Question

Chermo was the new GM at a world-class resort that was part of a multiunit hotel group that had just opened on an island in the South Pacific. His organization had purchased an existing resort property at a beautiful beach location and had spent 18 months and millions of U.S. dollars to renovate the property. In efforts to appease the community and because it needed experienced staff members, it had employed many of the previous hotel’s employees during the remodeling process and had offered them positions in the new property when it opened.

One of these staff members was Bula Ben (not his real name but that which he preferred) who was responsible for the property’s landscape maintenance. During the first three weeks after the property opened, he was responsible for three problems: he had purchased and directed his grounds persons to spray toxic chemicals around the pool and outdoor dining areas to control insects and ground lizards; he had, without permission, begun building a storage shed to house equipment used to protect windows during cyclone emergencies; and he unilaterally determined which of his staff should be available to interact with guests during their arrival and departure ceremonies.

1. If you were the expatriate GM, what would you do about “Bula Ben”?

2. What might cause Bula Ben to act without approval?

3. What, if any, critical concerns might these “problem” examples suggest about the property’s management and leadership procedures?

Answer 1

Answer 1= I would call the employee and ask whether he got any sort of permission for someone to contract this kind of facility and regulate the movement of the people and their interaction. I would explain to him that anything that has to be done in the office property, need to be approved by the concerned authority. I would warn him for this action and not repeat it in the future.

Answer 2= The action of the staff members might be resulting from his previous experience working in the other organization and the lack of proper guidelines for the facility management in the organization.

Answer 3= The incident indicates that there must be a property management guidelines or framework and authorized procedure to manage the different aspects of facility management The leadership has to be proactive in dealing with different unforeseen events and must ensure that all the guidelines adhere at any cost.