Management with HRM - Cliffside Hotel - Assignment Example

Management with HRM Contents Executive Summary 3 Answer 3 Answer 2 5 Answer 3 6 Answer 4 8 Answer 5 10 Answer 6 11 References 13 Executive SummaryThe report deals with a case study on Cliffside hotel. This report aims to analyse the operating environment and how it has changed over time. It will also focus on the approach of the said hotel on HRM. In analysing the above question, the workforce of the hotel will be considered along with the alternatives available to it. It will also consider advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives. It will lay the focus on why it is important for the hotel to perform better. In doing so, the report will talk about the necessity of coaching and mentoring on the process of performance improvement. Answer 1 The operating environment in the Cliffside Hotel has changed considerably in the latest period of its functioning. This is primarily because; the management of the hotel is considering new strategic goals and priorities which would bring about major shifts in the operating environment of the organization. The management is planning the expansion of the provisions and services of the hotel and is also aiming at extending the business premises of the hotel. This automatically means that the internal environment and structure of the organization would experience changes which would directly affect the human resource groups of the hotel (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2008). Also, either the upsizing or the downsizing of the existing employee groups of the organization has to be done according to the requirements of the new initiatives and objectives of the business. The employees of Cliffside Hotel seemed to have developed a comfortable relation with Mark Tanner during his tenure of work in the hotel. Therefore, Mark Tanner leaving the job has already led to the creation of several lapses among the employees which had been improved during the time he had been managing the hotel and the human resource groups working there. A change in the management constituents can directly affect the employee groups. Also, the aim of reviewing the existing project structure and processes and making suitable amendments is likely to impact the employee groups, either in a positive or a negative manner. Thus, it can be identified that the operating environment of the Cliffside Hotel has changed considerably and can be expected to experience more changes in the future. Thus, the management of the hotel should develop suitable strategies and human resource management plans to ensure that they can prepare and manage the employee groups in the desirable way so that these groups can act as valuable resources for the organization in the process of the introduction of changes. Already, the hotel is the employer of staffs and trainees from different disadvantaged backgrounds like employees who have mild difficulties in learning, from broken homes or other problematic backgrounds, recovering from different types of addictions, mentally challenged to some extent and fighting other challenging physical and mental conditions like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The heterogeneous and complex groups of employees working in this organization make it difficult for the human resource managers of the Cliffside Hotel to manage the employees in an optimum and beneficial manner. In such a background, the introduction of new operating policies and systems and considerable changes in work demands and business processes may lead to further deterioration of performances or cause lack of interest among the employee groups. As such, the management as well as the individual human resource managers of the hotel should take up a delicate approach towards managing the people who are currently working in the organization. Taking up the ‘soft HRM’ approaches is most necessary in this situation so that the needs and requirements of the people are more focused on by the management (Bratton and Gold, 2012). Answer 2 The employment of more expert staffs in the hotel may act as a danger for the performances of the hotel in the short to medium term scenario because the expert staffs may be more professional in nature and as such, may fail to understand or empathize with the restraints or limitations that the trainees working in the organization are facing (Jackson, Schuler and Werner, 2011). The recruitment of expert professionals is necessary to achieve the business objective to expand the services and operations of the hotel. However, since, the hotel has always been employing people from disadvantaged backgrounds and people managing challenges and difficulties, therefore, the inclusion of expert staffs may lead to the creation of communication gaps and conflict of interest among the staffs and the trainees working in the hotel. Thus, introducing effective communication sessions, inclusion and empowerment policies and clear allocation of job roles and authorities should be made to reduce the conflicts among different employees in the hotel. Downsizing is not a suitable option for the hotel in the current state because in order to achieve the business objective of extending the services and operations, the organization has to rely on more number of workers. Also, the primary aim of the Cliffside Hotel is to conduct the business with a focus on the social and charitable causes which would be hampered by reducing the number of employees in the hotel (Storey, 2000). Outsourcing can be considered to be a better option in the present scenario of the hotel. Since, the need of efficiency and expertise is imminent to improve the performances of the business and also extend the operations of the hotel, therefore, the management of the