Motivational Job Satisfaction in the Caribbean Hospitality Industry: How Demographic Variables Influence Job Satisfaction

Hertel, Cindy

Motivational Job Satisfaction in the Caribbean Hospitality Industry: How Demographic Variables Influence Job Satisfaction

by Cindy Hertel (Author)

Psychology - Work, Business, Organisational and Economic Psychology

53115

Summary

The purpose of this study is to examine if employees of small hotels in Kingston, Jamaica, are satisfied with the realization of their motivational preferences. This study also focuses on the relationship between dependant motivational preferences, such as Pay and Appreciation, and independent variables, such as Gender and Age. Research was conducted through quantitative and qualitative elements. The quantitative instrument was a structured questionnaire. An unstructured interview with hotel managers in Kingston was the qualitative portion of the study. The study generated a response rate of over 80 percent from six different small hotels in Kingston. The survey was statistically analyzed using SPSS. Results of the study revealed that employees are dissatisfied with three of the five most important motivational preferences, such as Pay and Appreciation. Further, the study found that the independent variables Age, Gender, Education and Tenure influence the satisfaction with the dependant variables. This study will help to indicate areas that need attention from a managerial standpoint and it will contribute to job satisfaction research in general.

Excerpt

VIII

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Top 3 Rankings...

..19

Table 2. Research Questions and Hypothesis...38

Table 3. Independent Variables...44

Table 4. Ranking of Satisfaction Levels of the Five Dependent Variables...

.48

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 1. Motivational Preferences versus Actual Satisfaction...

..48

Chart 2. Salary Scores...50

Chart 3. Working Condition Scores...

.50

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

GEN Y

Generation Y

JHTA

Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association

SME

Small and Medium Enterprises

Introduction

1.1 Overview

This study is based on Crawford's findings about Jamaican hospitality worker's

motivational preferences

. The aim of the study is to find whether or not these

motivators are satisfied and if these findings stand in any relation with demographic

variables of the participants of the study, such as age and gender. A survey was

conducted in the area of Kingston, distributing questionnaires to 90 employees of

small hotels. In addition to this interviews with managers of these hotels were

conducted.

1.2 Problem Statement

Small and medium sized companies dominate the tourism and hospitality

industry worldwide. In fact, ninety percent of hospitality businesses worldwide are

small enterprises. It is suggested that small hotels lack the capability and resources to

enable human resource development for their establishments.

This has several

implications: for one, competing with larger hotels for guests as well as talented staff

can be hindered. Secondly, training for existing staff may not be as extensive or as

required to enhance employees' job role. Thirdly, a lack of financial resources,

business skills and professional approach to same can hamper the success of the

Damion Crawford, An Analysis of Hospitality Workers Motivational Preferences. University of

Technology/University of Delaware International Conference on Business, Hospitality & Tourism

Management, Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

October 8-11, 2008.

Salih Kusluvan, Managing Employee Attitudes and Behaviors in the Tourism and Hospitality

Industry (New York: Nova Publishers, 2003), 10.

business overall. Besides the business perspective, there is also the perspective of the

employees. They have a clear idea of what motivates them and what does not. Based

on Kovach's ten variables used in Crawford's study

, it is known what Jamaican

hospitality workers look for in terms of their jobs. However, it is unknown whether or

not these motivators are satisfied. If these motivators are not satisfied and the

hospitality workers of small hotels are generally dissatisfied, then this would have

serious implications for the overall hospitality industry based on the fact that SME's

dominate the tourism sector.

Therefore, it is necessary to ask whether or not Jamaican hotel workers are

satisfied with their jobs. Or more specifically, if the factors that motivate them are

fulfilled to their satisfaction. In addition to this, knowing how these questions relate

to demographic variables, such as age and gender, will help to draw conclusions more

accurately.

