<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between job satisfaction among hotel employees as well as the relationship between employee empowerment and contextual performance behaviours.</p><p><strong>Background: </strong>Most managers and scholars emphasize that an organization’s most important tool for gaining a competitive advantage is its people and; in order for the firm to attain success employees must be involved and active. It has been argued that success within the hotel industry lies with customer satisfaction, of which is the result of overall job satisfaction of the employee. Most hotels strive to empower their employees in order to deliver better quality service. In addition, contextual performance behaviours are also common practice in such places where employees have a broad range of duties and tasks. Both empowerment and contextual performance behaviours are thus seen to provide overall job satisfaction.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>The research approach used was that of a single case study, using a survey instrument to collect data on facets empowerment and contextual performance behaviours. The Scandic Hotels of Jonkoping were used for this purpose. The data collected were then analysed by way of factor analysis and multiple regression methods to validate the hypotheses formed in the theoretical framework.</p><p><strong>Findings and</strong></p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Based on the results of the analysis, the majority of the hypotheses were supported.  Training and rewards showed a significant relationship with overall job satisfaction. Job dedication behaviours also showed similar results. In addition, information sharing and trust and training and rewards proved to have interrelationships as facets of empowerment.  Interpersonal facilitation and job dedication behaviours were also proved to be distinct behaviours within contextual performance.</p>

Thesis (M.L. Arch.)--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Corporate Environmental Governance / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The introduction of environmental and social issues into the boardroom is one of the greatest challenges of our time. The threat of climate change adds urgency to the challenge, with the costs of inaction on climate change estimated at between 5 to 20% of global GDP, leading to a global recession. In terms of managing environmental and social concerns, the tourism industry, and the hotel and resort industry, has lagged behind other industries such as utilities, chemicals and banking and investment. Globally an estimated 5% of all CO2 emissions can be attributed to tourism. Energy use in hotels is disproportionately high, thanks to energy intensive facilities such as spas, laundries and swimming pools. The global hotel and resort industry can thus make significant contribution to reduce human impact on the global climate. This research develops a tool which helps the hotel and resort industry identify and manage non-financial risks such as environmental and social issues, and improve sustainable development of individual businesses and the sector as a whole. The research focuses on Guangdong Province, China, the richest province in China in terms of hotel stock, hotel revenues and hotel employees. China herself will be the world’s biggest tourism market by 2020 and given its future growth forecasts is an important venue to study sustainable development. Recognising the difficulty in precisely measuring aspects of social science such as non-financial risk and attitudes towards non-financial risk, the conceptual framework for the study uses the idea of a working non-financial risk management approach towards the production of a set of working propositions useful for business. The study first identifies stakeholders; develops a non-financial risk management methodology to identify, measure, examine and prioritise risks, and then presents the conclusions as working propositions for corporations to use. Recommendations for industry are developed and presented. To achieve the development of the non-financial risk management tool, the research draws a fresh link between risk management, corporate environmental management, sustainability and non-financial risk management. Second, through three research studies, a detailed investigation into the use and practice of sustainability and non-financial risk management is undertaken across 15 hotels in Guangdong Province. The first study is a comprehensive set of detailed in-depth interviews with 79 industry-specific stakeholders. The interviews are coded and the results used to develop the second study, a questionnaire survey of 351 hotel guests and 70 industry-specific stakeholders. A third study executes in-depth case-studies and non-financial risk benchmarking across 15 hotel and resort facilities. The results of all three studies are triangulated for better accuracy and understanding. The study presents a number of working propositions for corporations to adopt as starting points for their own non-financial risk management strategies. It is found that there is generally low awareness and application of non-financial risk management in the hotel and resort industry in Guangdong. The industry-specific stakeholders and guests have very different priorities in terms of non-financial risk management, while resource conservation does emerge as the leading issue amongst industry-specific stakeholders and hotel guests. Cost savings are found to be the main driver for implementing non-financial risk management, while cost of implementation is the main barrier. Through a factor analysis, it becomes clear that two distinct factors are at play in the guest domain: guests’ own well-being and self-need; and wider social or environmental concerns. The study