Business Research Report | Annotated Bibliography
Introduction
The following annotated bibliography aims to study the articles related to managing a human resource in the hospitality industry. In this annotated bibliography, the discussion will focus on each article individually to understand the main theme. For each of the studied articles, summary and critiques will be carried out in order to refine the understanding of the topic discussed in the articles, how each article contributed to existing understanding, and how effective, relevant and useful each article is for the research assignment.
Annotated Bibliography
Zhao, X. and Ghiselli, R., 2016. Why do you feel stressed in a “smile factory”? Hospitality job characteristics influence work–family conflict and job stress. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(2), pp.305-326.
This research article discussed the role of “Hospitality Job Characteristics” (HJCs) and its relations to job stress and work-family conflict. The central idea of this article is to study how hospitality employees deal with stress while working in hotels (smile factory). The research finding inveterate that different employees’ groups are highly indulged in high work stress. Therefore, hospitality management must restructure the work environment and introduce family support programs in order to reduce employees’ job stress.
From this research article, it can be concluded that employees working in the hospitality industry do face job-stress and work-family conflicts regardless of their demographics and marital status. Moreover, this article studied the employees working in the Chinese hospitality industry. Therefore, there are chances that the employees working in the Australian hospitality industry may have different views on job stress and work-family conflicts. Also, this research was conducted through a questionnaire survey from the selected hotels in China. The data generated was cross-sectional did not demonstrate the causal relationships. Consequently, the findings cannot be generalized.
Yang, J.T., Wan, C.S. and Fu, Y.J., 2012. Qualitative examination of employee turnover and retention strategies in international tourist hotels in Taiwan. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(3), pp.837-848.
In this research article, a qualitative examination has been done to study employee turnover and retention strategies in the hospitality industry. This study aimed to identify the determinants leading to employee turnover at management level and to recognize the existing retention strategies used by the hoteliers. Yang, Wan, and Fu (2012) observed that even though the hoteliers use effective retention strategies like (HRM strategies, internal marketing strategies and knowledge retention strategies), the employee turnover rate persisted. Another factor leading to turnover identified in this research is the difference between expectation and reality. Yang, Wan, and Fu (2012) realized that managers may need to know their subordinates’ needs when offering career advice, and training programs.
From this research survey, several causes were outlined that could be the major factors leading to high employee turnovers like (inappropriate recruiting process, dissatisfaction with salary and opportunities, inappropriate staff management, inappropriate work placement and job stress. To counter face these causals, hoteliers use several retention techniques. After the research survey, it is clear that hoteliers must need to understand causes for employee turnover through socializing tactics (mentoring programs) to reduce voluntary and involuntary turnover rate. It could be concluded from this research that understanding and meeting the employees’ intrinsic needs can significantly reduce turnover rate. Since this research is based on interviews from limited international hotel employees in Taiwan, the identified determinants may not be generalized.
O’neill, J.W. and Davis, K., 2011. Work stress and well-being in the hotel industry. International journal of hospitality management, 30(2), pp.385-390.
The following research article centrally focused on the major work stressors and employees’ well-being in the hotel industry. O’neill and Davis (2011) observed that employee job stress has been a substantial problem in the hospitality industry. The researchers aimed to carry out this research to detect the common work stressors from a random sample of 65 hotels. Moreover, the researchers outlined the differences in type and frequency of the stressors depending upon the job types (managerial vs non-managerial employees). From the study, the research presented the negative correlation between the quality of customer services and job stress in the hospitality industry.
It is evident from this article that within the hospitality industry, work stress does have a significant impact on employee performance. Over-committed employees are more exposed to work stress and health problems. Another evidence found from this research is the married women are reported to have higher work stressors than men. In this article, the discussion is based on the various stressors affecting the employee. To identify a single factor having a greater impact as a stressor, future research can be done.
Deery, M. and Jago, L., 2015. Revisiting talent management, work-life balance and retention strategies. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(3), pp.453-472.
The purpose to review this article is to analyze how hoteliers manage their employees, work-life balance and maintain its retention strategies. In this article, Deery and Jago (2015) studied the themes of talent management like Deery’s framework for organizational and industry attributes which involves a lack of career development, low pay, low skills etc; personal employee dimension, organizational strategies and work-life conflicts, to outline whether these factors improve job satisfaction, employee retention and organizational commitments. From this study, work-life balance appeared to become the most affecting variable in improving the turnover rate and “work-life balance” (WLB).
As an outcome of this study, a revised framework is developed that is focused on improving the employee retention rate through effective talent management. The revised framework proposed that employee job satisfaction will affect the “Work-Life Balance” (WLB) leading to stress. Thereof, these “work-life balance” elements (rewards, quality training, and career opportunities) must be addressed in order to have a skilled human resource in the hospitality industry.
Davidson, M.C. and Wang, Y., 2011. Sustainable labor practices? Hotel human resource managers views on turnover and skill shortages. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 10(3), pp.235-253.
In this research article, Davidson and Wang (2011) examined the recruiting practices that lead to high employee turnover and skills shortage in the Australian hospitality industry. The researchers used online questionnaires as a research tool. As a result, the findings established that the Australian hospitality industry face a shortage of labor. From this research, it is suggested that Australian hoteliers should concentrate on developing a more strategic approach to HRM, particularly recruiting practices and cost reduction to emphasize more on gathering quality and skilled labor.
It can be extracted from this research article that Australian hotels are commonly outsourcing the employees (cost-reduction strategy) in order to overcome the skilled labor shortage. While there are number of possible strategies that can reduce employee turnover. It is suggested that the hoteliers must focus on creating career opportunities for employees, changing management styles, or training employees to build a skilled and motivated workforce. The significance of this article is that it offers sustainable HRM practices in the Australian hospitality industry.
