CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The motivation of employees, whether professional, skilled or unskilled, is a major issue in all service organizations. For the hotel industry, employee motivation is a major issue. It is a challenge for the management of the hotel industry to motivate employees to stay on the job and to offer the efficient and good service which customers expect (Cheng, 1995). One of a human resource manager’s functions is related to ensuring employees’ workplace motivation. Human resource management’s function is to assist the general manager in keeping the employees satisfied with their jobs. If employees are not satisfied, they will not perform to expected tasks. Workplace dissatisfaction and poor performance usually lead to low employee turnover in the hospitality industry, particularly in developed countries. According to a Hotel and Catering Training Company in the United Kingdom, turnover is the United Kingdom was estimated to have cost the hotel and catering industry 430 million pounds a year, and turnover was higher among men than women (Lucas, 1995). The Hong Kong Hotels Association found in its 1994-1995 annual survey that 41.26 percent of the employees in 63 hotels changed jobs or resigned.
Yu (1999) reported that in order to reduce labor turnover and retain productive employees, management has to improve working conditions and keep the employees properly motivated. Human resource managers need to understand the motivational processes and human needs in different cultures.
To understand employees’ needs, managers should understand key theories that help them learn the basic needs of people. Maslow’s theory is one of many theories that pointed out the basic sorts of needs. They are Physiological needs, Security needs, Belongingness needs, Esteem needs, and Self-actualization needs. The lower level needs must be satisfied before the next higher level. Another theory, Hertzberg’s is based on two distinct sets of factors: hygiene factors such as pay, organizations, policies, working environment and motivating factors such as recognition, promotion, achievement and the intrinsic nature of the work.
Moreover, managers can learn what kind of motivation factors should be provided to employees from many research papers. For example, the study of Dr. Kovach during forty years concluded that good wages ranked the first through the fifth of the ten items of motivational factors (Kovach, 1987). The study of seven Caribbean Hotels, Las Vegas Casino Hotels and 278 hotels located in United States and Canada supported Kovach’s research that good pay is the first priority for employees (Charles and Marshall, 1992). However, from the study of 1,245 employees of the Hong Kong hotels concluded that an opportunity for advancement is the first factor but good pay is the third one (Siu, Tsang and Wong, 1997). So, when managers understand employees’ needs and provide the suitable motivational approach, employees will match their goals with the organizations’ goals. As a result, not only employees will get benefits but also the whole organization will be more successful.