Practicum Research Project: Stamford Plaza Hotel Management Issues

This practicum research report examines managerial problems within the food and beverage department of the Stamford Plaza Hotel. The report begins with an executive summary, followed by an introduction that outlines the hotel's mission and services. The research identifies key managerial issues, including service quality, room service efficacy, location of dining facilities, and the availability of healthy food options. A literature review explores customer satisfaction, the role of management, and the dynamics of the hospitality industry. The methodology section explains the research approach, and the analysis and findings section presents the identified problems and potential solutions. The report concludes with recommendations for improving service and customer satisfaction, emphasizing the importance of retraining staff, restructuring dining areas, and addressing customer feedback. The report provides a detailed analysis of the challenges faced and proposes actionable steps to enhance the hotel's performance.

Running head: PRACTICUM RESEARCH
Practicum Research
Name of the Student
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Managerial problems.......................................................................................................................3
Literature Review............................................................................................................................5
The importance of customer satisfaction.................................................................................5
Role of the management..........................................................................................................7
Hospitality industry.................................................................................................................8
Methodology..................................................................................................................................10
Research data.................................................................................................................................11
Analysis and Findings....................................................................................................................12
Quality issue..........................................................................................................................12
Alternatives............................................................................................................................13
Service...................................................................................................................................13
Location.................................................................................................................................14
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17
Appendix........................................................................................................................................22

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Executive Summary
Stamford Plaza has been providing luxury hospitality services to the people of Australia and
New Zealand. The aim of the following paper is to critically analyse the managerial problems
that are associated with the food and beverages department of the hotel. Even though the hotel
has been on the receiving end of favourable reviews, there have been a considerable amount of
negative reviews that have been shared by the consumer community. Problems that have been
detected are related to poor quality of service, unavailability of healthy food supplements
location of the dining facility and the inefficacy of the room service. The problems that have
been found can be mitigated by the retraining and delegating the right individuals in the right
place, by restructuring and repositioning the dining facility and by acknowledging the negative
reviews that have been received by the consumers. This should be carried out in order to ensure
that hotel is able to sustain itself in the long run.

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Introduction
Stamford Plaza Auckland can be recognised as one of the leading 5 star hotels in New
Zealand. There are numerous hotels in the chain with several branches in Australia. The hotel is
based in 22/26 Albert Street Auckland. The mission statement of Stamford plaza is realised in
their aim of satisfying the accommodation and serving them with quality while doing so. The
hotel provides its guests with a range of options or types of rooms to choose from with
accommodations for customers with range of income capacities. Furthermore, they provide
world-class infrastructure including dining and room service. The chain of Hotel has received a
considerable amount of reviews form the customers. Most of the reviews satisfy their goal of end
user satisfaction, however, there where instances when they have come across customer
grievance leading form the quality of the experience that they received. The scope of the problem
that can be associated to smooth functioning of a company under the hospitality industry are
diverse. The aim of the paper is to locate and analyse the reviews that organisation has faced
relating to the food and beverages department. The paper will enumerate the problem that the
managerial division of the said department is facing, it will also include a literature review of the
key problems that has been identified.
Managerial problems
There can be various problems that hinder the smooth functioning of any organisation
(Daft, 2015). Some problems can be detected easily as they are visible. Such problems affect the
consumers and the organisation directly. The problems that are visible can be mitigated as soon
as they are detected because the problems thus detected can turn out to pose bigger threats than it

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was first perceived to be (Lacatus, 2013). On the other hand, there are problems or issue that are
not visible. Such problems can be deemed to be of greater stature for realisation of the
managerial goals (Lacatus, 2013). These problems are generally related to the managerial
division and lead to various other problems. Such problems affect all the parties associated with
the said division and ultimately leads to dissatisfaction from the part of the customers. Most of
the reviews that the organisation has been facing are of favourable nature while few are not. The
food and beverages department of any hospitality chain form one of their most crucial
components. Thus the paper is concerned with identification of the problems that are associated
with the smooth functioning of the food and beverages department of the organisation. The
negative feedbacks that the organisation has received, mainly consists of the impediments in the
service time of the service, the room service delivery, the location of the dining areas and the
high tea beverage.
Most of the customers have appreciate the high tea that is one of the unique selling
propositions of the company, few customers did not appreciate the quality of the sides that they
received with the tea. Furthermore complains regarding the availability of healthy alternatives
were found to be missing from the menu of the food and beverages department. Studies have
found out that a high portion of the guests visiting the facility are travellers and tourist (Wilks,
Stephen & Moore, 2013). The company has taken this fact into consideration and have staff to
cater to their needs round the clock. However, dining facilities are not always available.
Furthermore, it was found that the room service was not functioning adequately at all instances.
There were scenarios when a customers ordered something through the room service facility and
did not receive the food. The next section of problems were identified and they were regarding

