Discussion

11. Define optimum ways of becoming a successful general manager

• a broad range of personal qualities

• leadership

• attention to detail

• having the job done

• be hardworking and responsible

• to face challenges

• to overcome difficulties

• to define the hotel commitment to excellence

• to achieve a first-class facility

• to view workers

• to be vital to the operation.

After having done the task describe these qualities of a successful general manager in detail.

12. Work in pairs:

a) Look at the following words and phrases and think of a story that might combine them all. You may reorder them in any way you like using any form of the verb:

• hired division heads;

• knew more about this job than she did;

• at first hired an experienced bar person and bartenders;

• were fairly accomplished at what they were doing;

• did not fit into the framework of the structure;

• were not compatible with the rest of the group;

• control on the spot;

• played a significant role;

• worked hi close cooperation with the hotel GM;

• was necessary;

• found new opportunities;

• made the critical decision;

• responded to the demands of the guests.

b) When you have decided upon the story, tell it to your partner. Then listen to that of your partner. Ask each other as many questions as you can to learn further details or clarify some points.

13. Entitle the paragraph beginning with the words:

Management functions are...

14. Divide the text into other logical parts and entitle each of them.

15. Give a summary of the text.

Case Study corporate profile: hyatt hotels (Part 4)

(continued)

Background:

Innovative approach to human resources management enabled the Hyatt top executives to learn and better understand the challenges and problems of their employees. These executives are greatly concerned with the improvement of their personnel's jobs and working conditions.

1. Read the supporting article and provide detailed answers to the case questions below.

The other side of Hyatt's success is the emphasis on human resources management. Employee satisfaction, in fact, is considered to be a prereq­uisite to external satisfaction. Hyatt devotes enormous attention to em­ployee training and selection. What is most significant, however, is the interaction between top managers and operating employees.

Darryl Hartley-Leonard was the company's president in 1989 when he came up with the idea of «In-touch day». On this day, once a year, the company closes its headquarters' office and the senior management spreads out to a hundred Hyatt Hotels in the United States and Canada, «spending time in the trenches* — doing the daily activities of operating employees, taking their frontline positions. Such a strategy is extremely effective: Actually performing the job enables the top executives to learn, first-hand, the challenges and problems of their employees, thus under­standing their daily routine and problems. The «In-touch day» concept provides tangible evidence to employees that the management is not locked into an ivory tower, but is concerned with the improvement of their jobs.

Darryl Hartley-Leonard's leadership was successful. He joined Hyatt in 1964 as a front desk clerk at a Los Angeles Hyatt hotel. After serving in a variety of management positions, he worked his way up to general manager of Hyatt Regency Atlanta (1974); two years later he became a

regional vice president. But that was not it. His extraordinary abilities were further recognized and rewarded: Hartley-Leonard was named ex­ecutive vice president for the corporation in 1978, president in 1986, and chairman in 1994. Currently, Jay Pritzker is the chairman of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation [1, 133].