An empirical investigation of the impact of age and level of employment on job

satisfaction among employees in hotels in London

Background (Rationale)
1st – what research has been done in general
Scholars have widely studied external and internal factors that affect job satisfaction.
External factors include salary, fairness and conflict in the workplace, training, job
characteristics (such as nature of work, stability etc.), coworkers and growth
opportunities (de Graaf-Zijl, 2012; Lottrup et al., 2015; George and Jones, 2011, Reisel
et al. 2010, Lee et al., 2006; HR Focus, 2007). Internal factors include an employee’s
personal characterisitics such as age, gender, personality traits and social/cultural
expectations (Bell et al., 2016; Reisel et al., 2010; Parvin and Nurul, 2011; Belias et al.,
2015; Rast and Tourani, 2016; Brunetto et al. 2012; Sledge et al, 2008, Silva, 2006).
Additionally, researchers have also found factors such as education level (Vila and
Garcia-Mora, 2005), emotional intelligence (Brunetto, 2012; Lee and Ok, 2012),
leadership style and organizational culture (Chang and Lee, 2007; Tsai, 2011) and
health (Faragher et al., 2005) to have an impact on job satisfaction.

2nd – what gaps exist, limitations of existing literature

Studies on job satisfaction in the hospitality industry found age (Lam et al., 2001),
compensation and benefits (Arnett et al. 2002, Lee et al., 2006), relationship with
management and coworkers (Bai, 2006, Choi, 2006), and training (Lee et al, 2006) to be
the key factors affecting employee satisfaction. Employee turnover resulting from job
dissatisfaction (Osman et al., 2006, Yang, 2010; Lu, 2016) is a critical issue among
hotels. According to projections by People 1st (2015), the hospitality industry will need to
recruit 993,000 more staff by 2022, over 87% of them being staff to replace existing
employees. It further reports that labour turnover costs the sector £274 million annually.
Understanding factors affecting job satisfaction can help hotels in retaining their
employees (Hinkin and Tracey, 2000). Over the past few years, the workforce has been
welcoming a significant portion of millennials. SHRM (2015) estimates that by 2020
millennials will make up half the workforce, whose job expectations are significantly
different from that of past generations (Ng et al., 2010). Although few studies have
examined the pattern of the relationship between age and job satisfaction (Frye and
Mount, 2007; Lam et al, 2001), there is a need for empirical research to understand how
different age groups perceive job satisfaction. Similarly there is an empirical research
gap in understanding how different levels of employees (line level, supervisors,
managers) in a hotel view job satisfaction. Studies concerning these aspects are not
only limited, particularly within the hotel industry, but also out-dated.

However, issues encountered by individual employment characteristics

have received little attention from scholars, primarily those whose
research focuses on the hotel industry. Franek and Vecera
(2008) indicated what is desired by one group of individuals is often
different from what is desired by another group, which leads to the
theory that employees become diversified according to employment
characteristics. There is a need for a study that would provide
information on job satisfaction factors based on employment
characteristics, expressly among workers who have a variety of
employment backgrounds.

3rd – in light of the gaps/limitations, the aim of this study is to…this study will..why
is your study original/distinctive

This quantitative study explores the relationships between age and employment level
and job satisfcation. The main drive for conducting this study originated from the need to
understand factors that affect different employees’ satisfaction within hotels in London.
How do employees of different ages and employment levels regard the importance of
different factors of job satisfaction? This study will contribute to the growing body of
research in hospitality exploring the need for a multi-dimensional approach towards
employee satisfaction. It demonstrates the prominence of not only considering the
consequences of job characteristics on job satisfaction, but also how different
employees react towards different job characteristics.
Research aim and objectives (10%)
Each objective should address a key process – at least 2 on lit review

The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of age and employment level on job
satisfaction among employees in hotels in London.
The objectives are:
1. To review literature on job satisfaction and job satisfaction in the hotel industry in
order to understand various factors involved in the measure of job satisfaction.
2. To review literature on the effect of identified factors on job satisfaction, focussing on
the effects of age and employment level.
3. To construct a theoretical framework to exhibit how different factors affect job
satisfaction.
4. To conduct primary research among employees in hotels in London to collect data on
their job satisfaction levels.
5. To analyse the data and quantify relationships between chosen variables and job
satisfaction.
6. To draw conclusions from the results, evaluate managerial implications and make
recommendations to improve job satisfaction in hotels and recommend areas of further
research.

