OB Deliverable. V8. Windsor Suites Hotel. Version 8. Vivek Adhikari Admed Kamal Julian Warden

[MNGT 5590 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR. TEAM PAPER] July 1, 2015

Vivek Adhikari Ahmed Kamal Julian Warden 1

Organization Behavior Study and Proposal. Windsor Suites and Convention.

1.1 Executive Summary

This paper reviews problems related to organizational behavior management at the Hotel Windsor

Suites and Convention and offers a number of strategies that management can employ to improve

employee performance. Data was collected through meetings with senior management and subsequent

follow up communication by email. It was found that employees in customer driven departments were

unable to effectively manage communication with customers resulting in misunderstandings, ineffective

use of resources and loss of competitive market position. In order to narrow the gap in employee skills

and behavior from actual to envisaged, a number of strategies have been recommended including

establishment and cascading of corporate vision, setting of departmental objectives and dashboard,

market research, employee motivational techniques and improved English language training facilities

and enriched learning environment.

1.2 Business Profile

With 26 years in the industry, Hotel Windsor Suites and Convention is a four star hotel located in the

center of Bangkok, within walking distance to Sukhumvit Road and Bangkok Mass Transit and

Metropolitan Rapid Transit systems. Facilities include 458 rooms, ten large function rooms, three

restaurants, a swimming pool, Clark Hatch Fitness Centre and a full service Neva Spa.

The strength of the business model lies in catering to foreign tours and the MICE industry, both overseas

and local, with government contracts making up a large percentage of local MICE business. Competitive

advantage lies with the ability to offer complex meeting, accommodation and conference packages (1).

The hotel can be described as ‘busy’ with 400 staff employed on-site. Customer facing personnel are

organized into three divisions; Front Office with a headcount of 5, Food and Beverage, 80, and

Housekeeping,30. Other divisions include Engineering, Sales and Security.

Management described the working environment as ‘challenging’ (2) with customers originating from a

diverse geographical range including China, Hong Kong, the Americas, India, Europe and the Middle East.

Hotel management seeks to differentiate the hotel from competitors by ‘aiming to be in the top ten

hotels of Bangkok with consistent, high standards of service’ and by ‘giving each customer more than

they expect’ (3).

1.3 Medium of Collecting Data

Data was collected by personal interviews with:

Mr. Burath Mangalakiri. Resident and Training Manager.

Mr. Paul Philippou. Assistant Resident Manager.

Ms. Boonchaluay Jomdej Director of Sales (MICE)



1.4 Review of Stated Challenges

In the exploratory meeting on Friday 12th June, the below issues were stated by senior management as

areas that need attention in order for the hotel to improve its competitive position.

Staff unable to solve individual customer problems though inability to identify and clarify

customer expectations.

Staff unable to differentiate between customer opinions and real issues that, unsolved, would

result in the customer having a negative experience.

Staff not pro-actively engaging customers in an attempt to provide superior service.

Staff not being able to recognize how to manage individual customers.

Misunderstandings between staff and customers resulting in extra time and unnecessary

resources being employed to solve issues.

From analyzing the above examples, underlying causes could be mainly attributed to:

(i) English Language ability. With such a diverse customer base, English proficiency is

quintessential in addressing any and all issues relating to hospitality. Lack of English

language ability and clarifying skills in customer facing roles could be attributed to the vast

majority of easily avoidable issues.

(ii) Motivation to learn a foreign language. When there is no clear incentive tied to English

proficiency, the majority of employees feel little need to improve their skills, especially if

this is not clearly identified as a job requirement or a measurement of job performance.

(iii) Vision. Without a clear and structured vision that all employees can identify with, it is highly

unlikely that far reaching company goals can be met. Without incorporating vision into the

company culture and making it core to all employee activities, staff may lack direction and

remain unsure of behavior in terms of expectation.

With the prominence of Bangkok in terms of effectively positioning itself as a regional hub for ASEAN

business, coupled with the increasing number of Chinese who now choose to travel overseas

(5,6,7,8,9,10), the number of visitors to Bangkok reached 28.5 million in 2015 and continues to grow,

providing additional investment and opportunity for both the tourism and MICE market. However

increased opportunity brings steep competition with 4,857 additional rooms expected to enter the

Bangkok hotel market by 2016. The majority of new facilities are destined for Sukhumvit Road,

Windsor’s current playground (11). With the potential increase in number of hotels with modern

facilities and English speaking staff, unaddressed issues at Windsor Suites further reduces their

competitiveness. To expedite change, it is essential that Windsor differentiates on areas which are

easily addressable in order to improve the guest experience.

The issues seen at Windsor Suites fall very much into the category of Organizational Behavior due to the

fact that the issues related to fundamental strategic change address issues of personnel competencies

and behavior. In the hospitality and tourism industry, competency connects deeply with interpersonal

skills, responding to globalization and the increasingly diverse customer base and the need for changing

corporate culture and environment. To improve its competitive position, hotel management need to



control and direct a diverse workforce, assess employee job satisfaction and engagement, emotions and

attitudes, employee values, decision making capability and autonomy and job empowerment and staff

motivation.

