LANG 102

Annotated bibliography:
Does outsourcing make hotels more
competitive?

Due: 20 November 2011, 4pm

Student name
Group C
 STUDENT NAME
GROUP C

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY [EXAMPLE]

Topic: Does outsourcing make hotels more competitive?

Introduction

When a company outsources certain services or operations, it procures them from other firms rather than
supplying them internally (Espino-Rodriguez & Padron-Robaina, 2005, p. 708). Although hotels and
restaurants have been slower to adopt outsourcing than some sectors (Outsourcing Survey, 2007), the
practice is now becoming an important strategy in the hotel sector. An increasing number of specialist
suppliers are now offering services covering practically all of the constituent activities of hotel operations and
management (Tetik, Yilmaz & Oren, 2007).

Most authors agree that there are benefits to outsourcing. Concentrating on fewer internal functions allows a
hotel to focus its energies on its core business and to effect cost savings (Samson, 2008). Some authors
have noted that outsourcing can have negative effects that actually harm the overall performance of the
organization (Tetik et al., 2007).

However, the main concern of most hotel General Managers when considering whether to outsource or not
is whether this decision will have an effect on profits. Most researchers (see for example Bentley, 2005)
have found that outsourcing has a positive impact on the financial performance of a hotel.

Annotations

Espino-Rodrıguez, T. F. & Padron-Robaina, V. (2005). A resource-based view of outsourcing and its

implications for organizational performance in the hotel sector. Tourism Management, 26, 707–721.
Retrieved from Science Direct database.

This is a key source for my essay because it is directly related to my topic. It describes a research study
investigating the impact on a hotel’s profits and occupancy rates when certain functions are outsourced. The
authors conclude that outsourcing can have a significant impact on profits if the right activities are
outsourced. I would use information from this article primarily in my Body Paragraph 2, where I discuss the
positive aspects of outsourcing. However I could also use some of the negative research findings in my
Body Paragraph 3.

The article is suitable for academic work. It comes from a peer-reviewed journal, and the authors are
affiliated with the Economics Department of a university in Spain. A search of the authors in the database
where the article was found shows that both have written other peer-reviewed articles on related topics.
Their contact details are given so we can contact them for further information. The article has a long
bibliography at the end, indicating that the authors consulted the work of other experts, and their literature
review presents different perspectives on this topic. The article was published in 2005, which makes it quite
current for this topic.

Samson, D. (2008). The outsourcing process oriented to the development of relational capabilities in hotels.
In P.R. Chang (Ed.), Tourism management in the 21st century (pp.293-307). Nova Science
Publishers.

This chapter in an edited book analyses the impact of outsourcing on customers, which is also very relevant
to my topic, as customer satisfaction is essential to a hotel’s competitiveness. It proposes a method for
deciding which hotel activities can best be outsourced, by looking at the expected impact on customer
satisfaction. I would use information from this source in my Body Paragraph 5, where I compare the pros
and cons of outsourcing. I would use the source to show that the way outsourcing is implemented can affect
competitiveness.

The author of this chapter is a Professor in the Department of Tourism of a British university, so we can
assume he has sufficient knowledge to write authoritatively on this topic. According to the preface of the
book, which was published in 2008, its purpose is to present current research in tourism, so the level and
purpose are suitable for academic purposes. We do not know if the chapter is peer-reviewed, but it cites the
work of many other authors and presents a balanced, well-supported argument.
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Tetik, N., Yilmaz, M., & Oren, V.E. (2007). Outsourcing: A research study in five star hotels in Antalya.
Journal of the Turkish Association for Management Finance and Accounting, 12. Retrieved from
http://www.mufad.org/index.php?optioncom_content&task=view &id =120

This is an article from a web-based journal. I chose it because it gives a different view on outsourcing. The
authors interviewed hotel managers in a particular region of Turkey about the extent of their outsourcing
practice and their attitudes to it. This is an interesting perspective on my topic, as manager attitudes may
often dictate whether and to what extent a hotel outsources. I will be able to add some examples to my
essay from this source, in Body Paragraphs 2 and 3.

