Developing and Promoting Sound Team Design and Selection Processes in Hospitality Industry - Case Study Example

Topic: Two Title: Different Options Available For Developing and Promoting Sound Team Design and Selection Processes in Hospitality Industry Subject TBS Name of Subject Your student name Your student number Date Executive Summary Basically, a strategic leader should make use of decision-making teams as an influential resource in efficaciously managing the environment. These teams enhance their decision making through consensus, which undoubtedly is a useful process when developing a strategic plan for the organisation. Understanding how to forge an agreement for policy formulation as well as implementation is vital to successful leadership and management. Skills for team building are important for the effectiveness of the manager since the team success surfaces when the team can achieve a lot and work more collaboratively as compared to a group of similar persons working individually. From this point of view, the report has talked about the issues attributed to lack of skills and abilities to effectively select members for a team managing change in Hospitality Industry. In business, managers are liable for ensuring that things within the team are done correctly. In this regard, the report has explained the significance of developing managerial skills in selecting appropriate employees for the change team. Further, the report has discussed the different options available for developing and promoting sound design team and selection processes in Hospitality industry. Table of Contents As stated by Benesh (2013), making decisions is a vital process for change projects since when the team make knowledgeable, but fast decisions can the project timeline is kept on track. Often, project failures or delays are caused by poor decisions from the project manager or oversight committee. Poor decisions as mentioned by Benesh (2013) are attributed to the fact that the decision makers lack adequate information to decide effectively. In this case, De Dreu and West (2001, p.1191) suggest that creating a modest framework which can be used by every team member for all crucial decisions may assist in overcoming the likelihood of a project failing or delaying because of indecision. So as to enhance or maintain effectiveness in an environment that is rapidly challenging and changing, the created teams must be innovative (De Dreu & West, 2001, p.1191). Team Innovation connotes the application or introduction of processes, ideas, or procedures in a team that are novel to the team members and which intend to be beneficial. So as to be innovative, members of the team must create innovative ideas, and they have to considerably process such ideas in order to disregard the ideas that seem unusable and put the ones that appear usable into practice. 11 Minority discord within teams seems to thwart untimely consensus, and instead encourages cognitive complexity, as well as flawless group decision making. Research on social psychological point out that minority dissent do not just result in flawless group decision making, but as well heightens individual inventiveness and creativity. As argued by De Dreu and West (2001, p.1192), minority dissent is astonishing and makes the majority team members to start wondering why the minority reason the way they do. Instead of looking for justification and verification of the position of the minority, majority team members search for comprehension of the minority position so as to well reject it. In so doing, the majority members can maintain their position whilst maintain an accord and effective relations within the group. The team absorptive ability is higher when all members of the team take part in the process of decision making. As evidenced in De Dreu and West (2001) study, team participation encourages the integration and exchange of information, diminishes change resistance, and improves the commitment of team members to team decisions. Besides that, participation as well promotes learning through sharing, the acquisition, as well as integration of knowledge, and more importantly participation creates the social support required for novel ideas to be put into practice. 12 1.0 Introduction The Hospitality industry has turned out to be a dominant player in the global financial system. The growing mobility of the labour force and the industry globalisation process are an actuality. Organisations such as Hilton Hotels moving overseas are experiencing, above all, the issue of managing a workforce that is culturally diverse. Therefore, the significance of developing selection methods that are culturally sensitive in a multicultural setting epitomises an enormous challenge for the Hospitality industry. Numerous firms in hospitality industry are experiencing unceasing pressure to change in order to realize their strategic goals in the competitive market place that is continuously changing.  In this industry, for the change team to perform effectively, the team members must integrate their own actions successfully. They have unique as well as specific roles, where performance of all roles results in collective success. Basically, the hospitality industry has inadequate cultural awareness in terms of the best selection methods. The problem of selecting cross-cultural workers successfully is yet to be realised in the industry. Demographic changes have generated an unavoidable scarcity of workers sources in the industry, primarily of skilled workers (Pinilla, 2003, p.23). Common hurdles for indigenous minorities are palpable in the hospitality industry. Ethnic labelling, poor selection processes and under-representation in management and skilled posts are indicated as the major hindrances experienced by marginal groups in the hospitality industry. Inability to design selection processes that is culturally fair has seen hospitality industry continue to experience challenges when they move abroad. Selection method continuously used in hospitality industry includes interviews, practical tests, Assessment Centres as well as psychological tests. The main issues that are affecting the Hospitality industry, especially Hilton Hotels as evidenced in the report include; the challenges of developing a change team, issues attributed to managing teams, selection processes issues, problems brought about by team decision making process. 