Motivational factors and the hospitality industry: reading answers and analysis
An academic review of why hotels struggle to keep good staff. It draws on HRM research to argue that working conditions, support from managers, and a balance of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators, including well-managed fun, help hotels hold on to employees.
The researcher matching (27-31) is not in passage order and uses Ng and Sorensen twice. The YES / NO / NOT GIVEN statements (32-35) run in order from the turnover paragraph to the last one. The summary (36-40) is entirely in the Tews, Michel and Stafford paragraph.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
Q
Your answer
Answer
Questions 27-31 · Matching features (researchers A-F)
How to attack this block: Find each name first, then read the claim attached to it. Names appear in brackets after the idea, so read the whole sentence before the citation. Maroudas et al. is cited several times; only one of those mentions lists reasons for staff leaving.
Question 27
Answer: EParagraph 8
Which researcher says hotel managers must understand what keeps good staff?
This requires an understanding of what motivates employees at different levels of management and different stages of their careers (Enz and Siguaw, 2000).
Question says → Passage says
Hotel managers need to knowit is beneficial for hotel managers to understand / This requires an understanding of
what would encourage good staff to remaininspire and retain competent employees / what motivates employees
Why: The paragraph says hotels must retain competent employees, and that this requires understanding what motivates them. The citation for that point is Enz and Siguaw. 'Retain' is 'remain', and 'competent' is 'good'.
The trap: Ng and Sorensen (D) also talk about staff staying, but their point is about what managers do, not about managers needing to understand motivation.
Question 28
Answer: DParagraph 5, first sentence
Which researchers show that managers' behaviour can make staff feel they should stay?
when managers provide recognition to employees, motivate employees to work together, and remove obstacles preventing effective performance, employees feel more obligated to stay with the company
Question says → Passage says
The actions of managerswhen managers provide recognition… remove obstacles
feel they shouldn't move to a different employerfeel more obligated to stay with the company
Why: Ng and Sorensen list three things managers do, and the result is staff feeling 'obligated to stay'. Feeling obliged to stay is feeling you shouldn't leave for another employer.
The trap: Michel et al. are quoted right after with a similar idea, but they aren't in the list of researchers, so the answer can only be D.
Question 29
Answer: BParagraphs 3 and 4
Which researcher says the hospitality industry does little to develop workers' skills?
the hospitality industry has historically been dominated by underdeveloped HR practices (Lucas, 2002)
Question says → Passage says
Little is done in the hospitality industrythe hospitality industry has historically been dominated by underdeveloped HR practices
to help workers improve their skillsenables developing and drawing out the full potential of people
Why: Lucas says HR in hospitality is underdeveloped and isn't designed to develop people's full potential. Not developing staff potential means doing little to improve their skills.
The trap: Pfeffer (A) mentions 'better skills and capabilities', so people match on the word 'skills'. But Pfeffer is about hiring skilled people to beat competitors, not about the industry failing to train them.
Question 30
Answer: DParagraph 5, first sentence
Which researchers say encouraging staff to cooperate makes them less likely to leave?
motivate employees to work together… employees feel more obligated to stay with the company
Question says → Passage says
cooperation is encouragedmotivate employees to work together
less likely to change jobsfeel more obligated to stay with the company
Why: This is the same Ng and Sorensen sentence as question 28, but a different part of it: motivating staff to work together is encouraging cooperation. D answers twice, which the instructions allow.
The trap: Deery (F) mentions staff functions, which can sound like teamwork, but Deery's point is about balancing work and family life.
Question 31
Answer: CParagraph 4, last sentence
Which researchers say pay isn't the only reason hospitality staff leave?
Among the many cited reasons are low compensation, inadequate benefits, poor working conditions and compromised employee morale and attitudes (Maroudas et al., 2008).
Question says → Passage says
Dissatisfaction with paylow compensation
is not the only reasonAmong the many cited reasons
Why: Maroudas et al. list several reasons for high turnover, and low pay ('compensation') is just one of them. 'Many reasons' means pay is not the only one.
The trap: Maroudas et al. is cited three times. Don't let that make you doubt it: only this mention fits, and the other researchers never talk about pay.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 32-35
How to attack this block: These test careful reading of research claims. One statement turns 'no evidence' into 'research has shown', and another ignores Herzberg's point that meeting basic needs only reduces dissatisfaction. The last one adds a detail about choice that the passage never gives.
Question 32
Answer: YESParagraph 4, last two sentences
Does the writer say poor morale is one cause of high staff turnover?
high employee turnover has been a recurring problem throughout the hospitality industry. Among the many cited reasons are… compromised employee morale and attitudes
Question says → Passage says
high staff turnoverhigh employee turnover
One reasonAmong the many cited reasons
poor moralecompromised employee morale
Why: YES. Morale that is 'compromised' is damaged, so poor. It's one of the listed reasons for turnover.
