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Effective Resource Management in Small Island Tourism

Table of Contents

Introduction. 3

Background Information. 3

Assessment of the Challenges. 4

Tactics and resources. 5

Organizational culture. 7

Job satisfaction. 8

Leadership and Management 9

Conclusion. 10

Recommendations. 11

References. 12

Introduction

Tourism is one of the most prominent industries worldwide. Particularly in the case of small islands, tourism is a major factor for sustainability (Sharpley & Ussi, 2014). This report focuses its attention on the small island of Nefertiti and particularly, the Nukua B & B. Briefly, the Nukua B & B is a local bed and breakfast that is located on Nefertiti. Its main source of revenue is tourism. However, the business has recently faced emerging challenges in this area mainly due to increased competition in the industry. In reaction to this situation, the Nukua B & B has opted to hire a consultant to offer reasonable advice on the most suitable approach for the business in the increasingly competitive market.

The purpose of this report is to analyze the general and specific context of the Nukua B & B and provide informative recommendations on the way forward. The report entails multiple sections. Firstly, the section on background information provides general details on the nature of tourism on small islands. It also introduces the situation of Nukua B & B. additionally, the subsequent section provides an assessment of the challenges that Nukua B & B faces as a business on the tourism industry on a small island. The following sections address the possible avenues that Nukua B & B may pursue to improve its situation. They encompass: tactics and resources, organizational culture, leadership and management, and job satisfaction. Ultimately, there is a conclusion and a recommendation section that summarizes all the recommendations for the business.

Background Information

Islands are considered to be a leading destination for millions of tourists every year (Briguglio, 2017). They are mainly attractive for their outstanding geographical locations and the richness of their cultural heritage. Regardless, there are several vulnerabilities and challenges that small island states face with regards to tourism. One of the primary challenges for small island states in tourism is their small size. The fact that these islands are small implies that there is unavoidable pressure on the limited resources as well as restricted economic diversity (Manning, 2016). Additionally, there is the challenge of isolation and remoteness. These islands are often separated from the rest of the world in a manner that may be perceived as a disadvantage in terms of accessibility. Furthermore, the issue of isolation and remoteness presents challenges in trading (Vogt et al., 2016). In addition, small islands have a maritime environment. While this is a solid tourism asset, it is also perceived as a challenge in terms of climate change.

The general challenges that the tourism industry on small island states faces directly reflect on businesses, such as Nukua B & B, that mainly depend on tourists for their income. The government interest in establishing tourism as a key economic development strategy has enhanced business for Nukua B & B. it has received more clientele due to this strategy than in previous years. However, this factor has attracted significant competition from larger providers. Nukua B & B finds itself in a position whereby it is struggling for sustainability and faces the threat of being outdone in the market. The business therefore requires urgent strategic intervention in areas such as resource management, job performance and job satisfaction, and organizational culture.

Assessment of the Challenges

Nukua B & B faces considerable challenges due to various factors. Firstly, being a tourist business on a small island bears its own challenges. (Ridderstaat, Croes, & Nijkamp, 2016) Despite the fact that Nefertiti’s government agenda has boosted the island’s tourism sector, the tourism sector is still developing and the island is yet to attain its target of 20,000 tourists per year. This means that while business has been booming for Nukua B & B, it is yet to reach the level of ultimate success.

More specifically, Nukua B & B faces the challenge of extensive competition. Prior to the government’s agenda of boosting the tourism sector, Nukua B & B was the dominant operator in the accommodation sector of tourism. Owing to the recent boom in the tourism sector, there have been new entrants into the market who threated to outdo Nukua B & B. Nukua B & B has the challenge of addressing this new competitive element. Basically, it hardly has considerable experience in dealing with competition since this was not a factor before.

In line with the threat of competition, Nukua B & B is currently struggling to retain its staff. Many of the staff members have been poached by the competition. Notably, the staff members are undoubtedly one of the most important success factors in the tourism sector on the island. This is evidence by the fact that the availability of competent staff members is registered as a relevant element for the success of the tours. Without its staff members, Nukua B & B faces the risk of running out of business.

