<p>Denna studies syfte är att synliggöra vilket förändringsarbete som sker inom den kommunala verksamheten när organisationer går från en hieraktiskt organisationsstruktur till en processinriktidad organisation. Studien genomfördes i en svensk kommun och fallstudie användes som metod. Den data som samlades in bestod av intervjuer av individer involverade i projektet, dokumentation och egna observationer. Analysen som gjordes på fallstudien utgick från fyra olika förändringsperspektiv. Genom perspektiven kan djupare förståelse skapas för det som händer i en organisation i förändring. Enligt studien ses förändringen som någonting positivt, men nya organisatoriska hinder uppstod till följd av det nya samarbetet. Bland annat strukturella problem på hur de olika organisationerna ska vara fristående men ändå samarbetande. Studien visar på att betrakta orgranisationen ur flera perspektiv kan ge djupare förståelse av vilka effekter det får på organisationen. Bland annat kan samma situation uttrycka sig annorlunda beroende från vilket perspektiv som betraktras. Vår slutsats är att kommunal verksamhet är komplex och mycket svår att förstå. Avtal mellan kundtjänst och förvalting kan ses som enkla instruktioner till kundtjänstpersonalen. Genom flerperspektivanalys kan dessa instruktioner få en ny innebörd och visa på oförutsedda effekter för hela organisationen.</p>

Depuis leur identification comme structures favorisant l’apprentissage et le transfert de connaissances entre les membres de l’organisation, les Communauté de Pratique (CP) ont attiré l’attention de plusieurs praticiens en management, mais aussi des chercheurs qui ont mis en avant leurs rôles opérationnels dans les organisations (Lave et Wenger 1991 ; Brown et Duguid, 1991 ; Wenger 1998 ; Smith et Farquhar 2000 ; Lesser et Stork 2001 ; Mc Dermott 2002 ; Guérin 2005 ; Schenkel et Teigland, 2008 ; Hemmasi et Csanda, 2009), et d’autres se sont efforcés à identifier leurs caractéristiques épistémiques et structurelles (Wenger 1998 ; Chanal 2000 ; Cohendet et al., 2003 ; Blunt, 2003 ; Josserand et St Leger, 2004 ; Guérin 2005 ; Thompson 2005.). Cependant, il existe peu d’études systématiques sur la contribution des Communautés de Pratique (CP) à la performance de leurs membres. Ce lien reste encore à caractériser. Ceci a amorcé donc notre volonté pour nous pencher sur ce sujet. La CP est toujours présentée comme émergente et ancrée dans l’organisation dans laquelle elle évolue. Son émergence est principalement expliquée par l’écart qui existe dans les organisations entre le travail prescrit et le travail réel auquel les salariés font face (Lave et Wenger, 1991 ; Brown et Duguid 1991 ; Wenger, 1998 ; Schenkel et Teigland, 2008). Notre petite expérience en tant que salarié dans le front-office d’une organisation de service nous a permis de constater ledit écart et nous avons commencé alors à nourrir notre réflexion à propos de ce contexte. Les théoriciens s’intéressant aux entreprises de service ont présenté le contexte de ces dernières comme marqué par des situations multiples et variées, imprévisibles et délicates à gérer. C’est ce qui provoque un écart entre ce qui est prescrit par les règles organisationnelles et le travail réel tel que réalisé par les agents. En d’autres termes, les modes opératoires prescrits ne couvrent pas toutes les situations possibles et se montrent parfois incapables de résoudre certains problèmes. L’instabilité des situations qui provoque cet écart dans le contexte des relations de service, est due et imputée essentiellement à la participation du client au processus d’élaboration de service : la « coproduction » du service (Eiglier et Langeard, 1987 ; Hatchuel, 1996 ; Gadrey 1996 et 2002 ; Hanique et Jobet, 2001 ; Pichault et Zune, 2000 ; David, 2001 ; Bouzit, 2001 ; Hubault et Bourgeois, 2001 ; Zarifian, 2002 ; Jeantet, 