Background. "One of the Ten Best New Inns"

Transcription

1 THE PLAZA INN David Bart, General Manager of the Plaza Inn, had just finished reading a letter from Jean Dumas, President of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux, a French hotel association of which the Plaza Inn was a member. In the formal and polite tone of the French language, the president stated that the last inspection had determined that the service levels of the Plaza Inn did not measure up to the Relais & Chateaux standards. Moreover, the letter noted that the Front Desk and Reservations, two critical guest contact departments, received the worst ratings among all of the Relais and Chateaux member properties. The letter concluded that unless the management of the Plaza Inn could submit a plan for guest service improvement and pass the next inspection scheduled in six months, the Relais and Chateaux would "regrettably be forced to withhold the Plaza Inn's membership." Background "One of the Ten Best New Inns" Located within walking distance of the Country Club Plaza and the Crown Center districts of Kansas City, the Plaza Inn is a 50-room hotel modeled after the boutique hotels of Europe. The Inn's intimate atmosphere and unobtrusive service attract business and leisure travelers alike. Built in the 1920s in the classic Victorian style and meticulously renovated in 1985, the Inn occupies a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Guest rooms are decorated in the best country manner with antique furnishings and oriental rugs discretely coupled with the most modern leisure and business amenities. Luxurious terry cloth robes and marbled baths, for examples, awaited the weary guest. The Plaza Inn also boasts two gourmet restaurants: the romantic, nationally acclaimed St. Jacques with an award-winning wine list, and the more casual Andre's bar and bistro. In addition to its overnight guests, the restaurants have an established local clientele. Nostalgia prompted Andre Bertrand and Tim Boyle, two successful Kansas City entrepreneurs and real estate developers, to purchase the Plaza Inn in They entered into a partnership with Antoine Fluri, a Swiss hotelier who soon assumed the position of the Inn's general manager. In addition to the three general partners the Inn is owned by approximately 20 limited partners. Under the charismatic direction of Antoine Fluri, the Inn quickly established a national reputation. In 1987, Travel magazine voted the Plaza Inn among the "ten best new inns." A loyal clientele included such famous people as former French President Valery Giscard D'Estaing, Senator Danforth, and Susan Sontag, to name a few. Antoine Fluri also negotiated the Inn's membership in the prestigious, world-renowned Relais and Chateaux association. The existing hotels in the immediate area: a Marriott, a Holiday Inn, and a Hilton gave the Plaza Inn virtually no competition for the upscale traveler. Despite the success of the Inn, in early 1989 Antoine Fluri sold his share to the remaining two partners and left the Inn citing, "irreconcilable differences" as the reason. A year later, he opened his own restaurant in the Country Club Plaza District. To continue to promote the European image of the Inn, the owners hired a French couple from Normandy, Marc and Nicole Duval, to replace Antoine Fluri. However, the Duvals soon proved to lack Knowledge about European hospitality practices as well as Management expertices. They abused their position and power, and within a short time succeded in alienating many of the Inn clientele and most of its staff. Under their man-

2 THE PLAZA INN David Bart, General Manager of the Plaza Inn, had just finished reading a letter from Jean Dumas, President of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux, a French hotel association of which the Plaza Inn was a member. In the formal and polite tone of the French language, the president stated that the last inspection had determined that the service levels of the Plaza Inn did not measure up to the Relais & Chateaux standards. Moreover, the letter noted that the Front Desk and Reservations, two critical guest contact departments, received the worst ratings among all of the Relais and Chateaux member properties. The letter concluded that unless the management of the Plaza Inn could submit a plan for guest service improvement and pass the next inspection scheduled in six months, the Relais and Chateaux would "regrettably be forced to withhold the Plaza Inn's membership." Background "One of the Ten Best New Inns" Located within walking distance of the Country Club Plaza and the Crown Center districts of Kansas City, the Plaza Inn is a 50-room hotel modeled after the boutique hotels of Europe. The Inn's intimate atmosphere and unobtrusive service attract business and leisure travelers alike. Built in the 1920s in the classic Victorian style and meticulously renovated in 