Managing the hotel managers: HRM practices in Greek luxury hotels

This paper explores the current HRM practices employed in the international hospitality industry. More specifically it investigates four key HRM areas regarding the work of General Managers (GMs) in luxury (4 and 5*) hotels in Greece namely: recruitment and selection; training and development (focused in managerial competencies); performance evaluation; networking and communication. The dynamic and complex nature of the management function in global hospitality business today and the realisation that what works effectively in one country may not be as efficient in another, has led management scholars and practicing managers in continuous efforts to enhance their understanding of this context and its effects on international (hotel) managers. This paper focuses in the Greek context since the country is among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The author argues that managerial work and HRM practices in Greek luxury hotels cannot be unaffected from the strong national context, despite the great pressures for standardisation and homogenisation with the international hospitality industry standards. A qualitative research was conducted in 16 luxury (4 & 5*) city and resort hotels in four popular destinations: Athens, Thessaloniki, Crete and Rhodes. In total 32 GMs and their assistants participated in this country case study. The research tool included in-depth semi-structured interviews, the employment of a Personal Competencies Framework (PCF) questionnaire, non participant observations and collection of company documents related to managerial work. All data were triangulated in order to enhance the validity and reliability of this study. The research’s findings indicated that the ‘base requirements’ of managerial work in Greek luxury hotels appear to be similar and compatible with the international industry HRM standards. What actually changes is the level of formality exercised in managerial and HRM practices. A key theme that emerges from this study is the critical role of the hotel’s ownership status. As a concluding point it can be argued that both divergence and convergence contextual forces co-exist and shape the GMs' work in Greek luxury hotels. Further research is needed to fully understand and appreciate the effects of those forces in GMs' work

Global versus local HRM practices in the hospitality industry: the case of Greek luxury hotel managers

This paper explores the current HRM practices employed in the hospitality industry. More specifically it investigates four key HRM areas regarding the work of General Managers (GMs) in luxury (4 and 5*) hotels in Greece namely: recruitment and selection; training and development (focused in managerial competencies); performance evaluation; networking and communication. The dynamic and complex nature of the management function in hospitality business today and the realisation that what works effectively in one country may not be as efficient in another, has led management scholars and practicing managers in continuous efforts to enhance their understanding of this context and its effects on hotel managers. A key theme that emerges from this qualitative study is the critical role of the hotel’s ownership status; it is also argued that both divergence and convergence contextual forces co-exist and shape the GMs’ work in Greek luxury hotels

M-learning in higher education in Bahrain: the educators' view

Universities in the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) have shown particular interest in m-learning which currently is treated as fashion, but at the same time is considered by corporations and educational institutions to be very promising. This papers investigates the adoption of m-learning at universities in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and explores the educators' views and perceptions of m-learning, as well as its future potential in higher education. A survey questionnaire was distributed to instructors in four universities in the Kingdom of Bahrain, both private and public. This papers presents the pilot study, which includes the results of 45 responses. The findings suggest that although most of the educators understand the concept and they use M-Learning tools to some limited extent, there is a long way until we reach full integration with curriculum and the blended learning approach. In addition, despite the fact that most educators understand the necessity and role of M-Learning in content delivery, they do not seem to embrace at its full potential, as it is mainly used for communication purposes and navigation. The paper proposes that m-learning provides opportunities for more creativity in designing and delivering the course with further enhancement of the student experience, but it will be utilized in its full potential in the area within the next 5 years. This study provides guidance to instructors on the potential of m-learning and the need to change the teaching and learning culture to student-oriented for more effective and appropriate use of m-learning. TI highlights the need for institutions to invest in faculty and staff training, and in technology as well as provides suggestions to other stakeholders on the need to incorporate m-learning in decision-making for further development in the region

Greek Management and Culture.

