Harsha (1998: 133-134) noted that job knowledge is essential for guest service
employees in hotels to perform their roles adequately and went on to link guest
service employees’ job knowledge with effective empowerment processes that
enable hospitality service employees to make their own decisions (and thus
improve customer service through speedy resolution of issues). Elsewhere in the
hospitality research literature dealing with employee empowerment, information
provision has been referred to by Lashley (1995, 1996) and Lashley and
McGoldrick (1994) in the context of empowerment through employee involvement
in organisational processes.
The topic has not, however, received a great deal of attention in these articles. A
targeted review of the hospitality literature may reveal further research that has
addressed the issues of information provision for employees. Indications from
this research are that while adequacy of information provision may be a
significant variable moderating the relationships between the constructs in Models
2 and 5b, there is little existing knowledge of this issue in the published
hospitality research literature.
This apparent paucity of research knowledge in this area suggests that
exploratory research may be required to identify and frame relevant research
questions regarding the nature of information required and how different types of
information and different channels of communication can affect employee job
performance and the inter-relationships between organisations and employees in
hospitality organisations.
8.3 Contributions, new conceptualisations and areas for further research
The research aim, to explore and evaluate the contribution of motivational
leadership to employee work motivation in hospitality services, has been satisfied.
Work motivation was measured using both employee attitudes and job
performance and the findings demonstrate that:
motivational leadership does contribute (positively) to enhanced employee:
o positive work attitudes; and
o job performance.
positive employee work orientations (Work Values) contribute to enhanced
employee work attitudes;