International Hospitality and Tourism Student Journal 4 (1) 2012 2-13

An analysis of how the career development programme motivates employees in Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong
Wei Hao Chan
HTMi, Hotel & Tourism Management Institute, Srenberg, 6174 Luzern, Switzerland _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Abstract Career development of hotel employees is important to be considered by the hotel in creating motivational force. However, there are only limited and scarce sources of research studies conducted to analyse the effectiveness of the career development motivating hotel employees. Because of the internship experience, it has stimulated the author in doing research on this particular field. This research has explored a wide range of extensive literature in analysing different books, theories, models and contemporary issues from academic articles. The author has attempted to define the relationship between career development and motivation of employees. After the investigation, the career development programme has been compared with other rewards policies as an effective motivator. At the end, the critical evaluation on the effectiveness and limitations are discussed. Based on the secondary research done, it can partially show the motivational function of the Career Development Programme on employees and the potentiality of career satisfaction and employees competencies. The author does urge that the primary research and further in-depth study should be carried out in analysing and evaluating the effectiveness and limitations of the career development programme in providing employees motivation.
Keywords: Career development programme; Employee motivation; Career satisfaction; Reward policy; Four Seasons; Hong Kong 2010 International Hospitality Research Centre. All rights reserved. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Introduction The hospitality industry plays an important role in Hong Kongs economy, which contributes to the GDP and total employment rate (Tourism Commission 2010). The unemployment rate for the hospitality industry came down successfully after the financial downturn since 2008 (Hotel, Catering and Tourism Training Board 2010). Hong Kong Tourism Board (2010b) and Hong Kong Hotels Association (2010) reported that 59 new hotels will be established from 2009 to 2013 which will generate approximately 5,800 new job openings in the next three years. This forecast may bring challenges to the human resources management of the existing hotels because of the potential increase in turnover rate. How will hotels react in order to minimize the influence by the challenges? This paper focuses on the analysis of the case of Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. In the limited and competitive labour market, employees satisfaction and motivation is vital in human resources management (Wong et al. 1999). The Career Development Programme of Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong seems to be significant in motivating employees to achieve their career success. However, the effectiveness and limitations in motivating employees are still not yet well defined.

Human resource is an essential element in successfully attaining the organizational goals (Armstrong 2007b). Concurrently, hospitality companies in developed countries or cities are facing challenges in attracting, motivating and retaining employees in the competitive labour market (Barnett and Bradley 2007). People would now manage their career development by themselves instead of depending on companys direction (Arthur et al. 2005; Kossek et al. 1998). Organizations motivate employees by supporting their career development with different programmes that their career success can be achieved (Baruch 2006). In the 21st century, different academicians continue to focus on the studies in motivation as they aim to establish a new and highly valid theory which could be applied to real situations with fewer constraints and provide useful explanation for an appropriate model (Miner 2003). In the 1980s, the output of ability and motivation, with proper resources provided was defined as performance, thus motivation was essential in organizational management skills (Torrington et al. 2008). Motivation can be described as a level of eagerness of individual to put effort in satisfying needs and wants, and hence it is about how individuals direct their behaviours to achieve their goals, which are motives and needs (Beardwell and Claydon 2007). Different dynamic forces from both within and beyond individual can affect

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working behaviour and lead to the change of direction in individuals motivation (Pinder 1998). Therefore, work motivation can be identified as the psychological interplay between the individuals and the environment which means it is mostly different between individuals and over time because motives and needs change according to environmental variances and based on different period of time (Armstrong 2009; Beardwell and Claydon 2007). Because of the tense competition in the labour market, the fulfilment of management needs and expectations, fewer promotion opportunities within flatter organizational structure and the shortage of young new-join, it is important for employers to motivate, develop and retain employees for the success of the organization in this challenging situation (Boella and Goss-Turner 2005). Career development programme becomes one of the effective management tools to motivate employees. It can motivate employees in general but it can also possibly cause negative results in disappointment, discontent, high labour turnover rate and low morale among employees (Armstrong 2009; Boella and Goss-Turner 2005). At this point, a gap has been identified in the relationship between career development programme and employees motivation, which the author will focus on in this research study. This research projects aim is to assess the degree of Career Development Programmes impacts on the motivations of employees in Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. In order to achieve the main aim of the study, the three following objectives are set: to investigate the relationship between the Career Development Programme and the employees; to compare the programme with other reward activities in the hotel based on employees motivation; and to examine the effectiveness and limitations of motivating employees through the programme. 2. Literature review 2.1.1. Relationship between employees needs and motivation There are several theories and models of motivation established to help management to predict how employees behave under different situations and how to motivate them (Griffin and Moorehead 2010). Maslow (1954) introduced the hierarchy of needs model (Figure 1) to understand human motivation and personal development. He categorised different individuals needs into five main levels that individuals are motivated to achieve the higher level of need when the lower level is fulfilled (Beardwell and Claydon 2007). The fundamental needs include the survival needs and the need for safety and security. The social need for love and belonging is positioned on the third level which self-esteem needs for feeling respected and social status follow by. The highest level aims to achieve self-actualization or personal growth. Human beings are defined as animals having unlimited needs and wants, and what they want are determined by what they already have that one satisfied need

leads to the emergence of the next one (Jackson et al. 2009; Maslow 1943). Therefore, satisfied needs are no longer having motivational effect on the individuals because they are motivated to achieve the next level of need (Mathis and Jackson 2008). The need for self-actualization is the ultimate goal of employee motivation and individuals would seek for higher degree of satisfaction at this level continuously (Armstrong 2007a).

