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Hospitality, leisure and tourism services and organizational behaviour
After working through this chapter you should be able to :
- define organization behaviour and contributing disciplines
- critically discuss different ways of describing organizations
- discuss the service context in which leisure service organizations operate
- identify and critically discuss different strategies engaged.
All organizations are by definition organizations of people, but leisure service organizations require intensified focus on membersâ behaviour, because membersâ behaviour has a key significance for the delivery of customer satisfaction and customer perceptions of service quality. The organizational processes whereby managers manage frontline staff in particular and all staff in general are a central concern. Both those interested in the study of leisure service organizations as major employers and those studying these organizations in preparation for work in the sector need to develop a critical understanding of the relationship between leisure service organizations and the different people who make up the membership.
Case study 1.1
Fred Brown is a regular customer of a major chain store. He is a fan of the store and uses the firm on at least a weekly basis, usually charging purchases on his store card. On average he spends ÂŁ1000â2000 with the firm per annum.
One day in the run-up to Christmas, Fred found that his wristwatch battery had stopped working and he returned the watch to a chain store for repair. He knew that the watch would need to be sent away to the manufacturer because the waterproofing could not be repaired in-house. When he presented the watch to the appropriate counter he was told, âWe are not accepting any watches for repair until after Christmasâ. Fred explained that he had made a special journey to the store and would prefer to leave it with them. A senior assistant said, âWe are not accepting repairs until the New Year, because our draws are full of stockâ. Fred said, âLook I am a regular customer and it is inconvenient to return again to the store, please let me leave it with you, it is only one small watchâ.
The senior assistant said, âI am not accepting this watch for repair, that is our policy and we are not going to change it just for youâ. Fred became very angry and left the store. He had the watch repaired at a competitor store and has vowed not to return to the original store. He now tells his story to all his friends and contacts insisting the store has âgone down the pan recentlyâ. âIn the past the service was great, they would have just accepted it and explained that it might not be sent away until the new year.â
Reflective practice
- Reflect on Case study 1.1. Did the counter assistants meet Fredâs customer service expectation?
- Why did the staff react the way they did?
- Was Fred to blame?
Clearly the perception of poor service experienced in a shop, hotel, restaurant, travel agency or any other leisure service can be down to the inappropriate behaviour of rogue individuals, but there are other explanations that reflect the organizational context in which she or he works:
- high levels of staff turnover result in staff shortages
- a lack of training
- staff absences put individuals under added pressure
- having to work long hours
- autocratic and bullying supervision
- low motivation due to poor pay and conditions
- concern over organization-threatened organization changes.
Most of these issues influence the behaviour of individuals and originate in the way organizations employ and manage the individuals in that organization. This chapter will discuss the need to study organizations and why organization behaviour studies provide valuable insights into leisure service organizations. The chapter also considers different ways of thinking about organizations and the relationships between organization members. These different perceptions of organizations fundamentally shape the way that people within the organization, and external to it, see an organization in very different ways. Flowing from this it is important to understand the nature of the service context in which leisure service organizations exist. The role of organization members and the design of their job roles may vary considerably between different leisure service organizations. Certainly the roles of managers and the way they devise organization policies towards other organization members are considered as a way of encouraging critical thought and insights into policies that may reflect just one of a number of actions.
Understanding Organization Behaviour
The distinction made earlier between the study of leisure service organizations and the study for leisure service organizations is an important one. Most of those who read this book are likely to be studying courses that prepare them for careers in hospitality, leisure or tourism occupations. In many cases these programmes develop an awareness of how to manage the activity concerned and are, rightly, concerned with developing concepts and skills needed for effective performance in these sectors (Doherty et al., 2001). That said, the study of leisure service organizations invites a more critical perspective that is required in the development of the âreflective practitionerâ. Organization behaviour as an interdisciplinary topic allows a more analytical stance than a simple managerialist perspective might consider.
Huczynski and Buchanan (2001: 3) suggest that, âOrganizational behaviour has a controversial relationship with management practiceâ and they criticize many US and British texts for being overly managerialist (Mullins, 1999) for several reasons. They suggest that these more managerial texts that are overly focused on the study for organization performance fail to deal with the âpoliticalâ dimensions of organizations:
- Power inequalities in organizations are often ignored in the study from this uncritical perspective. Power in organizations is unevenly distributed and management represents an elite group that has access to information and resources that are not available to employees. How this uneven power is exercised is an interesting topic that reflects on the decision-making process and reward structures.
- The subject agenda is narrowed to issues of practical management applications under this managerialist approach. Subjects that are not of an immediate practical application may get squeezed out. This may reduce understanding of issues that have long-term interest, and those that are more critical of management practice.
- Organizations comprise multiple stakeholders, of which managers are just one group who have a stake in understanding behaviour in organizations. The subject will also be of interest to other stakeholders such as employees, trade unions, customers, suppliers and the communities in which organizations are located.
- Managers are often prone to be fashion victims in their search for methods and techniques with which to manage. The more managerialist approaches tend to view these management fads uncritically and encourage managers to consider âquick fixesâ to long-term and complex problems. The chapter on employee empowerment and discussion of emotion intelligence later in the text provide examples.
Key point 1.1
The study of organizational behaviour encourages a critical perspective that challenges the view of the management of leisure service organizations as being unproblematic and simple.
This book assumes that leisure service organizations are best understood as a collective of interest groups and that effective management of these organizations needs to be aware of the full array of interests involved. Indeed, many leisure service organizations can be criticized for operating with only shareholder interests in mind (Lashley, Thomas and Rowson, 2002). The dominance of concern for building shareholder value, almost without thought for other interests, is ultimately counterproductive and an issue to which this chapter returns later.
