There are many luxurious hotels in the South-East Asia region but few can compare with the Penang

Question:

There are many luxurious hotels in the South-East Asia region but few can compare with the Penang Mutiara, a 440-room, top-of-the-market hotel which nestles in the lush greenery of Malaysia's Indian Ocean coast. Owned by Pernas-OUE of Malaysia and managed by Singapore Mandarin International Hotels, the hotel's general manager is under no illusions about the importance of running an effective operation. 'Managing a hotel of this size is an immensely complicated task,' he says. 'Our customers have every right to be demanding. They expect first-class service and that's what we have to give them. If we have any problems with managing this operation, the customer sees them immediately and that's the biggest incentive for us to take operations performance seriously. Our quality of service just has to be impeccable. This means dealing with the basics.
For example, our staff must be courteous at all times and yet also friendly towards our guests. And of course they must have the knowledge to be able to answer guests' questions. The building and equipment - in fact all the hard-ware of the operation - must support the luxury atmosphere which we have created in the hotel. Stylish design and topclass materials not only create the right impression but, if we choose them carefully, are also durable so the hotel still looks good over the years. Most of all, though, quality is about anticipating our guests' needs, thinking ahead so you can identify what will delight or irritate a guest.'

Source: Mutiara Beach Resort, Penang

Questions

1. Describe how you think the hotel’s management will:
(a) Make sure that the way they manage the hotel is appropriate to the way it competes for business;
(b) Implement any change in strategy;
(c) Develop the operation so that it drives the long-term strategy of the hotel.
2. What questions might you ask to judge whether this operation is a stage 1, stage 2, stage 3 or stage 4 operation on Hayes and Wheelwright’s scale?
3. The case describes how quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost impact on the hotel’s external customers. Explain how each of these performance objectives might have internal benefits.