Implementing The Cycle Of Success: A Case Study Reading Answers

In this article, we have provided Implementing The Cycle Of Success: A Case Study reading answers below. It contains 13 questions. This article will assist you in locating the answers so that you will know the difficulty level of the passages in the reading exam.

Table of contents:

• Solution for Implementing The Cycle Of Success: A Case Study
• Implementing The Cycle Of Success: A Case Study IELTS Reading Practice Test
• Passage
• Questions
• Answers with Explanations

Solution for Implementing The Cycle Of Success: A Case Study

The following table contains Implementing The Cycle Of Success: A Case Study reading answers. You may cross-check your answers.

Answer Table

1. C	5. B	9. PRODUCTIVITY	13. 30 DAYS
2. A	6. BENCHMARKING	10. TAKE CHARGE
3. C	7. SERVICE DELIVERY	11. FEEDBACK
4. B	8. (PERFORMANCE) MEASURES	12. EMPLOYEE/STAFF

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Passage

We have provided a Implementing The Cycle Of Success: A Case Study reading passage below, read it carefully and answer the questions 1-13. Make sure to check the Solution for Implementing The Cycle Of Success: A Case Study reading answers with location. 

The Cycle Of Success: A Case Study

1. Within Australia, Australian Hotels Inc (AHI) operates nine hotels and employs over 2000 permanent full-time staff, 300 permanent part-time employees and 100 casual staff. One of its latest ventures, the Sydney Airport hotel (SAH), opened in March 1995. The hotel is the closest to Sydney Airport and is designed to provide the best available accommodation, food and beverage and meeting facilities in Sydney's southern suburbs. Similar to many international hotel chains, however, AHI has experienced difficulties in Australia in providing long-term profits for hotel owners, as a result of the country's high labour-cost structure. In order to develop an economically viable hotel organisation model, AHI decided to implement some new policies and practices at SAH.
2. The first of the initiatives was an organisational structure with only three levels of management - compared to the traditional seven. Partly as a result of this change, there are 25 per cent fewer management positions, enabling a significant saving. This change also has other implications. Communication, both up and down the organisation, has greatly improved. Decision-making has been forced down in many cases to front-line employees. As a result, guest requests are usually met without reference to a supervisor, improving both customer and employee satisfaction.
3. The hotel also recognised that it would need a different approach to selecting employees who would fit in with its new policies. In its advertisements, the hotel stated a preference for people with some 'service' experience in order to minimise traditional work practices being introduced into the hotel. Over 7000 applicants filled in application forms for the 120 jobs initially offered at SAH. The balance of the positions at the hotel (30 management and 40 shift leader positions) were predominantly filled by transfers from other AHI properties.
4. A series of tests and interviews were conducted with potential employees, which eventually left 280 applicants competing for the 120 advertised positions. After the final interview, potential recruits were divided into three categories. Category A was for applicants exhibiting strong leadership qualities, Category C was for applicants perceived to be followers, and Category B was for applicants with both leader and follower qualities. Department heads and shift leaders then composed prospective teams using a combination of people from all three categories. Once suitable teams were formed, offers of employment were made to team members.
5. Another major initiative by SAH was to adopt a totally multi-skilled workforce. Although there may be some limitations with highly technical jobs such as cooking or maintenance, wherever possible, employees at SAH are able to work in a wide variety of positions. A multi-skilled workforce provides far greater management flexibility during peak and quiet times to transfer employees to needed positions. For example, when office staff are away on holidays during quiet periods of the year, employees in either food or beverage or housekeeping departments can temporarily.
6. The most crucial way, however, of improving the labour cost structure at SAH was to find better, more productive ways of providing customer service. SAH management concluded this would first require a process of 'benchmarking'. The prime objective of the benchmarking process was to compare a range of service delivery processes across a range of criteria using teams made up of employees from different departments within the hotel which interacted with each other. This process resulted in performance measures that greatly enhanced SAH's ability to improve productivity and quality.
7. The front office team discovered through this project that a high proportion of AHI Club member reservations were incomplete. As a result, the service provided to these guests was below the standard promised to them as part of their membership agreement. Reducing the number of incomplete reservations greatly improved guest perceptions of service.
8. In addition, a program modelled on an earlier project called 'Take Charge' was implemented. Essentially, Take Charge provides an effective feedback loop horn both customers and employees. Customer comments, both positive and negative, are recorded by staff. These are collated regularly to identify opportunities for improvement. Just as importantly, employees are requested to note down their own suggestions for improvement. (AHI has set an expectation that employees will submit at least three suggestions for every one they receive from a customer.
9. Employee feedback is reviewed daily and suggestions are implemented within 48 hours, if possible, or a valid reason is given for non-implementation. If suggestions require analysis or data collection, the Take Charge team has 30 days in which to address the issue and come up with recommendations.
10. Although quantitative evidence of AHI's initiatives at SAH are limited at present, anecdotal evidence clearly suggests that these practices are working. Indeed AHI is progressively rolling out these initiatives in other hotels in Australia, whilst numerous overseas visitors have come to see how the program works.

Questions

Questions 1-5

Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

1. The high costs of running AHI’s hotels are related to their …
A. management.
B. size.
C. staff.
D. policies.

2. SAH’s new organizational structure requires …
A. 75% of the old management positions.
B. 25% of the old management positions.
C. 25% more management positions.
D. 5% fewer management positions.

