management opevton survey of a hotel … · 2017-01-01 · management opevton survey of a hotel...

MANAGEMENT OPEVTON SURVEY OF A HOTEL PROPERTY

TWELVE MONTHS AFTER THE COMPLETION OF

A MAJOR RENOVATION AND EXTENSION PROJECT

by

MOK MO-YEV

宴 1 t

MBA PROJECT REPORT

Presented to

The Graduate School

In Partial Fulfibnent

of the Requirements for the Degree of

MASTER OF BUSES[ESS ADMEVISTRATION

THREE-YEAR MBA PROGRAMME

THE CmNESE UMVERSITY OF HONG KONG

May 1996

r v / ^ ^ ^ | X f Y f ^ ^ ^ t m \ A

作， p M t OEC • 1

8 摘 1 m UN,VERSITY J i ^ , \̂ ftvL!3RARY SYSTEMy< /̂

1 " ‘ ^ ^ ^ /

’‘,(七

APPROVAL

Name : Mok Mo-yin

Degree : Master of Business Administration

Title of Project : Management Opinion Survey Of A Hotel Property Twelve Months After The Completion Of A Major Renovation And Extension project

/S^^2y Dr. R. I. Westwood

Date Approved : f i ^ / ^ / ^ ^

丨 (

ii

ABSTRACT

In Hong Kong, the rapid pace of development of hotel projects in the 80s' and

90’ has intensified competition amongst hotels of the deluxe category for market

share. The keen competition left no choice to hotels that were already in operation

prior to that stage of development and scramble for business, but to resort to a new

set of marketing and product strategies for survival, or to bring the life cycle of hotel

operation to another new era. The prolonged renovation and extension project ofThe

Peninsula Hong Kong during the period from early 1991 to late 1994 is a unique

example of hotel operation rejuvenation never seen throughout the history of hotel

industry in Hong Kong. Organisation re-engineering inevitably causes unrest within

the organisation and results in employee turnover and low morale if the process is not

well planned and implemented. This is more apparent that such affects those at

management level who in tum are expected to follow through the change process. In

this paper, management opinions and attitudes were surveyed and studied twelve

months after the completion of the project when members of the management team

are getting stable in their capacities. The study reveals areas where major effort is

required for future improvement in order to maintain a stability of the management

team that in tums helps to upkeep quality of hotel operation and guest services, a

competitive edge of successful hotel operation.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ”

TABLE OF CONTENTS 出

LIST OF TABLES iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v

Chapter

I. ESTRODUCTION 1

Background 2 Literature Review 10

n. METHODOLOGY 13

Time of Measurement / Area Of Measurement 13 Measurement Tool and Sample 15 Design of Questionnaire 15

m . FEVDEVGS AND DISCUSSIONS 17

Response Rate 17 Characteristics Of The Survey Respondents 17 General Analysis Of The Results 19 Detailed Discussion Of Survey Results 25

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS 30

V. CONCLUSION 33

APPENDK 35

REFERENCES 50

BIBLOGRAPHY 51

iv

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Characteristics Of The Questionnaire

Table 2 Part I，II，III - All Questions Sorted By Mean

V

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to take the opportunity to express my gratitude and

appreciation to the top management of The Peninsula Hong Kong for allowing a study

of the management opinions. Also, thanks are extended to all the management staff

for taking their time to complete the questionnaires and provide invaluable

information on the studies. Human Resources team of the hotel is thanked for the

clerical and administrative assistance extended for compiling the paper.

Last, but not least, thanks are due to Dr. R. I. Westwood, the supervisor of

this project, for his continuous support, advice, insightful comments and guidance

throughout the project.

1

CHAPTER I

EVTRODUCTION

Employee opinion survey or attitude survey is a very useful tool for the top

management of a company to gain a better insight into employees' job needs,

motivation, level of satisfaction, perception of the management or the company etc.

Survey tailored on more specific areas during specific time reveals the aforementioned

subsequent to major organisational change, or the introduction of new systems and

policies, whereas survey of more general context conducted on a regular basis helps

to form the basis for benchmarking of the areas of studies over time. This paper aims

at exploring hotel management staffs perception of the organisation culture, level of

satisfaction relating tojob and rewards, and overall evaluation of the company as an

employer. This paper also attempts to relate perception of the organisation culture to

length of service in conjunction to a major change of its organisational structure and

intemal culture that has recently taken place.

2

Background

From 1980 to 1991, Hong Kong witnessed development and completion of

major deluxe hotel projects in various commercial areas including Tsimshatsui Central

/ East, Wanchai Harbour Front and Admiralty. With their modern facilities and state-

of-art design concept, some have achieved very remarkable business results and built

up their image and goodwill in both local and international markets of the hospitality

industry in the last decade. International travellers and local hotel restaurant patrons

are offered more choices and lured to try out new products and facilities offered by

the newly established hotels.

The Peninsula Hong Kong, with its long and colourful history of hotel

operation since 1928, underwent a major renovation and extension programme during

the period from year 1991 to the third quarter of 1994. The objective of the

renovation and extension project was to re-position the hotel as the market leader in

Hong Kong in terms of average rate and yield, and to re-establish the hotel as Hong

Kong's only grand hotel. The construction of a 30-storeyed building adjoining the

existing main building has largely enriched the existing line of hotel products and

services : an additional 100 guests rooms and suites, a new roof top restaurant of

trendy design and cuisine concept, a full range of spa and health club facilities,

meeting and function room spaces, business centre, a helicopter landing platform on

the roof and helicopter transfer services to the new Chap Lap Kok airport to be

completed in 1998. On completion of the massive extension programme, The

Peninsula will have the finest facilities of any hotel in Hong Kong.

