Problems of Hotel Reservation Services - Paper Example

The hospitality industry is highly competitive where the efficient and sufficient flow of accurate information is the most important factor to a customer seeking out accommodation, food or leisure. There are numerous players in the field that offer substantial competition to HRS, and these include entities such as Amazon, Alibaba, TripAdvisor and tip that equally have a considerable global presence (Trefis,2015). There are equally new entrants that are slowly shaking up the industry hence it is evidence of the importance of effective Human Management to stay afloat and ahead of the competition.

Problem statement

Hotel Reservation Services (HRS) has been using Persis software for its HR department although it has proven ineffective over time. The Persis system has not been delivering results that the company requires accurately to make certain crucial business decisions. The human resource information system is not quite efficient especially in the area of report writing where the reports that emanate from the system often do not resonate with the reality. The system does not also equally have any restrictions leaving it very open where anyone can create, write or run anything. There is more risk in this since it compromises the credibility of the information and reports may be false due to possible tampering that reflects incorrect data. The system is also not user-friendly where it has a very boring and unpleasant design that does not appeal to the user. Although old is gold, the system has become over dated, and the wear and tear due to constant use have slowed it down. Online reservation requires real-time responses due to the impatience of these segments of clients hence a system that makes such processes take a longer time than usual does not fit into the scheme.

The Persis system has indeed proven unsuitable, and as such, the situation begs the question of how effective HR information system can be. The openness of the tool has left the country at risk of expensive lawsuits that may emanate from issues such as identity theft by the outside or internal party. The inputting of very personal and intimate data by employees on a system that several people have quick and ready access may very likely result in such a breach of security. The system does not, therefore, have the capacity to cover every process that is important in the HR management practice of the hotel industry. HRS has recognized this challenge, and as such, it is seeking to improve its HCM system by implementing a new system that offers specific and tailored solutions that are necessary and fit in the hospitality and tourism industry.

The primary aim of this project is to help Hotel Reservation Services in improving its HCM system by presenting a detailed analysis of another system that supports future-oriented HR management. The planning and implementation of the new system, SAP SuccessFactors will predominantly be the task of the HR department at the company, but the process will equally require substantial support from all employees. The aspect of the importance of goodwill in making the transition successful informs the first research question regarding some of the expectations in implementing the new system turned out successful. A questionnaire will be the ideal tool for collecting the views of other players to gauge what they require to support the successful implementation of SAP SuccessFactors. The paper shall also seek to answer the question why HR saw it necessary to implement a new HR system, and two tools will come in handy. The tools that will help in answering the above question are a best practice deduction method as well as benchmarking to create a comparison on the quality of HRS's HR practice against those of other players in the industry.

The third question is the most crucial to this project and forms the backbone of the research by the problem how the company will implement the new system. Here the study shall employ the six sigma approach with a bias for the DMADV methodology that will aid greatly in conceptualizing the process of implementing the new human resource information system. The six sigma approach will help in establishing a comprehensive implementation plan with explicit steps and timelines attached to them. The final research question shall be questioning the entire process regarding how the new system shall contribute to the daily HR operations at Hotel Reservation Services as well its possible strengths and weaknesses. The most suitable tool in answering this question shall be the SWOT analysis that will provide the framework of subjectively seeing and identifying both internal and external factors that will affect the success and effectiveness of the SAP SuccessFactors.

Theoretic foundations

What are HR expectations on how to turn out successful in the implementation of the new system?

There has been considerable research regarding best HR practices within the hospitality and tourism industry. However, the majority of the information available focuses on the traditional model where customers relied on classification systems as well as brand names as a guarantee or promise of quality. However, the entry of internet players such as HRS brings about a new and critical angle that greatly affects the human resourcing aspect of the business. The aspect of personnel management as a distinct and specialized function has been quite nonexistent within the hotel industry for a long time confined to functions such as recruiting and training (Boella & Steven, 2013). However, the practice is slowly taking root in the industry and majority of research material shows a great preoccupation with exploring its emergence. There is a general and great sense of skepticism towards the use of Enterprise Resource

Planning systems within the hospitality industry with critics stating the risk that companies expose themselves to by putting sensitive data about their employees and clients on the internet. However, there is insufficient information on the effects of products such as SAP Success Factors on the HR practice, especially in the hospitality industry. Most of the information is promotional excerpts aimed at being marketing tools for the human resource information systems. However, there is substantial information on the advantages and disadvantages of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERS) in a debate that appears to have split the HR world right in the middle (Paula et al., 2013). The apparent semi-virgin state of information regarding the subject matter of this project further lends credence to the research as it seeks to conduct an analysis that compares why one system failed and why the new one will most likely succeed.

Why did HR decide to implement a new HR system?

The major problem that Hotel Reservation Services is facing is the ineffectiveness of its current system but also at the same time they are not sure about the functionality of the SAP SuccessFactors. The following research paper, therefore, seeks to help the company gain some clarity on the effectiveness of the new system and as such, the research has applied several scientific tools. There were four major research questions and in answering each, the research applied tools such as a questionnaire, Benchmarking/ Best deduction method, the six sigma approach framework and last but not least, SWOT analysis. The guiding factor in the choice of the tools was the main aim of the project that is introducing a new system hence the research chose tools that would help in answering key arising queries. The successful introduction and implementation of the new system rely on the support of all HR employees hence the research used a questionnaire at the onset of the project. The questionnaires help in the collection of their views regarding what they would want to see happ...