This document examines approaches to human resource management in the hotel industry of Barbados. It finds that Barbados hotels have adopted HR strategies and practices to a greater extent than UK hotels. Barbados hotels scored higher in recruitment/selection, training, job design, and communication. They also had higher integration of HR policies with business strategies and each other. The Barbados hotel industry emphasizes service quality and delivering excellent service through HR practices to support its tourism-based economy.

1. Approaches To HRM In The
Barbados Hotel Industry
DERYA ILERI
DEVRAJ CHAMLAGAI

2. Aim
Article examine ;
 the extent of the adoption of human resource
management ,
 the existence of a formal HR strategy ,
 the development of the HR function in the Barbados
hotel industry compared with Hoque’s sample of hotels in
the UK.

3. Introduction
 Company’s success in terms of its survival and
competitive position is determined by workers’ qualities,
attitudes and behavior in the workplace.
 The hotel industry is necessarily labor intensive and this
makes it particularly important that it develops effective
human resource practices and policies to achieve
competitive success.

4. Information About Barbados
 Barbados is a small island where tourism
accounts for as much as 70 per cent of foreign
exchange earnings.
 Barbados targets a high spending tourist ..!!
 delivering of excellent service ..!!

5. Literature review
Human Resource Concept
 HRM began as a US concept (Beaumont, 1992)
emphasis on individual management to collective
management of people so as to win employee
commitment to organizational goals but it’s became
an controversial argument between Industrial
Relations/Personnel Management(IR/PM) and HRM.

6.  HRM aligns organizational strategy with the way
people are managed; it conveys the belief that if people
are managed properly they become a competitive
advantage, they become more flexible towards their
work.

7. BEST PRACTICE SCHOOL
 HR practices which would improve organizational
performance..!
Advantages:
 These practices include selective hiring, extensive training,
employment security, diffusion of information, teamwork,
reduction of status differences and performance related
and incentive pay.

8. Disadvantages:
 Criticism that can be made about the “best practice”
approach is that it is very much based on a US style of
management that tends to be individualistic in terms
of both national culture and resistance to trade
unions.

9. Contingency theorists
 This is in opposition to the "best practice" school. This
means that a "fit”.
 There exists external and internal “fits”.
 External fit: simply means a situation where there is an
integration of the HR systems with overall business
strategy ..!
 Internal fit: on the other hand implies the "synergistic
benefits resulting form the introduction of HRM.

10.  Quality enhancement strategy would make effort or
venture to select good staff and place emphasis on
training and providing adequate job security..!
 Innovation strategy would focus on creativity,
teamwork, flexibility and magnificent job security ..!
 Investment in individuals through the application of
HRM will give rise to improved organization
performance.

11. Human Resource Management In HOTELS
 HRM practices shift from an autocratic management style
to a more consultative one. Practices involves appraisal
systems, training , top quality management,
empowerment and team working !
 UK where management of people in hotel regarded as
poor with evidence pot raying low employee discretion,
low pay, unsocial hours of poorly rewarded work and an
autocratic management style with no consolation!

12.  In Hogue's (1999a) research, he draws attention to the
importance of service quality and the contribution that
HRM can make to the provision of high quality service in
the hotel industry.
 It appears however that some parts of the UK industry are
increasingly adopting the HRM approach to the
management of people.

13. Managing people in Barbados
 Hotel and hotel based restaurants account for more
than 60 percent of the 13,000 workforce in the sector
and 40 percent (40 percent of 13,000) is managed by
the BWU (Barbados Workers' Union).
 Barbados Hospitality Institute (BHI) is a full
service hospitality training institute. Service
quality is the mission of this institute.
 Employment context in Barbados is different form that
in the UK ( United Kingdom). In Barbados both
aspects of HRM and IR/PM are part of the
employment relations context.

14. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 To examine the approaches in the Barbados hotel
industry, a quantitative survey was used
 The aim of this survey was to make direct comparisons
between human resource practices in the UK and in
Barbados.

15. The survey population
 Questionnaires were sent by post to either a human
resource manager, general manager or deputy general
manager between June and August 2003 in different
hotels taking part in the study.

16. Questionnaire design
The questionnaire was based mostly on Hogue's approach
(1999a; 2000). Contains 4 parts..!
 Section A: focused on Background; requesting
information of hotel staff, number of rooms etc.
 Section B: of the questionnaire was on the look out for the
measure of the extent to HRM was adopted. It asked about
same range of HR practices that Hogue’s (2000) covered
including terms and conditions of employment,
recruitment and selection, training, job design, quality
management, communication and consultation pay
systems.

17.  Section C: focused on the extent to which a formal HRM
strategy had been adopted.
 Strategies included external fit for example i.e. the strategic
integration of HR decision making with business strategy.
 Section D: looked at the measure of the development of
the HRM function. This development was examined by
asking questions about job title, average percentage of time
spent on personnel matters, number of staff employed in
the HR department etc.

18. Results
A response rate of 61.3 percent was achieved. The
table below shows that the final sample was
reasonably representative of the Barbados hotel
sector.
Room size Total Hotel
population
No of total
respondents
respondents(% of
population)
<25 18 8 44.4
25-49 15 10 66.7
50-64 8 5 62.5
65-69 16 12 75.0
100-199 16 9 56.2
200+ 2 2 100.0
Total 75 46 61.3

19. HRM strategy within the Barbados hotel industry
compared with Hogue's UK sample
HRM Policy Barbados
Hotels %
Valid
cases
n=46
UK
Hotels %
Valid
cases
n=46
Is there an HR strategy, formally
endorsed and actively supported by top
management?
65.2 46 56.6 227
HR policy deliberately integrated with
business strategy (external fit)
82.6 46 77.2 224
Formal mission statement 47.8 46 84.7 229
If there is a mission statement, does it
explicitly refer to HR issues?
68.2 22 75.3 186
HR practices deliberately integrated with
one another (internal fit)
80.4 46 74.2 221

20. The personnel function within the Barbados hotel
industry compared with Hogue's UK sample
Personnel function Barbados
Hotels %
Valid
Cases n=46
UK
Hotels
%
Valid
Cases n=46
Average percentage of time spent on
personnel matters
48.1 46 70.5 127
Respondent spends $ 50% time on
personnel matters
38.1 46 85.8 127
Respondent has formal
qualification in personnel
management
54.3 46 47.8 138
Support staff present 67.4 46 59.4 138

21. conclusion
 Barbados hotels seem well organized when compared to the
UK sample of hotels.
 Usage of HRM practices, Barbados hotels scored higher
than the UK hotels in the areas of recruitment and
selection, training, job design, and communication and
consultation.

22.  Barbados hotels had a higher frequency with respect to HR
policy deliberately integrated with business strategy .. !
 HR practices deliberately integrated with each other,
 There is high standard of service in the Barbados hotel
industry.

23.  Barbados hotels are ahead of their UK counterparts in
terms of formal qualifications in HR/personnel
management and support staff present in the
HR/personnel departments.
 Barbados HR specialists spent a lot less time on HR
matters.
 Peaceful work environment, and a need for HR
practitioners to be multi-skilled.

24.  The promotion and adoption of “best practice” may be the
most effective approach for achieving competitive
advantage across an entire, though small, country like
Barbados, which depends so much on its people to deliver
consistent levels of excellent service …!!

25. Finished