Importance of Crisis Management in Hospitality Sector during COVID-19: A Study on Whitbread

This research proposal aims to investigate the importance of crisis management practices in the hospitality industry during COVID-19, with a study on Whitbread. The objectives include identifying the concept of crisis management used in the UK hospitality industry, assessing the current practices of crisis management used within Whitbread during COVID-19, and recommending crisis management practices that can be used by Whitbread for managing forthcoming crisis. The research methodology includes the use of positivism philosophy, deductive approach, quantitative research design, primary and secondary data collection, survey research strategy, frequency distribution method for data analysis, and probability sampling technique. The ethical aspect of the study is also discussed.

Higher National Diploma in Hospitality Management
Unit 18 Research Project
RESEARCH PROPOSAL FORM
STUDENT DETAILS
Student Name Student Number Submission Date
Centre Name
Tutor
Section One : Research Title, Aim and Objectives
Research Title: ……The importance of managing crisis in the hospitality sector
Research Aim(What do you wish to find out or achieve?) :
The aim of this project is to investigate the importance of crisis management practices in terms
of hospitality industry during COVID-19. A study on Whitbread.
Research Objectives (How do you want to achieve this aim. At least three/four objectives).
To achieve this aim, the following objectives have been proposed.
i. To identify the concept of crisis management used with hospitality industry of UK
ii. To assess the current practices of crisis management practices used within
Whitbread during COVID-19
iii. To recommend the crisis management practices that can be used by Whitbread for
managing forthcoming crisis
Research Questions (convert each objective above into a research question)
 What is the concept of crisis management used with hospitality industry of
UK?
 What are the current practices of crisis management practices used within
Whitbread during COVID-19?
 What are the recommended crisis management practices that can be used by
Whitbread for managing forthcoming crisis?
Section Two: Research Rationale and Scope
Rationale/Justification for the Topic: this should briefly cover the following three areas.
The major rationale behind executing the current research is that to gather information related
with crisis management and role of crisis management within the industry (Burhan and et. al,

2021). The research is associated with dual perspective within researcher such as personal and
professional. For the context of personal perspective the research would be helpful in
increasing different skills within research such as analytical and research skills. In the aspect
of professional perspective the research would contribute the researcher in managing their
future researches in sufficient manner.
Research Scope: this should briefly cover the following.
The current research is executed on the geographical location of UK and the hotel taken for
the research is Whitbread which is one of the known hotel within UK (Hao Xiao and Chon,
2020). The report will include different practices of crisis management so that to enhance
knowledge of researcher. In the current research, quantitative research methods will be used so
that scope is turned as limited.
Section three : Preliminary Literature Review
The Literature Review, at this stage of the research process, does not have to be critical
literature review but each reviewed source should cover the following
What is the concept of crisis management used with hospitality industry of UK
According to Hu and et. Al (2021), crisis management is considered as the practices which are
being used within hospitality industry and these are associated with acquiring success and
developing the employees in needed manner. The crisis management practices within the
hospitality industry is essential that to provide edge to the organisation in context of managing
crisis situations.
What are the current practices of crisis management practices used within Whitbread
during COVID-19?
According to Ghaharian and et. al (2021), there are different crisis management practices
which are being used by hospitality industry so that to deal with crisis. In this change
management practices are considered as the major which would be helpful for the organisation
to attain business objectives. In order to manage situation of COVID-19 the industry has used
differential measures such as proper sanitisation and safety measures for their customers so
that value can be given to customers.
What are the recommended crisis management practices that can be used by Whitbread for
managing forthcoming crisis
According to Garrido-Moreno, Garcia-Morales and Martin-Rojas (2021), there are certain
recommendation that can be used by hospitality industry so that the organisation would lead
into managing their future crisis in essential manner. The major strategy could be related with

