Research Plan: Improving Financial Practices at MOHG

This document outlines a research plan aimed at improving financial practices within the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG). The research focuses on strategy, structure, culture, and execution, drawing from existing literature to establish best practice baselines. A two-step research approach will be employed, involving surveys of over 30 managers and 150 employees across five distinct Mandarin Hotels operating in four distinct cultures (English, Chinese, American, and Thai), followed by interviews with twenty employees and four managers. The goal is to identify disparities between current financial practices at MOHG and ideal practices, ultimately contributing to the development and implementation of MOHG's business strategy and culture. The plan includes sections on methodology, data collection and analysis, expected findings, and cost estimation.

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Business Research Design
By
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Executive summary
Financial improvement is the ultimate goal of any organization. A detailed plan on the different
practices to improve the financial position of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) is the
main focus of this paper. From the research perspective, the core practices entailed in the plan
are strategy, structure, culture, and execution. Different literature suggests the financial practices
which will act as the best practice baselines for MOHG. These are not limited to close
monitoring, governing, and organizing all the available financial resources. A two-step research
approach will be taken. Over 30 managers and 150 employees across five distinct Mandarin
Hotels operating in four distinct cultures that is English, Chinese, American, and Thai, will be
involved in the survey. Later, interviewing twenty employees (five from each hotel) and four
managers (one from each hotel) will be done. A significantly big number of survey responses
will be attained from the large sample size, and those responses will be grouped according to the
four different cultures that are to say American, Chinese, English, and Thai. It is expected that
this research would find disparities between the current financial practices at MOHG and what
has been previously identified as ideal financial practices.

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Contents
Executive summary.....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4
The research topic and why it is important to this business.........................................................................5
The 4 primary practices discussed in “What Really Works” this research project is most closely relevant
to, and why..................................................................................................................................................6
Literature review.......................................................................................................................................10
Methodology and why it was chosen.........................................................................................................13
Likely data that will be obtained and analyzed..........................................................................................14
Likely findings and their importance.........................................................................................................15
Estimated cost in terms of time and finances.............................................................................................16
References.................................................................................................................................................18
Appendix...................................................................................................................................................22
Appendix 1: Questionnaire items...........................................................................................................22
Appendix 2: Interview questions...........................................................................................................22

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Introduction
The purpose of this document is to present a research plan to the Board members of the
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) on how to improve financial practices at the company.
The research plan will be undertaken in a way that will enhance benefits to the company’s
employees through increased efficiency and morale, which is likely to increase their
performance. On the other hand, the plan will help MOHG to reduce the prospects of resource
wastage through embezzlement as the unethical practice, whereby the overall output and
profitability potential will be enhanced at the company. As such, the document will erase
information gaps about the negative outcomes that are associated with the current financial
practices at MOHG that the board members are probably not well informed (Stephen & Bradford
2010 p.3). Thereafter, the Board members will have an insight about ways that their current
financial practices are not fully contributing towards the achievement of its set objectives and
goals. As such, the document will create a need for improving the current financial practices at
MOHG so that it can realize increases in its market share, output, and profits. Most significantly,
the document will give a detailed description of the various approaches that can be used to
ensure that MOHG's financial practices are improved. Moreover, the improvements of these
financial practices will be aimed at facilitating the MOHG's implementation of business
strategies and culture (Jorissen 2010 p.201). Therefore, the document will cover several research
sections such as the description of the research problem and its relevance to MOHG, the 4
primary practices, and literature review. Methodology, data collection and analysis, findings and
their importance, estimation of the costs as well as the appendix are the other important sections
that will be covered in this document.

