The Influence of Load Shedding on the Productivity of Hotel Staff in Cape Town, South Africa

Henriëtte Steenkamp, Ashley February, Jamie September, Ashley Taylor, Shairn Hollis-Turner and Juan-Pierré Bruwer
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Henriëtte Steenkamp: Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
Ashley February: Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
Jamie September: Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
Ashley Taylor: Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
Shairn Hollis-Turner: Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
Juan-Pierré Bruwer: Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa

Expert Journal of Business and Management, 2016, vol. 4, issue 2, 69-77

Abstract: In South Africa, ESCOM is the country’s main electricity supplier. Since 2008, Eskom has implemented load shedding on an ongoing basis as a result of insufficient electricity supply to meet the demands of all its customers. Owing to the fact that many organisations across South Africa are depended on electricity in order to function, previous research studies show that the wide-spread impact of load shedding has had an adverse on the sustainability of many of these organisations. Among these organisations are those based in the hospitality industry – imperative in relation to the stimulation of the national economy; directly related to tourism. Albeit the aforementioned, the sustainability of organisations in the hospitality industry is also heavily dependent on the productivity of their employees. For this research study the influence of load shedding on the productivity of the staff in the hospitality industry was investigated within one particular hotel (Hotel X) based in Cape Town. Empirical research was deployed, making use of a mixed methods approach to obtain both quantitative data and qualitative data from respondents. Stemming from the findings it was found that load shedding did have an adverse influence on the productivity of staff in Hotel X, despite the fact that affordable measures were put in place to mitigate the disruptions caused by load shedding. Moreover, the latter dispensation was found to have an inadvertently adverse influence on the overall sustainability of Hotel X on the long run.

Keywords: Load shedding; ESCOM; hospitality industry; productivity; sustainability; hospitality; hotel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A10 H55 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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