Research Proposal: Training Impact on Part-Time Hospitality in UAE

This research proposal investigates the impact of training satisfaction on the commitment of part-time employees in the UAE hospitality industry, using The Oberoi as a case study. The study explores the importance of training and development in the hospitality sector, which is a major contributor to the UAE's economic growth. It examines the high turnover rates, the prevalence of part-time employment, and the seasonal fluctuations in demand. The research aims to determine the influence of training on employee commitment, the strategic importance of part-time employment, and the advantages and disadvantages of using this employment model. The literature review covers topics such as the hygiene theory, human capital theory, and the challenges faced in training part-time employees. The study will address research questions regarding the impact of training, the strategic importance of part-time employment, and potential strategies for meeting seasonal demands. The research will also analyze the existing literature to understand the impact of part-time employment on the hospitality industry in the UAE and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using this strategy. The research is designed to examine the influence of training on the commitment of part-time employees in the UAE and recommend suitable strategies to meet the needs of the hospitality industry during seasonal periods. The proposal includes a detailed literature review, research questions, and hypotheses. This research seeks to provide valuable insights into improving employee commitment and reducing turnover rates in the hospitality sector.

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Research Proposal
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Topic: The impact of training satisfaction on commitment of part time employment in the
hospitality industry in UAE – “A case study of The Oberoi”
1.0 Introduction
This report proposes to examine the impact of training satisfaction on commitment of
part time employment on the hospitality industry in UAE. Hospitality industry is one of the
major contributors to economic growth in UAE and rapid development of the hospitality industry
indicates its importance. However, the hospitality industry has experienced significant increase
in turnover rate due to the demanding nature of the work done in the industry and comparatively
low pay scale compared to the other industries (Falk 2016). Hiring part time employees are
common practice in the hospitality industry due to the long trading hours. These industries are
totally dependent on their workforce and are driven by the demand cycle (Pinnington et al.
2018). The seasonal nature of the business fluctuates the demand which is the reason that hiring
increases during high demand seasons. Causal and part time employees are a key part of the
hospitality industry in fulfilling the demand during high demand seasons (Valletta, Bengali and
Van der List 2020). Training and development is the key factor contributing to the personal and
professional growth of employees both full and part time. However, the impact on training on the
part time employees and their commitment towards the organisation determines their
performance (Jaworski et al. 2018). The high demand in the hospitality makes it necessary to
develop efficient workforce and retaining efficient part time employee is expected to reduce the
operational cost of the company.
1.1 Background of the study
The exponential growth of the hospitality industry presents career opportunities for the
companies for youth and skilled professionals. The companies in the hotel industry have shown
significant interest in hiring local talents at functional and operational areas. Foreign exchange
students and local students are the major contributors of part time employment in UAE
hospitality industry (Pinnington et al. 2018). Moreover, the student economy also contributes to
the increase in the demand along with the tourists and business travellers (Valletta,Bengali and
Van der List 2020). The increase in retailing, leisure, drink and food are critical factors
contributing to the increase in the demand in the market (Axelsson, Malmberg and Zhang 2017).
The disposable income of the tourism and foreign students are significant to the growth of the

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hospitality industry. It is one of the major tourism destinations (Falk 2016). UAE is an expensive
country and cost of living is relatively higher (Valletta,Bengali and Van der List 2020). Students
are forced to work in the hospitality on a part time basis to cover up their cost of higher
education. The part time employees are chosen based on their backgrounds having good social
skills and having an understanding of the needs and wants of the consumers (Axelsson,
Malmberg and Zhang 2017). The analysis of the past literature has shown that majority of the
studies show that there has been significant increase in hire of causal and part time employees
which increases the overall turnover rate of the hospitality industry (Pinnington et al. 2018).
However, it does not truly reflect upon the actual attrition rate. As these employees stay for a
shorter period of time, the hospitality industry is constantly hiring employees at a significantly
higher rate.
1.2 Research Problem
The analysis of the past literature has shown that there is a lack of literature on understanding
the way part time employment impacts the hospitality industry in UAE (Valletta, Bengali and
Van der List 2020). Various authors have stated that hiring of part time and causal employees,
especially students are common practices in the industry. It means that past researches have been
conducted to evaluate the impact of part time employment on the hospitality industry
(Valletta,Bengali and Van der List 2020). There are multiple contradictory statements where
employing part time and causal workforce has been criticised by various authors. Therefore, the
current study aims to examine not only the role of part-time workforce on the hospitality industry
along with the relevance in the given case organisation. It implies that the advantages and
disadvantages of using this strategy will also be critically evaluated.
1.3 Research purpose
The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of part time employment app in the
hospitality industry in UAE. It only focuses on the hospitality industry in the United Arab
Emirates. It also evaluated the strategic advantage and disadvantage of using part time
employees. Moreover, the study also performs statistical analysis to evaluate the relationship
between training and commitment of the part time employees. Therefore, the objective of the
research are as follows:

