Proposal Section

The competition in the modern business world is observed to be significant and with the number of increasing number of the competitors, the struggle for the survival is becoming harder for the organizations. The increasing demand of the various industries is seen to be the main influential factor for the organization. In the modern business world, the hospitality industry is seen to have a significant growth and the reason behind that is considered to be the enormous growth of the tourism industry across the world. The increment in the tourism business has the potential to develop the society and the regional economy and that is one of the significant factors for the national and regional governing bodies in helping the growth of the tourism. The wide range of benefits starting from the employment, the economic growth, the increment in the literacy, the exchange in the cultures and the transfer of the values are observed to be key factors in the sharp rise of the tourism.

However, with the increment in the tourism and the growth of the hospitality industry, the employees of various organizations are facing a significant rise in the work pressure. With the notable increment in the demand or the number of tourists, the employees of many renowned hotel and resorts organizations are seen to communicate about the absence of the excellence of the motivational strategies of the organization that lead to the significant job dissatisfaction. Many of the critics of the human resource management also commented that the generation of the job dissatisfaction is one fundamental reason responsible for the higher rates of the employee turnover. Hence the research is focused in the identification of the impact of the employee motivation on the retention of the employees in the hospitality industry.

The aim of this research is to analyse how employee retention is dependent on employee motivation where Intercontinental Hotel of Dublin will be considered as the selected organization.

Objective 1: To identify the factors responsible for enhancing employee motivation.

Objective 2: To identify how employee retention is dependent on employee motivation.

Objective 3: To identify certain ways of enhancing employee retentions in Intercontinental Hotel of Dublin.

It is seen that the success of the organizations in the hospitality industry depends on the quality of the services that the employees of the hotel organizations are able to offer to the customers. The introduction of the fierce competition into the industry puts strong emphasis on the maintenance of the quality of the services and the products. It is also seen that the intention of purchases for the modern customers is significantly influenced with the reviews or the previous experiences. Hence the improvement in the quality of the employees in the hotel industry is highly desired from the part of the organizations in order to make sure that they be able to hold their customers for a longer period of time and that eases out the struggle of their survival. This portrays the importance of the quality employees inside the organization.

Aims and Objectives

 However, in the modern business world, the organizations in the mentioned industry are observed to face significant amount of difficulties in retaining the employees. One of the major factor in the generation of the difficulty in retaining the employees for the organizations is the incapability of the motivational strategies in attracting the employees for a prolonged career in the organization. According to Lazaroiu (2015), only 30% of the managers are able to strategize effectively in providing sufficient motivation to the employees so that the operations of those employees get improved. In addition to this, they are also able to comment on the incapability of the 70% of the employees who are unable to transfer the motivation to the subordinate employees and that plays a crucial role in the visible downgrade in the quality of the employees. This shows the impact of an effective motivational strategy on the employees of the organization in the hospitality industry.

As mentioned above, the importance of the quality in the services of the employees is significant in the growth of the organizations, the organizations are facing the need to retain the quality employees. The increasing turnover and the loss of quality employees is highly affecting for the organization in terms of the quality, reputation and the revenue as well. However, it is seen that an effective motivational strategy has the capability to influence the employees for the achievement of the improvement in the performances and that is significantly desired from the part of the organization in creating such customer loyalty which will attract the employees for repetitive purchase of the services of the organization. Hence it is much needed for the organizations of the hospitality industry to identify the impact of the motivation on the performances of the employees. Apart from that, the identification of the strategies which have the potential to motivate the employees with a precise focus on the chosen organization is much needed.

The employee motivation is the independent variable for this topic.  The employee motivation is the combination of energy, creativity and commitment which a company’s workers bring to their respective jobs. As per the view of Lazaroiu (2015), it is a great management concern regarding what motivates their employees and keeps them aligned with the objectives of the company. In the highly competitive industry, it is likely that all the organizations would strive to retain their workforce and keep their company growing faster. Porter, Riesenmy and Fields (2016), are of the opinion that the employees can be motivated by financial and non-financial incentives. However, the employee motivation can be problematic for few smaller firms. Low motivation in the employees can leave impact on their attitudes and working behaviors along with driving the production of the organization downwards as suggested by Ahmad (2014). The lack of motivation results in complacency, widespread discouragement and disinterest which can cumulate in organizational crisis.

