Research Korner: Employment Sector

What is Human Resource Management?

According to Sims (2002), Human resources management is the term increasingly used to refer to the philosophy, policies, procedures, and practices related to the management of an organization’s employees. Human resources management is particularly concerned with all the activities that contribute to successfully attracting, developing, motivating, and maintaining a high-performing workforce that results in organizational success (pp. 2-3). Human resources management (HRM) involves the establishment and execution of policies, programs, and procedures that influence the performance, capabilities, and loyalty of the employees of an organization. Through these policies and procedures, individuals are attracted, retained, motivated, and developed to perform the work of the organization. It is through these policies and procedures that the organization seeks to mold and shape the actions of its employees to operate successfully, comply with various public policies, provide satisfactory quality of employment, and improve its position in the marketplace through strengthened ability to compete and serve (Clardy 1996, p.1). HRM practices influence employee skills through the acquisition and development of human capital. Effective recruitment and selection practices can provide the firm with highly qualified applicants. Training and development opportunities contribute to increasing human capital. HRM practices can also influence levels of motivation by performance appraisals, pay-for-performance incentives, and internal promotions systems based on merit (Brown et al., 2003). In the process of HRM, there is an increasing emphasis on the personal needs of the organization and its members. How effectively employees contribute to organization goals depends to a larger extent upon the ability of its HRM staff. The challenge is to create an organizational environment in which each employee can grow and develop to his or her fullest extent. Such an environment increases the likelihood of a successful organization, and this is what HRM is all about, making organizations successful. Human resources management efforts are planned, systematic approaches to increasing organizational success. They involve HRM programs aimed at developing HRM strategies for the total organization with an eye toward clarifying an organization’s current and potential problems and developing solutions for them. They are oriented toward action, the individual, the global marketplace, and the future. Today it would be difficult to envision any organization achieving success without efficient HRM programs and activities (Sims 2002, p.3).  Organizational Strategy and Human Resources Management             According to Sims (2002), HRM does not occur in a vacuum but instead occurs in a complex and dynamic milieu of forces within the organizational context. The view that HRM personnel are simply “paper pushers” continues to disappear, to be replaced by the notion that they play a key role in helping to achieve organizational success and determining the organization’s competitive advantage (p.23). HRM managers and staff are adopting a strategic perspective of their job and they are recognizing the critical linkages between organizational strategy and the HRM strategy. The HRM personnel are viewed as strategic partners that work toward the organization’s strategic goals. Strategy and HRM Effective HRM practices can enhance an organization’s competitive advantage by creating both cost leadership and differentiation. In today’s competitive global environment, maintaining a competitive advantage puts a premium on having a committed and competent workforce. Low-cost, high-quality products and services are a result of committed employees all working hard to produce the best products and provide the best services that they can at the lowest possible cost. The HRM function focuses its activities on ways to help the organization achieve corporate goals like growing operations through recruiting and hiring employees, orienting and training them, and making their initial and future job assignments. When organizations view the HRM area as a true strategic partner, they also use input from HRM managers in their initial formulation of corporate strategy. HRM contributions to a cost leadership strategy focus on recruiting and retaining employees who can work as efficiently and productively as possible. On the other hand, more experienced employees may demand higher wages, so it might also be possible to reengineer jobs to require minimal skills and then to select employees who can perform the jobs but who may not remain long with the organization. A number of organizations (i.e., fast-food restaurants) often control labor costs with this type of an approach. Training may emphasize efficient production methods, and reward systems may be based more on quantity than on quality of output. One popular approach to reducing costs today is to move production to countries where labor costs are lower than in the home country. HRM managers contribute to the successful use of a differentiation strategy by recruiting and retaining employees who can perform high-quality work and/or who can provide exemplary customer service. Likewise, employee training will likely focus on quality improvement, and reward systems may be based on factors such as quality of work and customer satisfaction. As noted earlier, functional strategies address how the organization will manage its basic functional activities, such as marketing, finance, operations, research and development, and human resources management. Thus, it is at this level that HRM strategy formulation or planning formally be gins to take shape. It is clearly important that an HRM functional strategy be closely integrated and coordinated with the corporate, business, and other functional strategies. Indeed, without such integration and coordination, organizational competitiveness will clearly suffer. As effective partners in helping organizations successfully achieve their goals, HRM managers need to have a clear understanding of exactly what are the organization’s strategies, and then they must ensure that their own efforts are consistent with and provide support for those strategies. To the extent that the HRM function is seen as a strategic partner and/or a center of expertise, of course, its managers should also be actively involved in the formulation of corporate and business strategies as well as other functional strategies.   STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (SHRM) One prominent figure in the development of the SHRM perspective argues that changes like those discussed at the end of Chapter 1 present a number of competitive challenges that are quite different from those faced by organizations in past years (Ulrich, 1997). All of the challenges continue to place additional pressure on organizations to be innovative and create new ways of doing business with new technologies, new products, and new services to meet an increasingly diverse and demanding group of customers. The enhanced value of innovation in determining competitive advantage requires organizations to attract, train and develop, and retain employees of the highest quality. Over time and throughout rapidly changing circumstances, organizations must be able to sustain the competitive advantage that the knowledge and skills of these employees provide. In the past, competitive advantage could be gained through finding better, cheaper access to financial capital, or marketing a new product, or inventing some new technological gizmos. While cheap and ready access to capital, high-quality products, and new technology remain important components of any organization’s competitive advantage, today’s business environment requires a greater focus on the human resources element in business. Out of this realization has come SHRM. Before one can understand what SHRM is, it is essential to have a clear picture of the “traditional” view of human resources management. Traditional personnel management is still the prevalent form of HRM activity in many organizations. From the traditional perspective, personnel managers handle administrative tasks. The traditional role of the personnel department revolves around the following tasks: human resources planning; recruiting staff; job analysis; establishing performance review systems; wage, salary, and benefits administration; employee training; personnel record keeping; legislative compliance (affirmative action, EEO, etc.); and labor relations.

