Trends in Human Resource Management of Marriott Hotel Chain - Case Study Example

Issues, Challenges and Trends in Human Resource Management Marriott Hotel Chain Introduction Marriott hotel is one of the biggest s in the modernhospitality industry. It has extended its operations in all parts of the world from its humble beginnings. J. Willard Marriot founded the hotel chain in 1927 in Washington with the opening of a small beer stand. The beer stand is named the Hot Shoppes and the store soon extended to the other parts of the country. It was well established in the field of catering services and it got contracts with the Government services. The Hot shoppes transformed into a hotel chain in 1957 when it opened its first hotel in Virginia. From the opening of the first hotel, the Marriot has gone from strong to stronger. The Marriott extended its operation outside the boundaries of the country and soon went into other markets. It opened the first international hotel in Mexico. The North American market was one of the strong points of the hotel chain. Soon it looked to diversify into the other territories of the global market. The markets of Europe and Asia became the centre points of the growth of the Marriott. The growth of the hotel chain was further accelerated by the policies of the management of the chain to acquire the other businesses in the industry. In the year 1995, Marriott made an investment of 49% in the Ritz Carlton. Another factor of the growth of the hotel chain was the diversification of the business. The business diversified into various other sectors like the countryside hotels and the resorts. The management played a big role in the development of the hotel chain. (The Marriott timeline, n.d.; Wagner, n.d.) The Human Resource Management has been one of the most important policies for the companies around the world. The employees are the cornerstones of success of the companies around the world and the companies have become conscious of the importance of maintaining good employee practices and relations. The HRM is the practice of the management to use the manpower of the companies to attain the competitive advantage in the industry with the help of the development of the employees. For the development of the employees in the organizations, the management employs several techniques. (Brewster & Larsen, 2000; p.6; Storey,1991: p.109). The employees have to be treated and rewarded to bring out the best performances. After the recession, the subject of HRM has become important. The paper deals in the modern issues and practices of HRM in the Marriott hotels in England. Aims and Objectives The Marriott hotel in England has been taken for the study of the modern HRM issues and challenges because it is one of the renowned names in the global hospitality sector and it is renowned for the HRM practices. Literature Review Functions of HRM Human Resource Management is one of the most important practices of the modern management of the modern organizations of the world. The scope of HRM in the organizations is wide and it involves the development of the employees of the organizations. The main functions of the HRM are the recruitment, selection, training, endorsement, incentive, lay off and the overall development of the organization. The functions of the HRM are huge and the scope of the functions covers the dimensions of all the levels in the organization. The HRM is one of the most important parts of the organizations and is involved in the development of the organization to a certain extent. The organizations all over the world looks into the matter of HRM with relative importance. They have understood the importance in the development of the organization. Therefore, in most of the organizations of the world, a separate department has been created for the HRM. The manager of the HRM department looks into all the matters of the employees and anything related to the employees in the organization. In certain cases some companies do not look to create a separate department in the organization and all the managers in every department of the organization are responsible for the maintenance of the HRM. The functions of the HRM in this case entail the functions of all the departments of the organization. (Erasmus et al, 2008, pp 31-33; Thornton & Rupp, 2008, pp 9-12) Issues in HRM The HRM practices all over the world have become important. The practice of HRM has become an essential part of the business processes of the organizations all over the world. The HRM practice depends on the regions of the world where the companies are incorporated. The HRM practices of the organizations of the world will depend on the companies and its policies. The policies of the companies in most of the cases depend on the country and the Government. Therefore, the countries in the world determine the type of the HRM practices to be followed in the organizations. For example, the HRM practices followed in the USA may not be suitable for the companies in the UK. Therefore, there are various cases for the HRM practices followed in the place of the study of the paper, i.e. England. The economy of England is one of the most developed economies of the world and this has been made possible with the development of the globalization of the economy. In England, there are various multinational companies operating and this had an effect on the HRM practices of the country. One of the most important issues in the function of HRM in England has been the linking of the performance and the rewards of the employees. This has been made possible with the amalgamation of the global economy in the country. The multinational companies of the world reward the employees extensively but the rewards and the compensation of the employees of the organizations are linked to the performance of the employees. Therefore, there has been a substantial amount of growth in the field of the performance linked compensation system with then development of the globalization in the country. Another are of the interest in the HRM practices in the country has been the rise of the psychological contract of the employees. The notion of the psychological agreement is based on the insecurity of the employees of