COLEGIO DE STA. ANA DE VICTORIAS, INC.

Osmeña Avenue, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, 6119

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LEARNING MODULE
BLENDED FLEXIBLE LEARNING
Micro Perspective in Tourism and Hospitality ( THCC 214 )

AN OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever checked into a hotel and had problems that needed to be addressed? Maybe
you've had a really good hotel experience and wanted to thank the employees involved. Hotels
operate within a general structure that helps organize the property, keep everything running
smoothly and ensure that you, as their special guest, have the best experience possible. Review
the lessons below to gain a greater understanding of how hotels are organized to serve you.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. To identify the hotel organizational structure.

2. To classify the different types of organizational structure.
3. To identify organizational structure of front office structure.
4. To distinguish the weakness and strength of functional structure.
5. To relate the different hospitality structures to their role in assisting clients or guests.

LEARNING RESOURCES

3G E-learning., (2019). Micro Perspective of Tourism and Hospitality, 3 G E-learning LLC,

USA

LEARNING INPUTS

LESSON 5 HOTEL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Hotel Organizational Structure

Regardless of its size, a hotel must have an organizational structure that services its
customers most effectively. Although the number of staff may change in a big hotel, typically, the
structure remains the same, and the chain-of-command and the roles and responsibilities of each
department are essential to maintaining a well-functioning organization.

A hotel organizational structure is a comprehensive plan by a hotel owner to define

departmental activities and responsibilities. This structure brings order to every aspect of hotel
operation from the front desk and room service to the human resources department. Hotel
organizational structures are necessary to ensure maximum profitability from each room,
restaurant and bar on a daily basis. Your hotel can run efficiently if it creates an organizational
structure that is easy to understand.

• Owners and Executive Managers

The executive level of a hotel usually consists of the hotel owner and the general manager. In
small hotels, the same person sometimes occupies these positions, but in most cases, two
different people occupy them. The hotel owner sets the standards and policies of the hotel and
delegates the implementation of these standards and policies to the general manager. The
general manager’s responsibility is to manage the hotel’s day-to-day activities and to oversee the
functions of various departments such as food and beverage, laundry, and housekeeping.

• Assistant Managers Supporting the General Manager

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 COLEGIO DE STA. ANA DE VICTORIAS, INC.
Osmeña Avenue, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, 6119

In many hotels, the assistant manager is the general manager’s right hand and provides
support for a number of daily tasks. For example, it’s the assistant manager’s job to communicate
with all department heads and ensure that they are handling any and all issues that could affect
the performance standards of the hotel.

In bigger hotels, there are typically several assistant managers, each assigned to oversee a
specific division or department of the hotel. Responsibilities can include assigning work
schedules, handling patron complaints, and ensuring that hotel events are well organized. An
assistant manager may also take on the role of a general manager if the general manager is ill,
takes a vacation or is otherwise unavailable.

• Mid-Level or Departmental Managers

Mid-level hotel managers are a tier below assistant managers, and usually include positions
such as the front desk manager, food and beverage manager, sales manager, housekeeping
manager, marketing manager, financial manager, and human resources manager. The front desk
manager’s duties include handling reservations, handling guest complaints, and ensuring that the
proper department handles guest requests. The food and beverage manager is responsible for
handling room service, catering, and the daily activities of a hotel’s bar and restaurant. The
housekeeping manager oversees all aspects of cleaning and maintaining the appearance of the
hotel.

The marketing manager is responsible for implementing promotional campaigns to attract

guests, and the financial manager handles hotel accounting, budget, and expenses. The human
resources hotel manager oversees the recruiting, training, and development of all hotel staff, and
also ensures that each staff member is compensated according to the hiring protocols. Human
resources hotel managers must also ensure that the hotel adheres to legal safety policies as well
as employment practices that comply with the law.

• Operational and Guest-Facing Staff

The operational staff of a hotel includes all the people that work in the different hotel
departments such as food and beverage; housekeeping; the front desk; the bar; and the
restaurant. Staff positions include chefs, cooks, dishwashers, guest room attendants, laundry
room attendants, room service waiters, porters, and customer representatives that greet guests,
guide them to their rooms, and relay special requests to the front desk.

• Owner

The owner of the hotel is at the top of the organizational structure and chain of command.
Owners who don't have hospitality experience, or who own more than one hotel, hire a general
manager or a hotel management company to oversee the hotel's operations. The management
company hires the general manager. The general manager then hires the second-tier staff.

