Management Issues at Harbour Inn - Case Study Example

Management Issues at Harbour Inn Executive Summary This report about the management problems experienced at Harbour Inn is divided into two sections. In the discussion and analysis section, four major problems are identified. First, there is a breakdown in communication between the management, which is made up of older members, and the entire workforce, which is composed of young employees. This intergenerational and cultural diversity affects the attitude and communication between the management and the workers at the hotel. Second, the employees at the hotel have negative attitudes towards their work. This is reflected in low job satisfaction, poor involvement and lack of organisational commitment. Third, the institution lacks an appropriate mechanism of motivating its employees. This explains why there is low motivation and a high rate of turnover in the organisation. Lastly, the institution suffers from poor control systems in terms of handling all matters related to the welfare of the workers. This report recommends several solutions for the situation at Harbour Inn. For instance, it is recommended that the institution implements an effective employee reward system. By recognising, measuring and rewarding the performance of employees, the organisation can not only increase the level of motivation but also reduce the rate of employee turnover. Additionally, the organisation should implement a people-oriented culture. This will address the concerns of the younger workforce by ensuring their participation in the processes of the organisation. Lastly, the organisation should implement a clan control system. Such an approach would not only foster commitment but also change the degree of formality within the organisation from formal controls to group culture. 1. Introduction This report is based on a case study of Harbour Inn hotel and provides recommendations that can address the problems and issues present in the institution. It is divided into two parts, each addressing specific aspects of the topic. In the first section, an analysis of the problems and issues arising from the case is provided. This is done in light of different theories that are relevant to the issues that are raised. In the second section, general recommendations are provided which, when implemented, will address the problems within the organisation as identified in the first section. 2. Analysis and discussion In essence, the problems experienced at Harbour Inn can be categorised into three basic groups: issues to do with the culture of the organization; staff motivation and job satisfaction; and issues to do with the general style of management that is used within the institution. These problems are manifested in cases of a high rate of employee turnover, low levels of motivation among the employees and lack of job satisfaction and commitment among the employees. These problems are analysed at length in the section that follows. a. Intergenerational communication breakdown This is as a result of cultural differences between members of the management, most of who are in their 40s and 50s and the majority of the workers of the hotel, most of whom are in their 30s. The management is made up of individuals belonging to the Baby Boomers and Generation X. On the other hand, the majority of employees are members who belong to Generation Y, and in addition to this, they come from different national backgrounds. Because of this diversity within organisation, there is a breakdown in communication between the older management and the generally young population of the workforce. This is because of the negative stereotyping between the different age groups, leading to communication dissatisfaction within the hotel. b. Employee attitude towards work From the case study, employees at Harbour Inn have negative attitudes towards their job. This is reflected in low levels of job satisfaction, lack of commitment towards the organisation and a generally poor degree of job involvement among them. According to Deery (2008, p. 794), job satisfaction, organisational commitment and job involvement are affected by a number of factors. These include individual ones like personality, age and orientation towards the work; cultural factors like beliefs and values; and environmental ones which include the social and economic influences. Most importantly, there are organisational factors which include the style of leadership in use within an organisation, the human resource management practices, the relationship between workers and the managers and also the general conditions in the workplace environment. It can be seen that lack of job satisfaction, poor job involvement and low organisational commitment among employees of Harbour Inn is due to the poor relationship between workers and managers as well as poor human resource management practices. c. Low levels of motivation among the employees This is exemplified in the fact that the majority of the employees at Harbour Inn have low levels of motivation. According to Rabey (2001, p. 28), motivation refers to the degree to which an individual wants and chooses to behave in certain ways. It is the role of the management to create conditions in the workplace in which individuals feel inspired to work hard towards particular goals. From the case study, it can be seen that the management has failed to initiate and maintain motivation among employees. That Susan has remained a casual worker even after being promised incentives in terms of salary increment and better working conditions means that the management has failed to create conditions within the organisation under which people will feel inspired to work harder towards specific goals. According to Smith (1999, p. 265), the level of individual motivation combines with individual ability and the conditions at the workplace to determine the level of performance of workers within an organisation. This takes into account different factors such as the level of remuneration, the workplace atmosphere and the relationship between workers and the management (Smith 1999, p. 267). d. Poor control systems The fourth problem affecting Harbour Inn regards the failure of the organisation’s control systems, particularly in terms of managing the human resources within the organisation. Organisations regulate their activities through complex control systems in order to cope with their own complexity, minimise costs of operation, limit their accumulation of error in the course of their operations and lastly, adapt to changes in their external environment (Tesone 2012, p, 195). In the case study, it can be seen that the control systems for the human resources of the organisation have failed. This has been reflected in lack of sufficient training and career development programmes for employees, poor performance appraisal for the employees of the hotel, and lack of clear structures to govern the remuneration policies for the employees. 