Contemporary Issues of an Operational Plan - Coursework Example

Running Head: Operational Plans Name: University: Course: Tutor: Date of Submission: Scope This operational plan covers in depth the implementation of a new 200 bed roomed hotel business with 200 bedroom Hotel, with a bar, restaurant and event/conference facilities. The plan therefore covers an overview of the business, and operational plan for implementing a new environmentally air conditioning system. It covers ethical, legal issues related to the business operations, resources, administration framework, timeline, Communication Protocols with staff and suppliers, external as well as internal factors related to the business, key performance indicators and risk assessment strategies. Aims and Objectives of the Plan The main of this operational plan is establish an eco-friendly air conditioning system which minimizes carbondioxide emissions as uses less electricity energy. The plan therefore outlines the human resources required to design and implement the system, office space requirements and capital requirements. In addition it provides covers comprehensively other issues which will have an impact on the operations of the business. Introduction Overview of the business Tourism and Hospitality Industry in Australia is one of the rapidly growing businesses over the recent years. Changing trends and policies have forced many businesses to implement air conditioning systems which are environmentally sensitive as well as to a larger extend reduces the effects of green house gases. Due to the current policies and regulations as far as the hospitality industry is concerned the new business intends to implement a new environmentally air conditioning system which does not have negative effects to the environment. Analysis of External and Internal Factors Both internal and external environments have a big impact on the operations of any business. This is because no business can exist in a vacuum without an environment hence all businesses usually have an environment in which they exist. The environment has both external as well as internal factors which in one way or the other have a direct or indirect impact on the effective operations of the business (Kuiper,23-35). The new business is not an exemption hence it will be affected by both external and internal factors too. The external and internal factors will have a great effect on the organizational operations as well as strategies. Since these factors will have a direct impact on the business the firm will seek to understand their impact on the organization for proper understanding of threats and opportunities created by them. Internal factors Internal factors are those factors which exist in within the organization hence directly affect the daily business operations. The first factor is Value system which refers to the culture and norms of the business thus in a broader perspective it refers to the general regulatory framework of the business. This factor requires that each and employee act within the limits of the stipulated organizational framework which in most cases poses both negative and positive impact to the organizational employees (McDevitt,32-40). It is always important that a regulatory framework which enhances positive employee work be put in place. The other internal factor that has an effect on business operations is missions and objectives of the business. Organizational mission and objectives guides the business priorities, policies and philosophies hence in most the two will always have a impact on the business. The third factor which will be analyzed is financial factors which refer to financial policies, financial position and capital structure of the business. These factors tend to have a great impact on the overall performance of the business as well as its strategies. Finally, internal relationship is another factor which will be given great consideration by the business. Internal relationship factors are related to personal relationships between various individuals in the organizations including top managers, lower level employees, board of directors and organizational shareholders. External factors These are factors which have indirect impact on the business hence the business has no control over them. These factors exist outside the business and they can be further categorized into micro environment and macro-environment (Devereaux,45-50). The micro- environment factors comprises of suppliers who in most cases play a significant role in the business. Good relationship should exist between the suppliers and the business since in most cases they are usually responsible for supplying necessary inputs to the business hence ensuring smooth flow of the business operations. Competitor’s forms part of the micro- environment since no business can operate without any rivals. To survive the competition the firm should formulate policies and strategies which will enable it to face competition from major competitors. Marketing intermediaries forms another component of the micro-environment. Marketing intermediaries are important as they aid the company when it comes to product promotion, selling and distribution. Marketing intermediaries therefore acts as vital link between the business and the consumers hence they have a great impact on the effective operations of the business. Macro-Environment Factors Socio-cultural factors are considered to be one of the external macro environmental factors that have an impact on daily operations of any business. The sociocultural dimensions of business environment therefore