The employees of any company or an organization are considered as an asset. The performance of the employees both can result in the success and the failure of the business. Thus, one of the toughest jobs of a human resource manager is to manage people effectively. A human resource manager needs to encourage, inspire, train, discipline, fire and hire. All these aspects may seem to be odd, but an able human resource manager can integrate all these aspects into his work and create a working environment which will turn a negative situation into a positive one. This transformation of a negative situation into a positive situation results into positive employee outcome and productive work. Management of people is called as human resource management and includes certain tasks like providing support to the employees, management and recruitment. The other vital task that includes people management is training, administration, communication, motivation, employee, benefits, wellness, safety, development, organization, performance management, hiring, compensation (Hendry 2012). This study is based on a case study of a business entity named Deeside Park House & Castle. The study addresses the main differences between the formal and the informal communication; the teamwork had its negative effects on the conduct of the business.
Deeside Park House & Castle is a family owned independent business which provides one of the best hospitality services in Scotland. The business was opened up in the year 1989 and specializes in providing the guests with the leisure and comfort to the travellers and the guests with convenience each and every time they visit. Deeside Park House & Castle is located in a single venue. The venue is located in the centre of Scotland which is just 20 minutes from the Glasgow city centre. It takes around 15 minutes from Stirling and 40 minutes from Edinburg. The venue is easily accessible and has a perfect set in the Scottish landscape (Royal-deeside.org.uk 2018). Deeside Park House & Castle also provides quality service and best in class food which are highly acclaimed. Deeside Park House & Castle has the best chefs which provide the mouth-watering food items in the award-winning dining restaurant. Deeside Park House & Castle employs a team of 6 chefs and twenty waiting staffs which are all managed jointly by Hamish Boyd and his wife Sadie. The couple has recently appointed Isobelle as an events manager. From the overview, it can be said that Deeside Park House & Castle has experienced and qualified staff which delivers outstanding performance at an affordable rate. One of the key strengths of the Deeside Park House & Castle is that they try to focus more on providing service which is much more customer friendly and suites the tastes of the customers. The management highly emphasizes on the quality of the service which they provide and thus are able to maintain the and hold the fame, however, it is becoming challenging for the management to maintain the services every year (Royal-deeside.org.uk 2018).
Formal and Informal Communication
In every person’s life communication plays an important role during the exchange of feelings through communication, opinions, information and thoughts. Communication can be in any form which is nonverbal, verbal, oral or written. Communication can also be done through the rate of the pitch of voice, gestures, eye contact, body movements and expressions. Thus, communication is differentiated into two different types when it comes to communication within the purview of an organization (Rajhans 2012). The two different forms of communication are informal and formal communication.
Formal communication- the official information when gets exchanged through the different levels of the hierarchy in an organization. These formal communications can be attributed to the regulations, processes, standards, policy. Professional rules within an organization. Formal commination occurs and follows a definitive and a predefined pathway or channel of communication and the flow of information can be controlled deliberately. The chain of command can govern the flow of information occurs in compliance with the with the definite rules and standards that are set in an organization. The different types of formal communication are crosswire or diagonal communication, lateral or horizontal communication, upward communication and downward communication (Bouckenooghe 2012).
Informal communication- the unofficial or the causal form of communication is called informal communication. In this form of communication, the information is exchanged within the person that does not comply with the official standards, formalities, processes, rules and the chain of command. Informal communication exists within people that exhibit informal relationships and is thus devoid of the organizational rules and standards. The informal communication is also termed as grapevine because both the beginning and the end of the communication is unknown (Fay and Kline 2012).
The major differences that lie in these both types of communication are the reliability, speed, evidence, time consumption, disadvantage and secrecy. Formal communication is more reliable; the communication is generally presented in the written form which provides the documentary evidence; the time consumption is more in comparison to the informal communication; the information that gets conveyed through the organizational hierarchy has a chance of getting distorted; during the whole flow of information a secrecy is maintained; the information only flows through the predefined channels (Keyton et al. 2013).
With respect to the case study, it was found that the Hamish had appointed Isobelle, without undergoing the general selection process. This fact was not conveyed by Hamish through the formal communication, however, it is clearly understood that this vital piece of information spread to the staffs of Deeside Park House & Castle through the informal communication. Hamish’s mother was ill and due to this reason; Hamish was unable to look after the management properly. Hamish is also worried about the fact the Isobelle’s improper style of management might lead to some tensions within the business. The further escalations of the business would result in leaking out of the vital information to the market competitors and might bring some unwanted problems to the company. Hamish was worried about the fact that all over the years he used to manage the whole business through an open door policy for all its staff. Whereas, the recent appointment of Isobelle has resulted in tensions within Deeside Park House & Castle. In the past, Hamish used to communicate face to face with the employees, however presently text messages and the Emails have now become a normal mode of communication. Previously, the staffs easily approached Hamish but now due to the ill management by Isobelle the staffs no longer approach Isobelle out of fear. The communication pattern followed by Hamish is rather formal because the presence of smaller organizational hierarchy within the Deeside Park House & Castle led to information being formally communicated by Hamish.