1.3 Rationale and Significance of the Study

Many studies have investigated on the motivational preferences of hotel workers

(Charles and Marshall, 1992; Simons and Enz, 1995; Crawford, 2008, Kovach,

1987). But only few studies have explored whether or not these motivators are

satisfied. It is good to know what workers need but it is better to know if they get

what they need to be satisfied. After all, the hospitality industry is a service industry

and therefore labour intensive. The staff is the heart of operations. If the heart is ill

and it does not get the nutrients it needs to work, then the entire body is deemed to

Crawford, 2008.

collapse. Same applies to a hospitality enterprise. Additionally to this, small hotels

often do not have the financial resources to investigate on the state of their personnel,

which makes it harder to intervene on time and on the correct issue. Therefore, this

study contributes to uncovering improvement needs in human resource management

and general hotel operations for small hotels in Jamaica. It also unravels how

demographic variables affect the satisfaction of motivational preferences.

Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

According to Heskett et al (1994)

and Kotler et al (1999)

service quality is

driven by the productivity of employees, which is crucially dependent on the

employees' motivation and satisfaction.

In the Caribbean one in seven jobs is found in the tourism industry, which is a

higher rate than anywhere else in the world. The tourism and hospitality employment

contribution is predicted to rise to 3.2 million indirect and direct jobs by 2014

. As

Jamaica's economy is more diversified than economies of other islands (such as

Barbados), Jamaica depends on tourism and tourism employment to a lesser degree

than other islands

A study done by Dunn and Dunn in 2001 revealed that there were more men than

women employed in Jamaica's tourism industry. In 1994, just over 25% of tourism

workers had high school education. Furthermore, the study showed that women

receive lower wages than men employed in the industry. Tourism is said to be a

"stepping stone to other careers" in other industries. Overall, the study also revealed

that there was a high turnover in the tourism industry

J.L. Heskett, et al., "Putting the service profit chain to work", Harvard Business Review, March-

April, (1994): 164-174.

Kotler,

et al.,

Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism

2nd

Edition.

(Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Prentice Hall, 1999).

P. Pattullo, Last Resorts The Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean. 2nd Edition. (London: Latin

America Bureau, 2005), 66.

Pattullo, 67.

Jobs offered in the hotel industry are often "low grade"

and targeted at

unskilled workers. Typical jobs associated with these attributes are barmen, bellboys,

room attendants and waitresses. Furthermore, the workers remain unskilled

throughout their employment, especially in small hotels, because they cannot offer

professional training for their employees

Pattullo (2005) describes hotel work, especially in small establishments, to be

paid badly, to be of low security and high seasonality. However, compared to other

job opportunities, there are benefits, which are facilitated by, for example, women

who used to work as domestic private helpers. They switch to hotel work because it

offers regular pay and hours

2.2 Job Satisfaction

Tremendous problems/issues in the industry arise from worker attitudes and their

behaviour towards tourists, who for the most part have different cultural

backgrounds. As described by Pattullo (2005), many times, Caribbean tourism

workers fail to deliver pleasant and efficient service. Also Carter (1997) had similar

findings in his study done on Jamaican workers, including tourism workers.

Apparently, workers are releasing their aggressions with their job and management

by being rude to guests

. Whether or not this is somehow related to job satisfaction

especially in small hotels where workers complain about lacking benefits is the

Pattullo, 68.

Pattullo, 69.

K.L. Carter,

Why Workers Won't Work The Worker in a Developing Economy A Case

Study of Jamaica.

(London:

MacM

illan Education Ltd., 1997),121.

question of another study. Either way, the issue of worker attitudes has impacts on

productivity and profitability of a hotel establishment

. However, a relationship

between poor worker attitudes and job motivation can be found using Carter's study

(1997) which found that generally 76 percent of the Jamaican workforce can be

described as demotivated. This survey was done on 1800 Jamaican workers across

several industries, including Tourism, Utilities and Finance

. Possibly, the low

motivational level of the Jamaican workforce could be manifested in poor worker

attitudes. The study also found that Jamaican employees find themselves to be

working in a "hostile and reductive work environment"

. These poor job attitudes are

a response to these hostile environments; hence the worker will not change his

attitude unless the workplace conditions change

. Not surprisingly Carter (1997)

found that Jamaican workers suffer from low job satisfaction caused by underutilized

worker skills and education, perceived boring jobs, demotivated supervisors and

workers' perception that their jobs are irrelevant to organizational objectives

. In the

Jamaican tourism industry, 38 percent of workers and 50 percent of supervisors were

found to be unhappy with their jobs

As expected, the solution to this problem is more complex than it seems. In

terms of job satisfaction Herzberg's Two-Factor theory differs between hygiene

factors, such as pay, working conditions and vacation leave, and motivational factors,

Pattullo, 80.

Carter, 38.

Carter, 39.

Carter, 73.

Carter, 64.

Carter, 122.

such as appreciation, participation and challenging work. Carter (1997) found that

Jamaican workers are dissatisfied with hygiene factors. Especially tourism workers

are unhappy about pay

. According to Herzberg's theory, it is not sufficient to

remove dissatisfaction with hygiene factors in order to create employee satisfaction.

Additionally to hygiene factors, also motivational elements need to be fulfilled.

However, compared to the Jamaican workforce on a whole, Carter (1997)

discovered that the tourism sector shows more job satisfaction (approximately 60

percent). In comparison, only 17 percent of utility workers stated that they were

satisfied with their jobs. Even better results for the tourism industry were found in

Carl Stone's survey, attempting to shed light on hotel workers' attitudes. The survey

showed that there was high employee satisfaction among hotel workers in large all-

inclusive properties in Jamaica

. However, this study was done in resort areas, such

as Montego Bay, and may or may not be valid for urban areas, such as Kingston.

Furthermore, the study was done in 1990, which might affect its validity almost 20

years later. Another study done by Carl Stone in 2002, this time for Sandals Resorts,

confirmed the findings from the study done in 1990. But it also found that 21 percent

of non all-inclusive hotel workers felt that they did not benefit a fair share from

tourist profits

Carter, 65, 126.

Pattullo, 69.

Pattullo, 70.

2.3 Job Motivation

In order to find out what it is that drives employee's to excel in their jobs and to

be truly satisfied, managers must find out what it is that motivates employees to

perform. After all, motivation and satisfaction are closely related. As explained by

Crawford (2008), once a need is satisfied, it loses its ability to serve as a motivator

This idea originates in Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, in which we strive to

achieve the next highest need once a lower need is satisfied. In other words, it is the

aim to reach satisfaction of the next highest need that drives motivation. But what are

employees' needs? Which motivational factors do employees prefer over others?

Assuming, that each worker has his/her own personal `pyramid of needs', how would

they rank these needs or motivational factors?

Kovach's research on motivational preferences of industrial workers showed that

interesting work was rated higher than good wages or job security

. However, this

study was carried out between 1946 and 1986, which might limit the validity of those

findings for modern generations. Kovach's variables influencing employee

motivation are the following: (1) good wages, (2) tactful discipline, (3) job security,

(4) interesting work, (5) empowerment, (6) sympathetic help with personal problems,

(7) opportunities for involvement and development, (8) good working conditions, (9)

supervisors loyalty to employees and (10) appreciation for accomplishments

. These

Crawford, 12.

Crawford, 2.

variables have been used repeatedly by several researchers, such as Simons and Enz

(1995), Charles et. al (1992) and Crawford (2008).

Contrary to Kovach's findings, Simons and Enz (1995) found that high wages

were preferred over interesting work, using Kovach's variables. According to this

study, employees want good wages, followed by job security and opportunities for

development

. This study also indicated age differences in terms of employee needs

and wants, as shown in the table on the next page.

Table 1. Top 3 rankings.

American

Caribbean

Industrial

Workers

Hotel Workers

Researcher

Kovach

(1987)

Simons and Enz (1995)

Charles and

Marshall

(1992)

Crawford

(2008)

Type of

surveyed

employees

American

industrial

workers

Young hotel

employees

from USA and

Canada

Older hotel

employees

from USA and

Canada

Bahamian

hotel

employees

Jamaican

hotel

employees

Interesting

work

Good wages

Good wages Good wages

Good wages

Appreciation

and praise

Opportunities

for

development

Job Security

Working

conditions

Appreciation

and praise

Involvement in

decision

making

Interesting

work

Working

conditions

Appreciation

and praise

Working

conditions

Simons

and C.A. Enz, C.A.,

Motivating Hotel Employees

. Cornell Hotel and

Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 36, 1

(1995):

20 27.

