Club Management Competencies 2005: Updated Information for the Classroom

Abstract

Club management has not been widely researched. In the mid-1990s, Barrows (1995) reviewed all of the major research findings to that date in a single, short article. Since then there has been somewhat more interest. For example, the Lodging, Restaurant and Tourism Index maintained at Perdue University lists 159 “club related” articles. Ninety nine of these articles appear in two magazines Club Industry (56 articles) and Club Management (43 articles). An additional 15 appeared in Nightclub and Bar Magazine (the latter publishes more for nightclubs than for private clubs). The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly has offered the most peerreviewed publications about clubs and club management. For instance, over the last 15 years, this publication has included nine articles about clubs. (Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly) The current authors solidly support and confirm the value of both industry and refereed publications. The former reports on current events and industry techniques in ways which scholarly publications cannot. The latter provide research-based facts and information helpful to practicing managers and educators. However, neither type of publications typically discusses teaching issues and skills as the current article does. In fact, there are few places for educators to find information related to the teaching of club management skills. The purpose of this article is to inform educators about newly determined competencies perceived necessary for effective club management in the future. Knowledge of the competencies will be useful to educators as they teach students about club management. Only one prior article (Perdue et.al., 2000) has been published which addressed current club manager competencies. Another article (Perdue, et. al., in press) focuses on future club manager competencies—the topic of this report.