Managing People in a Multinational Context - Case Study Example

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY Student’s name Code+ course name Professor’s name University name City, State Date Human resource management in the hospitality industry Introduction Human resource management is a vital element in the well being of an organization. This is due to the basic fact the human resource management department ensures that a reliable workforce is in place (Dowling, Festing & Engle 2008, p.61). Once a reliable and efficient workforce is in place, organizations can thrive far beyond their objectives. Human resource management is paramount regardless of the industry in question and thus the hospitality industry is no exception. The hospitality industry is by far and large viewed as a service industry. The service industry largely depends on the workforce to provide quality services to lure and maintain clients (Eade & Eade 2000, p.24). In the event an industry is capable to attain competitive and quality service, then growth and development is eminent. In Thailand, the human resource management in the hospitality industry plays a sensational role. This fosters the growth and development of the hospitality industry over the years. This paper seeks to clearly delineate the role played by human resource management in Thailand in the ever thriving hospitality industry. Synopsis This paper examines the human resource management in the hospitality industry in Thailand. The hospitality industry is of immense significance to the economy of Thailand. The government of Thailand has in place various initiatives to double the number of arrivals.The aim of this study is to elaborate the functions of the human resource management in the hospitality industry. Additionally, the issue of cultural diversity is eminent in Thailand, and the advantages emanating from this practice. There are a number of challenges facing the human resource in the hospitality industry in Thailand. The major challenge in Thailand is employee turnover. Finally, this paper seeks to provide recommendations by the government and other agencies to mitigate the impact of high employee turnover. Human resource management functions The human resource team engages in various responsibilities, in the organizations setting. For the purpose of accomplishing objective, the human resource management arranges tasks and duties to form work. This is the initial responsibility undertaken by the human resource management (Wilton 2011, p.268). This duty by the human resource management is known as job design. In the hospitality industry, it is essential to undertake human resource planning. Once the tasks, duties and responsibilities, form work under job design, planning commences. The human resource management forecast the organizations workforce requirements in the future. When planning, there are several vital aspects or requirements which include; worker, mode of acquisition, utilization, employee improvement, cost control, mode of training and retaining the employee. Recruitment Recruitment is the initial step as well as a crucial function while sourcing for human resource. The function ensures that the organization in the hospitality industry will select a skillful and competent person. The recruitment function involves immense evaluation of ability to harness choosing a competent person from the sea of applicant. Over the years, civilization has hit many parts of the world (Marchington & Wilkinson 2006, p. 26). With civilization, the education system has spread far and wide. This implies that the number of qualified potential employees in any vacant position in Thailand as well as any other country has increased. It is the duty of the human resource management to select a person who will add value to the organization and the industry as a whole. Effective recruitment process entails a number of steps. The initial step includes educational measurements. At this initial stage, skill, ability and character evaluation of potential employees takes place. In the hospitality industry, a psychometric evaluation is vital to determine the attitude of the applicant. Interview is another stage in the recruitment process. The interview can take place online via a video conference, via a phone call or it can be of a physical nature. The human resource department conducts interviews to articulate some essential aspects of the organization to the applicants. All of the above steps seek to ensure that the organization will select the suitable person to fill the vacancy in the organization. Knowledge of laws When managing the human resource in any country, it is essential to understand the laws present in the country. Law clearly asserts that, once an individual commits a felony, lack of knowledge is no defense. In Thailand, there are various federal and state labor laws guiding the employee employer relationships. For instance, there exists a Health insurance portability and accountability Act. This regulation ensures that the medical and health related issues of the employees in the workplace flow smoothly. South Korea on the other hand, has conservative policies and labor laws which ought to be respected and followed. Performance evaluation Once in employment, regular assessments of the employees depict whether their performance matches the expected standards. Performance evaluation impacts on both the employee and management of the organization. The hospitality industry is sensitive hence, performance evaluation seeks to identify the employees attaining the set standards, as well as those putting minimal efforts in their endeavors. This provides a reliable platform for management in any organization to fire or promote any employee according to the results of the evaluation. Performance appraisal also equips the management with the weak spots in the organization that require immediate attention. Compensation management Compensation management ideally seeks to maintain a good salary system. A good or efficient salary system takes into consideration the economic conditions in a country. The principal factors affecting salary and wages would include the cost of living, the supply and demand for labor, the minimum wage rates, the influence of the trade unions, and the competitor’s wage scales. Many employees source their motivation from the salary provided. Motivation ensures that the employees will acquire the desired attitude to perform the duties designated to