Management styles in Italian and British tourism hotels

¶ … Italian and British Cultures and Management Styles in Tourism: Q. Hotel

A Critical Analysis of Italian and British Cultures and Management Styles in Tourism:

Q Hotel

Italy is a country in a stage of transition. It is no longer a predominantly agrarian society nor yet a fully industrialized economy. It is also a land of striking contrasts, with no unified social or economic patterns. As a society, Italy is centuries old; as a modern sovereign state it was born but yesterday. The very nature of the political unification process probably accounts for some of the disunity. It was not a broad-based movement but occurred predominantly under the auspices of one family, the Savoys, who succeeded in expanding their influence and political rule throughout the country (Rosenzweig & Nohria, 1994). The masses participated only vicariously through national figures and agitators, such as Garibaldi, Mazzini, and Cattaneo, whose dreams of a republican democracy based on wide popular support and local autonomy were largely frustrated. This political disunity, evidenced by the lack of identification between individual citizens and the state, explains in part the emphasis upon the absolute loyalty to family groups and permeates all aspects of Italian life.

I. Identification of Problems

Fair treatment at work: Equal opportunities and anti-discrimination law

Sexual harassment

Harassment is unwanted behavior of a sexual nature including physical, verbal and non-verbal behavior. In the U.S. The company is responsible for a manager's persistent harassment (Rokeach, 2003). The issue of what constitutes a hostile environment has proved difficult to define and sexual harassment need not be so severe as to cause psychological damage. Employers cannot seek a judgment to dismiss charges unless they have a properly implemented policy (Adler & Jelinek, 1986). Where there is no policy, employers will be liable for the hostile environment created by supervisors (Adams, 1991).

Harassment is a pervasive and frequent occurrence (Adams, 1991). Managers and customers can be the perpetrators of sexual harassment ((Wagner, 2006). It mainly affects women, reflecting the gendered division of work and existing power differentials (Adler, 2006). Customer harassment is one of the least rewarding aspects of the interpersonal relationship, and is exacerbated where service staff are Italy has a stronger legal framework supporting women, but job opportunities are limited and favorable maternity rights appear to be damaging women's employment prospects. Women returners are considered out of touch, and they are offered chambermaids' jobs. Family-friendly policies are unknown, even to large hotel groups. The pay gap is smaller because all sectors are regulated by legally binding collective agreements. Some employers pay above the minimum in cash to avoid higher tax and social insurance costs (Youndt, et al. 1996).

In the UK increased opportunities are in numerically flexible jobs which are vulnerable to economic fluctuations. As in Italy, restaurant and bar jobs are contingently gendered, as employers seek cheap labor of either sex (Wagner, 2006). Women are largely excluded from kitchen work, but not from night work, the reverse of what is observed in Italy. Company economic performance is the most important factor in setting pay. There is greater awareness of gender issues and sometimes they are encouraged to sell sexuality or to flirt (Adkins, 1995; Gilbert et al., 1998). The more authentic the performance, the more difficult it is for the customer to recognize there is no promise of associated consequences, which may be exacerbated by alcohol (Worsfold and McCann, 2000). Individual employee re/action may make things worse, as most managerial harassment comes from an immediate superior or more senior manager. The extent of harassment is likely to be under-reported, unless there is a strong policy and effective channels for challenging such behavior that by-pass superiors. Consequently individuals sustain stress and poor working relationships, and may quit.

Tipping Culture

UK

Staff keep cash tips, either individually or on a pooled basis, and do not pay tax on them, unless they are declared. Staff working in pubs, bars and restaurants are more likely to benefit from tips than hotel staff. Staff are not entitled to receive tips or a service charge that are added to a credit card in addition to the NMW, although employers can use these payments to top up pay to the level of the NMW. This situation was finally confirmed by a ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in 2002. Where tips are paid into a tronc, the tronc master shares them among employees who are taxed on them (Weimer, 2008).

Italy

Restaurants may add 10-15 per cent to meals but customers are normally expected to add 10 per cent. Credit card tips are passed on to waiting staff.

II. Solution Proposal: Management Style, Structure, Cultural Awareness and Reporting Methods.

In Italy, high-level managers and professional staffs are regulated by different laws, have separate unions and collective bargaining, and have had divergent histories. For these reasons, the issues relevant for the two groups will be treated separately. It is important, to note that the Italian term is more restrictive than the American one and includes only higher levels in each of the traditional management functions such as advertising, sales, financial analysis, and personnel. Employees such as professionals and technicians, who in the United States would be considered management, are defined here as cadres. In Italy, managers have been treated differently from other employees. This division was based on the actual job functions performed within the firm and was reinforced by legislation. However, particularly in the last decade, such differences have been blurred by transformations in the context of jobs, the size and structure of firms, and class and group identifications in Italian society. Differences in legislation remain, however.