1985, the Inn occupies a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Guest rooms are decorated in the best country manner with antique furnishings and oriental rugs discretely coupled with the most modern leisure and business amenities. Luxurious terry cloth robes and marbled baths, for examples, awaited the weary guest. The Plaza Inn also boasts two gourmet restaurants: the romantic, nationally acclaimed St. Jacques with an award winning wine list, and the more casual Andre's bar and bistro. In addition to its overnight guests, the restaurants have an established local clientele. Nostalgia prompted Andre Bertrand and Tim Boyle, two successful Kansas City entrepreneurs and real estate developers, to purchase the Plaza Inn in They entered into a partnership with Antoine Fluri, a Swiss hotelier who soon assumed the position of the Inn's general manager. In addition to the three general partners the Inn is owned by approximately 20 limited partners. Under the charismatic direction of Antoine Fluri, the Inn quickly established a. national reputation. In 1987, Travel magazine voted the Plaza Inn among the "ten best new inns." A loyal clientele included such famous people as former French President Valery Giscard D'Estaing, Senator Danforth, and Susan Sontag, to name a few. Antoine Fluri also negotiated the Inn's membership in the prestigious, world-renowned Relais and Chateaux association. The existing hotels in the immediate area: a Marriott, a Holiday Inn, and a Hilton gave the Plaza Inn virtually no competition for the upscale traveler. Despite the success of thé Inn, in early 1989 Antoine Fluri sold his share to the remaining two partners and left the Inn citing, "irreconcilable differences" as the reason. A year later, he opened his own restaurant in the Country Club Plaza District.. To continue to promote the European image of the Inn, the owners hired a French couple from Normandy, Marc and Nicole Duval, to replace Antoine Fluri. However, the Duvals soon proved to lack knnurlp,1rp about European hospitality practices as well as Management expertices. They abused their position and power, and within a short time succeded in alienating many of the Inn clientele and most of its staff. Under their man-

3 Part 3 Organizational Structure and Design agement, the Inn rapidly incurred heavy financial losses. Alarmed by the practices of the Duvals, the owners looked for new management for the Inn. In December 1989, David Bart was hired as the new general manager. A native of Missouri, he had a solid hotel management background in the middle west, most recently including several years as controller at the headquarters of a large chain hotel. As David Bart assumed the direction of the Inn in early 1990, he faced several challenges, including steadily declining hotel occupancy and revenues. Many of the regular clientele complained that the Inn had not been the same since Antoine Fluri left. Moreover, contrary to optimistic expectations, the Inn was also losing business to a 300room, upscale Ritz-Carlton hotel which had just opened a few blocks down the street, and was offering introductory room rates as low as $75. Finally, toward the end of 1990 demand also declined as a national recession began to set in. Given the poor performance of the hotel, David Bart immediately proceeded to cut costs, which included the elimination of several staff positions. In the Food and Beverage Department (F&B), two of the three restaurant managers were eliminated. St. Jacques and Andre's were to be run by the F&B director with the assistance of only one restaurant manager. In the Rooms Department, Bart eliminated the position of PBX operator, and transferred the responsibility of answering the phone directly to the front desk. Finally, the front office manager position was eliminated, and the front desk staff came under the supervision of the sales manager. Thus, the Inn began to operate with a lean management and staff group. All operating departments, with the exception of F&B, were headed by one person and with no administrative support. Even Bart himself did not retain a secretary. The end of David Bart's first year at the Plaza Inn was marked by the outbreak of the Gulf War. During the first quarter of 1990, occupancy hit an all time low of just 40%. However, business finally began to pick up in April. This increase in demand was especially hard for the front desk. The reception area, consisting of an elegant antique concierge-type desk, was too small to be staffed by more than one person at a time. Consequently, only one front desk receptionist was scheduled per shift. With Do PBX operator and no secretarial staff, this meant that the front desk receptionist was responsible for not only providing.guest service,,but also for answering the telephone, taking messages for the management staff, and booking room and restaurant reservations. Moreover, the sales