International Journal of Hospitality Management 28 (2009) 1825

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Hospitality Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman

Relationship of WWW usage and employee learning in the casino industry

Joseph D. Lema a,*, Jerome Agrusa b,1
a
b

Hospitality Management, Drexel University, 3001 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
Travel Industry Management, College of Business Administration, 1164 Bishop Street #912, Hawaii Pacic University, Honolulu, HI 96813, United States

A R T I C L E I N F O

A B S T R A C T

Keywords:
Self-service technology
Human resource development
Casino industry

Self-service technology is rapidly changing how casino organizations are delivering services. Fueled by
consumer demand, self-service technology is providing value added options for customers in all areas of
the casino industry. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between technology,
World Wide Web (WWW) usage and the self-directed learning readiness of employees in the casino
industry. Along with a descriptive inquiry into the WWW technology expertise of casino employees, a
linear regression model indicated there is a signicant relationship between WWW usage and selfdirected learning readiness. As technology continues to transform the casino industry, human resource
development programs and practices will need to reect this rapidly changing environment.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
While technology has fueled much of the growth in delivering
new services and options that customers are demanding, a wellprepared and dynamic workforce is required to match these new
rapidly changing levels of technology. As technology continues to
rapidly advance in the casino industry and society, it is becoming
extremely important to have a highly capable workforce. Developing a competitive workforce is particularly important in the new
global economy, and it is essential in highly competitive areas,
such as the casino industry. Organizations that are able to initiate
and adapt to change faster than their competitors may have a
greater advantage in recruiting, maintaining, and developing a
superior, effective workforce.
Motivating employees to initiate change requires preparation
and practice. Preparing an employee to be self-directed involves
consideration of assumptions that follow self-directed learning
methods. An understanding of the theoretical research of the
variables that inuence self-directed learning readiness will allow
a hospitality organization to create effective, efcient programs
and practices that maximize the talents of its employees. Flexible
employees who can handle challenging responsibilities will be
needed to supplement technology rather than attempting to
substitute technology for an organizations incapable workforce.
Gordon (2000) argues in his book Skillwars that learning in the
workplace has not kept pace with the added technology and rapid

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 215 895 0955.

E-mail addresses: jdl42@drexel.edu (J.D. Lema), jagrusa@hpu.edu (J. Agrusa).
1
Tel.: +1 808 544 9341.
0278-4319/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2008.03.010

advancements in society. The result [rapid advancement] is a

people paradox that costs the United States economy $300 billion
each year in reduced worker productivity (Gordon, 2000, p. 7).
Human technology knowledge doubled between the years of 1750
and 1900; then, in the rst 50 years of the 1900s, doubled again.
Gordon argues that investment in human capital has not kept pace
with this rapid progress; many leaders in their organizations view
employee learning as an added benet, rather than as something
essential for survival.
Organizations and employees that can promote self-directed
learning readiness will help prepare their employees to participate
in self-directed work teams and support a learning organizational
strategy. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of
World Wide Web (WWW) usage and the self-directed learning
readiness of employees in the casino industry. In addition, other
descriptive data on technology expertise will also be examined to
understand the impact on self-directed learning. As a large number
of casino organizations continue to integrate more self-service
technology in their operations, human resource development
programs will need to reect this rapidly changing environment
and capitalize on opportunities to maximize employee potential.

2. Literature review
As the casino and hospitality industry continues to rapidly
change in a dynamic competitive environment, strategic methods
of learning may help employees and organizations acquire the
expertise to help them succeed. A highly competitive business
environment is creating levels of uncertainty and there are
concerns in the hospitality industry whether organizations are

J.D. Lema, J. Agrusa / International Journal of Hospitality Management 28 (2009) 1825

