events at the hotel winneshiekv2

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Project

Management

Solutions in a

Non-structured

System

By: Samuel Cychosz

Advisor: Tim Schweizer

Management 490 Senior Research Project

Date: 11/24/15

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................3

Introduction .......................................................................................................................................4

Finding the Method of Research ..........................................................................................................5

Planning .............................................................................................................................................7

Execution ......................................................................................................................................... 10

Roles................................................................................................................................................ 13

Tangibles.......................................................................................................................................... 16

Discussion and Restructuring Thoughts .............................................................................................. 20

Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 21

Cited Sources .................................................................................................................................. 22

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Executive Summary

Mission: This paper examines the current state of the Hotel Winneshiek’s catering services and

event planning. The paper analyzes four key areas in project management and benchmark’s the

hotel’s event planning services against project management practices.

Format: Four aspects of project management in regard to catering services provides the

background for assessing the hotel’s project management

Plan- How does the hotel connect with its stakeholders and project team to come up

with a well-structured plan?

Execution- How does the project team execute their project plan? Does this process run

smoothly with good communication throughout the project team?

Roles- What are the roles of each individual team member? Are these roles clearly

described throughout the project?

Tangibles- Are the employees happy with the current way the hotel communicates roles

to their staff? Is there anything about the hotel’s process that the employees wish they

could fix?

Findings: The study reveals that communication is an issue throughout all levels of the Hotel

Winneshiek’s event planning services. Through project management, however, well-structured

communication throughout all levels of each planned event can be reached.

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Introduction

The Hotel Winneshiek’s event planning and catering services has provided Decorah

residents (and people from around the Midwest) with a variety of ways to enjoy its catering

services. Whether customers are preparing an elaborate wedding or planning on having a multi-

day company event, the Hotel Winneshiek strives to make the event as smooth and enjoyable

as possible. That being said, this paper examines whether there are flaws within their

communication system. After working there for a couple months, I have noticed a serious lack

of structure during these events (especially when it comes to communication). While working a

night shift during one of their events, I bounced between duties (I could be washing dishes for

an hour and serving in the main ballroom the next). While it felt to me that this was a bit

unusual with the lack of staff they had working that night, the persistent lack of employees

during my shifts made me curious. After discussing this with multiple employees and the

manager of catering services, Laura Gronna, there are some changes that should be

implemented to the current system to make it more structured. The process which the Hotel

Winneshiek should implement to improve the structure of their catering services is project

management. Running a structured project management system is the most effective way to

make sure that project teams individualize its customers’ experience as well as keeping things

organized for your employees. Through project management, the Hotel Winneshiek can find a

more balanced structure in its communication as well as improve its overall service with clients.

There are many aspects the Hotel Winneshiek can change by running a more “to the book”

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system of project management, but this paper focuses on four key entities of a successful

project. Through these entities, this paper analyzes exactly how the Hotel Winneshiek currently

operates and evaluates the pros and cons of the current system. This analysis will be provided

through five individuals: two with project management experience, one manager of catering

services at the Hotel Winneshiek, and two staff members at the Hotel Winneshiek.

Finding the Method of Research

Analyzing project management from a professional standpoint is the most effective way

to understand which entities best represent the hotel’s catering services. Dan Shannon (a

current senior project manager for PrefferedOne Insurance) and Ken Cychosz (a current

solutions manager for FPX) both have continuous experience with project management and

have provided similar services to catering in the past. Dan Shannon has worked with providing

insurance to various companies and started his project management career working in a

bar/restaurant. Ken Cychosz has worked on numerous projects in the past, providing short term

services for companies as well as having worked in the catering business as a server/bartender.

These two business professionals consider many entities to be important within a project, but

four of these entities stood out to them as key to a strong and successful project structure.

These items are:

Plan- What are the details in planning for the hotel’s project? Is this project plan

communicated and understood by all members of the project (including the

customers)?

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Execution- How does the project team execute the plan that is put into place? How

often is this execution plan expressed throughout the project?