2.0 Developing a Change Team When creating a group of individuals from diverse backgrounds, Cullen and Parboteeah (2013, p.382) posit that challenges like relationship and communication issues may arise. For a manager, selecting members of the team is not adequate enough since the complex and dynamic nature of a team needs a decisive and strong leader for direction (Cullen & Parboteeah, 2013, p.382). Team members require three forms of skills: functional/technical (specifically, the skill in the field that the team is working in); interpersonal, and problem-solving. So, when developing a change team in the hospitality industry, the managers should look for persons who exemplify all above-mentioned skills, but at times, some individuals have to be chosen precisely for each of such strengths (Community Tool Box, 2012). To effectively complete the allocated tasks, the team members will need both and functional and technical skills; considering that to reasonably approach the allocated tasks, the members’ problem-solving skills must be at a higher level; and interpersonal skills is need to keep the team work from being disrupted by distrust, internal conflict, or other comparable issues that require much sensitivity (Silva, 2013, p.201). Besides searching for skills, the manager must look for the right persons for the right tasks on the team, and select a team that well fits together. To know how the selected people will conform to one another is somewhat a matter of following instincts, paying attention to what the instincts tell concerning behaviors as well as the ways individuals present themselves, their body language, the words they use to express themselves, and so forth. 2.1 Managing a Team As mentioned by Pollack (2007, p.267), the success of any project is associated with realizing the set goals within the timeline. Leaders of teams use techniques and tools of project management to clearly outline the goals of the project, create an implementation plan so as to meet the set goals, as well as meet the timeline and milestones for the project. As stated by Longman and Mullins (2004, p.56), a leader of the project team requires various set of skills so as to both describe and effectively implement projects. The leaders should develop a team that concentrates on the goal and that is energized by the project success. Members of the project team members should have knowledge of their roles in the team. As specified by Losoncy (1996, p.9), no team can be successful devoid of great determination. Change according to Tan and Kaufmann (2010) is a labor-intensive and complex process that stirs emotions as well as feelings. Unsatisfied teammates, angry persons, contradictory priorities, unexpected issues and behind-the-scene resistance are some of the day-to-day challenges faced by change teams. So, project managers or leaders cannot lead the change teams through such problems without energies and willpower (Tan & Kaufmann, 2010). To shun leadership changes during change, members of the change team should be completely committed so as to finish the project on time. An effective way to warrant such commitment is by appointing enthusiastic as well as determined persons who can steer career development in the organization. 3.0 Selecting a Change Team Change as indicated by Tan and Kaufmann (2010) is never simple, especially in Hospitality industry where the rate of failure has been exceedingly high. In this case, top management has to be more cautious when selecting members of the change team. If no employee within the company closely matches the requirements of the change team, then the search should be extended outside the organisation. Immediately the organisation gets the correct person to be in the change team for a project, the management should make sure that the members of the change team are prepared to commit themselves to the success of the project. More importantly, the managers must be subject-matter professionals in their own field of responsibility. As mentioned by Ásólfsdóttir (2012, p.2), having a person with outstanding skills in project management is merely not sufficient since they will crash because of inadequate comprehensive knowledge of the subject area. Moreover, experience and knowledge brings the respect as well as credibility required to become successful in their role. Therefore, when selecting members of the change team, the candidates must have better knowledge on how the business works; understand the markets as well as marketing, product development and products, sales, customers, and all other features of the business (Holbeche, 2012, p.201). Besides the important expertise, members of the change team must also be well-linked all through the organisation. Active relationships, as stated by Pauleen and Yoong (2001, p.190) in every area within the organisation, are significant in effectively communicating with stakeholders, designing an effective rollout, as well as developing coalitions. 