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 To examine the influence of training on the commitment of the part time employees in
UAE
 To examine the strategic importance of part time employment in hospitality industry
 To examine the advantages and disadvantage of using part time employment
 To recommend suitable strategies to meet the need of the hospitality industry during the
seasonal periods.
1.4 Research questions
In light of the research problem identified and purpose of the research report following
questions are being proposed:
 What is the influence of training on the commitment of the part time employees in UAE?
 What is the strategic importance of part time employment in hospitality industry?
 What are the advantages and disadvantage of using part time employment?
1.5 Research Hypothesis
H0: There is no influence of training on the commitment of the part time employees in UAE
H1: There is significant positive impact of training on the commitment of the part time
employees in UAE
2.0 Literature review
2.1 Introduction
Training and development is one of the most key strategies in various hospitality
organisations due to the excessive cost associated with the turnover of employees. Jaworski et al.
(2018) states that there are multiple advantages of using training and development strategies
especially in improving job satisfaction, reducing business cost and consistency in job
performance. Regrettably, majority of the companies in the hospitality industry has not much
efforts in developing effective training and development programs for the industry (Hight, Gajjar
and Okumus 2019). Even though, the companies have poor reputation in the market it has not
been supported empirically. It implies that the lack of interest among the management for
implementing these programs has resulted in a vicious cycle of lack of motivation, commitment
and turnover within the organisations (Hight, Gajjar and Okumus 2019).

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The hygiene theory was developed by Fredrick Hertzberg (1959) which had studied the
job attitudes (Holston-Okae and Mushi 2018). It concluded that there are fourteen factors which
determines the way employees feel about their job. The factors mentioned included achievement,
recognition, working conditions, job security, personal life factors, status, work, supervision,
responsibility, company administration and policy, achievement, advancement, interpersonal
relations, salary and growth possibilities (Holston-Okae and Mushi 2018). On the other hand,
the human capital theory is another concept relevant to the research. Krasniqi and Topxhiu
(2016) states that as per the theory the organisations are expected to invest less when they are
expecting a lower return. The managers in the hospitality does not put significant efforts into the
training of part time employees as they perceive part time employees as low return investments
(Krasniqi and Topxhiu 2016). Therefore, it makes it essential to understand the influence of
training and development strategies on job commitment so that management practices in the
industry can be changed.
2.2 Part Time employment in the hospitality Industry
The analysis of the past shows that there is no definite description of a part time
employee and for the sake of the current study, DiPietro and McLeod (2011) defines part time
employees as the one working for less than 35 hours a week. There are varied reasons for people
working part time. As stated by Valletta, Bengali and Van der List (2020), majority of the part
time employees consist of students or people having other full time jobs. Populations facing
childcare responsibilities tend to take voluntary part time employment. On the other hand, the
employees that want to move up the ladder but are not given the opportunity are known as
involuntary part-time employees (Jaworski et al. 2018). The unfavorable conditions in the
service sectors results in large number of part time employees. Valletta, Bengali and Van der List
(2020) presented an argument to understand whether the employment of large number of
employees in the hospitality is structural or cyclical in nature. There are possibilities that
employment in the hospitality industry is structural to some extent as the employers avoid the
chances of converting the part time employees to full-time ones.
In contrast to this, Joung, Choi and Taylor (2018). states that majority of the employers
feel that the quality of the part time employers are way below the standards of the full time
workforce in terms of the work they do. It increases the rates of absenteeism and part time