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The research topic and why it is important to this business
The research topic is "Improving financial practices within MOHG," and that topic will
be addressed presenting this research plan that is designed to answer the following question: In
what ways could the current financial practices within MOHG be improved to make a more
effective contribution to developing and implementing the MOHG business strategy and culture?
This is an important topic for the business because ineffectiveness in financial practices hinders a
business from realizing its potential as far as profits, output, market share, and sustainability are
concerned. Financial practices refer to a combination of standard procedures of operating and
carrying out budgeting, reporting, and accounting of finances of a business which act as the
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) (Ehrhardt 2010). Each of the above practices plays a role
in supporting policies of a business, formulate accounting and as well offer several guidelines for
executing various tasks of a business. Therefore, a business that effectively utilizes SOPs can
flourish in its undertakings in the form of widened market share and profitability due to
increased efficiency and performance among its team.
Although SOPs are essential components that define the effectiveness of a financial
management plan, it is the information contained in SOPs that determines the degree of
effectiveness of financial practices. In other words, it is the financial reporting; budgeting as well
as accounting that determines the degree of effectiveness of a business’ financial practices in
leading to desirable outcomes. As such, effective execution of financial reporting, budgeting and
accounting will yield fruitful outcomes to the business in the form of say increased profits,
market share, and output (Patricia & Rangarjan 2013). On the contrary, ineffective execution of
the above elements of SOPs will lead to undesirable outcomes such as reductions in the market
share, profits, and output due to high incidences of wastage of financial resources. Evidentially,
several resources can be wasted when a company's financial practices are ineffectively executed,

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which limits the company from attaining the desirable levels of profits or output. Ineffectiveness
of financial resources may be exhibited in form failure to appropriately manage costs as well as
inaccurate and unreliable financial reports due to inappropriate usage of accounting standards
(Hersh 2010 p.9). These practices have been common among the accounting team at MOHG,
which has reduced on the potential of the financial department to fully and significantly
contribute towards the achievement of the set objectives and goals.
The research topic is essential to MOHG business because it will identify several
techniques that can be used to improve on the current financial practices at the company to
facilitate the implementation of its business strategies and culture. Currently, financial practices
at MOHG like record keeping, management of costs and inventory plus other practices have not
been able to yield desirable outcomes towards the achievement of the business' objectives (Kieso
& Warfield 2011 p.1320). As such, MOHG has not been in a position to realize significant
increases in its output, revenues, market share, and profitability and thus reducing its overall
sustainability potential in the dynamic business environment. As a result, this document will
provide relevant approaches or strategies that can be utilized by board members and accounting
team at MOHG to improve on its current financial practices to implement its strategies and
culture (Malhotra & Ray 2016). These shall be implemented with a view of achieving the
desirable and set objectives of MOHG in the form of increased output, revenue, market share,
sales as well as profits, among others.
The 4 primary practices discussed in “What Really Works” this research project is most
closely relevant to, and why
Norhia et al. in their 2003 Harvard Business Review article, "What Really Works" argue
that business that is always performing highly effectively execute their undertaking than their

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rivals basing on four primary and four secondary practices. The primary practices include;
strategy, structure, culture, and execution. Also, secondary practices include; innovation,
leadership, mergers, and talent (Norhia et al., 2003). These practices are essential in shaping the
processes and activities of the organization in a way that eases the achievement of set objectives
and goals of a business entity. As such, an entity that effectively utilizes both practices can
perform better in its undertaking in a competitive business environment. On the other hand, an
entity that does not effectively utilize the above secondary and primary practice is likely to be
less effective in executing its undertakings and competing with its rivals. Conversely, an entity
can overpower its rivals when it realizes a boost in its competitive advantage through effective
execution of primary and secondary practices (Phillips 2011). For this research project, the focus
will be on identifying and justifying which of the four primary practices are closely relevant to
the project. From this point of view, strategy and culture practices are relevant to this research
project, whose main objective is to improve the current financial practices at MOHG.
The research project is relevantly close to the strategy practice because there is a need for
MOHG to widen its knowledge about the target clients as well as its capabilities to shape its
financial practices. The above need can be addressed by eliminating information gaps by
utilizing consistent and clear communication strategy for targeting clients and capabilities to
shareholders, employees, and clients. To yield fruitful outcomes, strategy practice should be
executed in a clear manner to boost the competitiveness of MOHG on levels of great services
and top quality (Lynsie & Alan 2013). As such, the strategy practice will increase on the degree
of flexibility in decision making because strategic directions may arise from all team members
like executives, consultants, shareholder and employees among others. In due course, strategy as
a primary practice will facilitate the involvement of all team members in the decision-making

