The increasing importance of the contribution brought about by the hospitality industries particularly tourism in the local as well as world economy is highly remarkable. Today, the hospitality industry is among the fastest growing economic sectors worldwide. In fact, the hospitality industry by itself is recognized as multi-billion dollar and still progressing industry (Gailliard 1998). In UK, hospitality industry is among the major economic forces as its enables growth and creation of job opportunities. According to the British Hospitality Association (2002), the business has employed over 1.8 million workers who were distributed within 300,000 hospitality establishments, totalling to revenue generation of more than £64 billion. Further, the hotel industry is the linchpin of the UK's leisure-related service sector: a big business with enormous growth potential. It also contributes to the country's attractiveness as an international business destination (Lovegrove & Lewis 1998).
Generally, hospitality industry covers the tourism and other tourism related enterprises. Thus, the concepts of hospitality management are almost related to the concepts of tourism management. Hospitality management involves a wide range of planning, organizing and controlling human and material resources within the business of providing an avenue of good reception and hospitality to customers (Gailliard 1998). Along with these functions, the hospitality industry includes workers who are equipped with the necessary skills to man the job – both men and women. On the other hand, tourism is traditionally defined as the travel of people to specific destination of their choice that is away from the usual places in which they go (Mathieson & Wall 1882). It includes the effective utilization and management of facilities that will attend to the needs arising along their planned travel. Masschelein and Buyten (2002) presented a more comprehensive definition of tourism which is a “set of activities performed by people who travel and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for the purposes of leisure, business, and others”. Basically, this is the principle behind tourism management – the effective and appropriate management of people in their traveling experiences.
Since tourism management involve taking care of clients, it is expected that workers who are operating in the said industry must be equipped with the proper skills, attitudes, and perspective towards the full maximization of their potentials in relation to customer service satisfaction. The role of emotions in connection to tourism management or hospitality management as whole is crucial. Thus, this paper discusses the key factors affecting the successful implementation of emotional labour in tourism management.
Emotional Labour
Emotional labour is defined as “the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display [which] is sold for a wage and therefore has exchange value” (Hochschild 1983, 10). It is a type of work that involves the stimulation or control of emotions particularly in relation to investing conditions of work. In relation to tourism management, emotional labour is highly utilized. The conditions and the pressures the work requires challenge the ability of every employee to manage their emotions.
Basing it from the above assumption that tourism management involve taking care of clients the best way possible, it is also imperative to identify the factors necessary in the whole process. For instance, most of the people inclined in the tourism related industry are women (Taylor & Tyler 2000). The preconceived and sexist view on women as nurturers equates them to be the “man” for the job that requires a sufficient emotional labour. This belief is commonly practice among the areas of hotel, restaurants, services in the airlines, and other professions that are identified as such. Emotional labour is not gender neutral as work containing significant amounts is dominated by women (Taylor & Tyler 2000). For example, working as cabin crew is defined as women's work by employers, employees and customers. But then again, emotional labour does not only affect women but also men. In general, emotional labour is the effective utilisation of emotions in order to serve the customers and the organisation as a whole. Furthermore, it allows an employee to contribute to the eventual growth and continuous improvement to the whole business.
More so, emotional labour is highly required among the tasks present in tourism management because tourism itself is the service that demands very satisfactory interpersonal communication among the employee and the clients. Thus, there are key factors to be considered in dealing to emotional labour relations of every worker involved in the business of tourism. Most of the time, this factors are common values essential in the human resources management of an organization. The following are significant factors to be considered to the successful implementation of emotional labour in tourism management.
Motivation
Basically, there are three assumptions in human motivation established in any organization. The first one assumes that motivation is inferred from a systematic analysis of how personal, task and environmental characteristics influence behaviour and job performance (Wiley 1997). The next one infers that motivation is not a fixed trait; but rather it refers to a dynamic internal state resulting from the influence of personal and situational factors. This means that motivation may change with changes in personal, social or other factors. Finally, motivation affects behaviour, rather than performance. Wiley explained: “Initiatives designed to enhance job performance by increasing employee motivation may not be successful if there is a weak link between job performance and an employee’s efforts” (p.263).
Definition of motivation varies. This is a basic example why the term ‘motivation’ is filled with complexities. Robbins (1998) stated that it is “the willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy some individual need”. On the other hand, Greenberg and Baron (1997) define the motivation as “the set of processes that arouse, direct and maintain human behaviour toward attaining some goal”. This definition contents three key essential aspects: arousal, direction and maintaining. Arousal is to do with the drive/energy behind people’s actions such as their interests to do the things or they do it just want making a good impression on others or to feel successful at what they do. Direction means the choices people make to meet the person’s goal. Maintaining behaviour could keep people persisting at attempting to meet their goal hence to satisfy the need that stimulated behaviour in the first place. When the workforce on an organization is effectively motivated, employees’ continuous improvement is not far at hand.
