The Hospitality Industry of the United Kingdom - Case Study Example

Project Topic: Hospitality Industry The hospitality industry of United Kingdom has been severely criticized by sociologists as poorly managed and workers are likely abused by the system. This essay intends to explore the situation of the hospitality profession, evaluate its concrete situation and suggest some recommendations to improve the circumstance of the industry based on the core values of strategized human resource management (HRM). It will also delve into the studies of McGunnigle and Jameson (2000) which focused on the plight of employees working in hotels. Hospitality Industry at Glance The hospitality industry is vigorously thrived with people who provide services for at hotels, creation centers, tourism industry, disco and club houses, casinos, galleries, fairs, resorts and resto-bars. They were those who offer excellent comfort whenever someone wishes to temporarily find accommodation in hotels; act anthropologically as tour guides of foreign nationals; manage entertainments for theatres, disco houses and galleries. There lives are an endless management of affairs that constantly change. A number of these hospitality workers have earned a degree; others earned a certificate while the rest are not but take opportunities to maximize their personal skills. Some of them are professionals trained to groom hotels for interior designs and house keeping; cooking nutritious food with delicate garnishes; servicing variety of wines; offering professional skills and geographic knowledge for clients of tourism industry; manage public relations artfully; organize events and celebrations; and other services of similar nature. There working environments are often in excellent or satisfactory facilities. Like how seemingly lucrative the job sounds, they reinvent themselves to what suit best for occasions. The hospitality industry presents an opportunity for supervisory functions who can effectively and efficiently relate with people. There are perks and incentives offered by clients or manager clients in exchange for satisfactory services. There job also provides an opportunity to meet people from varied places and of varying experiences. The industries on the other hand present some threats and weaknesses especially whenever workers are exposed to sexual harassment or degrading experiences at work places. Harris and Reynolds (2004) who studied the motive in the hospitality industry pointed that there are customers who deliberately act or misbehave in abusive manner which cause some level of insecurity that will affect the hospitality providers. It is widely acknowledged that workers are at risk when they are confronted with deviant or dysfunctional customer behaviors. Woods and Kavanaugh (1994), who conducted a study on perception of gender discrimination and sexual harassment in hospitality industry with 613 responses, attest that such discrimination happens and are manifested in different manners. Women respondents professed that they are most discriminated in promotion and salaries while male hospitality workers responded that they are more exposed to uncertain possibilities. Woods et. al. (1994) bared that 25% of their respondents of women in hospitality positions experienced sexual harassment at work and that these are pervasive realities in this industry. Moreover, there is evident weakening of market conditions as some establishments within this industry decided to undergo cost-savings in both capital and operational level (Ernst & Young, 2009). Many decided to reduce expenditures, undergo asset management and limited capital improvements (Ernst & Young, 2009). Their situation is at some level unpredictable because they are also governed by developments that may negatively impact the industry, such as issues on insecurity, political upheavals, economic downturns that may result to retrenchments. But such situation is generally true to all profession. What matters foremost is when executives and managers of hospitality industry are able to strategically manage its human resources effectively to increase their adaptability to rapid changes. Hospitality and Human Resource Management Managing human resource relate to the capacity of managers and supervisors to provide direction to the employees of an industry, categorized into organizational functions of planning, organizing, direction, coordination and control (Fayol, 1916, pp 145-152). It demands the reassertion of core values where workers can participate to decide for themselves too in relation to firm or company’s goals whilst at the same time expecting opportunities to enhance their skills and capacities with due compensation for services rendered (Armstrong, (2006). This is not merely improving the performance of employees but also instilling in them the capacity to be resilient in times when the industry is so oddly situated. It is about making workers as partners in gaining leverage in the hospitality industry, instead of making them as object of opportunities for mere profit. Moreover, the companies in the hospitality industry should have policies and standards to maintain the integrity of the profession; measures to protect its employees; shared values to uphold; and deep understanding that these employees, because like them, employees are human beings too, whose rights should be respected and dignities preserved. Managers, as leaders, should not only be interested in enjoying satisfaction from workers performance, but must also ensure that employees concern for job satisfaction is seriously considered too. Olsen, Ching-Yick Tse, and West (1998: 385) have suggested that hospitality industry should assess its strengths and weaknesses to fully understanding the effects of structure, leadership and culture on decision-making in this profession. Researchers should exercise strategic plans for this service industry contextualized on core competencies noting that it is leadership that determines the success or failure in strategizing the industry (Olsen et. al, 1998). Sparrow (1994), who conducted a research study with 182 employees in 33 hospitality organizations, contended that if