preparing employees for this complex environment (Cho et al.,

2002). The rapid development of self-service technology is
signicantly inuencing casino and hospitality organizations by
providing new opportunities and challenges for customers and
employees. A Time magazine article reported the popularity of selfservice with U.S. customers spending $128 billion at self-service
kiosks last year, an 80 percent jump from the year before, and by
2007 it could hit $1.3 trillion (Kiviat, 2004, p. 101). The explosion
of on-line learning in education and business is another example
and result of the rapid increases in technology. A recent article in
The Economist reported, Self-service is now doing for the service
sector what mass production once did for manufacturing,
automating processes and signicantly reducing costs (Youre
Hired, 2004, p. 21).
Self-service options for customers are continuing to increase in
all areas of the hospitality and tourism industries. Self-service is
appearing in restaurants, hotels, casinos, airlines, and auto rental
agencies to name a few. While customer demand is increasing for
self-service options, casino organizations are striving to meet the
demands of these sophisticated customers who are seeking greater
control over their experience. Self-service users often choose the
option to serve themselves, since perceived control is important to
their service experience (Langeard et al., 1981).
As more hospitality organizations are examining how to
enhance their service options and while self-service processes
are offering convenient and attractive solutions for customers,
management is also collecting valuable customer prole information (Yen, 2005). There are however, a number of customers who
will not use self-service options whether in the form of an on-site
kiosk, Web site, or other technology-based self-service. While this
group of non-self-service customers may have been substantial
enough for a hospitality organization not to invest in self-service
options in the past, the self-service market has experienced growth
with a shift towards greater acceptance, investment, and demand
for self-service technology (Scheri, 2005).
Self-service is becoming common in budget planning with
forecasts indicating increases in self-service technology investments over the next 3 years (Bickers, 2006). As self-service
technologies evolve, the structure of self-service will allow for
greater interfacing opportunities among diverse applications,
while offering increased simplicity for customers. Furthermore,
as the casino and hospitality industry continues to face unique
labor challenges with employee retention, turnover, and consistent
increases in customer service standards, self-service technology
may help work towards facilitating solutions to these continuing
challenges facing hospitality operations. Training and development, education, performance improvement, and learning are a
number of common terms associated with human resource
development processes (Phillips, 1999). Once regarded as a
personnel department responsibility, human resource development has evolved into a process that can be integrated into all
aspects of an organization (Nadler and Wiggs, 1986). Furthermore,
Nadler and Wiggs argue that one of the most critical factors of
success in an organization may be directly linked to human
resources (people). In the hospitality industry, Iverson (2001)
explains, that success is tied to organizations that are able to put
people (customers and employees) rst despite increasingly higher
levels of competition. Effective human resource development
activities help develop employees to their fullest potential, leading
to greater levels of employee and customer satisfaction (Nadler
and Wiggs, 1986).
With technology fueling the growth in the demand for
continuous learning processes, human resource development
professionals must refocus the traditional roles of trainers who
simply provide specic training activities to becoming facilitators

19

of change (Buyens et al., 2003). Training activities, Buyens et al.

(2003) argue, remains a part of human resource development but
is not necessarily the main product. Creating a work environment
that is favorable for learning with unique personal development
opportunities is the focus of an effective human resource
development strategy. Participation in learning activities provides
learners the opportunity to actively shape the learning environment that ts closely to their job responsibilities. Integrating
training directly with work activities suggests that more uid
levels of continuous learning may be achieved with real life
challenges centered on the tasks of the position (Buyens et al.,
2003). Fostering learning on the job is one of the most stimulating
work environments for employees and creates an important
condition for establishing an effective learning atmosphere.
Buyens et al. (2003) suggests that participation in developing
learning initiatives is an essential responsibility for all levels of
employees with human resource development professionals
facilitating the process.
Until recently, human resource development initiatives in
hospitality organizations have rarely held participants in training
programs accountable for producing results on the job (Iverson,
2001). The supervisor or trainer of the organization was often held
responsible for the learning outcomes and results. Phillips (1999)
suggests that service organizations are now shifting responsibility
directly to individual employees in a number of ways. Many
organizations empower employees to take on greater responsibility in developing learning initiatives and are expected to provide
input into the direction of their personal and organizational goals.
Responsibility, explains, will continue to be shifted towards the
individual employee as changing technology continues to rapidly
impact the organizations competitive environment. Furthermore,
that in addition to shifting learning responsibility to employees,
there will also be greater expectations for employees to identify
and overcome obstacles that prevent them from achieving desired
results (Phillips, 1999).
WWW learning applications are examples in the hospitality
industry that provide employees an opportunity to take on greater
learning responsibilities (Hu et al., 2003). As more information is
becoming accessible to a greater number of people, the hospitality
workforce is required to process information in a shorter amount
of time in order to remain competitive (Iverson, 2001). WWW
applications allow exible learning opportunities and unique
formats for employee training. Self-directed learning, along with a
variety of other learning programs, are available to meet the
training and development needs of many hospitality industry
organizations (Hu et al., 2003). Although comprehensive learning
programs are helping to meet the training needs of many
organizations, other customized learning programs and value
added services are providing unique training approaches (Bachman, 2000).
Human resource development initiatives, according to Bachman (2000), will be signicantly inuenced by WWW training
applications. Value added services in conjunction with decreasing
technological barriers will provide organizations the opportunity
to enable employee accountability for learning results. Bachman
(2000) explains that needs assessment, custom curriculum design,
performance support, reporting, and tracking will be a number of
signicant value added services that will become the mainstay of
WWW-based training. Advances in technologies are allowing
employees to be trained more efciently and at less expense then
in the past. Organizations, are increasingly viewing learning to be
more than a cost factor, but rather an investment that provides
signicant competitive advantages. Continuous training is needed,
as the emerging demand for knowledge continues to rapidly
increase and employee skills becoming shorter than ever. As a