2003, etc.). Ce contexte des relations de service nous a semblé particulièrement pertinent pour mener notre analyse relative aux CP. Toutefois, la multiplication des divisions dans les entreprises de service (front-office et back-office) rendait difficile d’aborder les relations de service dans leur globalité. Ceci nous a conduit à délimiter notre terrain et à centrer notre étude davantage sur une des sphères la composant. Nous avons alors choisi de nous intéresser à l’univers des front-office. Enfin, et étant donné que notre thèse s’inscrit dans les sciences de gestion, et plus précisément dans le volet relatif à la Gestion des Ressources Humaines (GRH), nous avons alors pensé à tirer quelques enseignements pour les pratiques de GRH dans les organisations. En fait, il s’agit d’une tentative de rapprochement du concept de CP et la GRH qui donne une certaine originalité à notre travail. Ceci nous permet de sortir un peu du courant commun et dominant dans le champ d’étude des CP, où les contributions sont souvent inscrites essentiellement dans l’approche du management des connaissances dans les organisations. / The Communities of Practice (CP) are identified as conductive structures for learning and knowledge transfer between members of the organization. Besides practitioners in management, many researchers were interested in these groups. Some have highlighted their operational roles in organizations (Lave et Wenger 1991 ; Brown et Duguid, 1991 ; Wenger 1998 ; Smith et Farquhar 2000 ; Lesser et Stork 2001 ; Mc Dermott 2002 ; Guérin 2005 ; Schenkel et Teigland, 2008 ; Hemmasi et Csanda, 2009), and others have tried to identify their structural and epistemic characteristics (Wenger 1998 ; Chanal 2000 ; Cohendet et al., 2003 ; Blunt, 2003 ; Josserand et St Leger, 2004 ; Guérin 2005 ; Thompson 2005.). However, the link between such communities and employee performance is seldom investi¬gated, especially in service firms. This has encouraged us to conduct our study on the relationship between CP and member’s performance in the context of service relationships and more specifically in the front office of these companies. Furthermore, our thesis is part of the Human Resource Management sciences, and we aim to draw some lessons for HRM practices in organizations. This is an attempt to bring the concept of CP and HRM that gives a certain originality in our work. This allows us to get some current common and dominant in the field of study of CP, where contributions are often recorded mainly in the approach to Knowledge Management in organization. • Our problemOur problem is based on the understanding and analysis of the CP's links with the performance of its members. The CP does contribute to the performance of its members in service relationships? To develop these questions, we decided to decompose it as follows:- Is there link between membership of an employee to a CP and its performance in the context of service relationships?- If this link exists, how this last one is built? What are the different mechanisms by which it was constuct in service relationships?- If this link exists, what are the lessons that may have drawn some HRM practices in organizations? • Our Method Following several authors’ advices, we turned in our empirical part to the case study approach. Un empirical work investigating a contemporary phenomenon in its context of real life (Yin, on 1994; Eisenhardt, on 1989 ; Baumard and Ibert, on 1998; Hoepfl, on 2007; Giordano, 2003) Our study is led in the front-office of two public organizations and in a bank (private sector). Eight units composing these devices of reception were studied : four call centers and four reception desks. Our study revealed interesting results. They have greatly enriched the knowledge in the various areas covered, as well as lessons for certain practices in organizations.

Yes / This study aims to explore how marketers can use text mining to analyze actors, actions and performance effects of service encounters by building on the role theory. This enables hotel managers to use introduced methodology to measure and monitor frontline employees’ role behavior and optimize their service. Design/methodology/approach: The authors’ approach links text mining and importance-performance analysis with role theory’s conceptual foundations taking into account the hotel industry’s specifics to assess the effect of frontline hotel employees’ actions on consumer satisfaction and to derive specific management implications for the hospitality sector. Findings: This study identifies different actors involved in hotel frontline interactions revealing distinct role behaviors that characterize consumers’ perspectives of service encounters with different role types associated with front-office employees. This research also identifies role performance related to role behavior to improve service encounters. Practical implications: Customer–employee interactions can be assessed by user-generated contents (UGC). Performance evaluations relate to frontline employee roles associated with distinct role scripts, whereby different hotel segments require tailored role designs. Insights of this study can be used for service optimization, market positioning as well as for improving human resource management practices in the hotel industry. Originality/value: This study contributes to the service encounter literature by applying role theory in the text mining of UGC to assess frontline employees as actors and the effects of their actions on service quality delivery. / Science Foundation of Ministry of Education, PR China (Grant No. 21YJA630031)

This study focused on the hotel front office management course and how this course and related topics were taught in hospitality management programs. The results of the study can guide faculty in developing and expanding the hotel front office management course, related textbooks and teaching resources to best prepare students to meet the future needs of the lodging industry.

Denna studies syfte är att synliggöra vilket förändringsarbete som sker inom den kommunala verksamheten när organisationer går från en hieraktiskt organisationsstruktur till en processinriktidad organisation. Studien genomfördes i en svensk kommun och fallstudie användes som metod. Den data som samlades in bestod av intervjuer av individer involverade i projektet, dokumentation och egna observationer. Analysen som gjordes på fallstudien utgick från fyra olika förändringsperspektiv. Genom perspektiven kan djupare förståelse skapas för det som händer i en organisation i förändring. Enligt studien ses förändringen som någonting positivt, men nya organisatoriska hinder uppstod till följd av det nya samarbetet. Bland annat strukturella problem på hur de olika organisationerna ska vara fristående men ändå samarbetande. Studien visar på att betrakta orgranisationen ur flera perspektiv kan ge djupare förståelse av vilka effekter det får på organisationen. Bland annat kan samma situation uttrycka sig annorlunda beroende från vilket perspektiv som betraktras. Vår slutsats är att kommunal verksamhet är komplex och mycket svår att förstå. Avtal mellan kundtjänst och förvalting kan ses som enkla instruktioner till kundtjänstpersonalen. Genom flerperspektivanalys kan dessa instruktioner få en ny innebörd och visa på oförutsedda effekter för hela organisationen.

Depuis leur identification comme structures favorisant l'apprentissage et le transfert de connaissances entre les membres de l'organisation, les Communauté de Pratique (CP) ont attiré l'attention de plusieurs praticiens en management, mais aussi des chercheurs qui ont mis en avant leurs rôles opérationnels dans les organisations (Lave et Wenger 1991 ; Brown et Duguid, 1991 ; Wenger 1998 ; Smith et Farquhar 2000 ; Lesser et Stork 2001 ; Mc Dermott 2002 ; Guérin 2005 ; Schenkel et Teigland, 2008 ; Hemmasi et Csanda, 2009), et d'autres se sont efforcés à identifier leurs caractéristiques épistémiques et structurelles (Wenger 1998 ; Chanal 2000 ; Cohendet et al., 2003 ; Blunt, 2003 ; Josserand et St Leger, 2004 ; Guérin 2005 ; Thompson 2005.). Cependant, il existe peu d'études systématiques sur la contribution des Communautés de Pratique (CP) à la performance de leurs membres. Ce lien reste encore à caractériser. Ceci a amorcé donc notre volonté pour nous pencher sur ce sujet. La CP est toujours présentée comme émergente et ancrée dans l'organisation dans laquelle elle évolue. Son émergence est principalement expliquée par l'écart qui existe dans les organisations entre le travail prescrit et le travail réel auquel les salariés font face (Lave et Wenger, 1991 ; Brown et Duguid 1991 ; Wenger, 1998 ; Schenkel et Teigland, 2008). Notre petite expérience en tant que salarié dans le front-office