What are the key attributes of the old worker in diversity in tourism and hospitality industry

Age Diversity Management in Five-Star Hotels: Importance-Implementation Analysis

ZAKARIA ELKHWESKY, MSc

Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and

Hotels, Alexandria University, Egypt

ISLAM SALEM, PhD

Business Administration Department

College of Applied Science, Oman

Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and

Hotels, Alexandria University, , Egypt

Mona Barakat, PhD

Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and

Hotels, Alexandria University, Egypt

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to investigate and analyze the importance of age diversity management practices (ADMPs) and the implementation from perspectives of managerial- and entry-level food and beverage (F & B) employees, working in F & B departments, and HR managers in the Egyptian five-star hotels in the cities of Cairo and Sharm El-Sheikh. Data were collected from 400 participants. The findings revealed that there was a significant and moderate positive correlation between the importance and the implementation of ADMPs. Moreover, there was a significant variance between the importance and the implementation of ADMPs. Most ADMPs were more important and implemented in the five-star hotels.

Keywords: diversity management practices; Age, Egypt

1.             INTRODUCTION

           Diversity is vital in the global economy (Barak, 2013) and to accomplish the success (Marriott, 2016b). Diversity refers to the differences in age, tenure, educational background, social status, economic status, lifestyle, and etc. (Woods & Sciarini,1995). Additionally, Maxwell, McDougall and Blair (2000) defined diversity as the differences in race, culture, nationality, gender, age, disability, and working experience. Saxena (2014) defined workforce diversity as differences and similarities among employees in terms of gender, perceptions, language, age, and etc. Age is one of diversity dimensions (Dastane & Eshegbe, 2015; Wrench, 2016). In addition, age is an important diversity category (Boehm & Dwertmann, 2015). Dastane and Eshegbe (2015) stated that there is an age diversity among people. More, employees from various ages have increased in the place of work (Booth, Robson, Welham, Barnard & Bartlett, 2009; Boehm & Dwertmann, 2015). Therefore, the management of age diversity in operations is a challenge (Parry & Tyson, 2011). Diversity management (DM) is the process of focusing positively on differences among employees to benefit from them (Bartz, Hillman, Lehrer & Mayhugh, 1990). In addition, Farren and Nelson (1999) found it critical to maintain and benefit from diversity by creating the spirit of cooperation among employees. DM among employees is one of the most valuable organizational issues (Soni, 2000).

         DM programs are a critical matter for researchers (Kellough & Naff, 2004). To add, Manoharan, Gross and Sardeshmukh (2014) confirmed that there is a lack of studies focused on DM in hotels. Moreover, it is critical to conduct researches about DM in hotels (Besler & Sezerel, 2012). Since, DM among employees is a challenge for international managers in recent days (Csaba, 2013). The fair hiring of employees should be implemented in the foodservice operations (Durrani & Rajagopal, 2016). It is still observable that age could not be managed well because of the unfair salary between individuals even though they work at similar tasks and have the same qualifications (e Arraes, Menezes & Simonassi, 2014). However, DM is a critical matter in the hospitality industry, there is a lack of researches aimed at investigating the importance-implementation of age diversity management practices in this industry, specifically in Egypt. Many previous researches indicated the importance of managing age diversity, see the study of Gardenswartz and Rowe (2009) who stated that age is one of the most important dimensions of diversity that have an impact on the treatment of individuals inside organizations and on individuals' roles in life. Therefore, the present study aimed at investigating and analyzing the importance-implementation of ADMPs in the Egyptian five-star hotels, specifically in Cairo and Sharm El-Sheikh cities. It provided weighty contributions to the management of age diversity in the Egyptian hotel sector and formed one of the first empirical studies conducted in Egypt on workforce diversity. The research's problem can be stated in the next question;

What is the importance-implementation of age diversity management practices in the Egyptian five-star hotels?