office was not connected to the computerized Property Management System (PMS), and consequently the sales and catering managers relied on the front desk to check availability and block and update group reservations. Similarly, the housekeeping department was not computerized, and the front desk was charged with the preparation of housekeeping room assignments each morning and evening as well as with the tracking and updating of room status in the PMS. Bart believed that the front desk should perform a central function in the operation of the Inn. Rather than computerize the housekeeping, sales and catering departments, and train the managers to utilize the PMS, Bart preferred the front desk to oversee those activities. This, he believed, allowed for greater consistency and control. ' With only one person scheduled per shift, the front desk receptionist had to juggle the telephone, coordinate department activities, and take care of guest needs in the personalized Manner that was the trademark of the Inn. On busy days, guests checking in or out were interrupted by the ringing telephone, or alternatively, callers were put on hold for lengthy periods of timer while the front desk receptionist helped a guest. The inability to efficiently expedite phone calls and respond to guest needs became worrisome not only from a perspective, but also from a potential revenue loss standpoint. Room reservation calls usually hung up if they remained on hold for more than two minutes.- Moreover, under the pressure to answer the phone and help a guest at

4 104 Part 3 Organizational Structure and Design ' agement, the Inn rapidly incurred heavy financial losses. Alarmed by the practices of the Duvals, the owners looked for new management for the Inn. In December 1989, David Bart was hired as the new general manager. A native of Missouri, he had a solid hotel management background in the middle west, most recently including several years as controller at the headquarters of a large chain hotel. As David Bart assumed the direction of the Inn in early 1990, he faced several challenges, including steadily declining hotel occupancy and revenues. Many of the regular clientele complained that the Inn had not been the same since Antoine Fluri left. Moreover, contrary to optimistic expectations, the Inn' was also losing business to a 300room, upscale Ritz-Canton hotel which had just opened a few blocks down the street, and was offering introductory room rates as low as $75. Finally, toward the end of 1990 demand also declined as a national recession began to set in. Given the poor performance of the hotel, David Bart immediately proceeded to cut costs, which included the elimination of several staff positions. In the Food and Beverage Department (F&B), two of the three restaurant managers were eliminated. St. Jacques and Andre's were to be run by the F&B director with the assistance of only one restaurant manager. In the Rooms Department, Bart eliminated the position of PBX operator, and transferred the responsibility of answering the phone directly to the front desk. Finally, the front office manager position was eliminated, and the front desk staff came under the supervision of the sales manager. Thus, the Inn began to operate with a lean management and staff group. All operating departments, with the exception of F&B, were headed by one person and with no administrative support. Even Bart himself did not retain a secretary. e Front :Sk The end of David Bart's first year at the Plaza Inn was marked by the outbreak of the Gulf War. During the first quarter of 1990, occupancy hit an all time low of just 40%. However business finally began to pick up in April. This increase in demand was especially hart for the front desk. The reception area, consisting of an elegant antique concierge-type desk, was too small to be staffed by more than one person at a time. Consequently, on] one front desk receptionist was scheduled per shift. With no PBX operator and no secretarial staff, this meant that the front desk receptionist was responsible for not only pro viding guest service, but also for answering the telephone, taking messages for the management staff, and booking room and restaurant reservations. Moreover, the sales office was not connected to the computerized Property Management System (PMS), and consequently the sales and catering managers relied on the front desk to check availability and block and update group reservations. Similarly, the housekeeping department was not computerized, and the front desk was charged with the preparation of housekeeping room assignments each morning and evening as well as with the tracking and updating of room status in the PMS. Bart believed that the front desk should perform a central function in the operation of the Inn. Rather than computerize the housekeeping, sales and catering departments, and train the managers to utilize the PMS, Bart