Figure 1: Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Model (Maslow 1954)

However, there are some limitations of the model in modern management practice. The theory helps managers to indicate what components are needed that employees can be motivated at each level of needs and create a corresponding programme for them, but it is not able to foresee the different positions of needs among individuals because the relationship between needs and behaviour is unclear (Beardwell and Claydon 2007). Maslow (1954) already claimed that the order in the hierarchy was not fixed, which made it more difficult for the management to make any prediction and expectation (Bateman and Bateman n.d.), and the easy applicability of the theory to management and workforce could only be proved through a few research studies which supported its usefulness in practice (Armstrong and Murlis 2007; Arnold et al. 1991). Furthermore, according to Mullins (2007), it is not a must for people to satisfy all their needs at work but also in other parts of their life, thus it would be necessary for managers to pay attention on both employees social life and working behaviour. There is no clear indication that a higher need appears after satisfying a lower need, in some cases, more than one need in the hierarchy may be satisfied at one time (Nickson 2007). Maslow (1943) claimed that the main motivational result in behaviour is satisfaction but employees performance does not have to be improved because of job satisfaction (Armstrong 2009). Different employees can have completely different motivational needs at different time in their lives, hence it is important for human resources manag ement to have effective communications with employees in order to understand their individual needs and respond accordingly (Koontz and Weihrich 2007; Kubo and Saka 2002; Mullins 2001).

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Under Maslows hierarchy of needs model, humans are defined as a kind of animal pursuing satisfactions which basically be motivated by the biological needs (Armstrong 2007b). Yet, human resources management should not only focus on this but also be sensitive to the situations in reality (Hayes and Ninemeier 2009). Nowadays, most of the advanced countries understand the importance of satisfying the basic physiological and safety needs of individuals and of society, and make sure that everyone has adequate food, safe shelter and comprehensive health and life protection (Boella and Goss-Turner 2005). Thus, people are no longer satisfied with a job only fulfilling the needs of food, shelter and security but searching for satisfaction of social nature needs (ibid). Individuals now focus more on the satisfaction in relationships with others, social respect and status and high intrinsic job satisfaction, which the management need to pay attention to motivate them (DuBrin 2009). Alderfer (1972) modified Maslows hierarchy of needs model and presented the ERG theory which concludes three core needs: existence needs concerning about the sustainability of human survival and existence which involves remunerations and working conditions, relatedness needs focusing on the social and interpersonal relationships which involves engagement and commitment with the organization, and growth needs concerning the personal development of individuals potential which involves career or workplace opportunities. This theory not only covers all the needs in Maslows model, but also increases its flexibility and applicability in real situations as the priority of satisfying needs is not fixed and individual may accomplish more than one need at one time (Daft and Lane 2008; Griffin and Moorehead 2010). This theory has been tested by a number of studies that people should be motivated to meet one or more needs at different levels when one particular level of need is blocked (Torrington et al. 2008). For instance, management should put the attention on providing employees more opportunities for existence and relatedness needs satisfaction when employees cannot have enough opportunities for personal development that their growth needs cannot be achieved (Mullins 2007; Walker and Miller 2010). The management can effectively motivate employees by satisfying other needs at the same time, in turn to improve the efficiency and enthusiasm of employees (Oslen and Zhao 2008). The management of a business has to be more conscious of the differences in employees individual needs, wants, objectives and goals (Millmore 2007). Developing human resources strategies based on the consideration of these factors help motivating employees more effectively which supports in achieving the organizational goals and enhancing companys competitiveness (Armstrong 2007b; Deery 2008). 2.1.2. Career development and motivation With the identification of employees needs, companies may still not be able to find out what the underlying motivations of employees within their careers are (Koontz and Weihrich 2007). The working attitude of employees may