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J.D. Lema, J. Agrusa / International Journal of Hospitality Management 28 (2009) 1825

result, continual human capital investment will be necessary for

organizations to remain competitive (Bachman, 2000). Furthermore, lifelong learning processes will be imperative to sustain a
competitively skilled workforce.
In examining the relationship of technology and learning,
employee experience with WWW technology must also be
considered as well as the opportunity for an employee to engage
in technology-based self-directed learning activities. Experience
has played a signicant role in the process of self-directed learning
(Merriam and Brockett, 1997). Knowles (1973) values the
experiences that adults bring to the learning environment as a
rich learning resource that can signicantly contribute to learning
processes. Adults, Knowles (1973) argues, can bring valuable
experiences that carry immediate unique skills to the learning
process. These unique skills and experiences may have been
acquired throughout their lifetime, and when the learner is able to
recognize familiar connections to previous experiences, learning
can be greatly accelerated, carrying great potential to expand the
learners base of knowledge. In addition, as adults progress through
life, they gather a wealth of experience that may add value to
learning when meaning is connected to the experience through
personal evaluation.
The widely recognized writings of Dewey (1938) also support
the construction and reconstruction of experiences in his research
connecting experience with education. While Dewey did not
equate experience with education, he did regard education coming
through experience. Not all experiences may be equally educational; however, as Dewey explains, some experiences are
miseducative and can inhibit future growth. The quality of the
experience, according to Dewey, is important for the learner in
regards to agreeableness or disagreeableness and inuence on
further experiences. All experiences, claims Dewey, are stored
from an individuals past, carried forward, and have an inuence on
all future experiences. Deweys (1938) rigorous commitment to
understand the nature of experience and practical value of
experience has signicantly contributed to individual growth,
learning strategies, and educational theories.
Adults with more formal education, according to ODonnell
(2006), are more inclined to participate in continuing education
and have positive attitudes towards initiating learning activities.
Houle (1988) similarly reports that the higher the level of higher
formal education of adults, the more likely it is that they will
participate in other learning activities over their lifetime. Learningoriented individuals are involved with continuous learning
activities throughout their lifetime and the inuences on their
motivation to participate in learning activities include teachers,
schools, occupations, peers, friends, and examples from people in
the community where they live (Houle, 1988).
Long (1991) argues, assuming that educational attainment
results in a certain mastery of knowledge, then self-directed
learning readiness (SDLR) should reect the ability of an individual
to learn. Long also claims that the search for signicant predictors
of an educational activity and consequences related to selfdirected learning generates interesting implications, but requires
further research and examination. Educational opportunities may
present opportunities for a learner to gain experience with various
forms of WWW applications and provide the motivation to master
new emerging forms of technology.
As adults mature, Knowles (1984) argues, they become
increasingly self-directed. Similarly, as Mezirow (1985) explains,
a prerequisite for autonomy in self-directed learning is selfknowledge. Furthermore, Mezirow claims that understanding
reasons for an individuals wants, interests, and needs happens
through critical reection of historical, biographical, and cultural
events. Maturity, Mezirow argues, is central to the process of

critical reection just as critical reection is to self-knowledge.

Mezirow (1985) extends the notion of critical thinking to selfreective learning. However, as WWW-based technology applications become more closely integrated into everyday life in various
forms, differences among the quality and quantity of WWW
experience may exist.
Human performance enhancement, described by Rothwell
(1996), is a part of human resource development that focuses
on outcomes, results, and accomplishments. The human performance enhancement strategy involves transformations in
employee work activities, self-directed learning responsibilities,
and behavior changes. There is a reciprocal relationship between
the individual and the organization. Individual performance,
Rothwell (1996) suggests, is tied to organizational performance,
and organizational goals is connected to individual goals. The
function of human resource development cannot be isolated in an
organization (Nadler and Wiggs, 1986). Human performance
productivity of people must be directly linked to human resource
development strategies. Nadler and Wiggs (1986) argue that
developing employees to their fullest potential is one of the most
important characteristics of effect human resource development
activities. Individuals, according to Nadler and Wiggs, are more
than employees but people who have aspects of their life that
inuence workplace performance. Nadler (1990) suggests that a
quality work life promotes positive healthy living environments
and creates a lifeplace rather than a workplace. As technology
continues to impact all aspects of the work environment,
transformations in alternative work sites, scheduling, and continuous learning opportunities will impact organizational productivity and challenge existing human resource development
processes.
Rothwell (1996) argues that training programs simply emphasize individuals in their work roles. Human performance enhancement strategies however, often encompass other aspects of an
individuals life that lead to effective outcomes, results, and
accomplishments. Human performance enhancement strategies
include a critical reective analysis, by the learner, of competencies
needed to identify personal developmental plans that ll in the
gaps between required levels of performance and existing skill
competencies (Rothwell, 1996). The role of the facilitator is to
empower the learner, rather than providing direct planned
learning that may marginalize other competencies developed
beyond the scope of the learners role within their workplace.
Rothwell (1996) argues that effective human performance is the
result of organizations facilitating learning, yet, allowing learners
the opportunity to identify future learning opportunities with their
own initiative.
Guglielmino and Guglielmino (1994) suggest four strategies for
creating effective human resource development settings and selfdirected learning. Awareness of organizational support is an
essential element that strengthens the organizations commitment
to the employees of the necessary resources available. Learning
facilitators, for example, may assist employees in nding
information and materials during an initial orientation session.
Internal promotions are another strategy that may help to
continually remind employees of the resources available and
highlight new innovations which address important issues facing
employees and their organization. Furthermore, by providing easy
access to information and removing barriers that prevent knowledge from being easily attained by the employee is one way of
demonstrating further organizational support. For example,
analyzing the time, space, and speed that employees can retrieve
necessary sources of information. Finally, formalizing the use of
self-directed learning activities to validate the commitment of the
employee and organization to self-directed learning initiatives is