3

On the Marketing side, there will be a shift of guest profile from leisure to

corporate. This will be achieved by developing and penetrating local corporate

market, with the newly added facilities which appeal to this market segment of high

yield in room revenues. The target is to change from the previous mix of 50 percent

corporate and 50 percent leisure to 60 percent corporate and 40 percent leiure. The

food and beverage operation aims to regain the hotel's position as the first choice

dining destination in Hong Kong for both international and local guests. The target

market will include corporate expense accounts, business executives in surrounding

offices, young professionals with high disposable incomes, female customer shoppers,

and high society familities. To coincide with the grand opening in December and in

1995, the hotel will be relaunched with massive local and worldwide advertising

programme.

On the Finance side, highly personalised service rendered by a well trained

team of experienced staff from the pre-project stage, coupled with the exceptional

nature of the property gives the hotel a unique and advantageous position in the

market. As such, premium rates in both Rooms and Food & Beverage will be

commanded thereby enabling revenue growth to the maximised. This will ensure a

healthy retum on investment for the company shareholders.

4

In terms of Human Resources, Organisational Structure and Internal Culture,

the hotel has gone through three phases and witnessed major changes :

1. Pre-project Stage before 1991

Average Headcount being 650，composed of a large portion of long service

employees a majority of them being in the same position as operational front

line staff throughout their tenure. Average age of staff members of all levels

was over 40 with a few young recruits mainly in guest contacted positions.

Staff to Room Ratio being 3.25, the highest amongst all hotels in Hong Kong

in view of the small number of guest rooms and comparatively large range of

food and beverage operation which was highly labour intensive that carried

half of the total headcount.

Along the line of very precise and formal service procedures, there was a high

degree o f job specialisation and standardisation to ensure high degree of skills

and accuracy. Job levels within a departmental hierarchy were well defined,

and hierarchical structures were complicated allowing fine division of job

tasks and resulting in very formal reporting line and chain of command.

There was a large power distance( between management level and general

staff. Decision making was highly centralised, and control of information was

5

mainly by department heads. There was a large status differential, and such

uneven distribution of power was being perceived as natural and proper. As

the staff team was composed of a vast number of long service employees

mainly local chinese workers, working relationship amongst all levels and

inter-department valued supportive and encouraging behaviour, with a

preference for co-operation and anti-competition. Harmony at work was

sought and confrontation was avoided.

2. Project Stage from 1991 to mid 1994

Average headcount maintained on the level of 600, with certain position

openings arising from natural attrition especially manual jobs being kept

vacant in view of the partial closure of the operations in all areas for

renovation extension work. The very adverse working condition mainly at

back of house areas and confined construction sites was a very demotivating

factor, with the loud noise and heavy pollution. A vast number of long service

employees who reached or were beyond retirement age requested to retire

officially, ending their tenure and capitalising on their handsome amount of

retirement funds. This stage also coincided with the massive brain drain period

resulting in a major loss of junior to middle management people who

emigrated overseas. As a result of the partial closure of guest floors and food

& beverage outlets, employees were deployed to help out in various locations

according to schedule of renovation as it was the company policy that no

6

employee is to be made redundant during the project stage although the actual

headcount maintained on the payroll was above the manpower requirement of

such scaled down operation. There was some resentment from staff who were

once so used to work on very defined job scopes.

With an increase of around 100 guest rooms and other hotel facilities, it was

the management objective to maintain a staff to room ratio of 2.5 hence a total

headcount of not exceeding 750. Such drastic drop in staff to room ratio could

be achieved through a complete review of the operation, simplification of

service procedures. Greater efficiency will be achieved through the best back

of house facilities design taking into account ergonomics and work process,

utilisation of modern work tools and latest technology to minimise labour

intensive job tasks. Departmental structures will be flattened by job merging

and enrichment, as such the employees will be trained to be multi-skilled and

more versatile. The hotel will also employ a younger work force who are

more trainable and receptive to the revised operation philosophy, this coupled

with an ongoing effort of training will bring human resources to an even

higher level of proficiency, which in turn will lead to reduced costs and

greater profitability.

It was anticipated that this major shift of the employee profile will have a

direct impact on the intemal culture and re-mould the organisation behaviour.

There will be a smaller status differential hence more open information and

7

communication amongst all levels. Management will encourage more

employee involvement through staff empowerment and decentralisation of

decision making. With a more market-driven and result-oriented approach of

mangement, more aggressive and assertive work behaviour is valued. Hence,

intra-hotel competition, conflict and confrontation are unavoidable.

Employee turnover in supervisory and management levels posed another

problem of succession planning. Employees with long service and good

experience were promoted to take up supervisory jobs which require sound

technical skills, good guest recognition, and a good working knowledge of the

hotel standard. The newly promoted were sent to overseas sister hotels to

undergo cross-exposure programme to broaden their horizon. However, junior

and middle management staff who have long been nurtured by the pre-project

intemal culture failed to fit the bill of position requirements for department

head level. Areas of shortfall such as the lack of vision to manage the change

process, and inability of coping with the new management style of a more

masculine^ culture putting emphasis on competitiveness and assertiveness.

Succession of positions on department head level resorted to recruitment from

outside targeting position incumbents with indepth field knowledge and

experience from other international or local deluxe hotels.

