The Influence of Idiosyncratic and Organizational Career Dynamics on Employee Career Development in Star-Rated Hotels in Nairobi City County, Kenya: A Qualitative Analysis

The Influence of Idiosyncratic and Organizational Career Dynamics on Employee Career Development in Star-Rated Hotels in Nairobi City County, Kenya: A Qualitative Analysis

^*1Joseph Musyoki., ²Dr. Isabella Mapelu., ¹Dr. Dorothy Rotich

¹Department of Hotel and Hospitality Management, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900 Eldoret, Kenya.

²Murang’a University of Technology, P.O. Box 75-10200 Murang’a, Kenya.

^*Corresponding Author

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2024.1107097

Received: 29 June 2024; Revised: 20 July 2024; Accepted: 25 July 2024; Published: 23 August 2024

ABSTRACT

The imbalance between the number of employees and open positions in hotels is the cause of the problem, in which there is limited prospects for development of careers. It is challenging for lower-level employees to advance in their careers because of top-level roles relative to available positions and career dynamics. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of idiosyncratic and organizational dynamics on employee career development in hotels. The specific objectives were to establish the influence of idiosyncratic and organizational dynamics on employee career development in star-rated hotels in Nairobi City, Kenya. The target population was 3,114 employees from 10 star-rated hotels in Nairobi City County out of which 341 formed the sample size. Purposive, systematic random sampling and simple random sampling techniques were applied in the selection of the respondents. Questionnaires were used to collect data which was analyzed using thematically. The study concluded that; idiosyncratic dynamics, organizational dynamics are important considerations in contributing to the way employees develop in their careers in the hotels. The study recommends personalized arrangements negotiated between individual employees and employers to maintain an idiosyncratic environment, creation of a high-performance culture that prioritizes the well-being of individuals to positively contribute to organizational dynamics. In addition, managers should embrace adaptability, critical thinking and communication skills to enhance organizational dynamics.

Key words; Career, Career Choice, Idiosyncratic Dynamics, Organizational Dynamics, Career development.

INTRODUCTION

There are often two main reasons why people cherish their careers. In the first place, a career gives one the means to support themselves and their loved ones as well as opportunities to pursue extracurricular activities. Personal contentment is another benefit of a career. All of an individual’s employment experiences throughout their life contribute to their career. Choosing a career path is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. Making plans for your professional improvement is the first essential stage in the process. Because of the importance of career planning and selection to an individual’s future results, researchers who focus especially on career indecision are very interested in these topics. Planning for one’s career begins in school (Gunkel et al., 2018). The long-term success and efficacy of organizational personnel’s careers are examined through career development. Employee training and development should be congruent with a person’s career advancement within the company; these two ideas are closely related. However, in the process of trying to match each person’s skills and goals with the demands of the company, a good career program should also prepare participants for the organization’s long-term needs and deal with the inevitable dynamic shifts (DeCenzo, David, Robbins &Stephen, 2010).

Noe et al (2021) suggest that attracting, fostering, and keeping knowledge workers is one strategy used by hospitality organizations to boost intangible assets. Knowledge workers are staff members that provide value to the organization not through physical labor but rather by their knowledge of consumers or specific subject matter. Workers need to share knowledge and work together to find answers; they cannot just be told what to do. Knowledge workers provide specific expertise, like as customer information, that their bosses might not have. They are a source of information sharing for managers. There are numerous career options for knowledge professionals. Individuals have the option to depart from a company and transfer their expertise to a rival. Because businesses need their talents and because there are more and more positions that require them, knowledge workers are in high demand.

Armstrong & Taylor (2023) define career development as the process of guiding an individual’s advancement within an organization to give those who show promise a series of experiences and educational opportunities that will prepare them for any level of responsibility, they may be able to achieve. It involves career counseling to assist employees in advancing their careers for both their own benefit and the organization’s benefit. The following are some of the activities that are included in career development: a policy of promoting from within whenever possible; personal development planning to enhance each person’s knowledge and abilities; systems and procedures to facilitate knowledge sharing and development throughout the hospitality organization; and multidisciplinary project teams, whose membership is subject to change, to provide opportunities for professional growth to as many employees as possible.

There are three main things that employees consider when developing their careers. Among these are a thorough understanding of your own traits, skills, interests, goals, resources, and limitations; an awareness of the conditions necessary for success, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of various career paths, as well as opportunities, pay, and prospects; and accurate reasoning regarding the connections between these two sets of facts (Jayasinghe, 2001)

According to Nauta, Heijden, Dam & Willemsen (2009), from an organizational standpoint, career development stems from employability, which involves emphasizing the human resources procedures that could assist hospitality organizations in balancing the needs of preventing employee turnover with the goal of having adaptable and widely employable workforce in the hospitality industry by examining the organizational and individual causes of employability orientation and turnover intentions at the same time.

Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright (2022), suggest that whether the hospitality organization will place more of an emphasis on training and development to help employees do their current tasks, prepare them for future positions, or both is one decision that affects career development of the employees. A hospitality establishment may choose to invest in the training of all of its employees, or it may choose to offer programs to a select group of employees. Larger hospitality firms in particular might have comprehensive formal training programs that include both in-person and online training sessions. Some companies could favor a more straightforward and adaptable strategy that encourages staff members to engage in external training and development initiatives when necessary.

People with a variety of educational backgrounds and employment experiences are drawn to the hospitality sector. For example, career selection is influenced by perceived personal interests, according to studies by Goeldner and Ritchie (2006) and Dirksen K. (2016). It is therefore reasonable to assume that those who feel fulfillment in their employment as chefs will also have favorable views and attitudes regarding gastronomy and like cooking. Parallel to this, Goeldner and Richie (2006) have acknowledged that workers in the hospitality industry come from a variety of backgrounds and may or may not have possessed the necessary training, credentials, or abilities prior to employment. A study on the impact of career dynamics on the career development of hotel employees is missing from the literature previously reviewed, which informs the need for this research.

Many hospitality firms are having to reevaluate how they complete tasks due to the rapid changes in technology and client needs. A company may find that its current procedures can no longer match consumer expectations for speed, produce acceptable quality standards, or keep prices within profitable bounds when it implements new technology. In order to increase efficiency and provide higher-quality work, several firms have reengineered, which is a thorough assessment of the organization’s essential work processes (Noe & Raymond, 2017). Reengineering should ideally entail a review of every process carried out by every key department inside the hospitality organization, such as sales, accounting, human resources, and production. Reengineering, then, has two effects on management of employees. First, there might be a significant shift in the manner in which the managers carry out their organizational objectives. In order to ensure that every employee is dedicated to the success of the reengineered company, the managers must assist in designing and implementing the fundamental change throughout the entire hotel. It’s possible that workers will require training for their redesigned positions.

Noe & Raymond, (2017) further suggests that the compensation and benefit structures of hotel might need to be modified in order to better align with its new operational model. Additionally, hiring workers with new skill sets might be necessary. Employees are frequently let go or given new assignments as a result of reengineering because the demands of the hotel change. The managers of the organization must determine what work has to be done. The analysis identifies the output of the process, the activities involved, and three categories of inputs: raw inputs (materials and information), equipment, and the employees. This is done for each type of work, such as creating a product line or offering a support service (accounting, legal support, and so forth).

According to Eisenberger (2002), employees get support in their careers within their organizations work environment based on three principles. Reciprocity is the first of them. The principle of reciprocity states that an organization’s provision of organizational support may cause its employees to feel emotionally dependent on it. The second concept is attending to the social needs of employees, encouraging open communication among staff members, and granting each employee a role status that is equitable. Enhancing employee perceptions of organizational benefits and fairly rewarding achievement constitute the third principle. In this manner, employees’ perceptions of organizational support can be built ahead of schedule. Healthy relationships with their companies help to create a good career environment for employees. As a result, workers have positive perceptions of their companies (Demircan Cakar and Yildiz, 2009). According to Eisenberger (2002), in order to achieve the goal of fostering a positive career environment for employees, firms must provide organizational support for their workers while taking into account their happiness and wellbeing.

Akbar, (2017), found that an Individuals’ ability to function at work is supported by the organizational career environment element itself. It includes things like precise job descriptions, sufficient authority, hard goals, efficient work patterns, cordial working relationships, a vibrant work environment, career prospects, and suitable workspaces, among other things. Even Nevertheless, people with a good emotional intelligence and a sufficient amount of intelligence can still perform exceptionally well at work in an environment where there is less support. It is up to the person; he can alter or even create the atmosphere within the organization, which acts as a challenge and motivation for him to meet the objectives of his organization.

In the context of hospitality companies, career development is an educational idea that helps people make wise career decisions by giving them information based on their past experiences. In contrast to “development,” which refers to an employee’s vocation or line of work, “career” refers to position and responsibilities. Liu F. and Yang B. (2011) state that it offers a notion that helps people adjust to living and working in a constantly changing environment, including the economy, society, and the workplace. They add that it’s thought that picking a career can be extremely challenging for adolescents and young adults, and that they should think about their options as early as their time in high school or college (Wong & Liu, 2010). As a result, the goal of the career development process is to assist people in selecting their ideal career path by guiding them professionally through the various options, choices, and decisions they make along the way.