them. It is vital for the organization to ensure that the compensation scheme in itself is a motivational factor to the employees (Kusluvan 2003, p. 12). The nature of the hospitality industry facilitates the provision of tips from happy clients. These tips motivate employees and hence the hospitality industry tremendously encourages the provision of tips in the normal course of business. Training and development Training is the process through which the employees acquire skills and knowledge required to perform their responsibilities. The human resource management team has the responsibility to train employees to ensure that their performance meets the required or stipulated standards (Page & Connell 2007, p. 68). On the other hand, development entails providing additional skills to the human resource to enable performance of greater responsibilities in the future. The human resource management team in the hospitality industry undertakes training and development as a mode to curtail employee turnover. The objective to retain potential employees in an organization is essential. Training and development ensures that the organization will retain employees in the foreseeable future. There is an overall urge to retain employees in the greater Asian region compared to other regions around the world. This hence implies that both Thailand and South Korea are engaging in training and development to lure employees. Cultural diversity in human resource composition To facilitate the organization’s stalk for glory, organizations around the world engage in cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is not an easy task to accomplish. This is because; the human resource management has the responsibility to deal with employees bearing different cultural backgrounds (Baum 2006, p.162). There are a number of policies and guidelines in place to ensure that cultural diversity benefits the organization. The utmost advantage emanating from cultural diversity is innovation. Given the different backgrounds of the employees, the ideas generated are quite diverse. This provides a competitive advantage to the organization that encourages cultural diversity. The human resource management team can manage cultural diversity through communication, recognition, support, and employee development. In Thailand, the hospitality industry has opened applications to foreigners. This implies that there are a number of employees who emanate from other regions around the world. This is beneficial because, the employees bearing different background articulate innovative ideas. It is with such ideas that the Thailand hospitality industry has continually grown. However, the substantial limitation facing cultural diversity in the hospitality industry is the language barrier. The hospitality industry enormously entails one on one interaction between the client and the service provider. These interactions only prevail when there effective communication. Language barrier largely hinders cultural diversity as some ascents do not ogre well with the Thailand languages. In a general comparison, Thailand encourages cultural diversity than South Korea. This is because; South Korea is a more conservative state compared to Thailand. Challenges faced in the human resource department In Thailand, the foremost problem facing the human resource in the hospitality industry is employee turnover. Many human resource managers depict that the ailing issue of employee turnover might increase given the changes present in the demographics, in the workforce (Wilkinson 2009, p. 42). Employee turnover is detrimental to the overall performance of the organization. This is because; high employee turnover implies that the resources set aside to retain the employee going to waste. This problem of high employee turnover affects the grater Asia region. Both Thailand and South Korea exist in the Asian continent. This implies that the demographics change in the work force is prevalent in both nations. Also, both countries undergo similar economic conditions as they face similar challenges in the Asian hospitality economy. Conclusion It is apparent that, the hospitality industry is a substantial element in Thailand’s economy. For any organization to thrive and excel, human resource management has to be in place. There are a number of functions bestowed on the human resource management. For instance, the human resource management has the duty to attract, recruit, hire and maintain reliable workforce. This is because; the human resource team has a considerable magnitude on the overalls industry performance. In Thailand and other sectors of the world, cultural diversity is a growing practice. Cultural diversity enhances industry innovativeness and brings growth and development. The paramount challenge facing the hospitality industry in Thailand include; high employee turnover. The following recommendations will help qualm the impact of employee turnover. Recommendations The government of Thailand has instituted a training system that will ensure, practitioners of the hospitality industry acquire the necessary skills (4). New labor laws are in place in Thailand to safeguard the interests of the employees (5). Thailand’s government has realigned the salaries and wage rates according to the prevailing economic conditions to motivate employees (5).The hospitality industry in Thailand seeks to encourage diverse languages to overcome the language barrier and harness all the advantages emanating from cultural diversity (7) Reference list Baum, T, 2006, Human resource management for tourism, hospitality and leisure: an international perspective, Thomson, Learning London. Dowling, P, Festing, M, & Engle, A, 2008, International human resource management: managing people in a multinational context, Thomson Learning, London. Eade, V, & Eade, V, 2000, Human resources management in the hospitality industry, Ariz, Holcomb Hathaway, Scottsdale. Kusluvan, S, 2003, Managing employee attitudes and behaviors in the tourism and hospitality industry, Nova Science Publishers, New York. Marchington, M, & Wilkinson, A, 2006, Human resource management at work: people management and development, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London. Page, S, & Connell, J, 2007, Tourism: a modern synthesis, Thomson, London. Wilkinson, A, 2009, The SAGE handbook of human resource management, Sage, Los Angeles. Wilton, N, 2011, An introduction to human resource management, Sage, Los Angeles. Read More