ABSTRACT
As discussed within the previous chapter, considerable debate has developed concerning the extent to which there has been experimentation with HRM in the hotel industry in recent years. To recap briefly, the hotel industry has conventionally been characterised as dominated by practices aimed at an enhancement of managerial prerogative and cost reduction, and a predominance of authoritarian management styles. Empirical analyses have typically supported this characterisation. For example, Hales (1987) found a general perception amongst hotel industry managers that non-managerial employees did not want greater responsibility. Guerrier and Lockwood (1989b) and Lucas (1993) report a high level of short-term and part-time working. Prais, Jarvis and Wagner (1989) found a lack of vocational training in the hotel industry. Price (1994: 52) concludes from her research that there remains a worrying lack of basic professionalism in personnel practice. Lucas (1995:90) and Teare (1996) argue that there is little evidence to suggest that any kind of HRM approach is being followed, even among larger organisations.
