"SEX MATTERS":

DIFFERENCES IN THE PERCEPTIONS OF MALE AND FEMALE

LINE LEVEL EMPLOYEES

ABOUT THEIR WORK

IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN JAMAICASpencer, Andrew J; Bean, Dalea M.

International Journal of Arts & Sciences 4. 9 (2011)

ProQuest document ID : 929269436

Cherly Prihatina

Batch 5

1263620003

Human Resources

Management in

Hospitality & Tourism

Prof. Syamsir Abduh

GRADE / SCORE :

90

Content

Introduction

Literature Review

Methodology

Finding & Discussion

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

…INTRODUCTION

With nearly 3 million visitors each year, it is no

surprise that the travel and tourism

industry accounts for nearly 40% of Jamaica's GDP (Williams and Spencer,

2010).

Employment in the hospitality industry is grounded in service

High quality personalized service is dependent

on hospitality staff being professional, skilled, effiient

and flexible, while exhibiting friendly and

hospitable characteristics.( Jayawardena and Crick

(2000, p. 116)) Works by Crick (2001b, 2008) also

signify the importance of perceptions and

expectations of both guests and

employees in Caribbean hotels in creating

personalized service in the industry

“people's attitudes are the platform from which we deliver quality service

and interactions with visitors"(Dunn and Dunn,

2002)

Very little work has explored the perceptions of

workers in this most crucial industry. Even fewer have

delineated their findings by gender, and the existing works tend to focus on resort hotels and less on urban

business hotels.

This work attempts to fill these major gaps in the

literature

Motivational factors in the hotel industry are many and varied and include:

monetary bonuses or benefits;

opportunities for advancement and promotion;

opportunities for increased job responsibility;

recognition from managers, colleagues, customers, and family;

challenging work;

feelings of accomplishment;

development of self-esteem;

good working conditions;

good work schedules;

job security;

and being regarded as a good employee (Chiang et al., 2008; Simonz and Enz, 1995).

Employee's perceptions of their occupational worth often surround these major indicators

Employee motivation

LITERATURE REVIEW

…LITERATURE REVIEW

The hospitality industry has perpetuated distinctions in employment according to society's understanding of typical gender roles.

The researchers seek to prove that employee perceptions do vary based on their gender.

Sex and Gender at work

Some researchers note that gender is not an important indicator of

employee perceptions,(Silva ,2006)

Gender was not a major indicator of differences in employee

perceptions when compared to worker's age, level in the organization

and the number of years in the position. (Charles and Marshall ,1992)

versus

The interplay of gender and age are crucial to a study of employee

perceptions of their jobs, (Mooney and Ryan ,2009)

Link between gender and perception

METHODOLOGY

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The data represents statistically significant

relationships at the 0.05 level.

Sex was the dominant

independent variable

There are similarities or disparities in

the perceptions of male versus

female line level hotel workers.

An understanding of sex and gender dynamics is

crucial.

Gender is a key indicator of

differences in employee's perceptions of their jobs

and their overall job satisfaction.

…FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

•71.4% of women as well as most man were resistant to the notion that some jobs

are better suited for them, •both sexes overwhelmingly agreed (90.3%) that female dominated jobs in the hospitality industry bore striking similarities to housework and males in particular (94.1%) felt that there were "female-centric jobs" in hotels.

•94.1% of males chose the hotel industry as a first choice for work while only 26.2%

of females view the industry as a first choice;

•78% of males said they thought their jobs were lifelong careers ; while 85.7% of females said they did not thought their jobs were lifelong careers.•the 18-25 year old group tended to feel that they would move on to different professions eventually, •the 26-35 and 36-45 groups were likely to think that they were in it for the 'long haul'

Types of work

Prospects of working in the industry:

Careers in the hospitality industry

. 92.2% of males felt that their jobs were important compared to 35.7% of females.

Self Esteem

…FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

•72.3% of males said that their work was enjoyable : for most times (23.5%) or all the time (58.8%).• Negatively, Most females (64.3%) however felt that their work was enjoyable a few times (33.3%) or never (31%).•98% of males ranged from "somewhat satisfied" to "very satisfied" with their jobs,• A relatively large number of females (47.6%) were at least "somewhat satisfied" with their jobs.

Most men noted that their interaction was 'professional', 'good' or 'satisfactory', most women related their experiences with guests as being 'excellent' and 'fun'.

•whereas females may enjoy guest interaction, they overwhelmingly saw wages as the best reward for their work. While, 76.5% of males viewed a promotion as the best reward for hard work (which supports them viewing their jobs as lifelong careers) 64.3% of females valued increased income as the best reward.

