University of Massachusetts - Amherst

ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst
Masters Theses 1896 - February 2014

Dissertations and Theses

2010

Students Perceptions of Effectiveness of

Hospitality Curricula and Their Preparedness
Imran Rahman

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, rahman@ht.umass.edu

Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses

Rahman, Imran, "Students Perceptions of Effectiveness of Hospitality Curricula and

Their Preparedness" (). Masters Theses 1896 - February 2014. Paper 497.
http://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/497

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STUDENTSPERCEPTIONSOFEFFECTIVENESSOFHOSPITALITY

CURRICULAANDTHEIRPREPAREDNESS

AThesisPresented

by

IMRANRAHMAN

SubmittedtotheGraduateSchooloftheUniversityofMassachusetts
Amherstinpartialfulfillment

oftherequirementsforthedegreeofMASTEROFSCIENCESeptember,
2010

HospitalityandTourismManagement

CopyrightbyImran
Rahman2010AllRights
Reserved

STUDENTSPERCEPTIONSOFEFFECTIVENESSOFHOSPITALITY

CURRICULAANDTHEIRPREPAREDNESS

AThesisPresented

by

ImranRahman

Approvedastostyleandcontentby:

_________________________________________________
MiyoungJeong,Chair

_________________________________________________
HaemoonOh,Member

_________________________________________________
AtulSheel,Member

__________________________________________
HaemoonOh,DepartmentHead

HospitalityandTourismManagement

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Iwishtothankmyresearchadvisor,Dr.MiyoungJeong,forallofherguidance,helpand
patienceasIcompletedthisproject.Itrulyappreciateherpassionforresearchand
motivationtoguideherstudentsinthebestpossibleways,whichcannotbedescribedin
words.IwouldalsoliketothankDr.HaemoonOh,forhispatience,insightfulthoughts,
andconstructivecriticism,whichhaveimmenselymotivatedmetoprogressthroughthis
project.Inaddition,Iwouldliketothankmyfriendsandfamilyfortheirconstantsupport
inmyeducationalpursuits,especiallymyparentsfortheirsupportandconfidencethey
haveshowntowardsmyprofessionaldevelopment.Icouldnothavemadeitthisfar
withouteachoneofyou.

Sincerely,

ImranRahman

iv

ABSTRACT

STUDENTSPERCEPTIONSOFEFFECTIVENESSOFHOSPITALITY

CURRICULAANDTHEIRPREPAREDNESS

SEPTEMBER2010

IMRANRAHMAN,B.S.,LOUISIANASTATEUNIVERSITYBATONROUGE

M.S.,UNIVERSITYOFMASSACHUSETTSAMHERST

Directedby:ProfessorMiyoungJeong

Curriculumassessmenthasbeenanimportanttoolinmeasuringtheeffectivenessofthe
curriculumtoevaluatestudentlearningandpreparedness.Thisstudydevelopsaconceptual
framework,basedoncourseofferingsanddescriptionsoftheHospitalityandTourism
ManagementProgramattheUniversityofMassachusettsAmherst,toevaluatehowthe
curriculumcontributestostudentspreparednessfortheirfuturecareer.Usinganonline
fieldsurvey,thisstudyexaminestheskillsthatcontributetostudentspreparedness.
Besidesputtingforwardthestrengthsandweaknessesoftheprogram,andidentifyingthe
significantskillareasthatcontributesignificantlytostudentspreparedness,findingsofthis
studyindicatethatstudentsarequitewellpreparedandoverallsatisfiedwiththeprogram.
Resultsalsohighlighttheimportanceofworkexperienceasanintegralpartofthe
curriculuminaffectingstudentspreparedness.

TABLEOFCONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

ABSTRACT v

LISTOFTABLES

vii

LISTOFFIGURES viii

CHAPTER

1.INTRODUCTION 1

2.LITERATUREREVIEW 6

3.DESIGNANDMETHODS

4.RESULTS 39

5.DISCUSSION

51

36

APPENDICES

A.RANKINGOFSKILLAREASBYMEAN

B.SURVEYINSTRUMENT 59

BIBLIOGRAPHY

vi

68

57

LISTOFTABLES

Table

21.
TheStructureoftheHospitalityIndustry.....................................................................
6
22.
Curriculumvariables,skillareascoursesanddescriptions........................................
24

41.Respondentsdemographicprofile.........40

42.
RankingofHospitalityFunctionalAreas...................................................................
41
43.
RankingofHospitalityConcentration/emphasisareas...............................................
42

44.StudentsoverallevaluationsoftheHTMprogram.......434
5.ResultsofmultipleregressionanalysisGenericskills........................................44

46.ResultsofmultipleregressionanalysisHospitalityspecificskills......46

47.Resultsofttestbetweengroupwithworkexperienceandgroupwithnowork

experience.......50

vii

LISTOFFIGURES

FIGURE

21.
Aframeworkformeasuringstudentspreparedness..................................................
31
22.
Breakdownofgenericskills.......................................................................................
32
23.
Breakdownoffundamentalcurriculumrelatedskills.................................................
33
24.
Breakdownoffunctionalareas...............................................................34

25.Breakdownofconcentrationareas.................354
1.ModelforregressionanalysisofHospitalityspecificskills.......45

viii

CHAPTER1

INTRODUCTION

Between2004and2014,evenintimesofrecession,thehospitalityindustryisexpected
toadd17percentinwageandsalaryemployment(U.S.BureauofLabor

st

Statistics,200607).Withturnaroundofthe21 century,thefocusontheserviceindustry
hasbeendrawndramatically.Severalfactorscanbeaccountedfortheincreasing
emphasisontheserviceindustrysuchasnewtechnologyenhancements,customers
diverseneeds,morechoicesavailableforcustomers,andskyrocketingcompetitions
amongcompanies.Consequently,ithasbecomemorechallengingtokeepwiththe
changingpatternsofconsumerneedsandexpectations.Asoneofthecoresegmentsof
theserviceindustry,thehospitalityindustryhasexperiencedthesamechallengesas
othersinmaintainingskilledandqualifiedworkforcetocopewiththecurrentchallenges
andcatertochangingneedsoftodayscustomers.

Asanapplieddiscipline,hospitalityeducationhasacloseandstronglinkagewithits
industryinordertoeducatehospitalitystudentsbykeepingabreastwiththecurrent
industrytrends(Goodman&Sprague,1991).However,ashortageofskilledand
specializedlaborhasbeenanongoingissueinthehospitalityindustry.Agrowing
demandofhospitalityworkersandashortageofskilledandspecializedlaborcanbe
translatedintoagrowingdemandofhospitalityeducationalprogramstoadequately
preparetheworkforcetomeetpresentandfuturedemandsinthisenormousindustry.

Reigel(1995)defineshospitalityeducationasamultidisciplinaryfield,whichbringsthe
perspectivesofmanydisciplines,especiallythosefoundinsocialsciencestobearon
particularareasofapplicationandpracticeinthehospitalityandtourismindustry.

Thediversefieldrequirementshavegivenrisetodifferenttypesofspecializedprograms
throughwhichstudentslearntheirmultidisciplinaryskillsinordertosucceedinthis
industry.Hospitalityprogramsacrosstheworldcanbeuniquelyadministeredbasedon
wheretheyarehoused.Manyhospitalityprogramsarehousedonbusiness,education,
humanecology,orconsumerscience.Theprogramsarealsoquitedifferentinthetypeof
concentrationareastheyoffer.Asaresultofthesecomplications,itisverychallengingto
comeupwithaconsistentcurriculumassessmentandprogramrankinginthisfield,
whichisverymuchevidentintheexistinghospitalityliterature.

Hospitalityeducationhasbeenawidelystudiedareaandsoishospitalitycurriculum
assessment.Asthehospitalityindustryisaserviceorientedarea,mostofthehospitality
programsputmoreweightonindustryexpectationsandopinions.Asaresult,mostofthe
relevanthospitalitycurriculumstudiestendtofocusontheemployersperspective,with
veryfewfocusingontheactualprovidersandrecipientsoftheeducation.Often
employers(i.e.industrypractitioners)lacktheadequateknowledgetorationallyassess
hospitalitycurricula.Studentsandfacultymembers,ontheotherhand,canrationally
assessthehospitalityprogramsinregardstohowwelltheycontributetostudents
preparednessfortheiranticipatedfuturehospitalitycareerasstudentsareparticipatingin
learningaspartofthecurriculumandthefacultyindeliveringeducationtothestudent
andindevelopingthecurriculatosomeextent.