What is Human Resource Management?

According to Sims (2002), Human resources management is the term increasingly used to refer to the philosophy, policies, proc...

Influence of an Individual’s Perceptions and Interpretation In Decision-Making and Judgments

Every single day, people are faced with decisions whether be it as simple as what to do or what to wear for the day. Every single minute is characterized by choices, choices that people make, rationally or irrationally.  decision making is as essential process in the human nature. Much has been learned about the psychology of human decision making as well as decision making within organizations. This paper will examine and assess the extent by which people’s judgments and decisions are influenced by one’s perception and interpretation of the world.             There are many factors affecting our choices in life. The field of judgment and decision making is concerned on how people combine desires and beliefs to choose a course of action. There are three components in the conceptual design for a decision. It includes courses of action or choice options and alternatives; beliefs about objective states, processes and events in the world including outcome states and means to achieve them; and desires, values or utilities that describe the consequences associated with the outcomes of each action-event combination. Decision making is central to every human activity; thus, everybody is a decision-maker. It must be noted though that good decision making begins with a consecutive, purposeful, strategic-thinking process. In addition, good decisions are those that efficiently choose or select means that are available in a given circumstance or situation to attain the goals of the decision maker.             Defines a decision as “the act or process of deciding; a conclusion or resolution reached especially as to future action, after consideration; the settlement of a question; a formal judgment; tendency to decide firmly; resoluteness”. Many theories of decision making exist in disciplines for both scientific and social science paradigms. In statistics, decisional theory is a strategy of measuring the decision-making process, or making it into mathematical form to make the most efficient and effective choice. In early economic theories, there is also a decision-making model of economic utility wherein people choose the best option that provides the maximum positive utility. The aforementioned early theories are also referred to as classical decision-making which basically shows how decisions are made in ideal situations. In psychology, the highlight of the process of decision-making has been a primary area of focus and study. In Janis and Mann’s Conflict Model of Decision-making, the process of decision=making is viewed as a stressful process which involves an assessment of risk and an assessment of success and time availability to make a decision. This model hypothesize that people make a decision through a decision balance sheet wherein individuals evaluate the gains and losses of a decision on the basis of tangible gains or losses for oneself and for significant others and approval or disapproval from the self and from significant others as well.             Usually though, our decisions and judgments are primarily affected and influenced by how we perceive and interpret the world. In psychology, perception is a “neurological process of observation and interpretation; any neurological process of acquiring and mentally interpreting information from the senses”. It is the process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to what happens in their environment perceptions are essential because individuals act upon their interpretation of events and at other times fail to act because of perceptions. People are sometimes faces with the same events; however, there are different perceptions and views on such same events. Comments that perception is like beauty. It is in the eye of the beholder.             It must be noted that an individual’s behavior is based upon their perception of what reality, not on reality itself actually. The world as it is perceived or viewed is the world that is behaviorally important. Each one of use the five senses to experience our surroundings. They are the senses of sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste. Organizing all these information that we receive from these senses is called perception states that perception is a cognitive process. Perception actually helps individuals select, organize, store and interpret stimuli into a meaningful and rational picture of the world. As each person gives one meaning to stimuli, different individuals “see” the same things in different ways.  Obstacles in Making Accurate Perceptions             Sims has outlined some obstacles that hinder individuals from making accurate perceptions. They are stereotyping, first impression error, halo effect, contrast effect, selective perception and implicit personality theories. Each of these obstacles will be examined and discussed in the proceeding part of this paper. Stereotyping. Stereotypes are considered to be a group concept, actually held by one social group about another. They are often used in a negative or prejudicial sense and are usually used to justify certain discriminatory behavior . The basis for commonly held stereotypes may be associated to one’s sex, race, ethnic group and age. An example of stereotyping may be: the belief or perception that older workers are not capable of being trained for new tasks or younger workers cannot handle responsibility. Even though stereotyping may seem inaccurate and worthless, in some cases, there be “kernel of truth” in the basis of stereotyping; Stereotypes are sometimes based on actual group characteristics. It must be noted though that as stereotypes are some typical beliefs based on the element of truth wherein the beliefs are derived from observations that hold true for the entire group but do not hold much truth and accuracy for given individuals in the group. First Impression Error. As the saying goes, “first impressions last”. First impression errors mean that a person may observe a very brief bit about another person’s behavior in their first encounter and conclude that this behavior mirrors what the person is really like. Such impressions may be dangerous in interviews for work as these first impressions become the lasting impressions in the basis for their long-term employment relationships.    