Requirements for the Front-Desk Services in JW Marriott Hotel - Essay Example

Managing Services Table of Contents Purpose of the Report 2 The Process and Methods 2 The Findings 3 An Account of Early Service Improvement Recommendations and Specification Issues 5 Plan for Further Research Requirements 6 References 7 Purpose of the Report The report is based on establishing initial understanding of specific requirements for the front-desk services in JW Marriott hotel and improvement of the service by implementing Just in Time (JIT) philosophy, introducing electronic pad within the workplace. The objective of the report is to the present front-desk services in JW Marriott and accordingly, to define the service elements. The report empirically discusses about the requirements that must be met for the development of front-desk service system and whether implementing new technology results in enhanced practices of service. Furthermore, the report also intends to understand the service design procedure along with service design specification for the new technology. The Process and Methods Service design is based on developing services for visitors, which is simple to use. It covers the activities, decisions and responsibilities of employees. Service design is also concerned with providing value to the visitors and to guaranty that they obtain satisfactory experiences with the desired outcomes. In this research, the service design procedure has been used in order to develop the front-desk service of JW Marriott. Furthermore, the idea of introducing electronic pad for better guest services has also been described in the research based on the vision that the introduction of new technology can assist in customising the specific requirements of visitors. Thus, it will help the front-desk employees to conduct various activities effectively such as reserving a table in proper time or delivering cleaning services as well as managing check-ins and checkouts of guests among others in a time-efficient and error-free manner. Furthermore, the new technology is also aimed to attract guests to observe the facilities of JW Marriott. In order to make the report, the qualitative method has been followed. To be noted in this regard, the reason for using qualitative method is to gain complex understanding about service element required for JW Marriott when integrating the electronic pad system to enhance error-free and time efficient communication system of its various departments with the front-desk service providers. Furthermore, the qualitative method can also be stated as most suitable for the report, as the information regarding JIT cannot be obtained well through quantitative techniques (Berkwits &Inui, 1998). Secondary sources have been used accordingly, in order to collect information through desk research. The secondary data provided rich sources of information for understanding the subject requirements and thereby, ensuring quality and validity of the research findings. Data from various organisations involved in the implementation of the JIT system has also been used for collecting information in this study. Furthermore, in order to make the report reliable, only journals, books, academic sources and other credible sources have been used. Evidently, such sources have provided valuable information about service improvement through JIT (Kothari, 2004). The Findings In JW Marriott, front-desk services typically involve direct communication with the customers. Front-desk employees thus need to have individual interaction with the employees through face-to-face or through telephone communication. Furthermore, front-desk services also comprise interactions with the visitors through organisational websites. One common problem faced in front-desk service is the unpredictability of the customers’ desires. It is in this context that the unpredictable customer demands generate difficulties for better performance of front-desk employees. Apparently, with respect to front-desk services, communication plays a vital part. Employee communication is critical for delivering proper guest services. However, JW Marriott can still be witnessed as dependent on verbal communication to deal with the routine tasks such as cleaning rooms or repairing activities among others. The employees are often not clear regarding the priority of different activities owing to which managers also find it challenging to maintain proper track of status of different service functions. Hence, integration of technology, such as electronic pad can provide better guest experience by enhancing the receptiveness of front-desk employees. This particular approach can be exhibited as a proposed change to inculcate the JIT philosophy and enhance the overall services quality of the hotel. In hospitality industry, service design comprises visitor contact time, level of customisation, level of discretion and value added procedure. In each of these dimensions, JIT approach can be used in order to enhance efficiency in service delivery. Correspondingly, the findings of the research depict that irrespective of industry, or scale of organisation, implementation of JIT components can enhance the quality of production or service operations. Nevertheless, for individual development of JIT, their influences have been diverse (Chen & Tan, 2011). Customers also judge JIT as a successful approach for improving the services, as the philosophy is quite effective in fulfilling the customers’ requests with short lead times (Harmsen, 2012). An Account of Early Service Improvement Recommendations and Specification Issues In hospitality industry, the better one understands the customers, the better front-desk employees can deliver services to them. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that service quality is not only related with price, rather it is related with the value of money. Visitors will pay for using the services of a hotel, as they believe it will provide better value for money. Thus, exploring the gaps in current service is essential for the hotel to enhance the service delivery quality and to sustain in the competition (Boyne, 2003; Abdullah & Hassan, 2012). Process design: The process design typically comprise complete review of every detailed procedures, evaluation of failure points in existing procedures, arrangement of new procedures to the industry standards, evaluation of resource necessities necessary to implement new procedures, change management training, establishment of measures for success and tracking of performance for certifying success (Lee, 1984; Baryannis, 2009). Customer feedback: Suggestively, customer feedback is required to be undertaken for early service improvement. Customer feedback can also help to conduct effective measurement of customer satisfaction; thereby ensuring the generation of accurate and actionable data that result in changes, which drive effective service improvement. Herein, customer feedbacks typically comprise evaluation of customer satisfaction, periodic survey of services, evaluation of customer feedback information, development of communication procedure and creation of customer loyalty program as well as loyalty evaluation scorecard (Lee, n.d.). Best practice: Best practices should be implemented for early service improvement. In order to implement best practices, there is need to evaluate the existing service operations, compare the evaluation outcomes to the industry standard and adopt the standards as a service development framework. These strategies can certainly assist in constant improvement of front-desk services (Duclos & et. al., 1995). Notably, the key for developing effective services are good specification. Before service is specified, several issues must be considered. For instance, it is vital to consult with the key stakeholders and accommodate changing requirements. The strategic service specification issues can lead to inference in the future provisions of quality services (Ali & et. al., 2014). In order to deal with the issues of service provision, two key approaches can be taken into account, namely outcome oriented approach and prescriptive approach. Outcome oriented approach involves stipulating the required outcome for service improvement. On the other hand, prescriptive approach defines how service improvement outcomes can be achieved. In certain circumstances, utilisation of both approaches can provide utmost solution to the service specification issues (Stratcorp Consulting Pty Ltd, 1999). Plan for Further Research Requirements In future, research can be conducted on identifying how service improvement can influence the financial performances of an organisation. Moreover, in future, research can be conducted by undertaking primary survey from various hotels. References Ali, M. M. & et. al., 2014. An Analysed Model of Consumer Perceived Value in Selecting Retail Shop for Fresh Product. International Journal of Information Technology and Business Management, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 11-28. Abdullah, R. & Hassan, M. G., 2012. Advanced Manufacturing Technology: The Perceived Impact on Producer’s Value. The Asian Journal of Technology Management, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 23-32. Berkwits, M. & Inui, T. S., 1998. Making Use of Qualitative Research Techniques. Journal of General Internal Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 195-199. Baryannis, G., 2009. The Frame Problem in Web Service Specifications. University of Crete. [Online] Available at: https://www.ics.forth.gr/_publications/Baryannis_master.pdf [Accessed June 22, 2014]. Boyne, G. A., 2003. Sources of Public Service Improvement: A Critical Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 367-394. Chen, Z. X. & Tan, K. H., 2011. The Perceived Impact of JIT Implementation on Operations Performance: Evidence from Chinese Firms. Journal of Advances in Management Research, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 213-235. Duclos, L. K. & et. al., 1995. JIT in Services: A Review of Current Practices and Future Directions for Research. International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 36-52. Harmsen, M., 2012. Improving the Customer-Perceived Value of Supply with Just-In-Time Production of Specialty Chemicals. Delft University of Technology. [Online] Available at: http://repository.tudelft.nl/view/ir/uuid:d71ad262-cbf0-415f-9803-82a4141c8885/ [Accessed June 22, 2014]. Kothari, C. R., 2004. Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. New Age International. Lee, M., No Date. Just-in-Time Requirements Analysis – The Engine that Drives the Planning Game. Kuvera Enterprise Solutions, Inc., pp. 138-141. Lee, S. M., 1984. Just-In-Time Production System: Some Requirements for Implementation. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 3-15. Stratcorp Consulting Pty Ltd, 1999. Service Specifications. The Government of Western Australia. [Online] Available at: http://fulltext.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/1999/wa/fo_service_specifications.pdf [Accessed June 22, 2014]. Read More