d'une organisation de service nous a permis de constater ledit écart et nous avons commencé alors à nourrir notre réflexion à propos de ce contexte. Les théoriciens s'intéressant aux entreprises de service ont présenté le contexte de ces dernières comme marqué par des situations multiples et variées, imprévisibles et délicates à gérer. C'est ce qui provoque un écart entre ce qui est prescrit par les règles organisationnelles et le travail réel tel que réalisé par les agents. En d'autres termes, les modes opératoires prescrits ne couvrent pas toutes les situations possibles et se montrent parfois incapables de résoudre certains problèmes. L'instabilité des situations qui provoque cet écart dans le contexte des relations de service, est due et imputée essentiellement à la participation du client au processus d'élaboration de service : la " coproduction " du service (Eiglier et Langeard, 1987 ; Hatchuel, 1996 ; Gadrey 1996 et 2002 ; Hanique et Jobet, 2001 ; Pichault et Zune, 2000 ; David, 2001 ; Bouzit, 2001 ; Hubault et Bourgeois, 2001 ; Zarifian, 2002 ; Jeantet, 2003, etc.). Ce contexte des relations de service nous a semblé particulièrement pertinent pour mener notre analyse relative aux CP. Toutefois, la multiplication des divisions dans les entreprises de service (front-office et back-office) rendait difficile d'aborder les relations de service dans leur globalité. Ceci nous a conduit à délimiter notre terrain et à centrer notre étude davantage sur une des sphères la composant. Nous avons alors choisi de nous intéresser à l'univers des front-office. Enfin, et étant donné que notre thèse s'inscrit dans les sciences de gestion, et plus précisément dans le volet relatif à la Gestion des Ressources Humaines (GRH), nous avons alors pensé à tirer quelques enseignements pour les pratiques de GRH dans les organisations. En fait, il s'agit d'une tentative de rapprochement du concept de CP et la GRH qui donne une certaine originalité à notre travail. Ceci nous permet de sortir un peu du courant commun et dominant dans le champ d'étude des CP, où les contributions sont souvent inscrites essentiellement dans l'approche du management des connaissances dans les organisations. Pour réaliser ce rapprochement, nous avons emprunté certaines notions issues de la théorie des CP pour tenter de les intégrer dans certaines problématiques du champ de la GRH. Notre but est d'essayer de proposer quelques perspectives (innovantes) pour enrichir la connaissance dans ce champ et pour améliorer les pratiques dans cette fonction qui gère l'emploi et plus rarement les pratiques professionnelles quotidiennes des employés. Les différents éléments présentés ci-dessus nous ont encouragé à mener notre étude à propos du lien entre les CP et la performance de leur membres, dans le contexte des relations de service et plus précisément dans les front-office de ces entreprises, avec l'espoir d'en tirer quelques enseignements pour la GRH dans les organisations. * Objet et objectifs de la recherche L'objet de notre recherche s'articule autour du lien qu'entretient la CP avec la performance de ses membres. Notre objectif visé ici est triple : - Décrire et analyser l'émergence des CP dans le contexte organisationnel des relations de service ; - Comprendre et expliciter si ces CP dans les entreprises de service contribuent à la performance de leurs membres ; - Enfin, tenter de tirer certains enseignements pour la GRH, tant sur le plan conceptuel qu'opérationnel. * Notre problématique Notre problématique s'articule autour de l'appréhension et l'analyse des liens qu'entretient la CP avec la performance de ses membres. La CP contribue-t-elle à la performance de ses membres dans les relations de service ? Pour développer ce questionnement, nous avons décidé le décomposer comme suit :  Existe-il un lien entre l'appartenance d'un salarié à une CP et son niveau de performance dans le contexte des relations de service ?  Si ce lien existe, comment ce lien est-il construit ? Quels sont les différents mécanismes qui permettent sa construction dans les relations de service ?  Si ce lien existe, quels sont les enseignements que l'ont peut tirer pour certaines pratiques de GRH dans les organisations ? * Notre méthodologie Visant à étudier et explorer un phénomène particulier dans un contexte déterminé, nous avons recouru dans notre démarche à l'approche qualitative (Yin, 1994 ; Baumard et Ibert, 1998 ; Hoepfl, 2007). En effet, notre objet d'investigation s'articule autour du phénomène des CP et du travail des agents (la coproduction) dans les relations de service, dans le but d'appréhender si et comment l'émergence de ces CP peuvent contribuer à la performance de leurs membres dans leur activité quotidienne. Ceci plaide pour le recours à l'approche qualitative, dans le sens où cette approche est particulièrement intéressante pour rechercher les significations et comprendre des activités dans des