Written Assignment Unit 5

International HRM Case Study - Brunt Hotels

Complete activities A, C, E, and G, and answer the following questions:

(Activity A) Based on the information you have at the end of Part 1, what do you think the key priorities
should be? (use your own words - do not copy and paste from the text)

(Activity C) Write a recruitment advertisement for the new positions which can be sent to existing
managers by e-mail. Your advertisement should include, at a minimum, the following information:

Main responsibilities of the new job.

The skills you are looking for in the position.

(Activity E) You are a management consultant who must design a selection process for the candidates.
There is no budget limit for the development of the process; the senior management team knows that it
is important to get the right person for the job. However, because the new hotels must be up and
running quickly, they ask you to design a selection process which will take a maximum of two days. You
must present your ideas and be able to justify why your method is appropriate.

(Activity G) The management team asks you to conduct Internet-based research to find out what
expatriate support services are available in France. You should create a list of the services that are
available and provide details of at least one organization which could provide the services. These
services should then be listed in order of priority for the expatriates. You will present your ideas, so you
should be prepared to justify your reasons for prioritizing the services.

Do you think Brunt Hotels should mostly hire expatriate or local managers? Why?

Which of the six managers (Case Study - Part Five) is most qualified to head the new division? Why?
Which training should they attend to complete their skillset? Here is a summary of the six successful
candidates.

Write a 5-page, double-spaced, essay covering the six questions above. Use your own words – do not
copy and paste from any website.
Written Assignment Unit 5

 (Activity A) Based on the information you have at the end of Part 1, what do you think the key
priorities should be? (use your own words - do not copy and paste from the text)

The Brunt Hotels, that owns 60 hotels in UK, decide to acquire a small chain of hotels in France. This
approach and expansion requires some steps to be taken very carefully in order this strategy to be
successful. The key priorities of this approach are related to the strategy plan with the objectives
defined, the steps that will be followed to implement this plan, the risk management analysis, the
marketing plan that will be followed in the new country, the staff that will work in the new hotels, the
business culture in the new country (France). Most of these key priorities should be analyzed and
examined by the independent management consultants and the right decisions should be taken to
implement the whole plan and face any issues that may occur during the execution of this plan.

The most important key factor which has the highest priority is the staff that will work in the new
hotels (managers or employees) and the business culture in the new country France. The staff is very
important aspect of the whole process since the managers that will work in France they should know to
speak French. From the case study one it is clear that the managers do not speak French which is a real
disadvantage since it is against the culture of the French people. French people like to speak their
language and in case you own hotels in France your customers could be both locals and tourists. So your
staff, especially your hotel managers, should be able to speak French and communicate properly with
your customers. So my opinion is that the existing managers working in UK should educate and take
lessons to get familiar with French language.

Another important key factor which has priority is the training or seminars related to the business
culture of your existing managers that wish to work in France. They should be familiar with the habits,
the behavior, the communication protocols, the formal way to introduce their selves, the style they
need to have and all the culture characteristics to run a hotel business in France. So my opinion would
be that the company should hire French managers with related hotel experience and employees from
the local market. They should be trained by the managers of the Brunt Hotels (UK based) and have close
communication and meeting in order to check the progress. In parallel some key managers (high level)
from UK could move to the new hotels in France in order to give some advices, instructions and guides
on how to rule and run the hotels (main strategy of the business) based on the UK Brunt Hotels
philosophy.

 (Activity C) Write a recruitment advertisement for the new positions which can be sent to existing
managers by e-mail. Your advertisement should include, at a minimum, the following information:
Main responsibilities of the new job.

The skills you are looking for in the position.

The main responsibilities of the manager in new hotels in France are to manage daily the hotel
operations and deliver outstanding guest services to the customers. The managers will be involved in
the room, financial, building safety and food operations. It is expected to perform their daily tasks based
on the highest standards in leading, managing and planning of all hotel operations.