An individual career is procedural and evolutionary, given the concept of career development put forward by Given et al. (2005) and Valeria-Liliana-Amelia (2012) as the evolving sequence of a person’s work experiences over time. Moreover, research divides careers in an exploratory/development and routine stage. The increased growth of hospitality industry globally presents career opportunities and allows hospitality academia and practitioners to create different career paths for employees (Ghuangpeng, 2011). With regard to this growth, the potential employees can be provided with the opportunity to choose the most suitable, satisfying and successful career path in the hospitality industry (Ghuangpeng, 2011).

Statement of the Problem

As a growing phenomenon, hospitality industry attracts millions of people who pursue their careers therein. Globalization, improvements in information, vibrant world economies, competition and communication technologies are trends that affect how employees develop careers in the hospitality organizations. The competition in work environment, improvements and rapid changes in technology may alter employee functions and roles which might also drag some employees into despair, disappointment and burnout (Kilic, Pelit & Altunoz, 2011; Kuruüzüm, Cetin & Irmak, 2009). Moreover, the profile of workforce is changing, the young force is generally acknowledged to be less committed to the organization than their senior colleagues (Inelmen, Zeytinoglu & Uygur, 2012). In the hospitality industry, there has not been research done to address the relationship of career dynamics and the career development of the employees in the hospitality organizations.

The imbalance between the number of employees and open positions in hospitality organizations is the cause of the problem, in which there is limited prospects for development of careers. As a result, it is challenging for lower-level employees to advance in their careers because there are comparatively few top-level roles relative to the total number of regular employees. Thus, until they obtain the necessary credentials and are able to pursue career development, employees who do not have access to possibilities for career advancement just stay in their current role. As a consequence of failure of an employee to address the raised issues relating to the person, the organization, work environment and conscientiousness of self, there may result serious problems like loss of the job, poor health of the employee and lack of finances in the organization and for the employee. In extreme cases, employees may be declared redundant leading to loss of employment, declining job opportunities and in other cases depression of the individual or even death. In view of these consequences, this research served to investigate the influence of the career dynamics (idiosyncratic, organizational, environmental and conscientious dynamics) on the career development of hospitality employees.

Specific Objectives of the Study

1. To determine the influence of idiosyncratic dynamics on employee career development in star-rated hotels in Nairobi City County.
2. To investigate the influence of organizational dynamics on employee career development in star-rated hotels in Nairobi City County.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Career Development

A career, as defined by Ngirwa (2005), is a methodical growth pattern within a particular occupation. It is often referred to as a career ladder or career path. Furthermore, a person’s career includes all of the various occupations they have throughout their lives as well as the various companies they work for. Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright (2022) explain that development is defined in a way that suggests it is focused on the future. Development entails acquiring knowledge that isn’t always relevant to an employee’s current position. Instead, it improves an employee’s capacity to advance into roles that might not yet exist and prepares them for new tasks or positions within the firm. Employee development can also assist staff members in becoming ready for changes in duties and specifications that may arise in their existing positions as a result of new technologies, work designs, or clients.

Thaller et al (2024), posits that career is thought of as a series of age-related life phases that are sequential. The life cycle, in this sense, describes the changes that are usually experienced over time and are therefore taken to be reasonably predictable. After taking these factors into account, careers are thought of as long-term development processes that are dependent on maturity and age. A number of innovative career models have evolved in recent decades in response to the evolving nature of the workplace (Arthur and Rousseau, 1996; Hall, 1996; Mainiero and Sullivan, 2005). The first description of the career environment is that it is more unclear, less predictable, and unstable. Second, performance and flexibility are the only factors determining employment connections these days; loyalty has been replaced. Instead of being viewed as a vertical ascent, careers are now viewed as multidirectional, upward, downward, or straight forward. Separately from the organizations, individuals bear the responsibility for its development (Arthur and Rousseau, 1996). As a result, a person no longer feels loyal to a single employment, meaning that a career typically encompasses multiple organizations in the context of hospitality industry.

Noe & Raymond (2017) are of the view that development is defined in a way that suggests it is focused on the future. Learning that isn’t always connected to an employee’s existing position is implied by development. Rather, it makes them more employable for roles that might not yet exist and better equipped for other professions or positions inside the company. Employee development can also assist them get ready for changes in the duties and demands of their current positions, such as those brought on by new technologies, work styles, or clientele. By contrast, the conventional focus of training is on assisting staff members in enhancing their performance in their existing roles. Connecting training initiatives to corporate objectives has been a major priority for many firms. The line between development and training is less clear in these kinds of companies.

