Motivational Factors and The Hospitality Industry
Những nhân tố thúc đẩy và ngành nhà hàng khách sạn

A critical (crucial, vital, quan trọng) ingredient in the success of hotels is developing and maintaining superior(=excellent) performance from their employees (duy trì được hiệu quả công việc tốt của nhân viên). How is that accomplished (done, finish)? What Human Resource Management ( HKT ) practices should organizations invest in to acquire (= gain, attain, obtain, có được) and retain (keep, hold, duy trì) great employees?.

Some hotels aim (v, hướng tới) to provide superior Working conditions for their employees . The idea originated from workplaces usually in the non-service sector (part, area) that emphasized (nhấn mạnh) fun and enjoyment as part of work – life balance(cân bằng giữa làm việc và cuộc sống). By contrast , the service sector , and more specifically hotels, has traditionally not extended (mở rộng, kéo dài) these practices to address(= solve, tackle, giải quyết) basic employee needs , such as good working conditions.

Pfeffer ( 1994 ) emphasizes that in order to succeed in a global business environment , organizations must make investment in Hoian Resource Management ( HRM ) to allow them to acquire employees who possess(own, have, sở hữu) better skills and capabilities (khả năng) than their competitors. This investment will be to their competitive advantage,(một lợi ích mang tính cạnh tranh). Despite this recognition(sự nhận ra) of the importance of employee development, the hospitality industry(ngành kinh doanh hotels, bars, restaurants…) has historically been dominated by(phổ biến nhất) underdeveloped (chưa phát triển) HR practices ( Lucas , 2002 ).

Lucas also points out that the substance (core, central part, cốt lõi) of HRM practices does not appear to be designed to foster (raise, nuôi dưỡng) constructive (mang tính lợi ích) relations with employees or to represent a managerial approach that enables (allow, permit, cho phép) developing and drawing out(explain, mention) the full potential of people, even though employees may be broadly (largely, mostly) satisfied with any aspects (khía cạnh) of their work (Lucas , 2002). In addition , or maybe as a result , high employee turnover(tỉ lệ nhân viên rời công ty và nhân viên mới vào thay thế) has been a recurring problem (một vấn đề định kỳ, có tính lặp đi lặp lại) throughout the hospitality industry. Among the many cited (mention, refer to) reasons are low compensation(benefit, payment, đãi ngộ), inadequate (không đủ >< adequate) benefits , poor working conditions and compromised(worse, poor, nghèo, kém) employee morale(sự say mê, tinh thần) and attitudes (Maroudas et al . , 2008).

Ng and Sorensen (2008) demonstrated (show, explain) that when managers provide recognition to employees, motivate (khích lệ, tạo động lực) employees to work together , and remove obstacles (n, khó khăn, vấn đề) preventing effective performance , employees feel more obligated (greatful, thankful) to stay with the company. This was succinctly (briefly, in short, ngắn gọn) summarized (review, sum up, tổng kết lại) by Michel et al. (2013): ‘Providing support to employees gives them the confidence to perform their jobs better and the motivation to stay with the organization. “Hospitality organizations can therefore enhance (củng cố) employee motivation and retention (keeping, holding, sự duy trì) through the development and improvement of their working conditions. These conditions are inherently (essentially, cơ bản) linked to the working environment.

While it seems likely that employees ‘reactions (phản ứng) to their job characteristics (quality, personality) could be affected by a predisposition (thiên về) view their work environment negatively, no evidence exists to support this hypothesis (thuyết) (Spector et al . , 2000 ). However, given the opportunity (cơ hội), many people will find something to complain about in relation to(liên quan đến) their workplace (Poulston , 2009). There is a strong link between the perceptions (ý thức, quan điểm) of employees and particular factors of their work environment that are separate from the work itself , including company policies, salary and vacations.

Such conditions are particularly troubling (vấn đề, mối lo) for the luxury hotel market, where high – quality service, requiring a sophisticated (phức tạp) approach to HRM, is recognized as a critical source of competitive advantage (Maroudas et al . , 2008). In a real sense (sth is partly true), the services of hotel employees represent their industry (Schneider and Bowen , 1993). This representation has commonly been limited to guest experiences . This suggests that there has been a dichotomy (sự đối lập) between the guest environment provided in luxury hotels and the working conditions of their employees.

