Organisational Culture in the Hospitality Industry - Essay Example

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE IN THE HOSPITALIRY INDUSTRY Essay Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Title Date Introduction The organisation culture can be likened to the personality of an organisation. These are a set of values and beliefs that are shared within the bounds of an organisation, shaping and guiding the behavior of the organisation’s members (Aksu & Ozdemir, 2005). These values and beliefs determine the attitudes, they create shared beliefs, guide member’s behaviour and set the performance expectations for the organisation and its members. This culture is of the essence when stakeholders are evaluating an organisation either as clients and potential investors or even suppliers. The organisation culture helps the stakeholders determine with a good level of accuracy what the particular organisation stands for, the trend it may take when faced with particular sorts of challenges and what things the organisation attaches great value too. Yahagil (2006) asserts that the culture plays a big role in helping guide the interactions between the employees, the management and the other stakeholders. Given that there are many players in the hospitality industry, an organisation in this sector needs to be on its toes so as to ensure that it remains very competitive. The culture that an organisation establishes can set it apart from the rest of the players in the industry and help it remain very competitive (Sadris & Lees, 2001). Therefore the need to establish a good culture within an organisation is imperative if indeed the organisation wants to gain a competitive advantage. Key Elements of an Organisational Culture In the hospitality industry, establishing a good image is vital to business success. A good image can be created by developing a good organisational culture. The management team in the hospitality industry is at the centre stage and hence influence in a major way the kind of culture an organisation develops. This includes activities such as recruitment of diverse groups of employees, promotion of employees the view of guests, the standards and the quality of the services the organisation offers. The management team is also charged with the responsibility of ensuring that this culture is well expressed through slogans, advertisements, products and the services offered. There are some key elements of organisation culture that are specific to the hospitality industry. Innovation Innovation implies a positive change in thought when it comes to the approach used on existing and arising matters (Cabrea & Barajas, 2001). It fosters growth through the increase in the productivity of an organisation and the creation of new and better services. Innovators are also risk takers and hence the two elements are going hand in hand in the hospitality industry. Innovation is important for the hospitality business is faced with an ever increasing need to create new services, device new ways to present the existing services and create ways to enhance the experiences of the clientele whose demands seem to grow by the hour. Over and above, there is also the need to ensure that the business remains operationally effective and continues to make profits. According to Alder (2001), anyone in the hospitality business who does not embrace the innovation and risk taking culture stares at the risk of becoming obsolete and being driven out of business in preference to more innovative and efficient players. Innovation needs to be embraced from the initial building of the business premises right to the offering of services to the guests. During the construction processes it is paramount to adopt methods that will allow for easier redesign and renovations. These methods not only save costs but also enable the business to rebrand itself and remain relevant and competitive. It is important to embrace technology which is offered and in more recent times there have been an increase in tailor made products for the hospitality industry. When a business embraces technology, making guest reservations becomes easier and there is improvement in the payment options offered which at the end translates into higher levels of efficiency (Alder, 2001). With technology, hotel rooms become multifunctional and can be used as an office or a centre for entertainment. Innovation in the use of the available technology is a sure way of giving a business a competitive advantage over other players in the hospitality industry. Customer Orientation This is a culture where the focus of the organization is the end recipient of the services and products offered. Failing to establish a culture that embraces and fosters having a customer orientation in the approach of things is detrimental to the success of the business (Browaeys & Baets, 2003). It is not worthy to engage in any business that does not ensure the satisfaction of the customer. Despite engaging in business with the intent of making profits, the provision of services and products that meet the demand of the target customers is also essential. In the hospitality industry, the demands of the customers differ as their personalities are also different. This makes it necessary to ensure that the services that are offered by the business are tailor made to the individual guests and clients since it is not easy to have a one-size fits-all kind of approach in most of the situations (Burchell & Kolb, 20030. The hospitality industry also relies on creating a good image in the guests which many