Service Management In The Tourism Industry, A study of Oguta Crystal Lake area, Imo State

ABSTRACT

The study is on “Service Management in the Tourism Industry, A study of Oguta Crystal Lake area, Imo State”. The study has three objectives. This study utilized deductive approach and employees and customer various advanced statistical techniques for model testing. There are 75 surveys for employees about job satisfaction and 75 survey for customers of Oguta Crystal Cove in hospitality industry. Required data of 60 surveys from employees and 50 surveys from customers constituted the population of study. In this study, judgmental sampling approach was used, data were collected from a judgmental sample of employees in the Oguta Crystal Cove in Imo State. The employees comprised of H&R, F&B, Accounting, House Keeping, Marketing and Promotion, Front Office. Questionnaire was used for collection of data. The findings of the study indicated that level of pay, physical condition, job security, control over daily work, skills of direct subordinates, company‟s policies and procedures, opportunity for personal growth, respect from boss, job security in present position, transpiration and work hour requirements are important components of job satisfaction in the leisure organization in Crystal Lake resort. Employees demonstrate considerable high dissatisfaction on their salary/pay level, job security in present position, transportation and work hour‟s requirements while stating their positive satisfactory scores for work environment, personal growth, quality of company services and physical work atmosphere. Based on the findings, this study recommends that, Recommendations that For hospitality managers and educators numerous intriguing implications arise from a study of the field of service management. Knowledge of service management concepts introduces opportunities to more thoroughly understand and improve hospitality management. By understanding that airline or advertising companies share similar concerns, future hospitality managers will be able to capitalize on the service concepts used or found in other service settings.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

The domination of the service sector today is confirmed by the fact that 70% of the world GDP is realized in the service sector. The same sector sees the concentration of 70% of workforce. In order to ensure and keep the quality expected by today’s customer/tourist, we need to differentiate two aspects of quality in general with particular attention to tourism, namely: design quality and the quality of conformity with design. The design quality is a concept implying the presentation of products/services directed to the needs of the clients. The hotel company can satisfy the demands of the client (tourist) only if they are included in its design, i.e. in order to do that, his demands need to be included or “built into” the product/service of the hotel. The hotels do market research in order to determine who their customers are and which of their demands require special attention.

The quality of conformity with the design completes the first aspect because it represents the level to which the product/service meets the demands of the market. The quality represents the satisfaction of the client’s needs and in order to achieve it and keep it in time, we not only need a continuous research into the demands of the clients but also of our own capabilities. Such an approach would ensure the pursuing of constant improvements according to the demands of the clients. The harsh competition on tourist market requires the development of a new approach to management known as TQM – Total Quality Management. When introducing the quality management system, hotel companies use various approaches adapted to their business conditions. The following part of the paper describes the most common service quality measurement criteria, in particular the model of internal service quality and the SERVQUAL model.

The hospitality industry is much broader than most other industries. The majority of business niches are composed of only a handful of different businesses, but this industry applies to nearly any company that is focused on customer satisfaction and meeting leisurely needs rather than basic ones. While this industry is very broad, there are some defining aspects that are important to understand. One of the most defining aspects of this industry is that it focuses on customer satisfaction. While this is true of nearly every business, this industry relies entirely on customers’ being happy. This is because these businesses are based on providing luxury services. Very few hospitality businesses provide a basic service that people need, like food or clothing.

Another defining aspect of this industry is its reliance on disposable income and leisure time. For this reason, the majority of these businesses are for tourists or rich patrons. If disposable income decreases due to a slump or recession, then these are often the first businesses to suffer because customers won’t have the extra money to enjoy their services. Most people think that hotels alone belong to the hospitality industry, but hotels are only one sector of this industry. Many forms of transportation that cater to tourists are also part of this business world. For example, this niche includes airlines, cruise ships and even fancier trains.

1.2     Statement of Problem 

With the burgeoning of service industries and the need to adopt distinctive service orientations, there has been an accompanying demand for more appropriate management concepts, approaches, and techniques. While much of what we already know about effective management applies to service industries, some of the traditional concepts of management are inadequate in solving the problems faced by service businesses. In the hospitality industry, the management of services have been found to be lagging behind due to several reasons that will identified in this research. This research work is therefore devoted towards providing means of solving these problems.  This backdrop has made the researcher to carry out an investigation on the service management responsibilities of the tourism industry using Newcastle Hotel as a case study.

1.3     Objective of the Study 

The following forms the objective of the study;

1. To review the requirements of service management in the tourism industry.
2. To review the obstacles facing the implementation of effective service management in the tourism industry
3. To encourage tourism industry owners to adopt the implementation of service management in their industry.

1.4     Significance of the Study

The researcher is of the opinion that this research work will be a source of motivation and enlightenment to both the owners of hospitality industry and the students of tourism and hospitality department. The owners of hospitality industry will benefit from this study through the implementation and adoption of the procedures statement here for service management. The students are expected to benefit as well through gaining more knowledge on the essence of service management in the hospitality industry.

1.5     Scope of the Study

The project work is structured in such a way that it presents the general introduction, the background and other research rudiments necessary for the research, the review of literature of the work and the summary, conclusion and recommendation of the research work.

1.6     Definition of Terms

SERVICE MANAGEMENT: is a customer-focused approach to delivering information technology. Service Management focuses on providing value to the customer and also on the customer relationship.

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY: The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within service industry that includes lodging, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line, and additional fields within the tourism industry.

TOURISM: The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go “beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only “, as people “traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business.

Pages:  30

Category: Seminar

Format:  Word & PDF         

Chapters: 1-5                                                      

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.