Itisoftenstressedthatsomelevelofindustryinvolvementisimportantinhospitality
curriculumassessmentasthehospitalityeducationisheavilylinkedtotheindustry.The
viewpointsofeducatorssolvethisproblemasindustryexperienceisaprimerequirementfor
jobsinthehospitalityacademicworld.Inthataspect,theeducators

areinabetterpositiontoevaluatebecausetheycaninterpretbothsidesofthecoin:the
academicsandtheindustry.Thus,curriculumassessmentinhospitalityeducationshould
involveboththeperspectivesofthelearners,andtheknowledgeproviderswhoare
expertsinbothindustryandacademia.However,facultymemberscanalsolackspecific
knowledgeaboutthecurriculumoutsidetheirteachingemphasis,andthusmightnotbe
accuratejudgesofstudentpreparednessoutsidetheirareaofexpertise.Moreover,their
levelofjudgmentofstudentpreparednessfromtheirownareacanbehighlybiased
becausetheyaretheoneswhoaredeliveringthelearningtothestudents.Students,onthe
otherhand,canbestjudgetheirownlevelofpreparednessbecausetheyaretheoneswho
aregoingthroughtheprocessoflearningbeingpartofthecurricula.Facultycan
therefore,judgecertaingenericandfundamentalskillsofthestudentsbutdefinitelynot
thespecificskillsthataretaughtinthecurriculum.

PurposeofStudy

Thepurposeofthisstudyistoanalyzeandassesshowcurrenthospitalityprogramshelp
astudentprepareforhis/herfuturecareerinthehospitalityindustrybyevaluatingthe
hospitalitycurriculum.Inotherwords,thestudyaimstofindhowthehospitality
curriculumcontributestostudentspreparednessfromtheirperspectives.Inorderto
achievethestudyspurpose,specificobjectivesare:

Toanalyzetheeffectivenessofthehospitalitycurriculumfromtheperspectivesof
studentsperceptionsofpreparedness

Toidentifythegeneric,andcurriculumspecificskillsthatcanbeusedforcurriculum
assessment

Todevelopaframeworkofcurriculumvariablestoratethelevelofstudent
preparedness.

Toidentifytheareasandskillsinwhichhospitalitystudentsaremoreandlessprepared.

Toidentifytheskillswhichsignificantlycontributetostudentspreparedness.

Tofindthedifferencesinstudentsperceptionsoftheirpreparednessbytheir
demographiccharacteristics.

Assuch,thestudyaddressesthefollowingresearchquestions:

Howwelldostudentsfeelthecurriculumpreparesthem?

Whichparticularspecializationareasdothestudentsfeelmoreandlessprepared?

Whichparticularskillareasdothestudentsfeelmoreandlessprepared?

Whatarefactorsthatcontributemosttostudentpreparedness?

Arethereanysignificantdifferencesbetweengroupsofrespondentsintheir
preparedness?

SignificanceofStudy

ManyhospitalityprogramsintheUnitedStatescanusethisstudyasaframeworkto
evaluatetheirhospitalitycurriculum.Assuch,thisstudywilladdgreatlytotheexisting
hospitalityeducationliteraturemainlyintheareasofcurriculumreviewand
development.Findingsofthisstudywouldhelphospitalityadministratorsrevisitits
curriculumtoidentifythedynamicsandshortcomingsoftheircurriculum.Thestrengths
andweaknessesofacurriculumcanbeanalyzedmakingthisstudyaframeworkof

reference.Moreover,thestudyservesasagoodbaseforresearcherswillingtoworkmore
intheareasofhospitalitycurriculumredevelopmentandhospitalityprogramrankingsto
someextent.

CHAPTER2

LITERATUREREVIEW

IndustryBackground

Thehospitalityindustryisoneofthelargestindustriesintheworld.About90%ofUS
workforceisemployedintheservicesectorsofwhichmanyarepartofthevarioussectors
ofthehospitalityindustry(Madanoglu,Moreo,&Leong,2003).Millionsofjobs,with
billionsofdollarsineconomiccontributionsaregeneratedeitherdirectlyorindirectlyby
thehospitalityindustryintheUnitedStatesalone,whichbenefitslargesegmentsofsociety,
aswellasthefederal,state,andlocalgovernments(Goeldner&Ritchie,2009).The
hospitalityindustryisalsooneofthemostdiversifiedindustriesintheworldbecauseofthe
widenumberofdifferentoccupationsandprofessionsinvolvedinit.Theindustryalso
operatesonregional,national,aswellasgloballevelsandinvolvesdifferentsectorsofan
economysuchasgovernment,nonprofit,andforprofit.Tounderstandthedynamicsof
hospitalityeducation,itisimportanttohaveasimplistic,yet,detailedviewpointofthe
hospitalityindustry.Severalresearchworkshavedefinedandcategorizedtheindustry.
Table21showsasimplisticbreakdownofthehospitalityindustry

Table21.Thestructureofthehospitalityindustry

FreeStanding
Hospitalityin

Hospitalityin
Subsidized
HospitalityBusinesses
LeisureVenues

TravelVenues

Hospitality
Hotels
Casinos

Airports
Workplaces
HolidayCenters
BingoClubs

RailStations
Healthcare
QuasiHotels
NightClubs

BusStations
Education
CruiseShips
Cinemas

FerryTerminals
Military
Timeshare
Theatres

Aeroplanes
Custodial
Bars

SportsStadia

Trains
Retailers
Restaurants
ThemeParks

Ferries

Attractions

HealthClubs

(Source:Slattery,P.(2002)FindingtheHospitalityIndustry.JournalofHospitality,
Leisure,SportandTourismEducation).

Thewidearrayofhospitalityfieldshascontributedimmenselytothegrowthof
hospitalityeducation.AccordingtothesurveybyRappoleintheearly1970s,therewere
about27bachelorsprograms,7Mastersand2doctoralprogramsinthe4year
institutionsintheUnitedStates(Kent,etal.,1993).However,since1992,thenumberof
eachdegreehasdramaticallychanged:142bachelorsprograms,26Mastersprograms,
and12doctoralprograms(CHRIE,1991).Intheseprograms,varioussubjectsare
coveredaspartofhospitalityeducationsuchasfinance,management,marketing,
accounting,andinformationsystems,whichultimatelyhelphospitalitystudentsprepare
fortheirfuturecareertofitineachofthespecializedfieldsinthehospitalityindustry.
Withmoreandmore2yearor4yearinstitutionsoptinginforhospitalityeducation,
assessingthehospitalitycurriculumhasbecomeakeyissueasfaraspreparingastudent
forasuccessfulcareerinthehospitalityindustry.

CurriculumAssessment

CurriculumStudiesisaverybroadareawithinthefieldofeducation.Curriculumtheory,
curriculumplanning,instructionalprogramplanning,educationalmaterialsdevelopment,
instructionalstrategyanalysis,curriculumevaluation,educationalobjectiveutilization,etc.
areallpartofcurriculumstudies.Manyprominentresearchershavetriedtodelimittheterm
CurriculumStudiesandprovideaformaldefinitionoftheterm(Johnson,1967;Godland,
1969;Cremin,1971;Berman,1968;Dewey,1966;Pinar,1975)butnoformaldefinitionhas
beenmadeasofnow.Harrisidentifiedsixmainfeaturesoftheoveralleducationprocess:the
learner,thecourseofstudy,thematerialsofinstruction,theteacher,theexaminations,which
appraisetheprocessofinstruction,and
7

theorganizationalstructure,whichcoordinatestheseelements(McCullough,1978).
Cremin(1971)suggeststhatthesesixfeaturesformthebasisforcurriculumdiscussion,
onlytheparticularcombinationsandtheplayerswouldchangeovertime.

Assessmentisdefinedasthemultidimensionalprocessofappraisingthelearningthat
occursintheclassroombeforeandafterassignmentsaregraded,withthefeedbackused
toimproveteachingand,hence,studentlearning(Angelo&Cross1993).Accordingto
Palomba(1999),assessmentcanevaluatelearningatseveraldifferentlevelssuchasthe
student,theclassroom,thecurriculum,andtheuniversity.Assessmentisviewednotasan
endinitselfbutmoreasavehicleforeducationalimprovement(Banta,etal.,1996).
Universitiesacrosstheworldhavetriedtheirhandsatmeasuringstudentslearning.In
addition,faculties,educationalinstitutions,andeducationalorganizationshavebecome
moredeliberateincontinuouscurriculumassessmentinrecentyears.Forexample,the
1966foodscienceeducationstandardsbytheInstituteofFoodTechnologyprescribeda
foodscienceknowledgebase,the1992standardsaddedrequirementsforstatisticsand
successskills,andthe2001standardsprescribedoutcomebasedmeasuresoflearning,
continuouscurricularevaluationandimprovement,andgreaterflexibilityofcurricular
design(Hartel,2001).

Effectiveness,insimplewords,referstotheextentsomethingmeetsitsstatedgoals.
Effectivenesscanbedefinedinanumberofdifferentwaysbasedonthecontextand
subjectareaitisbeingused.Fieldssuchaseducation,business,andsciencehaveadopted
differentdefinitionsofthetermintheirowncontext.UNESCOdefineseffectivenessas
anoutputofspecificrevieworanalysesthatmeasurethequalityofaspecificeducational
goalorthedegreetowhichahighereducationinstitutioncanbe

expectedtoachievespecificrequirements(Vlsceanuetal.,2004).Forthisstudy,the
UNESCOdefinitionofeducationisconsidered.