consist of customs, lifestyles, and values which characterize a particular society that a business operates in. The Socio-Cultural factors have a great influence on the ability of any firm to obtain resources as well as in serving its customers. Sociocultural factors therefore are perceived to include anything within the circumstances of society as well as have a great impact on the potential performance of the business. Primarily sociocultural factors comprise of; population demographics, rising educational levels, norms and values, and attitudes toward social responsibility are examples of sociocultural variables. Technological factors are external factors which have an impact to effective organizational operations. Technology is another important component of the external environment which the business should consider especially when developing its strategic plans (Devereaux,45-50). The changes in technology will pose a great impact on a firm’s products and services hence need to be analyzed more effectively. For example changes in technology may pose a great challenge to the business in terms of consumer attitudes towards certain services as well as foods stuffs. Technological changes therefore tend to create new opportunities for the firm but in other situations it may threaten the survival of a product, firm or even an industry. Political and legal factors form the third category of external factors. The political –legal dimension of the general environment to a greater extend affects the business activity. Government policies, rules and regulations have a strong impact on the entirely business practices. The legal environment has a great impact on the business since the legal environment serves to define what organizations can do and what they cannot do in particular situations. Economic factors have a great impact on the business and in most cases it refers to factors related to country’s economic conditions and its policies. These factors constitute the economic environment and they comprise of growth rate, inflation, and restrictive trade practices among others. Contingency management skills Contingency management skills play a fundamental role in any organization or business. Contingency management skills refers to the ability of managers as well as other employees in the organization to respond appropriately when things are not working properly, go wrong, if there are some irregularities and breakdowns in organizational daily routines. Each and every organization requires contingency management skills to handle specific emergency skills (Berman, 2008, 23-40). The new business will implement specific contingency management skills as well as alternative strategies to handle contingency issues such as equipment break downs, fire break out, leaking sewage, uninstalled electrical bulbs, flooding bathrooms, responding to difficult customer’s as well as responding to emergency evacuation situations. Problem solving skills Problem solving and decision making skills are considered to be important to any kind of business. Problem solving skills comprises of; creative development and identification of options, judgment clarity, firmness of the decision and effective implementation of a solution The skills will be used in the daily operations of the business. Given the large size of the business and its competitive nature both top and middle managers will adequately apply problem solving skills in certain critical organizational situations (Lussier & Kimball,56-65). To develop employee problem solving skills the hotel management will organize company-sponsored training sessions as well as exercises through which the employees will learn how to address certain critical problems such as; financial crisis, water shortages, power problems, disputed guest interactions, employee downsizing incase of a financial crisis, food and health complaints ,decreased sale and revenues among other issues. In such situations the parties concerned may end up making in appropriate decisions hence to deal with such problems a seven step problem solving procedure will be implemented by the top management Legal, social, environmental and ethical obligations and compliance issues related to the business Ethical and social issues Ethics forms an important part of any organizational since it provides a framework and direction on a range of ethical issues in the organization that employees may be confronted with on daily basis. It will be necessary for the business therefore to put in place Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct to guide the employees on ethical behaviors’ as well as conduct. The ethical as well as social issues which will be encountered by the business will include; corporate social responsibility which is usually described as the expectation from the society that a business will strive to improve the welfare of the society(Devereaux,45-50). In daily operations the society always expects an organization to reflect a positive picture especially in matters that are related to the society. This in most cases usually poses a challenge to most of businesses since most of them usually fail to meet the societal expectations hence painting them with a negative picture. Top mangers therefore will find it hard in some situations to incorporate socially responsible issues into a firm’s strategies. This complexity exists especially in situations where a firm is required to be socially responsible as well as maximize shareholders return .In such situations the employees as well as members of the society may charge a business for being socially irresponsible yet it is for the best interest of the business too as well as the employees and the society too(Devereaux,45-50). These issues therefore pose a challenge to many businesses when it comes to balancing between the expected profits and acting socially responsible. The second issue is personal and professional responsibility. This is usually challenging especially to top managers as it requires that employees exhibit professional responsibility by not engaging themselves in unethical behaviors’ such as fraud, bribery, corruption among other issues. As part of the organizational overall compliance and ethics programs, it will be necessary for the new business to formulate internal as well as external policies which will conduct the ethical conduct of the employee as well as address social issues problems. The policies are usually referred to as corporate ethics hence in more specific they provide specific employee behavior requirements. Most of the time they are meant to identify the company’s expectations as well as offer them guidance on handling some common organizational ethical problems that may arise in the course of running the business. Corporate ethics therefore lead to greater organizational ethical awareness and the consistency in its application. Assessment of environmental factors may at times lead employees to unethical conduct as well as a competitive business environment hence with such issues surrounding the operations of the business corporate ethics act as a fundamental tool in dealing with them Legal issues Any given business at one point is always required to comply with certain legal issues associated with the business. Governments therefore pass laws which each and every business is required to adhere to such as health and sanitation laws, food and restaurant laws, tax compliance, employee laws among other laws(Devereaux,45-50). These laws on a given level have an impact on the business hence necessary that measures be implemented to deal with such as issues. The business will be required to adhere to sewage treatment laws, Health and Safety laws, employer and employee laws among others. Operational plan Overview of the system The hotel intends to implement an Eco Friendly Air-conditioning System which uses less electricity energy as well as power from the sun. Eco-friendly air conditioning system has been designed in a manner that it has an inbuilt absorption chiller which has the capabilities of using solar and residual heat as an energy source to drive the cooling systems. The technology applied in the machine is like that of any other air conditioning systems though this system primarily has been designed to minimize environmental and health impact by combining lithium and bromide solution. The Eco-friendly air conditioning system unlike other ordinary systems does not damage the ozone layer given the fact that it is not associated with green gas effects. This system therefore will help the business to reduce electricity bills as well as comply with the current policies related to carbon dioxide emissions reduction. In addition, the system will reduce the levels energy consumption especially during summer seasons. This because the eco-friendly systems have low evaporation rates compared to other air conditioning systems hence in most cases it saves up to 80% of the electricity energy. Human Resources Since the system being implemented is new it will require well qualified engineers to implement it. Two engineers will be employed during the first two years of the business operation. During the process of system implementation additional human resources will be employed. The business managers will carry out through interviews through which potential individuals be employed on contract basis to assist in implementing the new system. An environmental engineer as well as technician who hold a master in Engineering will be sub-contracted to ensure that the system works adequately and the needs of the customer’s are being addressed. Once the business reaches 70% of its operational capacity more engineers and assistant technicians will be hired on contract basis to ensure that the systems are functioning well. If the Eco-friendly system achieves the desired organizational needs more systems will be purchased and installed in all the rooms of the business. Operating Capital Requirements With the new system implementation, the new business will be required to have sufficient working capital that will enable it to meet all its operational responsibilities at the business for the first four months. Eco-Friendly air- conditioning system is not like any other ordinary system hence its implementation will require the business to have approximately $20,000,000, working capital. This will enable the business to purchase the Eco-friendly air conditioning systems and install them in some of the rooms. Moreover, this will be necessary since it will ensure that the business meets all opening and on-going financial obligations related to equipments purchase and transportation. Since the business is still new, the company will experience financial pressures especially during its first months of operation. Sufficient working capital is expected to be maintained during this period for effective operations of the business Office Requirements and Asset Acquisitions Eco-friendly air conditioning system is a machine which produces enough cold water to cool down a room of 50 m2 of floor area and with a volume of 130 m3. The system itself is not big hence it will require office space of 300 m3. Administrative Framework General Manager: He or she will be in charge of the entire business operations. Primarily he or she will be concerned with making key decisions, signing supplier cheques, implementing budgets, signing employee contracts and handling critical problem solving situations such as employee conflicts, customer complaints and issuing of cheques.  