"Strategic Alignment Or Non-Alignment; the Management of Human Capital in 5-Star Hotels in Dubai"

Strategic alignment or non-alignment: Item Type Thesis Authors Anthonisz, Angela Jean Download date 28/09/2021 07:03:36 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10545/623047 UNIVERSITY OF DERBY "Strategic alignment or non-alignment; The management of human capital in 5-star hotels in Dubai". Angela Anthonisz DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2018 (Authors Own Image) ‘This is, after all, the destination where hotels are Arabian Nights fantasies, an Italian palazzo with a 1.5 million-piece mosaic and a fabled lost city with a shark-filled aquarium; the place where guests are provided with gold- plated iPads and their bloody marys are sprinkled with gold flakes’. (Belcher 2017). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In finally submitting this thesis I would like to extend a very big thank you to the many people who have helped and supported me during the four years of this study. There are too many to consider in this brief acknowledgement but I hope that you know who you are. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Sarah Rawlinson for her guidance, time and patience throughout the process and for helping me through several changes of direction. To my friends and colleagues, both here and in Dubai, who have shared their experiences and provided support when it was needed most. And, lastly, but most importantly I would like to thank my family, past and present, for their unconditional love and support, for helping me not to procrastinate, for convincing me that I could get through this, and for never letting me doubt myself. I couldn’t have done it without you. LIST OF FIGURES Page No. Figure 1 – Literature framework 15 Figure 2 – Globalisation and organisational change 19 Figure 3 – Dubai visitor numbers mapped against Butler (1980) 25 Figure 4 – The hotel industry ‘task’ environment 35 Figure 5 – Current and additional forces shaping human capital 43 Figure 6 – Hotel rooms under construction in Dubai 52 Figure 7 – The layers of the hotel organisation 54 Figure 8 – Understanding culture, strategy and performance 65 Figure 9 – The four power structures of Charles Handy (1993) 69 Figure 10 – Miles and Snow’s competitive responses (1978) 74 Figure 11 – Co-alignment through strategic management and human 81 capital Figure 12 – The basic HRM model 91 Figure 13 – The virtuous circle linking HRM with business success 92 Figure 14 - A framework for research- The interconnectedness of 95 worldviews, design and research methods Figure 15 - Globalisation in the context of Dubai 127 Figure 16 – Expo 2020 applied to Butler’s lifecycle 129 Figure 17 - Aspects of human capital in the hotel industry in Dubai 146 Figure 18 – Interview themes concept map 157 Figure 19 – Company A hierarchy 175 Figure 20 – The vortex of culture – Company A 233 Figure 21 – The vortex of culture – Company B 233 Figure 22 – The vortex of culture in Dubai 235 LIST OF TABLES Page No. Table 1 – Visitor numbers to Dubai (1982 – 2016) 24 Table 2 – Factors affecting demand and supply of hotel employee labour in 33 Dubai Table 3 – Research design orientation 102 Table 4 – A summary of the interviewee details 111 Table 5 – List of senior managers and industry professionals 117 Table 6 – Key words and themes 122 Table 7 – Similarity of key words 154 Table 8 – Dissimilarity of key words 155 Table 9 – Themes ranked by importance 158 Table 10 – Company A and Company B comparison 221 LIST OF IMAGES Page No. Image 1 – Emirates Route Map 23 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ADR Average Daily Rate CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate CHRM Comparative Human Resource Management DTCM Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing FDI Foreign Direct Investment HCH Human Capital Heterogeneity HOD Head of Department HRM Human Resource Management RBV Resource Based Value RevPAR Revenue Per Available Room ROI Return on Investment SHRM Strategic Human Resource Management SOP Standard Operating Procedure PREFACE STATEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL OWNERSHIP The work presented in this thesis is the original work of Angela Jean Anthonisz, conducted between 2013 and 2017 and has been submitted for consideration of the award of Doctor of Philosophy in March 2018. ABSTRACT This thesis focuses on the international hotel industry as part of the global economy and examines the implications that the strategic management of human capital has within the five-star sector of the hotel industry in Dubai, an emirate of the United Arab Emirates, and an economy based on the service sector. It examines the macro environmental factors influencing the potential strategic directions of two recognized international five-star hotel brands and considers the challenges this creates for the alignment of strategy, and the implications this has for management