BS3053 Report: Improving Loch View Hotel with OD Strategies

This report delves into the organisational development (OD) process at the Loch View Hotel and Spa, addressing issues such as ineffective leadership, declining oil prices, and reduced tourist numbers. It outlines the five key phases of the OD cycle: entry and contracting, sensing and discovery, diagnosis and feedback, planning interventions and action, and evaluation and closure. The report proposes various OD interventions, including inclusive leadership styles, leadership training, and leadership development, tailored to the hotel's specific challenges. It also discusses methods for evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions, ensuring the hotel can effectively implement and benefit from organisational development strategies. This comprehensive analysis provides a roadmap for the Loch View Hotel and Spa to enhance its performance and adapt to the dynamic business environment.

Running head: ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Organisational Development
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Executive Summary
This report intends to shed light on the process of organisational development in the
particular context of the Loch View Hotel and Spa. The report begins by offering an
overview of the Loch View Hotel and Spa and also the different issues like ineffective
leadership, drop in the prices of oil, reduction in the number of tourists that they are getting
and others that the hotel is currently facing. The report next discusses the concept of
organisational development and its different attributes. The five different phases of
organisational development had also been discussed in the report along with the manner in
which the hotel under discussion here needs to use so as to attain a higher level of growth.
The report also offers different kinds of interventions on the basis of the issues that the hotel
is currently facing, namely, usage of inclusive style of leadership, leadership training,
leadership development and others so as to help the hotel to successfully undertake the
process of organisational development. Lastly, the report concludes by discussing the manner
in which the Loch View Hotel and Spa needs to evaluate the effectiveness of these
organisational development interventions.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Overview of Loch View Hotel and Spa.....................................................................................3
Organisational Development (OD)............................................................................................4
Key phases of the OD cycle.......................................................................................................7
Entry and contracting.............................................................................................................7
Sensing and discovery............................................................................................................8
Diagnosis and feedback..........................................................................................................9
Planning interventions and action........................................................................................10
Evaluation and closure.........................................................................................................10
OD interventions......................................................................................................................11
Evaluation of the proposed OD interventions..........................................................................13
Conclusion................................................................................................................................14
References................................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
As opined by Jung and Yoon (2015), the process of globalisation had positively
affected the contemporary business world in the present times by converting the entire world
into a global village in which business firms from the diverse parts of the world can conduct
business. However, Úbeda-García et al. (2016) argue that this had at the same time
significantly enhanced the competition within the business market because of the fact that
different organisations are offering almost similar products or services. The net result of this
is that the organisations are increasingly resorting to the usage of different kinds of strategies
so as to enhance the business prospects of their organisation and also to attain a higher level
of financial growth or profitability (Sipe 2016). More importantly, Dos Santos, Méxas and
Meiriño (2017) are of the viewpoint that the process of organisational development is one of
the most important processes which is being used by the different contemporary organisations
so as to adjust to the dynamicity of the business environment in which they are operational.
However, at the same time it is seen that the business firms so as to effectively utilise the
process of organisational development need to take into perspective various factors like
organisational structure, leadership, rewards and others. This report will analyse the concept
of organisational development and its various facets in the particular context of the Loch
View Hotel and Spa.
Overview of Loch View Hotel and Spa
The Loch View Hotel and Spa, situated in the outskirts of Aberdeen, is one of the
most prestigious 4-star hotels of the region which is known for the high quality of hospitality
services that it offers to the guests. In this regard, it needs to be said that apart from the
traditional hospitality services that it offers to the guest there are various kinds of aromatic
message services and others which the guests can enjoy. In addition to these, the picturesque