2.             THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES
 

2.1.         The Concept of Diversity and its Management

          On one hand, diversity is the variations among people in such dimensions as age, gender, and ethnicity (Esty, Griffin & Hirsch, 1995; Kandola & Fullerton, 1998; Soni, 2000). In addition, Jones and George (2010) illustrated that diversity is the differences among individuals in such dimensions as age and gender. To add, diversity is the variations among people in a race, color, religion, sex, national origin, education, sexual orientation, values, abilities, organizational function, tenure, and personality (Cole & Kelly, 2011). More, diversity can be defined as the demographic variety among people in the workplace, particularly in terms of race, sex, culture, national origin, handicap, age, and religion (Dessler, 2011). Ultimately, diversity means the distinction among people in abilities, experiences, competencies, and qualifications (Mazur, 2015). On the other hand, valuing diversity can be defined as appreciating the differences among individuals to create a more productive and creative firm to attract diverse consumers (Kandola & Fullerton, 1998). According to Miller and Rowney (1999), DM is the efforts of establishments for an active recruitment and the ability to create a suitable working environment for workers from diverse backgrounds. Eventually, DM is the management of heterogeneity among people (Wrench, 2016). Diversity among employees can impact on the management of human resources and productivity of the association. Thus, similarities and differences should be well-managed to acquire new ideas and viewpoints (Gardenswartz & Rowe, 2009). More, it is important to establish a proper workplace in hotels to manage diversity (El-Said, 2013). Aretz and Hansen (2003) confirmed that poor DM has a destroyed impact on the organization. Managers should be aware that diversity does not cause positive impacts automatically (Boehm & Dwertmann, 2015). Besides, Booth et al. (2009) recommended that to manage diversity properly in the workplace, it is essential to encourage and support everyone in the firm. Managing age is necessary to satisfy workers in foodservice operations (DeMicco & Reid, 1988).

2.2.         Diversity Management Practices

          DM programs may be implemented either formally or informally according to the needs of the operation (Weaver, Wilborn, McCLEARY, Lekagul, 2003). DM is necessary not only during recruitment but also after the selection of employees (Fiske & Lee, 2008). Additionally, DM is critical to connect among individuals from diverse ages to create the unity between them (Rosado, 2006). There are positive outcomes of managing age properly in the hospitality industry because older and younger employees complete each other in the workplace. In addition, operations that have diverse groups of ages are able to provide a high service-quality more than other operations that are based on employing younger workers only (Furunes & Mykletun, 2005). The next subtitle illustrates ADMPs. 

·               Age Diversity Management Practices (ADMPs)

         Age diversity in the workplace has disadvantages and advantages according to the management (Boehm & Dwertmann, 2015). Older employees are people who have the age over 55 years (Parry & Tyson, 2011).  But, young people are between 16 and 18 years' old (Booth et al., 2009). Creer (2013) stated that all industries and the government sector concern on the impact of an employment of older individuals on the productivity of the nation and economic performance. There are at least three or four generations at work in any organization (Wambui, Wangombe, Muthura, Kamau & Jackson, 2013). Moreover, if age as a category of diversity is managed in an effective way in the workplace, then advantages will be maximized and disadvantages will be minimized in operations. On one hand, advantages include a high commitment, better performance, and more creativity. On the other hand, disadvantages include a low performance and a high discrimination (Boehm & Dwertmann, 2015).

         Magd (2003) resulted that there are advantages of older employees in small and medium-sized hospitality operations in Scotland. For illustration, these benefits include their ability to build a good image about the operation, having good communication skills to deal with guests, their ability to achieve a high quality in the workplace, having the loyalty to the firm, their respecting for authority, a high job satisfaction, a low rate of absenteeism, and etc. Besides, they are self-motivated and cause less accidents. Furthermore, DeMicco and Reid (1988) indicated that older workers perform well, remain stable on the job, and learn fast. But, disadvantages of older workers include requiring high costs, hard to adopt new technologies, inflexibility to change them, and etc. (Magd, 2003). Furunes and Mykletun (2005) concluded that heavy works should be avoided and flexible working hours need to be provided for older workers (55+ years old). They resulted that training programs did not be designed to manage older workers only. Moreover, they concluded that Norwegian hospitality managers have positive experiences in how to manage older and younger employees. There are no barriers to the recruitment of older and younger workers, but few managers prefer to recruit older employees. Older managers are more positive towards older employees.