In connection to emotional labour, motivation of employees is vital. There are times that the pressures of the work exhaust most number of employees. During this instances, there are simple ways that can help them motivate themselves to work even better even with the presence of some barriers in their effective service management. For example, a tap in the shoulder from the manager, kind words from co-workers, a simple praise, or mere gestures of appreciation can highly motivate an employee. Furthermore, incentives and rewards may also be offered by the management. The objective of the reward system has been to motivate employees in delivering the best service they can. In order to do this, rewards are distributed in such a way that the more valuable employees will be left with a feeling of satisfaction (Campbell & Pritchard 1976). Pay is also a contributory element in the process of motivation. The reason for basing pay upon performance is the impact that may result from employees' pay satisfaction, job satisfaction, and performance. While there are other reasons for making pay contingent on performance, such as the effect it may have on absenteeism and turnover, these are the most important ones. Indeed, the primary reason for having such a pay system is the potential it has for the motivation of performance (Evans 1986).
Coordination
Hardy and Clegg (1996) believe that as modern organizations grew larger, skills become increasingly fragmented and specialized and positions become more functionally differentiated. However, it should be likewise put in mind that people are diverse and complex beings. In tourism management, sometimes it is very crucial that collaborative effort must be utilised. For instance, the dealing with unreasonable clients stresses an airline attendant (Taylor & Tyler 2000). There is a need for reinforcement and collaboration.
As social beings, employees are entitled to their own opinions, needs and expectations. The role of HR is one of catalytic conversion that prepares organizations to understand their history, strategize for the present, and create visions for the future as a one of visionary guide, change agent, and culture monitor (Williams 1995). The HR department has the responsibility of making employees feel they are crucial in the efficient and effective functions and operations of the company especially during times of organizational development wherein change is inevitable. In this light, the management was confronted with the need to promote positive working relationship and good communication channelling among the personnel in the establishment whether between the supervisor and the subordinates or employee to peers and colleagues.
Commitment
Argyris and Schon (1996) believe that organisational behaviour is resistant to change due to human cognitive processes and defensive routines which were accumulated from past experiences forming beliefs that rationalize every action. Such human characteristics prevent managers from learning that their behaviour is inconsistent with their aspirations which could lead to the persistence of organizational policies and practices in the context of new business environment and realities.
In tourism management, commitment for service is demanded. Such inclination is natural to employees, however, due to some consequences and circumstances occurring in the process, there are some changes occurring in their behaviours. To resolve this, the process of motivation plays a great role. It is because employees view recognition of work as both an accomplishment of and a form of compensation to their knowledge, skills, and efforts rendered in the endeavour, as Cottringer & Kirby (2005) point out, “Most employees have in common a desire for achievement and recognition, but each employee is motivated to perform well for different reasons, and each may want recognition to take a different form.”
Competency
Keeping an organisation’s place in the business world as competitive innovator and provider of a specific service has sustained its ever increasing number of customers. However, the company, in order to be successful in their implementation of any change in their operations and transactions, has also considered the not just the competence and competitiveness of the organization as a whole but also take into account the competence and competitive behaviours of the people that run the business. A weak workforce simply means less productivity and progress, while a strong workforce means more. Leadership potentials among the management personnel are highly evaluated during times of change and participation and aggressive working environment among the staff were likewise monitored for the smooth pace of the improvement processes within the business organization.
Ensuring employee performance requires establishing a level of competence which the employee should be aware of as a target to be achieved. This is the measure to be used by managers in determining compliance with the standard and in identifying problems met by the employees in meeting the standard. In developing a training program to enhance the productivity of employees the manager will look at the competency problems of the employees and fashion the program to enable the employees to reach and even exceed the competency standard established for their work. This requires a great amount of perceptiveness on the part of the manager in determining what method of training will be most effective in improving employee competence. Some of the training includes computer software training, internet-based training and self teaching by encouraging innovativeness in the workplace (Sims 1998).
Tourism management requires a wide range of planning, organizing and controlling human and material resources within the business of providing an avenue of good reception and hospitality to customers (Gailliard 1998), thus every employee is expected to exude the most appropriate skills, attributes and strengths in relation to serving the clients. The role of emotions must be recognized since tourism deals with people and their satisfaction.