Torrington et al, (2008) pertaining to employee career development comments that significant changes have occurred in the understanding and characterization of individual development. It is implied that development is now owned by the learner who has the need rather than by the trainer trying to meet that need as we have switched from recognizing training needs to identifying learning needs. The identification of requirements and the manner in which they are satisfied are also affected by this. According to current thinking, needs are best satisfied through a collaboration between the individual and the organization. They can also be met through a variety of on-the-job development techniques, remote learning strategies, and e-learning approaches, in addition to traditional classroom instruction.

Ans De Vos, Jos Akkermans, and Beatrice Van der Heijden (2024), suggests that in career development, employability, adaptability, and career competences are the three modern perspectives on creating sustainable careers for employees throughout their lives. Firstly, employability is a crucial factor for people to obtain and hold onto employment that aligns with their professional requirements. Consequently, it defines their alternatives for eventually achieving their career goals. This calls for a more diverse collection of abilities and knowledge than only those necessary for maintaining current levels of expertise. Workers must constantly shift their attention from the question of “what are the right competencies?” to the development of competencies that will allow them to manage several jobs at once, be adaptable and proactive, and deal with ambiguity. In order to adjust to shifting demands in one’s professional or personal life over the course of a career, flexibility is key. Furthermore, professional competences are essential for determining an employee’s employability because they convey a mindset that views flexibility and ongoing education as essential to making wise career decisions over time.

Hotel staff must always be learning new skills in order to remain employable. Work in today’s industries involves less repetitive labor and is increasingly dependent on a growing body of information. Since jobs are unlikely to last a lifetime, employees must prepare for roles that are established. In addition to understanding the job requirements, employees also need to understand the nature of the organization they work for. They also need to be able to form close relationships with coworkers, suppliers, customers, and superiors. They also need to keep up with field and industry trends so they can use information and technology to fulfill evolving needs and objectives. To acquire these skills, one must participate in efficient training programs and gain appropriate work experience (Noe & Raymond, 2017).

Hospitality employees make decisions that affect their employability, work engagement, and performance in the near term as well as their long-term success (career success, both objective and subjective) (Hall, 2002). Therefore, this approach to career creation is more realistic and acknowledges the dynamic nature of individual needs and contextual demands that influence person-career fit at any given time. It also takes into account the fastest-changing employment context of today. In order to ensure that one’s profession is sustainable throughout time, career forging is a critical personal habit. According to one definition, the latter is “the sequence of an individual’s various career experiences, reflected through a variety of patterns of continuity over time, crossing several social spaces, and characterized by individual agency, thus providing meaning to the individual.”

For any firm to survive in a dynamic market driven by fast globalization, changes are an essential component of growth, a change in the hospitality industry can take many different forms, such as reorganizing, shrinking the business, acquiring new methods, implementing new processes or software, or incorporating ethics into the organization’s mission. The way that employees are handled is altered by this shift, since they must undergo career planning, training, and development, and the industry is now more accountable for managing these skilled workers (Kitana & Karam, 2019, Cummings & Worley, 2014).

Noe & Raymond (2017), suggest that career path that an individual follows as a result of contacts and experiences frequently diverges greatly from the conventional career advancement ladder within an organization or domain. While these types of careers won’t go away, more workers will pursue a spiral career path that allows them to transition across organization and specialty borders. Employees will need to assess their interests, strengths, and weaknesses and look for growth opportunities in formal education, work connections, and relationships with other employees. This will happen as organizations support employee development and as employees take charge of their own careers.

To develop career management strategies that are sustainable, employers’ and employees’ efforts and actions must be carefully coordinated. In order to make this possible, Valcour (2015) identified four crucial elements of modern organizational career management: first, matching work to an individual’s strengths, interests, and values; second, continual learning and renewal; third, security through employability; and last, work-life fit throughout life. Four primary goals can be achieved by organizations with the use of these practices: first, maximum yield on human capital value; second, ongoing organizational competency updating; third, stability through flexibility; and last, organizational commitment and retention. Consequently, the development of sustainable careers within organizations happens at the nexus of people and organizations, and when both parties work together, the results are beneficial to both.

According to De Vos and Cambré (2016), individuals have a significant impact on organizations through their career choices, which can have ramifications for significant organizational difficulties like performance, attractiveness, and retention. Organizations do, however, have an impact on people’s careers simultaneously. To put it another way, employees can choose their careers in a way that will lead to sustainable careers if their employers support them in doing so, offer plenty of learning opportunities, help them develop their career competencies, challenge them to stay employable, and have career conversations about where they are in the job learning cycle and what they see as the future.

