Strategic Management for HospitalityMission Hills Golf Resort: A Case StudySharon LitchfieldMolly MooreAnthony Henson

Situation Analysis

Mission Hills Resort is located in Donggaun a city north Shenzen. They began in 1997 and have been operating 12 championship golf courses, three golf academies, three award winning spas and two five star hotels. They were in fact established as the #1 brand in golf in China and were tapped to assist in the Beijing Olympics.

They have Asia’s largest tennis facilities with 51 courts.

7,000 employees

They want to expand to the Hainan Island with another five star resort.They recognize that Human Capital is paramount to their success in providing customer service and growth within their company. This would mean doubling the size of their operations, but they face increased competition within China with the growth of luxury hotels and increased tourism throughout China.

As Senior Management our goal is to hire approximately 2,000 more employees who will be part of the new operations.

OUR “M-I-S-S-I-O-N” IS TO ADVANCE WITH TIME AND INSPIRE HAPPY, HEALTHY AND HARMONIOUS LIFESTYLES AND EXPERIENCES FOR ALL.

VISIONTo be a leading world-class brand and a pioneer in the global leisure and tourism industry

MEMORABLEWe create memorable experiences for all and ensure repeated visits through personalized services and premier integrated offerings.INTERNATIONALWe build boundless international networking platforms to drive goodwill through golf.SUSTAINABLEWe are committed to advocating ecological, cultural and resource sustainability in tourism development.SOCIETALWe continually promote corporate social responsibility and citizenship together with the company’s advancement.INNOVATIVEWe inspire passion for innovations and strive to be a trend setter.OPPORTUNITYWe cultivate opportunities for advancement and foster continual growth with colleagues, partners and guests.NURTURINGWe nurture youth and popularize the game and essence of golf.

HARMONYWe uphold a harmonious attitude through mutual respect, trust, admiration and support.INTELLIGENCEWe value intelligence as a source of creativity, corporate advancement and life fulfillment.LOYALTYWe serve from the heart to earn loyalty, foster friendships and contribute back to society.LEARNINGWe strive to learn and work more efficiently and effectively in our continual pursuit of excellence.STEWARDSHIPWe uphold stewardship and act with an owner mentality, being fully engaged in our work and living life to the fullest.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF MISSION HILLS RESORT

STRENGTHS-INTERNAL• EMPLOYEE TURNOVER IS BELOW INDUSTRY AVERAGE• THEY HAVE TRAINING PROGRAM IN PLACE• THEY PROMOTE FROM WITHIN-based on length of service, rather than

performance.• THEY TREAT STAFF LIKE FAMILY RATHER THAN A WORKFORCE

• Employee clubhouse• STRONG INTERNAL MANAGEMENT-based on Ken Chu’s philosophy, each team

member has their own strengths and weaknesses. He believes that putting staff together with different education…….

• WORLD RECOGNITION IN FIVE COUNTRIES• THEY ARE #1 BRAND IN GOLF IN CHINA• THEY HAVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH PRO-GOLFER AND PGA• THEY HAVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH HIGH VALUE FOREIGN COMPANIES• NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENTS• COMPETITIVE EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PACKAGE

WEAKNESSES-INTERNAL• LESS EDUCATED WORKFORCE• STAFF DO NOT HAVE THE SELF CONFIDENCE TO PERFORM

INDEPENDENTLY, RELYING TOO MUCH ON MIDDLE MANAGEMENT• ENTRY LEVEL STAFF ARE NOT TASKED TO MAKE DECISIONS AS NEEDED

FOR FRONT LINE INTERACTION WITH GUESTS• ENGLISH IS NOT A 2ND LANGUAGE, AND IS A REQUIREMENT OF MOST

GUESTS• MIDDLE MANAGERS ARE TASKED WITH MORE OPERATIONAL DUTIES

RATHER THAN HUMAN RESOURCES; ALTHOUGH IT IS A REQUIREMENT OF THEIR DUTIES

OPPORTUNITIES-EXTERNAL• TO EXPAND INTO HAINAN ISLAND AND OPEN ANOTHER FIVE STAR RESORT,

THEREBY DOUBLING THEIR EXISTING OPERATIONS AND PROFIT MARGIN• PROMOTE THE GAME OF GOLF TO THE YOUTH OF CHINA• PROMOTE CHINA AND TOURISM THROUGH GOLF• PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE AWAY FROM HIGH POLLUTION/SMOG

RIDDEN METROPOLITAN AREA

THREATS-EXTERNAL• ONE CHILD PER FAMILY POLICY IN CHINA WILL EVENTUALLY MEAN LESS OF A

WORKFORCE• YOUTH OF CHINA, IN EDUCATED CHINA, DON’T WANT TO DO FRONT LINE

POSITIONS, THEY’RE EXPECTING MANAGEMENT POSITIONS AFTER GRADUATION.

