The Portman Hotel CompanyA Study in Motivation Performance
Group Members:Paul Bennett
Mohammad BorougerdiNaushad Hariyani
Tarannum KanjiyaniKaian Tam
Josephine Yuan
Background Information
• The Portman Hotel - brainchild of John C. Portman, Jr.
• Portman was well known for creativity and innovation
• Success in atrium style hotels– Bonaventure Hotel of Los Angeles
– Renaissance Center of Detroit
The Portman Hotel
• The Hotel’s format would draw from foreign hotels– 348 rooms– 21 floors– “Described as ‘contemporary with Asian accents’”
• The revolutionary guest services were common in Asia
• Portman - breakthrough in hotels• Personal Valets - heart of this unique hotel
Implementation Difficulties
• Too much confidence placed on the individual managerial skills of PVs
• Overwhelming latitude of duties for the PVs• Management not prepared for American
response to such elaborate guest services
– What is one thing that makes you want to return to a hotel?
Labor Force in Two Cultures:American vs. Asian
Three main topics:•Cost •Training•Labor Regulation
Cost
American• More Expensive
Asian• Less Expensive
Training and Recruitment
American• SRI (hiring firm)
Asian• Embedded in the
culture
Labor Regulations
American• Unions
Asian• No Control
How can the PV’s job description at the Portman Hotel be
compared to a typical American luxury hotel?
Typical American Hotel Vs. Portman Hotel
Narrow Job Description
Broad Job Description
Typical American Hotel vs. Portman Hotel • Typical: organized by
job specialty (Narrow)– Maids
– Bar boy
– Houseman
– Cleaners
– Maintenance Staff
• PV job: have many specialties (Broad)
- PV
- PV
- PV
- PV
- PV
What is the Portman Hotel business model and what was the personal valet arrangement
trying to accomplish?
Portman Business Model
• “To bring Asian standards of hospitality to the US”
• Revolution in guest service in the American luxury market
• Personal valets • High quality service at affordable rates. • “No rules for the guests” • Experience • Home away from Home • Office away from Office.
Portman HR System
• How were the key features of the HR system supposed to function? What culture values were emphasized?
• What was the expected outcome and the result of each of the HR features?
Key features Function Culture value Goal Outcome
Policy and practiceWork culture
Associate contractContracts of employment
Organizationfunctions
Labor Relation
Staffing
Key features Function Culture value Goal Outcome
Policy and practiceWork culture
1. Treat each other better2. Show trust and pride in staff3. Meet employee needs as guest needs4. People are the product
1. Treat employees as guests2. Best employer in San Francisco
Unparalleled service
1. Dissatisfaction
among PV
2. Grievances
with management
Associate contractContracts of employment
Organizationfunctions
Labor Relation
Staffing
Key features Function Culture value Goal OutcomePolicy and practiceWork culture
Associate contractContracts of employment
1. Mentioned associate rights and responsibilities2. Bill of rights3. Three written warnings b4 being fired4. 30 day probation to improve
1. Giving each 1 equal rights
To bring out the best of the employee
PVs’ rights were not implemented by management
Organizationfunctions
Labor Relation
Staffing
Key features Function Culture value Goal OutcomePolicy and practiceWork culture
Associate contractContracts of employment
Organizationfunctions
1. Putting more employees in front of guest rather than management2. Avoided status costs3. Reward ppl to stay where they are4. Portman jobs were broad
1. No deep hierarchy2. Guest service important
1. Maximize service and minimize management overhead2. Low turnover of employees
Lot of chaos, additional level of supervision.
Labor Relation
Staffing
Key features Function Culture value Goal OutcomePolicy and practiceWork culture
Associate contractContracts of employment
Organizationfunctions
Labor Relation Against union formation
Employees have written contract to get the rights.
1. Having unions delimit the jobs, undermine the strategy of broadly defining jobs and promoting inclusiveness2. Minimize overtime expenses.3. Avoid hire more ppl
1. Bargain between unions and Mene2. Lack of organization due to the bargain3. PVs not satisfied
Staffing
Key features Function Culture value Goal OutcomePolicy and practiceWork culture
Associate contractContracts of employment
Organizationfunctions
Labor Relation
Staffing 1. Hire friendly people2. Hire talent, not experience3. SRI4. Life themes5. Contract of 1 year
Having talented and initiativeemployees
To understand guest needs and make their stay an experience
Unstable staffing procedures
Key features Function Culture value Goal OutcomePolicy and practiceWork culture
1. Treat each other better2. Show trust and pride in staff3. Meet employee needs as guest needs4. People are the product
1. Treat employees as guests2. Best employer in san Francisco
Unparalleled service 1. Dissatisfaction
among PV
2. Grievances
with management
Associate contractContracts of employment
1. Mentioned associate rights and responsibilities2. Bill of rights3. Three written warnings b4 being fired4. 30 day probation to improve
1. Giving each 1 equal rights
To bring out the best of the employee
PVs’ rights were not implemented by management
Organizationfunctions
1. Putting more employees in front of guest rather than management2. Avoided status costs3. Reward people to stay where they are4. Portman jobs were broad
1. No deep hierarchy2. Guest service important
1. Maximize service and minimize management overhead2. Low turnover of employees
Lot of chaos, additional level of supervision.
Labor Relation Against union formation Employees have written contract to get the rights.
