Portman case

Portman Case Study

General: THE PORTMAN HOTEL COMPANY

Briefing/Assignment Sheet
(Or questions to organize and guide discussion)
This is a complex case that contains information on Portmans strategy
and business model, HR systems and practices, and the performance of
a crucial group of employees, the personal valets. The plan is not
working and expectations of various internal stakeholders are not being
realized. Soon after the hotels grand opening, the situation began to
unravel. What went wrong? What can be done to correct the situation, or
what action planning is necessary? How does Portman make
adjustments to facilitate success?
In analyzing Portman make sure you thoroughly understand the design
of the original system(s), or how plans/processes/people were supposed
to work. Also, carefully review the business context (environment) and
Portmans business model and strategy. Finally, what are the options for
improvement?
More specifically, and to assist with your review and analysis, the
following questions should focus your attention:

1. From the Portman Hotel case study, there were many fundamental
attribution errors made by groups or type of people. A few of them are
Firing PVs in the first month by the Management due to their low
turnover (16%)
PVs complaint about porters, who were slow to respond to their
requests to carry guest bags to and from the room

 Supervisors complaint about floaters being responsible for team lost

loyalty.
PVs blaming on Scott for continual lack of organization and for his poor
planning. etc
In all the above examples, the blame is on different groups of people or
on the management instead of the structure of the Portman Hotel
System, which is the 5-star team plan.
The Management thought it was PVs fault for low turnover and fired
some PVs. Even in the extreme condition, let us assume that some
PVs neither worked nor followed Hotel Mission of being showing high
level of ultimate service to customers. Even in that case, the question
would be what caused the Management to hire such person? This would
lead defect in the system that allowed the wrong person to be hired. So
in either of the case, the individuals are blamed rather than the system,
leading to fundamental attribution error.
If this error had not been made, then the results would have been
different in many ways and the reason for such results is as it would
create a strong bond between employees and Management as a single
family of Portman Hotel.
Firstly, the PVs would have felt that the Management still cared about
them with our firing inspite of low turnover. Because the Management
clearly showed how much it valued or respected the PVs even in a
tough situation.
It would have definitely build the trust and strong relation between PVs
and the Management. In fact, the PVs would have been more
responsible later and enthusiastic to prove themselves to the company
in future.
This would also have been an inspiration to all other groups of people
showing how the Portman Hotel Management values its employees.
This would also result in an excellent communication between the
employees and the management. Such powerful communication would
have created miracles in the Portman Hotel and resolved all kinds of
problems

2. There are many reasons for the PVs be motivated to engage in

shrinking.
The PVs expectations regarding the tips were not met. Instead of $200
per week, the average was closer to $40
The PVs have not happy about the content of the job as there were
many concerns
Although the PVs are crucial for the Portman business strategy, they
are demotivated my other groups of people by treating like maids
The hotel was disorganized and PVs found it very difficult to work with
other groups of people
The PVs faced frequent tensions with other groups of workers in the
hotel and they didnt like their assignments
The Expectancy theory states that PVs motivation is an outcome of how
much an individual wants a reward (Valence), the assessment that the
likelihood that the effort will lead to expected performance (Expectancy)
and the belief that the performance will lead to reward (Instrumentality).
According to this theory, Every PV has his/her own expectation
regarding rewards in terms of tips, promotions, content of the job, job
satisfaction etc. In many incidents, Valence broke down when the
personal valets did not receive the anticipated level of tips from the
guests. Expectancy broke down on many occasions like when the hotel
was disorganized and when the team lost loyalty etc. Similarly, at one
instance Instrumentality broke down when the personal valets spent
more time cleaning rather than giving royal service to the guests. Less
time serving the guests lowered the potential for building relationships of
trust with them and thus lowered the potential for earning good tips. So
when the PVs are not able to make it, their behavior changes and hence
may result in shrinking.
3.
Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which a person changes his
behavior because of the results of his behavior. Although the team
system was intended to PVs overcame the problems of coordination,
there were many other issues the supervisors noticed and Scott couldnt
help them in resolving their problems. Scoot got a blame for his poor
planning and communicating to supervisors in time. The supervisors lost

