Critical Reflection - Essay Example

?The assessment of Penine Center was carried out by identifying key issues and ifying them in broad categories such as transportation, poor organization and management, maintenance and safety, failure at meeting financial targets and poor marketing plans. The recommendation was to carry out risk analysis and contingency planning. Risk analysis is the process through which helps in the identification as well as the assessment of different factors that can jeopardize the achievement of goal for any particular project (Haimes, 1998). Risk mitigation can be carried out through the optimal use of existing assets, contingency planning and through investment in new resources. Before using these techniques, it is necessary to understand the key causes of concern through a risk analysis. Based on the risk analysis, key issues were prioritized and recommendations were provided for each of them. From the given situation, it was obvious that there were multiple issues at multiple levels. The technique of risk analysis was chosen because it helped in looking a holistic picture of the situation at hand and it also helped in the identification of the areas of improvement regarding each of the issues identified (Slovic, 2000). The methodology of carrying out risk analysis was to find out the issues of concern and look at each individual issue in detail. 1. Safety Issues – With regards to maintenance and safety, the key recommendations is to outsource maintenance to contractors who would do period checks to ensure that there is no flooding or electrical short circuits. Outsourcing to a vendor can put service level agreements in place and hence, would ensure a higher level of maintenance. In addition, the outsourced vendors would be experts in the particular domains and hence, would be able to provide a service that is of much higher standard when compared to the in-house workers. In a building, that involves a considerable movement of people, safety and maintenance is of prime importance as security and maintenance lapses drive the crowd away (Schrader, 1992). Apart from outsourcing the safety maintenance, another aspect that could have been considered was consultation from an architect who can provide a long-term solution in terms of flooding or seepages. There could be some financial investment involved initially, however during the later stages, there would be benefits as regular costs would reduce considerably. 2. Organization and Management – Through analysis, it was found out that the management did not have a proper structure and there was no motivation factor present. For any organization, however big or small it may be, it is necessary to have a very good organization structure so that at any given point, accountability of issues is possible. The recommendation was to organize an event that would help in motivating the staff and reorganizing the staff within the departments. However, it is important to understand that motivation among the staff does not happen with just an event, it is an ongoing process (Weightman, 2008). In addition, a simple reorganizing the staff would not be a long-term solution. Instead, having a proper organizing structure in place is highly recommended. The structure should be designed in such a way that accountable individuals take each aspect related to the Penine Center. A proper structure would also prove to be a motivation to the staff. 3. Retail Outlets leaving - The retail outlets in the Penine center were leaving because of dissatisfaction. This could be due to many other reasons such as safety as well as transportation. The main reason why retail outlets leave any commercial complex is when they do not get a steady flow of customers so that they make profit out of the enterprise. The recommendation was to meet with the owners of the retail outlet and persuade them to stay. Also, providing some incentives to help them with the current financial condition can prove to be helpful in retaining them in the Penine Center. In addition to all that, it is also necessary to introduce some incentives to customers, so that they get motivated to visit the retail outlets in the Penine Center. Offers related to product launches and sales can be successful strategies for drawing crowds to the retail outlets. 4. Transportation – Transportation and traffic management also seemed to be a big cause of customer dissatisfaction (Davis, 2010). Good parking and easy accessibility are factors that help in increasing the customer base. If there location is easily accessible, it would naturally improve its popularity. Hence, the recommendations were to outsource parking to a parking management company and to introduce shuttle services from the nearby stations at periodic intervals. These are good suggestions because they help in solving any transportation related crisis. 5. Marketing – During the analysis, it was found out that customers are not aware of the hotel services and gym services in the Center. There is no doubt that marketing initiatives play a very important role in generating awareness (Kotler, 1980). A robust marketing can help in transforming the mindset of the public towards Penine Center. Hence, the recommendation was to set up a marketing department that will help in promoting the various facilities through a central marketing system. In addition, it would have been better to include specific marketing strategies such as promotional events, distribution of pamphlets as a part of recommendations. 6. Financial Targets and High Overheads– The Center was lagging behind in meeting the targets by a very large margin (over 30%) for the past four years. The top reasons included a non-motivated staff and no strategic vision. However, the suggestions to overcome this challenge were very general, such as increasing revenue and profitability, reducing cost and establishing accountability. While these general suggestions provide a direction, it is also necessary to focus on very specific recommendations. The first step in improving revenue is to find out the factors that are increasing cost and reducing the profit. After the identification of these factors, specific strategy can be framed based on prioritization. Hence, the recommendation related to financial targets and high overheads should be looked at in more detail. The assessment exercise was carried out in groups of three people. The process of identification of key issues and risk analysis was done together where all the individuals shared ideas and pointed out the possible next steps. One the main areas of concern were identified, the topics were divided among the individual so that each person could focus on particular issues. The topics were divided taking into consideration the interests as well as the expertise of the team members. Each individual focused on the topics given to them to identify the issues that were causing problems and in finding out the ways in which the matter could be resolved. The personal contribution was made regarding the issues of transportation management as well as safety and security. Safety and security was identified as the topmost areas of concern during the risk analysis. To find out the reasons due to which safety concerns arose, discussions were carried out with various individuals representing each group – retail outlet owners, customers and staff of Penine Center. The unanimous response to this issue was the lack of hygiene, flooding issues and no proper maintenance. The same activity was also carried out regarding the transportation issue and it was found out that both accessibility as well as lack of parking facilities. This process helped in the identification of obstacles. While there was overall satisfaction with the suggestion made regarding these two key issues, some more concrete suggestions such as the specific roles of the third party vendor and strategies to control flooding would have been more useful when considered from a practical perspective. Additionally, personal contribution was also made during the process of understanding the various reasons due to which the Penine Center was unsuccessful in meeting the financial targets for many years consecutively. The strength of the group lay in the way in which. In addition, a good amount of co-ordination as well as co-operation was also seen among the team members. Each member of the team participated actively in any discussions and carried out the task in a very meticulous manner. The team was very open in discussions and also consulted each member of the team to get perspective on tough matters during the entire process of risk analysis and identification of recommendations as well as solutions. An area of improvement that could be looked at for future purposes is that inputs regarding the recommendations can be collated from each of the team members, instead of just one individual focusing on a particular issue. This will help in providing refined and concrete recommendations regarding each issue. Another area of improvement is to make sure that recommendations are more actionable. For example, instead of making the suggestion to increase revenue, it would be more effective if the various ways to improve revenue were listed out. This exercise taught that while it is recommended to look at the bigger picture and identify key concerns, it is also equally important to give suggestions and recommendations that are actionable and that can be carried out or implemented easily. References Davis L.C. (2010). Introduction to Modern Traffic Flow Theory and Control. Physics Today, 63 (3) p. 53 Haimes, Y. (1998) Risk Modeling, Assessment and Management. New York: John Wiley Kotler, P. (1980). Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Slovic, P. (2000). The Perception of Risk. London, UK: Earthscan Schrader, J. (1992). Security First: Providing Safe Environment: A Primary Goal. Chain Store Age Executive, 46-47 Weightman, J. (2008). The Employee Motivation Audit. Cambridge: Cambridge Strategy Publications Read More