Final Edition - Practical Placement Report

Practical Placement Report Intercontinental Madrid

Assignment Written report of my Practical Placement to Mw MP AppelDetails Work placement from 19 January to 9 August 2009

DATE | 10-05-2009PREPARED BY | Marcus Hakansson (573114) PREPARED FOR | Mw MP Appel

TABLE OF CONTENTSCHAPTER 1 My Placement1

11 Background312 Description313 Acknowledgements3

Chapter 2 My Company521 General5

211 Brief History5213 Legal form5214 Organisational Structure5

22 Vision and mission statement6221 Vision and mission statement6222 Evaluate the mission statement6223 Mission statement in practice7

23 Market segments8231 What market segments does my hotel focus on8232 The different characteristics of the market segments8

24 Market segments and mission statement9241 Mission statement reflection in the market segments9

Chapter 3 My Department1132 Food amp Beverages11

321 Standard Operating Procedures11322 Organisation of the Department11323 Leadership in the FampB Department13324 Guest Satisfaction13325 Problems Complaints and Solutions14326 Departmental Revenue15327 Business Processes16328 Interview with my manager17

Chapter 4 A La Carte ndash In Depth1943 Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility19

431 Ethical dilemmas19432 CSR20

46 Competition22461 Competitors22462 Target markets23463 Marketing performance25

CHAPTER 5 My Performance2751 Learning goals275112751227513285142852 Critical incident2853 Cross cultural29531 Theory29532 Problems29533 Personal discovery30

Chapter 6 Impressions for future trainees31

CHAPTER 1 My Placement

11 Background

The main-reason for why I arrived to this decision to put my work placement at Intercontinental Madrid is because Intercontinental is a world-famous and prestigious hotel-chain and I thought that I could gain a lot of information as well as skills by having worked for them Moreover I have also a great desire for Spain as a country and since I already had quite many friends upon arrival living in Madrid made my decision somewhat easy

12 Description

My placement at Intercontinental Madrid could somehow be called all-round since I have changed different outlets within the Food amp Beverage Department during my time at the hotel My supervisor told me on my first day that I will change different outlets and I will be maximum working at an outlet for 6-7 weeks before I will change with exception for the kitchen Those outlets I have been working at are Bar 49 Restaurant lsquoEl Jardinrsquo Banqueting Room ServiceMinibar Club Lounge and the Kitchen My duties at all of these outlets have mainly been Mice en place taking orders serving guests clean and maintain equipment and premises maintain hygienic standards and procedures

13 Acknowledgements

My Hotelschool Placement tutor has been Mw MP Appel and she has been a former student of Hotelschool the Hague Mw MP Appel started her career as a FampB Manager at the Music Theatre in Amsterdam after she had graduated After been working there she started to work at the Hotelschool the Hague in 2001 as a FampB Controller

The department as I have been working at in Intercontinental Madrid is the FampB department and I have been working at the bar the restaurant (El Jardin) Banqueting Intercontinental Executive Club Room ServiceMinibar and in the kitchen

My supervisor has always been Oliver Clemencon and he was the Assistant FampB Manager at the hotel However I have always had other supervisors who have been in charge over the distribution of tasks at each outlet I have been working at But it has always been Olivier Clemencon who has been my supervisor and explained how and when I would change the outlets and in which turn

Chapter 2 My Company

21 General

211 Brief History

Intercontinental Hotels amp Resorts was founded by Pan American World Airways which was following the vision of lsquomass civilian international business and leisure air travelrsquo and was founded on 4 April 1946 but a year later changed their name to Intercontinental Hotels Corporation Intercontinental was the first truly international hotel brand in the world and their symbol represents glamour sophistication and glamour They opened their first hotel in 1949 in Belem Brazil and today have over 150 hotels in 65 countries1 Intercontinental Madrid has 307 rooms a restaurant called El Jardin a casual cafeacute a bar called Bar 49 and a fully-equipped fitness room The hotel is inspired by an 18th-century palace and is located on one of the most famous streets in Madrid ndash Paseo de la Castellana ndash in a culturalbusiness district2 Intercontinental is a member of the IHG ndash Intercontinental Hotels Group ndash together with six other international hotel chains namely Crowne Plaza Hotel Indigo Holiday Inn Holiday Inn Express Staybridge Suites Candlewood Suites3

212 Ownership

The General Manager for Intercontinental Madrid is Christophe Laure and he is originally French and has been studying at Lausanne in Switzerland Christophe Laure has also been working as a General Manager for Intercontinental Malta Gran Hotel in Paris Intercontinental Hotel Alexandria in Egypt and in Ammam in Jordanian4 Morgan Stanley is the owner of the establishment and Intercontinental Madrid has a management contract with IHG

213 Legal form

Intercontinental Madrid is a private company called Hotelera El Carmen SL5

214 Organisational Structure

As you can see in appendix 1 Intercontinental Madrid is making use of a centralised structure with a quite high hierarchy By looking at the organisational structure you can easily see that there are many managers at different levels Intercontinental Madrid have had up to 350 employees for just a little bit more than one year ago but after the financial crisis in 2008 the hotel had to cut down on the amount of employees and today they have 268 employees The distribution of the employees over the Departments is following6

1 httpwwwichotelsgroupcomintercontinentalengbabout-usour-history2 httpwwwichotelsgroupcomintercontinentalengblocationsmadrid3 httpwwwihgplccomindexasppageid=234 httpwwwcotizaliacomcache2008041152_hotel_intercontinental_madrid_nombra_christophe_laurehtml5 Daniel Turner Revenue Department6 Juan Charlos Alonso Human Resource Department

FampB Department 114 employeesRooms Division 87 employeesMaintenance Department 19 employeesFinance amp Business Department 16 employeesSalesampMarketing Department 15 employeesSalesMarketing FampB Department 6 employeesRevenue Department 6 employeesHuman Resources Department 5 employees

22 Vision and mission statement

Intercontinental Hotels Group vision is lsquoTo become the worldrsquos leading hospitality ownerrsquo7

Intercontinental Hotels Group mission statement is the same as their strategy which is lsquoTo build the hotel industryrsquos strongest operating system focused on the biggest markets and segments where scale really countsrsquo8

222 Evaluate the mission statement

A mission statement is lsquolsquoa statement of an organisationrsquos fundamental reason for existencersquorsquo (Rollinson 432) And during the course Exploring amp Structuring during Phase 1 at Hotelschool the Hague we were taught by Mr A Bakker that a mission statement should include three things namely lsquorsquoshould provide a vision amp direction for the company for the next twenty year it is a statement of an organizationrsquos fundamental reason for existence and it should address all stakeholders

If we read Intercontinentalrsquos mission statement we can immediately agree that it definitely covers how Rollinson describes a mission statement that it should express the fundamental reason for its existence because the mission statement begins with to build the hotel industryrsquos strongest operating system By this all of the employees who are working within Intercontinental know what the company is struggling after and it makes it somewhat quite easy for them when they read the end of the statement lsquorsquofocused on the biggest markets and segments where scale really countsrsquorsquo because with this it becomes clear for them what kind of market the target On the other hand for some employees it might sound quite abstract and clicheacute because of course do most of the hotel chains all around the world want to become the top leading hotel chain But all in all by going into depth of the beginning of the mission statement with the words lsquorsquoindustryrsquos strongestrsquorsquo do not necessarily mean that they want to have a lot of power and influence on the market but maybe also a loyal relationship with their guests so it will last for a long time The last thing mentioned with loyal relationship could be reinforced with one of their guest promises that they are promising promise to show genuine interest9

Moreover in the course Checking in the industry we were taught that the three main stakeholder are the owner the guest and the employee The question that follows is does Intercontinental mission statement take all of these three stakeholders into account If we look first at the owner we can say with ease that they take the owner into account indeed Because

7 httpwwwnorthcotecoukcompany_linksby_IndexaspSIT=1ampIID=FTSE20350ampSDL=NI014938 httpwwwihgplccomindexasppageid=439 httpwwwihgplccomindexasppageid=579

in the mission statement Intercontinental states that they want to be the lsquorsquothe hotel industryrsquos strongest operating systemrsquorsquo and by this we can easily read and figure that they want to be a top leading hotel chain in the world on the market So they really do take themselves into account in the mission statement since they are focused and struggling after a very high aim If we look at the next stakeholder who is the guest I would like to say that they do take the guest into account but at the same time not They look after their guest in that perspective that they are struggling after to be lsquorsquostrongest operating systemrsquorsquo and being a market leader of hotels give a certain standard and also loyalty to the guests who are staying at their hotels because if you are a market leader and have the strongest operating system you have to maintain a high and competitive standard compared to the other alternatives However if we look from another angle Intercontinental does not directly look after their guests in the mission statement because the guest is not even mentioned To reinforce my example I want to compare Intercontinentalrsquos mission statement with Westin Hotels amp Resorts mission statement which is lsquorsquoto consistently exceed our guestsrsquo expectations in terms of the products and services we provide to our business and leisure travellersrsquorsquo10 By reading Westinrsquos mission statement it becomes extremely obvious for whoever is reading it that the guest is the most important factor and this is something that really attracts many guests because they want the hotel to put most interest in them and not in the hotel chain itself as it could be interpreted for some people when reading Intercontinentalrsquos mission statement