Roles- How do the individual roles of each team member affect the events put into

place? Are these roles described clearly?

Tangibles- What are the employees’ thoughts on the project structure? Are they happy

with the current structure that is in place?

These four ideals, according to Mr. Cychosz and Mr. Shannon, are the most crucial aspects

to a successful project management plan. Through these four ideals, a strong project

management or “to the book” structure is attainable. These ideals are necessary in order

for the Hotel Winneshiek to have a communicative based system. But is the Hotel

Winneshiek’s structure similar to that of a project management structure? Or does the

Hotel Winneshiek have a different structure in comparison to a project management based

system? And if they do have different goals to that of a project management system, is

there a way that the Hotel Winneshiek can adjust the current structure in order to make it

more project management based? A scheduled meeting with members of the current staff

and the manager of catering services effectively illustrated the current nature of the Hotel’s

structure. Laura Gronna, the head of catering services at the Hotel Winneshiek, is probably

the most reliable source in explaining three out of four of these entities. Interviews with the

members of the catering staff (Aaron Busch and Brennan DeVolder) were also conducted to

get a general idea of how the employees view the current structure in place.

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Planning

Within every structured project management system, there is always a form of planning

and meetings that must take place in order to make the structure possible. “Without meetings

with your stakeholders to discuss specific parts of your business plan, your project team could

give a service that doesn’t meet the client’s standards” (Cychosz). This is why a solid business

plan needs to be in place, so that the criteria for the overall service can be met to the

customers’ expectations. Laura Gronna gave her insight as to what exactly the Hotel

Winneshiek’s planning structure is.

Positives of the Current Structure

Defining roles to the clients/customers is made simple: A business plan, whether it is based

around project management or not, makes sure the roles of the clients are specifically

identified. “After someone expresses interest in booking an event here, we schedule a meeting

time for them. In this meeting, we discuss both the roles that our hotel and staff will play as

well as discuss the roles that they should play as the recipient of our service” (Gronna). This is

the first step in making sure that the customer gets the end product that they want. This first

meeting sets the stage well for the future and gives the manager a sense of what the customer

would need.

Open to change: Another thing that Laura emphasized was how open the project team is to

change and how adaptive they are in case problems with the business plan arise. During their

first meeting with their client, Laura believes the hotel delivers quality service to their

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customers. She thinks that, “We get through what must be done in our initial meeting. But if

our customers have further questions, they have our contact information to make sure they can

contact us. This process makes certain our services exceed expectations as well as meet the

time it will take to make this a reality” (Gronna). This is a crucial goal to Laura and it is clear to

see why. Utilizing the Hotel Winneshiek’s contact information to answer event related

questions makes the service that the client wants easier for the manager to understand.

Negatives of the Current Structure

There is only one real meeting: While their initial meeting is very descriptive, they have no

follow-up meetings with their clients. Laura says, “We are always open to receiving calls from

our clients and calling our clients when we have questions, but we do not have any further

meetings with them” (Gronna). This can be a major problem, mainly because the Hotel

Winneshiek wants to keep their clients updated constantly about how the project is going. Not

having follow-up meetings could cause concern with each client and possibly lead to a low

quality service being provided. No matter how detailed the project team is in one meeting, the

client will more than likely have follow-up questions regarding how the project is being put

together.

Many details can be missed: Though Laura is open to phone calls and changes, details could be

missed causing a potential scope creep. A scope creep, by definition, is the process by which a

project grows beyond its originally anticipated size. In the case of catering, the scope creep

would be the client asking for multiple changes to an event. This could possibly lead to budget

changes. A project that grows beyond anticipated size can drastically alter the budget and

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scope of the overall project. For example, the client might have expressed a budget to Laura

and her project team prior to starting the project, but what would happen if the client didn’t

want the budget over the discussed amount? It is difficult for the client to be happy when they

never explore possible problems in the project that could raise the budget. These problems can

even be things Laura couldn’t have foreseen.