This paper explores the Greek management context from various perspectives such as the national culture distinctive characteristics (i.e., dominant societal values) and the findings of research conducted on the Greek management context since the early 1980s. The overall conclusion is that Greek management is influenced by both the European/global business environment and the national/local distinctive characteristics and societal values. Based on the existing literature, it was found that until the end of 2000s, Greek and Western management co-existed in a delicate balance. What remains to be seen are the devastating results of the prolonged economic crisis that has affected not only Greece, but all Southern European countries. The balance is now disturbed and we are only at the beginning of our understanding of this new reality, not only in management and the workplace but in also in our everyday lives

Managing the hotel managers: HRM practices in Greek luxury hotels

This paper explores the current HRM practices employed in the international hospitality industry. More specifically it investigates four key HRM areas regarding the work of General Managers (GMs) in luxury (4 and 5*) hotels in Greece namely: recruitment and selection; training and development (focused in managerial competencies); performance evaluation; networking and communication. The dynamic and complex nature of the management function in global hospitality business today and the realisation that what works effectively in one country may not be as efficient in another, has led management scholars and practicing managers in continuous efforts to enhance their understanding of this context and its effects on international (hotel) managers. This paper focuses in the Greek context since the country is among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The author argues that managerial work and HRM practices in Greek luxury hotels cannot be unaffected from the strong national context, despite the great pressures for standardisation and homogenisation with the international hospitality industry standards. A qualitative research was conducted in 16 luxury (4 & 5*) city and resort hotels in four popular destinations: Athens, Thessaloniki, Crete and Rhodes. In total 32 GMs and their assistants participated in this country case study. The research tool included in-depth semi-structured interviews, the employment of a Personal Competencies Framework (PCF) questionnaire, non participant observations and collection of company documents related to managerial work. All data were triangulated in order to enhance the validity and reliability of this study. The research’s findings indicated that the ‘base requirements’ of managerial work in Greek luxury hotels appear to be similar and compatible with the international industry HRM standards. What actually changes is the level of formality exercised in managerial and HRM practices. A key theme that emerges from this study is the critical role of the hotel’s ownership status. As a concluding point it can be argued that both divergence and convergence contextual forces co-exist and shape the GMs’ work in Greek luxury hotels. Further research is needed to fully understand and appreciate the effects of those forces in GMs’ work

The Global Hotel Manager: Myth or Reality?

Over the past forty years, the international management studies have expressed considerable interest in what has come to be known as ‘best-practices’ (Boxall and Purcell, 2000, 2003). The concept of best-practices suggests standardisation and homogenisation of the organisation’s human resources through the employment of universally applicable managerial practices. This idea has been extremely appealing for MNCs during the 1980s and 1990s especially in industries like hospitality and tourism where pressures for standardisation due to the rapid global expansion were enormous. There are arguments however that it is difficult to imagine, that a single practice or set of practices would emerge as ‘best’ in any sense of the word, particularly in globalised organisations (Thomas, 2008). Moreover, a growing number of IHRM studies argue that ‘a best practice is not best unless it incorporates contextual elements in its application’ (Von Glinow et al., 2005, p.398). Thus, the dynamic and complex nature of the management function in global business today and the realisation that what works effectively in one country may not be as efficient in another, has led management scholars and practicing managers in continuous efforts to enhance their understanding of this context and its effects on international (hotel) managers. This is sought through the systematic study and exploration of management across cultures (cross cultural management), and international human resource management