the organization. It is the beliefs of the individuals regarding the rules and the conditions of the organizations. The employees expect certain things form the organizations and they expect the organizations to honor the contract. The psychological contract in various areas shapes the behavior of the employees in the organizations. At the aftermath of the recession, the psychological contract or agreement has turn out to be important. Training and development has been an integral part of the HRM and in the context of the tight labor markets of the UK, the area of the training and development has become more important. (Scholz & Bohm,2008; Pp 409-410; Ven, n.d.) Trends in HRM With the globalization of the economy, the HRM practices of the organizations in the UK have changed. With the competition in the global economy on the rise the companies in the UK have understood the importance of a more developed HRM practice. The Government has also played its part in the changes of the HRM practices in the country. There have been changes in the trends of the HRM practices in the country. The Regulatory framework in the country has evolved with the intensifying of the Government role and the membership of the country to the EU. The EU central authority has deployed a minimum standard wage for the employees, which has helped to earn a minimum amount in the wages. With stringent rules regarding the unions, there were less strikes in the economy and there were fewer days lost due to the strikes. The recent practice in the UK has been to link the compensation of the employees to the performance and there has been the scope of the incentives in the companies. There is biasness in the remuneration of the employees according to the gender. In respect of the globalization of the economy, there has been a detrimental effect of the downturn in the economy. There have been huge job cuts in the organizations. The foreign companies operating in the economy bring with it new trends in the HRM practices which have become an integral part of the economy. For example, the Japanese firms employ total quality solutions, which have become the norm for the employees in the country. Like the other developed nations of the world, the labor market of the UK is aging and in the future, there can be sever shortage of labor in the economy. There has been a rise in the flexible working programs in the country and the new trend is the outsourcing of the operations of the companies. This results in the job loss in the country and is detrimental to the economy. These are the recent happenings of the UK job market and the HRM is engaged in dealing with the changes. (Cesyniene, 2008; Richbell, 2001; Kirkbride,1994;Pp 114-117) The recession has seen the decrease of the salary and the benefits of the employees in the UK. Among the employees in the UK 45% have been the victim of the reduction in the salary. It was also seen that 45% of the employers decreased their contribution to the pension funds of the companies. 60% of the employees saw lesser use of the recognised pension funds. The other benefits of the company also decreased during the recession. 34% of the employees saw the decrease in the medical insurance and 25% saw the increase of the use of the cheaper source of the non-monetary benefits like gym memberships and retail vouchers. It was evident that the companies were trying to cut costs. (Pension contributions decrease during recession, 7th April, 2010) Source: Employeebenefits.co.uk, 7th April, 2010. Recession in HRM At the times of the recession the psychology of the employees change and they tend to work hard for the fear of being sacked by the company. There is uncertainty in the minds of the employees. Some of the companies will take the advantage of the recession and the job cutting measures to sack the lower level employees. In some cases the employees will not be motivated to work, as there will be lesser sales. The earnings of the employees will also decrease as a result. In this case, it is the responsibility of the management to motivate the employees to work hard and the responsibility lies with the management. They have to appreciate the work put in by the employees of the organization and that will help the employees to work hard for the organization. (Emmerich, September, 2001) The Marriott In the case of the Marriott hotels in the UK, there has been a debate in employing low wageworkers in the specific services like the housekeeping and the washing. However, the functions of the hotel chain all over the world do not subscribe to the ill treatment of the employees. The employees of the chain feel proud of their association with the chain and the chain looks into the matter of proper training and development of the employees. There is also a system of rewarding the employees for the good work done. (Yang, 11th November, 1996). The compensation system of the hotel chain is based on the incentives and the employees are rewarded for the good works done. If the employees put in good work they are rewarded with incentives and bonuses. For example, if an employee of the hotel is responsible for a sale they are rewarded with a round of golf. This motivates the employees to work hard for the cause of the company and the performance of the company improves. (Why individual incentives, n.d.) The recession has laid impact on most of the industries in the world. The hospitality sector is one of the most affected, as there were fewer guests and the volume of the business lessened. There was less number of travelers form the business worlds. The business travelers were the most important component of the earnings of the hotels before the recession. Therefore, the earnings of the businesses were affected. The HRM practices at the aftermath of the recession became important as the companies were looking for cost cutting measures. One of the most significant steps of the cost cutting measures of the company was the lay off for the employees. The scene in the UK was the same and the trend was felt in all the companies of the hospitality sector. The recession took a toll on the functions of the Marriott. The HRM practices of the Marriott had to change due to the recession. During the