Leadership
Leadership comprises the aptitude and ability to inspire and influence the thinking, attitudes, and behaviour of other people (Adler 1991; Bass, 1985; Bass & Stogdill 1989; Bennis & Nanus 1985; Kotter 1988). It is a process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of other individuals in the achievement of a common task (Chemers 1997). The major points of this definition are that leadership is a group activity, is based on social influence, and revolves around a common task. Leadership has different styles that a leader may follow or may not. Klein (1996) distinguishes the basics elements of leadership. Leadership is considered to be situational; it is dependent on organizational, environmental, and historical context. Relational, signify the relationship between the leader and the followers, and last element is the distinct from position. Structural leadership plays a decisive role in shaping the organizations. Structural leaders can be successful when they have the right answer for their organization and they can get their answer acknowledged and implemented (Sorra 1996).
An effective employee in the tourism sector is an asset and facilitator who motivates and empowers subordinates. To be an effective leader, he/she must use skills and creativity in helping people to achieve surprising outcome. They build organizations that obtain their success from a highly committed and productive work force. Moreover, successful leaders are advocates who understand that influence needs to begin with an understanding of others’ concerns and interests (Anderson & King 1993).
The implications of this perspective to the role of the future managers in the tourism industry is to understand their own frame and its limits, take advantage of their strengths and must work hard to improve on their weaknesses and build teams that supply leadership in all modes (Noori 1996). The intervention of emotional labour will truly guarantees a maximum performance and service satisfaction.
Customer Satisfaction
One of the most important elements for the hospitality industry particularly tourism is the presence of the customers. Without the clients, efficient services of the business cannot be delivered. Moreover, the tourism industry needs the response of the customers as this will determine the demand pattern of the business. The customer then serves as the final judge of satisfaction in relation to the quality of the products and services provided. This pattern shifts the focus on total quality management and quality assurance.
In order to achieve customer satisfaction, the business should consider individual customer demands and needs. As every customer need is different from another, customization is very important. In applying customization, two factors must be taken into account. First, one must consider whether customization is possible based on the services’ characteristics and delivery systems. Second, one must identify the amount of judgement that can be exercised by the customer contact personnel in defining the nature of service individual customers receive. This is necessary as some service concepts are standardized while others are able to provide various alternatives and options (Spillane 2001).
Some class of services do not only require a high level of customization but also needs customer contact personnel to deliver the services to the customers. This type of service provision is also known as prescriptive, where the focus of control is transferred from the user to the provider. Professional services of the hospitality industry as well as accounting, medicine, law and architecture are included in this category. These knowledge industries need to have sufficient education and training so as to satisfy individual customer needs. This is one of the reasons why literature on service industry pertains to the interaction between the service provider and the customer as this relation determines the degree of customer satisfaction. This in particular is applicable to the hospitality industry (Spillane 2001).
According to Mainardi (1980), hospitality professionals are dependent on the contact and the reception they receive from the customers. Hence, hospitality personnel must have a certain degree of availability towards the customers, a substantial margin of initiative and a strong sense personal responsibility. In a tourist interaction, employees in fact serve as a mediator between the clientele and the structure of the industry. This role is very much significant in obtaining the desired results of both the customers and the business. In satisfying the wishes of the customers, the ethical and psychological factors must also be involved among hospitality professionals. There is considerable evidence that clients appreciate actual interaction with people; thus, the treatment clients should receive from service providers must be different from what they receive on daily routines.
Indeed, customer satisfaction is an important element of the hospital industry that makes it different from manufactured products. However, while interpersonal skills are learned from, hospitality and customer service programs, the effectiveness and the quality of service provided should go beyond eye contact and warm greetings (Taylor 2000). The generation of customer satisfaction should then be produced out of effort and good rapport. Most people equate customer service with personal interaction, while few of them realize the complexity of business systems involve in it. Without these helpful systems, the smile or the warm greeting service employees provide will lead to minimal results.
However, the fact that tourism is a collection of various individuals and cultures, there is diversity issues among employees that will definitely affect the organisational workforce. Diversity in behaviour and culture builds gaps and biases among participants. Personal issues such as beliefs, practices, ideologies, and personal limitations may defer service. These may serve as barriers and problems in achieving the best possible outcomes expected. To fully manage organisational culture into competitive advantage, the management can turn it into positive approach.
