1- introductionNowadays, human resource management is getting more and more important in hospitality industry. In the heart, motivation is a key factor, which maintains the process of human resource management regularly. Not all workers can be motivated in the same way.
Therefore, there is a need to focus on the motivation of workers in hospitality industry, and the way that human resource management practices address work values and motivational factors. From this research, we will also try to find out how different employees in different position and different levels of wages can be motivated. 2- Literature reviewMotivation is a complex combination of perceptions, aspirations and environmental interactions off all which affect behaviour. Go et al (1996) describe motivation as willingness to exert high levels of effort towards organisational goals, conditioned by the efforts to satisfy some individual need.
This is echoed by Mullins (1998) stating that motivation is linked to the attempt of individual to achieve certain goals which are related to the opportunity of satisfying a particular need. Mullins (1998) does emphasise that motivation is a complicated issue though and that people tend to be motivated by a variety of factors. These can be arranged into three groups: Economic rewards including pay, benefits and job security; intrinsic satisfaction including nature of work, achievement and personal development and Social relations including the work environment, colleagues and feelings of belonging. Motivated employees are an essential attribute of any successful organisation.
Management’s job is to create the context within which employees will strive to contribute to the goals of the organisation. In other words, by influencing the context, and hiring the right employees, managers can affect the degree to which employees feel motivated to ‘do the best possible job or to exert the maximum effort to perform assigned tasks’ (Gomez-Mejia et al., 1997, p.88).
The motivations for workplace behaviour can be generally explained be theories that range from needs based theories (Maslow, 1954) to driver based theories, which account for the influence of affiliation, power, and achievement (McClelland, 1961). The interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in a person’s environment is also prevalent in explanations (Herzberg, 1968). However, while research on motivation suggests that factors impelling workplace behaviour are functions of a worker’s environment and personal life, in cross-cultural settings unique cultural variables also affect the attitudes and behaviour of people. Motivation is of particular importance to the hospitality industry due to the effect motivation has on employee satisfaction and competence, which are key determinants of service quality.
F.W. Marriots famous quotation echoes this stating “it takes happy works to make happy customers”(Lashley 2000). Therefore, nowhere does understand employee motivation more important than in customer service oriented businesses, such as the hospitality industry, where front-line employees have an immediate impact on customer satisfaction.
Hospitality managers need to be skilled at creating contexts in which their employees feel constantly motivated to provide superior level of customer service and product quality. In the hospitality industry, there are the diverse nature of employees, what motivates one person does not necessarily motivate another. Therefore, different employees in different position and different levels of wages have different motivators.There are two problems with offering suggestions to managers within this context.
On the one hand, Cyprus is a complex country and sometimes it is too difficult to understand for outsiders. On the other hand, Cyprus is in transition and therefore constantly changing. People prefer to money worship. So, financial rewards became a key motivator.
3- Reasons for Choosing this topicThe fundamental reason for choosing this topic is that having searched literature I found that very few works have been conducted concerning the motivation practices at restaurants in Cyprus. This fact has encouraged me to do this piece of work in order to contribute to the existing knowledge about this subject by adding a new point of view. Another reason is that most managers with poor background in motivation techniques find it difficult for them to improve the performance of employees. This has urged me to conduct this study in order to show the importance of motivation techniques in improving the performance of employees in services industry.
4- AimThe aim of this research is to examine the importance of motivation techniques in improving the performance of employees in the restaurants in Cyprus.5- Objectivesn To review the literature about this issue up till now.n Ensure that restaurants adequately undertake the motivation techniques.n To help managers understand that the restaurant’s potential output can be increased by introducing adequate reward system for employees.
6- Methodology6-1- PhilosophyResearch is a fact finding activity (Dominowski, 1980). The aim of primary research is to make known something previously unknown to human beings and to advance human knowledge by making it more certain or better fitting; the aim is discovery (Elias, 1986). Kerlinger (1970) uses more technical language to define it as the systematic, controlled, empirical and critical investigation of hypothetical propositions about presumed relations among natural phenomena.The research philosophy depends on the way we think about the development of knowledge and this thinking affects the way we do search (Saunders 2000).
Whilst undertaking the research, a clear understanding of research philosophy is essential. Easterby-Smith et al (1997) identify three reasons why the exploration of philosophy may be significant with particular reference to research methodology: Firstly, it can help the researcher to refine and specify the research methods to be used in a study, that is, to clarify the overall research strategy to be used. This would include the type of evidence gathered and its origin, the way in which such evidence is interpreted, and how it helps to answer the research questions posed. Secondly, knowledge of research philosophy will enable and assist the researcher to evaluate different methodologies and methods and avoid inappropriate use and unnecessary work by identifying the limitations of particular approaches at an early stage.
Thirdly, it may help the researcher to be creative and innovative in either selection or adaptation of methods that were previously outside his or her experience.Two views about the research process dominate the literature: positivism and phenomenology which have an important part to play in business and management research (Saunders, 2000). Positivism is founded on the belief that study of human behaviour should be conducted in the same way that as studies conducted in the natural sciences. On the other hand phenomenology is concerned with the understanding human behaviour from the participant’s own frame of reference (Hussey and Collis, 2003).
