Employee Relations and Development in Hospitality Industry - Term Paper Example

Employee Relations and Development Employee participation, employee involvement and employee empowerment are pertinent topics that come under the dueconsideration of the organizational domains. All the three terms have different implications as per their meanings and hence the employees as well as the employers view the same in distinctive ways. This goes to show that more or less it is the relationship between the employee and the employer which will be affected in more ways than one if the employee participation levels fall drastically, employee involvement is seen to be negative more than anything else and employee empowerment is absolutely null at the end of the day within the business processes, activities and tasks. (Hollinshead, Nicholls & Tailby, 1999) In the broader context, it is the manner in which employee comes out clean and clean with regards to his respective undertakings that signifies his position within the midst of the organization and not with which he is looked after. It is his work, his attitude and his capacity to turn ideas into concepts, meeting minutes into productive results and liaisons into close relationships, all at the same time. (Cappelli, 1999) However all these elements would be missing if the employee is not allowed to participate, get involved and made aware of his empowerment issues – coming from the quarters of the organizational top heads. Employee participation discusses the pertinent aspects which take care of the participatory role of the employees within the working domains of any organization. We will particularly highlight the case of the hospitality industry during the length of this paper. Employee involvement within this industry looks at the basis of the employees giving in their very best and serving the needs of the customers who make the round of the hospitality organizations, which might include restaurants, hotels, motels and any other. (Logue, 2000) Similarly, employee empowerment is defined as increasing the capacities of the employees who are undertaking certain tasks and activities so that they can contribute in a much more beneficial manner back to the hospitality company. (Corbridge & Pilbeam, 1998) Employee participation, employee involvement and employee empowerment look at increasing the political, economic as well as the social capacities or strengths of these employees which would in turn help in fostering their relationships with the respective communities and/or stakeholders. Empowerment is thus one entity which looks to ensure that the confidence is developed all the while and the individual capacities are built as a result of the same. Within the context of hospitality management and organizations, empowerment takes a very significant role. It asks by giving subordinates or other workers the much needed freedom to display what is within them and thus portray their strengths in the wake of the pressures which are forced upon them. These could be any like time constraints, peer group resistance and so on and so forth. Similarly, within participative and involvement roles, workers and employees are given greater resources so that they can carry out their works in line with the available resources and thus carry out a much better task than they would have, had the same not been present. The interests of these hospitality workers is also taken into consideration so that they do their bit without getting bothered and thus the whole process of work within the said hospitality organizations carries on without any such hindrance at the disposal. (Torrington, 1995) One can quote a number of instances where employee participation, employee involvement and employee empowerment have played a huge role in turning the fortunes of a hospitality organization and its related business activities like tourism, fast foods, hotels and the like. Similarly, on these lines an example of the workplace empowerment is that of which is prevalent within the United Kingdom and that stands out for one and all to take notice from the management and organizational standpoint. In historical times, clash of management styles within the UK was very much present as concerns to the hospitality business. (Wilson, 2004) Thus, it would not be wrong here to suggest that employee participation, employee involvement and employee empowerment need to make the rounds of just about all kinds of businesses so that the transfer of power is made guaranteed to the people who actually carry out the very job or task at hand. It is only then that they would be held much more accountable than they are at the present moment of time. The implication related with employee participation, employee involvement and employee empowerment is inter-linked with the ultimate notion of goal setting which is attached as it suits more companies than we can think of in the present scheme of things. (Ginzberg, 1957) Therefore it needs to be adopted by all work environments, thinking from a broader perspective. Having said all that, for building an organizational climate, it is pertinent to understand that the managers manifest their actions in a manner which is easily followed by the employees and there are no expectations attached with doing the right thing on the part of the employees, rather the emphasis must be brought down by the managers themselves. (Cyert & March, 1963) In essence, employees will feel at ease and be valued for their work when they feel they are being treated parallel and their work is being appreciated at all possible levels. What this does in the end is to ensure that the effectiveness and efficiency levels of their work are increased and the end result is something that can make the whole organization proud nonetheless. (Gilbert, 1996) The new recruits within the hospitality industry must ensure that their work is extraordinary and it speaks for its own selves. They must be morally and ethically sound since this form the basis for their mental make up. Their actions and behaviors within the domains of the organization would be kept under check and they must not do something that will eventually tarnish their image once and for all. The hospitality managers will make sure that these recruits feel at ease and they do not have