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employees tend to leave more often as they feel unappreciated by the organisation. Johanson and
Cho (2009) conducted a study to examine the commitment level of the part time employees
which showed that part-time employees have a higher commitment level when compared to the
full time employees. However, this study is limited to only four upscale hotels. As stated by Cho
(2010), part time employment is a key factor for sustainable competitive advantage in the
industry as they provide the option of a flexible workforce at times of fluctuation demand. It
implies that part time employees play key role in consumer services which results in decrease in
labour cost. Johanson and Cho (2009) also stated that hospitality organisations should have
equal treatment for the part time employees when it comes to factors such as benefits,
recognition and training. On the contrary, a review of limited literature have provided the view
that part time employees do not have the same opportunity as that of full time employees.
Moreover, they are not provided the benefits and compensation received by other full-time
employees even though they may possess a similar skillset.
2.3 Training and Development
Prayag and Hosany (2015) stated that in terms of training and development models, the
hospitality industry lacks portability and consistency. Nieves and Quintana (2018) kept focusing
on the hotel industry to state that management is unenthusiastic to invest in training and
development of part time employees as these employees are replaced constantly. Various studies
also indicate questions relating to the productivity of the part time employees due to the lack of
commitment, absenteeism and low performance quality. It indicates that lack of training may be
factor due to the perceived lack of quality among the employees. Sobaih et al. (2011) conducted
a study to identify seven challenges faced by the organisations in training and development of
part time employees. It includes factors such as lack of time for training, high training cost and
low ROI, irregular shift timings, background of the employees working, low enthusiasm of the
part time employees, lack of knowledge, suitable training programs and resources and high
turnover rate. These challenges are applicable to both employers and the employees.
Hight, Gajjar and Okumus (2019) states that putting money into training and
development of the employees will save money in the long run. Alberti and Danaj (2017)
conducted interviews with the agency managers, temporary hotel staff and housekeeping
managers in the United Kingdom and stated that if the hotels are providing equal treatment to the

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part time employees would have positive results in terms of commitment and productivity.
Ramdhani, Ramdhani and Ainissyifa (2017) also supported the idea that ability of the company
to provide training facilities to their employees is directly related to the commitment of the
employees. Hotel industry experiences the highest level of turnover which increases the overall
cost of operation, however, effective management of their part time employees can improve the
quality of work by reducing turnover and cost. () also agreed to the fact training programs can
contribute to reducing the turnover rate of the employees in the hotel industry. The industries
should also evaluate the cost of not providing training or the cost associated with providing
limited training which has significant consequences for the operation. It results in higher
turnover and resistance to change among the part time employees which increases the overall
cost of hiring and training employees.
2.4 Organisational Commitment
With the introduction of the part time employment app within the specific hospitality
industry, not only does the individuals feel satisfied, but also the flexible working conditions and
fulfilment of labour supply and demand has improved the organisational commitment and overall
performance of the organisation too. There has been a huge portion of full time students from
colleges and Universities, who often demand good sources of income so as to progress in their
career and also support their families (Lu et al. 2016). The hotels and restaurants in UAE have
employed a large section of young individuals between the ages of 16 to 25 years, which has also
benefited the company to match the age consciousness demands within the industry. This could
also be considered as a student displacement effect, as being more tech savvy than the older
employees, they would be more associated with the internet activities and already have the
ability to use apps to search for employment opportunities on a part time basis.
The employers also believed that this has raised the potential of the employees and
created a competitive environment, where everyone, whether working as a full time employee or
as a part time employee, have performed their best to reach new heights. The part time jobs, thus
has been quite widespread within the hospitality sector of UAE, thereby, made the newly
appointed part time workers to contribute significantly for the growth and wellbeing of the
organisation, thus, resulted in higher organisational commitment and building better business
performance (Madera, Dawson and Neal 2013). There are various factors though that are

