Low cost air travel : social inclusion or social exclusion?

The low-cost revolution that has impacted upon North America, Western Europe, and, increasingly, other parts of the world, is, on initial examination, a development that has created opportunity for wider travel for all sectors of the community. This is certainly true in terms of price in that the impact of the emergence of low-cost carriers on major, generally short-haul, air routes has been to reduce headline prices significantly across all service providers. However, there are operating features within low-cost air travel which, notwithstanding price, may create barriers to access for some sections of the community. This article looks at the operating features of low-cost airlines and evaluates these in terms of social exclusion criteria. Based on an exploratory study of consumers in Glasgow, Scotland, the article concludes that access to low-cost airlines is considerably easier in both practical and perceptual terms for consumers with a flexible relationship to working and leisure time, and also access to the technology and financial systems required to avail of the best travel opportunities

The social construction of skills : a hospitality sector perspective

This paper addresses the nature of skills in service work with specific reference tointernational tourism and its hospitality subsector. It explores the role of experientialfactors (cultural, emotional and aesthetic) in equipping those entering work in thesector. The specific context of work in less developed countries and within migrantlabour communities in Europe is considered. The paper concludes with the propo-sition that cultural and contextual experience is an important factor in determiningthe skills demands of work in hospitality

Demographic changes and the labour market in the international tourism industry

This chapter considers likely impacts of demographic change over the coming two decades on the workforce in the tourism sector. A global assessment of demographic trends to the year 2030 points to a continuing decline in the rate of population growth and a consequent aging workforce, although the pattern of this trend is certainly not even across all regions and countries. The pattern of demographic change, globally and specifically in the context of developed economies, will pose major challenges for all labour markets in both quantative and qualitative terms and is likely to become one of the main areas of resource competition between nations. Tourism is a sector which is and will likely remain highly labour intensive. Tourism has traditionally depended heavily on the engagement of younger workers to meet its requirements of labour intensity. Therefore, the consequences of changing demographic structures, especially in the developed world, are potentially very serious for the sector and its competitiveness. Changing workplace demographics can also have consequences for the delivery of 'authentic' tourism experiences within some locations where people lie at the heart of the tourism marketing offer. Based on available projection and analyses, this chapter assesses the possible and wide-ranging implications of global population change on the tourism sector in the developed world context from a labour market perspective and will propose long-term strategies that could be adopted by policy makers and the industry in response to these implications, drawing on current labour market scenario planning for the tourism sector within the European Union

Relocating empowerment as a management concept for Asia

Management theories, especially those in the area of human resource management, are predominantly Western-centric in origin and in the empirical testing that underpins them. The purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions of one such theory, employee empowerment, in an Asian context. Information gathered from an open ended questionnaire and focus groups provide an in-depth examination of hotel managers' perceptions and practice of empowerment in the workplace. This study provides tentative indicators of significant culturally-driven differences in the understanding and application of employee empowerment (in terms of both research and practice) between Western and Asian contexts. The results of this study indicate that empowerment in Asian cultures relates much more to the individual and his/her merits, in contrast to organizationally-driven empowerment in Western countries. The findings also indicate that empowerment by hotel managers is related to the level of personal trust the manager has in an employee

Human resources in tourism : still waiting for change? - a 2015 reprise

Seemingly intransigent human resource issues remain at the forefront of global tourism’s challenges. Some of the key issues were identified in Baum’s (2007) reflections on this topic. In light of the significant change that has impacted on tourism and employment in the intervening years, this conceptual paper provides an assessment of the current status of the issues that Baum identified in 2007 and identifies a range of emerging concerns that continue to shape the tourism workplace and workforce. The status of tourism work can be seen in terms of both continuity and change and the impact of these contrary forces is considered in reaching conclusions that highlight both the ongoing challenges for tourism and the evident progress that can be identified

Skills, training and development within an insular labour market : the changing role of catering managers in the healthcare environment

Purpose of the paper This paper addresses labour market insularity in the context of a specific sub-sector of healthcare management, that of catering and facilities. The paper is set in the context of growing public interest in the non-clinical environment of hospitals and other healthcare facilities has recently been greatly sharpened by political debate and professional concern. Design/methodology/approach The research was based on a survey of members of the Catering Managers Association in order to determine their perceptions of their jobs, their career paths to date and future aspirations and the skills that they require for their work. Useable responses were received from 74 members or 23% of the Association. Findings The findings of this paper addresses the roles that managers within in the UK's National Health Service who are responsible for catering and related facilities management perform and considers the responsibilities, in terms of skills, that these roles impose. The background and training of catering professionals in healthcare is also considered together with their long-term career aspirations. The key finding is that the healthcare environment constitutes a relatively insular labour market within which inward and outward mobility is rare. Managers in the sector are probably under trained for their level of responsibility and are limited in their career aspirations outside of the sector. Research limitations/implications This study provides a limited insight into a complex work environment and findings are based on a relatively small response rate. Non-members of the Catering Managers Association were not surveyed. Practical implications The study poses challenges to the healthcare sector in addressing the need for more effective career management and development for managers with a facilities and catering function. The issue of vocational insularity is one that needs to be addressed. What is original/value of this paper This paper represents the first study of its kind to address career development and training issues with respect to catering managers within healthcare in the UK and raises important questions about the insularity of this relatively large national labour market

