Kevin Donaghy, Una McMahon‐Beattie and David McDowell
Traditionally the hospitality industry has been slow to adopt new systems and technologies. This can be witnessed particularly in the hotel industry’s utilization of yield…
Abstract
Traditionally the hospitality industry has been slow to adopt new systems and technologies. This can be witnessed particularly in the hotel industry’s utilization of yield management (YM). Based on the experiences of hotel managers, explores the problems encountered during the introduction of YM into the accommodation function and highlights possible approaches for managing the change from traditional management techniques to a YM system. Found that this transition was best achieved by developing a conceptual and/or working knowledge of YM at three levels in the company: head office, unit general managers, and staff. A team approach within the unit was considered essential involving, ideally, the yield specialists, the functional specialists and the general manager acting as a co‐ordinator. Change was more easily effected if a well‐planned, unit‐specific, and timely training programme emphasized the similarities with and not the differences between traditional management techniques and a YM approach. Considerable challenges remain for software developers to provide industry‐specific and user‐friendly packages.
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Pilar Abad, Concepción De la Fuente-Cabrero, Lydia González-Serrano and Pilar Talón-Ballestero
The aim of this paper is to define which characteristics of a hotel and staff organization determine successful revenue management (RM) implementation in urban hotels.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to define which characteristics of a hotel and staff organization determine successful revenue management (RM) implementation in urban hotels.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine whether the characteristics of the hotel and the staff member in charge of RM are explanatory variables for the degree of RM implementation.
Findings
The findings show that hotel category, chain affiliation and the existence of qualified full-time staff are the determinants for successful RM implementation. The creation of the revenue manager position alone is not determinant in the degree of RM implementation, but his/her qualification and dedication are fundamental variables.
Research limitations/implications
Given that this survey was confined to the region of Madrid, it would be interesting to carry out similar research nationwide.
Practical implications
This study provides researchers and professionals guidance for the satisfactory implementation and use of RM, tailored to the characteristics of any given establishment. Therefore, this paper states that the creation of a qualified, on-site, full-time revenue manager position is crucial.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to conduct a formal statistical analysis of the relationship between hotel characteristics, staff organization and the degree of RM implementation. The greatest contribution of this research is the empirical demonstration that having a qualified full-time staff in charge of RM leads to better results in terms of RM implementation as opposed to not having one, having one part-time or having one at the corporate level. Therefore, this paper states that the creation of the professional revenue manager position within hotels is fundamental. Thus, the reported results provide a significant contribution to the literature related to the characteristics and organization of RM in hotels.
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The US fossil fuel industry is vulnerable to opposition from other sectors of the ruling class. Non-fossil fuel capitalists might conclude that climate breakdown jeopardizes their…
Abstract
The US fossil fuel industry is vulnerable to opposition from other sectors of the ruling class. Non-fossil fuel capitalists might conclude that climate breakdown jeopardizes their interests. State actors such as judges, regulators, and politicians may come to the same conclusion. However, these other elite actors are unlikely to take concerted collective action against fossil fuels in the absence of growing disruption by grassroots activists. Drawing from the history of the Obama, Trump, and Biden presidencies, I analyze the forces determining government climate policies and private-sector investments. I focus on how the climate and Indigenous movements have begun to force changes in the behavior of certain ruling-class interests. Of particular importance is these movements' progress in two areas: eroding the financial sector's willingness to fund and insure fossil fuels, and influencing judges and regulators to take actions that further undermine investors' confidence in fossil fuels. Our future hinges largely on whether the movements can build on these victories while expanding their base within labor unions and other strategically positioned sectors.
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Brian P. Soebbing and Daniel S. Mason
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the complexity of – and conflicts inherent in – managing sports leagues at both the league and franchise level.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the complexity of – and conflicts inherent in – managing sports leagues at both the league and franchise level.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on changes to the National Basketball Association's (NBA) amateur entry draft, which has attempted to balance the need to preserve league parity and reduce the incentive for teams to deliberately lose games in order to improve draft position.
Findings
The discussion reveals the conflict between league and team goals. In addition, using Oliver's strategic decisions as a framework, the findings also illustrate how sport league commissioners have to balance pressures from both the internal and external environments.
