Managing Human Capital for Performance in the Australian Hospitality Industry: The Carrot Drives the Outputs

Firms operating in service industries such as hospitality are highly competitive organisations that are constantly seeking ways to out-perform their rivals (Timmo, 1993). Despite the need for continuous development and improvement, the hospitality industry is regarded as one of the least advanced industries when it comes to the use and integration of human resource management (HRM) practices (Nankervis, 1991). Moreover, it has been found that companies in the hospitality industry are homogeneous in terms of their human resource management activities and functions (Rodwell and Shadur) and there is considerable scope for using HRM as a means for enhancing their competitive advantage. Human Capital It is estimated that by the year 2010, the information base of the world will double every II hours (Bontis, 1999). Organisations that seek to remain viable are faced with the strategic challenge of converting the massive source of information into knowledge (Bontis, & Fitz-enz, 2002). Managers are recognising that 'hidden ' assets such as knowledge of employees, custome