Aboriginal Hostels Limited Total Dependence on the Australian Federal Government - Case Study Example

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS AND REPORT Case study analysis and report Customer Inserts His/Her Name Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name 30, 09, 2011 Executive summary The report is discussing about the Aboriginal Hostels Limited (AHL) which have been in existence since 1973. The AHL hostels have been accommodating the Torres Straits Islanders and Indigenous Australians on a temporal basis according to Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. The purpose of this report is to assist myself in gaining experience on analysis of facts of the organization, the situation and present the analysis and recommendations in a manner which is convincing and well supported with evidence. During my investigations, there were various challenges I experienced. For example I was not able to visit all the eight regional offices but I managed to visit its central office in Canberra and two others like the indigenous youth mobility program hostel where I acquired the above information. The administrative staff assisted much in providing me with the information. I was allowed to interact closely with some of the residents who also assisted in providing me with useful information. I engaged myself directly with some residents like the youth in performing various activities like cooking, which assisted me in acquiring information relevant top this study. Some hostels like those of people with mental problems were inaccessible although the staff members were very much supportive in providing me with information. AHL has existed for a long period of time and better services are expected from its management system. But instead the hostels are not depicting this, as a government agency, AHL should not aim at making profit as it is doing; this is supported by Sanderson, (2001). This can be clearly seen when it is not providing computers to the rest of the hostels but instead they do it for students only, this could be due to fear of costs. The hostel management is too much confined to its locality. In the case study, it is indicated that most of its employees are indigenous; it is the same case for the indigenous youth mobility programs which is limited to the local youths who are involved in apprenticeship and traineeship. This is denying the hostels a chance to develop through learning from members outside their locality. These new members could be having better ways of doing things or their efforts combined together with those from the locality can produce better services that will enhance the hostel’s growth. AHL short term accommodation mode may not be the best, it could be a good idea to try the long term accommodation mode and compare the two. For example, if they introduce a child hostel and base it on a long term accommodation, it may eventually grow to a day care and eventually a school. This will benefit the hostels in both fame and cash. The AHL total dependence on the Australian Federal Government is not a good idea because the government is prone to economic fluctuations such as inflation that are likely to affect the hostels directly in terms of its services. Instead it should implement alternative projects to be supplementing their funding. Table of contents Executive summary i 2.0 Operational issues 1 2.1 How AHL provide a total service based on the package 1 2.2 The genetic strategy followed by Aboriginal Hostels Limited and how it meets it 4 2.3 Having home away from home in Aboriginal Hostels Limited 4 2.4 Service recovery framework in Aboriginal Hostels Limited 5 3.0 Key findings and recommendations 6 3.1 Areas that need to be considered by AHL so as to improve their services 6 Reference List 7 1.0 Introduction Aboriginal Hostels Limited has existed since 1973 and they have been accommodating the indigenous Australians and the Torres Straits Islanders. AHL has been doing it on a temporal basis and they are funded fully by the Australian Federal Government. This report will show my skills in the analysis of facts of the AHL, the situation in the organization and present the analysis and recommendations in a manner that is well supported with evidence and convincing. Finally I will give my conclusion and recommendations in areas that need to be improved for better services. 2.0 Operational issues 2.1 How AHL provide a total service based on the package Supporting facility: These are necessary physical resources that must be available to enable a certain service to be provided. For example; in the case of AHL, the grouping of its hostels into different categories; depending on the needs of each group like the substance abusers, are provided for rehabilitation and education programs that will assist in supporting their rehabilitation to succeed. Another one is the assessment of those requiring special medical attention like those with mental health problems. This is for the sake of ensuring that they live in harmony with the rest in the hostels without conflicting because they are a special category (Buffa, Armour & Vollman 1994). Facilitating goods; these are items which the customer provide or that which the consumer purchases. For example in AHL, the residents are accommodated in the hostels and provided with food, beddings, and other necessities and in return they pay for them. The student hostels are equipped with computers with internet access whereby these students utilize the internet to enable them study. The indigenous youth mobile programs hostels for youths under apprenticeships, traineeships are provided with a family environment whereby they are allowed to possess personal items like televisions in their rooms. This is a facilitating good to enable them feel at home since their stay in the hostels is long term (Blackvine Media Group 2010). In return, these youths are advised to engage in activities like cleaning and cooking together with the staff members so as to learn the life skills which are a necessity to them. Another form of a facilitating activity is whereby, those requiring accommodations on prison release are asked to provide the reason for serving their sentence and this is for the purpose of security within the hostels. Information; this has employed this service in the reservation section. The AHL has got a software system by the name Reservation Management System where its clients are encouraged to visit for reservation purposes. Potential residents are also advised to contact the hostels weekly so as to check on availability. This is because; usually the hostels have no waiting list. They are managed on their demand and capacity depending on the available accommodation. Customers are also advised to leave their contact details with the hostel management staff although it sometimes becomes a challenge because of constant mobility. Another form of information provided by AHL is whereby the residents are encouraged to comment on the services provided by the hostels during their stay in the hostels. These comments are usually forwarded to Canberra which is the central office for these hostels, they are reviewed and if considered appropriate they are implemented. The hostels have got also computers with internet access whereby their residents can book flights and access services like medical services through the internet. Explicit services; these are benefits which can be easily observed and have the essential aspects of the services provided. AHL has various explicit services like; for the accommodation of substance abusers, these people are taken care of properly to ensure that they