Strategic steps for Nigerian hospitality human capital development
| Pages | 318-333 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-05-2017-0023 |
| Date | 10 September 2017 |
| Published date | 10 September 2017 |
| Author | Abimbola P. Alamu,Rocky J. Dwyer |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,Business ethics,Sustainability |
Strategic steps for Nigerian
hospitality human capital
development
Abimbola P. Alamu
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC),
Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and
Rocky J. Dwyer
College of Management and Technology, Walden University, Minneapolis,
Minnesota, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is t o explore human capital (HC ) productivity strate gies used by
the tourism, hospital ity, and leisure (THL) ind ustry business leaders i n Nigeria which improve d the
employee productivi ty.
Design/methodology/approach –The participants in this research study comprised randomly selected
Southern Nigerian business leaders with specialist expertise in the THL industry. Individual interviews were
undertaken with participants to gain both an insight and understanding regarding which strategies are best
suited to improve employee productivity. A further analysis of workplace policies and procedures provided
additional insights related to the application of such workplace practices toward productivity improvements.
Findings –The findings of this study identified that recruiting persons with essential social capital,
inducting them into high ethical standards, providing in-house training, motivating employees with reward
and recognition, and the adoption of affordable technologies are key industry strategies to build a productive
employee workforce.
Practical implications –Implementing the findings from this study may help develop a new type of THL
professionals, especially in the hotel and restaurant sub-sectors that will enhance the attractiveness of the
THL industry and encourage patronage. The opportunity to interact with new people in THL businesses and
locations may promote social interaction and integration that are invaluable to an ethnically and religiously
diverse country such as Nigeria. These benefits are valuable and are essential positive social changes.
Originality/value –A structuredHCD program might delivera net benefit to the industry. Tothe employees,
there may be improvedremuneration, increased self-esteem,and job security. To the industry, there maybe a
reduction in employeeturnover, improvement in productivity,improved attraction of graduates, and reduced
engagement of illegalworkers. The government could also experienceincreased gross domestic product.
Keywords Human capital productivity strategies, Improved employee productivity, Tourism, hospitality,
and leisure industry, Workplace policies and procedures
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
An important factor of productivity is the human capital (HC). The enactment of a business
opportunity and the cognitive conception of its day-to-day operations require astute
management and a dexterous, productive employee frontline. A competent workforce
is imperative because of customers’demands and other dynamic market forces (Kim and
Park, 2014).While business owners and shareholders are often conscious to recruitcompetent
managerial staff, the competence of the customer service personnel, such as those within
the tourism, hospitality, and leisure (THL) industry, often received lesser attention (Kim and
Park, 2014; Lopesand Teixeira, 2013, Scott and Dwyer,2017). Investors in a human-intensive
and people-focused industry such as the THL need to ensure frontline customer-service
personnel are trained adequately to deliver quality services and high productivity; however,
such is not always the industry practice (Chen et al., 2013).
Financial performance in business is intricately dependent on employee productivity
within the organization (Chen et al., 2013). The THL industry forecast noted that the
World Journal of
Entrepreneurship, Management
and Sustainable Development
Vol. 13 No. 4, 2017
pp. 318-333
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2042-5961
DOI 10.1108/WJEMSD-05-2017-0023
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5961.htm
318
WJEMSD
13,4
US$7 trillion industry accounts for 9.5 percent global gross domestic product (GDP) and
employs 266 million people (World Tourism Organization Network, 2015; World Travel
and Tourism Council (WTTC), 2015b). However, the industry could stand to lose
approximately 14 million jobs and $610 billion GDP by 2,024 due to a skill shortage
(World Economic Forum, 2015; WTTC, 2015b). Skilled HC has becomea strategic theme and
needed in the THL industry. More specifically, the THL industry is deficient in terms
of structured employee competency development programs for customer service personnel
(Kim and Park, 2014;Lopes and Teixeira, 2013). Typically,the THL industry experienceshigh
employee turnover (Pearlman and Schaffer, 2013) and below average attraction for potential
employees (Wang and Huang, 2014). Leaders of some THL organizations need strategic
human resource management practices to improve corporate financial performance while
enhancing employee productivity and averting a future loss of labor.
Highly effective HC is essential to productivity (Luckstead et al., 2014). Prior authors’
research underscored the importance of human capital development (HCD) to productivity
and business performance (Anca-Ioana, 2013; Darwish et al., 2013). The authors further
emphasized the need to conduct additional studies on HCD in non-Western economies,
especially the predominantly unskilled Sub-Saharan Africa (Anca-Ioana, 2013; Danquah
and Ouattara, 2014). Thus, the focus of this research was the THL industry within Nigeria.
The industry is strategic to job creation, to poverty alleviation, and to the development of
sub-Saharan Africa countries (Chun-Ming et al., 2014; Pearlman and Schaffer, 2013;
World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), 2015a). Jakada and Gambo (2014) also
recommended that the Nigerian hotel industry should pay appropriate attention to internal
capabilities to respond to, and to meet market needs. Based on these calls, exploring the
strategies THL leaders in Nigeria utilized to improve productivity and to retain the HC in
the industry is imperative.
Research question
The global THL industry position will decline by 14 million jobs and US$610 billion
GDP by 2,024 due to a deficit of skilled HC (WTTC, 2015b). Developing HC yields a
13 percent internal rate of return (IRR) and contributed up to 61.5 percent of US
productivity from 1952 to 2000 (Lopes and Teixeira, 2013; Luckstead et al., 2014). This
research paper explored what HCD strategies have THL leaders in Nigeria used to
improve employee productivity?
Methodology/limitation
The research followed a qualitative methodology, since the intention of the research was to
explore the what and how of a real-life system with information from different sources
(Bailey, 2014; Cameron et al., 2013; Pettigrew, 2013); and involved the use of semi-structured
recorded interview-based discussions with a purposeful selection of business leaders to
explore the topic ( Bhati et al., 2014; Sinden et al., 2013). This choice posed some limitations
since the selection of participants was limited to industry experts who were in leadership
positions within the THL industry in Southern Nigeria, which is underdeveloped in
comparison to more developed regions in Africa (WTTC, 2015a).
Conceptually
In this study, HC theory was chosen since it has two propositions, which hold relevance in
relation to the how the paper focused its lens to conduct the research. Labor input is both
quantitative and qualitative, the latter being the skillfulness or deftness demonstrated in
performing work (Sweetland, 1996); the second is formal and informal education which
increases the capability and productivity of people, and is quantifiable in monetary terms,
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Strategic steps
for Nigerian
hospitality
HCD
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