Dissertation

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study is to examine recruitment and selection process in the hospitality industry. This chapter provides background to the dissertation and a framework for investigation by clearly stating the study’s aims and objectives.

1.1 Statement of research problem

Conventionally hotel staffing problems are explained in terms of long and unsocial hours; (Mullins, 1995) the unpredictable and often seasonal demand against high fixed costs; low pay; casualisation; high turnover; and poor personnel professionalism. (Rowley and Richardson, 2000).The problems have been found to be more acute for hotels relative to other industries. (Rowley and Richardson, 2000) According to United Kingdom national statistics the employment levels in United Kingdom have risen from 24.6 million in 1971 to 28.8 million in 2005. In May 2005 there were 639,100 vacancies in the economy. The industry with largest number of vacancies in this period was distribution, hotels and restaurants with 188,100 vacancies. (Boella & Goss-Turner, 2005) predict that if the industry expands as the government is forecasting it will create further 500,000 jobs by 2010. Added to the present staff shortages, it is clear that recruitment and retention is an overwhelming pre-occupation for managers and employers and will remain so unless we do something about it.

1.2 Background

Recruitment and selection lie at the heart of how business procures human resources required to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage over rivals (Lundberg, 1992). High quality staff is vital to success in the hotel industry, making recruitment and selection one of the management’s most important roles. Recruiting the wrong applicant or rejecting the right candidate can have large cost implication. It is also a key factor in contributing to the achievement of the organizations goals and objectives. To hire people effectively, you need to think about staffing needs over longer term...