Qualitative Responses to Pre-employment Drug Testing in the Foodservice Industry

Employee substance abuse has long time been a topic of concern for the hospitality industry. Operating under the assumption that drug-users, and associated undesirable behavior, can be eliminated from the hiring process, many operations have adopted pre-employment drug-testing policies. Despite being represented across the industry as a major target of effort and resources, it is suggested that the perceived sensitive-nature of the subject has somewhat hindered access to qualitative information. The purpose of this research was to assess and explore the attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of both management and employees in the foodservice industry regarding pre-employment drug-testing and its impact on work performance. Through the use of a phenomenological survey, qualitative data was collected then used to identify themes in participants’ perceptions of such screening policies and their effects. Results and implications of these findings are discussed

Maintaining your loyal customers during hard times: An observation from the gaming industry

The Las Vegas gaming arena was one of the most severely affected consumeroriented industries to be impacted by the recent economic recession. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of relational benefits on customers’ behavioral loyalty in the Las Vegas gaming industry. This study particularly took a comparative approach and examined the relational impact during the economic recession and after the economic recession. Secondary data was obtained and regression analysis was performed to test the study hypothesis. The findings of this study revealed the economic recession impact on the Las Vegas gaming industry, as well as valuable insights for effective utilization of relational benefits to increase customer loyalty

Illegal substance abuse in the full-service restaurant industry: An evaluation of pre-employment drug-testing

The purpose of this research is to assess the effect of pre-employment drug-testing policies on employee attitudes and aspects of work performance in the full-service restaurant industry. Specifically, this study attempts to compare the rate of absenteeism, turnover, and work-related accidents and injuries in full-service restaurants with pre-employment drug-testing policies against the aforementioned aspects of work performance in full-service restaurants without pre-employment drug-testing polices. This research also attempts to explore the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs of full-service restaurant hourly employees and management staff in regards to pre-employment drug-testing policies in the full-service restaurant industry. For the purpose of this study, work performance factors include absenteeism, turnover (voluntary and termination), and documented work-related injury/accidents. Results indicated no difference between employee absenteeism, turnover, or accidents among establishments with and without pre-employment drug-testing policies. In addition, no significant difference was found among employee attitudes toward pre-employment drug-testing policies based on employment level or presence of a pre-employment drug-testing policy at their current place of employment

Cuba’s Future Hospitality and Tourism Business: Opportunities and Obstacles

The resumption of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba opens the prospect of a tourist boom to the Caribbean’s largest island. Cuba has many advantages to support investment, as the island is rich in land and water resources, has an educated and welcoming population, and offers myriad development opportunities. Weighing against those favorable prospects are the continued U.S. trade embargo (independent of diplomatic relations) and the Cuban government’s central control and continued regulation of foreign investment—including the possibility of unexpected changes in government policies

A comparative exploration of foodservice workers’ illicit drug use

The U.S. foodservice industry has been identified as having the highest incidence of employee illicit drug use among all sectors of U.S. industries. This qualitative study attempts to identify the factors contributing to this top position in comparison to other industries (i.e., retail or transportation) and whether these factors are different than in other industries. Behavior theory and reinforcement sensitivity theory are the primary theories that created the foundation for this research. In-depth employee interviews were conducted to examine both possible motivators for and possible inhibitors to illicit drug use. The findings identified environmental workplace norms that both encourage and discourage employee illicit drug use, and also revealed reward stimuli that seem to boost employee illicit substance use and punishment stimuli that dampen it. Future empirical investigations using the study’s findings are recommended to identify solutions to decrease the foodservice illicit drug usage

The Impact of European pools on a meeting planner’s booking decision

In a city of constant change and competition, many Las Vegas resort properties are offering topless pools (Yeskel, 2008). This phenomenon is known as “adult bathing” or “European-style” tanning, and many of the properties offering this service refer to their venues as “European pools” (Villano, 2007). A number of properties, including at least eight on the Las Vegas Strip, two in off-strip “locals’ casinos”, and one in the downtown area, have added this option for adult sunbathers. While this may be an appealing feature for many leisure travelers, its potential impact on the meeting business for those facilities is not yet known

Alcohol and other drug use in Michelin-starred kitchen brigades

This paper aims to explore chefs’ experiences of the use of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) in Michelin-starred restaurants in Britain and Ireland. In total, 54 Head Chefs were interviewed in this study, which found AOD use to be part of their occupational culture. The work context plays a key role in this phenomenon in that harsh working conditions (such as heat, stress and long hours) provide fertile ground for AOD use as a means of self-medication and as a coping strategy. This study observes a normalisation of drinking to unwind. Even if this practice is detrimental to health, it is the coping mechanism used by chefs to deal with the stresses associated with the high end kitchen environment. Based on the findings of this research, it is argued that despite the industry’s efforts to eliminate this phenomenon, AOD use is part of everyday life in high-end commercial kitchens

Festival motivation and loyalty factors

Every year hundreds of festivals and host communities around the world face increased competition from both each other and from other entertainment options available to the consumer. It is imperative that festival organizers understand tourist motivations for attending festivals in order to conduct effective festival planning and achieve a more productive festival marketing position and marketing strategy. The purpose of this study is twofold: First, this study attempted to investigate whether festivalscape factors impact attendees’ motivation and loyalty behavior. Additionally, this study attempted to examine whether festivalscape factors are influenced by different types of attendees. Practical implications for festival organizers and marketers include the importance of the customization of operational and marketing strategies depending on their target market (local versus non-local). Academic contributions of this study pertain to the theoretical foundations by validating the impact of festivalscape factors in tourism marketing.Todos os anos centenas de festivais e comunidades de acolhimento em todo o mundo veem-se confrontados com uma concorrência crescente tanto entre si como por parte de outras opções de entretenimento disponíveis ao consumidor. É imperioso que os organizadores de festivais compreendam as motivações turísticas para assistir a festivais, de modo a fazerem um planeamento efetivo do festival e conseguirem uma estratégia de marketing e um posicionamento do festival mais produtivos. Este trabalho tem dois objetivos: Em primeiro lugar, investigar se os fatores de festivalscape têm impacto nas motivações dos participantes e no comportamento de lealdade. Em segundo lugar, este estudo pretende examinar se os fatores de festivalscape são influenciados por diferentes tipos de participantes. As implicações práticas para os organizadores de festivais e marketers incluem a importância da personalização das estratégias operacionais e de marketing em função do seu mercado-alvo (local versus não-local). Os contributos académicos deste estudo são ao nível da fundamentação teórica, validando o impacto dos fatores de festivalscape em marketing turístico

Work Experience and Education: Their effect on food safety practices of university students

The continued prevalence of foodborne illness (FBI), the large population of young adults in the foodservice industry, and the contradictory results of previous studies indicate a need for further investigation of food safety practices among young adults. The goal of this study was to evaluate the personal food safety practices of undergraduate students based on their level of foodservice industry work experience and college major. Being a hotel major did significantly affect practices, but having foodservice work experience did not. This suggests that industry operators are not doing an adequate job of educating their staff about proper food safety practices