Background information on the hospitality industry
Hospitality industry falls under the broader service industry. It includes clubs, restaurants, lodgings, hotels and amusement parks. The industry is changing tremendously. The change in people’s lifestyles, technological innovations, new patterns of traveling and the improved knowledge of the people influence the hotel’s design, construction, and marketing. Environmental changes also affect the hospitality industry, for instance, the desire to have a green park for resting and fresh air.
A drop in the economy of a particular country greatly affects the hospitality industry because people struggle to meet the necessities of life and fail to focus on the entertainments perceived as secondary needs. Investors in the hospitality industry compete to win the customers in the market.
Since people vary in terms of economic stability, social well being, technological expertise, education, age, interests and hobbies, any investment in the hospitality industry will most likely get customers. The target market affects the kind of staff employed in a particular place within the hospitality industry. The shift in generations from X to Y affects employees’ attitude towards their employers. Employees’ empowerment also affects service delivery in the hospitality industry.
Introduction to the article critique
The following is an analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of two articles about the hospitality industry. In particular, the focus is on the employees in the industry. The first article is an international journal published by Emerald entitled Different or Alike?: exploring the psychological contract and commitment of different generations of hospitality workers (Blomme, Marije, Matthijs, Schalk, & Xander, 2012).
The second article is a journal on industrial engineering and management published at the faculty of Economics & Business at the University Malaysia Sarawak. The document is entitled “Empowerment: hotel employees’ perspective” (Ayupp & Chung, 2010).
Synopsis of the two articles
The study aims at exploring the differences in generations by focusing on the psychological contract of hospitality employees and work outcomes such as their commitment and their intention to leave the company. The two generations of employees studied include X and Y. Results and findings showed that there is no significant difference for work atmosphere, salary and job description.
Differences noticed are that employees in generation X balance their work and life. In addition, they secure their jobs and are autonomous. Employees in generation Y, on the other hand, are not fully committed to their work and have a higher intention of turnover. The authors’ practical implication was to guide the hospitality managers on how to handle the workers’ generational differences in terms of their expectations from the employers. This assists the manager in establishing management styles and directs the formulation of human resource policies to handle the issues.
The study aims at examining how employees perceive their empowerment in the hospitality industry. It also aims at identifying the factors affecting employees’ empowerment within the industry (Ayupp & Chung, 2010). Factors identified include communication, coaching, participation, training, and reward. These factors are discussed and explored to find out how they relate to empowerment. The management should consider the above-stated factors for the employees to feel empowered (Ayupp & Chung, 2010).
Review and evaluation of the articles
Generation Y employees in the hospitality industry are not fully committed to their work and have a higher intention of turnover (Blomme, Marije, Matthijs, Schalk, & Xander, 2012). The employees in this generation are pro-active in their work and feel that the more they work the more the profits they bring to the company. They want to work according to the remuneration offered for certain work. They have intentions of starting up their own businesses and therefore do not see the need for enriching their employer; instead, they want to enrich themselves. This leads to the intention to leave the company they work with.
Employees in generation X, on the other hand, focus on the work-life balance and job security because they are limited to only what they know (Blomme, Marije, Matthijs, Schalk, & Xander, 2012). They do not want to adventure into other places within or outside the industry. This leads to a lower rate of turnover and full commitment to their work. They do not intend to start up their businesses but rather stay and work for their employer for the rest of their life and earn a pension.
However, generation Y and X vary greatly in relation to the work atmosphere, salary and job description (Blomme, Marije, Matthijs, Schalk, & Xander, 2012). Employees of generation Y undertake complex tasks because most of them are educated and easily learn new skills and knowledge. The issue of job group and salary scale leads to the changes in the salary, work atmosphere, and the job description.
Hospitality industry employees should be empowered. This allows them to work with little or no supervision at all. They gain confidence in undertaking a particular job because they feel valued in an organization. They also work with full commitment and responsibility because they feel that they are part of the organization. However, this empowerment should be to a certain extent so that the employees do not feel like they fully own the company. This would lead to a lack of respect for the managers.
Training and reward are the main factors leading to the employees’ empowerment especially in the hospitality industry. Training ensures that the employees are fully confident in whatever they are doing. For example, the receptionists and customer care representatives need training on how to handle various kinds of people who visit the hotel or restaurant. Hospitality employees also need training in hygiene because they handle the foods and drinks. The reward is very important too because the employees handle foods and drinks in addition to the expensive kitchen equipment. If not adequately rewarded for the work they are doing, employees would relax and intend to steal the equipment (Ayupp & Chung, 2010).
Socio-demographic factors influence the perception of empowerment of the employees. Such factors include literacy levels, age, and gender. A youth, for example, would feel empowered if trained and couched in his or her field of study, which is not valued by an old employee. Educated employees would feel empowered when rewarded with scholarships to study, which is not valued by uneducated employees.
Conclusion
According to the findings of this study, generation X employees are more fully committed and have no intention of labor turnover than generation Y employees do. However, the two generations vary in relation to the salary and the job description. The results and findings of Ayupp and Chung that hospitality employees be empowered are valid. However, the employers and managers when empowering the employees should consider socio-demographic factors.
References
Ayupp, K. & Chung, H. (2010). Empowerment: hotel employees’ perspective, Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 3 (3), 561-575.
Blomme, R., Marije, B., Matthijs, B., Schalk, R. & Xander, L. (2012). “Different or alike?: exploring the psychological contract and commitment of different generations of hospitality workers”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 24 (4), 553-573.