2.0 The following recommendations have been made based on information received and analysis of

potential challenges.

2.1 Vision and Strategy

Lack of visible communicable vision could very much contribute for the large number of issues at

Windsor Suites. Not having a clear vision that all staff can understand and align to, can result in

ambiguous behavioral expectations, fragmented decision making, inequalities between departments

and the company being seen as directionless. As described previously, for Windsor Suites not to retain

its competitive advantage could result in loss of market share and brand equity as prospective guests

and intermediate agents turn to competitor facilities.

In order to successfully achieve the goal that Windsor has set for itself, to become one of the top ten

hotels in Bangkok, there needs to be standard setting to ensure that customers who stay in Windsor

Suites have a quality experience that matches or exceeds expectation. Therefore, the vision, and

mission statement need to be written in a language that all employees can understand. One course of

recommendation could be to explore and clearly define what the ‘Windsor Experience’ means. Upon all

employees understanding the message, each department would be instrumental in determining their

individual reason for creating value to the business and how they can define and drive the change in

expectation to meet the overreaching corporate vision. There is no evidence to show that allowing

employees to set their own goals results in less risk of non- achievement. However, an advantage of

participation in goal setting may be that it increases both acceptance and ownership of the goal and

greater understanding of purpose and importance.

The below case study (12) demonstrates that incorporating a strong vision statement can achieve

powerful sales results:

“According to Jay Witzel, CEO, Carlson Hotels Worldwide (CHW), the “journey of transformation” began

for Hotels in 1996, when they restructured the organization. Carlson Companies, Inc. had adopted a

long-term growth plan based on five strategic imperatives/attributes: To be customer focused, global,

knowledge-based, strategically-integrated and best in class. Their goal: to become the “most respected

private company on earth.”

Full Circle Group helped them think through and plan their strategy for execution, leading the executive

team through Mission, Vision and Values sessions and helping them identify their intended results, the

key behaviors driving results, operational alignment driving behaviors and leadership direction. Full

Circle Group’s Whole Systems Approach SM change management model provided the framework for

making decisions. CHW created a “road map for change” that served as a communication tool to engage

the hearts and minds of all employees and to increase understanding and deal with the natural



resistance to change and fear of losing jobs. In aligning Hotels with the corporate vision of One Carlson,

one of the most important concepts was “customer centricity”— thinking first and foremost about the

customer and what they are getting out of their experience with Carlson.

What were the direct results of their transformation efforts? In 2001, CHW’s overall operating margin

was 11%; in quarter 2 of 2004, it was 19.4%. In 2001, CHW’s franchised operations margin was 15% in

quarter 2 of 2004, it was 29.6%. In 2001, CHW’s managed and franchised operations combined

operations margin was 13.7%; in quarter 2 of 2004, it was 28.8%.”

Competitor visions, such as for Hilton Worldwide (13), Sofitel (14), Four Seasons (15) and Swissotel (16)

are clearly displayed on their homepages. Lack of prominent vision is noticeably missing from Windsor’s

homepage.

The management of staff to reach company headline goals through cascading of objectives down

through company divisions is well documented (17). However, as Windsor Suites would be undergoing

transition it might be well advised to put together a company dashboard to both show employees how

working towards their own objectives can enable the larger, company goal to be reached, and to raise

awareness of the increase in performance standards through openly tracking them (18). Dashboards

have been shown to be effective in enabling employees to track progress towards goals, and the

immediate feedback, generated from results or the task process itself, is more powerful than externally

generated feedback handed down from management.

There are many examples of dashboards in use. Author Patrick laPointe, in his book ‘Managing by the

Dashboard Light’ details an example by Hilton Hotels that includes measuring scores relating to mystery

shoppers, customer surveys and team member performance. Upon implementation of a company

dashboard in 2007, Oxford University Press, Japan, a company of 37 employees, built a ‘Dashboard

Room’ where monthly meetings were held, the latest publicity and products displayed and charts

showing divisional and individual progress to date, covered the walls (19). It must be noted that in this

case the initial Dashboard was not effective in the first instance as the language and concepts were too

technical to be understood by the majority of employees.

When goal setting, evidence strongly suggests that specific goals improve performance and that difficult

goals, when accepted by employees, lead to higher performance than do easy goals as they get

attention and help employees focus. In addition difficult goals have been shown to energize employees

as they have to work harder to attain them.

2.2 Mystery Shopper Strategy

Though enforcement of improved standards and behavior can be lead and managed though supervisors,

it is essential to check what the actual customer experience is and to assess if Windsor is consistent with

performance and customer experience targets. Lack of consistency can give a mixed message to

customers and lessen brand impact therefore it is highly recommended that a mystery shopper strategy

is incorporated to assess specific customer touch points. Mystery shopper strategies are employed at a



number of companies including British Waterways (20), Hilton Hotels and Seven Eleven (21). Activities

include assessing performance related to telephone and email enquiries, internet bookings and problem

solving skills.