Cliffside Hotel can outsource the more complex level of work to a third party service provider (Torrington, Hall and Taylor, 2005). This would help to maintain the consistency and quality of services which are difficult to expect from the trainees who are currently working in the hotel. Further, outsourcing some of the complex tasks may help to relieve the excess work burdens on the employees and they would thus not feel pressurised by the increasing workloads and demands (Huselid and Becker, 2006). The mental health and motivation of the employees in Cliffside Hotel are the primary requirements that should be fulfilled for managing the employee groups of the hotel. As such, outsourcing would act as an effective strategy to balance the mental state of the employees by decreasing the workload. At the same time, the outsourcing of the work would also mean that the performances of the organization as a unit would not have to be compromised on and would also not remain excessively reliant on the contributions of the internal workers of the hotel (Leopold, Harris and Watson, 2005). Other than that, the management of the Cliffside Hotel should also consider using stringent recruitment, selection and training processes to ensure that the upsizing of the workforces do not lead to instability within the organization. Proper induction processes for the new employees and suitable communication and introduction sessions would help to develop a more collaborative and cooperative workforce within the organization which would act as a team towards the achievement of the organizational objectives (Zanko, 2002). Answer 3 Increasing the level of engagement among the employees of the Cliffside Hotel is extremely important because the engagement leads to commitment, both of which are mandatory components for performance and efficiency in an organization. An engaged employee is likely to perform more proactively towards the achievement of the organizational visions and goals and are also likely to take more effective actions towards enhancing the reputation and achieving the interests of the organization (Cloke and Goldsmith, 2002). Shanice can improve the engagement and involvement levels of the employees in the hotel by introducing carefully tailored coaching and mentoring programs and training and development programs by evaluating the requirements of different types and levels of employees working in the organization (Hendry, 2000). A high level of engagement among employee groups can be achieved by creating job satisfaction among the employees. The creation of job satisfaction among the employees in the Cliffside Hotel are much different and complex that that in any other organization because the Cliffside Hotel employs people who are from disadvantaged backgrounds or are facing some kind of mental or physical challenges. This means that the requirements of these employee groups are significantly different from that of the general employees working in any organization. For increasing the level of engagement through job satisfaction, the management of the Cliffside Hotel should focus on creating mental satisfaction among the employees. The need of a healthy stress free life and support system are more important for the employees of the Cliffside Hotel rather than the monetary benefits. However, the need for recognition and appraisal is primary among all human beings as specified by the Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory (Federman, 2009). Figure 1: Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs (Source: Federman, 2009) Therefore, the management of the hotel should try to balance the financial and non financial benefits from the jobs so as to enhance the level of involvement and commitment that the employees display in their respective job roles. Answer 4 Performance management is an important HRM practice that is used to employ activities that ensure that the organizational goals and objectives are consistently met with in an efficient and effective manner. This involves a process through which the organizations prioritise their goals and objectives and also focus on improving the performances of an organization through the proper alignment and optimal allocation of the available resources and capabilities within the same (Boxall and Mack, 2009). The main aim of the performance management system is to align the employee resources of a company to the strategic priorities and objectives of the business (Koonce, 2001). Figure 2: Performance management system framework (Source: Collings and Wood, 2009) It is crucial for the Cliffside Hotel to focus on improving the performances of the employees considering the current internal state of the organization. The current attrition rate of the staffs working in the Cliffside Hotel is very high at 24% which indicates that the management should immediately take effective steps to actively engage the employees in every possible aspect of the business. Since, the hotel is the employer to people who are suffering from some kind of health and mental troubles, therefore, the chances of the performances of the hotel being affected on a regular basis are at the higher side. In order to control a drop in performance levels and in order to ensure higher degrees of consistency in the performances of the hotel, the management should consider employing suitable performance management techniques like employee engagement, open door policy, training and development systems, feedback systems and rewards and appraisal systems (Boxall and Purcell, 2003). All these performance management methods are likely to boost the involvement, commitment and motivations of the trainees and permanent staffs working in the Cliffside Hotel. The level of interactions is highly significant in any kind of service