7133 this indicates that hotel xs overall level of

0.7133. This indicates that Hotel X’s overall
level of strategic planning appears rather
poor. This is borne out by the fact that Hotel
X scored below its peer group for five out of
six factors. Interestingly, Hotel X did not
make use of benchmarking or any invest-
ment appraisal techniques. As a consequence
of its poor design parameters, Hotel X’s past
performance is 7 per cent below average,
while its performance over the next two
years is expected to deteriorate to 20 per cent.
The SPS of Hotel X is obviously failing and
this could be a symptom of two problems.
First, there may be a lack of belief for
strategic planning throughout the hotel
group, or that the HGM does not see the need
to change the planning system. Second, the
HGM may not possess the knowledge or skills
to develop an effective SPS. For example, it is
interesting to see that the HGM places no
importance on the use of benchmarking and
investment appraisal techniques. Moreover,
Table VI shows that although there is a great
deal of staff planning assistance from HQ, the
HGM makes little attempt to involve other
senior staff members of his/her hotel unit.
This indicates that the hotel unit would
appear to be suffering from cultural, politi-
cal, and cognitive problems. These observa-
tions alone suggests that Hotel X should take
immediate steps to improve its SPS by
focusing upon planning implementation,
functional coverage, and reliance on analy-
tical techniques paying particular attention
to the attribute that each factor possesses.
In addition, the SPI for peer group of 0.7133,
indicates that the level of effectiveness is at
best moderate with plenty of scope for
improvement. This observation, although in
conflict with Athiyaman and Robertson
(1995), tends to support Medlik (1989, p. 14),
who stated:
only a limited progress has been made in the
translation of business and management
theory from manufacturing to service indus-
tries generally and to hotels in particular.
Conclusions
This article has concentrated on assessing
strategic planning effectiveness in hotels.
However, the methodology could also be
applied to a range of business and opera-
tional issues in any hospitality organization.
The SPI is a simple but powerful managerial
tool that helps develop the diagnostic infor-
mation needed to generate corporate and
business level initiatives designed to
improve the strategic planning process.
Given the renewed vitality in the hotel
sector, together with the fact that a good
Table V
Mean scores of the 15 strategic planning attributes
Attributes Peer group Hotel X
Factor 1: Planning implementation
a1 Setting explicit goals 5.32 6.00
a2 Assigning implementation responsibilities to
specified individuals/groups 5.14 2.00
a3 Seeking commitment to the long-range plan 4.78 5.00
a4 Involvement of hotel senior managers 6.25 7.00
a5 Involvement of hotel middle managers 4.88 2.00
Factor 2: Future performance
b1 Adaptability 4.56 4.00
b2 Effectiveness 5.13 3.60
b3 Efficiency 3.46 3.00
Factor 3: Past performance
c1 Effectiveness 4.93 4.00
c2 Efficiency 3.41 4.00
Factor 4: Functional coverage
d1