The Management of Workforce Diversity within the Irish Hotel Industry

Barry-Duke, Nina (2021) The Management of Workforce Diversity within the Irish Hotel Industry. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

The aim of this research is to investigate the value of diversity management in the workplace, with a focus on the hospitality industry in Ireland today. Managing a diverse workforce is a considerable issue within the hospitality industry, due to the sector’s high reliance on foreign employees, and can create challenging issues for managers, employees, and the day-to-day operations of the business. Employee turnover rates are among the highest for frontline employees in the industry (Ellinson, 2013). Research focused on why diversity management is still a significant problem within the industry and the impact it may have on the sectors high turnover rate, has been limited to date.

To address this dearth in literature, this qualitative research used in-depth interviews in order to gain the perspectives of the different hotel managers on the importance of effective diversity management within the industry. The researcher designed the interview questions (see Appendix A) to allow the managers communicate both their professional and personal opinions on the subject.

The current study found that managers are aware of the industry diversity management problems however changing them proves difficult to achieve. The interviews revealed that the industry can be described as highly diverse and unpredictable with many businesses not investing the appropriate money and time into their personnel. The research also identified that the hospitality industry has earned itself a poor reputation which in due course contributes to employees seeing work in this sector as temporary whose positions are then filled by migrant workers who are in danger of exploitation as they are willing to work for less than their Irish counterparts.

The findings imply that given that many of the diversity management challenges facing the industry are difficult to improve, particularly in larger hotel chains, the turnover rate will increase and the ability to retain staff will become increasingly harder for businesses. This research indicates that issues that were occurring several years ago, according to previous literature, are still affecting the industry today. If the importance of diversity management does not get the recognition it needs from hoteliers, the future and the standards of the hospitality industry are uncertain.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Diversity H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Specific Industries > Hospitality Industry H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > Ireland
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Arts in Human Resource Management
Depositing User:	Clara Chan
Date Deposited:	12 Jan 2022 13:49
Last Modified:	12 Jan 2022 13:49
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/5276

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