Research Objectives

According to few researches of scholars, employees can be motivated by the ‘add-ins ‘to the job of an individual as the primary factor in the improvement of the performances. Apart from these, an admixture of the employee benefits such as the life insurance, health care, stock ownership plan for the employees, the profit sharing and others. Naile and Selesho (2014), suggest that some of the established companies offer their employees the subsidized meal plans, company cars, child care availability and other facilities in order to keep the employees happy and retain them in the company for a long time.

There are any strategies for motivating the employees especially in the international business environment. Notably, among the non-financial incentives that motivate the employees up to greater extent some method is the most important. When the employees are treated properly by the management of the organization feel motivated having considered himself as an important part of the organization , support Ahmad et al .(2014). Apart from it, when the talent and service of an employee is acknowledged in front of the team members, they feel highly motivated towards their respective work and the entire organization.

The employee retention is the dependent variable because it depends on the employee motivation. The role of employee motivation in the employee retention is greater. It operates as a catalyst for the success of an individual company. It is supposed to be the responsibility of the team managers and the leaders too, to keep their employees motivated so that the best out of them is extracted. The employees leave an organization for so many reasons. First of all, they leave influenced by the poor and stubborn management regulations and insensitive work environment. Secondly, they leave if they get better opportunity somewhere else. In terms of better opportunities, the organization can do a lot.

They can set regular appraisal programs and reward the employee with what they deserve. Four of the major motivating factors that can retain the employees are the rewards and remuneration systems, career growth opportunities, bonding and support by the leaders and healthy and steady work environment. In the hospitality sector, it has been found that most of the staffs leave because of the poor pay scale. The employees are made to work for long hours but paid low wages. It not only disturbs their work life balance but also can initiate erroneous works. The employees reach their saturation point and ultimately leave the organization. This is a serious issue that needs to be considered since it is necessary for the smooth growth and development of the hospitality industry.

Comprehensive Background of the Study

The amount of employee turnover in the hospitality industry has reached its pinnacle. Hence, the Mobley model is a relevant model that will provide a theoretical overview of the staff turnover. The Mobley Model belonged to March and Simon (1958) and is considered to be one of the most useful modes for staff turnover as found from Kuppuswamy et al. (2017). This model relates the factor that affect the attitudes of the employees and the reason behind the actual turnover. Mobley has designed this model to establish the linkage between the employee satisfaction and their quit thinking, intention to quit, searching for other jobs and actually quitting. It is suggested to every industry and organization especially in the hospitality industry to improve on their process and selection of labor and wage systems and salaries also need to be evaluated so that high value labor is maintained.

The evaluation of the motivational models is much needed in the assessment of the impact of the motivation on the retention of the employees inside the organizations of the hotel industry. The evaluation of the motivational theories like the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two factor theory, ERG theory and McClelland’s need theories will be significant in the assessment of the impact of the motivation on the employees of the organizations of the concerned industry. However, Velten and Lashley (2018)suggest that in context of the Maslow’s theory, the importance of the safety needs for the employees of hotel industry is noteworthy.

The employees of the hotel industry are seen to be significantly affected with the job pressure and increment in the demand. Hence the employees are observed to be highly concerned with the wage characteristics of the organizations and at the same time the grievances for the payments of the overtime in the organizations of the industry is seen to be high. Shahzadi et al (2014), support that concern of the employees regarding the irregular and improper payments need to be reduced so that the employees of the organizations be able to achieve the safety needs of them. In addition to this, the sufferings of the employees of the concerned industry is seen to affect the existence of the employees in accordance to the ERG theory of Alderfer. The important aspects or needs of the employees for their existence gets notably hampered with the generation of the mentioned issues for the employees and that is instrumental in the generation of the dissatisfaction among the employees.

Justification of conducting the research

As the impact of the dissatisfaction has the significance of creating such state which forces he employees to leave the job, the organizations of the mentioned industry is in need to recover from this to maintain their growth in the industry. According to the theory of needs of David McClelland, the management of the corporate organizations must implement suitable strategy to ensure that the employees stay motivated for the achievement of better productivity for the organization. The theory states that the employees usually have the tendency to perform better if they be able to observe the recognition of their good work or an acknowledgement from the part of the organization. According to Gupta and Shaw (2014), the theory has great significance for the employees of the concerned industry as it is able to portray the fact that the recognition of the excellence of the operations of the employees motivates them to perform with better quality and work well under pressure.