• General Manager

The general manager is responsible for all operations of the hotel, both back and front of the
house. Second-tier managers report to the general manager. If the hotel is part of a chain, most
of the marketing programs are put in place by the franchisor. The general manager may decide to
supplement those programs with the hotel's own efforts or to offer special packages as incentives
for guests to book a reservation at the hotel.

• Second Tier Management

The second level of management includes the assistant general manager, who fills in when
the general manager is off, and the night manager. The front desk manager is responsible for
greeting guests, taking reservations, and coordinating the guest's requests with the appropriate
hotel department. The food and beverage manager runs the hotel's room service, catering,
restaurants and bars. The operations manager oversees housekeeping and keeping the hotel
systems running smoothly. The marketing manager runs the sales, marketing and publicity
departments. The controller manages finance and accounting. Each of these managers must
coordinate with each other. If the marketing manager books a group that requires meeting rooms,

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 COLEGIO DE STA. ANA DE VICTORIAS, INC.
Osmeña Avenue, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, 6119

a luncheon and a continental breakfast, the food and beverage manager has to work with the
operations manager to service the guests.

• Third Level Management

In large hotels, each of the second-tier managers has directors reporting to them. For
example the food and beverage manager has a director for each restaurant, a catering director,
and a beverage manager. The food and beverage manager may also have an executive chef
reporting to him who develops the menus and oversees the kitchen. In upscale hotels where the
gourmet restaurants are considered an important amenity to the guests and attracts diners
outside of hotel guests, the executive chef may report directly to the general manager. The
marketing manager has a director of sales, a director of publicity, and possibly a director of
advertising.

(Don’t forget to answer the Self – Check Question 2.1 and Activity 2.1!)

LESSON 6 TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

What Is an Organizational Structure?

An organizational structure is a system that outlines how certain activities are directed in
order to achieve the goals of an organization. These activities can include rules, roles, and
responsibilities.

The organizational structure also determines how information flows between levels within the
company. For example, in a centralized structure, decisions flow from the top down, while in a
decentralized structure, decision-making power is distributed among various levels of the
organization.

1. Hierarchical Organizational Structure

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 COLEGIO DE STA. ANA DE VICTORIAS, INC.
Osmeña Avenue, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, 6119

Organizations that use a traditional hierarchical structure rely on a vertical chain of command
as the prime method of organizing employees and their responsibilities. Military, government, and
other very large organizations use a hierarchy to determine the level of control employees have
over their work as well as their rank relative to others.

Hierarchical structures typically feature multiple layers of management and are therefore
prone to bureaucracy and the creation of silos that prevent cross-team collaboration.Most hotels
use a hierarchical organizational structure with pre-defined roles and departments. Their
employees have clearly-defined responsibilities and everyone knows their roles. Usually, a
general manager is at the top of the hierarchy, and this position oversees the various
departments within the hotel. Each specific department is run by medium- and low-level
managers. They coordinate employees' activities, assign tasks, supervise work operations and
monitor the overall performance of the department they are responsible for. The financial
director/manager, for example, supervises the work of the hotel's accountant and the cashier.
Logistics managers are in charge of the staff responsible for purchases and maintenance.

2. Functional Organizational Structure

Functional organizational structures are the most common. A structure of this type groups
individuals by specific functions performed. Common departments such as human resources,
accounting and purchasing are organized by separating each of these areas and managing them
independently of the others.

For example, managers of different functional areas all report up to one director or vice
president who has responsibility for all of the operational areas.

The advantage of this type of structure is that functions are separated by expertise but the
challenges comes in when different functional areas turn into silos that focus only on their area of
responsibility and don’t support the function of other departments.

The functional structure is based on an organization being divided up into smaller groups
with specific tasks or roles. For example, a company could have a group working in information
technology, another in marketing and another in finance.

Each department has a manager or director who answers to an executive a level up in the
hierarchy who may oversee multiple departments. One such example is a director of marketing
who supervises the marketing department and answers to a vice president who is in charge of the
marketing, finance and IT divisions.

3. Matrix Organizational Structure

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 COLEGIO DE STA. ANA DE VICTORIAS, INC.
Osmeña Avenue, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, 6119

A matrix structure provides for reporting levels both horizontally as well as

vertically. Employees may be part of a functional group (i.e. engineer) but may serve on a team
that supports new product development (i.e. new album). This kind of structure may have
members of different groups working together to develop a new product line.

For example, a recording engineer who works for a music publisher may have engineers
who report to him but may also use his expertise and work with teams to develop new music
albums.