I must say that Intercontinentalrsquos mission statement indeed take the third main stakeholder into account which is the employee Because when you are reading their mission statement you really get a feeling and understanding that this company wants to be the strongest and is targeting after the biggest segments on the market and this equals with big hotels in most of the worldrsquos corner and undoubtedly lots of employee possibilities

All in all I feel that Intercontinentalrsquos mission statement is well edited and well-written but it feels like that they have forgotten their third stakeholder slightly since the guest is not even mentioned in the mission statement nor in the vision statement Westin Hotels amp Resorts which is a leading hotel-chain in the world has more or less only written about their guest in their statement and the Scandinavian hotel chain - Scandic hotels has their vision really targeted to their guests since their vision statement is lsquorsquoCreating value by being the place and inspiration for conscious people in a better worldrsquorsquo11 These other two hotel-chains have their vision and mission statements really focused for the guest and I personally think it is important because it is the guests who bring the money to the company and all of the hotel chains all around the world are competing with each other all the time to attract and hopefully retain the guests

In my eyes Intercontinentalrsquos vision- and mission statement would have been superb if they had just put some more concentration for their guests because whenever I am reading there mission statement it feels like the guests are not there and the guests are not the primary objective for the hotel But as already mentioned it is important to differ your hotel-chain from your competitors but also to do it in a way where you put the guest in the centre

223 Mission statement in practice

As we already know Intercontinentalrsquos mission statement is lsquoTo build the hotel industryrsquos strongest operating system focused on the biggest markets and segments where scale really countsrsquo and Intercontinental Madrid is situated in the business area in Madrid and within easy reach of their four major competitors which are Westin Palace Hotel Gran Melia Fenix Hotel Ritz Madrid and Eurostar Hotels (El curso Acogida General seguridad Salud y Prevencion de Riesgos)

I would like to state that Intercontinental Madrid has indeed managed with their location so they have overcome one of the important aspects in becoming the strongest hotel and to reinforce this statement there are other positive things with their location namely

10 httpwwwstarwoodhotelscomwestinlegalprivacyhtml11 httpwwwscandichotelscomAbout-UsCorporate-information

- They are situated in the business- and cosmopolitan area in Madrid- Within easy reach of the other major hotels in Madrid- Situated on probably the most famous street in Madrid which goes through the whole city namely Pasea de la Castellana

As you can see in appendix 2 you find the result from an employee survey conducted at Intercontinental Madrid 2008 and there you see that 88 of the employees are proud to work at the hotel and 89 plan to work for the company for the next two years and this could be Interpreted as the employees are happy and proud of working at Intercontinental Madrid so the mission statement is most likely correct since the employees feel that the mission statement is more or less reflected of the hotel because otherwise it would not probably be such high satisfaction among the employees because all in all most of the human beings do want to work for a well-known prestigious and leading establishment

The guests at Intercontinental Madrid would most likely agree with Intercontinentalrsquos mission statement basically because the overall satisfaction for the guests who stayed at Intercontinental Madrid during March 2009 was almost 90 which can be seen in appendix 3 of a overall guest occupancy for March 744612

23 Market segments

231 What market segments does my hotel focus on

Intercontinental Madrid has five major different market segments and those are following- Business- Leisure - Group Tour- MeetingConference- Air Crew

As you can see in appendix 4 the major market segments of them all are Business and Leisure

232 The different characteristics of the market segmentsThe characteristics for the first market segment ndash business has basically to do with guest(s) who stay at hotel where work is related For example a guest who is living on the other side of Spain and is going to have a meeting early in the morning next day in Madrid needs to stay at a hotel in order to show up on the meeting on time and then heshe needs to stay at a hotel As you can see in appendix 4 the business segment was the second largest in March 2008 for the hotel

On the contrary to the business segment we find the biggest segment for Intercontinental Madrid in March 2008 namely leisure These guests who are within this segment are only staying at the hotel because they are there for pleasure Most likely they are in Madrid for a weekend-trip or holiday and since Intercontinental Hotels Group is a world-famous hotel-chain it makes it easier for the hotel to have guests from all around the world and the booking can be easily made via Internet

12 Stanislas Lazarski Assistant Rooms Division Department

The two market segments Group Tour and MeetingConference can be seen as one market segment since Intercontinental Madrid has counted it as one market segment in the evaluation as you can see in appendix 4 But to make a brief distinction between these two market segments counted as one you could say that group tours are trips or events that usually is organized by a company and individuals as well as groups can join these trips MeetingConference is somewhat rather obvious but at Intercontinental Madrid this market segment can be seen daily during the week due to the fact that there are meetings and conferences running continually in one or more of the 19 conference-rooms Intercontinental Madrid has

The last market segment is Air Crew and it is not that vast in relation with the other segments But this market segment involves staff who is staying at the hotel with the airline they are working for The staff are usually stewards and stewardesses but obviously pilots as well After have been working at Room-Service where I have had access to the guest-lists where all the names and details have been written on a sheet of paper I could see that the three main airlines Intercontinental is working with are Qatar Airway American Airlines and Emirates

The mutual relationship within all of these market segments could be seen as Leisure and Group Tour have a strong relationship since both segments involve pleasure and no work while Business MeetingConference and Air Crew segments have all a relationship with work However since I am having a friend who is working as a steward for Emirates and also seen the guests from the Air Crew segmentation staying at the hotel these guests are staying at the hotel for pleasure and just waiting till they have to get back to the airport and start to work on another flight So in my eyes I would not see the Air Crew segmentation having a strong relationship to business because many of these guests including my friend enjoying the time they have in the city during the few days they are staying at the hotel

Something else to keep in mind is that the figures for the market segmentations can be slightly misleading because once I met a Swedish peer at the Breakfast buffet and he explained for me that he was staying at the hotel for one week together with his mother and she was there with her work while he just had the days free and could enjoy the hotelrsquos amenities and what Madrid offers

24 Market segments and mission statement

241 Mission statement reflection in the market segments

I strongly think that Intercontinental Madrid is heavily trying to accomplish the hotel chainrsquos mission statement strongly because their market segments are really vast and because of that they are trying to focus on the biggest market segments where scale really counts For their market segments Business Leisure and MeetingConference I would say are the best and biggest market segments which can be seen in appendix 4 This is clearly notable inside the hotel because there are continually running meetings and conferences in some of the many different conference rooms at the hotel This is also usually beneficial for more than just one Department at the hotel because of course is the Banqueting Department always occupied and need to be to assist for a meeting but also the FampB Department since they need to prepare food or snacks for the guests in the meeting And if there would be a company with employees from another country or the distance to their headquarters is quite far away holding a meeting at the hotel they might let the people sleep at the hotel and then the Rooms Division Department need to be to assist as well

I often feel when I am working that Intercontinental Madrid is trying to go after the lsquobiggest markets where scale really countsrsquo because I often see meeting being held from representatives from major companies in the world such as Sony Vodafone Betfair Iberia airline Emirates etc By hosting these companies give a lot of publicity and credit to Intercontinental and it reflects very good to other companies which might not be as big as these major companies because obviously do other companies want to hold meetings at the hotel when these major companies are making use of Intercontinentalrsquos facilities

Chapter 3 My Department

32 Food amp Beverages

321 Standard Operating Procedures

Standard Operating Procedures are used within the Food and Beverage Department at Intercontinental Madrid but not within all of the outlets The SOPs that exist within the FampB Department is a paper with a picture and instructions what and how it is suppose to be performed and a picture of a common SOP can be found in appendix 5

The example of a SOP in appendix 5 is taken from Room Service and it is in detail which items as well as how and where in the room it is supposed to be set at including a picture

