Managerial Perception on Strategic Responses Adopted By Star Rated Hotels to Deal with Environmental Turbulence

Abstract

Organizations exist in an environment of interdependence. This environment provides a context through which various decisions are weighed in relevance to prevailing competition, changing consumer demands and advancements in technology. In order for organizations to remain relevant in a fast changing environment there is need for the adoption of strategic responses. Firms that ignore the need to align their operations in order to survive in competitive environments run the risk of losing out to ones that invest in formulating survival strategies. The city of Nairobi is home to a wide variety of hotels some of which are ranked among the top worldwide. These hotels can be divided into two categories namely star rated and unrated. The star rated caliber of hotels comprises of the luxurious, top-end facilities that offer high quality services ranging from transportation, art rooms, and large pools to leafy gardens. Given the dynamic nature of the hotel industry in Kenya and the world at large, the objective of this study was to understand the ability of these institutions to respond to various aspects of change in the form of environmental turbulence. The research design used was a survey design because the researcher was interested in describing the existing phenomenon without any manipulation. In order to accomplish this objective, the researcher developed self-administered questionnaires which were then issued to key members of staff within hotel institutions including the general manager, front office manager, operations manager, food and beverage manager, procurement manager executive housekeeper, and marketing manager in the star rated hotels. Descriptive statistics (measures of central tendency and measures of variations) and inferential statistic tools were identified as the method of data analysis since the data collected will be quantitative in nature. Once an analysis was done, the final report was created clearly highlighting and providing an in-depth look at the summary of key findings. The study found out that the size of the firm is a key determinant in assessing the success of the capital restructuring and that there is adequate cooperation from the other branches in regards to the capital restructuring. Additionally, the study found out that hotels provide sales management planning and control systems, to helps them find customers, they use their marketing research information effectively, and they have the ability to develop new products. The study concluded that restructuring of the hotel influences the strategic responses. The study also concluded that marketing practices have a strong positive association with the strategic responses of the hotels. This is due to the fact that customer needs and preferences keep on changing in order to adapt to the changes. Finally, hotels should make sure that corporate strategic direction is determined, effective organizational culture is emphasized, ethical practices are emphasized and balanced organizational controls are emphasized. The study recommended that hotels should invest in new systems and processes such as inventory management systems in order to benefit from such technologies. The study recommended that organizations should embark on serious and strategic marketing with different strategies which can enable them to outperform their competitors and maintain their market share as well as their competitive edge.