Important Of Quality Control Methods On Employee Performance Within The Hospitality Industry

This study was carried out to examine the important of quality control methods on employee performance within the hospitality industry using Swiss International Beland Hotel as a case study. The study was specifically carried out to identify the commonly quality control methods adopted in the hospitality industry, ascertain whether quality control methods enhances employees" effectiveness in the hospitality industry, ascertain whether quality control methods improves employees" commitment in the hospitality industry, and ascertain whether quality control methods enhances employees" productivity in the hospitality industry. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprise of staff of Swiss International Beland Hotel. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 57 respondents and 50 were validated. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using frequency tables, and mean scores. While the hypotheses were tested using Pearson correlation statistical tool, SPSS v23. The result of the findings reveals that the commonly quality control methods adopted in the hospitality industry includes; statistical quality control, quality circles, performance appraisal, total quality management, and inspection. The study also revealed that quality control methods enhances employees" effectiveness in the hospitality industry. Therefore, it is recommended that QCM succeeds only with employees" involvement in the TQM process and their commitment to its goals. The need is for every individual in the organization to understand his or her role in making quality happen. In fact, there is need to maximize the involvement of all employees as one of the basic principles of change implementation in a hotel. To mention but a few.

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

In pursuit of better employee performance and customer satisfaction, organizations are looking for and investing in strategies to enhance output. Heterogeneity being a key characteristic of services, service firms are determined to optimize their employees" output in order to ensure that their customers are always contented as a result of consuming quality delivered services (James and Mona, 2011). Service firms are thus implementing Quality Control (QC) in their operations so as to ensure that their employees always perform their tasks right the first time and that their customers" expectations are always met or exceeded after consumption of the firm"s products or services.

Quality control techniques, their capabilities and limitations should never by themselves dictate the employees" performance. It is by weaving these quality control techniques into the fabric of the employees operations that a company can bring the most value from its employee performance as observed by Aquilano and Chase (1991). A service firm that therefore integrates quality control systems directly into its employees" operations stands the best chance to optimize its employee goals, and thus increase customer satisfaction. Therefore, the best model for better employee performance is to fully integrate all its quality control systems and its employees operations into one set of intimately linked processes.

With customers in the service market being not only cautious with the quality of products and services they consume, but also in the manner in which the latter is delivered, and them being also key participants in the delivery system of the service, organizations are forced to implement quality control techniques in their operations in order to assist and ensure that their employees perform their respective tasks the right way the first time. Quality control thus assists and ensures that the employees are able to meet or exceed their customers" expectations of the service or product by delivering the services or products effectively, that is in the quality expected by the customers (Aquilano and Chase, 1991).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Quality control costs a lot of money for the service industries as well as the government. Studies by Kellog et al (1997) have shown that service quality control has been receiving much attention because of its positive relationship to costs. It is therefore imperative to understand the context of quality in the hospitality industry and what its indicators are within individual organizations.

The challenges associated with implementing quality control are significant as the key to service quality is to meet or exceed consumer expectations. One problem with measuring customers" satisfaction is that there may often be discrepancies between the consumer"s viewpoints and the provider"s understandings of what constitutes quality service (Pariseau and McDaniel, 1997). Any differences between consumer viewpoints and the organization"s perception of consumer viewpoints on quality are important to identify and determine the level and quality of the service provided (Douglas and Connor, 2003).

Previously scholars have tried to look at the link between quality management practices and organizational performance. Feng, Terziovski and Samson (2008) in their paper on the relationship of ISO 9001:2000 quality system certification with operational and business performance, examined manufacturing and service companies in Australia and New Zealand. The reports" central finding was that ISO 9001 certification has a positive and significant effect on operational performance, but a weak effect on business performance. The latter point lead the report to conclude that ISO 9000 certification by itself does not lead to improvement in business performance, a commonly held view, but there are such a variety of factors on company performance. Waldman (1994) looked at the contributions of total quality management to a theory of work performance and found that the system was viewed as affecting performance by indirectly enhancing aspects of the person interacting with the person in terms of person/system fit, and constraining performance at lower hierarchical levels and in jobs lacking autonomy. He thus recommended that both person and system factors must be considered simultaneously when modeling the determinants of performance.

Locally, Sokoro (2012) researched on the factors that influence employee performance in Kenya Wildlife Services. He found that that both organization and individual factors affect the overall effectiveness of employee performance. The three biggest factors were organizational structure, an enabling work environment and incentives Quality Control is implemented by management and needs a solid organizational structure to support it. Previous studies have not focused on quality control methods and employee performance in the hospitality industry. This study therefore seeks to find out how quality control methods impacts on employees performance within the hospitality industry.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study to examine the important of quality control methods on employee performance within the hospitality industry.

The study will specifically focus on the aims listed below;

Identify the commonly quality control methods adopted in the hospitality industry.

Ascertain whether quality control methods enhances employees" effectiveness in the hospitality industry.

Ascertain whether quality control methods improves employees" commitment in the hospitality industry.

Ascertain whether quality control methods enhances employees" productivity in the hospitality industry.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions guided this study:

What are the commonly quality control methods adopted in the hospitality industry?

Does quality control methods enhance employees" effectiveness in the hospitality industry?

Does quality control methods improve employees" commitment in the hospitality industry?

Does quality control methods enhance employees" productivity in the hospitality industry?

1.5 Hypotheses

This study was guided by the following null hypotheses.

Ho: There is no significant correlation between quality control method and employees" performance.

Ha: There is a significant correlation between quality control method and employees" performance.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study contributes towards building of literature on the relationship of quality control implementation and employees" performance especially on how to utilize QC techniques towards improving employee performance which in turn leads to sustainable business firms that continue to play a key role in the economy. Service firms, especially those in the hospitality industry, will make use of the findings of this research project in understanding the extent and relationship of QC implementation on their employees" performance. This study also seeks to advance the body of knowledge so that future managers build upon the concept of QC integration and employee performance. The result of the study puts forth a simple framework of QC solutions that enhance employee performance and explain why managers should consider their use. Quality Control is a growing field of study that has not been widely looked into and therefore other researchers and academicians in institutions of higher learning will use the findings of this study to answer and gather more information or knowledge about QC implementation in service firm operations and its contribution to employee performance and the economy at large.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The focus of this study is to examine the important of quality control methods on employee performance within the hospitality industry. However, the study will be delimited to Swiss International Beland Hotel.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing to the nature of the discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. More so, the choice of the sample size was limited as few respondent were selected to answer the research instrument hence cannot be generalize to other secondary schools. However, despite the constraint encountered during the research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Quality:

Features and characteristics of a product or service that are relevant to its ability to satisfy a particular need.

Quality Control:

Quality control (QC) is a procedure or set of procedures intended to ensure that a manufactured product or performed service adheres to a defined set of quality criteria or meets the requirements of the client or customer.

1.10 Organization of the Study

The study is categorized into five chapters. The first chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, research questions and hypothesis, the significance of the study, scope/limitations of the study, and definition of terms. The chapter two covers the review of literature with emphasis on conceptual framework, theoretical framework, and empirical review. Likewise, the chapter three which is the research methodology, specifically covers the research design, population of the study, sample size determination, sample size, and selection technique and procedure, research instrument and administration, method of data collection, method of data analysis, validity and reliability of the study, and ethical consideration. The second to last chapter being the chapter four presents the data presentation and analysis, while the last chapter (chapter five) contains the summary, conclusion and recommendation.

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