recommends a multi-stakeholder partnership as a value-added framework for public policy, and recommends further research into stakeholder theory in China’s hotel and resort industry. / published_or_final_version / Kadoorie Institute / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Problematization: Tourism has a major impact on the environment. However, there is a conflict of interest making it difficult for the hotel business to decrease this impact. On the one hand, there is a pressure for environmentally friendly behaviour from society. On the other hand, the customers want to be pampered during their hotel stay. This makes it necessary to further investigate what influences customers’ intention to select a green hotel. Therefore this thesis examines students’ intention to select a green hotel. Since, it might make it easier for hotels to design and implement strategies to be greener, if they know what is important. Purpose: The aim with this thesis is to examine how the variables subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, perceived moral obligation and environmental awareness influence students’ intention to select green hotels. The main theory used is the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). However, to make the TPB model fit better to the context green hotels, the variables perceived moral obligation and environmental awareness were added. The reason for adding these variables was because they are closely entwined with each other and is argued in previous research argues they influence environmentally friendly behaviour. Methodology: This study used an online questionnaire and a small experiment in the questionnaire. The sample consisted of students from Kristianstad University. Conclusion: The result of this study shows that all the hypotheses were rejected and therefore the null hypotheses are retained.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Η παρούσα εργασία έχει ως σκοπό την ανάλυση μέσω αριθμοδεικτών που σχετίζονται με τις οικονομικές καταστάσεις των ξενοδοχειακών μονάδων της Ελλάδας. Η περίοδος μελέτης είναι το διάστημα 2009-2011, την περίοδο δηλαδή όπου η Ελλάδα διέρχονταν σε ύφεση και οικονομική κρίση. Για την ανάλυση λήφθηκαν υπόψη 60 ξενοδοχεία από διάφορες περιοχές της χώρας ώστε να καλυφθεί όσο το δυνατόν μεγαλύτερο γεωγραφικό μήκος. Σκοπός της εργασίας είναι να επιβεβαιώσει τις μελέτες του ΣΕΤΕ και του Παγκόσμιου Οργανισμού Τουρισμού, ότι ο ελληνικός τουρισμός κατά την διάρκεια της οικονομικής κρίσης υπέστη καθίζηση και οι εταιρίες του κλάδου λειτουργούσαν με ζημίες ή αναγκάζονταν σε παύση των λειτουργιών τους. / In the present essay an attempt is made in order to illustrate the impact of current economic crisis on the financial statements in hospitality sector in Greece. In order to accomplish this aim, 6 financial ratios of 60 hotels, for the period 2009-2011, were taken into account. The ratios measured are the liquidity, the solvency ratio, the ROA, the ROE, the profit margin and the debt ratio. The results showed that the business activity of Greek hotels have affected by the crisis, since in their majority have been recorded losses of the transactions or zero profits. The paradox of this study is that despite the economic crisis, the solvency ratio of Greek hotels is high enough.

Didėjant konkurencijai ir sprendžiant viešbučių teikiamų paslaugų kokybės gerinimo klausimus ypač daug dėmesio reikia skirti klientų aptarnavimo kultūrai. Viešbutis, turintis susiformavusias tradicijas ir pažiūras į klientą, vertybių skalę ir elgesio normas, neabejotinai yra teikiamų paslaugų kokybės lyderis. Šio darbo tikslas - numatyti klientų aptarnavimo kultūros gerinimo ypatumus Šiaulių miesto viešbučiuose. Buvo nagrinėjama aptarnavimo kultūros esmė ir jos ryšys su organizacijos kultūra, apžvelgtas klientų aptarnavimo kultūros valdymas, jos ugdymas, tai pat išnagrinėti viešbučių klientų aptarnavimo kultūros ypatumai, jos užtikrinimas ir gerinimo ypatumai. Tyrimo metu paaiškėjo, kad klientų aptarnavimo kultūra Šialių miesto viešbučiuose pastaruoju metu yra gera ir išlieka tokia pati - nei gerėja, nei blogėja. Darbuotojai supranta ir yra orientuoti į puikią viešbučių klientų aptarnavimo kultūrą, gerai žino klientų norus ir vyksta tarpusavio bendradarbiavimas, siekiant tuos norus patenkinti, o kas svarbiausia - yra užtikrinama gera klientų aptranavimo kultūra. Atlikus tyrimą parašytas straipsnis „Klientų aptarnavimo kultūra Šiaulių miesto viešbučiuose“, kuris pristatytas 8-ojoje Studentų mokslinių darbų konferencijoje „Ekonomikos ir vadybos aktualijos“ ir buvo užimta 3-čia vieta. / It’s necessary to pay attention to a clients service culture, when it’s deciding better quality of hotel services. Hotel, that has shaped traditions and notions to a client, scale of values either bahaviour rules, is a leader of services quality, with no doubt. Purpose of this work – to foresee points that makes clients service culture better in Šiauliai city hotels. It was - criticized essence of service culture also it’s link with organizational culture, surved possess of clients service culture, it’s practising, likewise it was criticized points of hotels clients service culture, also it’s ensure and points how to do it better. According to research, it came out, that clients service culture in Šiauliai city hotels are same – neither becoming better nor worser. Workers understand, that they are orientated to an excellent clients service culture, they know clients wishes, there is co–operation trying to satisfy these wishes and what’s the most important – in such a way is ensuring good clients service culture. After the research was done, it was written article “ Clients service culture in Šiauliai city hotels”, that was presented and took III rd place, in 8 th students academic works conference “Actualities of economics and management “.