complete their rehabilitation periods successfully without sliding back. This is done by providing a secure and culturally appropriate place to support this (Barney 1986). For the sick and more especially those suffering from mental health problems are carefully assessed to lay strategies for caring for them in a way that will not hurt them and at the same time not hurt the rest of the residents in the hostels including the staff members. Implicit services; these are inner benefits which are in most cases psychological and they can be sensed vaguely by the customers (Sanderson 2001). An example in AHL is the indigenous youth mobility program, whereby the youths are encouraged to participate with the rest of the staff in activities like cooking and cleaning. They are also advised to interact closely with staff members and among themselves so as to create a feeling of acceptance. This enables these young people to acquire basic life skills important to them. 2.2 The genetic strategy followed by Aboriginal Hostels Limited and how it meets it AHL follows the differentiation strategy. This strategy works in businesses that are not money sensitive and customers have got very specific needs while at the same time the firm has got unique resources that will assist it serve its customers in a way that is difficult for its competitors to copy (Mulcaster 2009). The AHL has grouped its hostels according to the needs of its residents. This indicates that they are not money sensitive because they get their monetary funding from the Australian government. This is a unique feature emulated by these hostels that make them different from other hostels that accommodate any other resident without considering their needs but only look at the aspect of affordability. The hostels offer a short term accommodation which is another unique feature as compared to other hostels where one can stay as long as they pay for the services. 2.3 Having home away from home in Aboriginal Hostels Limited The intent of Aboriginal Hostels Limited is to have home away from home and this is achievable through. Facility layout; according Stipanuk (2006), the categorization of the hostels depending on the needs of each group from the youth, sick, substance abusers, prisoners, aged, students among others, each of this groups has got special needs that could be basic to them. The hostels management has taken a step to ensure that its residents benefit fully during their stay in the hostels. For example, the youths are assisted to learn life skills like cooking and cleaning that will benefit them later in life so as to assimilate themselves independently in the community. Environmentally, the hostels have got conducive environments that their residents enjoy during their stay their. The staff is in operation full time to ensure that their residents are fully assisted. The majority of its employees are indigenous people who understand the place well so as to provide quality services to its customers. Stipanuk (2001) argues that, the youths residing in the indigenous youth mobility program hostels are taught life skills like cooking and cleaning and to achieve this, they are advised to assist the staff in doing so, staying very close to the staff and feeling free to socialize with them. These young people are accommodated on a longer term basis and provided for a family environment where they are allowed to possess televisions and other personal items in their rooms. By the end of their stay at the hostels, these young people never come out the same. They come out equipped with life skills that can assist them lead independent lives in the community. 2.4 Service recovery framework in Aboriginal Hostels Limited Aboriginal Hostels Limited is moving toward improving efficiency and reducing costs of managing contracts. The management wants to do this through consolidating various contracts in different hostels that provide foodstuffs, maintenance work, information technology and laundering. The hostels are able to achieve this if the Australian government will continue to fully support them in terms of funds as it has done before and on top of that add some extra cash to the previous. This is because the new framework that the AHL wants to implement calls for extra funds on top of those that it has been operating on initially (Spender & Scherer 2007). 3.0 Key findings and recommendations 3.1 Areas that need to be considered by AHL so as to improve their services In order to improve their services, AHL will have to consider the following points: 1. The temporal accommodation should be improved to permanent accommodation. This will give the residents the freedom to stay in the hostels as long as they wish even if it is at a cost. The money which will be collected from these residents will assist much in improving the physical services in these hostels. 2. AHL should put up supplementary projects which can assist them in terms of funds for managing the hostels. This will be even more appropriate when the government is experiencing crises like economic inflations which are likely to affect the hostels directly because of their total dependence on the federal government funding (Andriessen 2004). This will assist these hostels develop there services. 3. The indigenous youth mobility programs should be opened to all youths within the age bracket of (16-24years) and be given equal opportunities like the rest to mix, interact and learn from each other. This will result in exchange of cultures and ideas and by the end of the whole exercise, these youths will be better than if they were left on their own. 4. The management of AHL should struggle to ensure that all hostels are equipped with computers and internet access provided to all. This is a technological era and the computers are inevitable in everyday life (Power 1984). They are used everywhere from homesteads to offices and hence important to these residents. 5. The AHL criterion of employment is too much confined to the indigenous people and thus People from outside should be given a chance to participate in the management of these hostels. These people are likely to come with new ideas or new management skills which will improve the services provided here. Reference List Andriessen, D 2004, ‘Reconciling the rigor-relevance dilemma in intellectual capital research’, The Learning Organization, vol.11, no.4, pp.393–401. Barney, JB 1986, Organizational Culture: Can It Be a Source of Sustained Competitive Advantage? Academy of Management Review, vol. 11, no. 3, pp.656-665. Blackvine Media Group 2010, Aboriginal Hostels Limited. Available from: . (28 September 2011). Buffa, ES, Armour, GC & Vollman, TE 1994, ‘Allocating Facilities with CRAFT’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 42, no. 2, March-April, pp. 136-158. Mulcaster, WR 2009, ‘Three Strategic Frameworks’, Business Strategy Series, vol. 10, no. 1, pp.68–75. Power, A 1984, ‘Trouble in Utopia II, Rescuing Unpopular Council Estates through Local Management’, Geographical Journal, vol. 158, pp. 359-362. Sanderson, G 2001, ‘undertaking research in international education’, journal of Australian Research on International Education Services, vol. 2, no. 3, Winter, pp. 197-239. Spender, JC, Scherer, AG 2007, ‘The Philosophical Foundations of Knowledge Management: Editors' Introduction’, Organization, vol.14, no.1, pp. 5–28. Stipanuk, DM 2001, ‘Energy Management in 2001 and Beyond’, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 57-70. Stipanuk, DM 2006, Hospitality facilities management and design , 3rd edn, Educational Institute, American Hotel & Lodging Association, Lansing, Mich. Read More