preferred the front desk to oversee those activities. This, he believed, allowed for greater consistency and control., With only one person scheduled per shift, the front desk receptionist had to juggle the telephone, coordinate department activities, and take care of guest needs in the personalized manner that was the trademark of the Inn On busy days, guests checking in or out were rudely interrupted by the ringing telephone or alternatively, callers were put on hold for lengthy periods of time while the front desk receptionist helped a guest. The inability to efficiently expedite phone calls and respond to guest needs became worrisome not only from a guest, service perspective, but also from a potential revenue loss standpoint. Room reservation calls usually hung up if they remained on hold for more than two minutes:-moreover, under the pressure to answer the phone and help a guest at

5 Case I 1 The Plaza Inn the same time, the front desk receptionists frequently underquoted rates, mixed up arrival dates and booked rooms on sold out nights. Cancellation requests were not handled correctly with the consequence that some guests were billed for reservations that-they had canceled. One of the front desk receptionists commented: "It's extremely difficult to make a room sale when I constantly have to ask the customer to hold because I'm trying to pick up the other five lines that are ringing. What is more important: making a $130 room reservation for two nights or taking a message for one of the managers?" Reinstatement of the Front Office Manager The New PBX Position Lost revenues and customer complaints about front office service finally convinced David Bart of the need to reinstate the position of the front office manager. A manager` was needed to monitor the rooms inventory and ensure that no revenues were lost due to un canceled reservations and unreleased room blocks, to coordinate activities between the departments, and to train the front office staff consisting of front desk receptionists and valets/bellhops. However, to minimize costs, Bart decided that the front office manager would also work three shifts per week at the front desk as a receptionist. In February 1991, Bart offered the position of front office manager to Ms. Claire Ruiz, who had been working as a front desk receptionist since The promotion worked out well. Claire knew the job thoroughly and was genuinely interested in hotel management. She was able to effectively combine her managerial duties with the three shifts at the front desk. Cooperation between the departments soon increased significantly. Claire believed that the Inn would never be able to afford the specialized and extensive front office staff of a larger hotel, and thus its ability to deliver high quality customer service depended on mutual cooperation between all employees. Consequently, when things got busy, she had the front desk ask other departments for support. For example, if the switchboard was busy, reservation calls were transferred from the front desk to accounting or sales. Even the general manager himself got called on to help the valets park cars or assist guests with luggage although he clearly preferred being in his office going over reports and records. While other managers were willing to help out, they also had their own duties to tend to and weren't always available. Since occupancy remained strong, Claire convinced the general manager to reinstate the PBX position. However, Claire's idea was to have the PBX operator function as an extension of the front desk. A PBX station was set up in an unoccupied reception area in the lobby, and with the exception of checking guests in and out, the PBX operator performed the same duties and was compensated at the same rate of pay as the front desk receptionist. This additional support allowed the front desk to provide more efficient and gracious service to the Inn's guests, and improve their room selling ability. Despite the continuing recession and competition from the Ritz-Canton, 1991 proved to be a year of record high occupancy and revenues for the Plaza Inn. In August 1992, Claire left the Plaza Inn to pursue a graduate degree in hotel management at an eastern university. David Bart believed that the situation at the front desk was under control, and did not plan to fill the vacant position of front office manager. The front desk staff once again would be indirectly supervised by the sales manager. It wasn't long, however, before the same problems Claire had worked so hard to resolve cropped up again. With the start of the school year, the front desk staff were no longer as flexible in terms of scheduling, and the school, and guest service began to suffer again. One day, for example, David Bart discover that a recently hired front desk receptionist frequently told clients that the hotel was sold was sold out because she too to take a reservation.

