1. "SEX MATTERS":
DIFFERENCES IN THE PERCEPTIONS OF MALE AND FEMALE
LINE LEVEL EMPLOYEES
ABOUT THEIR WORK
IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN JAMAICA
Spencer, Andrew J; Bean, Dalea M. GRADE / SCORE :
International Journal of Arts & Sciences 4. 9 (2011)
ProQuest document ID : 929269436 90
Human Resources
Management in
Cherly Prihatina Hospitality & Tourism
Batch 5
1263620003 Prof. Syamsir Abduh
2. Content
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Finding & Discussion
Conclusion
4. …INTRODUCTION
High quality personalized
With nearly 3 million
service is dependent
visitors each year, it is no
on hospitality staff being
surprise that the travel
Employment in the professional, skilled, effiient
and tourism
hospitality industry is and flexible, while
industry accounts for nearly
grounded in service exhibiting friendly and
40% of Jamaica's GDP
hospitable characteristics.(
(Williams and Spencer,
Jayawardena and Crick
2010).
Works by Crick (2001b, (2000, p. 116))
2008) also
signify the importance of “people's attitudes Very little work has
explored the perceptions of
perceptions and are the platform from which workers in this most
expectations of both guests we deliver quality service crucial industry. Even fewer have
and and interactions with delineated their findings by gender,
and the existing works tend to focus
employees in Caribbean visitors"(Dunn and Dunn, on resort hotels and less on urban
hotels in creating 2002) business hotels.
personalized service in the
industry
This work attempts to fill
these major gaps in the
literature
5. LITERATURE REVIEW
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;
Employee motivation
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
6. …LITERATURE REVIEW
The hospitality industry has perpetuated distinctions in employment
according to society's understanding of typical gender roles.
Sex and Gender at work
The researchers seek to prove that employee perceptions do vary
based on their gender.
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 Link between gender and perception
The interplay of gender and age are crucial to a study of employee
perceptions of their jobs, (Mooney and Ryan ,2009)
8. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The data
represents Sex was the
statistically dominant
significant independent
relationships variable
at the 0.05 level.
An understanding of sex
There are and gender dynamics is
similarities or crucial.
disparities in Gender is a key indicator
of
the perceptions differences in employee's
of male versus perceptions of their jobs
female line level and their overall job
satisfaction.
hotel workers.
9. …FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Types of work
•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.
Prospects of working in the industry:
•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;
Careers in the hospitality industry
•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'
Self Esteem
.
92.2% of males felt that their jobs were important compared to 35.7% of females.
10. …FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Enjoying the working time and
Job Satisfaction
•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.
Interaction with guest and Self perception
Most men noted that their interaction was 'professional', 'good' or 'satisfactory', most women related
their experiences with guests as being 'excellent' and 'fun'.
Job Reward
•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.
.
Optimism of work
97.3% females at the line level observe that senior management posts tend to be
male dominated.
11. …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
12. …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. Man
tendency 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.
13. CONCLUSION
There are line clear
gender
Demands on family life
differences in hotel
may play a
employee
role in these
perceptions in urban
perceptions,
business hotels in
Jamaica
Due to the nature The demands of a
of the hospitality work supervisory role
place itself, it has and the requirements for
identified particular job advancement have
challenges for created significant
obstacles for hospitality
This research however
females. professionals who may only be
aspire to senior level generalized to the
positions. extent that contexts
bear similarities to
Jamaica
14. …Conclusion
• Females were much more present-time oriented and fatalistic in their approach
to hospitality work.
General • Female’s perception that male dominated management hierarchy make them
attitudes to quickly erodes thoughts of upward mobility.
work
• Female disinterest in building lifelong careers in the industry
• Female were not keen on saying that they were better suited for some jobs, they
identified however that they typically occupied certain jobs, which were not rapidly
mobile such as front desk clerk and housekeeper/room attendant.
• Males in particular revealed that there were male-centric and female-centric jobs in
Typically the hotel.
job • Male steer clear of what they believe to be female centric-jobs
• Male Held food and beverage jobs which provide for the quickest climb
up the ladder (Ladkin and Riley, 1996).
• Female perceived that working in the hospitality industry as having little opportunity
opportunity for advancement and job stability
for
advanceme • male perceptions that working in the hospitality industry as having opportunity for
nt and job advancement and job stability, many of male seek to build careers in the field.
stability • Male are motivated to invest in making life long professions
Chances • female's perceptions of the value of their work remain low
for upward • male's views about their work are improving
mobility
and job
stability
15. …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
implication psychological needs and which militate against
them having fulfilling and satisfying jobs in the
industry.
• This requires a complete restructuring of
implication ideologies about the functions in
the hierarchy, in terms of gender specific roles.
• 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
implication 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.
16. "SEX MATTERS":
DIFFERENCES IN THE PERCEPTIONS OF MALE AND FEMALE
LINE LEVEL EMPLOYEES
ABOUT THEIR WORK
IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN JAMAICA
THANK YOU
Cherly Prihatina
Batch 5
1263620003