Historically,aplethoraofstudieshasbeenconductedtoeffectivelymeasurethe
educationalexperience.Menne(1967)categorizedthesemeasuresofeducational
experienceintothreebasicapproaches:objective,readilymeasuredinstitutional
characteristicsuchasnumberofstudents,percentageofmales,tuition,etc.,student
perceptions,andobservablebehaviors.AstinandHolland(1961)appeartobethefirstto
usethisapproach,calledtheEnvironmentAssessmentTechnique(EAT)andits
developmenthasbeenreportedinaseriesofstudiesbyAstin,(e.g.1962,1963,and
1965).ThesecondapproachisdonebyPaceandStern(1958).PaceandSternappearto
haveoriginatedthestudentperceptionsapproachwiththedevelopmentoftheCollege
CharacteristicsIndex(CCI)fromwhichPace(1963)developedhisCollegeand
UniversityEnvironmentScales(CUES).Subsequently,Hutchinsandhiscolleagues
(Hutchins,1962;Hutchins&Wolins,1963;Hutchins&Nonneman,1966)developedthe
MedicalSchoolEnvironmentInventory(MSEI),whichspecificallyinvolvesthestudyof
medicalschools.Lateron,Fanslow(1966)developedtheCollegeEnvironmentInventory
forWomen(CEIW).Thethirdapproach,whichislesscommonthanthefirsttwo
measuresspecificobservablestudentbehaviorssuchastime,spentinstudy,numberof
socialactivitiesperweek,orattendanceataconcert(Menne,1967).

Thereseveralcurriculumassessmenttechniqueshavebecomepopularwithdifferent
programs.Theconstructofselfefficacyhasbecomeapromisingassessmentstrategyfor
someprograms(Rishel&Majewski,2009).Selfefficacyreferstothebeliefinonesability
toacteffectivelyinparticularsituations(Rishel&Majewski,2009).

Severalselfefficacyscaleshavebeendevelopedtoassesssocialworkprogramoutcomes.
TheTechnicalEducationCurriculumAssessment(TECA)wasdesignedtoguidethe
judgmentofthequalityoftechnicaleducationcurricularmaterials.Itconsistsofsetsof
rubrics,whichassessworkplacecompetencies,technicalaccuracy,andthepedagogical
soundnessoftechnicaleducationcurricula.TheTECAwasdevelopedandimplemented
toassessthequalityof30setsofcurricularmaterials,whichwerepartoftheNational
ScienceFoundation'sAdvancedTechnologyEducation(ATE)Program(Keiser,Lawrenz,
&Appleton,2004).

TheCoreCurriculumAssessmentProgram(CCAP),developedbytheAmerican
AssemblyofCollegiateSchoolsBusinessPrograms(AACSBP),isafrequentmethod
usedbymanybusinessschoolstoevaluatestudentachievementinthebusiness
environment.Thismethodisalsoadaptedandmodifiedbymanyschoolstobetter
undertakecurriculumassessmentaccordingtothespecificneedoftheirprogram.For
example,theBusinessandManagementDivisionoftheCardinalStritchCollegein
Milwaukee,Wisconsin,usedthecomprehensiveoutcomesassessmentprogram(COAP),
andthecorecurriculumassessmentprogram(CCAP)toevaluatethedivisionsprograms
andstudentachievement(Jonas&Weimer,1995).Thiscomprehensiveinstrument
addressestheMissionoftheCollege,andiscapableofoperatinginaTotalQuality
Managementmode.

EducatorsinSocialScienceshaveusedseveralcurriculumassessmentdesignswhen
undertakingcurriculumassessmentsuchasTheQuasiExperimentalDesign,Prepost
Assessment,PortfolioAssessment,andIndirectMethods(Cappell&Kamens,2002).The
quasiexperimentalapproachinvolvestheInputEnvironmentOutputprocess.The

10

Inputcharacteristicsinvolvestudentsgrades,courses,andotherresultsinprevious
academicssuchasinhighschool.Environmentfactorsassesstheeducational
environmentingeneral.Outputfactorsnormallydealwithstudentsperformanceinthe
currentacademicsetting.ThePrepostassessmenttechniquemeasuresthechangefroma
student'sbenchmarklevelofsociologicalknowledgeandthinkingtoafinallevelafterthe
curriculumhasbeencompleted(Cappell&Kamens,2002).Portfolioassessmentcanbe
basedonbothtestscoresandconcentratesoncreativeproductsinthelikesofessays,
texts,orpresentationsincludingtheanalysisofdata(Cappell&Kamens,2002).Lastbut
nottheleast,indirectmethodsincludetheuseofexitsurveys,satisfactionsurveys,and
focusgroupsallofwhichneedtoincludeselfreportsofperceivedabilities(Cappell&
Kamens,2002).Researchonstudentlearningindicatesthatpedagogicaltechniques
influencehowwellstudentslearntoapplyconceptsinpractice(Michlitsch&Sidle,
2002).Suchpedagogicaltechniquescaninvolvemanydifferentsubtechniquesbut
contentacquisition,application,andpracticearethoughttobemosteffective(Michlitsch
&Sidle,2002).

Apartfromstandardizedtechniques,universitiesanddepartmentsalsodevisetheirown
waystoundertakecurriculumassessment.Coursecataloguesareusedtoanalyzethe
sequenceofcoursesgeneratedbyprerequisitesusingnetwork,graphtheory,orEvent
StructureAnalysis(Heise,1989).Clusteranalysisisalsousedtoconsolidatethecoded
coregistrationpatternsandcoursesequencingpaths,followedbyeachmajorfrom
transcriptdata(Ratcliff,&Associates1988).Attheclassroomlevel,manysupplementary
formsoffeedbackcanbecollectedfromstudents,suchasquickessaysandsurveys
evaluatingaspecificteachingtoolorstudentlearninglevels(Cross,1999).Course

11

catalogues,coursesyllabi,transcripts,grades,essays,presentations,casestudies,texts,
andsurveyscanallplayaroleindifferentcurriculumassessmentprocesses.Course
grades,althoughextensivelyused,arenotconsideredusefulindicatorsofstudent
performanceorcurriculumreview.Thisisbecausestudentsneedtoreceiveappropriate
andfocusedfeedbackearlyinthecourseandoftentoimprovetheirlearningandthetype
ofassessmentmostlikelytoimproveteachingandlearningisthatconductedbyfaculty
foransweringquestionsthattheythemselveshaveformulatedinresponsetoissuesor
problemsintheirownteaching(Angelo&Cross,1993).Thus,betterthancoursegrades,
someformofcriterionreferencedassessmentproducts(Astin,1991;Jacobs,1992;
Palomba,1999;Cappell&Kamens,2002)areevaluatedandaggregatedformore
efficientcurriculumassessment.

Othernotableattemptsbyprominentresearchersinevaluatingeffectivenessofthe
curriculumincludeRamsdenandEntwistles(1981)relationshipbetweenapproachesto
learningandperceivedcharacteristicsoftheacademicenvironment.Theirstudyexplored
theestablishedrelationshipthroughaconcurrentfactoranalysisofthescalesofthe
ApproachestoStudyingInventory(ASI)(Entwistleetal.,1979)andtheCourse
PerceptionsQuestionnaire(Entwistle&Ramsden,1983).Later,theirstudywas
replicatedbyMeyerandParsons(1989)onalargesample.Inasubsequentstudy,
TrigwellandProsser(1991a&1991b)inanattempttodifferentiatebetweenthetypesof
learningoutcomesderivedfromacourse,foundthatadeeperapproachtostudywas
morestronglyrelatedtothecomplexityofstudentsunderstandingoftheaimsofacourse
ofstudythantheassessmentresults.

12

Apartfromtheseproceduresdescribedabove,manyprogramstakepartinneeds
assessment.Classicalneedsassessments(NA)generallyrequireidentifyingthe
discrepancybetweentwoconditions:thedesiredandpresentstates(Altschuld&Witkin,
2000;Kaufman,1988).Inotherwords,NeedsAssessmentisasystematicprocessfor
determininggoals,findingdifferencesbetweengoalsandthestatusquoandestablishing
prioritiesforaction(Briggs&Ackerman,1977).Thus,NeedsAssessmentformally
identifiesthegapsbetweencurrentresults,outcomes,orproductsandrequired,desired,or
expectedresults,prioritizestheseidentifiedgapsforactionusuallythroughthe
implementationofaneworexistingcurriculumormanagementprocess(English,etal.
1975).NeedsAssessmenthavebeenapopularmeanstoevaluateprogramsnotonlyin
collegesanduniversities,butalsoinorganizations,traininginstitutes,andcommunities.
Thereareawidenumberofproposedmodels(Gilbert,1978;Burton&Merrill,1988;

Hannum&Hansen,1989;Darraugh,1991;Rothwell&Kazanas,1992;Arthur,1993;
Gordon,1994;Witkin&Altschuld,1995;Rossett,1997;Kaufmanetal.,2003;Altschuld,
2010)usedextensivelyinacademia,industryandthecommunity.AlthoughNeeds
Assessmenthasbecomeapopularmethodforcurriculumevaluation,themethodhasbeen
criticizedforproblemssuchasNotApplicableratingsandmissingdataforoneorboth
ofthescalesusedindatacollectionleadingtohighlyvarieditemn'sforcalculating

discrepancyscores(Lee,Altschuld,&White,2007).

