Abstract
Total quality management is a concept that has come to gain a lot of popularity in the hotel and hospitality industry today. The helm of total quality management is the elicitation of loyalty and cooperation by the employees. This is mostly the case as the organization pursues through education, empowerment and relationship which reward positively between the staff and the subordinates.
The hotel total quality management program should synchronize with how it appeals for it to have a positive impact on business. The resourcefulness of the employees should be put into consideration and the corporate program should be spared from lip service and actions put into consideration (Anand, et al. 2010, 308).
Ensuring the implementation of effective practices of quality management is one major way through which both service and manufacturing industries can be able to gain competitive advantage. Quality is defined as the extent to which services; products, relationships and processes are free from all kinds of constraints, defects as well as the various items which may act as a hindrance to customer satisfaction (Pryor, White, and Toombs, 1998).
Discussion
This paper is an examination of quality management, performance and human resource in the Hotel industry in the UK. The paper lays a lot of weight on 4 stars hotels in London and the impact that TQM has had on its performance.
Using research methods and data collection techniques, it has been ascertained performance of a business and its human resource department depends upon the business strategies being pursued by hotels (Balnaves, and Caputi, 2001). This should go in line with focus on quality management within the set strategies for best performance of the business.
Total quality management in hotels (Armstrong, 2001).
Total quality management is a managerial approach that lays focus on quality as the most important success factor. In quality management in any industry, there should be focus on the customer, teamwork and a need to base important decisions on data and where necessary make use of scientific approach (Crosby, 1979).
In the hospitality industry, quality is one of the greatest success factors. According to Mill (1986, 42), the main aim of quality in service is satisfaction to the customer. In the recent past, most hotel organizations have neglected measurement issues and improvement of processes with much focus being directed to training and also the selection of the front line staff.
The main objective of this industry is to ensure that the customers are satisfied with the services being offered, that the customers are retained and that there is profit generation. This mainly influenced by the fact that the services being offered are intangible and therefore making it very challenging for the service providers to ensure that they provide 100 percent quality (Cua, et al, 2001).
The implementation of TQM in the hotel industries today has had many positive impacts not just on the hotels, but on the consumers as well.
These impacts include gaining competitive advantage, enhancing the satisfaction of staff members, promoting effective management leadership, improving the quality of services provided, cost reduction, empowering staff members and improving their level of commitment, promotion of teamwork and communication among the employees, enhancing consumer satisfaction and loyalty, enhancing the sustainability of the hotels as well as promoting profit increase (Ahire, S. L. 1997, 100).
One example of a four stars hotel that has adopted service quality which is a typical case of total quality, management is the Mayfair Crest Hotel which is located in Brisbane, Queensland. The management style in the hotel according to is typically defined on the mission that was defined in the company’s objectives; “The Spirit of the Mayfair Crest is Serving You”.
In the observance of this mission statement by the hotel management and the employees in general, all the departments in the hotel were required to conceptualize the mission statement. After this task, all the employees in the hotel were required to define what the statement meant to them (Wheelen, 2008). This is a factor that brought together all the involved stakeholders in the hotel to come to a common decision which helped in the development of teamwork.
For total quality management to be successful, teamwork has to be embraced. This brings out one key positive impact of TQM whereby through the implementation of TQM the four star hotels in London are able to promote cultural as well as attitudinal changes through its creation of the culture of team work and active participation of all staff members ion all levels of decision making and implementation processes (Beaver, 2003).
Total Quality Management works towards continuously improving each and every course of work starting with the process of making necessary decisions, formulation of strategic plans up to the plan implementation process .
The general rule within this system is that the industries can hinder the occurrence of various faults and erroneous mistakes (Goetsch & Stanley, 1995). Through TQM, improved outcomes at the industries have continuously been attained in every course of their work due to the continued improvement in the people, potentials, processes and even technological abilities.
It is through the implementation of TQM that London four star hotels will be able to enhance service quality that includes the consumer in its transactions. Through this the hotels are able to maintain a balance between the consumer’s expectations and the perceptions they had over the provided services (Seaver, 2003).
The various components that make up service quality as perceived by the consumers include courtesy and empathy from the service providers, tangibility or the physical environment and quality of materials used for the provision of services, responsiveness to the needs of the consumer as well as the reliability of service provision.
These measures give an indication of the targets that need to be achieved in addition to defining the consumer’s expectations that in turn helps in identifying the aims that need to be achieved to ensure that these expectations are met (Yin, 2008).
In order to achieve quality, four star London hotels have had to systematically plan and implement an efficient as well as effective quality management system (Hall, 1987). This systematic approach call for objectives, goals and policies to be defined, for staff members to actively participate in raising ideas and making workable decisions, implementation as well as effective monitoring and evaluation. In doing this the hotels are able to united work together with an aim of achieving the set goal and objectives (Pfeifer, 2002).
In its bid to assess how well consumers had access to information, the management at Sheraton Brisbane Hotel and Towers found the need to ensure that there is effective communication between the guests and the staff members as well as management. In addition to these findings was the need for service industries to ensure that they identify correct measuring techniques that will help in eradicating any form of difficulties (Roney, 2004).
Effective implementation of any quality management system requires that a continuous process of monitoring is undertaken and that evaluation is also done. Monitoring involves the assessment of the progress of the implementation process and identifying if the process is being undertaken as planned (Juran, 1988a).
Through evaluation, any mistakes, problems and loopholes are identified and corrective or control measures put in place. This in turn ensures that the process is cost effective and the system is successfully implemented to meet the set objectives and goals (Glaesser, 2006).
It is through Total Quality management that four star hotels in London have been able to gain competitive advantages through the role it plays in making these industries understand the existing completion and in turn put up strategies through which they will get ahead of their competitors (Hoyle, 2007). Through its ability to help industries clearly understand the concept of consumer satisfaction and the improvement of market, TQM provides an insight on the various ways through which the hotels can beat the competition (Juran, 1988b).
Promotion of sustainable quality management requires that constant reviews be performed to ensure that any necessary changes are done to suit the current situation and time and to be able to effectively meet arising challenges that keep changing. The process of review ensures that up to date strategies and measures to deal with the most current challenges or problems are developed and that they are appropriately applied to ensure success and continuous effective functioning of the system (Hoerl, 2001, 392).
Conclusion
Quality service provision in the service industries require that effective systems of management are implemented and workable strategies put in place. Total Quality Management is one such system. From the above discussion, it is evident that Total Quality management plays a huge role in enhancing productivity within the London four star hotels.
The main focus in this system of management involves the promotion of customer and employee satisfaction as being the key to the provision of quality services and the maintenance of a loyal consumer base. This in turn helps in increasing profitability, creation of competitive advantage as well as enhancing sustainability of the industries (Lindsay and Evans, 1999).
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