Information Systems: Hilton Hotels - Brand Differentiation through Customer Relationship Management (Essay Sample)

Information System: Hilton Hotels- Brand Differentiation through Customer Relationship Management
Name:
Course:
Date:
Information System: Hilton Hotels- Brand Differentiation through Customer Relationship
Case Overview
Hilton Hotels is a company that was incorporated in 1919, and over the years it has experienced tremendous growth. However, the growth did not come easy, and the company had to undergo various challenges for it to strategically plan and determine the necessary processes and activities that it would have to undertake to achieve the brand differentiation that it intended to have. Some key factors that have propelled the business to the level it is today are information technology, customer relationship management, and employee satisfaction, motivation and retention. Their unique guest experience is analyzed at different levels, right before the guest arrives at the hotel, and even after they have left the hotels (Piccoli, 2012).
Discussion
Question 2
A company can develop good products or services, but without proper organization on how to run the business, it is likely not to have any success reports. Three essential functions that a company must use to structure its activities to help build the business are; Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Information Technology Processes, and organizational culture.
Information technology processes are those activities that assist the employees to communicate with clients, suppliers, and vendors with ease and faster. They processes are formal, organizational, and sociotechnical and they are designed for collecting, processing, storing and distributing information. The four core principles of computer processes are the process itself, the people involved, information technology which refers to the software, hardware and telecommunication equipment; and the structure in which the processes take place. Information technology processes are at the executive level of the hierarchy since decisions about the kind of hardware and software to be used in an organization largely depend on the executive managers. The activities are dynamic, in that, an organization may embrace new technology as it comes up, as the company deems fit (Kavanagh Thite, & Johnson, 2014). An example of information technology processes is the client database at the Hilton Hotels Company.
Customer Relationship Management is the methods that aim at ensuring that the customers' needs are met and that their loyalty and satisfaction are enhanced. Organizations that understand the importance or CRM know that without their customers they have no business to propel. Hilton Hotels, for example, know this well, and this is why they describe CRM as their DNA. In addition to having the infrastructure and data, the company is also committed to harnessing their CRM strategies to ensure that they consistently execute them flawlessly across their entire network. CRM is at the operational level of management because it is an activity and a decision that the employees have to carry out on a daily basis to ensure that their customers keep coming back. Its principle characteristics are client attraction, satisfaction, retention, and loyalty. CRM is the pillar of an organization, and an example at the Hilton is carrying out surveys with their customers to find out about their experiences and what they think can be done better in future (Piccoli, 2004).
Organizational culture is an organizational activity that determines how well the activities of an organization are done. It is the system in which the employers and employees share assumptions, beliefs, and values, and is the basis for behavior within the organization. Dress code is an example of the components of culture in an organization. Organizational structure dictates how the other activities are carried out. Organizations structure lasts over an extended period, and may only change once there is a change in the management team. For example, the organization culture at Hilton Hotels is to ensure that customers experience utmost care and respect and that the hotels maintain a particular standard. The main principles of organizational culture are assumptions, beliefs, and values (Piccoli, 2012).
Question 3
Functional systems have the aim of supporting the processes of people who work within the same area, and they are formulated based on the principle of local optimization. The laws propose that information processing needs are distinctive and standardized with the area in which they function.
An example of a functional system at the Hilton Hotels is the room-booking system. Once a guest has booked a room and even made payment for it through the system, the information becomes available for all the system users, such that they are no chance that the same room can be booked for another guest. In most other organizations, the systems are integrated between the human resource and finance departments, so that when there is a new employee, the finance department is provided with that information so that they can start generating that employee's salary (Piccoli, 2012).
Functional systems have some outstanding characteristics. They are management oriented, in that they help the professions working around them to manage their job around a central system effectively. Funct...