Miranda Kitterlin

Pre-Employment Drug-Testing in the Full-Service Restaurant Industry and its Relationship to Employee Work Performance Factors

The purpose of this research is to assess the effect of pre-employment drug-testing policies on aspects of employee work performance in the full-service restaurant industry. Specifically, this study attempts to compare aspects of employee work performance in full-service restaurants with pre-employment drug-testing policies against the aforementioned aspects of work performance in full-service restaurants without pre-employment drug-testing polices. For the purpose of this study, work performance factors include absenteeism, turnover (voluntary and termination), and documented work-related injury/accidents. Results indicated no difference between employee absenteeism, turnover, or accidents among establishments with and without pre-employment drug-testing policies.

Foodservice employee substance abuse: is anyone getting the message?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate foodservice industry employees’ experiences and perceptions related to substance abuse prevention measures in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach was used for this foundational study, and data collection occurred by conducting in-depth interviews with 30 foodservice employees. Findings – Participants reported that, in their perceptions, substance abuse prevention measures were virtually non-existent at their places of employment. The few participants that were aware of such policies indicated that they had never seen the policy actually enforced. Practical implications – The results of this exploratory study suggest that foodservice employees may not be receiving adequate messages about workplace substance abuse prevention policies nor are they developing an adequate awareness of such policies. Further, where such policies are in place, they may not being adequately enforced, implying negligent business practices. Failur...

Employee Attitudes toward Pre-employment Drug Testing in the Full-service Restaurant Industry

The purpose of this research was to assess employee responses to pre-employment drug-testing policies in the full-service restaurant industry. Specifically, this research attempted to explore the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs of full-service restaurant hourly employees and management staff in regard to pre-employment drug-testing (PEDT) policies in the full-service restaurant industry. Differences were also assessed for those employees working at establishments with testing policies versus those working at restaurants without those policies. No significant difference was found among employee attitudes toward PEDT policies based on employment level or presence of PEDT policies at their current places of employment.

Performance Trends of Hotels and Casino Hotels Through the Recession: An ARIMA With Intervention Analysis of Stock Indices

This study used Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average with Intervention analysis technique to examine weekly stock indices of the hotel segment and the casino hotel segment in comparison with the S&P 500 index. The results indicate that casino hotel firms were affected at the beginning of the recession and hotel firms and S&P 500 firms were not affected until nine months later. In addition, this study performed multiple t-tests to compare the average financial ratios between the two hotel segments to reveal changes in financial structures through the recession. The findings of this study may help industry practitioners and investors cope with future economic downturns and fill a gap in the existing literature by demonstrating the process of identifying lag time of an impact using ARIMA with Intervention Analysis technique.

Workplace bullying in the foodservice industry

ABSTRACT In the United States alone, it is estimated that that more than 53.5 million Americans have been victims of bullying at work. As one of the largest private-sector employers in the United States, it stands to reason that the foodservice industry is exceedingly susceptible to this workplace phenomenon. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of workplace bullying behaviors in the foodservice industry. A survey of 440 hospitality workers indicated that foodservice workers witness exclusion, verbal abuse, sexual intimidation, inappropriate jokes, teasing, and mean pranks significantly more frequently than non-foodservice hospitality workers. Practical implications and recommendations for future study are provided.

Pre-Employment Drug Testing for Hospitality Sales Positions: Who's Buying In?

Pre-employment drug testing in the workplace has often been adopted by hospitality organizations both nationally and internationally due to the acceptance of conventional wisdom that drug-using workers have substantially lower productivity rates. While research consistently finds hospitality employees display higher rates of substance use, limited hospitality research has been conducted on the topic of pre-employment drug testing in this industry, and applicant and employee responses to this practice have yet to be investigated. Emerging themes based on employee comments are explored, including perceptions of fairness, necessity, and value. Suggestions for future theoretical-based research are offered, and implications for hospitality industry decision makers are discussed.

Attitudes of Agricultural Experts Toward Genetically Modified Crops: A Case Study in Southwest Iran

The production of genetically modified (GM) crops is growing around the world, and with it possible opportunities to combat food insecurity and hunger, as well as solutions to current problems facing conventional agriculture. In this regard the use of GMOs in food and agricultural applications has increased greatly over the past decade. However, the development of GM crops has been a matter of considerable interest and worldwide public controversy. This, in addition to skepticism, has stifled the use of this practice on a large scale in many areas, including Iran. It stands to reason that a greater understanding of this practice could be formed after a review of the existing expert opinions surrounding GM crops. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the predictors that influence agricultural experts’ attitudes toward the development of and policies related to GM crops. Using a descriptive correlational research method, questionnaire data was collected from 65 experts from the Agricultural Organization in the Gotvand district in Southwest Iran. Results indicated that agricultural experts were aware of the environmental benefits and possible risks associated with GM crops. The majority of participants agreed that GM crops could improve food security and accelerate rural development, and were proponents of labeling practices for GM crops. Finally, there was a positive correlation between the perception of benefits and attitudes towards GM crops.

The Effect of Food Safety Education and Work Experience on Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of University Students

This study investigates whether food safety education, work experience, and ServSafe® certification affect the food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices of university students. The results showed significant differences in knowledge and attitudes between respondents with higher levels of food safety education and ServSafe® certification than students with less education and no certification. Having three or more years work experience affected knowledge more than attitudes. However, there were very few significant differences in practices based on the three factors thus indicating a continuing need to search for methods of producing food safety behavioral change.

Factors influencing Iranian consumers’ attitudes toward fast-food consumption

Purpose Eating patterns around the world have changed considerably, including food choices and preparation. One of these alterations in food consumption patterns is an increase in desire for fast-food consumption, which has been associated with poor diet quality. In order to analyze consumers’ food consumption behaviors, it is necessary to account for psychological factors (e.g., attitudes) that shape behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore influencing factors on the attitudes of consumers in Isfahan City towards fast-food consumption, so as to understand why consumers use fast-food despite widespread knowledge of the negative health consequences. Design/methodology/approach The predominant paradigm of the present study was quantitative, in that it was a correlational survey. The population of this study consisted of consumers who lived in Isfahan city in June 2015. A total sample of 350 people were selected using convenience sampling. Data was collected through a face-to-face interview ...

Sex always sells? Stripping the facade surrounding vice tourism in a recession

A phenomenological study was employed to explore the lived experiences of select vice tourism service providers during times of economic recession. Specifically, this study focused on the viewpoints of exotic dancers, as their perspectives provided a greater understanding of contributing factors that impacted this population. This study also assessed economic recovery for workers in this facet of the vice tourism industry. Results dispute the commonly held belief that vice tourism services are recession-proof and provide practical implications for an understudied facet of the tourism industry.