National culture and management: the Greek luxury hotel GMs' case

This paper explores the interplay between managerial work and national culture. More specifically it investigates General Managers' (GMs) work in Greek luxury (4 and 5*) hotels from a contextual perspective, focused in national culture. The wider context of the discussion in this paper revolves around the 'global-local' question from an international hospitality industry perspective. During the second half of the twentieth century, the idea for the creation of a truly global management cohort found warm support from north American multinational companies who experienced a rapid pace of internationalisation in the past four decades. Hospitality and tourism were among the first internationalised industries in the aftermath of World War Two (Nickson, 1998; Nickson and Warhust, 2001). The dominant Anglo-Saxon view for universal management practices through the employment of ‘best practices’ in international hotel operators, has been challenged since the advent of cross-cultural management and international human resources management (IHRM) theorists in the early 1980s. Those theorists believe that it is difficult to imagine that a single practice or set of practices would emerge as 'best' in any sense of the word, particularly in globalised organisations (Thomas, 2008). Thus, the dynamic and complex nature of the management function in global hospitality business today and the realisation that what works effectively in one country may not be as efficient in another, has led management scholars and practicing managers in continuous efforts to enhance their understanding of this context and its effects on international (hotel) managers. This paper focuses in the Greek context since the country is among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Today the hospitality and tourism sector in Greece contributes approximately 15 % of the National Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P.) ranking third in the E.U. after Spain (18.38 %) and Portugal (15.40 %) according to the W.T.T.C. (2010). The hospitality and tourism sector occupies in total eight hundred eight thousand employees, 18% of the country’s entire labour force (SETE, 2003). The authors of this paper argue that managerial work in Greek luxury hotels cannot be unaffected from the strong national context, despite the great pressures for standardisation and homogenisation with the international hospitality industry standards. The existing literature indicates that the Greek context influences managerial work to a certain degree (Bourantas and Papadakis,1996; Makridakis et al. 1997; Papalexandris and Nikandrou, 2000). The high rates of “in-group-collectivism” (Hofstede, 1980/1991; Tromernaars, 1993; Javidan and House, 2001), the values of ‘filotimo’ (Triandis et al. 1968; Broome, 1996), Trust (Fukuyama, 1995) and Humanism (Lessem and Neubauer, 1994; Hampden-Turner and Trompernaars, 1994) are characteristics that differentiate Greek GMs’ behaviour comparing to the so called ‘western’ management style in international hotels. This context also influences the way GMs perform their roles (Mintzberg, 1973 / 1994) and the competencies framework (Dulewicz and Herbert, 1991/1999) required to perform these roles. A qualitative research was conducted in 16 luxury (4 & 5*) city and resort hotels in four popular destinations: Athens, Thessaloniki, Crete and Rhodes. In total 32 GMs and their assistants participated in this country case study. The research tool included in-depth semi-structured interviews, the employment of a Personal Competencies Framework (PCF) questionnaire, non participant observations and collection of company documents related to managerial work. All data were triangulated in order to enhance the validity and reliability of this study. This research's findings indicated that the 'base requirements' of managerial work in Greek luxury hotels appear to be similar and compatible with the international industry standards. What actually changes is the level of formality exercised in managerial and HRM practices. A key theme that emerges from this study is the critical role of the hotel’s ownership status. Thus, local companies (family and local chain hotels) employ a great number of managerial and HRM practices that incorporate a high level of informality, meaning the absence of written rules and procedures. On the other hand, Greek national chains and MNCs demonstrate a high level of formality, regulated by written policies and rules. The Greek context influences the hotel managers' conceptions of work roles and competencies to a great extent in family and local hotel chains, and to a moderate extent to Greek national chains. A handful (less than ten in Greece) of managed MNC hotel chains do not seem to be influenced by the Greek context; on the other hand franchised MNCs are managed in the same manner as national Greek hotel chains. Overall, the influence of the Greek context was evident to a certain degree, in all Greek owned hotels. Based on the research findings, three distinctive profiles of luxury hotel GMs where identified: the 'native' GM; the 'Glocal' GM; and the 'Greek Global' GM. As a concluding point it can be argued that both divergence and convergence contextual forces coexist and shape the GMs' work in Greek luxury hotels. Further research is needed to fully understand and appreciate the effects of those forces in GMs' work

Academic governance.

Governance is a highly contested concept that concerns the exercise of collective control towards common goals. In higher education institutes’ (HEIs) context, the concept of governance refers to their internal structure, organisation and management. Simply explained, academic governance is the way in which universities are operated; it concerns both the internal (institutional) and external (system) governance of the institution. Internal governance refers to the institutional arrangements within universities (e.g., lines of authority, decision making processes, financing and staffing) whereas external governance refers to the institutional arrangements on the macro- or system-level (e.g., laws and decrees, funding arrangements, evaluations).\ud The principal academic governance model for both public and private universities, until the 1980s, was based on a collegial shared form of governance. The tradition of shared governance rests on the assumption that faculty should hold a substantive role in decision making alongside the institution’s key stakeholders; these stakeholders include the university Rector/President/CEO, and representatives from the management, administrative staff, and the students. The most visible vehicle for faculty involvement is typically a faculty senate or a similar body with a different name; such senates currently exist in more than 90 percent of colleges and universities in the U.S.A. and with small variations in Europe and the rest of the world.\ud During the 1980s the idea of the so called corporate or entrepreneurial university emerged; it was based on the notion that, even non-profit public universities should be run as a business in order to address both the society and market needs and be able to control their own budgets. In practical terms this meant that universities should develop relationships with the industry, secure external (other than government) funding, and be able to at least break even in terms of managing their finance. Today, both models co-exist in a delicate balance: the traditional model advocates for free public higher education (HE) for anyone at any cost, whereas the new model argues for a market-driven performance-led university for those who can afford it. This entry is about the existing models of academic governance, their structure, key issues, and the current and future perspectives