In 2010, Home Depot's newly elected president, in an attempt to figure out the reason behind slumping

sales, decided to become a mystery shopper himself and shopped at various Home Depot's locations.

After visiting several locations and evaluating the stores on certain predefined criteria such as store

cleanliness, attentiveness of staff and transaction time he decided to make these following changes that

brought Home Depot back into profitability.

Get in, Get out (Lower transaction time)

Less stocking, More selling (No point in stocking more than you can sell)

Smaller is Better (Customers usually got lost in megalithic stores)

These changes that were incorporated, although minor, would eventually bring Home Depot back in the

game and increase efficiency (40).

2.3 Gamification

Identified previously were areas of motivation related to English proficiency. As an absolute key area to

address in enabling Windsor Suites to move closer to its vision, employees need to feel instrictly

motivated to become proficient in English. Taking into context the region Windsor is operating in, Thai

employees have been shown to be very status conscious (22). Individual visual measures could trigger

intrinsic motivation as employees feel peer pressure and drive to achieve. One method is to award

recognition badges to employees for successful completion of English program, similar to the concept

employed at MacDonald’s Corporation. Please see more details below as quoted from mcdonalds.co.uk:

The stars represent four different modules of training: Quality, Service, Cleanliness, and Operational

Excellence. Our crew members work and train in various areas of the restaurant – they're the people you

see most, working behind the till and in the kitchens. They gain skills that are rewarded with the star

once a level of clear understanding and application has been reached.

Having all four stars demonstrates a competent knowledge in all areas of the restaurant operations, such

as operating a till, preparing products, working in the dining areas and hygiene and safety knowledge.

The stars displayed on each employee's uniform reflect their progress through our internal training

scheme. We also offer all our employees the chance to gain nationally-recognized qualifications while

they're working with us, so many of the crew members you see will also be studying towards

an apprenticeship or for maths and English qualifications

Everett Clinic in Washington State uses a combination of initiatives to recognize employees. Managers

give out “Hero Grams” and “Caught in the Act” cards to colleagues for exceptional accomplishments at

work and employees can ‘cash in’ cards to enter price draws to receive prizes (32).

Another example where gamification has worked in boosting motivation and employee engagement is

at T-Mobile (41). The rapid evolution of mobile devices makes the jobs of customer service

http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/whatmakesmcdonalds/articles/apprenticeship.html



representatives at T-Mobile extremely challenging. Reps must be deeply engaged with the company and

the product line just to keep up. In an effort to drive exceptional customer service, T-Mobile completely

redesigned its "T-Community" social business environment — a peer-to-peer collaboration tool that

helps customer service and in-store reps quickly and efficiently respond to customer queries. The key

challenges identified are below:

Ensuring knowledge sharing and collaboration within the customer service community

Keeping service reps apprised of rapidly changing products and complex mobile technology

Providing exceptional service in an industry where quality and speed has a severe impact on

customer loyalty

In 2013, T-Mobile incorporated gamification from Bunchball within their employee collaboration

platform as part of the initiative to continuously improve service levels. They handed out badges and

tokens that symbolized achievements and or courses/games completed. The results included 96%

increase in participation, 583% increase in contributions, 31% improvement in customer satisfaction

scores and month-on-month improvement of call resolution rates and customer satisfaction scores

2.4 Strategic use of Human Capital

In the exploratory meeting, the Assistant Residential Manager gave an example about how a simple

misunderstanding can lead to a bad customer experience. In particular, one example focused on how

staff are able to change customers perceptions though pro-active interaction, therefore mitigating

potential issues and problems. Should staff not be able to improve performance to meet this

requirement the hotel will lose customers as competitor hotels employ more competent staff.

Though it is understood that, given the available labor pool and benefits available, costs must be tightly

controlled, it is recommended that Windsor strategically employee staff with a high standard of English

ability at all key customer touch-points. This will include Front Office, service staff in restaurants,

recreational areas, front lobby and major phone operations, for example, housekeeping and enquiries.

This strategy ensures that company vision cascades down to the whole organization and initially

improves the customer experience where it is most impactful.

We can look at how companies are paying particular attention to the matching of skills to key customer touch-points looking at HEI Hotels & Resorts who own and operate more than 40 upscale properties throughout the US under brands like Marriott, Hilton, Westin, Le Méridien and Sheraton (23). With an expanding portfolio of properties under its management, and unique staffing needs at each of those properties, HEI needed to reach more quality candidates, including people from outside of the hospitality industry.

"Internal advancement is a priority at HEI and our goal is to fill the majority of our positions from within," said Anne Nguyen, Manager of Talent Acquisition at HEI Hotels & Resorts. "But we also need to continue to attract exceptional people externally." Nguyen also states, “Quality of hire is important to us. You only get that if you have an ample volume of great candidates to choose from…”



HEI sponsored its jobs on Indeed.com to source hires for numerous job types in multiple locations, all from a single recruitment source. "Indeed is just as effective at delivering applicants for our corporate sales positions as it is for our housekeeping positions," Nguyen said.

