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21 – 30 of over 1000One of the salient features of the economy in developed countries is the relative stability in the workforce engaged in manufacturing and the constant increase in the numbers…
Abstract
One of the salient features of the economy in developed countries is the relative stability in the workforce engaged in manufacturing and the constant increase in the numbers employed in services. Increased production can often be achieved by improved technology but, despite many attempts at devising satisfactory systemised catering and some reduction of personal services offered when their full cost is realised, the hotel and catering industry finds itself constantly short of trained manpower.
B M Razzak, Robert Blackburn and George Saridakis
This paper investigates the linking between employees' working life (EWL) and job performance of ethnic minority Bangladeshi restaurants in Greater London.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the linking between employees' working life (EWL) and job performance of ethnic minority Bangladeshi restaurants in Greater London.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use in depth face-to-face interviews of 40 participants working in 20 Bangladeshi restaurants (BRs) following a convenience sampling method. A thematic analysis technique, with the help of QSR N10, developed two key themes related to EWL and performance.
Findings
These themes highlight several aspects of the relationship between EWL and performance. First, EWL is “beyond” the UK tradition; employers show a domineering attitude; however, employees continue to work due to lack of skills and competence. Second, employees perceive and present themselves as satisfied; however, this satisfaction is not reflected in the business performance of BRs. Third, the analysis shows that business owners “trap strategy” constrains employees to develop their skills for mobility to other industries. Hence, employees express satisfaction with their existing situation on the basis that it is the best they can hope for, given their specific skills and competence, and need for some security in the UK. Fourth, non-financial performance, for example, job autonomy, sense of fulfilment is related to EWL.
Practical implications
The paper provides a framework to promote a better understanding of the linking between employees' working life and performance of UK ethnic minority restaurants. Also, the paper makes recommendations for further research, including an examination of the applicability of the findings to SMEs operated by other ethnic groups in the UK.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the scarce literature on the working life of people in Bangladeshi restaurant businesses in the UK and the relationship between EWL and business performance.
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Anne‐Mette Hjalager and Steen Andersen
The period 1980‐1995 saw the emergence of a more professional Danish tourist sector, with increasing numbers of both employees and entrepreneurs possessing a formal degree or…
Abstract
The period 1980‐1995 saw the emergence of a more professional Danish tourist sector, with increasing numbers of both employees and entrepreneurs possessing a formal degree or diploma of some kind. Investigates the profile of employees with dedicated training and finds that their educational background does not give them any particular advantages vis‐à‐vis employees with less relevant qualifications. The retention of employees is a critical problem in Danish tourism, but while turnover is extremely high among the unskilled, significantly better retention rates are found among those with a professional or vocational tourism education. Discusses the implications of the retention pattern, arguing that tourism shares its professional labour market with neighbouring sectors, and that the industry and educational support framework must therefore take account of this. However, there is a very real risk of losing the competition for the best‐qualified staff. Finally, it is postulated that tourism is a locus for new types of career concepts; however, we still lack a genuine understanding of the role of tourism for the contingent or boundaryless career.
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This study seeks to investigate the service expected by customers and the ways in which waiting staff can help to satisfy such expectations. Their backgrounds and ambitions are…
Abstract
This study seeks to investigate the service expected by customers and the ways in which waiting staff can help to satisfy such expectations. Their backgrounds and ambitions are investigated, together with the skills and expertise that they are expected to possess. This is compared to the training offered, which suggests a skills gap worthy of further study. Based on the limited evidence offered, some recommendations are offered about the role of the waiter and waitress in the process of food enjoyment.
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Stephanie Hui-Wen Chuah, Siriprapha Jitanugoon, Pittinun Puntha and Eugene Cheng-Xi Aw
This study aims to simultaneously examine the influence of demographic, psychographic and situational factors on consumers’ willingness to pay a price premium (WTPp) for robotic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to simultaneously examine the influence of demographic, psychographic and situational factors on consumers’ willingness to pay a price premium (WTPp) for robotic restaurants and to profile market segments based on consumers’ WTPp levels (positive, neutral and negative).
Design/methodology/approach
Using an online survey, the data were gathered from a sample of 897 Thai consumers who had dined at a robotic restaurant in the past 12 months. Structural equation modeling, chi-square tests and the one-way analysis of variance were used for data analysis.
Findings
Demographic (gender, age, income and marital status), psychographic (perceived advantages/disadvantages, personal innovativeness and personality traits) and situational factors (perceived health risk and self-protection behavior) significantly influence consumers’ WTPp for robotic restaurants. The positive price premium group differs significantly from the neutral and negative price premium groups in terms of demographic, psychographic and situational profiles.
Practical implications
The findings of this study help restaurateurs target the correct customers and set up appropriate price fences to safeguard profits and maximize return on investment.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on technology-based services and hospitality by heeding the calls made by Ivanov and Webster (2021) and providing much-needed empirical evidence of possible changes in consumers’ WTPp for robot-delivered services in restaurants due to COVID-19.
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Tipping is a phenomenon that illustrates the importance of social norms and psychological reasons in motivating economic behavior. People tip because this is the social norm and…
Abstract
Tipping is a phenomenon that illustrates the importance of social norms and psychological reasons in motivating economic behavior. People tip because this is the social norm and disobeying the norm results in psychological disutility. Tipping is also economically important: in the USA alone, millions of workers derive most of their income from tips, and annual tips amount to dozens of billions of dollars. Tipping is also prevalent in numerous other countries around the globe. While tipping has been studied extensively by psychologists, it has received very little attention from economists. In order to encourage other economists to research this interesting phenomenon, the author discusses the implications of tipping for several areas in economics: social economics, behavioral economics, labor economics, and economics of information/management strategy. Also many ideas are provided for future research both as part of the discussion and in the concluding section.