The Halo Effect. The halo effect is described as when a person good at something is assumed to be good at something else. This positive assumption creates a halo.  Gives two instances for this type of obstacle in making accurate perceptions. Example one: Let us say that you are a supervisor in a machine shop. An employee, let us call him John, has been one of the best drill operators in your section for the last ten years. A lathe operator is in need in another section. So, you recommend John, assuming that he will do superb at the lathe as he does in drill pressing. However, John fails; he may be very good in the other task but it doesn’t mean that he will definitely be great with the other task as well. He lacked the necessary skill and the training for the other task. Figuratively speaking, you have somehow placed a halo over John’s head. Another example may be when two people have a violent fistfight on the job. One is rather a personal friend of yours with whom you socialize off the job. There may be a tendency for you to place a halo over your friend’s head by assuming that the other person must have been the cause of the fight and conflict . Projection. Projection happens when an individual credit our own feelings and attributes to others. People engaging in projection have the tendency to perceive others according to what they themselves are like instead of according to what the person observed is really like. It must be noted that the observations may be accurate as they make observations of people who are actually like them; however, accuracy don’t always happen as they might have observations on people who are not like them. So, when engaging in projection, one must respond to individual differences. Contrast Effects.  Contrast effect can distort perceptions. A very common example is when illustrated in an old saying among entertainers that states never to follow an act which has kids or animals in it. There is a common belief that majority of the audience just love and adore kids and animals that the entertainer will look bad in comparison. This specific example portrays how contrast effects can affect and distort perceptions. States that people don’t assess a person in isolation. A person’s reaction to one person is influenced by other people we have just encountered. Selective Perception. Selective perception happens when perceptions arise from influences by one’s own interests. When individuals can longer take in all stimuli received, one has the tendency to select out certain elements. For instance, as one purchase a car, for some unknown reason you just begin to notice the same type of car every now and then on the streets compared to before purchasing the car . Implicit Personality Theories. As people have individual mini-theories on how people look and behave, this will result to inaccurate perceptions. These theories, helps each one of us to organize our perceptions and take shortcuts rather than incorporating new information all the time. Adds that people are cognitive misers. As the world becomes more complex and confusing and as people have only a limited mental capacity, people try to make sense of the world by grouping traits and appearances into clusters that may seem to go together. The discussion on what hinders making accurate perceptions have enlightened us on the issue of how much one’s perceptions and interpretation of the world can affect and influence decision-making as well as making judgments. We have seen how perceptions are distorted by stereotyping, first impression error, halo effect, contrast effect, selective perception and implicit personality theories. Researches on judgment and decision making have recognized important limitations in cognitive and emotional processing. It must be noted that errors in decisions occurring due to biases have widespread effects. Many scientists, economists and psychologists are driven to make behavioral assumptions in the market place as a result of real-world violations of the rational choice theory. In psychology, many examinations are made in the concept of rationality. Psychologists are further examining different and alternative frameworks and theories to explain ways of how people make decisions and what influences them upon making their decisions. The future of judgment and decision-making research within psychology lies in its capability and capacity to develop other theories and frameworks that make associations with research on emotions and cognition, in addition to social and institutional factors. Such associations will definitely influence and affect our views in decision making and adjustability and provide good foundations for research in many years ahead.

Influence of an Individual’s Perceptions and Interpretation In Decision-Making and Judgments

Every single day, people are faced with decisions whether be it as simple as what to do or what to wear for the day. Ev...