HEI also wanted to recruit relevant candidates from outside the hospitality industry. "Many of the people who may be a great fit for our jobs don't have a background in hospitality and won't think to visit niche industry job sites," Nguyen said. " The reach of Indeed and its publisher network ensured that HEI's jobs were seen by the most relevant candidates across the Web. "Quality of hire is important to us.

HEI received more applicants and hires from Indeed than any other external recruitment source and reduced its recruitment costs dramatically. "Rather than being locked into a one size fits all advertising contract, Indeed lets us allocate budget to specific titles and markets as needed," Nguyen said. "This flexibility is especially beneficial for hard-to-fill positions."

Using a professional recruitment company called Indeed, HEI recruited 52% of its employees based on the specific skill sets that the roles required. Employing the right kind of capital in the right position helped HEI increase its efficiency, productivity and also assisted in aligning the employees with its larger vision.

2.5 Training for Skills

Senior management of Windsor Suites have taken initiatives to address gaps in employee skills through

the incorporation of training sessions and workshops. Topics include English language training, resolving

customer issues, ‘service mind’ training and instructions on how to solve specific problems, as these

problems will most likely re-occur (2). Though informal on-the-job training is effective in allowing

management to share their experiences and expectation with employees, the opportunity cost of not

outsourcing more structured training, particularly English language training may be high when the most

effective use of senior management time and resources is considered.

To explore what a tailored course to Windsor could consist of, Marco A. Brazil, the founder and

executive training director of the Institute of English Teaching to Children (IETC) and associate of

International Teacher Development Institute (iTDi) was asked to propose a program specifically for the

employees of Windsor Suites (See Appendix I). Marco, who holds a Master's degree in Child Psychology

and a degree in Development Communication, has been teaching children and training teachers in Japan

for over 18 years.

Marco’s philosophy is that learning and teaching English should be fun and relaxed for both non-native

learners and non-native teachers and shares a similar methodology to David Paul, author of Teaching

English to Children in Asia, who believes in utilizing cognitive psychological approaches to learning,

essentially, encouraging students to ‘fill in the gaps’ and take a more proactive approach to working out

the language problems themselves.

The objective of the training program is to replicate working conditions but to set the scene so that

students challenge themselves and practice in a ‘safe environment’. Students should be encouraged to



go beyond their comfort zone and pro-activity work to understand the ‘building blocks’ of language

through role plays, simulations, information gap activities and communicative games. Equally important

are clarifying tools enabling students to proactively manage discussions to limit miscommunication,

clarify exact issues and causes, and build and add to the skills they have learnt.

Language not used, is quickly forgotten, as can be seen by Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve (24). Therefore,

wherever possible, employees should use English in meetings, conversations with management and

during work activities. Language ability should also be tested during yearly performance evaluation. In

addition, to set expectation and demonstrate the high standard of English language used at Windsor

Suites, the English written on the Windsor Suites webpage, menus, signs, instructions and forms should

be checked by a native English speaker for quality and substandard English removed and corrected. To

aid communication, where possible, information, such as menus, should show the appropriate

photographs or visuals.

2.6 Staff Selection and ‘Fit’

From discussions with Windsor Suites management about the need for employees to step up and ‘close

the gap’ it would be necessary to address the issue of employee role and fit. Until an effective

assessment and hiring procedure is in place, it is likely that, even with training, challenges with some

employees will remain to the detriment of departmental goals and company vision.

In hiring, an effective interview will replicate the role itself and assess employees for attitude, skills and

‘fit’. In order for an effective evaluation to take place, it is recommended that the below areas be

assessed for all open positions in the recruitment process.

(i) Role specific technical or specialist skills

Performance simulations can test for a number of core competencies that are required for the job.

Austin Merritt, COO of Software Advice, uses role plays to replicate a sales call for software analyst

candidates and mentions that role plays are “very effective in hiring” (25). Retail giant Marks and

Spencer implement role plays in candidate interviews, especially for customer service and customer

facing roles (26). It is common practice for chefs to prepare dishes as part of the interview process.

In simulations, employers can not only score individual candidates equally in terms of their

performance in the role plays, they also give opportunity to assess the quality of the post-simulation

conversation and evaluate the candidate’s attitude to acceptance of feedback and potential level of

‘coach-ability’.

English language ability tests may also be incorporated through involvement in role plays or through

the setting or acknowledgement of the results of standardized tests. The TOEIC® test is popular in

Japan for setting minimum language requirements for candidates (27). Someone applying for the

position of legal manager, would need a score of >800 (28) where a score of 735 would suffice for a

project manager position at NTT Corporation (29).