not be motivated even certain needs are satisfied (Mkono 2010; Pinder 1998). Therefore, it is essential for companies to understand the relationship between employees career and their motivational needs. Career development is defined as a management strategy in providing opportunities for employees to advance their potential and ability in the career in order to secure the pool of talents the company needs and to fulfil employees ambitions in which they are motivated (Andrews 2009; Baugh and Sulivan 2005). This strategy integrates both needs of individuals and of the organization (Jakcson et al. 2009). From the employees point of view, career development programme should provide them guidance, support and encouragement to fully utilize their potential and abilities and attain a successful career path within the company based on their ambitions and goals (Armstrong 2009). Yet, the linkage between career development programme and motivation is not clearly identified. As the career development affects both motivations and basic needs of employees under a psychological process, employees perceptions and expectations are essential to be understood (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman 2010). Vroom (1964) developed the Valency-Instrumentality-Expectancy theory in which valency means the expected satisfaction derived from an outcome, instrumentality is the linkage between different level outcomes, and expectancy is the degree of probability that the outcome will be achieved. This theory states that employees will put effort leading to a high level of performance in order to seek for a reward (Randhawa 2007). Thus, employees are motivated to work harder only when they can expect that benefits, which are worthwhile to put more effort on, are following afterwards (Ivancevich 2007). When the theory is applied to the career development programme, the result seems quite obvious. Employees will be motivated to put more effort into work when they can expect the advancement in their career paths which their anticipated satisfactions are met (Yarnall 2008). Yet, it is not as simple like this. As Vroom (1964) stated that individual will lose his/her motivation when he/she does not have any valence or expectancy in the job, it indicates that motivation can be directly affected by the two factors (Noe 2010). The source of expectancy may be mainly based on individuals past experience, but employees are always situated in different circumstances such as changes in job responsibilities, payment or workplace conditions and environment which means that past experience may not be valid in developing expectations (Mello 2011; Sims 2007). In this sense, it may negatively affect motivation. Career development programme cannot be simply established to all employees as each individual has different values and expectations from their jobs which are directly related to the effective motivational impact on them (Greenhaus et al. 2010). Moreover, organization should ensure both performance-outcome relationship and linkage between effort and reward clear when developing the programme because employees motivation mostly rely on their perception of to what extent their personal needs, growth and goals can be achieved as the

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result of their effort put into work (Collings and Wood 2009; Thornton 2007). Developing employees career path, therefore, has a close relationship with employees motivational force and their work performance (Kuruuzum et al. 2009; Madura 2007). The success of a career development programme depends not only on motivating employees by increasing their effort but also the expectations of what they can get in return (Haslam 2004; Baugh and Sulivan 2005).

different career development strategies and activities to motivate their employees, including internal promotion, vertical or lateral career path development, personal mentoring, training and development systems and crossfunction developmental opportunities (Salaman et al. 2005; Armstrong 2009). It is defined as part of the reward management strategies (Armstrong and Murlis 2007). Total reward (Figure 3) takes all aspects of rewards into consideration integrating with other human resources strategies to fulfil the motivation and development of employees in committing and engaging them to the organization (Armstrong 2007a). Most of the companies use this model, which combines financial and non-financial rewards, as a motivator for employees (Mondy and Mondy 2010).

Figure 2: The Porter and Lawlers Expectancy Theory (Porter and Lawler 1968, p. 165)

According to another expectancy theory based on Vrooms theory which is developed by Porter and Lawler (1968) (Figure 2), employees motivation levels start up with their perceptions of the rewarding outcome and its value in order to generate their effort. Career development programme can motivate employees to perform not only by clarifying the effort-reward relationship, but also support them in developing their ability and knowledge and enhancing their role perceptions which is needed for effective performance (Armstong 2007b; Lussier 2008). However, organizations have to be careful when connecting the perceptions of employees to the viewpoint of the organization as failure may happen if both of them are not balanced and consistent (DuBrin 2010; Sharma 2009). Career development can be claimed as a motivational source of employees to enhance their performance through different opportunities in their career path (Amos et al. 2008). An effective career development programme can improve employees efficiency, morale and quality of work performance (Harrington and Hall 2008). This helps organizations to maintain, motivate and develop their talent pool, in turn to sustain and enhance their competitive advantages to achieve the organizational goals (Deb 2006). 2.1.3. Career development and reward policies The mentality of human being is complicated and different from each other (DuBrin 2010; Walker and Miller 2010). Different human natures and personality characteristics have shown their impacts on peoples job performance and behaviour which also link to their work motivations (Mullins 2007). Organizations have to use

Figure 3: Total Reward Model (Armstrong 2009, p.745)

As the figure shows that career development is in the grid of relational individual rewards, it is connected to and cooperates with other reward factors within the model of total reward. Career development obviously links with individual intangible rewards such as training and learning in the process, as well as the tangible rewards like payment and incentives in the outcome (Greenhaus et al. 2010). Both individual rewards related to career development can also link with the tangible benefits and intangible rewards in the working environment. It seems like all rewards are based on career development but the truth is that career development cannot work alone without the other reward components support (Lussier 2008; Thornton 2007). As Herzberg et al. (1957) pointed out that organizations should focus on both tangible and intangible rewards in motivating employees. In the Herzbergs two-factor theory (Figure 4), different motivational factors are listed out which lead to employee job satisfaction and high morale concerning the nature of job, achievement, advancement, recognition, responsibility and promotion opportunities. Herzberg et al. (1959) also stated that the hygiene factors need not to contribute to the satisfaction level of individuals but dissatisfaction can be eliminated. Hygiene factors are concerned with the working environment and extrinsic to the

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work itself which include salary, working conditions, management style, interpersonal relationships and other benefits.

