Five Elements of Management - Accent Hotel Group Management - Case Study Example

Effective administration Administration is the key part of the management process that is responsible for the design and implementation of systems and procedures instigated by management to help meet stated objectives (Burnes, 2004). Effective administration is the common understanding of the structure of the organization, processes and systems, roles responsibilities and everyone’s involvement in the organization having a professional attitude and set of skills (Singh, 2009). As such Fayol’s five elements of management enable one to better understand how an effective administration ought to be. According to Fayol, planning, coordinating, organizing, controlling and commanding are the five elements of management (Burnes, 2004). Fayol discussed fourteen principles of management in 1949. These included division of work; discipline, authority and responsibility; unity of command; subordination of individual interest to the general interest; unity of direction; remuneration; span of control; centralization; equity; order; stability of tenure of personnel; esprit de corps and initiative. In accordance to Fayol, these principles were to be used to execute the elements of management. According to Fayol, planning involves setting objectives, forecasting future objectives and devising ways of achieving the objectives. Thus in order for the Accent Hotel Group’s administration to be effective, it needs to set objectives and forecast future objectives for the firm that can enable it succeed in the hotel industry. In addition to setting such objectives, the management need to be able to come up with innovative ways of attaining these objectives. According to Fayol the plans were supposed to be flexible and were supposed to put into account any unaccepted contingencies (Burnes, 2004). Since the hotel industry like other businesses operate in an ever changing business environment, the Accent Hotel Group management need to have flexible plans that can be easily manipulated to fit the changing business environment. Being rigid can deny the group the ability to utilize a potential business opportunity. Fayol argued that managers can only be able to plan if they are aware of business environment and be able to foretell future conditions (Singh, 2009). The Accent Hotel Group’s managers can only be able to do this by carrying out business surveys to inform them of the prevailing external environment. Furthermore, Fayol pointed out that managers need to be good in the process of decision making. Even though the management at the Accent Hotel Group have embraced the idea of employee involvement, if they have to be effective does not imply that they will be using all contributions from their employees (Miller, 2008). Instead they ought to be smart in identification of ideas which can help them attain the strategic goals of the firm, and decide to implement them. In order to utilize Fayol’s element of planning fully at Accent Hotel Group, the management ought to start with scanning their environment for prevailing economic conditions, organization competitors, and customers of the organization (Burnes, 2004). Once this is attained they can use this information to try and foretell future conditions. This will then aid in establishing the group’s objectives and how to attain the goals. This will help them to choose amongst the ways devised which will in turn help in the formulation of implementation steps. To ensure that what they plan for is effectively implemented, Accent Hotel Group managers will need to constantly evaluate and take necessary corrective measures. Coordination is the second element of management according to Fayol. It is aimed at harmonizing all the firm activities (Singh, 2009). Thus, in order for Accent Hotel Group administration to be effective, there is need for coordination of various activities in the firm. Even though the group embraces employee involvement in decision making process, all employees need to be under supervision of an administrator who coordinates there activities and in turn reports to upper management. For instance the training and development of employees need to be coordinated by line managers who should be tasked with identification of skills needs gaps and inform the human resource management who can either organize for the training of existing staff or carry out a recruitment exercise to ensure there are no skills shortage at the firm. Controlling function is the third element of management according to Fayol which involves ensuring that all activities of the firm are carried out within the plan and the associated principles. This was expected correct any deviations from the organization plans and objectives. Controlling involves establishment of performance standards, comparison of standard and actual performance. In line with this element, management at Accent Hotel Group can ensure its effectiveness by controlling finances, production, service delivery processes, compliance with policies of the group and operation processes. Commanding according to Fayol involves supervision of other employees in addition to motivating them to perform their duties. Fayol emphasized the need to understand people who work for the organization (Burnes, 2004). Managers were expected to lead by example, treat the employees in professional way, delegate duties and communicate to both employees and stakeholders through meetings and conferences (Miller, 2008). At Accent Hotel Group, it seems employees contribute greatly to decision making process and managers and department heads are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that key performance indicators are met. The consultation that takes place at the firm is commendable. In order to enhance this kind of culture, to ensure effective administration, the managers and department heads need to have regular formal and informal meetings with their employees to brief them on how far they have attained their objectives and how to improve on their current performance (Singh, 2009). Organizing is the last element of management according to Fayol and it makes provision for the firm’s relationship, structure of activities, recruiting and training of employees (Miller, 2008). In order for the Accent Hotel Group to have an effective administration there is need to develop an autonomous human resources department instead of just a learning and development unit. This department will aid in human capital needs analysis, recruitment, selection and hiring in addition to training and development of human capital at the firm (Burnes, 2004). Organizing also involves development of organization structure and allocation of human resources. The HR department at the Accent Hotel Group will enable it to effectively allocate the available resources rationally and in accordance to the needs of each department (Singh, 2009). Furthermore, it will help in designing jobs for individuals and their respective duties and responsibilities within Accent Hotel Group prior to their hiring. This will also be able to address the inconsistencies seen in the performance appraisal system at the firm and implement appraisal system that can effectively improve the performance of the firm. How to attain a commitment