Solving Great Wall Restaurant Problems

Aim and Approach

Discuss about the Solving Great Wall Restaurant Problems.

The food and beverage industry is one of the growing businesses that majority of the entrepreneurs’ are happy to engage in s the returns are high. It is normal for the sector to be on the rise as the population of people globally is high, and all these people need food to consume. Also, it is important to note that people not only need food of any kind but high-quality food with good taste. This factor makes hotels win different numbers of customers. Quality services are a guarantee of more sales and high profits. Tastes and preferences of the customers make the hotels become more famous and recommended globally. It is, therefore, very crucial for hotel owners to make their businesses the most attractive by offering the best service as competition is high. Having a competitive advantage does not last for long in the market has changes in the industry are daily events (Porter, 2011). Market research is necessary to know the variations in the market and what the customers need (Mager, 2008, pp. 255-256). Market growth and development of any hotel needs it to identify the needs of the customers which are ever changing and find ways of ensuring their satisfaction. The customer is always right and priority to the business as he ensures its continuity by buying the products it offers. The people with the mandate to do all these activities are the managers as they control the work of the hotels to ensure that the customers get what they needed without disappointments.

Conflicts and wrangles in the job among the stakeholders threaten the life of the organization (Franks, et al, 2014, pp.7576-7581).The managers must act as mediators’ in times of conflicts and be fair in judgments to avoid disparities among the stakeholders. All the time the firms must avail all requirements for execution of jobs and provide a conducive environment for the employees. The workers, on the other hand, have an obligation to work towards the achievement of the organization goals and objectives. However, it is not possible to ensure a smooth running of the activities of the organization and conflicts may arise. In the case of such event occurring the managers have a duty to solve the issues and ensure continuity of business activities. Business activities stoppage may lead to losses which must be avoided all the time. Employees are human beings and must be treated well with love and care. The leaders or employees must not intimidate the other as all the parties in any firms are paramount. Motivation and consultation in the decision making of the employees are crucial to give them morale in their daily activities as they see themselves valued by the business management. The management team must try by all means to ensure that their businesses have high sales. The reward of any business enterprise is profit making and not losses. Survival of the great competition companies must be creative and innovative in coming up with services which are different from their competitors. In the hotel industry, a hotel should produce products which are unique and tasty to attract more customer (McElhaney, 2009, pp. 30-36).

Review and Analysis

The Great Wall Restaurant is doing great in the food and beverage industry as it has high sales and market share. However, the company has many internal conflicts which must be solved to ensure smooth continuity of business. Also, the company needs new methods of carrying out its activities to compete adequately with other competitors who have adopted change. As a consultant in the hospitality industry, I am trying to check ways that the organization can change to ensure business activities continue frequently.

The firm is experiencing high competition, and it can use the porter’s five forces analysis to enable it to know how to fight the competition be a market leader (Porter, 2008, pp.25-40). The five forces are the following. The threat of new markets entrants who are the increasing entrepreneurs’ who see an opportunity in the industry to grab it. The new arrivals come with new ways of doing business with an aim to be the most attractive than the existing businesses.

Threat substitutes is another challenge for businesses from competitors. The customers can buy the alternatives as they serve the same purpose as the firms’ products and this is a risk for companies. Customers always look for products which they can afford, and this makes them choose the best prices in the market. When the close substitutes are offered at low prices, they become more attractive than the other firm’s products. The hotel’s managers must be creative and innovative to come up with products which are unique and with no substitutes (Jörgensen, 2008, pp.236-238).

Rivalry in the hotel industry is high as the competition is stiff. The rivalry can be among the businesses or the stakeholders of the firm. Business activities may fail when there is any interruption either internally or externally as companies activities need a conducive environment to grow. It is not easy to avoid industry rivalry, but companies must ensure peace and harmony among its stakeholders for good outcomes (Magretta, 2013). .

Bargaining power of the customers can enable the hotels to change the modes of operation. The aims of businesses are to satisfy customers’ needs and have an extensive customer base. If the customers are few than the companies, they tend to determine the nature their operations. These can be regarding prices of products, quality, and quantity.