6 Case I 1 The Plaza Inn 105 v the same time, the front desk receptionists frequently underquoted rates, mixed up arrival dates and booked rooms -on sold out nights. Cancellation requests were not handled correctly with the consequence that some guests were billed for reservations that they had canceled. One of the front desk receptionists commented: "It's extremely difficult to make a room sale when I constantly have to ask the customer to hold because I'm trying to pick up the other five lines that are ringing. What is more important: making a $130 room reservation for two nights or taking a message for one of the managers?" Reinstatement of the Front Office Manager Lost revenues and customer complaints about front office service finally convinced David Bart of the need to reinstate the position of the front office manager. A manager was needed to monitor the rooms inventory and ensure that no revenues were 1ósá due to un canceled reservations and unreleased room blocks, to coordinate activities between the de partments, and to train the front office staff consisting of front desk receptionists and valets/bellhops. However, to minimize costs, Bart decided that the front office manager would also work three shifts per week at the front desk as a receptionist. In February 1991, Bart offered the position of front office manager to Ms. Claire Ruiz, who had been working as a front desk receptionist since The promotion worked out well. Claire knew the job thoroughly and was genuinely interested in hotel management. She was able to effectively combine her managerial duties with the three shifts at the front desk. Cooperation between the departments soon increased significantly. Claire believed that the Inn would never be able to afford the specialized and extensive front office staff of a larger hotel, and thus its ability to deliver high quality customer service depended on. mutual cooperation between all employees. Consequently, when things got busy, she had the front desk ask other departments for support. For example, if the switchboard was busy, reservation calls were transferred from the front desk to accounting or sales. Even the general manager himself got called on to help the valets park cars or assist guests with luggage although he clearly preferred being in his office going over reports and records. The New PBX Position While other managers were willing to help out, they also had their own duties to tend to and weren't always available. Since occupancy remained strong, Claire convinced the general manager to reinstate the PBX position. However, Claire's idea was to have the PBX operator function as an extension of the front desk. A PBX station was set up in an unoccupied reception area in the lobby, and with the exception of checking guests in and out, the PBX operator performed the same duties and was compensated at the same rate of pay as the front desk receptionist. This additional support allowed the front desk to pro vide more efficient and gracious service to the Inn's guests, and improve their room sell ing ability. Despite the continuing recession and competition from the Ritz-Carlton, 1991 proved to be a year of record high occupancy and revenues for the Plaza Inn. In August 1992, Claire left the Plaza Inn to pursue a graduate degree in hotel man agement at an eastern university. David Bart believed that the situation at the front desk was under control, and did not plan to fill the vacant position of front office manager. The front desk staff once again would be indirectly supervised by the sales manager. It wasn't long, however, before the same problems Claire had worked so hard to re solve cropped up again. With the start of the school year, the front desk staff were no It wasn't long, however, before the same problems Claire had worked so hard to resolve cropped up again. With the start of the school year, the front desk staff were no longer as flexible in terms of scheduling, and the school, and guest service began to suffer again. One day, for example, David Bart discover that a recently hired front desk receptionist frequently told clients that the hotel was sold was sold out because she too to take a reservation.