Mostofthesestudiesseemtoemphasizetheoveralleducationalexperienceorthe
educationalenvironmentwithverylittleemphasisonthestudentspreparednessandthe
curriculum.Inaddition,thestandardizedtechniquesaremadeforspecificareassuchas
majors,specializations,orgenderwhichmaketheminappropriatefortheuseinthe

13

presentstudy.Thechallengeforthisstudyistocomeupwithaframeworkthat
emphasizesastudentslevelofpreparednessintermsoftheeffectivenessofthe
curriculuminHospitalityandTourismManagement.Inthataspect,itisimportanttolook
intorelevanthospitalityandtourismliteratureforexistingrelevantstudies.

CurriculumAssessment:RelevantHospitalityLiterature

Manyhospitalityprogramshavestartedtoassesstheircurriculuminordertoidentifythe
strengthsandweaknessesoftheirprograms.Curriculumassessmentoroutcome
assessmentinhospitalityprogramsarenotnew.Severalstudieshavebeendoneby
variousresearchersindifferentacademiccontextsrelatedtohospitalitycurriculum.
Curriculumreviewnowincreasinglyinvolvesregularindustrycontactswhomake
classroomvisitsorparticipateinexecutiveeducationprograms(Lefever&Withiam,
1998).Overthecourseoftime,ashiftfrommajorsurveysandpaneldiscussionshas
undergoneasaresultofwhichindustryandacademicsseemtobetiedmoreclosely
togetherthaninthelast75years(Lefever&Withiam,1998).Overtheyears,hospitality
programs,especiallyintheU.S.,haveundergonesignificantchangesinthestructureof
theircurricula.

In1996,Formica(1996)publishedastudyoftourismandhospitalityeducationinEurope
andAmericathatexaminedprogramsandfuturetrends.LaterresearchbyMorrisonand
O'Mahony(2003)supportedFormicasclaimthattherewasaninternationalmovement
thatsupportedtheliberationofhospitalityeducationfromitsvocationalbasetoan
academicfieldofinquiry.Rappole(2000)statedthatprogramshaveshiftedfromahome
economicsfocustowardsabusinessrelatedoneandChathothandSharma(2007)noted
thisasthelikelyreasonbehindthechangeincurricularstructureof

14

hospitalityprogramsintheUnitedStates.Mostprogramsinthe1980sandearly1990s
weregearedtowardsdevelopingtheoperationalskillsofthestudents,butduringthe
pastdecade,universitieswerefocusingonbothoperationalandmanagementrelated
coursesaspartofthecurriculum(Chathoth&Sharma2007;Rappole,2000).

Curriculumassessmentinthehospitalityindustryusesdifferentmethodsandtechniques.
NeedsAssessmenthasbeenacommonformofassessmentusedinthehospitality
industrywhichisincreasinglyusedinhospitalityacademiaaswell.Keepingthe
hospitalitycurricularigorous,relevant,andcurrenttotheindustrytrendsseemstobea
clearconcernofthehospitalitypractitioners.Ashleyetal.,(1995)undertooka
curriculumreviewprocessattheUniversityofCentralFloridabasedontheconceptthe
customerdefinesproductattributes.Theirfindingsindicatethatestablishingthe
appropriatebalancebetweenindustryspecificknowledgeandtechnicalskillsandtopics
istherealchallengeforthefacultyofthehospitalityprogram.

Hospitalitycurriculahavebeenexaminedandanalyzedfromtheperspectivesof
educators,industryprofessionals,andstudents.Ashospitalityeducationisveryclosely
relatedtothehospitalityindustry,oftenacompetencyneedsapproachisusedwhen
assessingthecurriculum.However,researchingraduateskillshasfocusedon
managementexpectationsandhasbeencriticizedforadoptingaonesidedperspective
thatignoresgraduateperceptions(Christou,2000).Especially,severalstudieshavebeen
undertakentobridgethegapbetweencurriculumcontentandindustryperceptionsofthe
curriculum.Tas(1988)putforwardahospitalitycurriculumbyidentifying36skills
collegegraduatesexpectedtopossessfromsurveyinggeneralmanagersof75hotels.
TassstudywasreplicatedlateronbyBaum(1991)intheUK,whichfoundoutthe

15

positioningofregulationandethicalstandardsasthemaindifference.Gursoyand
Swanger(2004)rankedhospitalitysubjectareasaccordingtotheperceptionsof
hospitalityprofessionals,identifiedanygapsbetweentheperceptionsandthecurrent
curriculumandsuggestedamodelofcurriculumforhospitalityprogramsinaccredited
collegesofBusiness.LefeverandWithiam(1998)undertookacurriculumreviewtosee
howtheindustryviewshospitalityeducation.Theirfindingsindicatethatwhile
hospitalitypractitionersthinkthatgraduatesaremotivatedandhaveasolid,broadview
oftheindustry,theyoftendonothaverealisticexpectations.Inanotherinstance,Horng
andLu(2006)whoanalyzedtheperceivedlevelofrequirementandtheselfassessed
levelofpreparednessofF&Bmanagementprofessionalcompetencyofstudentsand
exploredpossiblecorrelationsbetweentheperceivedlevelofrequirementandtheself
assessedlevelofpreparednessinF&Bmanagementprofessionalcompetenciesof
students.Inanotherexample,LiandKivela(1998)wentastepfurtherandfoundseveral
gapsbetweenhotelmanagersandastudentsperceptionsoftheimportanceofskills
necessaryforasuccessfulhospitalitycareer.

Genericskillsframeworkhasalsobeenincorporatedinthecurriculumassessment
processesinhospitalityeducation.RaybouldandWilkins(2006)usedagenericskills
frameworktoshowthattherearesignificantgapsbetweenindustryexpectationsand
studentperceptionsoftheskillsthataremostvaluabletograduatesenteringtheindustry.
Theirresultssuggestthatstudentsandacademicsareinvestingtimeandeffortin
developingconceptualandanalyticalskillsthatwillnot,atleastimmediately,bevalued
byemployersofhospitalitygraduates.

16

Discrepancyofopinionsbetweenthedifferentparticipantsinthehospitalityindustryis
notrareaspartoftheneedsassessmentprocess.PurcellandQuinn(1996)suggestedthat
studentshavebeencriticizedforhavingunrealisticexpectationsofthetypesof
responsibilitiestheymaybegivenandconsequentlythetypesofskillstheywillbe
expectedtoexerciseonenteringtheindustry.Atthesametime,theindustrytendsto
discountastudentsformalqualificationsonthegroundsoflackofexperienceand
frequentlywehearthecomplaintthatstudentsareoverqualifiedbutunderexperienced
forevenentrylevelmanagementpositions(Raybould&Wilkins,2005).

Severalneedsassessmentstudiesarealsoundertakentoidentifydiscrepanciesbetween
studentexpectationsandpreparedness.AnexamplewouldbeKnutsonandPattons
(1992)surveyof251juniorsandseniorsofMichiganStateUniversityabouttheir
expectationsandcareerpreparedness.Theirfindingsshowthatstudentsfeltpositiveabout
thedifferentabilitiesandskillstheyrequireforasuccessfulhospitalitycareerbutonly
oneinfivestudentsbelievedtheywerepreparedforthebigcareerforthefuture.This
studywasreplicatedlateronbyBurbidge(1994)inEurope,whichshowedsimilar
findings.

Moststudiesinvolvingneedsassessmentinthehospitalityindustryareconductedmainlyto
analyzetheindustryexpectationsandstudentsperceivedlevelofpreparednesswithvery
littleworkthattakesintoaccounttheexpectationsofhospitalityeducators.

Hospitalityindustryexperiencehasbeenanimportantjobrequirementforhospitality
educatorsacrosstheworld.Thus,havingbeenpartofboththeindustryandtheacademics,
hospitalityeducatorsviewpointsaboutperceivedstudentpreparednesscanbeofmore
significancethanthatofindustrypractitioners.Inaddition,thediverseandspecialized

17

natureofthehospitalityindustrymightalsopreventtheindustrypractitionerstohave
adequateknowledgeofhospitalityskillsandcompetenciesinallaspectsoftheindustry.
Forexample,arestaurantmanagermightnotidentifytheskillsneededforhousekeeping.

