(A) Analysis and Discussion: Identify and Critically Examine and Discuss All the Issues/Problems

(a) Analysis and Discussion: Identify and critically examine and discuss all the issues/problems raised in the case study (refer to the literature, concepts and theory to support your discussion)

The Glass Tower Hotel is a 5 Star hotel located on the Gold Coast, in Queensland Australia. A large percentage of the guests to the hotel are from Japan, and the second largest group are visitors from other states within Australia.

Most of the managers at the hotel are aged in their 40s and 50s and are Australian. The majority of the employees are ‘Generation Y’ and sourced from the local population as well as many new migrants (most of which are from China and India).

The hotel has a small administrative department which also share some of the HR duties, but the department managers do the majority of the hiring of employees. Department managers for the most part have very limited training in HR functions.

Customer satisfaction surveys reveal high satisfaction levels amongst Australian guests, but the results are poor from the Japanese visitors. Some of the comments made by the Japanese visitors include that ‘things don’t run on time with tours and other bookings’, and that misunderstandings over language is a constant issue. Both local and Japanese visitors comment that problems, requests or other issues are not resolved quickly enough by the staff members, who need to constantly check with management before making decisions.

Employee turnover at the hotel has been constantly high over the past few years, both for local Australian employees and those sourced from overseas. Most leave the hotel after a few months and move on to work in similar hotels in other areas in Queensland’s resort locations. Management of the hotel is unaware as to the reasons for the exit of so many staff.

Current staff often comment on how they are ‘stuck doing the same menial tasks in the same departments’, without the opportunity to try other work or more complex tasks. There is also a general lack of motivation to work beyond normal performance levels. There are also no formal reward systems in place. Casual employees are only offered more hours as ‘a reward for working harder’. Performance management is not done in a formal manner. Most performance management occurs in an unstructured way and is done by department managers. New employees often complain about a lack of ‘socialization’ and mentoring by other staff, as well as a lack of follow through on promises made in the job interviews conducted by department managers and team leaders.

Employees also state that information ‘flow through’ is limited. Communication between managers and employees is limited to instruction only, and staff are rarely consulted about workplace issues, including the design of work and any improvements that can be made to the business or guest service and satisfaction.