1. Having unions delimit the jobs, undermine the strategy of broadly defining jobs and promoting inclusiveness2. Minimize overtime expenses.3. Avoid hire more ppl
1. Bargain between unions and Mene2. Lack of organization due to the bargain3. PVs not satisfied
Staffing 1. Hire friendly people2. Hire talent, not experience3. SRI4. Life themes5. Contract of 1 year
Having talented and initiativeemployees
To understand guest needs and make their stay an experience
Unstable staffing procedures
Why wasn’t the original system working?
What were the problems faced?
Problems
• Asian service philosophy• Turnover – high, 16% in initial months• Tips
– Exp: $200– Act: $40
• Dissatisfied with Job Content– Exp: 50% cleaning 50% guest service– Act: 80% cleaning 20% guest service
• Tensions with other group of workers– PVs looked upon as “maids”– PVs felt porters were slow in response
Reasons
• Asian service philosophy Complex & New
• Turnover – high, 16% in initial months Some fired, most left due to disorganized work culture
• Tips American traveler not ready for this type of service. Low occupancy
• Dissatisfied with Job Content Multitasking
• Tensions with other group of workersLack of supervision, decentralized work
Managerial Problem
Low Employee Motivation
Definition of Motivation:
“It is those forces that energize, direct and sustain a persons efforts”
Reinforcement:• Positive - tips, incentives• Negative - strict action, warning
5 Star Team Plan
• 15 groups of 5 PVs each• 1 team on each floor• Guaranteed hours of work per week• Increase in productivity from 5 rooms to 7
What improvements were experienced after the 5 star system was implemented? Did it work?
5 Star Plan
Initially it worked… but problems started again:• Introduction of floaters
– Pooling tips became difficult– PVs and Floaters – Conflicts– Team loyalty was lost– Floaters were lethargic in service
• Scott’s laid back attitude• Lack of supervision• Fear of unions among management
Low Occupancy
Implementation of floaters
Disrupt team system
PVs had to cover other’s work
More errors occurred
Increase inguest complaints
No tips No satisfaction Low Motivation
Summary of the System Problem
How do you motivate your employees?
How have you been motivated to perform?
Designing motivating jobs
Design your own organization around both intrinsic as well as extrinsic motivators that mattered to your people.
• Extrinsic rewards are those rewards given to people by a boss, a company, or some other person.
• Intrinsic rewards are those rewards the person derives directly from performing the job itself.
Intrinsic rewards are essential to motivation underlying creativity
Three ways of designing jobs that can increase intrinsic rewards and, therefore, motivation:
1. Job rotation - move workers from one task to another.
2. Job enlargement - workers are given different tasks to do.
3. Job enrichment - jobs are restructured or redesigned by adding higher levels of responsibility.
Herzberg’s two-factor theory: Hygiene Factors and Motivators
Although Herzberb’s theory has been criticized by many scholars, it still contributes some important points:
1. Important distinction between extrinsic rewards and intrinsic rewards
2. Reminds managers NOT to count solely on extrinsic rewards - focus on intrinsic rewards as well
What steps (in regard to implementation) would you take to
bring about improvement for Portman Hotel?
Our Suggestions Step 1:
Make communication more effective
Step 2:
Provide a complete training program
Step 3:
Establish fairness
Step 4:
Give employees recognition for accomplishments
Hackman and Oldham Model of Job Design
Well-designed jobs lead to high motivation, high-quality performance, high satisfaction, and low absenteeism and turnover. These outcomes are the result of:
• Meaningful Work • Responsibility• Performance
Hackman and Oldham Model of Job Design
This critical psychological state is produced by five core job dimensions:
1. Skill variety – different job activities involving several skills and talents
2. Task identity – the completion of a whole, identifiable piece of work
3. Task significance – an important, positive impact on the lives of others
4. Autonomy – independence and discretion in making decisions
5. Feedback – information about job performance
How’s the PV job in Portman Hotel compared to the Hackman
and Oldham Model?
5 core job dimension PV at Portman
Skill variety
Task identity
Task significance
Autonomy
Feedback
Hackman and Oldham Model
5 core job dimension PV at Portman
Skill variety • Fulfill guests request• Maintenance and daily duties • Bar-tending• Organizing events
Task identity • PVs are organized in groups • Responsible for major and minor thing happened on the floor
Task significance • PVs were the largest group• Most contact with guests• Unique in American luxury hotel• Key to success for the hotel
Autonomy • Organizing tasks and managing time is key to perform well • How they can facilitate the guests’ stay at the hotel
Feedback • Tips• Customer feedback • Internet review.
Hackman and Oldham Model
What Happened Next?
• By the end of the case reading, the Portman Hotel was beginning to take off
• Occupancy went dramatically up• The “Team Captain” success• Since late 1980s, Hotel’s history marred by trials
and tribulations
Loma Prieta Earthquake
• Occurred on October 17, 1989• Caused severe damage to the San Francisco
Bay area• As a result, occupancy dropped significantly
Tax Laws
• The Portman Hotel was affected greatly by a major change in tax laws
• The Portman was force to sell many of its assets in order to manage its finances
• Consequently, the Portman Hotel evolved into the San Francisco Pan Pacific
Marriott’s Acquisition
• JW Marriot purchased the hotel from Pan Pacific on April 19, 2006
• JW Marriott San Francisco
A View into the JW Marriott San Francisco
• Time for a Video!