8

3. Completion Stage from mid 1994 to late 1995

Approaching the second half of 1994, new guest floors and other facilities

were opened in stages. There was a massive recruitment drive taking in one-

fifth of the total headcount according to the project completion schedule. A

majority of the new hired were school leavers who have completed vocational

training, or those displaced workers who have undergone service re-training

for back-of-house positions. Training effort was in full swing offering hote-

wide programmes such as Orientation and Re-Orientation, Basic Skills

Building Training, Product Knowledge Information, Management Retreat

working on Hotel Mission Statement, Operating Philosophy and Business

Planning.

Employees of all levels were of high motivation level, focusing their effort to

the completion of the project and the grand opening, while on the other hand,

looking after the day-to-day guest services. The employees take pride in the

new line of uniform giving them a modern look, and appreciate the completely

refurbished staff facilities providing more space and comfort. The grand

opening on December 1，1994 marked the 66th anniversary of the hotel

operation and the re-opening after a major extension project in the history of

the hotel.

9

The year of 1995 was the first full mature year of operation for the hotel after

the completion of the tower extension and original building renovation, and

it represented real challenge to the marketing effort, product and service

strategies and financial goals to the hotel operation. Rectification of defects

from the project stage and trials of new operation procedures were the main

focuses whereby guest services were refined to cope with the needs of the

target market.

Employee turnover ranked the second lowest in the industry, which

represented good effort in careful selection and staff retention. Training effort

focused on service skills building, service concept indocrination,

communication skills and management development for the newly promoted

section heads.

10

Literature Review

Towards the end of 1995, twelve months after completion of the project, and

around two years after major intake of management staff and promotion of general

staffto management level in early 1994，a management opinion survey was conducted

to collect information on their perception of the company culture, their perception of

job and pay, degree of satisfaction, and overall evaluation of the company as an

employer. Findings from the survey will be extremely useful to highlight areas of

improvement on the existing management practices and human resources programmes.

More importantly, to detect stability of management staff and identify effective ways

for retention as tumover of management staff is extremely costly, needless to mention

the degree of damage caused to team work, staff morale, operation efficiency, and

guest recognition.

A previous research study made by Michigan State University that involved

over 500 staff of hotel dining rooms regarding their goals in hospitality service

revealed major concems of junior and middle mangement staff at work ( Farrell,

1990 ) :

1. Supervision and Management Approach of Employer : degree of participation

in improving own department and the establishment, degree of freedom to

improve own operations

2. Working Relations : cooperative atmosphere at work, job rotation for better

understanding amongst colleagues

11

2. Careers and Promotion : receiving better training, increased responsibility in

own job, chance to leam next higher job

3. Job Security, Perceived Image of Company : organisational changes,

competitive position of the establishment

Findings from the above-mentioned research contain essential information

universally applied to the approach of hospitality industry management attitude survey

in view of the unique nature of this industry. The four domains also help to structure

the approach of this studies.

Certain domains of survey unique to The Peninsula should be address in view

of the its long history in hotel industry and the distinctive restructuring process it has

undergone very recently prior to the timing of the survey. Special emphasis is placed

on Communications including upward, downward and horizontal flows. An open form

of communication occurs only with the approval and encouragement of top

management, and largely reflects management's attitude toward employee

participation ( Vallen and Abbey, 1987 ). Failure of upward communication on

working issues is a valid measurement of the " fear barrier “ which in turns illustrates

the extent of power distance within an organisation.

12

The importance of the motivational factors to the management staff is also

explored based on Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory ( Holt, 1990 )• Emphasis is put on

the extrinsic factors including supervision, careers and promotions, pays and rewards,

job nature and demand. Those hygiene factors are a source of dissatisfaction which

is a good indicator providing useful insights for improvement.

13

CHAPTER II

METHODOLOGY

Time of Measurement / Areas of Measurement

The management opinion survey is drawn up by the author, being a member

of the hotel management team in the staff function. The survey which was conducted

in late 1995, attempts to explore the following main areas of interest to the

management of the hotel four years after the implementation of organisational change,

and one year after the actual re-opening of the property. Timing of the survey is

crucial and highly feasible since it is the stage while the first twelve months of

adaptation period was nearly over, and the hotel has successully re-positioned itself

fairly strongly in the market place and achieved positive financial results :

Part I : Perception of organisation climate, internal culture

Part II : Level of satisfaction relating to job nature and rewards

Part III : Overall evaluation of the hotel and company as an employer

14

The survey is a fairly simple and user friendly instrument, it comprises of 45

items and covers the following aspects relating to a management s taffs job in the

hotel categorised into the three main areas of studies :

Part I : 1. Communication

2. Work Relations

3. Supervision

Part II : 4. Careers and Promotions

5. Performance Appraisal

6. Pays and Rewards

7. Benefits

8. Training and Development

9. Job Security

10. Job Nature and Demand

Part III : 11. Managerial Competence

12. Hotel Philosophy and Image

Part IV, being a supplementary section, enables the management to analyse

the results according to the following characteristics of questionnaire respondents :

1. Length of service in hotel and within company

2. Length of service in current position

3. Current position in hotel management hierarchy

15

l ^ ^ ^ a ^ y r e m ^ B L M ^ i i i S m i ^

Only one — e n t tool • e m p _ d in this study in view of Us abUity

of collecting all re ,u .ed _ covenn. a fai .y 1 等 sa .ple - over a de.ned

_ d Of time. Q u e — 減 s e . to aU — . staff c l a s s _ by hotel

« e m e n t Merarchy as weU as benefU pac .a ,e e n . « as senior staff. The

3a .ple p o p . a . o n Of the s _ are aU s e . o . staff _ i o n — s at the time of

. , e s u . e y , regardless of total l e n , h of s e . i c e . the company and s e . . c e penod i„

cur ren tpos i t ion .Thesamples ize is59in to ta l .

p ^ n of Ouestimmakg

The questionn.re con.sts of three distinct parts, wUh questions of the same

— i t e m category being — t _ e r but not — .n any p —

sequence to provide for systematic reporting.

