The hotel industry in Taiwan has suffered from high turnover rates for many years. High turnover rates reduce productivity and drain hotel profits. Though the hotel industry tends to live with high levels of employee turnover, high turnover need not be accepted as an inherent characteristic of the industry. Hotel managers should learn why employees leave hotels and take effective actions to retain them. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2006.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2003.

No description available.

Australia currently adopts the floating exchange rate system; therefore the value of the Australian dollar is subject to volatility due to the influence of changing domestic and international economic circumstances. This volatility of the Australian exchange rate system is an issue that affects the majority of Australian businesses. With over fifty percent of Australian trading invoiced in foreign currencies, movements in the value of the Australian dollar can potentially improve or worsen Australian companies’ financial performance, and consequently, affect the national economic indicators. The importance of managing these currency risks not only stimulates countless studies attempting to capture a set of factors that are most relevant in contributing to the volatility of the Australian exchange rate system, but also encourages research attempting to develop an optimal hedging model that can assist Australian businesses to manage foreign exchange risk. From the review of existing literature, there appears to be a noticeable gap between theory and practice. Indeed, there exists a vast literature that looks at traditional financial derivatives such as options, futures, forward, and swaps for example, the Black-Scholes model is used for options pricings in the share and foreign exchange market. However, there is a paucity of research focusing on the leveraged spot market, both from an empirical and theoretical point of view. This thesis aims to minimize this omission by developing a model of speculation as well as a model of hedging, providing a theoretical framework and empirical simulations. Our model of speculation, developed in Chapter 3, adapts Krugman’s (1991) model of target zones, in order to theoretically determine the optimal number of leveraged spot contracts taken by a speculator. Moreover, using historical data on interest rates and spot rates, we conduct a simulation to provide insights into how changing economic factors affects the speculator’s position in the real world. In Chapter 4, we extend this model to show how speculation gains can be hedged with forward contracts. Traditional hedging methods involve the use of money markets and forward contracts; however, in Chapter 4, we describe how leveraged spot contracts can be used for hedging purposes. Moreover, we show that under some circumstances, the leveraged spot contract hedge outperforms these traditional hedging methods

The hospitality and tourism industry is an increasingly important part of the New Zealand economy, contributing almost nine percent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2008. One of the key concerns regarding this part of the economy is the impact of a tight labour market and intense skill shortages on its ability to maximise returns from tourists. Labour turnover rates have been extremely high in the hospitality sector over the past few years and this has contributed to the intense labour market pressures affecting this industry. Hotels have suffered particularly high turnover rates in the past few years and exit interviews have been one of the tools that Human Resource Managers used to try and gain data about employee reasons for leaving. This study looks at exit interviews as a source of data on the causes of labour turnover in two New Zealand hotel chains. The aim of this study was to analyse hotel exit interview data in order to identify significant patterns that might illuminate the causes and potential moderating factors of labour turnover in New Zealand hotels. In addition, the study aimed to analyse the processes used to gather exit interview data in order to evaluate the efficacy of exit interviews and see if any practical recommendations could be made regarding the use of exit interviews to address labour turnover. A qualititative, triangulated research methodology was applied in order to analyse the data generated from over 4500 exit interviews, from 17 hotels, in two New Zealand hotel brands. The interviews cover six years of exit interview gathering. In addition, in depth semi-structured interviews with six hotel Human Resource Managers were used to gain insight into the practice and perceptions around exit interviews. The study found that despite considerable application of time and resources, hotels gain very little benefit from the exit interview process. Several issues are identified as bringing the efficacy of exit interviews into question, including power imbalance between interviewees and interviewers, language and cultural concerns, and the impact of psychological contract breaches on the employment relationship. In addition, the study found that even when opportunities for organisational improvement did arise from exit interviews, little or no action was taken by the hotels in question. The study concludes that there is insufficient benefit to the hotels given the costs of exit interviews and suggests that other forms of employee feedback, such as engagement surveys may be more efficacious in addressing labour turnover.