of human capital(people) as a key determinant of success that enhances organisational outcomes. In selecting this area of research, the author has adopted a grounded theory approach to the generation of new knowledge, allowing the literature to be guided by concerns raised by hotel managers and industry consultants working in the context of Dubai. This approach led to the employment of a case study method, through which the key influences of organisational culture and ownership are considered. Two international hotel chains were identified to represent the two strategic modes of entry into the destination. The first case being a locally owned and managed chain with 7 hotels in Dubai. The second case is a European chain operating 6 hotel properties under management contract in Dubai, with 6 different owners from the Middle East. Both companies operate within the luxury five-star market that is so prevalent in Dubai. The hospitality industry, by definition, relies heavily on human capital, both as a resource and a capability that may allow for the development of competitive advantage. However, the dynamics of the Dubai hotel environment, the strength of the Arab cultural values and the organisational conditions that exist in Dubai present HR managers with a number of unique challenges, including high levels of pastoral care, and approaches to managing the workforce that may be at odds with traditional ‘Western’ ideals. This thesis adds to the existing debate on the value and utilisation of existing theoretical frameworks attached to the alignment of strategy and the implications for managing human capital in the face of globalisation and presents a model of their application in a city that is characterised by power and control, predictability and change aversion. CONTENTS PAGE Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Rational 7 1.2 Aim 13 1.3 Objectives 13 Chapter 2 Literature Review 14 2.1 The External Environment 16 2.1.1 Dubai in the Context of Globalisation 17 2.1.1.1 Globalisation of the Hotel Industry 20 2.1.2 Dubai as a Tourism Product 22 2.1.3 Labour Market Dynamics 28 2.1.4 Labour Market Dynamics and the Implications for the Hotel Industry 30 2.1.5 A Summary of the External Environment 34 2.2 Assessing the Hotel Operating Environment 35 2.2.1 Factors Impacting on the Hotel Industry in Dubai 36 2.2.1.1 Competition 36 2.2.2 Inputs to the Organisation 39 2.2.2.1 Mode of Entry 39 2.2.2.2 Human Capital as an Input 42 2.2.3 Outputs of the Organisation 46 2.2.4 A Summary of the Hotel Environment 50 2.3 The Organisation 54 2.3.1 Defining the Organisation 55 2.3.1.1 The Organisation in the Dubai Context 57 2.3.2 The Organisational Culture 58 2.3.2.1 Organisational Culture and the Individual 61 2.3.2.2 Organisational Culture and Strategy 62 2.3.3 The Organisational Hierarchy 67 2.3.4 Strategic Responses 70 2.3.5 Investment in Core Competencies 76 2.3.5.1 The Resource Based View of the Firm 77 2.3.6 A Summary of the Organisation 81 2.4 The Strategic Management of Human Resources 83 2.4.1 Strategic HRM 86 2.5 Literature Review Summary 93 Chapter 3 Methodology 95 3.1 Philosophical World Views 96 3.1.1 Positivism v Phenomenology 96 3.1.2 Ontology v Epistomology 99 3.1.3 Inductive v Deductive Logic 100 3.2 Research Design 101 3.2.1 Grounded Theory 103 3.2.2 Case Study Research 104 3.3 Methods of Data Collection 107 3.3.1 Participant Observation 107 3.3.2 Interviews 108 3.4 Data Analysis 113 3.4.1 Template Analysis 113 3.4.2 Secondary Data Analysis 118 3.5 Ethical Considerations 119 3.6 Chapter Summary 119 Chapter 4 Findings and Analysis 121 4.1 Phase One of the Study 122 4.1.1 Themes in the External Environment 124 Theme 1 – Globalisation in the Dubai Context 124 Theme 2 – Dubai as a Tourism Product 128 Theme 3 – The Economic Climate 132 4.1.2 Themes in the Hotel Environment 135 Theme 5 – Competition 135 4.1.3 Themes in the Organisational Context 137 Theme 5 – Developing a Competitive Strategy 138 Theme 6 – Human Capital is Key 144 4.1.4 Summarising Phase One of the Research 146 4.2 Phase Two 148 4.2.1 Case Study – Hotel Group A 148 4.2.2 Case Study – Hotel Group B 151 4.2.3 Interview Responses – Key Word Analysis 153 4.2.4 Key Word Comparison – Company A and Company B 154 4.2.5 Company A – Analysis 158 4.2.5.1 The External Environment 159 Social Indicators 159 Legal Indicators 161 Economic Indicators 163 Political Indicators 163 Technological Indicators 165 4.2.5.2 Competition 167 4.2.5.3 The Organisation 170 The Organisational Culture 170 Organisational Hierarchy 173 Sub Cultures/Tribes 176 Strategic Responses 179 Competitive Advantage 184 Investment Choice 188 4.2.5.4 Strategic Management of Human Capital 191 4.2.5.5 Company A Summary 196 4.2.6 Company B Analysis 197 4.2.6.1 The External Environment 197 Social Indicators 197 Legal Indicators 198 Economic Indicators 199 Political Indicators 200 Technological Indicators 201

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