Coursework 2 (70%): · Web viewCoursework 2 (70%): Analyse the indicators and possible causes of...

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Coursework 2 (70%): Analyse the indicators and possible causes of poor performance levels at the Cavendish Hall Hotel. Advise the HR manager how they can build an effective High Performance Work System to address the performance issues you have identified.

Guidelines

Your response should consider:

The multiple possible causes of poor performance and how this shapes the approach to managing performance within an organisation

The concept and key components of a HPWS with specific reference to the Hotel sector which the Cavendish Hall Hotel operates in

Some of the possible barriers to the successful implementation of the system you recommend

Your answer must be:

Presented as a management report of 2,000 – 2,500 words (NOTE: 2,500 words is the MAXIMUM word limit. There is no +10% allowance on these questions.)

Supported with relevant literature using the Harvard Referencing system. This requires citations (references to relevant literature) within the answer itself which then must also be listed in full in a reference list at the end of your work. Work will not be awarded a pass grade at this level of study without a clear demonstration of this skill.

Appendix B: Assignment Case Study

Daphne Jones has recently been appointed as HR manager of the Cavendish Hall Hotel, a 200 bedroom, four-star county house hotel, located in rolling hills a few miles south of a major northern industrial conurbation. The hotel provides a wide range of conference and banqueting facilities and is a popular wedding location. It employs a range of full time, part time and temporary seasonal staff across 5 departments: Events and Banqueting, Rooming and Reception, Housekeeping, Food and Beverages, HR and Administration. The organisations aims to be “The regions number one venue choice for events and conferencing”. They aim to deliver through a strategy of personalised customer service experience, bespoke events packages, competitive pricing and an outstanding accommodation and restaurant experience.

The hotel operates a formal annual appraisal scheme which, as part of a new performance management system, has been linked to an individual performance related pay scheme. Each member of staff receives a one per cent salary increase irrespective of performance to take account of the increased cost of living. The hotels line managers must then assess each member of staff in their team as either Excellent, Good, Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory based on their individual performance over 12 months and this is used to determine any further pay rises.


An interim appraisal review is also conducted after six months. The purpose of this review is to focus on the career aspirations and learning and development requirements of employees. These are conducted by the same line manager who is responsible for feeding back relevant information to the HR department to help form the hotels talent development strategy.

Despite the scheme the hotel manager has discussed ongoing performance problems with Daphne. The hotel has received some poor reviews from guests concerning levels of customer service and room cleanliness on Trip Advisor UK:

“The staff try hard but lack the professionalism of a 4/5 hotel to compete. I will stay in the hotel over the road next time as much better value for money in my opinion.”

“Yesterday I forgot my key. After running miles to the reception, they gave me another key which still didn’t work. No fresh orange juice at breakfast.”

“Booked four nights for a very special occasion but checked out after two truly disappointing days. Service was not friendly or prompt. Our room had a flickering bathroom light that was never replaced.”

“I was surprised that standards have slipped so much. Staff are no longer friendly and ’on the ball’. I couldn't relax in my room as I was repeatedly interrupted by staff checking the room. Indifferent service in the bar, very slow checkout caused by only one member of staff being available to serve many customers. When an extra member of staff did appear to help with checkout and I mentioned the long delay she commented that she was busy on the phone.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly given these reviews, the hotel is also suffering from declining room occupancy rates which is now attracting negative attention from head office.

As a starting point to her investigations, Daphne has reviewed the latest employee engagement survey and has noted some apparent problems. In particular, Daphne has noticed that the engagement scores from the hotel rooming and reception department are lower than in the rest of the hotel. The scores for this department are also worse than in the previous year’s survey.

