Front House Staff Issues at Imperial Hotel: A Management Perspective

This study examines the challenges faced by the front house staff at Imperial Hotel, a renowned establishment in London's West End. The analysis focuses on issues such as rude behavior, lack of information, inefficient use of IT systems, and poor communication between shifts. Drawing upon administrative management theory, the study identifies key principles that can be applied to address these problems. The paper proposes practical solutions, including technical training, improved communication protocols, team building activities, and a revised reward system, to enhance staff performance and customer satisfaction.

INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT

Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................2
BODY................................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................13
1

INTRODUCTION
In the hospitality sector, interaction with the customers goes long way in making them loyal to
the business. Especially, during the first interaction; thus the front house staff of the hotels
must be well trained and responsive to the customers in order to maintain the status of the
business (Nicholls, 2011). The following module will relate to one of the major issues in front of
house staff, faced by the Imperial Hotel. Imperial Hotel is one the famous and well-known
Hotel, which is located at London’s West End and provides several facilities that include 500
bedrooms, conference facility that accommodates 1000 people, 4 restaurants and 3 bars, and
much more. Currently, the hotel is facing several issues of which, one is regarding the
performance and behaviour of front house staff. As the London branch of the hotel is graded
lowest in its parent chain and operating at a rate of 65% in the Star Chain's grading system, it is
essential for the hotel to improve its performance (Imperial Hotel, 2018).
Initially, management theory in context with the chosen issue will be reviewed through which a
brief understanding regarding the issue will be obtained. Later a descriptive analysis will be
conducted to attain a better understanding of the issues faced in the front house of the
Imperial hotel. Lastly, key proposals will be provided and justified for the problem resolution.
2

BODY
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Front house staffs are the primary resource that directly interacts with the customers and their
provided information regarding the room and people availability helps other departments to
plan their tasks; failing in effectively performing their task will result in lower customer
satisfaction and improper use of resources of the hotel (Kandampully, et al., 2015). Therefore, it
is essential for administration to understand the depth of the situation and take necessary
actions.
Major issues observed in the reception staffs include rude behaviour with the customers, failing
to properly assist with the information. Additionally, lack of information regarding the services
offered and occupancy of the services leads to providing wrong information to the customers,
which results in dissatisfaction (Buff Scott, 2014). In addition to this, lack of technical skills and
inefficient while using Micros Fidelio reservation and Property Management System (PMS),
which is used by the Imperial hotel for data management, negatively affects the performance
and efficiency of the staffs. Moreover, inefficient use of the IT assets provided by the hotel
affects the overall productivity (Aureli, et al., 2015).
Hotel reception of Imperial is open 24×7, and staffs work in three shifts, 8 hours each.
Therefore, staffs are responsible for passing down the necessary information to the next shift. It
has been observed that out-dated and improper information is passed that creates
misinterpretation and error (Qingguang, 2011). Additionally other departments such as
catering, room services etc. uses the information provided by the reception staffs. Several
conflicts have been observed within the departments regarding miscommunication and out-
dated information (Imperial Hotel, 2018), which either results in unnecessary usage of Hotel
resources and inconvenience to the customers. The dynamics of the reception team is also
under consideration, as per the observation there is blame culture in the department, which
leads to internal conflicts (Kee, et al., 2012).
3

Aforementioned are some of the major issues that require proper attention in order to improve
the performance and satisfy customers (Manhas, and Ramjit, 2011).
MANAGEMENT THEORY
To resolve the aforementioned issues, manager at Imperial Hotel can implement several
effective means that will eventually resolve the issues and motivate the staffs to be productive
(Hill, et al., 2014). There are several management theories available that can be applied for
improved performance and productivity, one of the most suitable theory is described below
(Angus, 2014):
Administrative Management Theory
As per Fayol H., in order to achieve the desired target and influence the employees to improve
their performance, the manager has to follow certain steps that require planning the structural
plan for the attainment of the goals (McLean, 2011). This includes organizing every aspect,
commanding the instructions to the reception staffs, coordinating them to perform the
assigned tasks, and controlling the performance by comparing actual performance with desired
performance and making necessary updates in the plan (Dalkir, 2013).
4

Figure 1: Principles of Administrative management theory
[Source: Author]
For better implementation of the plan, manager at Imperial Hotel can use a certain combination
of the principles defined by the Fayol H.
WORK DIVISION
 It implies that work must be properly
distributed among staffs of each shift
 Based on the capability and interest work can
be divided among staff members
(Mahmood,et al., 2012)
AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY  A perfect balance must be maintained between
the authority and responsibility by the
managers; staffs must be given sufficient rights
to perform a specific responsibility
 For instance, responsibility must be given to
specific staff members to convey the authentic
information to the different department and
5
Work Division Authority and
Responsibility Discipline Unity of
Command
Unity of
Direction Subordination Remuneration
of Personnel Centralization
Scalar Chain Order Equity Stability of
tenure
Initiative Esprit de
Corps

