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Assignment case study

A case study of Amphora Hotel and Suites in Cyprus

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Introduction:
The strategic goals and objectives of the employees are possible to achieve only through the
honest efforts of the workforce. Through their knowledge and skills the employees create the
path for the future success of any organization. But in todays world of high competition it has
become much more important that the organization put more effort in the job satisfaction of the
employees and keep them both physically and emotionally attached with their workplace.
Through this way the employees will be loyal to the company and will give more effort in their
functions (McPhail, Herington and Guilding, 2008). In the last few years it can be seen that the
fluctuations in the economy has caused strains in the Hotel industry and this along with the
outdated practices of management has lead to the increase in the turnover rates in the industry. In
the various researches that has been conducted on the factors that have caused the increase in the
rates of turnover in the hospitality industry one of the main factor that has come up in all the
empirical is the poor employee management in the hospitality industry. For the purpose of this
essay we will evaluate the poor management practices that have caused problems of high job
dissatisfaction among the employees of the Amphora Hotel and Suites in Cyprus. The main
reason that caused the dissatisfaction of the employees is the poor human resource management
practices that are followed in the company which has resulted in the dissatisfied customers and
low income which has led the hotel to remove many of its flagship services from the list of
services that are provided in the hotel.
Amphora Hotel and Suites and the problems faced by the hotel:
The Amphora Hotel and Suites is situated in the paphos which provides an unobstructed view of
the tranquil waters of the Mediterranean and the picturesque fishing harbors. The hotel is newly
constructed and is situated at the location of the idyllic beachfront of the former SODAP winery.
The company envisages providing rejuvenating, inspiring and serene haven for the customers.
One of the best features of the hotel other than the surrounding scenery and the location of the
hotel is that the hotel provides exquisite accommodation as there are around 95 luxury suites,
bigger and spacious rooms and villas (Naidu and Chand, 2014).
Though the hotel claims to provide one of the best services in the region but in the last few years
the hotel has been facing serious dissatisfaction among the customers due to lack of proper

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services offered to them. The main reason that has been behind the lack of proper services in the
hotel is the high rates of attrition among the employees in the hotel which many believe is
mainly due to the lack of human resources management experience in the company. Since the
rate of attrition is high in the hotel thus the new employees who are coming in the place of the
earlier employees are not properly experienced and thus a negative impression is being created in
the minds of the customers who are now considering to choose other hotels and suites instead of
Amphora hotels and considering it is a second option (Maxwell and Watson, 2006).
It can be said form the situation that the hotel has been caught in downward spiral where the lack
of proper human resource management practices and led to the reduction in staff members in the
hotels which has in turn reduced the level of service in the hotel. Thus, there are lower
percentages of occupancy in the hotel and economic worries for the hotel continue to grow. The
various issues that could be found in the Human resources management of the hotel includes
various problems such as the problems are found in the hiring process adopted by the company.
Further there were issues in the bonding over the on boarding process and there was lack of
proper engagement of the long-tenured employees and not being able to retain the long term
employees.
Since in the present times the recruitment scenario is not good thus the company wont face
many problems in the recruitment of the frontline workers for the company. The company is
finding it difficult to maintain few key elements which are important for the recruitment of the
front line workers in the hotel industry. The company is not selecting the properly suitable
employees in the hotel which has caused mismatch in the employees and the job positions. It is
important that the persons who are selected to perform a particular function has all the necessary
temperament to perform the function that are related to that particular position. it is important in
the hotel industry the people working in the industry should be good team members as most of
the work is performed in a collective manner (Marriott Hotels stresses the Spirit to Serve, 2008).
Further it has been seen that the company has been lack-sidal in its approach to check the
background of the employees like whether they had been terminated from their earlier jobs due
to some specific reasons. The main reason behind this problem is that company is looking for
cheap labour so that they are able to take out their operational cost, but it is costing the company
in terms of the standard of the employees that it is selecting.