Roo

min

g an

d R

ecep

tion

Hot

el

% agree % agree


1. I know what is expected of me at work 63% 74%

2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right 67% 68%

3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day 71% 94%

4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work

35% 64%

5. My supervisor, or someone at work seems to care about me as a person

42% 72%

6. There is someone at work who encourages my development 47% 68%

7. At work, my opinions seem to count 29% 76%

8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important

73% 75%

9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work

84% 88%

10. I have a best friend at work 91% 94%

11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress

41% 65%

12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow. 46% 70%

The divisional manager tells Daphne he was involved in the appointment of an ambitious new manager to Rooming and Reception approximately 3 months ago. They have good hotel experience, working previously as a receptionist for three years, followed by 2 years as a team leader/supervisor in events and banqueting. He tells Daphne he has been pleased with this new manager’s progress. They are able and energetic and have already improved the efficiency of their work section by quickly re-organising some of the procedures and improving the methods used in the department.

Daphne checks the HR records and sees that paperwork has been returned indicating that this manager has completed the annual appraisals on all of his staff on time and she notices that they have all been set the same objectives around accuracy on paperwork and computer booking processes. While there are entries in the appraisal paperwork in the section on development there have been no requests for training and development from the department according to her training administrator. Checking the key HR metrics for the department she also notes that sickness absence in this department has increased well above the hotel average. On average the department has lost 8 days per year to sickness absence compared to 5.3 in the hotel as a whole.


Daphne presses the Divisional Manager for more information about the young manager and he tells her that, on reflection, he walks around the department whenever he is in the hotel and on several occasions he has passed by the manager talking to staff members and noticed the tone of their voice was sharp. Now he thinks about it, on a couple of occasions he thinks some of the staff members might actually have looked upset. He has also over-heard conversations between staff members where the manager’s name has been mentioned in connection with bad attitudes. Just the other day an accounting clerk made some harsh comments about the manager’s attitude and complained about the way he had spoken to her when he identified an error in her banking paperwork. He says he has observed the manager holding morning meetings with his team but these seem to be quite short and focused on the allocation of tasks for the day.

Coursework 2 (Management Report) planning: How to pass the assignment

1. ‘Show off’ what you have learned on the module (Knowledge).If your assignment was a cupcake:

This would be the icing on top

Layer wider reading and research on top

This would be the sponge Use the concepts (ideas, theory and research) we have looked at in lectures and seminarsUse the literature that has been cited in lectures and


exploration sheetsUse the literature that is referred to on the further reading slides in the lecture

2. Apply what you have learned to the case study (Application).This means ensuring you have a ‘frosting’ of case study distributed evenly throughout the whole of your assignment (not big blobs of it at the bringing or at the end). To help you achieve this, remember that a paragraph should contain a set of sentences covering the same and/or linked ideas which help you to ANSWER THE QUESTION THAT HAS BEEN ASKED. As a general guide the presentation of each idea should have three parts to it:

Explain: ‘what is the point you are trying to make about the question?’

Add a reference: ‘what have you read that makes you think that?’

Link to the case study: ‘what evidence can you see in, or how would this apply to, the Cavendish Hall Hotel?’


3. Answer the question that has been asked (Evaluation)This means you need to start by analysing the question. Make sure you understand everything it is asking you to cover (and what it wants you to leave out!). Use this to start building your assignment plan. I have given you a table to get you started below:

Analyse the indicators and possible causes of poor performance levels at the Cavendish Hall Hotel. Advise the HR manager how they can build an effective High Performance Work System to address the performance issues you have identified.

A Note on Executive Summaries:Remember this should be presented as a management report so please include an Executive Summary at the front. This should be the FIRST thing your audience reads but the LAST thing that you write. This is different from an introduction because it summarises the key points you have made in the report. This is not ‘giving the game away - I should be able to read this on its own and understand exactly what you have written. This is NOT included in your word count. It should be approx. one page long. Here I would suggest something like:

Paragraph 1: Explain the purpose of the report – what it aims to do Paragraph 2: Summarise what you have written about the indicators and causes of poor performance at the hotel Paragraph 3: Summarise what you have suggested should go into a HPWS for the hotel to solve these problems Paragraph 4: Summarise what problems you have highlighted that the hotel might experience making this work and how these can be

overcome

What EVIDENCE do you have of poor performance

in the case study?

Notice there will be MORE than one POSSIBLE cause. Discuss all the possibilities

Notice the question is HOW not what. Spend some time thinking about the practices that would meet the needs of the hotel but don’t fall into the trap of DESCRIBING all of

these. Write more about HOW you can combine them into an effective system.

