Generational differences in work values: a study of hospitality management

Purpose – While many studies focusing on work values have been conducted, few of them were specifically focused on generational differences within the hospitality context. This study aims to explore the structure of hospitality management work values and the perceived differences among three generations of managers and supervisors in the hospitality industry.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 398 managers and supervisors from hospitality organizations in the USA was conducted.Findings – A total of 15 work values were identified along with their hierarchical order. A four‐dimensional (comfort and security, professional growth, personal growth, and work environment) work value structure shared by hospitality workforce and generational differences in work values of the hospitality industry were found.Research limitations/implications – The findings of this study are limited to a managerial workforce of the hospitality industry in a US tourism destination.Practical implications – Implications are drawn...

[1]  J. Twenge.  Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before , 2006 .

[2]  M. Koslowsky,et al.  Work values: A theoretical overview and a model of their effects , 1996 .

[3]  C. White.  The relationship between cultural values and individual work values in the hospitality industry , 2005 .

[4]  D. Super.  A life-span, life-space approach to career development , 1980 .

[5]  S. Schwartz,et al.  Basic Individual Values, Work Values, and the Meaning of Work , 1999 .

[6]  Regina Dittrich,et al.  A paired comparison approach for the analysis of sets of Likert-scale responses , 2007 .

[7]  D. G. Zytowski.  A Super Contribution to Vocational Theory: Work Values , 1994 .

[8]  G. Hofstede,et al.  Culture′s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values , 1980 .

[9]  R. Pine,et al.  Work Values of Chinese Hotel Managers , 1998 .

[10]  Robert A. Roe,et al.  Values and Work: Empirical Findings and Theoretical Perspective , 1999 .

[11]  F. Herzberg,et al.  The motivation to work , 1960 .

[12]  R. Sitgreaves.  Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). , 1979 .

[13]  Lynne C. Lancaster,et al.  When generations collide : who they are, why they clash, how to solve the generational puzzle at work , 2002 .

[14]  Donald E. Super,et al.  The Work Values Inventory. , 1973 .

[15]  Richard A. Young,et al.  The Future of Career , 2000 .

[16]  Chak-keung Simon Wong,et al.  Work values of Chinese food service managers , 2003 .

[17]  Lawrence G. Smith.  Medical professionalism and the generation gap. , 2005, The American journal of medicine.

[18]  Duane Brown.  The Role of Work and Cultural Values in Occupational Choice, Satisfaction, and Success: A Theoretical Statement , 2002 .

[19]  Joseph S. Chen,et al.  Tourism students’ perceptions of work values: a case of Taiwanese universities , 2000 .

[20]  Eun-Yeong Na,et al.  Value Consensus and Diversity between Generations and Genders , 2003 .

[21]  M. Rokeach.  The Nature Of Human Values , 1974 .

[22]  D. Dillman.  Mail and telephone surveys : the total design method , 1979 .

[23]  Enid Kopper.  Swiss and Germans: similarities and differences in work-related values, attitudes, and behavior , 1993 .

[24]  Dov Elizur,et al.  Facets of work values: A structural analysis of work outcomes. , 1984 .

[25]  C. D. Sutton,et al.  Generational differences: revisiting generational work values for the new millennium , 2002 .

[26]  Carolyn A. Martin.  From high maintenance to high productivity , 2005 .

[27]  Carolyn P. Egri,et al.  Doing Business in the 21st Century with the New Generation of Chinese Managers: A Study of Generational Shifts in Work Values in China , 1999 .

[28]  D. Dillman.  The Design and Administration of Mail Surveys , 1991 .

[29]  Kate Walsh,et al.  Developing In-House Careers and Retaining Management Talent , 2007 .

[30]  David K. Foot,et al.  Boom Bust & Echo 2000: Profiting from the Demographic Shift in the New Millennium , 1998 .

[31]  Anders Gustafsson,et al.  The impact of quality practices on customer satisfaction and business results: product versus service organizations , 2001 .

[32]  T. J. Reynolds,et al.  A Means-End Conceptualization of Goal-Directed Consumer Behavior , 2001 .

[33]  N. Howe.  Millennials Go to College , 2003 .

[34]  Robert Pryor.  Differences among differences: In search of general work preference dimensions. , 1987 .

[35]  J. Nunnally.  Psychometric Theory (2nd ed), New York: McGraw-Hill. , 1978 .

[36]  Carole Kanchier,et al.  Work Values: How Do Managers Who Change Jobs Differ from Those Who Do Not?. , 1989 .

[37]  D. Airey,et al.  Tourism Careers in Trinidad and Tobago: Perceptions of Secondary School Students , 2001 .

[38]  C. Higgins,et al.  Are Gender Differences in Basic Human Values a Generational Phenomenon? , 2005 .

[39]  Jerry C. Olson,et al.  Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy , 1990 .

[40]  Kathleen Iverson,et al.  Managing for Effective Workforce Diversity , 2000 .

[41]  D. G. Zytowski.  The Concept of Work Values , 1970 .

[42]  D. Super,et al.  Life Roles, Values, and Careers: International Findings of the Work Importance Study , 1995 .

[43]  Bruce Tulgan,et al.  Managing Generation X: How to Bring Out the Best in Young Talent , 1996 .

[44]  B. Kupperschmidt.  Multigeneration employees: strategies for effective management. , 2000, The health care manager.

[45]  Ron Zemke,et al.  Generations at work: managing the clash of veterans, boomers, xers, and nexters in your workplace , 1999 .