situations uniques et/ou fortement contextualisées (Giordano, 2003). En suivant les conseils de plusieurs auteurs, nous avons recouru dans notre partie empirique au dispositif de l'étude de cas, c'est-à-dire à un travail empirique investiguant un phénomène contemporain dans son contexte de vie réelle (Yin, 1994 ; Eisenhardt, 1989 ; Baumard et Ibert, 1998 ; Hoepfl, 2007; Giordano, 2003 ; ). L'étude de cas peut être unique ou multiples (Eisenhardt, 1989 ; Yin 1994, 2009 ; Wacheux, 2005). En ce qui nous concerne, nous avons choisi de procéder à une étude de cas multiples afin de pouvoir comparer les cas (Yin 1994) et ainsi favoriser la génération de théories ou la confirmation de théories susceptibles d'être généralisées (Roussel et Wacheux, 2005). Notre étude est menée dans les front-office de deux organisations ayant un statut d'établissements parapublics et dans une banque (secteur privé). Huit unités composant ces dispositifs d'accueil ont été étudié : Quatre centres d'appels et quatre guichets. Les résultats obtenu de notre étude se présentent comme particulièrement intéressants. Ils ont permis d'enrichir considérablement les connaissances dans les différents domaines abordés, ainsi que de tirer des enseignements pour certaines pratiques dans les organisations.

The South African hospitality industry, and more specifically the accommodation sector, is a booming industry within South African Tourism. Annually thousands of tourists, nationally and internationally, come to stay in accommodation establishments which offer a variety of services to guests (South Africa, 2009:499). What differentiates one accommodation establishment from another is the type and quality of service offered to guests. This service offered to guests can only be generated by manual labour, namely by employees. Front Office Employees in particular have direct and continual interaction with guests; Front Office Employees deliver the services required by guests and ultimately determine the satisfaction experienced by guests. A well–known saying goes "Happy workers make happy customers". The core of this saying is therefore that Front Office Employees, who experience a Quality of Work Life, will ultimately deliver exceptional service and lead the accommodation establishment to be more productive and more profitable. Quality of Work Life comprises a variety of life domains which need to be satisfied and fulfilled to result in an employer being happy. These life domains include Health and safety, Economic and family issues, Social issues, Esteem issues, Actualisation issues, Knowledge issues, Creativity and aesthetic issues, Feelings about the establishment, Management and Leisure issues. Satisfaction with these various life domains will therefore lead to a good Quality of Work Life and overall good Quality of Life being experienced. However, few studies have been conducted on the Quality of Work Life experienced within accommodation establishments and more specifically that of Front Office Employees. When employees experience a good Quality of Work Life, the accommodation establishment can expect various long–term advantages, such as higher employee productivity, lower turnover and absenteeism, increased loyalty and commitment towards the establishment and increased overall profitability. Hence in order to ensure accommodation establishments deliver excellent quality service to their guests and fulfil their needs entirely, it is essential to better understand the Front Office Employees who directly deal with the guests. This understanding can be gained by obtaining a clearer understanding of how Front Office Employees experience Quality of Work Life and the various life domains they are not satisfied with. By developing an in–depth knowledge of the Front Office Employee and how satisfied they are with their Quality of Work Life, greater satisfaction can be ensured, which will ultimately lead to the accommodation establishment being more productive and more profitable. The main goal of this study was to determine whether Front Office Employees are satisfied with their overall Quality of Work Life. In order to achieve this goal, the study comprises two articles. The research underpinning both of the articles was conducted at a specific South African resort group in June 2009 and a specific hotel group of South Africa in March 2010. A self–administrated questionnaire was distributed to the various units, according to an availability sampling method which focuses on respondents available and willing to fill in the questionnaire. A total of two hundred and ninety two (292) questionnaires were completed during the survey. From these questionnaires, data were obtained and results analysed. The first article was titled "Quality of Work Life: a comparative study of a resort group and hotel group Front Office Employees". The main purpose of this article was to determine whether Front