I have never been told or asked about the SOPs existing within the FampB Department when I have been working but since my Spanish skills is rather weak and I have sometimes (especially in the beginning) not managed to make myself understood for either guests or colleagues I have taken help from either the text or the pictures from the SOPs Something that could be vastly improved is the SOPs in the kitchen There are quite many SOPs in the kitchen where there are pictures of how example a plate of a special cheese is supposed to be decorated according to or a plate of salmon In the beginning when colleague wanted me to prepare a plate of salmon for a guest for the first time I went first to the board with all of the SOPs to see how you were suppose to decorate it After I was done my colleague changed the whole decoration and said that I had done it wrong but when I referred to the SOP I had used he just did not care so much and explained that next time I am working with him I should do the way he had re-done the plate with salmon I think that it would be better if everybody had to do the decorations of the different food according to the SOPs that exist because that would make the work for the beginners much easier But my experience after I have been working in the kitchen is that different people want you to decorate things differently so you need to know who you are working with and who asks you to prepare something so you know how to do it right on the first time

The process of a room service order in detail can be found in appendix 6

322 Organisation of the Department

The Food and Beverage Department at Intercontinental Madrid has currently 114 employees13 whereas some of them are only temporarily hired As you can in appendix 7 the hierarchy might not look that tall but after have been working within the FampB Department you have got more insight in it and can thereafter see it from another angle At first when I started to work at Intercontinental Madrid I thought that the Assistant FampB Manager and only the manager above him were my supervisors but I was totally wrong because each outlet has their own supervisor while the Assistant FampB Manager and the FampB Manager are supervisors for all of the outlets within the FampB Department

13 Human Resources Manager Juan Charlos Alonso

Obviously the FampB Manager has the power over the whole Department and it is only the General Manager who can raise his voice against him and the FampB Manager has also his private secretary The Assistant FampB Manager (my boss) works very close together with the FampB Manager but do not always have the leverage to do whatever he wants to do since the FampB Manager has the highest voice but still does the Assistant FampB Manager have a lot of leverage

The Banqueting Manager is in charge over the Banqueting Department but he continually consults with both the FampB Manager and the Assistant FampB Manager to know which bookings they have for the week and how and where the bookings are going to be like There are 31 employees working within the Banqueting Department but many employees out of these 31 are temporarily hired due to the fact that there are different banqueting events for each week

There are in total 26 people working full-time in the kitchen whereas one person is the executive chef and two persons are sous-chefs and the rest of the employees in the kitchen are assistants and have to do whatever the executive chef or the sous-chefs want them to do Normally the executive chef is having a very close relationship with the FampB Manager and the Assistant FampB Manager so he knows what is needed and expected for each event However the executive chef often give advices and tips for what might be suitable for the specific events to the FampB Managers since he has a lot of experience in the kitchen The sous-chefs have much leverage over the assistants in the kitchen and the executive chef always tell and show the sous-chefs how exactly he would like to have the plates decorated for the big orders

Intercontinental Madrid has two major kitchens where one of them is only for the restaurant lsquoEl Jardinrsquo and the other one is only for the events and Room Service The executive chef and the two sous-chefs are more or less always working in the major kitchen which is the kitchen where all of the food for the events is being made

The hotel has a vast stewarding area in the basement which is next situated to the major kitchen but also two minor stewarding areas in the two different kitchens There is one chief over the stewarding area and he has 11 people working for him

There are three Restaurant Managers and they are managers for the Restaurant lsquoEl Jardinrsquo the Executive Club Bar 49 the Cafeacute and the MinibarRoom Service and there are 39 more waiterswaitresses working for them The Restaurant Managers are running in between these different outlets during a normal working day and control that everything goes smoothly The Restaurant Managers are continually having contact with the FampB Managers in case they would have a lot of guests in the restaurant and are lack of staff or if they are having problems with the distribution of tasks to the employees etc

The main staffing challenge within the FampB Department at Intercontinental Madrid is that the Assistant FampB Manager is having a daily contact with all of the supervisors for each outlet so he can quickly get an update about the flow of work at each outlet In case the Assistant FampB Manager would receive negative information from a supervisor regarding an employee he would invite the employee to his office to have a small talk with him to see that everything is all right with the involved employee and what they can do together to improve the performance of himher

The office to the Assistant FampB Manager is situated next to the kitchen and the staff-canteen and his door is usually on ajar to show his employees that his door is always open in case they would have any inquiries or want to talk about something The Assistant FampB Manager said once lsquowe are all human beings and for a Manager it is important to understand that and also in they way you treat them that is why I want my door to be open for all of my employees in case they would have any difficulties or questionsrsquo

The Assistant FB Manager is also trying ndash as often as he can ndash greet most of his employees in the morning by walking around to the different outlets and ask them how they are However since he is generally occupied with lots of work it does not happen that often but at least is he trying to do this so there will be a good and smooth communication between him and the rest of the employees within the Department

323 Leadership in the FampB Department

The FampB Manager at Intercontinental Madrid name is Pedro Cantildea and he has his own personal secretary and at the same time the face outwards for the whole Department He is having little contact with the employees because he needs to speak and listen to other Departments and also the General Manager to know what is coming up and also what is expected by the FampB Department Mr Cantildea and his secretary are also working with some administrative work The Assistant FampB Manager name is Olivier Clemencon and is the person who is more close to the employees within the FampB Department and he has more time to speak and listen to the employees than Mr Cantildea

Underneath the FampB Managers there are supervisors working for each outlet and these supervisors are the employeesrsquo first-contact with the Management in case they would have any problem or questions since they are working together with the supervisors and the FampB Managers are not always available for the employees regarding work- or personal issues

Something that exists which have an aim to improve both the performance and motivation among the employees within the FampB Department but also for the whole hotel is the best employee of the month In order to receive this award the employee must have done something significant for the hotel but when an employee becomes the lsquothe best employee of the monthrsquo heshe will dine lunch together with the General Manager and also get photographed together with him including a small goblet

The best advice I can give my hotel so the motivation among the employees of my team in my department would be improved would be more straightforward and clear instructions of how to perform tasks

I give this advice to the hotel based on several decisions from what I experienced at the hotel and the most obvious one is that the staffs in my team was from several different countries namely Venezuela Peru Colombia Chile Bolivia Senegal Ivory Coast Gambia Philippines Indonesia and Spain All these people had different upbringings and not always shared same values so for them were it important to always know into deep detail how to perform the different tasks given by the supervisors so different employees would not perform in their own way only because the orders from the supervisor(s) were vague or not enough

324 Guest Satisfaction

Intercontinental Madrid is making use of the same system in evaluating guest satisfaction as the other hotel members within Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) which is that the computer at the reception selects when guests check-in whether the guest should be offered a feedback form or not The computer at the reception makes sure that the guests who are offered a feedback form do not have any personal working-related etc involvement with the hotel so the result will be as just as possible and reflect a fair and personal opinion from the guests who are filling out the feedback form

The results (the feedback from the guests) are in the end of the month summarised by the computer and transformed into graphs so staff and other people of interest can take a look at it On top of that every quarter of a year is the feedback summarised so the information can reflect a wider picture of the guest satisfaction and after that sent to the Intercontinentalrsquos headquarters in London14

The results from the guest satisfaction of Intercontinental Madrid is continually displayed on a wall close to the staff-entrance where the employees are passing by every single time they want to go out or inside the hotel with exception if they drive their car and park at the underground garage in the hotel building The results are regularly changed as soon as a new month has started and new guest satisfaction has been measured The Managers for each Department are

also reading trough and studying the information from the measured guest satisfaction so they how the previous month was for their guests in their Department in this way they can see whether they need to improve something that has been low satisfied among their guests or need to maintain a certain level of something15

325 Problems Complaints and Solutions

As you can see in appendix 8 those complaints the FampB Department at Intercontinental Madrid has to deal with are restaurant service staff serviceattitude and quality of food for March 2009 The complaints from the guests are not that many since there are only 11 for restaurant service and staff serviceattitude while quality of food is at 37

The Assistant Food and Beverage Manager at Intercontinental Madrid Olivier Clemencon says that the main-internal problem is employees who are sick for 1-2 days and he needs to fill up their positions within an extremely short time and during busy times at the hotel (normally during spring and autumn) it can be almost impossible to find a substitute Furthermore another internal-problem his Department is facing is the control of critical points He states that it was even worse before he started at Intercontinental because they daily had to throw food due to wrong temperatures in the refrigeratorsfreezers but also because many items were stocked at the wrong storerooms together with products that were not possible to be stored together

From my point of view the reason for why there are fairly many complaints within the restaurant service and staff serviceattitude is because the lack of full and enough communication both from the supervisors to the employees and also between the employees themselves Because there are rarely sufficient explanations about how to perform tasks and duties but also the ways of how to perform the tasks usually vary depending on who is your supervisor or your colleagues because everybody has their own ways and ideas of how a task should be performed