Besidesneedsassessment,QuasiExperimentalDesign,PrepostAssessment,Portfolio
Assessment,andIndirectMethodssuchasexitsurveysandsatisfactionsurveysarealso
seemprevalentinthehospitalitycurriculumassessmentbutastandardizedcurriculum
assessmentpracticeseemstobelacking.Inthataspect,weoftenseeaneeds
assessmentcurriculumassessmenttechnique,whichdealswithperceptions.Thebasic
stepforthesestudieshasoftenbeentheidentificationoftherequiredskillsand
competencies.Thus,identificationofskillsandcompetencieshasbeenanimportant
aspectofcurriculumassessmentinthehospitalityindustry.

Identificationofskillsandcompetencies

Competenceisdefinedastheabilitytouseskillsandknowledgeeffectivelytoachievea
purpose(Borthwick,1993).Manystudieshaveidentifiedkeycompetenciesandskills
neededinthehospitalityindustry.ONeilandOnion(1994)putforwardfivegeneral
competenciesofhighqualityeducation:communication,problemsolving,interpersonal
relationships,planningandstrategicthinking,andvisioningandevaluating.The
AmericanAssemblyofCollegiateSchoolsofBusiness(AACSB),aspartofinitiating
outcomesassessment,measuredoutcomesacross22abilities,whichweregroupedinto
goalandactionmanagementabilities,peoplemanagementabilities,andanalytical
reasoningabilities(Boyatzis,1995).ChungHerrera,Enz,andLankau(2003)presented
anindustryspecificandfuturebasedleadershipcompetencymodel.Intheprocess,they
haveidentifiedandranked99keyhospitalityworkrelatedcompetencies.

18

NelsonandDopson(2001)comparedhotelmanagers,humanresourcespecialists,and
hospitalityalumnisperceptionsofcompetenciesnecessaryforsuccessinthehospitality
field.Chung(2000)laidoutaneffectiveplanforreformingthehotelmanagement
curriculumofKoreanuniversitiesbasedonrequiredcompetenciesofhotelemployees
andcareersuccessinthehotelindustry.

Whilemoststudieshavetakenintoaccountamanagementcompetencymodelby
Sandwith(1993),littlehasbeendoneaboutintegratinggenericskillsinidentifying
hospitalityindustrycompetencies(Raybould&Wilkins,2006).Genericskills,also
referredtoascoreskills,'keycompetencies',and'employabilityskills'(Australian
ChamberofCommerceandIndustry,2002),aredescribedas'thosetransferableskills
whichareessentialforemployabilityatsomelevel'(Keams,2001).Employers,who
generallydonotwantnarrowlytrainedgraduates,recognizetheimportanceofgeneric
competencies(Harvey,et.al.,1997).RaybouldandWilkins(2005)integratedageneric
skillframeworktorankimportantskillareasofhospitalitygraduates.Theirstudy
adoptedamodelwithninegenericskillgroupssimilartotheemployabilityskills
frameworkproposedinastudybyAustralianindustryrepresentativegroups(Australian
ChamberofCommerceandIndustry,2002):

OralCommunication

WrittenCommunication

ProblemSolving

ConceptualandAnalyticalskills

InformationManagement

19

TeamworkandLeadership

InterpersonalSkills

AdaptabilityandLearning

SelfManagement

TheMayerCommittee(1992)identifiedsevenkeycompetenciesasnecessaryforthe
successfulassimilationofindividualsintotheworkforce(Mayer,1992):

collecting,analyzingandorganizinginformation;

communicatingideasandinformation;

planningandorganizingactivities;

workingwithothersandinteams;

usingnumericalideasandtechniques;

problemsolving;

usingtechnology.

WarnandTrantar(2001)addedleadershipandcriticalreflectivethinkingastwo

otherimportantgenericoutcomesofhighereducationtotheMayerframeworkintheir
attempttomeasureeducationquality.Criticalreflectivethinkingisthecapacitytolearn
fromothersandfromexperiencesinceitdealswithalternativewaysofacting,creatingand
speaking(Weinstein,1991).Criticalreflectivethinking,animportantindicatorofqualityin
highereducation,referstoanabilitytotranscendpreconceptions,prejudicesandframesof
reference(Corderetal.,1999;Paul,1987).Employersvaluecriticalreflectivethinking
becauseitisrequiredforinnovationandchange(Harveyetal.,1997).Ontheotherhand,the
inclusionofleadershipasadimensionwasevidentbecausehigher

20

educationisaboutproducingpeoplewhocanlead,producenewknowledge,seenew
problems,andimaginenewwaysofapproachingoldproblems(Harvey&Knight,1996).

Thereasonsthegenericskillsframeworkisintegratedintooursurveyinstrumentare
that:

Itfocusesonbroadlearningoutcomesforstudentsratherthanonthenarrower
managementactivitiesorcompetencies(Raybould&Wilkins,2006)

Itsbroadfocusenablesworkerstoholdandcontinuallyupgradesetsofgenericskills
thatcanbetransferredacrossdifferentdynamicemploymentsettingsinthenew
millennium(Curtis&McKenzie,2001).

Itacknowledgestheroleofhighereducationinpreparingstudentsforlifeandlifelong
learningratherthansimplyforemployment(Raybould&Wilkins,2006).Most
competencyrelatedstudiesinhospitalityhavefocusedonexamining

specificcomponentsofhospitalityandtourismmanagementcareers.Mayo(2003)
identifiedandrankedrelevantcompetenciesneededbygraduatesofhospitalityand
tourismprograms.Heridentificationandrankingoftheskillsisasfollows:

Demonstratetechniquestomanageandimproverevenue.

Exerciselisteningandcommunicationskills,whichincludeoralandwrittenskills.

Demonstratehowtomanagesubordinatesbydevelopingtrainingprogramsusing
performanceappraisals.

Knowhowtomanagechange.

Knowanddemonstratehowtomotivatepeople.

Demonstratefinancialaccountingprocesses.

Exemplifyapassionforservicetotheindustry.

21

Abletoplanandconductteammeetingssothatallaretreatedequally.

Demonstratefoodandbeverageoperations:principlesoffoodpreparation,productionand
supervisionofemployees.

Demonstratemarketingskills.

Knowandfollowthelegalissuesrelatedtoallaspectsofoperation.

MayosfindingsareinaccordwiththesixmajorcontentareasdevelopedbyUmbreit
(1992)whichareleadership,humanresourcemanagement,marketing,financialanalysis,
totalqualitymanagement,andcommunicationskills.Additionally,Wood(2003)
undertookseveralcomprehensivestudiestocomparehospitalitymanagementskills,which
arelearnedineducationalandworkplacesettings.Whilemoststudieshaveidentified
competenciesandskillsofhospitalitygraduates,fewhavebeendonetoportraywhere
theseskillsarebestlearnedandrankthemaccordingly.Woodhasidentifiedthe
importanceoftheskillsrelevanttothelearningenvironment.Hisstudyalsoproposeda
modelofcourseevaluationforindustryrequiredskills.BreiterandClements(1996)
identifiedthetypicalpostgraduatestudentsskillsetsdemandedbytheindustry,which
arethenrankedbyWood(2003).Theskillsheidentifiedinorderofimportanceforan
educationalsettingareasfollows:

ResearchSkills

HospitalityLaw

TourismPromotion

ComputerApplications

StrategicPlanning

DevelopmentPlanning

22

Marketing

Forecasting&Budgeting

OperationalControls

RoomsDivisionManagement

SalesTechnique

Food&BeverageManagement

EmployeeTraining

ManagerialCommunication

Leadership

EmployeeRelations

GuestServices

Staffing

Theframeworkusedinthisstudyconsistsofskillsorcompetenciesdevelopedfromthe
coursesandafewgenericcompetenciestakenfrompastresearch.Theframeworkthat
hasbeenestablishedforthepurposeofthisstudyusesbothgenericskills/competencies
andhospitalityspecificones.Thebroadcategoriesofskillsetsconsistofgenericskills
andhospitalityrelatedskillssuchasfundamentalskills,functionalareaskills,and
studentsconcentrationareaskills.Inordertodeveloptheseskills(exceptthegeneric
skills),thecourseshavebeenanalyzedthoroughlybylookingatthecoursedescriptions.
Then,thesecoursesweregroupedaccordingtofunctionalandconcentrationareas.
Functionalareas,broadlycategorizedfromthecurriculum,consistofmarketing,human
resource,finance,facilitiesandsystems,andinformationtechnology.Theconcentration
areasarecategorizedbythoseofferedbytheHospitality
23

undergraduateprogramsuchasfoodandbeverage,clubs,lodging,casino,events,and
tourismandtravel.Thecoursesofferedunderthesecategoriesareanalyzedandkeyskills,
knowledgeandcompetenciesaredevelopedascurriculumvariables.Somegenerallearning
techniquesfromthecurriculumsuchasexperimentallearningandapplication,experience
basedlearningandapplication,understandingcurrentissuesandpracticesinthehospitality
industryarecategorizedunderfundamentalcurriculumrelatedskills.Table22.indicatesa
detailedoverviewofthesecategories,courses,variables,anddescriptionsofourproposed
framework:

Table22.Curriculumvariables,skillareascoursesanddescriptions.

