Mid Sweden University

The objective of this study was to understand work motivation in a sample of seasonal workers at a tourism destination strongly steered by seasonality. Furthermore, it was investigated whether seasonal workers could be divided into worker subgroups on the basis of their work motivation. A structural equations model tested Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory of work motivation empirically. The findings of the study support the Two-Factor Theory of work motivation. Furthermore, results indicated that a migrant community of workers was significantly less concerned about wage level as well as significantly more concerned about meeting new people than resident workers. As a result of these findings, it is suggested that management of businesses in hospitality and tourism need to consider that the seasonal workforce consists of different kinds of worker subgroups, which have different needs to be satisfied.

Bakgrund Detta Working Paper redovisar en översiktlig beskrivning och diskussion av intäktsstyrning och prissättning i säsongsberoende hotellverksamhet. Många företag inom turistnäringen påverkas av stora förändringar i efterfrågan beroende på säsongsvariationer. Företagen påverkas av detta ur många olika aspekter, såsom marknadsföring (paketering, prissättning, distribution), finansiell situation och planering (likviditet, investeringsmöjligheter) samt personalfrågor (omsättning, kvalitet, kompetens). Detta i sin tur skapar ett flertal problem ofta kopplade till att verksamhetens intäkter endast genereras under en begränsad period av året men ska täcka kostnader som finns under hela året. Syften och mål � Att ge en beskrivning av olika begrepp och verktyg för intäktsstyrning och prissättning som används i hotellbranschen. � Att visa på skillnader i förutsättning för olika typer av hotell när det gäller användning av till exempel Yield Management (ledningssystem för avkastning) � Att ge förslag på alternativa metoder för intäktsstyrning i säsongsberoende hotellverksamhet Slutsatser � Ett Yield Management system (styrsystem för avkastning) tar sällan hänsyn till de kostnader som hänger samman med att tillfredsställa gästens behov (d v s för att skapa och betjäna själva övernattningen) eller de övriga utlägg som gästen kan förväntas göra under själva vistelsen på hotellet. � Eftersom ett Yield Management system framställs som ett verktyg främst för kortsiktig planering och intäktsstyrning menar vi att det därför inte direkt lämpar sig för säsongsberoende hotellverksamhet som troligen har främst en längre planeringshorisont, från en säsong till nästa, men som också har en parallell kort planeringshorisont, där stora avbokningar snabbt kan uppstå och ge utrymme för andra priser för att locka nya gäster. � Genom att använda optionsteori och optionsprissättning kan ett hotell med säsongsberoende verksamhet skapa modeller för intäktsstyrning och prissättning. � Prisdifferentiering via Internet antas vara en lämplig strategi för säsongsberoende hotell att till en rimlig kostnad nå nya marknader under till exempel lågsäsong.

In the service sector, quality is closely related to employee performance. An essential feature of any successful organisation is motivated employees. Therefore, the attitude of an employee towards his/her place of work and the extent to which an employer is able to motivate employees may have a direct effect on the quality of those products offered to tourists. One of the most important challenges facing managers is the creation of a context within which employees feel motivated and will act in order to achieve the goals of the organisation. The internal marketing concept emerged from service marketing and its main concern was to get everyone who was involved in service encounters � the front line or contact staff � to perform better in the interaction with customers. The usage of the concept has extended beyond its traditional field and is now accepted in all kinds of organisations. The overall objective of the internal marketing process is to attract suitable staff members as contact personnel and to managerial positions, to have a high retention rate among the co-workers and to develop motivated and customer-conscious employees. This study is based upon field research carried out in the ski-resort of Åre situated in the northern part of Sweden. Data collection was carried out in the form of in-depth interviews. The sample for the in-depth interviews consisted of managers from four hotels in Åre, which offer both accommodation and food and beverage. The findings of this study show that attracting, developing, motivating, and retaining qualified employees were of primary concern for management and were included in a deliberate company strategy. When working with these parameters, management strongly emphasised customer-consciousness and sales-mindedness. Management of the different companies was aware of the importance of front-line personnel�s immediate effect on customer satisfaction and how important staff autonomy and know-how were for business success. There was also a great amount of understanding for the need of an information process, which were directed from and to every side of the organisation. As a result of this understanding, the companies worked with different kinds of platforms for feedback and information flows. Seasonal fluctuations in demand pose, according to management, the greatest obstacle for working with internal marketing activities. Seasonality has negative effects on the selection, recruitment, retention, training, development, and motivation of employees in the companies included in the study.

Rapporten beskriver forskningsfronten inom relationsmarknadsföringsansatsen (RM) i Europa under senare år. I rapporten presenteras en genomgång av ett antal artiklar och böcker inom området RMs utveckling under senare år i Europa. ’State-of-the-Art inom området beskrivs och diskuteras genom en presentation av synen på RM generellt, ett antal modeller som används för att illustrera perspektivet samt genom en presentation av vilka ämnesinriktningar och metoder som används inom ansatsen. Slutsatser som presenteras efter genomgång av materialet är att RM har återfört fokus till de relationer som en organisation har.

I detta perspektiv är direkta, kontinuerliga och långsiktiga relationer av största betydelse för organisationers framgång. En stark betoning ligger på kundservice, värdeskapande, uppfyllande av förväntningar och inte minst kvalitet. Forskningen inom RM i Europa har, under de senaste fem åren, främst fokuserats på följande ämnesinriktningar: service/kvalitet, nätverk, "business-to-business". personal/intern marknadsföring, kund och begreppet "trust". En ständig begreppsutveckling pågår inom området.