It is therefore essential for hotel management to develop HRM practices that enable them to inspire and retain competent(kinh nghiệm, hiểu biết, tay nghề) employees . This requires an understanding of what motivates employees at different levels of management and different stages of their careers (Enz and Siguaw , 2000). This implies (mean, suggest) that it is beneficial for hotel managers to understand what practices are most favorable to increase employee satisfaction and retention.(employee retention: khả năng của một công ty để giữ chân nhân viên, không để hỏ nhảy việc)

Herzberg (1966) proposes(đề xuất) that people have two major types of needs, the first being extrinsic(outside, bên ngoài) motivation factors relating to the context in which work is performed, rather than the work itself. These include working conditions and job security(công việc an toàn, nhân viên ít chịu rủi ro mất việc). When these factors are unfavorable , job dissatisfaction may result. Significantly , though , just fulfilling these needs does not result in satisfaction , but only in the reduction of dissatisfaction (Maroudas et al . , 2008).

Employees also have intrinsic (bên trong) motivation needs or motivators , which include such factors as achievement and recognition . Unlike extrinsic factors , motivator factors may ideally result in job satisfaction (Maroudas et al . , 2008) . Hezbergs (1966) theory discusses the need for a balance” of these two types of needs .

The impact of fun as a motivating factor at work has also been explored . For example , Tews , Micheland Stafford ( 2013 ) conducted (thực hiện) a study focusing on staff from a chain(chuỗi) of themed restaurants(nhà hàng sử dụng theme để tạo ra những trải nghiệm khó quên cho bữa tối) in the United States. It was found that fun activities had a favorable impact on performance and manager support for fun had a favorable impact in reducing turnover. Their findings support the view that fun may indeed have a beneficial effect , but the framing (khung) of that fun must be carefully aligned (support, side with, song hành) with both organizational goals and employee characteristics . “Managers must learn how to achieve the delicate (weak, slight, nhẹ, yếu) balance of allowing employees the freedom to enjoy themselves at work while simultaneously (at the same time, cùng lúc) maintaining high levels of performance’ ( Tews et al . , 2013).

Deery ( 2008 ) has recommended several actions that can be adopted (accept, chọn) at the organizational level to retain good staff as well as assist (hỗ trợ) in balancing work and family life . Those particularly appropriate (suitable, phù hợp) to the hospitality industry include allowing adequate breaks during the working day , staff functions that involve families , and providing health and well-being (sự khỏe mạnh hạnh phúc) opportunities.

Questions 27-31
Look at the following statements (Questions 27-31) and the list of researchers below.
Match each statement with the correct researcher, A-F.
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
NB  You may use any letter more than once.

27   Hotel managers need to know what would encourage good staff to remain.
28   The actions of managers may make staff feel they shouldn’t move to a different employer.
29   Little is done in the hospitality industry to help workers improve their skills.
30   Staff are less likely to change jobs if cooperation is encouraged. (D)
31   Dissatisfaction with pay is not the only reason why hospitality workers change jobs. (B)

List of Researchers
A   Pfeffer
B   Lucas
C   Maroudas et al.
D   Ng and Sorensen
E   Enz and Siguaw
F   Deery

Questions 32-35

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet, write

YES                  if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO                   if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN    if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

32   One reason for high staff turnover in the hospitality industry is poor morale.

33   Research has shown that staff have a tendency to dislike their workplace.

34   An improvement in working conditions and job security makes staff satisfied with their jobs.

35   Staff should be allowed to choose when they take breaks during the working day.

Questions 36-40

Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.

Fun at work

Tews, Michel and Stafford carried out research on staff in an American chain of 36……………………… . They discovered that activities designed for staff to have fun improved their 37……………………… , and that management involvement led to lower staff 38 ………………………….. . They also found that the activities needed to fit with both the company’s 39 ………………………….. and the 40 …………………………. Of the staff. A balance was required between a degree of freedom and maintaining work standards.