3.1 The Compulsory Skills When selecting member of the change team, the potential candidates must possess a number of necessary skills. The members must be able to work during times of uncertainty as well as instability. Importantly, they must handle numerous constituencies, differing priorities, and deadlines that are approaching faster (Pich et al., 2002, p.1008). Change team members are accountable for leading the organization through the various trials of change. Therefore, to survive, the members should be able to remain extremely operational under extreme pressure. Besides being disciplined and well organized, the team members should have well-built analytical skills (Tan & Kaufmann, 2010). The members should be able to dismantle and reassemble systems and operations in an innovative manner, and afterwards examine the political and financial impacts of the actions. Simultaneously, good change team members should be adequately flexible to work around barriers and manage changing priorities. In brief, a well-organized and yet flexible attitude is required to manage challenges of change. As indicated by Barczak and Wilemon (2003, p.464), individual skills that change team members should have include; ability to forge strong interpersonal connections as well as be able to effectively communicate with other team members. The problem experienced in team selection is putting the competencies of all team members to best use. So to be successful, the members have to generate a firm sense of identity, joint-ownership as well as the purpose, and a positive attitude (Neider & Schriesheim, 2005, p.200). So as to manage change resistance, the members of the change team should begin by comprehending and recognising the resistance. They must have a sense of empathy and be good listeners. During the process of change, change team members must be able to effectively communicate at every organisational level considering that effective communication is what glues the organisation together during the change process (Levin & Wyzalek, 2014, p.211). 4.0 Developing and Promoting Design Team Change projects as indicated by Antoniadis (2012, p.2) are typified as a short-term endeavour carried out in a dynamic setting. Basically, the change projects’ dynamic nature generates problems, which consequently, impact the project general performance. Numerous scholars such as Antoniadis (2012, p.5) have made references to the project environments’ dynamic nature, and acknowledge the complexities that stem from the projects’ ever-changing conditions. The change towards the behavioural model stresses the significance of sub-processes like selection of team members for the project, which is fundamental in teams’ formation. This is as well emphasized by the all-inclusive team definition offered by Cohen and Bailey (1997) who defines a team as a group of persons who are autonomous in their responsibilities, who share outcomes’ responsibility, who see others and consider themselves as an integral social entity entrenched in a bigger social systems, as well as who handle their connections across boundaries in the organisation. Allocating persons to project teams moulds the organization’s social capital and for that reason the impact and influence of people selected to teams and the method through which the social capital must be observed should be taken into account during team selection process. Still, formation of team generates boundaries that subsequently create interconnections, and such interconnections positively or negatively result in the network and nurture a culture of trust, cohesion, agreements, as well as other socio-organizational circumstances that impact the performance of the team. So, outlining the project team boundaries, the selection process of the team members as well as the integrity and span of the boundary must form a crucial concern in projects management (Antoniadis, 2012, p.7). When selecting members of the change team for project, five crucial things must be considered: first, one must understand the needs of the project; secondly, identify and employ the suitable/right manager for the project; thirdly, select members of team that meet the project needs; fourthly, include professionals in the team so as to cover gaps in needs of the project; and finally, monitor the performance of the team. 4.1 Selection Processes Presently a number of selection techniques, for particular roles, as mentioned by Antoniadis (2012, p.1) are based on behavioural competencies as well as job-task. Still, Antoniadis (2012) stresses that it is crucial to know that individual competencies are a trait of both the job itself and the job holder. Team formation together with human interaction is a multifaceted phenomenon. Project managers must assemble the team and should bear in mind that using control and command approach to HRM does not assist in the selection process of project team members. Normally, only the project manager can be identified based on a through a subjective assessment, the other members of the team should be selected through an effective process. A number of cases studies such as Hinds et al. (2000, p.245) have exhibited that most selection processes are race biased and projects, especially at lowest levels are ‘designed around races’. Green (2006, p.237) is concerned about the lack of executing the team selection process as well as and the extent to which the ‘scripts’ from management impact those working. Such findings are obviously worrying, if one takes into account implementation of the team work principles, not unless the team is seen as the units at the management system level. Green (2006, p.237) suggests that understanding as well as understanding the impacts of the complexity attributes will facilitate the process of decision-making, output and response from suitable actions, enhancement of complexity management and principally confidence improvement in the suitability of the process (Antoniadis, 2012, p.3). Complexity increases as networks and interconnections of communications between members of the team increases, so, a selection process of the team members should be critical at all times. 