Learning organizations in the Maltese hotel sector : a myth?

Abstract

The performance of a hotel organization largely depends on the performance of its human resources. In today's modern corporate world, gaining a competitive advantage is of vital importance; and this largely depends on the knowledge, skills and competencies of the workforce. Therefore, leaders in Maltese hotel organizations need to continuously invest in organizational and employee learning. This study presents an analysis as to what extent this investment is being carried out; and attempts to identify whether Maltese hotels can in actual fact be considered as learning organization. Several findings are presented through the review of the literature on professional learning communities and a critique of the role of learning within the hotel industry. Furthermore, fifteen interviews with local hotel human resource managers or general managers have taken place, and their views and practices are compared with the literature review presented in the same study. The results presented in this study clearly show that local hoteliers believe in organizational and employee learning and do invest time and finances for its development. However, various factors such as time restrictions due to operational priorities, and lack of ownership from leaders might serve as the main hindrance towards hotels becoming learning organizations; possibly leaving an impact on the competitiveness of the specific hotel.