Project Management Solution

Construct a Project Plan (amongst other documents): Though there are documents that help

give the stakeholder an idea of the procedures that go into their event, the Hotel doesn’t have

one document the client can go to as a reference for questions and concerns. In order to make

their goals to the project more relatable to project management, a well-written project plan

along with a kick-off meeting must be put into place. With this newly restructured kick-off

meeting, the project can be expressed in document form. Ken Cychosz expresses his fondness

for a project plan, stating, “With a project plan, specifics being described like a [risk

management plan], development of a schedule, or planning for further communication

between the two parties is made more efficient and clear” (Cychosz). All of these aspects to a

project couldn’t possibly be remembered by only having one meeting. A project plan would

thoroughly describe (section by section) every possible subject regarding an event. The hotel

and their clients don’t need to rewrite the same document every time either; they can have on

hand a rough outline of certain procedures that would typically be in the event and make

changes to the document as it relates to the specifics. This can also follow the guidelines of

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other documents that could be integrated (like the Risk Mitigation Plan, the Statement of Work,

and a Project Schedule).

Set up follow-up (or status report) meetings: Having that much to cover in one meeting can

leave the stakeholder questioning some of the choices that could be made throughout the

process of the project. In order to make the information for the event better understood by the

clients, follow-up meetings must be put into place. This is the best way to prevent the

customers from becoming scope creeps who constantly change the budget and scope. Setting

up a project plan with follow-up meetings that discuss the current state of the project, what

changes have been made to the current plan, and what can the stakeholders expect in the

future is very helpful in making the stakeholders more comfortable with the state of the

project. With follow-up meetings, you can also address potential concerns the client could have

in the future as well as answering questions the client might have. This is a more direct solution

than calling them and asking them for every change that must be made to the project.

Execution

While the plan is the overall design of how you want things run within your service, the

execution must be there as well. Dan Shannon expertly explains execution: “it isn’t simply

about performing what is said on paper, it’s about how you communicate that information and

how you make sure your staff understands the procedures [that] makes the process of

executing so crucial” (Shannon). Laura believes the execution plan to be of high quality, while

communication still seems to be the core layer of their execution issues.

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Incremental Goals are expressed clearly: With specific goals always in mind when thinking

about the end product, Laura believes that their project team establishes reasonable

incremental goals in order to meet their end goal. She says: “The end goals are always what are

important. We always keep focus on our incremental goals which will help [lead] to a stronger

end goal” (Gronna). This process that Laura describes follows a pretty realistic style of project

management. The end goal isn’t the only factor in the events leading up to the final product;

there have to be incremental goals that are met by the project team first.

Engagement of the event planning team: “It’s not only about making sure your goals are well

assessed, but how engaged your team is in making this event possible” (Shannon). The overall

engagement of the team that helps make the events at the Hotel Winneshiek a reality is high,

according to Laura. Laura describes their engagement as, “always excited to work on a new

event service. They love a new challenge and love bringing events at the Hotel Winneshiek to

life” (Gronna). Having an event planning staff that is this dedicated to its work can bring an

event a project manager has been imagining to life. This can also benefit the customers, who

have an improved chance of getting a quality final product.


Open and clear communication: As discussed in the planning section, there seems to be a lack

of communication from the manager to the actual people who will be attending the event.

According to Dan Shannon, “Communicating with all members of your service throughout the

project is the best way to make sure you meet the end goal that you want” (Shannon). Without

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proper communication between the stakeholders, the event planning team and the staff who

provide catering services for the event, the entire event could have an unsatisfactory end for

the stakeholder. Whether it is stakeholders communicating with the project team or the

manager communicating with the catering staff; everyone needs to understand the plan in

order for the final service provided to be a success.

