The Hill House Hotel Case Study Hill House is a luxury five-star rural resort hotel that contains

200 bedrooms and 6 suites, as well as 10 self-catering lodges. The facilities include a function room which seats 300 people, four small meeting rooms and a 50-seat cinema. There are three catering outlets offering a range of food and beverage services, and also two bars. Leisure facilities at the hotel include a spa and Fitness Centre, a golf course and tennis courts. Activities include off-road driving, clay-pigeon shooting and horse-riding. This report will analyse the two problems that are being faced by the Hill House Hotel. The first problem concerns the up-coming golf tournament. The other question relates to the decrease in the service standard of the bar.

Question 1

Introduction The following report helps us to identify the role of the supervisor and the necessary skills that is needed, the planning of the event. In the question there is an upcoming golf tournament which is to take place in the Hilton House Hotel. This means that the hotel will be occupied for four days; even so the hotel staff will be low as it is the low season in the hotel. As additional staff will be added to meet the demand of the guests, the report will give an explanation of the skills required to train the staff.

The supervisor A successful supervisor will make a positive outcome to help the staff work as a team that gives an optimum output. One must understand that a supervisor is like a messenger between the top managers and the staff, nevertheless they do not hold the authority to be involved in the making of the business decisions. Due to this unique position a supervisor has the role to influence individuals or the group. Planning, organising, decision making, controlling, staffing and leading has always been the key character of a supervisor. It falls upon the supervisor to guarantee a safe working environment. This report will deal with the supervisors role in planning. The supervisor can have easy decisions and more hard decisions to make in the daily hospitality lifestyle. Miller and Walker (2007) have mentioned a design for supervisors to follow during their decision making. A supervisor has to controlling the staff by evaluating and measuring the staff performance. The performance is measured in terms
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of the objectives set by the management and also by correcting the staff when necessary. To provide excellent service the supervisor must ensure that the employees are trained. On occasion the supervisor may be responsible to take interviews during the recruitment process. The main characteristic that this report reflects upon is the leadership qualities present in the supervisor.

Leadership Even though leadership has many definitions, it is believed of as a method whereby an individual can provide enough encouragement in a group to work towards a common goal. Increase in revenue and effective service standards in also seen a part of effective leadership as it helps in strengthening the organisation. All leaders possess common characteristics such as aptitude, self-confidence, amiability, honour and resolve. Technical skill, human skill and conceptual skill are the three skills that every successful leader possesses. The technical skill relays to the process in the administration and operative proficiency within the organisation. The ability to work with people and to understand and empathise with their needs is known as human skill. These skills relates to the development of the trust between workers and the encouragement needed to accomplish the goals. Conceptual Skills is the capability to work with different concepts and ideas and to implement them as well. The concept can relate to the organisational vision. Even though a different situation calls upon different skills, human skill is always an important skill to be used every time.

Planning The report previously mentions that the planning is one of the important parts of the supervisors job. Identifying and analysing what the desired results are and the best method to achieve them is a part of the planning process. To help the supervisors restrict any possible risk, planning is an important process as it supervisor is forced to think upon the problem. Planning and preparation has always been the reason of achieving success in all setups. According to the question, The Hill House Hotel is faced with the upcoming golf tournament and associated with the full occupancy; it is obvious that the anticipated conclusion would be to preserve the hotel rooms, suites and lodges at an appropriately high standard. Among this the ensuring of the golf course is kept to the standard suitable for the tournament; making sure that the bar is stocked with all the wines and

liquors; the functionality of the leisure facilities is operational and fit for the guest; the standard of the staffs service to the guest as well as their awareness to the duties that they will provide to the guest. Operational planning deals with daily problems that affect the functionality of the organisation. This includes that the supervisor makes sure of that all the essentials of the organisation are running efficiently. Planning for less than one year is tactical planning; it is typically in retort to something that is upsetting the industry. Strategic planning is not only a difficult process but it relates to the accomplishment of long term goals and objectives. Strategic planning is focused on the changes in the business environment. However in according to the question, the supervisor is to be concerned with the short-term planning for the golf tournament; that is operational planning. Planning process, for every supervisor, must start with the setting up of the objectives. Defining the objectives helps the supervisor to direct the rest of the planning process. The collection and evaluation of the data comes next. The supervisor picks upon the relevant data and then proceeds to develop alternate courses, before deciding the most appropriate strategy that will help achieve their goals. Then the plan is carried out and evaluated. Since the aims and objectives of the supervisor have been identified, the estimated and the applicable data required to help develop the suitable course of action would be: the number of the guests the will be staying at the hotel, the staff available, and the inventory in the bars and the restaurant along with any deliveries. Effective planning helps ensure an organisation to perform well. A good plan not only helps provide a practical solution that meets the organisations objective, but also putsforth any relevant questions, thus minimising the degree of risk. Planning helps specify the resources required.