All in all my advice to the managers within the FampB Department would be that they reinforce standard routines of how to perform tasks to all of the supervisors and employees so there will not be any confusion or adaptability of how to perform tasks depending on who is your supervisor or colleague Because when you at first need to make sure who is your supervisor or colleague to know how heshe wants how the different tasks should be performed it makes you slightly uncomfortable and confused because there is never one standard right way to perform them By having one way to perform tasks make you more self-confident in your performance and at the same time more accurate in your duties Moreover I also think that by reinforcing one way to perform tasks raise the confidence among the employees because they can feel more assure when they know how to perform different tasks and they do not always need to speak with their supervisor or colleague before acting On the other hand of course is it difficult to always have one way of how to perform tasks but the general guidelines should always be the same because a person can easy follow that and maybe just change some of the minor steps depending on occasion or activity But when they general guidelines of how to perform tasks will always be the same will for sure decline the miscommunication and also raise the confidence among employees and also in the same run increase the accuracy of the different performances

326 Departmental Revenue

The only financial information from the Food and Beverage Department that employees had access to and was only given by the Assistant FampB Manager was the daily displayed budget on a board which also can be seen in appendix 9 As you can see in the appendix the FampB key performances were displayed and changed daily to raise the motivation among the employees to reach and hopefully exceed the estimated budget for each month The FampB key performances clearly show the data for each outlet within the FampB Department and also the Month ndashTo-Date (MTD) budget

MTD is a ratio which shows the beginning of a period of time till the actual date when it is displayed and it also explains the performance of an activity and in this case the sum of all the outlets within the FampB Department16 As we can see in appendix 9 on the picture from 7 April 2009 the total sales from 1 April to 7 April 2009 was 157239euro and the budget for April was set at 518160euro so at this date there was missing 360921euro in order to reach the estimated budget for the month

The different FampB outlets has their own expected budget as well and that can easily be seen at the lower part of the picture There we can see that each outlet still had quite much money to generate in order to reach the expected sum of money for the outlet

When we look at the other picture in the appendix 9 from the last date in April which was 30 April 2009 we can see the final money generated from each outlet and if each outlet has generated as much money as expected and the whole FampB Department has raised enough money or not By looking at the data from 30 April we can see that the FampB Department did not manage to raise enough money to the hotel as expected because they did not meet the expected budget However on the good side we can see that all of the outlets performed fairly well especially the Banqueting Department who almost generated twice as much money but the profit in the restaurant during lunch was to low and did not meet the budget

Something that Intercontinental Madrid has recently done in order to cut the costs within the FampB Department but also to get an idea about where and exactly how come the costs for the FampB Department are at the current level they have hired the UKrsquos leading Stocktake and Audit Company Venners which is working in the Hospitality and Leisure Industry17 Two employees from Venners had earlier worked at Intercontinental Cologne and they managed to cut the costs within the FampB Department with 7000euro annually18

I think that the idea from the Assistant FampB Manager is very good indeed to daily display the data for how each outlet within the FampB Department is perform ring and how close they are to reach the expected budget for each outlet and as a whole Department However since the employees with exception for the managers are not having access to some other information ndash mainly costs for the Department ndash it makes it slightly difficult to figure out why the budget is set at that specific amount each month Obviously is it necessary to have some secured information and not everything can be official to the public but when the employees only have access to the estimated goals and settings from the management it can be difficult to understand why it is just like that If there would be some costs and reasons for why the expected budget is set at that specific amount it would have been easier for the employees to understand but also raise the motivation among them since they can feel that they are following the way of thinking from the management as well as contributing to reach or exceed the budget altogether

16 httpenwikipediaorgwikiMonth-To-Date17 Olivier Clemencon Assistant FampB Manager18 John employee from Venners

327 Business Processes

The Point of sale (POS) Intercontinental Madrid is making use of is the American Micros In order to cope and run the enterprise as efficient and smooth as possible Micros is interfaced with Delphi because it especially enables the hotel to have an extreme high accuracy with booking systems for groups

Any information that touches the FampB Department has to be shared with other Departments and there are many different kind of meetings where the exchange of information is possible For example every morning there is a meeting with the General Manager and there are also continually running pre-meetings with customers and other services There are also monthly reunions for both the employees and supervisorsmanagers where the information within the different Departments is shared for everyonersquos information19

One business process that was commonly performed when working in the bar ndash especially in the evening - was orders for special wines or champagnes that cannot be find at regular bars or restaurants In appendix 10 can you find a flowchart of the processes that had to be performed before the ordered bottle could be served to the guest(s)

The first process is that the guest(s) arrive to the bar and take a seat at a table As soon as you become aware of that a new guest(s) have arrived to the bar you had to give them some time for consideration before approaching the table Once you step to the table and ask if they would like to order anything from the bar there could be two scenarios either they placed their order straight away or they would need some more time before they could arrive at a decision If they ordered when you talked with them for the first time you had to write down their order and return to the bar and search after the correct bottle The other scenario could be that they would need some more time before arriving at a decision and then you had to keep in mind to return to the table once you got contact with them later or you felt that they were ready to place their order

Once you had taken their order and written it down and returned to the bar to search after the bottle it often happened that the ordered bottle was not stored in the bar due to the size of the bar and the immense selection of special bottles Then you had to go to the storeroom for bottles which was situated around the corner of the bar and look after it there But if you had luck and the ordered bottle was stored in the bar you could immediately start with preparing to serve it Otherwise you had to search after the bottle in the storeroom and once you found it there you had to return to the bar and start with the preparation slightly later The preparation of serving a special wine or champagne unless it was not a red wine was to fill an ice bucket with ice and some dashes of water and put the bottle in there You also had to serve them the daily appetizer together with the special bottle which normally was croquettes or small tapas On top of that you always had to give them napkins and cutleries if it was needed together with the appetizer

By the time you were done with the preparation of serving the bottle you always had to bring everything on a tray and there were different sizes of trays in the bar depending on how big and how many items you had to bring to the customer(s)

19 Olivier Clemencon Assistant FampB Manager

328 Interview with my manager

Olivier Clemencon is working as the Assistant Food and Beverage Manager at Intercontinental Madrid and he is originally French O Clemencon has taken a 3 year Technical Degree in Marketing Hospitality from a school in Paris in France After his graduation 1995 O Clemencon decided to study some courses on distance from Cornell University in USA However when he was only a few courses away from receiving a MBA in Hospitality amp Management he was too eager to start to work so he moved to London in England and started to work for the luxurious Hotel Savoy O Clemencon worked at this hotel as a supervisor in the restaurant for a couple of years before he decided to move on in his career and his next workplace was Disneyworld Hotel in Orlando in USA where he worked as an operational supervisor He stayed in USA and worked for Disneyworld Hotel for a couple of years as well before he went back to Europe and landed in Monte Carlo and started to work at the Cosmos Hotel

He did not stay in Monte Carlo and worked for Cosmos Hotel for as long as he had been working in England and USA because he wanted to gain better skills in the Spanish language so he went to Madrid and started to work for Westin Palace for one year in the Rooms Division Department His next hotel was also situated in Madrid namely Hilton Madrid Airport where he was the Project Manager

When he could master the Spanish language and did not have any difficulties with it he decided to return to his country France where he was given the opportunity to work for Intercontinental Paris for five years At Intercontinental Paris did O Clemencon work as both a Project Manager and also within restaurant of sales When he had almost worked for five years did he bump into the current General Manager Christophe Laure on the streets in Paris They talked and took some coffees with each other during a couple of days before C Laure had to return to Intercontinental Madrid Two weeks later received O Clemencon an email from CLaure where he offered him a job opportunity as an Assistant Food and Beverage Manager at Intercontinental Madrid which he took By now O Clemencon has been working as the Assistant FampB Manager for more than 9 months

O Clemencon states that his main-task is to divide and distribute the tasks for the almost 120 employees working within the FampB Department One of the biggest challenges for him is to have a smooth operational control for the biggest outlet within the FampB Department which also generates most money namely banqueting Another big responsibility O Clemencon is carrying is the financial aspect in the FampB Department because he is always trying to manage to go with profit with all of the projects and since the competition is big and Intercontinental Madrid is competing with many other major hotels in Madrid it is a tough job to always go with profit especially now when the financial crisis is sweeping over

In order to be better than the competitors to Intercontinental Madrid O Clemencon emphasizes that creativeness and gastronomically menus and themes are necessary and vital in order to continue to attract regular and new customers to the hotelrsquos restaurant so that is a tough responsibility he is weekly busy with As many other hotelrsquos in the same size as Intercontinental Madrid critical points is a problem that he needs to keep an eye on continually because there had been occasions where they have had to throw many items due to wrong storage and bad delivered products from the supplier

