Industry Work Placement - Rydges Bell City - Assignment Example

Industry Work Placement: Rydges Bell City Name Institution Lecturer Course Date Industry Work Placement Hurdle: Rydges Bell City Rydges Bell City is located in Melbourne. It is strategically located such that it is within close distance to the city, the airport and various attraction sites, which enables it to serve several clients every day (Rydges Bell City 2013). Therefore, the institution is a beehive of activity, which makes it an ideal place for students to gain hands on experience on various operations and activities. The hotel has various facilities including open-plan studios, a bar, a restaurant, conference rooms, accommodation rooms and self-contained kitchenettes (Rydges Bell City 2013). During my 24 hours of work placement in Rydges Bell City, I worked in three different departments or areas: hotel rooms (8 hours), restaurant (8 hours) and main kitchen (8 hours). In hotel rooms, I assisted in cleaning of rooms and beddings immediately after a client leaves. In the restaurant, I assisted in cleaning of floor, table mats and table cloths. This involved collecting dirty table cloths and mats and cleaning them, as well as cleaning floors when dirty. In the main kitchen, I was involved in cleaning the floor, which we did periodically after some time as directed by the kitchen manager. Cleaning Materials and Equipment a) Cleaning equipment: dust pans, feather brush, dusters, mops, sponges, scrub brush, scrub bucket, trash bag, vacuum cleaner, carpet brush, washing machine. Vacuum cleaners and carpet brushes were used for cleaning first class guest rooms that have carpets. I used sponges to clean tables and other small surfaces while scrub brushes and scrub buckets were used to scrub floors to remove stains. Mops and dusters were used to clean weak dirt on floors especially restaurant floor, which has tiles. Washing machines were used for laundry work especially bed sheets, towels and table cloths. b) Cleaning materials: they included cleaning agents and disinfectants. Cleaning agents included Vim, liquid soap, bar soap, sanitiser (sanifresh), anol, Jik and freshener. Disinfectants included Dettol, Jik and deodorisers. Disinfectants were added in rinsing water when doing laundry work. Where chemicals are stored and how housekeepers know which products to use on different surfaces There is a store in the hotel where chemicals are stored. The store is manned by a store keeper who issues different chemicals and equipment to housekeepers every morning or as required. In the store, there are manuals used by the store keeper to know where to use chemicals. These manuals are provided by manufactures of various chemicals. Since the store keeper has vast experience, he knows which chemicals to issue to different workers depending on the surfaces they are cleaning. Unhygienic practices that I observed Chemical storage in the hotel is properly done considering that chemicals are stored in a chemical store, which is separate from other facilities in the hotel, and far away from food centers, such as food store and the restaurant. However, I observed one unhygienic practice especially during washing wherein workers were not provided with the appropriate protection gear to protect them from dust. There are low cost items that workers should be given to protect them from dust especially in hotel rooms. The hotel should have sufficient dust masks for every worker cleaning dusty areas safeguard their health. Staff Duties Daily Tasks of a Housekeeper During my stay and work at the hotel, I understood the daily tasks of a housekeeper, which are essential in ensuring that the operations of a hotel run smoothly. These tasks, some of which I was involved in, include: Cleaning, washing and replacing furnishings, equipment and clothing Operating various washing and cleaning equipment including vacuum cleaners Checking facilities for breakage and wear, reporting and doing necessary replacement as directed Cleaning floors daily and/or regularly as required; such floors include restaurant floors, toilet floors, kitchen floors and floors of hotel rooms. Checking hotel rooms to ensure that vacant rooms are kept tidy and fresh and that beds are made Checking floors for spills, water and dirt and cleaning them regularly to ensure they are clean and dry Cleaning windows regularly Emptying dust bins and trash containers when full Damp dusting mirrors, furniture, windows and lighting fixtures among others Disinfecting clothing and surfaces to ensure that they remain in infection-free and sanitary conditions Check rooms immediately after guests leave and report any damage to the supervisor Disposing all disposable materials including waste and trash as required Is it better to clean in pairs or individually? Before answering this question, it is important to highlight when housekeepers should clean individually, in pairs or in groups of more than two housekeepers. Arguably, the main factor determining how many people should clean is the amount of cleaning work being conducted and the number of people required to handle the work. Very short tasks may not warrant working in pairs especially