| Popis: |
It is always a major challenge for multi-national hotel companies to strike a balance in transferring management structures and practices of the home company to international subsidiaries; that is, to maintain the quality associated with the home company while fine-tuning practices to the localised needs of host country subsidiaries. But a major issue is how to identify which specific modifications will be needed in each subsidiary locality, and how these will play out in management terms at subsidiary levels in international hotel chains. Little specific research has been done in the area. This research therefore proposes to extend the research on the issues surrounding the deployment and development of managerial talent in subsidiaries located in developing countries. The aim is to investigate the contextual factors that shape experiences of expatriation and localisation within the international hotel industry in Jakarta. In order to investigate this gap, I set up a single case study to engage four different types of actor. These four types consisted of expatriate managers, host country managers, regional executives and policy makers. Data was gathered primarily by means of semi-structured interviews, and also documentation and observation. The findings were grouped under two sections, namely ‘The image of Indonesia’ and ‘The glass ceiling within international hotel brands in Indonesia”. The analysis and discussion of this research take into account how hospitality and tourism in Indonesia have in the past been affected by colonisation, corruption, and wrongfully portrayed images of the country’s leaders. The work goes on to discuss how such elements have also impacted upon the vulnerability of people working in the industry, specifically in this study of local and expatriate managers in their respective positions, and upon the cultural rules by means of which they communicate socially and network with each other in the subsidiaries. The conclusion of this research outlines theoretical and practical contributions to the field. From a theoretical point of view, this research provides a greater, in-depth understanding of the legacy of colonisation and how this may have compounded certain factors which have contributed to expatriate managers being favoured as ideal managers and leaders, and better co-workers selected over local managers. The practical contributions of this study may usefully be disseminated to all Indonesian managers in the hospitality and tourism industry as well as the country’s policy makers, to develop an understanding of the importance of better infrastructures in the sector. Such improved infrastructure would include better quality hospitality and tourism education, a more efficient and fair system of local manager development, the abolition of corruption at all levels of business, especially in tourism, and improved access to tourist destinations. |
