The importance of management in the food and beverage sector as well as managing food and
beverage service employees are crucial aspects that influence quality service delivery. The food
and beverage sector is a large service orientated segment of the greater tourism industry, and
effective management of employees is therefore necessary since employees are regarded as
the primary resource through which establishments deliver services. One might further argue
that an employee is “the service” that customers pay for, and that the employees make the
intangible service, tangible by their efficiency. The food and beverage sector is however
burdened with many challenges such as long working hours, poor remuneration and unskilled
employees that influence the overall working conditions of employees and furthermore their
overall job satisfaction. The job satisfaction experienced by employees is closely related to
Quality of Work Life, which enables employees to design their own level of job satisfaction that
will contribute to improved perceived service delivery and productivity. Investigating the needs
of employees and how they perceive their own service delivery and productivity is a very
important consideration as these contribute to job satisfaction. The rational is that Quality of
Work Life contributes to the perceived service delivery and performance of employees as
satisfied employees tend to be more hardworking, more productive and will offer better quality
services, especially in a service-orientated sector such as the food and beverage sector.
The primary goal of the study was to determine the perceived service delivery and productivity
in the food and beverage sector, by investigating how commercial food and beverage service
employees in Potchefstroom, North-West Province of South Africa, perceive their own service
delivery and productivity. In order to reach the goal of the study a self-administrated
questionnaire was distributed among food and beverage service employees at various types of
establishments such as hotel restaurants, family restaurants, restaurants, fast food outlets, bars,
coffee shops and commercial caterers. A total of 224 questionnaires were obtained and
included in the statistical data analysis. The data was captured and analysed in the Statistical
Package of Social Sciences (SPSS), while Amos was utilised for the Structural Equation Model
(SEM). The statistical analysis used in this study consisted of three (3) stages. Firstly, the profile
of the respondents, the work life domains and the employees’ business environment was
compiled with the help of two-way frequency tables and illustrated with the help of Figures and
Tables. Secondly, an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was done on the work life domains and Finally a Structural Equation Model was performed to indicate the relationship between the work
life domains and the influence thereof on perceived service delivery and productivity. The
Principal Axis Factor analysis identified seven factors namely job attributes, social attributes,
esteem attributes, actualisation attributes, creativity and aesthetic attributes, organisational
support and employee commitment and perceived service delivery and productivity. Service and
productivity business environment attributes scored the highest mean value (4.00) and this was
followed by the esteem work life domain (3.68).
Structural Equation Models were performed to indicate the relationship between the work life
domains, business environment attributes and the influence thereof on perceived service
delivery and productivity. The correlations between the factors in the final SEM indicated that
though there exists correlations between organisational support and employee commitment and
actualisation attributes, between actualisation and job attributes, and between organisational
support and employee commitment and job attributes. Creativity and aesthetic attributes and job
attributes indicated correlations, while, organisational support and creativity and aesthetic
attributes correlated. Actualisation and creativity and aesthetic attributes correlated as well. This
indicates that food and beverage managers have to improve the working conditions of
employees as well as provide the appropriate level of recognition to the hardworking
employees. Management should consider the recommendations that are made in terms of job
satisfaction of food and beverage service employees, as it possesses the ability to influence
organisational performance and success.
This research was the first study conducted among employees in the commercial food and
beverage sector. It made a considerable contribution to literature as, there is to date, limited
research available on the influence that Quality of Work life has on the perceived service
delivery and productivity of employees in the food and beverage sector. Furthermore, this
research provides valuable insights into the job satisfaction and perceived service delivery and
productivity of South African food and beverage employees and how best to manage these
employees with South African working conditions in mind. There is, however, ample opportunity
to expand this type of research in many other tourism industries or sectors, to understand the
degree to which employees’ perceptions of their own service delivery and productivity might
influence organisational performance. Expanding this research will therefore be invaluable as
organisational performance is the main objective of all commercial establishments as it
contributes to the improvement of the sector and its competitiveness and profitability. / Thesis (MCom (Tourism Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/9541 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Viljoen, Adam Herman |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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