         Operations should build a good reputation in the market about their respect for diverse ages of employees. During the interview of candidates, it is critical to focus on skills and experiences rather than their ages. Furthermore, recruitment strategies and performance reviews should be based on the person’s ability and performance rather than age (Creer, 2013). The job advertisement should avoid focusing on a specific age without presenting logical reasons (Booth et al., 2009). It is critical for management to communicate effectively with a multiple generational workforce. A generation is a group of individuals has common birth years, age, location, and etc. Operations and policymakers are increasingly trying to retain older employees as long as possible (Tolbize, 2008). To manage older workers well, it is essential to provide them with fair treatment, pay, and job security as younger ones. Older employees may prefer to receive additional training. Furthermore, a flexibility of work is critical for them. For illustration, options to achieve flexibility in work include; job sharing, few hours per day or week, few days per week, purchased leave, timeout without pay, working from home arrangements, and etc. (Creer, 2013). Moreover, equal traits should be provided for older people (Barak, 2013). Mentoring at work is essential to develop personnel. In addition, senior individuals should provide junior ones with the support either psychosocial or that is related to their careers (Kram, 1988). Long working hours and tough works should be taken into consideration to avoid unfairness in the treatment of younger employees (Booth et al., 2009). 

           Older people are able to perform tasks in a proper way because they have experiences more than younger ones. Even though personality is more important than age in the recruitment of employees, individuals should be matured to have a unit management position. It is hard for older workers to learn computer skills. Some operations retain elder workers until retirement age, even though the effectiveness of the firm may be reduced, especially if they are aged 60+ (Furunes & Mykletun, 2005). Parry and Tyson (2011) stated that young individuals every so often feel that they have a discrimination in mortgages, housing, and employment. Haynes and Ghosh (2012) recommended that it is important to develop young and inexperienced professional employees. According to Marriott (2013), equal opportunities are provided without focusing on a specific age. The hospitality operations concern on younger people more than older ones. So, there is a discrimination against older employees in the hospitality industry more than other industries (Lucas,1993), even though they are vital in the foodservice industry (DeMicco & Reid,1988). Different ages of employees are critical in restaurants to deal effectively with diverse guests. To avoid conflicts, it is essential to build teams from diverse ages (Furunes & Mykletun, 2005). The research conceptual framework and hypotheses are indicated in Figure (1).

·               Hypothesis 1. There is a relationship between the importance and the implementation of ADMPs.

·               Hypothesis 2. There is a significant variance between the importance and the implementation of ADMPs.

    Figure 1. Theoritical Framework and Hypotheses

3.             METHODS
 

3.1.          Sample and Procedures

           This study based on a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from managerial- and entry-level F and B employees, working in F & B departments, and HR managers in the Egyptian five-star hotels in the cities of Cairo and Sharm El-Sheikh. The two destinations are famous in the field of tourism and hospitality and have diverse ages in the five-star hotels. The F and B departments were surveyed since F & B management is a significant part in hotels (Rutherford & O'Fallon, 2007). The complete census technique was used in the selection of five-star hotels. Thus, the total number of surveyed five-star hotels in Cairo was 29, whilst Sharm was 42 according to the Egyptian hotel guide (EHG, 2015-2016). Only 42 hotels (11 located in Cairo, 31 located in Sharm) were willing to participate with a response rate of 59%. There was approximately 3820 of managerial- and entry-level F and B employees, working in F & B departments, and HR managers in all the accepted hotels. 45 participants from each hotel in Cairo and 21 from each hotel in Sharm were chosen, totaling 1146.

          Measurement items were modified to be suitable for the present study. The questionnaire was translated into Arabic language to fit the Egyptian society. Ten qualified and skilled academics in Alexandria University, Egypt evaluated the questionnaire accurately. As well, a pilot study was conducted by distributing the questionnaire to 16 employees and managers in 4 hotels to check all questions. For the importance scale, the (α) coefficient is (0.8); whereas for the implementation scale, the (α) is (0.7) (see table 1). The Cronbach's alpha (α) assured the acceptable internal consistency. Finally, the questionnaire was distributed personally during July and August 2017. Only 400 questionnaires returned back from 1146 distributed among participants, with a response rate of 35% and were considered usable for data analysis.

