Ética En El Turismo

Total Quality Management Vol. 19, No. 10, October 2008, 1029–1041

Business ethics in tourism – As a dimension of TQM
Ivanka Avelini HoljevacÃ
Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management in Opatija, University of Rijeka, Croatia The aim of the paper is to emphasise ethics as a dimension of TQM, as well as a dimension of the quality of a community and the quality of life and work. This paperfocuses on business ethics and the social responsibility of business enterprises and tourism. After providing the definitions of ethics, business ethics and the social responsibility of business, the paper gives an example of ethics and social responsibility in the tourism and hotel industry, which is one of the world’s greatest industries and also a social phenomenon with a great tendency toexpand and develop further. The ethical components of the tourism and hotel industry are important due to the industry’s great international importance. The main goal of managers is to generate profits, but only within the legal framework and bearing in mind the rule: ‘Never cheat the customer.’ Business ethics prescribes profit making, but with respect for ethical principles and standards. Businessethics increases the reputation and market competitiveness of an enterprise. Croatia wants to join the European Union. The prerequisite is to meet European standards in all fields of work and life and all social areas. Among those standards are also business standards and business ethics. One of the weaknesses of Croatian economy and society is a high corruption index. The aim of this paper is toprove the importance of business ethics in tourism in helping Croatia approximate EU standards. Keywords: ethics; business ethics; social responsibility; tourism; TQM

Introduction: quality – a challenge for tourism Conditioned by fierce competition and increasing consumer demands, quality has become the fundamental factor for market survival, profitability, competitiveness and a country’s overalleconomic development, especially in the specific areas of activity and in the types of companies found in tourism, leisure and hospitality. What is quality?
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Quality refers to the ability of a product or service to consistently meet or exceed customer expectations. Quality means getting what you have paid for. Quality is not something that is adopted as a special feature; instead, it is anintegral part of a product or service.

An ever-increasing number of manufacturers and firms offering services are entering the business battle-for-quality to win the ISO-9000 certification. The persevering winner is rewarded with a secure and firm position on the market. Quality is an advantage and necessity of market competitiveness. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a system that guarantees astipulated quality. Quality is, therefore, the result of a TQM system defined for specific activities, for a company, and for
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Email: ivankaah@fthm.hr

ISSN 1478-3363 print/ISSN 1478-3371 online # 2008 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/14783360802264103 http://www.informaworld.com

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the specific tasks and activities within the company. A highly complex system, TQM canbest be illustrated by Figure 1. TQM is a system of enhancing and improving flexibility and effective and efficient business performance. All employees and all activities from the most menial jobs to the highest management levels are included. TQM endeavours to secure and create conditions in which all the employees through a joint effort effectively and efficiently fully achieve one objective: when,where and how to produce a product and offer a service to the buyer and consumer. The concept of TQM is based on a process of constant advancement and improvement and lasting quality and teamwork, all of which result in permanent improvement. The TQM system is totally market oriented and customer driven. In a total quality system, the customer is king. The process begins with the customer (what...