Faculty & Research
Key Issues of Concern in the Lodging Industry: What Worries Managers
Vol 9 No 4
By: Cathy A. Enz Ph.D.
Executive Summary: Human resources management is the most troubling issue of concern to managers and executives in the lodging industry worldwide, according to a survey of 243 managers taken during 2008. The study identified a common set of shared problems that impede the ability of industry leaders to manage effectively, with human resources issues being at the forefront. Over 60 percent of respondents from six different regions of the world in both general manager and executive positions reported that the human resource issues of attraction, retention, training, and morale were key areas of concern. Other problems include economic and environmental matters, understanding customer needs, rising operating costs, and thinking strategically in a competitive environment. The study provides an update to a similar study conducted in 2001. Certain issues identified in that earlier study, including information technology and branding, have dropped from hotel executives’ list of concerns.
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- Key Issues of Concern in the Lodging Industry: What Worries Managers By: Cathy A. Enz Ph.D.
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Other Reports or Articles You May Find of Interest
- Hotel Network Security: A Study of the Computer Networks in U.S. Hotels, by Josh Ogle, Erica L. Wagner, and Mark P. Talbert
- Setting Room Rates on Priceline: How to Optimize Expected Hotel Revenue, by Chris Anderson
- Segmenting Hotel Customers Based on the Technology Readiness Index, by Rohit Verma, Liana Victorino, Kate Karniouchina, and Julie Feickert
About Cathy A. Enz Ph.D.
Cathy A. Enz is the Lewis G. Schaeneman Jr. Professor of Innovation and Dynamic Management and a full professor in strategy. She recently served as Associate Dean for Industry Research and Affairs, and served as the Executive Director of the school’s Center for Hospitality Research from 2000-2003. Dr. Enz has published over eighty journal articles, book chapters, and three books in the area of strategic management. Her research has been published in a wide variety of prestigious academic and hospitality journals such as The Administrative Science Quarterly, The Academy of Management Journal, The Journal of Service Research, and The Cornell Hospitality Administration Quarterly. Dr. Enz teaches courses in innovation and strategic management. In addition, she developed The Hospitality Change Simulation, a learning tool for the introduction of effective change, which is available as an online education program of e-Cornell. Three additional courses in hospitality strategic management will be available through e-Cornell in 2008. Dr. Enz also presents numerous executive programs around the world, consults extensively in North America, and serves on the Board of Directors of two privately owned hotel companies. Prior to her academic activities, Dr. Enz held several industry positions including strategy development analyst in the office of corporate research for a large insurance organization, and operations manager responsible for Midwestern United States customer service and logistics in the dietary food service division of a large U.S. health care corporation. Dr. Enz received her Ph.D. from the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University, and taught on the faculty of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University prior to arriving at Cornell in 1990.
For more information visit http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/facultybios/faculty.html?id=27
