You've finally reached the last stage of your project.
Once you've portrayed the product's features, examined customers' views, and
analysed the main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, you must
make specific improvement proposals based on your findings, to conclude. It is
not necessary to tackle absolutely all the problems that derive from the
analysis, but the most relevant ones should certainly be addressed.
Present your improvement plan in a structured way, cross-referring
to data from previous stages and referencing your information sources. Your
suggestions may draw on multiple perspectives, e.g. sustainable development
goals and environmentally-friendly policies, quality standards, experience design, human resources and corporate social responsibility, revenue management, etc. Finally, as well as posting your
conclusions on this blog, present them orally and upload your video on Flipgrid.
Here you are some resources that may inspire you:
-5 ways to lead in an era of constant change
-Two reasons companies fail - and how to avoid them
-Interactive risk assessment tool
-Innovation checklists
-Innovation ability test
Thus, we've come full circle... congratulations!
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ZOO OF BARCELONA (Marti and Xenia)
Until now, we have seen the most important problems that the zoo of Barcelona has. After reading articles and searching information about how the zoo can improve, this are the improvements that we propose for the Barcelona’s zoo.
As seen, the main problem was the ethic that a zoo has in the 21st century, that’s why our proposals are related with the implementation of the campaign Zoo 21. First of all we want to remark that the city council of Barcelona approved an agreement to improve the zoo and convert it in a total new space. So with this, and with our notions of the 21st zoo, here is our improvement plan.
The first proposal is to make the zoo an educative space and not an exhiobitionist one, and for this, the zoo has to reduce the number of species it has, to focus on the animals that we are interested in. In the 21st century, a zoo has to be an educative space where the most part of the area contains huge galleries to expose information, facts, researches and many interactive ways to know better the world were we are and the species we live with.
Also, the zoo needs to be a protected area to home species in danger of extinction, and help them in the reproductive act. The platform has to help animals and research about them to avoid species extinction and even try to interpret their illnesses and health problems.
“How do we reduce species and which do we conserve?”. There is not an easy answer on how we reduce species, but there are some options, like transferring the animals into other zoos from areas they belong, wait till they die or even put them in liberty, but that won’t be the best option at all. Regarding the other question, to select the species we are going to focus on, research and take care of, the answer is autochthonous. There are many species in Catalonia that for human causes had reduced the population number, like otters, fishes, some reptiles, etc. The zoo could be a place where this population number increased and where protected while the area creates an strategic plan to conserve the animals in their natural habitats.
Other animals that can be in the zoo are WILD ANIMALS like for example, turtles. There are lots of rivers where people abandon their turtles, like a river that is near the Airport el Prat. The park could be the place to home this animals and also to help injured creatures recover.
Finally, apart from the Zoo 21 measures, we would like to improve the cages organization of the zoo, because people think there are not in a logical order and can be confusing when visiting the park. We also want bigger habitats for the animals that can’t not be returned or moved. The last measure that we want to implement is the reduce in the ticket prices, because we think that it is too much expensive and this would help the zoo to become more visited by students, families etc
IMPROVEMENT PLAN
As we have already seen, this hostel is rated with a 7.3 out of 10. After reading and analyzing more than 80 different reviews, we have realized that it’s a good establishment but as the majority, it has many aspects that could be enhanced.
On the one hand, if we focus on the exterior of the Hostal Athenas, we think that the decoration could be improved. Nowadays, we can observe that despite having a colorful and fun ornamentation, it is not suitable for a hostel as it is too informal. Both the colors and the general decoration of the establishment could be changed for more discreet colors and more serious elements.
In addition, we have noticed that in some comments, many guests have complained about the WiFi signal. At the present time, most clients consider this element as essential, and we believe that the whole installation should be reviewed and changed so that the WiFi signal reaches each guest and that no one has problems.
Regarding the hostel space, we have seen that many clients have missed a common area where they can rest and have a drink. This problem could be improved by enabling a space in the establishment and opening this area so desired by customers.