The managers of the new Hotels in France should have good communication skills, they should have
the ability to work in teams, they need to have strong leadership and interpersonal

skills and they should be focus on the work and remain calm with urgent or unexpected activities.
Furthermore the new managers should be able to motivate the other members of the team, they should
have a good knowledge of the financial and business issues, they should have good organizational skills
and be warm and open with the customers and the hotel staff. Knowledge of French language will be an
extra advantage for the new managers.

 (Activity E) You are a management consultant who must design a selection process for the candidates.
There is no budget limit for the development of the process; the senior management team knows that it
is important to get the right person for the job. However, because the new hotels must be up and
running quickly, they ask you to design a selection process which will take a maximum of two days. You
must present your ideas and be able to justify why your method is appropriate.

As a management consultant my selection process would be based on the behavior and performance
evaluation of each manager from the past. I will try to insert criteria which will be based on the
communication and leadership skills of each candidate. It is very important for the successful candidates
to be able to compromise with the new situation and join quickly the new teams in a foreign country. I
would also examine how warm, calm, polite and cool are the candidates since their relocation will be
difficult and they will be forced to work under pressure at the starting period. I would also consider any
work experience in a similar position in a foreign country from the past, since this is a proof that the
candidate has done it already in the past and he/she is aware of the difficulties and situations will meet.
 (Activity G) The management team asks you to conduct Internet-based research to find out what
expatriate support services are available in France. You should create a list of the services that are
available and provide details of at least one organization which could provide the services. These
services should then be listed in order of priority for the expatriates. You will present your ideas, so you
should be prepared to justify your reasons for prioritizing the services.

There are plenty of support services provided by multiple organizations in France and they can help a
business to relocate smoothly its employees. Paragon Relocation is a relocation company that offering
services and support related to the relocation. They ensure success throughout their programs and
services and they can modify them based on the client business needs. They offer many services in the
relocation program management field, and these services include real estate, the mortgage financing,
the shipping household goods, tax rules and regulations advices and financial reporting.

This program is modified based on the client needs, and the company manages the whole relocation
process together with the people and the technology of the client’s business. They offer the following
services which are important for the success of the process.

account management,

administration management ,

quality assurance,

report and analysis,

cost management services.

 Do you think Brunt Hotels should mostly hire expatriate or local managers? Why?

I think that that the Brunt hotel chain should hire local French managers with related hotel experience
and employees from the local market. The local managers should be trained by the managers of the
Brunt Hotels (UK based) and have close communication and meetings in order to check the progress.
The local managers should quickly join the business plan and be aware of the business objectives and
goals. In parallel some key managers (high level) from UK could move to the new hotels in France in
order to give some presentations, advices, instructions and guides on how to rule and run the new
hotels (explain what is the strategy of the business) based on the UK Brunt Hotels philosophy. The UK
managers should also be aware and be well informed for the French business culture, understand its
characteristics and protocols and try to find the best approach to combine hotel’s business philosophy
and local business culture.

 Which of the six managers (Case Study - Part Five) is most qualified to head the new division? Why?
Which training should they attend to complete their skillset? Here is a summary of the six successful
candidates.

I will select the Manager A as the most qualified to head the new division. My criteria are based on
the age and the working experience. He is 28 years old, which means that he can motivate other people,
overcome any difficulties, work hard under pressure, he may do many activities in parallel, be ready to
face new challenges and be very active in the hotel operations. He also will have good communication
skills, able to communicate with customers different ages, and he already has 5 years experience while
working for 10 years in Brunt Hotel. I believe that being a manger in age of 23 it means that he has
leadership, communication and strong managing skills. His experience as a hotel manager for 5 years in
young age, shows that this person could achieve many things in the new hotels.

On the other hand he has some weakness like the poor knowledge of the French language and the
French culture. This means that Manager A needs to attend some trainingσ related to the French culture
and language together with some the knowledge of the basic protocols used in French businesses
related to the communication and leadership.