Figure 4: Herzbergs Two-factor Theory (Herzberg et al. 1957)

Career development, to a certain extent, can achieve both factors as it probably brings an increase in the satisfactory degree of the hygiene factors like a higher salary and better fringe benefits on one hand, and increase the level of motivational factors such as promotion and self-achievement on the other hand (Baker and Doran 2007; Yarnall 2008). The individuals can also gain more respect from their colleagues and recognition from the management because of the career advancement (Perkins and Shortland 2006). However, monetary incentives such as payment do not have the same level of importance as the intrinsic job satisfaction content like job responsibilities and challenges (Mullins 2007). Although money can solve the problem of dissatisfaction, it cannot cause a long term satisfaction and motivation (ibid). Herzberg et al. (1959) argued that financial incentives can only motivate employees in short term and the motivational effect may not be able to last long. Researchers, like Jaques (1961), argued that money can be an effective employee motivator. An increase in payment can definitely motivate employees that it can show the value of the employee within the organization and be treated as a tangible recognition (Noe 2010). Money can satisfy individuals needs and wants and also enrich their social status (Torrington et al. 2008). Some employees may perform efficiently and aim to get a promotion simply because they want to have a higher salary, thus human resources management should also consider how to motivate employees by providing more relational benefits from the career development programme other than the short-term financial motivators (Baker and Doran 2007; Collings and Wood 2009; Mondy and Mondy 2010). Career development can activate employees motivation to achieve advancement in their career while reward policies may not be able to provide (Salaman et al. 2005). McClelland (1988) established the achievement motivation theory with four main motives which are the achievement motives, the power motives, the affiliative motives and the avoidance

motives. He found out that there were also four typical features of employees with strong need of achievement (ibid). Firstly, they would like to have a moderately-difficult task rather than a too difficult one because the probability of successful result and possibility of achieving satisfaction of need are reduced, in turn they may be demotivated to put effort. On the other hand, if the task is too simple and not challenging enough, employees are also not motivated as putting effort is not worthwhile. Secondly, employees are motivated to work when they have their own responsibility to perform by their ability but not necessary with other people. Thirdly, an explicit and clear feedback on their performance is needed as it explains how success or failure affects the goal achievement which can lead to a motivational force for them to improve. Lastly, employees are more innovative in seeking new methods to do things. From McClellands theory, it points out that career opportunities and challenges for employees to work hard on achieving their goals have significant impacts in their work motivation (Sims 2007). Career development can provide both financial and nonfinancial benefits to motivate employees with the aid from other reward policies (Armstrong 2009). Both of them are closely linked and work together (ibid). Even though career development can generate both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, the importance of other rewards and benefits cannot be neglected (Ivancevich 2007; Mullins 2007). 2.2. Review of existing empirical research 2.2.1. Hotel career content The career development issues of individuals are no longer relied on the paternalistic organizations that they are now planning and performing their career out of the organizational boundaries and identifying the career success by themselves instead of the pay and employment level in the organization (Baugh and Sulivan 2005). As now more hospitality companies are going global and the level of technology is improving in a rapid rate, the breakup in the career development relationship between hotels and employees are stimulated and individuals focus more on managing the career development on their own and increase their need for mentoring (Andrews 2009; Chen and Choi 2008; Baugh and Sulivan 2005). Garavan et al. (2006) argued that hospitality organizations are avoiding the provision of higher level of job security, more training and development opportunities and better promotion prospect by transferring the responsibility of career development to the employees, or they are developing new ways and roles in assisting the development of employees career. Beardwell and Claydon (2007) point out that there is an evolution in the development of hospitality career which emphasizes more on continuous learning, developmental rewards and competency enhancement. However, many hospitality managers are not acting like the general conclusion as they pay most of their attention on seeking the stability in their career (Garavan et al. 2006). On the other hand, the hospitality career is also affected by the size of the organization which has a positive-