The advantage of a matrix organizational structure is that employees have responsibility not
only for their department but for organizational projects. A challenge with this type of structure
presents itself when employees are given direction from two different managers and they need to
prioritize their work responsibilities. A hybrid organizational structure, the matrix structure is a
blend of the functional organizational structure and the projectized organizational structure.

In the matrix structure, employees may report to two or more bosses depending on the
situation or project. For example, under normal functional circumstances, an engineer at a large
engineering firm could work for one boss, but a new project may arise where that engineer’s
expertise is needed. F or the duration of that project, the employee would also report to that
project’s manager, as well as his or her boss for all other daily tasks.

Advantages of this structure is that employees can share their knowledge across the
different functional divisions, allowing for better communication and understanding of each
function’s role. And by working across functions, employees can broaden their skills and
knowledge, leading to professional growth within the company.

(Don’t forget to answer the Self – Check Question 2.2 and Activity 2.2!)

FRONT OFFICE MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

LESSON 7

Front Office Organizational Structure

The front office of a hotel is perhaps the most important area of the organization. The
employees that make up his department are the first and sometimes only representatives of the
establishment with whom guests interact.

• Front Desk Manager – the manager or supervisor oversees all front office operations for
the hotel. She also implements any policies or procedures that are administered by hotel
management. When VIPs, such as celebrities or dignitaries, stay at the establishment,

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 COLEGIO DE STA. ANA DE VICTORIAS, INC.
Osmeña Avenue, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, 6119

she is often responsible for giving them the personal attention they require. They often
report to the general manager.
• Reservations – they interact with guests at the most. They communicate with guests via
the telephone and internet; schedule their stays and documenting any special needs
they may have. For example: if a guest requests a room on a non-smoking floor, the
reservation clerk will make a special note of this, so that an appropriate room will be
ready when the guest arrives.
• Reception − It includes receiving the guests according to the highest standards and
registering them appropriately. They check them in, input their names into the registry,
assigning them to a room and answering basic questions or requests the guests may
have throughout their stay. It also includes bidding the guests off.
• Porter Service – They greet guests once they checked into the establishment. They
carry the guests’ luggage while showing them to their room. Ensuring that everything in
the room is in order and properly working, the porter check’s room equipment, such as
lightning and ventilation. He may also instruct visitors in the operation such as television
remote control and telephones.
• Concierge – they are the front office professionals who coordinate guests’
entertainments, travel, and other activities. Any time guests have a question, such as
directions to local attractions, she finds the answer as quickly as possible. In addition,
she makes restaurant reservations, orders car service and may even arrange personal
shopping for guests.

(Don’t forget to answer the Self – Check Question 2.3 and Activity 2.3!)

Lesson 8 FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURE STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES

Functional structure strengths

• Specialization
When they use this structure, people with similar knowledge and skills are grouped together.
This makes it possible for employees to become specialists in their field. It requires a
performance management system that allows for the promotion, development and visibility of
individual skills within their functional area.

• Productivity
Specialization leads to operational efficiencies and enhances productivity levels. Because of
their expertise, workers with specialized skills can perform tasks quickly, efficiently and with more
confidence, thus reducing the occurrence of work-related mistakes. In addition, the clear nature of
the career path within the functional unit makes it possible for employees to be highly motivated
to advance their careers as they move up within the hierarchy. The main goal of functional
structures within organizations is to bring the entire human and informational resources together
to meet the organization’s goals.

Functional structure weaknesses

• Management Issues
Communication in organizations with functional organizational structures can be rigid because of
the standardized ways of operation and the high degree of formalization. This can further make
the decision – making process slow and inflexible. Since it is more bureatic, functional units are
often not accountable to each other, and poor horizontal coordination within the departments can
occur. Lack of innovation and restricted views of organizational goals, along with too much focus,
can affect employees’ motivation.

• Unit Coordination
Even though functional units often perform with a high level of efficiency, their level of cooperation
with each other is sometimes compromised. Such groups may have difficulty in working well with
each other as they may be territorial and unwilling to cooperate. The occurrence of infighting
among units may cause delays, reduced commitment due to competing interests, and wasted

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 COLEGIO DE STA. ANA DE VICTORIAS, INC.
Osmeña Avenue, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, 6119

time, making projects fall behind schedule. This can ultimately bring down production levels
overall and the company – wide employee commitment toward meeting organizational goals.

(Don’t forget to answer the Self – Check Question 2.4 and Activity 2 .4!)

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 COLEGIO DE STA. ANA DE VICTORIAS, INC.
Osmeña Avenue, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, 6119

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