Collaboration involves the agreement of people or organizations to work together by

bringing diverse capabilities that empower them to obtain better results (Majava,, Isoherranen ,

& Kess, 2013). When organizations collaborate, they combine resources and expertise and can

combat emerging issues together (Majava, Isoherranen, & Kess, 2013). For instance, following

the outbreak of covid-19, many companies are struggling to survive independently without

support from the government. Consequently, a struggling business may find it necessary to

collaborate with other companies or non-governmental organizations to overcome the

challenges.

Collaboration of companies can result in either a collaborative advantage or collaborative

inertia.  Collaborative advantage refers to companies building collaborative associations that are

valuable to industrial growth and efficiency (B325 Course materials). For instance, through

cooperation or association, companies can solve common problems, such as the adverse effects

of the covid-19, that would be difficult to tackle without collaboration. On the other hand,

collaborative inertia refers to cooperation efforts that lead to slow progress that are not viable in

attaining collaboration goals. Therefore, collaborative inertia results in low production rates and

can contribute to frustrations among companies' stakeholders. When companies collaborate, they

aim at achieving collaborative inertia, although the collaboration can result in collaborative

inertia (B325 course materials). As a result, collaborating companies should carefully manage

their cooperation to attain collaborative advantage instead of collaborative inertia. 

Moreover, collaboration advantage has six bases (B325 course materials). Firstly,

companies collaborate to access resources, particularly where firms have limited resources to

achieve their goals individually. Therefore, a company may cooperate with another to gain

access to resources, such as expertise and technology. Secondly, companies collaborate to share
risks to avoid project failure. Consequently, firms may collaborate to spread risks and mitigate

negative consequences, such as high costs.

Thirdly, companies collaborate to achieve operational efficiency (B325 course

materials). When firms collaborate, they may achieve efficiency, as they may lower operating

costs, minimize timelines, and improve productivity. Fourthly, collaboration enhances

coordination and seamlessness, thereby increasing efficiency. Coordination refers to connecting

different people and activities to work in agreement to achieve organizational goals. Fifthly,

companies collaborate for the sake of learning. For example, when companies collaborate, they

may share experience and information necessary for mutual learning. Lastly, companies

collaborate for moral imperative. For example, firms may help solve social problems, such as

environmental pollution, crime, poverty, drug abuse, and conflict. 

The outbreak of covid-19 has brought about challenges to businesses worldwide, making

it imperative for companies to collaborate. For instance, more than 36% of retail businesses

stopped their operations in Kuwait, while about 50% had a drop in revenue by half (Fawaz,

2020). More importantly, covid-19 led to shocks in the hotel industry due to the measures

enacted to combat the virus. For example, after the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic, there was

a lockdown of economies, and social gatherings were not allowed. Therefore, restaurants faced a

fall in demand for their products since limited customers patronized the hotels. One of the hotels

affected by the pandemic is Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel, which serves a variety of meals

in various places, in Kuwait. Their meals include soup, salad, Mezzah, Fatteh, and desserts

served (tripadvisor, 2021). Nonetheless, with the outbreak of covid-19, few customers dine from

the hotel, and thus the company may rely more on home delivery. Therefore, the company can

collaborate with delivery companies to reach more customers at workplaces and homes. 
 My proposed company that Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel can collaborate with is

Quick Delivery Company, a private company in Kuwait. The company offers door-to-door

delivery services to businesses in Kuwait to reach their customers nationwide

(quickdeliveryco.com). Moreover, the company promises to offer delivery service in a timely

manner. The company offer delivery services to restaurants, large and small firms, corporate and

individuals. The company boasts a fleet of delivery vans with dedicated staff available for

service any time of the day and night. In my perspective, I think the collaboration between Ayam

Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel and Quick Delivery Company is appropriate since Ayam Zaman

Crowne Plaza Hotel will reach many customers through the door-to-door service offered by the

delivery company. Therefore, with Covid-19 reducing customers visiting the restaurant, Ayam

Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel will increase sales through home delivery and reduce the adverse

effects of Covid-19.

