Located on the beach near the iconic Burj Al Arab in Dubai, Jumeirah Beach Hotel is a hospitality facility in the United Arab Emirates. Open to the public in 1997, the hotel is a four star facility run by the Dubai based hospitality industry bigwigs, Jumeirah. Built in the shape of waves, the hotel has more than nineteen beach front villas and is located on reclaimed land near the Burj-al Arab and adjacent to Dubai’s famous Wild Wadi Water Park.At its completion, the building which remains an icon in the Dubai waterfront landmark, was the ninth tallest in the oil rich emirate.World famous for its luxury accommodations and stellar services, the hotel shall form the focus of this essay. Emphasis is laid on the internal aspects of the organization’s operations including the organizational direction, the funding and innovation for the organization, the human resources practices (including the employee recruitment and selection as well as training and development).Additionally, a SWOT analysis of the organization will be detailed to outline the existing strengths that the firm may take advantage of, weaknesses for which appropriate remedial strategies can be developed and the ideas to combat threats to its operations.
Internal Organizational Aspects
Like many business entities, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel has its own strategic operations that confer it a competitive advantage among which could be the organizational direction (determined by its mission and vision as well as strategic objectives), the funding (source of finance/capital) and human resource practices (entailing employment recruitment and selection, as well as employee training and development).
Organizational Direction
Operations of Jumeirah Beach Hotel as an entity is influenced by certain cultures, beliefs and values in which the firm believes. In its case, the entity is on the mission to being the “most outstanding resort hotel in the world, living by our guiding principles and achieving excellence through dedication to our customers and colleagues and supporting the Jumeirah International vision.” In essence, the hotel operates with the drive to outdo all the resort hotels in the world. As Nieves &Segarra-Ciprés(2015) alludes, the mission of the firm therefore determines the direction that the organization wants to take.Further, the entity (as indicated by its vision)has the desire, and strives, to become “a world class luxury international hotel and hospitality management company, which is committed to being the leader in the hospitality industry through dedication to all stakeholders.” These ideals have been able to drive Jumeirah Beach Hotel toward success by guiding the culture and aspirations of the organization as put to action by its employees (Boella, 2017).
Funding: Sources of Capital
In the dynamic hospitality industry, it is important for an organization to be able to adapt to the fast changing trends and preferencesand to innovatively keep up with the increasing costs incurred in its day to day operations. Success in the face of such odds, Park & Jang (2013) seem to suggest, is reachable through the availability of funds and capital to inject into the business. For Jumeirah, the deep pockets of the Jumeirah Group have often provided a pool of ready capital for the firm to adapt to the trends and preferences in the industry. In this respect, as Dubai Holdings (2016) notes, the firm has been able to access great reserves of finance for its expansion and adaptation efforts; enabling it to become a market leader in its own right.
Human Resource Practices
So as to retain its high value brand, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in particular, and the Jumeirah Group in general, uses strict human resource policies that have been instrumental in its success in the industry.Boella & Goss-Turner (2013) point out the fact that the hotel and its parent company, the Dubai Group, updates and upgrades its recruitment processes to ensure that it keeps up with the dynamics of the industry, its own ambitions to expand into a global entity, and to ensure thatit only has the best of talent. To this effect, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and its parent company have managed to hold an industry leading position due to its internal employee recruitment and selection process.
SWOT Analysis of Jumeirah Beach Hotel
The Jumeirah Beach Hotel has and encounters certain factors that may either have positive or negative effects in the course of its operations. Through these effects, these factors, depending on the effect they have on the firm’s goals and objectives, the company either has strengths and weakness or is faced with opportunities and threats).
Strengths
For the organization in focus, the deep pocketed parent company is a source of strength that allows it remain in industry leadership.The location of the hotel in the premier beachfront property also confers it with a unique internal advantage thatgives it a competitive edge above others. As an entity, the hotel also has the strength of a unique internal culture that allows it to have the best employees and to set the standards in the industry, Stephenson (2014) alludes. The strong brand name is also a source of strength for the firm’s operations.
Weaknesses
Jumeirah Beach Hotel could negatively be impacted by the links that have been drawn between its operations and possible government interference.This may bring to a stop the global expansion plans that the firm has.
Opportunities
For Jumeirah Beach Hotel, like for many players in the hospitality industry, the increase in tourist arrivals in the UAE holds the opportunity for the firm to either and/or grow and expand its operations.The growth of economies and the emergence of new tourist source markets such as Africa and Asia, also provides the opportunity for Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Jumeirah Group to expand their operations and grow the firm. Innovations in the technology sector as well as advances in the hospitality industry may offer the hotel a chance to grow and/or expand its operations by cutting costs and increasing earnings.
Threats
Like many firms, the operations of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel (and the Jumeirah Group) face threats from crimes that may include cybercrime or terrorism. Competition from other big brands may also threaten the market position of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel as it would reduce its market share in the Dubai (and Middle East region) tourism market.Additionally, new lodging arrangements such as bed and breakfast arrangements (like AirBnB), camping sites and even tented parks may also erode the market that the hospitality industry may control.
Recommendations
In order to use its advantages to take advantage of the opportunities it has in the industry, the firm needs to invest in research and development in order to remain in a market leadership position through innovation and invention as means of gaining a competitive advantage.Similarly, the firm would be able to overcome its weaknesses (as Mok, Sparks & Kadampully, 2013 suggest) by using its strengths to improve. In that manner, the entity would be able to combat the threats it faces in its operations from competition to security concerns and even to the innovations in the industry that cuts the market share of the hotel sector and thus the revenues of Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
Reference List
Boella, M. and Goss-Turner, S., 2013. Human Resource Management in the Hospitality Industry: A Guide to Best Practice. Northridge, CA: Routledge.
Boella, M.J., 2017. Human Resource Management in the Hotel and Catering Industry. Taylor & Francis.
Dubai Holding, 2018. Who We Are: Our Companies – Jumeirah Group. [Online] Accessed on February 16, 2018 from Dubaiholding.com https://dubaiholding.com/en/who-we-are/our-companies/jumeirah-group/
Mok, C., Sparks, B. and Kadampully, J., 2013. Service Quality Management in Hospitality, Tourism, and Leisure. Routledge.
Nieves, J. and Segarra-Ciprés, M., 2015. Management innovation in the hotel industry. Tourism Management, 46, pp.51-58.
Park, K. and Jang, S.S., 2013. Capital structure, free cash flow, diversification and firm performance: A holistic analysis. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 33, pp.51-63.
Stephenson, M.L., 2014. Deciphering ‘Islamic hospitality’: Developments, Challenges and Opportunities. Tourism Management, 40, pp.155-164.