The whole questionnaire is composed of only evaluative questions in that the

.esponden. . e asked to ind.a te ones' tendency . agreement of certain aspects of

the 30b or the hotel. Respondents are asked to respond to s _ m e n t s on a four _

s c . e from 1 to 4. r « from s.ongly agree to strongly disagree. M all s _ m e ^

. e ph.ased in a posUive way, a mea„ 疯 of 2 or below indicates 触 the

.espondent has a positive opinion to the statement, whilst a mean score of 3 or above

b _ a negative attitude or opinion. The rationale of a four point scale is to eliminate

the undesirable central tendency of scoring.

16

In this report mean scores are mainly used for analysis. While the mean score

of evaluative items provides an accurate summary of management staff opinion, it has

the drawback of a limited range usually on 2 and 3. A further step of analysing the

survey results is by studying the percentage of respondents giving favourable

responses i.e. answers 1 and 2，or unfavourable responses i.e. answers 3 and 4. The

mode of analysis together with the mean score results give a larger range of studies,

and are intuitively more meaningful to managers. Hence the percentage favourable

and unfavourable responses are computed alongside with the means for reference.

The survey is designed in English only as most of the respondents have a

fairly high level of English proficiency. Those with difficulty in comprehension were

given assistance from Human Resources staff. Appendix 1 contains the sample

Management Opinion Survey Questionnaire.

17

CHAPTER III

TJNDJNGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter contains the major findings of the survey, providing summary and

highlights of the results obtained from the research, details of which are tabulated and

prsented in the Appendix Section of the report. Major findings of the results are also

discussed and elaborated to reflect the actual situation to prepare for recommendations

to be made for the consideration of the managment.

Response Rate

We sent out questionnaires to all management staff being employed at the

time, a total of 59 altogether. We received all questionnaires back indicating a very

positive and supportive attitude in taking this survey. This also shows their

participation in the project in anticipation of their ideas to be communicated to the

management and improvement to be made on a group concensus.

Characteristics Of The Survev Respondents

Amongst the 59 respondents, their characteristics identified are tabulated in

Table 1.

18

TABLE 1

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONDENTS

Attributes No. of Respondents

Total length of service in < 1 year 8 hotel and within company

> 1 year but < 3 years 16

> 3 years but < 5 years 9

> 5 years 26

Length of service in < 1 year 15 current position



> 5 years 6

Current position in Executive Committee 14 management hierarchy Member, Department

Head

Assistant Department 16 Head

Section Head 29

19

Although with a rather stable group of long service employees of over 5 years

employment, those who joined the hotel during the project stage takes up 40 percent

of the total group. They are of less than 3 years service with the company. This

factor coupled with the promotions from within reveals that 74 percent of the

management staff have only been in their current positions for less than 3 years. This

is more apparent amongst the group of section heads. Analysis of length of service

by position in management hierarchy is contained in Appendix 2,

General Analysis Of The Results

Analysis of the results shows that this group of management staff has a very

favourable attitude towards the hotel as a present and furture employer, and the

organisation climate which encourages open communication. The five most favourable

items are :

1. They have no hesitation discussing business problems with their superior (

mean score 1.52 )

2. They understand the system for bringing complaints to attention of the

company ( mean score 1.65 )

3. There is a cooperative friendly atmosphere among the management employees

(mean score 1.67 )

4. They are interested in advancing in the hotel ( mean score 1.67 )

5. They consider their superior to be very helpful ( mean score 1.67 )

20

All questions in Part I, II, III sorted by mean score in ascending order

together with percentage of favourable response are contained in Table 2.

21

TABLE 2

PART I，II，III - ALL QUESTIONS SORTED BY MEAN

Question Mean % Fav

No hesitation discussing business problems with manager 1.52 0.90

Understand system for bringing complaints to attention 1.65 0.90

Cooperative friendly atmosphere 1.67 0.92

Interested in advancing in hotel 1.67 0.94

Manager is helpful 1.67 0.85

Family feels the hotel an excellent employer 1.67 0.85

I want to work for the hotel 3 years from now 1.68 0.90

Good unerstanding of manager expectation 1.69 0.86

Benefit package is good 1.70 0.88

Future of the hotel looks good 1.71 0.94

When I make mistake, manager gets message across 1.71 0.90

My job is what I want 1.75 0.88

Budget considerations do not affect operations 1.75 0.88

Manager is fair 1.76 0.86

Manager is fair in evaluating performance 1.78 0.84

Feel secure if results are satisfactory 1.79 0.85

Manager carefully explains job assignment 1.82 0.84

Manager appreciates my work 1.83 0.79

Manager regularly keeps me informed 1.85 0.81

Manager gives latitude to exercise judgement 1.86 0.84

Manager has confidence in me 1.87 0.77

Have confidence in manager 1.87 0.77

Feel that I belong to a team 1.88 0.87

My manager is capable 1.88 0.79

Have confidence in complaint precedure 1.90 0.84

22

TABLE 2 ( CONT')

