Hospitality Management Programs Research Articles

Internationalising hospitality management degree programmes

PurposeThis paper aims to identify the extent to which hospitality management degree programmes are internationalised to develop graduates capable of working within the global hospitality industry.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative multiple case study approach was adopted for a UK study of undergraduate international hospitality management degrees. Interviews and document analysis were used as the data collection techniques.FindingsThe findings reveal the importance of the development of graduates' cross‐cultural competencies within international hospitality management programmes and the methods used to develop these. The study also reveals further opportunities to enhance the internationalisation of degree programmes.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are based on a case study research strategy set within the context of the UK and as such, the generalisability of the findings may be limited. In addition, the study sample contained only undergraduate international hospitality management degree programmes.Practical implicationsThis paper reveals a number of opportunities to enhance the internationalisation of hospitality management programmes and the challenges currently faced by academics and students.Originality/valueThe paper provides a framework comprising internationalisation at home (IaH) and internationalisation abroad (IA) dimensions for academics to assess the internationalisation of degree programmes and the extent to which cross‐cultural competencies are developed among graduates. The framework can also be used by graduate recruiters seeking candidates with the requisite cross‐cultural understanding, attitudes and skills to work within the international hospitality industry.

Integrating CSR with hospitality management programmes in higher education

Today’s business world is realising the benefits of incorporating social responsibility into their strategic plans. The majority of today’s Fortune 250 organisations are aggressively pursuing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives (KPMG, 2005). This shift towards environmental business models leads to the question of preparedness in new hospitality management graduates that are working in every facet of the tourism industry, which is one of the largest industries in the world. The long-term sustainability of tourism is contingent on the ability of tourism professionals and business leaders to ensure the growth of tourism with minimum impact on the environment. In this green era, hospitality management programmes would serve the industry well by staying ahead of the curve and incorporating into its curricula the importance of measuring our impact on the planet and people in addition to profits.

Can Universities Assist Small Hospitality Enterprises? The Operators' Views

Previous research studying university–industry relationships suggests the existence of a traditional approach to cooperation and reciprocal support between these two entities. At the other end, little, if any, research has been conducted exploring relationships between universities or institutions with teaching hospitality management and the hospitality industry, particularly small hospitality enterprises. Fundamentally, there is a distinct lack of knowledge pertaining to industry attitudes and perceptions of these hospitality management programs, their students, and the cooperative services they might provide in assisting small hospitality enterprises in their day-to-day operations. The present study seeks to gain insights on these issues by studying small hospitality operators' views. Data were collected among 21 small hospitality enterprises located in different southern U.S. states via face-to-face and telephone interviews. While fewer than half of the respondents saw specific ways of engaging universities, for instance, working on (student work) internships or helping students gain working experience, the general tone among respondents suggests lack of awareness and knowledge of the potential ways institutions could assist operations. While the expectation might be one of symbiosis, the findings point to a clearly dysfunctional relationship between small hospitality enterprises and the university hospitality programs that exist to serve their need.

Environmental Sustainability in the Hospitality Management Curriculum: Perspectives from Three Groups of Stakeholders

Debate about sustainability centers on the responsibilities of consumers and businesses working towards a sustainable future with a new focus on business management. This focus should be considered as a key component within undergraduate hospitality management programs with varied courses, content and sequencing. Graduates would possess a range of perspectives and competences increasing awareness of good sustainable business practices. To develop a meaningful curriculum model, three stakeholders (students, educators, and industry professionals) were assessed on their perspectives of environmental sustainability, its importance in hospitality curricula, and suggestions for course content and pedagogic approaches. The results suggest significant differences between the groups in their attitudes, behaviors, interest in sustainability, importance of environmental issues and topics in the curriculum.

Essential Hotel Managerial Competencies for Graduate Students

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the current provision for graduate hospitality management education can fulfill the essential competency requirements for hospitality industry managers in Hong Kong. A quantitative survey of hotel managers and graduate students was carried out, followed by in-depth interviews with educators and an analysis of relevant graduate program documents. The results show that leadership was perceived by hotel managers to be the most important competency, followed by industry knowledge and communication skills. Graduate students, in contrast, believed that graduate programs enhance their communication skills, industry knowledge, and interpersonal skills. The findings imply that hospitality management programs should pay more attention to the development of leadership skills, as the skills that are considered by hotel managers to be the most important competency. Implications of the findings for educators and managers in terms of best practice in developing hotel managerial competencies are also discussed.

