The Role of Hospitality Ethics in Hotel Businesses - Essay Example

?Research Proposed Topic: The Role of Hospitality Ethics in the shift from Product-oriented view of doing business to the market-oriented view in hotel businesses Literature Matrix Source #1 Hotel Mule (2010) Source #2 Lieberman & Nissen (2009) Source #3 Cornell Hotel (2000) Source #4 Josephson (2000) Source #5 Hoagland-Smith (2011) Major Theme The Relevance of Hospitality Ethics in World-class Hotels. “Often, a customer’s perception of the entire organization stems from a single encounter with a sole front-line employee (FLE).” The employee is therefore in a position to win the favour of customers due to the practice of simple hospitality ethics and not necessarily products available The ethical decisions made by the employee in the hotel industry is central in marketing the hotel to the customer. “In the hospitality field, not only are business transactions of the utmost importance, but so are concerns for public health and safety.” Due to the importance of practicing hospitality ethics, teaching of ethic philosophies should start right from the school. Even if philosophical lectures alone will not make students virtuous, however, they can help them think more clearly about day-to-day ethical problems with which they will be confronted in their future careers as ethical challenges remain a daily occurrence in the hospitality industry “The hospitality industry offers many examples of situations that can damage individual integrity and responsibility. One instance would be a manager's willingness to continue daily operations and preserve his job even as the resort is polluting the local environment.” Ethics should therefore extend beyond the hotel building to include the welfare of the society. “By focusing on you, your business, your products and services, your prices and your delivery, you can overcome the status quo and that is just plain good and ethical business practices.” To this end, business managers such as hotel managers should make hospitality ethics an all-inclusive concept that caters for areas such as prices, service delivery and manners. Research Rationale The way of doing business all over the world is fast changing. This change is seen more especially in the way businesses attract customers. Years past, competition in the hospitality industry for customers used to focus on who had the best facility and products. Today, the means of attracting customers seem to center more on marketing than product. As far as the hospitality industry is concerned, one of the best ways to market a business like a hotel is to embark on the massive application of hospitality ethics. Perhaps the reason why hospitality ethics seem to be receiving so much attention among customers in the hospitality industry is that ethics are founded based on human philosophies and theories. According to the World Lingo, “Hospitality theories and norms are derived through a critical analysis of hospitality practices, processes, and relationships; in various cultures and traditions; and throughout history. Ultimately, hospitality theories are applied, and put to practice in commercial and non-commercial settings.” This is to say that practicing simple ethics is so important to the customer that, the little gestures shown to him, can make him come back to the hotel – a real marketing strategy. Unlike before, the customer is now very conscious about how he is treated in which hotel. It is therefore not surprising that some customers select certain hotels even when they have the same facilities as other hotels and yet have expensive prices. This research seeks to examine the power of hospitality ethics on e customers of world class hotels. As a relation, there shall be critical analysis to find out if the practice of hospitality ethics itself even has the power to raising a hotel to a world class status. This is research is achievable and because of the several avenues available to the researcher to access information from hotel users. There are also several theories that will guide the researcher in measuring the level or sufficiency of ethical practices as well as ethical dilemmas that go on in sample hotels. Research Aim The specific focus of the research shall be on world class hotels, otherwise referred to five-star hotels. There shall be a co-relational study as to how the hotels began and the role of hospitality ethics in ensuring that the hotels reach the height they presently are. The perspective of the research shall be to examine how the focus of growth in hotels has shifted from product-orientation to market-orientation with a specific emphasis on practicing ethics, as far as the market-orientation is concerned. In other words, the researcher shall seek to examine how good ethical practices can market a hotel to a five star level. Research Objectives The following key objectives shall be addressed in the research: 1. Identification of what hospitality ethics are 2. To draw theoretical perspective on the practice of hospitality ethics 3. To identification the marketing trend and strategy of hotels 4. To proof if marketing trend has shifted from product-orientation to market-orientation 5. To find the relationship between good hospitality ethics at work and hotel growth 6. To examine and assess ethical dilemmas facing world class hotels and how they can be handled. Research Methodology Research Design and its Justification The researcher shall embark on a case study of selected five star hotels. The justification of the use of case study in this research is seen in what Tellis (1997) put as: “Case studies have been used in varied investigations, particularly in sociological studies, but increasingly, in instruction.” In this research, there