O Clemencon emphasizes that he has a very good contact with the supervisors for the different outlets within the FampB Department and that is to great help for him Because without the good communication with the supervisors he says that he would have had loads of more work to do because then he would have needed to control all the outlets but since the communication is so good with the supervisors O Clemencon can get a quick insight in what is happening and how the work is going in the different outlets by only sacrificing 10 to 15 minutes with a supervisor for an outlet instead of an hour Moreover he also states that he has good cost control of the Department but he wants to grant the supervisors for the outlets for this once again because since the communication is so good with the supervisors make it easy for him to control and analyze more things into depth

In O Clemenconrsquos eyes he thinks that the area of improvement in his Department and also with his employees is to have a higher bottom-level because he figures that once the employees in the FampB Department are not perfomering well it is really low compared to their normal capacity So he would like to see a higher consistency in his employeesrsquo performances because if it would become truth O Clemencon strongly thinks that the negative feedback from some of the guests of the FampB outlets would decrease drastically O Clemencon thinks that the best way to overturn the low bottom-level and have a higher consistency among the employees would be to motivate them more so they would like what they are working more interesting and stimulating

When O Clemencon looks into future and anticipating what he will be doing he says that if he would continue to work for Intercontinental Madrid for some more years he would expect to be the FampB Manager However he is also explaining that he has always wanted to create his own business one day and he is hinting about opening his own small boutique hotel in the middle of nowhere preferably on an island He ends his words by saying that he has always been cautious about the environment and in these days it has even escalated his worries about the future

Chapter 4 A La Carte ndash In Depth

43 Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

431 Ethical dilemmas

The most frequent and visible ethical dilemma that was continually happening was employees who were drinking alcoholic beverages and smoking cigarettes in the changing room One afternoon in the middle of my placement when I went to the lockers for the employees at the hotel to put on my uniform and start my shift I saw one of my supervisors drinking a bottle of beer inside the changing room

My initial feeling when I saw my supervisor breaking one of the regulations in this way by drinking alcohol at work was extremely awkward Since I was working at the hotel as a practical trainee and suppose to get taught and experience necessary things that will be beneficial for my future career I did not want to destroy it and start badly on my first placement so I never said anything to my real boss who also was the Assistant FampB Manager However whenever I was working for this supervisor at the hotel after this incident I had a feeling of disrespect for his position and also whenever I heard him giving orders or wanted either you or another employee to perform something

The stakeholders included in the incident that happened in the locker-room are Me my supervisor my colleagues other supervisors my boss the Manager for the FampB Department and the General Manager The reason for why there are so many stakeholders included in this incident is because the supervisor is representing a leader-position and he has fairly many employees working underneath him so he cannot represent a negative picture and absolutely not break regulations in the way he did Managers and the General Manager are included since they have granted the supervisor his position and they could be related negatively to this supervisor in having giving him this position

Since I never mentioned anything about this occurrence for my Manager nor other supervisors because I feared what would have been the outcome of it ndash eg being treated badly of other colleagues or even dismissal for being a backstabber ndash I just left it out and kept my mouth shut

If we would see from the Justice and Care issues regarding this incident it would be following

Justice Regulations that have been set and existing within the company should never be

tampered with thus I should have let my real boss ndash the Assistant FampB Manager ndash aware of what I saw

I have a certain loyalty towards my boss as well as other colleagues and thus should I have let people above the supervisor aware of my observation

Breaking Intercontinentalrsquos policy is never acceptable and in the same it was not right of me to hide this information on other staff-members

You could say that I was accomplice of the breaking of the rule since I kept my mouth shut regarding my observation

If I would have said anything to my boss regarding my observation I could have received negative comments and criticism from other colleagues so I did the best in saving my first step into the hospitality industry on the work floor

Loyalty to an employee who I am working much with is more important than loyalty to the company

I was only a practical trainee at the hotel and if I would have raised my voice against a supervisor who had been working there for at least 10years people would have thought that I was incorrect about the observation and taken the supervisor in favor

432 CSR

Intercontinentalrsquos Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) statement is lsquoOur actions are guided by our values ndash the Winning Ways These are explained to everyone who works for IHG They define the character of the Group and are above all the things that set us apart as a businessrsquo20

The five different winning ways are21

Do the right thingWe aim to do what we believe is right and have the courage and conviction to put it into practice We are honest and straightforward and see our decisions through

Show we careWe want to be a company that understands peoplersquos needs better than anyone else in our industry This means being sensitive to others noticing the things that matter and taking responsibility for getting things right

Aim higherWe aim to be acknowledged industry leaders and have built a team of talented people who have a will to be the best We strive for success and we value individuals who are always looking for better ways to do things

Celebrate differenceWe believe it is the knowledge of our people that brings our brands to life We do not impose a rigid uniform view of the world Our global strength comes from celebrating local differences while knowing some things should be the same

Work better togetherWe are at our best when we collaborate to form a powerful team We listen to each other and combine our expertise to create a strong focused supportive and trusted team of people

The CSR is taken from the companyrsquos official website and is on the whole strongly emphasized for their own values and how they differ themselves from their competitors with help of the employees after have taught them the Winning Ways This is mainly because the statement starts with lsquoOur actions are guided by our values ndash the Winning Waysrsquo and is followed with lsquothese are explained to everyone who works for IHGrsquo and with the last words clearly explained that they differ themselves from their competitors lsquothe things that set us apart as a businessrsquo

By reading the statement for the first time it is clear and easy to understand the values Intercontinental has as a company It can also with ease be understood that the area of employees is clearly taken into account The stakeholders are also taken into account since the last sentence in the CSR it is written lsquothe things that set us apart as a businessrsquo and by this can the stakeholders know that Intercontinental is unique in its kind when they have their own values which are taught to all of the employees who work for the chain called lsquothe Winning Waysrsquo

20 httpwwwihgplccomfilesreportsarv2006indexasppageid=43

During my time at the FampB Department at Intercontinental Madrid I continually felt the presence of the emphasize of lsquothe Winning Waysrsquo because many supervisors including employees had badges which represented one out of these five Winning Ways As written earlier in this report the Assistant FampB Manager had a white board out of his office where he wrote the daily performance and always on the same paper was he emphasizing one of these five lsquoWinning Waysrsquo as a reason for why the performance had been positive or negative Two months after my commence at Intercontinental I also had a two-days course together with the rest of the practical trainees at Intercontinental where one of the employees from the Human Resources Department explained into deep detail about their CSR but also about the whole hotel-chain itself and other useful information to know about a company you are working for There were also many posters in the staff-canteen in the hallway and also in the hotel itself on many floors where one lsquoWinning Waysrsquo was written so both employees as well as guests could know our values and how the company was operating

Something that could be seen as a minor bottleneck from Intercontinental Madridrsquos side in regards to their CSR is that the supervisors and managers always thought that all of the outcomes depended or was caused by the five different winning ways I hereby give an example when I felt during many occasions at many different outlets that my colleagues worked toward the opposite of one of the winning waysrsquo namely Work better together

Whenever I was working in the bar or the restaurant at my hotel and other colleagues of mine had picked up or cleaned tables they always put the tray with all of the items ndash glasses bottles plates etc ndash close to the stewarding area but never in the stewarding area where it belonged and should have been The reason for why my colleagues did this ndash especially whenever working in the bar ndash was because they always assumed that I should take care of the tray as soon as I was available and the main-reason for why I would like to use this as an example of not working toward one of the winning ways Working together is because it happened fairly many times that I was the only employee who was busy while the others were not but still it happened that they just went to clean a table and not put the tray in the stewarding area and waited for me to be free of duties so I could take care of it Neither was it nice when I saw them putting the tray with the items on it just away from the guests and went to another colleague to continue to talk about social things and waited for me to come back to the bar and clean after them when they also had the same position as me On the other hand as I stated in the beginning of this paragraph this is a minor bottleneck in regards of the CSR and I always kept in mind as the placement office explained during the preparation-lessons for the practical placement I do this work for 4months while my colleagues could have done it for 20years

As earlier explained the visibility by posters hanging on the walls both in front of the house as well as back of the house with Intercontinentalrsquos CSR and primarily their Winning ways made it easy for guests and employees to be aware of the values beliefs and what the company was working after However a tip of advice to Intercontinental Madrid would be that the mutual consent was missing in teaching and explaining these lsquowinning waysrsquo into deep detail so they could be understood to its very deep detail All of the practical trainees at the hotel received a 2days course where this including lots of other information was explained by a person from the Human Resources department but when I asked some colleagues to check whether they had had received similar training they had not