Academic context (Literature Review) (20%)

no definitions
expand on rationale
conceptual framework + literature table

Employment level
Several studies have investigated job satisfaction among different levels of employees.
Lee and Way (2010) studying hotels in the United States found that employees in
management positions consider work environment, the job itself, and opportunities for
career advancement as important factors affecting their job satisfaction, whereas for line
employees supervision and personal contact with their managers were important. These
factors affecting managerial job satisfaction were similar among managers in Turkey as
found by Gunlu et al. (2010). Contrarily, Aksu and Atkas (2005) found morale conditions,
working hours, pay and fringe benefits and promotions as significant factors affecting job
satisfaction among middle and upper level managers in luxury hotels and holiday
villages in Turkey. On the other hand, Tepeci and Barlett (2002) studied front-line
employees to find that organizational culture (socialization) and individual values
affected their job satisfaction. Other key factors for line level employees are leadership
style of their immediate supervisor (Rowold et al., 2014), customer interactions (Kim et
al., 2005), and managerial motivation (Gonzalez and Garazo, 2006). Further, Karatape
et al. (2006) found competitiveness in the workplace, freedom to make decisions and
effort as key factors for line-level employees in hotels in Northern Cyprus. In contrast to
these studies, Lu (2016) found that job satisfaction did not differ across employees at
different positions.

Age
The relationship between age and job satisfaction has been studied for many years.
Though most studies show that job satisfaction increases with age, findings on the
pattern of this change have been inconsistent: researchers have found linear (Price and
Mueller, 1981; Frye and Mount, 2007), non-linear (Hochwater et al., 2001; Clark et al.;
1996) and mixed (Kacmar and Ferris, 1989). More recent studies by Gu and Siu (2009)
among employees in casino hotels in Macau found a positive correlation between age
and job satisfaction. This was corroborated by research by Gunlu and colleagues (2010)
among employees in Turkey. The factors behind this correlation are inconsistent. Some
studies not that since older employees are in better positions this results in better pay
and working conditions leading to higher job satisfaction (Zacher & Griffin, 2015, Clark et
al., 1996; Lorber & Savic, 2012). Other studies note that with age comes maturity,
realistic expectations and values that help employees feel more satisfied with their jobs
(Kooji et al., 2010; Spector, 2008). In a Finnish occupational study, Mauno et al. (2012)
find that younger employees consider workload and work-life balance as important
factors whereas older employees need job security to feel satisfied. In their annual
survey of 600 US employees, SHRM (2016) found that younger employees consider skill
development (training), career advancement opportunities, organizational culture and
open relationship with management as more important factors towards their job
satisfaction than older employees.

Chosen Research Approach (10%)

Gill and Johnson, Research Methods for managers

A deductive research method entails the development of a conceptual and theoretical structure
prior to its testing through empirical observation. As the reader may realize, deduction in this
sense corresponds to the left-hand side of Kolb’s experiential learning cycle (see Figure 3.1) since
it begins with abstract conceptualization and then moves on to testing through the application of
theory so as to create new experiences or observations

Gill and Johnson, Research Methods for managers

Reeves and Harper (1981) consider at length most of the issues concerned with
managements’ use of attitude surveys to ascertain the views and opinions of employees.
Such surveys may be undertaken, for example, to assess job satisfaction; motivation;
morale and stress; employee grievances and the satisfactoriness of the means of dealing
with them; and the reaction to possible changes in working arrangements. With regard to
the latter, we saw in Chapter 5 how Wall et al. (1986) used repeated contact surveys to
measure changes in several dependent variables as part of a quasi-experimental rersearch
strategy. Nevertheless, attitude research is a field where predominantly descriptive
surveys are utilized (Gill and Johnson, Research Methods for managers)

The positivist research philosophy best suits the nature of this dissertation.
Positivism is associated with providing a factual interpretation of reality using hard
data and looking for causality by reducing phenomena to simple variables (Altinay
et al., 2016). As this study seeks to understand the impact of age, level of
employment, and training on job satisfaction by conducting surveys, it
fundamentally uses the positivist philosophy.