7 106 Part 3 Organizational Structure and Design 1 Bart believed that there was no one at the front desk capable of being promoted to the position of front office manager. However, he also thought that it would be difficult to hire an outsider who would be willing to work the three shifts at the front desk for the modest salary he was willing to offer (most managers at the Plaza Inn were paid $5,000 to $7,000 less than other Kansas City hotels). Thus, Bart was relieved to learn that Laura Dunbar, who had previously worked at the Plaza Inn as a front desk receptionist, was interested in the position. v Front In addition to her experience at the Plaza Inn, Laura had worked as a concierge at one of the convention hotels in downtown Kansas City for several years. She had left the Plaza Inn for a secretarial position that offered more pay than the front desk position at the Inn. However, she missed the excitement and pace of the hospitality industry, and accepted the front office manager position in December 1992 with enthusiasm. Despite her extensive connections with other Kansas City hotels, as well as the Kansas City Concierge Association, Laura soon found that one of her biggest challenges was the hiring and retaining of the front desk staff. The difficulty of hiring qualified employees forced Laura to work. more than three shifts at the front desk. This left her with little time for planning and managing the front office operation. Short-staffed, she sometimes found herself working as much as 30 days in a row without a day off. In addition, the PBX position had not been filled on a regular basis for several months. Laura noticed that the front desk receptionists were not very attentive to the guests and were unable to meet guest expectation of a personalized, concierge-type service. Guest comment cards frequently included negative observations regarding front desk service; in fact, one guest commented that it seemed to him that the front desk receptionists "Were responsible for doing every thing with the exception of bartending and bussing the tables in the restaurants." Laura believed that David Bart was reluctant to hire a full-time PBX operator due to financial constraints. She also felt pressured to meet the front office payroll budget, which had been prepared by Bart and which she felt had been grossly underestimated. In a bi monthly management staff meeting, Laura suggested to the F&B director that perhaps the restaurant should assume responsibility for managing their own reservations and inquiries so as to free up the front desk staff to improve guest service and sell more rooms. However, the F&B director was quick to point out that the evening restaurant manager was called on to assist with rooms -related issues on a daily basis, and replaced the evening front desk receptionist so that she could take a break. The restaurants, he asserted, could not afford to create a position just to take reservations and answer inquiries. Laura felt especially pressured with managing the front desk operation on the week ends. During the week she felt she could call on the other managers for help, whether it was to park a car or take a reservation. On the weekends, however, the only manager on duty was the restaurant manager, and he was often too busy with the restaurant to help with rooms issues. The Manager on Duty (MOD) program (in which all department managers rotated in being at the Inn on call and in charge Friday and Saturday nights) that had been established' the prior spring at the initiation of Bart, had been a tremendous help; however, it had been canceled when the Inn had hit the slow summer period. David Bart was not in on the weekends, and Laura felt he somehow forgot that the hotel existed on weekends, not to mention that it usually ran at full occupancy. By mid-fall, Bart agreed with Laura at there was a definite. need to reinstate the MOD program, as well as the PBX position. However, Bart thought that Laura herself had reduced her role of front of front office manager to that of a front desk receptionist. She seemed to him to surround herself with employees who were either not flexible or not qualified enough, and thus was left to fill a lot of shifts at the front desk herself. This didn't leave her with anytime-to oversee the operation of the front desk, and to ensure everything was

8 Part 3 Organizational Structure and Design Bart believed that there was no one at the=front desk capable of being promoted to the position of front office manager. However, he also thought that it would be difficult to hire an outsider who would be willing to work the three shifts at the front desk for the mo dest salary he was willing to offer (most managers at the Plaza Inn were paid $5,000 to $7,000 less than other Kansas City hotels). Thus, Bart was relieved to learn that Laura Dunbar, who had previously worked at the Plaza Inn as a front desk receptionist, was interested in the position. v Front In addition to her experience at the Plaza Inn, Laura had worked as a concierge at one of the convention hotels in downtown Kansas City for several years. She had left the Plaza Inn for a secretarial position that offered more pay than the front desk position at the Inn. However, she missed the excitement and pace of the hospitality industry, and accepted the front office manager position in December 1992 with enthusiasm. Despite her extensive connections with other Kansas City hotels, as well as the Kansas City Concierge Association, Laura soon found that one of her biggest challenges was the hiring and retaining of the front desk staff. The difficulty of hiring qualified employees