The process of career development is dynamic and subject to several elements that affect its selection and progression over time (Căprărescu et al., 2009). These variables include the personality of the individual, their perspective of themselves, their level and kind of motivation, the organization’s treatment of its workforce, the rate and degree of changes in the external environment, and shifts in the labor market. Scientists have created a number of patterns for job growth based on research on individual differences, whereby “People choose their profession because of their personality, interests, needs, values, and life experience.” Research has shown that individuals with the same occupation have similar preferences in relation to work” (Manolescu, et al, 2007)

In order to assist hotel employees in choosing a more responsible career path in the future, job development or career development has various applications for future employment vocations. Career routes, job programming, and job/career development are factors, particularly in the context of employment development. Because job development is an official industry strategy aimed at providing industry employees with the training, experience, and credentials that best meet their demands, it has an impact on employees’ abilities. (Dewi & Riana, 2015) An employee can mature and use their potential more effectively in life by developing their career, which will help them later on in life to create a career that suits them ( Suadnyana and Supartha, 2018).

Vasanthi & Basariya (2019), observe that career development is the process of managing one’s career to either enhance or broaden it. It entails acquiring new abilities through training, assuming more responsibility, and moving up to a career within the same organization or in another. Career development not only serves the needs of the company but also of the individual employee. The organization itself may set organizational policies to drive career development strategies, or the employee may take the lead. The organization might set up various training opportunities and other educational programs for the staff members’ personal development. In the long run, this will support career advancement. Every organization now recognizes the importance of career development because it helps employees reach their professional goals while reducing the risk of job burnout. Charity (2015) notes that career advancement has a big impact on workers’ output in the hospitality industry. In order to improve employee performance and lower attrition, the researcher in this study made the case that hospitality organizations and other tourism institutions should prioritize on career development within their workforce.

In order to distinguish career development from work, Arulmani and Nag-Arulmani (2014) defined it as follows: career development is characterized by the volitional direction of energy and specialized effort toward meeting societal needs through a specific area of work, for which one gains the opportunity to realize one’s own potential as well as material reward. The expression of a person’s desire to follow or dedicate oneself to a certain occupation is reflected in their patterns and behaviors, which collectively influence their decision-making process about occupational choice. This process is known as career development (Gerber, et al, 2009).

Idiosyncratic Dynamics

According to Arulmani et al. (2014), there exist certain cultures and economies where a person is presented with a diverse range of career options and opportunities. People in these societies have comparatively more freedom to choose and pursue the careers of their choice (of course, contingent upon their credentials and education).

The process of making a professional selection might be hampered by negative career thoughts, which inevitably show up as emotional, verbal, and behavioral reactions. Studies have revealed that worrying about one’s career greatly increases anxiety, and anxiety inhibits behavior related to professional advancement. As with other negative career thoughts, research has shown an empirical relationship with low job satisfaction, low skill confidence, academic undecidedness, low employment seeking status, job avoidance behavior, perfectionism and career indecision, depression and career indecision, career indecision, and career indecisiveness (Austin, et al. 2010).

Within hospitality organizations, good management or execution of duties and responsibilities requires people to have a strong social interaction skill set and an open mindset to changes in their external environment. Secondly, to accomplish tasks quickly and successfully, socially dominant behavior needs to quickly respond to these changes. Thirdly, individuals who possess the ability to regulate their actions and complete tasks under time constraints and stress can organize their scheduled tasks to best suit their personal preferences and level of mental well-being.  Managers are and employees need to be typically more expressive, approachable, and need to have a certain level of interpersonal and negotiating skills because they are responsible for getting things done by others.  (Ackerman and Beier, 2003).

Interest is now one of the most significant criteria in the measures and determinants of occupational selection, according to Hewitt (2010). The majority of us would like to work at something we enjoy. Interest inventories have been established to help discover interests and relate them to careers and vocations, according to Sears and Gordon (2002). Interest inventories are used to rate highly for particular career and professional interests. Researchers have created scales to compare an individual’s interests to those of others who are definite of what they want to accomplish by comparing the interests of successful and satisfied people in a given occupation. It is thought that these occupational scales are useful in predicting career happiness and professional success. The ideals ingrained in an individual’s life are the next set of factors that influence a student’s choice of vocation.

Values constitute the person’s basic beliefs, the beliefs they hold most dear (Sear and Gordon, 2002). They are a source of motivation that can be seen in one’s action; in the attraction to or avoidance of the pursuit of things such as money, power, or spirituality. Some values hold more meaning than others (Hooley, 2012). We tend to pursue more vigorously the values that have more meanings to us than those that are less important to us. For instance, getting education; must have positive implications to us. How actively one pursues education is related to the strength of the value he places to education (Hewitt, 2010).