Managers, who were once part of a small and elite group, have lost their previous status and prestige while gaining in numbers. Regarding their power, in the public industrial sector they lack autonomy because of unavoidable political interference, and in the private sector their role is also obscured by the active presence of owners. This is true in large private corporations (for instance FIAT, Pirelli, or Olivetti) and even more so in small enterprises that constitute the more active and innovative section of the economy. In Italy managers have played a minor role because of the late development of capitalism and continuation of the owners' leading role (Adler & Jelinek, 1986). These factors have also prevented the development of a managerial culture and the absence of business school is a symptom of this situation. The extensive economic role played by the government has not created a substitute group of public managers with recognized professional abilities.

The rapid growth of the cadres, professional and lower-level workers, has been another major and continuous development in Italian industrial relations. A critical issue for this group has been the flattening of wage differentials caused by egalitarian policies and high inflation. Finally, the economic environment of Italy, in which small, specialized firms are concentrated in certain geographical areas, has played an important role in industrial relations (Aran & Walochik, 2007). For instance, in a 2006 census, the average firm in the industrial sector had 4.6 employees, and 81% of all firms with 38% of total employees were operated by single proprietor managers. Also, Italy has suffered from high levels of inflation for many years. The average rate of price increases has been 16.6% versus 9.2% in the United States (Rosenzweig & Nohria, 1994).

Italian managers display very low levels of inter- and intra-firm mobility: 67% have never changed firms and 16% have only been in two (Aran & Walochik, 2007). The typical manager has been hired at age 26. Even within the same firm, 50% have never changed their area of activity, which to some extent is a reflection on the general practice of tying a large percentage of a manager's compensation to seniority. Permanence within the same firm is probably the necessary condition of access to the managerial role.

Managers are also excluded from protection of employees against dismissal, an area in which legislation has severely restricted employer prerogatives. As a result, managers have sought to obtain some protection from collective bargaining. In addition, in order to hire a manager, the firm does not have to follow the regular practice of filing a request with the special commission that refers the unemployed (Welsh, et al. 1993).

Employment contracts in Italy usually do not have time limits, with the exception of certain types of work such as seasonal jobs. For managers, instead, the contract cannot be longer than five years and managers can leave after three years with notice (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 2010). At the end of the employment period, managers have the legal right to severance pay equal to 13.5% of their annual pay, which is payable to them at termination or to their heirs. Severance pay also is guaranteed in case of bankruptcy. Finally, the employer can establish noncompetition agreements after the expiration of a contract. These agreements have to be limited in terms of content, geographical area of applications, and time, and the employees have to receive compensation for them.

Conclusions

The traditional division established long ago between managers, white-collar employees, and blue-collar workers has been challenged by transformations that occurred in the early 1970s. Managers are no longer a small elite selected by the employer; they have become a profession. Consequently, educational and careers have become more standard. At the same time, market forces are more important in shaping work conditions. In terms of gross pay levels, managers have been able to maintain their position compared with other employees. More unfavorable, however, have been the impact of inflation on tax burdens and pensions, both established by legislation. Regarding taxation, further changes will be likely, especially if the government succeeds in preventing tax evasion by autonomous workers, and if fiscal pressure could be spread more evenly. With respect to pensions, individual company plans will become more widespread and more effective in integrating the pension system established by legislation (Rosenzweig & Nohria, 1994).

At the firm level, the increase toward training programs and specific benefit packages will increase, but collective bargaining will remain important in establishing minimum conditions of employment throughout the category. The unions will remain particularly important in lobbying toward legislative changes in the social security and fiscal area. Even though unions have a membership that is too small to have an electoral impact, they can exert political pressure and the parties in government are usually sensitive to managers' organizations.

Finally, managers' conditions will also be positively affected by the changes in public opinion more favorable now to the business community and to the management profession. This will make it easier to obtain changes in legislation, increase the prestige of the occupation, and attract more talented people into the profession. The emergence and mobilization of professional groups signal a major development in Italian industrial relations. In the early 1970s, while differences between blue -- and white-collar workers were being challenged and wage and benefits differentials were eroded by the effects of collective agreements and inflation, the growth of a larger group of managerial employees posed a new challenge to the Italian industrial relations system. The mobilization of cadres has already produced new legislation and changes in collective bargaining. It is difficult to say now if the leading workers' unions will be able to make up for lost time and regain the confidence of the cadres, or if the new organizations will emerge. In any event, issues posed by cadres will remain prominent in the collective bargaining agenda as well as in the political arena because of the large number of possible voters that are involved.

On the other hand, it is clear that the managers' unions are not willing to open their organizations to include cadres or find a way to represent them at the bargaining table, or even act together with the emerging new organization. This is impossible because it runs against the established separations. In fact, managers' unions do not look favorably on the establishment of independent organizations for cadres because the creation of an intermediate group could diminish the number of managerial ones and, consequently, affect union membership. These divisions between managers and cadres also prevent a larger role for management in the society