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the location of the dining facility. It was found out form customer feedback that they were facing
difficulties in location the dining areas of the huge facilities.
Literature Review
In order to develop understanding regarding the problems that are associated with the
functioning of the food and beverages department, the following issue and concepts need to
discussed and understood.
The importance of customer satisfaction
Non-profit organisations operate in order to help mitigate issues that affect the society
(Asif et al., 2013). They do not operate in the market with profit centric goals. However, this
does not apply for the case of most of the organisations that operate. The aim of most of the
organisations is to attain profitable outcomes (Hollensbe et al., 2014). Customer satisfaction
forms an integral part of realising the managerial goals (Thurau & Hansen, 2013). It must be
acknowledged that customers are one of the most important stakeholders any organisation, if not
the most important (Mori & Mersland, 2014). It has been found out that most of the
organisations that have achieved success have been able to satisfy the needs of the customers
(Kaufmann, Künzel & Loock, 2013). Such organisations have been able to identify the changing
needs and preferences of the customers and have been able to adapt to the same. The importance
of customer satisfaction should not be undermined and thus the managerial division of every
organisation should pay due attention to the same (Kaura, Prasad & Sharma, 2015). Following
are the reasons why customer satisfaction is important.
1. Customer retention: Unless a customer is not satisfied they will not come back to the
company. It the aim of organisations around the world to retain the existing customers

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and increase the customer base. It is only then that the organisation will be able to sustain
itself in the long run.
2. Loyalty: Once the customers are satisfied with the products or services of a company they
tend to come back to the company time and again. Loyalty and customer retention are
inter related (Prentice, 2013). Customer satisfaction is responsible for achievement of the
same. Both the terms are crucial for the sustainability of an organisation and thus they
can determine the courses of action of a company. Loyal customers boost the productivity
of an organisation (Edet, Etim & Etesin, 2013).
3. Word of mouth: The potential of word of mouth has been recognised as a powerful
medium of promotion (Berger, 2014). It is a type of promotion that does not require any
investment form the part of the company (Pfeffer, Zorbach & Carley, 2014). It can affect
the reputation of a company (Pfeffer, Zorbach & Carley, 2014). Positive word of mouth
results in increase of organisational goodwill and the community as a whole show an
increased percentage of interest in the company (Lien & Cao, 2014). On the other hand,
negative word of mouth has negative impacts on the sustainability of the company
(Pfeffer, J., Zorbach, T., & Carley, 2014). On several instances it has been seen that
negative word of mouth has led to complete boycott of a company’s products for which
the company had to halt production (Zhang, Feick & Mittal, 2013). Thus the power of
negative word of mouth can avoided if a company is able to satisfy its customers.
4. Competitive advantage: Is the scenario when a company is ahead of its competitors.
Competitive advantage is a phenomenon that is achieved when an organisation is able to
devise strategies that are perfectly aligned to the long term goals of the organisation (Noe
et al., 2017). Gaining competitive advantage helps in attracting the customers since the

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customer community intend to stick to an organisation that is has the best reputation and
reviews (Urbancova, 2013).
Role of the management
The role that the management plays in every organisation is crucial for its smooth
functioning (Sikora & Ferris, 2014). The managerial personnel of organisations are responsible
for the smooth functioning of the daily operation of the organisation (Ribes et al., 2013). The
ultimate organisational goal of a company is decided by its management. They establish the
goals and determine the strategies through which the company can achieve the goals. It is also
responsibility of the management to inform the employees and the concerned departments about
the changes in the customer community’s taste and preference and adapt to the same (Shafer,
2015). Following is the role of the management in the current scenario;
1. Communication: Exchange of information that is characterised by exchange of ideas is
known as communication (Regier, Kemp & Kay, 2015). It is the role of the management
to establish clear communication within every functional division of the organisation.
Communicating helps in transferring the ideas clearly to the employees of the
organisation (McCombs, Shaw & Weaver, 2013). This helps them in having a clear idea
about the goals of the management and the organisation. Irrespective of the field or type
of the organisation, the role of communication is impeccable. Clear, unfiltered
communication leads to increased amount of cooperation and trust in the within the
employee, the personnel associated to the management and the organisation as a whole
(Lee et al., 2015).
2. Controlling: Planning, organisation, leadership and controlling are the basic managerial
functions (Jędrzejczyk, 2013). Establishment of control is the outcome of the former

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three components (Choudhury et al., 2015). It is the efficacy of the first three that
determine the nature of control. It is a known fact that there are end goals related to the
functioning of an organisation. It is the role of the management to determine the goals for
the wellbeing of the company in the long run followed by implementation of the goals. It
can be said that controlling is a persuasive end function (Kraakman & Hansmann, 2017).
It is a measure to find out the success of planning and implementation of the same.
3. Training: Effective functioning form the part of the employees ensures that the company
is able to its desired goals. The management should be capable to iterate the goals of the
company properly to its employees. Under certain circumstances, employees of an
organisation might need training (Lazazzara, Karpinska & Henkens, 2013). Be it new
employee or old employees, training is crucial in order to keep them up to date regarding
the operations with change and modernisation (Mor, Morris & Joh, 2013). In order to
operate high-tech machinery and computer peripherals, the employee must be capable of
operating the same effectively. This can only take place if the employees receive proper
training regarding the operations of the same. It is upon the management to train the
employees to make sure that the employees are adept with the essential skills required to
perform their designated tasks.
Hospitality industry
The hospitality industry is one of the most dynamic industries that exists. It is subject to
constant change (Kandampully, Zhang & Bilgihan, 2015). The only way that organisations in the
industry can survive is by adapting. Adaptation is considered the key to survival in every aspect
of life. Same follows in case of the hospitality industry (Teixeira et al., 2013). Other than gaining
competitive advantage, gaining market share and earning profits, one of the most important goals

