Abstract:
Purpose - The purpose of this study was to understand the effects that a food and beverage
FOH or BOH applicants’ physical appearance characteristics have on recruiters and hiring
decisions in Lebanon. Hiring managers should be aware of physical appearance stereotypes and unethical hiring practices especially when physical appearance isn’t a job requirement.
Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire was distributed to employers and HR
managers from several F&B organizations in Lebanon. The responses of 240 participants were
analyzed using SPSS. In order to investigate the study’s hypotheses, factor analyses and
nonparametric tests were conducted.
Findings - The results of this study found that physical appearance does impact the hiring
chances of FOH job candidates more so than BOH applicants. The findings show that Lebanese
recruiters don’t accept physical characteristics related to trends or self-expression during
hiring. Furthermore, female recruiters were shown to care more about the candidates’ physical appearance than males. Also, older and more experienced recruiters focus less on appearance.
Research Limitations - This study’s participants came from different hiring backgrounds;
therefore, some raters might not have as much hiring knowledge or experience as others.
Furthermore, some participants might have answered based on what their organization
considers ethical or good hiring practice instead of providing their own experience.
Practical Implications – The study’s results can help F&B companies and job searchers
become aware of the impacts that physical appearance has on recruitment. Organizations that want to overcome appearance stereotypes during hiring should apply appearance
discrimination policies and hiring systems that focus on the candidates’ skills and credentials.
Description:
M.B.A. -- Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Notre Dame University, Louaize, 2020; " A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration"; Includes bibliographical references (pages 92-102).