3. Recommendations Problems to do with communication breakdown between the management and the employees, issues to do with poor control systems for human resource management, low levels of motivation among the employees and negative attitudes towards work are common problems encountered in the hospitality industry (Harbourne 2000, p. 38). In order for the situation at Harbour Inn to be improved, several steps have to be implemented. These are discussed in the section that follows. a. Intergenerational communication breakdown Since there is a breakdown in communication between the management and the generally young individuals who make up the workforce of the organisation, it is important for the management to reconsider their approach to managing the intergenerational gap in the organisation. Differences in terms of age and cultural backgrounds affect the core values, work ethics and professional aspirations of the employees (Ojie-Ahamiojie 2008, p. 93). It is therefore important for the management to develop a corporate culture that removes negative stereotyping of members of different generations within the organisation and develops effective communication channels between the older generation and the younger one (Heyman 2011, p. 16). In addition to this, the management should seek to cultivate a culture that is people-oriented. Such a culture lays much emphasis on taking into consideration the impact of all employees in making decisions as well as how employees are affected by the decisions of the management (Lee-Ross & Pryce 2010, p. 194). By setting priorities and systems that enhance a people-oriented organisational culture, the management would be able to address all issues to do with dissatisfaction among the young workforce due to the management style of the older generation. b. Low levels of motivation and job attitude among employees There are several ways in which the management at Harbour Inn can improve the level of motivation among the employees. For instance, according to the process perspective approach to motivation, the management of the company should seek to implement a comprehensive reward system within the structure of the organisation. Such as system will motivate employees to pursue their goals and evaluate their performance in relation to the goals of the organisation. Theoretically, such an approach to motivation focuses on why individuals choose certain behavioural options to satisfy their needs and how they evaluate their satisfaction after attaining the goals (Tosi & Pilati 2011, p. 112). Under this approach, there are four different theories of motivation: the expectancy theory, the goal-setting theory, the self-efficacy theory and the organisational justice theory. According to the organisational justice theory, the level of individual motivation is based on their perceptions about how fair they are treated within an organisation (Schermerhorn, Osborn & Uhl-Bien 2011, p. 109). The perceived overall justice is based on fairness regarding the following: distribution of resources in terms of salaries, interpersonal treatment, procedures used to allocate resources and access to information in the work place (Tosi & Pilati 2011, p. 114). Since from the case study the employees of Harbour Inn have a low perception of justice within the organisation, the management can remedy the situation by implementing a reward system that will provide a mechanism by which employee performance is defined, evaluated and rewarded (Schermerhorn, Osborn & Uhl-Bien 2011, p. 110). Since an effective reward system affects employee motivation, behaviour and attitude, implementing an effective reward system at Harbour Inn will not only solve the problem of low motivation among the employees but also change their attitudes towards their work. This will be so since an effective reward system will recognise the cultural and generational diversity at Harbour Inn by using different ways to satisfy the different needs of individuals within the organisation. c. Poor control systems In order to address the problem of poor control systems within the institution, the management of the organisation should take into consideration the structure of its control systems. This is important because of the generational gap between the management and the workers of the hotel. There are two types of structures for control processes: bureaucratic control, which is characterised by formal and mechanistic structural environments; and clan control, which is characterised by informal arrangements and widespread employee participation (Tesone 2012, p. 202). Since the workforce of the hotel comprises young employees, the management should adopt a clan control system within the organisation. Such an approach would enhance a feeling of shared influence among the employees, foster commitment, change the degree of formality within the organisation from formal control to group culture and lastly, enhance informal and extended participation. Also, the organisation should review its workplace performance management systems. According to Tanke (2001, p. 242), a workplace performance management system addresses the following issues: a plan for the management of human resources, training and development of employees and general plans that address their welfare within the organisation. It is observed that failure to address these issues leads to low productivity and high employee turnover because of the poor relationship between the workforce and the managers and lack of direction in their jobs (Nickson 2012, n.pag). In order to address these issues, the management should put in place a workplace performance management system that defines, measures and gives feedback information on the performance of the employees. 4. Conclusion In conclusion, the management of Harbour Inn should consider re-valuating its management practices and approaches. This is because of the challenges that the organisation faces, which include low levels of motivation among employees, high rates of turnover, job dissatisfaction and diversity problems in terms of cultural and generational differences. By implementing an effective reward system, the management can improve motivation among the workforce as well as reduce high rates of turnover. Also, the management can resolve the cultural differences between the management and the workforce by implementing a clan control system. This will ensure that the performance of all employees is enhanced in a less formal and appropriate workplace environment. Lastly, the management should encourage the development of a people-oriented culture within the organisation. By taking into consideration the input of the workforce, such an approach will reduce the high rate of turnover among employees within the organisation. 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