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process so that all members are informed of their roles and responsibilities in implementing a
business' plans. As such, strategy practice is likely to increase collaboration and cooperation
among the members at MOHG whilst budgeting, reporting, and accounting for the available
financial resources (Carrahera & Auken 2013 p.325). Therefore, the utilization of financial
resources at MOHG is likely to be enhanced in that the team members are likely to collaborate
whilst executing financial management roles.
Furthermore, the strategy will facilitate critical appraisal of MOHG's financial
capabilities in meeting the needs of the target clients for its products and services. In this regard,
team members are likely to identify better ways of managing financial information so that the
financial strength and capabilities of MOHG can be determined for devotion into feasible
projects (Riggan 2012 p.13). More so, strategy practice will help MOHG to be more cautious
about the cost-minimizing techniques that can be employed to attain expansion in its
undertakings, output, and profits both in the short run and long run. Because board members are
in most cases enticed to seize all available opportunities to expand their business, they may
expose the company to unfamiliar territories which may turn out to be costly (Burns & Scapens
2010 p.14). For example, there may be strategic drifts within an entity due to the deviation of the
undertakings from their planned paths, which may result in the deterioration of the overall
performance and profits of the entity. The above outcomes are attributed to seizing of
opportunities without any strategic plans by the board of members, shareholder, and employees.
It is from this view that strategy as a primary practice will help to eliminate prospects of
devoting financial resources in ventures that may not yield fruitful returns at MOHG (Pedro &
Barnes 2010). As such, strategy practice will help to identify cost minimizing ventures that will

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act as a basis for aggressive growth objectives of growing the business whilst enlarging its
operations into markets that are closely related.
In regards to culture practice, the research project will emphasize the establishment of a
culture that is oriented to performance and exercising of ethical behaviors among the team
members. Culture practices that are performance oriented lead to the creation of friendly
environments to the employees, which enhances their morale and attitude to work for the
company. The above element will enhance not only the performance of the employees but also
their loyalty to the company. Moreover, ethical behaviors such as honesty, zero corruption, and
bribery practices are essential in establishing a desirable culture for a company that has an
objective of serving its target clients effectively (Bagnoli & Giachetti 2015 p. 576). Also, the
culture practice will help MOHG to stipulate its values as a way of shaping the behaviors of its
team members. More so, when team members are informed about the values of the company,
they are in a position to act ethical and professional in their executing their duties and
responsibilities of the company. As a result, the employees are likely to prioritize the interests of
the company and society due to cultural practices. In regards to the research project, there is a
likelihood that the accounting team at MOHG is likely to develop ethical behaviors whilst
executing the financial duties and responsibilities of the company (Adejare 2014 p. 15). They are
likely to avoid unethical practices like bribery, embezzlement, or falseness of documents that
violate interests of the company and the community. In due course, all financial transactions and
other activities are likely to be appropriately recorded and accounted for in the books of accounts
and record keeping by the team members due to the utilization of cultural practices. As a result,
culture as a primary practice will be essential in reducing wastage of resources due to the
elimination of unethical behaviors among the team at MOHG (Robinson & Ross 2013 p.7).

