Research shows that many resort managers get so involved in the technical and paperwork details of their job, that they overlook the rapidly growing body of knowledge called “management.” Such knowledge has been concealed in the mass of detail confronting the manager. But there are things you can do to improve your own managerial know-how and start making changes.
Goals for Success
Nicholas Murray Butler, former President of Columbia University, once said that there are three types of individuals found in an organization: those who make things happen (managers); those who watch what goes on (administrators); and, those who don’t know what happens (usually relatives).
While administrators are needed, it is the managers who are the key to a successful and profitable resort.
A major problem confronting resort managers today is the managerial gap consisting of the difference between what you expect of your subordinate and what the individual thinks you expect. One (and probably the best) solution to this problem is the use of “management by objectives.”
As a system of managerial leadership, management by objective is best described as a method in which manager and subordinate sit down together and determine what the subordinate’s job is and what performance levels are expected in this job. Management by objectives is a system that provides managers with the tools necessary to ensure that subordinates are satisfactorily performing their functions.
This system may sound like simply good management, but it has two important ingredients beyond that. First, it has reference exclusively to performance results. It has no connection with personality appraisal, where an individual is evaluated on the basis of tact, hair style, and how often he/she smiles. Second, this system has, as its basis, agreement between a manager and subordinates as to exactly what constitutes the subordinates’ major areas of responsibility and what constitutes satisfactory performance in each area.
The first step, then, is to define a person’s major areas of responsibility. An outline of the organizational structure is usually a good starting point.
The next step is to set standards of performance for regular or routine duties in each area of responsibility. These performance standards, or objectives, should be measurable in terms of results achieved. Here are some examples from resort management:
| Responsibility | Results Expected |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Equipment inspected weekly. Lubricated monthly. Unscheduled downtime less than 3%. |
| Personnel Administration | Overtime not to exeed 1.5% of total time worked. Absenteeism stays at less than 1% of hours worked. |
| Run Conditions | Packing and sno-catting to be done when more than 3 inches of new snow has fallen. Operations to be completed +/−5% of budgeted time and man-hours. Beginner trails to be groomed first, intermediate second, etc. |
| Responsibility | Results Expected |
|---|---|
| Lessons | Private, semi-private, and group lessons offered at all available times. Lesson/court utilization should be 75% +. |
| Program Development | Men’s night, Ladies’ Day, and Mixers to be offered weekly. At least 4 courts should be utilized for each event. |
| Guest Relations | Must be available for play on a weekly basis. |
These standards should be realistic and carefully thought out. Goals which are carelessly set are often worse than no goals at all.
At the end of the period covered by the goal setting, the manager should sit down with each subordinate and match expected results against the actual results. Differences (if there are any) provide the basis for a different set of goals. This new set of goals could best be described as problem-solving goals. A method of feedback which provides for an occasional check on goal progress should be set up. With this feedback, goals can be altered if outside and uncontrollable variables intervene.
Talent Imbalance and Employee Development
A second problem of which resort managers are often unaware is the imbalance of their own talents. This imbalance is a natural result of the manager’s rise through the ranks. Because a top manager in a smaller resort often can do many things as well as (or better than) other employees, he may hamper employee growth.
Managers must keep informed about each operation and maintain central control. But control must be maintained in a way that does not impair development of subordinates. One of the keys to success is to have one-person control and multi-person operations—not one-person control and one-person operations.
Each time you take on a task, ask yourself: Is this something that I should be doing, or is it something someone alse should be doing? Focus on effective use of time rather than efficient use of time. Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.
When you find yourself lamenting that there is never enough time in the day to do all the things you’re doing, ask yourself a critical question: Should I be doing all the things that I’m doing?
To answer that question, for a one-week period, keep track of how much time you spend in various activities and what those activities contribute to the productivity or profitability of the resort. At the end of the week, make one of the three decisions about each task you have listed:
1. Is this a task I should keep doing?
2. Is this a task that should be delegated to someone else?
3. Is this a task that could be totally eliminated?
Research demonstrates that 70 percent to 80 percent of the tasks that you will list should be continued; 10 percent to 15 percent should be delegated; and 10 percent to 15 percent should be eliminated. The latter are usually tasks that were necessary at an earlier stage of the business but are now obsolete. Such an analysis should be conducted every six months, to keep unnecessary tasks from creeping into your daily routine.
The ideas being suggested here are not some of the management fads that come and go each year. They are systematic and advanced ways of applying common sense to management practices.
Thomas K. Connellan is director of The Achievement Institute, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jeffrey W. Holman is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and a recreation manager.