Organisational Culture
The culture in a particular workplace is an interactive one. Workers have different culture that makes them distinct above others. However, one great factor that influences the culture in a particular workplace is the behaviour of the workers themselves (Ramsey 2004). In this regard, it is found that a certain workplace has different and diversified types of workers.
Zammuto (1992), argue that culture is the single most important factor contributing for the success or failure of organizations. Some suggests a psychological theory of the link between organizational culture and business performance. Some perceived culture as a reward of work for if we sacrifice much to the organization – a form of return to the exerted effort. Responsive culture provides the organization the ability to be culturally inventive which is also related to leadership and top management has the responsibilities for building strong cultures. Leaders create the social reality of the organization; they mould the values and attend to the vision and mission of the organization. Relationship culture is also generally constructed and it reflects the meanings that are constituted in communication and that form commonly acknowledged definitions of the situation (Bolman & Deal 1991).
Culture is controlled and it refers to the processes that unite the organization together. It must be consensual rather than conflict-oriented. Idealism of organization culture reinforces the unifying strengths of fundamental goals and establishes a sense of common responsibility. Task culture or performance culture are the considered to be the opposite of role cultures. It maintains the strong sense of the basic mission of the organization and teamwork is the basis on which jobs are designed.
Managing Diversity
"Because management philosophies and practices are culturally conditioned, it stands to reason that there is much to be gained by including cultural studies in all management or professional development. This is particularly relevant during the global transformation underway. Culturally skilled leaders are essential for the effective management of global corporations, as well as for the furtherance of mutually beneficial world trade and exchange." (Harris & Moran 2000).
The concept of culture at work, whether international, local or at the organizational level, extensive emphasis should be warranted for because effective HRM practices plays an effective role on achieving high performance levels of employees.
According to Aronson (2002), diversity is important in an organization because it is about inclusiveness; that it's not simply a code word for minority concerns, but embraces a new way of thinking about maximizing the potential of everyone within the organization. It is basically about providing equality within the organization. Blair et al (2000) stated that since the early 1990s, the debate on equal opportunities (EO) at work has been characterised by the introduction of the relatively new concept of managing diversity. With its many definitions, managing diversity was defined best by Bartz et al (1990). They defined it as: “…understanding that there are differences among employees and that these differences, if properly managed, are an asset to work being done more efficiently and effectively. Examples of diversity factors are race, culture, ethnicity, gender, age, a disability, and work experience”.
EO is different for managing diversity. EO focuses on discrimination while managing diversity is concerned with ensuring that all people maximise their potential (Kandola 1995; McDougall 1996). Thus the emphasis in managing diversity is that differences between people should be effectively managed (Cassell 1996) as opposed to being avoided (Liff & Wajcman 1996), or viewed as a liability (Wilson & Iles 1999). Furthermore, the managing diversity approach focuses on individuals in contrast to EO’s focus on groups such as: women, ethnic minorities, and disabled people.
The managing diversity approach has been suggested as engaging with a strategic perspective, playing a critical role in ensuring economic and competitive success (Wilson 1996), and is described as being the responsibility of all employees (Ross & Schneider 1992), but particularly managers (Kandola & Fullerton 1994). EO on the other hand, is largely considered as the concern of personnel departments or human resource specialists (Wilson 1996).
The role of managing diversity in business has been considered important particularly to the welfare of the employees. It places an important emphasis on the nature of organizational culture (Ross & Schneider 1992; Kandola 1996; McDougall 1996) and management styles (Iles 1995). Certainly it has been asserted that cultural transformation is integral to the managing diversity approach (Carnevale & Stone 1994), with the organisation adapting and changing, rather than individuals conforming to long established processes (Carnevale & Stone, 1994; Liff 1999).
Synthesis
Recognizing the significant role of emotions in tourism management leads to the effective performance of service and achievement of goals. The presented key factors to successfully implement emotional labour in the tourism industry are innate to every employer and employee on an organisation. However, there is an immediate and continuous evaluation on the aspect of providing services among customers. The employees must be equipped with proper motivation that the management should define. Employees must be innately motivated with their personal drive to their chosen career. Further, leadership is also needed. On the aspect of the employee, the concern and awareness to the limits and drawbacks of employees, policies, and even styles must be taken into full attention. The coordination, competence, and commitment among everyone will result to the success of the company.
Emotional labour clings on the emotions of every participant in the tourism industry. The role of effective HR management is also contributory in the whole practice. Believing that the most important asset of a business is the people in order to achieve sustained business success is the core philosophy of human resource management. Realizing this leads to a strategic management of people within the organization especially to the areas where tourism management is pertinent.
0 comments:
Post a Comment