shall be the study of varied investigations on various five star hotels. With a case study, the researcher shall be presented with the opportunity to deal with selected hotels who meet his criteria. This will make the research more focused and confined. This means The researcher seeks to adapt a case study as the method for data collection. Types and Sources of Data The major type of data to be collected will be data that co-relates the hotels’ hospitality ethics performance to their growth. In line with finding out about the growth of the hotels, valid and published financial statements and records shall be sort from managers of the hotels. Then to find out the application of hospitality ethics, sampled customers, who preferably use other hotels shall be used. These customers will basically be interviewed. Sampling Technique Due to the type and source of data to be used, a two-phase sampling technique shall be used. In the first place, a purposive sampling technique shall be used to select the five star hotels, which would preferably be five in number. Then a random sampling technique shall be devised to select customers and employees of the hotels to be interviewed. In all, five customers and one employee shall be sampled from each hotel to make up a sample size of thirty (30). Data Analysis The researcher shall resort to the use of both qualitative and quantitative data analysis plan Quantitatively, there researcher shall employ on the use of Information Technology Software such as SigmaXL and SPSS Reader to analyse data sampled. Data shall also be expressed mathematically by the use of pie charts, tables, bar charts, cross tabulation and percentages. Qualitatively, data shall be analysed by drawing conclusions from existing theories and principles of hospitality ethics. REFERENCES Cornell Hotel (2000). Ethical Principles for the Hospitality Curriculum. Retrieved 5 March 2011 from http://business.highbeam.com/4074/article-1G1-62927260/ethical-principles-hospitality-curriculum Hoagland-Smith L (2011). Sales Training: Knocking the Competition Is Bad Business Ethics and Fails to Increase Sales. Ezine Articles. Retrieved 4 March 2011 from http://ezinearticles.com/?Sales-Training:-Knocking-the-Competition-Is-Bad-Business-Ethics-and-Fails-to-Increase-Sales&id=5610388 Hotel Mule (2010). Human resource management's role in ethics within the hospitality industry. retrieved 6 March 2011 from http://www.hotelmule.com/management/html/74/n-2374.html Josephson (2000). The 12 principles of Hospitality Ethics. Retrieved 7 March 2011 from http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/62927260.html Lieberman K & Nissen B (2009). THE IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS. Ethics in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry. Retrieved 6 March 2011 from http://www.eiacademic.org/uploadedFiles/_Common/pdf/Products/Books/IMPORTANCE-OF-ETHICS.pdf Tellis W (1997). Application of a Case Study Methodology. Retrieved 6 March 2011 from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-3/tellis2.html Appendix Article 1 Hotel Mule Human resource management's role in ethics within the hospitality industry Release: Apr 12 2010 06:14 Author: Members View: 2483 times Print Ethics is an inherently challenging part of life. Humans are faced with ethical decisions on perhaps an hourly basis and the results of such decisions may be far-reaching and/or unintended. Executives in manufacturing, financial service, food service, and retail firms reported that ethics is a subject of concern in the workplace (Conaway & Fernandez, 2000). When looking specifically at the hospitality industry, it is easy to see how especially important it is to have ethical decisions made by employees. Often, a customer’s perception of the entire organization stems from a single encounter with a sole front-line employee (FLE). Compounding the problem, oftentimes these interactions are unsupervised which can allow for greater temptations encouraging the employee to make unethical decisions. Organizations are beginning to realize the importance of ethics and how it can impact not only the bottom line, but also employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity. That being said, the one part of the organization that is typically tasked with being responsible for the ethics of the employees is the human resources department. This may be because human resources deals with not only leadership and staffing in the organization, but also handles the employee training and development. Thus, this article’s purpose is to shed some light on ethics, ethical decision-making, and the human resource department’s role, as it relates to the hospitality industry. Prevalence and impact of ethics Current national state of affairs Approximately every 2 years, the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) implements the National Business Ethics Survey (NBES) of employees across different sectors in the United States. The point of these surveys is to learn about employees’ perceptions of ethics and compliance in the workplace. The most current survey was done in 2005. Since the NBES tracks employee perceptions over time, trends emerge. Unfortunately, ethical outcomes are showing a stagnant or declining trend. For example, during the range of 1994–2005, there was little change in percentage of employees who observed at least one type of misconduct during the past year; the percentage hovers at 52%. Thirty-six percent of those employees observed two or more violations. Further, of those employees who observed wrongdoing, barely over half (55%) reported it to a manager, which constitutes a 10 percentage point decrease since 2003 (NBES, 2005). In terms of how frequently employees feel pressure to