International Journal of Hospitality Management - Research Paper Example

Name : xxxxxx Tutor : xxxxxxx Title : Critique of a Research Article: International Journal of Hospitality Management. Institution : xxxxxxx Unit : xxxxxxx @2010 Words: 2196 Table of contents 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Themes in the research article 1 1.2. Purpose of the research 1 1.3. Importance of the study 2 2. Literature review 2 2.1. Relevance and depth of the literature 2 2.2. Support 3 3. Research methodology 3 3.1. Methodology used 3 3.2. Design of the methodology 4 4. Data collection tools 5 4.1. Tools used 5 4.2. Relevance to the methodology 5 5. Ethical issues 5 6. Sampling techniques 6 6.1. Techniques used 6 6.2. Relevance and reliability of the technique 7 7. Data Analysis 7 8. Summary 8 9. Conclusion 9 References 10 Title of the Research Article: International Journal of Hospitality Management 1. Introduction 1.1. Themes in the research article This particular article clearly brings out two main themes which are: the problems of labour in hospitality business and the effects of seasonality to small hospitality businesses. These small hospitality businesses as mentioned are such as restaurants, bars and cafeterias. These themes are well spelt out in the introduction of the article which is a good practice. “An excellent introduction is the perfect way to enter the readers mind” according to research paper introduction requirements. 1.2. Purpose of the research According to the introduction of this particular article, a number of problems spring out. One of them is to ascertain the extent of shortage of labour for the hospitality industry. Also, there is the work of evaluating the effect of employee turnover on these particular businesses and finally to get to know the challenges that hospitality business face in college cities. All these mentioned purposes serve to improve the hospitality industry and especially in college towns where the focus is. The question however is whether there is going to be the necessary conclusion on the same. These problems are very relevant to the study at hand though with a critical omission. It is very important to include the question of employee comfort and reason for their lack of satisfaction which leads to the high turnover. This article has omitted this investigation which could also be instrumental in evaluating the problem at hand. “Employees’ departure relate to the realities on the market” (Griffeth, Griffeth & Hom, 2004, p. 76). 1.3. Importance of the study The significance of this study in the hospitality sector in the cities of study is so much and especially for those that will use the results of such an outcome to improve the business conditions. The study is bound to bring out the challenges behind the expansive hospitality industry and how they are tackled with attention to the small businesses (Axelrod, 1996). 2. Literature review 2.1. Relevance and depth of the literature The literature of this article fails to clearly mention the history of the hospitality business and especially in this college towns that lead to the study being carried out. The issue of small firms in hospitality has been looked at more extensively in previous journals like in Quinn et al (1992). This is not to mean the review is totally flawed. It has articulated some core and important-to-know details about the small hospitality operations. The notable ones are the facts of it attracting few job seekers due to the limiting pay and what is perceived as ‘low profile’. Many will prefer to be at a place where they are constantly improved to better positions in their employment. Too little advancing and/or little growth is the reason for great turn over (Branhan 2005). Another issues mentioned is that of the environment which according to me should not be a major threat to an organized business. According to the writer of the article, the businesses get advantage when they retain their employees. This is true and is also echoed in Johns and Lee-Ross (1995). The advantage is to do with continued competence improvement and a familiarity between the employees and the customers which creates the necessary working rapport. The other positive about the article is the mention that the practice of good leadership by the management obtains a growth in the business. I am in agreement with this because where a leadership fails, the outcome in terms of profit is below the level that can sustain the business. Creativity is of paramount importance in management according to Lee-Ross and Lashley (2009) and it could be used to get the best results. Another important thing is the mention of students as major contributors in the labour force of these businesses which is true and especially because of their desire to get pocket money and pay the necessary bills. At this point, it would have been important to mention that in such towns, students still remain the target customers. The article has had a failure in articulating the solutions to the various challenges that could run down this sector. It could have been important to find relevant cases from already existing article to be able to make comparison between the worst hit by the problems discussed and those that have managed to combat it. While it is true a gap is left when one departs; “in most turn over situations, a person who exits abruptly leaves a productivity gap” (Phillips and Conell, 2003, p. 5), it is important to site some cases to back up the discussion. 2.2. Support The literature review is fairly good as it carries a considerable sense of support material. Without the omissions mentioned in the previous section, there would have been an even greater support for this research and it could bring out more clearly the extent to which the problem has gone and the solutions, if any, applied thus far. 3. Research methodology 3.1. Methodology used To be able to get the necessary information to give the representative statistics, the methodology preferred by the researcher in this case was quantitative survey which basically makes use of numbers. The approach is satisfactory as first of all through written request, the target sample is informed of the planned survey and so little resistance could be met. This is a good practice more like the so called ‘good interaction between the researcher and the people’ (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000). However, one evident failure of this particular methodology is, the inability to fully reach the target group due to some not having time to respond to the questions in a sitting considering the busy nature of the hospitality business. It would have been important that the whole of the sample selected be utilized for the result because it would help draw more solid conclusions. To capture those who were too busy to respond on phone or verbally, there was need of having a number of questionnaires to tackle this. This would be convenient for busy respondents as they would handle them later or when free and the outcome collected at a later date. This is one advantage of questionnaires in data collection according to Frary (2006). The method of data collection used in this research (interviews) is however still good because the interviewer gets the response first hand and is therefore able to make clarifications and dispel any fears should need be. Rubin and Rubin (1995) explains the convenience of interviews where one can request for explanations from the respondents and get feedback almost immediately. However considering the six miles radius covered here, there may have been a lot of financial implications due to travel and calling of the interviewees (Bennis, 2003). 