Furthermore, isolation is another aspect that should be considered. In the comments, we have seen that many people who have stayed at the hostel have had discomfort due to the noise. Between the rooms next door you can hear everything that is said and we believe that the walls should be reinforced and the insulation should be improved.
On the other hand, we will focus on the inside of the hostel. If some changes are made there, customers will be more comfortable. Overall, the inside of the hotel is in quite good condition, but things like bathroom space, such as the shower space or the number of plugs inside the rooms need an improvement.
Therefore, these are some improvement suggestions we end up choosing:
First of all, while we were watching the establishment comments, we realised that a lot of them were complaining about the bathroom size. All customers said that they were too small and there was no space at all. Moreover, some of them also complained about the shower space, saying that it was small too.
Then, other things to improve in the inside of the rooms will be increasing the amount of plugs of the room and to get new beds because, according to some customers, some beds are old and uncomfortable.
Moreover, the TVs of the room are a bit small and old, so we would change this too.
At last but not least, here is a little suggestion from us that is little, but it will get great results. As there are some rooms with kitchen, it would be proper to have a scouring pad and some soap there. We think that it would be useful for the customers.
Finally, we believe that if all these aspects are improved, the comfort of the clients can be higher and the evaluation of the hostel can improve a lot. However, it is difficult to implement some of these improvements such as the expansion of some areas due to the reduced structure of the establishment.
HOSTAL ATHENAS ( PABLO & DÈLIA )
HOSTEL-RESTAURANT ALT EMPORDÀ (NÚRIA &ADRIANA)
Environmental concerns and the popularity of eco-friendly practices continue increasing overall.
For this reason, if this establishment wants to keep its clientele, it needs to go through some improvements. For instance, all of its installations, but especially the swimming pool area and the bathrooms should be repaired. In order to do so, sustainable materials and technology could be used in order to reduce waste and generate a minimum impact to the environment.
Therefore, a good idea would be including showers, bathtubs, sinks or bidet taps with technologies such as: thermostatic, which , provide the water at the desired temperature in just seconds; automatic sinks, incorporate flow limiters at 8, 5 or 2 liters per minute, which allows to cut consumption without reducing the level of comfort. So, less water would be consumed and consequently less expenses would be generated.
Regarding the swimming pool area, this could be transformed into a “Clear Pool” from the Astrapool Company. This type, includes fauna and flora from its surroundings, but thanks to technology, it guarantees crystal clear water all the year long due to its filtration system, which is done through the plants. (These pools have the fauna and flora are separately from the swimming pool.) Moreover, it would provide a nicest area for clients to relax.
The garden or “chill out area”, which includes the swimming pool, should be reformed as well.
In order to reduce the water consumption it would be recommended to decrease the grass surface and transform it into ivy, herbs or stone. Taking this into account, if the owner would like to plant something, it would be suggested to plant autochthonous plants.
Another sustainable improvement that could be made in Hostel-Restaurant Alt Empordà, would be to provide a van or a mini bus for their clients. That way the clients would use less their personal car and would start taking the minibus in order to pollute less. The bus would have a timetable and it would say the different places where it goes. This minibus belongs to the company MoTiV from Barcelona, it’s an electric bus and has been developed entirely by catalan companies. This minibus has the capacity of 22 passengers and has seats for disabled people. Finally it has batteries and has an electric motor in order to get around.
Finally, another way that we think that could improve sustainably would be for the Hostel-Restaurant Alt Empordà to have their own orchard and vegetable patch. That way they would grow their produce organically without using any harmful pesticides and herbicides, there will be a less water and air pollution. And it would also helps in saving fossil fuels used by refrigerated trucks to deliver the food to supermarkets from other locations. The seeds and the gardening products would be provided by The Little Veggie Patch, a company dedicated exclusively to gardening and growing vegetables with the intention of eating and having a healthier live.
IMPROVEMENT PLAN: MY SPACE APARTMENTS
As we have seen during this research project, the main strengths and positive features of My Space Apartments are the location and the variability of the establishments in the city of Barcelona, and, on the other hand, the size and the terraces of the apartments. However, we have seen that the company has been having trouble with the personnel service as well as with the management of the establishment.