PART I，II, III - ALL QUESTIONS SORTED BY MEAN

Question Mean % Fav

Manager keeps me informed of performance 1.90 0.81

Satisfied with compensation 1.90 0.80

Have confidence in top management 1.90 0.79

Information I need available 1.92 0.81

Manager is interested in my development 1.94 0.79

The hotel is interested in management opinions 1.98 0.83

Receive credits for contributions 2.00 0.72

Manager considers my opinion before decision 2.00 0.68

Promotion given to deserving person 2.02 0.76

Management employees being treated fairly 2.02 0.76

Have no difficulty getting day off 2.03 0.80

Satisfied with advancement so far 2.04 0.80

Hotel keeps managers informed 2.12 0.75

Opportunities for promotions satisfy my ambitions 2.14 0.74

Demands of job do not interfere with my personal life 2.16 0.73

Sufficient time for my personal life 2.17 0.67

Adequate provisions for exchanging information 2.18 0.71

Reasonable pressure 2.19 0.73

Last salary took performance into account 2.20 0.64

Satisfied with training 2.30 0.60

23

It is also helpful to note the five items with the highest percentage of

favourable response which somehow coincide with the items with most favourable

mean scores as well :

1. They are interested in advancing in the hotel ( percentage favourable 0.94 )

2. They feel the future of the hotel looks good in terms of profitability and

goodwill ( percentage favourable 0.94 )

3. There is a cooperative friendly atmosphere among the management employees

(percantage favourable 0.92 )

4. They have no hesitation discussing business problems with their superior (

percentage favourable 0.90 )

On the other end of the mean score tabulation, management s taffs concerns

as reflected by the five least favourable mean score items are :

1. The amount of training they receive in the company ( mean score 2.30 )

2. The last salary increase did not take into account job performance ( mean

score 2.20 )

3. The amount of pressure the job puts on them ( mean score 2.19 )

4. Provisions made for exchanging business information and ideas with other

members of management are not adequate ( mean score 2.18 )

5. The normal work week does not allow sufficient time for personal life ( mean

score 2.17 )

24

The five items with lowest percentage of favourable responses in decending

order are :

1. The amount of training they receive in the company ( percentage favourable

0.60)

2. The last salary increase did not take into accountjob performance (percentage

favourable 0.64 )

3. The normal work week does not allow sufficient time for personal life (


4. Before my superior makes a business decision that affects my area of

responsibility, he / she does not ask for and consider my opinion first (


5. Provisions made for exchanging business information and ideas with other

members of management are not adequate ( percentage favourable 0.71 )

The item “ my superior considers my opinion before decision ” although not

amongst one of the lowest mean score items, has a fairly high percentage of

unfavourable response. This appears to be in contradiction to the findings from the

items of high mean scores and high percentage of favourable response. However, this

could be explained by the fact that as the hotel was in its initial year of operation

after the re-opening with new management tactics, constant review and adjustment of

operational procedures is mandatory. This is even more apparent when it concems

matters of guest services such as discount and upgrading policy, complimentary items

25

giveaway in complaint handling, and emergency arising from failure of new

technology and system. The lack of consultation and participation of ail levels of

management in making all those reviews explains the perceived autocratic supervisory

style in decision making.

It is important to bear in mind that because the management s taffs attitudes

are very positive with the highest mean score at 2.30 and lowest percentage of

favourable response at 0.60, the overall perception of the surveyed items is actually

fairly positive and encouraging.

Detailed Discussion Of Survey Results

Detailed mean scores, along with percentage of favourable response for items

sorted by item categories in Part I, II, and III are in Appendix 3, 4 and 5

respectively. And for easy reference, questions in each part are sorted by mean and

presented in ascending order in another tabulation.

Communication

It appears that management staff have a very open attitude in communication

at work, reflected by the best mean score of their readiness to discuss business

problems with their superior. They have good understanding of the system bringing

complaints to the attention and have confidence in the complaint procedure. The

information they need at work is readily available. The areas for improvement

appears to be the provision of opportunities for exchange of information with other

26

management staff, and mechanisms for keeping them informed which address

shortfalls in lateral and downward communications.

Work Relations

The respondents' views are again very positive on the cooperative and friendly

atmosphere in the hotel. The focused effort in preparation for the re-opening and

modifications during the whole year of 1995 has helped to promote team work and

coordination between departments. The long service members from internal promotion

and those recruited from outside work in harmony, combining their wealth of

knowledge from the pre-project stage of hotel operation and past experience acquired

from other hotels.

Supervision

Superior gets the message across in a nice way when coming across mistakes

made by subordinates. They are perceived to be fair and helpful when assistance on

work problem is sought, and they explain job assignment carefully. It explains the

relatively high mean score of respondents' good understanding of the expectation of

their superiors. However, some findings raise issues on the perceived autocratic

supervisory style as discussed earlier in the chapter. The lack of consultation and

participation of subordinate management staff in decision making of business issues

make them feel that their superior have little confidence in them, and the element of

appreciation to the work they do seems to be undermined and down-played by the

rather centralised decision making process.

27

Careers & Promotions

Most respondents express their positive view on theirjob at the present stage

of their career, and they are especially keen on further advancing in the hotel and to

remain under the employment three years from now. However, opportunities for

future advancement in the hotel do not seem enough to satisfy ones' ambitions,

whether it is in view of the relatively slow expansion plan of the company which does

not provide sufficient rooms for relocations and upward career moves, or due to the

fact that promotion in the hotel is not given to the most deserving persons. As most

newly recruited department heads were in the same capacities of other hotels prior to

joining, what they will eye on in the near future is definitely a further career

advancement within the company.

Performance Appraisal

Job performance evaluation on a daily basis and the formal yearly appraisal

conducted in year end is seen to be accurate and fair. However, there lacks a strorfg

signal of giving credit for contributions, which further strengthens the point regarding

appreciation of job done elaborated in the section of supervision.