Positivistic paradigmPhenomenological paradigmTends to produce quantitative dataTends to produce qualitative dataUses large samplesUses small samplesConcerned with hypothesis testingConcerned with generating theoriesData is highly specific and preciseData is rich and subjectiveThe location is artificialThe location is naturalReliability is highReliability is lowValidity is lowValidity is highGeneralises from sample to populationGeneralises from one setting to anotherFigure 1: Features of the two main paradigms (Hussey and Collis, 2003) As the research philosophy depends fundamentally on the research question (Saunders 2000), the phenomenological philosophy has been chosen in this paper. This choice originates from that researcher’s topic/question that aimed to investigate how motivation techniques contribute to the performance enhancement of employees at restaurants. In this specific research, -related to the question- the author will collect data and develop a theory as a result of data analyses rather than developing a theory and test it afterwards. 6-2- Qualitative versus Quantitative primary researchTECHNIQUESQualitative techniques stand in contrast to quantitative techniques, the main difference being that quantitative techniques involve numerical data whereas qualitative techniques involve more abstract information.
Data collected using qualitative techniques do not generally lend themselves to statistical analysis whereas quantitative techniques do (Veal, 1997).A mixed methodological approach will be used in this research, because mixing methods enables the insufficiencies of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies research design to be overcome and can assist with data collection and data analysis (Jennings, 2001). 6-3- InterviewingAn interview is a purposeful discussion between two or more people. It enables you to gather valid and reliable data that are relevant to tour research question and objectives.
There are three types of interview; structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews (Saunders et al, 2000).A semi-structured interview model will be utilised as it:n Is flexible, not standardisedn Enables me to gain an analysis, explanation and description in relation to my research aim and objectives.n Facilitates the exploratory nature of my researchn Gives me an opportunity to discover issues I have not considered beforeInterviews provide in-depth information about a particular research issue or question. They are designed to gather a broad range of information from a few units.
They are the best method to get detailed answers about your questions. They are also the best method for advertising pre-testing, where researcher is seeking individual interpretations and responses. The main disadvantage of interviews is that they are time consuming, and that the respondent may feel like ‘a bug under a microscope’ and be less willing to open up than in the relaxed atmosphere of a group (Research solutions 2005).A number of 10 people working in the restaurants of Cyprus will be interviewed.
Choosing interviews for this stage of this part of the research was in order to get as much information as possible from the few people that will be interviewed. Interview questions will be compiled from the existing literature and detailed in relation to the research topic, aim and objectives 6-4- QuestionnairesIn the questionnaires method of data collection the researcher can precisely obtain the information that he asks for and these information can be analysed in an easier way than if choosing another method. In addition to that questionnaires are not an expensive method of data collection, and they don’t take long time to fill in. On the other hand questionnaires have some disadvantages such as: they do not have a high response rate, the wording of the questions can cause bias to the client’s responses, and the questions might not be designed correctly, which will result in collecting unneeded answers (McNamara, 1999).
Choosing questionnaires for this step was due to the relatively large sample size that the researcher intends to include in his research, and for the cheap cost of this method comparing with other data collection methods. A sample of 200 shareholders will be involved in the questionnaire, because the larger the sample sized is the more adequate the results will be and the more generalisations can be drawn from the research.6-5- AnalysisOn there own, data are rarely used in their original form. Through the process of data analysis, value is added to the data to turn them into information.
It is information rather than data which users especially policy and decision-makers are interested in (Uganda bureau of statistics, 2005). However this will be a very sensitive and critical stage in my research process as misinterpretation or over-interpretation is always a potential risk.The process of data analysis in this research will include the following steps:n Indicate the date of the questionnaires. Who completed them, and the number of returns?n Categorise the data collected.
This can be done according to gender, origin, age… etc.
n Reading through the questionnaires and interviews carefully and coding them after the event in relation to the types of answers, themes and issues, and then categorising of response (keeping a note of what the codes refer to).n Then by asking some questions like what are the answers that keep repeating, what are the deviations from these answers, and Are there themes emerging? Contradictions? Then it would be possible to draw some relative generalisations.The data will be gathered and analysed using statistical information, correlation and noting possible linear regression models to define the factors effecting the foreign exchange and interest rate risk management. The research study and statistical implications will then be developed for the final research document arrangement7- Possible limitations of the researchn Lack of literature done so far concerning the disclosure of risk in annual reports might represents a major obstacle.
n Another limitation might be lack of time. The researcher will follow a hybrid approach in data collection, which will include interviews and questionnaires. Collecting data through these methods, analysing and demonstrating them is time consuming and the researcher does not have much time.n There might be challenges in convincing to gain access to the relevant information required within the companies I intend to research.
Confidentiality has been a barrier before researchers. It is required to reassure the firm that all data and information collected will be treated in the strictest confidence. 8- Study Time table:n The study will be undertaken according to the following Gantt ChartWeek 1Week 2Week 3Week 4Week 5Week 6Week 7Week 8Week 9Week 10IntroductionLiterature ReviewMethodologyInterviewsData InterpretationResults CompilationResults and ConclusionReferences:n Dominowski, R, L, 1980. Research Methods.
Prentice-Halln Easterby-Smith M., Thorpe R. & Lowe A., 1997, Management Research: an Introduction, London, Sage Publications.
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co.nz/in_depth_interviews.htmn Saunders M, Lewis P, & Thornhill A, 2000., Research Methods for Business Students, 2nd Ed.
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