players in the industry have regarded as the best way of ensuring that the guests will come back for another visit and hence ensure an increase in sales. According to Badjo and Dickson (2001), good public relations are of necessity in this case as the business will be able to handle all manner of issues as brought out by the customers in a calm and collected manner to ensure that there are amicable solutions to the issues. With a culture that is oriented to the customer, the management also makes decisions while giving consideration to their impact on the customers. Team Work This involves all the people working in the organization working as one team. Team work will prevail in a situation where the efforts in the organisation are well coordinated to ensure maximum results for the business. The management team and the employee need to work together with similar objectives in mind (Badjo & Dickson, 2001). This calls for better education and motivation to work together and not have internal competition. The culture of the organisation on issues such as promotion and motivation of the staff have a big role to play in ensuring that team work exists in the organisation. Everyone in the organisation needs to be well versed as regards their role and they also need to understand how they will interact in the team environment. It is important that both the management team and the employees cooperate so that they project a complete and similar picture of the organisation which is very vital to ensure that they remain competitive (Sadri & Lees, 2001). When there is teamwork, it reflects that the individuals agree with the values, attitudes and the beliefs that are held by the organisation. Attention to Detail This entails a situation whereby an organisation establishes a way of doing things, ensuring that it pays attention to some issues that may be missed by the common eye. It is on the basis of these that the organisation sets the standards by which it is run and hence set it apart from its competitors (Sadri & Lees, 2001). The standards include such things such as ensuring that the business premises is clean and arranged in an attractive manner. This means that the hotel should meet all the specifications of the health guidelines on the preparation of food, ensuring the right cooking temperatures and other hygiene related matters. It is also important that the staff also reflects the image of the business in their dress code and adorning well groomed images. With good attention to detail the manager is able to guide the operations and services in the business. Aksu and Ozdemir (2005), indicate that this is important in ensuring that the guests have a great stay during in the hotel hence increasing the chances of them coming back which translates into more sales and better marketing strategies. Attention to detail will also include such things such as being ethical and adherence to principles of humanity. This will make the guests to trust the organization and hence be able to create a lasting relationship which will in the long run ensure that the guest will keep coming back. With great attention to detail the organization is able to maintain the status quo rather than simply chase after profits and growth, a fact that ensures the organisation remains relevant in the hospitality industry (Yahagil, 2006). Conclusion The culture that an organisation establishes is key to its success in the hospitality industry. This is because there exists a direct link between the organisation culture, its identity aspirations and reputation, factors which are very key to ensure competitive advantage in the industry (Sadri & Lees, 2001). It is difficult to have a uniform culture in any organisation and hence it calls for much work to be done in terms of education of the parties involved in order to ensure that they play their role effectively. An organisation’s culture is key to shaping the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation and hence ensures success and relevance in the hospitality industry. Much of the culture is held in the unwritten rules of the organisation and hence it calls for good act of balance so that it can be sustained and handed over even to new employees and managers that join the organisation. References Aksu, A & Ozdemir, B 2005, Individual learning and organizational culture in learning organizations. Five star hotels in Antalaya region of Turkey, Managerial Auditing Journal, 20(4), pp. 422-441. Alder, G 2001, Employee reactions to electronic performance monitoring: A consequence of organizational culture, Journal of High Technology Management Research, 12, pp. 323- 342. Bajdo, L & Dickson. W 2001, Perceptions of Organizational Culture and Women's Advancement in Organizations: A Cross-Cultural Examination, Sex Roles, 45(6), pp. 399-414. Browaeys, M & Baets, W 2003, Cultural complexity: a new epistemological perspective, The Learning Organizatio, 10(6), pp. 332-339. Burchell, N & Kolb, D 2003, Pattern Matching Organisational Cultures. Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, 9(3), pp. 50-61. Cabrera, Á & Barajas, S 2001, The key role of organizational culture in a multi-system view of technology-driven change, International Journal of Information Managemen, 21, pp. 245-261. Sadri, G., & Lees, B., 2001. Developing corporate culture as a competitive advantage. The Journal of Management Development, 20(10), pp. 853-859. Yahagil, M 2006, The fit between the concepts of organizational culture and climate. Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict, 10(2), p. 34-67. Read More