Project Management Solutions

Having a member with Project Skills and Knowledge: Even though this might not be relatable

to all events that would be held at the hotel; it would really be effective in deciding what action

to take in case certain problems arise. The PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge)

describes project skills and knowledge as having, “an appropriate set of skills and knowledge

about the project’s product” (PMBOK). In short, having a person with “expert knowledge” of

the necessary adaptation could help exponentially in case they run into a potential road block

during the execution portion of their catering service. Let’s say the hotel is planning a

conference meeting that has certain detail they have never encountered before. The best

solution to this problem would be to outsource to someone who has “expert knowledge” on

the subject and is able to either help spearhead this project or give tips to make sure potential

risks are dealt with.

Preventive and Corrective Actions: Having preventive and corrective action in your business

can benefit you by making sure the risks and issues that arise stay as minor as possible and

don’t affect your end result. Preventive Action is described in PMBOK as, “anything that

reduces the probability of potential consequences of project risk events” (PMBOK). This can

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include anything from a risk management plan, “a document that a project manager prepares

to foresee risks, estimate impacts, and define responses to issues” (Horine). Being able to

foresee potential risks in the project is important in order to understand how to prevent them

from becoming issues. A corrective action is, “anything done to bring expected future project

performance in line with the project plan. Corrective action is an output of various control

processes- as an input here it completes the feedback loop needed to ensure effective project

management” (PMBOK). This may include outsourcing to find “expert knowledge” for a project

or even finalizing a budget for your stakeholders so they don’t worry about the budget possibly

expanding.

Roles

“How well the roles are described to each employee can change how a service runs. This

requires a great deal of understanding between employees and managers in order to create a

[quality service] for their clients” (Cychosz). Though discussing roles in the catering service

might seem tedious and insignificant, understanding the role of each individual person plays an

important part in reaching the company’s goals. Laura described a very intricate way that she

communicates individual roles to her catering staff. Aaron Busch and Brennen Devolder (both

students at Luther College that are currently working at the Hotel Winneshiek) have likes and

dislikes for the current system in place.

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Staff Training: “Having competent staff members that know their responsibilities on a nightly

basis is the most useful way to provide a quality service” (Shannon). This is also true for the

staff training at the Hotel Winneshiek, which prides itself on a prepared, well-trained staff.

Busch says he “was comfortable the first night [he] started working. They trained [him] well and

[he] felt like [he] was prepared for anything the night could throw at [him]. They explained

where everything [he] would need was and they ran [them] through what a typical night would

look like so there would be no surprises” (Busch).

High level of trust: From managers to employees, from employees to manager, and from

project team members to the members of the staff helping the catering process , trust amongst

all levels is key. “High-performing teams display a high level of trust in each other and in their

project leader” (Horine). This seems to be the case for the catering staff, who trust both their

project leader and each other throughout all of their projects. “Though [he has] only worked

here a short time, [he has] developed such strong confidence with the people [he works] with”

(Busch). This level of trust from employee to employee can greatly affect the final execution of

the project, as well as making the transition from putting it on paper to putting it into action

simple for the staff.


Recruiting Project Staff: Though the Hotel Winneshiek does get a good number of college

students from Luther to sign up for their catering services, they seem to have a problem with

getting numbers for some of their larger events. DeVolder shared, “Although we are able to

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manage with smaller numbers, we can sometimes fall short when it comes to the larger events

held at the hotel” (DeVolder). Recruiting employees for catering seems to be an issue for the

Hotel Winneshiek and this problem could lead the project away from success. This lack of

employees causes the staff that does end up working to constantly switch from position to

position. “It can start to get frustrating when you are starting to get comfortable serving tables,

then switching up to washing dishes” (Busch). This can lead to a much slower process than you

might expect, which can result in poor overall service for their customers.