(ii) Interpersonal skills



It is recommended that Windsor Suites pay particular attention to employee and candidate

interpersonal skills for two reasons. Firstly, a recent survey of hundreds of workplaces and more

than 200,000 respondents, showed the social relationships among co-workers and supervisors were

strongly connected to overall job satisfaction in addition to lower stress and lower intentions to

leave the position (30). Secondly, in order to overcome many of the challenges highlighted in 1.4,

interpersonal skills play a key part in resolving real and perceived issues and negating potential

issues with customers. People who know and control their own emotions are good at reading

emotional cues in others and can capitalize on this to handle social interactions. Therefore, as

several studies show that Emotional Intelligence (EI) plays a key role in job performance (31), it is

recommended that Windsor Suites utilize the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test

(MSCEIT) or the Emotional and social Competency Inventory – (ESCI) by Hay Group for key customer

facing roles. Alternatively, Windsor may prefer to produce an in-house test to cover the five

essential components that make up emotional intelligence; empathy, social skill, self-awareness,

self-regulation, and motivation.

(iii) Problem solving skills

With the environment at Winsdor suites being described as ‘challenging’ (2), it is important that

staff are capable of making effective decisions to improve the guest experience. One study using

fMRI technology found that MBA students who performed best on strategic decision making tasks

were more likely to incorporate emotion centres of the brain into their choice process (28) and one

simulation study showed that students who were able to identify and distinguish among their own

feelings were able to make more profitable investment decisions. Therefore, as stated in (ii) above,

it is recommended that candidates are tested appropriately in IE for key customer facing roles.

In order for recruitment to be conducted effectively, it is recommended that all job descriptions and

hiring documentation are assessed and possibly revised to align with the vision and goals of the hotel.

2.7 Field Trips

Field trips can be effective and are recommended for the below reasons (33). Field trips can:

Attract employees to become part of learning that would not otherwise become involved.

Allow opportunities for sharing different perspectives and views on important topics.

Increase knowledge and broader understanding of the industry.

Help organizations create loyalty and loyalty and improve performance.

Provide opportunity to apply previous knowledge, opportunity to be involved physically with

real situations and view real examples

Allow employees to get deep understanding and ability to recall experience and information

later as needed.

For Windsor Suites to become one of the top ten hotels in Bangkok, it is important that employees

understand the competitive environment they are working in. In an industry such as the one Windsor is

operating in, competition is fierce. Companies are forever introducing and implementing new measures



to improve customer experiences. Also there is a flip side to this, as when there is a greater degree of

service offered, an even greater degree is expected by the customer. In order for Windsor to remain

competitive in its service offering, it needs to find out what its strengths and weaknesses are and where

it can needs to focus on to improve.

An audit of the internal strengths and weakness of the company can be done internally, but for

assessment of competitiveness, and standard of service in the industry, it needs to look at its

competitors.

Of particular value could be:

(i) Visits to Competitors

To enable employees to experience firsthand the standards and expectations set by Windsor Suites

management and establish benchmarks themselves, visits to key competitor hotels to understand

the use of English, level, speed and quality of service and attentiveness of staff are recommended.

(ii) Corporate events

To attract participants, corporate events and seminars hold workshops in which industry experts from

all over the world share their experiences and present relevant techniques. For select employees to

participate in the Food and Hotel Thailand Festival, the 2015 Global Hospitality, Tourism Marketing

& Management Conference and the 16th Hospitality Industry Congress will enable management and staff

to both gain a greater understanding of the competitive environment and develop ideas in how the

business can be further improved.

2.8 Employee Tools

To reduce misunderstanding and to expedite problem solving capabilities, it is recommended that

employees be given reference tools that contain both language and other useful information. Barclays

Bank Plc has replaced the traditional cashier system with personal banking machines and created

‘community bankers’, free roaming branch staff who utilize ipads to solve the more complex customer

problems (34). Sales staff in Dune London, the popular shoe retailer, utilize ipads in conversations with

customers to check stock, sizes and pricing information. Many restaurants, such as Heng Bao Plaza in

Guangzhou, China, have replaced traditional paper menus with ipads allowing customers to browse, see

photographs of the food and translations in their own language (35).

A less expensive alternative is to provide housekeepers, who are often working alone, with small

handbooks containing key vocabulary with pictures, simple conversations and answers to frequently

asked questions and sample answers. For instance a housekeeping handbook should have a picture of a

hair dryer along with its translation in English, Chinese and Thai to create better understanding and to

enable the staff to remember easily.

In common rooms and staff cafeterias, management can provide access to books, videos, handbooks

and e-learning materials to encourage and enable learning for staff.



Using the handbook from AB&B resources as an example (37), the handbook gives tips to solving guest

problems as shown below:

“Our Guest*Pride Mission is “Building Relationships That Last”. It begins with two steps to controlling a

guest’s perception and their goals: Selling Image and Selling Attitude. It continues with five steps to a

successful guest encounter:

Rapport – Get the guest to like you

Discovery – Discover the guest’s general needs

Anticipate – Anticipate the guest’s special needs

Solution – Create the right solution

Act – Take personal responsibility and immediate action”

2.9 Supervisors to lead by example

“Great Workplaces Arise From Great Leaders” (38)

To sustain change in employee behavior, the leaders or supervisors in housekeeping, front office and

food and beverage divisions are recommend to build an encouraging atmosphere by talking in English,

greeting staff in English, and initiate this culture throughout the department. It is the responsibility of

the superior to become the change that they want to see in their employees.