compromise their own personal standards, 10% of employees reported they feel this way fairly often or always, which is comparable to levels reported in the 2003 survey (NBES, 2005). Taken together, the findings are astounding and suggest a fraying of the national moral fabric. Article 2 1 THE IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS Ethics in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry Authors: Karen Lieberman and Bruce Nissen Review for the Consortium Journal By Evelyn Lim The Art Institute A course in ethics is by far one of the most important courses that should be taken by all students and especially those majoring in the field of hospitality. In so many areas of the service industry, the actions of all employees depend upon solid and ethical decision making. In the hospitality field, not only are business transactions of the utmost importance, but so are concerns for public health and safety. Poor judgment on the part of a hospitality employee can cause monetary loss, serious illness, injury, or even death. All too often, the topic of ethics is taken for granted, exactly like human relations and leadership. People often say that ethics, human relations, and leadership are common sense activities. Yet, in these areas of day to day operations, monumental mistakes and injustices are often made when dealing with employees and the public. In no way should any of these subject areas be taken for granted or be considered mere common sense. It is disappointing that so many managers and employees assume that all subjects pertaining to the interactions of individuals and managerial functions and decision making processes are alluded to as common sense activities. When teaching a class in executive leadership I often find it amazing how basic fundamentals of leadership are not understood by so many managers. Even standard procedures, such as the utilization of a chain of command, are bypassed from the lowest to the highest levels within an organization. It seems that the need to go through channels just so other supervisors are at least made aware of the significance of an issue is not even acknowledged. In many instances, basic concepts of ethics, keen human relations, and leadership practices are alluded to as common sense. In no way should these essential concepts and practices be considered as such. It is indeed a pleasure to see that Karen Lieberman and Bruce Nissen have developed a book, Ethics in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry, and educational materials to enhance learning and in identifying the importance of ethics in the hospitality field. In teaching leadership, I have reviewed numerous books pertaining to the subject of ethics, and by far I found this text to be one of the most thorough in covering the essential perspectives as to why ethics should be of the utmost consideration in the educational process. Dr. Lieberman and Dr. Nissen provide very explicit details of theory and establish a pathway for discussing the “right thing to do”. 2 The text is conveniently divided into topics of the functional areas that are of major concern to managers in the hospitality industry. Chapters one through five, while developing a foundation to understanding the subject matter, provide numerous thought provoking situations. The commentaries after each case provide an in-depth trenchant analysis of the far reaching possibilities and ramifications of each stated situation. These commentaries add to the current discussion and provoke the recommending of several different opinions of the cases. The case studies have also been well designed to address a vast majority of issues that managers and employees may face in their day-to-day activities. Cases range from possible poor judgment in selecting supplies such as coffee cups to reading the small print on guests’ bills. All of these issues, along with numerous others, lay down the gauntlet for heavy debate and classroom discussion. Dr. Lieberman and Dr. Nissen are to be commended for developing such a succinct text that can be used to generate discussion and provide ethical insight at any level within a classroom or seminar setting. Those individuals who think that making ethical decisions is just common sense should read a few of the commentaries assembled at the end of the cases. They will then be able to see how true it is that perception is often reality and reality may not be common sense. I highly recommend this text for any ethics course or for any hospitality training program. Article 3 Poor ethical performance may be hazardous to a hotel's bottom line. The integration of ethics in the hospitality curriculum has repeatedly been supported by educators. Most colleges and universities offer courses in ethics, and some require students to take those courses. Moreover, scholarly interest in the field continues to grow. According to William Shaw and Vincent Barry, "It is hard to imagine an area of study that has greater importance to society or greater relevance to students." [1] By preparing hospitality students to logically and ethically solve dilemmas they will face when in the industry, educators are equipping future managers with confidence and self-esteem to make the right decisions on the job. [2] As Aristotle observed 2,400 years ago, a man of bad character is not likely to be reformed by lectures. Even if philosophical lectures alone will not make students virtuous, however, they can help them think more clearly about day-to-day ethical problems with which they will be confronted in their future careers. Indeed, the survey reported in this article indicates that ethical challenges remain a daily occurrence in the hospitality industry. A Growing Concern Many organizations and sections of American