Chinese Learners' Perceptions of Blended Learning in a Hospitality and Tourism Management Program

A Confucian tradition still permeates the delivery of higher education in Greater China, leading to passive learning and a teacher-centred approach. This paper describes how one hospitality course from a Hong Kong university was transformed into a student-centred, blended learning programme using independent and group learning methods to engage and motivate students, and to evaluate the success of this approach. The study suggests Chinese students value the active learning approach, but that changes to teaching and learning methods need to be introduced over time, and across the whole curriculum, to become acceptable to most students.

An Exploratory Study of the Internationalization of Tourism Higher Education in China

The study examined the internationalization of 29 hospitality and tourism management programs in Guangdong Province, China. The current situation and problems of internationalization of tourism higher education were investigated from various aspects including internationalization of faculty, students, research, and exchange programs.

A Taxonomy of Academic Quality Indicators for U.S.-Based 4-Year Undergraduate Hospitality Management Programs

The purpose of the study was to classify quality indicators into unique construct groups. Seventy-two quality indicators were investigated as predictors of undergraduate hospitality management program excellence. A multidimensional approach was used on a sample of 277 stakeholders to answer relevant research questions. By cluster analysis of primary quality indicators for undergraduate hospitality management programs, three construct groups were identified: (a) students/alumni, industry support, faculty; (b) facilities, curriculum; and (c) research. Furthermore, results showed these groups to be unique in quality indicator characteristics. Implications for hospitality management program planning and assessment and suggestions for further research are discussed.

A Hospitality Management Education Model: Recommendations for the effective use of work-based learning in undergraduate management courses

Work-based learning is an active learning approach to management education that incorporates a variety of different pedagogical practices. The integration and application of these different practices are an effective means of building essential managerial and leadership skills. While hospitality management programs have long taken an active approach to education, this paper presents a comprehensive conceptual foundation for active learning that can be applied in hospitality courses and numerous other management courses. Specifically, this paper presents the application of a work-based learning approach to pedagogy in two undergraduate business courses – Organizational Behavior and Management Skills. Examples of learnings from student papers, and anonymous survey data, provide evidence that engaging in work-based learning helped students learn the subject matter in their respective courses. The present paper expands on earlier work on applied learning by synthesizing disparate pedagogical methods, by providing an integrated conceptual basis for applied learning projects, and by providing a framework for the implementation of work-based learning in multiple management courses. As many hospitality programs in North America are being integrated into colleges of business, work-based learning is especially pertinent given contemporary criticisms of traditional pedagogical techniques in management education

Toward the Development of Best Practice in a Postgraduate International Hospitality Management Program

ABSTRACT The internationalization of education is an area of growing interest in postgraduate hospitality programs. This article explores the considerations for best practice in the curriculum development and delivery of postgraduate programs in international hospitality management. It examines how the embedding of principles and practices in a Master of International Hospitality Management program relates with the development of international best practice. A model for the consideration of ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric education strategies and practices in the development and delivery of such programs is presented. The article argues for the adoption of a geocentric approach.

Doctoral Students in the U.S. Hospitality Programs: A Survey of their Demographic, Academic and Professional Characteristics

This paper reports the results of a Web-based survey of students enrolled in the doctoral programs in Hospitality Management in the U.S.A. The purpose of this study is to develop a profile of the next generation of hospitality educators. Comparisons between international and domestic students' profiles and learning experiences are also emphasized. The study reveals significant differences between the two groups of students in terms of their characteristics, level of satisfaction, future career goals, motivation, sources of funding, areas of research interests, and other various aspects their learning experiences. Implications of these findings are discussed and potential venues for future research are presented.

“HB @ MSU: When and why?”

The need to better understand the process of student academic and career decision making is evident given that the number of colleges offering degree programs in hospitality management in the United States has increased substantially in recent decades. To address this need, a survey which provided measures of criteria and timing of academic and career choices was administered to a sample of 414 students at Michigan State University. The results indicated that most students selected the university before solidifying their career orientation or academic program decision. These findings underscore the importance of understanding when and why students choose hospitality management programs as limited recruiting and admissions resources are allocated in the midst of competitive and economically uncertain circumstances.

The Drivers of Program Selection in Hospitality Management at Victoria University

As competition in the education sector continues to increase there is an ongoing need for empirical studies into the drivers of student program selection. This paper presents the findings of a study into the reasons why students select undergraduate degree programs in hospitality management at Victoria University (Australia). A sample of 260 first year students (Freshmen) were surveyed. The results highlight the need to target program information to peers, teachers, parents and other significant adults during the final years of high school studies whilst taking into account differences in program selection motivations between male and female prospective students.