Factor
Courses
Variables
Descriptions
Dimension

GenericSkillSets

Communication
Writingabout
ListeningSkills

Skills

Food
SpeakingSkills

JuniorYear
WritingSkills

WritingSeminar
PresentationSkills

ConceptualSkills
Hospitality&
Demonstrate
Lawasappliedto

TourismLaw
knowledgeoflaw
hotel,foodservice

establishments,andthe

travelindustry;

bailment,contracts,

torts,regulations,

insurance,and

sanitation.

ConventionSales
Knowledgeofsales
Theuseofpersonnel

Management,

techniqueand
sellinginthe

HotelConvention
concepts
hospitalityandtourism

SalesManagement

context.Understanding

operationaland

marketingconcepts

andenhancing

interpersonal

communicationand

salesskills.

Introductionto
Demonstrateaclear
Scope,components,

24

Hospitality

understandingofthe
developmentand

&Tourism

HospitalityIndustry
futureofthehospitality

Management

industry.Background

onindustrystructure;

overviewof

specializedareas

relatingtothe

managementoffood

service,lodging,and

traveloperations.
AnalyticalSkills

Usingnumerical

ideasandtechniques

Forecasting&

Budgeting

ProblemSolving

skills

CriticalReflective

thinking

TeamWork

Workingwithothers

EmployeeRelations

&Training

Providingfeedback&

motivatepeople

Leadership

Staffing

Planningskills

Managerialskills

Interpersonal

SelfManagement

Adaptabilityand

Learning

Exemplifyapassion

forservicetothe

industry

Hospitality&

EthicalBehavior

TourismEthics

HospitalitySpecificskills

Fundamentalcurriculumrelatedskills

Fundamental
CaseStudies,lab

Experimental

Curriculum
work,research,

learning&

relatedskills
fieldtrips,

application

feasibilitystudies,

economicimpact

studies,Seminar

Portfolio

Assessments

Internships,

Experiencebased

Practicum,Work

learning&application

25

Experience,

Seminar

industry

experience

GuestLectures
Understandcurrent

issuesandpractices

inthehospitality

industry

Functionalareaskills

Marketing
Hospitality
Understand
Usingthemarketing

Marketing
marketingconcepts&
mix,communication

Management;
applyhospitality
principlesand

marketing
objectives,sellingand

ServiceMarketing

fundamentals.
merchandising,

inHospitalityand

advertisingand

Tourism;
Understandandapply
promotion,analyzing

Hospitality
thecommunication

Hospitality
Promotion,sales,and
process,developingan

Merchandising
advertising
integratedmarketing

techniques
communications

program.
HumanResources
Personnel
Understandandapply
Functionsofleadership

Management;
HumanResource
motivation,jobdesign,

functions&Policies
recruitment,wageand

Advanced

salaryadministration,

Personnel

performanceappraisal,

Managementin

traininginhealthand

Hotelsand

safety.

Operations

Seminar:Alternate
Understand
Marketingemployment

LaborResources;
employmentpotential
opportunitiestoolder

ofidentified
workers,individuals

Seminar:Labor
supportedpopulations
withdevelopmental

Relations
intheUnitedStates
disabilities,

Problems
andlaborrelations
disadvantagedyouth,

minoritiesand

individualswith

physicaldisabilities

amongothers.

Finance
Hospitality
Understandandapply
Useofaccountingdata

Managerial
accountingdata
fordecisionmakingin

Accounting

hospitalityindustries,

includingratio

analysis,costing,profit

26

analysis,andseasonal

forecasting

Advanced
Understand
Useofcomputersasa

Hospitality
HospitalityFinancial
toolforanalyzing

Finance
management
variousfinancial

Management;
fundamentals
aspectsofhospitality

Seminar:

includingrealestate
organization

HospitalityReal
andapplythem

Estate

Information
Hospitality
Demonstrateskillful
Basicsofhardwareand
Technology
Computer
useofITfor
softwaretechnology,

Applications
processingand
computernetworksand

communicating
theInternet,andlearn

informationinthe
howtouseMicrosoft

hospitalityindustry.
officesuite

applications.
Hospitality
Advanced
Develop&apply
Forecasting,service
Operations
Hospitality
analyticalskills
mapping,measuring,

Facilities
relatedtothe
monitoring,and

Management.

hospitalityindustry
improvingservice

quality,service

delivery,standardsand

workmeasurement,

locationselection

methodsandfacility

AdvancedFood

layouts.

ServiceSystems
Demonstrate
Systematiccontrolof

and
knowledgeoflodging
hospitalityspaces,

Administration;
andfoodservice
engineeringsystems,

Seminar:Food
systemsincluding
managingoperations,

ServiceSystem;
PMS,POS,and
maximizephysical

HotelSystems
Revenue
value,develop

Management&

knowledgeofProperty

Reservationsystems.
Management,Revenue

ManagementandPoint

ofSalesSystems
Concentrationareaskills

Food&
IntroductoryFood
Demonstrateaclear
Problemsprocedures,
Restaurants
Production
understandingofthe
maintenance,safety

Management;

principlesoffood
training,regulatory

AdvancedFood
fabrication,
requirements,food

Production
production,nutrition,
servicesanitation

Management;
safety,quality,
certification,food

FoodServices
services,purchasing,
quality,service,food

Management;
costcontrols,and
products,commercial

Risk&Sanitation;
criticalissues.
equipment,operation

27

Menu&Food

offoodmarketing,

Production

selectionoffoodsto

Management;

meetthefoodservice

CriticalIssuesin

needs,knowledgeof

Foodservice;

foodservicenutrition

FoodService

relatingtocustomer

Nutrition;

andoperatorneedsand

Seminar:

requirementsinfood

CommercialFood

serviceoperations,and

Service;

knowledgeof

Seminar:Contract

commercial&contract

FoodService;

foodservice.

FoodService

Purchasing.

Beverage
Identifytypesof
Identification,origin,

Management
beveragesand
production,and

demonstrate
availabilityof

knowledgeof
beverages.Emphasis

beverage
onthebuying,pricing,

management
control,storage,

promotion,andselling

ofbeveragesinthe

hospitalityindustry.
Events
Event
Developevent,
Projectschedulingand

Management;
meetings,convention
planningand

Meeting,
&conference
programminganactual

Convention&
managementskills

eventincludingits

Event

inception,site

Management;

selection,contract

SpecialEvents

negotiations,selecting

andconference

suppliers,obtaining

planning

sponsorships,and

budgeting,developing

goals,objectives,and

evaluationtechniques

relatedtotheseevents

Cateringand
Learnand
Analysisand

banqueting
demonstratecatering
evaluationoffoodand

management
andbanqueting
beveragesystemsin

functionsandskills
cateringoperations.

Emphasisonplanning,

coordinatingand

improvingoperations.

Planandorganizelarge

onandoffcampus

activities.

28

Lodging
RoomsDivision
Understandthe
UseofMBTIinhotel

Management;
differentfunctional
settings,skills

Hotel
areasofhotels,&
developmentin

Management;
resortssuchasfront
employeeselection,

AdvancedHotel
desk,housekeeping,
roomsalesforecasting,

Management
roomsdivision,guest
laborproduction,

HotelSupervision;

servicesanddevelop
employeestaffing,

HotelOperations;
managerialand
employeescheduling,

Seminar:Resort
supervisoryskills
anddepartmental

Management.

budgetingand

diagnosing,analyzing

andproviding

resolutionofcomplex

hotelbusiness

situations,emphasizing

practicalproblem

solvingskillsand

strategicmanagement.
Club
Club
Demonstrateindepth
Clubtypes,

Management;
clubknowledge,
organization,

AdvancedClub
understandingthe
committee

Management;
fundamentalsofclub
relationshipscareer

Commercial
managementand
planning,leadership

Recreation
applyingthoseskills
andmanagement,

recreationmanagement

andprogramming,

specialeventplanning

andmanagement,club

bylawsandrules,legal

issues,ethicalissues,

facilitydesign,special

enterpriseswithinthe

clubs,breakevenand

financialanalysis,club

feasibilityand

marketing,researchin

clubs,membership

services,CCM

certificationand

promotion/public

relations.
Casino
Gaming&Social
Understandboththe
Historyand

Policy;
internalandthe
developmentof

Casino
externalcasino
gamingandcasino

Management;
environment
operations,thesocial,

Seminar:Gaming

psychological,cultural,

29

&Casino

legalandeconomic

Management;

issuesofgaming,

CasinoProducts,

marketingstrategies,

Protection&

products,controls,

Probability

probabilityofcheating.

