HOSP2050

HOSP2050

Questions

1. What are the main issues in this case?

Five key challenges can be noted in the case. One, Lori works lengthy hours, sometimes having to extend till 11 pm, which reduces the work-life balance in her life. Two, employees have a negative outlook towards inspection, thus may demonstrate resistance. Three, Lori’s employees have created cliques which reduce unity in the workplace. Fourth, the employees in the housekeeping department frequently engage in rumor-mongering, which may destroy social relationships in the workplace. Five, the restaurant faces high absenteeism rates due to the nature of the work involved and experiences difficulty to quickly replace and train other employees.

2. What can Lori do to change the negative perceptions associated with room inspections?

Room inspections are one of the primary roles of housekeeping managers and are crucial to the achievement of the restaurant’s goals. Thus, Lori can change the perceptions of employees through various strategies to ensure that they are conducted with minimal employee resistance. One way is through the revision of the inspection processes to ensure that they are fair and productive. An advantage is that the employees will begin to see the value of the inspections and, thus, reduce the resistance towards them. However, as is the case with any other organizational processes, changing the inspection process may be lengthy and require changing different sections of the organization as well, such as working schedules on the days of the inspection.

Two, the perceptions may be improved through adopting teamwork strategies to make the inspections a group project rather than individual projects run by Lori. This would allow more people to feel part of the process, thus improving their perception towards the inspections. However, getting too many people involved may eventually compromise the quality of the reviews due to differing evaluation and reporting techniques.

Three, the perceptions may be also be improved through open communication with employees about the challenges they encounter during the inspections and determining ways of resolving them. An advantage is that this move would get to the root problem and get solutions that are sustainable for future employees in the organization. However, not all supervisors, such as Lori, may be open to feedback from their employees.

Fourth, using training programs, the supervisors can inform the employees about the importance of the inspection in meeting their shared goals. This strategy allows increased understanding between employees and their employer as regards organizational policies and processes, such as inspections. Nonetheless, training may cost the restaurant extra time and money for facilitation.

Five, Lori could count on the support of the superiors from other departments to improve the perception of housekeeping staff members. While this strategy could increase the authority of the process within the organization, it still faces the risk of insubordination and resistance since the other superiors are not directly linked to housekeeping issues.

3. According to the case, what is the culture of the workplace? What steps can be taken to better align the culture to the strategies and goals of the organization?

The culture of the workplace is both rigid and unsupportive. On the one hand, the company sticks to formal structures and processes, such as the inspection reports and hierarchies. On the other hand, the company is inconsiderate and unsupportive of individual employee needs. As a result, the company has high absenteeism, high turnover rates, and work fatigue, which limits the overall productivity of the employees. The steps that can be taken to improve the culture and align it to organizational goals are; first, redefining cultural attributes that represent the restaurant’s fundamental values. For instance, the hospitality industry significantly prioritizes customer satisfaction since it contributes to customer loyalty (Dominici & Guzzo, 2010). Therefore, one of its values could be being customer-focus. The second step is to redefine behaviors that are associated with these critical behaviors. For instance, for customer focus, some of the practices could include innovating ways to differentiate customer services. The last step is rewarding and recognizing employees who demonstrate this behavior and had the most impact on organizational goals.

4. Examine the job description of a housekeeping manager of different types of hotels.

An analysis of the online job descriptions and Lori’s case study reveals that housekeeping managers oversee the activities of their subordinates, which include room attendants and cleaners. They also carry out frequent cleaning inspections to ensure that the restaurant environment is suitable for customers. Additionally, they train room attendants and schedule their shifts to meet customer demands. However, in Lori’s case, she seems to be working round the clock without any off-time that is listed in online job details. Even though they may be required to extend on special holidays, they are entitled to off-days through which they can achieve work-life balance. Also, Lori seems to be charged with the responsibility of recruiting new employees, a task that is not explicitly listed on online job descriptions. They train and schedule the duties of employees, but may not be solely responsible for recruitment.

References

Dominici, G., & Guzzo, R. (2010). Customer satisfaction in the hotel industry: a case study from Sicily. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 2(2), 3-12.