Case study Sun City - improving operations performance to enhance guest experience' Sun International's popular Sun City Resort is a luxury casino resort, situated in the North West Province of South Africa. It was officially opened on 7 December 1979 and was located in what was then the self-governing 'homeland' of Bophuthatswana. It flourished by providing types of entertainment, including casinos and gambling, not permitted in apartheid South Africa. With the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994, Bophuthatswana was reincorporated in the new South Africa and Sun City has Sun City's appeal lies in the wide spectrum of accommodation alternatives and activities it provides, as in its opulence and exotic atmosphere. Accommod caters for families as well as high-flyers, with choices r from the three-star family-oriented Cabanas hotel to t opulent five-star Palace of the Lost City. Over 100 acti some unique to Sun City, ensure that guests of all age different desires and interests find something to amus entertain and while away their time. For example, the ying the t would ods and ty. e their nce in oning ell = m 3 area, golf courses and game drives. Concerts and pageants, including the Miss South Africa beauty pageant, also feature as part of Sun City's entertainment line-up. The operations management of Sun City is a huge undertaking. For example, the three-star family-oriented Cabanas hotel alone has 380 rooms, fully equipped with air-conditioning, high-quality flatscreen TVs, tea and coffee- making facilities and electronic safes, telephones and wifi. In addition, the Cabanas hotel has a restaurant that provides full breakfast buffet in a family environment daily, as well as a dinner buffet with different themed menu every night. It also has a supervised children's play area. Furthermore, the Cabanas hotel provides a range of facilities and services, such as a babysitting service, a laundry service, 24-hour room service, a bar, a curio shop, internet access, a tourism information desk, a games room, mini golf, a casino, a swimming pool and a playground. In order to keep an undertaking of this size operating smoothly, not only must all facilities and services be maintained in perfect working order; guests must have a positive experience that will entice them back or by word- of-mouth entice others to visit Sun City. Sun International's top management is well aware of this because it understands that operations, such as Sun City, are judged by the way they perform. Consequently, the operations performance of Sun City, which is the manifestation of Sun's overall operations management, is continuously monitored and evaluated to ensure that the performance of all its systems and the people responsible for designing, implementing and delivering them, are of the highest calibre. In order to continuously drive and improve operational efficiencies, Sun City focuses on the five operations second principle of operations performance, dependability. People planning a visit to Sun City do not have to wonder whether or not they will enjoy quality accommodation, food, services and facilities; they know that they will because Sun City has a dependable reputation for delivery on all those aspects. Flexibility and speed are further two operations performance principles that are implemented rigorously. Flexibility is reflected, for example, in the range of accommodation types (as well as range within each type) and activities available at Sun City, while speed is reflected in the timely manner in which Sun City responds to factors that impact on its operations, such as labour disputes or guest complaints. In relation to the former, Sun City's management is underpinned by the pillars of responsibility, accountability, fairness and transparency to its stakeholders, including its employees. It therefore has a board committee dedicated to remuneration issues as well as a Code of Conduct that in conjunction with SACCAWU - the employees' registered trade union-manages disputes effectively and efficiently. In addition, in the event of labour disputes, it has contingency mechanisms that it employs to ensure the ongoing wellbeing and comfort of guests. In relation to the latter, Sun City is committed to fostering a culture of transparency and accountability, with the view to ensuring that members of the public have effective access to information in Sun International's possession that may assist them in the exercise and protection of their rights. Furthermore, to ensure that guests have a forum where they can voice any negative experiences, Sun City has a website dedicated to this end. Sun City also regards the operations performance objective of cost control extremely seriously. As Stuart Wing, the Chief performance objectives, namely quality, dependability, speed, Operating Officer (COO), notes in relation to operational flexibility and cost control. In terms of quality, Sun City strives at every level and in every sphere to provide the highest levels of quality possible. Facilities are kept in tip-top working order, premises are kept immaculate, buildings, dcor and furnishing are top range, and services, from receptionists and room staff, to waitrons, tour guides and casino staff, are of the highest order. It is this adherence to the operations performance principle of quality that gives Sun City the edge of many of its competitors. Furthermore, in order to ensure quality and to deliver improved levels of quality, Sun City, under the management of its parent body, Sun International, periodically reviews its existing operations and guest experiences with the view to enhancing both. In its most recent review, this entailed re-engineering some of its operations in order to insource key services as well as food and beverage operations. The operations performance logic behind the move was to increase the delivery of quality in key areas: services to guests and the meals and drinks they consume. Over its more than three decades in operation, Sun City has always maintained the same high levels of service delivery and quality in terms of guest experiences. This has ensured that Sun City has developed an impeccable record for the efficiency within the parameters of cost,... there is no doubt that there is an opportunity to change the way that [Sun City] operates to achieve efficiencies without impacting on guest experience.' One of the methods employed to bring this goal to sustainable fruition is the triple bottom line strategy, termed EarthGlow, which Sun International has designed and implemented. It is the group's sustainability programme that integrates environmental and social responsibility priorities in all its operations. EarthGlow unfolds all of its properties, such as Sun City, by focusing on the reduction of energy, water and waste, while, at the same time, conserving the living environment. These four themes provide a platform for each Sun International property, like Sun City, to synergise communications and engage employees, guests and other stakeholders in efforts to deliver on the themes. In this way, everyone involved in Sun City, for example, from management to employees and guests, becomes a simultaneous vehicle for cost and environmental impact reduction. Questions 1. Describe how Sun City implements the five operations performance objectives or principles.