The theory also recommends the managements of the hotel industry organizations to engage the employees into the decision making regarding the operations of the employees in order to extract more involvement from the employees which will benefit the organization with the possible achievement of the longer tenure of the employees as informed by Lu, Shih and Wang (2016). This makes sure that the employees get the control over the proceedings of the organizations and the sense of responsibility is formed within them. Apart from that, the Herzberg theory will be significant for the evaluation of both the factors that are influential in the generation of the job dissatisfaction and the impact of the motivation in reducing them. The Herzberg theory is observed to be divided into two parts which are the Hygiene factor and the Motivators.

Herzberg is able to comment that the factors like wage dissatisfaction or the payments for the overtimes play a significant role in the employees’ intention to stay in the organization. Hence the management of the organizations of the concerned industry is in need to focus in the reduction of the impact of the hygiene factors. Apart from that, Herzberg commented that the employees are observed to perform more efficiently with the influence of the motivators that might be intrinsic or extrinsic. The employees of the concerned industry is in need to have a lucrative policy for the motivation of them with effective wage settlements.

Fig 1: Conceptual Framework

Literature Review

(Source: Created by the author)

Research Philosophy:

Generally defined as the approach or method that is used to collect and analyze a data, Research Philosophy is an intrinsic aspect of any research work that assists a researcher in understanding the designs that shall be useful (Gray 2013). The three types of research philosophies are positivism, interpretivism and realism. As the name depicts, positivism allows the scope for the accumulation of correct and objective data (Tumele 2015). As opposed to this, interpretivism is chiefly dependent on secondary sources to interpret the already available data. On the other hand, realism depends on the accumulation of the two approaches of positivism and interpretivism.

For this study, the positivism approach or method will be used to arrive at the results. According to the opinion of Gray (2013), positivism design compels the researcher to extricate facts from the reality that is present outside. The approach of positivism can help in understanding and gauging the ideas of each participating employee. In this study, positivism will help in understanding the viewpoints and needs of each employee. This approach will be used because it will help in gaining a fair and objective view of the importance and relevance of employee motivation in employee retention. The approach of positivism will help in calculating and gauging the number of employees who believe in the factor of motivation to remain in the company.

Research approaches refer to the manner or the approach that is used to arrive at the conclusion of the research. Two types of research approaches are available for a researcher to conduct the research in a proper manner. The first one is deductive approach. This refers to the approach that inculcates the idea of arriving at a possible hypothesis by analyzing and deducing facts and ideas from the available resources and ideas. Recent studies have depicted the idea that most of the research works are borne from the pre-conceived ideologies that are already present and available for the researcher (Johnston 2014).

As opposed to the deductive method of research approach, another approach called ‘inductive’ approach is solely dependent on the accumulation and assimilation of ideas and conclusions based on the facts and observations that are collected and conducted by the individuals (Gaur and Kumar 2018). Inductive approach demands the development of a chain of hypothesis by observing, collecting and collating the required data. Inductive approach also helps in the analysis of data and arriving at empirical conclusions by research and observation (Ketokivi and Choi 2014).

This research shall endeavor to employ the inductive approach to conduct the research and arrive at the results. This study will try to observe and analyze the reactions and answers of the employees to arrive at empirical hypothesis. This approach is justified because it will help in arriving at empirical hypothesis after every stage. After the survey and interview, the researcher shall endeavor to draw conclusions and hypothesis.

A researcher has access to three types of research designs or techniques namely, descriptive, exploratory and explanatory. Analytical technique helps in dealing and decoding complex issues of the research (Walliman 2017). Analytical research technique assists in providing an in-depth analysis and comprehensive understanding of the various theories and concepts that will be used to analyze the acquired data. The exploratory design is used to analyze the data and concept that are available at the primary stage of the research.  In addition to this, the explanatory research technique refers to the technique that aims to collate and provide a holistic view of the two above-mentioned techniques.  

For this study, while rejecting the other two theories, the analytical method will be used to get an in-depth insight into the various concepts and theories that are available for the researcher.  In this research, the analytical method will also help in the application and comprehension of the concepts that shall be used to analyze the data. The analytical method will help in gauging the temperament and demands of the employees who believe or do not believe in motivation or other factors for retention in the company. The other two techniques shall be dropped because they do not provide a comprehensive view of the concepts and theories that are to be used in the following research.

