Essential Generic Skills for Human Resources in Hospitality: A Literature Review



Volume 2, Issue 5
ANITA FRANTZ 1, ASHUTOSH MISAL

Published online: 24 October 20162
Article Views: 30

Abstract

The Hospitality industry in India is undergoing rapid growth. This brings challenges to the Human Resource department to recruit staff with the right attitude, required skills and abilities. Generic skills play a major role in building the right attitude. The paper aims to examine the literature relating to generic skills required for human resources in the hospitality industry and focuses on the approaches that can be used to enhance the delivery of these skills to sustain performance and meet the workplace’s demands. A survey for the said research has been carried out through in-depth literature review. Essential generic skills identified for the human resources of the hospitality industry are Impression management skills, relaxation skills, motor skills, manual skills, communication skills, problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, social skills, people skills, mood management skills, stress management skills, goal management skills, time management skills, conflict management skills and leadership skills. These skills can be developed through continuous focused efforts by the employees and training carried out by the learning and development department in hospitality.

References

  1. Aswathappa, K. (2013). Human resource management: Text and cases (17th ed.). Uttar Pradesh, India: McGraw-Hill. PMid:23378952      PMCid:PMC3560135
  2. Boundless.com. (2016). Impression management. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/x1DX6d
  3. Business & Legal Resources. (2016). Personal hygiene and good grooming. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/3QE3uI
  4. Commonwealth of Australia (2012). English at work. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/LfuZus
  5. Costen, W. M., & Salazar, J. (2011). The impact of training and development on employee job satisfaction, loyalty, and intent to stay in the lodging industry. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 10(3), 273-284. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332845.2011.555734
  6. Dalton, T. (2004). The food and beverage handbook (Gourmet diaries series). Claremont, South Africa: Juta and Company Ltd.
  7. Garlick, R. (2010). Do happy employees really mean happy customers? Or is there more to the equation? Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 51(3), 304-307. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965510368623
  8. Gillet, S. R., & Morda, R. (2003). Effective leadership in tourism and hospitality organizations in the 21st century. In S. Kusluvan, S. (Ed.), Managing Employee Attitudes and Behaviors in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry, pp. 599-630.
  9. Gu, Z., & Siu, C. S. R. (2009). Drivers of job satisfaction as related to work performance in Macao Casino Hotels: An investigation based on employee survey. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 21(5), 561-578. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09596110910967809
  10. Free Management Library (SM) (2016). Goal setting with employees – What should employees work on? Retrieved from https://goo.gl/Hy2vC7
  11. Michigan State University, (2016). Leadership challenges of hospitality management. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/mm4ngr
  12. Teaching Resources Online. (2016). Managing conflict in hospitality. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/wPUCyd
  13. Ipe, M. (2008). Soft skills: Core competencies in the hospitality sector. ICFAI Journal of Soft Skills, 2(4), 7-14.
  14. Jacolbia, R. B. (2016). Future educators’ perceptions on technology and livelihood education status and development of work skills. Journal of Advances in Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(2), 85-91.
  15. Jones, P., & Dent, M. (1994). Improving service: Managing response time in hospitality operations. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 14(5), 52-58. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01443579410056795
  16. Kattara, H. S., Weheba, D., & El-Said, O. A. (2008). The impact of employee behaviour on customers’ service quality perceptions and overall satisfaction. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 8(4), 309-323. https://dx.doi.org/10.1057/thr.2008.35
  17. National Skill Development Cooperation. (2016). District wise skill gap study for the state of Maharashtra. Retrieved from www.nsdcindia.org
  18. O’Halloran, R. (2016). Strategies for decision making. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/ZH7XHO
  19. O’Neill, J. W., & Davis, K. (2011). Work stress and well-being in the hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(2), 385-390. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2010.07.007
  20. Pathak, M. (2016). Benefits of effective communication in the hotel industry. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/K8ZtFT
  21. Phelan, K. V., & Mills, J. E. (2010). An exploratory study of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed in undergraduate hospitality curriculums in the convention industry. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 10(1), 96-116. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332845.2010.500244
  22. Plangpramool, S. (2012). Human capital and interpersonal communication: A successful factor in the hospitality industry. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/GMUh0V
  23. Ravikumar, A. (2015). Emotional management skill as an important tool in hospitality. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 4(3), 997-1001.
  24. Reigeluth, C. (2015). Generic skills. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/FWizKu
  25. Sepehri, M., Batman, O., Kingir, S., & Arpaci, O. (2014). A survey review in conflict management strategies: The case study for selected hotels in Turkey. Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 16, 1-10.
  26. Study.com (2016). Interpersonal skills in the workplace: Examples and importance. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/ij3HhK
  27. Sudesh, K. (2004). Development of generic skills. Mumbai, India: Nandu Printers and Publishers Pvt. Ltd. (pp. 87-107).
  28. Vaughan, T. (2012). Don’t skimp on staff training. Caterer and Hotel Keeper, 202(4710), 28-31.
  29. Walker, J. R., & Miller, J. E. (2009). Supervision in the hospitality industry: Leading human resources. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
  30. Weber, M. R., Finley, D. A., Crawford, A., & Rivera, D. (2009). An exploratory study identifying soft skill competencies in entry-level managers. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 9(4), 353-361. https://dx.doi.org/10.1057/thr.2009.22
  31. Wikipedia. (2016). Impression management. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/IdYhCX
  32. Discover Business, (2016). The importance of creative problem solving in business and life. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/D4CHKX
  33. Hozpitalityplus, (2016). How to handle guest problems? Retrieved from https://goo.gl/VeZDqc

To Cite this article

Frantz, A., & Misal, A. (2016). Essential generic skills for human resources in hospitality: A literature review. International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies, 2(5), 124-128.