to excellence and continuous improvement in business practices and services Peters and Waterman principles of excellence relates organizational issues to corporate performance. As such they developed eight principles which characterize excellent firms. The two identified organizational design attributes which are associated with organizational issues and corporate performance. One of the attribute that characterize excellent firms is bias for action. Excellent firms prefer doing things. For instance, Accent Hotel Group is characterised as being an action oriented firm (Burnes, 2004). This is illustrated by acting on its commitment of being a learning organization by setting up a learning and development unit and going further to develop each manager and department head to become coaches and mentors to their staff. In addition, the general manager in conjunction with department heads are tasked with ensuring that key performance indicators are integrated into their operational plans and objectives and that the set objectives are met. Furthermore, having realized that the performance appraisal system at the firm is outdated the firm acted by commissioning a report which identified a number of inconsistencies with the outdated appraisal system (Miller, 2008). As a consequence the firm acted on this by implementing a new performance management system. Thus for firms to become excellent, they need to be action oriented rather than just setting good objectives which are not honoured. The second attribute that was identified by Peters and Waterman that characterises an excellent firm is being close to the customer. This is the obsession of the firm to satisfy its customers and is held as a strategy in the execution of the business.  This attribute is one of the contributing factors for excellence at Accent Hotel Group (Miller, 2008). The attribute is upheld at this firm through commitment to excellence via quality, standards of performance and customer service which results in high satisfaction of the customers. The firm is constantly looking for ways to delight its residents and guests and bringing them a total quality experience. Thus there is a continuous improvement of the quality of service delivered to Accent Hotel Group’s customers which has ensured that it continuously excels.   The third attribute identified by Peters and Waterman that characterises an excellent firm is autonomy and entrepreneurship. This entails breaking up a large organization into smaller elements and encouraging each to think independently and competitively. The success of Accent Hotel Group can also be linked to this attribute. The group has upheld this attribute by having each hotel run b y a general manager and to be run as a semi-autonomous profit centre/strategic business unit. Excellent firms are also characterised by having hands on, value driven. This is a strong value for people in the company to understand and feel proud of (Burnes, 2004). Accent Hotel Group upholds this attribute through embracing an inclusive culture which gives staff an opportunity to input into the groups critical success factors and key performance indicators. Some of the inputs that the staff participates which are especially related to well being of employees at the firm include terms and conditions of employment, health, safety and hygiene (Singh, 2009). All staff are consulted also consulted about the resultant plans and receive their own personal copy which have motivated the employees at the firm since they feel involved in the running of the hotel. This has helped the firm to develop a shared sense of commitment to and ownership of the attainment of the key performance indicators and objectives among employees at the firm. Another attribute to excellence that was pointed out by Peters and Waterman is the sticking to the knitting (Mullins, 2007). This requires that firms concentrate on the business the firm knows best and grow through internal development. Accent Hotel Group has upheld this attribute to spur its success by sticking to hotel business and exploring ways of attaining its vision and strategy to attain 100% occupancy all year round through provision of high class facilities and commitment to continuous improvement (Burnes, 2004). The managers have been asked to identify ways in which service quality could be improved and how these improvements could be cascaded down to end users. In addition, all staff is encouraged to suggest ways in which their performance could be improved and how this could be linked to performance management system and the identification of learning and development needs (Singh, 2009). As such the Accent Hotel Group has been able to stick to its core hotel business and excel in it. Another attribute identified by Peters and Waterman that characterises an excellent firm is productivity through people. This attribute realizes that internal productivity gains come from people themselves rather than centralized systems. Accent Hotel Group has invested in its people by giving them the opportunity to participate in decision making process and encouraging personal development through learning and training at its learning and development unit. This has encouraged excellence at the firm and continuous improvement in service deliver. Furthermore teamwork and openness is encouraged at the firm. Thus for continuous improvement and excellence of any firm there is need to value its people. Another attribute identified by Peters and Waterman that characterises an excellent firm is having a simple form and lean staff (Singh, 2009). This calls for having few administrative layers and few people at the upper levels. Accent Hotel Group has few administrative layers and few people at the upper levels of administration. It has the overall chairman of the group of hotels, a general manager for each hotel and his assistant and then the hotel staff. This ensures that the firm is excellent in its operations due to having a simple and lean staff. The final attribute identified by Peters and Waterman that characterises an excellent firm is the simultaneous loose tight properties. This attribute strives for a balance between autonomy and tight control. Thus even though the individual hotels of Accent Hotel Group are run semi-autonomously, the group chairman controls all the activities and decisions made at each hotel. The general managers are also in charge of ensuring that plans and the objectives of the firm are devised and implemented appropriately. Therefore, any organization that need to uphold excellence and continuous improvement it needs to adhere to the Peters and Waterman’s eight attributes of excellence. This will enable them to relate the organizational issues and corporate performance. Reference Burnes, B. 2004. Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics, 4th Ed. London: Financial Times Prentice Hall Cartin, T. 1999. Principles and Practices of Organizational Performance Excellence, 2nd Ed. London: ASQ Quality Press Miller, K. 2008. Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes, 5th Ed. London: Cengage Learning Mullins, L. 2007. Management and Organisational Behaviour, 8th Ed. London: Financial Times Prentice Hall Singh, K. 2009. Organizational Behaviour: Text and Cases. Jakarta: Pearson Education India. Read More