Organizational Dynamics

Dison-Fyle, et al., (2020) weighing in the issue of careers, were of the view that a highly diverse workforce with a range of career aspirations and interests has been produced by shifting demographics and global access to employees. Economic, technological, political, and social factors combined have had a significant impact, affecting workplace inclusion and equity issues among other things. These are some forces that exist in the hospitality organizations where employees undertake their careers and can have a tremendous influence on how they develop their career potential in the hospitality industry.

According to  Valeria-Liliana-Amelia  (2012), Organizations must attach particular importance both to the knowledge of their workers’ intangible characteristics (knowledge, needs, aspirations, skills, values, behaviors) in order to be able to direct their owners and position their individual characteristics to best meet the objectives of the organization and to the development of the human potential, by ensuring the employee career development (qualification opportunities, skills training, coherent system of promotion based on professional development and results), attempting to maximize the human potential and thereby increase organizational performance.

In an effort to encourage employees to consider certain careers organizations develop specific programs to promote the specific careers (Smith, 1999, Olamide & Olawaiye, 2013). These programs also stress the importance of employees preparing for the careers early in their lives. Employees in such programs make informed career choices should be better prepared for the rigors of training than the employees who enter their programs by chance.

Historically, self-concept research focused almost exclusively on a self-concept that minimized the role of specific dimensions and facets. However, in recent decades researchers have placed an increasing emphasis on multiple dimensions of self-concept (Mishra, 2007, Olamide & Olawaiye, 2013). Self-concept refers to the totality of a complex, organized, and dynamic system of learned beliefs, attitudes and opinions that each person holds to be true about his or her personal existence (Yahaya & Ramli, 2009). Numerous studies indicate that self-concept may serve as the foundation for all motivated conduct. Possible selves are generated by the self-concept, and conduct is motivated by these possible selves (Yahaya & Ramli, 2009). Consequently, it seems sense that a good self-concept would be significant to the organization domain and that researching organizational behavior as a means of reducing career indecision is more relevant in this regard.

In his opinion, Sugiarti (2022) comments that through training in tourism and hospitality organizations, staff members will have the chance to further develop their talents and knowledge in the workplace and have a better understanding of what needs to be done, why it has to be done, and how to accomplish it. The organization anticipates that the training program it has put in place will improve employees’ abilities, perceptions, knowledge, and conduct in the workplace, leading to an improvement in worker performance.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research study was carried out in Nairobi City County. The researcher used a qualitative research approach and explanatory research methodology. The study was built around the methodological and philosophical underpinnings of logical positivism. The target population of the employees in the selected hotels were 3,114 out of which a sample size of 384 respondents was derived.   This   study employed the use of purposive, census, stratified, systematic and simple random sampling procedures, to obtain responses from the participants in the study. The principal tool utilized by the researcher to collect data from the respondents was a questionnaire. The demographic information of the research participants was analyzed quantitatively using SPSS V. 27. The qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The ethical concerns observed in the research were fair treatment of the respondents, anonymity, privacy, deceit, secrecy, and accuracy.

RESULTS

Demographic Information of the Respondents

The resulting valid questionnaires was 280. They accounted for 82.11% Demographic information included hospitality employee’s age, gender, education level, marital status, number of dependants, years worked in the organization, number of seniors an employee reports to, star rating of the hotel, department and position held by the respondents. Results in table 1 below shows that from a total of 280 sampled employees 154 (55%) were male while 126 (45%) were female. Further the hotels employee had an average age of 29 years with a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 60 years. On education levels, 94 (33.57%) respondents had attained diploma education level, 79 (28.21%) respondents had attained bachelor’s degree education level, 59 (21.07%) respondents had attained certificate level of education, 27 (9.64%) respondents had attained high school level of education, 16 (5.72%) respondents had attained master’s degree level of education, 4 (1.43%) respondents had attained primary level of education while only  1 (0.36%) respondent had attained PhD degree level of education. Results further indicated that 132 (47.14%) respondents were married, 125 (44.64 %) respondents were single, 13 (4.64%) respondents were separated, and 7 (2.50%) of the respondents were divorced while only 3 (1.07%) of the respondent was a widow.