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location of the concerned hotel is another factor that had contributed in a significant manner
towards the large number of guests that it attracts every year. More importantly, it is seen that
the hotel under discussion here had been able to harmoniously mix traditional services with
the use of new technologies for offering better quality services to the customers. Furthermore,
it is seen that the present emphasis of the Loch View Hotel and Spa is on the process of
effective management and for the attainment of this goal in the year 2010, Filipio Messe was
hired as the General Manager. Messe in turn segregated various departments of the hotel like
Sales and Marketing, Finance and Management Accounting, Human Resource Management,
Food and Beverage and Facilities Management and also hired specialists to manage these
departments so as to enhance the efficiency of the management team and also to improve the
quality of services that are being offered to the guests.
Loch View Hotel and Spa, despite the success that had been able to attain in the
recent times is currently facing various issues related to its business operations and also the
business market in which it is operational. For example, it is seen that the competition within
the hospitality industry had intensified over the years and the reduction in the oil prices which
started in 2014 is adversely affecting the national economy of Scotland. This in turn had
drastically reduced the number of visitors or the guests that the hotel under discussion here
gets. More importantly, Jenny, Aileen and Louis had raised concerns regarding the
effectiveness of the leadership style as well as practices followed by Messe for the
management of the diverse affairs of the hotel. This in turn is taking a toll on the quality as
well as the effectiveness of the services which are being offered to the guests who are opting
for the hospitality services offered by the concerned hotel.
Organisational Development (OD)
Kim, Im and Hwang (2015) are of the viewpoint that Kurt Lewin (1898–1947) is
generally credited as the profounder of the concept of organisational development and it was

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only in the latter part of the 20th century that the process of organisational development was
integrated within the framework of the business world. As opined by Rahimi (2017), the
notion of organisational change can be defined as the study or the understanding of the
processes of organisational change and the performance of an organisation. More
importantly, Nieves and Segarra-Ciprés (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that the
emergence of the concept of organisational development can be traced back to the early part
of the 20th century when numerous research works related to the analysis of human relations
were undertaken. The primary objective of these research works was to understand the impact
of the organisational processes as well as structure used by an organisation on the behaviour
and motivation level of the different workers or the employees who were part of the same
(Bavik 2016). Furthermore, the extensive usage of the process of organisational development
can be ascribed to the fact that it enables the organisations or the business firms to the
increasingly dynamic nature of the business environment in which they operate. According to
Buil, Martínez and Matute (2016), the process of organisational development requires the
organisations to take into effective consideration the processes of knowledge management,
organisational learning, transformation or amendment of the organisational norms or values
and others. The net result of this is that in the present times there are various components
which had emerged as the integral sections of the entire process of organisational
development, namely, organisational climate, organisational culture, organisational strategies,
organisational structure and others (Birkinshaw 2016).
Verhulst and Lambrechts (2015), are of the viewpoint that the entity of organisational
climate can be defined as the overall mood or the personality of an organisation which not
only distinguishes it from others but at the same time directly influence the motivation level
as well as the behaviour of the workers. On the other hand, the entity of organisational culture
can be seen as the collective or the conglomeration of the individual beliefs, customs,

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traditions and others of the workers and also the ones propounded by the founders of the
organisations (O'Donnell 2016). As opined by Bavik (2016), the entity of organisational
culture is directly related to the individual job productivity of the workers and thereby the
overall organisational productivity or performance as well. For example, it is seen that a
congenial workplace or organisational culture is one of the most important prerequisites of
the workers which is needed so that they can perform as per their maximum potential.
According to Viljoen (2015), the term organisational strategies refers to the kinds of
measures or tactics which are being adopted by an organisation to not only mitigate the
adverse effects of the threats that they face but at the same time to effectively utilise the
business opportunities which are presented by the business market. More importantly, it is
seen that the different business strategies used by an organisation are not only formulated on
the basis of the key competencies or the capabilities of their organisation but at the same time
on the basis of the strategic goals that it had outlined for itself (Cook 2015). In addition to the
above mentioned ones, there are various aspects like leadership, rewards, relationship,
purpose, mechanisms and others which affect the process of organisational development
(Hoffmann 2017). Thus, it can be said that the different business firms in order to
successfully undertake the process of organisational development need to bring about a
change in the above mentioned aspects of their firms.
As already mentioned the Loch View Hotel and Spa is currently facing various kinds
of problems which in turn is adversely affecting the prospects of their business. For example,
it is seen that the majority of the top management employees of the hotel under discussion
here are complaining about the leadership style of Messe and this in turn is adversely
affecting the workplace culture of the hotel. Furthermore, the attempt of Messe to stop them
from opening articulating their grievances before other employees of the hotel is giving rise
to a coercive kind of culture within the hotel. More importantly, the case study clearly reveals