J.D. Lema, J. Agrusa / International Journal of Hospitality Management 28 (2009) 1825

another suggested strategy. Incorporating learning contracts, for

instance, can reinforce the importance of self-directed learning
requirements in the employees work setting.
Self-directed learning in organizations, Reid (2001) explains, is
a choice by the learner and inuenced by empowerment issues.
Well managed human resource development systems facilitate
learning and help to motivate employees to decide on the best
alternatives that meets the needs of the individual and organization. Power and access to information mediates employees choices
in the context of self-directed learning (Reid, 2001). Empowering
and enabling employees to have an increasing role in directing
their own learning effectively, serves both the individual and
organization. Reid (2001) claims that the role of human resource
development should provide an organizational climate that
supports self-directed learning. Organizational climate must focus
on accepting diversity as a valuable learning source, encourage
innovation, and acknowledge individual differences in levels of
self-directed learning readiness.
With continuing technological and societal changes, Guglielmino and Guglielmino (1994) explain that the trend toward selfdirected strategies in the area of human resource development will
continue. The link between performance and self-directed learning
readiness has contributed to an increasing focus of many human
resource development departments in a variety of service
organizations and industries (Guglielmino and Guglielmino,
1994). Eurich (1990) similarly argues that human performance
gains are becoming more recognizable with technology, and
human resource development initiatives may be more easily
regarded as an investment that can be amortized over time rather
than simply an expense of the organization. In highly competitive
industries human resource development initiatives must recognize the impact of a knowledge-based learning organization as a
necessity for survival. Furthermore, Eurich (1990) emphasizes, that
human resource development must continue to make periodic
investments to counter the depreciation of knowledge and
encourage the theory of lifelong learning throughout the
organization.
Traditional methods of preparing students to become managers
in the hospitality industry are also being challenged to meet the
needs of this competitive industry (Sizoo et al., 2005). As the
business environment continues to rapidly develop, skills of
inquiry are an important component of formal hospitality
education, and critical analytic skills need further emphasis in
program planning. Furthermore, Sizoo et al. (2005) explain that
successful graduates of hospitality programs are those who are
prepared to be lifelong learners. Incorporating learning processes
into everyday life is also needed to succeed in a rapidly changing
environment. Students and instructors will need to know how well
learning is taking place today in order to build on strengths and
weaknesses for the future. Gaining knowledge through technology
will help hospitality students gain a competitive edge into the
workplace and add signicant value to many learning organizations in the hospitality industry.
Gordon (2000), in his book Skillwars, uniquely articulates the
timeline of technology and how the ow of information has gone
from a shortage in the past to a new present overload of
information. As businesses compete for the best people, Gordon
(2000) argues, one of the toughest challenges will be to employ and
retain people who will be required to succeed. At the center of this
focus on human development is the concept of lifelong learning.
The shift from the workplace as an end of education to an ongoing
developmental process moves towards interconnecting business
and learning. While it is noted in Gordons book that many people
need to improve their personal skill competencies, it must be
applicable in a way that will help to solve day-to-day and future