It is important that department heads believe in the change and display the required energy and

enthusiasm to drive the change required in employees. As a role model the success of the project very

much depends on the ability of supervisors to lead their subordinates effectively.

So it the duty of Windsor Suites to direct their managers of specific departments to take responsibility

for the success of this program and incorporate a culture that enables and motivates employees to

adopt English as a medium of communication. We can look to Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs as

an example when he emerged from medical leave to introduce the second generation of ipad (39).

2.10 Fun Events

It is well document that people learn more effectively when they are relaxed. Creating a fun working

environment and implementing learning techniques can enable employees to internalize new content

quickly. For this reason it is recommended Windsor Suites organize fun events which lead to new

learning experience for staff incorporating activities such as role plays, painting competitions, watching

English movies and speech competitions.

When TD Bank decided to prioritize employee engagement around its environmental program,

management launched an internal initiative called Green Pledge to raise awareness of all employees and

encourage them to engage in discrete sustainability activities (42). TD Bank introduced the spirit of

friendly competition by implementing visual dashboards that enabled branches to compare their

performance and provided toolkits describing how easy it is to make an impact. Only a year after

launching the program, over 12,500 employees (almost 50%) had committed to reducing their CO2 and



paper usage as part of The Green Pledge. “By participating in environmental programs through their

work, employees gained awareness which will spread into their personal lives and communities as well,”

says Diana Glassman, head of TD Environment for the US operations of TD Bank Group.”

3M held a sustainability power pitch across the company that challenged employees to pitch their best

idea for a sustainable product to a panel of judges and fellow employees (43). To provide motivation,

the employee with the winning idea was offered a research grant to bring the product to life.

“Employees, especially younger ones, want to feel that their contributions are respected,” says 3M’s

Heather Phansey. “If you show them that, you’ll be surprised by the novel ideas people are capable of.”

As a final example, at Patagonia, employees have the opportunity to take leave from the company up to

two months to work full-time at an environmental nonprofit, with continued salary and benefits.

Patagonia’s Lisa Myers is quoted as saying, “By empowering employees to take time off to contribute to

an environmental issue they care about, they return more passionate, connected and committed to our

company’s environmental mission. An employee who’s had the opportunity to stretch will pay off in

leaps and bounds.”

3. Conclusion

To address the key challenges identified in 1.4, it is recommended that Windsor Suites prioritize

establishing a corporate vision, clear to both management and staff, that can be shared both externally,

with potential customers, and internally, with employees. Divisional objectives, established by middle

management and supervisors, are subsequently agreed with employees to ensure all work processes

and standards align with the vision. For the vision to be sustainable, managers and supervisors must

‘become the change they want to see’, and take ownership of qualities and standards that need to be

represented throughout the business. Employees can be focused on achieving measurable goals and

real-time feedback provided through the incorporation of a company-wide Dashboard.

Required Industry standards can be researched though field trips to competitor hotels and industry

conferences, which also provide opportunities for training and increased employee motivation. In

addition, mystery shopper strategies can provide feedback on actual performance versus expectation.

Strategic placement of employees in key roles, that align with skills and expectation, is encouraged to

ensure a high standard of service is employed at key touch points. Training is key, especially English

language competency, and a number of strategies have been recommended to both sustain and

improve competency, such as the use of gamification methods, and to provide a proactive learning

environment through the introduction of initiatives, incentives and competition. Tools, such as the

implementation of ipads and pocket manuals have also been suggested to provide support for staff and

to negate miscommunication with customers.



Appendix I – English Language Training Program

Course Title: How May I Help You In English [email protected]

Learning a second language – English for that matter, requires constant and exclusive use of English

language and direct association of perception and thought with the sound of English and speech.

The means of attaining this end are:

the teaching of concrete concepts by visual demonstration through fun activities and dramatization,

the teaching of abstract concepts by association of ideas,

the teaching of grammar by means of examples and analogy.

From the first lesson the student hears and speaks only the language he wishes to learn. What cannot be

taught by means of demonstration and dramatization is made clear in accordance with the

mathematical principle which reveals the value of the unknown X through its relation to the known

quantities A and B. This is the basis of the “building block” approach, which is central to this English

program.

How May I Help You in English is designed for the beginner student of English to be used in connection

with face to face instruction in a live classroom. The objective of the program is to build practical

conversational fluency in the shortest possible time.

The program is divided into 12 Units. As the student progresses through the program impromptu role-

playing of scenes and situations related to his/her job are done at random.

The Program (Six out of twelve units will be discussed here)

Unit 1

Objective. Employees are able to activity engage with customers and recognize feelings.