Teamwork-related Issues
Teamwork is typically considered as something which is positive for the for the organization or a business. The benefits of working as a team are immense, however, there are certain disadvantages which make teamwork an utter failure. The certain disadvantages are:
- Unequal participation- within a team, there will be some members who will always try to sit back while others are working hard. This is one of the reasons of resentment among a team in the workplace. This gets effectively highlighted in businesses where the efforts of the team are valued more in comparison to the achievement of a leader. The conflicts that arise within a workplace result into a negative effect on the morale of the members of a team (Tausczik and Pennebaker 2013).
- Not team players- Certain workers prefer to work alone and avoid working as a team. A business environment that requires a team to function properly in order to accomplish a task must filter out such loner workers. It is also important to mention that such workers are excellent performers in certain situations, but these lone workers face the problem when they work within a particular work culture.
- Limiting creativity- sometimes creative thinking is affected by teamwork. The team members that work in a team puts the overall work in the first priority and it hampers their creativity in the long run. the lack of the ideas and creative thinking hinders a business entity, company or an organization from moving forward (Crotty and Brett 2012).
- Longer process- productivity a single employee or and the productivity of a group of employees which are working as a team is huge. Whereas, the setup of a team and the includes the section of the members, organization and subsequent socialization. It takes a long time to process a team due to the additional expense of money and team building also requires equipment and efficient manpower (Fidalgo-Blanco et al. 2015).
- Inherent conflict- it is obvious that whenever a group of people is coming together for a single goal, conflict is likely to occur. Contrasting and differing ideas often lead to internal conflicts and clashes between people that work together as a team. People that have different styles often face problem is accepting the ideas of other people. Peer pressure is also an important factor which forces an individual employee to change his or her decision towards a particular approach (Plessis 2012).
David Beattie highlighted that his staffs were facing some issues with the Isobelle’s team and it has become problematic for David to carry with the normal operations. Due to the Isobelle’s team, the decision-making process was slow and has created a tense atmosphere which has hindered Isobelle’s staffs to commit. This, on the other hand, has prevented the team members of David to perform their own job is a proper way. The Events team framed by Isobelle is considered by the other staffs as an add-on to the Deeside Park House & Castle business. This team is found to take away the friendly atmosphere of work culture which once prevailed in the team. David Beattie, the head chef also added that without the support from the top hierarchies, it is hard for the different areas of the business to work in a synchronized manner. David in the later part also highlighted that the in the name of people management, the top officials of the business are only saying to assist and guide. Whereas, in reality, the management is neither helping nor assisting the work of the other staffs of the restaurants.
Due to the following issues mentioned above, the loose management style is costing the business of Deeside Park House & Castle. The staffs are not finding the similar type of family work environment which once existed within the Deeside Park House & Castle. Staffs are afraid of work commitments and are unwilling to share their view openly with the top officials of the company. The working environment has thus turned detrimental to the employees and the staffs which damaging name of Deeside Park House & Castle.
Deeside Park House & Castle was managed by Hamish Boyd and his wife Sadie. They had appointed their daughter, Isobelle as an event manager. Whereas, the appointment did not go well with Hamish as he expected it to be. According to Hamish, Isobelle was appointed for this post because she had a degree in events management from a University and as well as undertook several international work placements. This has impressed Hamish and Sadie and was astonished by the enthusiasm and the knowledge she possesses. Nonetheless, the members, chefs and the event staffs were not happy and found it difficult to work with Isobelle.
Problematic Management Style of Isobelle
This is problematic because mere theoretical knowledge and the usage of the theoretical knowledge for the practical purposes is different by a big margin. Although Isobelle had an event management degree from a University and had undertaken international work placements. This does not prove that she will be proficient in the profession. An event manager needs to have practical work experience which Isobella lacked. Considering the view of Hamish, he had found it as an easy alternative to appointing his own daughter into the family business. The question is that if everything had worked well like Hamish had anticipated, then there would have been no problem. Whereas, the problem is actually critical with respect to the management style of Isobelle and due to which there are several issues emanating from Deeside Park House & Castle.