Table 1. Reliability Analysis

3.2. Measures

            The questionnaire was designated to measure the importance and the implementation of ADMPs. This part consisted of ten questions. The researchers used a five-point rating scale of 1= “unimportant at all”, 5= “very important” to assess the importance of each attribute. Additionally, a five-point rating scale 1= “absolutely no”, 5= “absolutely yes” was used to assess the implementation of each attribute. Measurement items were developed from Furunes and Mykletun (2005); Tolbize (2008); Booth et al. (2009); Haynes and Ghosh (2012); Barak (2013); Creer (2013). Also, questions about demographic characteristics were involved in the questionnaire. Analyzing data was based on SPSS 23.0. In addition, importance-implementation analysis was conducted to evaluate the importance and the implementation of age diversity management practices. By basing on many studies, such as Martilla and James (1977) and Huang, Kuo and Xu (2009), importance-implementation analysis technique was applied by calculating the mean rating for each measurement item by the descriptive statistics.

4.             RESULTS

4.1.         Respondents' Profile

            As displayed in table (2), the majority (78 %) of the respondents were entry-level F & B employees. Managerial-level F & B employees formed (16.3%) of the participants, whereas HR managers made up (5.8%). Also, findings cleared that the percentage of the largest age group (37.8%) included those whose ages ranged between 25 and less than 35 years, followed by those whose ages are less than 25 years old (25.3%). Those whose ages are between 35 and less than 45 years old composed (21.5%) of the entire population. The minority of the respondents were of an age of 45 years and more (8.3%). The smallest number of respondents worked in staff cafeterias (1%), nevertheless the largest number worked in restaurants (39.8%). In terms of job status, the greater part of employees worked with contracts (93.3%), but others were casual (6.8%). According to educational background, the majority (54.3%) of participants had a bachelor's degree.

Table 2. Respondents' Profile (n = 400).

4.2.         The Relationship between Importance and Implementation of ADMPS

As shown in table (3), the importance of ADMPs was significantly, positively, and moderately correlated to the implementation of ADMPs with a spearman's correlation coefficient of (rs= 0.279) and the significance value was (.000< 0.01). Therefore, hypothesis (1) was accepted in this study.

Table 3. Spearman's Correlation Coefficient (rs)

4.3.         Importance-Implementation Analysis

The mean difference between importance- implementation of ADMPs attributes was indicated in table (4). There was a negative gap in all cases which indicated that the performance was less than the importance of ADMPs. The gaps were non-zero as illustrated by the implementation gab analysis and Paired Samples T-Tests. Furthermore, All the implementation gaps are significant (P-value < 0.05), except the gap related to the practice of effective communication of management with employees of diverse ages (P-value > 0.05). There were significant variances between the importance and the implementation mean scores as displayed by Paired Samples T-Tests.

Hence, hypothesis (2) was supported in this study. The following subtitle clarified the variations between the importance and the implementation of ADMPs according to (table 4).

·               Age

           All ages diversity management practices were very important. Except, providing the opportunity of working few hours per day or week for older employees (x̅: 4.12) and preparing flexible working schedules for older ones     (x̅: 4.20) were important. These two practices had the lowest mean importance scores in comparison with other ages diversity management practices. The ADMPs with the highest mean importance scores; were fairness in distributing working hours for different ages (x̅: 4.55), training and developing young and inexperienced employees (x̅: 4.53), and providing job security for younger and older ones (x̅: 4.53). All ages diversity management practices were mostly implemented, with the exception of providing the opportunity of working few hours per day or week for older employees (x̅:3.20) and preparing flexible working schedules for older ones (x̅:3.29). These two practices were moderate in their implementation with the lowest mean implementation scores in comparison with other ADMPs. The highest implemented ADMPs with high mean scores were effective communication of F & B management with diverse ages (x̅: 4.06) and providing job security for younger and older employees (x̅: 4.00).