(Dialogue) Hello Sir/ Mam

(Text) My name is .. / May I have your name please?

Exercise 1 Welcome to Thailand.

Exercise 2 How may I help you?

(Dialogue) How do you do?

Exercise 3 Feelings

Unit 2

Objective. Employees are able to approach customers and respond effectively to service requests (i).



(Dialogue) Coffee, Please!

Exercise 4 This/that Here/there

Exercise 5 What/which

Unit 3

Objective. Employees are able to approach customers and respond effectively to service requests (ii).

(Dialogue) Cream and Sugar?

Exercise 6 Me/ you/ him/ her

Exercise 7 only little/ only a few

Unit 4

Objective. Employees are able to manage telephone conversations

(Dialogue) Telephone

Exercise 8 What number is it?

Exercise 9 My/ yours/ his/ her

Exercise 10 Clarifying language ‘Can you speak more slowly/ repeat that please/ say that in a different

way”

Unit 5

Objective. Employees are able to approach customers and respond effectively to service requests (iii).

(Dialogue) May I help you?

Exercise 11 Plural forms

Exercise 12 These/those

Unit 6

Objective. Employees are able to approach customers and respond effectively to service requests (iv).

(Dialogue) How many, please?

Exercise 13 Opposites

Exercise 14 They/ their/them

Exercise 15 We/ our/us



Teaching Methodology

The activities and games in this course are communicative games, that is, the emphasis is on successful

communication rather than on correctness of grammar point. Each activity is written within a specific

functional area and based on:

Information gap principle, in these activities Student A has access to some information which is not

held by Student B. Student B must acquire this information to complete a task successfully. The

games may be played in pairs or small groups, where all members of the group have some

information.

Guessing games, players with the information deliberately withholds it, while others guess what it

might be.

Search games, involving the whole class, in these games everyone in the class has one piece of

information. Players must obtain all or some information available to fill in a questionnaire or to

solve a problem. Each student is thus simultaneously a giver and a collector of information.

Matching games, these games are based on a different principle, but also involve transfer of

information. These games involve matching identical pairs of cards or pictures, and may be played

as a whole class activity, where everyone must circulate until they find a partner with the same card

or picture; or as a pair work or small group activity, where players must choose pictures or cards

from a selection to match those chosen by their partner from the same selection.

Matching-up games are based on a jigsaw principle. Each player in a group has a list of opinions,

preferences or possibilities. Only one of these is shared by everyone in the group. Through

discussion the group must decide on a common preference, in order to agree on something.

Exchanging and collecting games are based on the ‘barter’ principle. Players have certain articles or

cards which they are willing to exchange for others in order to complete a set. This may be played as

whole class activity, where players circulate freely, exchanging cards or articles at random, where

players agree to collect certain set of articles as a group and then exchange articles between groups.

Combining activities are those in which the players must act on certain information in order to

arrange themselves in groups such as families or people living in the same building.

All the above activities may include elements of puzzle-solving, role-play, or simulation. Players are given

name and some characteristics of a fictive character. However, these are not role-playing in the true

sense, as the role-play element is always subordinate to the game for the purposes of language use. It is

an indispensable element in those games requiring an exchange of personal information, or social

interaction.

Simulation Activities

The imitation in the classroom of a total situation, where the classroom of a total situation, where the

classroom becomes a front-desk, a coffee shop, a restaurant, a shop, or a hall are also used in the

program, particularly in those games which practice interaction between the individual and services

such as managers, staffs, costumers, tourists, etc. These activities are simulation-games rather than true



simulations since the outcome is ‘closed’; students have a specific task or series of tasks to complete

within the context of the simulation.

There are three main types of activity in this program: pair work, involving two partners; small group

work, involving groups of four or six; and the whole class activities, where everyone moves freely around

the room. All these activities require some flexibility in the construction of groups and organization of

the classroom. Activities are best set up, by demonstration rather than lengthy explanation. The

instructor/teacher would explain briefly the game involves, hand out the photocopied cards, giving the

students a little while to study them, and then demonstrate the activity with one of the students in front

of the class. It will be found that the idea of the game is probably easier for students to grasps from

seeing how the game played than from verbal explanation.

The teacher’s role in these activities is that of monitor and resource center, moving from group to

group, listening, supplying any necessary language, noting errors, but not interrupting or correcting as

this impedes fluency and spoils the fun atmosphere. The inclusion of games as an integral part of the

program provides an opportunity for intensive language practice, offers a context in which language is

used meaningfully and as a means to an end. One of the most important reasons for using games is

simply that they are immensely enjoyable for both teacher and student.

