Leonidas Maroudas

Employees' motivation in the luxury hotel industry: the perceived effectiveness of human-resource practices.

This paper reports on empirical work conducted about the use and effectiveness of human-resource practices in six luxury hotels of multinational chains in Greece. The paper also explores the perceived significance of a number of job-related motivators in the luxury hotel sector and investigates the relationship between individual variables and the incentives offered to hotel employees. Strategies are suggested for developing suitable motivational programs for employees of different individual characteristics and backgrounds.

A community approach to mountain adventure tourism development.

ABSTRACT The gradual development of mountain tourism, which today represents an important segment of the global tourism industry resulted in placing mountainous and alpine areas in dominant position as a subject of the international discussion over sustainable tourism development, given that mountains are by their nature limiting environments. The democratization of mountain adventure tourism contributed, on the one hand, to the relative relief of isolation that characterized the mountainous regions, through the increase of accessibility, and on the other hand, to their economic development. Despite its importance, the increased commodification of mountain adventure tourism led to the appearance of certain negative effects: high levels of leakage of tourism development benefits from local communities and severe degradation of the natural environment. The implementation of a series of measures-such as regulations focusing on the seasonal and geographic spread of tourism activities, the appropriate zoning of land uses and activities, etc.-can contribute to the maintenance of the comparative advantages of mountain destinations. However, one of the most important prerequisites of the effective management of mountain destinations is the direct involvement of local communities in the decision—making process. The present article aims to set forth and analyze the perspectives and the eventual problems of the development of mountain adventure tourism, as well as to outline an organizational framework of destination management. The purpose of such a framework would be to contribute to the creation of sustainable communities endowed with on the one hand the resilience which will allow them to survive under the highly volatile conditions of tourist demand, and on the other, the ability to maintain the cohesion and support the welfare of all its members.

Training and development in British hospitality, tourism and leisure SMEs

This article focuses upon positive examples of hospitality, tourism and leisure small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the area of training and development. The research reports part of the most detailed study of hospitality-related SMEs ever undertaken in the UK. A total of 89 case studies were completed. Our results indicate that successful organizations adopt an informal approach which is integrated into the culture of the organization, providing a positive training and development environment where employees are more likely to be retained.

Career Development in the Hospitality Industry in Greece: Implications for Human Resource Practices

This study expands research on career development and succession. The purpose of this article is to understand the beliefs of frontline employees in the hospitality industry in regards to the meaning of career. Based on Social Representation Theory, the article highlights the importance of adopting a social constructionist perspective in order to identify individuals’ subjective experiences of career. Data was collected in luxury hotel chains in Athens, Greece using a word association method. Findings underline important instrumental as well as intrinsic values of career. Implications are suggested for developing practices for effective human resources career management.

The perspectives of ecotourism development in small islands of the South Dodecanese.

ABSTRACT The infeasibility of implementing an organized mass tourism model in the small islands of the South Dodecanese, due to their geomorphology and size, the local production structures and their geographical position may on the one hand minimize the danger of facing the adverse environmental, social and cultural consequences of the tourism industry, at least for the time being, but on the other calls for an immediate choice of more environmentally and culturally friendly small- scale tourist activities, such as ecotourism, that can contribute to relaxing isolation and stopping or reversing demographic contraction. Thus, the functional linking and interwoving of the local development axes with activities directly related with ecotourism, aiming at the optimization of a mixture of economic and non- economic objectives, such as the increase of local employment, the provision of social services and environmental protection, may prove very effective in upgrading standards of living and thus retaining the most dynamic sections of the population.

The mental health treatment team: are men or women better team players?

Purpose – Collaboration among professionals is essential for effective patient care, but gender stereotyping and discrimination practices in the health care environment may hinder effective teamwork. This study aims to investigate professional attitudes toward teamwork in a psychiatric setting with a particular emphasis on gender. The paper examines gender differences in attitudes among all professionals on a team and identifies gender differences among professionals within the same speciality, with particular attention to doctors and nurses.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected in the mental health hospital of Attiki, Greece. In total, 151 doctors, nurses and allied health professionals completed a self‐reported questionnaire.Findings – The paper finds that females appear to be more receptive to teamwork: all doctors have similarities in their attitudes toward teamwork, but females reported stronger agreement on the values and culture of the team. Several differences appeared in male and fema...