Bargaining power of suppliers can make the firm have a competitive advantage over the competitors in the market. Suppliers provide the business with raw materials, labor, etc. if the company have control of the suppliers these means that it have an advantage over the competitors.

Market Analysis

The forces of Porter aimed at showing how the company can become competitive in the market to have the high customer base. However, there is the blue ocean strategy which can be used by a hotel to ensure that it has a competitive advantage (Strategy, 2015). The plan aims at eliminating competition for the firm. The Great Wall Restaurant can achieve these by being creative and innovative and coming up with unique products. Also, the company can look for new markets which do not have competitors, and by this, it becomes the only supplier controlling the many customers.

Leadership is based on the ability of the leaders to have power over his team and lead them to the execution of the set activities. Power is the ability to influence a particular group of people to listen and follow what an individual instructs. Managers as the leaders of the organization must have the power to supervise the employees as they do the business activities. Power comes from uniqueness character of an individual such as creativity, innovativeness, knowledge, wisdom, determination among other character traits of a power. The leader has the ability to influence people to do something without necessary using force. However, leaders can use force to influence people to do something. These leaders are known as dictators and they care only for their well-being. Democratic leaders, on the other hand, do not use force to influence a following but their behaviors attract the people to follow them willingly. In the case of Great Wall Restaurant, Henry the director is democratic in leadership but he has some vices such as favoritism and resistance to change. He is a parochial manager who is always pessimistic about the turn of events. Technology is very useful to the organization as it provides new ways of carrying out business which is less costly and time effective yet he is slow to implement them.

Decision making was my aim goal as a consultant to help the hotel reduce the problems experiencing internally which may result in losses in the future. The two departments i.e. kitchen and restaurant floor are in rivalry because of some ethical issues did either by the employees or the managers. The approach I used in problem-solving and decision making as a consultant was the McKinsey approach. The McKinsey approach aims at getting the solution for the problem in the shortest time possible before the issues affecting the firm cause losses. The process should also consume fewer resources and return the business activities to normal. To be to solve a problem one must know the root causes of disputes. The approaches ensure that the solver is fact-based, impact-driven and focused in the quest to find the solution to the problem. The approaches have seven stages which aid problem-solving. The stages are defining the problem which is generally knowing what the problem causes unrest is. Problem restructuring which is the. Prioritization of the main objectives of the hotel is key to see whether it strives to provide a conducive environment for employees working or stresses on profit making. Issue analysis and plan of action is trying to see what ways you can use to solve the problems. The analysis follows since there are many alternatives to solve the problem and problem solvers strive in arriving at the best one. Synthesis is the process of choosing the best solution to solve the problem at hand. Eventually after the problem solver gets the way to solve the problem he gives recommendation to the necessary body for execution (Taylor, 2013, pp.48-86).

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

In the great wall restaurant, I noted that the main problem was disputes due to favoritism in the case of Henry to Richard and Shirley disputes, bad treatment of employees by the manager as Richard treated the restaurant floor employees harshly, resistance to change by the director who fears technology and avoids incorporating it in organization activities. The organization also employs less skilled employee as part-timers and this reduces the results achieved. Even though the cost of wages and salaries are high the management should not replace by employing non-skilled personnel. All the departments are important for the success of the organization and the management must carry them equally. Richard valued the kitchen department because of the services they do and ignore the restaurant floor workers not knowing that the kitchen department could not work alone to achieve business objectives.

In conclusion, it is the duty of the management to change the issues identifying in my research to ensure that all stakeholders in the hotel work in peace and harmony. These will bring conducive working environment and motivate the employees for better performance. Management has the duty to ensure that the goals of the hotel are met thus ensure it has a competitive advantage over the business competitors. Ethical issues are very key I ensuring the success of the Hotel.

The hotel business in Malaysia is on the rise, and this makes competition very high (Porter, 2008). Great Wall Hotel is faced by competition from competitors, rivalry among stakeholders, poor leadership among the managers, non-skilled personnel and technology. Managers like Henry and Richard have favoritism and do not listen to what other people say anytime. These cause disagreements among the stakeholders. Employees themselves do not respect each other leading to conflicts. The organization employees’ individuals who are in colleges to work part-time and they have little and no skills. The firm uses old technology and staff are not trained for new changes in business activities. All these factors are vital to be looked into as they undermine the success of the firm (Rogelberg, Allen, Shanock, Scott, & Shuffler, 2010, pp.149-172).

