Tourism, Security and Safety From Theory to Practice

Table 2
Importance and Usage of Practices by Managers in Crisis Management
Manager A
Manager B
Manager C
Level of
Level of
Level of
Practice
Importance
Use
Importance
Use
Importance
Use
Reducing the 
labor force ( 
j
= 1)
5
3
3
1
3
5
Lowering 
prices ( 
j
= 2)
3
5
5
5
3
3
Engaging in a 
1
3
5
3
3
1
marketing 
campaign 
for new 
markets ( 
j
= 3)
Table 3
Measure of Importance and Usage in Crisis Management
Manager A
Manager B
Manager C
Measure of importance
60%
87%
60%
Measure of usage
73%
60%
60%
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Israeli Hospitality Crisis Management
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identification and selection of practices in general problems (Keeney and Raiffa,
1976; Yoon and Hwang, 1995). For example, Pardee (1969) suggested that the list
of practices should be complete, exhaustive, mutually exclusive, and restricted to
the performance degree of the highest degree of importance. Additionally, we try
to illustrate in this chapter that a list of practices with general guidelines can also
be assembled for specific problems, such as the case of the crisis in the hospital-
ity industry. In the following sections of the chapter, we will demonstrate how to
assemble a list of relevant practices for addressing and managing the crisis in the
Israeli hospitality industry.
Another issue regards the relationship between managerial actions and per-
formance. The approach presented here provides a measure of the managerial
actions taken to manage a crisis. The approach does not and cannot address the
long-term implications of these measures. Specifically, we do not know if, in the
long run, a manager whose practices ranked high for importance and usage will
truly outperform a manager with lower scores for these criteria. The relationship
between good management and firm performance is still a subject of extensive
research activity. There are two opposing views regarding firm performance: the
first argues that structural characteristics of different industries are the primary
determinants of performance (Porter 1980). The second view argues that firm-spe-
cific characteristics, such as superior management teams, can explain superior per-
formance (Barney, 1991). In a recent paper, Hawawini, Subramanian, and Verdin
(2003) summarized prior studies, analyzed current information, and demonstrated
that industry-specific factors are more important for performance than firm-spe-
cific factors (such as qualified managers). However, with respect to management
as a firm-specific factor, Hawawini et al. argue that their impact on performance
is only in extreme cases, or what they title as managers who are value creators
(winners) vs value destroyers (losers). Nevertheless, we will attempt to demon-
strate that there is some evidence of a relationship between crisis management and
performance, even though the crisis in the Israeli industry has not ended, and we
do not yet have a long-term perspective. Despite the difficulties mentioned above,
it should be noted that this chapter provides an innovative method for a multidi-
mensional evaluation of managerial practices for crisis management that may, in
the long run, lead to an above average performance for the firm.