Notice you should be writing about the formation of a HPWS (a SYSTEM) NOT individual practices

This is NOT a ‘write me everything you know about HPWS’ question. You need to SPECIFCALLY consider what would work for the Cavendish Hotel in light of the performance problems you have identified in the case study


What are the key points/arguments you want to make?

What literature (research/and or theory) supports this point?

How does this relate specifically to the Cavendish Hall Hotel and/or your own experiences?

What indicators are there of poor performance at the Cavendish Hall Hotel?(Approx. 200 words)

Hint: Don’t just focus on the Trip Advisor Reports – look more widely at the evidence from the case study. Look at the literature on indicators of poor performance (see week 10) and compare these with what you can see in the organisation. Consider evidence of counter productive work and work withdrawal practices.What could be causing the performance problems you have identified?(Approx. 300 words)

Hint: Don’t jump to conclusions, consider the possible alternatives e.g. use AMO or the Pilbeam and Corbridge Model to help you (see week 1 & 10)





What would you put into a HPWS ‘bundle’ for the Hotel?(Approx. 400 words)

Hint: Is the literature clear on what should be included? What are you trying to achieve e.g. consider AMO and discretionary behaviour. Consider what bundles of policy and practices are used within the hotel sector and which of these might address the performance problems you have identified above. **Don’t forget a performance management system includes performance measurement practices

DON’T JUST DESCRIBE LOTS OF PRACTICES!





How would you link the elements of your system together?(Approx. 400 words)

Hint: Consider how this system approach might differ from the practices they currently have in place. Consider integration issues (golden thread?) and the role of leadership and line managers. Consider the importance of how employees PERCEIVE the practices. Consider the importance of fairness, trust and delivering on what is expected.





What problems do you anticipate making the system work effectively and how could you overcome these?(Approx. 200 words)

Hint: Discuss the limitations of the research on HPWS (do they work?) Consider the ‘Dark Side’ of HPWS and how this could be overcome. Consider implementation issues via the Line Manager.

4. Present your assignment professionally (Communication)Use the essay checklist to help you.

1. I have carefully analysed the question and answered EVERY part, providing examples where these have been asked for

2. I have included an executive summary (max 1 side) which summarises what the report is about, my main findings and my main conclusions

3. I have included a SHORT introduction explaining what will be covered in the answer

4. I have removed any materials that are irrelevant to the question that has been asked

5. I have edited my work carefully to correct any spelling, grammatical and typographical errors

6. I have supported each new idea in my work with reference to something I have read “that makes me think that” (approx. one reference per paragraph)

7. I have demonstrated a range of reading resources including some textbooks, some journal articles and some websites

8. I have not referenced Wikipedia, Business Balls or Mind Tools as these are weak academic reference sources

9. I have ensured that all the sources I have cited/ referred to in my answer are listed in full in a reference section at the end of my work.

10. I have listed my references only ONCE in EITHER my reference section OR my bibliography

11. I have presented my references in alphabetical order. (I have NOT separated this into sections of books, journals, websites etc.)

12. I have provided page numbers with references where I have used direct quotes to show specifically where the direct quote can be found.

13. I have presented all direct quotes in double speech marks (“xxxxx”) to clearly indicate that these are not my own words

14. I have used direct quotes sparingly, preferring to write in my own words where ever possible to show I have understood what I have read

15. I have checked my work for long and/or incomplete sentences

16. I have joined all my sentences with similar/related themes/content together into relevant paragraphs. One paragraph = one idea.

17. I have broken long sections of writing up into relevant paragraphs to help guide the reader

18. I have avoided using bullet points or number lists preferring to discuss my points in full sentences developing my discussion to demonstrate my understanding of the points made.