One main-competitor to Intercontinental Madrid is Westin Palace Madrid22 Westin Palace Madrid is part of Starwood Hotels and Resorts and they have Company Values which could been seen in one way similar to Intercontinentalrsquos CSR and Winning Ways

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Values23

Go the extra step

22 Juan Charlos Alonso Human Resource Department23 httpwwwstarwoodhotelscomcorporatecompany_valueshtml

By taking actions that build lasting connections and loyalty

Play as a TeamBy working globally and across all teams in the company

Do the Right ThingBy using good judgment respecting our communities associates owners partners and the environment

One of Starwoodrsquos values is exactly the same as one of Intercontinentalrsquos ndash Do the right thing - but only differ in the explanation of it All in all when you read Starwoodrsquos values you can quickly understand that the values are very precise and direct by their explanations but still taken the most important stakeholders into account namely employees in the second value and in the third value are all the other major stakeholders written down in the explanation of the value Starwoodrsquos values in relation with Intercontinetalrsquos are similar with the difference that Intercontinental have two more values and might give a more comprehensive picture of a companyrsquos values especially when Intercontinental has for instance Aim higher which shows that the sympathy might be slightly higher in theory at Intercontinental However my experience after I have been working at Intercontinental Madrid is that in theory and on the paper it might look good and sound promising but in practice everything might not result and be received as it is stated or have been promised

46 Competition

461 Competitors

Two of the main competitors to Intercontinental Madrid are Westin Palace Madrid and Hotel Ritz Madrid24 whereas all of hotels situated in the business area in Madrid According to Philip Kotler25 the marketing mix consists of

Price = Cost to Customer Product = Customer Benefits Place = Convenience Promotion = Communications

The rack rate for a standard double room for two persons including breakfast during a weekday is following26

Intercontinental Madrid Westin Palace Madrid Hotel Ritz Madrideuro259 euro239 euro572

The hotel rooms include the usual and common facilities such as satellite television minibar air conditioning electronic safe color TV bathroom with shower etc The reason for why it is a significant difference in price at Hotel Ritz compared with the other two hotels is mainly because of the well established name it has but also on Ritz website do they emphasize regarding their embroidered linen sheets in the bed exclusive hand woven carpets marble bathrooms and these facilities do not the other two hotels have in the standard rooms27

24 Juan Charlos Alonso Human Resource Department25 httpwwwmultimediamarketingcommkcmarketingmix26 httpwwwritzmadridcomweboritratesjsp httpswwwstarwoodhotelscomwestinsearchratelisthtml httpwwwichotelsgroupcomintercontinentalengbrate-selectionmadridroomTypeCode=CSTG27 httpwwwritzmadridcomweboritguest_servicesjsp

All three hotels are situated within easy reach of each other and also in the business area of Madrid The hotels are in possession of 5stars and serve facilities such as gymnasium SPA restaurants bars beauty salon gift shop What are the significant differences between the three hotels in customer benefits are namely

Intercontinental Madrid Westin Palace Madrid Hotel Ritz Madrid- 302 rooms in total - 468 rooms in total - 167 rooms in total- 33 suites - 48 suites - 30 suites- 1 restaurant - 2 restaurants - 1 restaurant- 1 bar - 1 bar - 1 bar

As already stated all of the hotels are situated in the business area of Madrid called CastellanaRetiro However Westin Palace Madrid and Hotel Ritz are within close proximity of each other and Intercontinental Madrid is situated at around 2kilometers away from them All of the hotels have easy access to all the famous and major sights such as the Prado museum Thyssen-Bornemisza museum the Real Madrid museum the elegant Serrano shopping street the Royal Palace of Madrid and the biggest park in Madrid El Retiro

Regarding the fourth P ndash Promotion all of these hotels have a good word-of-mouth but obviously has Hotel Ritz Madrid an extremely elegant one since Ritz lsquohas long provided the Spanish capitalrsquos most elegant and exclusive entertainmentrsquo28 However Intercontinental is a well recognized hotel chain in the whole world thus do they host many celebrities and international guests Europa Press which is one of the major distributors of news in Spain has their weekly conference at Intercontinental Madrid Westin Palace Madrid is known in Madrid for having the most counted and biggest conference rooms in Madrid29

462 Target markets

As written in chapter 2 two of Intercontinentalrsquos segments are Business and MeetingConference and the hotel itself have 17 meeting rooms Moreover they have an executive club whereas inside of the club there is a special conference room with a capacity of 15 people and that room can be booked upon request of a person who has access to this executive club Intercontinental Madrid has following major facilities30

Health amp Fitness Centre Beauty Salon florist amp Gift Shop Offering multiple Business Services such as Copying Courier Service Secretarial

Services Wireless Data Connection etc Business Centre Day Care and amp Childrenrsquos Activities Housekeeping amp Laundry Public Space Data Services

Westin Palace Madrid is situated in the business area in Madrid along with Intercontinental and Hotel Ritz and has 468 guest rooms and suites It has 15 meeting and banqueting rooms with a capacity to accommodate up to 1000 people The hotel has an immense amount of various facilities offered for its guests and some of them are31

28 httpwwwritzmadridcomweborithotel_ritz_introductionjsp29 httpwwwwestinpalacemadridcomlang=21230 httpwwwichotelsgroupcomintercontinentalengblocationshotel-featuresamenities-servicesmadrid31 httpwwwhotelscoukhoteldetailshtmlroomno=1ampdepartureDate=29-09-2009ampdestinationId=457987amprooms[0]numberOfAdults=2amptab=photosamparrivalDate=28-09-

Babysitting or Child Care Airport transportation (surcharge) Hair Salon Health amp Fitness Centre Laundry Facilities Parking Garage Wedding services Offering multiple Business Services such as Banquet Facilities Business Centre

Computer Rental etc Soundproofed Rooms Electronic Check-Out

Hotel Ritz Madrid was built according to the wishes of King Alfonso Xlll in 1910 and all of the 167 guestrooms at the hotel have been individually designed with antique furniture and handmade carpets The hotel has five different meeting rooms which can hold up to 500people Banqueting facilities and a state-of-art business centre are available for the guests at the hotel Hotel Ritz Madrid has an equal amount of facilities offered to the guests as Intercontinental Madrid but value high preciseness in everything Some of the facilities offered are32

Concierge Desk Full-Service Health Spa Limo or Town Car Service Available Security Guard Offering various Business Services such as Event Catering Translation Services

Audio-Visual Equipment Computer Rental etc Designer Toiletries Soundproofed Rooms

It has already been written in chapter 2 which markets Intercontinental is targeting -Business Leisure Group Tour MeetingConference Air Crew ndash but of the brief information that have been written about Westin Palace Madrid and Hotel Ritz Madrid we can anticipate that they are targeting similar markets with few exceptions namely

Since the immense capacity to accommodate up to 1000people in the 15 different meeting and conference rooms at Westin Palace Madrid we can draw the conclusion that two major market segments are Business and MeetingConference Furthermore since the hotel is located in the very heart of Madrid and have 468 guestrooms we can also assume that they are targeting the Leisure segment Due to the fact that they have extremely many facilities offered at the hotel there are many potential guests who are willing to stay at this hotel

Only Hotel Ritz Madrid says a lot in peoplesrsquo ears since it is a reputable and extremely luxurious hotel chain worldwide Therefore we know that the hotel accommodate many celebrities and this can also be reinforced in their description of the hotel Due to the high rack rate for their hotel rooms we can also conclude that people with an average income cannot afford to stay at this hotel Also in their description of the facilities offered and also the focus for preciseness in everything entitle Hotel Ritz Madrid to be a superior over the hotels in Madrid The market segments Hotel Ritz Madrid are targeting according to their description of the hotel location price-range and preciseness in everything is the upper-scale market with people who have money However they are probably targeting the business segment for companies who need to make business with other companies and there is a lot of money involved upon and we cannot we forget all the affluent people who want to indulge themselves to maximum holiday or city-break

2009amphotelId=141159description32 httpwwwhotelscoukhoteldetailshtmlroomno=1ampdepartureDate=29-09-2009ampdestinationId=457987amprooms[0]numberOfAdults=2amptab=photosamparrivalDate=28-09-2009amphotelId=173754descriptionhttpwwwritzmadridcomweborithotel_ritz_introductionjsp

463 Marketing performance

PriceSince both Intercontinental Madrid and Westin Palace Madrid are on the whole equal with each regarding the price for BampB euro259 versus euro239 and there is a significant level up to Hotel Ritz Madrid with euro572 BampB Westin Palace Madrid is the winner regarding the price Basically because all of these hotels are in possession of 5stars but Westin Palace is a way bigger hotel in relation with the rest of them and on top of that the facilities the hotel offers are immense and more than the other hotels Finally euro239 for BampB is a high price for one night and there is no reason to stay at a more expensive hotel when the hotelrsquos themselves are similar except for Ritz If you are a normal guest and want to stay at a luxurious hotel Westin Palace is a perfect solution for that and the differences between the hotels is slight