The proposed collaboration between Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel and Quick

Delivery Company would achieve the basis collaboration advantage. First, the collaboration

would enhance access to resources. (B325 course materials). For example, Ayam Zaman Crowne

Plaza Hotel will rely on delivery vans and expertise from Quick Delivery Company. Quick

Delivery Company has the delivery resources to enable Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel to

reach all their customers in Kuwait, thereby increasing the sales volume. Secondly, the

collaboration between Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel and Quick Delivery Company would

enhance the sharing of risks. The covid-19 pandemic has presented Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza

Hotel with the risk of decreased demand for its products due to a reduction of customers

patronizing the hotel. Therefore, the proposed collaboration between Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza

Hotel and Quick Delivery Company would enhance risk-sharing by increasing the delivery of

foods. Quick Deliver Company is experienced in offering delivery services and would help

Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel reach more customers. The collaboration would also increase

Quick Delivery's profitability since the company will serve one of the leading hotel chains in

Kuwait. 
 Thirdly, the collaboration between Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel and Quick Delivery

Company will help the companies to achieve operational efficiency. For example, Ayam Zaman

Crowne Plaza Hotel will minimize the timelines of door-to-door delivery of food to customers

country-wide with the help of Quick Delivery Company. Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel can

also specialize in producing meals as it relies on Quick Delivery company to deliver the meals.

Therefore, the company can increase its production efficiency. Fourthly, the collaboration

between the two companies can help them to achieve coordination in food delivery. The food

delivery service offered by Quick Delivery Company may help Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza

Hotel to reach many customers at once. 

Fifthly, the proposed collaboration between Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel and Quick

delivery Company can promote mutual learning. Therefore, the two companies may learn from

each other regarding business operations (B325 course materials). For instance, Ayam Zaman

Crowne Plaza Hotel can learn how to improve its delivery services from the expertise offered by

Quick Delivery Company and effectively manage its delivery in the future. Moreover, Quick

Delivery Company can learn about the diverse needs in the hotel chain industry and improve

their service. Sixthly, the collaboration between the two companies can enhance moral

imperative. For example, the companies can contribute to tackling health issues and

environmental conservation. For example, Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel may prepare

healthier diets and fewer junk foods to reduce diseases, such as diabetes. The companies can

jointly promote the use of environmentally friendly packaging of foodstuff to protect the

environment. 

Moreover, after the outbreak of Covid-19 outbreak, firms must formulate their goals to

mitigate the adverse effects of the disease. An organizational goal refers to what a company aims
at achieving for a given period and gives the company the course to follow. (Latham et al.,

2013). When goals are well defined, a company can make decisions easily and quickly.

Therefore, firms should set clear and well-defined goals to attain collaborative advantage instead

of collaborative inertia when they collaborate. Furthermore, well-defined goals are critical since

they help companies adopt new behavior’s and propel them to concentrate on the desired course

of action. (Epton, Currie & Armitage, 2017). Setting clear goals also clarifies what a company

want to attain and minimizes confusion among the team members. 

Moreover, well-defined goals enable the team members to be responsible for their

actions. (Epton, Currie& Armitage, 2017). Consequently, clear goals remind people when the lag

is behind and motivate them to focus on the course of actions by creating positive pressure.

Besides, goals help a company evaluate progress since the team members can recognize

deviations from the set goals and promptly correct any deviation. More importantly, clear

goals give positive pressure to people to engage in action and result in the sense of fulfilment

when the goals are achieved (Latham et al., 2013). Therefore, setting clear goals is crucial,

especially for collaborating companies in search of collaborative advantage. 

Goals can be classified into two; SMART goals and Superordinate goals. A SMART goal

is well-defined and clear and focuses on the energy of team players while effectively utilizing

available resources to achieve organizational goals (Reeves& Fuller, 2018). The acronym

SMART represents Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. The word

"Specific" implies that goals are clear and well-defined and hence not vague. "Measurable"

means that there is a way of gauging whether the formulated goals were achieved or not, while

"Achievable" means that the set goals are attainable. On the other hand, "Realistic" means that

the set goals are within reach and are relevant to the organization. Lastly, "Timely" means that
the set goals have a well-defined timeline for carrying out different activities to enhance a feeling

of urgency. Therefore, setting SMART goals helps a company to achieve its desired results with

a given timeline. According to Prather (2015), setting SMART goals is vital for a business that

has deviated from its normal operations and wishes to reinstate its routine. 