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related relationship with the career opportunities and the level of total remuneration (Jauhari 2006). Kim et al. (2009) state that both the hotel management and employees should understand the importance of educational level and job qualifications required and the career development scheme involved in the career path. Both Kim et al. (2009) and Ng and Pine (2003) also find out that females working in the hotel industry in the Asian countries will find it extremely difficult to get a promotion to the managerial level and the reason can be linked to the social cultural differences between the western and Asian countries and the differences in the perceptions of management in genders. Moreover, it is essential for most of the Asian employees working for international chain hotels to have a Bachelors degree or even reach to the Masters level for better career development opportunities, while most foreign employees are just holding a Diploma or Bachelors degree, because Asians have to increase their competencies by higher education level in order to gain more recognitions from the hotel management whereas foreign employees have an competitive advantage in this particular aspect, especially those from the headquarters of the hotel chains (Harper et al. 2005; Kim et al. 2009; OFallon and Rutherford 2011; Thornton 2007). The great impact of the international hotel chains has also been identified as it has significantly affected the career path development of the locals that the promotion opportunities to senior managerial level may be reduced (Perkins and Shortland 2006). Not all of the career development strategies used by hotels in Western countries can be applied and practised in the Asian countries like China, hence each property should develop its career management activities, based on the corporate guidelines if applicable, to satisfy different career needs of its employees (Kong et al. 2010). 2.3.2. Career satisfaction content in the hotel industry High quality customer service is vital in maintaining the sustainability of the hotel business that needs the support and contribution from the hotel employees (Mullins 2001; Oslen and Zhao 2007). In order to get the involvement of employees in delivering high quality service standards, hotel management should satisfy the career and motivational needs of its employees (Nickson 2007). Career satisfaction and motivation can always be linked together as employees are motivated to work harder in order to fulfil their needs and ambitions in career path development (Armstrong 2007a). In todays competitive hotel industry, particularly in the developing destinations like China and other Asian countries, an all-round hotel career planning management system has to be created to support the human resources development and to increase the career competencies of employees because it helps motivating employees to achieve their career needs and expectations that effective strategies in attracting and retaining high quality talents will be developed (Garavan et al. 2006; Kim et al. 2009; Kong et al. 2010). Furthermore, given an increasing number of international and regional chain hotels opened in many different cities around the world,

hotel human resource management should be aware of the competitions in the limited qualified talent resources market (OFallon and Rutherford 2011). Because of this significant awareness and potential risk, hotel management are prompted to put effort in creating career management activities or scheme regarding the career satisfactions and motivations of employees, concerning the avoidance of high turnover rate (Deery 2008; Kong et al. 2011; Walker and Miller 2010). As mentioned before, hotel management cannot satisfy and motivate employees only depending on monetary incentives. A well-structured career development and training programme together with practical total reward system and friendly working atmosphere and environment can, to a large extent, motivate and satisfy employees career needs and wants for the reason that the above human resources management components can provide employees with career opportunities, personal growth, recognitions of their value to the company, career challenges, social network expansion and space for creativity and innovative ideas in their jobs (Kong et al. 2011; Mkono 2010). Most hotel employees with good education background are usually not satisfied with their career as the level of their unsatisfied career expectations are comparatively higher than the others and they are more ambitious in career advancement (Barron 2008). Hotels may possibly use different strategies like job rotation or cross-departmental training to achieve higher degree in their career satisfaction and motivation (Hayes and Ninemeier 2009) but the success of those strategies are subjective to the personal goals and willingness towards the work changes (Poon 2004). What is more, the provision of training and development for employees can help in enhancing their promotability (Poulston 2008) while promotion with the increase in salary and a regular revision of the total reward package can contribute to satisfaction and motivation (Lam et al. 2001) which are directly affected by the unpredictable changes in economic conditions (Akrivos et al. 2007). Companies should also be aware of the rising importance of empowerment to employees because the power of making decisions at work and high level of job involvement will also lead to career satisfaction (Lam et al. 2001). Wong et al. (1999) find out that hotel employees in Hong Kong generally have the following top three work motivations which are career development/advancement opportunities, loyalty to employees and good salaries. Once again, it proves that employees are motivated by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors for career satisfaction. Meanwhile, their research also shows that the motivators vary because of the demographic background differences but they also share three common intrinsic motivations which are absorbing job nature, promotion and development opportunities, and the involvement to the hotel. However, hotels should not focus too much on the importance of the intrinsic motivators and ignore the contribution of extrinsic motivators adequately, which is also an indispensable factor in employees satisfaction (Armstrong and Murlis 2007).

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2.4. Research company background: Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong Hong Kong has been once again awarded Best Business City in the World and Best Business City in the Northeast Asia by the Business Traveller Asia-Pacific magazine in 2010 because of the comprehensive range of hospitality and business services (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2010a). Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong (2010b) is located in Central which is the main hub for most of the economic and business activities in Hong Kong. The hotel operates two of the only three restaurants which are awarded three Michelin Stars in the latest MICHELIN Guide Hong Kong Macau (2011). Caprice serving contemporary French cuisine, and Lung King Heen, the only Cantonese restaurant in the world received three-Michelin-star, have retained their three-star ranking for the second and third year running accordingly (Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong 2010a). Four Seasons Hotels group is ranked at 58th in the top 100 companies to work for in the latest ranking result of Fortune Magazine (2010). According to Sharp (2009), Four Seasons supports promoting internal staff and every employee is eligible to join in the Career Development Programme (CDP). Once the employees can fulfil all the requirements of the vacant position, their applications will be considered (Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong 2009). However, there is a constraint for the ineligible employees that they can only apply for other positions again after three months which means they cannot submit their applications even there are job openings available (Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong 2009). This can be an obstacle to motivate employees as they failed to attain their goals set and their needs and wants might not be satisfied (Armstrong 2007a). In order to eliminate any ill will in the employees, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong (2009) would explain to all unsuitable applicants personally why they are not accepted in the promotion and discuss what they need to improve in order to be eligible for moving up to the next career level and provide them three-month time to show improvements required. At the meantime, there are other programmes related to motivate and develop employees career. The Employee of the Month and Employee of the Year programmes are designed to recognize excellent performance by any member of the staff on a regular basis, on the other hand, Certificates for Outstanding Performance provides recognition of employees who have gone above and beyond in a specific instance (ibid). However, there is no empirical research showing how the employees of Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong are motivated because of the Career Development Programme provided by the hotel. The relationship between the CDP and other reward programmes in generating motivational force to employees has not yet been well-defined. 3. Methodology