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responsible for this criticism and also have made the specific industry experience multiple
problems and issues. It has also been found that though the customers or visitors of the hotels
and other hospitality companies mostly consider the waiters and room attendants as the groups of
staffs, but there are other individuals associated with the tourism and hospitality industry to such
as the guides, General managers of the hotel or restaurant and even the coach drivers, who
represent the same industry but in a different way though There were sometimes major issues
associated with the hospitality sector relating to the human resource management such as the
high turnover of staffs, due to which, the overall organisational performance deteriorated too.
This should also keep the costs of managing the human resources lowered, make use of the best
technological resource and bring something new for matching the labour supply to demand as
well (Tews et al. 2014).
() states that various studies on organisational commitment have been conducted in the
past decade as higher commitment for the organisation develops a loyal workforce with higher
level of performance. Therefore, by evaluating the commitment level of the employees,
organisations can identify ways to retain existing employees and enhance their performances.
Employees receiving support from their organisation tend to feel obligated towards their
organisation whereas employees feel betrayed when the organisation does not provide adequate
support. () conducted a study to reveal that organisational commitment is an effective way of
positively improving the performance of the employees. It also reduces turnover rates,
absenteeism and improving the adaptability of the employees towards any change. There are
multiple contextual factors which can be used to improve the commitment of the organisation
such as cultural and training and development.
Empirical analysis conducted on the past studies shows that organisational training has
significant impact on the commitment level of the employees. There are multiple dimensions to
training and development of employees such as training motivation, training support, training
access and training benefits. A survey conducted with 298 respondents from the industry shows
that the different dimensions of training have positive impact on the commitment level of the
employees. () states that the four-level training evaluation model by Kirkpatrick is used for
evaluation of performance. It includes factors such as learning, results and behaviour of
employees where reaction level is essential for covering the reactions and feelings of the trainees

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on the training of the employees. It helps in understanding the training level of the employees
and their satisfaction level along with various other factors which affects the actual learnings of
the employees. It shows that there is a strong relationship between the training and development
and commitment level of the employees at work.
2.5 Job satisfaction
It is a true fact that not only the satisfaction with the jobs has been a preferred advantage
for the candidates who have used the part time employment app to gain employment
opportunities within the hospitality industry, but also the entire tourism and hospitality industry
has been benefited as a whole. The job satisfaction has been considered as a feeling of sense of
relief among the employees related to the various facets and aspects of the jobs that they have
applied for within the concerned industry (Mohammed et al. 2019). Based on the thorough
researches done for the research topic, it has delivered various findings, which also represented
how the use of the part time employment app has helped in making the employees acquire good
level of satisfaction with the job and also emphasize on the social aspect of the job while at this
time, allowed the companies within the specific sector to promote and raise awareness stated that
among clients (Chiang et al. 2014). While Jung and Yoon (2016), stated that the full timers are
more satisfied with the pay structure, job roles and promotions, Mohammed et al. (2019), on the
other hand, demonstrated the fact that the part time workers are more committed and satisfied
with their job roles because they do not have any kinds of information that might create negative
attitudes and behaviours for the organization. The candidates who are looking for jobs outside
their regular educational activities, could easily install the employment apps on their smart
phones and gain access to a wide range of employment scopes and opportunities that have not
only enhanced their accessibility options, but also favoured the hospitality industry by raising the
level of satisfaction among the new as well as existing candidates recruited as part of the
workplace (Rubenstein et al. 2018).
Also stated by Mohammed et al. (2019), the flexible labour and working conditions have
also favoured the organisations within the concerned industry and made sure that the employers
meet the staffing purposes as well as the labour demands in the market by introducing the part
time employment app. This has also the potential to allow the employees meet their personal,
professional as well as various other legal obligations, employment contracts and obligations.
The flexible labour management has thus been managed with the use of this part time

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employment app, furthermore, endured satisfaction of employees with the job along with making
them feel as part of the self-employment practices (Kong, Wang and Fu 2015). It has been found
that the employees who want to work part time based on their convenience possess the ability to
select among all these options, which would not only reduce the staff turnover rate at the
hospitality sector, but would also create more significant employment opportunities in multiple
areas, which should contribute to the growth in economy of the nation as well (McPhail et al.
2015). The individuals are allowed to work from home and also become own leaders rather than
getting controlled by others within the workplace, thereby, keep hem satisfied, though they must
possess additional roles and responsibilities in such cases. Moreover, it has also been found that
the deregulations within the labour markets have also favoured the increase in non-standard
employment, i.e., the part time working scopes and opportunities. The main reasons for which,
the employers have chosen the flexible staffing approaches and process have been to make
adjustments to the fluctuations in working load and lower down the costs too (Gin Choi, Kwon
and Kim 2013). Therefore, considering all these aspects, it could be clearly understood that the
part time employment app has contributed to the satisfaction of employees regarding their job
roles at the hospitality companies.
3.0 Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
Research methodology is the process of choosing effective research methods, instruments
and framework for developing noteworthy results. Research methodology is the effective way of
gathering information and analysing it to generate significant findings in the study. This research
study will use the Saunders research onion as the framework for analysis and it has been divided
into six sections (Sahay 2016). Each layer of the research onion determines a key phase in
formulating an effective methodology. The research will use a mixed method analysis which
develops a research comprising on both quantitative and qualitative research methods. This is an
applied research which implies that the results developed from the study can be used to provide
recommendation.
3.2 Research philosophy
Assumptions are made in every stage of the research and these assumptions are necessary
for developing effective research questions. It consists of assumptions and beliefs necessary for