industry. Considering this, the management of the Cliffside Hotel should focus on developing more transparent and clear communication between all departments and all levels of employees and the management as well. An integrated and strategic approach of performance management is likely to increase the performance levels of the individual employees as well as the effectiveness of the Cliffside Hotel as a single business unit functioning with a charitable cause. Managing the employees and trainees and paying attention to them on an individualized basis is likely to improve the scopes for supporting the employees in a more customized manner (Beardwell and Claydon, 2010). A commitment analysis may help to gauge the level of involvement and motivation that each of the employees currently display and then steps should be taken to improve the motivation and involvement of the employees through a self performance propelled process (SPPP). The human resource manager of the Cliffside hotel should also focus on trying to help the employees including both the employees and trainees to align their personal objectives and goals with the organizational objectives. This would help to create a sense of identification and recognition among the workforce and thus, would lead to higher level of involvement which is the pre requisite for improving performance levels (Wilton, 2013). Answer 5 Coaching and mentoring are identified as highly impactful ways of improving the performances on an individual employee level (Armstrong, 2006). The need for coaching and mentoring processes are imminent in the Cliffside Hotel, considering the diverse groups of employees working in the hotel. Proper methods of coaching and mentoring employed in the organization would help the employees to learn, grow as well as connect with each other, thereby, making the internal organizational environment and culture a more supportive and positive one. Coaching and mentoring are also extremely necessary in the present situation of the business in which the organization is likely to experience major structural and procedural changes. The coaching and mentoring processes would help the employees to deal with the stress arising from the changes and would also help them to adapt to the organizational changes in a more capable and beneficial manner. The management of the Cliffside Hotel should develop a separate coaching and mentoring unit in the business so that the unit can develop personalised mentoring programs to the individual employees. Also, generalized coaching processes including sessions of development of interpersonal and communication skills, work related skills and dealing with other problems faced by the employees can be effectively done (Stajkovic and Luthans, 2011). Internal mentoring programs would act as valuable ways in which the employees can be made more empowered and involved in the processes of the organization and at the same time would help them to become more aligned with the changes taking place in the organizational systems and processes in the Cliffside Hotel. Answer 6 Stress among the employees, particularly the trainees is a major issue that is currently being faced by the Cliffside Hotel. The presence of high levels of stress among the employees can lead to substantial deteriorations in the performances and efficiencies of employees. In addition, the changes in the operational environment and business objective of the Cliffside Hotel may further aggravate the stress levels as noted among the staffs and trainees working in the organization. Thus, in this scenario, the application of empathy and emotional intelligence should be used in the human resource management strategies as used by the HR mangers working in the hotel (Bing – Sheng, 2004). Developing and managing the interpersonal skills, communication skills and problem solving skills among the employees is necessary to ensure that the employees are more motivated and involved in their work. This can be done by developing suitable mentoring, coaching and development practices (Aswathappa, 2012). Figure 3: Relation of stress management and job satisfaction (Source: Davis, Schoorman and Donaldson, 2007). The hotel needs to employ individualised stress management systems which would help to address the concerns of stress and anxiety among the employees. Different employees working in the hotel are from diverse backgrounds and are coping with their individual challenges and problems. Therefore, the levels and types of stress experienced by them are also distinct in nature. The human resource manger of Cliffside Hotel should try to develop personalized and supportive stress management programs and session that would be primarily aimed at improving the mental health of the staffs and trainees. Apart from this, initiatives like the employment of a mental health specialist, introduction of exercising and other stimulating activities and motivational sessions may also act as powerful techniques of stress management for the trainees of the hotel (Guest, 2007). If the stress levels among the employees of the Cliffside hotel are not adequately controlled, this may lead to severe repercussions for the business. Not only would the high levels of stress negatively impact the performances of the employees but also this may cause more clashes and conflicts among different workers. This can also increase the attrition rate, absenteeism rate and the overall employee turnover rate which would act as major threats on the way of the achievement of the strategic business objectives of the Cliffside Hotel (Brewster and Mayrhofer, 2012). References Armstrong, M., 2006. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Aswathappa, K., 2012. International HRM. 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