ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
(IHCs) dominate the hotel industry around the world, including in Jordan. While considerable research has been conducted to evaluate the impact of employee training in a wide range of industries, research in the area of human resources training in the hotel industry is lagging behind. In Jordan, general managers in IHCs are often expatriate individuals. This research aimed to identify the value of ‘training abroad’ for local department heads of IHCs. In addition to a literature review on this topic, focus groups with a representative group of 24 IHC department heads, were conducted to discuss the current context of ‘training abroad’ programs in IHCs in Jordan and gain a better understanding of the perceptions, barriers and benefits of these programs. Five major themes were identified which reflected issues, ideas and attitudes of department heads towards ‘training abroad’. Overall, it seems that department heads support ‘training abroad’ and they view it as a necessary and important component for their own success but also the success of the hotel overall. The participants identified important components of a ‘training abroad’ program such as being specific for certain job aspects but also generic enough so that participants can learn about various aspects of the hotel business. Criteria that play a role in the selection process of candidates for this training, include among others, work experience, confidence and ambition to develop further in their career, reliability, and management support. Perceived barriers to ‘training abroad’ for IHC department heads in Jordan include existing culture, cost of training, family commitments and company reluctance to support such training. Participants discussed benefits of personal and professional growth as a result of the ‘training abroad’ experience. Ultimately, improved leadership at the hotel could lead to improved services and better business and profit for the hotel. This study provided an important insight into the area of human resource training for IHC managerial staff in Jordan. This information will guide the development of more empirical research on this topic but it may also have practical implications human resource management practices in IHCs in Jordan.
Agut, S., Grau R., and Peiró, J. M. (2003), "Competency needs among managers from Spanish hotels and restaurants and their training demands", Hospitality Management, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 281-295.
"Aiming at excellence at the Forte Hotel Group." (2002), Strategic Direction, Vol.18 No. 2, pp. 4-5.
Akta?, A., Aksu, A. A., Ehtíyar, R., and Cengíz, A. (2001), "Audit of manpower research in the hospitality sector: an example from the Antalya region of Turkey", Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol.16 No. 9, pp. 530-535.
Alwahidi, J. (1990), The Workforce in Tourism Sector in Jordan. Unpublished Master thesis, University of Jordan.
Analoui, F. (1999), "Eight parameters of managerial effectiveness: A study of senior managers in Ghana", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 362-390.
Antigua and Barbuda Bureau of Standards. (2008), "Smart Partnership: The Way Forward into the Millenium", available at: http://www.abbs.gov.ag [accessed 22 April 2012].
Baines, A. (1998), "Technology and tourism", Work Study, Vol. 47 No. 5, pp. 160-163.
Barber, N., and Pittaway, L. (2000), "Expatriate recruitment in South East Asia: dilemma or opportunity?", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 12 No. 6, pp. 352-359.
Barrows, C. W. (2000), "An exploratory study of food and beverage training in private clubs", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 190-197.
Baum, T., Amoah, V., and Spivack, S. (1997), "Policy dimensions of human resource management in the tourism and hospitality industries", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 9 No. 5, pp. 221-229.
Birdir, K. (2002), "General manager turnover and root causes", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 43-47.
Carbery, R., Garavan, T. N., O'Brien, F., and McDonnell, J. (2003), "Predicting hotel managers’ turnover cognitions", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 649-679.
Conrady, R., and Buck, M. (2008), Trends and issues in global tourism, Springer, London.
Creelman, J. (1995), "Pay and performance drive human resource agendas", Management Development Review, Vol.8 No. 3, pp. 6-9.
Davies, D., Taylor, R., and Savery, L. (2001), "The role of appraisal, remuneration and training in improving staff relations in the Western Australian accommodation industry: a comparative study", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 25 No.7, pp. 366-373.
Denham, N., Ackers, P., and Travers, C. (1997), "Doing yourself out of a job? How middle managers cope with empowerment?", Employee Relations, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 147-59.
Garavan, T. N., Heraty, N., and Barnicle, B. (1999), "Human resource development literature: current issues, priorities and dilemmas", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 169-179.
Garavan, T. N. (1997), "Training, development, education and learning: different or the same?", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 39-50.
Gibbs, A. (1997) "Focus groups", available at: http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/sru/SRU19.html [accessed 28 March 2012]
González, S. M. (2004), "Improving human resources management: some practical questions and answers", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 59-64.
Harris, K. J. (1995), "Training technology in the hospitality industry: a matter of effectiveness and efficiency", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 7 No. 6, pp. 24-29.
Hines, T. (2000), "An evaluation of two qualitative methods (focus group interviews and cognitive maps) for conducting research into entrepreneurial decision making", Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Vol. 3 No.1, pp. 7-16.
Hope, C. A. (2004), "The impact of national culture on the transfer of ‘best practice operations management’ in hotels in St. Lucia", Tourism Management, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 45–59.
Huang, T. (2001), "The relation of traini
In-Text Citation: (Masadeh et al., 2020)
To Cite this Article: Masadeh, M., Alhammad, F., Al-Ababneh, M. M. A., & Al-Sabi, S. (2020). Exploring the Role of Training Abroad Programs for Department Head Managers of International Hotel Chains in Jordan: Perceptions and Attitudes. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(6), 872–891.
Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode