Respondents in our surveys as well as Morris’ agreed that a business with lack of a positive attitude is the type of organisation that would be unlikely to enhance organizational creativity. Businesses that resembled organic structures – those which have decentralization of authority, tasks loosely defined, horizontal communications, greater individual authority, flexibility and adaptability – were seen to be more likely to enhance organizational creativity.
King and Anderson (1990) assert that one of the conditions for organizational creativity was group structure that was organic rather than mechanistic. A mechanistic organization would be more likely to establish barriers to creativity, since they generally avoid anything out of the norm. Researchers such as Meyers (1982), Nonoka (1991), Roberts (1977) and Amabile (1996) make comment on the importance of leadership in enhancing organizational creativity. Leadership…usually determines the organizational characteristics, sets the tone for the corporate climate, and determines whether or not the organisation is interested in innovation. It also controls whether there are competent project management, evaluation, sufficient resources, and an emphasis on the status quo, constraint and competition. Leadership, though not necessarily creative leadership, enhances organizational creativity.
(Amabile, 1996) Although bonuses and pay-for-performance plans can at first seem very creative and beneficial, they may prove problematic when employees begin to believe that every move they make is going to affect their compensation. In those situations, people tend to avoid taking risks; creativity may become a negative instead of a positive. Naturally, employees should feel that they’re being compensated fairly. On the other hand, people put far more value on a work environment where creativity is supported, valued, and recognized. Employees desire the opportunity to deeply engage in their work and make real progress. So it becomes critical for managers and supervisors to match people to projects not only on the basis of their experience but also in terms of where their interests lie.
Employees are most creative when they care about their work and are attempting to stretch their skills in different ways. In this situation, a balance needs to be found, because, if the challenge is far beyond their skill level, they tend to get frustrated; if it’s far below their skill level, they tend to get bored. Hence, management needs to discover the right balance. Trendy design, although credited for much of boutique hotels’ success, is only one element by which differentiation and resulting market penetration is achieved. A complete environmental focus is necessary, which includes product and service delivery to address customer needs and preferences. This begins with the booking process and extends through after-stay recognition and subsequent communications.
Customer satisfaction goes beyond an efficient check-in and sleep experience. Value enhancement is more than just a discounted rate. The focus now is on quality of life. Many hotels are applying the principles that are basic to creativity and reaping the benefits from that effort. In Carefree, Arizona USA, “ Seek opportunities to create memories” is the vision statement that guides the Boulders, a luxury property. To fulfill this vision and deliver on excellent guest service the resort’s owners and managers created ten cornerstones which are basic concepts that apply to both external guests and “ internal guests” (i.
e. , employees). In Four Seasons and Regent Hotels the company maintains a high ratio of employees to guests. New employees are given intensive orientation in the basics of the philosophy and culture of the hotel which lasts over 12 weeks and culminates in an overnight stay in the hotel.
A committee of senior managers reviews the operating standards quarterly using information from focus groups, guests and general managers. Elsewhere, the general manager of the Cincinnati (Ohio, USA) Marriott Northeast implemented a 12-point service program designed to encourage staff members to treat each guest as a family member who is on a visit to your home. Employees carry pledge cards and each daily meeting begins with a review of the importance of satisfying the guest. Every Friday afternoon all employees and any guests who so desire gather on the lobby terrace for a pep rally during which guest letters and cards are read. The general manager has also instituted a number of staff recognition programs for exceptional guest service, including rewards for back-of-the-house personnel. In Ritz-Carlton the credo, “ Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen,” forms the basis for sophisticated methods of attaining high levels of guest service.
The company hires only employees who share its values, as determined in a structured inter-view that is empirically scored. Interviewees also attend a series of receptions where their conduct and personality are observed and judged. Creativity in the hotel industry is exemplified by some of the leading chains in the business. For example, when it comes to the goal of developing empowered service employees, most of the industry’s leading companies rely on employees to deliver the enhanced guest services. With this in mind, they train and empower the employees to act on the spot to the best of their judgment, with the sole motto of satisfying the customer.
An outstanding example of this in practice is Ritz Carlton Hotels, which empower all employees to spend up to $2000 to solve a guest problem, when necessary. At the Inn at Essex, there are no detailed operational manuals. It has only a one page policy statement which includes guidelines like “ always find a way to say yes” and “ when faced with a situation, if you make a decision for the benefit of the guest, 90% of the time you will be right, and management will back you 100 % of the time”. In Ashley House Hotels, the general manager developed the program of “ Captain Quality”.
Each of the hotel employees takes a turn as Captain Quality, an assignment made by lot that begins with a night as a guest of the hotel, including dinner for two. The employee then spends a week observing every department and submits a list of six points of needed improvement in the hotel. The process then resumes the next week with a new Captain Quality. All the leaders in the hospitality industry realize the importance of listening to their customers and seriously and quickly responding to the guest feedback. At Waldorf-Astoria, they hand out a quality quiz to guests at every service-contact point.
They are able to collect 100 such quiz responses every day. A coding system tracks the results of the quiz and indicates any actions needed to improve operations. Summaries at the end of each month are provided to employees and departments and these are coded in red, yellow and green colors. Green is “ good”; yellow is “ you are making progress, but there is still work to do here”; and red is “ you are really below the expected performance”.
It is amazing to see the reaction when a particular team sees its performance in the red zone. The same information written on a plain piece of paper would not have the same impact as the red zone coding has, which makes a huge impression on the team. The hotel has extended the colored coding system in many other areas of communication within the hotel. This is truly an example of creativity.
Doubletree’s Club hotels have established two CARE Committees, one for Guest Relations and the other for Employee Relations. The guest-relations Committee monitors guest-comment cards and issues guidelines for improvement. The Committee also selects one guest each month to be a mystery guest. This person stays at the hotel, uses all the facilities, and then grades the hotel’s performance. In exchange the guest receives a free breakfast and a discount on room charges.
Some hotel companies have instituted 100 per cent satisfaction guarantees for guests and give money back or free service in case of dissatisfaction. Promus Hotels and Carlson Hospitality are recognized as market leaders in this regard for their guarantees of 100 per cent customer satisfaction. At any Promus Hotel the guest stays free if he/she is not completely satisfied for any reason. Furthermore, the hotel does not question the validity of any guest complaint, and employees are trained to provide immediate satisfaction in these cases. Promus advertises its guarantee scheme through print and broadcast media.
In Carlson Hotels, the 100 per cent satisfaction guarantee is invoked when three conditions exist regarding the guest’s complaint – (1) the guest perceives the problem as high in severity, (2) the guest perceives that the problem is due to fault of the hotel, (3) the hotel is unable to correct the problem in any other way that would satisfy the guest. Keeping in mind that these hotels are leaders in the market, and as such would be expected to be taking the lead in such outstanding examples of creativity, it is not surprising the extents they reach to maintain their competitive edge. In general however, experience says that hotel industry as a whole has not embraced such guarantee policies, or the other examples of creativity in marketing their property. Nevertheless, many of these are still considered valuable in attracting and retaining guests, even though they lag behind in the use of creative methods.