TOURISM IN UK

Introduction   Tourism has continued to be an essential component of development planning in nations. In some instances tourism has been perceived as a redeemer to sluggish industries, generating new connections and demands. Specifically, the diverse subdivisions of the tourism industry, such as hospitality, catering, food and beverages, tours, recreational activities and the entertainment industry, transport, souvenir manufacturing and sale are accounted to unlock enormous outlooks for employment and profits to varied populations. Governments, connected business clusters and international financing organizations are inclined to look upon tourism as an uncontaminated industry. (Ghimire, 2001) An element of the tourism industry includes the emergence of theme parks as well as amusement parks. It is this sector where tourism as a recreation is among the emerging industries all over the world. With the impetus provided by United States companies such as Walt Disney, theme and amusement parks have become among the most sought after places for the public. This study will look into the business environment of the theme park industry in the UK setting. In order to coherently discuss the said subject, the paper will be divided into several parts so as to provide a more detailed discussion on the specific issues concerning the theme park industry in the United Kingdom.     The Theme Park Industry   According to a report of the European Commission (2005), the term “amusement park” is used to indicate theme parks, amusement parks and water parks. In the same report, they stated that the past two decades presented an astounding yet constant increase of amusement parks in the region. Along with this increase in the number of amusement parks is the emergence of rides with over 170 kilometres per hour as well as those possessing falls that comprise of over 100 metres. In the context of the United Kingdom on the other hand, the notion of “theme park” has constantly been alluded to the by the critics of the Conservatives throughout the nation’s loss in its industrial base in the 80’s. (Woudhuysen, 2001) However, the industry of amusement parks and theme parks in UK has been “deeply assimilated” in the culture of the said nation.   As Woudhuysen (2001) noted in his study, the notion of theme parks and amusement parks have similar qualities as that of what he noted as “fairs of old.” He claimed that the amusement parks of today provide entertainment to the public by means of performing arts. Actors in costume as well as musical shows still prevail in the industry. However, it is the presence of rides and other “electromechanical delights” that pulls people in coming into this place nowadays. To some extent, this still reveal some sort of emulation of the fairs of old. These theme parks continues to allow the attendees to participate in the fun and games provided for by the theme of the place. The presence of such rides and electromechanical delights makes this mission of the theme parks to happen.   Among the major them parks in the United Kingdom includes Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures, and Drayton Manor Park. These establishments make over ₤30M annually and attract several millions of visitors yearly. (Woudhuysen, 2001) There are other parks that focus more on the “theme” rather than to the thrills provided by the rides in it. There is the Centre Parcs, which is a Dutch theme park, focuses more on the provision of “sports, leisure, and environmental facilities, using a blend of sophisticated technologies.” (Woudhuysen, 2001) Another is Warwick Castle. It is a 60 acre park which focuses more on the medieval themes. Thus, activities such as jousting and archery are among the more favourite of those in the visitors.               Stakeholders in the Industry   According to the report by the European Commission (2005), there are three sectors that comprise the industry. These include the rides manufacturers, the amusement parks, and the people working in these amusement parks. The manufacturers of the rides are generally represented by the European Association for the Amusement Supplier Industry (EAASI). On the other hand, the amusement parks are represented by the European Federation of Leisure Parks (Europarks). Similarly, the said workers in these amusement parks are represented by the European Showmen’s Union (USU/UFE). These three players are considered as the major stakeholders in the industry of theme parks and amusement parks.   The European Association for the Amusement Supplier Industry (EAASI) was established in 2000. Its main mission is to raise the industry profile of ride manufacturing and tackle issues regarding their trade particularly with regards to safety standards, European legislation, and international relations. The European Federation of Leisure Parks (Europarks), on the other hand, was established in 1981 represents over two hundred amusement parks in Europe. Similar to that of the EAASI, the intention of Europarks is also geared towards several agenda. However, the prevailing one is the maintenance of their reputation of safety among the members.   Responsibilities Present in the Theme Park Industry   In the said industry, it has earlier been noted that the existence of rides and other “electromechanical delights” has been the main attraction for theme parks. It is thus the responsibility of the members and players of the theme park industry to carry out risk assessment procedures with regards to these rides particularly with its effect to the consuming public. This means that the amusement parks have a responsibility to its consumers with regards to the effects of their normal operations and abnormal operation. The normal operations constitute the occurrence where the rides are operated as planned. In this context, the consumer may possibly encounter dizziness or nausea as a result of rides with “extreme thrills” involved. On the other hand, the abnormal operations constitute events where the ride does not acquire the intended purpose which normally brings about accidents. This could provide consequent injuries such as bruises, trauma, or even death. The report of the European Commission revealed that there have been 19,000 injuries that have transpired throughout the member states. (European Commission, 2005) Moreover, the table below summarizes the recent accidents that took place in UK concerning theme parks.   Policies and its Effects on the Industry   In 1997, the UK Health and Safety Executive presented a publication regarding the safe practice of fairgrounds and amusement parks (HSG175). The said guideline provides courses of action that intends to manage the risk levels of the rides and other operations that are carried out in amusement and theme parks. In its section F, it takes into consideration the duties of the controllers, purchasing and selling of an attraction, adjustments and fixing of the machines, efficient maintenance of the rides, existence of a safe system of operation, proper selection and training of employees, and the proper procedures once an emergency transpires.   However, compared to its contemporaries in EU, this piece of legislation is weak considering other members of the union have enacted specific laws regarding the conduct in Amusement Parks. Such countries include Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. As compared to the legislation provided by the said countries the one presented in UK is non-regulatory in nature. This means that the failure to follow such actions stated in the said guidelines will not necessarily place the Amusement parks in direct liability once any abnormal operations take place.   Conclusion and Recommendations   The theme park industry in the United Kingdom is continuously a growing area. However, the discussions above revealed that it has been marred by accidents in the past years. The existence of such risk in these areas defeats its purpose of providing fun and recreation for the consumers. It is thus recommended by this study that the government of UK create an actual law that regulates the industry. This will be able the government to effectively control the industry by the provision of sanctions for breach of such laws. The current presence of non-regulatory measures provided by the government does well to the industry. However, these non-regulatory measures are only effective when the industry supports these regulations. It is the position of the paper that the government should step up and create a model that would establish a safe and risk free industry among amusement and theme parks.