society are concerned with ethical behavior. American public education has long been concerned with the morals of young students. [3] Boards of education in many states have encouraged schools to take an increased role in educating children in moral values, character education, or whatever term is in current use. [4] Business leaders have also become concerned with creating awareness of ethical principles. Annual conferences on applied ethics, for example, allow presentation of conceptual and empirical papers to business, professional, and education audiences. College-level educators are also involved in the effort to promote ethical behavior. An annual publication on business ethics is printed at Pepperdine University; comprising articles dealing with ethics topics published in journals, newspapers, and magazines. The Josephson Institute for the Advancement of Ethics, based in Marina del Rey, California, provides government, business, journalism, and education agencies with instructional materials and trainer- training workshops for the dissemination of ethics. Formally known as the Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics, the institute offers training programs for ethics educators. Two institutions dedicated to the advancement of ethics in the hospitality industry are the International Institute for Quality and Service in Ethics and Tourism (IIQUEST) and the Marion Isbell Endowment for Hospitality Ethics Center. Both are non-profit organizations dedicated to the promotion of ethics in hospitality and tourism. Based at the Glion Management Center, in Switzerland, IIQUEST conducts periodic surveys to determine progress in ethics within the industry and organizes contests for published articles and essays written by students from hospitality and tourism schools around the world. The Marion Isbell Center was created in 1988 by the founding family of Ramada Inns. Housed in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Northern Arizona University, its mission is the study and promotion of hospitality ethics. One of the reasons for concern about character development and business values is that today's business practices are generally based on a profit-focused economic system that does not expressly embrace ethical principles. While it is possible to be both ethical and successful, it is also possible to have financial success without observing ethical principles. Closer to home for educators are revelations of ethical breaches by students. For example, 12 to 24 percent of student r[acute{e}]sum[acute{e}]s contain false information, and an earlier study in which we participated found an increasing willingness on the part of students to lie on financial-aid forms. [5] In April 1999, two dozen students in a business ethics course at San Diego State University were dismissed from the class and put on academic probation for cheating. [6] In response to such news, some schools are emphasizing the need for future managers to behave ethically in their careers. Indiana's Manchester College, for one, invites its students to sign a non-binding pledge to be socially and environmentally responsible. [7] Testing Ethical Principles We wondered what major principles should form the basis for ethical decision making and for establishing standards or rules of behavior within which a future hospitality manager must function. To that end, we developed this study in an effort to rank 12 core ethical principles suggested by the Josephson Institute in Ethics. [8] Josephson suggests that these principles establish the standards or rules of behavior within which an ethical person functions and could be adopted as the basis of the formation of future business leaders. The study's results provide the perceptions of lodging executives on the importance of ethical principles and lay the groundwork for the topics that should be discussed in hospitality ethics classes. Article 4 The 12 principles suggested by Josephson are as follows (in alphabetical order). Accountability. People are morally accountable for their actions and treatment of others, particularly in connection with the specific professional position that they hold. Morally responsible hospitality managers should be accountable for the welfare of the employees they supervise given that, in most cases, the workers' livelihood depends on them. Commitment to excellence. Commitment to excellence determines the necessity to deliver the best service possible for the price obtained. Hospitality managers who deviate from this principle would cheat their guests of their right to have their money's worth for services received. Concern for others. At minimum, the golden rule ("do unto others as you would have them do to you") applies in having a human concern for the needs of others. This principle is hard to observe from the lofty position of managers vis-[grave{a}]-vis hourly workers performing menial jobs. Fairness. A basic policy is to deal with people evenhandedly for equal performance. In violation of this principle managers tend to deal more harshly with minorities such as women, people of color, the old, and undocumented aliens. Honesty. Being able and willing to state the truth (no matter how painful) is ethically essential. This is true not only because deceiving or misleading others often results in costly lawsuits and, in some cases, jail sentences. Integrity. While soundness of moral principle and character may be qualities of an individual's moral code, managers and employees may feel conflicting pulls of moral conscience and self-interest. The hospitality industry offers many examples of situations that can damage individual integrity and responsibility. One instance would be a manager's willingness to continue daily operations and