the trust and respect in him. Despite the Portman Hotel had a system in
place for disciplining poor performers, but they chose not to use it. The
Portman hotel believed that discipline was actually contrary to the hotel
philosophy. Instead the management opted to use Positive
Reinforcement under the Operant Conditioning Theory as a means to
motivate the poor performers. As this theory focuses on learning
behaviors by association, in the current case study Scott "tried to
persuade" the poor performers to believe "that good performance had
many rewards, such as good tips". This characteristic is Positive
Reinforcement, which is one aspect of the Operant Conditioning Theory.
It also includes Negative Reinforcement, avoiding an unwanted stimulus;
Positive Punishment; Negative Punishment; which results in the change
of behavior of by employee actions. Because of all the factors mentioned
above, I believe supervisors would mostly choose to avoid using the
Portmans elaborate disciplinary procedures

Paper2

Some of the problems plaguing the Portman Hotel in its inception include a lack of harmony among
the workers, a lack of effort by some of the personal valets, and a lack of discipline on the part of
management. The following case study uses various theories to explain these issues.
The harmony problem involving the "floating" personal valets can be explained using the
FundamentalAttribution Error Theory. This is when the behavior of an individual or a group is
attributed too much to an internal factor, when in fact; an external factor is at play (Class Lecture,
9/21). It is where the actions of a person or a group are associated with the "kind" of person he or they
may be, rather than associating the actions to an outside source (Fundamental Attribution Error). For
instance, the floaters were looked upon as disloyal and careless. They were accused of wasting time
and stealing tips. They were viewed as outsiders rather than members of the same group. However,
in reality, they were just victims of their position. They weren't afforded the luxury of building strong
relationships and familiarities with their coworkers nor the guests. The fact that their job required them
to move around caused them to be seen as unstable. Besides, the floaters were an adaptation
implemented by management. It wasn't their fault that the hotel capacity wasn't full enough to allow
the 5-Star plan to work properly.
One way to determine if the situation is the source of the behavior instead of the personality of the
individual is to observe how all the individuals behave in the same situation (Fundamental Attribution
Error). If all of the floaters behave the same way, then perhaps the situation in which they are placed
is to blame. Had the other personal valets and the supervisors looked at the floaters as someone sent
to help rather than to carry the entire load, they might have been more appreciative of all the things
the floaters actually did. They might have been more willing to part with some of the tips. After all,
despite being termed a floater, they were still personal valets.
The next problem facing the hotel was the "shirking" behavior attributed to some of the personal
valets. It can be explained using the Expectancy Theory. This theory suggests that a person will
choose to behave in ways that will allow him to maximize pleasure and minimize pain (Victor Vroom).
A simple mathematical formula is used in calculating the motivational force associated with
maximizing pleasure and so forth [F = V (E x I)]. It combines "Valence", the value a person places on

