Empowerment in hospitality, tourism and event organizations
Introduction
The contemporary hospitality industry is highly evolving into new dimensions. Empowerment is defined as a Human Resources Management process that provides their employee’s autonomy and control with a certain degree in their daily activities (Rose 2004). The critical principle of empowerment is to give workers the means of making important decisions. Therefore, empowerment includes a psychological approach focused on helping employees to develop a sense of meaning, impact, and self-determination. There are many arguments about the positive and negative effects of empowerment; however, the process is quite popular among organization leaders to motivate employees. Primarily empowerment is used in the hospitality industry as a hotel business associated with low paid salaries, unpaid extra working hours, unstable employment, and much pressure(Konar, R., Ali, F., Hussain, K, 2018). The approach gives responsibility to employees without any extra reward, and employers save costs from delayering management (Hyman & Mason, 1995). This essay will critically evaluate empowerment practices in hospitality sectors and how efficient it is according to employee relation theories. Employee relation theories are applied to understand the different interests of the labor of the employers and the employees to assist the organization in achieving it’s business and social objectives (Gennard & Judge, 1995, pp 6-7).
The popularity of employee empowerment has been a Total Quality Management, which implies an open management style where everyone shares a commitment to continuous improvement for customer satisfaction (Wilkinson and Brown, 2003: 184). According to Lashey, 2001, “In the hospitality industry, for example, employee empowerment is a term that had been used to describe quality circles (Accor group), suggestion schemes (McDonald’s Restaurants), customer care programs (Scott’s Hotels), employee involvement in devising departmental standards (Hilton Hotels), autonomous workgroups (Harvester Restaurants) and delayering the organization (Bass Taverns) .” The definition of empowerment in hotel, tourism and events industry is used and understood differently in every organization, however by looking at employee relation theories.
Employee Involvement
Employee involvement describes the direct participation of employees to assist organizations in fulfilling their goals through the application of expertise, ideas and efforts in decision making and problem-solving. Pihlak & Alas (2012) conducted a study to assess how organizational change elements depend on the employees’ cultural background in an organization. The focus of the author in this article was employee involvement and finding the most appropriate style of leadership in strategic organizational change management plans in Chinese, Estonian as well as Indian enterprises. In this research, the investigators analyzed 177 interviews on corporate change management with both qualitative and quantitative data collected from organizations from the three countries. This study majorly uses quantitative methods and finds out that the three countries have different levels of employee involvement and leadership styles. While Chinese and Indian corporations change leaders had autocratic leadership styles, Estonia organizations change leaders embraced a participative style of leadership. However, Chinese companies involving employees in making essential organizational decisions when there were frequent changes and implementations in the organization. Also, the authors found out that employee involvement was not influenced by the differences that existed in leadership. For instance, when there was a participative leadership style, few cases involved lower-level employees in decision making. The relevance of this research is to emphasize the fact that employee involvement is positively related to the success of change management in Estonian and Indian organizations, but not the case in China. The research also proposes further research on the effect of culture on managing change in globalized organizations. The strength of the article, however, is that it suggests the best leadership practices that can be used in different workplaces, such as the use of active employee resource groups, sponsorship, and mentoring.
Eyvazi, Kamalian, & Moghaddam (2013) conducted a study to find out the impact of the human resource management department in employee empowerment, specifically in the banking sector. The research required designing questionnaires and distributing them among 243 employees that were randomly selected from the first private banks in Iran known as Saman. The study presents four hypotheses. The first hypothesis examines whether the type of employment affects customer satisfaction while the second hypothesis evaluates whether employee empowerment and training enhances organizational commitment or vice versa. On the other hand, the third hypothesis examines whether there is a positive correlation between job security and profitability and motivation, while the final hypothesis evaluates whether there is a meaningful and positive relationship between supplier satisfaction and leadership styles in the banking sector. The study employed critical statistical tests that confirmed all the hypotheses.
Employee relationship and Customer Satisfaction
Hospitality organizations establish a superior customer experience by making sure that the workforce is adequately trained to handle customers. The website of the firm has a simple design that makes it easy to be used. The firm also has a vast quantity of products for sale and an excellent customer service process, which directly relates to excellent customer service skills. The chief executive officer of Hospitality organizations handles his employees with respect, and this is reflected in the way customer service provided to customers. They are able to enjoy free returns and shipping from the date of purchase throughout the year. Also, customer service, as well as service management in the business, is assessed every day. The customer service representatives are taught to make comparisons between competitors’ and customers’ websites when an item is out of stock (Johnston & Marshall, 2016). Likewise, they provide rain checks on products that are out of stock.
Priorities that are consistent with the main organizational goal are developed through the information system department and implemented (Bryan, 2013). The information system department also ensures that various proposals, as well as projects that may require the utilization of new or existing technology, are evaluated with regard to the organizational strategy. The department implements all the information system decisions made to align with corporate strategy, goals, and objectives. The organization will address the principal concern of the customers and adequately evaluate the market to be able to develop a clear purpose for its workers and stakeholders to have a clear objective to work with. Similarly, this could have contributed to laying the proper foundation needed in establishing a new product venture that could have progressively developed. All new business expansion ventures often race the risk of failure because they do not have clear objectives and expectations, and this organization could have avoided this.
The superior customer service, which is offered by hospitality organizations, is one of the significant aspects that keep the firms in the business. The call center of Hospitality organizations has employees who take pride and enjoy their job. The working environment at hospitality organizations can be compared to a family atmosphere because it is fascinating and encourages teamwork. Some things that add to the excellent customer service given by the employees are the training they undergo where they graduate after completing. The employees are given free food, medical as well as dental coverage.