Two key approaches used in research are deductive and inductive. In the deductive
approach research starts by identifying theories, often from a literature review, followed
by using appropriate research strategies (data collection and analysis) to test the theory
(Saunders et al., 2015). On the other hand, when the research starts with data collection
to explore phenomena followed by building theories then it is the inductive approach
(Saunders et al., 2015). Both these approaches have advantages and disadvantages,
that have been noted by various scholars.

The deductive approach is better used to describe and explain phenomena and draw
relationships between identified variables (Saunders et al., 2015). This approach can
cover a wide range of situations, provide greater control over the research process and
helps validate previous research findings and test hypothesis (Altinay et al., 2016). It
also entails quick and economical data collection as pursued variables are initially
identified (Gill and Johnson, 2010). On the negative side, this research approach is rigid
and doesn’t provide flexibility to probe into further areas or generate theories, thereby
doesn’t promote the detailed understanding of processes or sentiments (Altinay et al.,
2016).

The inductive approach is used by researchers to understand how and why things
happen and get a better insight of the nature of phenomenon (Saunders et al., 2015).
This approach provides the flexibility to study changes over time, adjust the research
towards newly emerging ideas, understand dynamic situations and promotes the
creation of new theories (Altinay et al., 2016). The data collected is more natural and
less rigid (Altinay et al., 2016). On the contrast, this entails more time consuming and
difficult data collection processes, more likelihood of introducing biases, less control over
the research process resulting in difficult data analysis and less reliability of findings
(Altinay et al., 2016).

Chosen research approach

As this research aims to quantify job satisfaction and understand the relationship
between age and employment level with factors affecting job satisfaction, it is most
appropriate to follow the deductive approach. The study begins by reviewing relevant
literature on job satisfaction, developing plausible theories and then collecting data to
test the theories.

Further, as Altinay et al. (2016) states, the deductive approach is associated with
quantitave research. Quantitative research uses survey research strategies such as
questionnaires and examines relationships between variables measured numerically
through various analytical techniques (Saunders et al. 2015). Thereby, as this study
seeks to understand the relationship between age and employment level towards
employees’ job satisfaction, through data collection via questionnaires (measured once,
without altering conditional elements) and statistical analysis, it follows the descriptive
quantitative research process.
Methods (including sample) (25%) –

Choosing a data collection methods is a vital part of research design. Interviewing,

administering questionnaires, and observing people and phenomena are three key data
collection methods (Sekaran, 2016), each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Interviews
Interviews is a data collection technique in which the researcher has a purposeful
conversation with one or more informants by establishing rapport, asking unambiguous
questions and carefully recording responses from the informant(s) (Altinay et al., 2016;
Saunders et al., 2015). Interviews are advantageous as it helps researchers collect
information on a wide range of experiences, knowledge and situations by providing the
flexibility to delve further into issues related to the research aim (Altinay et al., 2016).
Though the interviewer may have a prepared set of questions, through established
rapport, new information can emerge from conversations with informants, which can lead
to new questions and information that the researcher previously had not thought about
(Donley and Grauerholz, 2012). There are four types of interviews: unstructured,
structured, semi-structured and focus groups (Altinay et al., 2016). Saunders et al.
(2015) reflects that researchers should pick the nature of their interview in consistence
with his/her research strategy, objectives, and purpose.