Roles for people jumble frequently: Jumbled roles aren’t just excluded to the catering service;

this happens all throughout the hotel’s dining and serving options. The Tap Room and Albert’s

are other staples of the serving business at the hotel that suffer from understaffing. DeVolder

describes Chis Fassbender, a head bartender/server for the tap room, “After working with Chris

since July, I have noticed that not only does he manage the bar, but he also acts as a server for

both the Tap Room and Albert’s, and a bartender for both sites. He relays so much information

on a day to day basis; I could see how he could get frustrated that we are always understaffed”

(DeVolder). This isn’t the only employee that changes positions frequently; most of the

employees that work catering have found themselves alternating from position to position as

well.

Project Management Solutions

Increase involvement & recruitment: The best solution to staffing more people to work the

larger events and preventing the Hotel’s employees from continuously chang ing roles is to get a

larger number of people to work at the larger catering events. This requires making a staffing

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management plan. This document is described through PMBOK as, “when and how Human

Resources will be brought onto and taken off the project team” (PMBOK). Since this would be

included in the project plan, this should be discussed during the kick-off meeting in order to get

an idea of how many people they need for a specific job. This will make sure the Hotel has a set

number of staff they would need for providing the service part of the execution. Something

that can help increase employment at the hotel is to create a better campaign for getting more

Luther students (as well as Decorah residents looking for a job) to sign up for the catering

services at the hotel. This could include posting an ad to the Luther College newspaper (Chips),

the local Decorah paper, and posting “Help Wanted” ads on their website. These actions will

hopefully bring in more people to work in catering services , helping the hotel provide a quality

service for their customers.

Tangibles

Even though it is important for the event coordinator and the staff to know their roles

and understand the structure within their business, it is more important to know whether or

not each individual is satisfied with how the structure fits and if the work they do constricts

them. Dan Shannon said this about tangibles, “It is important to make sure that your team

understands the process and is continuously motivated throughout” (Shannon). This will make

sure that everything is done correctly with no disparity. Aaron Busch and Brennen DeVolder,

who both have been working at the hotel for just under seven months, had their own personal

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opinion as far as their perceptions on the hotel’s current structure for catering and how they

felt about their work.


All employees have strong team chemistry: Busch and DeVolder both agreed that they felt a

beneficial connection to the rest of the employees at the hotel. Busch mentioned that, “It is

great to come in and work for people that you have grown with. I’ve [gone] through training

and a bunch of catering jobs with these people and we all mesh together really well” (Busch).

DeVolder also shared the same sentiments, “It makes it easier working with people that enjoy

working with others. I feel that we are all always on the same page and that everyone

communicates so well with each other” (DeVolder).

All employees understand their duties: Understanding what needs to be done is an attainable

goal when it is communicated well, and that is what Busch and DeVolder also agreed on.

DeVolder stated: “The team always meets together before we start our serving duties to break

down what jobs need to be done. It makes it easier for us to figure out what we need to do

before our shift begins” (DeVolder).


A lack of freedom when in the work environment: Being able to choose where, when and how

you work is a great motivational tool for project teams. It gives them more of sense of freedom

within their own work. However, within the hotel, being able to pick where you work within

their catering services is limited. Aaron Busch has been looking to serve as a bartender during

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one of their catering events. Whenever he has asked to become one during an event, he has

been denied. DeVolder, who has been working with the hotel the same number of months, has

served as a bartender for multiple catering events after asking. “I just didn’t understand why I

couldn’t switch to bartender for a night. It’s just been frustrating to not be able to do

something I have a curiosity in doing” (Busch).

Lack of Communication between Manager and staff: While Laura likes to believe she keeps her

staff members informed of their assignments; sometimes she might be broad with her

directions. DeVolder says that she “can be a bit underwhelming with the way she gives

direction. At times, she doesn’t communicate with us about our jobs until the day we do it”

(DeVolder). Busch had similar thoughts on Laura’s managing tactics, “She can be [general] with

how she wants everything. It’s understandable that she wants everything done correctly, but it

is hard to know what we’re supposed to do to make it like that” (Busch).

