A Critical Evaluation of How the Development of Effective Teams Can Improve Organizational Effectiveness at the Junction Hotel

1. A Critical Evaluation of How the Development of
Effective Teams Can Improve Organizational
Effectiveness at the Junction Hotel

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Junction Hotel, once an example of excellent service standards, customer satisfaction and business
performance is struggling to keep up with its service delivery which is impacting the financial
performance of the company and the management is looking to improve its seriously falling standards.
The approach that this report takes is evaluating how understanding and evaluating basics of
organizational effectiveness can help the company get back on track with its performance issues and how
this is can be achieved with the development of strong and effective teams. A comprehensive review of
recent trends and available literature shows is that there is a direct connection between team based service
models and its ability to impact effectiveness of the organization. The challenges of service delivery
delays, inconsistency, technology limitations and poorly motivated employees can be resolved by taking a
team based approach to management. Recommendations include evaluating training and development
opportunities for employees that will solve issues such as poor communication lack of technical
knowhow, creating delivery standards and performance metrics that are customer centric to evaluate
performance. Collaboration in all these efforts can help achieve the organizational efficiency that Junction
Hotel is in need of.
INTRODUCTION
The hotel industry is a pure service based industry providing services like lodging, event planning, dining
etc. to its customers. The end goal of any business in this industry is to provide exceptional services to the
customers by creating a welcoming and friendly environment where customers want to keep coming
back. Organizational effectiveness is the management concept that explains how effective the business
organization is in achieving the outcomes or goals of the business. Junction Hotel, once at the pinnacle of
world class service, is today struggling with service challenges that are currently impacting the
organization’s ability to effectively stay competitive and this is also affective the company’s financial
performance. As identified during a mystery shopping experience, services provided to the customers are
slow, cumbersome, and inefficient and this is being witnessed across the board and not just in one team in
particular. There are various approaches and models of management that can be put in place to rectify the
situation, one of which is teamwork. Teamwork is known to foster creativity and strength, promotes a
sense of ownership, and builds on synergy and trust, all of which can help in solving the challenges in
customer service and performance faced by Junction Hotel. This report is aimed at understand the
challenges in organizational effectiveness that are being faced by Junction Hotel management and
employees and identify opportunities and propose recommendations for improvement through teamwork.
ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

3. The term ‘organizational effectiveness’ refers to the extent to which an organization achieves its pre-
determined goals with the given resources (Kondalkar 2013) Businesses today operate in a dynamic and
competitive landscape that always keeps changing. Technology and globalization has made the
management and leadership of business organizations focus on creating differentiation in their products
and services to stay agile in the industry. The effectiveness of an organization therefore is related to
directly related to the level of technology, knowledge of the employees, financial strengths, diversity in
skills, employee and customer satisfaction, quality control techniques etc. Technological advancements in
particular have become a major driver in business change and adaptability. However improvements in
performance do not happen in a vacuum or isolation. Despite heavy investments in technology and
systems infrastructure, there is a need for strong and effective teams to manage different functions. In the
context of the hotel industry, which is primarily service based and not product based, while it is important
for organizations in the hospitality industry to set up technical systems and design appropriate workflows
so that employees have appropriate resources to serve the customers and ensure their satisfaction, it is
critical to also focus on the development of teams that can work together to achieve common goals of the
business. The introduction of a team based concept to achieve organizational effectiveness can be used to
ensure that instead of individual and unit accountability, there is a team accountability to satisfy and
delight the customers. Holbeche (2016) proposes that such approach to organizational effectiveness
makes the management help the mean members experience happiness, team members help the customers
achieve happiness, the customers help the investors achieve happiness, some of which is invested back
into the business to ensure sustainability.
TEAM APPROACH TO ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Collaborative efforts create synergy that is used to achieve business goals and objectives more efficiency.
It allows for the whole team to work together on creating avenues for customer satisfaction and delight. In
the hospitality industry, there is no product or goods that the customer can base their feedback or
satisfaction on. It all depends on the level of customer service provided to the customers. With this tunnel
vision goal, businesses in the hospitality industry can create a unified approach to design their business
where all teams and departments work together in alignment and as one single team instead of separate
teams and departments. Even though functions of each personnel in the service delivery chain may be
different, exceptional service models create opportunities for them all to work towards shared objectives.
The end goal for everyone is to delight the customer at the end of the day.
Most businesses operating in this landscape follow a vertical team structure. A Vertical team that is set up
with functional verticals or departments is usually split based on the tasks, functions and skills of each

4. department. There are other organizational structural models like vertical or virtual or a hybrid approach
which could be a combination of any of these. It is important however to understand that in order to
achieve a high service performance, regardless of the organizational structure and team set up,
organizations need to focus on knowledge sharing behaviors and promote team culture (Hu, Horng and
Sun 2009). Research also shows that there are positive outcomes of a team approach within service
industry where consensus within service teams has incremental value in service recovery performance
(Jong and De Ruyter 2004). Spreitzer, Cohen and Ledford (1999) theorize that while leadership in teams
is not important for service teams’ effectiveness, the involvement of the employees, context, appropriate
work design and teach characteristics and dynamics have far reaching positive impact on service delivery.
Thus the development of effective teams can lead to improved organizational effectiveness because it
allows for a better decision making through collaboration of ideas. It also allows for the defining of roles
and responsibilities within the team to be developed in a way that impacts organizational effectiveness.
Designing of the work flow process, the quality of interaction between different service providers at
interim points within the service chain can ensure that the focus stays on customer satisfaction and
delight. Working as a team will also make it possible for the service team to solve challenges of Junction
hotel to pick up lag in case of service delays, integrate technology – human interaction and different
service venues to provide consistent service to the client as well as helping each other work more
effectively and efficiently. Development activities in such a situation need to consider the following:
1. Emphasis on team and organization mission, vision, values and company culture
2. The assignment of tasks and responsibilities in service teams to encourage collaborate efforts
3. Common metrics and shared goals and objectives to assess employee performance
4. Focus on team and individual motivation to create effective teams
5. Strong employer-employee relationships
SERVICE CHALLENGES AT JUNCTION HOTEL
Service industry in the context of hotel management creates brand equity through stellar service based
models that focus on customer satisfaction and promote not only awareness towards the brand but also
generate brand loyalty aiding in word of mouth marketing (Kayaman and Aasli 2007). Hotels commonly
fall under the trap of price differentiation and wars, where in fact it is quality of service rather than price
that has become the key to a hotel’s ability to differentiate itself from its competitors and to gain customer
loyalty (Kandampully, and Suhartanto 2006). A review of the functions, processes, and service
deliverables of Junction Hotel has revealed the following challenges:

5. a) Service Delays
When there are issues in the service, hotels implement service recovery strategies to retain customer
confidence and business like free meals, assistance, compensation etc. which adds a financial burden on
the company (McDougall and Levesque 1998). Therefore it is imperative that service delays be
minimized.
b) Technology Challenges
Technology today plays a critical role in attracting and retaining customers. Technology enabled service
interactions play a key role in providing convenience and ease of use to the customers. Self-service
technologies (SSTs) are increasingly changing the way customers interact with firms to create service
outcome (Meuter et.al 2000).
c) Inconsistency in the delivery of service
Customers come to expect a certain level of consistency in the delivery of service. That is one of the perks
of living in a hotel where customer is aware of the all elements within the service offered. Any
inconsistency leads to unpredictability which leads to dissatisfied customers (Johnston 1995).
d) Lack of motivation
In an industry where service quality is important, like in the case of Junction Hotel, it is extremely
important that those who are responsible for the delivery of service and client interaction do so
effectively, and this implies that they need to be thoroughly motivated by the employer to do their job
better. Many things motivate the employees – opportunity for growth and development, achievement or
accomplishment, recognition, scope for creativity etc (Mok, Sparks and Kadampully 2013). Motivation
less or uninspired work is reflected in poor customer service and leads to customer satisfaction
challenges.
CONCLUSIONS
There is a clear relationship between organizational effectiveness which is the ability of the organization
to achieve its objectives and goals and the importance of teamwork in improving this effectiveness.
Collaborative efforts can lead to reduced inefficiency, fewer stoppages in the service delivery, clear
communication between service providers to provide uninterrupted and quality services. Junction hotel
can focus on developing efficient and effective teams to solve all of the challenges discussed above and
by establishing accountability and responsibility of these teams. Team based accountability measures

6. towards customer satisfaction metrics that cascade from and contribute to financial performance of the
business directly.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Evaluation of service delivery chain in different functions at Junction Hotel to put team based
measures and functions in place. This can allow for more opportunities to establish cross
functional training where employees, when needed can step up and help out in different roles and
responsibilities
2. Setting up team goals along with individual and performance goals. It is also recommended to
meet with teams on a regular basis to understand their unique challenges and invite ideas for
brainstorming to improve performance
3. Establishing customer focused metrics that need to be reviewed constantly. Soliciting feedback
for improvement from the customers regarding their experiences and analyzing pain points in
service
4. Investment in technology and systems to create uninterrupted service with the installation of self-
service technology so that customers never have to wait around for employees to be available.
This will not only bring back the balance in workloads for teams so they can focus on problems
that require their attention as well as improve the efficiency of the business. Junction Hotel will
have to plan for and invest in training opportunities as well so that employees can communicate
with the technology and systems seamlessly.
5. Leadership focus on team building and motivation to improve performance during crisis and
solve communication challenges. Motivated teams that can communicate effectively with each
other are set up for success already.
6. Training and development opportunities for all employees to enable complete understanding of
service basics to ensure they understand how consistency in service is important for positive
customer feedback and experience and how can this be achieved. This also includes functional
specific training for each department and functions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Holbeche, L. 2016. Influencing Organizational Effectiveness: A Critical Take on the HR
Contribution. Taylor and Francis.
2. Kondalkar, V.G. 2013. Organization Effectiveness and Change Management. PHI Learning.

7. 3. Kayaman, R. and Arasli, H., 2007. Customer based brand equity: evidence from the hotel
industry. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, 17(1), pp.92-109.
4. Kandampully, J. and Suhartanto, D., 2000. Customer loyalty in the hotel industry: the role of
customer satisfaction and image. International journal of contemporary hospitality management,
12(6), pp.346-351.
5. McDougall, G. and Levesque, T., 1998. The effectiveness of recovery strategies after service
failure: An experiment in the hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing,
5(2-3), pp.27-49.
6. Meuter, M.L., Ostrom, A.L., Roundtree, R.I. and Bitner, M.J., 2000. Self-service technologies:
understanding customer satisfaction with technology-based service encounters. Journal of
marketing, 64(3), pp.50-64.
7. Johnston, R., 1995. The determinants of service quality: satisfiers and dissatisfiers. International
journal of service industry management, 6(5), pp.53-71.
8. Mok, C., Sparks, B. and Kadampully, J. 2013. Service Quality Management in Hospitality,
Tourism and Leisure. Routledge.
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11. Spreitzer, G.M., Cohen, S.G. and Ledford Jr, G.E., 1999. Developing effective self-managing
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