All stakeholders in the organization must carry themselves in a manner that depicts good qualities. Positive relationship enables the business to succeed towards the achievement of the ultimate good which is meeting its targets. Leaders must have high leadership to ensure good cooperation among all parties and align them towards the goal (Northouse, 2012).

McKinsey Approach

 The Great Wall Restaurant has many problems which affect it internally. It is clear that the hotel is making good progress but the internal affairs are not correct, and these may lead to its failure. The problems the company faces results from the management to the employees and also among the employees themselves. The hotel is divided into many sections under different managers to oversee their operations. The kitchen department which is very key to the hotel as it deals with the making of the food is headed by Chef Richard Wong. The restaurant floor dealing with getting customer request by taking them to the kitchen department to make their orders is headed by Shirley Shan. The two departments are independent of each other for the satisfaction of the customer. However, they are at disagreements and conflicts.

The head managing director is Henry Lim who is firstly ignorant and outdated as he has no technological knowledge. As managers, he must be aware of the latest technology to use it making the organization carry activities using current trends hence compete effectively (Alonso, Verdún, & Caro, 2008, December, pp.235-238). Managers must be trained to enable them to be creative and innovative. Henry does not ensure the company uses new methods in executions of services. He is not aware of the Key systems very useful in helping key the orders of the customers hence serve them with ease. During the conflicts between Richard and Shirley Henry takes sides. He takes into considerations the feelings of Richard and ignores Shirley without proper judgment. The overall managers have the duty to supervise the departmental managers and solve their problems or conflicts amicably (Bomers, & Peterson, 2013). It is important for the manager to not that all the departmental managers are equal and must be treated equally to avoid further crisis. The treatment Henry did to Shirley by not giving her an opportunity to explain herself like Richard was unfair and made her hurt and disappointed. Disappointment makes people lose morale on their jobs, and this could affect the operation of Shirley in supervising food and restaurant department (Rothaermel, 2015). 

Richard, the head of the kitchen team, has a high temper. He treats his staff members but treats the members of other departments harshly (Goetsch, & Davis, 2014). These are evident in that; makes jokes when members of his team make mistakes but abuse the restaurant floor team members for incorrect taking a customer order which was a mistake and not intentional. He lacks respects as he abuses the employee and also in the meeting by Henry he talks to Shirley badly by abusing her. In the meeting, he shows a lack of courtesy as he does not great the other staff yet he is a leader. It is evident that he is a wrong manager. As a manager, he has a duty to supervise all the employees regardless of the departments they work. A manager represents the organization and must be accountable and responsible. It is clear that the department he serves is paramount and employees are scarce but that does not guarantee special treatment by the director. The other units are very useful to the success of the organization, and without them, the kitchen staff cannot serve alone and lead to the success of the team. The employees under Richard supervision have bad behavior as they intimidate the restaurant floor team by making sexist remarks, using vulgar language and being rude. These activities make the employee’s feel hurt and report to their managers Shirley. It is wrong for employees to insult or treat their fellow colleagues bad. This act leads to rivalry between the two departments which to some extent reduces the hotel performance.

Conclusion

Shirley Shan is the most professional person in the hotel as she carries duties in the required manner. She relates well with the team members with respect, and this has made the team members respectful to all the other employees in the other departments. Listens to the employees’ complaints and report to the director despite him not taking any action. What she is doing is important as it is employee’s motivation and making them feel a sense of belonging to the organization. Her team members are doing great work apart from the few mistakes they make. All employees need training when the technology changes to equip them with the skills to adopt the changes entirely. The Shirley’s employee mistake of wrong order taking was a little, and ordinary mistake to be abuse as the orders and customers’ demands were many leading to confusions (Dewan, & Myatt, 2008, pp.351-368).

