1. Describe the levels and purpose of Business Management.
Companies in the modern world are composed of many different departments. All those individual areas need to work together to accomplish the best results for the business, to do that however they have to be organized and coordinated. That is where the business management comes in; there are three levels of management in the business world, each having its own duties and responsibilities towards the company's plan, its product and the employees.
At the base of the managerial pyramid are located the shift supervisors, group leaders and store managers. They have to make sure the tasks appointed everyday by the higher management positions are accomplished and within the designated time frame. Shift supervisors are also the ones that have the greatest contact with the work force for that reason they need well developed interpersonal, leadership and communication skills so they can organize and the staff and coordinate them according to the task at hand.
At the middle level of the management pyramid are the department managers, sales and marketing managers. They allocate specific objectives for the areas of their departments and then monitor the performance of their departments and compare the outcomes to the goals they have to achieve over a designated time period. An example of such goal would be to increase the total contribution margin of the department by 30% within the month. The managers then would have to plan the actions needing to be taken, what changes should be made within the department and announce the plans to the supervisory managers who would have to make sure the plans are being followed by the staff on daily basses.
Finally on the top of the managerial pyramid are the senior or general managers of a company. The chairpersons do not involve themselves with the day to day problems but focus on the long term dilemmas the company needs to face. They are the ones who set the original goals and objectives for the company and its component departments according to what the firm or market demands at the time. Senior managers are also responsible for the management of business assets and have to ensure they are used in the most profitable way for the organization. For those reasons they need to be insightful, flexible, conceptual and with highly qualified leadership skills.
a) Develop an Organization Chart of a large hotel.
Chart is attached at the end
General Manager: Manager leading the operation responsible for all the line managers beneath him. The chairperson is the main decision maker, sets the rules and restrictions that need to be followed and is responsible for monitoring and protecting company's assets by coordinating and organizing his managers according to what the company requires.
Food & Beverage Manager: The middle manager responsible for all the food and beverage related operations, such as restaurants, bars, room-service etc. He is responsible for all the operations, transactions and control of those departments. The F&B is the link between his departments and the general manager transferring and announcing information from one side to the other.
Guest Relation Manager: Middle level manager responsible for monitoring guest related information (complains congratulations, personal guest request, guest information etc.). Information gathered is then transferred to the general manager so he can decide or approve a suggested course of actions.
Bar Supervisor: Supervisory manager responsible for organizing and ensuring the orders of the F&B manager are being followed by the staff and any set objectives are being or about to be met. Furthermore he is in charge for solving any small problems within the department and transfers information of day sales, staff needs, and guest problems to the F&B manager and orders from the manager to the staff members.
b) Explain the importance of hierarchical structure in the hotel industry.
Hierarchy is an important component of every company whatever its scope might be and for that reason it is as well significant for the healthy function of a hospitality involved firm. Managers and supervisors are playing an important role in the everyday existence of the firm, they aren't just figure heads that are there to inspire fear in the minds of the employees or order them around. Their tasks vary greatly depending on their responsibilities and the level they belong to. The end however they are there to foresee potential problems, plan a course of action, inform their environment through meetings or memos, organize their subordinates and lead the actions towards accomplishing the company's goals. And Hierarchy is the component that shows us which level falls under the sphere of influence of who. In the hotel industry or any other market the managerial pyramid clearly outlines the authority levels. The top manager has authority over the mid and base managers, as we go lower down the line of management each level has authority only for what lays underneath its level and reaching the bottom of the pyramid are the employees who have no authority at all. In other words the pyramid shows us who has the power to make decisions and the power to enforce his will on others. For example the general manager can make any decision he believes will help the hotel and will announce it to the appropriate department which in turn has to make sure the objective is accomplished by planning its own goals and organizing its resources accordingly. If there was no hierarchy everyone would be able to make his own decisions and work according to what he would think correct, that however would lead to chaos. An example describing this would be if each of the waiters in the restaurant worked by using any of the service styles they thought suited best the prestige the hotel has, without following the service instructions of the maitre, the preferred style appointed by the Food and Beverage manager or the restrictions and dress code designed by the general manager.
2. Explain the different styles of Management.
Autocratic:
This style is usually favored by managers and supervisors who prefer to take significant decisions by themselves and closely monitor their employees making sure everything progresses as they have planed. Authoritarian managers in most cases they don't have faith in their subordinates or simply favor giving out orders in a one way communication manner and they demand obedience. This style of management is not always successful or required because it creates a hams between the managers and workers, but in situations where decisions have to be made fast or when we have to do with a great amount of inexperienced work force. The Authoritarian style can be applied when a hotel has newly opened and most of the staff employed have little previous experience or have just finished school. Or when a very important guest makes a last moment reservation and is expected to arrive in less than a week what would mean little time for planning.
Paternalistic: This style as its Latin root ‘Pater' indicates is a father figure. Managers who use this style like listening to the opinion of employees on certain topics before taking the final decision. Such supervisors focus on the social needs the staff has they like to know what employees think and if they are happy about their decisions, this however can delay the management process. In the end a paternalistic manager will still be the one to decide what needs to be done but he will be based on what's best for both the hotel and the employees, since like a father he believes the children (workers) have to be directed in the right way. This style is still similar to the Autocratic but it helps workers develop their strengths and improve weaknesses by suggesting what it is they should do. In this fashion manager creates a positive work atmosphere for the staff and improve performance since they believe their opinion counts.
Democratic: This style is based on the communication the manager has with his subordinates and encourages them to take initiative and offer their ideas or suggestions so they can all together find a solution to a problem or compose a course of action. To do so however the manager has to be ready and willing to help his subordinates develop leadership qualities and summon meetings to discuss with his coworkers the topics at hand. Still the democratic system is only attained the final decision made is that to which the majority of the group agrees without necessarily being that of the manager. Similarly to the paternalistic style the democratic also helps the workers develop themselves improve their skills and weaknesses by creating a positive work atmosphere but in this style the opinion of the many is that which counts 100% in the final decision.
