Employee Discipline Related to the Hospitality Industry - Research Paper Example

Employee Discipline Related to the Hospitality Industry Table of Contents Introduction 2. Service Orientation and Human Resources 3. Manager and the Employee 4. Staff Turnover and Practical Management 5. Employee Discipline 6. Best Practices 7. Conclusion 8. Bibliography Abstract Management as a field of study is a challenging and dynamic one. Human Resource Management (HRM) as a sub-discipline has its own position within this broad and overarching area. The focus within HRM in this report is Employee Discipline. The discussion begins by explaining how crucial service is to the hospitality industry. Then the viewpoints of the manager and the employee are presented. The mismatch between expectations and reality are described here. The next section deals with employee turnover. Since employee retention is the goal of any organization, efforts must be made to retain existing employees. Five common reasons for turnover are mentioned thereafter. The following sub-section deals with the implications for practical management. These are specified in the context of employee turnover. Employee Discipline is the next section. The term is described in fair detail. The section is rounded off with the characteristics of nature. The concluding section talks about the best practices with reference to employee discipline. Five broad practices that are noteworthy are elaborated here. The final conclusion is a summary of the entire report. Employee Discipline Related to the Hospitality Industry Introduction An organization is known by the employees working for it. The human resource function assumes importance in this context. Each organization tries to select the right employee with care and tries to retain him/her with even greater care. While the employee cannot be neglected, neither can the activity nor business be ignored. It is after all, due to the business that the employee exists. Hence, certain norms need to be followed in the conduct of business. These are applicable to all employees across the board. Similarly, discipline is applicable to all industries and businesses alike. The hospitality industry encompasses businesses like the hotel and tourism industries. In the hospitality field, service is crucial and can make or break a business. Anything that disrupts the smooth functioning of a business can impact the bottom line. This is especially pertinent in an industry which is seasonal in nature. Discipline is also the yardstick by which every employee is evaluated with respect to the organization. While it sets standards for behavior in an organizational setting, it also provides a safeguard against deviations or erratic aspects of the same. Indiscipline affects not only an individual employee but also the next immediate group. It has a visible effect on superior-subordinate relations as well. Ultimately, discipline also sets guidelines for the industry as a whole. It is these guidelines that go on to form what are known in industry circles as best practices. Service Orientation and Human Resources The human aspect in hospitality firms is vital for quality, customer satisfaction, competitive advantage, and performance. Resources that are specific to firms and in short supply offer an advantage to those very firms in terms of competition and performance. Human capital falls in this category. Human resources management (HRM) policies directly influence employee features. Hospitality firms primarily render services which are intangible. These are produced and consumed at the hotel for instance, and customers directly interact with the service providers. Hence, employees are part and parcel of the product, stand for the organization, and build the image of the firm. For these reasons, service quality depends on the level of customer satisfaction and loyalty, competitive advantage, organizational performance, and how employees are managed. Hence, the way employees are treated and managed are important for managers in this industry. Mathis and Jackson (2000) aver that HRM is concerned with the “design of formal systems in an organization to ensure the effective and efficient use of human talent to accomplish organizational goals” (as cited in Kusluvan, Kusluvan, Ilhan & Buyruk, 2010). In good HRM practice, employees are regarded as valuable assets rather than costs. Hence, a superior workforce can ensure business success. Thus, HRM should be aligned with business strategy. Research has been conducted on individual as well as multiple aspects of HRM. The results show that the hospitality industry has a poor track record for human resource practices and is known to exploit people. However, certain hospitality firms represent the opposite trend and are listed in various business magazines. The beneficial effects of HRM touch upon employee, customer, and organizational outcomes (Kusluvan et al.). Compared to the primary and secondary sectors, the tertiary sector, especially the service segment has been witnessing a continuous boom. With greater value being attributed to it, hotels need to motivate employees to