Much discussion of HR strategy in the hotel industry focuses on the extent that management is able to exert control over the industry context (mainly, the unpredictable nature of demand) and the extent to which managerial strategy is able to cope with the problems it presents (e.g. the need for high levels of labour flexibility). A central question is, therefore, to what extent are managerial decisions rational, proactive and strategic or reactive and “forced” by the context in which decisions are made? This raises the question of the role of HR professionals in the hotel industry and whether it is essentially about “being there” to cope with the immediate operational problems or is there scope for strategic management choice.
Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Quinn Mills, and Walton (1984, p. 25) suggest that “an organisation’s HRM policies and practices must fit with its strategy in its competitive environment and with the immediate business conditions that it faces” (p. 25), The interaction between business and HR strategy is, therefore, key to understanding patterns of HR practice. Porter (1985) suggests that two decisions need to be made by an organisation to arrive at a suitable type of competitive strategy. First, whether the basis of competition is to be cost or added value and, second, whether mass or niche markets are to be targeted. On the basis of these questions, four possible competitive strategies are apparent: