Organizational Structure for Effective Service Delivery

Research Proposal

Research question

How could Belle Cote implement organizational features in order to improve effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of their services?

Rationale

Organizational structure and environment are essential functions of a business. A business that fails to establish proper hierarchical and organizational structure cannot effectively operate as the lack of structure leads to inefficient communication, delegation of tasks, and many more issues that hinder the quality of goods and services provided by that business. Proper established structure and delegation of authority enables a business to operate smoothly, and effectively thus offering the business's opportunity to grow.

Belle Cote Hotel lacks an established hierarchical structure and distribution of tasks. Despite having a strong targeted market and loyal customer base. The business’s lack of structure has limited opportunity for growth and hindered the business's ability to work efficiently and effectively. With a rapidly changing and evolving market, it is important for the business to consider ways in which they could restructure themselves in order to keep up with competition and provide quality services to its clients.

Theoretical framework

(2.2) Organization structure: unit 2.2 allows to assess the current structure, identify the discrepancies as well help proposed new structural reforms.

Leadership and Management- allows assessing the effectiveness of leadership and management style as well help investigate the effect the management and leadership has on the quality of the work provided by workers.

Organizational Planning Tools- this helps suggest organization techniques that are used and allows to investigate the ones that haven’t been tested out yet.

Employee and employer relationship- this will further strengthen understanding of effects of established power dynamics and delegation of power and authority.

Methodologies

Obtaining primary data

The vast majority of the data that will be collected for this investigation will be primary data. This primary data will be obtained through various methods such as zoom interviews, email exchange with employees and financial managers.

Obtaining secondary research

Secondary data will only be used to support primary data and deepen investigation but will not be the prime source of information. Secondary will be obtained through balance sheets and accounts.

Anticipated difficulties

Anticipated Difficulties	Anticipated Solution
Translating the information:	The business being investigated operates in Ivory Coast, the official language there is French, this might be a challenge, translating is time-consuming and meaning can get lost in translation, as result, the accuracy of my report might be challenged. In order to prevent this from being an issue. I will need to make sure that I directly translate the work, this will lighten my workload as it will prevent the work from accumulating.
Scheduling interviews with primary sources	Because the people from whom the primary data will be extracted live in different time zones, scheduling meetings might be a challenge. To overcome this challenge I will need a very clear schedule and effective communication.
Obtaining information without breaching business confidentiality:	In order to avoid this challenge, I will need to formulate my question very carefully in order to obtain the answers required for the investigation without breaking any type of confidentiality agreement.

Action plan

Task and Date from October to November

Week #/ month	1/Oct	2/Oct	3/Oct	4 /Oct	1/ Nov	2/ Nov
identify problem and research question
primary research
research proposal
introduction and methodology
main findings
analyses
recondition and limitation
acknowledges
final draft due dates

How could Hotel Belle Cote implement organizational structure features in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of their services?

Research report

Executive summary

Belle Cote Hotel is a medium-sized three stars hotel. The business has been struggling with meeting the needs of its customers and as a result, has been losing clients. Profit has been gradually decreasing. To remedy this, this report provides recommendations and suggestions on how to possibly improve the organizational structure of the company to ameliorate the quality of services. Through the theoretical framework, solutions for these problems were assessed and suggested. Various organizational planning tools are used to assess how the Belle Cote hotel could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its services by restructuring its organization.

Introduction

Belle Cote Hotel saw its first stone laid in 1997, and officially opened its doors on January 2, 2005, in Abidjan (Ivory Coast). It is an LLC (limited liability company), the hotel classified as a 3 Star approved hotel. It is an average comfort and convenience hotel.

The company is based in Côte d’Ivoire and is composed of approximately 107 workers with various branches that work collaboratively in order to deliver services. The hotel’s goal is to have embassies, NGOs, and government organizations make up 90% of their client portfolio.

Recently, Belle Cote Hotel(BCH) has been experiencing issues with communication within the company which has led to problems regarding the effectiveness of service delivery. The lack of organizational structure and leadership has hindered their ability to establish clear and effective communication. Restructuring the business would improve communication BCH which would allow them to offer their clients better quality services and strengthen client satisfaction.