Office Employees in the hotel group experience the same degree of Quality of Work Life as the resort group Front Office Employees. This article highlighted the importance of Front Office Employees, since they are the first and continual contact guests have with an accommodation establishment. These Front Office Employees therefore determine the type of service experienced by guests and the satisfaction they derive from it. In order for Front Office Employees to deliver quality service, the Front Office Employees should experience a Quality of Work Life. To achieve the objectives of this article, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis was first done to confirm the various life domains of Quality of Work Life as well as the various mean readings for each life domain. In addition to this, an independent t–test was performed to compare the Front Office Employees of the hotel group, with the resort group Front Office Employees with regard to how they experience their Quality of Work Life. The practical significance of the various life domains was determined in practice, by looking at the Cohen d–value. By means of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis it was determined that each life domain consisted of certain factors, ultimately leading to the concept of Quality of Work Life. With the comparison drawn between the hotel group Front Office Employees and the resort group Front Office Employees can it be accepted that the hotel group Front Office Employees are more satisfied with their Quality of Work Life than is the case with the resort group Front Office Employees. The life domains identified as having a practical visible difference effect in practice were determined. These results can therefore be utilized by human resource managers in accommodation establishments as areas on which to focus in order to improve the Quality of Work Life offered to Front Office Employees and thus the quality of service rendered to guests, which would then inevitably have an impact on the profitability of the establishment. The second article was titled "The effect of leisure life of hotel group Front Office Employees on their Quality of Work Life." The main purpose of this article was to determine the overall effect of leisure life, which is classified as one of the life domains of Quality of Work Life, on the various other life domains of Quality of Work Life. The life domain Leisure life had two factors which were identified by a confirmatory factor analysis. Once the factors had been confirmed, the relationship between Leisure life and the various other life domains were determined. The results of this research revealed that there is a relationship between leisure life and the other various life domains constituting Quality of Work Life. Hence the results are imperative for human resource managers of accommodation establishments, as the importance of leisure in Front Office Employees' lives as well as the various other life domains on which it has an impact have been indicated. Overall, the research revealed that Front Office Employees of the hotel group are more satisfied with their Quality of Work Life than is the case with the Front Office Employees of the resort group. Furthermore, the importance of Front Office Employees' leisure life was indicated by the relationship it has with the various other life domains, ultimately leading to a Quality of Work Life. This newly obtained knowledge of Front Office Employees of accommodation establishments can be applied by human resource managers in an effort to ensure that these employees experience a good Quality of Work Life which will lead the accommodation establishment to be more productive, efficient and profitable due to happier employees. / Thesis (M.A. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The South African hospitality industry, and more specifically the accommodation sector, is a booming industry within South African Tourism. Annually thousands of tourists, nationally and internationally, come to stay in accommodation establishments which offer a variety of services to guests (South Africa, 2009:499). What differentiates one accommodation establishment from another is the type and quality of service offered to guests. This service offered to guests can only be generated by manual labour, namely by employees. Front Office Employees in particular have direct and continual interaction with guests; Front Office Employees deliver the services required by guests and ultimately determine the satisfaction experienced by guests. A well–known saying goes "Happy workers make happy customers". The core of this saying is therefore that Front Office Employees, who experience a Quality of Work Life, will ultimately deliver exceptional service and lead the accommodation establishment to be more productive and more profitable. Quality of Work Life comprises a variety of life