La Napoli - Cultural Issues, Problematic Symptoms, and Key Managerial Problems - Assignment Example

Name: Tutor: Title: La Napoli Case Study Course: Institution: Date: La Napoli Case Study Introduction La Napoli is part of Tom Brown’s Restaurant Group that was set up in Hong Kong. La Napoli was developed following the suggestion of one Mr. Luigi Compio who approached the restaurant CEO, Chris Parkes, with a proposition of developing a prestigious restaurant complex in Hong Kong shopping centers. Campio was a chef of Italian-American origin who wanted one final project to leave a mark in the cuisine world. Despite Campio studying Italian cuisine for a long time and having referred to as Master Chef, it did not play any role in making the La Napoli restaurant a success in Hong Kong. Campio had spent most of his time in America and only did research trips to Italy. His trips to Hong Kong were when he went there with his Vietnamese wife. It is during his trips to Hong Kong and several visits to Italian restaurants that he realized a gap in the market. He got back to Tom Brown’s to get the necessary financial backing. After an informal market research he came to the conclusion that there was a gap to be considered in the Italian restaurant. This case study brings to the limelight the essence of understanding cultural settings before any kind of investment is done (Boella, 2000 p.205). The La Napoli restaurant which was started in Hong Kong was a big flop under the leadership of Campio as the management director. There was huge employee turnover and conflicts occurred from time to time. Cultural issues Campio was more acquainted with the America culture as compared to Italian culture. His orientation with the Italian culture was only when he did his research trips to Italy. He had not stayed in Hong Kong long enough to understand the culture of the people of Hong Kong. He had been there for a holiday with his wife and moreover, the research that he conducted was informal may not have presented enough empirical evidence to support the setting up of the restaurant in Hong Kong. The setting up of the hotel may not have been a problem but the way it was managed caused the huge problem. The way the restaurant was run depicts the disparity between the American culture and Italian culture. There seem to be little understanding of the difference between the different cultures. This is also an Italian hotel in China in the shopping centre of Hong Kong. Consequently there should some agreement between Chinese culture and Italian. Campio was able to convince John Clarke who in turn convinced the board to back his idea. It was a novel idea which was not implemented well. Seeing an opportunity in the Chinese market due to lack of serious competition, Campio set his heart at making a dream come true. Adequate market research was not effectively done to determine the cultural dimension that defines the success of restaurant business in China (Hayes & Ninemeier, 2008, p.43). It was a chance for the restaurant chain to diversify its portfolio. The team that was assembled was composed no individual of Italian origin. Campio assistant were a mature Indian man, Ravij, a young American Chinese man, David, and a German chef, Hans. Ravij had worked in Hong Kong for several years. This is an Italian restaurant being set up in China and there was no body from either of the cultures who was involved in pioneering the projects. Foreign professional were involved in the original set up of the restaurant. An expert on Italian cuisine should have been involved from the beginning in the set up of this hotel. Besides, Chinese experts who understand the movement of Italians in China should have been used in this case (Kavanaugh, Ninemeier & Daschler, 2001). The assistants to Campio did not have any background of Italian cuisine for long whereas he himself had been to Italy through research trips. When Peter, an Englishman was appointed as a third assistant manager, he was put in charge of Pasticeria which is a coffee/cake shop. This place was situated next to the La Napoli restaurant. Once more an Englishman was sought out for the job with the aim of targeting Italians in China. No effort was made to have an expert on Italian cuisine be part of the team as earlier as possible. An insider who understand what the Italian in China want their food to be like should have been incorporated to be part of the team as soon as possible. The baker and the head chef were all Chinese who had to rely on recipes given to them by Campio. As it turned out later on some of the recipes were not perfect like the case of that for baking. Problematic symptoms La Napoli restaurant was being setting in new environment where scant market information had been used to set up the project. Consequently recruitment drive being stepped out prior to the grant opening was very late. At this juncture is when the bakery and kitchen teams were hired. The personal observation of Campio is what was being used in implementation of operations at La Napoli restaurant. Campio criticized the kind of service that was being offered in the Hong Kong ‘Western’ restaurants and the lack of product knowledge. The corporate culture of La Napoli was set up on the wrong start from the beginning. Staff with no experience was preferred over those with experience. Campio thought it is wise to hire people with no experience so that they could be molded into the anticipated image. Furthermore, he wanted to pay low wages and salaries to inexperienced workers. There was no worker who was bringing any experience of Italian cuisine in La Napoli. Everyone had no experience in Italian cuisine and Campio himself was brought up in American culture and he studied Italian cuisine in some of his research. Therefore, there was no one with an in-depth knowledge of how operations in the new found La Napoli restaurant should have been handled. Although Campio had criticized was being done in other hotels, he had not done research to determine want the clientele wanted and what was expected of his team. The major problem was lack of consultations and the restaurant’s affair being run by one person. The taste and preference of Campio was being used to run the whole restaurant without clear delegation of duty. He threatened employees and hired and fired when he felt like. Campio wanted to secure a deal with the employees which cost the restaurant very little. Low wages were one of his policies and he encouraged the assistant managers to go for as low wages as possible. Lack or absence of structure