21

workplace problems in a personally meaningful applied manner

(Gordon, 2000).
Learning as described by Senge (1990) is a process of enhancing
human capacity to accomplish something that an individual is
passionate about. Learning organizations, Senge (1990) explains,
engage the whole employee to skillfully create, acquire, and
transfer knowledge, and, at the same time, reect on processes to
modify existing practices. For organizations to achieve learning,
human capability and practice must be continually created in order
to improve. Organizations can anticipate results by utilizing stored
information to bring new and innovative perspectives of processes.
Feedback mechanisms for individuals to learn from each other or
from other organizations in a different eld provide another
opportunity to examine and gather benchmarking data. Transferring knowledge is the key for all learning initiatives. Learning
activities that are disseminated through the organization and
applied on the job connect the learning with action to benet both
the individual and organization.
Problem solving strategies in the hospitality workplace are
becoming critically important for organizational effectiveness
(Ross, 2003). Employees in the hospitality industry, Ross argues,
require an enhanced capacity to think critically in spontaneous
situations. The research proposed by Ross (2003) reveals a number
of interesting ndings related to organizations in the hospitality
industry. In the context of learning and problem solving, the
perception of learning processes may need further critical
examination to ensure organizations are nurturing development
processes that consider the unique characteristics of employees
needs. Organizations that perpetuate traditional procedures
without critical analysis may nd their enterprise resembling a
system that fails to initiate rapid change. As competition in the
hospitality industry continues to challenge organizations to
compete effectively, problem solving processes and employee
self-directed learning readiness will need to be developed
strategically.
Effective employees who thrive in rapidly changing environments and high levels of competition will lead to satised
customers (Iverson, 2001). In highly competitive environments
induced with an explosion of knowledge and technology, such as
the hospitality industry, adaptation to change is at the center of
organizational learning capabilities (Buyens et al., 2003). Learning
on an organizational level depends on the learning capabilities of
the employees to acquire and disseminate new knowledge in
certain and uncertain operating conditions. Furthermore, employees in learning organizations require problem solving capabilities
that lead to development in their capacity for future continuous
learning (Senge, 1990).
The shift from learning as a classroom activity to more uid
methods of learning may facilitate employees to take greater
personal responsibility and control for their own learning and
acquiring knowledge in a learning organization (Buyens et al.,
2003). In the casino and hospitality industry, as self-service
strategies dominate changes taking place within technological
processes, support for formal, informal, and incidental learning
will be necessary on an individual level and collectively throughout organizations. Continuous learning as part of an everyday
process that encompasses broader aspects of employee development requires greater understanding of related variables that will
lead to further development.
3. Methodology
This study focused on three participating casino organizations
offering a diverse workforce from areas of food and beverage,
lodging, and entertainment operations that represent signicant

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J.D. Lema, J. Agrusa / International Journal of Hospitality Management 28 (2009) 1825

areas of a casino organization. The convenience sample consisted

of employees who work in these three casino organizations with
participation of approximately 216 employees. Data collection
occurred at the three participating casino organizations located in
Hawaii, Mississippi, and Indiana during April 2006 with a
questionnaire completion time of 30 min.
With information technology leading developments in the
casino industry through the WWW, participants completed a
WWW usage scale to further examine the impact that technology
expertise has on facilitating the self-directed learning readiness of
employees. WWW usage was measured using a subscale of the
Computer, E-mail, and Web (CEW) uency instrument developed
by Bunz (2004). Internal reliability for the WWW subscale reports
a Cronbachs alpha of .84. The subscale consists of questions
originally adapted from the Georgia Tech WWW user survey
(1998) that calculates the number of WWW-related activities
employees have experienced. A WWW expertise score was
determined based on the total number of tasks completed by
the participants. A lower level of WWW expertise was indicated by
the completion of 13 tasks while an expert level was measured by
the completion of 1012 tasks.
The Oddi Continuous Learning Inventory (OCLI) survey is one of
the most widely reliable and validated instruments used for the
measurement of readiness for self-directed learning (Brockett and
Hiemstra, 1991). The OCLI survey consists of 24 items measuring
the level of self-directed learning readiness of adults. With a
reported Cronbachs alpha of .88 and retest reliability of r = .89, the
OCLI is an adequately reliable instrument for this study (Oddi,
1984). Validation of the OCLI instrument was conducted by Oddi
et al. (1990) to examine the relationship of the survey constructs to
behavioral characteristics that indicate self-directed learning
readiness. Respondents circled an answer from a seven point
Likert scale ranging from one, strongly agree, to seven, strongly
disagree, to best describe their behavior.
4. Results
Descriptive data for the total sample include gender, age,
ethnicity, education, position, and industry experience. The sample
contained 52% females (n = 111) and 48% males (n = 101). The
average age of the participants was 34 years, with employees
ranging from 21 to 63 years of age. Ethnicity was divided with 14%
African American (n = 30), 2% American Indian (n = 5), 17% Asian
(n = 35), 45% Caucasian (n = 96), 13% Hispanic (n = 27), and 9%
Pacic Islander (n = 19). Level of education represented 35% with a
high school diploma (n = 76), 12% with an associates degree
(n = 25), 24% enrolled in undergraduate education (n = 50), 19%
with a completed bachelors degree (n = 41), 3% enrolled in
graduate education (n = 6), and 7% with a completed masters
degree or higher (n = 14). The majority of the participants, 66%,
were non-supervisors (n = 141) while 34% were supervisors
(n = 71).