preserve his job even as the resort is polluting the local environment. Law abiding. An action's legality does not guarantee that the action is morally right. While laws codify customs and mores, they can reflect political compromise and, thus, are not sufficient to establish the moral standards that should guide individuals or professions. As a result, hospitality managers can follow the letter of the law while still acting against their values. An example might be taking advantage of bankruptcy laws to avoid having to pay creditors. Leadership. An example of ethical leadership in the hospitality industry would be to refuse to employ illegal aliens at below-market rates even when competitors are doing so. Loyalty. Faithfulness to engagements and obligations toward laws, companies, guests, and employees should be part of the moral behavior of all professionals. This faithful adherence may be difficult if one's own benefit or social comfort is at stake. A hospitality manager might, for instance, find it difficult to abide by legal or company principles if his or her quarterly bonus for improving the bottom line is in jeopardy. Promise keeping. Some time ago, a business deal made orally with another person carried all the necessary assurance that the expectations would be fulfilled. Today, most deals must be closed in the presence of attorneys lest one of the parties involved breaks the original promise. Hospitality managers intending to make use of another person as a means to an end would be acting untrustworthily. An example of this would be signing a promissory note while knowing that the company is going into bankruptcy proceedings. Reputation. The community's and guests' estimation of a company is important for conducting business. Attempts by hotel managers to resist employees' organizing could cast an unfavorable shadow on the company's ethical values. [10] Respect for others. One of Kant's principles states that everyone should be treated as an end, not merely as means to an end. Every human being deserves to be treated with respect, as an independent moral agent. The above example of hiring illegal immigrants at low wages also violates this principle of respecting other human beings. Article 5 Many of my speaking presentations along with sales training workshops involve the integration of sales behaviors and business ethics. One of my most favorite questions to ask is "Who is you greatest competitor?" The responses I usually receive are numerous and usually not the one answer that I am seeking. in business and even in life, our greatest competitor is the Status Quo. In sales, the goal of those crazy busy sales people and small business owners is to move their prospects or potential customers from where they are now (the Status Quo) to a new place. Recently a client shared this powerful story that emphasizes why knocking the competition is bad business ethics and will not increase sales. She had just locked the front door to her business, placed the closed sign in the door and was just about to exit using the backdoor when she heard pounding on the front door. Standing at her closed door was a woman she did not recognize. Even though she had another appointment, she went to the door, opened it and explained she was closed and on her way to teaching a class. The woman failed to listen and barged into the business because she had to talk to her as one business owner to another. My client then received a very loud earful about her unethical business practices and how she was stealing this woman's clients. Now my client is probably one of the most ethical and caring woman business owners I have had the pleasure to meet. She routinely refers her clients to other competing businesses because she realizes she cannot be everything to everybody nor can she offer all the products and services within her industry. When there was an opportunity to speak and with time ticking by, my client asked this other woman how many clients had received a particular service. The response was "That is none of your business." My client then replied "I know for a fact at least 7 people in the last month have had this service because I referred them to your business and they returned with the reports." She then went on to explain how she refers her clients to other competitors and her charging in after business with false accusations was totally uncalled and unethical. She asked the other business owner to leave as this interruption had now made her almost 20 minutes late to her evening appointment. Later in the week, my client received phone calls from other business owners in the same industry and some of her customers. The disrespectful business owner was spreading misinformation (pointing fingers) about my client. What was interesting to note is all the phone calls supported my client because they knew her to be ethical and honest and they knew the other person to be self-serving, lazy and unethical. The reason for sharing this story is the greatest competitor for this disrespectful business owner is not my client or any other small business owner, but the status quo. When small business owners, C suite executives and crazy busy sales people start focusing on the competition, they are missing incredible and powerful opportunities to increase sales. Beyond the missed opportunities, there is also the business ethics issue of when you point a finger at someone either literally or figuratively, there are 3 fingers pointing back at you. Knocking the competition is a bad business practice and will not increase sales. By focusing on you, your business, your products and services, your prices and your delivery, you can overcome the status quo and that is just plain good and ethical business practices. Read More