TOURISM IN UK

Introduction Tourism has continued to be an essential component of development planning in nations. In some insta...

Key Factors for Successful Implementation of Emotional Labour in Tourism Management

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.

Key Factors for Successful Implementation of Emotional Labour in Tourism Management

The increasing importance of the contribution brought about by the hospitality industries particularly tourism in the local as well as wo...

THE RELATIONSHIP OF TRAINING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND EMPLOYEE JOB SATISFACTION IN TESCO

1.1 Introduction             The effective management of employees and the organisation as whole is increasingly being recognized as a major determinant of success or failure in different business (Tung, 1984).  In a business, the employees are considered as one of the important aspects which enable the company to achieve their organisational goal. The employees are the one who are considered as the valuable asset of an organisation. In return, the management of the organisation should be able to develop a management system that would help the company retain good staff and to encourage them to give of their best while at work requires attention to the financial and psychological and even physiological rewards offered by the organization.             Managing people in an organization or a working place is commonly the responsibilities of the human resources management of an organisation.  It includes a variety of activities, decides on staffing needs such as how to fill needed positions within the budget, employing, orienting and training the working force and ensuring that these employees will perform well in order to contribute for the growth of the organisation.  These managing people also are responsible for managing employees’ benefits and compensation, keeping employee records, legal issues, and relations with unions.  For this study, the researcher will attempt to determine the relationships of training development programs and employee satisfaction in Tesco. Furthermore, this dissertation also aims to identify whether training really enables the employee to be satisfied.   Background of the study Training is an important part of any development program a company wishes to undertake. This complex task is within the responsibility of the human resource management department. Company training can either be formal or outsourced (Hughey and Mussnug, 1997). Training can be a formal process in a sense that the entire departments are devoted to conducting both initial and ongoing employee training programmes (Hughey and Mussnug, 1997). On the other hand, some also seek the help of outside consultants to conduct employee training sessions (Hughey and Mussnug, 1997). Of course, the motivation behind employee training differs from each company. Unfortunately, according to Hughey and Mussnug (1997) “Sadly, many companies conduct training simply for appearance’s sake” (p.52). The most frequent motivation is to comply with standard regulations rather than to actually enhance employee skills dedicatedly.             With that said, the true intent of training is perhaps missed by employers who implement and conduct training simply for appearance’s sake. Training should be conducted to create self-esteem for employees – to make them feel they are effective enough to handle the job. But because of the lack of data and lack of perspective on training of companies implementing it, is training really significant with the satisfaction of employees? This problem will be explored in this study, specifically on one of the most popular supermarket chain in the United Kingdom – Tesco.   Research Problem             There is still lack of evidence on the relationship between training development and employee satisfaction in organizations, specifically in the retail store industry. Tesco, being one of the few popular retail supermarket chains in the UK, have employed hundreds of employees over the years and most of those employees underwent training. However, there is lack of evidence or proof on whether their employees are actually satisfied prior the training, or even with the thought that they are being trained.   Research Questions The main goal of this study is to identify the relationship of training development programs and employee satisfaction in Tesco. Specifically,  the paper attempts to answer the following queries: Ø      Is training development positively significant with employee satisfaction? Ø      How do employees view training development? Ø      In the employees’ own views, what are the advantages and disadvantages of training development? Ø      Do employees prefer being trained or do they prefer finding out things with themselves?   Objectives of the Study             The study will try to achieve the following aims: Ø      To know which types of training strategies do Tesco use and determine if training development is positively significant with employee satisfaction. Ø      To recommend a sound conclusion based on the findings and literature review gathered.   2.1 Literature Review 2.1.1 Employee Training People are the most important part of any organisation may it being profit or profit organisation.  In line with this, human resources must be developed and improved from time to time to make them become an efficient asset of an organisation. Human resource development is the process of developing human potential through organisation development and personnel training. Typically, these activities encompass team building, executive coaching, diversity training, and most education and training programs, along with action research designed to uncover organisational issues (Brinkerhoff, 1991).             