Hospitality Service Delivery Strategy - Case Study Example

Hospitality Service Delivery Strategy Name Date Course Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1.0 Assessment of Industry Environment 3 1.1 Competitive advantage 3 1.2 Capability Assessment 3 Part 2: Analysis of Implementation 4 2.0 Strategy 4 2.1. Overall strategy 4 2.2 Intended and realized strategy 5 2.3 Impacts of the decision on human beings 6 Part 3: Analysis of Operations Management 6 3.0 Effectiveness and implementation of Strategies 6 3.1 Operations management plan 6 Part 4: Analysis of marketing plan 7 4.0 Marketing plan 7 Part 5: Analysis of financial operations 8 5.0 Financial operations results 8 5.1 Decision making process of the team 9 Part 6: Recommendations 10 6.0 Recommendations for improvements 10 7.0 List of References 11 PART 1: Situation Analysis 1.0 Assessment of Industry Environment 1.1 Competitive advantage Competitive advantage occurs when the organization is able to outperform the competitors in the market through the acquisition of attributes or a combination of attributes. According to the theory of Michael Porter, competitive advantage can achieve low cost or differentiation (Porter, 2011). This plays an important role in ensuring that the organization is able to deal rivalry in the market. It is also important to note that a sustainable competitive advantage is important for an organization as it will enable it to deal effectively with competition in the market for a long period of time. Competitive advantage also plays an important role in ensuring that an organization is able to emerge as a market leader. Competitive advantage is relevant to the company as it will enable it to compete effectively with the other competitors in the market and emerge as a market leader. Competitive advantage will also increase the number of customers for the company and hen e impacting positively on the profitability of the company. This is considering that the profitability of an organization is dependant on the number of customers. Customer satisfaction is also an important objective of the company that can be satisfied through gaining competitive advantage. 1.2 Capability Assessment The effectiveness of the market analysis is important in determining the capabilities of the company. The intensity of rivalry in the market is high although the company has capabilities to sustain competition in the market. The ability of the company to offer co petition is an advantage to the company as it enables it to perform well in the market. On the other hand, competitive advantage of the company is also an important capability of the company that can enable it to compete effectively in the market. Competitive advantage is also important in term of dealing with any threat of new entry. This is considering that the industry can experience new entrants as the market is flexible and it can allow new entrants. On the other hand, the bargaining powers of the company are higher than that of the customers. This means that the company can set the prices for its products and services. On the other hand, the ability on an organization to have higher bargaining powers as compared to the customers is important in ensuring that it can control the customers (Dobbs, 2014). A higher bargaining power of the customers is also important in terms of ensuring that the company is able to gain profitability. Part 2: Analysis of Implementation 2.0 Strategy 2.1. Overall strategy The form was able to identify three strategic decisions with an aim of ensuring that it meets its goals and objectives. The three main strategies of the company included focus strategy, cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy. At the time, these strategies were the most appropriate due to the nature of the business and the market condition. However more could have been done for the purposes of creating a competitive advantage in the market. Market targeting and segmentation should have been given more emphasizes by the company. This is considering that the competition in the market was high. The market targeting and segmentation strategies play an important role in identifying the customers in the market and their needs. Identifying the needs of the customers is important in ensuring that the quality of products and services is improved (Eden & Ackermann, 2013). Intensive product promotion could have also been part of the strategy. This is through carrying out advertisements through online means as well as through the print media and television. According to the marketing theories, the strategies of the company should consider the needs of the customers as well as that of the employees. 2.2 Intended and realized strategy The effectiveness of implementing the intended objectives was poor. This resulted to the company failing to achieve its intended goals and objectives. On the other hand, it is important to note that the intended objectives were good for the business but the failure during the implementation period had a negative effect on the intended goals and objectives. The realized goals and objectives were not effective as they did not add much value to the company. The realized goals were quite few and the implementation was fair. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the ability of the company to achieve its goals and objectives has a positive impact on its operations and it is dependant on the implementation process (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). The managers of the company lost focus during the implementation process and hence leading to the failures. On the other hand, the implementation is also dependant on various factors including the availability of adequate resources. The implementation strategies that were used were also not effective and hence the failure of the company. The needs of the customers and the employees were not considered although it formed part of the objectives and hence leading to the failure. Addressing the needs of the customers and employees is also important in ensuring that customer satisfaction is achieved. 2.3 Impacts of the decision on human beings The decision of the company had different effects on the employees, owners and the customers. The employees were impacted negatively as the managers were struggling to cut the costs. This impacted negatively on the salaries and remunerations of the employees. According to the motivational theories, the salaries and remunerations of the employees can also act as a motivating factor (Yuksel, et al, 2010). Most of the employees were not satisfied with their jobs and hence resulting to a high rate of employee turnover. On the other hand, the self-worth of the hotel was affected by the high rates due to the higher bargaining powers of the company over the customers. The customers were not satisfied as the high rates had negative impacts on their purchasing power. On the other hand, the lack of satisfaction by the employees resulted to the delivery of poor services to the customers. This affected the overall performance of the company. The revenue that was collected was also below the expectations since the customers were not able to afford the high prices. The level of customer satisfaction is important in determining the ability of the organization to meet its goals and objectives in terms of profitability. Part 3: Analysis of Operations Management 3.0 Effectiveness and implementation of Strategies 3.1 Operations management plan The operational plan was not effectively implemented. This is because it resulted to complaints by the customers. Complaints by the customers are an indication that the company is not achieving the aims and objectives of customer satisfaction. On the other hand, the levels of professionalism were low during