companies in hospitality industry will also invest for psychological and capacity empowerment of hospitality employees, their turn-over intention decrease and that developing promotion opportunities entails job satisfaction too. The companies too must invest for employees’ personality and behavioral development since they are constantly dealing with customers (Mei, Dean, and White,1999). Barron and Maxwell (1993) meanwhile posit that there is dichotomy on the correlation between qualification in hospitality management and the career in the industry, thus the need for hospitality management employers and educators to restructure the recruitment to increase retention rates to a most encouraging outcome. Other studies, at different context, proposed that conceptualization of organizational culture and culture change should be significantly contextualized to empirical factors that are affecting the employees (Ogbonna and Harris, 2002). It is of similar context that Olsena and Ropera (1998: 111-124) recommended that companies of hospitality industry should scale up their management by improving organizational direction through strategic planning, competition and competitive advantage, internationalization and strategic implementation. This is maybe a multi-dimensional construct that needs interdisciplinary approaches, but this must be considered by managers handling hospitality as profession. This is affirmed by Bonn and Forbringer (1992: 47-63) who also contended that hospitality managers must rediscover new markets and system to improve the integrity of hospitality as a profession. Coyle and Dale (1993) added that the industry must nurture staff competence and upgrade facilities to address customers’ needs and expectations. Jones (1999) further proposed that strategizing can only be done if managers adopt frameworks that will improve hospitality operations management that will cover communication, leadership, motivation, conflict resolution, stress management, decision making, training, and organization development. Guidelines should be standardized to develop a comprehensive human resource strategy. McGunnigle and Jameson Thoughts McGunnigle and Jameson (2000) opined that right attitude, personality and/or commitment are core values in selecting new employees, noting that positive behavior placed more relevance that technical expertise. These they translated as manifestation of commitment at work. On recruitment and selection procedures, researchers noted that these are not universally practiced in all companies in hospitality industry. There were those who underwent rigid process of application while there were institutions who hire employees without structural demands, especially for operative staff (McGunnigle et. al., 2000). They also confirmed evidences of training but all of these are job related. McGunnigle et.al. (2000) thought that there should also be external development for both staff and managers in non job-related transferable skills and serious evaluation on retention issues. They criticized that recruitment and selection procedures in hotels are neither consistent nor responsive to the needed culture of commitment demanded for the organization to achieve its goals. Researchers perceived that recruitment must be done with foresight for sustainability but such much be coupled with strategic management that invest for employees to gather job satisfaction while on service in the hospitality industry. Toward Strategic Management of Hospitality Workers To encourage retention, managers should provide reasonable wages, incentives, benefits, perks, promotions, better working conditions and trainings for employees. Transfer of skills is wise, but employees must look deeply on employees needs. It must inculcate leadership , motivation and employees welfare. In managing a business, leaders must observe corporate policies and wage democratized power and control in managing human resources to ensure that these processes will bring the company into competitive advantage in sustaining hospitality industry (Harris and Ogbonna, 2001). More than that, business leaders’ relations with employees must also be influenced by leaders’ adapted value system and practices that are sensitive to the needs and concerns of employees too. The manner on how their interactions transpire will still steam from how they defined employee and employer relations that are mutually helpful for them. Quisenberry (2006; pp 1-3) once pointed that business leaders must have deep understanding of his employees’ social background, experiences, physiological needs, dreams, relations and needs—and such should be brought at the communicative level to contextualize it to business goals and desired outcomes. Kendra (2011) pointed that managers should be proficient in human resource management, principled, transparent in managing resources, clever in managing risks and upholds standard values and behaviours while strategizing, planning, or performing function for the organization. Conclusion McGunnigle et.al. (2000) was right to say that skills development must meet the needs and aspirations of employees, but retaining human resources demand more than that. Training can only increase competitiveness and profitability but human needs do not only require knowledge enhancement. Managers too must be sensitive of fair labor practices and operationalize change by aligning desired outcomes to organizational mission and goals (Mendenhall, 2008). They must be at all times objective and appreciative of the workers differences and expectations. They must be the models that instil corporate values of quality, value, service, innovation and trust. Opportunities for change and developments are there and McGunnigle et.al. (2000) were right that the hospitality industry must adopt HR as more than “an empty shell”, but that managers too must share the price to uphold standards. To reckon those discussed thoughts on hospitality industry, McGunnigle et.al. (2000) merely reaffirmed the lingering problem of both workers and employers relating to recruitment, selection, capability-building and professional development. 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