3. The SAH’s approach to the organizational structure required changing practices in ..
A industrial relations.
B. firing staff.
C. hiring staff.
D. marketing.

4. The total number of jobs advertised at the SAH was …
A. 70.
B. 120.
C. 170.
D. 280.

5. Categories A, B, and C were used to select…
A. front office staff.
B. new teams.
C. department heads.
D. new managers.

Questions 6-13

Complete the following summary of the last four paragraphs of Reading Passage I using ONE OR TWO words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 6-13 on your answer sheet.

WHAT THEY DID AT SAH

Teams of employees were selected from different hotel departments to participate in a … (6) … exercise.

The information collected was used to compare … (7) … processes which, in turn, led to the development of … (8) … that would be used to increase the hotel’s capacity to improve … (9) … as well as quality.

Also, an older program known as … (10) … was introduced at SAH. In this program… (11) … is sought from customers and staff. Wherever possible … (12) … suggestions are implemented within 48 hours. Other suggestions are investigated for their feasibility for a period of up to …(13)…

Answers for Implementing The Cycle Of Success: A Case Study with Explanations

Implementing The Cycle Of Success: A Case Study reading answers with Explanations are given below. It will assist you in understanding how reading answers works and will allow you to correct your errors.

1. Answer: C
Explanation: In paragraph A, it is stated that Australian Hotels Inc (AHI) manages nine hotels in Australia and employs over '2000 permanent full-time employees, 300 permanent part-time employees, and 100 casual personnel'. AHI has struggled in Australia to provide long-term profitability to hotel owners due to the 'country's high labor-cost structure' (the high cost of running the hotel is tied to their personnel). As a result, the correct answer is C (staff).

2. Answer: A
Explanation: In order to build a 'economically viable hotel organization model,' AHI chose to apply several new rules and procedures at SAH, according to paragraph B. The initial step was to create an organizational structure with only three layers of administration, rather than the conventional seven. As a result of this move, there are '25 percent fewer management roles' (the remaining 75% will be old posts), allowing for considerable cost savings. As a result, the correct answer is A (75% of the former managerial posts).

3. Answer: C
Explanation: According to paragraph C, the 'hotel' (Sydney Airport Hotel (SAH)) recognized that it would 'require a fresh strategy' to'selecting personnel who would fit in with its new rules' (hiring new staff to fit in with the altering organizational structure). As a result, the correct answer is C (hiring personnel).

4. Answer: B
Explanation: According to paragraph C, 'in its marketing, the hotel' stated a preference for persons with some'service' expertise in order to limit traditional work practices being brought into the hotel. Over 7000 individuals submitted applications for "the 120 jobs initially offered at SAH." As a result, the correct answer is B

5. Answer: B
Explanation: According to paragraph D, 'possible candidates' were 'split into three groups' following the final interview. 'Category A' was for 'candidates demonstrating strong leadership skills' (leaders or managers), 'Category C' was for applicants viewed as 'followers' (members), and 'Category B' was for 'applicants with both leader and follower traits'. Department heads and shift leaders then 'assembled potential teams' from employees from all three groups. Offers of employment were offered to team members once'suitable teams were constituted' (new teams). As a result, the solution is B (new teams).

6. Answer: BENCHMARKING
Explanation: The writer states in paragraph F that the most important means of improving the labor cost structure at SAH was to create better, more effective ways of delivering customer care. 'SAH management' determined that this would first'require a process of 'benchmarking''. The benchmarking process's primary goal was to evaluate a variety of service delivery procedures across a variety of parameters utilizing 'teams made up of personnel from different departments inside the hotel' who interacted with one another. As a result, the answer is 'benchmarking'.

7. Answer: SERVICE DELIVERY
Explanation: According to paragraph F, the primary goal of the 'benchmarking process' was to 'compare a range of service delivery procedures' across a 'range of criteria' utilizing teams comprised of personnel from various departments inside the hotel. As a result, the answer is'service delivery'.

8. Answer: PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Explanation: According to paragraph F, "the benchmarking process" "resulted in performance measures" that "significantly enhanced SAH's ability to improve productivity and quality." As a result, 'performance measurements' is the correct response.

9. Answer: PRODUCTIVITY
Explanation: The fact that 'the benchmarking process' resulted in performance measurements that 'greatly boosted SAH's potential' to 'improve productivity and quality' is highlighted in paragraph F. As a result, the answer is 'productivity'.

10. Answer: TAKE CHARGE
Explanation: In paragraph H, it is stated that a program based on a "earlier project" (older software) called "Take Charge" was "implemented." As a result, the solution is 'take charge'.

11. Answer: FEEDBACK
Explanation: ‘Take Charge' is mentioned in paragraph H it provides an ‘effective feedback’ loop ‘from both customers and employees’. Hence, the answer is ‘feedback’.

12. Answer: EMPLOYEE
Explanation: According to paragraph I, 'staff input' is examined daily and'suggestions are adopted within 48 hours', if practicable, or a sufficient cause for non-implementation is provided. As a result, the answer is 'employee'.

13. Answer: 30 DAYS
Explanation: According to paragraph I, When'suggestions need analysis or data collecting' (investigated for feasibility), the 'Take Charge team' has '30 days' to solve the issue and provide recommendations. As a result, the answer is '30 days'.

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