The research done by Charles and Marshall

(1992) on hotel employees in

the Bahamas supported Simons' findings, as their results also showed differences of

motivational preferences between employees of various ages, educational levels and

gender. As shown in the table above, hotel workers seem to be more money oriented

than industrial workers, as they all rank good wages as their number one motivator,

despite the fact that these studies were done in different countries. Furthermore, it

becomes apparent that Caribbean workers have similar opinions in terms of

motivational preferences. Both Bahamians and Jamaicans rank good wages as their

number one motivator. The other top motivators are working conditions and

appreciation for work done, even though the second and third rankings are turned

around. Nevertheless, the similarities of results increase among hotel workers and

especially among hotel workers of the same cultural background. According to

Crawford (2008) cultural differences play a major role in an individual's motivational

preferences as found in studies done by Silverthorne (1992) and Fisher (1998). This is

confirmed by Kotler (1999) who argues that needs may be homogenous among

cultures, but that wants are different as they are a product of socialization

. Crawford

found that work preferences of Bahamian and Jamaican workers are very similar,

indicating a common Caribbean culture. However, he also indicated that Bahamians

might be influenced by American culture as their motivational rankings were closer

K.R. Charles and Marshall, L.H., "Motivational Preferences of Caribbean Hotel Workers: An

Exploratoy Study". International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 4, 3 (1992): 25

29.

Crawford, 9.

to each other than Jamaican and American rankings

. Also industrial differences are

visible in the studies summarized in the table above. Crawford (2008) found that

interesting work is less important to hotel employees than it is to manufacturing

workers and suggested that customer contact and a multi-cultural working climate in

the hospitality industry are reasons for this.

2.4 Job Factors

2.4.1 Pay

According to Pattullo (2005), it is mostly small, locally-owned, hotels that pay

low wages (p. 70). However, satisfactory pay might not be the only factor that

contributes to high job satisfaction and job performance. The contrary, Carter (1997)

claims that monetary pay has different influences on job satisfaction than it does on

performance motivation

. Therefore, a worker who is hardly motivated might have a

higher job satisfaction than those who are more motivated doing the same job. To

complicate this matter, satisfactory pay is highly subjective and depends on the

perceptions of the worker, as he compares his perceived performance level and

income with that of others. As proposed by Elliott Jaques, people have the capability

of comparing and realizing differences between their actual payment and the payment

that would seem appropriate for the work done

. Hence, we can conclude that

workers are capable of stating whether or not they are satisfied with their pay. Only 6

percent of Jamaican tourism workers are satisfied with their pay, compared to 24%

Crawford, 12.

Carter, 29.

Carter, 31.

percent satisfied supervisors in the same industry

. According to Carter, such pay

dissatisfaction is depending on the utilization of worker education and knowledge, the

cost of living of the worker, the development and training opportunities and the value

of the work done

. For example, 76 percent of tourism employees feel that in terms

of their education and performance, their pay is unjust

Furthermore, there is a great percentage of workers with a neutral opinion (49

percent) in regards to pay satisfaction. This may result from their opportunity to earn

some extra dollars from tips and "hustling behaviour"

Trying to find out what it is that tourism workers want, Carter asked the question

what workers would want if they had the choice. He found that the higher the level of

demotivation, the more employees demanded increased pay. 79 percent of critically

withdrawn tourism workers demanded more pay, compared to 22.9 percent of highly

motivated employees. In general, Carter found that the more motivated tourism

workers are, the more often they have non-wage demands, such as training,

appreciation and better supervision

. However, compared to other industries, tourism

workers are generally more money oriented than others

On the whole, Jamaican tourism workers would want more pay (54 percent),

followed by more training (20 percent) and more appreciation (16 percent) in order to

Carter, 114.

Carter, 114-117.

Carter, 118.

Carter, 115.

Carter, 71.