3.2. Design of the methodology The design and format used for the research was satisfactory as it gave the opportunity of a good representation of the population. Had the forty one selected respondents all been successfully interviewed, the result would have been much more superior and even more fulfilled. The target of independently owned businesses was good for the type of research. An equally good decision was the method used to get the information because of its flexibility and its reliability as clarification could be sought. 4. Data collection tools 4.1. Tools used Data collection tools in the case of a face to face interview include writing material such as pens and books together with some means of recording for later replays in order to take clear records of the answers given. The telephone was an added tool for the telephone conducted interviews as the rest for recording and those for writing would still hold. 4.2. Relevance to the methodology These tools were very relevant to the methodology as they determined the success of the conduction of the survey in terms of data collection. To be able to reach such a vast area and get the right amount of information to draw the necessary conclusion needs enough organization in terms of data collection tools. The use of such tools as phones and mails may not be a new thing in interviews but there is always a problem of not being able to tell the genuineness of the answers given by interviewee according to Dillman (1998). Questionnaires could have served better but with the nature of the industry under investigation they were bound to be unreliable as they could be lost or misunderstood. The tools used above helped capture and evaluate the details of every aspect of the study hence allowing the conclusions drawn to go on (Bass, 2006). 5. Ethical issues The biggest ethic observed in the survey was the distribution of letters in preparation for the research to get the attention and win the trust of the responding group. This was very important in creating the necessary rapport and hence the necessary response to the interviews. It is a very ethical thing to do especially with consideration of the schedule of the target group. Equally important an ethic was carrying it out at the convenience of the interviewee as it gives them the chance to respond with their genuine will and not by force (Vayena, 2006). The information given by them is therefore very reliable considering that they had a choice before responding to the questions. It is however not explained how the interviewer handled cases of ‘give me a minute’ by the interviewees when they arose. It can be so bad to take a person from his or her job and tie them to something else without considering the impact it could have on the person and so it would have been important for the interviewer to allow the interviewee off, if need be, in what Vayena (2006) calls ‘respect for the interviewee’. All in all it is great having excluded such important holidays as thanksgiving and Christmas as they demanded much labour due to the many customers flocking at the resorts for meals and refreshments. The businesses get to utilize such days to cash in on the much needed cash. 6. Sampling techniques 6.1. Techniques used In the case of the article written here it is observed that random sampling is used to get the target group as there is not a real criterion or approach used to get the businesses interviewed. Random sampling involves reaching to some selected reachable and getting their views then generalizing them to make the conclusions relating to the whole population. The selection does not follow any format thus the name random (Harari, 2003). 6.2. Relevance and reliability of the technique While this method of sampling makes it easier for the researcher to capture the information he/she so much needs, there are setbacks in applying such a sampling style. There is a tendency to concentrate on areas with proximity advantage and leaving out important areas which may not be so easily accessible. This results in inaccuracy of the outcome (Westfall, 2009). A more disciplined approach would have been the application of stratified sampling where the entire region would have been selected and the number of businesses to be interviewed selected from the various subsections according to their concentration in those regions. Where there are more of such businesses should contribute the largest and where there are fewer to contribute less. This way the results obtained would be better in the application to generalize and capture the views of the entire population and in safely using them to make conclusions. In other words, “the data has to be reliable” (Goddart and Melville, 2001, p. 41), that is, good for the task. I therefore come to a conclusion concerning the sampling technique used and refer to it as inappropriate for the study being carried out and it could have had a negative effect in the expected outcome and the research as a whole. 7. Data Analysis The article has used tables giving the numbers and percentages to represent the data collected according to the various problems in the survey. While this method may look basic and easy, it would have been much better to represent the information in a much clearer and easier to interpret format like the use of charts. For example look at the chart below: (Goleman, 2004) This represents the same information in the first table but in a form which is easy to interpret and make comparisons. All in all the data obtained is reliable and consistent. 8. Summary Such a research article is good in itself as it spells out the needs of the study activity in the introduction and goes on to tackle it before giving the outcome. The outcome obtained has given the details of the challenges in hospitality business in college towns in terms of mainly the employee turnover and the challenges the employers face in regard to the balancing of the customer satisfaction and reduction of business costs. By costs the reference is mainly on the wages which are the main sources of costs for the small hospitality sector (Australian article of hospitality management, the hospitality industry and determination: A case study of registered clubs in New South Wales, 2001). The research article and the research as a whole can be faulted on various components the most important one being that there has not been a consideration of the employees as a credible source of information on their departure. The conclusions of the research do not include the ways of tackling the researched on problems and so adds little value to the sector. If the employee is not made comfortable, the business will still struggle to impress. The need to balance the profits and customer satisfaction should not exclude the employee from the discussion as in this particular business he/she is a stakeholder. Yes the result obtained is relevant to the question analyzed but still the problem may not be well tackled with this type of information. A suggestion would have been the interviewing of a number of employees from the various businesses to know how long they have, or intent to, stay at the place and the reasons (Bennis, 2003). 9. Conclusion Hospitality business may carry the small significance that the current age accords it but it is a much important part of the everyday life of all individuals. While it faces many challenges in terms of management and reassurance of employee consistency and motivation, there are possible ways out of the problem should the management focus the attention on their employees’ working conditions and improvements. References Australian article of hospitality management. 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Yu, L. (1999). International hospitality business: management and operation. Oxford: Haworth Hospitality press. Read More