Methodology

Primary data: Primary research was mainly obtained by interviewing a member of operation management of the company in order to discuss the business’s goals and aims as well as get a sense of the business structures. Part of the data retrieved from the interview may be biased. Other means of research were used in addition to allowing for a more accurate investigation.

​Secondary research was acquired through bank statements, balance sheets, and other sources to analyze the underlying problems of the company. This research provides valuable quantitative information that reflects the current status of the business.

Main Results and Findings

Lack of direction

The business seems to lack direction. The leadership and all power of decision are essentially centralized around the founder who has very limited knowledge and experience in modern business management. Belle Cote hotel to this day doesn't have a mission and vision statement. The mission statement provides the organization with a clear and effective guide for decision making while the vision statement ensures that all the decisions made are properly aligned with the organization's hopes of achievement. Without those, it is hard for the business to measure success as goals are established. Without a mission statement setting S.M.A.R.T and strategic objectives that can aid business to improve efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.

Lack of employee qualification

Employees lack qualifications, there are no specific qualifications requirements for the different department because BCH is a family business many of the employed are relatives and family members looking for job work. Lack of qualification results in lower quality of services. No specific training is provided for the individual department. Due to the limited budget, a yearly 10-day general training is offered to all employees. Leadership styles allow for the effectiveness of work delivery.

Lack of established structure

The lack of structure is a prominent issue within BCH. There seems to be a lack of communication and qualification of workers. Belle Cote does not have a human resources department, just attendees responsible for keeping track of salaries. The different branches do not possess a hierarchy or power distribution. Communication within the business is inconsistent and not effective. There has never been a board meeting, meetings within branches are only scheduled to take place in situations of emergencies.

Profitability

Belle Cote Hotel took out a loan with a local bank for 2 years. This credit was to be used to renovate the rooms but was instead used to purchase land in the surroundings and started the construction of new buildings. Unfortunately, the funds were not sufficient, the buildings remained unfinished, the renovation of rooms having not been done, the company finds itself with fewer customers and therefore reduced turnover. HBC needs to pay the debt of the bank which amounts to 52,000,000f CFA month (123 001.31$ CAD) a month. Currently, Belle Cote Hotel is unable to pay the bank nor the salaries of employees. There have been salary arrears for 3 months for the staff, suppliers are paid late due to tight budget. These financial issues illustrate that BCH does not make good financial decisions. Due to their employee's limited knowledge and qualifications.

Analysis and evaluation

Figure 1- S.W.O.T analysis

SWOT analyses are strategic planning techniques used to help a business identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to business.

Strength	Opportunity
HBC has been operating for 15 years this gives them an advantage as they have knowledge of the market and experience. Can accommodate for a large number of people. Affordable prices Big hotel rooms	Extra purchased land (expansion) Large market seeking for low price hotels Increase in demand for seminaries space from MNC’s due to the political environment.
Weakness	Threats
Poor leadership. Founder with limited knowledge in modern hotel business management. Unqualified workers and Untrained workers Old rooms and room aesthetic Lack of operating system Old equipment Financial debt Limited budget	Increasing competitions, new hotels constantly opening and modern and quality services that HBC lacks.

This clearly outlines the business position in relation to external and internal factors. The weakness and threats analysis help focus the investigation on areas for improvement.

Figure 2. Fish bone diagram

A fishbone diagram can be used to identify the root causes of a problem and the effects. These diagrams offer simple visual brainstorming to help the business with the next steps in resolving problems.

Issues outlined in the SWOT analysis were categorized and broken down through the fishbone diagram. Belle Cote’s owner holds much power but unfortunately lacks the business qualification, his laissez-faire leadership style has resulted in an inconsistency in leadership style within departments. Furthermore, there is an extensive number of employees that lack qualifications. This is a financial strain that leads to issues within the methods section due to limited budget only limited training can be offered to employees. The structure within the departments is unclear (no chain of command is established) in addition the excessively large number of employees have resulted in issues in communication. Communication throughout the entire business is inconsistent, meetings are not frequent just in situations of emergency.