domains which need to be satisfied and fulfilled to result in an employer being happy. These life domains include Health and safety, Economic and family issues, Social issues, Esteem issues, Actualisation issues, Knowledge issues, Creativity and aesthetic issues, Feelings about the establishment, Management and Leisure issues. Satisfaction with these various life domains will therefore lead to a good Quality of Work Life and overall good Quality of Life being experienced. However, few studies have been conducted on the Quality of Work Life experienced within accommodation establishments and more specifically that of Front Office Employees. When employees experience a good Quality of Work Life, the accommodation establishment can expect various long–term advantages, such as higher employee productivity, lower turnover and absenteeism, increased loyalty and commitment towards the establishment and increased overall profitability. Hence in order to ensure accommodation establishments deliver excellent quality service to their guests and fulfil their needs entirely, it is essential to better understand the Front Office Employees who directly deal with the guests. This understanding can be gained by obtaining a clearer understanding of how Front Office Employees experience Quality of Work Life and the various life domains they are not satisfied with. By developing an in–depth knowledge of the Front Office Employee and how satisfied they are with their Quality of Work Life, greater satisfaction can be ensured, which will ultimately lead to the accommodation establishment being more productive and more profitable. The main goal of this study was to determine whether Front Office Employees are satisfied with their overall Quality of Work Life. In order to achieve this goal, the study comprises two articles. The research underpinning both of the articles was conducted at a specific South African resort group in June 2009 and a specific hotel group of South Africa in March 2010. A self–administrated questionnaire was distributed to the various units, according to an availability sampling method which focuses on respondents available and willing to fill in the questionnaire. A total of two hundred and ninety two (292) questionnaires were completed during the survey. From these questionnaires, data were obtained and results analysed. The first article was titled "Quality of Work Life: a comparative study of a resort group and hotel group Front Office Employees". The main purpose of this article was to determine whether Front Office Employees in the hotel group experience the same degree of Quality of Work Life as the resort group Front Office Employees. This article highlighted the importance of Front Office Employees, since they are the first and continual contact guests have with an accommodation establishment. These Front Office Employees therefore determine the type of service experienced by guests and the satisfaction they derive from it. In order for Front Office Employees to deliver quality service, the Front Office Employees should experience a Quality of Work Life. To achieve the objectives of this article, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis was first done to confirm the various life domains of Quality of Work Life as well as the various mean readings for each life domain. In addition to this, an independent t–test was performed to compare the Front Office Employees of the hotel group, with the resort group Front Office Employees with regard to how they experience their Quality of Work Life. The practical significance of the various life domains was determined in practice, by looking at the Cohen d–value. By means of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis it was determined that each life domain consisted of certain factors, ultimately leading to the concept of Quality of Work Life. With the comparison drawn between the hotel group Front Office Employees and the resort group Front Office Employees can it be accepted that the hotel group Front Office Employees are more satisfied with their Quality of Work Life than is the case with the resort group Front Office Employees. The life domains identified as having a practical visible difference effect in practice were determined. These results can therefore be utilized by human resource managers in accommodation establishments as areas on which to focus in order to improve the Quality of Work Life offered to Front Office Employees and thus the quality of service rendered to guests, which would then inevitably have an impact on the profitability of the establishment. The second article was titled "The effect of leisure life of hotel group Front Office Employees on their Quality of Work Life." The main purpose of this article was to determine the overall effect of leisure life, which is classified as one of the life domains of Quality of Work Life, on the various other