In this paper the reader is introduced to the concept of seasonality and the characteristics of the labour market and work force in tourism. The concepts of employee empowerment work motivation and occupational communities are further discussed. The study is based upon field research carried out in the ski-resort of Åre and its surrounding villages. Data collection was carried out in the form of questionnaires and in-depth interviews with seasonal workers. The empirical part presented in the paper consists of defining characteristics of occupational communities, seasonal workers� views on work situation, important factors for doing a good job, and the attraction of Åre ski-resort for seasonal workers. When assessing the findings of the in-depth interviews, two different groups of workers appear. The first of these two � the resident community � is made up by individuals, who live on a permanent basis in the Åre region. This group is characterised by individuals, who devote themselves to non-work friends and family commitment during their spare time. They also show interest in career development within the tourism sector. Individuals, who only live in the Åre region during their seasonal work, make up the second group � the migrant community. This group is characterised by individuals, who have a close knit relationship with their co-workers, which may be a result of them sharing place of residence. They also share a work-based image and reference group. When developing strategies for hiring, further training and retaining these individuals, it is recommended to pay attention to the differences between these two groups. An organisation, which empowers its employees, gives them the opportunity to perform at their best knowledge. In this situation employees need to know how well they perform. The results from the questionnaire show that encouragement from the closest manager in the organisation is a very important factor for the employees� work performance. When respondents expressed their experience at work, encouragement from their co-workers received a higher, though not significant, score. Another important aspect for empowered employees is that they need to feel they are allowed to discuss ideas, problems etc as regards their work situation. This is viewed by a good half of the respondents to be an important factor for their work performance but there is only one third claiming that this is experienced at their place of work. Authority to make own decisions as regards work performance, is also a factor to be considered when empowering employees. Almost two thirds of the respondents perceived themselves as having the authority to make own decisions. Studies show that work itself may not be the most important motivational stimulus for seasonal employees, but rather the close social relationships. An overwhelming majority is of the opinion that nice co-workers are important for getting motivated in one�s work.

In the tourism sector, quality is closely related to employee performance. An essential feature of any successful organisation is motivated employees. Therefore, the attitude of an employee towards his/her place of work and the extent to which an employer is able to motivate employees may have a direct effect on the quality of those products offered to tourists. The aim of the study was to investigate work motivation in a sample of seasonal workers in the ski-resort of Åre in northern Sweden and data was collected by means of in-depth interviews and questionnaires. The study tested Herzberg�s Two-Factor Theory by using Structural Equation Modelling (LISREL). The results show that the seasonal workers were motivated by the so called growth factors, which consisted of responsibility, information, feedback, knowledge and training. The hygiene factors, which consisted of wage level, rewards and interpersonal relations did not have an influence on work motivation.

In the tourism sector, quality is closely related to employee performance. One of the most important challenges facing managers is the creation of a context within which employees feel motivated and will act in order to achieve the goals of the organisation (Lee-Ross, 1999). The aim of the study is to investigate motivation in a sample of seasonal workers in the ski-resort of Åre in northern Sweden. This study is based upon field research carried out in Åre and its surrounding villages. Data collection was carried out in the form of questionnaires and in-depth interviews. According to Herzberg�s two-factor need theory, humans have two different sets of needs and that the different elements of the work situation satisfies or dissatisfies these needs (Wright, 1989). The first set of needs concerns the basic survival needs of a person � the hygiene factors (e.g. supervision, salary and physical conditions). When these needs are satisfied they do not motivate or cause satisfaction, they only prevent dissatisfaction (Pinder, 1998). In this study evidence was found that support this theory. When reviewing the results, work-related stimuli were not important for work motivation. Other results the study question Herzberg�s argument that job content is the only way to increase work motivation (Wright, 1989). The results from the in-depth interviews indicate that social stimuli were also regarded as an important construct for the enhancement of work motivation. This conclusion is also supported by quantitative data. The second set of needs in Herzberg�s theory, the growth needs (e.g. responsibility, advancement and recognition) was measured by the construct of empowerment. The results show that the construct of empowerment to a great extent influence work motivation.

Denna rapport bygger på en studie av tyska besökare i fjällområdet Femundsmarka – Rogen – Långfjället. Datamaterialet insamlades genom en postenkät under 1999 och adressunderlaget för enkäten erhölls från fältstudier i området föregående sommar. Postenkäten bestod av 72 frågor omfattande friluftsliv, naturförvaltning, miljöpåverkan och ekonomi samt mer allmän bakgrundsfakta om individen. I analysen har en segmentering av de tyska besökarna genomförts efter två indelningar; val av aktivitet samt attityder till vildmark.

Dessutom har en mer kvalitativ analys av tyska turister i svenska fjällen genomförts genom intervjuer med turoperatörer och resebyråer. Resultaten från båda undersökningarna ger i flera avseenden samstämmiga uppgifter om de tyska fjällturisterna som yngre välutbildade personer vilka ofta reser tillsammans med familj och vänner. Vandring och kanotpaddling är populära aktiviteter. Vid en jämförelse med svenska fjällturister finner vi bland annat att tyskar i större utsträckning bor i tält och husbil, och man uppskattar i högre grad skogsmiljön i området, till skillnad från svenskarna vilka mer söker sig till kalfjället. Betalningsviljan för besöket i området är också högre bland tyskar jämfört med svenskar.

Den genomsnittlige tyske besökaren säger sig värdera upplevelserna i området till cirka 8000 kronor. Tyska besökare stannar längre i området jämfört med svenska besökare, samtidigt som många besöker ett flertal andra platser under sin Sverigeresa. Tänkbara alternativ till att åka till svenska fjällen är, förutom andra nordiska länder och Kanada, också relativt orörda bergsområden i före detta östblocket som Tatrabergen, Karpaterna och Balkanbergen