Project Abstract

Project Overview

<p> </p><p><b>INTRODUCTION</b></p><p><b>1.1</b>&nbsp;<b>BACKGROUND<br>OF THE STUDY</b></p><p>The<br>most significance and most valuable assets of any existing enterprise are<br>inventory management because for an enterprise to be able to give accurate measurement<br>and good description of her asset, inventory becomes the first to mention. This<br>is of course, is so because the sale of inventory at a price is greater than<br>total cost indicates an efficient merchandising, which is however is the<br>primary source income generation.</p><p>These<br>inventories are both assets and items held in the ordinary course of business<br>or goods that will be consumed or used in the production of goods to be sold.</p><p>Several<br>authors have provided definitions on stock management. Thus the amount of worth<br>carried out on the study of stock management in the Hotel is to a great extent<br>important for the economic survival of the hotel Management.On his note, Greene<br>[1979] defined stock management as the whole Development and administration of<br>stock policies as well as procedures by They are implemented. He then<br>classified stock into these headings: raw Material, work-in-progress, finished<br>products, complementary parts and Suppliers.</p><p>Geoffrey<br>Merdith (1982) defined stock management as inventory operations as the<br>combination of systems and processes involved with inventory management as well<br>as the physical aspects of storage and material handling. The direction and<br>control of activities with the purpose of getting the risk inventory in the<br>right place, at the right cost. Effective stock management and security are<br>imperative and must cover the whole supply chain through to the final<br>distribution to customers.</p><p>From<br>the clear point of view, inventories in management constitute and important<br>asset. However, stock management is an area of accounting and financial data of<br>goods being sold. The stock management is an area of accounting and financial<br>data of goods being sold. The stock management system should ensure that<br>initial low quantity of goods can be put best use.</p><p>Graham<br>Buxton| (1979) looked at stock management as the ability of a firm to ensure<br>that stocks of a company’s products are made available on a consistent basis in<br>the light of the company’s service policy to its market demand. Stock<br>management is extremely important. The investment of inventories, the largest<br>current assets in manufacturing and retail establishments and may also be a<br>material portion of the company’s total assets. </p><p>Nuolom[2000]<br>says that the maintenance of stocks allows the production and marketing<br>function to operate in an autonomous and economic manner. It means that<br>quantity produced and the timing of the production are determined in the main<br>by immediate production consideration. Inventory for production are held for<br>the following four reasons:</p><p>1. &nbsp; <br>To maintain lot-size inventory.<br>2. &nbsp; To avoid possible loss of sales or production time through<br>variable in delivery time. This is achieved by maintaining a safety stock.<br>3. &nbsp; To avoid disruption in production.</p><p>Richard<br>R [2000] According to him, stock are in effect, reservoir of goods held in<br>anticipation of marketing sales, the of filling demands from further down along<br>the incoming channel. Incoming quantities of the product ready for sale arrive<br>usually at irregular intervals and are added to the inventory reservoir. The<br>outgoing product flow is more continuous but still fluctuates considerably. The<br>volume in the inventory reservoir pulsates but not always with a regular rhyme<br>from day to day. Changes occur in the rate and quantities of input and output.<br>Therefore in deciding on inventory size, management must determine both maximum<br>and minimum allowable inventory. In setting these upper and lower limits both<br>sales and cost considerations are involved.</p><p>Sales<br>considerations: The main purpose in maintaining inventory is to meet market<br>demand, ie to make sales and to fill customers order. Since stock are kept in<br>anticipation of market demand, the upper and lower control limits should be attained<br>for forecasted sales. Thus, the more accurate, the sales forecast the greater<br>opportunity to maximize gains from economically stock operations. The less the<br>accurate, the forecast, the greater need for substantial buffer stock and some<br>notion of its probable accuracy, a decision maker is prepared to set the<br>control limits.</p><p>Another<br>factor also must be taken into account it relates to what management considers<br>an acceptable level of customer service. Experience shows that in a typical<br>business, about eighty percent [80%] more inventory needed to fill ninety five<br>percent [95%] of the customer’s order out of stock on hand than to just fill<br>eighty percent[80%]. Each firm must strike a balance between what it considers<br>reasonable customers service and costs in line with management goals. It should<br>also recognize consistency of delivery at least as unimportant as speed of<br>delivery.<br>Turner P.H [2001] says that unless an organization has an effective system of<br>controlling the quantities of items in stock, it soon finds itself in<br>difficulties.<br>On the other hand, nothing ruins goodwill and reputation more quickly than<br>being unable to supply customers with the orders because of goods are out of<br>stock. On the other hand, overstocking means pointlessly typing up capital and<br>unnecessary cramping of goods that are valuable.</p><p><b>1.2<br>STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM</b></p><p><b></b></p><b><p>The<br>stock management problem consists of having insufficient supply of raw<br>material, finished goods and parts components. The stock of items must be<br>reasonable, meaning that it should not be too much or too little. The company<br>should be in a position to meet customers’ demand in terms of quantity and<br>quality. Stock management is of great importance especially for managers who<br>must decide how to administer the rest of the logistics system more creatively<br>in order to ensure that customer service does not suffer as a result of lower stock<br>levels. That’s the reason why stock management requires a particular attention<br>or the support of the entire company’s management levels in order to meet<br>customers’ satisfaction (Brudan, 2010).</p><p>Any<br>organization that operates without a proper stock management policy would<br>always be faced with challenges of not having the items readily available when<br>most needed. Some organisations do not even believe in the stock management as<br>they see it as a waste of resources in that liquid cash that could be used for<br>other aspects of working capital is being tied down as inventory. Suchorganisations<br>would always have this believe that they could always get these items when<br>needed which is not always so.