The path of least resistance? Choice and constraint in HRM
strategy in the UK hotel sector

Wilton, Nick

Abstract

Guerrier and Deery (1998) suggest two central questions that are recurrent in HRM research in the hotel sector. Firstly, to what extent is the work of hospitality managers influenced by the industry context? Secondly, to what extent do hospitality managers engage in reaction or reflection? In this chapter, research-exploring patterns of HR practice and policy in the UK hotel sector will be used to address these questions. The chapter discusses the factors that appear to be influential in determining
HRM strategy across the hotel sector and how different
approaches to HRM translate into employee relations’ practices in respect of employee involvement and participation, skills utilisation and employment flexibility. In particular, it discusses the contextual
pressures on HRM in the sector, particularly those relating
to labour and product markets, the extent to which HR managers in the sector are able to formulate a range of strategic approaches and how HRM strategy relates to wider competitive strategy.

Citation

strategy in the UK hotel sector. In D. Tesone (Ed.), Handbook of Hospitality Human Resource Management (293-316). Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann

• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2008
• Deposit Date: Jan 4, 2011
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 293-316
• Series Title: Handbooks of Hospitality Management
• Book Title: Handbook of Hospitality Human Resource Management
• ISBN: 9780080450810
• Keywords: human resource management, hotels, UK, strategy, involvement, skills, flexibility, absenteeism, turnover
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1022784
• Publisher URL: http://www.elsevierdirect.com/product.jsp?isbn=9780080450810