Poor Team Working and Inefficient Use of IT Systems in Front House Staff at Imperial Hotel

This case study discusses the issues of poor team working and inefficient use of IT systems in the front house staff at Imperial Hotel. It analyzes the background of the problem, the impact on performance, and suggests management theories and principles to solve the issues. Recommendations for improvement are also provided.

CASE STUDY 1
CASE STUDY
By (name)
The name of the course
Tutor’s name
The name of the university
The city and the country where it’s located
Date

CASE STUDY 2
Table of content
Table of content..........................................................................................................................................2
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................2
The background of the problem..............................................................................................................3
Analysis of the poor team working and inefficient use of the IT systems in the Front House Staff.........4
Justification of poor team working and inefficient use of the IT systems in the Front House Staff.........5
Management theories and principles in solving the poor team working and inefficient use of the IT
systems in the Front House Staff at Imperial Hotel, London...................................................................6
The strategic plan....................................................................................................................................8
Summary.................................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................9
Recommendations...................................................................................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................................................10

CASE STUDY 3
Introduction
This research case will follow management theory in identifying, analyzing and suggestions on
various appraisals in the Imperial Hotel. The hotel is situated in the west end part of London in
which it offers accommodation and conferencing services for the tourist together with the
business travelers. Imperial hotel has a long history in it operation which is approximately 100
years. The hotel houses the following facilities
1. The leisure Centre with the swimming pool
2. 12 conference rooms
3. 500 bedrooms fitted with the en-suite facilities
4. 3 bars and 4 restaurants
5. Conference facilities for 1000 individuals.
Peter Farnsworth is expected to come up with a strategic plan that will help in resolving the
management, operational and business-related issues within the Imperial Hotel in London. The
first step in his plan is identifying the problems. One of the issues is the poor team working and
inefficient use of the IT systems including the property management systems and reservation in
the front house staff (Bars & restaurant, conference & Banqueting, and Reception).
The background of the problem
When compared to the benchmark and the customer’s vision, the Imperial Hotel is experiencing
poor performance which can been attributed to the following factors.
 A high turnover of the staff from almost all the department within the hotel running
around 80% a year due to lack of staff morale.

CASE STUDY 4
 The hotel was graded lowest in star chain in terms of guest satisfaction running at a rate
of 60% in company’s benchmark grading system.
 The actual average room rate was running relatively low when compared to the local
competition.
 The inadequate performance was having a direct negative impact on the overall cost and
profitability of the Imperial Hotel.
Analysis of the poor team working and inefficient use of the IT systems in the Front House
Staff
Poor team working and inefficient use of the IT systems in the front house staff is one of the key
issues which the new Imperial Hotel manager is expected to tackle. At the moment the major
reception staff has been in problems with the other department due to complaints resulting from
inaccurate and wrong data they are receiving from the front house staff. The reception part of the
front house staff also failed to communicate to the housekeeping on the late and the early arrival
of the guest. In other cases, rooms are not cleaned which mean the guest have to wait for longer
time without receiving their keys of the room. The banquet and the conference departments as
well complained that they were not provided with the right information about the guest who were
to attend the meeting and the conferences. These issues can be put together with other problem
from the guest who complained about hostility from the reception staff. Reception has now
become dysfunctional since there is also lack of proper shifting methods where the incoming
argued they were not provided with appropriate handover data.
In an organization like Imperial Hotel, it’s the responsibility of every team at the front house
staff to ensure they passed updated information to other departments. This is because the front
house staff especially the reception play a key role in offering support and services to the guests.

CASE STUDY 5
The recent front house staff officer at the reception and other departments is aware of the above
challenges. Therefore, the officer must work closely with the general manager in ensuring the
issues are solved immediately and effectively. The dynamics within the reception are not in order
and the thing held to account is the culture of officers not doing their work productively and
clashing of the personal responsibilities with other departments. That means the new manager is
going to revisit a number of areas in restoring the glory of Imperial Hotel, London. Among the
areas that need to be reviewed are; individual performance, the structure of various teams,
rewards and benefits accrued by good performance, development requirements and training. The
manager will consider coordinating and developing a team-based technique to help in managing
the staff. The inappropriate data can be solved using improved information technology (IT)
systems.
Justification of poor team working and inefficient use of the IT systems in the Front House
Staff
According to Galloway & Thacker (2013) the front house staff holds pivotal point within a hotel.
The front house staff like the reception is the first stage in which the clients are received hence
its ambience forms the atmosphere of a hotel. The orderliness, quality, professionalism and
neatness are among the few things which reception department should show to the guest. Every
guest in any institution wants to feel appreciated, safe and in the hands of the right practitioners
(Serenko et al 2010). Such impression when created by the receptionists will allow the front
house staff in establishing the right image to its guest. The front house staff at Imperial Hotel,
London should be repositioned for the purpose of accommodating the visitors and the same time
enable the workers to do their work effectively. The visitors who spend much time waiting to be
given keys to their rooms is a bad impression.

CASE STUDY 6
With respect to Parrish (2010) decision making procedure starts with comprehending the
significance of analyzing the performance by the staff at the front office. These requirements
must focus on frequent visits by the leaders to the hotel and sharing of information with other
departments. The individuals at the front house in Imperial Hotel overlooked the maintenance
and the importance of the payback from their property management systems (Ayyagari, Grover
& Purvis 2011).
The delay of the guests does not begin at the registration point but during the time when
reservations are made. In the real sense, the visitors begin to be delayed when selecting the
property since it depends on the efforts of marketing (Seaborn & Fels, 2015). Thus, the team
should be visiting the property to acquire proper information. Obtaining the present data
concerning the visitors especially the status of guests’ rooms has always been a big challenge for
the front house staff. The poor obtaining of information makes the guest to be delayed in the
check-in points thus making them impatient.
With regards to Nilsen (2015) poor team working and inefficient IT systems at the front house
staff in a hotel organization can bring frustrations to other departments. The main issue that is
arising from the inefficient IT system is where there is a problem of managing the data. For
instance, when passing the information about the guest to the next shift. Thus, making it the main
reason for other departments dealing with the meeting and conference rooms to receive the
wrong data. Managers working such places spend most of their time looking for new clients.
Instead, the managers should use more time in improving the performance and dealing with
affairs of the employees. For instance, a manager can use such moments in ensuring workers in
different departments are trained to meet the objectives and goals of the company.

