Analysing the operational aspects for a new resort
Question
Task: You have recently been appointed as the Project Manager of a resort property in Bali, Indonesia. The blueprints of the interior and architecture have been completed.Identify five operational departments required for the smooth operation of the resort, and analyse the responsibilities and role of each department.Discuss the operational challenges which could be faced by at least two departments with examples.Evaluate five operational issues the Human Resource Manager may face in the future for the said resort.
Answer
Introduction
The report has highlighted the aspects associated with hotel and resort management that entirely come under the tourism and hospitality sector. Hospitality is also considered the work of kindly making provision of politeness, courtesy and care to whoever is required (Kapur, 2018). Organisations and individuals working within this sector need to consider various factors in order to satisfy customers and attain the desired outcome. A new report has been developed aiming to start in Bali, Indonesia for which potential operational challenges have been discussed below.Bali is known as one of the crucial islands in Indonesia and it has significantly attracted people from all over the world because of its beauty and enhanced tourism and hospitality opportunities. New organisations such as resort aiming to operate in Bali needs to consider some of the crucial aspects before exploring marketing. Therefore, this report has highlighted a few aspects such as operational departments, operational challenges, HR challenges etc.
Overview of industry and resort business in Bali
It has been reported by Indonesia’s “Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia” in the year 2020 that around 4% of the overall nation’s GDP gets generated from the tourism sector (Williady, NovityaWardhani and Kim, 2022). More than 13,400 islands can be found in Indonesia however the two most famous ones are Jakarta and Bali and both of these have experienced a huge flood of investment in their upper-end market at the current time. Bali has successfully attracted the eyes of international visitors for decades and there have been an increasing number of visitors every year unless the emergence of the pandemic which has impacted the industry because of the strict border controlsmeasures. Resorts in Bali offer more than accommodation and meals indeed it is known for providing activities such as shopping, entertainment etc. There are some of the major players such as AntaraUluwatu, Maya Sanur Bali etc(Williady, NovityaWardhani and Kim, 2022). These players are known for providing services such as Dance lessons, and floating dining experiences which might be a threat to the new resort. Therefore, it highlights the need for extensive research regarding the sector and competitors so that a better strategy for fluent operation can be attained.
Five operational departments and their responsibilities
The identified operational departments for the new resort in Bali are as follows:
Housekeeping department: A hotel and resort business is a collaboration of big units from different departments among which housekeeping is a crucial department (Bhatnagar and Nim, 2019).The major role and responsibility of the housekeeping department is to be accountable for the cleanliness, decor, maintenance, and upkeep of the entire resort. A resort offers a range of services and it consists of different rooms, corridors, lobby etc, which needs consistent administration. Also, the housekeeping department is responsible for developing a home for visitors away from home and maintaining comfortable surroundings and rooms of the resort is the primary responsibility of this department. It can be said that guest experience can be enhanced with the effective operation of housekeeping department staff and they can add a competitive advantage for the new resort.
Kitchen department: The report by Keskin and Tekin, (2020) has stated that the kitchen is a crucial aspect of the tourism business that enables satisfying guests in every possible way. It can be said that food demonstrates a culture of a particular region or nation and that can act as an attractive factor for the tourist. Therefore, a new resort should have an effective team working within its kitchen department. The major role and responsibility would be to provide quality food to the guest and maintain a standard of food and safety measurements. Guest needs to be served with quality food also the entire activity related to food such as using fresh ingredients, delivery in time etc comes under the responsibility of kitchen department.
Account Department: Another identified department for the resort is the accounting department which can havea significant impact on the overall operation.Accounting has to be easy and simple to understand and has to provide reliable and complete information regarding the economic activities to manage the processes (Nurmagambetova et al., 2020).Individuals working in this department need to have working skills and knowledge so that overall management accounting can be carried out effectively (Le, 2020). The major role of this department is to maintain every financial record and provide adequate information to the organisational management so that decisions can be made accordingly. The financial status of the organisation determines its capability and it needs consistent management which is managed by the accounting department.
Human Resource (HR) department: Human resources according to Belias and Trihas, (2022)includes the crucial asset for any business operating within the tourist business. It denotes to remain competitive and to encourage smooth improvement and development of the business without disruption. Also, it is known to everyone that the resort business is highly labour extensive serviceand without its effective consideration customers cannot be served to the fullest. The major role and responsibility of the human resource department are to make sure everyactivity within resort management goes smoothly. Entire activity and department within the resort relies on this particular department thus the new resort should recruit highly skilled and capable staff to keep the operation smooth.
Security department: Despite being one of the fastest-growing industries in the world tourism industry has experienced some potential risks and threats (Nagaj and Žuromskait?, 2020). Risk and threat within this industry denote risk to travellers and visitors as well. The increasing advancement of technology and easy access to the internet has encouraged more of these threats. Therefore, a new resort to promote smooth operation needs to consider the security department as a crucial aspect. The management of organisational crucial information comes under the roles and responsibilities of the security department. The department is also involves checking guests and their luggage for restricted objects (Anichiti et al., 2021).Visitors seek to visit again the resorts if they are capable of providing adequate service and security throughout the journey.