</p><p>From<br>the above reasons, it became imperative for the researcher to bring to light<br>how Pinnacle hotel, Sokotogo about their stock management in other to get<br>efficient service to their clients and customers.</p><p><b>1.3<br>OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY</b></p><p><b></b></p><b><p>The specific objectives of<br>this study is stock management in the hotel industry, the researcher intend to<br>outline the following sub-objectives;</p><p>i) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<br>To assess how the stock management<br>activities is being done in Pinnacle hotel, Sokotoand how to improve it.</p><p>ii) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<br>To determine the role of stock management on<br>performance of hotel industries in Nigeria.</p><p>iii) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br>To examine the problems and challenges<br>associated with stock management in hotel industries in Nigeria.</p><p>iv) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<br>To proffer possible solutions to the above<br>problems associated with stock management in hotel industries in Nigeria.</p><p><b>1.4<br>RESEARCH HYPOTHESES</b></p><p><b></b></p><b><p><b>H0:<br></b>stock<br>management does not play any significant role in customer’s satisfaction in<br>Pinnacle Hotel, Sokoto<b>.</b></p><p><b></b></p><b><p><b>H1:<br></b>stock<br>management does play a significant role in customer’s satisfaction in Pinnacle<br>Hotel, Sokoto.</p><p><b>H0:<br></b>none<br>availability of stocks when needed doesn’t slow down the speed of business in<br>pinnacle hotel, sokoto.<b></b></p><b><p><b></b></p><b><p><b>H2:<br></b>none<br>availability of stocks when needed does slow down the speed of business in<br>pinnacle hotel, Sokoto.</p><p><b>1.5<br>SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY</b></p><p><b></b></p><b><p>At the completion of this<br>study the findings will be beneficial to the general public and Pinnacle Hotel management.<br>Stock control or management is not only relevant in the hotel industry but in<br>all organizations. It is hoped that this research work will also be relevance<br>in the field of management both in the private and public organizations. The findings<br>of the study will propose some strategies that Nigeria’s hotel industry can use<br>to overcome these barriers and to implement stock management effectively.Finally<br>the findings of this study will serve as a reference material to scholars who<br>intend to embark on a topic of this nature. &nbsp;</p><p><b>1.6<br>SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY</b></p><p><b></b></p><b><p>The<br>researcher limited this study to the available literature on stock management<br>in relation to what is being practiced in a service oriented outfit like Pinnacle<br>hotels Ltd, Sokoto. The researcher was also limited to the available data<br>gathered and as such the researcher could not verify the corrective or otherwise<br>of the information given on the case study as a request to go through past<br>records in relation to stock management in the organization was turned down. In the cause of the study, the researcher<br>encounters some limitations which limited the scope of the study;</p><p><b>Time<br>constraint:</b>&nbsp;The researcher<br>will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This<br>consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.</p><p><b>Inadequate<br>Materials:</b>&nbsp;Scarcity of material is<br>also another hindrance. The researcher finds it difficult to long hands in<br>several required material which could contribute immensely to the success of<br>this research work.</p><p><b>Financial<br>constraint: </b>Insufficient fund<br>tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant<br>materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection<br>(internet, questionnaire and interview).</p><p><b>1.7 &nbsp; &nbsp; <br></b><b>DEFINITION OF TERMS</b></p><p><b>Stock management:</b>Stock management is the function of<br>understanding the stock mix<br>of a company and the different demands on that stock. The demands are influenced by both external and internal<br>factors and are balanced by the creation of purchase order requests to keep<br>supplies at a reasonable or prescribed level.</p><p><b>Stock taking:</b>Stock-taking or “inventory checking” is the physical<br>verification of the quantities and condition of items held in an inventory or<br>warehouse. This may be done to provide an audit of existing stock. It is also the source of stock discrepancy information.</p><p><b>Stock:</b>This<br>the actual quality of goods or materials held in the store.</p><p><b>Stock records:</b>A<br>record kept of the amount, type, etc., of raw materials and supplies on hand,<br>as in a manufacturing plant.</p><p><b>Store requisition:</b>Forms<br>used to keep track of materials charged to a particular job or department. The<br>form contains such items as job number, department, and description of the<br>material, quantity, unit cost, and dollar amount.</p><p><b>INVENTORY<br>CATALOGUE</b>: It is a store document describing each Individual item<br>of stock and the part it will form in the products.</p><p><b>Coding:</b>This<br>a method used in the identification of items by ways of letters or figures as<br>both.</p><p><b>Voucher:</b>It<br>is the document showing correctness of supply, receipt and issue.</p><p><b>SUPPPLIER/VENDOR</b>:<br>He is a person who makes goods or items available to others.</p><p><b>ABC<br>ANALYSIS</b>: It is a stock control device that analysis the naira<br>value of all items in the stock.</p><p><b>MINIMIUM<br>STOCK[BUFFER]:</b>&nbsp;A precautionary stock level which<br>takes care of unexpected delays in delivery. &nbsp; </p><p><b>1.8<br>ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY</b></p><p>This research work is organized in five chapters, for<br>easy understanding, as follows Chapter one is concern with the introduction,<br>which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives<br>of the study, research question, significance or the study, research<br>methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study.<br>Chapter two highlight the theoretical framework on which the study is based,<br>thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research<br>design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the<br>data collection and analysis and presentation of finding. Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and<br>recommendations made of the study.</p></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b><br> <br><p></p>