CRITICALLY APPRAISING THE WORK OF OTHERS

Critically Appraising the Work of Others

Critically Appraising the Work of Others

Introduction

The development of a career in hospitality management seems to have a rather dark down-side at times. I've seen the signs of stress and overwork in several people I deal with, and it's not just because economic times are difficult and unpredictable. The nature of this industry seems to demand a constant human toll.

Although we have a long way to go before we get to the stress levels of air traffic controllers, money market dealers and policemen, several things conspire to render hospitality a rather dangerous occupation — I don't mean physically dangerous, although there are a few chefs around with fingers missing — I mean dangerous in the sense of long-term health and well being.

For a start, consider the hours you work. Not only can they be outrageously long, but they also tend to preclude normal social activities. People in the industry tend to socialise among themselves and, as a result, can develop what I call 'incestuous' thinking. This happens when you don't get an even representation of life and adopt the attitudes and behaviour of a narrow section of the community. After a while you loose the ability to view your business from the customer's perspective because you rarely associate with them.

Discussion of the Article

If we think over the whole story, we come to realize that From a societal perspective, current work-family balance pressures stem from a market-based economy. By their design, market-based economies are based on a structure whereby people are largely selfsufficient and are rewarded for hard work. Adults are expected to provide for themselves and their families. Increased economic pressures are pushing more people into the workforce and transforming the jobs people perform. Previously stay-at-home spouses now often work part-time or full-time to help their family financially. The increased pressures on families and the effort required to care for households place stress on our national infrastructure and support systems. Tasks once performed by a family member are now often contracted out. The increased demand for services, such as child care, has spawned a growth in service-based businesses.

From an organization's perspective, work settings require employees to trade their talent and time for compensation. Increasingly in the United States that trade-off is not a simple one. The expectations that employers place on employees are increasing. Technology, once designed to liberate people from their desks, now gives employers unlimited access to their employees regardless of time or location. Foreign and domestic competition forces employers to place greater emphasis on productivity and efficiency. In addition, organizations are challenged with the task of motivating and retaining an increasingly pressured workforce. Organizations today face more competition, and this forces them to increase their demands on employees.

Then there's your family life to consider. You can easily find yourself leaving a lonely spouse at home and rarely seeing your children. I don't have any statistics on marriage breakdowns in this industry, but I bet the figures are ...