forced Laura to work more than three shifts at the front desk. This left her with little time for planning and managing the front office operation. Short-staffed, she sometimes found herself working as much as 30 days in a row without a day off. In addition, the PBX position had not been filled on a regular basis for several months. Laura noticed that the front desk receptionists were not very attentive to the guests and were unable to meet guest expectations of a personalized, concierge-type service. Guest comment cards frequently included negative observations regarding front desk service; in fact, one guest commented that it seemed to him that the front desk receptionists "Were responsible for doing everything with the exception of bartending and bussing the tables in the restaurants." Laura believed that David Bart was reluctant to hire a full-time PBX operator due to financial constraints. She also felt pressured to meet the front office payroll budget, which had been prepared by Bart and which she felt had been grossly underestimated. In a bimonthly management staff meeting, Laura suggested to the F&B director that perhaps the restaurant should assume responsibility for managing their own reservations and inquiries, so as to free up the front desk staff to improve guest service and sell mo re rooms. However, the F&B director was quick to point out that the evening restaurant manager was called on to assist with rooms -related issues on a daily basis, and replaced the evening front desk receptionist so that she could take a break. The restaurants, he asserted, could not afford to create a position just to take reservations and answer inquiries. Laura felt especially pressured with, managing the front desk operation on the weekends. During the week she felt she could call on the other managers for help, whether it was to park a car or take a reservation. On the weekends, however, the only manager on duty was the restaurant manager, and he was often too busy with the restaurant to help with rooms issues. The Manager on Duty (MOD) program (in which all department managers rotated in being at the Inn on call and in charge Friday and Saturday nights) that had been established the prior spring at the initiation of Bart, had been a tremendous help; however, it had been canceled when the Inn had hit the slow summer period. David Bart was not in on the weekends, and Laura felt he somehow forgot that the hotel existed on weekend, not to mention that it usually ran at full occupancy. By mid-fall, Bart agreed with Laura that there was a definite need to reinstate the MOD program, as well as the PBX position. However, Bart thought that Laura herself had reduced her role of front office manager to that of a front desk receptionist. She seemed to him to surround weekends, not to mention thí herself with employees who were either not flexible or not qualified enough, and thus was left to fill a lot fill a lot shifts at the front desk herself. This didn t leave her with any time to oversee the operation of the front, and to ensure everything was.

9 Case I 1 The Plaza Inn in order. She still hadn't even finished writing up job descriptions for the Inn which he had told her to do two months ago. Bart wondered if the problems at the Front Desk stemmed from Laura's rather shy personality, or perhaps from her lack of management expertise. It appeared that she was unable to articulate her needs to him and other managers. Perhaps he needed to give her more direction, however, this was contradictory to his belief that each manager should assume the responsibility of defining his or her own role consistent with the objectives of the Inn. The weakness he saw in the front office manager was of growing concern to David Bart. Clearly, it was a key position in the operation of the Inn, and required a highly competent, proactive individual. As he thought back to the ultimatum he had received from the president of Relais and Chateaux, the general manager wondered what he should do. Perhaps he should look for an experienced manager to head the front office, even if it meant paying a much higher salary. Perhaps he just needed to shake Laura up. Perhaps the situation would just straighten itself out. David Bart reached for a copy of the Inn's organization chart (Figure 1), perhaps a major structural change was needed. Perhaps...

10 Case 11 The Plaza Inn in order. She still hadn't even finished writing up job descriptions for the Inn which he had told her to do two months ago. Bart wondered if the problems at the Front Desk stemmed from Laura's rather shy personality, or perhaps from her lack of management expertise. It appeared that she was unable to articulate her needs to him and other managers. Perhaps he needed to give her more direction, however, this was contradictory to his belief that each manager should assume the responsibility of defining his or her own role consistent with the objectives of the Inn. The weakness he saw in the front office manager was of growing concern to David Bart. Clearly, it was a key position in the operation of the Inn, and required a highly competent, proactive individual. As he thought back to the ultimatum he had received from the president of Relais and Chateaux, the general manager wondered what he should do. Perhaps he-should look for an experienced manager to head the front office, even if it meant paying 'a much higher salary. Perhaps he just needed to shake Laura up. Perhaps the situation would just straighten itself out. David Bart reached for a copy of the Inn's organization chart (Figure 1), perhaps a major structural change was needed. Perhaps...