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B.M. Razzak, George Saridakis and Yannis Georgellis
By aligning the “Small is beautiful” and “Bleak house” theories, this study aims to examine how robotic working patterns affect employees’ working life and job satisfaction (JS…
Abstract
Purpose
By aligning the “Small is beautiful” and “Bleak house” theories, this study aims to examine how robotic working patterns affect employees’ working life and job satisfaction (JS) in Bangladeshi-owned ethnic minority businesses.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses information from 40 face-to-face interviews of employees from 20 Bangladeshi restaurants in Greater London.
Findings
The findings suggest that workers are treated as “robots”, consistent with the “Bleak house” view of small businesses in this segment of the restaurant and hospitality industry. Owners expect employees to perform multiple tasks, to assume many responsibilities, to work long shifts, without any holiday allowances. Consistent with the “Small is beautiful model”, the findings underscore the lack of written employment contracts and the emergence of acute staff shortages.
Practical implications
The findings can inform owner-managers’ decisions to refine their HR strategies and improve the work conditions of employees in ethnic minority-owned restaurants. The “Small is beautiful” model highlights five key interventions for improving ethnic minority business work quality: recruit employees with first preferences for restaurant jobs, introduce flexible work arrangements, formalise work, improve market research and tackle acute staff shortages.
Originality/value
The study contributes novel insights into the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and job quality literature by offering new qualitative-based findings on the negative impact of robotic work patterns on work quality and JS in ethnic minority SMEs.
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Louise Thornthwaite and Peter McGraw
Purpose – To examine Gerald Mars’ contribution to scholarly understanding of workplace crime by revisiting his seminal work, Cheats at Work, and to explore developments in the…
Abstract
Purpose – To examine Gerald Mars’ contribution to scholarly understanding of workplace crime by revisiting his seminal work, Cheats at Work, and to explore developments in the forms, patterns, and implications of cheating at work since its publication.
Methodology/approach – This chapter critically reviews Cheats at Work and explores the changing nature of fiddling over time using the analytical framework and four associated occupational categories of workplace crime identified by Mars. The review is based on three main sources: recent scholarly literature on misbehavior, deviance, and employee misconduct; cases from industrial law reports, newspapers, and social media; and the views of informants conveyed directly to the authors.
Findings – The analytical framework that Mars contributed remains useful even if the boundaries of the occupational categories of workplace crime are now more blurred, with some jobs and fiddles spanning categories. Although, technology has changed the nature of fiddling, new forms have emerged as old ones have disappeared.
Social implications – Three decades after publication of Mars's study, it is evident that fiddling remains a normal, albeit covert, activity in many jobs and occupations. His typology continues to be valuable for explaining patterns, forms, and implications of cheating at work.
Originality/value of chapter – Given the growing interest in the forms and implications of misbehavior and workplace resistance, this chapter provides an opportunity for reflection on the enduring salience of Cheats at Work, thirty years after its publication.
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Tong Yang, Jie Wu and Junming Zhang
This study aims to establish a comprehensive satisfaction analysis framework by mining online restaurant reviews, which can not only accurately reveal consumer satisfaction but…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to establish a comprehensive satisfaction analysis framework by mining online restaurant reviews, which can not only accurately reveal consumer satisfaction but also identify factors leading to dissatisfaction and further quantify improvement opportunity levels.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting deep learning, Cross-Bidirectional Encoder Representations Transformers (BERT) model is developed to measure customer satisfaction. Furthermore, opinion mining technique is used to extract consumers’ opinions and obtain dissatisfaction factors. Furthermore, the opportunity algorithm is introduced to quantify attributes’ improvement opportunity levels. A total of 19,133 online reviews of 31 restaurants in Universal Beijing Resort are crawled to validate the framework.
Findings
Results demonstrate the superiority of Cross-BERT model compared to existing models such as sentiment lexicon-based model and Naïve Bayes. More importantly, after effectively unveiling customer dissatisfaction factors (e.g. long queuing time and taste salty), “Dish taste,” “Waiters’ attitude” and “Decoration” are identified as the three secondary attributes with the greatest improvement opportunities.
Practical implications
The proposed framework helps managers, especially in the restaurant industry, accurately understand customer satisfaction and reasons behind dissatisfaction, thereby generating efficient countermeasures. Especially, the improvement opportunity levels also benefit practitioners in efficiently allocating limited business resources.
Originality/value
This work contributes to hospitality and tourism literature by developing a comprehensive customer satisfaction analysis framework in the big data era. Moreover, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is among the first to introduce opportunity algorithm to quantify service improvement benefits. The proposed Cross-BERT model also advances the methodological literature on measuring customer satisfaction.
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Mrs Genevieve N. Bond‐Mendel and Antonis C. Simintiras
This paper studies the role of personal selling and the salesforce as an information source and the impact potential information gaps in a downstream business chain can have. It…
Abstract
This paper studies the role of personal selling and the salesforce as an information source and the impact potential information gaps in a downstream business chain can have. It offers a conceptual model of information gaps in an on‐licence wine business channel and suggests areas necessitating further research.
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