Business Operations Management Research Paper
Order ID |
53563633773 |
Type |
Essay |
Writer Level |
Masters |
Style |
APA |
Sources/References |
4 |
Perfect Number of Pages to Order |
5-10 Pages |
Description/Paper Instructions
Business Operations Management Research Paper
After just 10 months of operation, Ryan Sawyer was proud of what he had accomplished managing the Apollo Hotel, but he knew that much work remained. The Apollo was owned by the Williams Cosmetic Company and was located in Kentucky. The hotel had originally been built to serve as housing for students who attended the Williams Cosmetology School and was converted to an 82-room hotel in September 2002 to serve the general public.
In addition to the hotel, the complex contained a manufacturing plant for personal care products and the corporate headquarters of the Williams Cosmetic Company. The Williams Cosmetic Company discontinued the operation of a cosmetology school and decided to concentrate on the manufacture and sale of cosmetics. The hotel was opened to use the existing building. When the hotel opened, there were very few guests, almost no staff, and a limited budget. The hotel had no brochure, Web site, or even a listing in the yellow pages.
Although Ryan had no previous hospitality industry experience, he was told to build the business and turn it into a profitable operation. Ryan held a bachelor’s degree in economics/business management from
Colorado State University. He had worked with a large regional bank and with JCPenney Company.
Marketing strategy Ryan decided that the hotel should be marketed to a wide spectrum of guests. Over the years Mr. and Mrs. Williams had met many people through their church and community work. These contacts proved useful in promoting the hotel. The Convention and Visitors Bureau also proved to be helpful and referred many guests.
Ryan contacted the Little League and secured contracts for teams to stay in the hotel by offering free lodging to referees on a double occupancy per room basis. To entice guests during the season, Ryan decided to offer three nights for the price of two if guests would make reservations two months prior to arrival and pay in advance. This proved to be moderately effective. A large electric utility company was offered very good rates to encourage their crews to stay at the hotel.
This resulted in many nights of occupancy. U.S. military personnel were also encouraged to stay at the hotel through very good rates. Ryan believed that with only 82 rooms, the best opportunity to fill beds was to contact organizations rather than attempt to market to individual travelers. The hotel seemed to be gaining a reputation as “value lodging” and had experienced 58 percent occupancy on average for the last four months.
Ryan observed that the company’s cosmetic items were not used or sold in the hotel even though they were manufactured on the grounds. This was corrected by placing Williams’ amenity products in the rooms and opening a gift shop in the hotel, which sold the company’s personal care products as well as other traditional gift shop items.
Personnel As a small, privately owned hotel not operating as a flag property, the management of Apollo could explore different operational strategies. As an example, front desk employees were paid a commission on business that they brought to the hotel. This encouraged front-desk people to continuously be aware of sales opportunities when someone called or dropped in.
It also encouraged them to “sell” the hotel to their friends and to organizations they knew such as churches, schools, and clubs. Ryan said that with commissions, front-desk employees averaged more income than their counterparts in other area hotels. Ryan believed that his primary responsibility was to “keep the lights on” by marketing the hotel and that operational decisions should be left to those responsible for the operational areas.
He held the belief that most people who desired personal growth and responsibility could learn the operational tasks and would find ways to do the job better without top-down micromanagement. He also believed that all employees should be cross-trained and willing temporarily to accept responsibilities outside the primary department. The maintenance man had once been asked to wear a suit and serve as bellboy during a heavy occupancy period.
This seemed to work well. All new employees were expected to learn how to clean rooms and make beds so they could help with that important area in crunch times. The number-one criterion for employment with Apollo was, “Are you willing to learn and willing to work?” Employees were also expected to constantly improve their professionalism.
When decisions were needed by management, department heads were expected to type up their proposal and present it in a professional manner. This forced the department heads to think through the proposal, take it seriously, and be prepared to defend it.
Chapter 9 1. What recommendations would you offer to Ryan to:
- Increase occupancy
- Improve REVPAR
- Improve operations
Chapter 10
- What would you do to further increase the level of personal responsibility that Ryan developed among employees?
- Do you believe that employees should be cross trained to do many tasks in a hotel? Does this alienate applicants who might otherwise be good employees?
Chapter 13
- Should Ryan hire an ad agency to help position and market the hotel? Explain your answer.