Figure 3. Lewin’s Force-Field Analysis

Force Field analysis is used to analyse the driving and restraining forces to evaluate whether or not Hotel Belle Cote should switch their business structure from tall to short. Each factor is ranked from 1 to 5 in terms of significance, the sum is calculated in order to establish if change should be implemented.

This Force-Field diagram illustrates the driving forces vs the restringing forces of changing the organizational structure. The driving forces for changing the organizational structure weight more the restraining forces. Changing the structure would bring various long term advantages and allow the business to grow. The restraining forces weight less because they are just short term disadvantages that can be worked through.

Financial Ratio

Current Ratio   (Current Assets)/(Current Liabilities)=CR $154971860/$3602286460 Current ratio =0.4:1 Debt and equity ratio $1472492206/($-637391289) = -2.7 Profitability ratio Return on capital investment Net result / net capital =-190,354,636/-637391289 =0.29

These ratios show that profitability is very low as a good return on capital investment for a business should be at least 15 belle stands at a much lower value. Through these ratios, the business’s weak ability to pay back its financial debt is illustrated. This comes to support workers who lack the qualifications to make safe and effective decisions that would allow the business to grow.

Conclusion

The assessment of the business has the potential to be extremely biased because of this being a personal situation. All tools used in this investigation give insight into what the company should be doing to identify different aspects of the business problems and resolve them through various means. The SWOT outlines the weaknesses, opportunities. The fishbone diagram broke down the reason for those weaknesses. Through the Lewis-Force field solutions were evaluated and suggested. Belle Cote's poor organizational structure, lack of communication, and unqualified employees has led to the hotel experiencing many struggles such as delivering quality, services, and reduced profitability.

Recommendations

1. Change organizational structure style: would help bring strict structure, a clear chain of command, and help increase the quality of services. Policies and procedures manuals should be in place to better guide and control the execution of the tasks. The use of hospitality business management software will help Belle Cote meet the industry standards of operations.
2. Qualified employees: hiring qualified new workers to manage each department would further improve quality of services and give opportunities for employees to learn from from qualifications and professional peers.
3. Communication: implementing frequent meetings will come with the new organizational and leadership style as well as communication.
4. Direction- Following actions are highly recommended
5. Having at the head of Belle cote Hotel a new leadership team with strong hospitality business management acumen is essential. The founder should delegate the daily management of the Business to the new leadership team.
6. Formulation of a clear vision and mission statement is required for Belle Cote Hotel.
7. Some operational and strategic objectives should be set.
8. Action plan should be in place to meet these objectives.
9. An evaluation and control mechanism should be in place to monitor the progress and bring corrective actions if necessary.

Limitations and Expansions

The scope of this report is limited as it only focuses on the structural changes that could be implemented and does not consider or evaluate the financial wellness of the company. As is an essential component of the business, investigating how financial improvement could help ameliorate customer’s experience and quality service of services delivery. Possible area of further investigation, external sources of finance. Furthermore, although the financial information and other research were overall accurate information obtained through the interview might have contained bias, (from the point of view of workers).

Bibliography

Armean , Ioana. “Business Analysis Framework (I).” Today Software Magazine, 2014, www.todaysoftmag.com/article/1032/business-analysis-framework-i.

Shrm, SHRM. “Understanding Organizational Structures.” SHRM, SHRM, 10 July 2018, www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/understandingorganizationalstructures.aspx.

—Elon Musk, cofounder and CEO, et al. “The Leader's Guide to Corporate Culture.” Harvard Business Review, 10 Nov. 2020, hbr.org/2018/01/the-leaders-guide-to-corporate-culture.

Appendix

Interview with member of operations management

Since when is HBC created ?

Hôtel bellecote Beaton contrition en 1997 et officially opened on January 2ns 2005 in Abidjan. Built on a surface of 13000m2 we’ve recently purchased an extra 10000m2 of land that we want to exploit.

In terms of status wta type of business HBC?

