An exploration of the internal communication practices in hotels of Gauteng province, South Africa.

Abstract

This study was conducted to explore the communication practices in hotels. A cross-sectional survey research design was used in which self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from seven employees representing different sections in the selected hotels. Results indicated that, up to 72%, either agreed or strongly agreed that the main purpose of communication in their company is to get employees to behave in the way top management wants them to. The majority of the respondents, up to 56.5%, agreed or strongly agreed that employees seldom get feedback from managers regarding their performance. The predominant form of communication is the one-way top-down communication approach. Employees' suggestions are generally not considered and often managers do not give feedback to employees regarding their performance. Factors that significantly impact on the internal communications practices in the hotel industry includes race, salary levels and work experience. The study also found that internal communication takes place among employees, between departments and between management and employees.

Keywords

• communication
• management styles
• hotels
• managers
• employees