certain outcomes, with "Expectancy", the measure by which a person believes a task can be
completed, and "Instrumentality", the realization that a person will actually produce a desired outcome
(Victor Vroom). However, the motivation does not occur when any part of the formula breaks down
(Class Lecture, 9/21). For example, Valence broke down in the case study when the personal valets
did not receive the anticipated level of tips from the guests. The monetary reward was not high
enough to keep the shirkers from shirking. Expectancy broke down when, from within the chaotic and
decentralized hotel environment, it became difficult to locate the supervisors. Note also, according to
the Gilbert Behavior Engineering Model, "descriptions of what is expected of performance" is part of
the first step taken by management to ensure positive employee productivity (Class Handout, 9/7).
Not being able to find a supervisor left expectations unclear. And finally, Instrumentality broke down in
the case study when the personal valets spent more time cleaning than giving actual service to the
guests. Less time serving the guests lowered the potential for building relationships of trust with them
and thus lowered the potential for earning larger tips.
The Portman Hotel did have a system in place for disciplining the shirkers, or poor performers, but
they chose not to use it. They believed that discipline was actually contrary to the hotel philosophy.
Instead they opted to use Positive Reinforcement under the Operant Conditioning Theory as a means
to motivate the poor performers. This theory focuses on learning behaviors by association (Operant
Conditioning). For example, a whale might learn to jump over a pole by associating it with eating fish.
In the case study Spencer Scott "tried to persuade" the poor performers to believe "that good
performance had many rewards, such as good tips". Positive Reinforcement is but one aspect of the
Operant Conditioning Theory. It also includes Negative Reinforcement, avoiding an unwanted
stimulus; Positive Punishment; Negative Punishment; and Effective Punishment, punishment that is
impersonal, immediate, strong, produced by employee actions, etc... (Class Lecture, 9/21).
In order to effectively resolve these issues, management needs to take another look at the
expectations given and the level of feedback provided. While, they are on the right track with the "it's
our fault if our people are not successful" mentality; they do fall short on the amount of support
provided. The employment contract stipulated the right to quarterly performance reviews, but
management should provide those reviews more often. The shirking personal valets might be more
motivated to clean rooms if a weekly tally was made instead. Also, they should think about changing
the rewards for the associate of the month and year. Money may not be the answer, and a week of
vacation at work may not be appealing. It could be as simple as providing a special parking space for
the associate of the month and as elaborate as offering a cruise around the Caribbean for the
associate of the year.
In the meantime, Management should also consider spending a few days as a personal valet both on
a set team and as a floater. By doing this, they will gain the workers trust, and it will give them the
necessary outlook needed to distinguish which external factors are affecting the workers behavior.
Once the outside factors are determined, the managers can take steps to adjusting them.
Another area that needs improvement is management's Moral Foundation. The idea of fairness needs
to be measured. It isn't fair to the good performers to allow the poor performers to continue their weak
routine. While some associates may respond well to Positive Reinforcement, others may react best to
another aspect of Operant Conditioning. They went as far as training the personal valets how to
recognize the difference between the guests who want to be "best friends" and those who prefer a
more formal "Yes, sir" relationship; why shouldn't the associates be any different. Individual
associates are likely to respond to their own unique type of stimulus. Using the contract stipulated
discipline measures would be an effective method of Positive Punishment. The written warnings are
intended to deter poor behavior. Not only that, actively implementing the disciplinary procedures will
also show the associates that management is capable of keeping their promises.

Paper 3

Basic Facts of the Case

The Portman Hotel Company is characterized for being one of the most prestigious
luxury hotels of America. The service given to the guests is incomparable with their
competitors. The direct contact between the guests and the associates is unique in
the hotel business. They have a new concept, were a group of employees called the
Personal Valets, provide a service to the guest and are trained to predict the guests
needs and personality.

The Most Pronounced Symptoms of Distress

The biggest concern this company has is evident. The employees are not performing
as they were expected. The hotel wants to have a higher level of employee
commitment and responsibility, but there isnt a concrete plan to solve this dilemma.
The Portmans strategy says that training and motivation will not achieve some
standards. That, for me, is a big problem because they are not having a good program
for training the associates. They need to develop a stronger training plan to achieve
what they are expecting from the member of staff.

The Problems

The 5Star team plan is reorganization of the personal valets. This plan is created to

solve the problems the PVs have. It is a plan to put an end to the disorganization and
tension there is with the different workers of the hotel. The Portman wanted the
personal valets feel more comfortable with their work. This strategy was also
designed to solve the problem of employees that couldnt have a long-term
relationship with the guests and having some control with the tips, which are so
important for the associates. This plan didnt happen as expected because it had
some improvements at first, but still had some problems. I think this is a significant
problem happening in this company. They cannot find a real solution and they still
have some difficulties. There are several problems going on in this company, but this
dilemma might be the one the Portman is concerned with and the one is limiting the
hotel to achieve all their goals and expectations.

