ITM Bachelor 3. Sem
8076: Human Resource Management in Leisure and Tourism

Introduction: Human Resource Management in Leisure and Tourism

What is HRM?

Three answers from the omniscient Internet:

"Human resource management is characterized by an emphasis on strategic integration, employee commitment, workforce flexibility, and quality of goods and services." - Bnet

"Administrative activities associated with human resources planning, recruitment, selection, orientation, training, appraisal, motivation, remuneration, etc. HRM aims at developing people through work." - Business Directory

Widely used scientific definition:

What HRM does:

Almost one out of ten jobs worldwide is in Leisure and Tourism - app. 240 million (WTTC).

But most of them are low-pay, low-prestige, low-dignity, low-benefit, no-future jobs.

Large proportion of ‘marginal workers’: women, young workers, casual employees, students, part-timers, migrant workers.

Typical first job for beginners. High Seasonality, low training standards.

Situation in many parts of Leisure and Tourism industry:

● generally low wages;

● unsocial hours and shift patterns that are not family friendly;

● overrepresentation of women and ethnic minorities in low-level operative positions, with better paid, higher status and more skilled jobs filled by men, pointing to undeveloped equal opportunities policies in the sector;

● poor or non-existent career structures and use of casualized seasonal employment;

● over reliance on informal recruitment methods;

● lack of evidence of good practice personnel/HRM practices;

● little or no trade union presence;

● high levels of labour turnover;

● difficulties in recruitment and retention of employees.

Organizations and managers in the tourism and hospitality industry therefore face real challenges in recruiting, developing and maintaining a committed, competent, well managed and well-motivated workforce which is focused on offering a high-quality ‘product’ to the increasingly demanding and discerning customer.

Hard vs. Soft HRM

Hard HRM: "Economically rational" approach to HRM.

People management strategies are driven by strategic considerations to gain competitive advantage, maximizing control while achieving the lowest possible labour cost.

Quantitative and calculative approach, labour is a commodity/resource, the same as any other. The focus is on Human RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. (cp. Wikipedia definition!)

Soft HRM: "Humanistic and developmental" approach to HRM.

People management approach is more consensual and based on a high level of managerial commitment to employees, which is intended to lead to mutual high commitment from employees, high trust, high productivity etc.

Employees are seen as being proactive, capable of being developed and worthy of trust and collaboration.

This approach focuses on HUMAN Resource management. (cp. Bnet definition!)

"Best Fit" (Schuler/Jackson): ‘Needed role behaviours’

HRM strategy adopted to the overall strategies of an organization to seek competitive advantage

Three overall strategies:

INNOVATION:
Strategy: Develop products or services that are new and different from competitors

--> Employees needed role behaviour:  willingness to tolerate ambiguity and unpredictability, need to be creative and risk taking.

--> Employees needed: Highly skilled individuals who are likely to enjoy high levels of autonomy: Innovators

QUALITY ENHANCEMENT:
Strategy: Enhance product or service quality

--> Employees needed role behaviour: co-operative, interdependent behaviour and commitment to the goals of the organization.

--> Employees needed: Individuals who embrance teamwork, decision-making and responsibility: Team Player.

COST REDUCTION:
Strategy: Be the lowest-cost producer within a particular market segment.

--> Employees needed role behaviour: repetitive and predictable behaviour, low-risk taking activity and a high degree of comfort with stability.

--> Employees needed: high number of part-timers, agreeing to simplified and measured work via narrowly defined jobs that encourage specialization and efficiency, and offer shortterm results oriented appraisal: Dimwits.

Lasley and Taylor: Four archetypes Portfolio requiring different HRM policies:

Best practice

Beside the "Best Fit" paradigm there also exists the "Best practice" paradigm, which claims that there are good practices which are important for all companies, including

● Recruitment and selection: Recruiting and selecting staff with the correct attitudinal and behavioural characteristics. A range of assessments in the selection process should be utilized to evaluate the work values, personality, interpersonal skills and problem-solving abilities of potential employees to assess their ‘service orientation’.

● Retention: The need to avoid the development of a ‘turnover culture’, which may of course be particularly prevalent in tourism and hospitality. For example, the use of
‘retention bonuses’ to influence employees to stay.

● Teamwork: The use of semi-autonomous, cross-process and multi-functional teams.

● Training and development: The need to equip operative level staff with team working and interpersonal skills to develop their ‘service orientation’ and managers with a new leadership style which encourages a move to a more facilitative and coaching style of managing.

● Appraisal: Moving away from traditional top down approaches to appraisal and supporting things such as customer evaluation, peer review, team-based performance and the appraisal of managers by subordinates. Generally, all of these performance appraisal systems should focus on the quality goals of the organization and the behaviours of employees needed to sustain these.

● Rewarding quality: A need for a much more creative system of rewards and in particular the need to payment systems that reward employees for attaining quality goals.

● Job security: Promises of job security are seen as an essential component of any overall quality approach.

● Employee involvement and employee relations: By seeking greater involvement from employees the emphasis is on offering autonomy, creativity, co-operation and self-control in work processes. The use of educative and participative mechanisms, such as team briefings and quality circles are allied to changes in the organization of work which support an
‘empowered’ environment.

In simple terms best practice is likely to entail attempts to enhance the skills base of employees through HR activities such as selective staffing, comprehensive training and broad developmental efforts like job rotation. Additionally, it also encourages empowerment, participative problem-solving, teamwork as well as performance-based incentives.

 Download: Nickson Ch. 1

  Contact: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt FRGS
Bachelor and Master Program International Tourism Management
arlt@fh-westkueste.de, Office 2.018, Tel. 0481 8555-513
Consultation hours (during lecture period): Tuesday 16.00 - 17.00 h