In addition, Nukua B & B faces the challenge of attracting clientele. The increase in competition has made it difficult for Nukua B & B to attract the tourists since it lacks adequate strategies and resources in comparison with the larger providers on the island. Furthermore, Nukua B & B faces the challenge of enhancing the quality of its services in accordance with its objectives. It lacks a suitable strategy to realize this goal.

Tactics and resources

There are various tactics and resources that Nukua B & B can use in order to compete favorably with the bigger, international accommodation and tourism providers. Essentially, there are certain opportunities and threats that the business must consider. One opportunity is derived from its greatest strength; Nukua B & B is one of the earliest accommodation/tourism providers on the island. Therefore it has an established brand and reputation. It could capitalize on this to attract clients from the competitors who are mainly new entrants (Hampton, & Jeyacheya, 2013).

Additionally, being one of the earliest tourism providers, Nukua B & B already has a well-trained and competent workforce. This is a major resource in the tourism industry and the business must develop its human resource management sector in order to retain the staff. Another opportunity relates to the experience that Nukua B & B has amassed in all its years of operation. The business can use its wealth of experience to appeal to the clients. Another resource that Nukua can utilize is to enhance the quality of its services to clients in order to remain competitive.

The major threat to Nukua is competition from the new entrants. Consequently, the focus of its strategy should be to surpass the competition. One way to do this would be to enhance Nukua’s marketing strategy. Effective marketing is substantial in the acquisition and retention of clients. Nukua should invest significantly into developing a marketing strategy that would create awareness about its business to both the local and foreign clients. This can be accomplished via advertisements on social media, broadcasting, and print media and promotions (Becken et al., 2014).

Furthermore, Nukua can establish a competitive risk management strategy. The increasingly progressive competition is a major threat that is accompanied by numerous risks that Nukua must contain. The risks include: employee turnover, new entrants into the market, and losing clients to the competition.

Organizational culture

Organizational culture denotes a system of mutual beliefs, values, and assumptions that govern how individuals in an organization behave (Croes, & Semrad, 2015). Research indicates that organizational culture is a useful tool for competitive advantage. In the case of Nukua, the effective establishment of an organizational culture may help to enhance their resource management and organizational performance.

Resource management denotes the effective and efficient establishment of an organization’s resources whenever they are required. These may encompass production resources, human skills, and financial resources. Nukua operates on a small island where resources are naturally limited. The development of an organizational culture may facilitate resource management in various ways. For instance, the small island has a limited number of competent staff in the tourism sector. If Nukua develops an organizational culture that has commendable values and ethical practices that appeal to the employees and make them feel like a vital part of the business, it may be able to retain its staff and attract even more. A similar case applies to the management of financial resources. Nukua may establish an organizational culture that clearly dictates how finances should be deployed in an organized manner.

Organizational culture facilitates organizational performance (Shahzad et al., 2012). Through organizational culture, the individuals in an organization often share common values, beliefs, and ethical practices. It promotes solidarity, cooperation, and coordination in the organization. People understand their roles, how they should conduct themselves, and how they should perform their jobs. They comprehend their targets and become personally vested in the success of the organization since it reflects their own values and beliefs. This enhances overall organizational performance.

 Nukua can develop its organizational culture through value blueprinting (Canavan, 2013). This will encompass an open conversation with leaders in the organization. They will frame the organizational culture and create a values committee with a direct association with leadership. The committee will ensure the sustenance of the culture. Notably, Nukua will be required to hire individuals who personify the values and are competent staff members. Moreover, they will inform the current staff members of the company’s values and ethical standards and invite them to adopt the culture.

Job satisfaction

Job satisfaction denotes the level of contentment or satisfaction among employees with regards to their work. According to various measures, job satisfaction is an element in positive employee morale, employee goal achievement, and employee motivation at work (Carlsen, & Butler, 2011). A focus on job satisfaction could support Nukua employees in their work and ultimately aid in promoting their organizational performance.

