Understanding Research
Final report
What motivates employees in the hospitality
industry
Mirthe Oosterhof 1552240
Modeste Plas 1573647
Anke Ritsema 1570370
Roderick Romney 1567299
Module: 2
Group: G
Hand in date : December 2st, 2019
Stenden – International Hotel Management
Leeuwarden
The Netherlands
Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the degree Program
Bachelor of Business Administration (Hotel Management)
1
What motivates employees in the hospitality industry
,Table of Content
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................4
1.Introduction........................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Topic description.....................................................................................................................4
1.1.1 Rationale of the study...........................................................................................................4
1.1.2 Analysis of the problem........................................................................................................4
1.1.3 Purpose and relevance of research.......................................................................................5
1.2 Literature Review....................................................................................................................5
1.2.1 Motivation............................................................................................................................5
1.2.2 Intrinsic motivation...............................................................................................................6
1.2.3 Extrinsic motivation..............................................................................................................6
1.2.4 Age........................................................................................................................................6
1.2.5 Gender..................................................................................................................................7
1.2.6 Department in the hospitality industry.................................................................................7
1.3 Conceptual model...................................................................................................................9
1.4 Research definition...............................................................................................................10
2. Method............................................................................................................................................11
2.1 Design...................................................................................................................................11
2.2 Instrument............................................................................................................................11
2.3 Population and sampling.......................................................................................................12
2.4 Data collection......................................................................................................................12
2.5 Analysis of data.....................................................................................................................12
2.6 Ethical issues.........................................................................................................................13
3. Results.............................................................................................................................................13
3.1 Effect of gender on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation...........................................................16
3.2 Effect of age on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.................................................................16
3.3 Effect of the department of employment on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation....................17
4. Discussion........................................................................................................................................19
5. Recommendations...........................................................................................................................21
References...........................................................................................................................................23
Appendix..............................................................................................................................................28
Appendix 1. Declaration of own work.........................................................................................28
Appendix 2. Assessment Sheet Final UR Research Report..........................................................29
Appendix 3: Questionnaire.........................................................................................................33
2
What motivates employees in the hospitality industry
,Appendix 4: Evaluation form Anke Ritsema................................................................................36
Appendix 5: Evaluation form Roderick Romney..........................................................................38
Appendix 6: Evaluation form Mirthe Oosterhof..........................................................................40
Appendix 7: Evaluation form Modeste Plas.................................................................................42
List of figures
Figure 1: conceptual model presenting the relationships amid age, gender and
department of employment in the hospitality industry and
motivation………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………8
Figure 2. frequency distribution of age of participants……………….
………………………………………………………………………13
Figure 3. frequency distribution of the departments……………………..
……………………………………………………………………14
List of tables
Table 1. Sample characteristics (n=92)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12
Table 2. Descriptive
statistics…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………….……….14
Table 3: Independent Sample Test on Gender and Intrinsic
Motivation…………………………………………………………...…14
Table 4: Independent Sample Test on Gender and extrinsic
Motivation………………………………………………………….…14
Table 5. testing relation between motivation and age with Pearson’s r
……………………………………………………………15
Table 6. testing relation between motivation and department with Spearman’s
rho…………………………………………15
3
What motivates employees in the hospitality industry
, Abstract
The present paper aims to investigate what employees in the hospitality industry
motivates, with the main objective of finding out whether employees are more
intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. The paper starts with an introduction to
the problem and an explanation of the relevance of the conducted research. For
this research, a quantitative research method has been used. Information was
gathered by books, journals, previous research, and a questionnaire. A
questionnaire has been implemented as there will be made use of relationship
testing. The population of this research are all the persons currently employed or
employed in the hospitality industry within the last twelve months, aged 18 to
67. In total, 92 respondents have been obtained. The research results revealed a
significant negative relationship between age and intrinsic motivation (r(92) =
-.207, p = .048). The other variables showed no significant relationship. It is
recommended to distribute the questionnaire to several departments of several
hotels as this improves the representativeness of the population. Furthermore, a
distribution via several channels will in all probability result in a higher number of
respondents and this will again lead to a more representative and accurate
outcome.
Keywords: Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, age, gender, hospitality
departments.
1.Introduction
1.1 Topic description
1.1.1 Rationale of the study
Motivation is a versatile concept because people are usually motivated by a mix
of several factors. Motivation can be divided into two segments: intrinsic and
extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors have recently become equally important or
perhaps even more important to contribute to employee motivation (Meunier &
Bradley, 2019). However, both types depend on each other. Generally spoken, a
person cannot be intrinsically motivated without any form of extrinsic motivation
(Cash, 2017). There have been a
lot of studies and theories on employee motivation in various industries. It is
clear that motivation plays an important role in any kind of organization as it
increases employee productivity (Sarker, 2016). There is a clear coherence
between employers who understand the importance of their employees’
motivation and increased customer service and productivity. Especially in the
highly competitive service industry, this can lead to a competitive advantage
over competitors (Stone as cited in Plessis, Douangphichit & Dodd, 2016).