of recruitment and training posed another challenge to the restaurant (Riley, 1996, p.197). There was hardly anyone who had experience in Italian cuisine present and the yet the restaurant targeted to serve Italian cuisine in China. Campio was in charge of training the employees as well as recruitment with the help of the assistant managers. Lack of defined structures and department in the La Napoli restaurant brought about confusion and conflicts. Campio handled almost everything concerning the restaurant with very minimal delegation of duty. There was no research or consultation that was done concerning how the restaurant should be decorated. It is reported that Campio went into department stores nearby where he did impulse buying. Then aesthetic value of the restaurant should have taken in the difference in cultural dimensions of different societies. La Napoli being an Italian cuisine should have some tough of Italian culture or decorations. The decorative material was bought with little consideration of the targeted customers. There are different perceptions which are held by different societies around the world (Maxwell, MacDougall & Blair, 2000, p.234). What can be right in an American society was totally wrong in an African society. Different cultures have a way of treating people and encouraging interactions in the society. It is wrong to throw all caution to the wind and behave as if there are no disparities as far as cultural dimensions are concerned. Cultural influences how people assimilate in any given context. Key managerial problem Culture is an important determinant of perception and influences the experiences of people. It was not very good for Campio to be outrages in his behavior with other people without considering the new setting of the hotel. While purchasing decorative materials for the hotel, Campio was approached by an elderly Chinese man who asked them where they were going so that he could call a taxi. Campio hurled cases and abuses at the old man and made it clear that their destination was none of the old man’s business. This was obnoxious behavior that must have given the restaurant a negative image in Hong Kong. Campio was irritable excessively and his temper seemed to get out of control. People who saw the behavior of Campio that particular day must have spread new about new phenomena in town and the La Napoli restaurant. Consequently, it does not come as a shock that there was a low turn out during the launch of the hotel which was below expectations of the management. They had anticipated a very busy evening but it turn out to have less activity. Campio continued with his culture of handpicking of workers. He hired a restaurant hostess without consulting anyone and she was the only female working in the hotel besides Campio’s wife. The advertisement for job opportunities at the restaurant was done was done in English to eliminate other people from applying. It happened that most of the applicants were Pilipino while only one was a local Hong Kong Chinese. At some point during the interview Campio interrupted the session and indicated his preference candidate for the Pasticeria. The candidate was hired in spite of her spoken English that was poor. Majority of the hired employees were people with no experience as some were referred as boys. Social interaction rules influence social perception development and differ across different cultures. Cultural homogeneity in perceptions will enhance social interaction while differences discourage it (Wei, Crompton & Reid, 1989, p. 324). Culture defines service quality perceptions and hence satisfaction with social intercourse in the delivery of a service. In case of tourists their perceptions of the hosts will influence holiday destination selection and gauge satisfaction and the possibility of repeat satisfaction. In La Napoli restaurant, the majority of the employees were inexperienced and there was no one with experience of Italian cuisine. It is very possible that guests at the hotel were disappointed with the kind of services they received hence there were no repeat visits. The training that was offered by Campio only centered on the quality of drink and food. The workers were not training on service delivery at all. Diversity in culture is very evident in many societies and employees at La Napoli were not trained to handle people from diverse culture (Armstrong, Mok & Go, 1997, p.185) It is the Italian tourists to Hong Kong, China, that were expected to have their food at La Napoli. Unfortunately no any Italian considerations were done when deciding on any of the services or facilities to be installed at La Napoli restaurant. Lack of defined structures to explain the role of each employee made Campio to interfere virtually with everything in the hotel. Campio had to take the workers through food preparation training as they observed him. It was not adequate for the workers to pick the needed skills to expertly serve guest expected at La Napoli restaurant. Some of the waiting staff sat idle while the rest of the workers and their mangers ran around with a lot of anxiety and stress. Initially, workers targeted were to be English speakers but the management it not see it necessary to hire Italian speakers who could be used in translating (Shaw & Barrett-Power, 1998, p.3025). Menus had to be translated into Italian. It may not have been accurately done to the chagrin of the guests. During the grand of the restaurant the staff did not understand what was expected of them. There was a lot of confusing during the opening of the restaurant and long delays were experienced when guests placed their orders. Waiters could not communicate well in English and could not describe the content of food or give a translation of Italian names for a variety of dishes. The order of serving of the food was jumbled up and more food than ordered could find its way to a single table. There was uttermost confusion. Campio also assumed the role of the head chef as he vetted orders and directed cooking. The hotel was on to a slow opening and it dawned on the management that new restaurant really needed time to develop. Recommendations The establishment of La Napoli restaurant in Hong Kong was evidently done in a hurry without adequate market research and preparation. The experience of Campio and his own informal research were used to set up La Napoli restaurant in Hong Kong. Despite the wrong start the restaurant could not be a flop if everything was done right. The anticipation of the management was far much different from what