In spite of the increasing importance of the service industry, it has failed to receive much attention from researchers. This lack of attention is especially true of the hospitality segment of the service industry, and consequently, almost no attention has been paid specifically to hotels and motels. This study explores the possible reasons for poor or inadequate service by attempting to first identify the important complexity variables of service, and second to evaluate how those variables relate to employee attitudinal reactions to their job. A total of sixteen job characteristics, theorized to have a positive effect on service complexity, were empirically tested against attitudinal reactions measures. The data was collected from 212 front office employees in 25 different hotels and motels. This study modified and evaluated an instrument (The Job Diagnostic Survey) that may be used to measure both complexity and attitudinal reaction variables. The modifications included the addition of nine new complexity variables. The results concluded that the modified instrument was internally reliable at an acceptable level for new research, and that there was strong evidence to support content validity and nomological validity measures which tended to favor the original variables over the newly proposed complexity variables. Implications of this study highlight the fact that there is considerable uncertainty in the measurement of hotel/motel service operations. Therefore, additional research is necessary to more completely define the characteristics of service complexity and then to measure its effects on employee attitudes. / Ph. D.

The banquet staff at a north Texas hotel were responsible for setting up 11 different functions (e.g., buffet dinners) for conferences and meetings. The functions were often set up late and items were often omitted. An analysis suggested that performance problems were the result of weak antecedents, inefficient work procedures, inadequate training and a lack of motivating consequences. An intervention consisting of task checklists, feedback, goal setting, monetary bonuses, training and job aids was designed to enhance the accuracy and timeliness of function setups. Performance increased from an average of 68.8% on the quality measure (accuracy plus timeliness) in baseline, to 99.7% during the intervention phase. Performance decreased to 82.3% during a follow-up phase in which parts of the intervention were discontinued by hotel management. Performance increased to 99.3% with the reintroduction of the intervention phase.

The purpose of this study was to assess the satisfaction level of 240 employees of a single hotel property. The questionnaire, administered by the Corporate Director of Training, determined if a significant difference exists between overall satisfaction and individual departmental satisfaction regarding 11 dimensions: customer satisfaction, employee involvement/teamwork, work environment, training/development/evaluation, communication, compensation/benefits, supervision, resources, planning/goal setting, general, and departmental interaction. Percentages and t tests were used to analyze the data. Results of the study will help management recommend courses of action needed to address identified problem areas.

Organisations today, regardless of their function, exist in an environment that is characterised by change. In order to maintain a competitive advantage it is vital that organisations manage such change and are sensitive to their human resource. It is imperative for organisations to understand and explore the factors that impact on employee satisfaction and overall organisational performance. The hospitality industry is an industry that is notorious for low levels of pay and long working hours, and often dissatisfied employees. This research focused on a hotel, that is part of an international chain of hotels, which has recently undergone a rebranding process (a change from within). This research aimed to assess and explore factors that impact on levels of employee satisfaction and organisation/hotel performance, in other words it aimed to 'diagnose' the hotel's current status. The research was conducted in two phases. Phase one made use of a widely used measure of job satisfaction, the job descriptive index (JDI), that looked at five facets of job satisfaction namely: pay, opportunity for promotion, co-workers, supervision and the nature of work. Phase two further explored the results of the JDI (staff being very dissatisfied with pay and promotions opportunity) and further explored other areas of the organisation/hotel with the use of an organisational development model, Weisbord's Six-Box Model (1990). The 'boxes' included areas of purpose, structure, relationships, leadership, rewards and helpful mechanisms. These areas were explored with staff using focus groups. Heads of departments (management) and the deputy general manager of the hotel were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format, exploring similar issues to those researched with staff. Results indicated problems in the hotel with regard to purpose, a severe lack of communication and staff feeling they have little chance for promotion as well as pay structures being perceived as unfair. The overall leadership at the hotel was described as erratic, and relationships between management revealed high levels of mistrust. Due to limited research in the South African hospitality industry, much of the literature available is based on experiences in the United States of America or the United Kingdom. For this research, the researcher had few previous published findings and was unsure of the many issues that could possibly arise. However, the intervention was enjoyable and recommendations have been provided for the hotel to consider, so the hotel can go from "good to great".

Employee turnover has been one of the most serious issues facing the hotel industry for many years. Both researchers and practitioners have devoted considerable time and effort to better understand and indentify ways to decrease employee turnover. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of individual differences focusing on career motivation and polychronicity on job satisfaction and its influence on employee turnover intention in the hotel industry. This study surveyed 609 non-supervisory employees working at two Dallas hotels. Respondents provided information regarding career motivations, polychronicity, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. Career motivations were significantly related to employee job satisfaction which impacted employee turnover intention. This finding can be useful to hotel companies and their managers when attempting to understand employee motivation.

Thesis (M. Tech. (Tourism and Hospitality Management)) -- Central university of Technology, Free State, 2013 / One of the 2011 National Tourism Sector Strategy objectives is to "provide excellent people development and decent work within the tourism sector". The hospitality industry is, however, not regarded as a provider of decent work, a factor that has a direct bearing on the job satisfaction level of employees. It is for this reason that it was decided to investigate the job satisfaction level of employees in selected five-star hotels in the Western Cape Province. The instrument used to gather the quantitative data was a newly developed index based on the literature review conducted. The review was not restricted to the hospitality industry, but included all industries, as the existing knowledge on job satisfaction in the hospitality industry is limited. A pilot study was conducted on one five-star hotel in Bloemfontein, and the empirical study was conducted in February 2012 among 124 employees of four five-star hotels in the Western Cape. The only biographic variable, for which a significant correlation with overall job satisfaction was calculated, was having a hospitality-related qualification. A significant correlation with overall job satisfaction was calculated for 38 of the 74 job satisfaction variables. The 38 job satisfaction variables were distributed among six internal, 18 external and 14 individual job satisfaction variables. The internal job satisfaction dimension predicted 39.97% of overall job satisfaction; the external job satisfaction dimension predicted 66.88%, and the individual job satisfaction dimension predicted 79.82%. In total, 79% of respondents indicated that they were satisfied with their current jobs. Recommendations were made to improve job satisfaction in the selected five-star hotels in the Western Cape.