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that the hotel does not have effective strategies in place to mitigate the adverse effects of the
threats posed by the environment in which it is operational. Thus, it needs to be said that the
hotel in order to successfully undertake the process of organisational development would
have to change or amend the climate, culture, strategies and other processes of other hotel.
Key phases of the OD cycle
Bosch et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that there are five integral phases of the
process of organisational development, namely, entry and contracting, sensing and discovery,
diagnosis and feedback, formulation of interventions and action and finally evaluation and
closure. More importantly, it is seen that the organisations are required to collect relevant
data related to their organisation, diagnose the needs of the organisation, design effective
interventions as well as implement them and finally evaluate their success on the basis of the
results attained through the usage of the same (Gray and Jones 2016). On the other hand,
Silva et al. (2018) have argued that the entity of coaching is one of the most essential
elements of the entire process of organisational development which is required to smoothen
or ease the entire process. Below is a detailed analysis of the manner in which the Loch View
Hotel and Spa can use the above mentioned five phases of the OD cycle to address the issues
that it is facing and also to attain a higher level of growth and development.
Entry and contracting
As opined by Vargas-Hernández, Jiménez and Campos (2017), this is one of the most
important phases of the entire process of organisational development because of the fact that
it is during this phase the key data on the basis of which the entire process of organisational
development is carried out is generated. This is important because of the fact that the success
or the failure of the entire process of organisational development depends on the kind of
goals or objectives that are being outlined by an organisation during this phase. More
importantly, it is seen that the entities of authenticity, empathy and presence are integral

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entities that the organisations need to take into effective consideration during the entire
process itself (Waddell et al. 2016). Furthermore, it is seen that during this phase the
organisations are required to collect relevant data or information from the employees or the
clients on the basis of which the entire process is being undertaken.
In the particular context of Loch View Hotel and Spa it can be said that during this
phase the hotel authorities would have to collect relevant data or information from the
employees or the workers of the hotel. However, in this regard it needs to be said that Messe,
the General Manager of the hotel rather than openly encouraging the different employees of
the hotel to articulate their concerns and also propose ways through which the services
delivered by the hotel can be improved repudiates the same. For example, the concerns as
well as propositions made by the Jenny, Aileen and Louis are being suppressed by Messe and
also they are forbidden from discussing these matters with the other workers of the hotel.
Thus, it can be said that the hotel authorities so as to effectively undertake the process of
organisational development would have to give up the use of autocratic leadership style and
instead would have to take the help of the inclusive or democratic style of leadership. The use
of this leadership style is likely to encourage the workers like Jenny, Aileen, Louis and others
to articulate and their viewpoints and thereby facilitate the process of organisational
development.
Sensing and discovery
Jung and Yoon (2015) are of the viewpoint that this is the phase during which the
organisations take the help of various kinds of tools like surveys, interviews and others to
collect the data or information so as to modify the goals or objectives that they have
formulated on the basis of the preliminary collection of data. More importantly, it is seen that
the data which is collected at this stage are also being used by the organisations to make
changes that are likely to enable them to adjust to the dynamicity of the external business