where working in pairs will compromise efficiency, such as cleaning a toilet (too little space for working in pairs). Nevertheless, unless work situation calls for working in pairs, working individually is better than working in pairs. From experience, working in pairs creates room for laziness because it will be difficult to evaluate individual performance. On the other hand, it is possible to evaluate individual performance when cleaning individually because the supervisor or management just has to determine how fast an individual is. Secondly, I found out that working in pairs, which was the case in some places, resulted to time wasted as cleaners spend some time chatting instead of working. Purpose of daily briefings Daily briefings were common in the hotel where cleaners were briefed on various issues including where and how to work and observing basic precautions especially in ensuring that they do not negatively interfere with other operations when cleaning. Therefore, daily briefings have two key purposes: Provide basic cleaning directions especially for new or delicate tasks Remind employees basic precautions and safety measures Are there staff incentives/benefits/rewards for housekeepers? The hotel has a performance management system for all its workers including housekeepers, which is aimed at enhancing performance through benefits. Cleaners who show excellent performance are usually promoted to become team leaders or supervisors. Promotion is one of the highly used rewards aimed at motivating performance improvement among workers (Campbell 2007). I also found out that the hotel offers monetary rewards for excellent performance at the end of the year when performance appraisal is conducted. Research shows that monetary reward results to improved performance as employees strive to receive such awards thereby working hard (Fiorillo 2011). Is there opportunity for promotion? Yes, the hotel has an opportunity for promotion for housekeepers, which is based on performance and education. As aforementioned, housekeepers who show excellent performance are promoted to higher positions, such as storekeepers, supervisors and team leaders. However, this is again dependent on the level of education wherein people who have shown interest in such positions through appropriate training, such as leadership training, are considered. I later understood that this program is meant to encourage housekeepers to undergo various training while motivating them to show exemplary performance. Is there opportunity to transfer to different areas of the business? The hotel does not have an opportunity to transfer to other areas. People employed as housekeepers are those who have done housekeeping and, therefore, cannot work in other departments or areas of the business. Security Housekeepers should observe various security measures for their own sake and for the sake of the entire organisation. Such security measures include: Female housekeepers should not work in occupied rooms especially if occupants are males. This measure is aimed at protecting housekeepers from ill motives of clients, such as rape. Such cases are very possible. For example, Greenhouse (2011) reports a case in which a female housekeeper was confronted by a male guest who wanted to rape her. The guest had sought help from the housekeeper before grabbing her attempting to rape her. More so, guests should always carry something like a mop, which they can use for defense. Greenhouse (2011) also reports a case where a female housekeeper used a hard scoop she always carried to scare away a guest who wanted to rape her. Whenever housekeepers observe some unusual behavior with their colleagues or guests, they should report to the hotel management or security personnel immediately. Such measures are aimed at stopping such ill motives. During my first day in the hotel, when working in the guest rooms, I noticed one of the housekeepers peeping into an occupied room. I assumed the behavior only to realise later that a guest was stolen some items after he had moved out of the room and forgot to close it. Later, a female housekeeper told me that she was once raped by her male counterpart as they were cleaning an empty guest room. She had foreseen it earlier but assumed it on the basis that the two were friends. She, however, did not report the rape case fearing that her colleague would hurt her. Bibliography Campbell D 2007, ‘Nonfinancial Performance Measures and Promotion-Based Incentives’, Journal of Accounting Research vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 297-332. Fiorillo D 2011, ‘Do Monetary Rewards Crowd out the Intrinsic Motivation of Volunteers? Some Empirical Evidence for Italian Volunteers’, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics vol. 82, No. 2, pp. 139-165. Greenhouse S 2011, Sexual Affronts are a Known Hotel Hazard, The New York Times, accessed September 20, 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/business/21housekeeper.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Rydges Bell City 2013, Welcome, accessed September, 20, 2013 from http://www.rydges.com/accommodation/melbourne-vic/bell-city-melbourne/welcome/ Read More