Improving Employee Performance: A Case Study of Imperial Hotel

This report presents an analysis of the performance management challenges faced by the Imperial Hotel, a 4-star establishment experiencing issues with employee performance, particularly in the housekeeping department. The study identifies problems such as inadequate staffing, lack of training, and non-compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as key contributors to customer dissatisfaction and reduced profitability. The report applies the expectancy theory to assess the situation, highlighting the importance of training and development programs and incentive schemes to motivate employees and improve performance. It justifies the implementation of a training and development plan to educate staff on SOPs and the integration of performance-based incentives to foster motivation and a competitive work environment. The conclusion emphasizes the need for effective staff management to enhance customer satisfaction and improve the hotel's overall performance and reputation.

INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT
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Executive Summary
The aspect of employee performance is a core factor for an organisation to perform in an
adequate manner. Through the aid of this aspect, appropriate management can be conducted for
the proper functioning of an organisation. This study highlights the various aspect of the hotel
industry upon which these factors are dependent upon. In this study, problems faced by Imperial
Hotel have been through identified accessed through the aid of performance management theory.
The importance of training and development program along with the integration of an incentives
scheme has been provided in this study. It would provide adequate motivation and the required
knowledge through which better performance can be achieved by the hotel.
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Problems faced by Imperial Hotel...................................................................................................3
Assessment of problems faced by Imperial Hotel in accordance to performance management
theory...............................................................................................................................................4
Analysis of the impact of Training and Development at Imperial Hotel........................................6
Justification of key solutions...........................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................9
Personal Reflection........................................................................................................................11
Appendix........................................................................................................................................12
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Introduction
Specific key areas of management are required to be paid adequate attention in order for an
organisation to operate in a proper manner. Inability to cater to these aspects has lead to the
current problems faced by the Imperial Hotel. It is a 4-star hotel operated by the Star Hotels
Company which has operated for nearly 100 years. This hotel caters to various customers and the
key source is revenue is garnered from tourists and international business. However, the hotel
has been facing quite a few problems in its operations. Among them, inadequate staffing and
lack of training and development program have made the staff careless to the basic rules and
regulations. This has been causing sufficient lack of customer satisfaction and its impact has
been felt it the profitability garnered from the overall revenue. Previous counter action plans
have failed to bring any significant changes because of the huge financial strain and estimated
loss. The aspect of poor operation along with an increase in operating cost has been highlighted
in this study. Through the aid of this study, the root cause of the problem in the department of
housekeeping has been adequately identified so that proper solutions can be formulated.
Therefore, this study would provide adequate assessment through which the Imperial Hotel can
not only enhance its rate of productivity but also gain back its reputation in the hotel industry by
providing effective services.
Problems faced by Imperial Hotel
The Imperial Hotel has been in functioning for quite a long amount of time. This hotel consists
of about 400-500 rooms which are overseen by the six administrative departments of the hotel.
However, with the rate of increase expectation from customers as well as new competition in the
market, the hotel has been suffering from a few problems. One of the core problems that have
been identified by the Imperial Hotel is lack of proper functioning by the back house staff. This
is due to the lack of following proper rules and regulations as per the standards of the hotel.
According to the opinion of Christopher (2016), proper management is the core requirement for
any organisation. The Imperial Hotel has been suffering due to the lack of these aspects. The
staffs of the hotel have also been failing to keep up to the basic Standard Operating Procedure,
also known as SOPS which is a must for every hotel. Due to the failure of these aspects, the
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hotel's annual revenue rate along with its reputation has been suffering a lot. Therefore, it is
utmost necessary to integrate adequate strategies for the improvement of staff functioning so that
the problems can be eliminated as fast as possible.
Assessment of problems faced by Imperial Hotel in accordance to
performance management theory
There are several standards for basic housekeeping which falls under SOPS. As opined by
Armstrong and Taylor (2014), starting from cleaning to maintenance are all important tasks
undertaken by the housekeeping along with kitchen and maintenance department. However, the
back house staffs of Imperial Hotel have been failing to comply with the set standards. For
instance, one of the most common tasks which fall under the housekeeping department is making
beds for guests. This process requires seven to eight steps starting from removing the old linen to
adjusting the new one (Scarborough, 2016). However, as the housekeeping staff has failed to
oblige these basic standards, therefore the implementation of training and development program
is a must through which the staff can be made aware of the SOPS and adequate training would
provide them with the necessary guidelines through which effective tasks can be performed.
Therefore, through the aid of performance management theory, this aspect can be thoroughly
accessed.