HRD has served the needs of organisations to provide human resources with up-to-date expertise. Advances in HRD models and processes have kept pace with the increasingly sophisticated information and production technologies that are prevalent in most, if not all, industries. Critical business issues, from new marketing strategies to innovations in production technology, are based on, among other factors, the performance capabilities of those expected to use these new work systems. As a factor integral to business success, employee expertise itself has been expanded through effective programs of employee development (Swanson & Torraco, 1999). One of the means of developing an employee is through training. The primary impetus for training in organizations is change. Managers of privately owned companies must enhance their organizations' profits and their stockholders' returns by increasing sales or reducing operating costs or both. Government administrators and private-sector executives at all levels have come under increasing pressure to change and provide more effective and efficient services. Today's organizations must respond to demands for change while at the same time realizing that advances in technology and knowledge are rendering many traditional employee skills obsolete, while simultaneously developing needs for new ones. There have even been comic remarks that a college degree should be written in disappearing ink, since technical material has an ever-decreasing half-life (the time it takes for one-half of the material to become obsolete) (Leap & Crino, 1989). An analysis of corporate training programs sponsored by The Conference Board (Lusterman, 1985) cited one training director who remarked that since the half-life of an engineer is about five years, "a twenty-five-year-old graduate will have to be reeducated eight times in the course of a forty-year career" (Lusterman, 1985, p. 2). Engineering is not the only profession experiencing a continuing need for re-education and retraining. New or present employees who draw their expertise from a knowledge base (accountants, computer technicians, nurses) will have to keep pace with advances in this knowledge base during their careers. Change and the impact of technology have affected training needs for other levels of workers as well. Clerk-typists of old must now become word processor operators, using micro, mini, and mainframe computers in their daily work. In addition, they must master a constantly changing software base that may include electronic mail, word processing, Training is an attempt to improve employee performance on a currently held job or one related to it. This usually will lead to changes in specific knowledge, skills, attitudes, or behaviours.  These changes can result to long-term productivity. However, it often the case that companies only consider training for new hires. Many feel that training is just a way of introducing to the new hire the culture of the organization. It is also an opportunity to impart with them the lessons that senior employees had that helped them in furthering the growth of the company. According to Allis (2003), the quality of the employees is determined by their development through training and education. In turn, quality employees are factors in defining the long-term stability and profitability of the company. It is a fact that the rigorous hiring process of many companies a ways of ensuring that they will only be hiring the best of the best. However, this is not enough to say that the people they hire will be delivering effective performances.  It might be true that they can see potential in those people and that is why they hired them. Nevertheless, these potentials cannot be put into use unless they are accordant with the company’s visions. This is the reason why training must take place. Training of employees’ pertains to giving the employees the basic knowledge necessary for them to be able to perform their tasks. In addition, employee training will also enhance the inherent capacity of the employees. Development needs to be dealt with continuously enhancing employees’ abilities through training to match the changes in the business industry. With employee training, the performance of every employee in the company will naturally be improved to its maximum level. In addition, various skills may be absorbed by the employee being trained, which in turn makes them more independent, resourceful and flexible. There are various reasons why employee training must take place. These reasons are closely linked to the company’s sustainability and profitability. According to Graham and Salas (2002), training is being used to facilitate education.  In addition, training is also seen as a tool to retain employees, improve corporate culture and design incentive programs for employees (Graham & Salas, 2002).  Trainings are also being conducted so that the company will be able to create a pool of employees that can readily and adequately replace those who have left the company. Due to fats technological developments, employees must be continuously and/or regularly trained to be able to adapt to the developments that will affect the company. Training also motivates a team by allowing them to become more efficient.  If a company is able to train and develop highly-competent employees then they will be able to fill positions needed for expansion (Allis, 2003 ) Since training can develop efficient employees and create rooms for expansion, this means that training can also result to lower employee turnover rates. According to a survey conducted by Sibson and Company (as cited in Cooper, 2000), high turnover rates resulted to 38 percent decrease in earnings and stock prices in 4 industries. This means that many companies are losing precious capital in attempting to replace the employees that left the company. So if training can reduce turnover rates, it means that companies will also be able to reduce costs of operation. The results of training and development start a chain reaction.  When the company is able to produce effective employees then their profitability will increase.  When this happens, they will also be able to compensate their employees based on their contribution to the company’s growth.  