In this research study, the author will consider to use a mixed-methods approach, which consists of quantitative and qualitative research. The literature researched shows a complicated phenomenon where more in-depth information is needed. A qualitative method intends to develop practical theory in an inductive way (Bryman and Bell 2007). It will be advantageous in understanding the perceptions of employees to the CDP related to their work motivations, and will also help identifying the role of the CDP. A quantitative research is deductive in nature which can be used to express theory in practice and to test out the operational hypotheses (Goddard and Melville 2001). Thus, it will be used to explain casual relationships between motivations of different employees with different needs and wants and the CDP. Qualitative research will be conducted first in order to generate a concept and framework for the quantitative research which will be carried out afterwards to test the qualitative information on a wider basis. 3.2. Sampling

The population of people from a group or as an individual who are getting involved and participated in the research study are defined as the samples where data and information are collected from (Saunders et al. 2009). As the samples include the eligible members from the population, hence those data and information gathered from the samples will then represent the population as a whole (Veal 2006). Therefore, the population of this research study is set as employees from both operation and administration sides working at the entry level to the managerial level in Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. The research will be carried out in the hotel property under both random and non-random sampling. The author will randomly select any employees to participate in the quantitative research which can provide a fair opportunity to all the hotel employees. From this, different point of view in perceptions and expectations of employees towards the CDP will generate data and information. As the number of employees in Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong is more than one thousand, it will be possible for the author to randomly choose as many samples as possible in order to minimize or even eliminate the personal bias involved in the sampling process. At the meantime, the author will also specifically select those employees from different departments or even sections who have experienced and used the service of CDP to provide more in-depth qualitative information. This is a non-random stratified sampling approach which categorizes participants based on their different positions, employment levels, departments and length of service that helps understanding the topic and increases the validity of the paper (Saunders et al. 2009). Although the size of the samples may not be large comparing to other social science research, it will be adequate for the author to achieve the aim of this research study. 3.3. Data collection

3.1.

Approach

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The author will use several data collecting strategies in this research which include survey, focus group and in-depth interview. The author will distribute a set of standardized electronic questionnaires with rating scale to the employees of the hotel. The questionnaires aim to collect information about the influences of CDP towards employees motivation based on their career path advancement, personal growth planning, training and development, and career opportunities and future (Ghauri and Gronhaug 2005). Even though rating scale will not examine the perceptions of employees, it can draw numerical results from the sampling population (Buckingham and Saunders 2004). Furthermore, the author will conduct focus group which is a widely used research method in social science aspects (Marshall and Rossman 2006). The focus of the study is the analysis on the CDP generating motivational force to the hotel employees, thus the use of focus groups is suitable and beneficial. Four to five hotel employees in different departments will be invited in a group to discuss on the topic of their opinions and comments on the relationship between the CDP and their work motivation. The duration of the focus groups discussions will be mainly determined by the time availability of the participants to the author. Lastly, in-depth interviews, which are typical in their structure, length and depth (Veal 2006), will be carried out with ten to fifteen employees who have been through the process of the CDP. All interviews will be conducted independently and confidentially because the subject of the discussion is extremely sensitive which may cause embarrassment to the interviewees (King and Horrocks 2009; Kothari 2005). The questions of the interviews will be about the pros and cons of the use of CDP regarding employees motivation from an employees point of view, and the positive and negative impacts after a successful promotion or a failed application. The managers such as the heads of departments who are involved in the decision-making process of the CDP will be interviewed as well. It is because the author will get more detailed information, including the potential benefits and challenges of using CDP to motivate the employees, from the managements point of view. 3.4. Reliability and validity

at the right time of the participants. In addition, the author will first carry out focus group and in-depth interviews to indicate the key motivational issues. Then, questionnaires will be created based on the qualitative findings and be sent out afterwards in order to make sure the reliability of information obtained. Therefore, the reliability of this study will be enhanced by adapting mixed-methods approach. As Veal (2006) points out that validity is the extent to which information collected by the researcher reflects the truth in practice. If the research relies on quantitative data completely in making deductions, the validity of the paper will be low. Thus, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches will help to increase validity of this paper. Nevertheless, in-depth interviews can lead to measurement error which is caused by human and not able to have valid conclusions (Beins 2008). The style of questions and the way the questions being asked can cause bias in the participants answers when the interviews are conducting. Moreover, the interviewer may translate the answers based on his/her own perception of the topic but not accurately from the perspective of the interviewee (Saunders et al. 2009). With the above concerns, the author will be more conscious in conducting the research in order to get high validity in the valuable information. 3.5. Generalizability

