“Every man for himself”
Teamwork and customer service in the
hospitality industry
James Richards
Department of Business Management, Heriot-Watt University,
Edinburgh, UK
Shiona Chillas
School of Management, St Andrews University,
St Andrews, UK, and
Abigail Marks
Department of Business Management, Heriot-Watt University,
Edinburgh, UK
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to examine the practice of teamwork in an under-researched, yet growing
industrial setting.
Design/methodology/approach – Longitudinal ethnographic-styled methods of data collection
were used and data was examined using the Team Dimensions Model.
Findings – The findings suggest the Team Dimensions Model, with the addition of a customer
service perspective, is of use for identifying managerial objectives and organisational outcomes of
teamwork. However, this does not suggest that teamworking is easy to implement in the hospitality
setting.
Research limitations/implications – The findings were obtained using unobtrusive participatory
and observational methods and based on a single company.
Practical implications – The paper allows management practitioners to reflect on realities of
implementing teamworking under a corporate customer service initiative.
Originality/value – The paper takes an existing theory on teamworking and develops the theory in
an under-researched and growing industrial sector.
Keywords Teamwork, Hospitality industry, Team Dimensions Model, Ethnography, Team working,
Hospitality services
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The debate around teamwork has, for the most part, reflected production processes in
manufacturing environments (Bacon et al., 2010; Marks and Lockyer, 2004; Van den
Broek et al. (2004)). Examples include Findlay et al.’s (2000a, b) and Thompson and
McHugh (2009)4 research which focuses on manual, unionised workers undertaking
routine and repetitive work in the motor industry and other production settings. This
type of work has provided the basis for the majority of concepts and classifications
concerning teamworking. The question arising from this narrowly constrained
research is whether existing conceptual frameworks for analysing teamworking can be
translated to any white-collar work beyond the merely routine (Lloyd and Newell, 2000;
Marks and Lockyer, 2004)?
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
Teamwork in the
hospitality
industry
235
Employee Relations
Vol. 34 No. 3, 2012
pp. 235-254
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425451211217680