1.1.2 Analysis of the problem
The annual turnover of staff in the hospitality industry is stated at 40 percent,
which makes the turnover in the hospitality industry higher than in many other
sectors (Wassens, 2019). There are high costs associated with the departure of
employees. Think of recruitment, selection, administration costs and productivity
loss. The high turnover of staff costs the hospitality industry around 1.4 billion
4
What motivates employees in the hospitality industry
Final report
What motivates employees in the hospitality
industry
Mirthe Oosterhof 1552240
Modeste Plas 1573647
Anke Ritsema 1570370
Roderick Romney 1567299
Module: 2
Group: G
Hand in date : December 2st, 2019
Stenden – International Hotel Management
Leeuwarden
The Netherlands
Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the degree Program
Bachelor of Business Administration (Hotel Management)
1
What motivates employees in the hospitality industry
,Table of Content
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................4
1.Introduction........................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Topic description.....................................................................................................................4
1.1.1 Rationale of the study...........................................................................................................4
1.1.2 Analysis of the problem........................................................................................................4
1.1.3 Purpose and relevance of research.......................................................................................5
1.2 Literature Review....................................................................................................................5
1.2.1 Motivation............................................................................................................................5
1.2.2 Intrinsic motivation...............................................................................................................6
1.2.3 Extrinsic motivation..............................................................................................................6
1.2.4 Age........................................................................................................................................6
1.2.5 Gender..................................................................................................................................7
1.2.6 Department in the hospitality industry.................................................................................7
1.3 Conceptual model...................................................................................................................9
1.4 Research definition...............................................................................................................10
2. Method............................................................................................................................................11
2.1 Design...................................................................................................................................11
2.2 Instrument............................................................................................................................11
2.3 Population and sampling.......................................................................................................12
2.4 Data collection......................................................................................................................12
2.5 Analysis of data.....................................................................................................................12
2.6 Ethical issues.........................................................................................................................13
3. Results.............................................................................................................................................13
3.1 Effect of gender on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation...........................................................16
3.2 Effect of age on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.................................................................16
3.3 Effect of the department of employment on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation....................17
4. Discussion........................................................................................................................................19
5. Recommendations...........................................................................................................................21
References...........................................................................................................................................23
Appendix..............................................................................................................................................28
Appendix 1. Declaration of own work.........................................................................................28
Appendix 2. Assessment Sheet Final UR Research Report..........................................................29
Appendix 3: Questionnaire.........................................................................................................33
2
What motivates employees in the hospitality industry
,Appendix 4: Evaluation form Anke Ritsema................................................................................36
Appendix 5: Evaluation form Roderick Romney..........................................................................38
Appendix 6: Evaluation form Mirthe Oosterhof..........................................................................40
Appendix 7: Evaluation form Modeste Plas.................................................................................42
List of figures
Figure 1: conceptual model presenting the relationships amid age, gender and
department of employment in the hospitality industry and
motivation………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………8
Figure 2. frequency distribution of age of participants……………….
………………………………………………………………………13
Figure 3. frequency distribution of the departments……………………..
……………………………………………………………………14
List of tables
Table 1. Sample characteristics (n=92)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12
Table 2. Descriptive
statistics…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………….……….14
Table 3: Independent Sample Test on Gender and Intrinsic
Motivation…………………………………………………………...…14
Table 4: Independent Sample Test on Gender and extrinsic
Motivation………………………………………………………….…14
Table 5. testing relation between motivation and age with Pearson’s r
……………………………………………………………15
Table 6. testing relation between motivation and department with Spearman’s
rho…………………………………………15
3
What motivates employees in the hospitality industry
, Abstract
The present paper aims to investigate what employees in the hospitality industry
motivates, with the main objective of finding out whether employees are more
intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. The paper starts with an introduction to
the problem and an explanation of the relevance of the conducted research. For
this research, a quantitative research method has been used. Information was
gathered by books, journals, previous research, and a questionnaire. A
questionnaire has been implemented as there will be made use of relationship
testing. The population of this research are all the persons currently employed or
employed in the hospitality industry within the last twelve months, aged 18 to
67. In total, 92 respondents have been obtained. The research results revealed a
significant negative relationship between age and intrinsic motivation (r(92) =
-.207, p = .048). The other variables showed no significant relationship. It is
recommended to distribute the questionnaire to several departments of several
hotels as this improves the representativeness of the population. Furthermore, a
distribution via several channels will in all probability result in a higher number of
respondents and this will again lead to a more representative and accurate
outcome.
Keywords: Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, age, gender, hospitality
departments.
1.Introduction
1.1 Topic description
1.1.1 Rationale of the study
Motivation is a versatile concept because people are usually motivated by a mix
of several factors. Motivation can be divided into two segments: intrinsic and
extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors have recently become equally important or
perhaps even more important to contribute to employee motivation (Meunier &
Bradley, 2019). However, both types depend on each other. Generally spoken, a
person cannot be intrinsically motivated without any form of extrinsic motivation
(Cash, 2017). There have been a
lot of studies and theories on employee motivation in various industries. It is
clear that motivation plays an important role in any kind of organization as it
increases employee productivity (Sarker, 2016). There is a clear coherence
between employers who understand the importance of their employees’
motivation and increased customer service and productivity. Especially in the
highly competitive service industry, this can lead to a competitive advantage
over competitors (Stone as cited in Plessis, Douangphichit & Dodd, 2016).
1.1.2 Analysis of the problem
The annual turnover of staff in the hospitality industry is stated at 40 percent,
which makes the turnover in the hospitality industry higher than in many other
sectors (Wassens, 2019). There are high costs associated with the departure of
employees. Think of recruitment, selection, administration costs and productivity
loss. The high turnover of staff costs the hospitality industry around 1.4 billion
4
What motivates employees in the hospitality industry