exhibit a service-oriented behavior. Hence, hotels find it challenging to select the right practices towards this end. There are upheavals in the environment which necessitate hotels to find novel means to serve customers effectively. Merely starting new procedures for service orientation will not suffice. All new practices should merge seamlessly with existing procedures. Hence, these should be aligned properly to avoid discord. Any given procedure should complement existing ones. Nevertheless, care should be taken to remove any discrepancy in procedures. If conflicting messages reach employees, not only would there be ambiguity, the effectiveness of the human resource system also becomes questionable. As Tang and Tang (2012) point out, when an employee feels that he is treated fairly, he endears himself to the organization and this reflects in his attitude and service to the customer (guest). Hence, human resource procedures should be revamped to achieve the corporate goals. Manager and the Employee A manager in the hospitality sector should have two competences. Technical managerial competence concerns knowledge of the manager in specific areas of management. Generic managerial competence stands for the manager’s self-control in developing the job at hand. According to Eastaff (2002) (as cited in Kamau & Waudo, 2012), skilled employees should have a variety of skills. The personal attributes include passion, attitude, foresight, confidence among others. Business skills are customer relations, employer relations, sales focus, financial insight etc. It is also necessary that the hotel should facilitate learning organization not be just a training centre (Kamau & Waudo). It was found that better the type of hotel, the more was the expectation regarding the employee’s skill by the managers. However, the employee expected that he/she ought to be good at communications, service and discipline among others. On the contrary, the employer hardly expected these skills. In case of conflict resolution and multi-tasking alone were the managers’ expectation more than that of the employee. Hence, there was a mismatch between the perceptions of the employer and those of the employee on the one hand and the expectations of the industry on the other. Similarly, there was disparity between the trainers and the industry as a whole. If this gap is bridged, students who leave college will be aware of the industry’s expectations. This would improve the quality of service in the long run (Kamau & Waudo). Staff Turnover and Practical Management Job security and fair treatment of employees in the hotel industry has an impact on the labour turnover and this in turn has a bearing on the success of the hotel. A labour policy should consider employees’ satisfaction, compensation and fair treatment among others. Fair Treatment implies that employees can air their grievances and get them solved in a time bound manner for organizational success. According to Mishra and Rao (2014), if the HR policies are in place, there will hardly be any labour turnover and the firm can make profits. Deficient human resource practices leads to frequent turnover. Neither can the hotel attract boarders, nor can it compete in the market. If a hotel is to sustain itself in the market and retain its goodwill, it should improve its HR (Mishra & Rao). Some important HR factors include; 1. Compensation – If the pay and perks are not commensurate with the industry standards, employees will search for greener pastures since pay is one of the powerful motivators. 2. Training – If the employee is ambiguous regarding his work since he has not been trained properly, he/she may leave the job. The employee may feel that the employer does not care for him/her. 3. Performance – If the employee finds that his performance is not up to the mark, he may leave the industry itself for good. Low self-esteem and self-worth are the other effects thereof. 4. Career Development – If the employee does not perceive any value addition to his / her career, then he may leave the job. Every employee looks forward to gain valuable experience which he can use as the stepping stone for his career. And, 5. Relation Management – If the employee does not have cordial relations with other co-workers and/or the management, he/she could exit from the company. The employee should be made to feel as part and parcel of the organisation (Source: Long, Perumal & Ajagbe, 2012). Implications for Practical Management Implications for Practical Management involve; 1. Staffing – One should not be indiscriminate in selecting employees. Only the right candidates should be selected 2. Training – should be provided before joining and during the course of the job. 3. Pay and Perks – should be commensurate with industry standards 4. Supervision and Management Style – should be benevolent in nature. Being a hard taskmaster may be counter productive 5. Job Characteristics and Job Redesign – as per the changes in the environment, the characteristics of the job should be kept in mind while redesigning an existing job 6. Involve and Empower Employees – employees must be made aware of the