Leisure service organizations are focused on the provision of services that occupy peopleâs non-work time. They share some features that are common to all organizations in that they represent social arrangements involving collective goals and controlled performance (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). This latter feature is important because organizations are different to, say, football supporters or regular drinkers at the same pub. They are, therefore, more than social arrangements with collective goals.
- Organizations are concerned with performance to achieve goals.
- They involve choices about best use of resources to achieve goals.
- They monitor performance of individuals in pursuit of the goals.
- They control performance and take corrective action where needed.
- Controls only work when individuals comply with instructions.
- Organizations often involve specialization of tasks and the division of labour.
- Admission to membership of an organization is normally controlled.
- Loss of membership can occur.
The study of organizations involves a number of themes that cover the scope of this book:
- Individual factors are concerned with personality and perceptions that may influence how the individual performs in the organization. Many leisure service organizations attempt to recruit people who are people orientated and who have good social skills (Lashley, Thomas and Rowson, 2002). In Case study 1.1 it may be that the shop assistants were not suitable for frontline customer contact.
- Group factors include the study of the way groups are formed, and the way that groups provide a sense of identity to individuals and influence the way individuals behave. In addition the study of intergroup relationships within organizations can be useful for understanding both relationships between managers and other organization members in industrial relations and in diversity management. The two assistants in Case study 1.1 may feel angry with managers because of recent changes and this has influenced their approach to customers.
- Structural factors influence the design of the organization and the contexts in which individuals work. The number of employees responsible to a supervisors, or the number of levels between the frontline staff and the senior management have an impact on the levels and types of contact between staff and the management hierarchy. Many leisure retail organizations have been attracted to employee empowerment as a way of managing staff because it is believed empowerment will improve service quality through improved employee commitment. In Case study 1.1 it may be that the shop assistants feel disempowered and fixed on one instruction at the expense of good service.
- Process factors determine how the organization deals with organization members as employees and the systems in place which are designed to enhance and deliver service quality. The approach taken to the recruitment and selection of new recruits, the induction and training, management processes and reward systems can influence the behaviour of individuals. The shop assistants could be poorly rewarded, and untrained in good customer care.
- Management factors involve consideration of how managers operate within the organization, their chosen style as leaders or the culture they are creating. Overcontrolling management can produce frustration and lead to disempowerment. The action of the shop assistants might be a response to the way they are being managed.
Key point 1.2
The study of organizational behaviour involves a multidisciplinary approach that includes individual, group, structural, process and management factors.
Case study 1.2
Like many of its competitors, the Friendly Pub Company has high levels of staff turnover. Current rates average 220 per cent for the group of 90 pubs across the Midlands and North of England. But rates in individual pubs range from 10 per cent to 450 per cent.
Sam Brown calls a meeting of senior colleagues to discuss the causes of staff turnover and how to remedy it. Several managers make a contribution but all seem to suggest different causes.
Ted Brown, Operations Manager, said, âItâs the people around today, they donât want to stay long, people today arenât committedâ.
Sally North, Training Manager, disagreed, âItâs not them, itâs the way we treat them; our managers do not carry out proper induction programmes and many of them bully staff once theyâve startedâ.
Jane Fallon, a senior pub manager, said, âWe just had six staff all leave at once, itâs like when one goes they all goâ.
Reflective practice
- Using Case study 1.2, identify the different sources of organization behaviour being used by the three managers?
- Suggest what is needed in any policy designed to reduce staff turnover.
Describing Organizations
Organizations are described in different ways by different commentators. To some extent these differences reflect political and philosophical perspectives and abilities to be analytical rather than descriptive. There are several ways of structuring these differences in approach; this chapter introduces two models. The first model refers to the way different commentators consider organizational conflict (Fox, 1973). Is conflict unhealthy, healthy or inevitable? The second explores metaphors used to describe organizations: are they like orchestras, like prisons or like machines (Morgan, 1997)?
Organizational Conflict
Many leisure service organizations have been criticized for having high levels of staff turnover, high levels of staff absenteeism, poor quality, low productivity and poor wages (DfEE, 1999; HtF, 2002; Lashley and Rowson, 2000). In some cases strikes by organization members occur, though this varies among sectors and countries.
In the UK for example, strikes in hotels are infrequent and usually confined to one hotel, while in New York hotel workers are more likely to take strike action more frequently and across several hotels.
All these situations reflect conflicts within leisure retail organizations. When a person leaves an organization or takes a day off, they are frequently doing so because they are dissatisfied at work but do not have the chance to take collective action with their work colleagues, which strike actions involves.
Commentators respond to conflict in organizations in different ways. The model developed by Fox (1973) is useful. Even though it was primarily developed to inform the understanding of industrial relations in the UK, it is helpful because it can be adapted to reflect different âphilosophiesâ of organizations and relationships within them.
Each uses a frame of reference that makes assumptions about the organization and its members. It is a means whereby people make sense of events and actions through the expression of accepted norms within a social domain such as, group, occupation, subject discipline or political allegiance. Group influences on behaviour are discussed further in Chapter 7.
- Unitarists perceive the organization as harmonious and conflict as bad. The frame of reference views the organization as a seamless whole, with harmony between organization members, structures that are co-operative and with committed organization members and loyal teams. Where problems and conflicts occur they are seen as due to some unusual effect like communications breakdowns. Reasons are likened to an illness where consultants are needed to sort out the malady, or due to âtroublemakersâ such as trade unions or âmilitantsâ. This view is held by many managers and assumes that organizations are they way they are for âtechnicalâ reasons because that is the way they have to be in a âfree marketâ context. At root the approach fails to recognize the political nature of organizations and power relati...
