Helen Atkinson
Introduction
Performance measurement is an important area of
academic and practitioner activity. This chapter will
review the weaknesses of traditional performance
measures and evaluate a number of key frame-
works. In the context of the hospitality industry
characteristics and trends, it will review the hospi-
tality literature in performance measurement and
propose areas for future research.
A rationale for change
The measurement of corporate performance has
been recognized as an important topic in manage-
ment accounting for many years, but it was not until
the late 1980s and early 1990s that the focus of both
academic and practitioners’ attention grew dramatically (Kaplan,
1994). Neely reported that between 1994 and 1996 publication vol-
umes were equivalent ‘to one new article on business performance
measurement appearing every five hours of every working day’
(1999:2tY7). The move from the industrial age to the information
age with the dramatic developments in the nature and intensity of
business and commerce changed the way companies compete. It
is no longer sufficient to be first to market with new technological
innovations; to be successful companies now have to focus on cus-
tomers not products, relationships rather than lead times and they
need to 'exploit intangible or invisible assets’ (Kaplan and Norton,
1996b:3).
Neely (1999) identified seven main reasons for this recent inter-
est including: the ‘changing nature of work increasing competi-
tion; specific irnprovement initiatives national and international
awards and the power of information technology’ 09991210).
Atkinson and Brander Brown (2001) argue that deregulation and
privatization, globalization and product differentiation, increas-
ingly sophisticated customers, increased emphasis on the supply
chain and stakeholders has resulted in ‘an emerging new com-
petitive order’ (2tX)1:128), where companies are changing the way
they monitor and measure performance.
Traditional performance measurement has been criticized for
creating single focus, short-term orientation for companies that
inhibits investment in new markets and new technologies and
so reduces international competitiveness (Doyle, 1994; Cross and
Lynch, 1992). Traditional performance measures that focus on
financial performance and are dominated by the shareholders
demands for return on investment have rapidly grown out of wa-
chrony with the way companies are operating. A radical change
was prescribed by Professor Robert Eccles for the way perform-
ance is mmsured; he advocated taking a radical decision where the
status of financial measures must be subjugated to other measures
which are more relevant in terms of the company's strategy and
competitive arena. Thus ‘giving them equal (or even greater)
status in determining strategy promotions, bonuses and other
rewards’ (Eccles, 1991 :l31 ).
Atkinson and Brander Brown (2001 :l28) identified a number of
fundamental weaknesses,
including: imitations in their accuracy and neutrality; a
dominance of laglresult over leadldeterrninant measures;
an emphasis on the short term — often at the expense of
strategic issues; llttle appreciation of the links and rela-
tionshias between key areas and aspects of an organisa-
tion; and an overall lack of balance.
Accounting and Financial Management
Furthermore, if what gets measured gets done (Eccles, 1991), it is
important to focus management attention on the right things, thus
companies must carefully select the right metrics to ensure their
long-term business strategy is achieved. They must cease the ‘folly
of rewarding A whilst hoping for B’ (Kerr, l975:769). Measures
such as customer satisfaction, market share and quality are
arguably more important indicators of success than profitability.
This is especially true when one considers the inherent weaknesses
of the profit measure (Eccles, 1991; Kaplan and Norton, 1992) and
the fact that measures such as customer satisfaction and market
share are drivers of profitability, in other words are lead measures,
whereas profit is a lag indicator (Fitzgerald et al., 1991). As these
features become more important to the competitive advantage of
companies, they must be incorporated into the performance meas-
urement systems.
A range of models and frameworks has been developed to
address the above weaknesses. Before entering into a critical
review of these models and frameworks it is necessary to identify
the key features of the hospitality industry and the future trends
that provide a context for performance measurement systems
review.
Hospitality industry characteristics and developments
The hospitality industry is a complex and multifaceted sector of
the global economy. In the international arena, large corporate
entities are developing strong brands and expanding through a
range of mechanisms, such as franchising, whereas nationally in
Europe and the UK there is still a large proportion of small and
medium enterprise (SME) activity, in addition to the multi-unit
chain operations which proliferate in the restaurant and public
house sector. The characteristics and developments in the hospi-
tality industry are having an impact on the performance measure-
ment systems used and how effectively these are implemented.
The nature and characteristics of hospitality businesses
Hospitality businesses are multifaceted enterprises, for example,
l-larris (1995b) discusses the hotel industry where the product
and service elements are complex and interrelated. Harris explains
that a hotel product combines three different kinds of businesses
in a single operation (Figure 3.1). Harris defines the accommoda-
tion or rooms division of a hotel as pure service. The Food and
Beverage division or department encompasses restaurants and bars
of various types and involves service, stock management and pro-
duction functions. Each function presents different operational,
managerial and financial issues and priorities and thus makes a
hotel operation a complex business to manage.
In addition to the diversity of functions within the hotel oper-
ation, hospitality services generally cannot be stored, the perish-
ability of the product! service adds another dimension to managing
the business. The other features of services also apply. The involve-
ment of the customer in the production process leads to two key
characteristics. First, the unique nature of the service encounter
(heterogeneity) where every service encounter is different from the
last. Secondly, services are produced and consumed at the same
time (simultaneity) - this intensifies the impact of people in the
process. The behaviour of both employee and customer and the
way they interact will have a significant impact on performance.
The intangible nature of services adds further to the complexity
and difficulty of managing in a service environment. The high
level of intangibles makes customer service and customer satisfac-
tion key issues. Together these characteristics present particular
demands on management, which are collectively unique to hospi-
tality operations. These factors provide a challenging environment
in which to develop effective performance measurement systems.
The hospitality industry is also populated by many high fixed
cost businesses which, according to Kotas (1975), demonstrate a
particular business orientation. Brander Brown and I-Iarris (1999)
argue that the combination of factors such as cost structure, demand
fluctuation and capital intensiveness, result in a strong market
orientation compared to manufacturing companies where the busi-
ness focus is more cost orientated. However, they continue to
point out that due to the complexity and multifunctional nature
of hotels, in particular, the business orientation is not necessarily
homogeneous within a hotel or across the sector. In congruence
with Schmenner (1986), who classified service businesses into
four different types and showed that different service businesses
will experience different managerial imperatives, Brander Brown
and Harris (1999) argued that performance measures will need to
be tailored to meet the differing needs of not only the business
context but also the business orientation.
Recent trends
The hospitality industry, like many sectors of the economy, has
seen dramatic change over the last three decades; Harris and
Mongiello (2001) identify a rise in market demand and customer
expectations and the acceleration of globalization and product
differentiation (Atkinson and Brander Brown, 2001). 'I'he hospi-
tality industry, and in particular hotel sector performance, mir-
rors the business/ economic cycle. Significant world events (such
as the terrorist attacks in New York, the Iraq war and the Asian
SAKS epidemic) had dramatic effects in the early part of the 21st
century, but Hans Lindh (2(XlB:iv) reports that ‘unlike in previous
down tums there have not been a significant number of bank-
ruptcies and closures, hospitality companies have emerged both
learner and more focussed on maximising profitability by provid-
ing value to their guests, employees and owners’.
The hotel industry is characterized by large global brands and is
experiencing developments in approaches to finance with increas-
ing expansion through management contracts and an increasing
trend to separate ownership from operation. This trend can lead to
diverging interests and needs of hotel operators and hotel invest-
ment companies (Denton and White, 2(X)0; Sangster, 2(X)3) and
thus put pressure on performance measurement systems. The
demand for increasing return on investment (ROI) in conjunction
with rising costs will lead to increased demand for the sector as a
whole to improve productivity.
Competition is also intensifying in the restaurant and public
house sector. There is increasing consumer spend associated with
increased disposable incomes. Changing patterns of behaviour
towards ‘snacking and grazing’ are leading to a decreas