Among the performance management theories, expectancy theory is the best suited for
assessing this study. The lack of effective performance may be the result of various aspects such
as the lack of proper incentives or not enough motivation (Leary and Baumeister, 2017).
Therefore, through the aid of expectancy theory, an organisation can set appropriate goals and
objectives through which it can achieve the desired result. Not only individual motivation can be
enhanced but also the rate of overall performance. According to the expectancy theory, without
adequate motivation, the rate of performance cannot be enhanced in any organisation. As per the
view of Reeve (2014), adequate rewards or compensations are required in order for the work to
be done in a proper manner.
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Figure 1: Main components of expectancy theory
(Source: changingminds.org, 2018)
According to the expectancy theory, the problem faced by the Imperial Hotel has been
thoroughly accessed. The root cause of the problem is due to inadequate training and
development program within the organisation. This aspect has creates not only lack of adequate
knowledge required for proper functioning of the organisation but also miscommunication within
the organisation. Thus, not only is the progress of the staff improving nor are the problems
getting solved. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to integrate this theory in the practical
functioning of the hotel so that it can benefit from it. According to Boella (2017), in order to
motivate the employees for performing well, reward and return policy would prove to be very
effective. Not only will be the problems be eliminated but the rate of performance can be
enhanced as well.
This policy can be integrated with that of an incentive scheme through which the employees
would be kept motivated so that their rate of performance can be kept up to the mark. The
Imperial Hotel is required to take a strategic measurement to eliminate the problems faced in the
housekeeping department along with kitchen staffing and maintenance department. It is of
utmost importance to integrate a training and development program so that the housekeeping and
other back house departments understand the importance of standard guidelines. A progressive
training and development program will provide the necessary information to the staff members
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and their work productivity would not be hampered as well (Pereira-Moliner et al. 2015). All the
rules and regulations would be set accordingly so that respective departments can completely
understand their tasks.
Analysis of the impact of Training and Development at Imperial Hotel
An organisation is dependent on various factors upon whose its functioning depends upon.
Factors such as employee and customer satisfaction are two of the main focus upon which the
reputation of a company massively depends on. As regarded by Scarborough (2016), the vision
and focus of an organisation are needed to be clear so that this aspect can be reached without
many ordeals. The main problem within the organisation of the Imperial Hotel is lack of a
training and development program due to which more than half of the staff are following
according to the rules and regulation standards of the hotel. Lack of adequate motivation has also
been identified as another cause through the aid of expectancy theory. Therefore, the integration
of a training and development program would not only spread awareness within the
organisational staff but also motivate to perform in accordance with that.
Figure 2: Impact of training and development
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(Source: managementhelp.org, 2018)
One of the major impacts of a training and development program is that staff members of an
organisation would learn to perform their duty in the desired manner. For instance, in the
Imperial Hotel a training and development program would shape up the staff in accordance to the
needs of the hotel, only then will it be able to reach its desired goals and objectives. In the
organisation of the Imperial Hotel, the training and development program would consist of all
the respective duties required to be performed. The basic Standard Operating Procedure is one of
the key aspects which would be adequately taught in the module of the training and development
program. The biggest advantage is that the staff of the hotel would be able to experience this first
hand (Xie, Zhang and Zhang, 2014). As stated earlier the organisation of Imperial Hotel is
required to follow a progressive form of training, therefore, practical experience can be gained
through the aid of such aspect (Refer to Appendix 1).
Justification of key solutions
In order to eliminate the core problems faced by the Imperial Hotel, the management of the hotel
is required to input quite a few aspects. One of the major aspects that are needed to be integrated
by the hotel is a training and development plan. This is very essential for the hotel as through its
aid the backhouse staff can be made aware of the certain problems faced by the hotel. A
thorough assessment of the Imperial Hotel has also resulted in the understanding that lack of
adequate motivation is one of the main reasons due to which the functioning of the hotel is
suffering. Due to this, the hotel is required to engage incentives based on the performance of the
backhouse staff. Not only will it provide motivation but also enhance the rate of performance.
This aspect is in alignment with the reward and returns policy due to which the adequate
amount of motivation can be awarded to the employees.