Pays & Rewards, Benefits

The hotel has long been perceived as an ethical employer offering above

average compensation and benefits package. It is not surprising to see that

management staff are very much satisfied with their compensation and benefits, which

is believed to be relative to the industry average. The item of “ last salary increase

28

took into account job performance “ receives rather high mean score could be very

misleading and in contradiction to the other item. Further examination of the cause

reveals that as a majority of them were either promoted or hired in 1994，the

relatively short period of service did not allow salary review for 1995 to take into

account the performance in 1994.

Training & Development

Managers are perceived to take interest in their subordinates' growth and

career development. However, the amount of training management staff receive is

considered to be insufficient to facilitate further development. Emphasis of training

mainly on basic job task skills building and language proficiency for general staff

following the massive recruitment drive expended huge amount of training resources.

Management development and long term career programme for experienced

management staff did not enjoy a fair share of funding during the hectic period of re-

opening and the stage shortly after.

Job Nature & Demand

Respondents' ratings on all four items are very consistent, indicating that their

hotel management job is very demanding in terms of the amount of time consumed

and the degree o f job pressure which somehow interfere with their personal life. This

is further intensified by the extra burden and demands during the project completion

and rectification stages, needless to mention the nature of the industry which calls for

long working hours and anti-social shift pattern in most cases.

29

Managerial Competence

Respondents tend to hold a positive view on the competence of their superior

and that of the top management as a whole.

Hotel Philosophy & Image

There is a very high percentage of favourable response to the item “ future

of the company looks good in terms of its profitability and goodwill “ in such a short

period after the operation is back in full swing, echoed by the perception that budget

considerations do not hinder quality of hotel operation. It is reassuring to find that

their families consider the hotel an excellent company to work for. Opinions of

management employees are valued, which in a way contradicts the not so favourable

response to the item “ management employees are treated fairly ” which could be due

the lack of promotion opportunities or promotions not necessarily given to the most

deserving individuals.

30

CHAPTER IV

RECOMMENDATIONS

The findings in Chapter III reported areas with comparatively low level of

satisfaction where improvement is desired. Those areas are likely to result in job

dissatisfaction which in tum may lead to diminishing sense of belonging, withdrawal

behaviours or another cycle of turnover in management level when the operation

starts to get smooth following completion of the project and re-structuring of the

organisation. Tumover of management staff is extremely costly in terms of

recruitment and relocation expenses if required, and needless to mention the

interruption and potential damage caused to the operations and guest services.

Moreover, management succession poses another problem shortly after major

promotions not too long ago.

The management should consider the results of the survey seriously and

formulate an action plan over a period of one to two years. The Executive Committee

at the top management level should oversee implementation of the plan with intrim

reviews and refinement. Areas of improvement with action plans warrant an annual

survey for the same target group to assess the effectiveness of the programmes. The

following are recommendations for actions by the top management :

31

1. Allocate sufficient funding for management development and career

programme through various channels. Gone are the days that hotel is

perceived as an industry placing more emphasis on technical and human

relations skills, while equal emphasis is not given to academic achievement

and conceptual skills. Management staff usually advance their hotel career by

acquiring on-the-job skills and experience building. While most of the hotel

management staff lack a formal training in business management perspectives,

the hotel should provide part-time or day-release development programme in

conjunction with local or overseas education institutions to cater for such

training needs. This helps identify suitable and qualified candidates for

management succession plan and conveys the message that management takes

interest in the career growth of the management staff thus promotes sense of

belonging to the company. Overseas cross-exposure programme jointly run

with sister hotel overseas also helps selected managers to experience operation

of another property under different cultural, political, and social environments,

thus facilitates future plans of relocation and career move.

2. The company should take a new look at the system of management

performance evaluation, taking into account achievement of objectives so as

to devise a performance-driven bonus system based on which a fair share of

monetary reward is granted to the good performers. The same principle could

be applied to the annual salary review to a certain extent, as annual salary

adjustment in Hong Kong is somehow largely determined by the projection of

32

annual inflation, and it is not uncommon that industry average scales are

observed in carrying out such exercise. At the time when the paper is

finalised, the company has initiated a new management performance system

to ascertain the 1996 bonuses based on financial results, cost savings, quality

of operation and guest satisfaction statistics. The once widely accepted service

related bonus system will be terminated and phased out over a 3-year period.

3. To address the issue of decentralisation of decision-making process by

consulting staff opinions to a greater extent, this could be achieved by

delegating the task of operations review to section head level. Their

recommendations derived from daily contacts with the guests at the front line

should prove to be of great value for refinement while the management

directives on policies are already in place.

4. Management staff of department head level and below should be given the

opportunity of cross-training during non-peak season with related departments

on a similar level so as to promote mutual understanding on each others' goals

and objectives. This also makes provision of opportunities for exchange of

information and resources, and mechanisms for keeping them better informed.

Timely follow up and appropriate actions are vital to sustain respondents'

confidence on this exercise of opinion survey. Their confidence that results of the

survey will be used constructively by the mnagement will be further strengthened.

33

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

The management opinion survey has been successful with a 100 percent

response rate, and a general concensus that the survey results will be used positively

by the management. The results are generally favourable with management staff

feeling there is a very open communication channel for them to address business

problems, and they have reasonably good understanding of their job and the system

they work on. There is a cooperative friendly working atmosphere, and the positive

response reassures a rather stable management team with long term career plan with

the company given the opportunities for further training and development, and a

performance based remuneration system recognising good work and contributions is

in place. The main concerns are the lack of autonomy and inadequate provisions for

exchanging information which could be improved as discussed in the chapter of

recommendations. Demands of thejob and the pressure on managers which interfere

with one's personal life is another concern which seems to be inherent to the hotel

industry and could hardly be resolved. It is anticipated that as the rectification stage

is approaching to an end, management staff could focus more on the day-to-day

operations and the demand on their extra working hours should be reduced gradually.

34

The very positive views of the management staff is a source of strength which

the hotel should endeavour to bring downwards to a larger population of the general

staff. It is hoped that this paper provides useful insights and solutions to the

management of the hotel at this stage of its operation and in the years to come.

35

APPENDIX 1 - MANAGEMENT OPEVION SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

Please read each statement carefully and circle the answer which is closest to how you feel. When references are made to ” my manager ", it is intended to mean the person to whom you report. PLEASE BE CANDID ！

PART I Strongly Strongly Agree Disagree

1. I have no hesitation discussing 1 2 3 4 business problems with my manager.

2. I understand the system for 1 2 3 4 bringing complaints to the attention of the company.

3. I have confidence in the complaint 1 2 3 4 procedure and am confident it will be handled without reprisal.

4. There are adequate provisions 1 2 3 4 made for exchanging business information and ideas with other members of management in my organisation.

5. The hotel keeps me well informed 1 2 3 4 and up to date regarding company information and development.

6. The information I need to do my 1 2 3 4 job is readily available to me.

7. I feel that I belong to a team 1 2 3 4 whose members work together.

8. There is a cooperative, friendly 1 2 3 4 atmosphere among the management employees at my level in the hotel.

9. My manager keeps me informed of 1 2 3 4 what he / she thinks of my performance and where I stand.

36

PART II Strongly Strongly Agree Disagree

10. When I make a mistake, my manager 1 2 3 4 gets the message across to me in a nice way.

11. I have a very good understanding 1 2 3 4 of what my manager expects me to accomplish in my jobs.

12. My manager is fair in the way he / 1 2 3 4 she treats the employees who work for him / her.

13. When my manager gives me a job 1 2 3 4 assignment, it is carefully explained to be sure I understand it.

14. My manager has confidence in me. 1 2 3 4

15. My manager gives me enough latitude 1 2 3 4 to exercise my judgement and initiative.

16. Before my manager makes a business 1 2 3 4 decision that affects my area of responsibility, he / she asks for and considers my opinion first.

17. My manager appreciates the work I 1 2 3 4 do, and he / she lets me know.

18. My manager regularly keeps me 1 2 3 4 abreast of what I must know to do my job properly.

19. My manager is very helpful when I 1 2 3 4 ask for his / her advice and assistance on a work problem.

37


1. From what I can see, promotion in 1 2 3 4 my organisation are given to the most deserving persons.

2. I am well satisfied with my career 1 2 3 4 development since joining the hotel service.

3. My job measures up very well to 1 2 3 4 what I want in a job at this stage of my career.

4. If I have my way, I want to be 1 2 3 4 working for the hotel and the company three years from now.

5. The opportunities for future 1 2 3 4 advancement in the hotel are enough to satisfy my ambitions.

6. Knowing the added responsibilities 1 2 3 4 that advancement will mean, I am interested in advancing in the hotel.

7. My manager is very fair in 1 2 3 4 evaluating my job performance.

8. I receive credit for the contributions 1 2 3 4 I make.

9. My last salary increase took into 1 2 3 4 account my job performance.

10. I am well satisfied with my compensation. 1 2 3 4

11. I consider the benefit package available 1 2 3 4 to me to be good.

12. I am well satisfied with the amount 1 2 3 4 of training I receive in the company.

38


13. My manager is interested in the 1 2 3 4 growth and development of my career.

14. As long as my business results are 1 2 3 4 satisfactory, I feel secure in my job.

15. The demands of my job usually do 1 2 3 4 not unreasonably interfere with my personal life.

16. My normal work week allows me 1 2 3 4 sufficient time for my personal life.

17. The pressure my job puts me under 1 2 3 4 is reasonable.

18. I have almost no difficulty getting 1 2 3 4 my days off each week and getting my vacation.

39


1. My manager is the kind of person 1 2 3 4 I have confidence in.

2. I consider my manager to be very 1 2 3 4 capable.

3. I have a lot of confidence in the 1 2 3 4 top management of the hotel and the company.

4. From my observation, management 1 2 3 4 employees are treated fairly by the hotel and the company.

5. The company is genuinely interested 1 2 3 4 and concerned about the opinions of its management employees.

6. Budget considerations do not control 1 2 3 4 decision making to the point that our operations suffer.

7. My family feels that the hotel 1 2 3 4 is an excellent company to work for.

8. I feel the future of the hotel 1 2 3 4 looks good in terms of its profitability and goodwill.

40

PART IV

1. Length of service in the hotel and within the company :

< 1 year > 1 year but < 3 years > 3 years but < 5 years > 5 years

2. Length of service in current position :

< 1 year > 1 year but < 3 years > 3 years but < 5 years > 5 years

3. Current position in the hotel management hierarchy :

Executive Committee Member, Department Head Assistant Department Head Section Head

THANK YOU ！

41

APPENDIX 2 ( 2/3 )

ANALYSIS OF LENGTH OF SERVICE -BY POSITION EV MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY


Executive Committee Members, Department Heads -



> 3 years by < 5 years 3

> 5 years 3

Length of service in < 1 year 3 current posiiton



> 5 years 1

42

APPENDIX 2 ( 2/3 )



