The Plaza Inn

The Plaza Inn

Integrative Case 7.0

Management 326, Organizational Theory

March 10, 2011

Abstract

An observation of Integrative Case 7.0, The Plaza Inn will be discussed, first by way of a general overview of this private hospitality entity. Examination of design and structure, with mission and strategy in mind, will address the sometime complex diversity and challenges of the internal and external environment. While the climate of economic stability and globalization is relentless, this project addresses the overall concerns perplexing management. It includes their strengths, weaknesses, innovation, and eco-balance, inclusive of cultural and ethical values, that cannot be disregarded, in order to assess overall performance. Consideration of changes needed to the organizational design and inter-departmental structure, will be determined to procure The Plaza Inn’s survival of the future.

The Plaza Inn, a French hotel affiliate of Relais & Chateaux, is a 50-room hotel in Kansas City, KS. In business since the 1920’s, this historically renown Victorian-style hotel was revamped in 1985, by owners/entrepreneurs Andre Bertrand, Tim Boyle, Antoine Flurie acting as general manager, and an additional 20 limited partners. As cited in Travel Magazine in 1987, it was voted among the “ten best new inns” (Daft & Lane, 2010).

Trouble arose in 1989 at the resigning of the general manager, due to “irreconcilable differences” (p. 574). An additional couple hired for replacement lacked “European hospitality practices” (p. 574), and financial as well as clientele deteriorated under their lead. Due to the adverse effect, new management was hired late in the same year.

Vacancies and financial decline were the Inn’s confrontations. The reoccurring problems the new general manager, David Bart, was up against, were mainly due to front desk inadequacies, threatening their membership with Relais & Chateaux (p. 574). Employee’s positions and management came and went. The focus on staffing the appropriate positions needed to attain the utmost service was barely achieved. A learning organization would be useful moving forward, as it appears they did not learn from their mistakes. Exploring the efficiency that once was held with the original partner’s departure, is one mean in identifying where the Plaza Inn’s shortcomings to maximize performance remain.

Currently, the mission for The Plaza Inn is non-existent. The facility’s being relies on service to customers from reservations to departure. In essence, the General Manager must achieve a smooth transition of these services, first by re-evaluating the Inn’s