According to Bryman and Bell (2007), reliability is the degree of consistency of the data collected that uses the same method on different individuals which is threatened by the subject, participants and researchers error and bias. For instance, if the same interview questions are used on participants from other five-star luxury hotels in Hong Kong to collect information, the results received are supposed to be consistent. On the contrary, personal needs and wants, career development programmes, and external factors like working conditions can influence the motivation of individuals. To minimize the negative impacts caused by error and bias, timing and location are the essential factors that decide when and where the research can be conducted appropriately (Beins 2008). Hence, focus groups and interviews should be conducted under an objective environment and atmosphere

Veal (2006) stated that generalizability can be usually referred to the contingency of the results concluded from findings which are applicable to other individuals, groups or situations. The generalizability of this study is limited by the hotel location and its career development programme along with different data collection approaches. Different hotels around the world have their career development strategies which are not necessary to be the same as Four Seasons one (Hayes and Ninemeier 2009). Individuals working in the hospitality industry will probably have different motivational needs and wants as well (Andrews 2009). However, the quantitative data may be possible to be generalized the findings to Four Seasons Hotel Macau as both of them share many similarities in different aspects. The questionnaires may be also applicable to other Four Seasons properties in China or other Asian destinations after some changes are made respectively. 3.6. Ethical issues

Confidentiality is the essential concern within the ethical issues. The employees and management may be reluctant in providing comprehensive information because of the uncertain consequences. Furthermore, the willingness of the participants to collaborate in the research will be affected by the concern about the disclosure of information to the hotels competitors. A confidential statement signed by the author will be sent to the hotel management in order to assure the confidentiality of all data and information collected in the research.

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3.7.

Limitations

This research study can effectively contribute to the understanding of the effectiveness of the CDP as a motivator of the employees. However, it is limited by its finite scope that is needed to be considered in analysing the results. The source of the samples is limited as they are selected only from Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong and not all the employees experienced the CDP. Moreover, the questionnaires of the online survey may not show the whole picture for the author to make precise conclusions. The author may also find that it is difficult to gain the support from the employees and the hotel management, and to manage time issue regarding the research arrangement. Therefore, the research quality and finding results may be negatively affected by the above limitations (Ghauri and Gronhaug 2005). 4. Discussion The Career Development Programme in Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong offers career advancement or development opportunities for the hotel employees that motivations may be created. However, there are uncertainties found in the motivational relationship between the CDP and employees. It is important to acknowledge that the primary research has not yet been conducted. This section will discuss based on the objectives of this study. 4.1. To investigate the relationship between the Career Development Programme and the employees Career Development Programme has a close relationship with the employees because they are the main elements in the programme (Armstrong 2009). It can also be a human resources management strategy to train, develop, promote, motivate and satisfy the hotel employees (Greenhaus et al. 2010). Four Seasons recognizes that the key factor in motivating and retaining its staff is by providing career opportunities for personal growth and development (Sharp 2009). Through this programme, the hotel encourages promotions from within which means to fill up most of the vacant positions in the company by the existing employees. It can lead to the enhancement in employees team spirit, staff morale and retention (Amos et al. 2008). However, it may also possibly cause a hidden competition among employees (Collings and Wood 2009). It is because all qualified employees are eligible to apply for any internal job openings. Although all applications and interview arrangements will be only handled and completed by the human resources department, employees may try to guess the potentials applicants of the vacant position. In the cases of those supervisory and managerial positions, the competition between the employees at the elementary level will be tenser as it is concerned with career advancement opportunities (Sims 2007). Distrust among employees may appear which can negatively affect their work performance and motivation

