RESEARCH-BASED ASSIGNMENT

Research-based Assignment

Research-based Assignment

Introduction

A hotel is an establishment that provides lodging, and usually meals and other services, for travellers and other paying guests. A hotel can be segmented according to whether it provides full or only limited service, its location (metropolitan or elsewhere), state or region of location, price or tariff level, establishment size by number of rooms, and whether it is independent or part of a chain operation. A hotel is usually reserved for rest, relaxation and recreation purposes only, and used more by guests on vacation or when attending a conference or seminar.

The luxurious hotels tend to be large and self-contained, with guests provided with easy access in the same facility to food, beverages, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping. Trends in recent resort-style development have tended to be around health spa and eco-tourism accommodation, as some travellers become more health aware and environmentally conscious (Ibis World, 2011). This paper analyzes a research article and explains its relevance to the situation at Bourgeois Boutique Hotels Group (BBH). It also evaluates important issues and its implication for the business situation.

Brief Overview of Article

The research article that has been analyzed in this research to examine its relevance to the situation at BBH is “Balanced scorecard, activity-based costing and company performance: An empirical analysis”, written by Adam Maiga and Fred Jacobs. This research paper explores the fundamentals of balanced scorecard approach on business performance based on the interrelationships between dimensional factors of financials, customers, internal business processes, and learning and growth aspects. Primary research methodology has been adopted in the research. Information related to implication of balanced scorecard approach (BSC) on business performance and changes in the financial performance was collected from the manager of each targeted strategic business unit (SBU) using a questionnaire (Maiga & Jacobs, 2003).

Single construct was used to measure the Activity based costing; whereas, four constructs enabled the researchers to measure BSC. Principal component analysis enabled the researchers to examine the sensitivity impact of customer oriented approach backed by continuous changes in the internal business operations, such as changing sales pattern, increasing employee interaction with the customers, employee involvement in strategic planning that create a significant positive impact on the business performance (Maiga & Jacobs, 2003). This involves determining the investment in each business activity and assessing the key business areas that are creating an impact on the business performance.

Arguments Explanation

Article extracts the model variables and focus on prioritizing what is really important for a business that improves the overall performance. The measurement of inter-related objectives (cause-effect) with financial and nonfinancial indicators reveals and clarifies the key business model. This will help the business in facilitating targeting areas for improvement. For example, measuring the level of customer satisfaction helps to understand the effect of improvement obtained in the sales or profitability (Hoque & James, 2000).

The article emphasized on Balanced Scorecard as an active approach by normalizing the activity based costing patterns to enhance the business profitability. Balanced Scorecard (BSC) provides integration between financial and nonfinancial indicators, taking into account causal relationships between ...