Business Operations Management Research Paper
RUBRIC
QUALITY OF RESPONSE |
NO RESPONSE |
POOR / UNSATISFACTORY |
SATISFACTORY |
GOOD |
EXCELLENT |
Content (worth a maximum of 50% of the total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
20 points out of 50: The essay illustrates poor understanding of the relevant material by failing to address or incorrectly addressing the relevant content; failing to identify or inaccurately explaining/defining key concepts/ideas; ignoring or incorrectly explaining key points/claims and the reasoning behind them; and/or incorrectly or inappropriately using terminology; and elements of the response are lacking. |
30 points out of 50: The essay illustrates a rudimentary understanding of the relevant material by mentioning but not full explaining the relevant content; identifying some of the key concepts/ideas though failing to fully or accurately explain many of them; using terminology, though sometimes inaccurately or inappropriately; and/or incorporating some key claims/points but failing to explain the reasoning behind them or doing so inaccurately. Elements of the required response may also be lacking. |
40 points out of 50: The essay illustrates solid understanding of the relevant material by correctly addressing most of the relevant content; identifying and explaining most of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology; explaining the reasoning behind most of the key points/claims; and/or where necessary or useful, substantiating some points with accurate examples. The answer is complete. |
50 points: The essay illustrates exemplary understanding of the relevant material by thoroughly and correctly addressing the relevant content; identifying and explaining all of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology explaining the reasoning behind key points/claims and substantiating, as necessary/useful, points with several accurate and illuminating examples. No aspects of the required answer are missing. |
Use of Sources (worth a maximum of 20% of the total points). |
Zero points: Student failed to include citations and/or references. Or the student failed to submit a final paper. |
5 out 20 points: Sources are seldom cited to support statements and/or format of citations are not recognizable as APA 6th Edition format. There are major errors in the formation of the references and citations. And/or there is a major reliance on highly questionable. The Student fails to provide an adequate synthesis of research collected for the paper. |
10 out 20 points: References to scholarly sources are occasionally given; many statements seem unsubstantiated. Frequent errors in APA 6th Edition format, leaving the reader confused about the source of the information. There are significant errors of the formation in the references and citations. And/or there is a significant use of highly questionable sources. |
15 out 20 points: Credible Scholarly sources are used effectively support claims and are, for the most part, clear and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition is used with only a few minor errors. There are minor errors in reference and/or citations. And/or there is some use of questionable sources. |
20 points: Credible scholarly sources are used to give compelling evidence to support claims and are clearly and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition format is used accurately and consistently. The student uses above the maximum required references in the development of the assignment. |
Grammar (worth maximum of 20% of total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
5 points out of 20: The paper does not communicate ideas/points clearly due to inappropriate use of terminology and vague language; thoughts and sentences are disjointed or incomprehensible; organization lacking; and/or numerous grammatical, spelling/punctuation errors |
10 points out 20: The paper is often unclear and difficult to follow due to some inappropriate terminology and/or vague language; ideas may be fragmented, wandering and/or repetitive; poor organization; and/or some grammatical, spelling, punctuation errors |
15 points out of 20: The paper is mostly clear as a result of appropriate use of terminology and minimal vagueness; no tangents and no repetition; fairly good organization; almost perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word usage. |
20 points: The paper is clear, concise, and a pleasure to read as a result of appropriate and precise use of terminology; total coherence of thoughts and presentation and logical organization; and the essay is error free. |
Structure of the Paper (worth 10% of total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
3 points out of 10: Student needs to develop better formatting skills. The paper omits significant structural elements required for and APA 6th edition paper. Formatting of the paper has major flaws. The paper does not conform to APA 6th edition requirements whatsoever. |
5 points out of 10: Appearance of final paper demonstrates the student’s limited ability to format the paper. There are significant errors in formatting and/or the total omission of major components of an APA 6th edition paper. They can include the omission of the cover page, abstract, and page numbers. Additionally the page has major formatting issues with spacing or paragraph formation. Font size might not conform to size requirements. The student also significantly writes too large or too short of and paper |
7 points out of 10: Research paper presents an above-average use of formatting skills. The paper has slight errors within the paper. This can include small errors or omissions with the cover page, abstract, page number, and headers. There could be also slight formatting issues with the document spacing or the font Additionally the paper might slightly exceed or undershoot the specific number of required written pages for the assignment. |
10 points: Student provides a high-caliber, formatted paper. This includes an APA 6th edition cover page, abstract, page number, headers and is double spaced in 12’ Times Roman Font. Additionally, the paper conforms to the specific number of required written pages and neither goes over or under the specified length of the paper. |
|
|
GET THIS PROJECT NOW BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK TO PLACE THE ORDER
Also, you can place the order at www.collegepaper.us/orders/ordernow / www.phdwriters.us/orders/ordernow
|
Do You Have Any Other Essay/Assignment/Class Project/Homework Related to this? Click Here Now [CLICK ME]and Have It Done by Our PhD Qualified Writers!! |
|
|
PLACE THE ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!