The first author is a PhD-holding associate professor at Akdeniz University in Turkey, and the second is his
research assistant. Because the journal is about management finance and accounting, the writers may not
be experts in hospitality but Dr Tetik does teach in the Faculty of Management, so we can assume he has
sufficient knowledge of outsourcing in general. The article is published under the auspices of the Turkish
Association for Management Finance and Accounting, which, according to the website, is an academic
association dedicated to research and publishing. This affiliation gives credibility to the article as an
academic source. The article is current and includes an impressive bibliography, from which we can see,
among other things, that Dr. Tetik has published two articles about outsourcing before. Because some of the
preliminaries are in Turkish, it is not possible to tell if the journal is peer-reviewed or not, and that is a
weakness of this source. However, considering the other criteria, I believe it is of adequate quality for my
essay.

Bentley, R. (2005, July 14). External relations. Caterer & Hotelkeeper, 195(4382), 82-84. Retrieved
from Proquest ABI/Inform database.

This short magazine article in the trade magazine Caterer & Hotelkeeper is full of practical information on the
advantages and disadvantages of hotel operations outsourcing. There are many examples of the
outsourcing of different functions in specific hotels, and the actual benefits derived from it. I would use the
examples in my essay, to illustrate the points made in the drier research articles I am using. There is also
some general information I could use in my Introduction.

The article is written by a journalist, rather than a subject expert, but he quotes many experts in the article,
from CEOs of hotels to academics in hospitality faculties of universities to PriceWaterhouseCooper
hospitality consultants. This gives the article authority. Caterer & Hotelkeeper is known to be a reliable
source for news on the industry. As is usual with magazines, there is no bibliography, but the author has
included links to the websites of all the hotels and other organizations mentioned in the article. This allows
us to follow up on the comments made, and gives more credibility to the article.

Outsourcing survey. (2010). London: Manpower UK Ltd. Retrieved from http://www.manpower.co.uk/

news/OutsourcingSurvey.pdf

This report describes the results of a survey on the outsourcing practices and policies of the companies of
2000 British managers from a wide range of industries. Although it does not deal just with hotels, it gives
very useful statistics on outsourcing in general that I could use in the introduction to my essay. It mentions
the hotel industry specifically in several places and provides hard-to-find statistics on outsourcing across this
industry in the UK. It includes data on the managers’ perceptions of the benefits of outsourcing, which ties it
in to my topic even more and could be used in Body Paragraph 2, where I will discuss the advantages of
outsourcing..

Manpower UK Ltd., the publisher and commissioner of the survey, is a recruitment specialist for
“flexible and contract workforces” (p. 6). This could potentially lead to a bias in such a survey, since
the company would have an interest in presenting outsourcing as a popular, successful kind of
practice. However, it contracted out the survey upon which this report was based, to an
independent research organization, thus avoiding any potential conflict of interest. Details are given
as to how the survey was conducted, the population chosen, etc., so we know the results are valid
and can be used in academic work. No researchers’ names are included but the website address of
the company is given so we could seek out more information if necessary. The survey was

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undertaken in 2009, and published in 2010, which means the report is acceptably current for my
purposes.

References

Bentley, R. (2005, July 14). External relations. Caterer & Hotelkeeper, 195(4382), 82-84. Retrieved
from Proquest ABI/Inform database.

Espino-Rodrıguez, T. F. & Padron-Robaina, V. (2005). A resource-based view of outsourcing and its

implications for organizational performance in the hotel sector. Tourism Management, 26, 707–721.
Retrieved from Science Direct database.

Outsourcing survey. (2007). London: Manpower UK Ltd. Retrieved from

http://www.manpower.co.uk/
news/OutsourcingSurvey.pdf

Samson, D. (2008). The outsourcing process oriented to the development of relational capabilities in hotels.
In P.R. Chang (Ed.),Tourism management in the 21st century (pp.293-307). Nova Science
Publishers.

Tetik, N., Yilmaz, M., & Oren, V.E. (2007). Outsourcing: A research study in five star hotels in Antalya.
Journal of the Turkish Association for Management Finance and Accounting, 12. Retrieved from
http://www.mufad.org/index.php?optioncom_content&task=view &id =120

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ESSAY OUTLINE

Paragraph 1: Introduction
 Need for hotels to be competitive
 What is outsourcing? How can it increase competitiveness?
 Statistics about outsourcing generally and in the hotel industry

Paragraph 2: Body
 Advantages of outsourcing
 Advantages of outsourcing in the hotel industry
 Examples

Paragraph 3: Body
 Disadvantages of outsourcing
 Disadvantages of outsourcing in the hotel industry
 Examples

Paragraph 4: Body
 What factors influence the success of outsourcing?
o What functions
o Attitudes of staff and managers
o Differences in the hotel industry

Paragraph 5: Conclusion