High Performance in Hotels Calls for Different Tactics for Different Employee Types
A study published in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (CQ) shows how high performance working practices for full-time employees are different from tactics that are best for part-time employees. The study, "Employment Modes, High Performance Work Practices, and Organizational Performance in the Hospitality Industry," by Tsai Cheng-hua, Chen Shyh-jer, and Fang Shih-chien, is the featured article in the newly published November 2009 issue of CQ. Sold by subscription exclusively through Sage Publishing, the journal is published by the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR), and this featured article is available from the CHR at no charge at www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/quarterly/featured/, by special arrangement with Sage.
The authors examined high performance working practices of 157 properties in Taiwan. They found that hotels were more likely to apply control-based management systems with their part-time employees. For example, job satisfaction for casual or part-time hotel employees increased when employers offered flexible rewards such as bonuses paid according to performance.
On the other hand, commitment-based HR practices generally worked best with full-time employees. Those practices included investing in employees through careful selection, training, and benefits.
By matching their management techniques with employee type, managers can maintain service excellence in an efficient fashion. The study also found that hospitality organizations tend to have lower staff turnover and higher productivity when the hotel employed a relatively high proportion of full-time employees, particularly in key positions.
Other articles in the November 2009 CQ include a cross-cultural examination of what motivates gamblers in China, France, and the United States, an analysis of the best way to schedule food preparation in a university's contract food-service outlet, and a study of issues concerning hotel managers around the world.
About the Center for Hospitality Research
A unit of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) sponsors research designed to improve practices in the hospitality industry. Under the lead of the center's 71 corporate affiliates, experienced scholars work closely with business executives to discover new insights into strategic, managerial and operating practices. The center also publishes the award-winning hospitality journal, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (formerly the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly). To learn more about center and its projects, visit www.chr.cornell.edu.
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