Table 1
Location of WWW usage (N = 212)
Location

Frequency

Percent

Home
Never
Less than once a month
Monthly
Weekly
Daily

23
14
6
21
148

11
7
3
10
69

Work
Never
Less than once a month
Monthly
Weekly
Daily

71
25
4
23
89

34
12
2
11
41

School
Never
Less than once a month
Monthly
Weekly
Daily

125
30
6
29
22

58
14
3
14
11

Public terminals
Never
Less than once a month
Monthly
Weekly
Daily

141
50
16
4
1

66
23
8
2
1

Other locations
Never
Less than once a month
Monthly
Weekly
Daily

121
50
24
16
1

56
24
11
8
1

Usage of the WWW is reported in Table 2. Participants were

asked how often, on average, they used the WWW for a specic set
of tasks or activities. Responses ranged from 12% using the WWW
less than once a month, while 33% used the WWW more than ve
times a day. The greatest response was indicated by 40% of the
participants using the WWW one to four times daily.
Hours of WWW usage, presented in Table 3, ranged from 38% of
participants spending less than 1 h a week, to 1% spending over
40 h a week. The majority of respondents (38%) identied spending
less than 1 h a week of WWW usage, followed by 56 h a week of
WWW usage (19%). Six percent of the respondents reported having

Table 2
Amount of WWW usage (N = 212)
Category

Frequency

Percent

More than 5 times a day

14 times a day
Few times a week
Once a week
Less than once a month

70
84
24
8
26

33
40
11
4
12

4.1. WWW technology experience

Participants were asked ve questions regarding how frequently they accessed the WWW from a number of locations.
Presented in Table 1 is a summary of the frequencies and
percentages of responses. The majority of the respondents, 69%,
indicated that they accessed the WWW from home on a daily basis,
while 11% had never accessed the WWW from home. At work, 34%
of the respondents never accessed the WWW, while 41% accessed
the WWW daily. Those never having access to the WWW from
school represented 58% of the sample, public terminals 66%, and
other locations 56%.

Table 3
Hours of WWW usage (N = 212)
Category

Frequency

Percent

Less than 1 h a week

24 h a week
56 h a week
79 h a week
1020 h a week
2140 h a week
More than 40 h a week

81
31
41
12
30
14
3

38
15
19
6
14
7
1

J.D. Lema, J. Agrusa / International Journal of Hospitality Management 28 (2009) 1825

79 h of WWW usage, 14% had 1020 h a week, and 7% had 21

40 h a week.
The primary purposes of WWW activities indicated that 65% of
the respondents reported shopping and gathering information for
personal needs, respectively, were their primary purposes for
using the WWW. In addition, work business followed closely with
59% of the respondents reporting that this was their primary
purpose for using the WWW. Furthermore, participants were
allowed to report multiple responses for this question, ranging
from one to eight responses. Ten percent of the participants
reported that they only participated in one activity, while 1%
indicated that they had performed all eight activities. The majority
of participants (25%) indicated that they had performed four of the
possible eight activities.
The number of WWW applications performed by participants.
Fourteen percent of the respondents reported having participated in at least one WWW activity. Those who participated in at
least two WWW activities followed closely at 13% of the
respondents. The maximum number of activities reported was
12 with only 2% of participants indicating that they had
experience with all 12 activities. According to the original
authors of the Georgia Tech WWW user survey classication, as
reported by Bunz (2004), 13 activity selections indicates novice
experience, while participation in 1012 activities would be
classied as having expert experience. Accordingly, the Georgia
Tech WWW user survey classication system indicated the range
of expertise to include 34% of participants having novice
experience, with 14% having expert experience with WWW
applications. The most widely reported activity that participants
experienced (70%) was ordering a product or service by
completing an electronic form on the WWW. More then half
of the participants (51%) indicated they used a nationwide online
directory to nd an address or telephone number. Furthermore,
participants (50%) reported that they made a purchase on the
WWW in excess of $100.
4.2. Linear regression model
A linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate OCLI
scores and Hours of WWW Usage for casino industry employees.
Data inspection did not locate any outliers, therefore, no cases
were deleted from the analysis. Evaluations of linearity, KolmogorovSmirnov tests of normality, homoscedasticity, and multicollinearity showed that the assumptions were met within the
range of tolerance. The two variables indicate that higher Hours of
WWW Usage tend to be associated with higher OCLI scores. The
regression equation for predicting the OCLI scores is: OCLI
scores = 81.29 + 9.57(Hours of WWW Usage). OCLI scores were
signicant, t(210) = 11.66, p < .001. The 95% condence interval
for the slope, 7.9511.19, does not contain the value of 0, and
therefore Hours of WWW Usage can reliably predict OCLI scores of
hospitality employees. The correlation between Hours of WWW
Usage and OCLI scores was .63. Approximately 39% of the variance
in the OCLI scores was accounted for by its linear relationship with
Hours of WWW Usage.
5. Conclusion
Descriptive data were gathered to determine the technology
experience of employees in the casino industry. As technology,
specically self-service technology, continues to impact the casino
industry, detailed data were collected to complement the analysis
of this research. WWW applications are the predominant activities
in view of technological information sources and the operation of
self-service processes in the casino industry.