life domains of Quality of Work Life. The life domain Leisure life had two factors which were identified by a confirmatory factor analysis. Once the factors had been confirmed, the relationship between Leisure life and the various other life domains were determined. The results of this research revealed that there is a relationship between leisure life and the other various life domains constituting Quality of Work Life. Hence the results are imperative for human resource managers of accommodation establishments, as the importance of leisure in Front Office Employees' lives as well as the various other life domains on which it has an impact have been indicated. Overall, the research revealed that Front Office Employees of the hotel group are more satisfied with their Quality of Work Life than is the case with the Front Office Employees of the resort group. Furthermore, the importance of Front Office Employees' leisure life was indicated by the relationship it has with the various other life domains, ultimately leading to a Quality of Work Life. This newly obtained knowledge of Front Office Employees of accommodation establishments can be applied by human resource managers in an effort to ensure that these employees experience a good Quality of Work Life which will lead the accommodation establishment to be more productive, efficient and profitable due to happier employees. / Thesis (M.A. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Ce travail de recherche porte sur l’évaluation du système d’information (SI) bancaire de front-office. Àtravers un cadre d’analyse sociotechnique, nous avons cherché à identifier les variables et leurs liens àprendre en compte pour évaluer le succès perçu du SI auprès des utilisateurs. La proposition centrale est quele succès perçu du SI bancaire de front-office dépend à la fois de caractéristiques techniques et sociales.Aussi, les spécificités du monde bancaire, l’évolution de l’environnement aussi bien réglementaire queconcurrentiel, nous ont convaincus de la nécessité d’une évaluation appropriée au domaine bancaire. C’estpourquoi ce travail de recherche est composé d’une part d’une approche qualitative exploratoire afind’identifier les variables spécifiques au domaine bancaire, et d’autre part d’une démarche quantitative denature hypothético-déductive.Au final, on propose un modèle composé de huit variables (les qualités de la formation, du système, duservice, de l’information, l’utilisation, la satisfaction, le soutien des managers intermédiaires, les bénéficesnets) expliquant le chemin menant au succès du SI bancaire. L’influence de la participation des utilisateurs àune phase de projet concernant le SI, ainsi que celle des caractéristiques sociodémographiques desrépondants ont été analysées.Ce modèle constitue à la fois un apport théorique, mais aussi managérial puisque les banques disposentmaintenant d’un instrument leur permettant de mesurer le succès de leur SI.Ce travail souligne l’importance de certaines variables, et met en évidence des liaisons spécifiques audomaine bancaire. / This research focuses on evaluating the banks’ front office information system (IS). By using asociotechnical analysis frame, we wished to identify the variables and the links that have to be taken intoaccount in order to evaluate the perceived IS success among users. The main proposal is that this perceivedsuccess depends on characteristics which are both technical and social ones. At the same time, we wereconvinced by the bank specificities, rules and competition evolution, that an evaluation, peculiar to the fieldof the banks, is necessary. This is why this research uses at the same time a qualitative approach, to identifythe specific variables in the bank world, and a quantitative approach based on hypothesis and deduction.We finally propose a model showing eight variables (the qualities of the training, the system, the service, theinformation, the use, the satisfaction, the middle managers’ support, the net profit) which enlight the wayleading to the success of bank IS. Both users’ participation to a IS step of a project and the surveyed people’ssociodemographic characteristics were analysed. This model both provides a theoretical and managerialaspect, since the banks now have a tool measuring the success of their Information System. This workemphasizes the weight of some variables and highlights some links specific to the banks field.

多層次傳銷近年成長快速，目前國內已有200 餘家的傳銷公司，每年銷售額高達百億以上，預期未來將持續快速成長。當有上百萬人加入傳銷公司，成為「直銷商」的今天，對於此種攸關民生發展的新型態服務業，實有必要加以深入研究，以掌握時代脈動，本研究希望能夠從服務傳送系統的角度發覺其實際的運作方式。 　　本研究希望能達至的目的為： 　　1.探討多層次傳銷其服務傳送系統的內涵，即傳銷公司、直銷商與顧客之間的互動關係。 　　2.了解在其服務傳送系統中，哪些環節是其關鍵成功之處。 　　3.分析在此服務傳送系統中的潛在問題，及其可能的解決之法。 　　此一研究乃是以個案訪談的探索性實證方式進行，選擇安麗、丞燕、雙鶴作為個案訪問的公司，據此來發展相關命題，及提出結論建議。 　　文中將服務傳送系統分成前場及後場，前場包含產品、相關服務、服務人員、及顧客，後場則為後勤系統、激勵制度、教育訓練及理念灌輸，以及廣告、形象等八大構面，來分析多層次傳銷的運作方式，把多層次傳銷的產品特色、直銷商角色、獎金制度、榮譽階級等，都做了一個簡單的介紹，盼能夠對於從事相關行業及對多層次傳銷有興趣的人提供些許的幫助。