The legal status of this company is a limited liability company LLC with a capital of 280 000 000 FCFA.

What business is the organization in / In which field is the organization

Hôtel bellecôte specializes in spécialisé in logins, la restauration et les seminaries

Do you guys have specific target audiences ?

Our objective is to have at least 90% of companies in our client portfolio and also embassies, NGOs and government organizations.

In regard to the market, what is the current position of HBC?

HOTEL BELLECOTE is classified as an approved 3 Star hotel. Our hotel is an average comfort and convenience hotel. It is basically a tourist village with bungalows.

When doing research on this company I did not see a mission or vision statement. Do you guys have one?

There is no official vision part but if you were to ask me as a shareholder I would say HBC:

“FIRST CHOICE FOR CORPORATE CUSTOMERS”

What about the mission statement ?

Likewise, there is no official mission, but in hotel our goals are :

1. Offer low price
2. A multitude of rooms
3. Priority is the satisfaction of its customers.

What are the strategic objectives of the compagnies ?

HBC approaches new business customers and at the same time relaunches old customers, increases and seeks to improve its rooms.

“Now I have a question about the organization of the hotel.”

How is your department organized ?

My department is organized into several services

* kitchen service

* catering service

* purchasing and supply department

How many people work in this department? (span of control)

There are 15 people in this department.

How would you describe the chain of command in the departments?

The instructions or information come from me and go down to the level of the department heads who in turn bring the information down.

How is the hierarchy of power?

The hierarchy of power begins from the superior to the subordinate

How does each individual department cater to the company's demographic of clients?

The service cooks while cooking better dishes and respecting hygiene for customer satisfaction. As well as the servers who are in direct contact with the customer, let them serve them with delicate attention while having attentive ears to their needs.

***Leadership and motivation

What leadership style do you use in your department?

Sometimes I suggest unscheduled meetings to seek their advice on a work plan and other times I impose my ideas in the form of instructions

What is the training process for each department?

There is no real training for the staff because there is no budget. But the government obliges us every year of training through our contributions, so we choose a theme for a 10-day training before the end of the year.

What role does Human resources play in the management of this department?

Human resources ensure attendance, punctuality, respect for hierarchy and relations between staff.

Interview question for company operation overview

Divisional organization: how is the organization divided?

The organization is divided into 5 departments Commercial, Operation, Logistics, Finance and which in turn is divided into service

Human resources: how are the HR organized? How are the HR capabilities managed?

There are no human resources, the accounting manager plays the role of HR and accountant, she establishes timesheets which are entered every day and she takes them into account for the payment of salaries

What are the business processes?

o Recruitment and training processes

There is no recruitment process, the CEO has his personal database who are either parents or children of his friends and acquaintance and no training

Qualification required for each department?

there is no skill required, new arrivals are integrated into the different departments whether they are needed or not

What are the operational tools in place, specific software available within the company, operational systems in place, information systems in place, the logistic tools management?

In the past years there was a traditional software which allowed us to work to have a database but not having integrated the accounting we decided to change it, for 12 months it is impossible to fully work on the new system due to lack competence and coordination.

What is the demographic of your customers? how does the business cather to that demographic

With this traditional software we can estimate that 90 / of our customers are companies

Leadership and management

What is the Shareholders structure?

It is a 100% private shareholder base. It’s a family business. The actions are divided into 51% for the father and 49% for the mother and the 3 children

The CEO

What is the management style?

The founder combines the function of CEO and has 90% of decision-making power and everyone reports to him.

How is the leadership organized?

There are shareholders and operations which are managed by a manager who acts as CEO but without power.

How does the leadership organization operate?

There is no procedure for how leadership works if the power is in the hands of the CEO.

How often are the board meetings organized?

The board of directors never met.

How often are the management team meetings organized,

There is no periodicity for meetings. Meetings are organized according to the urgency.

Stakeholders management

What is the system in place to manage internal and external stakeholders

Communication system in place for them?

How is the relationship with the stakeholders evaluated or assessed?

Although there is no formal organization, the various internal and external systems are managed in practice. Everything is done according to operating habits.

Balance sheet