next shift (Sapru, 2013)
DISCIPLINE
 Discipline must be maintained within the
reception staffs, as this result in sustainable
performance
 A manager can use several methods to
maintain the discipline such as good
supervision, reward and punishment system
etc.
UNITY OF COMMAND
 It implies that, staffs must take orders from
single supervisor to minimize the
misinterpretation
UNITY OF DIRECTION
 It implies that the direction of information
must be well designed and known to each staff
 additionally, power must be given to single
authority to minimize the conflicts
SUBORDINATION
 It states that, organizational and individual
interests must be on the same page in order to
achieve organizational goals
 Additionally, manager must ensure that
employees give priority to organizational
interest more than individual interest
(Williams, 2013)
REMUNERATION OF PERSONNEL
 Reward system must be applied by Imperial
Hotel based on the performance of the
employees
 This motivate employees to put effort in their
work and be polite to others (Smit, et al., 2011)
CENTRALIZATION  It states that, the higher authority of the
reception department must be centralized to
6

the higher authority of the hotel
 This is essential for taking major decisions
SCALAR CHAIN
 A scalar chain must be maintained in the
Imperial Hotel where the flow of information is
from top to bottom (Smit, et al., 2011)
 However, implementing an upward approach
helps in providing necessary information to the
higher authority
ORDER
 It implies that, the position in the business
must be filled with the most suitable
employees
 Managers can allow the team and assign tasks
to the reception staffs based on their skills and
experience
EQUITY
 A level of equality must be maintained within
the department to minimize internal conflicts
 Additionally, manager can ensure that
unbiased decision and task allotment is done to
maintain the loyalty of the staff
STABILITY OF TENURE
 Employees perform effectively if they have job
security, this also save the time and investment
of the company for recruiting and training new
staffs
INITIATIVE
 It implies that, a level of freedom must be given
to the staff to carry out their personal plans,
instead of forming instructions on them
 This is also a form of motivation that can be
offered to the employees by the managers in
order to make them loyal to the business
7

ESPRIT DE CORPS
 It suggests that team spirit must be maintained
within the departments and teamwork must be
focused rather than individual performance
 Managers at Imperial Hotel can focus on team
bonding to minimize the conflicts and improve
the productivity (Martínez-Ros, and Orfila-
Sintes, 2012)
8

SUMMARY
Based on the study, it was analysed that before the restoration and redecoration programme
takes place in the Imperial Hotel, it is required to minimize the issues in the reception
department, to maintain customer satisfaction. It was found that Imperial Hotel is facing
significant losses, both financial and non-financial due to the lower performance of the
reception department. Major problems that are observed are, miscommunication with other
departments of the hotel, lack of knowledge regarding updated information like room
availability, track records and requirement of customers, and offers provided by the hotel.
Additionally, lack of technical knowledge and inefficiency to use the IT systems installed by the
Hotel management is another reason for lower performance that was detected.
Communicating with the adjacent shift is also essential since the hotel reception is open 24
hours, information like check in and check out details, customer's special requirement is some
necessary information that the staffs fail to deliver to the next shift. This raises the
inconvenience to the customers and negatively affects the name of the hotel (Rahimi, and
Gunlu, 2016).
Apart from this, it was also found that the entire structure of the staff reception of all the three
shifts was not properly designed, moreover blame culture has been used within the
department, that creates conflicts within the team members and misguide the team from their
objectives. Lack of motivation and internal politics within the department was also observed
that created a negative environment in the Hotel.
Resolving these issues will be a complex task to perform, and the manager has to imply
different principles of the aforementioned management theories to influence staffs to improve
their performance. Since the Imperial Hotel already provides different monetary and non-
monetary benefits to the employees, which includes providing a monetary reward to an
employee of the month within the organization and each department, conducting yearly parties
and handling college fees. Further improvement will be necessary, in the reward system, since
after several facilities reception staff lacks the motivation to improve (Rahimi, and Gunlu, 2016).
9

Forming a better culture and handling internal conflicts will be tricky for the manager, along
with restructuring the entire reception team. However, with the steady implication of a well-
defined plan and making necessary changes as the plan reaches different stages will provide
attainment of the desired goal i.e. to resolve the front house staff issues.
KEY PROPOSAL FOR PROBLEM-SOLVING
Form analysing the entire aspect of the Imperial hotel, there are several steps that can be taken
by their manager to achieve the desired performance level. Based on the key problems
following are some suggestions that can be applied:
 The initial issue is lack of technical skills found in reception staffs that increases the time
consumption for performing assigned tasks; for resolving this, technical training
sessions can be started by the Hotel management that will train the staff members with
the software and IT assets provided by the hotel management (Ip, et al., 2011).
Additionally based on the performance in the training session manager can apply work
division principle, according to which, tasks must be assigned to any specific staff
member to assist their team members during minor issues (Bardach, and Patashnik,
2015).
 For reducing the flow of wrong information within the departments in Imperial Hotel,
and to minimizing the blame culture that is strongly practised within the team, the
manager can apply unity of command principle along with authority and responsibility
principle described in the administrative management theory. This will provide
responsibility of communicating legit information to required departments and will
have the authority to use proper means of communication and information gathering.
Additionally, since the entire team will report to single supervisor it will be easy to
detect the flaw in the process and based on this necessary improvement can be made
(Park, and Allen, 2013).
 As there are several conflicts within the department, team building skills are also
required in the reception department; In order to do so, the manager can arrange
10