Question 33
Answer: NOParagraph 6, first sentence
Has research shown that staff tend to dislike their workplace?
employees' reactions to their job characteristics could be affected by a predisposition to view their work environment negatively, no evidence exists to support this hypothesis
Question says → Passage says
a tendency to dislike their workplacea predisposition to view their work environment negatively
Research has shownno evidence exists to support this hypothesis
Why: NO. The idea in the statement is exactly the hypothesis in the passage, and the writer says no evidence supports it. Saying research has shown it contradicts 'no evidence exists'.
The trap: The next sentence says many people will find something to complain about, which looks like support. Complaining when given the chance isn't the same as research proving a tendency to dislike work.
Question 34
Answer: NOParagraph 9
Do better conditions and job security make staff satisfied?
just fulfilling these needs does not result in satisfaction, but only in the reduction of dissatisfaction
Question says → Passage says
working conditions and job securityThese include working conditions and job security
makes staff satisfieddoes not result in satisfaction
Why: NO. Herzberg's point is that meeting these extrinsic needs only reduces dissatisfaction. The writer says plainly that it 'does not result in satisfaction', which is the opposite of the statement.
The trap: It sounds like common sense that better conditions make people happier, so many write YES. The passage separates 'less dissatisfied' from 'satisfied'.
Question 35
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 12
Does the writer say staff should choose when to take breaks?
Those particularly appropriate to the hospitality industry include allowing adequate breaks during the working day
Question says → Passage says
breaks during the working dayallowing adequate breaks during the working day
Why: NOT GIVEN. Deery recommends allowing 'adequate' breaks, meaning enough of them. Nothing is said about who decides when they happen.
The trap: The phrase 'breaks during the working day' matches word for word, which pushes people to YES. The extra idea of choosing the timing isn't in the passage.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 36-40
How to attack this block: The summary follows the fun-at-work paragraph in order. Gaps 37 and 38 are the two findings: one about doing the job, one about staff leaving. Gaps 39 and 40 come from 'aligned with both...' and need the two nouns after it.
Question 36
Answer: restaurantsParagraph 11, second sentence
Which kind of American chain did Tews, Michel and Stafford study?
conducted a study focusing on staff from a chain of themed restaurants in the United States
Question says → Passage says
research on staffa study focusing on staff
an American chain ofa chain of themed… in the United States
Why: The summary keeps 'chain of', then needs the plural noun after it. 'Themed' is an adjective, so the one word that fits is 'restaurants'.
The trap: 'Hotels' is the topic of the whole passage, so people write it without checking. This study was in restaurants.
Question 37
Answer: performanceParagraph 11
What did the fun activities improve?
It was found that fun activities had a favorable impact on performance
Question says → Passage says
They discovered thatIt was found that
improved theirhad a favorable impact on
Why: 'Had a favorable impact on' is 'improved', and the thing improved is performance. Note the American spelling of 'favorable' in the passage; the answer word itself is simple.
The trap: 'Turnover' is in the same sentence, but that is the next gap and it went down, not up.
Question 38
Answer: turnoverParagraph 11
What fell when managers supported fun?
manager support for fun had a favorable impact in reducing turnover
Question says → Passage says
management involvementmanager support for fun
led to lower levels ofhad a favorable impact in reducing
Why: 'Reducing' becomes 'lower levels of', and 'manager support' becomes 'management involvement'. The noun that was reduced is 'turnover'.
The trap: 'Performance' is the obvious noun nearby, but it went up, so it can't follow 'lower levels of'.
Question 39
Answer: goalsParagraph 11
Fun activities had to fit with what belonging to the company?
the framing of that fun must be carefully aligned with both organizational goals and employee characteristics
Question says → Passage says
needed to fit withmust be carefully aligned with
the company'sorganizational
Why: 'Aligned with' is 'fit with', and 'organizational' becomes 'the company's'. The noun after it is 'goals', plural.
The trap: Don't write 'organizational'. The summary already has 'the company's', so it needs the noun.
Question 40
Answer: characteristicsParagraph 11
Fun activities also had to fit with what about the staff?
aligned with both organizational goals and employee characteristics
Question says → Passage says
the ___ of the staffemployee characteristics
Why: The second half of the same phrase: 'employee characteristics' becomes 'the characteristics of the staff'. Write the plural and check the spelling.
The trap: 'Freedom' comes in the next sentence, but the summary has already used it for the balance point.
B (Lucas). Pfeffer talks about skills too, but he means hiring skilled people, not the industry failing to develop them.
Words from this passage worth keeping
retain(Paragraph 1)
keep someone, such as an employee, from leaving
turnover(Paragraph 4)
the rate at which staff leave and have to be replaced
compensation(Paragraph 4)
pay and other rewards for work
succinctly(Paragraph 5)
briefly and clearly
predisposition(Paragraph 6)
a natural tendency to think or act in a certain way
dichotomy(Paragraph 7)
a sharp division between two contrasting things
extrinsic(Paragraph 9)
coming from outside the work itself, such as pay or conditions
intrinsic(Paragraph 10)
coming from the work or the person themselves
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The full Cambridge 14 Test 1 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 14, Test 1, Reading Passage 3. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