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developing knowledge in the research. These assumptions are divided into ontological
assumptions, epistemological assumptions and axiological assumptions. These assumptions
include human knowledge, realities encountered and influence of personal values on the overall
process of research (Edson, Henning and Sankaran 2016). The research questions are shaped by
these assumptions and helps in interpreting the findings. A credible research philosophy consists
of consistent and well-thought out assumptions. It highlights the research strategy, data
collection techniques and methodological choice. The project can be made coherent using
effective research philosophy. Edson, Henning and Sankaran (2016) states that it is essential to
be aware of philosophical commitment which reflects the research strategy. There are four types
of research philosophy and they are positivism, interpretivism, pragmatism and realism.
However, this study has chosen a pragmatic philosophical stance to examine the impact of of
training satisfaction on commitment of part time employment on the hospitality industry.
Pragmatism believes that multiple realities exist and there are numerous of interpreting a
problem. It provides flexibility to the research where the philosophical stance accepts theories
when supported by actions. It means that the philosophy focuses on the research question and
choose a method based on the research question. Therefore, pragmatism can be used to develop
both qualitative and quantitative research methods.
3.3 Research Approach
Research approach has been divided into two data gathering and logical reasoning. There
are mainly two types of data collection method, one is quantitative and second qualitative. In this
study, the research has chosen both quantitative and qualitative research methods (Cooper and
Schindler 2016). On the other hand, logical reasoning has been divided into deductive and
inductive approach. A deductive approach is used for evaluating existing theories mentioned in
past researches. The deductive approach validates the theories by using quantitative research
methods (Quinlan et al. 2019). On the other hand, inductive approach is the process of
developing new theories, hypothesis and generalisation from the information gathered. The
theories are initially proposed and then proved using adequate evidences. However, the chances
of success in inductive approaches are less as no new theories are formed in majority of the
instances. In this research, a deductive approach will be chosen as the purpose and hypothesis of
the study has already been defined and it will test the hypothesis using facts and observations.

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3.4 Research Design
Multiple definitions of research design have been provided by multiple authors where
some suggest that it is process of choosing between quantitative and qualitative research
methods. On the contrary, some suggest that it is the overall process of gathering data and
examining it. In simple terms, research design can be defined as the action plan for carrying out
the overall research. It provides the way methods are being used to develop effective research
design and has been divided into three types of research designs. They are exploratory research
design, descriptive research design and explanatory research design (Creswell and Creswell
2017). The exploratory design is used for exploring data in cases where the research problem has
not been defined effectively. It implies that there is lack of data on the research topic and
exploratory research design focuses on evaluating past researches to provide a better
understanding of the research problem. It does not provide any conclusive evidence but develops
premises for performing further conclusive research. It explores the research topic in detailed
manner and addresses new problems.
On the other hand, descriptive research design has been described as the process of
describing and identifying the research problem in detail. It aims to shed light on the current
issues by gathering relevant information which would not have been possible without employing
the above method. It implies that the diverse aspects of the situation or the problem are described
by this research design (Schoonenboom and Johnson 2017). On the contrary, the causal research
design or the explanatory research design is used for establishing the relationship between the
independent and the dependent variable. It is used to examine the impact of specific changes on
the existing rules, strategies and regulations. In this study, the research has chosen causal
research as the study aims to examine the hypothesis where the association between of training
satisfaction on commitment of part time employment on the hospitality industry will be
evaluated (Bell, Bryman and Harley 2018). However, as the study aims to perform both
quantitative and qualitative data analysis, the research will use a sequential research design
where initially quantitative data analysis will be performed. Then the study will perform
qualitative analysis to validate the results from the quantitative analysis.
3.5 Data collection and analysis
The research will use primary data collection method to collect data where both
quantitative and qualitative data analysis will be performed. In quantitative data collection, the