Ms. Meredith is an organized and systematic employee due to the nature of her work in the Front Office. She is the doer type who gives great importance to details and will closely monitor its’ accuracy. She prefers to focus on one task and see it through completion before starting on a new activity. She appears to be contented with her current position and responsibilities. She takes pride in being the longest employed female in one of Jakarta’s pioneer hotels.
Ms. Meredith exercises a participative syle of leadership. She values her subordinates’ inputs and takes them to consideration. When disciplining a staff, she reasons with them first and prefers to settle matters without needing to refer to hotel procedures. However, there has been quite a number of times wherein she had to discipline her subordinates and had to follow the hotel’s procedure regarding such matter especially when it pertains to disciplinary actions.
She displays ease in decisions that concern only her work and the responsibilities that is within her scope as the Chief Telephone Operator. Similar to her manner of disciplining people, most of her minor decisions are according to the hotel’s rules and guidelines, but consults her supervisor when major and tougher judgment are called for.
Ms. Meredith displays creativity and initiative in her work. In the operators’ room, she keeps a neat notebook where she lists down few sentences and most commonly used phrases in different languages for her to remember some foreign languages that she has learned overtime. In addition, she also shows high commitment to customer satisfaction and lives by her personal motto – “The guest is the KING.” Most of the time, whenever her commitment to client satisfaction is put to test, she speaks calmly and politely to explain why the situation was such. Fortunately for her, the number of times wherein she was able to calm and satisfy the customer is greater than those instances that she was unable to pacify them.
Ms. Meredith in her late forties is still physically fit demonstrating a high level of energy and mobility. She claims to enjoy her job and is satisfied with her current job position. According to her, she strictly adheres to the hotel’s rules and procedures and believes that nothing is difficult for as long as one follows the rules. Her lengthy work experience with the hotel and her good relations with her co- workers and subordinates have made her one of those employees who do not need close supervision from her superiors. Moreover, she is a hard worker and desires to acquire skills and knowledge on other fields.
D. PERSONALITY
Ms. Meredith comes across as a sociable and pleasant person. Her positive disposition allows her to establish good rapport fast. She values smooth relations with her co- workers and staff and exerts effort to avoid conflict. According to her, she demonstrates “motherly” concern for her staff and even visits them whenever they get sick and have to stay home or in a hospital. She also keeps a record of all her staff and co- worker’s birthdays and other dates that are of significance to them. She admits to be emotional at times, but is not the confrontational type of person. She prioritizes her family and desires no further promotion so as not to compromise her responsibilities to her children and husband. At present, she feels happy and contented with her current role and responsibilities for she is able to balance her time effectively between her work and her family.
E. STRENGTHS and AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT
STRENGTHS
• Has positive disposition
• Sociable and friendly
• Happy and contented in her job at present
AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT
• Has the tendency to be too emotional
• Easily takes things personally
• Lacks appropriate managerial skills
F. SUMMARY and RECOMMENDATION
Ms. Meredith has been with Hotel Sun Jaya since 1974 and was with the Food and Beverage Department at that time. A year after she remained working for the Food and Beverage Department and was given responsibilities as the Captain of the Coffee Shop and Order Taker for room service. She was also the Restaurant and Bar Cashier in that same year. In 1982, she was moved to the Front Office for a three- month training for a telephone operator position. After the training, she became one of the telephone operators in the Front Office for several years before further advancing in her career. Currently, she is the Chief Telephone Operator, supervising ten subordinates.
Ms. Meredith is a pleasant person. She holds a positive disposition and appears to be sociable. She claims to demonstrate a motherly type of care for her subordinates and staff. She takes pride in being the longest employed female in one of Jakarta’s pioneer hotels. She keeps a dictionary of foreign languages that she has learned overtime. She appears to be an appeasing type of person than confrontational, but is still able to assert her leadership role if necessary. She is highly organized and systematic and prefers to focus in finishing one task before venturing into a new undertaking. She exercises a participative type of leadership and values the inputs and suggestions of her staff. She adheres strictly to hotels’ rules and guidelines and consults his supervisor when presented with a situation that is not within her scope of authority.
From the information gathered, Ms. Meredith possesses the right skills suited for her current job position. Her patience and serene nature is much required when dealing with tough customers. She admits to be satisfied with her current position and does not desire to be further promoted. This personal desire to remain in her current position hinders any further ability to acquire new skills and knowledge suited for career development. It is for the prior mentioned reasons that Ms. Meredith is advised to remain in her current role and is not recommended to be considered for any career advancement programs of the hotel.