Project Management Solution

Introduce a Quality Management Plan: While there is a good sense of communication between

all members of the catering service, there seems to be an overlying structure restricting the

freedom of choice among employees. Having employees feel like they have more freedom in

the choices they make is necessary in order to create a less stressful work environment. A way

to keep this structure would be to implement a Quality Management Plan. According to the

PMBOK, the quality management plan, “Provides input to the overall project plan and must

address quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement for the project” (PMBOK).

This plan would include making sure that all employees garner more choice in the work

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environment, by giving feedback to Laura about what roles they might want to play in the

future.

Start analyzing performance: There also seems to be a communication gap between the staff

and the manager of catering. Having stronger communication between manager and staff is

also beneficial in providing a quality service to a customer, as that is typically how a project

team can communicate within a project better. Let’s say that the clients would want something

served before the dinner and that wasn’t in the initial plan. It would then be the manager’s duty

to tell the staff more about what should be served and how it should be served. Laura needs

more of a reason to communicate with her employees and discuss possible changes so that

future issues don’t occur during their events. All of this is where a quality management plan will

come in handy. A part of this change will include giving audits by other employees to make

sure everyone else’s work is up to par and optional meetings to discuss possible changes (or

even online forms that the staff can fill out). As stated by Marcus Erb (a senior research partner

and senior consultant with the Great Place to Work Institute), “There is nothing like peer

pressure to drive behavior… Through regular audits, employees have the chance to give

genuine feedback on performance from other departments as it relates to their job. The goal is

to create a productive community culture” (Erb). With a quality management plan

implemented, there is sure to be a greater deal of communication.

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Discussion and Restructuring Thoughts

The Hotel Winneshiek’s communication system does have its flaws. The employees

seem to be displeased with the lack of communication that is going on at the hotel. There also

seems to be a lack of interaction between the clients and the project team (who is providing

the event). There is a great deal that project management can do in order to fix the problems

in the Hotel Winneshiek’s catering service. Communicating between parties is one of the

biggest issues in project management and implementing communication techniques can help

provide improvement to the communication amongst the different levels. Here are the changes

in summary:

Constructing a Project Plan and follow-up meetings to help conduct further

communication between manager and clients/stakeholders.

Having a person with “Expert Knowledge” and a Risk Management Plan to help

communicate the risks of the project to the project team and manager.

Providing a Staffing Management Plan and improving recruitment efforts to increase the

number of employees that attend larger catering events.

Constructing a Quality Management Plan and audits to improve communication

between the manager and the catering staff.

These are tools that have historically assisted project managers in improving the

communication process with all people that are involved with the project. The best thing

that the hotel could do would be to implement these changes and analyze how much

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clearer the communication with their employees become. This change in communication

could help the hotel, in turn, to provide a better service to their clients.

Conclusion

While the Hotel Winneshiek’s event planning and catering service provides the city of

Decorah with a reliable service, it is not without its flaws. The lack of communication between

all members of the project is something that needs to be fixed. Without this fix, there could be

communication breakdowns where the project team might make mistakes and the customers

will not be pleased with their final product. This is why, through the use of project

management, a change in their communication should be implemented. By providing different

documents, additional meetings to discuss issues, and giving a clearer outline of the roles

within the project, a stronger sense of communication is possible. Through clear

communication at the hotel; the manager, the staff and even the clients can feel more satisfied

with the end service that is provided. Who knows? This change in communication might even

give the hotel nationwide notoriety for its successful communication and customer service.

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Cited Sources

1) Marcus, E. (2011, January 30). How to Stop Micromanaging Your Team. Retrieved

November 7, 2015.

2) A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (3rd Ed.). (2004).

Newtown Square,, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute.

3) Horine, G. (2013). Absolute beginner's guide to project management (3rd Ed.).

Indianapolis,, Indiana: Que.

4) L. Gronna (personal communication, October 27, 2015)

5) K. Cychosz (personal communication, October 12, 2015)

6) D. Shannon (personal communication, October 12, 2015)

7) B. DeVolder (personal communication, October 21, 2015)

8) A. Busch (personal communication, October 23, 2015)

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