5.0 Decision Making Within the Change Team As stated by Benesh (2013), making decisions is a vital process for change projects since when the team make knowledgeable, but fast decisions can the project timeline is kept on track. Often, project failures or delays are caused by poor decisions from the project manager or oversight committee. Poor decisions as mentioned by Benesh (2013) are attributed to the fact that the decision makers lack adequate information to decide effectively. In this case, De Dreu and West (2001, p.1191) suggest that creating a modest framework which can be used by every team member for all crucial decisions may assist in overcoming the likelihood of a project failing or delaying because of indecision. So as to enhance or maintain effectiveness in an environment that is rapidly challenging and changing, the created teams must be innovative (De Dreu & West, 2001, p.1191). Team Innovation connotes the application or introduction of processes, ideas, or procedures in a team that are novel to the team members and which intend to be beneficial. So as to be innovative, members of the team must create innovative ideas, and they have to considerably process such ideas in order to disregard the ideas that seem unusable and put the ones that appear usable into practice. Minority discord within teams seems to thwart untimely consensus, and instead encourages cognitive complexity, as well as flawless group decision making. Research on social psychological point out that minority dissent do not just result in flawless group decision making, but as well heightens individual inventiveness and creativity. As argued by De Dreu and West (2001, p.1192), minority dissent is astonishing and makes the majority team members to start wondering why the minority reason the way they do. Instead of looking for justification and verification of the position of the minority, majority team members search for comprehension of the minority position so as to well reject it. In so doing, the majority members can maintain their position whilst maintain an accord and effective relations within the group. The team absorptive ability is higher when all members of the team take part in the process of decision making. As evidenced in De Dreu and West (2001) study, team participation encourages the integration and exchange of information, diminishes change resistance, and improves the commitment of team members to team decisions. Besides that, participation as well promotes learning through sharing, the acquisition, as well as integration of knowledge, and more importantly participation creates the social support required for novel ideas to be put into practice. 6.0 Case Study In 1998, Hilton launched a program for recruitment and training acknowledged as Elevator General Manager Program with the intention of selecting and developing a group of skilled, globally mobile individuals to positions of General Management both in Australia and international market (Nankervis, 2000). In this case, candidates are required to be bilingual, and be from diverse cultural backgrounds. For decades, Hilton has managed to attract lots of university students, itinerant travellers on vacations and holiday, and this has been attributed to its ability to offer high standard services thanks to its highly skilled employees. In the selecting the working team, the hotel management put emphasis on energetic, youthful candidates, who can productively work temporary during the peak travel season. However, as argued by reference, time and related costs of continually partaking in recruitment selection process of the casuals, in spite of their associated cost-effectiveness, the process drain on the hotel profitability. In this case, Hilton has gradually begun selecting devoted career personnel with professional experience and skills who appear more productive. The working team employees are selected through interview process and practical tests, which scholars believe are out-dated selection processes. Hilton Hotel is very strict on its selection process, because they expected the selected individuals have suitable productivity levels. The Hotel believes in selecting the right person for the right job; and so, its selection process is based on the suitability of the candidates and the effectiveness and efficiency exhibited by the potential candidates. The Hotel has adopted a good training techniques that offer workers an improved comprehension of the tasks and duties they are needed to perform. Hilton Shanghai experience a number of challenges in selection process, particularly in recruitment is in the food and beverage department. This is for the reason that employee is needed to a have a good standard of English for the purpose of communicating with the guests. Getting potential candidates that meet various cultural needs of Hilton Hotels, has exceedingly been hard for the hotel management especially in countries that speak English as a second language, but whose majority guests are English speakers. 7.0 Recommendations Fair methods development to select candidates from different cultural backgrounds must be part of the agenda of the hospitality industry. For successful selection process and team effectiveness, managers at the industry must be a facilitator: managers who are successful normally have good skills in and can resolve conflicts between departments or individuals so as to make certain that the project has the right members and suitable resources. The leader of the any team should also be a communicator: effective communications are crucial skills for a change team, since both the leader and the team members will have to report the progress of the project, request for more resources, and keep in contact with the project team consistently. When selecting the project team members, decision making skills should be considered: the member’s decision making ability is a crucial feature for successful projects. Occasionally the members will be compelled to decide toughly which can determine the success or failure of the project. Besides, having a team that is capable is crucial for any initiative in the organisation, some characteristics