(Millmore 2011). On the other hand, the explanation of the reasons why the application failed will benefit the relationship with the employees as those applicants will understand how they can improve the work performance or qualification and prepare for the next application. Undoubtedly, the programme has shown its contribution to employees career growth satisfaction and career needs which can contribute to the motivational relationship with employees, at the same time, the hotel management has to consider the potential negative impacts to the relationship as well. 4.2. To compare the programme with other reward activities in the hotel based on employees motivation Due to the provision of the career development opportunities by the programme, employees can have a personal growth and promotion prospect. It can lead to a conceivable enhancement of employees work performance because employees are motivated to put effort at work (Deb 2006). As they can anticipate the probability of career advancement and satisfy with the perceive value in their career path, their work motivation will be enhanced (Porter and Lawler 1968). Given the opportunities for personal growth and development, employees will have a high degree of intrinsic motivation which is provided by the job itself (Armstrong 2007a). Reviewing on other reward schemes, the motivations caused by them are not definite. Generally speaking, taking the Employee of the Month as an example, the scheme is intended to motivate and recognize employees with outstanding performance in each month (Noe 2010). Two awardees will receive a certificate and a prize. Their professional pictures will be posted in the staff common area to acknowledge all employees and increase their recognition. However, this scheme sometimes seems to be a procedure rather than to achieve its goal because department heads may not be motivated to nominate their subordinates. Even the awardees may not understand the reasons why they win the price that lose the motivational function of the scheme. However, the hotel also provides other reward package, such as bonus wage and complementary room nights at all Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts around the world, to motivate employees for their continuous hard work and contribution. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that the CDP or the other reward policies have a higher and deeper degree in employees motivation at this time. The result will be clear after the completion of primary research. 4.3. To examine the effectiveness and limitations of motivating employees through the programme The programme can motivate employees by offering different career opportunities and every employee has an equal chance to participate in (Yarnall 2008). It can also show that how the company values and loyal to its employees which is a strong motivational force (Lussier 2008). If the career advancement application in the programme is successful, both financial and non-financial extrinsic

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motivations can be achieved by increasing pay and benefits and higher recognition from others, as well as the intrinsic motivations because of the new job challenges in responsibility and role development (Thornton 2007). On the contrary, the programme also contains certain limitations and flaws. The programme may not be able to motivate employees only by itself but need the contribution and value of other reward policies and incentives to support (Armstrong and Murlis 2007). Moreover, if the application is failed, the result cannot be concluded at this moment because it may have two or more possible outcomes. For instance, failed applicants can be extremely depressed by the failure and may lead to a demotivation but, to another extreme situation, they may be even more motivated after they get the feedback for improvement. The outcomes will be diverse. The programme coverage seems to be all employees but not all of them are interested in and aware of it (Arthur et al. 2005). It may have the reason that employees are just looking for job security and career stability (Ivancevich 2007). In the programme, decisions are usually made by the department head which may involve personal bias and error (Greenhaus et al. 2010). 5. Conclusion and recommendations It is always a concern in the scarce human resources in the hospitality industry as the increasingly tense competition and fast-growing globalization of organizations make it difficult to attract and retain the talent pool the company needs. In fact, different hospitality organizations develop different strategies and tactics to secure and strengthen the relationship with employees in order to maintain their competitive advantages. To maintain the service and product standards, employees have to be first motivated to put effort into their work. The research paper aims to analyse how career development can impact the motivation of employees successfully. The author has selected Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong as the focus of the research. Four Seasons, a world-known luxurious hospitality brand, consistently motivates its employees in providing excellent quality hospitality services. The motivation is partly contributed by the Career Development Programme. Reviewing on the available literature, the author finds out that the connection of the CDP and motivation of employees working in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is superficially identified. The hotel not only focuses on the customer satisfaction, but also pays attention to what employees need as motivated employees are essential elements which can positively influence the work performance as a whole. The concerns of career issues are not just consider by employees, but the responsibility of hotel management as well. Employees will feel that they are important and valuable to the company. It can be a solid source for motivation of employees. Nonetheless, people in different countries have demographic and behavioural differences which may affect their personal perceptions to their career needs different from others. The effectiveness

and limitations of the CDP are subjective to the above differences. Unfortunately, research studies concerning hospitality career development, satisfaction and motivation done in Hong Kong are very limited and scarce. Even most of the semi-related research were conducted several years ago which may have limitations in applying the findings to the changing industrial environment and different individuals perceptions. For this reason, the aim of this research paper can only be partly achieved by the works of literature available. In order to satisfy the topic of this study, the suggested primary research has to be carried out in finding out how the employees are motivated by the CDP in the research company. Career Development Programme in Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong can definitely provide career opportunities to employees. It is necessary for the hotel management to update what employees need and want in their perceptions of future career plan. When employees cannot see any opportunities for future career development and advancement or the company shows no concern about them, they may keep seeking for better job offers and resign immediately once they got another contract. The hotel management should enhance employee loyalty and unity by the improvement in the working atmosphere, the support of continuous learning and training, and better total reward packages. It will be helpful because employees may not be able to find a comparative job offer somewhere else. Meanwhile, the author also understands that the human resources costs will increase but, concerning the rapid development in Hong Kong hospitality industry, it may be worthwhile to do so. It is because many hotels opening in the next three years, particularly its potential competitor The Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong, can possibly attract existing employees to leave because of different individual reasons like change in working environment or career advancement. Therefore, the management should link and work the CDP with other human resources strategies closely together in order to satisfy both individuals and organizational needs at the same time. This research study stimulates and encourages the need for in-depth investigation and analysis on the importance and effectiveness of career development regarding motivation. Further extensive research is recommended to focus on how different career development programmes affect employees motivation in different hotels with different number of employees and style of human resources management at different locations. The findings of the research can be categorised into different aspects such as employees gender, age, family and cultural background, employment level, length of service and job nature. References
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