Business Analysis CASE 1 BUILDING CAPABILITIES AT THE WESTWARD HILTON
Written by Cathy A. Enz of Cornell University, David L. Corsun of the University of Denver, and Linda Canina of Cornell University.The case study is adapted from a case written by the authors and published in Case Research Journal. The names of the organization and its members have been disguised at the request of the owners and investors. The affiliation with the Hilton Brand was not altered.

Sitting in the fashionable Cafe Lupe, an upscale restaurant owned by the company Peter Green worked for, were the company's owners, investors, and top corporate personnel. Hiller Hotels, a wholly owned subsidiary of the parent Hiller Enterprises, was headquartered in …show more content…

Green did not make radical changes at this hotel, but he did listen carefully to the employees and spent time with them. In describing this experience, Green said it "taught me that managers devalue others when they overvalue themselves. I discovered the importance of creating a work environment that celebrates, nurtures, and values people. It is important to create a business environment in which every job and every employee is treated with dignity and respect. People want to care, but this work environment forced the workers to hide themselves." The impact the work environment has on the individual came home to Green one evening when he drove past a schoolyard and spotted one of the hotel's employees playing basketball. As he watched the game, he noticed that this worker, whom Green knew to be slow, uncooperative, and lacking initiative at work, was leading a group of his friends in a fast-paced and cooperative team effort. Green wondered how this person could be so different outside the workplace. Perhaps, he thought, if s because the work environment doesn't give the worker permission to be himself. This thought stuck with Green. Before he left this hotel several months later, new management had been brought in, and the union drive was defeated by a vote of 72-2 . Green elected to move on rather than serve as the new general manager, although the job was offered to him. Green's second experience taught him to truly value the guests' perspective and experiences.