Impact of Covid-19 on workplace conditions in the hospitality industry

This research proposal aims to identify the impact of Covid-19 on workplace conditions in the hospitality industry, with a study on Grosvenor House Hotel. It examines the challenges faced by the hotel and evaluates potential strategies to improve workplace performance.

ASSESSMENT COVER SHEET
PROGRAMME TITLE: BA (Hons) Hospitality Management (Top Up)
MODULE TITLE: Research Methods and Projects
MODULE CODE:
INTAKE/SEMESTER:
ASSESSMENT TITLE: Research Project Proposal
MODULE LEADER/LECTURER
STUDENT ID: (London Met)
STUDENT ID:
STUDENT NAME:
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 019
I declare that all material in this assignment is my own work except where there is clear
acknowledgement or reference to the work of others and I have complied and agreed to the College
statement on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity on the College Student Handbook provided at
Induction.
Signed: Date:
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Research Topic/ Research Question:
Impact of the Covid-19 on workplace conditions in the hospitality industry
1. INTRODUCTION.
Research Background: (Introduction to the research area with some background information). Include
the following:
COVID-19 crisis has dramatically changed the manner in which people live and work. This crisis impact
on personal and professional life of individuals and also disrupted labour market globally which lead
organization to face short term and long term consequences (Filimonau, Derqui and Matute, 2020).
The present research proposal has been conducted on Grosvenor House Hotel which is operating as
one of the leading hotels in the area of London, England. Hotel offers wide range of high quality
services and facilities to consumers. Present research include in depth analysis of the aim to identify
the COVID-19 impact on workplace condition in the hospitality industry. For this certain objective
questions has been framed which is analysed with the help of literature review appropriately.
Aims & Objectives
Aim: (What do you want to achieve and why do you want to achieve aim?)
To identify the impact of the Covid-19 on workplace conditions in the hospitality industry. A study on
Grosvenor House Hotel
Objectives: (How do you want to achieve this aim(s)). State at least three but not more than four
objectives).
I. To examine the impact of Covid-19 on workplace conditions in the hospitality industry.
II. To identify the major challenges faced by the Grosvenor House Hotel workplace due to Covid-19.
III. To evaluate potential strategies Grosvenor House Hotel can implement to improve workplace
performance that has been affected due to Covid-19.
Research Questions: (The breakdown of the research topic for some specific questions- it is easier to
convert the objectives into questions- only required for if you are conducting a qualitative research
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study.
i. What is the impact of Covid-19 on workplace conditions in the hospitality industry?
ii. What are the major challenges faced by the Grosvenor House Hotel workplace due to Covid-19?
iii. What are the potential strategies Grosvenor House Hotel can implement to improve workplace
performance that has been affected due to Covid-19?
Research Hypotheses: These may be only required if you are conducting a quantitative research study
H0 (Null hypothesis): By asking questions via questionnaire
H1 (Alternative hypothesis): By asking questions via interview
Research Rationale: (Justification of the proposed study and potential benefits). The following
questions will help you).
The present research is rational as it is conducted on the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the workplace
condition in the hospitality industry. This helps other organizations in same sector to implement
strategies which enhances scope for long term sustainability. This research is also rational as it helps in
enhancing knowledge and skills of researcher to conduct future research in effective manner.
Scope of Research Study:
Present research is having wide scope as it is conducted on the aim of the impact of COVID-19 on the
workplace condition in hospitality industry which allow other organisations such as Grosvenor House
Hotel to implement strategies and assure long term sustainability.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW:
The literature should have an introduction, main body that is organised in relevant themes; and a
conclusion
Introduction
Literature review is defined as a review of already published work on a specific topic. In context with
present research m which is to identify the impact of COVID-19 on the workplace conditions in
hospitality industry literature review is being conducted in in depth manner:
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Impact of Covid-19 on workplace conditions in the hospitality industry
According to the viewpoint of Jones and Comfort, 2020 it has been underlined that COVID-19
disrupted every industry around the globe which lead them to face number of financial and
operational losses. In addition to this it has been underline that hospitality industry is among the
hardest hit business sector in which organization faced number of challenges due to travel
restrictions, travel ban, strict government guidelines, lockdown and more. Many small medium and
large scale organization in this sector faced operational and financial losses adversely. Along with
this it has been identified that this industry get severely affected in terms of managing employees
and providing services and facilities to customers as there were number of safety and security
restriction imposed by government. The outbreak of Covid-19 dramatically affected many business
organisations in this sector which lead them to temporarily and permanently shutdown their
business activities. In addition to this it has been underlined at the outbreak of this pandmeic
created many challenges in front of company to manage their workplace efficiency. This pandemic
accelerated trend of remote working in which employees were subjected to perform their business
operations from their home. Furthermore it has been underlined that Covid- 19 pandemic disrupted
labour market nearly all business sectors in which hospitality industry face challenges to adjust the
working pattern of employees in which employees faced challenges like demotivation, stress which
increases the overall rate of employee turnover.
Major challenges faced by the Grosvenor House Hotel workplace due to Covid-19
According to the viewpoint Filimonau, 2021 of the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on
economic activity employment and way of working has been duly far-reaching. This pandemic shocks
every industry around the globe. In this the Grosvenor hotel faces number of challenges to manage
work force due to COVID-19. Due to this pandemic business operations versus post to be shut down
to reduce the spread of the virus. This created the challenge of unemployment. Furthermore it has
been underlined that management of employees on remote working and adjusting to working from
home as offices were closed. It created number of challenges in front of Grosvenor hotel, they faced
challenges to align employees roles and responsibilities with company objectives due to
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communication barriers. Along with this the biggest disruption that has been made by covid-19 on
workforce management is implementation of new technologies and provide training to employees
on simultaneous basis. All these challenges lead company to face the challenge of decrease in
consumer satisfaction.
