LDRS 612 - Leading Change & Innovation: Hard Rock Casino Vancouver

This report examines the dysfunctional aspects of Hard Rock Casino Vancouver's traditional working culture, addressing issues like employee strikes and their negative impact. It assesses the organization's strengths and weaknesses using the STAR model, providing detailed solutions to resolve organizational issues and restore smooth operations. The report covers the company's mission, vision, values, core business areas (gaming, lottery, e-gaming), and innovations in player experience. It also explores the relationship between organizational and individual innovativeness, including new communication strategies for vulnerable customers and simplified service delivery, emphasizing employee satisfaction and engagement. Furthermore, the report identifies weaknesses in the organizational design and proposes a new approach with infrastructural changes and policy decisions, concluding with a discussion of the challenges involved in implementing these changes.

Running head: LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
Leadership in Business
Student’s Name
University Name
Author’s Name

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
1. Organisation’s Innovations....................................................................................................3
1.1 Mission.............................................................................................................................3
1.2 Vision...............................................................................................................................4
1.3 Values...............................................................................................................................4
1.4 Core Business Areas.........................................................................................................4
1.4.1 Gaming Facilities.......................................................................................................4
1.4.2 Lottery........................................................................................................................4
1.4.3 e-Gaming...................................................................................................................5
1.5 Innovations in the Player Experience...............................................................................5
2. Relations between Organisational and Individual Innovativeness.........................................6
2.1 New communication strategies for communicating with vulnerable customers..............6
2.2 Delivering simplified Seamless Service...........................................................................7
2.2 Employee Satisfaction......................................................................................................7
2.2.1 Employee Engagement..............................................................................................8
3. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Organisational Design......................................................9
Applicability of star model on Hard Rock Casino.................................................................9
Situation..............................................................................................................................9
Task...................................................................................................................................10
Action and results.............................................................................................................11

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Need for change in Hard Rock Casino.................................................................................11
4.0 New Approach towards the organisational design.............................................................13
Infrastructural Changes and changes in the policy decisions...............................................13
4.1 Alterations in the STAR model as an outcome of Organisational Change....................15
4.3.1 Situation...................................................................................................................15
4.3.2 Task..........................................................................................................................16
4.3.3 Action.......................................................................................................................16
5. Challenges for introducing the New Changes......................................................................16
Conclusion................................................................................................................................16

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Introduction
The report discusses the current dysfunctional ties in the scope of the traditional working
culture of the Hard Rock Casino of Vancouver. Employees strike and other issues have cast a
negative impact upon the organisation. The current strengths and weaknesses of the
organisation have been assessed by implementing the STAR model. Detailed prescriptions
for eradicating the organisational issue in the company and resuming smooth business have
also been provided in the scope of this assignment.
1. Organisation’s Innovations
1.1 Mission
The HardRock Casino Vancouver is conducting and managing gambling with a mannerism of
social responsibility by indulging into the needs of the American Citizens. The Casino offers
exclusive and innovative gambling entertainment by means of the following facilities. These
are:
Figure1: Facilities at the HardRock Casino Vancouver
facilities
National &
Provincial
Lotteries
Commercial
Bingo
Online
Gambling
Casino
Gambling

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(Source: hardrockcasinovancouver.com, (2018)
1.2 Vision
Gambling is perceived and publicised as an exclusive entertainment meant for the adults.
Clarity of operations is complimentary to the policies of the HardRock Casino Vancouver.
1.3 Values
Integrity and Social Responsibility are two primary values of the organisation. The games
offered by the organisation at the Casino and the policies and regulatory principles followed
by the company in its business strategies are fair, honest, trustworthy and straightforward.
Every action and business strategy undertaken by the policy makers of the company are
considered on that basis of the impact that it creates towards the people, society as well as the
communities in the country (hardrockcasinovancouver.com, 2018).
Fore mostly, the organisation operates with due respect to the players, the workers, the
service providers and other internal and external stakeholders.
1.4 Core Business Areas
1.4.1 Gaming Facilities
The HRCV is primarily associated with conducting and managing gambling in the casinos,
alongside race source casinos. There are also community gaming zones besides bingo halls
for commercial playing. The company have strategic partnership with private sector
companies who are liable for providing and managing the facilities. These private companies
in collaboration with the HRCV also gain a percentage of the winnings accumulated as a
result of the games held in the casino (hardrockcasinovancouver.com, 2018).
1.4.2 Lottery

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The organisation have nearly 4,000 centres run by retailer franchises of the private sector
who sells lottery tickets on behalf of the organisation. The agencies who are indulged into
selling the lottery tickets on behalf of the company gain a standard commission on the basis
of the number of lottery products sold by them.
1.4.3 e-Gaming
Blue-Bat gamers is the tertiary partner of the Hard-Rock Casino Vancouver liable to offer the
customers with options of e-Games. The games are lottery games regulated by the service
providers, sports betting, e-Bingo, e-Poker and other games. The game service providers who
regulate the games under the banner name of the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver and supply
and update the game software gain in form of commissions and/or license fees. The company
also provides business to business facilities to other vendors like Manitoba lotteries, by
managing online lottery portals for the Manitoba Lotteries (hardrockcasinovancouver.com,
2018).
The Finance Control, IT technology office and the sales and marketing division of the
organisation is located in Vancouver. The company has also posted field staff for operations,
supervision and promotion of the services, facilities, and franchises.
1.5 Innovations in the Player Experience
 Facility to play anytime and anywhere
The customers of HardRock Casino gets access to online lottery and online games anywhere
through a simple click on their mobile. The web platform of the company operated by tertiary
service providers Blue-Bat Games gives instant access to online lottery tickets in a single
moment. According to Arnone and Meyerhofer (2017), online gaming portals which gives
quick access are often unsecure and used by fraudsters. However, the games of HardRock
Casino, Vancouver is reputed for secured and regulated online games. The mobile website for

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customers is highly optimised. Since 2013-14, as Arnone and Meyerhofer (2017), reports, the
number of new players using the online portals have increased considerably. This is only
because of the prompt online service of the company.
 New Technological Innovations
A customer is who is standing at the cash counter of the grocery stores might wish at that
moment for purchasing a ticket of the Jackpot Lottery of that night. The amazing
technological innovation and expertise of the company allows the customer to book ticket
from the same pin pad. According to Cuddy and Boese (2015), this is a specimen of the use
of new disruptive technology, courtesy to the spirit of adaptive and innovative culture at the
Hard Rock Casino Vancouver (hardrockcasinovancouver.com, 2018). This is an exclusive
seamless facility that enables the customers to purchase tickets at any point of time. This has
a subtle add-on advantage. Often customers are not up with the mind-set of purchasing the
tickets of the lottery. However, they reported that initially they did not have the plan of
purchasing the tickets. The convenience of the service attracted them to buy tickets.
 New Casino Experience
The Casino assumed its services since 2013. Then onwards the number of customers have
increased largely. The customers are of varying age groups. There are young customer of age
25 to 30 years, alongside people who are 60 to 70 years old. This place is one of the most
popular playing joint among players. According to the ideas of Strange (2015), the promotion
of such organisations happens largely over word of mouth. The amount of fame that the
organisation have received, is an outcome of the words of mouth publicity of the satisfied
customers.
2. Relations between Organisational and Individual Innovativeness
2.1 New communication strategies for communicating with vulnerable customers

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On field staff from the Hard Rock casino group take up the responsibility of
communicating with the new players. Random customers are handed out scratch cards, which
bears two questions that might be answered in either true or false. This temps the players and
evokes their interest to participate in the lotteries. According to Lee et al. (2018), the On field
teams are constantly engaged in conducting market research for researching new and
innovative avenues of approaching customers. The organisation promotes gambling with a
light-heartedness. The customers mostly of whom they engage, adapts to gambling for time
pass or casual entertainment (hardrockcasinovancouver.com, 2018).
2.2 Delivering simplified Seamless Service
The Software services manager of the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver has announced
the launch of some new lottery and gaming facilities. These news services would offer the
Canadians a guaranteed prize of $1 Million that can be won with each attempt. Along with
that the company is launching newer free to play prizes to be won by the Canadian players.
This game is simple in its outlook and is equally easy to play, requiring only two numbers to
be matched. The introduction of the new guaranteed prize giving of $1 Million each week, is
bound to create more millionaires every week. Accounting to the players, it is a seamless
transition. However, as Elias and Garfield (2016), sees it, the technical assistance team of the
company is bearing an overload for enabling the players to carry on lucid gaming. Seven of
the internal technology facilities and five of the player-facing machines (both e-service and
traditional service) are going through up gradation, whereby the various tertiary software
companies are working in cooperation with the technical assistance teams of the company
itself.
2.2 Employee Satisfaction

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The Employees at Hard Rock Casino Vancouver arte the heart of service.
Approximately around 900 people are engaged in the Vancouver office of Hard Rock Casino
(hardrockcasinovancouver.com, 2018). Alongside, 27000 people are appointed in the form of
direct and indirect service providers at Vancouver. The organisation also follows a unique
employee engagement policy.
A tertiary market research company manages the employees of the company and
manoeuvres the internal policy of the organisation. The organisation has many internal
policies that helps to inspire the employees. According to Argyropoulos et al. (2017), one of
the principle motive of the Human Resource department of the company is to simplify the job
roles for the employees. This has a twofold impact on the organisational performance. Firstly,
the company has to invest more on human resource and organisational setup. However, in
contrast, this helps to instil a better understanding of the job role in the employees which in
turn results in increased productivity. The organisation also has a personal development
scope for the employees. Along with aptitude and Job Role training they also offer attractive
compensation packages to retain the employees in critical job roles. Again, Roberts (2015),
states that the community investment campaign of the organisation promotes the sense of
social wellness among the employees. Contribution from the corporate management’s end as
well as the individual employee’s end is equally invincible for the organisational success.
2.2.1 Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is a direct matrix that reflects the employees’ hard work and
sense of liability towards the organisation’s success. According to the ideas of Li (2018), a
highly engaged workforce can help an organisation associated with the sector of public
entertainment to render better and higher quality service, giving customers true value to their
time and money.