the implementation process. The personnel who were involved in the implementation plan were not well trained. On the other hand, the management reduced the amount that was required for the purposes of conducting training among the employees. It is important to note that the development of the knowledge and skills of the personnel within the organization is important in terms of ensuring that they are able to deal with challenges that may arise as they carry out their duties. The needs of the employees were ignored during the implementation process and hence affecting the entire process. Some of the needs of the customers were also ignored during the implementation process and hence impacting negatively on the entire process. It is important to note that the productivity of the employees has positive impacts during the implementation of the operation plan (Oliver, 2010). This is considering that the implementation of the operational plan is crucial for an organization. Part 4: Analysis of marketing plan 4.0 Marketing plan The marketing plan was not implemented effectively although some aspects of the implementation were fair. The positioning strategy was able to deal with different demographic of customers in the market. The competitive pricing tactics was not effectively implemented and hence affecting the purchasing powers of the customers. Some of the factors like economic growth and inflation were not considered during the implementation process. The purchasing power of the customers is usually affected by the economic situation and the rate of inflation (Kotler, 2011). The advertisements that were carried out by the company were useful in terms of promoting the products and services of the company. It is important to note that the promotional strategies are useful in terms of ensuring that the customers are aware of the products and services of the company. The budget for promotional activities was also increased during the promotional process. This is considering that the promotional activities are quite costly to the organization. It is also important to note that the company invested a substantial amount of resources during the promotional process. The marketing plans of the company were however impacted negatively by the poor pricing strategies that affected the ability of the company to purchase the products of the company. Part 5: Analysis of financial operations 5.0 Financial operations results The total revenue of the company has been increasing for the last 5 years. The lowest revenue that the company was able to collect was $22,000 in year 1 at the rooms department. The highest revenue collected was in year 4 when the business collected $60,000. However, this does not that the company is making profits. This is because the operating expenses are high and thus impacting negatively on the profitability of the company. The net income of the business has also been on the increase in the last five years. An increase in the net income is an indication that the company is undergoing some growth. However, this is not entirely the case for the company as the increased net income over the last 5 years is still behind as compared to the projections of the company. The increased revenue is an indication that the company is capable of making profits (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2013). However, the business will be required to pout in place measures that will ensure that the expenses are reduced. The reduction in expenses will impact positively on the profitability of the company. The potential of the business to perform in different departments is also high. 5.1 Decision making process of the team According to the rational choice theory, people usually make decisions by determining the likelihood of the potential outcome. The team was involved in making decisions that they thought was fit for the outcome of the business. Most of the decisions were made with a view of making profits and increasing the revenue of the business. A consensus decision making strategy was used by the group during the process of making decisions. In a consensus decision making strategy, the majority have to approve a certain course of action. This means that a decision is only approved after the majority has accepted it. However, it is also important to note that the approval of the minority will also be required during the decision making process. The team was not organized as each member wanted their opinions to be approved. It is also important to note that the concepts of the decision making require a lot of understanding among the group members. Alternatively, the group could have adopted the use of dotmocracy during the decision making process. This method involves the use of forms that are referred to as dotmocracy sheets. The methods allow for brainstorming among the group members and make agreements based on unlimited number of ideas (Pettigrew, 2014). It is recommended that the group should embrace the use of dotmocracy method will allow the members to make decisions based on a wide range of ideas as each member had their own ideas. It is also important to note that the group should embrace the concepts of effective communication. Brainstorming among the group members should also be enhanced. Part 6: Recommendations 6.0 Recommendations for improvements It is recommended that the strategic decision of the business should be changed. More focus should be placed on customer satisfaction as opposed to profit making. Satisfying the customers will have a positive impact on the profitability of the business. It is also recommended that the strategy should consider the need of the employees. This includes the training needs as well as salaries and remunerations. Meeting the needs of the employees will have a positive impact on the ability of the company to reduce the high rates of employee turnover. The productivity of the business will also be improved when the employees are satisfied with their work. It is recommended that the implementation of the operational plans, marketing plan and business objectives should be carried out on a step by step basis. It is also important for the business to ensure that it involves experts during the implementation process. The managers should be trained on the concepts of implementation and the use of technology to monitor the implementation process. On the other hand, it is also recommended that the business should consider putting in place cost effective measures. This will be useful to the company in terms of reducing the expenses and hence ensuring that the company is improving on its profitability. This is considering that the company has high expenses which have negative impacts on its overall profitability. 7.0 List of References Eden, C, & Ackermann, F, 2013, Making strategy: The journey of strategic management, Sage. Porter, M, 2011, Competitive advantage of nations: creating and sustaining superior performance, Simon and Schuster. Dobbs, M, 2014, Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates, Competitiveness Review, 24(1), 32-45. Yuksel, A, et al, 2010, Destination attachment: Effects on customer satisfaction and cognitive, affective and conative loyalty Tourism Management, 31(2), 274-284. Oliver, R, 2010, Customer satisfaction, Wiley International Encyclopedia of Marketing. Kotler, P, 2011, Reinventing marketing to manage the environmental imperative, Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 132-135. Jobber, D, & Ellis-Chadwick, F, 2012, Principles and practice of marketing (No. 7th), McGraw-Hill Higher Education, New Jersey. Brigham, E, & Ehrhardt, M, 2013, Financial management: theory & practice, Cengage Learning, New York. Pettigrew, A, 2014, The politics of organizational decision-making, Routledge, London. Read More