On average the hospitality employees had 4 dependants with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 20 family dependants. Further, the study found out that on average the hospitality employee had worked in their company for 3.5 years with a minimum of one year and a maximum of 24 years. Results in table 4.2 further depicts that on average the sampled hospitality employees reported to 3 seniors with a minimum of 1 to and a maximum of 10 seniors within the hierarchy of their organizational structure. Results on star rating hotels indicated that 159 (56.79%) of the respondents worked in 4 star rated hotels while 121 (43.21%) of the respondents worked in 5 star rated hotels. Further, the results of this study showed that 48 (17.14%) of the respondents worked in food and beverage service section, 38 (13.57%) of the respondents worked in food and beverage production section, 35 (12.5%) of the respondents worked in accountant department, 28 (10%) of the respondents worked in sales and marketing department, 25 (8.93%) of the respondents worked in front office, 22 (7.86%) of the respondents worked in security department, 21 (7.5%) of the respondents worked in purchasing and stores department, 19 (6.79%) of the respondents worked in the maintenance department, 19(6.79%) of the respondents worked in the human resource department, 16 (5.71%) of the respondents worked in housekeeping department while 9 (3.21%) of the respondents worked in other departments. Result in table 4.6 indicated that 173 (61.79%) of the respondent held junior employee position, 66 (23.21%) of the respondents held supervisor position while 41 (14.64%) of the respondents held manager position.

Table 1: Demographic and Socioeconomic Information of the Respondents

Variable	Characteristics	Frequency (N)	Percentage (%)
Gender	Male Female	154 126	55.00 45.00
Age	M=29.38	Min 18 Max 60	100
Education level	Primary. High school Certificate Diploma Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree PHD degree	4 27 59 94 79 16 1	1.43 9.64 21.07 33.57 28.21 5.71 0.36
Marital status	Single Married Separated Divorced Widowed	125 132 13 7 3	44.64 47.14 4.64 2.50 1.07
Number of dependents	M=4	Min 1 Max 20	100
Years worked in an organization	M=3.5	Min 1 Max 24	100
Number of seniors reporting to	M=3	1	10
Star rating	5-Star 4-Star	121 159	43.21 56.79
Department	Front Office Accounts Human Resource Security Food and Beverage production Food and Beverage service Purchasing and Stores Maintenance Sales and Marketing Housekeeping Other	25 35 19 22 38 48 21 19 28 16 9	8.93 12.5 6.79 7.86 13.57 17.14 7.5 6.79 10 5.71 3.21
Position	Manager Supervisor Junior employee	41 66 173	14.64 23.57 61.79
Department	Front Office Accounts Human Resource Security Food and Beverage production Food and Beverage service Purchasing and Stores Maintenance Sales and Marketing Housekeeping Other	25 35 19 22 38 48 21 19 28 16 9	8.93 12.5 6.79 7.86 13.57 17.14 7.5 6.79 10 5.71 3.21

Analysis for Idiosyncratic dynamics

From the data collected, hotel employees voiced their views through open ended questions that were in the questionnaire. In the hotel, each employee has distinctive characters that can’t be shared with any other individual. These unique traits and characteristics make each worker stand out in the way they perform their tasks within the hotel. The managers of hotels capitalize on these exclusive capabilities to ensure that they are incorporated in the way the organizational activities are done in aligning the core tasks with the goals and the objectives of the hotel. This was supported by some of the respondents who gave further insights in to how their unique traits contribute towards the overall performance of the hotels. Some of the themes derived from the responses are;

Theme 1: Training and service delivery in the hotels

Among the responses obtained from the respondents were;

“Hotel workers need to be trained on new products introduced in to the hotel. This is because it is challenging to serve customers well at times.”

“I need to learn more on proper hygiene practices for the various sections of this hotel”

“We receive guests from many different countries of the world. The hotel needs to teach us some of the basic foreign languages to help us interact better with the guests”

“Due to COVID-19 pandemic, new technologies have been introduced in the hotel to reduce and eradicate the chances of contact with the guests. There is need to be trained on how to use especially the software that has been adopted in the hotel”

“The menu items of our hotel are changing because of the various international visitors that are coming to our hotel. There is need for refresher training to upgrade our knowledge to serve the visitors better.”

Employee skill and knowledge enhancement in the hotel sector is mostly dependent on training programs, which in turn improves product offers and customer satisfaction. Better customer interactions result in satisfactory service delivery. Training that is effective in areas like creative designs for hotel and culinary amenities, interpersonal communication for group cohesiveness in food and beverage divisions of hotels, and the impact of social media on hotel marketing and customer engagement enables better interactions with customers.

Theme 2: passion and self-drive for career

Among the respondents that were obtained from the qualitative responses as pertaining to the employee passion and self-drive for their careers include;

“I work hard in discharging my duties and responsibilities because it gives me a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. It enables my supervisors to delegate some tasks that prepare me for better positions in future”

“Working in the hotels is majorly dependent on the attitude that one has towards the guest. Different guests also exhibit a variety of perceptions towards the employees who serve them. I believe that having a positive inclination of attitude is key to service delivery.”