things happening in the company. They should be empowered to take immediate and non-serious decisions on their own. 7. Recognize, Respect, and Reward Employees – One should acknowledge the presence of each employee and respect the employee as an individual. Good behavior and efficiency should always be rewarded 8. Reduce Stress – the employees should not be burdened with too many activities 9. Employee Accommodation – proper accommodation should be provided to the employee within the hotel itself if his/her continued presence is required 10. Organizational Performance – The employees should be encouraged to stretch their individual performance by using the opportunity for gaining experience 11. Leadership and Vision – the employer should lead by setting examples. Similarly, the long term goals of the company should be spelt out in advance 12. HR and Workforce Balanced Scorecard – Feedback regarding the performance of both the employees and the manager should be provided (Source: Kusluvan et al, 2010, pp 194-202). Employee Discipline The hospitality sector i.e. the hotel and tourism industries have two challenges facing them. Not only should they efficiently render their services, they should maintain quality throughout. Enz and Siguaw (2000) (as cited in Li, Sanders & Frenkel, 2012) maintain that this is true especially in case of five star hotels. Here, set procedures need to be implemented efficiently with high standards of personnel. If good quality is to be maintained in the service rendered, one needs information. At the same time, one should be sensitive to the needs of customers and flexible in terms of customer interaction (Li et al, 2012). Discipline refers to the rules and regulations laid down by an authority for the smooth conduct of operations. They provide a framework to perform the set of tasks in a given business. This applies to the hospitality industry as well. Hoteliers set standards keeping in mind the procedures to be followed in their domain. Since the work is streamlined to satisfy the objective of pleasing the guest, the performance of the employee is better and these results are visible in a definite time period. As Chaudhry, Sohail and Riaz (2013) state, usually better the discipline in an organization, lesser the Participative Leadership, lesser the training and lesser the motivation. Human Resource managers focus on the discipline and pay hikes to ensure better performance. However, motivating employees is a better tool to ensure the same results (Chaudhary et al.) Discipline enforced for the sake of discipline is counter-productive. Smooth operation and increased performance are the final objectives always. Hence, one should show tact in implementing discipline. In non-serious issues, one could relax rules while putting one’s foot down in sensitive or crucial circumstances. Wong, Siu and Tsang (as cited in Curtis, Upchurch & Severt, 2009) utilized tactful discipline as an extrinsic motivational factor in a survey conducted by them. They did not find any major change when it came to tactful discipline. Hence, the need arises for balancing the rights of employees and the discipline expected of them. The middle level management finds it difficult to mete out disciplinary actions. This process involves stress and is also unpleasant for both sides. The next best alternative, therefore, would be to counsel the employee in this regard. According to Long, Perumal and Ajagbe (2012), as part of discipline management, it is necessary that an employee is made aware of or trained in the disciplinary aspects of the organization concerned; and, this enhances leadership and the quality to supervise among managers and supervisors. The main characteristics of discipline are; 1. Implementation of Power: Discipline divides space and demarcates segments within it. Partitions are used to establish order. Hence, any element is distinctly placed in a grid. Due to this fixed nature, they can be easily located. Hence, discipline can be said to focus and straightjacket. 2. Extensive regulation: Discipline makes clear the plan of action at any point of time. One cannot sidestep or ignore this course. One cannot digress from the set path and must diligently follow it. 3. Prescriptive: There is a clear demarcation of what is permissible and what is not. It dictates what one should or must do and defines the ideal situation. 