Abstract
Wits Beach Hotel is a luxury hotel located at the coastal town of Mombasa in Kenya. It offers a wide variety of services to the local and international customers. Like any other organization, the business is affected by the microeconomic and macroeconomic factors in this area. This essay analyzes some of these factors, with a discussion of their effects on the operation of the organization. The legal and regulatory forces and trends affecting the organization are not limited to the local setup. Besides, the international business environment also affects the organization. The essay also evaluates the economic, social, and environmental trends that are important to the organization. It establishes that Wits Beach Hotel has a poor response to change. The study further evaluates technology, culture, and leadership at the organization. The key finding is that the management encourages transformative leadership. Lastly, the study analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the organization.
Introduction
The paper provides a strategic plan for Wits Beach Hotel, which is a business enterprise that offers tourist services and accommodation in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa. The hotel is a family-owned business enterprise, with the intention of offering exclusive services to tourists and local travelers. The mission of Wits Beach Hotels is to be a market leader in the provision of catering services to international and local tourists. The hotel also offers up-to-date services besides serving the best excellent foods. It is important to analyze some of the local and international forces and trends influencing the operations of Wits Beach Hotel. Therefore, this essay is an assessment of the forces and trends acting in the business environment of Wits Beach Hotel.
Legal and Regulatory Forces and Trends
Businesses exist in an environment that is defined by laws and regulations, which affect their performance and competitiveness. The rules of the country where this business is situated together with the global laws governing its line of trade have a major effect on it. The international tourism society dictates the operations of the business, thus acting in conjunction with the local labor laws (Pearce, & Robinson, 2009). The legal trends in the tourism industry in Kenya and the international front will affect the business in several ways. The establishment of Wits Beach Hotel is a legal process. The customer base is also dependent on international and local laws.
The main laws that govern the hotel and catering industry in the country are favorable to the operations of Wits Beach Hotel. Tax exemptions for the provision of services are listed as crucial to the economic development of the country. The laws are also attractive to foreigners, with the ministry of tourism embarking on a campaign to lure the international tourists to the country. Wits Beach Hotel is one of the beneficiaries of this move by the ministry.
Economic Trends
The choice of Wits Beach Hotel being located in Kenya, especially in Mombasa has economic implications. The economy in this part of the world is heavily dependent on tourism. Measures are in place to ensure that the tourism sector remains vibrant. The economy will affect the business in that it will be dependent on the economic trends in the country. Some of the factors related to the economy that will affect the business include the inflation rate, the rate of unemployment, the exchange rates, and the strength of the local currency.
Tourism is heavily dependent on the strength of an economy to make a profit. Often, stronger economies have better tourism returns (Sinofsky, & Iansiti, 2009). The national economic planning will also affect the business, with the allocation to the tourism and hotels industry at the national level determining the success made in the industry. Another economic trend that will have significance in the operation of the hotel is the global performance of the tourism industry, especially in the years after the global financial crisis. The global economy is a key determinant of the performance of the local economies.
Environmental Trends
Wits Beach Hotel operates in an industry that is heavily dependent on environmental trends. Trends such as global warming and encroachment of parks and environmental degradation are a poor influence in the tourism sector, especially in the international tourism. In the present age of global warming, organizations are using carbon credits to reduce pollution in their environment. The age of global warming has allowed the institution of measures such as these carbon credits to ensure that pollution is mitigated. The business will only survive if the environment in which it operates is unpolluted since tourism in this area depends on the rich culture and natural environment.
Businesses need to ensure that they put strategies to preserve their environments. This principle has largely been accepted and applied in many parts of the world. Many organizations are currently marketing themselves as the custodians of the environment. As a result, technology firms have invented the green revolution (Pearce, & Robinson, 2009). At Wits Beach Hotel, the environmental trends are also being followed. The strategy is meant to market the organization as a leader in environmental conservation.
Social Trends
Corporate social responsibility is one of the most important aspects of any organization that allows its integration into the society (Thompson, Gamble, & Strickland, 2006). Through this strategy, any organization is able to create a strong workforce through recruitment of local staff and/or development of an organizational culture that is favorable to the organization. The tourism and catering industry is strongly dependent on the culture and tradition of local communities and their input in terms of labor (Thompson, Gamble, & Strickland, 2006). Wits Beach Hotel has devoted itself to the interaction with the local community and society in Kenya and the coastal city of Mombasa. The hotel has also recruited the local population in its operations, with most of the workers acting as tour guides in other areas of service delivery.