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Therefore, high levels of performance are also likely to be realized due to effective utilization
and accountability of financial resources at MOHG by its team due to cultural practice.
Literature review
Under the literature review section, a concise summary of what best financial practices
involve which will act as the best practice baselines for MOHG. Having identified the best
financial practices, further research will be conducted into ways that the current financial
practices at MOHG are similar or different from the identified baseline financial practices. In
case, major differences are found to exist, and then further research will be undertaken o
determine why they exist (Pedro & Barnes 2010). Moreover, businesses that experience steady
and consistent growth are always able to manage their finances effectively both in the short and
long runs. They execute their practices in a way that involves close monitoring, governing, and
organizing all the available financial resources. In the due process, such businesses can fully
meet the needs of their clients, gain a competitive advantage over their rivals and as well to have
stable long term financial resources (Donelson & Ege 2014 p.222). From the above overview, it
can be seen that financial practices are aimed to enhance profits of the business through
managing all costs so that desirable returns on investments can be realized. Below is a review of
the financial practices that can help to improve on the current financial practices at MOHG to
facilitate the implementation of its business strategy and culture (Kimberly 2012). Most
significantly, a clear business plan and financial monitoring are the two financial practices that
will be considered as the best baseline practices for MOHG.
A clear business plan is one of the basic tools that can help to ensure effective
management of finances at a business entity. It gives details about how a business can manage its
finances as far as cash flows are concerned. In this regard, the accounting team should identify

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various points that cash inflow is coming from, and as well the cash will be utilized in the form
of cash outflow (Wlaccountants.co.uk 2019). The above process should be laid for at least two
years to ensure that the business cash inflows and outflows are consistently recorded in the books
of account. Besides, a clear business plan can also help to outline the costs that can be needed to
execute and maintain day to day activities of the business. The above practice helps the
management team to identify and determine the amounts of costs that are needed to run their
businesses daily to ensure that desired objectives are attained (Arnold & Gillenkirch 2015 p.16).
Most importantly, the management will always aim at utilizing opportunities that always reduce
the costs involved in production to maximize their profits in the short run and long run.
Furthermore, a clear business plan helps to ensure that any incomes that are received by a
business are effectively planned for the management team. For example, the business may follow
its plans to devote all incomes received towards buying of shares to secure their long-run
financial stability (Armstrong 2013, p.378). From the above discussion, a clear business plan
helps a business entity to effectively manage the day to day cash flows whilst injecting its
financial resources in projects like an investment in shares that can yield maximum returns in the
long run. Moreover, these long term investments are undertaken without affecting the entity’s
current operations only due to a clear business plan.
Financial monitoring is another pivotal tool that can help a business entity to effectively
manage its financial resources both in the short and long run. A business entity should be aware
of the number of funds that are available on its bank account and day to day sales so as to
manage its financial resources effectively. Also, the business should be aware of the value of its
current stock and any other assets that hold a financial value to its undertakings
(Wlaccountants.co.uk 2019). The above financial management practices should be executed

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daily to ensure that desirable financial outcomes can be attained. Most importantly, the business
entity should undertake periodic assessments either on a weekly or monthly basis to ensure that
the set financial goals are achieved. In the due process, any factors that are hindering
achievement of set financial targets can be identified and addressed through financial monitoring
practices (Alpar & Winkelsträter 2014 p.2260). Therefore, financial monitoring practices are
essential in streamlining all day to day activities towards achieving the set financial target
through weekly and monthly assessment of the financial position and strength of the business.
Currently, MOHG is engaging in the documentation of cash flows as one of its financial
practices for managing its financial resources. Some of the cash inflows at MOHG include;
operating activities, financial activities, repayment of loans to associates, among others. On the
other hand, cash outflows are being executed in the form of capital expenditure on present
property, advances to associates, and dividend payments, among others. The above financial
practice is in line with the first baseline financial practice because MOHG identifies its sources
of cash inflow and events that it injects its received incomes (Photos.mandarinoriental.com
2017). However, there exists no specific and clear business plan that shows to indicate how
incomes received are effectively allocated to result in the expansion of its projects. Cash flow
practices are only exhibited in the form of documenting cash inflows and cash outflows without
basically indicating the ventures that are expanding due to their business plans. To improve on
this financial practice at MOHG, the board should establish a clear business plan that shows how
the received incomes are injected to ensure the expansion of its undertakings (Armstrong 2013,
p.378). The above approach will help to strategically improve the current cash flow practices at
MOHG by indicating how the incomes are allocated to ventures that lead to diversification of the
entity.