Iz-Lynn at Far East Organization (Ref: Courtesy HBS online) Before Iz-Lynn Chan joined BHG Retail REIT, she was an executive in the hospitality branch of the Singapore-based company, Far East Organization. At Far East, Iz-Lynn faced a unique set of challenges. She had to mobilize a team of people to achieve the company’s ambitious change initiative to introduce higher service and quality standards across various service residences and hotels. Iz-Lynn joined Far East Hospitality in 2005, after serving as Singapore Airlines’ first female station manager. At Singapore Airlines, Iz-Lynn was lauded for achieving outstanding service and operational quality standards in the stations that she managed. Iz-Lynn joined Far East at a unique time in its history. The company had come a long way from its establishment in 1960 and had played a significant role in shaping the urban landscape of modern Singapore. Far East quickly became a national leader in the development of housing and commercial properties, including the first shopping malls along Singapore’s famous Orchard Road. In the early 2000s, however, the Singapore property market was facing a difficult time, and Far East responded by pursuing new sources of income. One such channel was building and acquiring hotels, extended-stay residences, and hospitality developments. As part of the company’s new strategy, Far East leadership recruited Iz-Lynn to help in transforming the company’s brand. In this new role, Iz-Lynn needed to apply her service and operations acumen to lift the service and operation standards in the properties currently owned by Far East, ultimately setting new standards in Singapore’s market. Iz-Lynn started with enthusiasm, visiting all the properties and becoming acquainted with the staff. She identified the key challenges and opportunities, and outlined her plan of action. Then she began to put the strategy in place—at Far East, they would aim to become industry leaders by offering five-star service in properties that were mostly three- or four-star entities. She could not change the physical property, but she could try to influence the guest experience

QUESTIONS Imagine you are one of Iz -Lynn's direct reports in answering the following questions:

1. HOW DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE EXPERIENCED HER?

2. HOW WOULD YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED THE NEW SERVICE QUALITY MANDATE?

3. WHAT WOULD MOTIVATE YOU AND CONCERN YOU?