4.3.1. Importance-Implementation Matrix

             Distribution of the 10 items of ADMPs were shown on the importance- implementation analysis matrix. This graph was split into four parts as illustrated (see figure 2). Most of the attributes fell in the quadrant B (keep up the good work), nevertheless a few of them fell in the quadrants A (concentrate here), C (low priority), and D (possible overkill). According to this grid, the practice (number: 3) had a high importance, but it was less implemented. Practices (number: 9, 10) were low important and less implemented. Practices (number: 2, 5) were low important and high implemented. The most ADMPs had a high importance with a high implementation. These practices' numbers were (1, 4, 6, 7, 8). The five-star hotels, specifically the F and B departments should focus on directing more efforts to the quadrant (A) to achieve a high implementation of the high important practice. The F & B departments should sustain the high implementation of the ADMPs fallen in the quadrant (B).

  Figure 2.  Importance-Implementation Matrix

           Mann-Whitney U-test displayed that there were significant differences between respondents of ages less than 25 years, and 45 years and more (P-value=.000 < 0.05); between participants of ages of 35 and less than 45 years, and 45 years and more (P-value=.000 < 0.05); 25 and less than 35 years, and 35 and less than 45 years (P-value=.034 < 0.05); 25 and less than 35 years, and 45 years and more (P-value=.001< 0.05) regarding the importance of ADMPs. Practices of providing the opportunity of working few hours per day or week (x̅: 4.15) and preparing flexible working schedules (x̅: 4.29) for older employees were important for employees of ages of 35 and less than 45 years. But, according to the employees of ages of 45 years and more, they were neutral in their opinions about the importance of these two practices with (x̅: 2.82) and (x̅: 2.73). This means that employees at the age category from 45 and more may be more loyal to the operation, so they do the best efforts and do not need to work few hours per day or week; to achieve the operational objectives which they believe strongly in them. Additionally, they may have high operational positions that are distinguished with a low physical exertion. Significantly, the next figure (3) illustrated results of hypotheses testing.

Figure 4. Results of Hypotheses Testing

5.             DISCUSSION

            Managerial-level employees assured that it is not easy to manage diversity properly among workers, especially age diversity. Because, diversity management needs a conscious management in hotels. Cooperation and collaboration among the F and B management, the upper management of hotels, and the HR departments are required to manage workforce diversity in the F and B departments. The strategy of diversity is very useful in hotels to accomplish a competitive advantage. The Egyptian five-star hotels have diverse ages, educational levels, and job status. Through discussion with HR managers, it was revealed that many qualified staff departed hotels and travelled abroad regarding the temporary recruitment contracts that are renewed each year and due to the low job security. Some of recruitment managers claimed that some universal chain-managed hotels prefer to recruit younger employees without experiences and to teach them all proper standards inside the chain; they stated that the personnel with experiences may have past mistakes that require hard corrective actions inside the workplace. Flexible procedures can be implemented by each manager inside his/her department in hotels to motivate personnel, but these procedures should be derived from the organizational culture of the hotel or the chain.

          Providing fair salaries and rewards for younger and older employees is a high important and less implemented practice but Providing the opportunity of working few hours per day or week for older employees, and Preparing flexible working schedules for older employees are low important and less implemented practices in the five-star hotels. Providing a fair treatment for younger and older employees, training and developing young and inexperienced employees, fairness in distributing working hours for employees of different ages, effective communication of management with employees of diverse ages, providing job security for younger and older employees have a high importance with a high implementation in the food and beverage departments.

           Older employees are people who are over 55 years in age (Parry & Tyson, 2011). While young people are between 16 and 18 years old (Booth et al., 2009). HR, recruitment, and restaurant managers defined older employees as people who are 35 years old and more. One of the reasons for increasing the number of younger employees in the five-star hotels is that many of the older ones are not satisfied with the bad conditions in the hotel sector leading to their quitting. The recruitment of new individuals who are of 35 years and above is not encouraged in the F & B departments in such positions as waiters, waitresses, or busboys. More, HR managers hire them in managerial positions if they have the required experiences and skills. Most employees in the F & B departments belong to ages less than 25 years old; and 25 and less than 35 years old, because they are more energetic. This agrees with the study of Lucas (1993) who assured that the hospitality operations concern about younger workers more than older ones; and the study of Furunes and Mykletun (2005) who stated that few Norwegian hospitality managers prefer to recruit older employees. But, Magd (2003) claimed that there are advantages for older employees in small and medium-sized hospitality operations in Scotland. Moreover, older people are able to perform tasks in a proper way, because they have more experience than younger ones (Furunes & Mykletun, 2005).

