Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2020

Keywords

Determinants; Technology Practice; Housekeeping Performance; Technology Acceptance; Employee Prospective

DOI

10.26717/BJSTR.2020.27.004517

Abstract

The fears in related to the threats of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were spreading wide and far since its outbreak in Wuhan, China in December 2019. COVID-19 was declared to be a Public Health Emergency if International Concern by the UN World Health Organization (WHO) on 30th January 2020 and subsequently announced as a pandemic on 11th March. As of 16 April, there were more than 2.08 million confirmed cases and over 134 thousand deaths reported. The general public’s and governments’ reactions to the pandemic are diverse. Owing to the lack of knowledge about the disease and the rapid development of cases, anxiety and certain level of disorders / unrest were recorded. This paper intended to document some of the critical incidents in Hong Kong and report findings related to the publics’ perceptions, actions and reactions to the outbreak. Data was collected through direct observation and discussions with the key respondents. Result seems to indicate that general public is likely to develop a strong of fear and stress over a public health incident especially when the case is something that they are not familiar with. They were exposed to a large amount of information and tend to be easier to believe negative messages. Advices and opinions from technical authorities are more prone to be trustworthy whereas those from government bodies and even international NGOs have less credibility. Some of them demonstrate a strong propensity to transfer the blame to someone and develop a sense of revulsion or strong indignation. Owing to the closing of trust, the warning and suggestions given the government authority are often taken too lightly or even challenged. Some are quite stubborn and refuse to accept information that is not confirming their beliefs and /or experiences. “The more you know, the less you fear.” “Technology”, terms which appears all over the world within human daily lives. With the positive well-known reputation of problems solver and convenience enhancer, the uses of technology in businesses have been increasing. Meanwhile, the problems of housekeeping labor shortages and uncommon situations of technology uses shown in Hong Kong, which urged the considerations of using technology to solve the problems, encourages the hotel attractiveness and competitiveness. Consequently, the present research report had examined the critical determinants of technology practice that affecting the performance of hotel housekeeping department in Hong Kong, by completion of the literature reviews that covered several theories and technology acceptance, and the qualitative method of case study - participate observations. And the research findings shown that technology characteristics (Applicability to Job & Convenience to Employees) and employee prospective (Learning Abilities& Technology Knowledge, and Managerial Support &Follow-up) as the determinants in technology practice which affects the housekeeping performance of Hong Kong hotel. And some possible recommendations were also provided based on the research results. With the findings and applicable insights provided, this research report is aiming to help Hong Kong hotels in achieving business success.

Source Publication

Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research

Volume Number

27

Issue Number

3

ISSN

2574-1241

First Page

20865

Last Page

20871

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