JW Marriott Marquis

1. COMPANY INTRODUCTION

JW Marriott Marquis is a five-star hotel located in the Business Bay area in Dubai, UAE. JW Marriott Marquis is the largest hotel in UAE with 1608 rooms, 16 restaurants, and 32 meeting rooms and function halls and tallest hotel in the world with a height of 355 meters and 82 floors. The hotel was opened in September 2011 with a cost of US$490 million and owned by Emirates Group (JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, 2020).

JW Marriott Marquis hotel is part of Marriott International, Inc., which is the largest hotel company in the world, operating in 132 countries, with 7853 hotels, 30 hotel brands, and 1.3 million rooms. Marriott International was started by John Willard Marriott in 1927 from a small restaurant in Washington, D.C, USA (Marketline, 2019).

All the information in this assignment about systems was written according to my experience or secondary sources due to the current situation; I was not able to interview any IT Manager in the company as most managers are on leave.

2. TRANSACTION PROCESSING SYSTEM

Transaction Processing System is a system that performs daily transactions that are essential to run the business. It is a computerized system, which records sales, employee’s payroll, receipts, credit deposits, and cash deposits. The purpose of this system is to handle and track the transactions in an organization accurately. A TPS system is so vital for the company, even a system failure for a few hours can disrupt entire operations (Laudon & Laudon, 2020).

TPS also include a payroll system; this system helps companies to keep track employee’s salary.  It also keeps employee data like social security number, employee’s name, number of working hours, and help to pay employee’s salaries, pensions, insurance, and other benefits. This system also helps to maintain all data with the company permanently, which can be shown to the government agencies also (Jones and Kasavana, 2012).

• Oasys 3.5

Marriott uses Oasys 3.5, which is a payroll system helps managers and human resource department to keep employee record like employee ID number, hiring date, vacations, day-off, shift timing, sick leave, maternity leave, and shift timings. It enables managers to maintain staff records and then forward it to HR department so they can proceed with the salary paid to the employees.

• Micros

Micros is a point-of-sale system that is mostly used in restaurants to settle guest bills. There are two types of point-of-sales used in restaurants, first is the cashier terminal, which is connected to the cash drawer, and second is the precheck terminal which is not connected to the cash drawers.

Precheck terminals are used by waiters to place the order, which can be received in the kitchen and bar automatically through the printer attached to the system. Precheck terminals help staff and managers to see all guests, table numbers, and guest bill amount. Waiters can print bills and present them to guests.

Managers can use this system to see daily, weekly and monthly sales of the restaurants. They can get specific information through this system, like how many drinks sold daily or weekly and how many guests were served during a day.

The cashier point-of-sale terminal helps cashiers to do additional tasks, which is to settle the cash payments. In every restaurant, there is only one cashier terminal, which is handled by only one cashier; this is to limit the cash handing and avoid theft and improve accountability.

Daily revenue, void report, employee financial report, service charge, individual item sales report, top-selling item, table number, check number, total guest,

3. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

The management information system allows managers to get the necessary information needed to plan, organize staff, direct and control operations. An effective management information system helps managers beyond routine report generation and provide with information need like measuring performance, trends, and patterns, evaluating alternative, decision making, corrective actions, and monitoring performance. Through the help of a management information system, managers can generate special reports which can help them to see evaluate their performance against the organizational goals (Jones & Kasavana, 2012).

Management information systems provide a high level of operational and internal control over the business. It also helps to generate specific reports according to the Manager’s need. Management information system helps to reduce unnecessary paperwork and help to reduce the operational costs by eliminating unnecessary documentation (Laudon & Laudon, 2020).

• GuestVoice

GuestVoice is a system used in Marriott to compile all guest complaints. This system helps managers to keep the record of guest’s complaints, feedbacks, or any incident that happened during the operations and can view by department heads and general managers. This system helps the Manager to see the guest’s satisfaction and operational problems and to communicate with other departments.

The Manager can input the guest’s name, date, time, and compliant or incident details. Managers can see all complaints guests have in the hotel and any positive feedback from the guests. Information can be filtered according to department, guest name, date, and complaint. Managers can print the report for reference or set an alert for other staff. This system is very important for department heads to view each department’s performance and share it with other departments also.