Originality/value
This paper expands our understanding of how leagues manage institutional pressures, and how these pressures impact the team, leagues, and the decision makers involved.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe the Gender, Employment and Local Labour Market (GELLM) Programme of Research (2003‐2006), which is delivered through a partnership of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the Gender, Employment and Local Labour Market (GELLM) Programme of Research (2003‐2006), which is delivered through a partnership of academics, policy‐makers, trade unions and practitioners at national and local levels of the UK, directed by Professor Sue Yeandle of Sheffield Hallam University. It discusses the contractual and task‐based relationships, which are set up among the partners and the ways in which the research process is designed and executed collaboratively. The GELLM partnership is maintained without complicated information technology or customised training, relying instead on the commitment of the individuals involved and a very clear and well managed face‐to‐face report‐back structure. The paper concludes by analysing the criteria that made this partnership work successfully and the types of impact it is able to achieve locally and nationally on gender equality policy‐making.
Design/methodology/approach
The aims and objectives of the research programme included the production in partnership of gender‐disaggregated “Gender Profiles” of the labour market in 12 local authorities, awareness‐raising about gendered inequality in their local labour markets, and the exploration of specific issues in new, multi‐method local research studies whose focus is agreed with the project partners with a view to “gender mainstreaming” the research findings.
Findings
The GELLM research findings are not discussed as the focus is on the partnership arrangements.
Originality/value
Criteria for the successful working of the partnership, and the challenges faced are discussed in the paper.
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How can we explain the absence of resistance, especially among unionised workers? Writing in the 1921 about the interaction between economic downturns and political responses…
Abstract
How can we explain the absence of resistance, especially among unionised workers? Writing in the 1921 about the interaction between economic downturns and political responses, Leon Trotsky made the following pointThe political effects of a crisis (not only the extent of its influence but also its direction) are determined by the entire existing political situation and by those events which precede and accompany the crisis, especially the battles, successes or failures of the working class itself prior to the crisis. Under one set of conditions the crisis may give a mighty impulse to the revolutionary activity of the working masses; under a different set of circumstances it may completely paralyse the offensive of the proletariat and, should the crisis endure too long and the workers suffer too many losses, it might weaken extremely not only the offensive but also the defensive potential of the working class. (Trotsky, 1974)
Globalisation is generally defined as the “denationalisation of clusters of political, economic, and social activities” that destabilize the ability of the sovereign State to…
Abstract
Globalisation is generally defined as the “denationalisation of clusters of political, economic, and social activities” that destabilize the ability of the sovereign State to control activities on its territory, due to the rising need to find solutions for universal problems, like the pollution of the environment, on an international level. Globalisation is a complex, forceful legal and social process that take place within an integrated whole with out regard to geographical boundaries. Globalisation thus differs from international activities, which arise between and among States, and it differs from multinational activities that occur in more than one nation‐State. This does not mean that countries are not involved in the sociolegal dynamics that those transboundary process trigger. In a sense, the movements triggered by global processes promote greater economic interdependence among countries. Globalisation can be traced back to the depression preceding World War II and globalisation at that time included spreading of the capitalist economic system as a means of getting access to extended markets. The first step was to create sufficient export surplus to maintain full employment in the capitalist world and secondly establishing a globalized economy where the planet would be united in peace and wealth. The idea of interdependence among quite separate and distinct countries is a very important part of talks on globalisation and a significant side of today’s global political economy.
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Patient-centred care and patient involvement are increasingly central concepts in health policy in the UK and elsewhere. However, there is little consensus regarding their…
Abstract
Purpose
Patient-centred care and patient involvement are increasingly central concepts in health policy in the UK and elsewhere. However, there is little consensus regarding their definition or how to achieve “patient-centred” care in everyday practice or how to involve patients in service redesign initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to explore these issues from the perspective of key stakeholders within National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews, covering a range of topics related to service redesign, were conducted with 77 key stakeholders across three NHS Trusts in the West Midlands. In total, 20 of these stakeholders were re-interviewed 18 months later. Data were managed and analysed using the Framework Method.
Findings
While patient-centred care and patient involvement were regularly cited as important to the stakeholders, a gap persisted between values and reported practice. This gap is explained through close examination of the ways in which the concepts were used by stakeholders, and identifying the way in which they were adapted to fit other organisational priorities. The value placed on positive subjective experience changed to concerns about objective measurement of the patients as they move through the system.
Research limitations/implications
Increased awareness and reflection on the conceptual tensions between objective processes and subjective experiences could highlight reasons why patient-centred values fail to translate into improved practice.
Originality/value
The paper describes and explains a previously unarticulated tension in health organisations between values and practice in patient centred care and patient involvement in service redesign.