          Equal traits should be provided for older workers (Barak, 2013). Also, this practice is highly implemented for both younger and older employees in the Egyptian five-star hotels. Booth et al. (2009) stated that it is necessary to avoid unfairness in the treatment of young personnel regarding long working hours and tough works. Additionally, the present study resulted that different ages are provided with fair working hours in the five-star hotels. Focusing on skills and experiences of candidates during the interview rather than their ages; and Focusing on abilities and performance of employees rather than their ages during their performance evaluation are less important and highly implemented practices in the five-star hotels. Focusing on skills and experiences of candidates during the interview rather than their ages is a very important practice for individuals of ages between 35 and less than 45 more than the age group of 25 and less than 35. This means that older individuals are often more experienced than younger ones, so they prefer hotels focusing on their skills and experiences during the interview rather than their ages. Focusing on abilities and performance of employees rather than their ages during their performance evaluation is very important for both employees of ages between 35 and less than 45; and between 25 and less than 35. More, these two practices are critical as indicated by Creer (2013).

6.             THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

            Theoretically, the present study provided weighty contributions to the management of age diversity in the Egyptian hotel sector and formed one of the first empirical studies conducted in Egypt on workforce diversity. It aimed at investigating and analyzing the importance-implementation of ADMPs in the Egyptian five-star hotels, specifically in Cairo and Sharm El-Sheikh cities. It had a high value in the field of research since managerial- and entry-level F & B employees, and human resources managers participated in it. As well, diversity was achieved in the sample since independent, chain-affiliated, city, and resort five-star hotels were surveyed.   Written and formalized diversity management practices should be implemented properly by all managerial-level employees to satisfy entry-level ones. More, an ongoing development of management practices should be accomplished according to the need of employees and organizational culture. It is critical to benefit from age diversity in the workplace to increase creativity, productivity, profitability, and to reduce job conflicts. To add, upper management in hotels should encourage the recruitment of diverse employees to achieve the operational success.

            Managerial-level employees have to be educated and trained by the Egyptian ministry of tourism about valuable diversity management practices and how to be implemented efficiently and effectively in order to build a positive workplace. Additionally, qualifications, experiences, and skills should be taken into consideration during the process of recruiting managers to be able to create a good workplace in the food and beverage departments. Criteria of recruitment and evaluating employees' performance have to be equal. More, diverse employees should be fairly respected and motivated by managers. Hotel managers should train employees about how to deal with each other in a respectable manner. Cooperation and creating dialogues among upper management of hotels, F & B managers, and HR managers are vital to manage diverse employees in the F & B departments. F & B managers who wish to make employees more satisfied with their jobs, should give a big attention to the implementation of diversity management practices. To reduce the labour turnover in the Egyptian five-star hotels, F & B and HR managers are advised to implement the valuable diversity management practices efficiently and effectively.

            The five-star hotels, specifically the F and B departments have to focus on directing more efforts to achieve a high implementation of the high important practice; providing fair salaries and rewards for younger and older employees. Moreover, the F & B departments should sustain the high implementation of the high important ADMPs; providing a fair treatment for younger and older employees, training and developing young and inexperienced employees, fairness in distributing working hours for employees of different ages, effective communication of management with employees of diverse ages, and providing job security for younger and older employees. HR managers can hire older people at the age of 35 years and above in food and beverage managerial positions if they have the required experiences and skills. Additionally, it is recommended to recruit younger people who are less in age than 35 years old in high-needed efforts jobs in the food and beverage departments, such as captains, waiters, or busboys. Five-star hotels during the interviews should focus on ages, skills, and experience of the candidates that are to be hired in F & B departments. Actually, these hotels are advised to concentrate on abilities and performance of personnel rather than their ages during their performance evaluation. Less-classified hotels can accomplish the success in their marketplaces and workplaces by benchmarking the high important ADMPs. Ultimately, educational curriculums of faculties and institutions of tourism and hotels should be provided with diversity management practices to help the hospitality students have great knowledge. 

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