“I do this work to challenge my capabilities as it is preparing me to work in similar of better hotels in the future. I’m aggressive and eager to learn from my colleagues and all the visitors whom I interact with and serve.”

“I am personally motivated to work in this department and also in this hotel. My greatest desire is to serve the diverse numbers of guests from different languages and nationalities. They give me an opportunity to be exposed to unique cultural diversities, which assures me that I can work in international hotels in other parts of the world.”

Particularly in the millennial generation, employees’ proactive work behavior and career happiness are greatly influenced by their passion for their jobs and their ability to manage their time well. A proactive and passionate approach to work is positively influenced by a protean career attitude. Furthermore, there is a connection between career happiness and the idea of harmonious work passion, with psychological career resources and career preoccupations acting as the motivating factors. Proactive work habits, job fulfillment, and general well-being in the workplace are all dependent on an individual’s ability to recognize and cultivate their passion and self-drive for their work.

Organizational dynamics and career development

The hotels are the organizations that domicile the occupations of the employees in the hospitality industry. During this research, the employees provided responses that addressed their views on the relationship between their hotels and the development of their careers. The following themes were derived from the responses about the organizational dynamics of hotels and the career development of the employees.

Theme 1: Job Autonomy and Task Competencies

Some of the comments that were gathered using the unstructured narratives were;

“This hotel has been a breeding zone for my career. It has enabled me to learn a lot in fostering my knowledge and skills in my work. The exposure that I have has enabled me to learn to work independently without supervision using the various competencies that I have developed overtime”

“Working in this hotel has enabled me to get many skills. The managers occasionally assign us duties in other departments so that we are also able to serve our clients in different capacities. Our hotel has more than five departments and I like working in them.”

“I love working in this hotel because my fellow employees are very friendly and have a spirit of teamwork that cuts across the different sections that we have in the organization.”

Theme 2: organizational support

The respondents also commented on the extend of the organizational support towards the development of their careers. Some of the remarks from the research participants were;

“My hotel provides the equipment and materials that I need to accomplish my tasks. Sometimes, especially when we have conferences and events, the work is too much to such an extent that the managers look for casual staff to ensure that we are not overwhelmed by work.”

“My employer is very supportive and understanding. Many people have lost their jobs during the covid 19 pandemic, but the hotel was kind to most of the workers and none was dismissed from employment.”

“The human resource manager often organized training to the employees of our hotel depending on the departmental needs. Professionals are brought to the hotel to train us on work and society issues that affect us. For example, we have been trained on HIV AIDS on one session and labor relations in another session.”

Employee career development is greatly influenced by organizational support, as good behaviors that enhance organizational success are displayed by employees who feel that their career growth is supported. To keep employees within their structures and reap the rewards of their contributions, hotels should provide them with a variety of forms of assistance. Employees who are supported are known to have a favorable opinion of their hotels. They have an opportunity to endure and prosper when they retain motivated employees in their hotels and make good use of them. Hotels that provide positive assistance to their employees might gain from their expertise and abilities. By doing this, the hotels might also be able to foster organizational commitment, as employees who are dedicated are thought to feel more accountable for their work, roles, and performance than non-committed employees.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The first objective was to determine the influence of idiosyncratic dynamics on employee career development in the hotels. The results led the researcher to arrive at the conclusion that idiosyncratic dynamics have an influence on the employee career development in the hotels.

The second objective of the study was to investigate the influence of organizational dynamics on employee career development in the hotels. The results of the analysis led to the conclusion organizational dynamics have an effect on employee career development in the hotels.

Recommendations

Guided by the findings of this research study, the researcher arrived at the following recommendations;

Hotel practitioners should establish and maintain personalized arrangements negotiated between individual employees and employers to maintain an idiosyncratic environment that result to creation of a high-performance culture that prioritizes the well-being of the employees to positively contribute to organizational dynamics.

Hospitality organizations should ensure that they motivate employees to enable them to bring out their unrealized talents and ensure that they retain talented employees by promoting employee satisfaction programs. Employees are the most important asset of any establishment as they are the ones who make all work of customer service and satisfaction take place in the hotel. Their tasks, roles and responsibilities are discharged on a service environment in presence of their customers. Therefore, the managers need to have close focus on their workforce to ensure proper succession of knowledge and skills from exiting employees to the newly recruited ones.

Hospitality establishment need to adapt to the changing trends of hospitality operations to remain competitive. The hospitality environment is changing due to forces inside and outside the organization. For instance, technology is fast evolving and hotels need to keep up with the emerging trends of the upcoming technologies. This is possible especially from the practice of customization of employee career paths within hospitality establishments. Managers need to know the career aspirations for their workforce and diversify the possible career lines where the employees can liberally pursue.

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