In order to arrive at proper and concrete results, this study shall focus on accumulating primary as well as secondary data. The nature of the data shall reflect on two aspects of quantitative and qualitative. The primary or quantitative data, as the name depicts, shall be based on the primary sources of data such as rigorous surveys and interviews (Tumele 2015). In addition to this, the study will also take into consideration the secondary sources of data such as the articles or journals that are available for interpretation of the primary data (Walliman 2017). In order to gain a holistic view of the ideas and viewpoints of the participants, the questions that shall be asked in the interview shall try to extricate information. Interview is a constituent of Qualitative Data (Ritchie et al. 2013).

 Interview questions related to the personal opinions and the previous experience shall be asked to identify whether motivating the employees can accentuate the retention of employees in the company. In addition to this, the survey sheets shall try to include the precise and correct opinion of the participants by incorporating objective questions that will access their experience and preference for the idea of employee motivation as a factor for employee retention. Objective, precise and investigative questions shall be asked to gauge the ideas of the participants. This will help in investigating the chosen preference and ideas of the participating employees. The secondary data, which shall be based on the available resources and journals will be helpful in enhancing the research.

For this study, both the probability and non-probability techniques shall be used to arrive at the results. In addition to these, certain random technique of sampling shall also be used to gauge the nuances of the topic and the participants. The probability technique shall be used in the case of surveys and the non-probability method shall be used for the interviews. The sample population shall be selected amongst the employees who have worked in the company for more than five years. This will help in gaining a comprehensive and justifiable over-view of the topic and the view-points of the experienced and mature participants. The sample size is an important aspect of research (Marshall et al. 2013). The sample size will consist of 3 managers, who will participate in interview and 50 employees of the company shall participate in surveys. In addition to this, employees representing various departments shall be asked to participate that can help in equal representation.

In order to reach at the desired result, the acquired data shall be analyzed in a manner that ensures the availability of an all-encompassing view of the perspectives of the participants. The acquired primary and quantitative data shall be analyzed by converting the data into charts and graphs that can ensure the concretization of the ideas. Charts and graphs shall be used to classify and organize the data. In addition to this, the conversion of primary data into charts shall help in comprehending the validity of the factor of employee motivation in the retention of the employees. It can also help in decoding the quantitative data about the relevance of other factors that can help in retention of the employees. In addition to this, the qualitative data shall be decoded and analyzed in a manner that can help in decoding the personal perspectives and needs of the employees. The recorded interviews shall be analyzed by writing the answers of the participants. This shall help in maintaining and interpreting the subjective answers of the participating employees. The secondary data shall be analyzed by decoding each resource.

Any research work is bound to face the problem of ethical issues. A researcher might face certain ethical restrictions while conducting research. While conducting the research and study, the myriad issues related to ethics shall be strictly observed to ensure the maintenance of the ethical standard. Taking into consideration the significance of privacy of each participant, this study shall strive to maintain the highest level of privacy and secrecy.  In order to maintain the sanctity of the research, it is extremely important to value, respect and adhere to the anonymity of each member (Padget 2016). Even in this case, the research shall be conducted in a manner that upholds the confidentiality of each participant. The questions mentioned in the survey sheets shall not try to assess the name or personal views of the participants. In addition to this, the interviews shall be conducted in a manner that the interviewer does not try to impose or extricate erroneous details that are not related to the topic. In addition to this, this research shall not employ coercion of any kind. Instead, it shall access the prior permission of each member and endeavor to impress upon each participating member that his/her identity shall be kept confidential in every manner possible. In addition to this, the survey and interview shall be conducted after taking the permission of the authorities concerned. It shall also be observed that each participating member participates

After conducting the research, it is expected that the issues related to employee retention of Intercontinental Hotel of Dublin will be identified. The research will be more appropriate because raw data will be collected from the employees of the organization. These direct responses will help in identifying the prevalent employee motivation and employee dissatisfaction related facts.  The data that will be gathered, will be analysed statistically, which will help in identifying the factors that are responsible for enhancing the talented workforce in the organization. Moreover, the data analysed will be further compared to literature review and the most specific theoretical models that will be required for the organization will be recommended in the final write up in week 14 and 15. Therefore it can be said that the analysis will help in enhancing the organizational sustainability and long term employee stability. Eventually, this will lead to mitigate human resource related challenges in the organization in future.

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