CASE STUDY 7
Management theories and principles in solving the poor team working and inefficient use
of the IT systems in the Front House Staff at Imperial Hotel, London
One of the management technique that the Imperial Hotel, London should utilize is the human
relation concept. According to (Voss, 2010) the human resource relation maintains that managers
of various organizations must analyze the behaviors of how individuals are interacting with each
other at the work place. The key assumption of this theory is that Imperial Hotel will be able to
meet its objectives and goals through the employees and with the employees (Robson et al 2015).
The human relation theory was developed with the aim of improving the performance with the
organization (Hörisch, Freeman & Schaltegger, 2014). One of the principles in management is
that an individual is an economic-rational being but with emotions. Secondly, every organization
was established based on mechanical procedures and cooperation. Thus, every supervisor and
manager within Imperial Hotel must have this at the back of their minds for the sake of
improving motivation and productivity of their employees (Pike & Page, 2014).
The next management theory which Peter Farnsworth should consider is the employee equity
approach. The concept operates together with human relation theory in ensuring the morale and
productivity of every worker is improved. The employee equity concept is very crucial at
Imperial Hotel in finding the balance between the output of employees and the level of their
production. The level of production is constituted by the efficiency, skills and hard work (Roca
& Searcy, 2012).
The hierarchy of the needs technique established by the Abraham Maslow is the next important
theory to the new manager of Imperial Hotel. This theory demands that an organization like
Imperial Hotel must satisfy the needs of its customers and employees. If the organization is not
able to meet the needs of its customers, they end up seeking services from the rival organization

CASE STUDY 8
(Barratt, Choi and Li, 2011). This could be the reason for the actual average room rate at
Imperial Hotel running relatively low when compared to the local competition.
Lastly, Peter Farnsworth must consider motivation approach. (Hair, Sarstedt, Pieper & Ringle,
2012.) suggested that specific needs of an individual are acquired after a longer time of
experiences. The theory offers a clear image for the company and the manager in identifying
which job suits various employees. With reference to (Alvesson, 2011) leaders with stronger
need of power are more successful. This will therefore, enable the manager to place the right
individual who fits at the front house staff.
The strategic plan
A good strategic plan is a powerful commitment and a long-range that can be viewed beyond
normal statement of individuals in achieving the objectives of the organization (Kezar,2011).
The first step will involve defining the general purpose and key objective of Imperial Hotel to all
employees. The manager will also describe the personal goals and the work-group needed in
accomplishing the objective of the Imperial Hotel.
Secondly, all workers will be informed about the work structure and the various roles that will be
used in organizing the work
Thirdly, Establishing the match between the available roles and the employees. This part will be
very crucial when creating the organizational duties.
The fourth step is to make all employees to understand their environment through training as
well as equipping them with job skills. Hence this will enable the worker at Front house staff to
settle any dispute that arises within that department.

CASE STUDY 9
The fifth plan is setting proper communication media. For instance; personal contact, décor,
audiovisual materials and printed material like informational bulletins.
Lastly, the new manger of the Imperial Hotel, London will be required to develop a concern and
care to the workers. This can be achieved through treating them in a way he expects the
customers to be treated (Valavanis &Vachtsevanos, 2015).
Summary
The above discussed management theories and principles will assist him in developing the
strategic plan. For instance, the Imperial Hotel, London should make use of management theories
like human relation in reducing the issue of poor team working at the Front house staff. Human
relation theory implies that Imperial Hotel can meet its objectives and goals if there is good
relationship among the staff members and the clients. Peter Farnsworth must work hard to ensure
the management team at the reception has improved on how they handle the guests and accuracy
of the information conveyed to other departments. The employees’ equity concept will greatly
assist the manager in improving the performance of every employee. According to this theory,
the level of the input by an employee is equivalent to his or her output hence the manager can
use this concept in checking the performances of every department. The hierarchy requirement
theory can be used in making sure the company address the need of every worker to boost their
productivity.
Conclusion
The main problem in various department at Imperial Hotel is due to Poor team working and
inefficient use of the IT systems in the front office. These problems are as a result of receiving
inadequate information from front house staff. Therefore, the new manager should apply the
management theories and principles to improve the working condition at the front house staff.

CASE STUDY 10
The theories will accrue high benefits, training, possible development and tremendously raise the
level of income at Imperial Hotel in London.
Recommendations
Embracing the efforts of management theories and practices can significantly impact the success
of Imperial Hotel. However, the Imperial Hotel should incorporate the following few
recommendations.
1. Establishing local training programs in decision making and problem solving to ensure
the challenges among employees are well managed.
2. The subordinate leaders should be allowed to access training and development privileges
are well synchronized within the needs of their roles to enhance knowledge translation
and creativity in their departments.
3. The higher management at Imperial Hotel should be able to recognize individual efforts
and reward them accordingly. This will promote the relationship between the employees
and their supervisors.
4. Lastly, the new manager should focus on developing the future generation to head the
hotel through training them on ways of delegating the authority other than responsibility.

CASE STUDY 11
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CASE STUDY 12
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