Carter, 119.

be more motivated and satisfied with their jobs

. Other researchers, such as Kovach

(1987), Wiley (1995) and Crawford (2008), have not considered training as a

motivational factor. Nonetheless, as stated earlier, training and development

opportunities influence job satisfaction and should therefore be of greater importance

in human resource management.

However, Carter found that an increase in pay usually does not necessarily affect

the effort of a Jamaican worker

. This finding is contrary to Crawford's study done

on Jamaican hotel employees. He found that payment is the number one motivational

factor for hotel workers

. Hence, there might be crucial differences in motivational

preferences between tourism workers and workers from other industries. Even though

Crawford found that pay is the most important motivational factor, Carter discovered

that Jamaican workers do not believe they are capable of influencing this factor. They

believe that pay is dependant on other factors than production and worker

productivity

. For example, Jamaican workers believe that things such as how the

worker is liked by the supervisor are more influential on pay and pay increases as

well job promotions

. Moreover, Crawford found that the importance of pay

increases with age. Furthermore, despite the fact that both males and females ranked

pay first, women ranked good wages by 1.81 average points higher

. However, in

terms of educational level, its importance is the same it is ranked as the first

Carter, 119.

Carter, 103.

Crawford, 4.

Carter, 105.

Carter, 112-113.

Crawford, 5.

motivational preference among high school non-graduates right through university

graduates

2.4.2 Appreciation

Beyond pay, appreciation and recognition for the work done is the second area of

most job dissatisfaction among tourism workers

. Interestingly, it is also the second

most important motivational preference of Jamaican workers

. Moreover, Crawford

(2008) found that the importance of appreciation and praise for work done increases

with age. Young persons (16 to 25 years) ranked appreciation forth, whereas 35 to 45

year olds ranked it second. Also in terms of educational level, there are great

differences. College graduates do not find this factor very important at all as they

ranked it ninth. However, high school non-graduates ranked it as their second most

important motivator

. The reason for this may be that high school non-graduates

have a greater need for appreciation because they are more insecure about their tasks

and responsibilities than persons who have graduated from a tertiary institution and

who have received recognition for this. In regards to gender, there are no

motivational differences, both rank appreciation second

Crawford, 6.

Carter, 126.

Crawford, 5.

Crawford, 6.

Crawford, 4.

2.4.3 Working Conditions

Carter (1997) found that most job dissatisfaction is a result of poor fringe

benefits and working conditions

. Especially in terms of benefits, workers are

dissatisfied because they simply do not know which benefits are available to them.

Carter identified this as a problem of poor organizational communication

. When

asked about their physical working conditions, only 4.6 percent of Jamaican workers

and 14.2 percent of supervisors stated that they were satisfied.

The main reason for

this great amount of dissatisfaction is found in workers having to work in extreme

heat, in inadequate canteen facilities and toilet facilities in poor condition

. Not

surprisingly, Crawford found that all age groups young and older rank working

conditions as the third most important motivator

. Clearly, all workers, independent

of age, are affected by poor working conditions and therefore, see improvement in

this area as a motivator.

2.4.4 Interesting Job

The perception of having an interesting job contributes to job satisfaction. Carter

(1997) found that there are immense differences in how Jamaican supervisors and

line staff feel about their jobs. 74 percent of supervisors regard their jobs as being

interesting, whereas 60 percent of workers stated that they feel their jobs are boring

Carter, 74, 125.

Carter, 76.

Carter, 77.

Crawford, 6,

Details

Pages
Type of Edition: Erstausgabe
Publication Year: 2014
ISBN (eBook): 9783954897162
ISBN (Softcover): 9783954892167
File size: 1.5 MB
Language: English
Publication date: 2014 (February)
Keywords: Hospitality Industry Motivation Job Satisfaction Caribbean Hotel Employees
Product Safety: Anchor Academic Publishing

Author

Cindy Hertel (Author)

Motivational Job Satisfaction in the Caribbean Hospitality Industry: How Demographic Variables Influence Job Satisfaction

Summary

Excerpt

Table Of Contents

Details

Author

Cindy Hertel (Author)