19. I have written my work in the third person avoiding the use of ‘I’, ‘My’, ‘We’, ‘The author’ etc

20. I have removed unnecessary pictures and diagrams from my work e.g. copies of lecture slides and concentrated on writing about what this shows

21. I have provided a concise conclusion at the end of my work summarizing the main points I have made

22. I have removed appendixes, talking about its content in the main part of my answer if it is important enough to be included

23. I have checked the similarity report on ‘turn it in’ and addressed any plagiarism issue

24. I have submitted my work on time to avoid my grade being penalized for late submission

Appendix D: Assessment criteria

Outstanding 90-100%

Excellent 70-89% Very Good 60-69% Good 50-59% Satisfactory 40-49%

Unsatisfactory <40%

Knowledge

Evidence that the student has:

Understood the topic area

Supported their work with relevant research and reading

Detailed understanding of topic area backed up with relevant references

Research beyond scope of module materials

Draws links to other modules

No further development of answer required

Wide topic knowledge from the module

Draws different concepts together effectively

Strong use of relevant theoretical models and/or research

Fully referenced with wide range of sources

Strong evidence of independent research

Draws together some of the key topics from the module

Some use of theoretical models and/or research to support answer

Evidence of some independent research but largely guided by references provided in the module

Adequate use of module topics

Some gaps in knowledge or misunderstanding of concepts

Some evidence of research and reading but may be overreliance on core textbooks/overuse of direct quotes etc.

Limited use of topic knowledge from the module/lack of detail

Some significant gaps in knowledge or misunderstanding

Limited or poor evidence of research and reading

Overreliance on lecture slides and notes

No/ very limited use of topics from the module to answer the question

No/very limited supporting literature

Critical Thinking


Questioned their sources,

Extensive critical evaluation of arguments and cited literature

Fully balanced argument

Researched and answered from different angles.

Questions some of the research sources used

Well balanced argument

Explores some alternative arguments, advantages/disadvantages, pros and cons etc.

Some evidence different approaches to answering the question are understood

Acknowledges a few alternative arguments to the answer e.g. advantages and disadvantages, pros and cons

Very limited identification of alternative arguments

Accepts reference sources at face value

A one sided answer with no consideration of alternative arguments

3

arguments and solutions

Application


Pulled ideas together effectively to answer the question

Provided appropriate examples where necessary/helpful

Thoughtful and thorough application of knowledge, theory and research to case study/question throughout

Tailors information to answer the question fully/explore the case study

Illustrates answer with range of organisational examples

Links in relevant personal examples/experiences

Uses some appropriate organisational examples discussed during the module

Uses personal examples but may not always link this back to theory/literature

Integration of theory/research may still be disjointed

Examples are limited or lack relevance

Case study is mentioned but poorly integrated into the answer

Lacks examples Very limited

reference to case study organisation

No or inappropriate use of examples

No links to case study organisation

Evaluation


Identified strong and relevant information to answer the question

All concepts and material fully relevant to the analysis and recommendations including materials sourced from independent research

All chosen ideas are relevant to the answer

Answers the question fully covering all key concepts

No evidence of ‘padding’ with irrelevant information

Uses some relevant ideas

Chooses appropriate concepts and makes an attempt to answer the question

Information is mostly relevant to the question

Only minor missing elements

Minimal ‘padding’ with irrelevant information

Some effort to answer the question

Some missing, weak or irrelevant elements

Links to answer are unclear in places

May ‘pad’ with irrelevant information

Key elements of the question remain unanswered/underdeveloped

Confused choice of concepts to answer the question

Important concepts may be difficult to pick out

Largely irrelevant ideas

Does not answer the question that was asked

Covers concepts which are not relevant to the answer.

4

Left out weak or unnecessary information

Communication


Put their ideas across clearly on paper

Outstanding, sophisticated written communication

No significant areas for further development

Logical organisation and flow of ideas

Error free written communication

Precise Harvard Referencing

An enjoyable read

Largely well-structured answer

Only minor spelling/grammatical errors

Good grasp of Harvard Referencing

Mainly easy to read and follow

Some spelling/grammatical errors but do not significantly interfere with understanding

Some attempt to Harvard Reference

Difficult to read and follow in places

Repeated spelling/grammatical issues

Weak Referencing skills

Difficult to read and follow

Very difficult to read and follow

Extensive problems with written presentation

No or incorrect Referencing

5

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