several group activity with the help of human resource department to improve the
bonding between staff members.
 Even after providing various rewards to the reception staffs, there is lack of motivation
among them; this directs the administration towards reviewing the team bonus
scheme. To improve the current bonus scheme, few alterations can be made, such as
instead of bounding the reward for an employee of the month with monetary services,
rewards can be based on the requirement of the staff i.e. either extra leave or bonus.
Moreover, by applying the principle of administrative management theory, which
suggests providing job security and a certain amount of freedom to the employees
during the workplace can motivate them to become loyal towards their work (Park, and
Allen, 2013)
11

CONCLUSION
The hotel business is dependent on customer satisfaction, to ensure this aspect; Imperial Hotel
has to continuously work towards the improvement of the issues that are detected in the
different department. As analysed in the aforementioned module, several issues have been
detected in the front of house staff, which was not only negatively affecting the image of the
hotel but also creating a negative work environment. Issues mentioned by various other
departments were taken under consideration along with the observation made by the newly
appointed manager. All the problems are analysed from a different angle and based on the
administrative management theory, its principles are used for evaluating the outcome.
After a brief summary of the entire study, based on the management theory, key proposals are
mentioned in detail. The entire proposal focuses on solving individual problems that are
detected during the study. Therefore, from the entire module it can be concluded that, by
effectively considering and applying the aforementioned proposal, results can be seen in less
than a year, which will eventually result in satisfactory services and improved image of Imperial
Hotel.
12

REFERENCES
1. Angus C. F., Kwok. 2014, The Evolution of Management Theories: A Literature Review.
Nang Yan Business Journal. 3. 10.1515/nybj-2015-0003.
2. Aureli, S., Forlani, F. and Pencarelli, T., 2015. Network brand management. Issues and
opportunities for small-sized hotels. International Journal of Management Cases, 17(4).
3. Bardach, E. and Patashnik, E.M., 2015. A practical guide for policy analysis: The eightfold
path to more effective problem solving. CQ press.
4. Buff Scott, B., 2014, The Keys to Effective Problem Management, [online available at:
https://www.thinkhdi.com/library/supportworld/2014/effective-prob-mgmt.aspx] [last
accessed on: 2 June 2018]
5. Dalkir, K., 2013. Knowledge management in theory and practice. Routledge.
6. Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014. Strategic management: theory: an
integrated approach. Cengage Learning.
7. Imperial Hotel, 2018, FAQ, [online available at:
https://www.imperialhotels.co.uk/en/faq] [last accessed on: 2 June 2018]
8. Ip, C., Leung, R. and Law, R., 2011. Progress and development of information and
communication technologies in hospitality. International journal of contemporary
hospitality management, 23(4), pp.533-551.
9. Kandampully, J., Zhang, T. and Bilgihan, A., 2015. Customer loyalty: a review and future
directions with a special focus on the hospitality industry. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(3), pp.379-414.
10. Kee, H.P., Low, P.W., Ooi, C.K., Sam, M.K. and Teng, C.H., 2012. A study on the impacts
towards the loyalty of the employee among the back of house staffs in hotel industry
(Doctoral dissertation, UTAR).
11. Mahmood, Z., Basharat, M. and Bashir, Z., 2012. Review of Classical Management
Theories. International Journal of Social Sciences & Education, 2(1).
13

12. Manhas, P.S. and Ramjit, J., 2011. CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS OF SERVICE QUALITY IN
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY: IMPORTANCE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS. JOURNAL OF
TOURISM. RESEARCH.
13. Martínez-Ros, E. and Orfila-Sintes, F., 2012. Training plans, manager's characteristics and
innovation in the accommodation industry. International Journal of Hospitality
Management, 31(3), pp.686-694.
14. McLean, J., 2011. Fayol-standing the test of time. Manager, p.32.
15. Nicholls, R., 2011. Customer-to-customer interaction (CCI): a cross-cultural perspective.
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 23(2), pp.209-223.
16. Park, S.Y. and Allen, J.P., 2013. Responding to online reviews: Problem solving and
engagement in hotels. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54(1), pp.64-73.
17. Qingguang, G.U.O., 2011. SDC Analysis on Hotel Lodgings Reception Ability during High
and Low Tourist Seasons [J]. Journal of Wuyi University, 6, p.007.
18. Rahimi, R. and Gunlu, E., 2016. Implementing Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) in hotel industry from organizational culture perspective: Case of a chain hotel in
the UK. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(1), pp.89-
112.
19. Sapru, R.K., 2013. Administrative theories and management thought. PHI Learning Pvt.
Ltd..
20. Smit, P.J., Cronje, G.D., Brevis, T. and Vrba, M.J. eds., 2011. Management principles: a
contemporary edition for Africa. Juta and Company Ltd.
21. Williams, C., 2013. Principles of management. South-Western Cengage Learning.
14