Program Selection in Hospitality management at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT)

This paper presents the findings of a survey of first year students enrolled in Hospitality Management degree programs at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT). Using a validated research questionnaire modified to reflect the local context, 51 first year student responses were obtained. The findings, which are presented in the context of other published papers in this special issue, will be of interest to those seeking international insights into the motivations of students enrolled in hospitality management programs.

An Analysis of Curriculum Requirements among Hospitality and Tourism Management Programs in AACSB Colleges of Business in the United States

ABSTRACT Hospitality and tourism management programs are becoming a staple of university curricula throughout the world, offering a wide diversity of courses and programs. Historically, such programs have evolved as independent schools or colleges within their universities. More often they have developed as departments under larger schools or colleges such as geography, recreation, home economics, and business. As a result, the academic field has struggled with an identity crisis of sorts due to the diversity of academic homes and the lack of a widely recognized common body of knowledge that constitutes the core theory and concepts. To investigate the current state of hospitality and tourism management curriculum in all business schools in the United States accredited by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business—28 programs were surveyed to determine the depth and breadth of requirements for major, minor and concentration in hospitality and tourism management. The results indicate hospitality and tourism management major curriculums in business schools are moving toward a core group of required business and hospitality and tourism management courses. However, there is little consensus on what courses constitute the hospitality and tourism management concentration and minor.

Ethical Perceptions of Hospitality Students and the Discussion of Ethical Behavior

This paper presents the results of a brief survey of upper level undergraduate students in a Hospitality Management program and how the collected information was used in class discussions concerning ethical decision-making. Topics of discussion included ethics in the hospitality industry, organizations, supervision, and ethics in decision-making. The results of the survey were used to generate discussion.

Conceptualization of Quality Indicators for U.S. Based Four-Year Undergraduate Hospitality Management Programs

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to (a) generate a composite list of hospitality management program quality indicators and (b) arrange the quality indicators in dimensional categories under conceptual themes. Three focus group interviews were conducted with twenty-eight hospitality educators and administrators. Sixty-nine quality indicators emerged based on the content analyses of the data under five conceptual themes: students/alumni, curriculum, faculty, industry support, and facilities. Categories under each theme varied in the unidimensional and multidimensional nature of their indicators. Implications for stakeholders and recommendations for future research to determine specific quality measures that would be useful to hospitality faculty and administrators in planning and assessing academic programs are provided.

Joint International Hospitality Management Programs: The Case of Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management, Singapore

New models for the internationalization of higher hospitality education are emerging, as education becomes a global business. The challenges for implementing these are considerable. Universities seeking to internationalize must address diverse cultures, multiple time zones, disparate economies, resource allocation, institutional compatibilities and new markets. These challenges form the context for forging a vision with a viable plan for international success. One approach for internationalization is through joint programs offered by two universities. The parameters for this model and how it was applied by Cornell University in the United States of America and Nanyang Technological University in the Republic of Singapore are discussed.

Hospitality Management Students' Conceptions of Education

The major issue addressed in this study is the alignment between the institutional conception of education and the students’ conceptions of education, decomposed into three parts: conceptions of knowledge, conceptions of teaching and learning, and conceptions of assessment. Subjects in this study were 324 students enrolled in a four-year hospitality management programme. Three instruments were administered to measure students’ conceptions of education. Results indicate that the three sets of conceptions seem to fit in the traditional-constructivist dichotomy with students showing a congruent pattern in the three sets of conceptions. Finally, first-year students hold more traditional conceptions of education than senior students. The implication for educational innovations is that serious attention should be paid to the development of students’ conceptions of education.

Hospitality Degree Programs in Australia: A Continuing Evolution

Hospitality management degree programs have changed significantly since they were first introduced in Australia over 30 years ago. This article reviews the development of these undergraduate degree programs in hospitality using a combined macro and micro approach. First, at the national level, this study reviews the provision of degrees in hospitality, identifying the macro-level changes that have occurred in the hospitality program landscape since the mid 1970s. Second, at the program level, this study analyses the evolution of one of the longest running hospitality management programs, offered by The University of Queensland. This review identifies the underlying reasons for micro-level hospitality program changes in Australia, and relates these changes to the broader context of higher education evolution, hospitality industry development, and student expectations.