Operational challenges
The potential operational challenges that a new resort might experience within two of the operational departments are as follows:
Challenges in HRM: The tourism and hospitality sector as discussed above is a labour extensive service and it is completely based on the skills, knowledge, commitments and attitudes of employees.Therefore, managing employees can be a challenging aspect for managers(Najeeb, 2021). The major operational challenge could be arranging staff schedules because without effective management employees may face workloads, hectic schedules etc. There should be an adequate recruitment process considering the need for the services and employees should equip themselves with skills and expertise that can lower the potential challenges. For example, in case of one staff not being able to manage his/her duties there will be workloads for another individual which may lead to job dissatisfaction. On the other hand, there can be challenges during organisational change management. For example, conflicts among employees since change encourages vulnerabilities within employees and that can lead to disappointments with one another (Setyanto and Ikhwan, 2019). To keep employees motivated and keep them working effectively HR managers can experience difficulty which can later influence the overall productivity of the organisation(Omar, 2021).It is evident that employees have multiple opportunities to select organisations they can work for therefore, employee dissatisfaction can lead to employee retention issues.
Challenges in the Kitchen:It is evident that in the last few years, the world has encountered the severe impact of the pandemic which influenced almost every sector of the operating business. Considering the case of Bali tourism and hospitality industry is the one to contribute most of the nation’s GDP however it was impacted severely because of the pandemic. Because of the halting of the tourism industry because of the pandemic, there has been a huge impact on different associated sectors such as hotels, resorts,transport etc(Suwendra, Sujana and Irwansyah, 2020).The supply chain was disrupted hugely leading to a shortage of materials required in resorts and hotels. Similarly, if a similar uncertainty occurs again in the future there is a chance of experiencing a shortage of materials that can hamper the operation of the new resort.For example, to run a resort there is a need for fresh ingredients on an everyday basis however disruptions in the supply chain lead to a shortage of required materials and ingredients ultimately leading to guest dissatisfaction. The organisation not being able to serve customers directly impacts the service provided by a resort which can act as a negative aspect of its overall growth.
Operational issues Human Resource (HR) Managers might experience
The article by Patrick and Mazhar, (2021) has highlighted that HR managers are responsible for overseeing almost every activity related to human resources. HR management is completely a different department compared to other existing departments of organisations. Since the service provided by the resort is completely based on labours can encourage different challenges to the managers and some of them are identified below.
A challenge in hiring the right employees: To run a resort business there is a need for employees equipped with skills, talent and expertise, however, to find the right candidate is challenging. It is because in most cases employees seek to work with renowned organisations with potential enough to offer growth opportunities. However, a new resort in Bali may not provide growth opportunities resulting in difficulties in finding the right employees for the right position. Hiring an employee needs an effective recruiting process andthis is not effectively done by most of the HR managers.
Maintaining workplace safety: Safety within the existing workplace is crucial at the current time (Patrick and Mazhar, 2021). It highlights the responsibility of HR managers to become more obliged towards their roles and responsibility.In order to maintain a safe working environment and respect among staff HR is expected to encourage and motivate each of them.Workplace safety does not always mean good physical infrastructure indeed it also denotes maintaining integrity among employees and avoiding conflicts. Because of differences in preferences, values, beliefs and perspectives, there is a high chance to encounter conflicts among employees. Therefore, it becomes the crucial duty of HR managers to marinating workplace safety however need adequate understanding and strategies otherwise they could end up experiencing challenges.
Performance management: Performance management is all about managing every employee’sperformance on a daily basis and the challenge associate it is related it with setting goals, regular training and coaching etc.It is evident that within resort business employees work in different departments for which targets are different. Therefore, it is challenging for HR managers to review performance and reward them accordingly.
Managing diversity: Diversity within an organisation is advantageous for the growth and development of the firm, however, it is not easy to maintain.Multicultural organisation tends to have different variety of organisational culture that can either hinder or support employee performance (Namira, Kusumaningrum and Riyanto, 2020). As discussed above diversity brings different values and cultures that ultimately lead to conflict among organisational associates.There might be a communication issue that ultimately leads to inadequate HR managers' decision-making approaches. Also, to develop an environment that is comfortable for every employee is difficult where they can put across their views and perspectives.
Employees schedule management: It is discussed above that resort business requires highly skilled and talented employees however to make them work effectively depends on the manager's ability. Because of the labour extensive service employees working in resorts can easily get exhausted because of tiring everyday duties. Schedule management in a resort can be challenging if the organisation lacks adequateand skilled employeestherefore, HR manager’s role is crucial.
Conclusion
Resort business is highly labour-extensive and it can encourage different challenges to HR managers for which adequate strategies need to be developed. Bali has been identified as one of the crucial destinations for resort business that has attracted both visitors and new business organisations from all over the world. In order to have an effective and smooth operation there is a need for some of the basic departments without which smooth operation cannot be imagined. For example, some of the crucial departments identified for the new resort business are the kitchen, account, HRM, housekeeping and security departments.All these departments come together to form an effective resort business in Bali, Indonesia.Having said that organisation might face challenges in each of these departments however the most crucial one is the kitchen and HRM departments. Also, it is not easy for the HR manager to handle an overall operation which is discussed above thoroughly.
References
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