4. Norms: for ideal behaviour are put in place by the use of discipline. Hence, people are made to conform to the norm e.g. through training, reward, punishment etc. (Source: Weiskopf & Munro, 2012). Best Practices According to West (n.d.), there are some procedures that are considered good to be followed across the industry. These act as a yardstick by which to evaluate situations and act as a precedent for future reference. They are; Clarity A written manual about rules and regulations should be available in the organization. This is to avoid any ambiguity regarding the procedures that have been set. However, it should be made clear that these would be progressively revised from time to time. A written document would be legally binding in case of a dispute. Documentation All kinds of disciplinary action that have been taken should also be documented. This serves as a record for future reference. Moreover, it makes the employee, against whom any action is taken, aware of his/her actions. Not only can such actions not be disowned, they also stand the scrutiny of law. Disclose sensitive information only when required Sometimes, unpleasant information about an employee needs to be disclosed to drive home a particular point to the other employees. Tact should be used while disclosing such information lest the employer is charged with defamation. Hence, it would be prudent to take legal advice before taking such decisions. Handle discharges compassionately Discharging an existing employee is an unpleasant task to accomplish. It would be advisable to have a witness to the final meeting so that it could be documented. Even when the employee becomes emotional, the employer should not. The services of an attorney should be taken in case severance and release is to be sought. And Consistency One should be consistent in the manner in which one treats his/her employees. If this is not the case, it opens doors to discrimination of certain employees. The aggrieved employee may go to court on this count. Hence, every employee should be treated equally without fear or favour of any kind. Claims could still be made against the employer and lawsuits could be filed as a consequence. However, with the other aspects in place, the employer can present his case strongly. (Source: West, n.d.). Conclusion One can conclude the above text as follows. The research report deals with the Human Resource function of management with special reference to employee discipline in the hospitality industry. At the outset, the service orientation of the hospitality industry is discussed. It is apparent that a high standard of service is required to retain the customer base in such an industry. Taking the topic further, the perspective of both the employee and that of the manager are elaborated. From here, the discussion shifts track to the aspect of employee turnover. Five major areas that prompt employee turnover are enumerated. This is followed by the implication for practical management. Several aspects of this topic are discussed. Employee discipline is the next topic. The nature and characteristics of discipline are elaborated here. The final section deals with the best practices in the industry. Five such practices are spelt out. We can conclude this topic by acknowledging and appreciating the dynamic nature of human resource in an organisational setting. Discipline has far-reaching consequences on the performance of an employee. The achievement of corporate goals is also contingent on the employee’s conduct there. Discipline is but one aspect of this vast kaleidoscope within the overarching field of management. References Chaudhry, M. S & Sohail, F & Riaz, N. (2013). Impact of Employee Relation on Employee Performance in Hospitality Industry of Pakistan. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management Journal. 1(1): 60-72. Curtis, C. R., Upchurch, R. S & Severt, D. E. (2009). Employee Motivation and Organizational Commitment: A Comparison of Tipped and Nontipped Restaurant Employees. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration. (10) :253–269. Kusluvan, S., Kusluvan, Z., Ilhan, I & Buyruk, L. (2010). The Human Dimension: A Review of Human Resources Management Issues in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 51 (2): 171-214. Kamau, S. W & Waudo, J. (2012). Hospitality industry employer’s expectation of employees’ competences in Nairobi Hotels. Journal of Hospitality Management and Tourism. 3(4): 55-63. Long, C. S. Perumal, P., Ajagbe, M. A. (2012). The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Employees’ Turnover Intention: A Conceptual Model. http://journal-archieves19.webs.com/629-641.pdf Li, X., Sanders, K & Frenkel, S. (2012). How leader–member exchange, work engagement and HRM consistency explain Chinese luxury hotel employees’ job performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 31 (4): 1059–1066. Mishra, R. K & Rao, P. S. (2014). Human Resources Practices, Policies & Its Impact On Success Of Hotel Industry - A Study. Asia Pacific Journal of Research, 1 (13):127-131. Tang, T & Tang, Y. (2012). Promoting service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors in hotels: The role of high-performance human resource practices and organizational social climates. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31 1059–1066. Weiskopf, R & Munro, I. (2011). Management of human capital: discipline, security and controlled circulation in HRM. Organization. Retrieved from http://org.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/07/31/1350508411416536 West, J. L. (n.d.). Best practices for discipline and discharge in the hotel industry. Human Resources. Journal for Hotel Rooms Management. Retrieved from http://www.hospitalitylawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/file/TRC/volume18/Best%20practices%20for%20discipline%20and%20discharge%20of%20employees.pdf Read More