Importance Of Hrm In Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay

Through the past decade, people have become more and more conscious that the competitive edge of an organisation lies in human factors. Indeed, it can be seen that the environments of the twenty-first century turn out to be highly competitive where organisation need to devote a significant amount of time, attention and energy to manage human resources. The firms also need highly effective personnel and HRM departments. This is mostly required by the hospitality operators which must possess quality human resources because above all, they are in the people business and the level of service they deliver to their customer depend highly on the people they have. It is therefore essential that people who are engaged in Hospitality Industry must have adequate knowledge, skills and qualities so that the firms can succeed and grow not only within national boundaries but also in the international arena. Based on this background that Human Resource Management finds its increasing importance and the help it can provide to hospitality operators by attracting, training, motivating good people. In fact, all organisations should adopt Human Resource Management in order to perform effectively.

When we think of the Hospitality Industry, we usually think of hotels and restaurants. But the term has a much broader meaning. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, hospitality means “the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers with liberality and goodwill.” The word hospitality is derived from hospice, a medieval ‘house of rest’ for travellers and pilgrims. A hospice was also an early form of what we now call a nursing home and the word is clearly related hospital. The term “the hospitality industry” refers to companies, organizations and businesses which have as their core business the provision of food, drink, leisure, business facilities and accommodation to people away from their homes. The hospitality professions are among the oldest of the humane professions and they involve making a guest, client or resident welcome and comfortable. The component sectors in the hospitality industry are Hotels & motels, Guest houses, Restaurants, cafes & snack bars, Night-clubs and Public houses.

1.2 Importance of HRM in Hospitality Industry

The importance of HRM in the hospitality industry cannot be denied. There are two facts highlight this importance. The first fact is that the hospitality industry is a people business which is customer-driven and quality-focused. As a matter effect, the human element plays a major part in the overall success of any organization, but especially so in a service industry such as the hotel business. Many members of the workforce (waiters, waitresses and receptionists) are in direct contact with the guests and are seen as been involved in achieving the objectives of the hotel. The quality of service offered is dependent not only upon the skills but also upon the attitudes of the staff. The latter are part of the finished product for which the customer is paying. Customer satisfaction is likely to be affected as much by the standard of food and beverage, accommodation or other facilities of the hotel as by the courtesy, helpfulness and personal qualities of the staff. Therefore both the skills and the attitudes of the workers are essential if the demands of the customer are to be met satisfactorily. This places particular importance on human resource management.

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1.3 Problem Statement

The hotel industry is one of the major pillars of Mauritian economy therefore great attention must be paid to the hospitality industry. An organisation like La Plantation Hotel needs to be constantly in line with changes due to the competitive environment. Therefore, there must be a continuous reviewing of the HRM practices in order to achieve success and maintain a corporate growth. This study arise from the need to analyse to what extent the HRM practices are effectively practiced at La Plantation Hotel and how they can be enhanced to gain better results. HRM practices are the essential elements in which attention must be focused as these practices have a direct impact on the human resource of the Hotel and people are very important in order to gain competitive advantage and success. This study examines the 5 main HRM practices and how they are being performed in the Hotel. The five practices are human resource planning, recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management and effective communication. It is generally accepted that success is deemed to come from the way the human resources are being managed and trained in the organisation, for human resources are amongst the most crucial element for Service Company in the hotel industry.

1.4 Main Objective of the study

The main objective of this study is to identify, explore and evaluate the effectiveness of the present HRM practices at La Plantation hotel and provide recommendations where necessary in order to achieve success.

Sub Objective of the Study

The sub objectives of this project are as follows:

To analyze the effectiveness of HRP in the hotel

To identify how Recruitment and Selection is carried out in the hotel

To identify the effectiveness of Training and Development at La Plantation Hotel

To assess how performance management is performed in the hotel and its effectiveness

To assess the importance of effective communication

To determine whether the organization is giving proper consideration to its personnel.

1.6 Chapter Overview

Chapter 1 is the introduction of the project. It starts by an overview of Human Resource Management. Then it moves on by a definition of Hospitality Industry, how HRM is important in the hospitality industry and the objective of the study.

Chapter 2 is the Literature Review part. It provides some definitions of HRM given by different authors and it talks about the five HRM practices known as HRP, recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management and effective communication. And it ends up with the Empirical Review.

Chapter 3 presents La Plantation Hotel: the organisational background, the mission, vision and objective of the hotel. It also reviews the present organisational structure and how the hotel carries out the five HRM practices.

Chapter 4 deals with the Research Methodology. That is it identifies the various steps that were followed in carrying out the survey.

Chapter 5 comprise of analysis and finding. The findings are data obtained from the questionnaires which have been filled by the employees. Therefore, based on the above analysis was made.

Chapter 6 is the recommendation and conclusion. In this part attention is focused on some proposals and recommendations that could be implemented to improve the working lives of the employees and finally the chapter ends with a conclusion.