Paraphrasing Reflective ReportWhat are the case/simulation issues? This case looks at perfecting hotel operations in order to maximise profits, in particular through customer service, focused on hotel check in and out times. Starwood hotels have a focus on quality and use a Six Sigma approach for achieving, sustaining and maximising business success by driving out defects and variability process. The Six Sigma team found that the hotels were not meeting the front desk check in time of 3 minutes or less which was not acceptable to the customer service standards that they had set for themselves. One of the issues was that if a guest was to check in early when there were no rooms available then they would have to check in again later on. This creates double the work due to staff checking the customer in twice and it also means the customer has to wait and is not good customer service. They also found that many guests were leaving early in the morning which should free up rooms for early arrivals. Solution to the issue? The solution to this issue is to allow people to check in whenever they arrive at the hotel, even if they have arrived prior to check in time. First of all the knowledge of customer length of stay helps the front desk manage room inventory more precisely (O'Fallon & Rutherford, 2011). Part of this knowledge should further extend to customer flight arrivals and departures. By having this knowledge you can predict when customers will check in and out, and you can effectively manage the rooms. Communication across different departments is key to the success of this strategy. While front desk knows when people are checking out, they can relay this information to housekeeping so that they can get the room ready for the next customer, and housekeeping can relay information about when the room is available back to the front desk so they can allow people to check in. By knowing when customers will check in and out you can effectively manage the process capabilities of the rooms. It is always good to combine to strategies in order to achieve the same goal. To further reduce check in times I suggest combining the above strategy with wireless check in times. Wireless check in times has been proved to increase customer satisfaction and improve check in efficiency (Weed, 2013). Wireless check in can include things such as smartphones, tablets, kiosks, etc. So customers can check in on the ride to the hotel and as soon as they get there they can head straight for their room and not the front desk. Furthermore it is likely that in certain circumstances, such as a booked out hotel, that customers might have to wait to check in. In these circumstances good customer service is needed to keep them happy. Offer them a complimentary drink, be honest to when they can get to their room and if they want to hear about it tell them about all the facilities of the hotel and surrounding areas. What are the most valuable lessons you have learned? A six sigma approach is designed to reach and go beyond the acceptable quality level (AQL) of customers. By achieving this you can achieve good customer satisfaction and thereby improving the reputation of your business. This reputation brings back those customers and furthermore it broadens the type of customers that come to your business. More customers generally equates to more profit as long as your operational costs are kept to a profitable level (Krajewski, et, al. 2013). How can you apply what you have learned to your work, to your studies, or to any other aspect of your life? How? I work in a pub and by using the six sigma system you can reduce and get rid of any constraints that I may face. My industry is all about customer service so to achieve the acceptable quality level (AQL) I must roster on the appropriate amount of staff to meet the process capability. I must also achieve total quality management to achieve this so both customers and employees are happy. If the employee isn't happy, then they will not work to the best of their ability and this could in turn lead to an unhappy customer. What factors would prevent you from applying what you have learned? The flexibility that my industry provides in regards to working hours can be enticing to workers but it can also disrupt their lifecycle when they are forced to work hours that they do not want to, such as late nights and early mornings, or they are not given the shifts that they are expected. When they turn up to work, working shifts that they do not want to, you can usually tell that they are unhappy and this bad mood often rubs off onto the customers. This will ruin the reputation of the pub and denounce the six sigma system. This can be overcome by having the knowledge of when people are available and want to work and have a combination of staff that want to work certain hours. How have the sessions confirmed or changed your ideas about management? This session has confirmed my ideas about management: keep your front line workers happy, as they are the ones doing the job that needs to be done in order for business to operate. What gaps exist in your knowledge worthy of further investigation? I usually focus on the operational side of things in regards to business, but I need to learn to balance this out with a HR viewpoint in order to effectively keep the staff effective workers. In what ways might you consider closing these gaps and how might this assist your future career? I must consider taking time out of business operations and putting this time into getting to know the types of people that work in the hospitality industry and what they want to get out of their job. By knowing what the worker wants to get out of the job you can facilitate this which will in turn motivate them to work to the best of their ability.