In the organization, there are many challenges which must be resolved immediately not to bring losses in the future. The company employee little-qualified workers to cut on costs of wages and salaries and this may bring problems in the quality of services and products they offer to the customers. The business has high competition, and it should provide unique and high-quality products to compete effectively in the market. Technological changes are crucial for companies to enable them to get new ways of doing business faster and efficient (Baldwin, & Scott, 2013). Managers must supervise employees equally and without any favors as all workers are essential. Employees are the people who aid in the fulfillment of the hotel goals and objective and must be motivated to have morale in their workings (Yee, Yeung, & Cheng, 2008, pp. 651-668). Training is critical for organization staff regularly as with time their skills become outdated and they have difficulties in job executions. Managers can know their employees needs training when the wastage level is high, numerous conflicts, disappointment in reaching targets, frustrations, low sales, many mistakes, etc. in case When these factors are identified managers should offer training to their employees to enable, them to carry out their duties with ease (Mantere, 2008,pp.294-316).

Conclusion

The owners of the hotel must factor into various factors to ensure that the hotel does not fail. The factors include the following. Increase the number of skilled employees who are creative and innovative to create and offer unique products and services. Train the managers on how to relate to each other and also the different stakeholders in the organization. Create awareness among the employees on the need to treat each other with fairness and no intimidation. Managers to do market research and get to know the new changes in technology to enable new production methods. Training of the staff upon adoption of new ways of carrying out business. Managers to treat the employees well and also motivate them when they do great work (Aguinis, & Kraiger, 2009, pp.451-474).

Recommendations

References

Aguinis, H., & Kraiger, K. (2009). Benefits of training and development for individuals and teams, organizations, and society. Annual review of psychology, 60, 451-474.

Baldwin, W., & Scott, J. (2013). Market structure and technological change (Vol. 18). Taylor & Francis.

Bomers, G. B., & Peterson, R. B. (2013). Conflict management and industrial relations. Springer Science & Business Media.

Burke, A. E., van Stel, A. J., & Thurik, R. (2009). Blue Ocean versus competitive strategy: theory and evidence.

Dewan, T., & Myatt, D. P. (2008). The qualities of leadership: Direction, communication, and obfuscation. American Political science review, 102(03), 351-368.

Franks, D. M., Davis, R., Bebbington, A. J., Ali, S. H., Kemp, D., & Scurrah, M. (2014). Conflict translates environmental and social risk into business costs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(21), 7576-7581.

Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Jörgensen, J. J. (2008). Michael Porter’s contribution to strategic management. BASE-Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da Unisinos, 5(3), 236-238.

Ladyshewsky, R. K. (2010). The manager as coach as a driver of organizational development. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 31(4), 292-306.

Ladyshewsky, R. K. (2010). The manager as coach as a driver of organizational development. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 31(4), 292-306.

Mager, B. (2008). Market research. In Design Dictionary (pp. 255-256). Birkhäuser Basel.

Magretta, J. (2013). Understanding Michael Porter: The essential guide to competition and strategy. Harvard business press.

McElhaney, K. (2009). A strategic approach to corporate social responsibility. Leader to Leader, 52(1), 30-36.

Northouse, P. G. (2012). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage.

Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 25-40.

Porter, M. E. (2008). On competition. Harvard Business Press.

Porter, M. E. (2011). Competitive advantage of nations: creating and sustaining superior performance. Simon and Schuster.

Pulver, S. (2012). Business and the Environment.

Rogelberg, S. G., Allen, J. A., Shanock, L., Scott, C., & Shuffler, M. (2010). Employee satisfaction with meetings: A contemporary facet of job satisfaction. Human Resource Management, 49(2), 149-172.

Rothaermel, F. T. (2015). Strategic management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Strategy, B. O. (2015). Blue Ocean Strategy.

Yee, R. W., Yeung, A. C., & Cheng, T. E. (2008). The impact of employee satisfaction on quality and profitability in high-contact service industries. Journal of operations management, 26(5), 651-668.

Zsolnai, L., & Tencati, A. (Eds.). (2009). The future international manager: a vision of the roles and duties of management. Springer.

Taylor, D. W. (2013). Decision making and problem solving. Handbook of organizations, 48-86.

Alonso, I. A., Verdún, J. C., & Caro, E. T. (2008, December). The importance of IT strategic demand management in achieving the objectives of the strategic business planning. In Computer Science and Software Engineering, 2008 International Conference on (Vol. 2, pp. 235-238). IEEE.