The White Lady (WL) is a mobile fast food takeaway eatery. The WL has been trading in Auckland City’s central business district for almost fifty years. The WL opens in the early evening and remains open until the early morning hours. At closing, the WL is towed to a storage area where it remains until this process is repeated. This daily pattern has occurred since the WL opened in 1948. Because of its longevity, the WL, and many of its stakeholders have experienced ongoing change as Auckland City has grown, and competition within fast food has increased. Thus, for many stakeholders, the WL is representative of their lives, a mirror of their reality and life experiences. Obviously, these realities and experiences are different for different stakeholders. In this thesis, I examine the contested “White Lady” (WL): the perceptions and the social meanings that its stakeholder groups attribute to it. This thesis illuminates differences and similarities within stakeholder viewpoints and in doing so defines that pie carts like the WL are a valid part of New Zealand’s culinary and social cultures Ultimately, this thesis provides a platform of knowledge from which stakeholders and others can come to understand and know the differing and similar views that other stakeholder groups hold. With this in mind, this research ranges in scope from the examination of city administration to the symbolism associated with the (WL) by some of its stakeholders. Therefore, this research is founded within socio-historic constructs: the history of fast food and, the similarities that this history holds to today’s WL operation. The contextualisation of hospitality within “three domains” (Lashley, 2004, p.13) aids in defining the WL as well as recognising the competitive growth of New Zealand’s fast food industry. This research suggests that fast food growth and subsequent competition have had negative impacts upon many small fast food outlets including the WL. viii The growth of fast food has facilitated a “slow food” (Jones, Shears, Hiller Comfort and Lowell, 2003, p. 298) movement. This movement coupled with the hierarchy of food typologies, adds a Saussurian overlay and sociological discourse to this work. This overlay clarifies for the reader Bourdieu’s (1984) position that all food is reflective of class status. Within postmodernist constructs and the rise of the individual, (and the consequent opportunity to hear ‘voices from the margins’), movement within class and individuality within New Zealand’s wider culture has occurred. Social change therefore, has facilitated some of the issues within WL contestation. In highlighting Bourdieu’s (1984) concept, the “binary opposition” (Levi-Strauss, 1981, as cited in Adamenko, 2007, p.27) inherent within food hierarchies and, as often expressed within the media, is examined. This examination reveals that while the media inform, this information often contributes to the polarisation of opinion that facilitates the formation of contested viewpoints by WL stakeholders. It is against a backdrop of compliance need, the absence of an official street trading policy, the differing views of stakeholders, and the intensification of competition in fast food, coupled with a lacuna in the knowledge base of younger Auckland residents regarding the WL that this research finds its voice.

The White Lady (WL) is a mobile fast food takeaway eatery. The WL has been trading in Auckland City’s central business district for almost fifty years. The WL opens in the early evening and remains open until the early morning hours. At closing, the WL is towed to a storage area where it remains until this process is repeated. This daily pattern has occurred since the WL opened in 1948. Because of its longevity, the WL, and many of its stakeholders have experienced ongoing change as Auckland City has grown, and competition within fast food has increased. Thus, for many stakeholders, the WL is representative of their lives, a mirror of their reality and life experiences. Obviously, these realities and experiences are different for different stakeholders. In this thesis, I examine the contested “White Lady” (WL): the perceptions and the social meanings that its stakeholder groups attribute to it. This thesis illuminates differences and similarities within stakeholder viewpoints and in doing so defines that pie carts like the WL are a valid part of New Zealand’s culinary and social cultures Ultimately, this thesis provides a platform of knowledge from which stakeholders and others can come to understand and know the differing and similar views that other stakeholder groups hold. With this in mind, this research ranges in scope from the examination of city administration to the symbolism associated with the (WL) by some of its stakeholders. Therefore, this research is founded within socio-historic constructs: the history of fast food and, the similarities that this history holds to today’s WL operation. The contextualisation of hospitality within “three domains” (Lashley, 2004, p.13) aids in defining the WL as well as recognising the competitive growth of New Zealand’s fast food industry. This research suggests that fast food growth and subsequent competition have had negative impacts upon many small fast food outlets including the WL. viii The growth of fast food has facilitated a “slow food” (Jones, Shears, Hiller Comfort and Lowell, 2003, p. 298) movement. This movement coupled with the hierarchy of food typologies, adds a Saussurian overlay and sociological discourse to this work. This overlay clarifies for the reader Bourdieu’s (1984) position that all food is reflective of class status. Within postmodernist constructs and the rise of the individual, (and the consequent opportunity to hear ‘voices from the margins’), movement within class and individuality within New Zealand’s wider culture has occurred. Social change therefore, has facilitated some of the issues within WL contestation. In highlighting Bourdieu’s (1984) concept, the “binary opposition” (Levi-Strauss, 1981, as cited in Adamenko, 2007, p.27) inherent within food hierarchies and, as often expressed within the media, is examined. This examination reveals that while the media inform, this information often contributes to the polarisation of opinion that facilitates the formation of contested viewpoints by WL stakeholders. It is against a backdrop of compliance need, the absence of an official street trading policy, the differing views of stakeholders, and the intensification of competition in fast food, coupled with a lacuna in the knowledge base of younger Auckland residents regarding the WL that this research finds its voice.

Thesis(M.S.)--Auburn University, 2005. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on January 3, 2008 ) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2008.