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Another measure of the satisfaction level of the employees in Hard Rock Casino,
Vancouver is the Employee Vacancy rate. In the fiscal year 2016-17 the organisation
demonstrated huge success by maintaining a lower than speculated employee vacancy level
(hardrockcasinovancouver.com, 2018).
Talent appraisal is a popular policy across the organisation. This provides the
employees a faster chance of getting promotions.
3. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Organisational Design
The Hard Rock Casino of Vancouver is a significant outlet of the brand in British
Columbia. This is why celebrity gatherings are a great strength of this outlet that can attract
customers’ and aggravate sales in the outlet. The Hard Rock Casino of Vancouver uses a
functional organisation structure. This helps them to group similar people with same kind of
work skills and experience under one department. As per Li, Kim and Zhao (2017), this is the
cause behind progressive organisational output. This is also beneficial for making the
employees experts in their respective fields.
Applicability of star model on Hard Rock Casino
The personnel of Hard Rock Casino use the star model for executing the interviews.
As a matter of specification, frameworks are developed, where policies are an integral part.
The managers of the Casino play an important part in developing the policies for regulating
the behaviour of the staffs (Galbraith, 2014). The basic components under this theoretical
consideration are situation, task, action and result.
Situation
The layout of the model clearly defines the functional organizational structure, which the
casino follows. Rewards are used for luring the candidates towards the business activities of

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the casino. This is in terms of maintaining the pace with the altering business scenario and the
requirements. Strategies are used for systematizing the business activities. Meetings are
organized for assessing the effectiveness, feasibility and appropriateness of the developed
strategies. Within the meetings, the managers take special care to ensure that there is link
between the policies (Ulrich, 2015). This is to disseminate the important messages to the
staffs. Adopting different type of strategies broadens the scope and arena of the
organizational structure. Here, alignment between the policies is a strength in terms of
enhancing the productivity.
Culture is also one of an important aspect in this context. Ethical code of conduct is
used for preserving the workplace culture of the casino. Inspections prove effective in
reducing the instances of conflicts, discriminations and harassments. This issues are
weaknesses, which stall the productivity. In order to deal with the weaknesses, the casino
personnel attempts to implement policies for countering the integrated organizational
structure (Gobble, 2015). Mention can be made of centralization, which has enhanced the
stability in the relationship between the different units of the casino. However, centralization
has fragmented the responses of the casino staffs, which has attached an interrogative
parameter to the productivity.
Wage issue is the biggest challenge, which the cafe is undergoing at the present stage.
The workers, for expressing their opposition towards the inadequate salaries, are holding
strikes. Under such situation, the managers are in intense pressure in terms of maintaining the
balance between the internal and the external activities. Along with this, inadequate games
have decreased the passion of the customers towards the services of the casino. This has
adversely affected the sales revenue and profit margin (Miterev, Mancini & Turner, 2017).
Task

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Adopting social media marketing has proved beneficial for the casino in terms of
increasing the trafficking of the audience towards the brand image. Along with this, social
media has enabled the staffs to maintain the balance between the supply and demand. This
ability has enhanced the transparency in the business activities, which is an efficient means
for adding to the customer base. Apart from this, designing policies and rewards reflect the
consciousness towards mitigating the differences in the units. Interactive sessions, for this
purpose, have acted as an evaluation for the casino personnel regarding the achievement of
the identified and specified goals (Pereira et al., 2016). Within the policies, inclusion of the
incentives was one of the main propositions. This was to lure more number of candidates.
The aim of incentives was also to retain the staffs.
Action and results
Drafts of the minute meetings and plans were sent to the Director for gaining his
approval. A meeting was organized where presentation was carried out for briefing the
director about the policies and plans. SMART objective of the plans and procedures resulted
in the approval from the director. This was an indication for progressing with the plans and
strategies.
Need for change in Hard Rock Casino
Currently, the staffs of Hard Rock Casino are looking for salary hikes. This is for
getting value for the hard work, which they are doing for taking the casino to the peak of
success. For this, the stability needs to be restored within the functional units. This would
result in the collaborative output, needed for developing policies and plans (Benn, Edwards &
Williams, 2014). Involving the staffs in the decision-making process would be fruitful in
terms of catering to their needs, demands and requirements. Here, consciousness needs to be
projected towards their individual sentiments, which if affected would destroy the purpose of