References

1. Quote. Sales Director. Exploratory Meeting (12th June)

2. Quote. Assistant Resident Manager. Exploratory Meeting (12th June)

3. Quote. Assistant Resident Manager. Exploratory Meeting (12th June)

4. Organizational Behavior 16E (Robbins, Judge) 2015. Page 353.

5. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/441057/haier-picks-thailand-as-asean-hub

6. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/300729/us-parts-supplier-makes-thailand-its-

asean-hub

7. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thailand-showcased-on-world-stage-as-mice-

education-hub-of-asean-300101226.html

8. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tourism/538195/tat-in-drive-to-attract-wealthy-

chinese

9. Thailand Business Newshttp://www.tatnews.org/thailand-organising-road-shows-to-draw-

more-visitors-from-china/

10. http://skift.com/2015/01/27/chinese-tourists-spent-a-record-165-billion-abroad-last-year/

11. Jll.co.th

12. https://fcg-global.com/case-studies/carlson-hotels/

13. http://www.hiltonworldwide.com/about/mission/

14. http://www.accorhotels-group.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/sofitel.html

15. http://www.fourseasons.com/about_four_seasons/

16. http://www.swissotel.com/about-swissotel/


18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashboard_(business)

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/441057/haier-picks-thailand-as-asean-hub

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/300729/us-parts-supplier-makes-thailand-its-asean-hub

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/300729/us-parts-supplier-makes-thailand-its-asean-hub

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thailand-showcased-on-world-stage-as-mice-education-hub-of-asean-300101226.html

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thailand-showcased-on-world-stage-as-mice-education-hub-of-asean-300101226.html

https://fcg-global.com/case-studies/carlson-hotels/

http://www.hiltonworldwide.com/about/mission/

http://www.accorhotels-group.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/sofitel.html

http://www.fourseasons.com/about_four_seasons/

http://www.swissotel.com/about-swissotel/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashboard_(business)



19. Author’s own experience. Julian Warden. Sales Manager, Oxford University Press, Japan

2007-9.

20. British Waterways Mystery shopper

21. Seven Eleven Mystery Shopper

22. Working with the Thais. Holmes/ Tangtontavy. 2003. Page 26

23. http://www.indeed.com/hire/case-study/hei

24. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgetting_curve

25. http://new-talent-times.softwareadvice.com/role-playing-during-interviews-0513/

26. http://careers.marksandspencer.com/

27. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2009/08/18/issues/toeic-where-does-the-money-

go

28. http://th.jobsdb.com/th/en/job/legal-manager-for-japanese-firm-300003000952656

29. https://www.nttdata-gsl.co.jp/en/recruit/



32. L. Shepherd, “Special Reports on Rewards and Recognition: Getting Personal, “Workforce

Management (September 2010), pp. 24-29.

33. http://www.sierracollege.edu/ejournals/jscnhm/v4n1/importance.html

34. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/15/barclays_roving_community_bankers_with_ipad

s/

35. http://www.dunelondon.com/

36. http://www.chinahush.com/2011/04/28/using-ipad-as-menu-to-order-food-restaurant-

becomes-hot-topic/

37. http://www.abshr.psu.edu/abshr/Resources/Hospitality-Services-Employee-Handbook.cfm

38. http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/09/12/great-workplaces-arise-from-

great-leaders/

39. http://fortune.com/2011/05/09/inside-apple/

40. https://hbr.org/2011/11/office-depots-president-mystery-shopping-turnaround

41. http://www.bunchball.com/customers/t-mobile-success-story

42. https://netimpact.org/research-and-publications/td-bank-where-going-green-is-going-viral

43. http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/employee_engagement/liz-

maw/advance-sustainability-go-beyond-traditional-employee-eng

http://www.indeed.com/hire/case-study/hei

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgetting_curve

http://new-talent-times.softwareadvice.com/role-playing-during-interviews-0513/

http://careers.marksandspencer.com/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2009/08/18/issues/toeic-where-does-the-money-go

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2009/08/18/issues/toeic-where-does-the-money-go

http://th.jobsdb.com/th/en/job/legal-manager-for-japanese-firm-300003000952656

http://www.sierracollege.edu/ejournals/jscnhm/v4n1/importance.html

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/15/barclays_roving_community_bankers_with_ipads/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/15/barclays_roving_community_bankers_with_ipads/

http://www.dunelondon.com/

http://www.chinahush.com/2011/04/28/using-ipad-as-menu-to-order-food-restaurant-becomes-hot-topic/

http://www.chinahush.com/2011/04/28/using-ipad-as-menu-to-order-food-restaurant-becomes-hot-topic/

http://www.abshr.psu.edu/abshr/Resources/Hospitality-Services-Employee-Handbook.cfm

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/09/12/great-workplaces-arise-from-great-leaders/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/09/12/great-workplaces-arise-from-great-leaders/

http://fortune.com/2011/05/09/inside-apple/

http://www.bunchball.com/customers/t-mobile-success-story

https://netimpact.org/research-and-publications/td-bank-where-going-green-is-going-viral

http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/employee_engagement/liz-maw/advance-sustainability-go-beyond-traditional-employee-eng

http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/employee_engagement/liz-maw/advance-sustainability-go-beyond-traditional-employee-eng

Documents

OB Deliverable. V8. Windsor Suites Hotel. Version 8. Vivek Adhikari Admed Kamal Julian Warden