Potential strategies Grosvenor House Hotel can implement to improve workplace performance that
has been affected due to Covid-19
According to the viewpoint of Al-Mansour and Al-Ajmi, 2020 covid-19 affected nearly all business
sectors. In this hospitality industry was among the hardest hit Industry around the world that has
been affected in a drastic manner. Due to the outbreak of covid-19 there are number of challenges
that has been faced by Grosvenor House Hotel which affected their ability to manage employees in
effective manner. However in order to overcome the challenges hotel can implement some certain
strategies through which they can make improvement of the workforce performance that has been
affected by covid-19. In this organization with the help of under taking advantage of cloud
computing, communication tool, project management tool and setting precise standard can enhance
workplace productivity. In addition to this with the help of taking advantage of zoom and other
communication tool organization can provide a training to use new implemented tools in effective
manner. It is essential for company to enhance collaboration efforts in which with the help of
implementing software company can conduct their business as usual without a physical manager to
supervise employees.
Conclusion
From the above analysis it has been concluded that the number of challenges and negative impact of
covid-19 has been faced by hospitality industry. In this Grosvenor hotel with the help of undertaking
use of digital tools and technologies can collaborate employees with the help of strong
communication network can overcome the challenges effectively.
METHODOLOGY
This sections forms a vital part of every research work which provide vital information about the
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selection and choice of research method from a set of various approaches and method of research to
conduct an investigation and research work in a more viable and effective manner. With respect to
current investigation, research onion model has been used to ensure proper selection of and choice of
a research method along with proper justification for their use.
.
Figure 1: Research Onion, 2020.
Research Philosophy-
There are various forms of research philosophy which Positivism, interpretivism, Pragmatism and
Realism. In order to compress aims and objective of present research investigator will undertaking
use of positivism results philosophy. The primary objective behind taking advantage of this method is
not it helps in providing efficient support to conduct research in scientific and practical way.
Research approach-
There are various forms of research approaches that are in inductive and deductive through which
investigator can accomplish overall research objectives in effective manner. In context with present
research researcher will take use of deductive research approach. The primary justification behind
taking advantage of this method is to coordinate with positivism research philosophy. In addition with
this by taking use of this method investigator will conduct better testing of numeric facts and data to
assure successful research outcomes.
Research strategy-
In order to fulfill an objective of present research investigator will undertake use of survey research
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strategy out of the number of other strategies such as observation, survey, action research, empirical
research and more (Filimonau, 2021). With the help of this investigator is aiming towards to collect
sample size and data from larger set of population.
Choices of method-
There are different type of choices of methods which are qualitative and quantitatives. In order to
accomplish objectives of present research investigator will undertake use of quantitative nature of
research method. The main justification behind taking use of this to accumulate data and information
in numerical and statical way and further demonstrate them with the help of tables and chart.
Data collection and analysis-
There are various forms of data collection method in which investigator will undertake use of primary
and secondary sources of data collection. In terms of primary investigator will undertake use of
questionnaire and further analyse them with the help of pie chart and frequency table. While in
context with secondary method investigator will use analysis of past findings and further evaluate
them with the help of literature review.
Sampling-
This is a statistical process which helps in conducting investigation in effective manner. In terms with
present research with the help of random sampling method investigator and will undertake advantage
of 30 respondents those who will be the employees of Grosvenor House Hotel. In this researcher with
the help of questionnaire will analyse their viewpoint.
Ethics:
Researcher will comply with BERA code of ethics along with Data Protection Act in order to
maintain authenticity in privacy of data.
CONCLUSION
Thus according to the above mentioned analysis it has been concluded that the world has been
severely affected due to the outbreak of covid-19 crisis which not only disrupt business sectors but
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also affected labour market. This lead number of people to lose their job and challenges to adjust to
work from home in effective manner. The number of challenges has been faced by hotels such as
assuring collaboration, communication, providing knowledge to employees to use new technology
and more. This can be overcome with the help of taking use of implementation of certain technologies
such as project management tools, cloud computing, business applications, zoom etc.
WORK PLANNING
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REFRENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Al-Mansour, J.F. and Al-Ajmi, S.A., 2020. Coronavirus' COVID-19'-supply chain disruption and
implications for strategy, economy, and management. The Journal of Asian Finance,
Economics, and Business, 7(9), pp.659-672.
Filimonau, V., 2021. The prospects of waste management in the hospitality sector post COVID-
19. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 168, p.105272.
Ntounis, N., Parker, C., Skinner, H., Steadman, C. and Warnaby, G., 2022. Tourism and Hospitality
industry resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic: Evidence from England. Current Issues in
Tourism, 25(1), pp.46-59.
Jones, P. and Comfort, D., 2020. The COVID-19 crisis and sustainability in the hospitality
industry. International journal of contemporary hospitality management.
Hao, F., Xiao, Q. and Chon, K., 2020. COVID-19 and China’s hotel industry: Impacts, a disaster
management framework, and post-pandemic agenda. International journal of hospitality
management, 90, p.102636.
Filimonau, V., Derqui, B. and Matute, J., 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and organisational
commitment of senior hotel managers. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 91,
p.102659.
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