The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group won the Hong Kong Management Association Quality Award in 1992 - at its second try.
'The experience taught us some valuable lessons and we followed the pointers they gave us and won the second time around,' said Heather Cusden, group public relations manager.
'Our first effort highlighted the areas in which we were able to make improvements and adjust the processes that needed to be addressed.' The benefits of winning were multi-fold. 'Having won, we were able to focus more clearly on our managerial direction,' Ms Cusden said.
As part of the award, the Mandarin Group was given advice on what it was doing right, what changes needed to be made for improvement, and how to instigate these changes.
'In 1997, we continue to review our management processes following their overall guidelines. The award was an ideal benchmark for self-assessment,' she said.
Ms Cusden said the management strategy that groomed a winner was one that addressed every area of a company's operation.