This Thesis Project began as an exploration of the architectural, philosophical and psychological nature of dwelling. From this exploration I have made an argument about the nature of dwelling based on several premises. First, that dwelling is determined by the boundaries between public and private space. Second, these boundaries of dwelling may only be adjusted or determined by a political operation- the mediation between private desire and public consensus. Third, the successful mediation of these boundaries depends on two basic conditions: equality and communication, principally speech. To test this thesis I looked for a dwelling typology where everyone was equal and where there was a minimum condition of private space. These conditions create the largest potential for dwelling in the terms of my argument. I chose the Travellers' Hotel, a changing typology that brings together people from around the world who share all the space of the building including the kitchen, and the two most private spaces of a dwelling; the bedroom and the bathroom. I chose a site in downtown Vancouver, the corner of Davie and Granville Streets, that is the intersection of major transportation and pedestrian axes of the city and major demographic, economic, and physical changes in the fabric of the city.

Darbo sudėtinės dalys. Darbas susideda iš dviejų dalių - teorinės ir tiriamosios. Teorinėje dalyje, remiantis lietuvių ir užsienio autorių moksline literatūra išanalizuoti organizacijos kultūros aspektai, sampratos ypatumai. Tiriamojoje dalyje – aptariama tiriamų organizacijų charakteristika. Remiantis darbe pateikta tyrimo metodologija, atliktas Kauno miesto viešbučių organizacijos kultūros tyrimas. Atliekant anketinį tyrimą, apklausta 123 respondentai (60 respondentų trijų žvaigždučių viešbučiuose ir 63 – keturių žvaigždučių viešbučiuose). Remiantis gautais tyrimo pateikti gauto tyrimo rezultatai, išvados bei rekomendacijos. Darbo objektas – Kauno miesto viešbučių organizacijos kultūra. Problema. Mokslininkai iki šiol nėra ištyrę, kaip atskiros paslaugų sferos t.y. poilsio paslaugas teikiančių įmonių organizacijos kultūras. Tyrimo tikslas – ištirti Kauno miesto viešbučių organizacijos kultūrą. Šiam tikslui pasiekti buvo suformuluoti tokie uždaviniai: 1. Teoriškai pagrįsti organizacijos kultūros aspektus, organizacijos kultūros sampratą funkcijas, reikšmę. 2. Nustatyti kokią vietą viešbutis užima turizmo versle 3. Nustatyti Kauno miesto viešbučių organizacijos kultūros stiprumą bei jos poveikį darbuotojams. 4. Ištirti Kauno miesto viešbučių organizacijos kultūrą. Išvados Vieną pirmųjų, dabar jau laikomą klasikiniu, organizacijos kultūros apibrėžimų, yra pateikęs E.H.Schein (1992). Jo nuomone, organizacijos kultūra – tai kertinių įsitikinimų modelis, išugdytas ar... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The work consists of two parts – theoretical and practical. In the theoretical part the peculiarities of organizational culture are analysed according to the reliable scientific literature of Lithuanian and foreign authors. In the practical part – the characteristic of investigative organization is discussed. According to the repordet methodology of organizational culture the investigation in hotels was disposed.With the help of questionnaires there were asked 123 persons (60 persons in three stars hotels and 63 in four stars hotels). Acording to the received material and data anglysis received results, conclusions and gudeline are presented. Working Object - Kaunas city hotels organizational culture Problem - Scientists have so far not investigated, as the individual services ie leisure services business organizations crops The aim of work - explore the city of Kaunas hotel organization culture To achieve this objective was formulated in such tasks: 1. Theoretically, based on the cultural aspects of the organization, the organization culture concept of function, value. 2. Identify the location of the hotel occupies a tourism business 3. Set the Kaunas hotel organization of cultural strength and its impact on workers. 4. Explore the city of Kaunas hotel organization culture Conclusions The first one, now held in the classical, the organization of culture, has made EHSchein (1992). In his opinion, the organizational culture - is a cornerstone belief model, acquired or... [to full text]