The incentive scheme would prove to be quite beneficial for the whole functioning of the
Imperial Hotel. Through the aid of such an aspect, the employees will have a constant motivation
to work accordingly so that they can reap the benefit in the end. As per the view of Molina-
Azorín et al. (2015), motivation is one of the core requirements for assessment of adequate
functioning. Therefore, in order for the workers to meet the standards of excellence of the hotel,
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an incentive scheme is of utmost necessity. Among the incentives scheme, various aspects can be
integrated such as an employee of the month or employee of the department. This would help in
pushing their mental motivation so that steady and appropriate results can be the ultimate
outcome. Rewards based on performance would prove to be beneficial for the Imperial Hotel as a
competitive atmosphere would be created in the organisation. This would raise the level of
productivity to a significant aspect and its impact can be faced by the hotel itself. Along with the
increase in revenue, a significant reputation will also be enhanced through appropriate customer
service.
Conclusion
For an organisation to work in an appropriate manner, there are a lot of aspects which are needed
to be maintained in a thorough manner. One such aspect includes the functioning of the staff
members through which the hotel can move forward towards a positive direction by getting
positive feedback through satisfied customers. In order to this, the case study of Imperial Hotel
has been chosen for this study. Through the aid of this study, adequate light has been shed on the
current problems being faced by the organisation. It has been identified the poor performance of
the backhouse staff including the kitchen, house staff as well as maintenance has been creating
adequate problems in the Hotel. Due to this factor, the whole performance of the hotel has been
suffering. This aspect has been thoroughly accessed through the aid of performance management
theory. In order to avoid such problems, a thorough assessment has been conducted through
which proper solutions have been formulated. It has been observed that the integration of a
training and development program would prove to be beneficial for the Imperial Hotel as the
staff would be made aware of the guidelines needed to be followed by them. The impact of
motivation has also been identified through the aid of this study. Through the implementation of
incentives scheme, the motivation level of employees can be enhanced along with their
performance rate. Therefore, all these aspects have been given adequate importance in this study.
Integration of these aspects is a must through which the Imperial Hotel can benefit from it.
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Bibliography
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Kogan Page Publishers.
Boella, M., 2017. Human resource management in the hotel and catering industry. 2nd ed.
Abingdon: Routledge.
changingminds.org (2018), Expectancy Theory, Available at:
http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/expectancy.htm [Accessed on: 24-11-2018]
Christopher, M., 2016. Logistics & supply chain management. 4th ed. Abingdon: Pearson UK.
Leary, M.R. and Baumeister, R.F., 2017. The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal
attachments as a fundamental human motivation. In Interpersonal Development, 2(1), pp.57-89.
managementhelp.org (2018), Training, Available at:
https://managementhelp.org/training/index.htm [Accessed on: 24-11-2018]
Molina-Azorín, J.F., Tarí, J.J., Pereira-Moliner, J., López-Gamero, M.D. and Pertusa-Ortega,
E.M., 2015. The effects of quality and environmental management on competitive advantage: A
mixed methods study in the hotel industry. Tourism Management, 50(3), pp.41-54.
omicsonline.org (2018), The Impact of Training and Development on Workers Productivity,
Available at: https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/the-impact-of-training-and-
development-on-workers-productivity-2315-7844-1000160.php?aid=59847 [Accessed on: 24-
11-2018]
Pereira-Moliner, J., Font, X., Tarí, J.J., Molina-Azorin, J.F., Lopez-Gamero, M.D. and Pertusa-
Ortega, E.M., 2015. The Holy Grail: Environmental management, competitive advantage and
business performance in the Spanish hotel industry. International Journal of Contemporary
Hospitality Management, 27(5), pp.714-738.
Reeve, J., 2014. Understanding motivation and emotion. 4th ed, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
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Scarborough, N.M., 2016. Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management. 2nd
ed. Abingdon: Pearson.
Xie, K.L., Zhang, Z. and Zhang, Z., 2014. The business value of online consumer reviews and
management response to hotel performance. International Journal of Hospitality
Management, 43(2), pp.1-12.
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Personal Reflection
This study has provided me with adequate knowledge about the impact of staff performance in
the functioning of a hotel. According to the case study provided of the Imperial Hotel, I have
been able to understand how lack of poor performance can lead to dissatisfaction among
customers. The backhouse staffs of the hotel have been observed to be not following the
standards of the hotel required for its excellent. I have understood the consequence it can lead to
for not following the rules and regulations. This aspect has been adequately integrated through
the aid of performance management theory. I have also learned about the importance of the
integration of appropriate strategies through which the rate of performance can be enhanced. I
have also understood how integration if a training and development program along with an
incentives scheme can enhance the rate of performance in a hotel. Thus, I have successfully
understood the importance of these two aspects through which the level of motivation can be
enhanced and thus, the hotel can experience the desired result though it can positively grow.
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