23

The results of this study indicate that employees with greater

amounts of WWW usage have higher OCLI scores. The increased
level of experience with WWW-based applications may indicate
that an employee is more likely to engage in self-directed learning
activities. With higher levels of self-directed learning readiness for
those employees who have greater experience with WWW-based
applications, other learning potential may exist for future
advanced training and development programs. Learning programs
may be uniquely tailored to the employees level of readiness in
terms of experience with technology and self-directed learning
processes.
Experience with WWW technology indicated that the majority
of casino employees had experience with the WWW from their
home on a daily basis. In addition, a slight majority had experience
with WWW applications at work on a daily basis. The least likely
place that employees had experience with WWW applications was
from a public location. The home appears to provide the greatest
opportunity for employees to gain experience with WWW
applications with an overall average access to different applications of one to four times daily. The majority of employees used
WWW applications an average of less than 56 h a week. Most
employees who accessed the WWW had experience with an
average of four different applications with the common application
being that of ordering a product or service by completing an
electronic form on the WWW and gathering information for
personal needs. In view of the information gathered on technology
expertise, the average casino employee was reported to have
novice to lower intermediate levels of experience with technology.
In a study involving employees in the healthcare service
industry conducted by Bunz (2004), technology expertise was also
examined. Respondents who scored higher on WWW applications
were more supportive of technology and competent in their ability
to successfully initiate learning activities. While the average
respondent was reported to be on the higher intermediate level of
experience with technology, users with lower levels of technology
experience were signicantly less likely to adopt technology
applications. Considering the level of technology expertise of
casino employees in this study are lower than the respondents in
Bunz (2004) study, the establishment of processes that support
individual learning initiatives and the successful adoption of new
technologies that are impacting casino organizations internally
and externally requires further examination.
With the majority of employees in this study having reported
access to WWW technologies on a daily basis from their homes,
opportunities exist for casino organizations to provide exible
training delivery methods. Although WWW technology experience
usage categorized casino employees as having novice to lower
intermediate levels of technology experience according to the
Georgia Tech WWW user survey classication system, the overall
participation rate (70%) of those employees accessing WWW
applications is high. Variability exists, based on the results of
employees WWW technology experiences, with the number of
tasks performed such as ordering a product or service to
completing an electronic form on the WWW. The variability in
the quality of self-service (WWW) technology experiences is
where opportunities exist to examine the readiness of employees
to engage in future self-service processes. Experience with WWW
technologies may provide employees increased levels of selfdirected learning readiness along with further advancements in
self-service strategies.
Self-directed succession planning may be one training and
development opportunity organizations may be able to benet
from in terms of increased retention and employee commitment to
pursue continuous learning. Self-directed succession planning
allows the employee to actively participate in setting personal

24

J.D. Lema, J. Agrusa / International Journal of Hospitality Management 28 (2009) 1825

goals and action plans for their future development. Based on the
employees level of self-directed learning readiness, training and
development programs can be specically tailored to an employees
unique needs through self-service technologies. Employees may
have the benet of accessing training and development opportunities during their downtime at work or in their spare time at home.
Benets for the hospitality organization may be in the form of
increased employee retention, experience with self-service technologies, and efcient training programs. Furthermore, as employees gain greater quality experiences with self-service processes
through WWW technologies, their ability to relate to the self-service
customer experience may also increase. Facilitating employee
readiness with self-service technology may lead to employees
having greater knowledge and experience when interacting with
customers who face self-service challenges of their own.
As technology continues to fuel the growth of information,
employees are being challenged to continuously interpret and
apply new information that is relevant to their unique situations.
With self-service technologies leading change initiatives in the
casino industry, continuous learning activities that build critical
thinking skills will be necessary for hospitality organizations to
competitively operate in this uncertain and rapidly developing
environment. Self-service technology is reported to be at the
beginning of the adoption curve and, within the near future, is
expected to expand in growth from $128 billion to over $41.3
trillion (Frary, 2005). The impact for employees and customers is
expected to be enormous. In view of this staggering opportunity for
growth, learning initiatives will need close examination to ensure
that employees skill levels can optimize the hospitality organizations technological capabilities.
Casino organizations should consider the implications of selfservice technology and continually review policies that act as
barriers to learning while working towards processes that support
learning opportunities. Connecting self-directed learning concepts
specically, should be aligned and considered with self-service
applications. Training and development programs should emphasize continuous, uid learning initiatives with technology to
address the rapidly changing business conditions of the casino
industry. With increased WWW technology experience, employees have the opportunity to participate in self-directed learning
using WWW-based training that will enable these employees to
think critically and transition to active facilitators which coincides
with Buyens et al. (2003) study. As employees gain greater
experience with WWW technology learning processes can be
shifted to on-line learning, allowing greater opportunities for
employees to engage in non-traditional exible learning initiatives. In addition, learning programs should focus on supporting
employees to actively participate in learning activities that enable
employees to gain experience with technology rather than
developing policies that discourage WWW-based applications.
With casino organizations continuing to shift greater responsibilities throughout levels of the organization, ownership of
learning should also be directed towards individual responsibility.
Empowering employees to engage in learning and initiating
change will require new policy measures of accountability,
responsibility, and unique considerations for learning programs.
Considering that casino employees, as indicated from the
descriptive results of this study, have novice to lower intermediate
experience with WWW technologies, the role of self-directed
learning readiness may require careful consideration in developing
human resource development initiatives. An increase in the level of
self-directed learning readiness of employees will need to coincide
with strategies that enhance employees experience with technology. The technology expertise of casino employees may increase by
allowing employees greater opportunities to utilize more WWW

