According to Trundle (2008), managerial controls in the hotel industry are critical especially in firms that have delegated duties to its members of staff (p. 23). Rudy and Diane are proud owners of a fifteen-roomed lodge located outside the Yellowstone National Park. The lodge has the capacity of accommodating forty guests together with their families. During weekdays, the lodge serves continental breakfast, and on weekends, guests have the pleasure of enjoying full breakfast. The busy season runs between May and September, although the lodge remains open until Thanksgiving (Trundle, 2008, p.25).
The staff members include housekeepers, front-desk personnel and groundskeepers who pride in providing effective services to clients. The firm is considering expanding, and an opportunity for buying a nearby property, which presents space to construct twenty extra rooms, is in the offing. Additional staff will be required to serve the extra rooms, and this implies that the current members of staff require additional time to train new recruits (Vinten, 2004, p.5).
Rudy and Diane can employ the concept of fast forward by bringing in a new accountant, who will be responsible of cross-checking the lodge’s finances before they actually make a move to invest in the new venture. At the same time, the financial officer will be required to determine the amount of funds required, its source, and how it is going the affect the lodge’s cash flow. The owners should conduct a feasibility study to establish if the project is feasible, and how it will be connected to the business that is already running.
The fast forward approach, just as the preventive control, will allow Diane and Rudy to implement successfully the expansion program without major setbacks once they get started. The planning process should take precedence over other activities, and it should incorporate measures to ensure smooth transition and that current operations are not affected (Lafontaine & Shaw, 2001, p.9).
Equipping the restaurant with qualified staff is a factor that should be highly prioritized and budgetary allocation should take training into consideration (Tucker, p.47). Such a venture requires that they employ additional personnel to oversee the new business. Trainers will require additional funds and time, which should be catered for in the budget. Funds for buying the property should be allocated, as well as those for building and outfitting the twenty rooms. This will include kitchen, restaurant, bar and dining rooms that form part of the overall budget. Having an understanding of customers’ needs will ensure that money is put into good use (Williams, 2008, p.34).
According to Bauer and Yamey, marketing controls should be aimed at growing the sales of both the new and existing business (Bauer & Yamey, 2009, p.11). While Conrad may wish to continue attracting new customers to the lodge that is already operating, it may employ multiple approaches to also attract customers to the new venture. They will introduce the new venture as a Conrad’s extension for purposes of retaining and attracting more customers.
The new venture plans to introduce services that Conrad did provide in the past, and this will enhance its competitive advantage and attractiveness. Having noted that the new extension will provide services that Conrad did not provide in the past, it will be easier to increase market share of the lodge. However, caution must be taken when aggressive strategies are employed because it is easier for any organization to make promises that it cannot meet (Gilad, 2004, p.67).
References
Bauer, P. T., & Yamey, B. S. (2009). Markets, market control and marketing reform; selected papers. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Gilad, B. (2004). Early warning using competitive intelligence to anticipate market shifts, control risk, and create powerful strategies. New York, NY: American Management Association.
Lafontaine, F., & Shaw, K. L. (2001). Targeting managerial control: evidence from franchising. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Trundle, G. T. (2008). Managerial control of business. New York: J. Wiley.
Tucker, S. A. (2001). Successful managerial control by ratio-analysis. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Vinten, G. (2004). Achieving managerial control. Bradford, England: Emerald Group Pub..
Williams, S. (2010). The Financial Times guide to business start up 2011 (24th ed.). Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.