In order to appoint a person as an event manager, first of all, there is a need to understand the specific role played by an event manager. Event managers are the ones who are responsible for the running and organizing the social, business and promotional business. The skills that an event manager must have are the time management, teamwork, problem-solving, organization, knowledge of information technology, interpersonal skills, financial planning, communication, attention to detail and administration skills. These skills are necessary for an event manager and these skills must be tested during the recruitment process (Bladen et al. 2012).
The recruitment process of an event manager is similar to the other types of the recruitment process. Nonetheless, the proposed recruitment process must also include different rounds of interview questions which will be based on the event planning, situational and operational questions and role-specific questions. This recruitment procedure ensures that the best candidate is chosen for the right job and it enhances the organizational performance (Ekwoaba, Ikeije and Ufoma 2015).
The several factors that have triggered the change in Deeside Park House & Castle are as follows
- Hamish received come emails from Isobelle’s team which highlighted the bullying and abrasive management style of Isobelle.
- Isobelle harasses the staffs on a daily basis and complains about the inadequacies, however when asked about the guidelines Isobelle refuses to do so.
- There is a reduction in the performance of the team and staffs are not regularly attending the workplace.
- Kathleen Boyd also highlighted that an environment of trust which once used to exist has now broken down.
- Isobelle is also found to be unwilling to work along with the partners and this is another major cause of concern for the management.
The resistance to the change is minimal here because the staffs and the employee, as well as the other top management officials, are willing to accept the change. Change management is an effective strategy through which the resistance to the change will be minimum (Cameron and Green 2015). In order to address the resistance, the following strategies must be followed.
- Human side to be addressed systematically- whenever there is a change occurring in an organization, people issues takes place. The skills and the capabilities of the employees change, job requirements change, new leaders step in. The formal way of dealing with these issues is by bringing the leadership team to the forefront and then engaging the major stakeholders. This should be done as early as possible and the necessary changes must be adapted (Hayes 2014).
- Starting from the top- when it comes to change in an organization, all the staffs and the employees will be looking forward to the leadership team and the CEO. Thus, the leader at first themselves must embrace the changes and at the same time motivate the rest of the team (Goetsch and Davis 2014).
- Communication of the message- during a change, there are a lot of occurring and happenings within a business. This results in confusion which can be solved effectively only through the proper communication of the changes process. Communication when occurring in a formal way and from the top organizational hierarchy to down reduces the confusion and chaos (Men 2014).
Considering the present scenario of Deeside Park House & Castle, bringing the necessary changes and adapting to the same can effectively improve the organizational performance
- Deeside Park House & Castle currently needs an able and experienced event manager who will be able to guide a team of professional when an event will be organized and it can boost the tarnished image of Deeside Park House & Castle.
- Due to the mismanagement by Isobelle, there is a wide occurrence of mistrust and fright among the employees. Building a proper employee and employer relation can effectively regain the lost faith of the employees (Van De Voorde et al. 2012). Proper employee and employer relation can be built via showing the sensitivity towards the emotional state of the employees; providing the motivation when the employees need to be motivated; promoting and rewarding the strengths of the employees; the management style of Deeside Park House & Castle must be aligned according to the needs of the employees.
- Hamish has other commitments due to which he was unable to manage and communicate with the employees properly, thus a separate CEO of the company can effectively play a role in the maintain good employee relations and overall functioning of the company (Karanges et al. 2015). Good employee relation can be maintained through the communication of the vision and the mission of the Deeside Park House & Castle to its employee and the staffs; giving a recognition to the good work done by the employees on a regular in order to motivate and enthuse the workers; Deeside Park House & Castle management must promote a work life balance environment which will help the employee to improve their personal life conditions and this to a positive reflection of work productivity; when the employees are provided with the option of career development opportunities, the employees feel much more engaged to work this leads to the build-up of positive employee relation.
- Although, the services rendered by Deeside Park House & Castle is of superior quality with respect to the other restaurants in the area. Thus, Deeside Park House & Castle must open other branches in the other cities in order to increase its presence.
Conclusion
Thus from the above study, it can be concluded that Deeside Park House & Castle is a best in class hospitality service provider in Scotland. The company has a good reputation and it provides best in class food items which are and the services are of superior quality. Due to these reasons, Deeside Park House & Castle is able to maintain a competitive edge over its market rivals. Recently, Isobelle was recruited as an event manager and she is the younger daughter of Hamish. After her recruitment, there is a sudden impact on the normal functioning and management. Employee and the other staffs were complaining about the mistrust and harassment and mismanagement.
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