Motivation In order to maintain the performance of the team the supervisor must motivate them, especially the temporary staff members. The driving force the makes people want to act is known as motivation. At first money was thought to be the only incentive. However there are different kinds of motivation, such as motivation by fear, carrot-and-stick method, and economic person theory. However it was Maslow that identified the five needs of the employees. He developed a framework starting with physiological needs and then moving onward to safety needs, social needs, self-esteem and finally self-actualisation. According to Maslow, each need must be satisfied before moving on to the other needs. Employee behaviour is a factor in motivation, also to move from one need the employee need acknowledgment for their
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work. Process theory is based upon how the thought and attitudes of the employee affects their behaviour. Employees will try to adapt better to the working conditions if they were in a good relation with the supervisor. It is observed that the hotel employees consider monitory gains to be a great motivation factor.

Conclusion In the report the role of the supervisor and the necessary skills, inclusive of leadership and the planning process and also the motivational technique has been analysed. For the smooth running of the supervisor for the Hill House Hotel must learn to lead the group effectively by carefully planning and motivating employees. Leadership helps the supervisor in creating the motivation, good working relation and improve the service standards of the hotel. Good social skills, definitive goals and objective of the event and anticipation of any problem are a mark of a good supervisor.

Question 2 Introduction The Hill House Hotel is facing some crisis within the bar. As the staffs are not maintaining their uniform standard they are beginning to look unprofessional. The standard of service has also fallen and the customers are also complaining about wrong drinks and the order being delayed and poor service. Along with the service there has been a significant stock fall. The Hill House Hotel has hired a new supervisor to tackle these problems. This report will assess the different problem solving techniques that are accessible to the supervisor that are applicable in these circumstances. This report will discuss how the supervisor will effectively implement the changes.

Problem Solving The logical process that involves identifying the cause of the problem and correcting or removing the cause is known as problem solving. Human problems are more difficult to handle as they involve a persons needs, emotions and motivations. As problem solving and decision making are both involving change management which will be scrutinized in further comprehensive in the report.

The problem solving should be done in a well-organized manner. This includes that the supervisor has to identify the method of solving problems that involve: description of the problems, searching out the cause and collection of the facts, defining the real problem and setting the objectives. This is followed by developing the alternative solutions and implementing the solution. This is different from problem solving. Adair (2009) simplifies this by basing it upon three steps: define the problem, create practicable answers and choose the ideal course of action. The main aim of is to remove the cause of the problem without making any assumptions. However, all the information must be gathered. To be a successful problem solver one must possess an I can and I will attitude before beginning the problem solving. To solve a problem, it is better to involve the concerned people who can benefit out of the situation. This helps in covering the developing alternative solutions period in problem solving. During group discussion, both the positive and negative side are brought to light. The disadvantage includes that it may take longer to reach a decision, as it takes employees away from their work it may cause some to not make any assistances during the discussion. The other problems are that some members may feel intimidated; also it is common that the group members may get distracted and go off-topic. However, the advantage to a group discussion is that one receives abundant information and on-the-spot advice; there is a better discussion of the topic as every member gives their own opinion. There is also an improvement in communication also; as the people are involved on the discussion they will be more willing to practice it. Group discussion making helps when the group works as a team, if the supervisor keeps the discussion on-track then the employees would be motivated to take part. Another advantage is that the employees will be experienced in group problem solving. Another method of coming to a solution is to implement a win-win. This method is where the supervisor includes an employee in the problem solving this helps in coming to a conclusion that is beneficial to both the parties. However, this method is not appropriate in this case as the group in involved in the Hill House Hotel. If one focusses too much onto the solution it may become harder to resolve. Hence it is better to have a wide range of solutions. According to the question regarding the Hill House Hotel, it is better if the supervisor has a larger range of solutions so as to not make any suppositions.

Change Management When the supervisor has finalised an appropriate course of action then certain changes
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have to be made. To implement these changes, it is important that the supervisor must be efficient. For an organisation to grow it is important that there is change and the employees are able to adapt to the change. Change in the organisation can be big or small, in the case of Hill House Hotel bar the change is the service standard and the missing stock. Change is held in two forces: the driving force for change and the resisting force for change. Identifying which force is greater at the given situation can help make a decision of whether a change is worth implementing. The supervisors must bring to light the need for change, preparation for change, anticipate the reaction of the employees, finalise the plans, and establish the time frame, communication of the change and implementation of the same. When a supervisor implements a change the employee would react by: accepting it, refusing it or by being indifferent to it. The most important aspect to consider by the supervisor is to have empathy, understanding towards culture differences and good communication. Employees are found more receptive towards change if they have a supervisor who has good communication. Employee participation is also needed as the employees esteem rises. However, it is upon the supervisor to make the final decision. The supervisor can know that if the change is accepted by the employee or not by looking at his facial expression. At first the employee will be in shock, followed by rejection, dejection, consent of reality, challenging, consolidation and then reflection and learning.

Conclusion This report contains a brief look into the problem solving techniques available to the supervisor of the Hill House Hotel. If according to the question then the supervisor must take the logical problem solving approach so as to ensure that they have all the data that is needed and not to make any assumptions. As this report mentions group problem solving it would be beneficial in this situation. However, the supervisor must take care to not let the discussion deviate and to guarantee the participation of everyone. For a successful change management the supervisor must be empathetic, sociable and a good communicator.

Reference

Adair, J.E. (2010) Decision Making and Problem Solving Strategies, Kogan Page, London Course work: Assessment 2, example 3 Miller, Jack E. (2007) Supervision in the Hospitality Industry

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