In order to make the most of the apartments, our improvement plan is going to consist of a general organization of the staff, including a personnel rotation to guarantee the best cleaning services as well as a good customer support. Moreover, an extra innovation tool is going to be presented.
When a good maintenance of the apartments is guaranteed, with the new cleaning personnel, we decided to change the management of the apartment’s company. Regarding the complaints about the long check-in procedures and customer support, we decided to create an alternative to ensure the safest services for our clients. This consists of an App for the Smartphones. This App will offer online check-in, which will automatically provide the virtual key for the apartment. This new feature is going to save a lot of time and benefit both the customers and the workers, while they will have flexibility on the check-in hour and feel more safe during their stay.
On the other hand, the investment will also work on repairing the broken furniture and the old fashioned services of the establishments. To do this, inspectors will visit the apartments and they will communicate what is in need of a repair, including toilets, showers, kitchen furniture and others.
As we have seen in the reviews, customers complain a lot about the cleanliness, in this case, the plan consists of introducing a worker: the supervisor, who is going to be responsible of revising the establishments before any customers do the check-in, to make sure they are going to find a clean apartment with all the promised services.
In addition to that, this App will have lots of other services, it will have a phone number for customers if they have any question or problem, also this App will let them regulate the air conditioning, they will find different restaurants around and customers will be able to book the restaurant through the App of the company. Also this App will have a map with different popular places of Barcelona to go and it will let them know the route and the public transport that they will have to use to get there.
MARIA & LAIA
Now we are going to talk about the improvements this restaurant needs to have. First of all, we think that they should make the restaurant seem cleaner because, basically, the first impression is what counts and, if the restaurant is cleaner, then, they will attract, for sure, more clients. Then, we think that they should, in some way, modernize the restaurant. Maybe changing their furniture or adding some technology but, in this way, they will create a more youthful and modern environment so they will attract more people to the restaurant.
Another improvement that they should do is to lower the prices of their current menu, because as we said in another video, clients are not happy with the prices and the quality of the food. So, they should try to improve the quality and reduce the prices of the food and the drinks, which are very expensive. They should also add the VAT tax in the menu, because as we also said in another video, clients were complaining about that when they get the bill, they realize that the price is much higher than what they expected. This is because the VAT tax is added in the end and not in the menu. This is illegal, so they should put it in order to avoid problems with the clients and the law. They could also do some offers to attract different targets maybe doing a special menu for families or offering free shots or drinks on the weekends.
Another improvement we think this restaurant should have is the growing need of better service. We’ve divided this idea into two parts: the employee’s service and the food they offer. Regarding the employee’s service, we think that they should be more friendly with their customers. Almost all the bad reviews said something about this, about the employees being rude, especially the owner and, we think, that if they change, in some way, the way they address to customers, they will, for sure, attract more clients. Especially, because they are located in a very touristic area of Barcelona, which is La Barceloneta. If they get better reviews, saying they are friendly or that they offer really good food, they will attract more clients, both locals and tourists to the restaurant.
Finally, they could change the menu a little bit, trying new recipes or trying other cooking methodologies. Almost all the bad reviews say that the food is frozen and that they want something more natural. So they should try to do this to satisfy their clients experience.
NIL GÓMEZ & ANNA STAPLETON (TASK 4)
After analysing the SWOT analysis, we can see what things can we improve to make this business better. For doing this we have chosen some topics we want to improve and we have come up with some ideas.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS:
We came up with some ideas in order to improve the sustainability of this restaurant, and we think that they should turn green their supply chain. Buying Km0 products is very important, not only to help small business but to avoid polluting. Related to that, we also thought about the quality and the nature of the products, we believe that improving the quality of the products, by acquiring the ones that haven’t been subjected to chemical processes, or by being aware of where are they getting the food from, choosing the most environmentally responsible suppliers. We know that the next idea is not that easy, but it would be great for the image to be able to grow their own products, we guess it will help the ‘’brand’’ of the place and it would attract lots of people.
Even though we all know that is a Chinese restaurant it would be very beneficial if they could start serving vegetarian and vegan food, they should be able to serve this type of food without losing their essence, by creating original dishes that everybody could eat.
Another fact that will have a positive impact for both the environment and the business is buying top-quality appliances, this way they consume of water and electricity will decrease and with it the amount of money to pay and the pollution produced.
EXPERIENCES:
In order to improve the guest experience, we thought about personalize the guest experience by making some changes in the way of the personal is going to treat them customers. What we mean is that the staff has to adopt new habits such as smile and make eye contact every time they serve a new table or give recommendations to the customer in order to make the service more personalized. In addition, using and offering multiplier customer service channels will make the communication easier and faster and the service more professional.
Moreover, one aspect that customers usually take into account and give a lot of importance is the waiting time. Having a good organization and knowing how to streamline the wait times makes a big difference to the customer when it comes rating the experience due that clients value a lot the efficiency of the service.
Furthermore, customer experience is created from the sum total of their engagements with you. Customer engagement, therefore, forms part of the customer experience. So, making an engagement plan in order to give customers value that goes beyond a simple transactional relationship.
HUMAN RESOURCES:
In relation with the point above, we truly believe that motivating employees is very important to make them feel comfortable in work as if they were at home, doing of their job their passion.
Also, create clear staff expectations it is essential to make your staff feel comfortable and agree with their job. This can be reach by working with honesty and integrity, maintaining good attendance with them, representing the organization in a responsible manner, performing their jobs to a reasonable and acceptable standard or conduct themselves in a professional manner, even when of duty.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
Regarding the social aspect we would like to explain 2 useful ways to improve it. One that is really important is the community involvement. Community involvement is the power to bring positive, measurable change to both the communities in which you operate and to your business. Community involvement examples include in-kind and financial donations, employee volunteer days, enduring non-profit partnerships, and more. This is a good way to gain reputation and employee engagement.
In order to keep their clients and to get some more, they should be very quick and effective at the time of answering their concerns, we all know that it is difficult, but with some effort they could have amazing results. Being attentive can also be beneficial to earn their loyalty.
REVENUE MANAGEMENT:
When it comes the improvement of terms of revenue management, there are some aspects that can be taken into account such as menu pricing strategy. Knowing how to set the prices taking into account the following aspect it is essential: Food Cost Per Dish = Food Cost of Ingredients x Weekly Amount Sold.
Moreover, knowing how to sell the right seat to the right customer at the right price for the right duration it is essential too.
This restaurant has a lot of complains regarding the prices since they are very high for the quality that is offered so taking into account this aspects will help to improve the service.
PROJECT
Othman El hariry
Ricard Amenós
Alex Mercadé
As a group, we’ve had a few ideas that we believe that might help improve the hotel functionality and attract even more tourist.
First of all, one of the things to be compulsorily improved is the remodeling of the facilities as they are a little bit old. One of the main complaints from customers is that the rooms are a bit small and that some accessories are missing, in addition to that there is a bit of dirt in the common areas and that as I said, the facilities are a little bit old (doors, walls, beds and more ...)
Another idea it is to replace part of the staff, basically those that are no longer motivated by their job, with young people, who we believe to be ambitious people, and we hope to find those that are hungry for a new job, and looking to make the best out of it. It would be a way to renew the face of the hotel, and we definitely think it will be successful without doubt. Specially, since the hotel itself is pretty modern, and so this kind of staff would perfectly match.
Also we want to change a bit somethings about the restaurant. We think the part of breakfast is quite good. But the problem is, there is a good space for make also lunch and dinner, also we have the terrace that is a good space for have a dinner during the night. So the idea is to implement a good restaurant in the hotel. The hotel is located in a good area and I pretty sure that will attract a lot of tourist for lunch or dinner.
And finally, another idea we had, we know that the hotel is renting bikes for the tourist but they don't have any activity for the tourists. Barcelona is a really good city to visit by bike so our idea is to implement differents routes for visit important places in Barcelona and off course the ones that are not so far by bike. Also we can implement another visits but that ones that are a bit far away. Only they need a touristic guide.
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