any such problem at the hands of the managers themselves. (Heath, 1994) The managers will also guarantee that the new hired individuals see the positive side of the hospitality organization so that their confidence would be built over a period of time. However on the part of these recruits (or employees by now), it is expected that they will demonstrate the best of their skills and abilities and make their work count for its own self. Furthermore, their behavior would be such that would make the organization proud time and time again. In the end, it is significant to state that this is a two way process and the managers and the new recruits have to take it along hand in hand with each other to make sure that the success is achieved. One would suggest that the present era related with the hospitality industry needs to have a lot of improvement within its ranks if it adopts the policy of working towards the establishment of a performance management system. (Neely, 2002) This would guarantee them a lot of success as their employees and workers would dedicate their whole hearted efforts towards the well being of the hospitality company as well as towards their own individual capacities. (Taylor, 1999) Once these performance management systems are installed and in place, we can have a proper check and balance mechanism as concerns to the people who are working in the company. (Bassett, 1993) The effects of tourism on any region or locality are pretty much apparent but what it brings to the country’s foreign reserves is important. It opens up the path that lead towards success since the government finds out the cash cow – the tourism industry. The more the efforts and time are spent on making the tourism industry grow and flourish within the country, the better are the results. The most basic of amenities need to be ensured to every visitor so that he becomes a return tourist and thus exponentially increase the chances of having more tourists with each passing year. Special packages are introduced which go down well with the foreign visitors and they go back to their native countries and inform the residents of the benefits that they could avail whilst utilizing the value added deals, coming hand in hand with these packages and special fares. (Streatfield, 2001) The tourism generating areas also receive a boost since the economic basis of these areas are directly linked with the tourism industry and thus the related policy development and management regimes keep a worthwhile share of these areas whilst drafting the laws and regulations of the tourism industry. This benefits the whole industry as well as gives confidence to the locals who try their best to compete with other regions’ hosts and in the process satisfy the tourists in the best possible form. The whole community indeed receives improvement within their economic levels and the standard of living of these people is directly proportional to the amount of people who usually visit their regions. The hospitality industry seems to attain a great share of the fiscal sums with the upsurge in the tourism domains. Similarly, the employees attached with such jobs feel that they are being properly looked after and they feel privileged to work for such organizations as well. Tourism for a country brings in the much needed foreign exchange that is welcomed by the government and the related ministries. What it does best is to make the law-makers realize of the tremendous potentials that their country possesses in the wake of tourism and thus an industry of sheer magnitude needs to be in place so that more and more tourists visit each year. (Linney, 2000) The economic impacts in the tourism sector immediately ask for grants, loans and stipends to be given to the people who have an indirect or for that matter direct role in the building up of structures, buildings and pathways – all of which come under the tourist attraction cycle. The role of governments in the planning phase of tourism both regionally and nationally is significant since it fosters growth at all levels and increases the chances of economic prosperity and wellness for the related stakeholders. (Varey, 2001) The tourism sector must make sure that the role of government is encouraging at consistent levels and there are no hiccups in the wake of provision of funds for the growth regimes of the tourism industry. Tourism would be conducted best if it is left to the locals as it is a thriving industry. Employee participation is pretty different in its practical form to what one would understand about the other two terms – employee involvement and employee empowerment. (Weiner, 1980) Employee participation can literally fall to pieces if the employees do not understand their responsibilities in line with the organizational demands and also they would be vary of their answerable tenets towards the very organization so it is a given that they must perform to the best of their abilities at all times. (House, 2004) Employee involvement on the other hand within a hospitality regime looks at building a liaison between the stakeholders, the customers and the company itself. The employee is measured on his ability to get involved with respect to a certain activity, task or process and thus his strengths come to the fore in the same related domains. (Massey, 2001) Overall both the terms come more or less under the umbrella of the employee empowerment discussion since if an employee does not have the room to maneuver his resources, there is absolutely no use having his participation and the eventual involvement within the ranks of the hospitality industry. (Deeks, 1993) One needs to understand employee performance could only be gauged when there are proper and adequate measures in place and when there is a need by the top management to check for their role in the management and organizational activities and processes. (Sims, 2002) This indeed is very significant for the actual basis of running a business in the most fitting manner possible. In the end, it is up to the employee himself as to how well he performs under pressure for his own good as well as that of the hospitality organization. This would reap rich dividends for not only him but also the people related to his working basis. 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