• MOST WORKERS IN THE AREA ARE FROM AGRARIAN INDUSTRY AND THEY DON’T USUALLY PROGRESS INTO HIGH SCHOOL.

• MOST WORKERS AREN’T TAUGHT ENGLISH AS A SECONDARY LANGUAGE• FIVE STAR RESORTS ARE MOVING INTO CHINA AND ARE BECOMING MORE

ATTRACTIVE TO EMPLOYEES.

HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY

Ken Chu’s new philosophy: “Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life….Zig Ziglar”

Based on the employment opportunities within the surrounding area of Mission Hills, Hainan Island, and with the advent of five star hotels, it’s clear that a robust HR benefits package is necessary in order to compete and keep highly trained, educated and experienced staffing levels to keep the momentum needed for growth within the company.

Based on the needs of an international destination, with many guests from all over the world, it would be prudent to follow the recommendations listed.

Human Resources Benefits Package Recommendations

• Education– Provide students of the local hospitality and

tourism university with internship program; which upon graduation would guarantee them a position within Mission Hills, with choice of property, in supervisory positions.

– Provide entry level staff with ongoing education in partnership with the local hospitality and tourism university, at no cost based on need, current education level and full scholarship if they meet the grade level requirements. Could be tied into employment contract.

– Employee various nationalities to teach and model hospitality to front line staff.

– Ensure that “English” is taught to every staff member, since it is universally recognized as a 2nd language for many countries.

– Work with Hainan Island local school system to enhance curriculum with exposure to different cultures and languages needed in a today’s society.

• Employment Contracts– Based on education levels and

needs within Mission Hills, provide various employment contracts.

– Front level staff would have continued education benefits along with a two-five year contract based upon years of education needed.

– Mid-level management, assuming minimum education requirements are met, would have three year contract.

– Upper-level management would have five year contract.

Human Resources Benefits Package Recommendations

• Domicile Accommodations– All single, qualified staff

members would have on site-dormitories provided, as long as they are enrolled in continued education studies.

– All family, qualified staff members would received stipend assistance to live “off site” in local community.

• PTO-Paid Time Off– It is recognized that many of the

staff come from other areas of China and have relocated for this great opportunity to work and learn at one of the premiere resorts in the world.

– Based on one year length of service it is recommended that each staff member, independent of their staff level, shall be entitled to three weeks paid time off, which can be used at their discretion as vacation, sick, other.

– For three years: four weeks– For five years plus: 6 weeks

Human Resources Benefits Package Recommendation

• Compensation at this time is commensurate with other five star resorts/hotels, what can we offer that would keep them here?– Missions Hills is dedicated to it’s

employees, therefore their standard of living should be comparable to their beliefs.

– It is agreed that the minimum wage is not enough to maintain top talent within the industry. We need to offer higher than normal starting salaries/wages; higher than $304 per month.

– Is the education provided a good trade-off to increasing wages?

• Employee Perks of Mission Hills– Offsite outings for employees and

families.• Picnics, sports venues, athletic

resources

– Discounts off hotel offered services: golf, tennis, gym, spa, etc.

– Employee recognition program– Education opportunities– Transfer opportunities– Promotion opportunities based on

education, service, experience– Living accommodations stipends for

family housing– Accommodations for on site staff– Profit sharing/ownership

opportunities

Marketing Strategy

•Brand Prestige and international world-wide recognition within the industry•State-of-the-art facilities and on-campus living •Innovative technological trends in integration for resorts•Create partnerships and cooperative credit transfer agreements universities with on site programs within Mission Hills to foster long-term mobility between Recruitment partnerships with employment companies, internal and external

“Mission Hills group aspires to become an influential leisure business enterprise in China and Asia-Pacific Region. We have more then 20 nationalities in our staff team from different cultural and professional backgrounds as we set the benchmark for leisure industry in China”

Marketing StrategyTo extract more productivity gains from China's shrinking labor pool, one of the solutions is to invest in education•Incorporate the presence of H & T schools on-site•Class rooms settings on property•On-going hospitality courses, certifications•Form alliances with global universities, international professors

Joint-Venture with Mission Hills •English speaking countries•Assistantships/Internships•Tuition Reimbursement Programs•Prestige of an overseas education for students abroad program•Partner with local school systems to implement and cross train at middle schools-Management-In-Training Programs