The tourism and catering sector is also changing with the social trends. As people engage in socializing on the internet, there is the need to capture this market. One way in which Wits Beach Hotel will achieve this goal is by establishing a presence in all the major social sites and/or operating official pages where it can market itself and attract more customers. The other social trends that the business will follow include the provision of special services and rates for different people, especially the local population. The hotel will also sponsor some of the cultural activities in the area in an attempt to improve its social rating while marketing itself at the same time.
Technological Trends
Technological trends are unavoidable in the information age. All organizations are in the process of adopting technology in their operations to ensure that they stay competitive (Sinofsky, & Iansiti, 2009). The trends that have been adopted in almost all organizations include the use of the internet and automation of the supply chain. E-commerce is a reality, with billions of dollars changing hands every month because of businesses being conducted through this platform. Electronic payment and marketing has intensified, with organizations forming departments that are dedicated to this trend only.
Wits Beach Hotel is also a leader in the use of technology. It has established a commanding presence on the internet. Online marketing is practiced in this hotel. Customers can access various services through the company’s website. Bookings are also made online, with customers getting a chance to select the various packages for the different needs. The hotel also has a department that is dedicated to the improvement of service delivery on the internet. Besides, the hotel also has an automated service delivery in its supply chain.
Culture
The culture of an organization can develop freely under the influence of employees and the working environment. However, this culture can be developed by the organization through inculcation of values that are beneficial to the organization. This beach hotel has set up measures to ensure that employees work towards the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. Examples of ways of attaining this dream include the scheduled team building retreats and trainings that are accorded to employees on a monthly basis. The culture in the location of the hotel is also an influence to the internal organizational operations.
Leadership
Leadership is central to the performance of any organization. A leader is credited with the success or failure of any institution. A leader uses his or her capability and training to ensure that the organization is well equipped with the necessary tools for success. Some of the trends in leadership that are currently being followed include the adoption of transformative leadership, with leaders in the path of implementing measures that are aimed at achieving transformation in organizations. Transformative leaders are able to lead their organizations towards achieving the goals and objectives with limited resources and labor. They are also able to plan and ensure that the frameworks developed are implemented and followed in the organization.
At the Wits Beach Hotel, leadership is an important component. Leadership training is done on a regular basis to ensure departments and other levels of the organization have effective leadership. Leaders are also trained on how to mentor and motivate the staff beneath them. Transformative leadership as practiced in the organization is aimed at inculcating the values of the organization into every employee to ensure that he or she contributes positively to the organizational goals.
Adapting to Change
Wits Beach Hotel is situated in a constantly changing sector. Seasonal trends in the hotel bookings are dependent on the weather and seasons in the year. The constant changes demand that organizations operating in this sector adapt them fast to maintain a constant operating environment. Over the years, Wits Beach Hotel has not been able to adapt to such changes. Massive losses have been experienced during the low seasons in the industry. However, some of the measures put in place include special rates for the local population to attract it during the low seasons to cover for the deficit.
Supply Chain
The supply chain for Wits Beach Hotel is simple. It applies technology from suppliers to the end consumers of the goods and services. The main goods that are delivered from suppliers to the organization are fresh products, which are locally available, with some of them being procured from the international market. The company makes the procurements using automated methods. Goods are replaced instantaneously once they are out of stock. The supply chain is effective for this organization, with the most successful part being the inventory management.
SWOT Analysis
An analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization allows room for the development of organizational goals and objectives (Thompson, Gamble, & Strickland, 2006). These issues are discussed in the table below in the form of a SWOT analysis for the organization.
Conclusion
Several microeconomic and macroeconomic factors affect Wits Beach Hotel. Some of them have been discussed above. The study has also discussed the legal, environmental, economic, and social trends affecting this organization. Transformative leadership is practiced in the organization. An analysis shows an inadequate response to change in the business.
Reference List
Pearce, A., & Robinson, B. (2009). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Sinofsky, S., & Iansiti, M. (2009). One Strategy: Organization, Planning, and Decision Making. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Thompson, A., Gamble, E., & Strickland, J. (2006). Strategy: Winning in the marketplace: Core Concepts, Analytical Tools, Cases. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.