The Response of Hospitality Sector to COVID-19 and Crisis Management Practices: A Case Study on Ritz London

This research proposal investigates the response of hospitality sector to COVID-19 and crisis management practices. A case study on Ritz London. It aims to understand the concept of crisis management, assess the impact of COVID-19 on the operations of Ritz London, and develop crisis management practices to respond towards the impact of the COVID-19.

PHigher National in Hospitality Management
Unit 18 Research Project
RESEARCH PROPOSAL FORM
STUDENT DETAILS
Section One : Research Title, Aim and Objectives
Research Title: Topic: The response of hospitality sector to COVID-19 and crisis management
practices. A case study on Ritz London
Research Aim
“To investigate the response of hospitality sector to COVID-19 and crisis management practices”. A
case study on Ritz London.
Research Objectives
 To understand the concept of crisis management.
 To assess the impact of COVID-19 on the operations of Ritz London.
 To develop crisis management practices to respond towards the impact of the COVID-19.
Research Questions
 What is the concept of crisis management?
 What is the impact of COVID-19 on the operations of Ritz London?
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 What are the crisis management practices are used to respond towards the impact of the
COVID-19?
Section Two: Research Rationale and Scope
Rationale/Justification for the Topic:
The main reason to perform the current study is to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the
operations of hospitality sector and their response in terms of crisis management practices. Further,
the study will prove helpful in order to develop significant crisis management strategies to mitigate
the negative impact of the pandemic. Additionally, the research project will allow the investigator to
develop significant knowledge base on crisis management with an aim to contribute in future
success of the company. In personal context, the research study will enhance my communication
skills, presentation skills, time management skills and more. These skills will prove useful in
upliftment of my future career.
Research Scope:
The present study has wide scope of developing knowledge regarding crisis management.
The study focused on Ritz London. To conduct the study, response has been gathered from ample of
individual respondents. For this purpose, the samples have been selected from the employees of the
respective company. In addition to this, various theories and themes have also been discussed in the
present report.
Section three : Preliminary Literature Review
According to Burhan and et. al., (2021), Crisis management refers to the strategies which are
designed with an aim to make the organization enable to cope up with the sudden changes. A crisis
can be occurred due to unpredictable events or uncertain impact of certain events which include
potential amount of risks. In business, it is common to face the uncertainties. The business
organizations have to face several uncertain events which have direct impact on their functioning.
Crisis management refers to an art in order to deal with the uncertain events. Additionally, the crisis
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management is helpful in dealing with the unexpected and sudden changes efficiently.
Impact of COVID-19 on the operations of Ritz London
According to Pavlatos, Kostakis and Digkas, (2021), it is analyzed that the COVID-19 put a major
impact on the functions of each and every country. Due to the pandemic, the company has laid off
several staff members which put a direct impact on their operations. Additionally, it is monitored
that they have been increased the cleanliness and hygiene requirements within the premises. Further,
they are required to focus on quality of services with an aim to provide better experience to guests.
Apart from this, it is analyzed that the sales & revenue of the organization has been minimized due
to the impact of COVID-19.
Crisis management practices are used to respond towards the impact of the COVID-19
According to (Booyens and et. al., (2021), it is monitored that several crisis management practices
are used for the hospitality organization to mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19. The
pandemic has been increased the uncertainties that has direct impact on the functions of the
company. Here, crisis management practices can be used by the organization to deal with the impact
of the pandemic. By implementing crisis management, it is possible to deal with the ambiguity
efficiently. This will help the respective business organization to mitigate the impact of pandemic in
an efficient manner.
Section Four: Overview of Research Methodology:
It is one of the most essential parts of the overall research work. Research methodology is a
step by step process of collecting, interoperating and analyzing the information. The major elements
of research methodology are mentioned below:
Research Philosophy: Research philosophy refers to the beliefs of respondents on a specific topic.
It is related to collecting and analyzing the information in an efficient manner. Interpretivism and
positivism are two research philosophies (Huang, Fang and Chen, 2017). Out of these two,
positivism philosophy has been selected in current context. Through this, it is possible to evaluate
the data using quantitative and numerical techniques to get effective research results in the future
period of time.
Research approach: Two crucial research approaches are deductive and inductive. For present
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study, deductive approach is taken into consideration as it is helpful in assessing the information in
quantitative form. With this, it is possible to evaluate the data within minimum period of time &
cost. Additionally, it helps in drawing valid and justified conclusion in significant manner.
Research strategy: Research strategy signifies the plans and procedure to conduct the research on a
particular topic. There are several forms of research strategies can be used during research work.
These research strategies are survey, questionnaire, case study, experiment and more (Smith and et.
al., 2017). For the purpose of existing study, survey research study is taken into consideration as it
will help the investigator in gathering the detailed and in-depth information in significant manner.
Research choice: In research study, quantitative and qualitative two research choices can be
adopted. Both methods are highly important with an aim to collect the wide range of information on
a particular topic (Leedy and Ormrod, 2019). In context of the present research work, quantitative
method is important as it will make the researcher enable to make valuable inferences in the future
period of time.
Data collection: Data is a crucial part of research as it allows the investigator to draw meaningful
outcomes significantly. Primary and secondary are the two major sources of research study which
are mentioned below:
Primary data collection: In primary data collection, information is taken out from original sources.
Here, the information is completely raw and first handed. Primary information is authentic as it is
collected by the researcher without intervention of any external source. However, collecting the
primary data is a time taking process (Brown and Tidy, 2019). In the given context, primary
information will be taken out from the employees of Ritz London. Here, the response will be
gathered from 30 respondents to make future inferences.
Secondary data collection: In secondary data collection, information is extracted from the external
sources. It helps in collecting detailed & in-depth information in an efficient manner. For present
study, the data has been collected from various sources like websites, articles, publications and
more. This will help in collecting the information within limited period of time.
Time horizon: While conducting a research, it is important to determine the time period. By
determining the time period, it is possible to complete the research work in timely manner. For the
present study, cross sectional time horizon method has been used so that the pre-defined research
goals can be attained.
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Sampling: It refers to including the adequate number of units to formulate a research sample.
Probability and non-probability are the two major sampling techniques which are used by the
researcher to get efficient results in future. In current context, probability sampling technique has
been used as it will help in including fair and true samples to accomplish the pre-defined research
goals. In current context 30 respondents have been selected as the sample for future betterment.
Ethical Aspect of Study
See Ethics Form below
SECTION FIVE: BREAKDOWN OF ACTIVITIES AND TIMESCALE
Gantt chart: In project management, it is a useful tool of project management. It is a graphical tool
wherein starting, ending date, roles & responsibilities of project team are taken into consideration.
The main goal of gantt chart is to minimize the complexities of project so that the entire project
work can be completed in timely manner. It also comprises schedule, starting and ending date of
project with an aim to accomplish the project work significantly (Daniel, 2018). In this context, the
gantt chart is mentioned below:
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List of References : References used so far (using Harvard referencing style)
Burhan and et. al., 2021. Crisis management in the hospitality sector SMEs in Pakistan during
COVID-19. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 98, p.103037.
Pavlatos, O., Kostakis, H. and Digkas, D., 2021. Crisis management in the Greek hotel industry in
response to COVID-19 pandemic. Anatolia, 32(1), pp.80-92.
Booyens and et. al., 2021. Covid-19 Crisis Management Responses of Small Tourism Firms in South
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Africa. Tourism Review International.
Huang, R., Fang, Y. and Chen, X., 2017. Chinese lesson study: A deliberate practice, a research
methodology, and an improvement science. International Journal for Lesson and Learning
Studies.
Smith and et. al., 2017. Proposing an initiative research methodology for LGBTQ+ youth: Photo-
elicitation and thematic analysis. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 11(4), pp.271-284.
Leedy, P.D. and Ormrod, J.E., 2019. Practical research: Planning and design. Pearson. One Lake
Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458.
Brown, B.H. and Tidy, J.A., 2019. The diagnostic accuracy of colposcopy–a review of research
methodology and impact on the outcomes of quality assurance. European Journal of
Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 240, pp.182-186.
Daniel, B.K., 2018. Contestable professional academic identity of those who teach research
methodology. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 41(5), pp.548-561.
Student Declaration
I confirm that the proposed Research Project is not work that has been or will be submitted for
another qualification or by another student and is appropriate:
Student Name and Signature: Date:
Comments and Agreement from Tutor
Comments:
I confirm that the project is not work that has been or will be submitted for another qualification and
is appropriate:
Agreed: (Name) (Date)
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SectionOne:Basicdetails
ProjectTitle:
Research ethics approval form
All students conducting research activity that involves human participants or the
use of data, collected from human participants, may be required to gain ethical
approval before commencing their research. Please answer all relevant questions
and note that your form may be returned if incomplete.
For further support and guidance please see your Unit Tutor.
Before completing this form, we advise that you discuss your proposed research fully with your
Unit Tutor. Please complete this form in good time before your research project is due to
commence.
Student Details
Student Name Student ID
Section Two: Project summary
Please select all research methods that you plan to use as part of your project:
Interviews
Questionnaires
Observations
Use of Personal Records
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Data Analysis
Action Research
Focus Groups
Other (please specify)
Section Three: Participants
Will your research involve human participants? Yes
Who are the participants? Tick all that apply
Ages 12-16 Adults:
How will participants be recruited (identified and approached)?
Describe the process you will use to inform participants about what you are
doing:
How will you obtain consent from participants? Will this be written? How will it
be made clear to participants that they may withdraw consent to participate at
any time?
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No
Young people aged 17-18:

Studies involving questionnaires: Will participants be given the option of omitting
questions they do not wish to answer?
Yes:
If No, please explain why below and ensure that you cover any ethical issues
arising from this:
Studies involving observation: Confirm whether participants will be asked for their
informed consent to be approved.
Yes:
Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation? (e.g. give them a brief
explanation of the study)
Yes:
Will participants be given information about the findings of your study? (This could be
a summary of your findings generally)
Yes:
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No:
No:
No:
No:

Section Four: Data storage and security
Confirm that all personal data will be stored and processed in compliance with
the Data Protection Act (1998)
Yes:
Who will have access to the data and personal information?
During the research
Where will the data be stored?
Will mobile devices, such as USB storage and laptops, be used?
Yes:
If yes, please provide further details:
After the research
Where will the data be stored?
How long will the data and records be kept, and in what format?
Will the data be kept for use by other researchers?
Yes:
If yes, please provide further details:
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No:
No:
No:

Section Five: Ethical issues
Are there any particular features of your proposed work which may raise ethical
concerns? If so, please outline how you will deal with these:
It is important that you demonstrate your awareness of potential risks that may
arise as a result of your research. Please consider/address all issues that may
apply. Ethical concerns may include, but are not limited to the following:
• informed consent
• potentially vulnerable participants
• sensitive topics
• risks to participants and/or researchers
• confidentiality/anonymity
• disclosures/limits to confidentiality
• data storage and security, both during and after the research (including
transfer, sharing, encryption, protection)
• reporting
• dissemination and use of your findings.
Section Six: Declaration
I have read, understood, and will abide by the [Nelson College London ]
Research Ethics Policy:
Yes:
I have discussed the ethical issues relating to my research with my tutor:
Yes:
I confirm that, to the best of my knowledge, the above information is correct and that this is a full
description of the ethical issues that may arise in the course of my/our research.
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No:
No:

Student Name(s) Date
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