Developand

demonstratingcasino

management

competencies

Tourism&Travel
Introductionto
Understandthe
Social,economic,and

Travel&Tourism;
overalltourism
environmental

TourismPolicy&

phenomenonand
dimensionsoftourism,

Planning;
developmanagement
trends,operationand

TravelAgency
competenciesin
managementpractices

andTour
travel&tourism
oftravelagenciesand

Operation;Tour

touroperators,and

Operations

knowledgeof

Management;

computerized

Seminar:World

reservationsystems

WideDestinations

andtourdevelopment,

geographyoftourist

demand,supplyand

transportation,and

destinations.

Basedontheseidentifiedskillsetsandvariables,thefollowingconceptual

frameworkhasbeendeveloped:

30

Genericskills

FundamentalCurriculumrelated

skills
Student

Preparedness

FunctionalArea

SpecificSkills

ConcentrationArea

SpecificSkills

Figure21.Aframeworkformeasuringstudentspreparedness

Genericskillsinthestudysframeworkconsistmainlyoftheskillsetsrecognizedbypast
researchaspartoftheliteraturereview.Thebreakdownofthegenericskillsisshownin
Figure22.PleaserefertoTable22forthegenericskillvariables.

31

Communicati

Communicati

on

onskills

Conceptual

Conceptual

skills

Teamwork

Teamwork

skills

Genericskills

Leadership

Leadership

skills

Analytical

Analytical

skills

Interpersonal

Interpersonal

skills

skills

Figure22.Keyelementsthatbelongtogenericskills

Fundamentalcurriculumrelatedskillshavebeendividedintothreevariables

basedontheanalysisofthecoursesofferedinthecurriculum.TheyareshowninFigure

23.:

32

Experimentallearning&application

Fundamentalcurriculum
relatedskills

Experiencebasedlearning&application

Understandingcurrentissues&practicesinthehospitalityindustry

Figure23.Keyelementsthatbelongtofundamentalcurriculumrelatedskills

Asmentionedabove,functionalareaspecificskillsarebrokendownintofivebroad
skillsetsfromtheanalysisofthecoursesofferedinthecurriculum.Thesefivebroad
areasarefurtherbrokendownintoanumberofcurriculumvariablesbasedonthe

analysisofthecoursesofferedinthecurriculum.Thebreakdownoffunctionalareais
illustratedinFigure24.PleaserefertoTable22forthefunctionalareavariables.

33

Marketing

Information
Finance

technology

FunctionalAreas

Hospitality

Human

operations

resources

Figure24:Breakdownoffunctionalarea

Similarly,concentrationareaspecificskillsarebrokendownintosixbroadareasfrom
theanalysisofthecoursesofferedinthecurriculum.Thesefivebroadareasarefurther
brokendownintoanumberofcurriculumvariablesbasedontheanalysisofthecourses
offeredinthecurriculum.TheirbreakdownisillustratedinFigure25.Pleasereferto
Table22fortheconcentrationareavariables.

34

Lodging
Tourism&
Food&
Travel
Beverage

ConcentrationArea

Skills
Club
Events

Casino

Figure25:Breakdownofconcentrationarea

35

CHAPTER3

DESIGNANDMETHODS

Thischaptercoversstudydesign,methods,andastudyinstrument.Thisstudydeveloped
aframeworktomeasurestudentspreparednessfortheirfuturecareerthroughdiverse
skillsetsbothgenericandcurriculumspecific.Moreover,theareasstudentsaremore
andlesspreparedwerefoundoutaspartofthisstudy.

StudyDesign

Asanexploratorystudy,thisstudydevelopedanonlinesurveyinstrumentandconducted
withtheconveniencesample(undergraduatestudentsmajoringinHospitalityand
TourismManagementatUniversityofMassachusetts,Amherst)toidentifytheir
preparednessintermsoftheeffectivenessofthecurriculum.Thecurriculumvariables
(independent)werereviewedtoidentifythelevelofstudentpreparedness(dependent
variable).Thisstudydevelopedonesetofsurveyinstrumentthatevaluatedtheperceived
levelofstudentpreparedness.Studentswereaskedtoratetheirperceivedlevelof
preparednessforgenericandfundamentalcurriculumrelatedskills,functionalareaskills,
andconcentrationareaskills.Studentsevaluatedtheirperceivedlevelofpreparedness
basedona5pointscale(from1beingpoorandto5beingexcellent).Thelastsectionof
thesurveyconsistedofdemographicquestions.Thedemographicvariablesarequestions
suchasgender,classstatus(junior,senior,orrecentgraduate),age,workexperience,
currentandentranceGPAtotheprogram,andwhetherrespondentstransferredtothe
program.Otherquestionsweremeasuredwitha5pointLikertscalefrom1:strongly
disagreeto5:stronglyagree.

36

Theonlinesurveyinstrumentwaspreparedinthesoftwareprogram,calledQualtrics.Alink
tocompletethesurveywasemailedtoallthetargetparticipantsofthisstudy.Thesurveywas
forwardedtotheHospitalityandTourismManagementDepartmentandthenwasforwarded
tothetargetrespondentsbytheDepartment.Thetotaltimelineforthestudywasfourweeks.
Betweentwoweekstime,areminderwassenttotheparticipants.Threeweekswereallotted
betweenemailingthesurveyandbeginningthedataanalysis.TheIsenbergSchoolof
BusinessHumanSubjectcommitteeapprovedthesurveyinstrument.Asatokenof
appreciation,threefandango.commovieticketswereawardedtothesurveyrespondentsby
therandomdrawing.

StudySample

Thestudysampleconsistedofseniors,juniorsandrecentgraduatesoftheHospitalityand
TourismManagement(HTM)DepartmentatUniversityofMassachusetts,Amherst
becausetheyhadbetterknowledgeandexperiencewiththecurriculum.Moreover,they
wereabletoevaluatetheirpreparednessbettersincetheyhavetakenmorecoursesthan
freshmenandsophomores,andtheyareclosertoorjustrecentlygraduatedinthatthey
inhabitthegenericandhospitalityspecificskillstoagreaterextent.

StatisticalAnalysis

ThisstudyusedSPSS(StatisticalPackageforSocialSciences)version17,MicrosoftExcel
andQualtrics.Descriptiveanalysiswasundertakentoobtainoverallmeanvaluesandstandard
deviationsofallvariablesusedinthestudy.Multipleregressionanalyseswereconductedto
examinewhichskillsetsweremoreinfluentialtostudentsoverallpreparedness.Reliability
testwascarriedouttocheckconsistencyofallskillsetmeasurementitemswithineach
predeterminedskillset.ttestswereconductedto
37

identifywhethertherewereanydifferencesinskillsetsandperceptionsbyrespondents

demographiccharacteristics.

38

CHAPTER4

RESULTS

Thischapterhighlightstheresultsofthedataanalysis.Thesurveyinstrumentwas
emailedto381targetrespondents.Overaspanofthreeweeks,101completedresponses
werecollectedandanalyzed,resultinginaresponserateof26.5%.Outof101
respondents,55%arefemalesand45%aremales.Categorizingthemintotheclass
status,39%arejuniors,49%areseniors,andonly12%arerecentgraduatesoftheHTM
Department.Thirtythreepercentoftherespondentstransferredfromanotherinstitution
directlyintotheHTMDepartment.Eightyonepercentoftherespondentshavesome
levelofindustryworkexperience.Fiftysevenpercentoftherespondentsarecurrently
employedinthehospitalityindustry.About16%oftherespondentsareworkinginthe
manageriallevelmostlyinfrontdesk,housekeeping,salesdepartments,andin
restaurants.Twentypercentoftherespondentswereworkingasinternsinqualified
internshippositionsinhotels,restaurants,managementfirms,orclubs.Therestofthe
respondentswasmostlyholdingparttimeorfulltimejobsinhotels,restaurants,bars,or
seasonallyoperatedclubs.Adetailedsummaryofrespondentsdemographicprofileis
presentedinTable41.

