Description:
Seasonal consumer demand fluctuations for small hospitality businesses create management challenges, with human resource management (HRM) being specifically identified as a 'problem'. In fact, the different academic and practitioner perspectives of HRM in this industry create a credibility gap, resulting in a combination of uninformed strategic planning and practice activities, to exacerbate the issue of market entry and firm sustainability. This study examines the management practices of businesses located on the popular Phillip Island destination in coastal Victoria, and explores the practical management strategies used as well as assessing the relevance of academic theory to these providers. The paper also reviews the relationship between the theory and practice of HRM that exists in the hospitality sector, particularly in relation to seasonal small businesses. Using a qualitative design, patterns of HRM strategies and operational responses were identified to reveal challenges for service quality and business success, that are linked with selecting, recruiting, and motivating talented people. The results reveal the employed staffing procedures use a combination of practical HRM approaches, including casual and flexible employment processes, but without an apparent academically based strategy, which can have implications for small hospitality business. A concluding observation is the planning of more informed strategic HRM approaches has potential to not only increase the effectiveness of the employee and employer relationship, but also recognise the welfare of employees is fundamental in the achievement of organisational objectives.
Description:
The aim of this research is to explore the similarity and differences international students encounter while studying and living in a regional area of Australia as compared to their Asian homeland. This study builds on both academic and lifestyle issues previously identified in research and explores the international students' experiences on their academic adjustments while living in a regional area. The findings of this investigation identified three themes: education, finance, and culture. The analysis identified that students experience some level of difficulty at an initial stage but were positively accustomed to the local settings after a period of time. Finally, the findings in this paper are valuable to educational institutions, especially those of regional areas seeking to understand how international students behave and act when studying and living in a regional area. Additionally, this paper will also give prospective students an overall understanding of what to expect when they choose to study in a regional area in Australia.