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environment. In this particular context of the Loch View Hotel and Spa it needs to be said
that this would be the stage during which they would take into effective consideration the
different threats like drop in the oil prices, reduction in the number of tourists and others
within the strategic goals or objectives that they have formulated on the basis of the first
stage. Thus, it can be said that during this stage Loch View Hotel and Spa would not only
have to take into consideration the perspective of the employees like Jenny, Aileen, Louis and
others but at the same time the threats that it is facing and on the basis of this formulate a
combined strategic goal or objective on the basis of which the entire process of organisational
development will be carried out.
Diagnosis and feedback
According to O'Donnell (2016), this is the stage during which the organisations are
not only required to analyse the data or information that they have gathered in the earlier
phases but at the same time identify the gratification factors for the employees. More
importantly, the organisations also required to identify the life-giving forces and also collect
feedback from the employees so as to effectively undertake the process of organisational
development. In this particular context of the Loch View Hotel and Spa it can be said that the
management team would have to identify the give-giving forces as well as the catalysts that
had enabled the hotel to gain success. Furthermore, Messe would also have to identify the
gratification factors of the employees and also their driving forces so as to effectively
understand the manner in which the organisational development can be undertaken.
Moreover, the GM of the hotel would also have to collect feedback from the employees of
the hotel so as to understand the kind of changes that the employees are expected. It is
pertinent to note that this is something that the hotel had been refraining from using since the
year of its foundation and is also likely to enhance the job satisfaction level of the workers
and thereby improve the prospects of the hotel. This is important since recent researches have

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clearly revealed the fact that the organisations in which the job satisfaction of the workers is
higher the overall productivity of the organisations is also higher.
Planning interventions and action
In this phase, the organisations are required to formulate or design different kinds of
interventions on the basis of the results of the diagnosis that they have conducted in the
earlier phase. More importantly, during this phase the organisations are not only required to
take into consideration the different options that are available to them but at the same time
select the kind of intervention which will be in synchronicity with the requirements of the
organisation as well as their resources (Bosch et al. 2016). Furthermore, the organisations
also need to take into effective consideration the entities of leadership, group or individual
coaching, training, team building, conflict resolution, diversity dialogues and other attributes
during the planning interventions but at the same time need to ensure that the interventions
that they designed should improve these aspects of the organisation (Hoffmann 2017). In this
regard, it needs to be said that the Loch View Hotel and Spa in order to resolve the issues that
it is facing can implement the inclusive style of leadership. It is pertinent to note that the hotel
will also have to formulate various kinds of milestones for the improvement of the coaching
and training which is being offered to the workers, leadership development, service delivery
improvement, cost reduction, enhancement of customer base and other measures. Moreover,
they would also have to allocate these job roles to different workers of the hotel on the basis
of their capabilities or skill sets and also set various timeframes for the attainment of these
goals. More importantly, for the effective implementation of these changes the hotel can take
the help of the different kinds of change management models like Lewin’s change
management model, Kotler’s model of change and others depending on the kind of changes
that they are trying to implement.

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Evaluation and closure
This is the phase during which the success or the failure attained by the changes that
had been implemented by an organisation for the purpose of organisational development is
being measured (Cook 2015). This is usually done on the basis of the milestones that had
been set or outlined by the organisations for various interventions that they have set. The
Loch View Hotel and Spa for the evaluation of the different interventions that it had designed
need to access their effectiveness on the basis of the benefits or rewards that they have
offered within the timeframe that was outlined by them. More importantly, for the effective
measurement of the success attained by these interventions the hotel not only needs to take
into consideration the benefits offered by them within the timeframe for which they
implemented but at the same time the resources or revenue that was needed for their
implementation. This can be done through the usage of the tool of cost benefit analysis and
also on the basis of the fact whether it is possible for the hotel to undertake a long-time usage
of the same or not. On the basis of these aspects, the hotel need to decide whether for the
process of closure it needs to give up the interventions or integrate them within the culture as
well as structure of the hotel itself so as to successfully foster organisational development.
OD interventions
One of the most important interventions that is available to the Loch View Hotel and
Spa to foster effective organisational development is the use of the inclusive style of
leadership. Xiang, Chen and Zhao (2017) have articulated the viewpoint that the inclusive
style of leadership is the one which recognises the fact that the commanding style of
leadership is not always the best or the most appropriate style of leadership. As opined by
Kelan (2016), the inclusive leaders are required to display optimism and promote
collaboration while showing dependency so as to create the kind of work culture wherein the
workers are motivated to give their best performance. In the particular context of Loch View