In turn, it will create a feeling of satisfaction that will motivate them to improve further their efficiency and then the cycle will once again begin (Parker, 2005). With employee training, the performance of every employee in the company will naturally be improved to its maximum level. In addition, various skills may be absorbed by the employee being trained, which in turn makes them more independent, resourceful and flexible. Employee training has centred on two issues: the need for a performance-based training and that of providing a learner-employer centred approach by trainers. Employees and employers are increasingly demanding change, choice, flexibility, and variety in the workplace; suggesting that with the de-layering of organizations and empowerment of individual employees, the future for both the organization and the individual lies not in promotion to successively higher levels of management, but rather in developing the value of the individual as human capital (Seidler, 1996). The value of human capital is enhanced by acquisition of higher performance potential such as new tasks, functions, and KSAPs (knowledge, skills, abilities, personal attributes) (McGregor, 1988).   Reasons for Training               As in any other training, there are many types, and reasons why companies train their employees. These varied trainings are designed to meet the specific requirements of a certain company and organizations. Thayer  & Teachout (1995) noted that in the past 30 years, the science and practice of training has progressed dramatically. The practice of training, due to the combination of socio-cultural, technological, economic, and political pressures have all combined to force modern organizations to take a closer look at their human capital in general. The old view of organizations that training should be separate and stand-alone event has become passé and led to a fully integrated and strategic component of the organization. The introduction of new training-related approaches, including action learning, just-in-time training, and mentoring, coaching, organizational learning, and managing skill portfolios are all currently being explored. According to Cannon-Bowers, Salas (2001), the modern organizations has to catch up with the changing workforce and the associated training needs that accompanies it. According to McNamara (1999), the typical reasons for training employees would include the need for performance improvement as indicated by performance appraisals. Basically, a dip in performance of employees produces results which may be detrimental to the operation of the company. This could translate to loss in both profits and in production. Employee training is also used to develop employees and to test a new performance management system.  An application of a new system definitely would require new furthermore, companies and organizations who will undergo changes train employees to be able to adapt to the changes adopted by the companies. Training is also undertaken by employees on order to familiarize them to a particular topic or aspect. This is usually in the field of communication, computer skills, customer service, and diversity. Training also focuses on the aspects of ethic, human relations, safety and even sexual harassment. In training it is both the personal and the interpersonal skills that are being developed   3.1 Methodology 3.1 Methodology Referring to the aim and objectives set for the dissertation, the author will now demonstrate the methodology of the means of obtaining data for analysis and coming to the conclusion to meet the aim and objectives.  Though it does show ethnic concerns to those out there, interviews will be tied with the primary data research collection of this dissertation and the secondary research will be supported through the use of the research of other scholars as mentioned in the literature review.   3.1.1 Research Design This study uses the correlational research method. The correlational kind of research method is used due to ethical problems with experiments. Moreover, it is also used due to practical problems with experiments. Moreover, inferring causality from correlation not actually impossible, but very difficult. This mode of study is widely applicable, cheap, and usually ethical. Nonetheless, there exist some "third variable" issues and measurement problems. The correlational research refers to studies in which the purpose is to discover relationships between variables through the use of correlational statistics (r). The square of a correlation coefficient yields the explained variance (r-squared). A correlational relationship between two variables is occasionally the result of an outside source, so we have to be careful and remember that correlation does not necessarily tell us about cause and effect. If a strong relationship is found between two variables, using an experimental approach can test causality. The research described in this document is based on qualitative and quantitative method. The qualitative method permits a flexible and iterative approach, while the quantitative research method permits specification of dependent and independent variables and allows for longitudinal measures of subsequent performance of the research subject. During data gathering the choice and design of methods are constantly modified, based on ongoing analysis. This allows investigation of important new issues and questions as they arise, and allows the investigators to drop unproductive areas of research from the original research plan.    The value of qualitative research can best be understood by examining its characteristics. One of the primary advantages of qualitative research is that it is more open to the adjusting and refining of research ideas as an inquiry proceeds. Also, the researcher does not attempt to manipulate the research setting, as in an experimental study, but rather seeks to understand naturally occurring phenomena in their naturally occurring states. Inductive reasoning, as opposed to deductive reasoning, is common in qualitative research, along with content or holistic analysis in place of statistical analysis (Meyer et al, 1995). On the other hand, quantitative method is compatible with the study because it allows the research problem to be conducted in a very specific and set terms (Cooper & Schindler, 1998). Besides, quantitative research plainly and distinctively specifies both the independent and the dependent variables under investigation. It also follows resolutely the original set of research goals, arriving at more objective conclusions, testing hypothesis, determining the issues of causality and eliminates or minimises subjectivity of judgment (Kealey & Protheroe, 1996). Furthermore, this method allows for longitudinal measures of subsequent performance of research subjects (Matveev, 2002). Finally, it provides achieving high levels of reliability of gathered data due to i.e. controlled observations, laboratory experiments, mass surveys, or other form of research manipulations. This study should be based on surveys and statistical treatments, so basically the quantitative approach fits well with it.   3.1.2 Respondents of the Study             The main purpose of this case study is to identify relationships between employee training development program and employee satisfaction. Hence, the respondents of this study include 50 employees of the company. The employees are chosen because the respondents find them more reliable for this study. The true identity of the respondents is not revealed for confidential purposes. After selecting the appropriate population, the researcher use inferential statistics in order to draw a concrete conclusion.  