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it has also been found that there is no proper framework in the company for the organizational
justice in the company as the company. It has been found that the employment satisfaction is
directly related to the organizational justice and rates of turnover of the company. The managers
of the company have not been able to select such people who are culturally fit into the
organization.
Along with the other issues that was affecting the employees in the organization is the schemes
of promotion that are offered by the company and the lack of communication between the
management and the workforce due to which the workforce was not able to present the various
issues that were faced by the employees in the hotel. Also there were serious apprehensions in
the mind of the workers about the nature of work that most of the employees had to perform in
the hotel. Since there was lack of fringe benefits and lack of recognition in the company which
has lead to the reduction in the motivation levels of the employees in the company. Also the
leadership of the company is more autocratic in nature due to which there is no role of the
subordinates in the decision making in the hotel. This has created a rift between the perceptions
of the employees working in the hotel and the management of the hotel.
Another issue that can be witnessed in the hotel is the lack of proper training and development in
hotel for its employees. Though the company provides some level of induction training to the
employees and provides some basic level of training to its employees but there are not many
opportunities for training in the later years of service for the company. In an industry such as the
hospitality industry the systematic training and development of the employees are very crucial so
that the employees are able to perform their task properly (Marco-Lajara and beda-Garca,
2013). When the employees feel that the training is properly imparted to them by the
organization there is sense of emotional; attachment is created between the employees and the
organization. This raises their commitment towards the organization and they will show fewer
tendencies to leave their jobs. Training is also an important factor in the retention of the
employees.
Engagement with the employees is also one area of the management where the management of
Amphora Hotel and Suites has not paid much attention. It is important that the company follows
the proper processes for on boarding. The on boarding of the people begins with when they first
accept the candidates offer of acceptance. When the managers are able to handle the on boarding

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of the employees properly than they will be able to get the best outcome from the new employees
and the company will earn the loyalty of the employees. Since the managers of the company
were not able to take proper care of the new employees during their on boarding process thus
their remained for a short term in hotel and started looking for working opportunities in the other
hotels and restaurants. There are also issues that the management of the company were able to
successfully engage the long term people in organization which has hurt the business prospects
of the company as there were lack of experienced employees in the workforce of the company
which has transpired into the poor services that was offered to the clients. Since the employees
that have spent most of the time in the company has the better tenure equity they have already
adjusted with the culture of the organization, they have acclimated to the culture of the company
and thus they have a clear idea of how the things can be done in the company under the
leadership of the management (Jamil, Mohamed and Ariffin, 2015). Also those employees who
are experienced and have been in the company for a long time has the better linkups both inside
and outside the company Thus, it is important that the company pays respect to the needs and
demands of such employees as they can prove to be game changer for the company.
The hotel management has also not been able to come up with a proper strategy for the retention
of the valuable employees in the organization. Since the operational cost of the hotel industry has
increased at an exponential rate, thus it has become exceedingly difficult for the hotel managers
to retain the long term employees for a long duration in the company. The lack of the valuable
employees will result in the company not being able to provide world class services to the
customers.
In the end it will be important that the managers have a proper succession planning in the
organization so that there is no confusion among the employees when there is a vacancy in the
higher leadership of the company. it was found that since certain vacancies in the supervisor
positions are left vacant in the company for many days which causes a lack of proper
management of the staff at the lower level. Thus it affects the services that are offered by the
company to the customers.
Apart from the above mentioned specific issues that are related to the mis-management of the
employees in the Amphora Hotel and Suites which has resulted in the dissatisfaction among the
employees there are also other factors such as harassment or bullying of the job of junior level

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workers in the hotel by the senior management, low job security and the unsocial working hours
which has increased the stress among the workers and thus it has resulted in low out of the
employees.
Recommendations and conclusions
From the above case study of the Amphora Hotel and Suites it is clear that the lack of proper
experience in the management is one of the main reasons that has caused the dissatisfaction
among the employees and thus there are several recommended which can be adopted by the
managers to revive the growth prospects of the company. The first recommendation is that the
company should hire better and suitable people in the first time. Secondly in order to ensure that
the new entrants are successfully adjusted with the working condition the management of the
company has to take the necessary steps that the selected candidates have the desired criteria that
are required to perform the task (Cairncross and Kelly, 2008). The company has to develop a
proper performance management and appraisal system which should be unbiased and the
different conditions should be informed to each and every employee properly. The company also
has to ensure that the working hours of the employee are fixed has to offer them proper holidays
so that they are able to spent their time with their families which will help them to keep their
stress level. Finally the managers of the company have to follow the ethical business practices
when dealing with employees so that no disrespect is caused to the employees.

References

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Energetic staff on the menu at Macdonald Hotels. (2011). Human Resource Management
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InterContinental Hotels says Bravo to 33,000 employees worldwide. (2014). Human Resource
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Jamil, C., Mohamed, R. and Ariffin, Z. (2015). Human Capital Resource and Environmental
Management Practices Among Hotels in Malaysia. adv sci lett, 21(6), pp.1890-1893.
Marco-Lajara, B. and beda-Garca, M. (2013). Human resource management approaches in
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