Assistant Department Heads -



< 3 years but > 5 years 3

> 5 years 5




> 5 years 1

43

APPENDIX 2 ( 2/3 )


Attributes No. of

Section Heads -




> 5 years 18




> 5 years 4

44

APPENDIX 3 ( 1/2 )

PART I - ITEMS SORTED BY ITEM CATEGORIES

Category Q.No. % Fav % Unfav Mean

Communication 1 0.90 0.10 1.52

2 0.90 0.10 1.65

3 0.84 0.16 1.9Q

4 0.71 0.29 2.18

5 Q.75 0.25 2.12

6 0.81 0.19 1.92

Work Relations 7 0.87 0.13 1.88

8 0.92 0.08 1.67

Supervision 9 0.81 0.19 1.90

10 0.90 Q.lQ 1.71

11 0.86 0.14 1.69

12 0.86 0.14 1.76

13 0.84 0.16 1.82

14 0.77 0.23 1.87

15 0.84 0.16 1.86

16 0.68 0.32 2.00

17 0.79 0.21 1.83

18 0.81 0.19 1.85

19 0.85 0.15 1.67

45

APPENDIX 5 ( 2/2 )

PART III - QUESTIONS SORTED BY MEAN

Question Mean Q. No.

No hesitation discussing business problems with manager 1.52 1

Understand system for bringing complaints to attention 1.65 2

Cooperative friendly atmosphere 1.67 8

Manager is helpful 1.67 19

Good understanding of manager expectation 1.69 11

When I make mistake, manager gets message across 1.71 10

Manager is fair 1.76 12

Manager carefully explains job assignment 1.82 13

Manager appreciates my work 1.83 17

Manager regularly keeps me informed 1.85 18

Manager gives latitude to exercise judgement 1.86 15

Manager has confidence in me 1.87 14

Feel that I belong to a team 1.88 7

Have confidence in complaint procedure 1.90 3

Manager keeps me informed of performance 1.90 9

Information I need available 1.92 6

Manager considers my opinion before decision 2.00 16

Hotel keeps managers informed 2.12 5

Adequate provisions for exchanging information 2.18 4

46

APPENDIX 4 ( 1/2 )

PART II - ITEMS SORTED BY ITEM CATEGORIES


Careers & Promotions 1 0.76 0.24 2.02

2 0.80 0.20 2.04

3 0.88 0.12 1.75

4 0.90 0.10 1.68

5 0.74 0.26 2.14

6 0.94 0.06 1.67

Performance Appraisal 7 0.84 0.16 1.78

8 0.72 0.28 2.00

Pays & Rewards 9 0.64 0.36 2.20

10 0.80 0.20 1.90

Benefits 11 0.88 0.12 1.70

Training & Development 12 0.60 0.40 2.30

13 0.79 0.21 1.94

Job Security 14 0.85 0.15 1.79

JobNature&Demand 15 0.73 0.27 2.16

16 0.67 0.33 2.17

17 0.73 0.27 2.19

18 0.80 0.20 2.03

47

APPENDIX 5 ( 2/2 )



Interested in advancing in hotel 1.67 6

I want to work for the hotel 3 years from now 1.68 4

Benefit package is good 1.70 11

My job is what I want 1.75 3

Manager is fair in evaluating performance 1.78 7

Feel secure if results are satisfactory 1.79 14

Satisfied with compensation 1.90 10

Manager is interested in my development 1.94 13

Receive credits for contributions 2.00 8

Promotion given to deserving person 2.02 1

Have no difficulty getting day off 2.03 18

Satisfied with advancement so far 2.04 2

Opportunities for promotions satisfy my ambitions 2.14 5

Demands of job do not interfere with my personal life 2.16 15

Sufficient time for my personal life 2.17 16

Reasonable pressure 2.19 17

Last salary increase took performance into account 2.20 9

Satisfied with training 2.30 12

48

APPENDIX 5 ( 1/2 )

PART III - ITEMS SORTED BY ITEM CATEGORIES


Managerial Competence 1 0.77 0.23 1.87

2 0.79 0.21 1.88

3 0.79 0.21 1.90

Hotel Philosophy & Image 4 0.76 0.24 2.02

5 0.83 0.17 1.98

6 0.88 0.12 1.75

7 0.85 0.15 1.67

8 0.94 0.06 1.71

49

APPENDIX 5 ( 2/2 )



Family feels the hotel an excellent employer 1.67 7

Future of the hotel looks good 1.71 8

Budget considerations do not affect operations 1.75 6

Have confidence in manager 1.87 1

May manager is capable 1.88 2

Have confidence in top management 1.90 3

The hotel is interested in management opinions 1.98 5

Management employees being treated fairly 2.02 4

50

REFERENCES

1. Westwood, Robert I. Organisational Behaviour : Southeast Asian Perspectives. Hong Kong: Longman Group (Far East), 1992 p.44

2. Westwood, Robert I. Organisational Behaviour : Southeast Asian Perspectives. Hong Kong: Longman Group (Far East), 1992 p.38

51

BIBLOGRAPHY

Books

Vallen, Jerome J., and Abbey, James R. The Art and Science of Hospitality Management. Michigan: AH & MA，1987.

Holt, David H. Management Principles and Practices, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990

Periodicals

Farrell, Tom "Communications in the Food Service Industry" The Cornell Hotel And Restaurant Administration Quarterly ( Reproduced Copy ) : 53-58.

C U H K L i b r a r i e s

MMmim I • • • ?5 f lOb4

management opevton survey of a hotel … · 2017-01-01 · management opevton survey of a hotel...

Documents