Changing employment dynamics within the creative city : exploring the role of 'ordinary people' within the changing city landscape

This paper is about creative cities and their largely invisible and largely neglected workforce, the 'ordinary people' who provide the work- and life-place services upon which creative workers depend. The paper considers the nature of creative cities, their labour markets and the precarious nature of much employment within them. The ambiguous relationship between different employment groups within the creative city is illustrated. The analysis forms the basis for reaching conclusions and helping to formulate advice for policy makers in developing approaches that are inclusive and accessible. The paper is set against and acknowledges the importance of the rising tide of populism as a real challenge to an elitist mainstream creative city discourse

Hospitality employment 2033 : A backcasting perspective (invited paper for ‘luminaries’ special issue of International Journal of Hospitality Management)

Work in hospitality remain a persistent blemish with respect to one of the world’s fast growing economic sectors. Issues are represented across a wide spectrum of indicators and have not changed, in substance, since George Orwell’s challenging musings about the social value of such work in 1933. In this paper, we assess the extent to which change can be evidenced with respect to hospitality employment. We employ backcasting methodologies to delineate where hospitality employment should be by 2033. Finally, we map the steps that will be required to get there and, to achieve this, attribute responsibility to key players

Skills, organisational performance and economic activity in the hospitality industry : a literature review

This monograph aims to understand the pressures which push organisations to adopt particular routes to competitive advantage. The monograph aims to discover if the best practice high skill, high wage and high quality route is used in the hospitality industry. It seeks to determine the influence of companies' product market strategies and their in-company and external structural factors on skills levels, work organisation, job design and people management systems. The monograph looked at the notion of best practice approaches and then moved on to consider the best way to carry forward the future research agenda of reviewing the nature of human resource management (HRM) in the hospitality sector. Conclusions were drawn from a range of interviews and from existing work which has sought to address the issue of HRM in the hospitality sector

Developing The Ladder To Professionalism

Developing The Ladder To Professionalism by Tom Baum, Manager, Curricula Development Unit and Patricia Reid, Training Advisor, Curricula Development Unit at the Council for Education, Recruitment and Training, State Agency for Hotels, Catering and Tourism in Dublin, Ireland: “Developments are currently in hand to promote increased professionalism in management within the hotel and catering industry in Ireland. The authors discuss the particular responsibility of educational agencies. Recent initiatives to provide a comprehensive and flexible career ladder encompassing craft training, in-service and “second-chance” education, as well as more conventional college-based initial management are reviewed, as are attempts by various industry associations to enhance the professionalism of members.” In this discussion, the authors have primarily devoted their attention to degree gaps in professionalism in the hospitality industry, and the measures that can be taken to mitigate these circumstances. “The hotel, catering, and tourism industry, in common with others involved in the service function, has been relatively slow to adopt modern approaches to management and technology at all levels,” Baum and Reid want you to know. The authors hail from Ireland and point to steps that the industry, in Ireland, is taking to address service problems. “Developments are taking place in Ireland toward professionalism in management in the context of the Irish hotel and catering industry; education and educationally related institutions have taken a role in contributing to the professionalization of work in this area,” say the authors. Baum and Reid point to CERT’s - The State Training Agency for Hotels, Catering and Tourism - involvement in promoting professionalism in the Irish hospitality industry, and provide a comprehensive graph to illustrate CERT’s paths to successful management. Worthy of note is, proprietor management is more common on that side of the Atlantic’, with most properties tending to be smaller than U.S. chain operations. That fact, by no means suggests that management style is indeed complete in the U.K, but it can be said that maybe such style is more congenial. “However, finding the balance between operationalism and the management and development functions seems to underpin perhaps the cardinal problems of professionalism in hotel and catering management in Ireland,” say the authors. “The dichotomy, clearly represented in the management of the industry, is equally evident within the educational and training system and also in the limited influence of associations…” Baum and Reid expand on that issue. The authors do concede that it is difficult to quantify what exactly constitutes good professionalism in the hospitality industry; it is, after all, a fairly subjective concept. They continue by describing some of the degree and sub-degree programs being offered in Ireland