فوائد سیستم های مدیریت حسابداری در هتلها: یک مطالعه اکتشافی

In this study we investigate use of management accounting systems by general managers and department managers in luxury hotels. We also investigate general managers’ emphasis on financial and non-financial performance indicators while they evaluate their department managers’ performance. In addition, managers’ satisfaction with details and availability of their hotel's management accounting system (MAS) is assessed. The results indicate that general managers and department managers make equal use of MAS for both short and long-term decisions. However, a detail analysis of the data by manager groups indicates that general managers differ from department managers with respect to their use of MAS for making decisions. Furthermore, general managers, compared to department managers, are found to be more satisfied with the frequency in which MAS is available to them. On the issue of department managers’ performance evaluations by general managers, the results reveal that general managers put more emphasis on financial than on non-financial performance indicators. The department managers in the study were in charge of food and beverage and room departments. The sample is rather small; only 35 managers from one region in Australia participated in the study. Therefore, any generalisation of the results requires caution.

The business environment in the hotel industry is highly competitive; each hotel in the industry faces direct and indirect competition from other hotels. The highly competitive environment prompts hotel managers to meet their customers’ expectations much more closely to ensure the survival and success of the business. An appropriate information system in a hotel can help managers satisfy their customers’ expectations and achieve organisational goals (Damonte et al., 1997). Chenhall and Morris (1986), Johnson (1990) and Mia and Chenhall (1994) argue that provision of the necessary information by MAS assists managers in enhancing the quality of decisions they make, thereby improving their organizational performance (see also Downie, 1997). The MAS in an organisation is expected to be available to managers in an appropriate format and on demand to satisfy managers’ information needs (Dent, 1996; Govindarajan, 1984; Mia and Chenhall, 1994; Simons, 1990). This paper reports the results of a study that examined the usefulness of MAS in the luxury hotels in Australia. Section 1 of the paper presents the motivation for undertaking the study in the hotel industry. Section 2 discusses the need for the MAS in the industry and the use of comprehensive performance evaluation for subordinate managers. The research methodology, results, discussion, conclusion, limitations and future research directions are discussed in their respective sections.

The results of the study are mixed. Although, the level of competition faced by the hotel industry appears to be high, both general and department managers’ use of the MAS information (on effectiveness of sales promotion and referrals) for decision-making is rather low (just average or below, see Table 3). The exception is in the case of pricing of products and services, customer satisfaction and profitability, and use of these items of the information is quite high (around 4 on the five-point scale). Interestingly, both groups of managers appear to make significantly more use of the majority of the information items for long-term decision-making. The results concerning managers’ satisfaction with the availability (frequency and details) of the information indicate that the general managers are significantly more satisfied than their subordinate department managers with the frequency in which the information becomes available. There could be two reasons for the finding. One, the existing MAS in hotels may be inadequate to supply necessary information to all managers in required frequency. However, since the general managers have the power to demand and get required information of their choice when they want, they are more satisfied than the department managers who are not satisfied, as they do not always get the required information from the system. Two, the set up of the system may be such that it serves better the senior managers in hotels and neglects the information needs of the department managers. Whatever is the reason, the department managers’ relatively low level of satisfaction with the MAS in their hotels is an important matter, as it may lead to the manager's dysfunctional behaviour affecting their performance. Again, further research into the issue is necessary to find out the reason(s) so that appropriate actions can be taken by the senior managers. Another important result in the study is the general managers’ greater emphasis on financial than non-financial indicators for evaluating subordinates’ performance. Given that competition is intense and the environmental uncertainty perceived by the individual managers is high in the hotel industry, individual hotels may benefit if their senior managers give a balanced emphasis on both financial and non-financial performance indicators while evaluating their subordinates’ performance. However, the greater emphasis by the general managers on financial measures may have a dysfunctional impact on the middle and lower level managers’ behaviour in the industry. Future research investigating this matter would be beneficial. Finally, the issue of the general managers’ greater emphasis on the financial than non-financial performance indicators require further research. Such an unequal emphasis on financial performance measurement in the competitive environment may not be suitable for business’ long-term growth (Kaplan and Norton (1993) and Kaplan and Norton (1996)). Hotels are not an exception in this regard. The general managers’ low emphasis on non-financial indicators in evaluating their subordinate managers’ performance in terms of controlling labour turnover raises questions. Iverson and Deery (1997) report that the hospitality industry has formed and retained a high labour turnover culture, and has taken little action to change it. A great deal of literature suggests that the success of a hotel business is dependent upon successful interaction between employees and customers, especially in the luxury hotels. Unless there is a continuity of employment, management ends up spending valuable resources in recruitment, orientation and training new employees (Bonn and Forbringer, 1992; Charles and McCleary, 1997). As such, the delivery of quality service becomes difficult to achieve. The general managers’ low emphasis on subordinate managers’ effort to reduce customer complaints also indicates the senior management's short term- view of achieving profitability at the expense of long-term growth. According to Bojanic (1996), Burgess et al. (1995) and Getty and Thompson (1994), dissatisfied customers will not only go to the other hotels, but they will also spread their negative experiences to friends and relatives. The effects of such poor publicity will be felt in the long-term by way of hampered competitiveness. The low emphasis placed on subordinate managers’ effort in the provision and improvement of quality services to customers indicate the narrow view of the senior managers in the competitive environment. In practice, most four and five star hotels provide similar physical facilities (size of rooms, amenities, food and beverage outlets and other aspects) and are often located in a similar surrounding (e.g. close proximity to the beach or the airport). However, the most effective differentiating aspect within hotels is the quality of customer service offered, and as such, the most difficult aspect to imitate by competitors. Consequently, the lack of management's attention in maintaining service quality may hamper competitive edge. Eccles (1991), Johnson and Kaplan (1987) and Kaplan and Norton (1992), Kaplan and Norton (1993) and Kaplan and Norton (1996) suggest that paying too much importance to the financial measures in the competitive environment is not only ineffective, but also detrimental to the long-term survival of a business. Future research would benefit from investigating the matters further.