recession, the Marriott hotel was expanding into the emerging markets of South East Asia. Therefore, the HRM policies of the Marriott was involved in the hiring of the staffs instead of downsizing the employees. The employees of the organization were secure and they contributed their best in the performance of the company. The chain was able to deal with the expansion in the times of the recession because the parent group of the company was financially stable. (Delunna, 27th March, 2009) Though the Marriott did not cut costs by the downsizing of the employees there was a conscious effort on the behalf of the management to cut costs in the other departments. The hotel looked to cut costs in the food and beverages department without giving up on the quality. There were increased levels of communication from the top level management which motivated the employees to give their best for the organization. There were increased level of training and development for the employees to treat the guests in a dignified manner. (Gunther, June, 2009) Therefore, in the case of Marriott, there was no downsizing of the employees and the company looked to cut the costs in the other departments. The chain was expanding in the times of the recession and the focus was being put in the communication levels of the management of the employees of the organization. This was in contrast to the practices of the other companies in the global market. Conclusions and Recommendations HRM is one of the most significant components in the management of the company. The modern trends in the HRM states that the compensation of the employees are related to the performance. There has been the rise of the psychological contract of the employees. The employees work hard and give it all to the performance of the company if they are treated well and there are good rewards and the compensation. The working conditions of the companies have to be good to motivate the employees of the organization. The functions and the scope of HRM have increased in the modern business world and it includes the recruitment, training and downsizing of the employees. Therefore, all the functions relating to the employees of the organization fall under the domain of the HRM. The employees are the cornerstone of success of the organizations around the world and therefore, HRM has become one of the most sought after disciplines for the development of the organizations of the world. The subject has become more important in the aftermath of recession. The recession had an effect on the organizations and the businesses all over the world. Most of the organizations of the world were engulfed in the less availability of the cash. Therefore, the companies all over the world looked to cut the costs to remain competitive in the global economy. Money in the hands of the consumers of the world was less and there were less demand for the products. Therefore, the companies had to lower the costs to stay competitive in the market. The companies in a bid to cut the costs downsized the labor of the company. This was the most accepted norm of the global economy and the easiest. Almost all the industries of the world were affected by recession. However, the effect was severe in the hospitality sector. All the components of the hospitality sector were affected by the recession and the hotel industry was one of them. The recession sparked the growth of the budget hotels but the high level hotels in the industry suffered. One of such hotels was the Marriott which is one of the leaders of the hotel industry in the world. Most of the components of the Marriott hotels were high class and costly and therefore, they were the most affected. The HRM practices of the Marriott, however, were contrast to the most followed practices in the industry. During the recession, the Marriott was expanding in the emerging markets of Asia. Therefore, the hotel was not downsizing the employees. Instead, it hired new employees for the expansion process. Most of the employees were offered training and development for the development of the employees. The communication process from the top management to the lower level of the employees were improved and that helped in maintaining the motivation level of the employees. The compensation process of the employees in Marriott was based on the incentives and good performances of the employees were rewarded by the management of the companies. Therefore, this helped in increasing the motivation of the employees. The employees of the Marriott felt proud of their association with the chain. The hotel chain did not follow the rules followed by the other companies in the recession. They hired newer employees and motivated the employees by the help of the communication. The elimination of the downsizing of the employees was a good thing for the Marriott. It helped in the development of the psychological contract of the employees. The employees felt secured and it helped in the development of the performance of the companies. However, there are negative sides in this aspects, too. The company did well not to lay off any of the employees in the organization. However, with the recruitment of the newer employees and then expansion process, the management pressurized the financials of the company. The management should have looked to stall the expansion process and the recruitment of the newer employees in the organization. The management should have looked to cut costs while they incurred more costs. They prompted the Management to decrease the facilities of the guests in the hotel. This should not have been done as that can harm the reputation of the company. However, it has to be said the company performed well in the times of the recession and the HRM practices stood its ground in the troubled times. References: 1. 1. The Marriott timeline. (n.d.). Marriott. Available at: http://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/culture/heritageTimeline.mi (Accessed on 21st April, 2010) 2. Wagner,R. (n.d.). History of the Mariott hotel. Ehow. 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Available at: http://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=10349&d=23&h=0&f=0 (Accessed on 21st April, 2010) Read More