using of change management practices in the organisation so that change resistance behaviour
within the employees can be avoided. On the other hand the recruitment processes should be
enhanced so that talented employees can be appointed within the organisation.
Section Four: Overview of Research Methodology:
Discuss in short your research methods, philosophical approaches, research design e.g
qualitative/quantitative/mixed, research sample and sampling techniques.
Research Philosophy: It is one of the layers of Saunders research onion framework which
gives principles and beliefs for the systematic analysis and evaluation of assembled data. It is
mainly categorised into two forms that are: positivism and interpretivism philosophy.
Investigator will be selecting positivism philosophy so that assembled numerable data can be
evaluated and analysed (Mukherjee, 2019). The main advantage that researcher will gain
through this positivism philosophy is that it evaluates numerical information without taking
longer duration.
Research Approach: The second layer of the chosen onion framework is research approach.
This makes an investigator to use theories for examining and evaluating apt information
needed for attaining objectives of the study. It is of two kinds that are: inductive and deductive
approach. Investigator will be selecting deductive approach so that already established theory
can be used and objectives could be simply attained. The main advantage of deductive
approach is that it uses theory which already has existence to evaluate numerable piece of
information.
Data Collection: It is another research method which helps in the collection of data from
several sources for achieving pre-defined objectives of the study. It is categorised into two
forms which are: primary and secondary data collection. Researcher will take assistance of
both the methods (Bairagi and Munot, 2019). With the help of primary method, researcher will
carry out first-hand information through instrument called questionnaire. Questionnaire will
include certain close-ended questions so that raw insights about the topic could be assembled.
On the other hand, researcher will use secondary method to assemble published data about the
topic. Some of the secondary sources which will be used by researcher are: articles,
magazines, books, journals, publications, newspapers and so on.
Research choice: Research choice are of two types that are primarily defined as quantitative
and qualitative method. Quantitative research choice method is considered as the most suitable
method for calculating the numerical data and is used by the researcher in the present

conducted research. The reason for selecting quantitative method in the conducted research is
that it helps the researcher in collecting and interpreting existing theories for better outcomes.
Research strategy: To obtain the information there are various strategies available to the
investigator some of them are survey, action research, focused group, experimental research
and many more. All these strategies helps in providing the blueprint to the thoughts and idea
of the researcher. In the current investigation, researcher will be choosing survey strategy. The
reason for choosing this is vast data can be gathers from large population. This is also one of
the economical method to gather data as less cost and time is invested to collect the
information (Mahuika and Mahuika 2020). Survey research strategy also accumulated
quantitative data for the present investigation in one go.
Data analysis: It is the process to inspect the collected raw information in appropriate manner
so that beneficially information can be gathers. In the existing investigation frequency
distribution method will be used in order to examine mathematical and statistical information.
Sampling: It is the technique to take out sample from population. There are two sampling
technique which are probability and non probability sampling. In the current investigation
probability sampling method will be used (Ledford and Gast, 2018). The sample size will be
30 managers from Whitbread.
Ethical Aspect of Study
See Ethics Form below
SECTION FIVE: BREAKDOWN OF ACTIVITIES AND TIMESCALE
Include a Gantt Chart to reflect your research planning.

List of References : References used so far (using Harvard referencing style)
Bairagi, V. and Munot, M.V. eds., 2019. Research methodology: A practical and scientific
approach. CRC Press.
Burhan, M., and et. al, 2021. Crisis management in the hospitality sector SMEs in Pakistan
during COVID-19. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 98. p.103037.
Garrido-Moreno, A., Garcia-Morales, V.J. and Martin-Rojas, R., 2021. Going beyond the
curve: Strategic measures to recover hotel activity in times of COVID-
19. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 96. p.102928.
Ghaharian, K., and et. al, 2021. Crisis management practices in the hospitality and gambling
industry during COVID-19. International Hospitality Review.
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.
Hu, X., and et. al, 2021. Creating a safe haven during the crisis: How organizations can
achieve deep compliance with COVID-19 safety measures in the hospitality
industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 92. p.102662.
Ledford, J.R. and Gast, D.L. eds., 2018. Single case research methodology. New York, NY:
Routledge.
Mahuika, N. and Mahuika, R., 2020. Wānanga as a research methodology. AlterNative: An
International Journal of Indigenous Peoples. 16(4). pp.369-377.
Mukherjee, S.P., 2019. A guide to research methodology: An overview of research problems,
tasks and methods. CRC Press.
………………………………………………………………………………………
Student Declaration
I confirm that the proposed Research Project is not work that has been or will be submitted for
another qualification or by another student and is appropriate:
Student Name and Signature: Date:
Comments and Agreement from Tutor
Comments:

I confirm that the project is not work that has been or will be submitted for another
qualification and is appropriate:
Agreed: (Name) (Date)

Research ethics approval form
All students conducting research activity that involves human participants or the use of data,
collected from human participants, may be required to gain ethical approval before commencing
their research. Please answer all relevant questions and note that your form may be returned if
incomplete.
For further support and guidance please see your Unit Tutor.
Before completing this form, we advise that you discuss your proposed research fully with
your Unit Tutor. Please complete this form in good time before your research project is due
to commence.
Student Details
Student Name Student ID
Section Two: Project summary
Please select all research methods that you plan to use as part of your project:
Interviews
Questionnaires

Observations
Use of Personal Records
Data Analysis
Action Research
Focus Groups
Other (please specify)
Section Three: Participants
No
Will your research involve human participants? Yes
Who are the participants? Tick all that apply
Young people
aged 17-18:
Ages 12-16 Adults:
How will participants be recruited (identified and approached)?
Participants will be chosen by probability sampling. 30 managers of Whitbread
Describe the process you will use to inform participants about what you are doing:

By adopting written and oral communication methods, researcher could easily inform
all information about the research to their respondents.
How will you obtain consent from participants? Will this be written? How will it be made clear
to participants that they may withdraw consent to participate at any time?
By giving valid information to the research respondents, investigator can easily obtain
consent from participants. This will be in form of written.
Studies involving questionnaires: Will participants be given the option of omitting questions
they do not wish to answer?
No:
Yes:
If No, please explain why below and ensure that you cover any ethical issues arising from this:
Studies involving observation: Confirm whether participants will be asked for their informed
consent to be approved.
No:
Yes:
Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation? (e.g. give them a brief
explanation of the study)

No:
Yes:
No:
Will participants be given information about the findings of your study? (This could
be a summary of your findings generally)
Yes:

Section Four: Data storage and security
Confirm that all personal data will be stored and processed in compliance with the Data
Protection Act (1998)
No:
Yes:
Who will have access to the data and personal information?
During the research
Where will the data be stored?
Will mobile devices, such as USB storage and laptops, be used?
No:
Yes:
If yes, please provide further details:
After the research
Where will the data be stored?
In USB storage and laptops
How long will the data and records be kept, and in what format?
May be 6 months in computer
Will the data be kept for use by other researchers?

No:
Yes:
If yes, please provide further details:
Section Five: Ethical issues
Are there any particular features of your proposed work which may raise ethical concerns? If
so, please outline how you will deal with these:
It is important that you demonstrate your awareness of potential risks that may arise as a result
of your research. Please consider/address all issues that may apply. Ethical concerns may
include, but are not limited to the following:
• informed consent
• potentially vulnerable participants
• sensitive topics
• risks to participants and/or researchers
• confidentiality/anonymity
• disclosures/limits to confidentiality
• data storage and security, both during and after the research (including transfer, sharing,
encryption, protection)
• reporting
• dissemination and use of your findings.
Section Six: Declaration
I have read, understood, and will abide by the [Nelson College London ] Research Ethics
Policy:
No:
Yes:
I have discussed the ethical issues relating to my research with my tutor:

No:
Yes:
I confirm that, to the best of my knowledge, the above information is correct and that this is
a full description of the ethical issues that may arise in the course of my/our research.
Student Name(s) Date