Deputy Manager Hotel Section: The manager will directly oversee the hotel section operations. This will include solving customer conflicts, observing health and safety precautions related to food and drinks. Moreover, he or she will ensure that the sales are concurrent with daily sales cash books, managing the cashiers, cleaners, and other assistants Deputy Manager Restaurant Section: The manager will directly oversee the operations of the restaurant. His or her duties and primarily will include; ensuring that sales are appropriate, food and drinks are well prepared. Moreover, he or she will ensure that health and safety precautions have been observed. Deputy Manager Conference facility: He or she will be responsible for managing the conference facility. His or her duties will include; ensuring that the lights have been turned off, the equipments have been well stored and the facility has been properly cleaned. Planning &Evaluation Unit: The duties will involve planning and implementation of plans. Making decisions as far as certain plans are concerned. Accommodation section officer: The officer will be in charge of all the two hundred rooms. The officer’s duties will comprise of; ensuring that all the rooms have been thoroughly cleaned and all the beddings have been changed. In addition, he or she will handle customer conflicts Systems Section officer: The officer will ensure that all the systems are working correctly. The officer too will ensure that the installed eco-friendly air-conditioning system is working properly and meeting the needs of the customer’s. Personnel Officer: The officer will be in charge of all the employees. The duties will involve: employee hiring, termination, employee promotion and issuing employee sick and maternity leave Information Officers: The officer’s duties will primarily involve market growth information gathering, keeping a record of the customers as well as competitors information Accounting Officer: The officer will be concerned with keeping the accounting records of the business. His or her duties will be to control the business budgets as well as financial assets. In addition he or she will be concerned with payment release to the suppliers as well as employees. Overall Expenditure and Profits Review Unit: The officer will oversee all the expenditures of the business and the profits too. His duties will comprises of evaluating all the expenses and profits Communication Protocols with suppliers General Manager  Assistant Manager in charge of the department Creditor Office Purchase officer Procurement Office Communication Protocols with staff General Manager  Deputy Manager Hotel Section Deputy Manager Restaurant Section  Deputy Manager Conference facility  Planning &Evaluation Unit  Employees Risk assessment Risks related to the business as well as the air conditioning system will be analyzed in depth such as the probability of the system failure in some situations. To ensure that the business is successful the company will periodically identify, analyze as well as prioritize potential threats to the organizational assets as well as their individual supporting infrastructure. Threat assessment will be comprehensively done and the findings will be integrated as required. A sample Threat Assessment Standard will be distributed to all the employees for them to give their views. Key performance indicators Increased levels of customer satisfaction Good market growth High revenues Employee satisfaction Effective performance of the air conditioning system Time line Project Timeline Gantt chart Gantt chart is usually described as a graphically representation of a project since it shows each tasks on horizontal bar as well as the length of time required to complete the task. The Gantt below shows the project task and its length of time in the implementation of operational plan   Timeline for the operational plan                             2011             2011     March April May June July August Nov Dec 1 Business Idea development                 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Idea initiation Idea Development Feasibility Study Initiation of the business                 2 Operational Plan development                 2.1 Development of operational Work Plan                 2.2 Designing the environmentally friendly air conditioning system                 2.3 Hiring Engineers                 3 Execute and Control                 3.1 Implementation process                 3.2 Building work Framework                 3.3 Test the Framework                 3.4 3.5 Implementing the work Framework Risk assessment                 4.0 4.1 Evaluation of key performance indicators Closing the project Framework                 References Kuiper, Shirley. Contemporary Business Report Writing.4ed.Publisher: Cengage Learning, 2009:23-35 Devereaux , Sherry F. External and Internal factors.Chicago:Sage,2007:45-5 McDevitt, Daniel. Writing an effective operational plan .Publisher: Charles C Thomas Publisher, 2005:32-40 Berman, Mark L. Motivation and learning: applying contingency management techniques. Publisher: Educational Technology, 2008:23-40 Lussier, Robert N & Kimball, David. Applied management skills. London: Human Kinetics, 2009:56-65 Read More