In contrast, superordinate goals encourage opposing team members to work together in

harmony to achieve common goals (Chapman, 2021). As a result, superordinate goals demand

cooperation between two or more parties to attain the set goals. Consequently, superordinate

goals are attained when disparate groups combine their knowledge, expertise, energy and

resources (Chapman, 2021). Therefore, if there are conflicting team members, a manager should

set well-defined goals that may make them work in harmony. Besides, superordinate goals are

essential since they concentrate on creating pleasure emotions in opposing team members.

Moreover, superordinate goals may impress the team members since the goals emanate from the

juniors instead of the seniors.

The proposed collaboration between Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel and Quick

Delivery Company will require both SMART goals and Superordinate goals. In the wake of the

covid-19, Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel has to increase door-to-door delivery of foods in

collaboration with Quick Delivery Company. Therefore, the collaborating companies should first

set SMART goals. The goals should be specific. For example, the goal should be well-defined

and clear that Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel wants to increase home delivery of food in

collaboration with Quick Delivery Company and reduce serving food in the restaurant to limit

social gathering. The collaboration goals should be measurable.  The goal is measurable since the

two companies can compare the value of food delivered in a specific time and gauge whether
they are increasing. If the collaboration is successful, the amount of food delivered by Quick

Delivery Company should increase. 

Furthermore, the collaboration goal is achievable since covid-19 management measures

restrict social gathering, and hence it is possible to increase sales through home delivery of

foods. Additionally, the goal is realistic since it is relevant to the needs of both companies. The

collaboration goal should have a time frame after which evaluation should be done to check

whether the company achieved the goals. Lastly, Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel should also

set a superordinate goal to ensure that any conflicting team members work together in

cooperation to achieve the collaboration goals. 

In conclusion, companies have experienced the negative effects of covid-19, which has

seen closure or suspension of business activities. The pandemic led to the loss in demand for

products across the industries, hotels included. Nevertheless, firms like Ayam Zaman Crowne

Plaza Hotel can address the adverse effects of the covid-19 through collaboration. Consequently,

the proposed company for collaboration with Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel is Quick

Delivery Company. The delivery company promises to deliver products for companies to their

customers' premises promptly. Therefore, Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel can benefit from

delivery services given that the covid-19 pandemic reduced the number of customers eating from

the restaurants. The collaboration between the two companies can lead to collaborative

advantage and thus increase productivity and efficiency. Nevertheless, to avoid collaborative

inertia, the companies should set SMART goals and superordinate goals. The SMART goals are

imperative in the changing business environment after the covid-19 outbreak. Besides,

superordinate goals are crucial in assisting team members from the two companies to work

together in harmony. 
 References

B325 Course Materials

Chapman, A. 2021. Resolving conflict: superordinate goals and careful

Epton, T., Currie, S., & Armitage, C. J. 2017. Unique effects of setting goals on behavior
change: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of consulting and clinical
psychology, 85(12), 1182.Unique effects of setting goals on behavior change: Systematic
review and meta-analysis. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 85(12), 1182.
Fawaz A. 2020. Kuwait COVID-19 Business Impact Survey Finds 45% of Businesses have Shut
Down Since February. PR Newswire. Available at https://www.prnewswire.com/news-
releases/kuwait-covid-19-business-impact-survey-finds-45-of-businesses-have-shut-
down-since-february-301060491.html

Latham, Gary & Ganegoda, Deshani & Locke, Edwin. 2013. Goal-Setting
10.1002/9781444343120.ch21.

Majava, J., Isoherranen, V., & Kess, P. 2013. Business collaboration concepts and implications
for companies. International Journal of Synergy and Research, 2(1-2).

Prather, C. W. 2015. The dumb thing about SMART goals for innovation. Research Technology
Management, 48(5), 14.

quickdeliveryco.com

Reeves, M., & Fuller, J. 2018. When SMART goals are not so smart. MIT Sloan Management
Review, 59(4), 1-5.
Tripadvisor (2021). Ayam Zaman Crowne Plaza Hotel. Available at
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g298257-d12242578-Reviews-
Ayam_Zaman_Crowne_Plaza_Hotel-Farwaniya.html