Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Organizational Determinants of Job Estrangement in an Organization in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry: A Case Study
A. Olu Oyinlade

Abstract
Early writings on estrangement can be traced back to the works of Georg Hegel, Ludwig Feuerbach and Karl Marx, but it was Marx who started the endeavor to understand estrangement and its consequences to labor and capital in the workplace. Since Marx, studies of job estrangement abound, but such studies are mostly absent in the tourism and hospitality industry, especially the accommodations sector of the industry. This study, hence, focused on understanding factors of estrangement in the tourism and hospitality industry with a case study of an organization in the accommodations sector of the industry. Hierarchical regression under two conditions, non-interaction and interaction of powerlessness and social isolation, were tested. Findings showed that the strongest determinants of explained variance in job estrangement under both regression conditions were social isolation and powerlessness, but the unique predictors of estrangement were stronger under the interaction condition that the non-interaction condition. The study concluded by recommending that the job status of the reservation agent be analyzed and redesigned to ameliorate job estrangement.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jthm.v6n2a10