ProductIn all of the hotels given breakfast is included and the facilities between the hotels are similar What is different in the products given to the guests is probably the deliverance and service of the employees at Hotel Ritz Madrid As already stated Ritz emphasize preciseness in everything and thus is the product ndash hotel room facilities etc ndash best at Hotel Ritz Madrid

PlaceAll of the hotels are in close proximity of each other in the business area in Madrid and the longest distance from one to another is 31km The distance between Hotel Ritz and Westin Palace is 02km and these two hotels are in better situation than Intercontinental Madrid since they are within easy reach of everything in Madrid and also the famous park Retiro However the best situated hotel is Ritz since it is closer to this park and also the main-road

PromotionThe fourth P in the marketing mix is promotion and according to an article33 promotion describes publicity and word-of-mouth and then it is obvious that Ritz is the winner since it is the most famous hotel in Madrid among people and also a world-famous hotel for luxury

The winner between these three hotels is Westin Palace Madrid because you get the most of everything and also what you pay for All of the hotels have high service since they all have 5stars and Ritz has probably the best but the difference cannot be that immense since all of them have reached the 5stars level of service and paying more twice as much for one night ndash Westin vs Ritz ndash is not worth it because all of the hotels offer many facilities as well but Westin wins since the hotel is bigger than the others and offer more

Westin offers the greatest value for the money spent for one night BampB because of its location price and facilities For sure is Westin Palace a winner against Intercontinental regarding everything above mentioned and since celebrities and royalties constitute to a small extent Westin Palace Madrid is the winner for its overall and price

33 httpwwwmultimediamarketingcommkcmarketingmix

CHAPTER 5 My Performance

51 Learning goals

My first technical learning goal was that I wanted to increase my independence and now afterwards I strongly think that I have Mainly because I had to move to a country where I have never been living before where I had to get use to a new way of life adapt myself and also a new way of working at the hotel

My second technical learning goal was that I wanted to increase my speed when I serve guests and after having worked at a hotel as a waiter for over 6 months I feel secure in my answer when I say I have increased my speed to serve guests during my placement To perform similar tasks over half a year teaches you tricks which way is better and more efficient to do

The third technical learning goal was to learn more about specific food typesdishes and beverages and working at a 5stars hotel is a very good way to learn more regarding this area You are constantly affected by rare and uncommon food typesdishes and beverages at the different outlets within the FampB Department

My first socialcommunication goal was to feel more comfortable in dealing with them and shortly after my commence at Intercontinental communicating with guests became my daily life and in the same run did I step by step feel more comfortable in dealing with them since it was my daily life

My second socialcommunication goal was to improve my communication with my colleagues and supervisors and you more time I spent at the hotel you better it became This is solely based on my language because in the beginning was my Spanish-skills low but I improved and learnt more Spanish for each week spent in Madrid and in the same way did my interaction with my colleagues and supervisors improve

My third socialcommunication goal was to become better to use different communication media such as fax telephone cash machine Since I was a practical trainee at the hotel and they were not allowed to use the cash machine nor fax I was only able to be better with for instance the switchboard on the phone

My first personal goal was to be better in Spanish and after my 6months in Madrid I can speak about almost everything However my grammar in Spanish is weak and that is my flaw in the language but I have improved my Spanish a lot during my time in Madrid

My second personal goal was to improve my personal time-keeping and that is still an area I need to improve on because I did improve it but not as much as I intended to do upon arrival

Personally I feel that I managed to achieve all of my learning goals except for two namely the use of communication media and my personal time-keeping The reason for why I did not directly improve my use of communication media was because I was not allowed by the hotel to use it since I was a practical trainee The reason for why I did not improve my personal time-keeping as much as intended was probably because it happened so many times that I was not

as motivated as I wanted to be in order to improve it because it was rare that my colleagues were interested in doing mice en places whenever we were not that busy and your colleagues have a big impact on you when you are working underneath all of them

The goal I have when I start my leadership at the school is that I will always keep in mind how it was for me when I worked at the different outlets during my first- and second semester The reason for why I have that as a goal is because during my time at Intercontinental I think that some of the supervisors and managers were not fully aware of how the life and what it was like to work a waiter at the hotel and it is the same for those people in the first- and second semester at school It is not the most interesting to perform all the duties all the time and I am going to remember how it was for me because in that way I will hopefully make it slightly more fun for the people who are going to work underneath me

Since Intercontinental Madrid is a business hotel I realized that if I would decide to work with hotels in the future I do not want to work at business hotels but at leisure hotels I have arrived at this decision because the guests at business hotels are in general very serious all the time and whenever I think about hospitality and hotels I see a link to holidays I personally prefer to work with guests who are staying at a hotel because they are staying at the hotel because they are there on holiday rather than doing their job

Right now I am in this phase of my life where my preference regarding which work field I want to pursue is continually fluctuating After my practical placement I still think and feel that working with hotels is fun and interesting but I am still too young to know now where and what I would like to work with after my hopeful graduation from school

52 Critical incident

The best example of a critical incident that happened during my time at my hotel was when I was working in the Banqueting Department The supervisor for the banqueting and I were once preparing a small conference room for guests who would shortly show up and start having the conference when the supervisor told me that I should go to the entrance of the conference room and wait for the guests who would shortly show up while he should go and collect more water bottles

I went next to the entrance of the door to the conference room and prepared myself for greeting the guests who could pop up at any second when my boss ndash the Assistant FampB Manager ndash appears behind my back Without barely having eye-contact with me he says to me quickly in Spanish If I ever see you here again doing nothing and just staring on the walls I will let the General Manager know about your input and your time here will be finished After he had said that and I was still shocked by this comment he just went away as quickly as he had showed up

I continued to work that day till I had finished my shift but I could never really understand what had happened but when I came back home to my flat I spoke with both of my parents regarding this incident and also asked them what I should do but my parents said that the best thing would maybe be to send my boss an email where I explained the reason for why I was standing outside the conference room because I had been instructed to do that of my supervisor I never did that because I had a strong feeling that my boss would not believe or take me seriously so in the end I sent an email to my coach and the placement office where I explained the whole situation for them The placement office sent an email to my boss where they explained that I

was a practical trainee and I could not get treated badly or in the same way as normal employees because the main-purpose of working for the hotel was to learn and being taught things After the placement office had sent the email to my boss he calmed down a little bit and also changed his behaviour towards me

From this incident I learnt that all people are human beings but also that some managers tend to exceed the use of power in a bad way By that I mean that if a manager dislikes an employee or somebody else who works underneath him or her they can make life difficult for that person So it is up to each manager to know that they have limits as well even though they might be managers and they cannot make use of it Now after this incident when I have started to reflect everything I am in a way glad that I experienced this because now I know how you should not behave if you were a manager or you are having people working underneath you

53 Cross cultural

531 Theory Richard D Lewis writes in his book lsquoWhen cultures collidersquo34 the motivation factor among Spaniards He explains that lsquothey do not like being rushed and confusing mantildeana behaviour with lazinessrsquo

During my time at Intercontinental Madrid I must say that I agree with this to its full extent because my colleagues in general always waited to the last minute to perform something and sometimes they even did not bother to do it if they did not want to In the beginning I just thought they had a bad day or was not that motivated that day but when it just continued to be the same week after week I realized that it was the way of work and the way they were However some of them were not as lazy and unmotivated as many others but the majority of them were not as motivated to work as I was used to since I am from Sweden where hardwork is in favor

532 Problems

The biggest challenge that I was facing at Intercontinental Madrid was the strong commitment for the hierarchy all the time With this I mean that all of the employees supervisors and managers were most of the time focused for the hierarchy and you were not always allowed to behave in a certain way or to perform something only because you had a lower position in the hierarchy and the person above you had always right

Something that I learnt from my time spent at the hotel in Madrid was that you should never question or argue with somebody who has a higher position than you and in my case all other employees had a higher position than me since I was a practical trainee Nobody never listened to me nor took my advices in how to perform duties differently and I also think that it not only was because I had a lower position but also because I was a foreigner and could not master the Spanish language

In the beginning I continued to give advices and other ways in how to perform things differently but quite shortly did I realize that nobody really took it in or was willing to change so I just stopped with it