applications. In addition, providing focused facilitation to complement self-directed processes may help to provide positive and
successful experiences with self-service technologies.
An employee that, for example, is a novice user of WWW
technology, may be highly motivated to pursue a learning
opportunity that will provide an immediate impact on their life
such as having unlimited access to self-service benet options. An
organization that can facilitate personal rewarding experiences for
their employees also has an opportunity to create positive
experiences that may increase technological skill levels. One of
the concerns that Hu et al. (2003) explain in their research on
WWW-based training is that participants need to be more selfmotivated in training activities in order to use the technological
capabilities of the WWW to the fullest extent. Providing learning
opportunities through activities that have an immediate personal
interest and impact on employees may be one possible motivational strategy. Furthermore, in view of rapid technological
developments, offering employees incentives to purchase personal
computers for their homes may provide other opportunities for
employees to gain experience with self-service applications.
Providing employees with the opportunity to gain self-service
technology experience can begin with initiatives that are of
personal interest to employees such as self-service benets
enrollment, payroll transactions, and other personnel-related
activities. In addition, providing access to computers at work
and providing learning opportunities to gain skills in a supportive
environment will enhance employees learning experience with
WWW applications.
Training and development practices should provide greater
opportunities for employees to participate in personal learning
goals and objectives. Through self-directed learning practices
employees can have greater opportunities to practice making
decisions and develop critical thinking skills. As many hospitality
organizations expand globally and shift learning programs to
WWW-based applications, self-directed learning readiness will
need to be examined to determine which employees are ready to
participate and at what level. Hu et al. (2003) also found that large
hospitality organizations, in particular, which have a wide
dispersal of employees and properties can strategically benet
from WWW-based applications in both convenience and expense
(Buyens et al., 2003).
The consequences of implementing WWW-based applications
that maybe unsuitable or inappropriate for certain employees who
may feel out of place, however, may not only waste a signicant
amount of investment capital, it may also act as a barrier to future
employee development. In addition to implementing WWW
technology and self-directed learning programs, appropriate levels
of facilitation must not be compromised in the process. Understanding the self-directed learning readiness of employees and the
signicant factors related to promoting self-directed processes, such
as WWW technology as presented in the ndings of this study, will
help in determining levels of facilitation needed for the successful
implementation of these programs in the casino industry.
While one of the limitations of this study was that it did not
provide causeeffect relationships among the variables, future
research should focus on examining a comprehensive set of
variables to extend the generalized results. It must also be
acknowledged that WWW usage comprises one part of a number
of technology applications and therefore, the results of this sample
may be limited to the WWW usage prociency aspects in
consideration of numerous other technological applications.
Furthermore, considering the number of diverse aspects of the
hospitality industry the results of this study may be limited to the
food and beverage, lodging, and entertainment aspects of the
casino industry. It is suggested that in future research a larger

J.D. Lema, J. Agrusa / International Journal of Hospitality Management 28 (2009) 1825

sample size be considered in order to capture the diverse

components of the larger hospitality and tourism industry. Future
studies should also examine other factors which may impact selfdirected learning readiness and WWW-based application prociencies such as age and education.
Integration of self-directed learning readiness instruments for
pre-screening employees, or during new hire orientation, may help
hospitality industry organizations understand the level of selfdirected learning readiness of their workforce. Human resource
development initiatives can focus on the specic needs of the
diverse skill levels of employees and departments. Levels of
facilitation can be efciently adjusted to meet the needs of specic
areas of the casino operation.
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