must be taken into account when selecting potential candidates for the team: Technical competence: members of the team must possess the technical skill needed to complete the assigned tasks. Moreover, every team member must be sensitive to probable conflicts, and have problem-solving skills whereby team members must solve unanticipated problems associated with the project. Importantly, dedication as an attribute must be exhibited by all team members when undertraining their tasks. Since project success depends on having the right people on the team, the project managers should know how to select the most appropriate team members. Given that potential candidates could have similar preferences set based on how they gather information and how they relate with other people, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) should be used to measure their inclinations, establish the consequences for their individual project contributions, as well as make forecasts concerning the implications and preferences of those inclinations for other members of the group. 8.0 Conclusion In summary, as evidenced in the report, a change team must master the expertise crucial for success in the hospitality industry environment. The temporary as well as the unique nature of hospitality projects generates a work setting that decrees a distinct approach of management from that utilised by other managers. Members of the change team have to be prepared for their roles, even if they have to perceptively challenge the project leaders. In scores of instances, problems regarding implementation are attributed to top management undervaluing the implication of their individual responsibilities. Most leaders in the hospitality industry are unwilling to commit the needed resources; they occasionally convey contradictory messages concerning the significance of the change by applying inadequate pressure to people resting change or they change priorities when the process is almost done. An individual with pertinent skills and knowledge, but unsuitable attitude cannot fit well in change team because their attitude can flaw or halt the change process; resulting in project failure. 9.0 References Antoniadis, D.N., 2012. Complexity and the Process of Selecting Project Team Members. Journal for the Advancement of Performance Information and Value, vol. 4, no. 1, pp.1-27. Ásólfsdóttir, Á.H., 2012. Leading a Virtual Team: Globalization and IT Project Management. Thesis. Reykjavík, Iceland: Reykjavík University. Barczak, G. & Wilemon, D., 2003. Team member experiences in new product development: views from the trenches. R&D Management, vol. 33, no. 5, pp.463–79. Benesh, M., 2013. A Simple Framework for Decision-Making in Projects. [Online] Available at: http://projectcoachingcenter.com/a-simple-framework-for-decision-making-in-projects [Accessed 26 March 2015]. Cohen, S.G. & Bailey, D.E., 1997. What makes teams work: Group effectiveness research from the shop floor to the executive suite. Journal of Management, vol. 23, no. 3, pp.239-90. Community Tool Box, 2012. Section 4. Building Teams: Broadening the Base for Leadership. [Online] Available at: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/leadership/leadership-ideas/team-building/main [Accessed 26 March 2015]. Cullen, J. & Parboteeah, K.P., 2013. Multinational Management. New York: Cengage Learning. De Dreu, C.K.W. & West, M.A., 2001. Minority dissent and team innovation: The importance of participation in decision making. Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 86, no. 6, pp.1191-201. Green, S.D., 2006. The management of projects in the construction industry: context, discourse and self-identity. In Hodgson, D. & Cicmil, S. Making Projects Critical. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. pp.232-51. Hinds, P.J.C., Krackhardt, K.M. & D. and Wholey, D., 2000. Choosing work group members: balancing similarity, competence, and familiarity. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, vol. 81, no. 2, pp.226-51. Holbeche, L., 2012. The High Performance Organization. London: Routledge. Levin, G. & Wyzalek, J., 2014. Portfolio Management: A Strategic Approach. Florida: CRC Press. Longman, A. & Mullins, J., 2004. Project management: key tool for implementing strategy. Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 25, no. 5, pp.54-60. Losoncy, L., 1996. Best Team Skills: Fifty Key Skills for Unlimited Team Achievement. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Nankervis, A.R., 2000. Human Resource Management Strategies as Competitive Advantage: A Case Example of the Hospitality Sector in Southeast Asia & the Pacific Rim. Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, vol. 8, no. 1, pp.111-33. Neider, L.L. & Schriesheim, C., 2005. Understanding Teams. Panama City, FL: IAP. Pauleen, D.J. & Yoong, P., 2001. Facilitating virtual team relationships via Internet and conventional communication channels. Internet Research, vol. 11, no. 3, pp.190 - 202. Pich, M.T., Loch, C.H. & Meyer, A.D., 2002. On Uncertainty, Ambiguity, and Complexity in Project Management. Management Science, vol. 48, no. 8, pp.1008 - 1023. Pinilla, G.H., 2003. Are The Selection Methods Used By The Hospitality Industry Culturally Sensitive? Dissertation. Oxford: Oxford Brookes University. Pollack, J., 2007. The changing paradigms of project management. International Journal of Project Management, vol. 25, no. 3, pp.266–74. Silva, T.D., 2013. Essential Management Skills for Pharmacy and Business Managers. New York: CRC Press. Tan, A. & Kaufmann, U.H., 2010. Making Good Change Agents: Attitude, Knowledge, Skills. [Online] Available at: http://www.isixsigma.com/implementation/change-management-implementation/making-good-change-agents-attitude-knowledge-skills/ [Accessed 26 March 2015]. Zaccaro, S.J., Rittman, A.L. & Marks, M.A., 2001. Team leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, vol. 12, pp. 451–483. Read More