Customer Service
Customer service is essential in ensuring the success of any business operations. Satisfied consumers influence the performance of the business as they place return orders and can become loyal to the company (Block, 2016). Hospitality agencies should have excellent service management skills that offer customers real-time client services required. For instance, the call center representatives at the firm should be comprehensively trained to go beyond and above for the customers of the firm. The hospitality industry, especially hotels and restaurants, has various dress and appearance regulations that govern employees (Walker & Walker, 2012). These policies are designed to cover a vast array of issues. Several studies have shown that dress and appearance regulations are very crucial in the hospitality industry (Berger, 2009). However, much caution should Fbe taken when drawing such rules. First, dress and appearance regulations must address every aspect of staff dress and appearance.
Additionally, the policies should make it clear to the employees that the employer’s professional setting is always maintained. This is partly vital because the company’s image is usually reflected through employees and presented to the public and guests (Magnini, Baker, & Karande, 2013). Besides, dress and appearance policies must demand that every employee portrays a professional, tidy, and properly-groomed appearance. Such systems must also include requirements for proper hygiene, uniforms, and appropriate safety-related clothing (Ruetzler et al., 2012). Further, dress and appearance policies must inform workers that the guidelines will be used consistently without considering any protected groups. The policies must also mention that all workers that breach them will be sent home to reform with no pay and that sustained infringements may lead to termination of one’s employment. If such elements are present, dress and appearance regulations can aid employers in avoiding or at least limit challenges that come up in the workplace as well as accountability for legal claims. Even more significant, dress and appearance policies in the hospitality industry must ban extremes in attire such as dirty clothes, attires that are too baggy, too revealing, or too tight (Ruetzler et al., 2012).
Moreover, messages that are unpleasant or unfriendly to any protected group (for instance, race, sex, or national origin), or unlawful, or offensive must also be banned. If all dress and appearance policies in the hospitality industry are framed this way, the whole industry stands to reap massive rewards from them. In hotels and restaurant businesses, these policies play a huge role in dictating employee dress and appearance. Consequently, the implementation of such guidelines has led to varied but significant benefits in the hospitality industry at large.
One of the most debated issues of employee appearance relates to tattoos and piercings (Hoffman, McVicker, & Radojevick-Kelley, 2009). Restaurants, for instance, may make their guidelines regarding body modifications. In this way, some hospitality industry employers may be against tattoos and body piercings and, therefore, refuse to hire some job applicants based on their personal preference (Hurrell & Scholarios, 2011). Many significant lawsuits have been filed regarding the right to tattoos and or body piercings. Many people assert that tattoos and piercings are protected under the 8th Amendment right to freedom of speech or expression. However, judicial verdicts have not observed that right. One study conducted by the Pew Research Center established that almost half of 26 to 40-year-old people and 36 percent of 18 to 25-year-old people have tattoos.
Further, the research found that 22 percent of 26 to 40-year-old people and 30 percent of 18 to 25-year-old people have at least a single body piercing. The study attempted to show the distribution of people who have tattoos and piercings, and if employers should discriminate against them based on body modification. There are disparities in opinions regarding the wearing of tattoos among men and women. Generally, men are free to be a bit rebellious, but women are typically not allowed to wear tattoos and reveal them publicly (Warhurst et al., 2012). Even though societal norms regarding tattoos and body piercings are changing, the shift has been happening slowly. Women are always expected to be well-mannered in public and with no visible tattoos. Despite the extensive prevalence of employees with tattoos and piercings, there is no unified agreement on how to tackle such issues. Many corporations and small enterprises lack formal guidelines for body modifications. However, despite the increasing acceptance of body modifications, the hospitality industry is a different place (Hoffman, McVicker, & Radojevick-Kelley, 2009). The industry is quite conservative when it comes to dressing codes and workers’ grooming standards (Walker & Walker, 2012).
Even though employers have a right to dictate dress and appearance standards of employees, some legal limits tend to present the policies as disadvantageous (Hurrell & Scholarios, 2011). In recent high-profile court cases, organizations had faced costly lawsuits that assert that employers discriminated against workers based on their religious affiliations when they banned the putting on of particular items like hijabs or tattoos (Hoffman, McVicker, & Radojevick-Kelley, 2009). Additionally, employers have faced court cases for failure to accommodate workers’ beliefs convincingly. Such cases turn on several factors like the number of workers who work for the employer, the jurisdiction or location, as well as the real activity of the worker that was asserted to be “protected.” The EEOC has aired its opinion on dress and appearance policies. In short, the body states that employers can come up with dress codes that apply to all workers or workers in specific positions. However, there are some exceptions allowed by the EEOC. Consequently, the fact that some systems of dress and appearance policies appear to treat some categories less favorably have led some people to believe that hospitality employers should not dictate the dress and personal presentation of their employees.
Conclusion
Applications of empowerment in the hospitality industry are an essential approach to increase staff productivity, which makes them feel necessary to participate in the planning and training stage. Employee participation is a management tool that is a collective Pluralist approach, focusing on decision making on matters which affect employees. Hospitality employees should encourage front-line staff to solve customer problems on the spot, without constant recourse to management approval. Empowerment, as a human resources approach, tends to be unitary, but if extended to giving employees real power over a broader range of issues could be pluralist. Practicing empowerment in hotel establishments is a complex process as management wants employees to participate more. However, the employees want to be involved, and the meaning of getting involved is different from the actual empowerment process. Managers try to control through processes and tools, and employees push for greater autonomy. One of the competitive advantages factors that lead to customer satisfaction in the hotel industry is employees. As empowerment plays a significant role in workers’ productivity, it is associated with critical themes of HRM through improved service quality.
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