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of the hospitality industry is customer satisfaction (Saeidi et al., 2015). Catering to the needs of
the customer community, propels the position of a company to unmatched levels. The fate of the
industry in the long run is determined by the acceptance of the customer community (Alejandro,
Kang & Groza, 2016). The nature of response for the part of the customers decide the success of
the former goals of an organisation in the hospitality industry. Retail, food and beverages,
lodging and transportation comprise the hospitality industry. The end users of all the said
components of the hospitality industry are customers. Thus they rely highly on customer
satisfaction and acceptance.
Food and beverages: The efficacy of hotel is reliant on the efficiency of the food and beverages
department of the hotel. No matter what background the guest belongs to, they will appreciate if
the standard and quality of the food that is being served in the hotel is at par with their level of
expectation. It can be stated that a well-functioning food and beverages department within a
hotel is responsible for the level of satisfaction that the guests derive form their experience at the
hotel (Xiang et al., 2015). The main goal is to achieve customer satisfaction. This is possible
when the managerial personnel and employees are able to cater to the varied physiological,
social, psychological and economical preferences of the guests. The management must realise
that the aforementioned factors are subject to change with diversity in the customer base.
Factors determining success of the food and beverages sector: Following are the components of
an efficient food and beverages division;
 Compatibility: It is essential for the F&B department to be compatible to the hotels of the
customers. Depending on the style of the restaurant and the number of stars, the food
services should be modified. Guests in a luxury 5star hotel should receive gourmet dining
experiences rather than soul food.

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 Quality: The quality of food that comes out from the kitchen determines the customer’s
acceptance. Food that tastes well and that is delivered in great quality attracts customers
to the facility and the customers keep coming back (Ahmed et al., 2014). Thus great food
boosts customer loyalty.
 Location: Selecting the suitable location for the dining determines the acceptance of the
same (Yang, Y., Luo, H., & Law, 2014). It was found that the location of the dining
facilities in hotels determines the level of customer satisfaction and is said to boost the
overall dining experience (Chen & Tsai, 2016). Selecting a location that is comfortable
and away from noise or any other form of disturbance favours the operations of the hotel
in the long run.
 Experience: Since the main aim of the hospitality industry is customer satisfaction, one of
the main motives of the personnel involved in the same department should be proving the
customers with good overall experiences. A compact and easily interpretable menu, good
quality food, cooperative and helpful staff along with great ambience boosts the
experience that ten customer receives (González,Gidumal & Valcárcel, 2013).
Methodology
Information that has been used for the report has been found from reviews. Customers
across various outlets have presented their thoughts as review. Reviews are considered a
secondary source of data (Fleischhacker et al., 2013). Analysis will be carried out based on
interpretivism research methodology. Secondary sources are being adjudged since it is not
feasible to conduct primary information as that will involve surveying or interviewing the guest
of the hotel. The information that is available in the form of reviews will be compiled into a lot
of information and then the knowledge will be analyses. The idea of interpretivism revolves

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around the belief that knowledge is universal and the realisation of the same is highly subjective
(Potrac, Jones & Nelson, 2014). Different people perceive opinions differently. Purpose of the
research is to find out the reasons behind the negative reviews. The reviews will be summarised
into a group of information from which the final verdict will be considered. Interpretivism can be
considered as a type of methodology that can be considered of qualitative method. This type of
methodology involves two parties comprising of the subject and the researcher. The process
involves a considerable amount of amount of observation and studying after which the inferences
are communicated or presented.
Research data
The data for the research has been obtained from the reviews that have been published on
various hospitality related websites. The reviews that have been adjudged mostly include the
negative review that have been put forward by the customers of the chain of hotels. The reviews
that are in the negative favour of the company have been posted by guests of the hotel who not
gain satisfaction from the services offered by the chain of hotels (Booking.com, 2019). Even
though majority of the review involves satisfied customer reviews, the main research has been
carried out on the customers who have been dissatisfied by the services offered by the hotel. The
main area of research will be concerning the food and beverages department of Stamford Plaza,
Auckland. Data used for the research can be classified as qualitative. Qualitative data can be
extracted from interviews (Silverman, 2019). Through reviews the organisation will be aware of
their strengths. Most importantly the organisation will become aware of the areas that they can
improve in. The grievances will help the management identify the flaws in the system and
functioning of the food and beverages department of the hotel chains. The data has been