Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Management

Advisor

Susan Fan

Abstract

More than 600,000 employees depart the hospitality industry for a variety of reasons such as lack of motivational strategies (MS) of hotel general managers (GMs). The purpose of this multiple case study using census sampling was to explore what MS hotel GMs used to enhance employee performance. The 3 GMs of 3 full-service branded hotels with a guest capacity of 160-699 were randomly selected in South Florida. Data were collected from face-to-face interviews with the hotel GMs, employee performance evaluations, and results of guest and employee satisfaction surveys from the hotel GMs. Data analysis involved methodological triangulation to determine how motivation was captured and measured using interpreted data, verification through the member-checking process, and coding techniques such as mind mapping to identify reoccurring codes and categories. Through thematic analysis, 4 major themes emerged: workplace motivation, job satisfaction, positive performance, and social expectation. Findings from the 4 themes revealed that recognition and guest satisfaction unveiled a positive effect on employee performances and that motivation through community engagement gave employees reasons to perform well. The effectiveness of MS on employee performance was conceptualized by the expectancy theory to determine motivational triggers and the behavior engineering model to determine which MS led to improved performance. Social implications include encouraging hotel GMs to adjust and develop motivational strategies that engage employees to improve the employee-customer relationship and to increase community involvement which may promote positive social change.

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