• Opera

Opera is a system that is primarily used by the front office and housekeeping department. It is used to track the guest rooms, guest names, status of the room, type of room, occupancy, room layout, floor layout, arrivals, departures, alerts, guest accounts, check-in, and check-out time, future reservations and guest’s requests. Opera also helps department heads to forecast future occupancy by generating reports of past and future reservations, which can be very useful to plan operations.

Opera helps managers to generate various reports and use them for their decision making and planning. For example, the housekeeping manager generates a vacant report, which housekeeping staff uses to see how many rooms they have to clean? Front desk managers can generate arrival and departure reports to prepare for the operations and adjust their manning at the front desk to run a smooth operation. Front desk managers can also take special requests and enter into the Opera system, which can be useful for the housekeeping department to prepare a guest room or any allergy, or special food request can be handle by the restaurant manager to be prepared when guest visit one of the restaurants.

• ResPAK

ResPAK is a system used to manage restaurant information and to communicate guest information with other restaurants and staff. JW Marriott Marquis has 14 restaurants, with capacity ranging from 120 to 400 guests. It is not easy to manage the guest’s information. ResPAK can help managers to see the restaurant layout, capacity, number of reservations, name of the guest, number of guests on each table, location of the restaurant, any special request by guests, reservations date, guest names, VIP guest arrivals, table number, waiter allocation, guest history, and restaurant timing.

ResPAK can show information about all restaurants with details mention above. This system is very useful during busy operations also as the Manager will be able to know if the restaurant is full and they can guide guests to another restaurant in the hotel.

4. OFFICE AUTOMATED SYSTEM

Office Automation System is a combination of software, hardware and networked computer. It helps to process, store, collect, and transfer electronic messages among workgroups, organizations and individuals. This system helps to improve the productivity of the company and save time for staff. It further enhances the efficiency of producing, receiving, accessing business communication (Irfan & Shah, 2017).

There is a variety of office automation system used in companies today. The functions of this system include electronic communication, image processing, electronic collaboration, publishing, and office management (Irfan & Shah, 2017).

• E-mail

E-mails allow to send and receive messages to anywhere whether it is within the company or across the world in other countries. It helps to communicate with others fast and in an efficient manner. It is a very famous, user-friendly and free way to communicate (Rouse, 2020).

In Marriott we use Microsoft Outlook it helps managers to send an e-mail, manage calendar, and create to-do-list, schedule meeting, set reminder, Manager can also attach files and photos with an e-mail to send to other staff members or customers. It makes it easy to filter messages, forward them, and create carbon copies.

In Marriott use of e-mail is extensive, managers always use e-mails to communicate with other departments, to send information to guests, and to communicate to suppliers and other government and private organizations.

• Electronic publishing

Electronic publishing is a system which helps to create word processing, spreadsheet, desktop publishing. Word processing can be used to create, revise, edit, print and store different documents like memos, letters and reports while desktop publication allows to create images, graphics, and edit photos. The spreadsheet helps to create, store and edit numerical data of an organization (Irfan & Shah, 2017).

Marriott staff use different systems to make work easier, which are the following:

• Microsoft PowerPoint is to create different presentations which are quite helpful presenting during meetings and orientations.
• Microsoft Excel is mostly used by the finance department for creating spreadsheets for budgeting and forecasting.
• Microsoft Word is used by the managers of different departments to create memos and reports.
• Microsoft Publisher is used by the marketing department to create birthday cards, posters, brochures, flyers, menu designs and other promotional material.
  • Video conferencing

Video conferencing is getting popular nowadays. It requires a network, software, a camera attached to desktop, laptop or mobile phone. Video is captured and then send via a network to other users attending that meeting. It makes the meeting more interactive and convenient without members travelling to getting together (Kagan, 2019).

Marriott is using the zoom to conduct a meeting, especially due to COVID-19 so staff can have social distance and the large crowd can be avoided. Department heads are using the zoom to conduct morning meetings and to communicate to guests and owners.

5. MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM

During my job in Marriott, I have never used any marketing information system, and I do not have any information regarding this system. So, I decided to write about the supply chain management system.

6. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The supply chain management system helps an organization to communicate with suppliers. This system is an example of an inter-organizational system because this system helps organizations to communicate with each other (Laudon & Laudon, 2020).

This system helps the organization inflow of information between the supply chain’s members and improve their decision making of purchasing, producing, and shipping.  The supply chain management system helps to avoid any miscommunication and transfer accurate information between the organization and supplier and also removes any uncertainty. This system helps companies make the right scheduling and purchasing decisions. The supply chain management system can also help managers to manage forecast, schedule, and logistics (Arsovski, Petrovic & Arsovski, 2012).

Software companies like SAP “Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing,” Oracle and Blue Yonder is previously known as JDA Software Group, offers different systems for Supply chain management (Laudon & Laudon, 2020).

The supply chain management system can also help to reduce the cost and increase sales of an organization. For example, if the organization do not have the product customer want, he will buy it from other company, by ensuring that the right products and the right quantity has been ordered will help the organization to keep customers satisfy and its products available all time. The supply chain management system helps organizations to meet the demand by matching supplies and avoid any delays by tracking the orders (Burlacu and Jiroveanu, 2011).

In small companies, it’s easy to manage supplies as they have few products and services for which they have to deal with few suppliers. Small companies can contact their supplier via telephone, fax, or e-mail, but in large companies, this approach cannot work as they have a large number of products and services and they deal with many suppliers. The supply chain management system helps to manage this large number of supplies and communicate with suppliers (Al-Odeh, 2016).

Before the emergence of the internet, it was challenging for organizations to communicate with the suppliers and usually encountered a lot of miscommunications, delays, and delivery of wrong items, etc. The internet has helped to resolve all these issues and improve supply chain management drastically (Ketikidis et al., 2008).

• BirchStreet

In Marriott, we use BirchStreet software. It helps managers and Chefs to order food, ingredients, stationaries, office supplies, chemicals, equipment, furniture, etc. Every Manager has his own log in which relates to his department. For example, if a manager works in a restaurant, he will see all the items which his department needs and can order. Every department has different items shown in the system, as chefs can access only to food items and kitchen supplies. Restaurant managers can order beverages, restaurant equipment, and supplies. The engineering manager can order only engineering equipment, and so on.

This system helps to see all the items which hotels can order, and if an item does not include in the list, it can be added with the relevant supplier. The Manager can check the price of each item; input requires items, item details, the status of the delivery, etc. The manager can also print the detailed list of items they order. Once the order is placed, it will forward it to the department head for approval, who will decide whether to approve the order or decline it based on the department budget or available stock. Once head of the department approves the order, it will be automatically forward to the relative supplier, and the hotel purchasing and receiving department can contact the supplier to get the information on the delivery date, other details, or information. Managers can generate reports like items ordered, items decline, items received, and costs of items with this system.

7. INFRASTRUCTURE OF ICT

Marriott IT department is consists of one director of IT, one IT Manager, two assistant manager, four IT specialists.

Information and Communications Technology infrastructure is very important for the success of the of the hotel, it helps to measure internal and external factors like productivity, cost, customer satisfaction, revenue and enhance the potential of business and competition (Chevers, 2015).

Hardware use in Hotel

• Interactive television
• Internet billing
• Door locking system
• Voice mail
• Energy management
• Kiosks check-in
• Vending machine
• PDA-interface (uses Windows terminal services)
• Credit card reader
• Touchscreen
• Attendance recording system
• Minibar
• EPAB

Source: Adopted from (Importance of Hardware & Software Interfaces in Hotel Software, 2015)

ICT Components of Hotel Operations

• Telephone and Fax Systems
• Website and Email Systems
• Global Distribution System
• Guest Account Management System
• Central Reservation System
• Customer Database System

ICT Components of Restaurants

• Conference and Banqueting System
• Menu Management System
• Table Reservation System
• Order Entry System

ICT Components of Back Office

• Human Resource Management System
• Customer Relationship Management System
• Wireless Internet Connection Area
• Financial and Accounting Systems
• Sales and Catering System
• Security System
• Fire Alarm System
• Business Center
• ATM In Hotels

ICT Components of Guestrooms

• In-Room Telephone System
• Electronic Locking System
• Energy Management Systems
• Automated Wake-Up System
• Voice Mail System
• In-Room Internet Access Line/Wireless
• In-Room Entertainment System
• In-Room Electronic Safety Boxes
• Room Temperature Control
• In-Room Audiovisual Equipment

Source: Adapted from Sirirak et al. (2011)