(a) Analysis
and Discussion:Identify and critically examine and discuss all the
issues/problems raised in the case study (refer to the literature, concepts and
theory to support your discussion)
The
Glass Tower Hotel is a 5 Star hotel located on the Gold Coast, in Queensland
Australia. A large percentage of the guests to the hotel are from Japan, and
the second largest group are visitors from other states within Australia.
Most
of the managers at the hotel are aged in their 40s and 50s and are Australian.
The majority of the employees are ‘Generation Y’ and sourced from the local
population as well as many new migrants (most of which are from China and
India).
The
hotel has a small administrative department which also share some of the HR
duties, but the department managers do the majority of the hiring of employees.
Department managers for the most part have very limited training in HR
functions.
Customer
satisfaction surveys reveal high satisfaction levels amongst Australian guests,
but the results are poor from the Japanese visitors. Some of the comments made
by the Japanese visitors include that ‘things don’t run on time with tours and
other bookings’, and that misunderstandings over language is a constant issue.
Both local and Japanese visitors comment that problems, requests or other
issues are not resolved quickly enough by the staff members, who need to
constantly check with management before making decisions.
Employee
turnover at the hotel has been constantly high over the past few years, both
for local Australian employees and those sourced from overseas. Most leave the
hotel after a few months and move on to work in similar hotels in other areas
in Queensland’s resort locations. Management of the hotel is unaware as to the
reasons for the exit of so many staff.
Current
staff often comment on how they are ‘stuck doing the same menial tasks in the
same departments’, without the opportunity to try other work or more complex
tasks. There is also a general lack of motivation to work beyond normal
performance levels. There are also no formal reward systems in place. Casual
employees are only offered more hours as ‘a reward for working harder’.
Performance management is not done in a formal manner. Most performance
management occurs in an unstructured way and is done by department managers.
New employees often complain about a lack of ‘socialization’ and mentoring by
other staff, as well as a lack of follow through on promises made in the job interviews
conducted by department managers and team leaders.
Employees also
state that information ‘flow through’ is limited. Communication between
managers and employees is limited to instruction only, and staff are rarely
consulted about workplace issues, including the design of work and any
improvements that can be made to the business or guest service and
satisfaction.
