time. With better performance, employees will able to perform better and will result in better
outcomes.
TASK 3
3.1 Evaluate the current skills of management and staff.
Skills and knowledge both are required to work effectively and efficiently in a reputed
hotel. There are different types of skills and some of them are mentioned below:
Technical skills: These are the capabilities and knowledge of a person which are used to
perform specific tasks. They are mainly practical and are related to mechanical, information
8

technology, mathematical, etc (Iwai, 2011). Some examples which include knowledge of
programming languages, mechanical equipment or procedures , etc.
Operational skill: These are the skill which should be present in an operational manager
in order to supervise and manage all activities performing by employees and other staff member
effectively. These are necessary as they are responsible for managing and controlling different
business operations so that organisation can achieve their target in right and in effective manner.
Managerial skills: These skills are required by manager to perform their job
responsibilities and duties in right and efficient manner. There are different types of managerial
skills, they include technical, human and conceptual skills (Gallie and et al, 2012).
As mentioned above, Marriott Hotels have strict standards and code of conduct which are
necessary for every employees and employers to follow accordingly. They have achieved this
position due to the hard work of management and staff. Every employee posses unique skills and
talents that aid Marriott to achieve their targets and objectives within time frame and with utmost
efficiency (Lussier, 2011). They are capable to perform all duties and responsibilities in right
manner and also provide best services to their customers. Their current experiences, skills and
knowledge have great impact on the profitability and functioning of Marriott Hotel. If
management and employees carry out their activities with perfection, then Marriott will be able
to accomplish all their short tern as well as long term goals within time and will also provide
better services to their customers. They will become more capable to satisfy their customers by
providing them luxury experiences.
3.2 Devise and justify plans for the development of skills for management and staff.
Following is the development plan for management and staff:
Skills Technique of
improvement
Time required Main target.
Strategies
development
(management)
Management can
improve their
strategies by
interacting with their
seniors or by listening
to experts and
Continuous
development
To make effective
strategies and
decisions for hotel so
that they can achieve
their targets in proper
manner.
9

professionals.
Flexibility (staff) Employees can adopt
to this skill by
knowing the
importance of
flexibility and by
taking help from
superiors.
Continuous
development
Flexibility is necessary
as Marriott Hotel serve
their customers 24x7
and employees should
be present whenever
the customers need
them.
Above is the development plan for the skills of management and staff which are
necessary for them to adopt as they are working in Marriott Hotel which is world largest hotel
chains and they are known for best customer service and luxury experience (Hameed and
Waheed, 2011). So management needs to develop string strategies which will be beneficial for
customers as well as hotels. On the other hand, employees should adopt flexibility as hotel
provide their services 24x7 and every employees should be present for any possible situations.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be summarised that business health check is necessary as
they help company to evaluate and examine all critical elements related to business. Marriott
Hotel chains are world largest and well reputed firm and in order to maintain this lead, it is
necessary for them to maintain the effectiveness of standards and review their procedures after
every month. This will help them to improve their effectiveness and with this they can achieve
all their targets in specified time and with perfection.
10

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Simoneaux, S.L. and Stroud, C.L., 2011. SWOT analysis: The annual check-up for a business.
Journal of Pension Benefits: Issues in Administration. 18(3). pp. 75-78.
Lencioni, P., 2012. The advantage: Why organizational health trumps everything else in
business. John Wiley & Sons.
Lussier, R., 2011. Management fundamentals: Concepts, applications, skill development.
Cengage Learning.
Iwai, K., 2011. A situation-dependent scenario generation framework for project management
skill-up simulator. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Software and
Data Technologies, Jul 2011 (Vol. 2, pp. 408-412).
Gallie, D. and et al, 2012. Teamwork, skill development and employee welfare. British Journal
of Industrial Relations. 50(1). pp. 23-46.
Hameed, A. and Waheed, A., 2011. Employee development and its affect on employee
performance a conceptual framework. International journal of business and social
science. 2(13).
Fotiadis, A.K., Vassiliadis, C.A. and Piper, L.A., 2014. Measuring dimensions of business
effectiveness in Greek rural tourism areas. Journal of Hospitality Marketing &
Management. 23(1). pp. 21-48.
Heerde, H.J.V. And et al, 2013. Price and advertising effectiveness over the business cycle.
Journal of Marketing Research. 50(2). pp. 177-193.
Online
Marriott International Announces 2020 Growth Vision in Europe Post Starwood Acquisition.
2018. [Online]. Available through <http://news.marriott.com/2017/03/marriott-international-
announces-2020-growth-vision-europe-post-starwood-acquisition/>
Marriott International Maps Future Growth at Investor Day. 2018. [Online]. Available through
<http://news.marriott.com/2017/03/marriott-international-maps-future-growth-investor-day/>
PESTLE Analysis of Marriott International. 2018. [Online]. Available through
<http://pestleanalysis.com/pestle-analysis-of-marriott/>
SWOT analysis of Marriott International Inc. 2018. [Online]. Available through
<https://www.marketing91.com/swot-analysis-marriott/>
Five Forces Model Marriott International Marketing Essay. 2018. [Online]. Available through
<https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/five-forces-model-marriott-international-
marketing-essay.php>.
11

12