Inferential statistics is used to be able to know a population’s attribution through a direct observation of the chosen population or simply the sample. This is because it is easier to observe a portion or a part than observe the whole population.  However using a sample has also its own disadvantages; hence, there is a need to choose the most suitable sample from any population. It will also use Pearson correlation and standard deviation through SPSS.             3.1.3 Interview/Questionnaire Structure The researcher design a questionnaire for the for the survey process. The primary aim of the questionnaire is to determine what the relationship of employee development program with employee satisfaction. This research will use a mixture of closed questions and more open comments in the questionnaire.  A closed question is one that has pre-coded answers.  The simplest is the dichotomous question to which the respondent must answer yes or no (Saunders et al, 2003).  Through closed questions, the researcher will be able to limit responses that are within the scope of this study. For example, the researcher intends to ask the respondents what they think of employee satisfaction in general. Using a multiple choice method, the answer of the respondents would be within the one of the limited expected answers of the researcher. Thus the researcher will design a closed question type to remain focused on the statement of the problem and on the main purpose of the study.  However, the researcher will nevertheless extend the closed questions with the comments option to be able to gather qualitative data for this study. In addition, closed questions will be used in the survey because the answers are easy to analyse and are straightforward as target respondents are mostly busy that they do not have enough time to give attention to open questions.  Closed response questions save the respondent having to think of possible replies.   3.1.4 Data Collection and Analysis             The study use questionnaires and interviews to gather pertinent data. Moreover, the researcher also uses previous studies related to employee satisfaction and employee training. A structured questionnaire is employed by the researcher so as to save time and effort in the organization of the answers that will be gained. In the interview, the researcher hopes that those questions that are not tackled by the questionnaires will be gathered from the respondents using the survey questionnaire. The straightforward approach of the questionnaire guarantees that there would be a response generated by the researcher with regards to the questions asked.                In this research the utilization of secondary and primary data were used by the researcher. The secondary sources of data are collected from published articles from business journals, theses and related studies in human resource development, employee training and employee satisfaction. The primary source of data comes from a questionnaire and surveys conducted by the researcher. The primary data frequently gives the detailed definitions of terms and statistical units used in the survey. These are usually broken down into finer classifications. Herein, the researcher constructed a questionnaire and administered them to the respondents. The respondents were requested to answer the inquiries in the survey-questionnaire, each grading the statements using the Likert scale.                 In the Likert technique, a set of attitude statements are presented, where subjects of a study are asked to express agreement or disagreement using a five-point scale. The degree of agreement is given a numerical value ranging from one to five, thus a total numerical value can be calculated from all the responses.   3.1.5 Validation of the Instrument             For validation purposes, the researcher pre-tested a sample of the set survey questionnaires. This was done by conducting an initial survey to at least five respondents from the chosen respondents of the companies. After the respondents answered, the researchers then asked them to cite the parts of the questionnaire that needs improvement. The researcher even asked for suggestions and corrections from the respondents to ensure that the survey-questionnaire is effective. Automatically, these five respondents were not included as respondents for the study.   3.1.6 Administration of the Instrument The researcher excluded the five respondents who initially used for the validation of the instrument.  The researcher also tallies, score and tabulate all the responses in the provided interview questions. Moreover, the interview used is a structured interview. It is consisted of a list of specific questions and the interviewer does not deviate from the list or inject any extra remarks into the interview process. The interviewer may encourage the interviewee to clarify vague statements or to further elaborate on brief comments. Otherwise, the interviewer attempts to be objective and tries not to influence the interviewer's statements. The interviewer does not share his/her own beliefs and opinions. The structured interview is mostly a "question and answer" session.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF TRAINING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND EMPLOYEE JOB SATISFACTION IN TESCO

1.1 Introduction The effective management of employees and the organisation as whole is increasingly being recognized a...