Though interviews provide opportunities to collect rich data, it has several limitations.
There is a likelihood of interviewer and/or interviewee bias. Interviewer bias occurs when
responses are misinterpreted (Sekaran, 2016) or unintentionally or intentionally
influenced by the interviewer (Altinay et al., 2016). Interviewee bias occurs when
responses aren’t true opinions of the informant either because of misinterpreted
questions or poor rapport (Sekaran, 2016). Additionally it can be hard to secure
interviews due to informants’ availabilities, organizational politics or concerns about
confidentiality (Altinay et al., 2016) and anonymity. For this reason, interviews can be
costly and highly time-consuming.

Keeping these limitations in mind, through careful preparation of an interview guide,

using the right questioning techniques and conducting pilot interviews, researchers can
conduct rewarding interviews resulting in immersive data.

Observation
In observation, the researcher collects information by placing himself in the research
setting, directly observing the attitudes, interactions, and behaviours of others and
asking pertinent questions (Altinay et al., 2016). Through first-hand experience, this
technique can help the researcher perceive areas of further research, validate existing
findings and further explore established attitudes of informants (Altinay et al., 2016). The
data collected is immersive and not affected by self-report bias (Sekaran, 2016).
Observation proves to be a key technique in certain cases, such as studies on children
or extremely busy executives, when collecting information is otherwise difficult (Sekaran,
2016).

Observation comes with limitations too. Firstly, gaining access to the research setting
can be difficult (Donley and Grauerholz, 2012). Secondly, it can be a long and expensive
process, the researcher will have to spend significant time with the informant group and
often have to learn new terminology and colloquial expressions to understand the
interactions of the group (Donley and Grauerholz, 2012). Saunders et al. (2015) states
three kinds of errors associated with observation: observer error through
misinterpretation of happenings from a lack of understanding of the setting, observer
bias when subjective views are used to interpret events, and observer effect when the
presence of the researcher in the setting sways the behaviours of the informants around
him/her.

Through systematic planning and employing quality control to eliminate errors and
biases, observational studies provide in-depth understanding of group dynamics and rich
insights on the studied phenomena (Sekaran, 2016).

f you are using observation as a data collection technique, you learn by

beingpresent in the research setting, by seeing what people do and how they
interact withothers, by listening to what they say and asking questions. This data
collection tech-nique allows you to gain first-hand experience of the informants’
behaviours, andthe underlying meanings of their attitudes, relationships and
contexts.
Compared with other data collection methods, observation provides rich,
detailed,context-specific descriptions, which are close to the insider’s perspective
(Sackmann,1991). Observation is also used to validate or further explore
information obtained ininterviews through a process of constant questioning,
comparing and contrasting(Schein, 1992). In other words, observation
complements other research methods,helps to generate theories and ideas for
further research, and helps to validate exist-ing findings

During yourresearch process, you can use observations to validate and cross-
check findings fromother data collection techniques and from different
informants. You may also usethis technique to explore the underlying meanings
behind the attitudes (identifiedas a result of a questionnaire or an interview) of
informants.

Research methods for business – uma sekaran 2016

Observational studies help to comprehend complex issues through direct observation
(either as a participant or a nonparticipant-observer) and then, if possible, asking
questions to seek clarifications on certain issues. The data obtained are rich and
uncontaminated by self-report biases. On the negative side, they are expensive, since long
periods of observation (usually encompassing several weeks or even months) are
required, and observer bias may well be present in the data. Because of the costs
involved, very few observational studies are done in business. Henry Mintzberg‘s study
of managerial work is one of the best known published works that used an observational
data collection method. Observational studies are best suited for research requiring non–
self-report descriptive data; that is, when behaviors are to be understood without directly
asking the respondents themselves. Observational studies can also capture ―in-the-stores
buying behaviors.‖

Questionnaires
A questionnaire is a set of pre-formulated and structured set of questions to which a
sample of respondents record their answers (Altinay et al., 2016). Questions can ask for
different types of data such as opinions, attitudes and attributes (Saunders et al., 2012).
This is an effective technique of data collection when the researcher has a definite idea
of the variables of interest and the data required for the objectives. Compared to other
methods it is inexpensive and can solicit inputs from a large sample of people at once
(Donley and Grauerholz, 2012).