Enjoying the working time and

Job Satisfaction

Interaction with guest and Self perception

Job Reward

.

97.3% females at the line level observe that senior management posts tend to be male dominated.

Optimism of work

…FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Employees internalized the wider societal views on which jobs are better suited for males and females. Female’s jobs were closely linked to emblematic female personality traits, emotional labour or archetypical of female domestic

duties

Man were mainly involved in what could be considered higher skilled professions as bartenders, chefs, cooks and maintenance technicians, which require more specialized training.This explains why overwhelmingly more males than females said that they opted for their jobs in the hotels.The women in many

cases, ostensibly 'stumbled' on their jobs and would require very little extra training

.This greater sense of job importance that men seem to have over their female counterparts follows from the fact that the men tend to be in higher skilled jobs and invested more in their training for these positions. It is therefore natural that they would think their jobs are crucial to the organization and would also see

themselves as less dispensable than women would. While the women were cognizant that their jobs were necessary to the smooth running of the hotels, they

were also acutely aware that they were replaceable, since scores of similarly marginally skilled women are in the job market seeking employment opportunities

…FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Consistent with the previously mentioned about choice to work in the industry and views

of whether their jobs could be seen as lifelong careers. Men were more likely than

women to perceive their jobs as being desirable and secure

It should be noted that even though women in general were not as satisfied with their

work, they still tended to enjoy the social interaction with guests. Women thought of themselves as friendly, were interested in listening to guest's problems, and

valued learning about the various cultures and countries from which the guests emanated.

This answers to Clark's (1997) question "why are women so happy at work?"

male hotel workers in the Bahamas ranked higher wages higher than female

hotel workers. Women enjoy the interaction with guests, they would not be

concerned only with monetary reward for their services; the job would be reward in itself.

female tend to be apathetic to the "sticky floor" of hotel work where they at least will earn a living, if nothing else. There is a pressing need for women to address immediate financial

obligations and therefore there is less emphasis on climbing the corporate ladder. Mantendency to view the possibility of promotion as on par or even surpassing wages signifies that

they perceive themselves as having a great chance for upward mobility.

CONCLUSION

There are line clear gender

differences in hotel employee

perceptions in urban business hotels in

Jamaica

Demands on family life may play a

role in these perceptions,

Due to the nature of the hospitality work

place itself, it has identified particular

challenges for females.

The demands of a supervisory role

and the requirements for job advancement have

created significant obstacles for hospitality

professionals who aspire to senior level

positions.

This research however may only be

generalized to the extent that contexts bear similarities to

Jamaica

…Conclusion

General attitudes to

work

• Females were much more present-time oriented and fatalistic in their approachto hospitality work.

• Female’s perception that male dominated management hierarchy make themquickly erodes thoughts of upward mobility.

• Female disinterest in building lifelong careers in the industry

Typically job

• Female were not keen on saying that they were better suited for some jobs, theyidentified however that they typically occupied certain jobs, which were not rapidlymobile such as front desk clerk and housekeeper/room attendant.

• Males in particular revealed that there were male-centric and female-centric jobs inthe hotel.

• Male steer clear of what they believe to be female centric-jobs

• Male Held food and beverage jobs which provide for the quickest climbup the ladder (Ladkin and Riley, 1996).

opportunity for

advancement and job stability

• Female perceived that working in the hospitality industry as having little opportunityfor advancement and job stability

• male perceptions that working in the hospitality industry as having opportunity foradvancement and job stability, many of male seek to build careers in the field.

• Male are motivated to invest in making life long professions

Chances

for upward mobility and job stability

• female's perceptions of the value of their work remain low

• male's views about their work are improving

…Conclusion

• What to be done for females who obviously enjoy some aspects of their jobs, but face challenges in meeting both their long term physical and psychological needs and which militate against them having fulfilling and satisfying jobs in the industry.

implication

• This requires a complete restructuring of ideologies about the functions in the hierarchy, in terms of gender specific roles.

implication

• Hospitality organizations must tap into the perceptions of their employees who are most important to the success of the organization, debunk the notion that men's work in the industry is inherently more valuable than women's and move towards meaningful strategies to remove the traces of the sticky floor, on which women in particular, perceive themselves to be.

implication

"SEX MATTERS":

DIFFERENCES IN THE PERCEPTIONS OF MALE AND FEMALE

LINE LEVEL EMPLOYEES

ABOUT THEIR WORK

IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN JAMAICA

Cherly Prihatina

Batch 5

1263620003

THANK YOU