Assessment 1: Project Report
Individual project report, assessing learning outcomes 1 to 4, contributing 100% of module marks
You are a quality management consultant for Visit England’s QIT and have been appointed by a service organization to improve their current service delivery. Your task is to write a report to the Management team which should include the following:
1. Justify the importance of managing and measuring service quality, recommending the adoption of appropriate service quality management methods.
2. Reading the case study you can establish their current service delivery/practices. However you need to assess the impact this will have on the front-line employees, their engagement and also managerial implications.
3. Finally, produce a Customer Feedback System (CFS) framework that the organisation can utilise to monitor and continually improve service quality.
Your answer can be justified and illustrated by specific examples of best practice organizational operations.
You will be given credit for your ability to draw on a range of sources; these may be academic, or industry specific. Credit will also be given for a clearly structured answer, for the use of relevant examples, for demonstrating analytical powers, and for original or imaginative thinking.
Demonstrate in the report an ability to explore a theoretical argument that has clear implications for service businesses. The response should critically appraise the main theories and principles associated with the management of quality and service quality management. It needs to build upon wider reading and other managerial issues and will benefit from clear examples from the area of hospitality, tourism or events.
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Make a reasoned argument in an academically well written report that leads the reader through argument and debate to a clear conclusion. The argument will therefore embrace the service concept whilst identifying a range of theoretical quality models.
The word limit is 4,500 words.
Assessment deadline: Thursday 5th May 2015, 2pm.
CASE STUDY: The Sunderland International Hotel.
The Sunderland International Hotel is a 3 star hotel and is open and operating on the outskirts of Sunderland since 1995. Only a 10 minute drive from the City Centre and Roker Beach, the hotel has 100 modern and stylish en-suite rooms, including standard, executive and premier. In 2012 they opened a conference and banqueting suite of three event venue spaces which are suitable for hosting conferences, meetings, weddings and other functions. Other Hotel facilities include a gym, spa and swimming pool. The food and beverage operations include a formal dining area where breakfast and lunches are served at the Brasserie, and Nicholls Bar and Restaurant which are open at lunch time and for evening service for a range of local and international cuisine.
The Hotel attracts both business and leisure guests, and has recently been refurbished; updating the reception area, restaurants and rooms. Since the refurbishment and development of the conference and banqueting suite, the Sunderland International Hotel has had a 200% increase in room and event bookings combined. However, whilst profits have significantly increased, customer complaints have also risen within this period. In the last six months Trip Advisor reviews have been highlighting various issues within the Hotel – a sample of some of the comments can be found below:
• “Great facilities but poor service”
• “1 hour wait to check-in!”
• “When I enquired whether we would be compensated, the member of staff said that it was not her decision and we would need to call the Manager when he was back in the office next week. This created a nuance of problems and after multiple phone calls it was almost a month before we got a response, however we were refunded in full and invited to stay again. We would have been happy with a simple upgrade or free breakfast; I don’t know whether we will ever visit the Sunderland International Hotel again so it was a bit pointless.”
• “The front desk was so busy I didn’t want to ask how to book a table for the restaurant so we took a taxi into the city centre”
• “The staff tried really hard to accommodate all of our wedding guests but they were clearly understaffed and unable to cope”
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• “The waiter acted like it wasn’t his problem and told us we would have to speak to the manager as there is nothing he can do to rectify the situation, we only wanted an apology.”
The Hotel Manager only checks Trip Advisor Reviews once a month, and instructs employees to refer any customer complaints directly to him. The management team has only recently become aware that customers are also leaving reviews on the Hotel’s Facebook page. As Hotel occupancy and conference and banqueting event bookings have increased, the management team is struggling to find the time to respond to customer feedback.
The service culture emphasizes the importance of the guests experience, however staff feel that there is no ownership, and that they are not cared for. There are no reward schemes or active empowerment of the staff, and they feel that they are not valued by management. Currently 60% of staff are employed part time, with only the management team and supervisors on full time contracts and staff turnover is increasing. There have also been complaints about the minimum wage paid. In terms of recruitment, the management team has no planned approach and recruits on an ad hoc basis. Training lasts one week and is provided on the job by the on duty supervisor.
The Hotel used to operate basic service standards in quality assurance, recognition and attentiveness. This included a personalised approach by using the guests name once it is known and by calling the guest 15 minutes after checking in to make sure the room is satisfactory. However since the increase in hotel occupation and staff turnover, these standards are neither being upheld, nor are the management team enforcing it.
The management of the Sunderland International Hotel has approached you as a Service Quality consultant to analyse the present situation and to ensure that the Hotel maintains the standards expected; the hotel three star rating and modern and stylish en-suite rooms, food and beverage and public areas.