The Human Resources Issues

The human resource department has been trying to solve the problems the
employees have. They wanted the associates to have a work ambience without
concerns so that way they could perform a good work and achieve the goals the
company expected from them. They tried to make the guest feel at home, helped
them with everything that they need, but they cannot do their best because of their
intern problems with the other associates. Every time there are more complaints
from the guests, and PVs were making each time more errors. The lack of supervision
may be the reason this deficiency from the associates is occurring and is another
worry the company is being inflicted with. Employees are not being controlled or
helped when they are performing their jobs. If they do not want to have more
complains from the guests, it is essential for a good performance and a work with no
errors, to have a supervisor that con control that. The associates also did not have
any guidelines of discipline because the hotels philosophy did not believed to
discipline poor performers. They need to change that philosophy and start training
employees because that may be a strategy that can solve several problems. Other
concern that I could find in the hotel was a problem with the different departments
that the company had. Employees said that working with other groups from the
company was a problem. The hotel was structured in a way departments could not
work together because they hay different functions and was disorganized. The hotel
has to break the departmentalization and make the hotel function all together to
support each other and that way be able to know what is going on in the hotel.
Decentralization is also a big problem. The employees feel they dont have a person
to lead to when they need help. A solution to this can help employees solve easier and
faster the problems so that the guest would be helped and that way complaints will
decrease.

Recruiting and Selecting

The recruiting and selection of the associates in this company is considered to be

crucial to the Portmans strategy. They are trying to find the most talented people for
their company. They believe the quality of service given to their guests depended only
on the excellence of the employee. The process of selection was very important so
they could find the most capable employee that could satisfy the needs of the guest.
The problem was that they wanted to find the perfect employee but didnt believed in
training them to be perfect. As an example, the Portman believed that friendliness
could not be trained or motivated, employees had to be friendly by nature. One of the
supervisors of the personal valets commented that there is no training because they
are so busy. Training is very important so that the goals the company has can be
accomplished. Employees need to have training time, even if they have to work and
the hotel has occupancy of 100%. If the employees are

Non Human Resources Concern

The original philosophy is another concern this company has. This difficulty, unlike
the other problems, is not a human resource issue. They restrict themselves to follow
the philosophy and they do not believe in varying it. Many problems in the hotel can
be solved if they will vary and have new strategies. One example of this may be the
levels of hierarchy that were increasing in the company buy were against this
philosophy. They said they will have higher costs if more levels of hierarchy were
created, but that can solve some of the most severe problems they had in the
company. Costs may increase, but problems may be solved and that will be worth it.

Conclusion

In conclusion I can predict that the most significant concerns The Portman Hotel
Company has are based on low performance of the human resource department and
the limitation to follow the original philosophy of the company. The Personal Valets
is an impressive idea, and may be the key competitive difference for the hotel, but it
needs to have a perfect performance so that the hotel can have a remarkable result
and can have an Asian-style service, as they wanted to achieve that objective. The
company has to work hard solving those problems and find a solution that will have
instant results because of the sudden shot up occupancy they are having lately.

Extra:

The Portman Hotel Company is facing some serious issues after its first year of operations: The
personal valet's (PV's) morale is down. 50% quit their job since the hotel opened. Many PVs are
not performing up to expectancy. The guests are starting to see mistakes. This gives rise to ask
what the causes for the problems Portman is experiencing are.
I see the job design as the main cause for the unsatisfactory performance of the PVs. Following
Robert Simon's article "Designing High-Performance Jobs", the job design spans four dimensions:
Span of control, accountability, influence and support. The hotel asks its employees to "overwhelm
guests by the professional, cheerful and immediate response to every request". To deliver such
high performance, the four spans have to match and support the hotel's strategy which is not the
case here.
Span of control means the range of resources for which an employee is given decision rights. The
span of control is very narrow, since the resources provided to each PV are limited and not under
their control. They have to work on specific floors during specific hours with specific colleagues.
The PVs are not supposed to take far reaching decisions but follow the needs of the guests to
make the hotel an "enjoyable experience".
The span of accountability refers to the range of trade-offs affecting the measures used to
evaluate a manager's achievements. Whereas jobs in most hotels are defined narrowly, PVs are
supposed to perform all sorts of tasks ranging from typical work of a maid to pleasing the
customers at the highest service levels with varying performances at all times. This translates into
a high span of accountability where PVs have a wider freedom to work according to unforeseeable
customer needs with the trade-off that the ...