Working in the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Industry in Norway
Haavisto, Veera (2016)
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2016
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201605117093
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201605117093
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis is to study what are the factors that make Norway an appealing work place, why Finnish people have left there for work and how they have adapted to the Norwegian working culture. Thus, the aim of the thesis is to present Norway as an optional work place for Finnish hotel, restaurant and tourism employees.
The intention of the theoretical framework is to provide the reader an overview of the Norwegian labour market, economic situation and working culture. The theory is divided into two chapters. The first one includes key figures of the Finnish and Norwegian economies as well as an overview of their hotel, restaurant and tourism industries. Further, it covers for example the labour laws and regulations in Norway. The second theory chapter includes a comparison of the Norwegian and Finnish working cultures and discusses various culture theories, mostly focusing on Hofstede’s theory on cultural dimensions.
The empirical part of the thesis presents the used methodology and the results of the study. The qualitative research case study was made by interviewing 11 Finnish participants that work or have worked in the hotel, restaurant and tourism industry in Norway. The main reason for using a qualitative research method was to be able to get thorough answers that contain feelings and attitudes. The interviews were mainly conducted on Skype.
The results of the study show that better salary, new culture, beautiful nature and better work possibilities make Norway an appealing place to work. The biggest reasons why the respondents have left for Norway for work have been that they have wanted new experiences, due to a relationship or that they have found work more easily from Norway. The adaptation to the Norwegian working culture has been rather easy for the respondents. However, the new language and the relaxed attitude in the Norwegian working culture have been the biggest challenges in the adaptation process.
The international work experience in Norway has benefited the respondents by them learning a new language and becoming more open and confident. They wish to see more balance of work and free time and more team meetings in the working life in Finland.
Suggestions for further research could be using quantitative research methods for examining the attraction factors and the biggest reasons for going to Norway for work. Another idea could be to conduct a similar study in a single organization to see whether the answers would reflect the results of this study.
The intention of the theoretical framework is to provide the reader an overview of the Norwegian labour market, economic situation and working culture. The theory is divided into two chapters. The first one includes key figures of the Finnish and Norwegian economies as well as an overview of their hotel, restaurant and tourism industries. Further, it covers for example the labour laws and regulations in Norway. The second theory chapter includes a comparison of the Norwegian and Finnish working cultures and discusses various culture theories, mostly focusing on Hofstede’s theory on cultural dimensions.
The empirical part of the thesis presents the used methodology and the results of the study. The qualitative research case study was made by interviewing 11 Finnish participants that work or have worked in the hotel, restaurant and tourism industry in Norway. The main reason for using a qualitative research method was to be able to get thorough answers that contain feelings and attitudes. The interviews were mainly conducted on Skype.
The results of the study show that better salary, new culture, beautiful nature and better work possibilities make Norway an appealing place to work. The biggest reasons why the respondents have left for Norway for work have been that they have wanted new experiences, due to a relationship or that they have found work more easily from Norway. The adaptation to the Norwegian working culture has been rather easy for the respondents. However, the new language and the relaxed attitude in the Norwegian working culture have been the biggest challenges in the adaptation process.
The international work experience in Norway has benefited the respondents by them learning a new language and becoming more open and confident. They wish to see more balance of work and free time and more team meetings in the working life in Finland.
Suggestions for further research could be using quantitative research methods for examining the attraction factors and the biggest reasons for going to Norway for work. Another idea could be to conduct a similar study in a single organization to see whether the answers would reflect the results of this study.