The impact of tangible rewards on empowerment in the hotel sector

The need to empower employees to respond in a timely and innovative manner to customer’s requests and problems has been acknowledged as a source of competitive advantage by service managers. Hence, researchers and practitioners have proposed that empowered behaviour should be rewarded. However, research on the impact of tangible rewards on intrinsically motivated behaviour, such as empowered or discretionary behaviour, indicates that tangible rewards may not be effective. In light of the high financial and social costs of administering reward systems, it is important that service managers understand how tangible rewards impact on the behaviour of service employees. This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study of the impact of tangible reward systems on employee empowerment and the discretionary behaviour of service employees. In-depth interviews, conducted with human resource managers in three five-star hotels, indicated that while management is keen to empower their employees to deal with guest’s need and problems, they are uncertain about how to use rewards to encourage creative discretionary behaviour. Focus groups with staff from four departments of one major hotel indicated that the employees do feel empowered to satisfy guests, however while tangible rewards are appreciated, it is the praise and recognition received from guests, supervisors and peers that motivates them to ‘go the extra mile’. Further, analysis of the focus group discussions indicated that managers who are rewarded and recognised are more likely to reward and recognise the efforts of their subordinates

Students' perceptions of a virtual team assessment item (VTAI): An Australian case study

In today's global business environment, business graduates are often required to work as members of virtual teams. This paper presents the findings of an electronic survey of distance education students' perceptions concerning a virtual team assessment item (VTAI) using asynchronous discussion. The VTAI was set for an undergraduate marketing course at an Australian university. The findings revealed that while the distance education students did not necessarily enjoy the VTAI and found the assessment task to be both frustrating and time-consuming, they agreed that the task was beneficial to their learning and should be included in future course offerings

A profile of the Australian seafood consumer

Seafood is an important food industry globally and increasing seafood consumption is high on the agenda of many developed countries.Understanding consumers is fundamental to the development of any marketing strategy, and while considerable research has been undertaken with European seafood consumers little is known about the seafood consumer in other markets including Australia. This paper presents a profile of the Australian seafood consumer designed to inform the decisions of key stake holders in the seafood industry:producers, middlemen and retailers. The profile has been developed from a range of studies undertaken through the Australian Seafood Collaborative Research Centre, a government supported body with a mission to improve profitability in the seafood industry and increase Australian seafood consumption. Australians consume on average approximately 2.2 serves of seafood per week. Two thirds of all seafood is prepared and consumed at home with 61% of seafood for at - home consumption purchased at supermarkets and 18% at fish markets or fish mongers. Key drivers of seafood consumption are taste, convenience, health,and versatility and these vary across species. Key barriers are price, concerns about origin and freshness and a lack of knowledge/confidence. Overwhelmingly, Australian consumers prefer Australian seafood and 'Australian’ serves as a surrogate for quality, safe, fresh and sustainable

Assessment of online reflections: engaging english second language (ESL) students

Online discussion boards are increasingly being used by tertiary educators as a tool for encouraging greater student interaction and developing learning communities. In particular, educators who have adopted a learner-centered, socio-constructivist approach to teaching have sought to facilitate collaborative learning in which students reflect upon and share their experiences and perspectives, and construct knowledge together through developing shared meanings. In this paper, the findings of an electronic survey of the perceptions of 70 distance education EFL and ESL students concerning a compulsory assessment item involving contribution to an online course discussion board are presented. The study revealed that the majority of the students enjoyed the assessment item and agreed that posting to the online course discussion board had allowed them to achieve a range of cognitive and social learning outcomes, as well as, to develop some important graduate skills. In particular, ESL students reported the benefits of posting to the discussion board in terms of sharing their experiences with others and reducing the feeling of isolation. Further, when considering social outcomes, ESL students perceive the discussion board provided them with an opportunity to meet and develop a closer relationship with other students in the course and encouraged them to keep up with their studies

Strategies to improve retention of postgraduate business students in distance education courses: an Australian case

In spite of the clear value of postgraduate business students to many providers of distance education courses, the factors affecting the retention of these students have received limited attention in the literature. In addressing this gap, this paper presents the findings of a qualitative study into the factors affecting the retention of postgraduate business students at a major Australian distance education university. The findings of this study suggest that a range of situational, dispositional and attitudinal factors impact upon student retention on this context, both as enablers of and obstacles to ongoing participation. In many cases, these factors differ to those identified in the existing literature on student retention. Based on these findings, we present a range of strategies designed to improve the retention of postgraduate business students by maximising enabling factors and minimising the impact of any identified obstacles. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are also presented

Exploring Point of Sale Strategies for Improving Seafood Retailing: The Case of the Australian Oyster Industry

The commodification of many food products, combined with increasing market share of supermarkets, has increased the importance of point of sale (POS) strategies in speciality food retailers such as fishmongers. The purpose of this study is to develop strategies to improve the retailing of seafood in fishmongers, specifically oysters, a species which is currently underutilised; as although they are eaten by many consumers, purchase frequency is low. A literature review identifies the key drivers and barriers to oyster consumption and the information consumers want at the POS. Based on these findings, a retailing strategy for oysters is developed and tested in two consumer focus groups. Based on focus group results, revisions are recommended to the retail strategy, importantly including a change in collateral from a production focus to a consumption focus. This study makes a clear contribution to theory and practice by bringing together the existing literature on drivers and barriers and consumer information requirements about oysters to develop and test practical retail strategy concepts

Fishing for answers? Using the theory of planned behaviour to understand consumption of sustainable seafood in the UK.

The sustainable seafood movement has the potential of reversing the current trends of seafood consumption which are leading toward a global breakdown of seafood species. A series of initiatives have been created to cultivate interest in consumption of sustainable seafood. However, research indicates that consumers’ intention to purchase sustainable seafood does not always translate into actual purchase behaviour, which creates an Ethical Purchasing Gap (EPG). The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is used to identify affordability, lack of awareness of sustainability, lack of knowledge and confidence in cooking as key barriers and awareness of sustainability, attitudes and preferences toward fresh seafood as key drivers for consumption of sustainable seafood. Findings also reveal that a favourable attitude toward sustainable seafood can increase consumption of sustainable seafood while understanding of the ‘sustainable seafood’ concept and knowledge of sustainable seafood availability does not necessarily increase consumption of sustainable seafood

Exploring the impact of recipe cards for seafood at the point of sale

Food consumption and purchase behaviour are highly habituated, with food marketers often attempting to interrupt routine behaviour and thought patterns at the point of sale (POS) through aggressive sales promotion. In the case of food products, recipe cards are a common POS tactic, yet little research has examined the impact of recipe cards at POS. This research explores the impact of recipe cards at POS specifically in relation to seafood with data gathered through 11 face to face depth interviews with fishmongers. Results highlight the positive impact of recipe cards as marketing stimuli for seafood through two key roles: (1) risk reduction for consumers who lack knowledge about how to prepare and serve seafood; and (2) facilitating variety seeking for consumers who are looking for something different. Regardless of the consumers’ motivation for taking recipe cards, the fishmongers perceive that the cards have a positive impact on seafood sales