Self-administered questionnaires that respondents complete by themselves in their own

time, have certain limitations such as not being sure of who really answered the
questions, informants having difficulty with the language and/or understanding what is
being asked, and unpredictable response rates (Altinay et al., 2016; Donley and
Grauerholz, 2012). On the other hand, researcher-administered questionnaires provide
better control of the process making sure that informants understand what is being
asked and providing opportunities to probe further information (Altinay et al., 2016).
However, this method is more time consuming and interviewer bias can occur (Altinay et
al., 2016)

With careful planning of the questionnaire and seeking access to a larger sample size,
compared to other techniques, questionnaires provide opportunities to collect large
amounts of data more efficiently in terms of costs, time and energy.

Chosen technique and sampling

This study seeks to understand the relationship of age and employment level (variables)
with job satisfaction. The objective in data collection is to collect the opinions and
attitudes of various employees on different job satisfaction characteristics such as job in
general, coworkers, pay, supervision etc. Since the variables and relationships to be
studied are known and definite, questionnaire is best suited for this nature of research
(Altinay et al., 2016); it enables the collection of required data from a larger audience
that can then be statistically analyzed.

Stratified sampling will be used to distribute questionnaires. Employees in hotels in

London will be divided into strata based on their age and employment level and a
representative sample will be chosen from each strata. Since the research calls for
detailed analysis of data, at least 150 fully completed and valid responses will be the
targeted response rate.

They are very effective in systematically collecting information from a large number of
people, at a low cost, in order to produce summaries and quantitative descriptions.In
other words, questionnaires are a particularly useful data collection techniquewhen you
know exactly what to ask, need to ask a lot of people and can ask standardquestions
that everyone will be able to understand and respond to.

Self administered: The disadvantages are that you cannot be entirely sure who hasfilled
in the questionnaire; that there is no opportunity to clarify a response if it is notclear; and
that they can be unsuitable for those who have difficulty in reading orwriting, or in
understanding the language in which the research is conducted.
Researcher-administered : The advantage of researcher-administered questionnaires is
that you have better control over the research process – for example, you makesure that
appropriate informants answer your questionnaire, and such question-naires also offer
the opportunity for both interviewer and interviewee to requestclarification if necessary.
The disadvantages of this approach are that they takelonger to complete, and the
possibility of interviewer bias is increased.

how questions,as your documents might not answer these questions

Sampling – who + min 150 for advanced statistical analysis

Time scale and resources, possible constraints (10%)

Time Scale
A timetable (Appendix 2) planning key activities backwards from two key dates, 11
July 2018 for submitting the draft and subsequently 28 September 2018 for the final
dissertation submission has been developed. Continuing the literature review from
the research proposal for another four weeks will lead to a week of doing some
initial fieldwork. After which, the questionnaire will be developed and hotel HR
managers will be contacted to get permissions for the participation of the
employees in the research. This will be followed by distributing questionnaires and
collecting them when they are ready. This is a crucial time factor since the timely
response of hotels aren’t predictable, for this reason, ample time of seven weeks is
dedicated for this process. Once the questionnaires have been collected, the
following seven weeks will be used to analyse the data and draw up findings and
conclusions. The last four weeks before submission will be used to complete the
abstract and any remaining sections, followed by extensive revision and correction
in order to have a comprehensive and well-rounded dissertation.

Resources
The University’s library and IT facilities will provide ample resources for the
research and analysis of the dissertation. Further, the dissertation supervisor will
provide additional support and guidance. Other major resources required will be
travel costs to and from London and printing questionnaires, which won’t be too
high and can be managed within budget.

Possible constraints
A critical possible constraint is obtaining sufficient responses for data analysis. It
can be difficult to obtain permissions from hotels to conduct surveys of their
employees. Additionally, there is no guarantee on how many employees will be
complete the questionnaire and how many valid responses will be returned. This
will be a crucial part of the project and requires careful planning and execution by
getting in contact with hotels early in time and designing efficient questionnaires.