34 Richard D Lewis ndash When Cultures Collide ndash Third Edition ndash page 272

533 Personal discovery

The most interesting intercultural discovery I made during my time at Intercontinental Madrid was the repeating disorganisation at all of the outlets I worked at I come from Sweden where people in general have organisation and place facts before ideas etc But regarding this area at the hotel in Madrid was it completely opposite to what I could ever imagine and I could never really understand how it could be like that at a 5stars international hotel in the capital of Spain

This disorganisation at the hotel made me not only confused but also irritated very often because you had to run up and down for nothing so many times Yes confusion and occasional disorganisation belong at hotels because all the days are different in terms of occupancy guests etc However I always had this feeling that there was never any order or real and proper organisation at the hotel and it makes me feel now afterwards that I have hard to see myself working in Spain in the future

An example of this disorganisation that I am explaining is the restaurant at Intercontinental Madrid At the restaurant ndash El Jardin ndash all the waiters are responsible for all the tables and there is not one waiter who is responsible for letrsquos say 2 tables because everybody has to run everywhere and pay attention to all of the tables at the same time The supervisors in the restaurant are paying attention that all of the guests have what they should but there is not a system like I am use to that one waiter is responsible for certain tables

Chapter 6 Impressions for future trainees

My hotel was Intercontinental Madrid and is part of Intercontinental Hotels Groups (IHG) together with 6 other hotel chains I worked at all the different outlets within the Food and Beverage Department My duties at all of these outlets were basically Mice en place taking orders serving guests clean and maintain equipment and premises maintain hygienic standards and procedures

I have learnt different things at the different outlets but I want to point out that it is very much up to you to take the initiative and to be pro-active during your placement because your colleagues will not teach you as long as you do not show interest in learning I have now after my placement learnt most of the basic in serving catering and everything else that exist within the FampB Department and I feel much more relaxed and secure whenever I need to perform something

Something that is important to bear in mind when you go on your placement is that you need to be flexible open-minded and adaptable to the new country you are going to Also expect that if you have been to the country you are going to work at before on holiday it will for sure be very different on the work floor

At my hotel there were many other practical trainees from various hotel schools in the world and I had a kind of community together with these in terms of socializing outside of the hotel as well as speaking with them at the hotel because all of were in the same boat It was good to exchange information with each other and make connections because it will only generate positively on you later in your career

Living in Madrid is to one extent very different compared to what it is like in Holland because people are more relaxed and do not care so much about certain things However keep in mind that some areas can be dangerous at night in Madrid but as long as you have common sense and know how to behave there is no need to fear but some people in certain areas can be dangerous

My advice to future trainees who go to Madrid would be that you should early upon arrival try to make Spanish friends because you will improve your Spanish language immensely and so more quickly than just using the Spanish language at the hotel supermarket on the street etc Moreover they will also show you the way of life Spaniards have and hopefully also go to not so tourist areas

Finally I can say that even though working with Spaniards with a continuous disorganisation it is a nice experience to have worked with them because it is fun most of the time mainly because of their laid back mentality and way of life

Works cited amp works consulted

Website httpwwwichotelsgroupcomintercontinentalengbabout-usour-history) ndash Information taken 24 April 2009

Website httpwwwichotelsgroupcomintercontinentalengblocationsmadrid - Information taken 24 April 2009

Website httpwwwihgplccomindexasppageid=23 ndash Information taken 24 April 2009

Website httpwwwcotizaliacomcache2008041152_hotel_intercontinental_madrid_nombra_christophe_laurehtml - Information taken 26 April 2009

Spoken with the Assistant Revenue Manager Daniel Turner on the 28 April 2009

Spoken with the Manager of Human Resources Juan Charlos Alonso on the 28 April 2009

Website httpwwwnorthcotecoukcompany_linksby_IndexaspSIT=1ampIID=FTSE20350ampSDL=NI01493 ndash Information taken 28 April 2009-05-10

Book Derek Rollinson ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR AND ANALYSIS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH third edition ndash Information taken 29 April 2009

Website httpwwwstarwoodhotelscomwestinlegalprivacyhtml - Information taken 29 April 2009

Website httpwwwscandichotelscomAbout-UsCorporate-information) ndash Information taken 29 April 2009

Had a 2-days course with the HR Manager Juan Charlos Alonso on the date 17 ndash 18 February 2009

Website httpwwwihgplccomfilesreportsarv2006indexasppageid=43 ndash Information taken 7 September 2009

Website httpwwwstarwoodhotelscomcorporatecompany_valueshtml - Information taken 12 September 2009

Website httpwwwmultimediamarketingcommkcmarketingmix - Information taken 12 September 2009 Website httpwwwritzmadridcomweboritratesjsp - Information taken 12 September 2009

Website httpwwwritzmadridcomweboritratesjsp - Information taken 12 September 2009

Website httpwwwichotelsgroupcomintercontinentalengbrate-selectionmadridroomTypeCode=CSTG ndash Information taken 12 September 2009

Website httpwwwichotelsgroupcomintercontinentalengblocationshotel-featuresamenities-servicesmadrid - Information taken 12 September 2009

Website httpwwwhotelscoukhoteldetailshtmlroomno=1ampdepartureDate=29-09-2009ampdestinationId=457987amprooms[0]numberOfAdults=2amptab=photosamparrivalDate=28-09-2009amphotelId=141159description ndash Information taken 12 September 2009

Website httpwwwhotelscoukhoteldetailshtmlroomno=1ampdepartureDate=29-09-2009ampdestinationId=457987amprooms[0]numberOfAdults=2amptab=photosamparrivalDate=28-09-2009amphotelId=141159description - Information taken 12 September 2009

Website httpwwwhotelscoukhoteldetailshtmlroomno=1ampdepartureDate=29-09-2009ampdestinationId=457987amprooms[0]numberOfAdults=2amptab=photosamparrivalDate=28-09-2009amphotelId=173754descriptionhttpwwwritzmadridcomweborithotel_ritz_introductionjsp ndash Information taken 12 September 2009

Book Richard D Lewis ndash When Cultures Collide ndash Third Edition ndash page 272

Appendix 1 ndash Organizational Structure

Appendix 2 ndash Employee Survey

Appendix 3 ndash Guest Survey

Appendix 4 ndash Market Segments

Appendix 5 ndash Example of a SOP

Appendix 6 ndash Room Service Process

Appendix 7 ndash Organisation chart of FampB Department

Appendix 8 ndash Guest Satisfaction Result

Appendix 9 ndash Financial Information

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

Appendix 10 ndash Process order special bottle

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


232 The different characteristics of the market segments
















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














TABLE OF CONTENTSCHAPTER 1 My Placement1

11 Background312 Description313 Acknowledgements3

Chapter 2 My Company521 General5

211 Brief History5213 Legal form5214 Organisational Structure5

22 Vision and mission statement6221 Vision and mission statement6222 Evaluate the mission statement6223 Mission statement in practice7

23 Market segments8231 What market segments does my hotel focus on8232 The different characteristics of the market segments8

24 Market segments and mission statement9241 Mission statement reflection in the market segments9

Chapter 3 My Department1132 Food amp Beverages11

321 Standard Operating Procedures11322 Organisation of the Department11323 Leadership in the FampB Department13324 Guest Satisfaction13325 Problems Complaints and Solutions14326 Departmental Revenue15327 Business Processes16328 Interview with my manager17

Chapter 4 A La Carte ndash In Depth1943 Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility19

431 Ethical dilemmas19432 CSR20

46 Competition22461 Competitors22462 Target markets23463 Marketing performance25

CHAPTER 5 My Performance2751 Learning goals275112751227513285142852 Critical incident2853 Cross cultural29531 Theory29532 Problems29533 Personal discovery30

Chapter 6 Impressions for future trainees31

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements

21 General

211 Brief History

212 Ownership

213 Legal form

23 Market segments

432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements

21 General

211 Brief History

212 Ownership

213 Legal form

23 Market segments

432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














21 General

211 Brief History

212 Ownership

213 Legal form

23 Market segments

432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














21 General

211 Brief History

212 Ownership

213 Legal form

23 Market segments

432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














23 Market segments

432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














23 Market segments

432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














23 Market segments

432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














432 CSR

Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














Go the extra step

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














462 Target markets

51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














51 Learning goals

53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














53 Cross cultural

532 Problems

7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














7 April 2009

30 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














TABLE OF CONTENTS

11 Background

12 Description

13 Acknowledgements


21 General

211 Brief History

213 Legal form






23 Market segments


















432 CSR

46 Competition

461 Competitors

462 Target markets



51 Learning goals

511

512

513

514


53 Cross cultural

531 Theory

532 Problems














Documents

Final Edition - Practical Placement Report