Career paths of hotel general managers in Turkey

This article investigates the career paths of hotel general managers (HGMs) in a developing country, namely Turkey. Based on an in-depth literature review, a questionnaire was developed and data were collected from 168 HGMs in Turkey. Compared to previous studies, this study found a higher percentage of female HGMs working in hotels. According to the research findings, almost half of the respondents received formal education in hospitality and tourism. The participating respondents most frequently reached the HGM position through working in the front office department and the food and beverage department. Honesty, interpersonal skills, and loyalty were found to be the top three characteristics that helped the participants become HGMs. In terms of required skills, communication, human relations, taking initiatives, and the ability to formulate plans were the top four skills for the participants in their career development. Finally, learning a foreign language, having a college degree, and developing long-term career goals were the top three personal development strategies. This is one of the first studies investigating HGMs career paths in a developing country and it offers specific theoretical and practical implications on this important topic.     

Multiproject scheduling: Analysis of scheduling strategies under unequal delay penalties

The multiproject scheduling problem is investigated under the assumption that delays corresponding to different projects carry different penalties. Five penalty functions are introduced that simulate typical business behavior. These are: 1) assigning the highest penalty to the project requiring the greatest amount of resources; 2) assigning the highest priority to the longest project; 3) assigning the highest priority to the project requiring the least amount of resources; 4) assigning the highest priority to the shortest project; and 5) random assignment. Justification for each case is provided.Two powerful project summary measures were used to generate the test problems. The first measure, average resource load factor (ARLF), identifies whether the location of the peak requirement of all (i.e., combined) resources is in the first or second half of the project's critical path. If each resource is expressed in terms of dollars, then ARLF identifies the location of the peak cash requirement. Since in practice the choice of the scheduling strategy is influenced by the location of the peak cash requirement, performance of the scheduling strategies is analyzed with respect to values of this measure. The second measure, average utilization factor (AUF), calculates the ratio of resource requirements to availabilities. It is shown that problems tested must have different AUF values in order to be classified different for purposes of experimental design. Thus a factorial model of the form, y = Strategy + Penalty + ARLF + AUF + ? was used to generate 385 problems, each requiring 2 to 4 resources, containing 3 to 5 projects and 34 to 63 activities.The computer program used in the study is based on a parallel method of scheduling in which priorities of the activities are determined when the activity is considered for scheduling. Ten scheduling strategies are tested. Some important ones are: 1) to schedule the shortest activity first; 2) to schedule the activity with minimum slack first; 3) to schedule the activity with maximum work content first (i.e., from the project with highest work content); 4) to schedule the shortest activity from the shortest project first; and 5) to schedule the activity with maximum penalty first. Shortest activity first and minimum slack first are popular strategies introduced by other researchers.Using number of times ranked first as our criterion, scheduling the activity with maximum penalty first provides the best results followed by the strategy of scheduling the activity with maximum work content. But when these results are analyzed with respect to existence of a very expensive project (i.e., dominance) in the problem, performance of the maximum penalty strategy improves. When the overall results are analyzed with respect to values of ARLF, a different picture emerges. Then the strategy of scheduling the activity with the highest penalty first provides the best results if the peak requirement is early. When the peak requirement is toward the middle of a project's unconstrained critical path, scheduling the activity with the highest work content provides the best results. When the peak requirement is late in a project's life, scheduling the shortest activity from the shortest project is the best strategy to adopt. These findings were tested for statistical significance by using nonparametric testing procedures and were found to be significant.     

Multinational hotel development in developing countries: an exploratory analysis of critical policy issues

Multinational hotel companies, often integrated with tour operators, travel agencies and other businesses in tourist‐generating or tourist‐receiving countries, play a key role in the development and continuity of an international tourism industry in developing countries. In order to take advantage of benefits and minimise the unwanted adverse effects from multinational hotel involvement, developing countries need the planning, implementation and evaluation of carefully designed policies linked to their particular objectives. This paper reviews the potential benefits and costs of multinational hotel companies and brings together previously scattered critical policy issues in relation to them, while suggesting possible options for developing countries to follow. Seven critical policy areas are identified: establishment of the need for foreign investment; deciding on forms of involvement; deciding on the scale of hotel development; supporting sectoral linkages; supporting indigenous employment/training; monitoring business practices; and determining foreign investment incentives and regulations. It is argued that policies should be worked out in these areas and co‐ordinated in order to achieve a balance between the benefits and costs of multinational hotel involvement in developing countries. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

IMPACT OF AN ECONOMIC CRISIS Evidence from Turkey

This paper evaluates the impact of the 2001 economic crisis on the tourism industry in Turkey. The research findings reveal that neither the government nor private organizations had any plans for dealing with the crisis before or after the event. It had both negative and positive impacts although its benefits were often overlooked. The overall implication of the study is that national culture, the level of economic development of a country, the availability of financial resources, and the ability and knowledge of its government officials and managers of private firms have a direct impact on how such an event is responded to and managed.     

Cooperative marketing in the accommodation subsector: Southeastern Mediterranean perspectives

This article examines the concept of cooperative marketing and reviews the wider range of elements that constitute cooperative marketing. Subsequently, the article considers its potential for small‐ and medium‐sized hotels (SMHs) in Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey, and suggests strategies that might stimulate such cooperation. Finally, the article concludes with the implications of cooperative marketing for tourism destinations in general. It is expected that this analysis will help to explore the possibilities of cooperative marketing in the hotel subsector within the limits of the local economies, as well as offering lessons for other countries in the Mediterranean region. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.