happened on the ground. A culture study of Italian cuisine should have been done to ensure that what was being implemented was the right thing. When guest came to La Napoli spent little that what the management expected. The clientele did not for Italian multi-courses and the American way of big eating. At lunch time they had light meals and they did not go for expensive wines. A cultural study should have been done in the restaurants in Hong Kong and the preference of the guest determined. The observation of Campio was not enough to back a grant idea without adequate research. There is a high possibility that Italian residing in Hong Kong had different eating habits as compared to those in their native land. Management at La Napoli expected the guests to buy large amount of food during meals. It is apparent that the target customers were not reached out to or the clientele in Hong Kong was totally different from what the management expected. It would be prudent for the management to carry out a customer satisfaction check through feedback forms to see whether there is something peculiarly wrong with their services. Customer feedback system where buy the guest rank the quality of service they have received and make recommendation should be installed. There is need for cultural overhaul of the restaurant to come up with new ways of operation (Pizam, Neumann & Reichel, 1996, p. 35-9). The high turnover rate in La Napoli restaurant is due to incessant conflicts between employees and the management. Structures defining the role of each employee need to be put in place. There should be someone to head the kitchen, someone to be in charge of the public relation and another one to head of human resource department. The human resource department should be in charge in of all employees’ welfare and design the manner of recruiting and selecting new employees (Pizam, 1999). Moreover, dismissal of employees should not be done according to the whims of one individual. Before an employee is dismissed his side of the story has to be heard and disciplinary department should be put up within the human resource department. La Napoli restaurant went through a hard time due to absence of structural setting. There were no departments or defined roles of employees in the restaurant. On top of that, the management should consider hiring professionals who already are trained in the area of Italian cuisine. Continuous training in Italian cuisine should be recommended for employees throughout their stay at La Napoli. The frequent employee exit from the La Napoli could be avoided if there if there is a department that deals employee complains (Walker & Miller, 2009). Disappointing profits were as a result of low guest turn up. The projections of the management were based on informal collection of information and therefore they should be surprised that events turned out as they were. A thorough market survey should have been done prior to the launch of the restaurant. The management team experienced conflicts due to lack of defined roles (Nickson, 2007, p. 234). The cheesecake recipe was faulty while no one offered any explanation. The Bakery Chef consequently resigned. If every hired employee in La Napoli restaurant was a professional such mistakes or misfortunes could not occur. The workers should have training in cultural diversity so that they are able to handle guest from different backgrounds. La Napoli would have done well if workers were hired in the right manner. The restaurant could employ the services of a recruiting agency to get best employees (Baker & Moreo, 2008, p.8). The recruitment procedure was faulty. Campio picked people without any professional guidance. It is disappointing that the workers at Napoli were being hired without experienced so that they could be paid low salaries. This is exploitation that may not have given the restaurant a good name around Hong Kong. The restaurant should have hired the services of professionals who were trained to work in exotic hotels. Moreover, somebody with training or a real experience in Italian cuisine should have been found to work in the restaurant. Quick adjustment should be done and workers with experience should be brought on board. If workers are paid low wages they do not give their best (Goldsmith, 1997, p. To motivate employees to work with increased morale, they should be paid well. It will be seen that all the experienced employees leave the restaurant by the end of the year. Campio should not be solely left to run the restaurant and manhandle everyone. He could be replaced by someone else who is capable (Tanke, 2000, p. 155). Employees’ satisfaction as well as customer satisfaction cannot be realized unless wrangles and conflicts are dealt with completely. Conclusion La Napoli is an Italian cuisine hotel which is set out in Hong Kong, China. However, thorough market research should be done to determine the viability of the restaurant. Customer satisfaction test or survey should be done to determine which direction the management should take. There already many mistakes which have been done in recruitment and lack of departmentalization have crippled many functions in the hotel. If corrections are done within good time, the restaurant may pick up and be profitable as initially anticipated. Bibliography Hayes, KD. & Ninemeier, JD, 2008, Human Resources Management in the Hospitality Industry, John Wiley and Sons: London. Tanke, LM, 2000, Human resources management for the hospitality industry, Cengage Learning: New York. 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Kavanaugh, R.R. & Ninemeier, JD & Daschler, JP, 2001, Supervision in the hospitality industry, Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Lodging Association: New York. Boella, M.J, 2000, Human resource management in the hospitality industry, Nelson Thornes: London. Nickson, D, 2007, Human resource management for the hospitality and tourism industries, Butterworth-Heinemann: Melbourne. Riley, M, 1996, Human resource management in the hospitality and tourism industry, Butterworth-Heinemann: Melbourne. Maxwell, G, MacDougall, M & Blair, S, 2000, Managing Diversity in hotel sector: The emergence of a service quality opportunity, Managing service quality, 10 (6) 367-373. Shaw, J & Barrett-Power, E, 1998, The effects of diversity on small work group processes and performance, Human relations, 51 (10), 1307-1325. Baker A, & Moreo P, J., 2008, Does national culture affect hotel managers' approach to business strategy? 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