A focus on job satisfaction indicates the management’s interest concerning the level of happiness or contentment among the staff members. When management is concerned about job satisfaction, it will enforce measures to meet the needs of employees and enhance their feelings of happiness and contentment. By focusing on job satisfaction, Nukua will likely address the major concerns that employees have about various issues at the workplace. This may include such things as general employee welfare, rewards for good performance, compensation for services, prospects of career development, and health and safety among others.

A focus on job satisfaction may prompt the management at Nukua to address the concerns of employees and provide more avenues that would enable employees meet their individual needs. For instance, the company may establish a performance appraisal system that rewards the best work performances (Modica, 2016). This will ultimately motivate employees to work harder. Moreover, the Nukua may also develop a career development program that provides training and educational opportunities for those employees who seek betterment. Furthermore, the Nukua may establish a succession program that provides employees with opportunities for promotions to higher positions.

The effort associated with job satisfaction enhances organizational performance due to their effect on crucial factors like employee motivation, employee morale, and employee goal achievement. Essentially, when employees are motivated, have high morale, and have the opportunities to achieve their goals, they tend to perform better at work (ITB Convention Market Trends & Innovations et al., 2010).

Leadership and Management

Leadership and management play an unprecedented role in driving the success and performance of a business. At Nukua, there is a need to improve the leadership and management of the organization. The most suitable avenue for the organization is to adopt a transformational style of leadership. Transformational leadership denotes a leadership approach that impacts change in people. It established effective and positive change in the employees (Fayos et al., 2012).

The reason why a transformation leadership approach is suitable in this context relates to the current challenges that the organization is facing. In order to address external threats, Nukua must first fortify its internal environment. Presently, Nukua has a high rate of turnover, no organizational culture, and poor job satisfaction. By implementing transformational leadership, the management will be able to resolve all these problems.

A transformational leader has the ability to inspire the followers to rally behind him/her and share in the vision for the organization (World Tourism Organization et al., 2012). This approach to leadership will drive the employees to become as invested in the success of Nukua as the management. Similarly, they will be eager to adopt the values, beliefs, and practices that are incorporated in the established organizational culture. Moreover, by adopting transformational leadership, Nukua will be able to retain more employees since they will feel as if they are a part of the business. Basically, the primary advice for the company is to pay more attention to the employees and work on enhancing their satisfaction, morale, and motivation.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the report identifies the challenges that Nukua B & B faces as a business in the accommodation/tourism industry on the small island of Nefertiti. Generally, being a business on a small island, there are multiple challenges and vulnerabilities that Nukua has to deal with naturally. For example, its small size raises the pressure of limited resources. Similarly, there are inherent restrictions for economic diversity due to the small size of the island.

More specifically, the problems that Nukua faces include: enhanced competition, employee turnover, loss of clientele, and inadequate quality of services. There are various approaches that Nukua may adopt to resolve this situation and compete favorably while enhancing its organizational performance.

Nukua B & B may implement the various recommendations that have been addressed in this report. They will be useful in resolving some of the problems that the company currently faces in a market that is growing faster than was initially anticipated.

Recommendations

This section provides a summary of the recommendations made for the advancement of Nukua B & B. Firstly, Nukua should use its strengths as opportunities for development. It can use its added experience as well as its brand and reputation in the tourism industry to appeal to client.

Nukua should also establish ways of retaining its staff members. Being one of the oldest operators in the tourism accommodation industry, Nukua has some of the most competent personnel in the field. The staffs are a significant competitive advantage.

Nukua should also enhance the quality of its service and ensure that it aligns with the predetermined goal. This can be done by enhancing the training and skills of the staff members in the organization.

Nukua should establish an effective marketing strategy to create awareness of its services among the clientele. The company could advertise through social media, broadcasting media, and print media or use promotional activities.

The company should establish a competitive risk management strategy to cater for the imminent risks that will occur in the rapidly growing tourism sector.

Nukua should establish an organizational culture as this will promote organizational performance and resource management.

Nukua should focus on job satisfaction since this will promote employee morale, employee motivation, and employee needs achievement.

Nukua should adopt transformational leadership style to enable it inspire the workforce to remain in the organization, adopt the organizational culture, and improve their work performance.