39

Table41.Respondentsdemographicprofile

Junior

Senior
Recentgraduate

Total

(n=38)

(n=49)

(n=14)

(n=101)

Gender

Male
13
34.21%

24
48.98%
8
57.14%
45
44.55%

Female
25
65.79%
25
51.02%
6
42.86%
56
55.45%

Age

1921
34
89.47%
34
69.39%
1
7.14%
69
68.32%

2225
3
7.89%
13
26.53%
11
78.57%
27
26.73%

Above25
1
2.63%
2
4.08%
2
14.29%
5
4.95%

Concentrationarea

CasinoManagement
2
5.26%
2
4.08%

1
7.14%
5
4.95%

ClubManagement
3
7.89%
2
4.08%
2
14.29%
7
6.93%

Food&Beverage
11
28.95%
14
28.57%
5
35.71%
30
29.70%

Management

LodgingManagement
12
31.58%
16
32.65%
6
42.86%
34
33.66%

Tourism,Convention,
10
26.32%
14
28.57%
0
0.00%
24
23.76%

&EventManagement

CurrentGPA

2.002.5
5
13.16%
2
4.08%
0
0.00%
7
6.93%

2.513.0
11
28.95%
14
28.57%
4
28.57%
29
28.71%

3.013.5
13
34.21%
21
42.86%
9
64.29%

43
42.57%

3.514.00
9
23.68%
12
24.49%
1
7.14%
22
21.78%

EntranceGPA

2.002.5
2
5.26%
3
6.12%
1
7.14%
6
5.94%

2.513.0
11
28.95%

14
28.57%
4
28.57%
29
28.71%

3.013.5
12
31.58%
23
46.94%
8
57.14%
43
42.57%

3.514.00
12
31.58%
9
18.37%
1
7.14%
22
21.78%

TransferCriteria

Transferstudent
15
39.47%
16
32.65%
3
21.43%
34
33.66%

Nontransferstudent
23
60.53%
33
67.35%
11
78.57%
67
66.34%

WorkExperience

none
9
23.68%
9
18.37%
1
7.14%
19
18.81%

01year
11
28.95%
7
14.29%

8
57.14%
26
25.74%

12years
6
15.79%
9
18.37%
2
14.29%
17
16.83%

23years
6
15.79%
9
18.37%
2
14.29%
17
16.83%

34years
3
7.89%

8
16.33%
0
0.00%
11
10.89%

45years
2
5.26%
3
6.12%
0
0.00%
5
4.95%

morethan5years
1
2.63%
4
8.16%
1
7.14%
6
5.94%

CurrentWorkStatus

Working
18
47.37%
29
59.18%
10
71.43%
57
56.44%

Notworking
19
50.00%
20
40.82%
4
28.57%
43
42.57%

40

DescriptiveAnalysis

Respondentswereaskedtorankthefunctionalareasofthehospitalitymanagement
program.Atotalof95respondentshavebeenrecordedforthisquestion.Thefivedifferent
functionalareasarerankedinorderofthelevelofstudentpreparedness(1=mostprepared
and5=leastprepared).TheresultsaresummarizedinTable42.AsseeninTable,
hospitalityoperationswereconsideredthemostpreparedareasfollowedbymarketing,
informationtechnology,humanresource,andfinanceandaccounting..Rank1isequivalent
to1pointandrank5isequivalentto5points.Thus,theareawiththeleastscoreisratedthe
highestinourranking.

Table42.Rankingofhospitalityfunctionalareas

Rank
FunctionalArea
Score*
1
HospitalityOperations
2.17
2
Marketing
2.67
3
InformationTechnology
3.21

4
HumanResource
3.40
5
Finance&Accounting
3.55
*1=mostpreparedand5=leastprepared

Atotalof96responsesrankedtheconcentrationareasofthehospitalitymanagement
program.Thefivedifferentconcentrationareaswererankedinorderofthelevelofstudent
preparation(1=mostpreparedand5=leastprepared).TheresultissummarizedinTable
43.Lodgingmanagementwasratedthemostpreparedareafollowedbyfoodandbeverage
management,tourismandconventionandeventsmanagement,casinomanagement,and
clubmanagement.Also,evidentinTable43is

41

thepercentageofrespondentsconcentratinginthearea.LodgingManagementhadthe
highestnumberofrespondents,andClubManagementwastheleast.

Table43.Rankingofhospitalityconcentration/emphasisareas

Rank
ConcentrationArea
scores
Concentrationof

respondents
1
LodgingManagement
2.47
34%
2
Food&BeverageManagement
2.49
30%
3
Tourism,Convention,&Event

2.89
24%

Management

4
CasinoManagement
3.51
7%
5
ClubManagement
3.65
5%

Respondentswereaskedtoratetheiroverallpreparedness,quality,andsatisfactioninthe
hospitalityprogram.Withregardtostudentspreparednessfortheirfuturecareer,amean
scoreofstudentspreparednesswas3.86,whichindicatesthatmostofstudentswere
relativelywellpreparedfortheirfuturecareer.Whenaskedabouttheirlevelofsatisfaction
withlearningintheprogram,46%weresomewhatsatisfied,23%beingverysatisfied,and
24%wereneithersatisfiednordissatisfied.Therespondentswerethenaskedtoratetheir
overallqualityofeducationinthehospitalitymanagementprogram,42%respondentsrated
theirqualityofeducationasaboveaverage,15%excellent,33%average,and9%were
belowaverage.Whenaskedaboutvalueoftheprogram,21%stronglyagreedthatthe
programwasvaluable,41%agreedthattheprogramwassomewhatvaluable,9%somewhat
disagreedand29%wereindifferent.Respondentswerealsoaskedwhethertheywere
willingtorecommendtheprogramtoothers.Fortypercentoftherespondentswere
somewhatlikelytorecommend,32%were

42

verylikelytorecommend,8%weresomewhatunlikely,1%wereveryunlikely,and19%

wereindifferent.ResultsarepresentedinTable44.

Table44.StudentsoverallevaluationsoftheHTMprogram

Studentsoverallevaluations
Mean(std)
n
Preparedness

3.86(.76)
99
Satisfaction

3.83(.91)
100
Quality

3.64(.86)
97
Value

3.74(.89)
100
Recommendation

3.94(.96)
100
a=(1=poor,2=belowaverage,3=average,4=aboveaverage,5=excellent)

b=(1=verydissatisfied,2=somewhatdissatisfied,3=neutral,4=somewhatsatisfied,5=verysatisfied)c=(1=stronglydisagree,2=
somewhatdisagree,3=neutral,4=somewhatagree,5=stronglyagree)

d=(1=veryunlikely,2=somewhatunlikely,3=neutral,4=somewhatlikely,5=verylikely)

Overall,itcanbeconcludedthatthestudentsinthehospitalitymanagementprogramof
thisschoolhadagoodqualityofeducation,weresatisfiedwiththeoverallqualityof
educationtheyreceivedandtheythoughttheirprogramwasvaluable.Theywerealso
adequatelypreparedfortheirfuturecareer.

ResultsofRegressionAnalysis

Multipleregressionanalysiswasdonetoidentifytheskillsthatsignificantlycontributeto
studentpreparedness.ReliabilitytestwasperformedandCronbachsalphavalueswere
rangedfrom.694to.860forgenericskillsand.467to.885forhospitalityspecificskills.
Firststepwastocarryoutmultipleregressionanalysisforthegenericskillstoidentify
keyskillsthataffectedstudentspreparedness(seeTable4.5).

43

Therawdatascorehadbeenaddedforeachgenericskillset.Thefivecategoriesof
genericskillsweretakenasindependentvariablesandpreparednesswassetasthe
dependentvariable.AsshowninTable45,

Table45:ResultsofmultipleregressionanalysisGenericskills

(Dependentvariable:Studentspreparedness)

Independentvariables
B
Std.Error
Beta
tratio

Constant
1.832
.469

3.91

Communicationskills
.065
.033
.251
1.98*
.809

Conceptualskills
.034
.042

.108
.42
.694

Analyticalskills
.007
.035
.027
.84
.817

Teamwork
.033
.042
.102
.44
.841

Leadershipskills
.016
.049
.049
.75
.844

Interpersonalskills
.059
.035
.232
.94
.860

R2=.21F=(p<.001)

p<.05

Resultsshowthatonlycommunicationskillsaresignificantatasignificancelevel

of.05.R ,whichisameasureofhowmuchvariabilityintheoutcomeisaccountedbythe
predictors,was.212.Thismeansthesefactorsaccountedfor21.2%ofvariationin
studentspreparedness.Thus,ifstudentsaremorepreparedincommunicationskills,they
arelikelytobemorereadyfortheirfuturecareer.Cronbachsalphavaluesranged

from.694to.860.

Thesameprocedurehasbeenappliedtothehospitalityspecificskills.Multipleregression
analysiswasperformedwithstudentspreparednessasthedependentvariable,

44

and12skillsetsastheindependentvariables.The12skillsetsinvolvefundamental
curriculumrelated,fivefunctionalareasandsixconcentrationareas.Theregression
modelispresentedinfigure41andtheresultsofregressionofthehospitalityskillsare
shownintable46:

Finance&
Accounting

Fundamental
Human
Curriculum

Resource

relatedskills

Functionalarea
Marketing

skills

Hospitality
Operations

Information
Technology
Preparedness

Events

Lodging

Student

Food&
Beverage
Concentration
areaskills

Casino

Club

Tourism

Figure41:ModelforregressionanalysisofHospitalityspecificskills.

45

Table46.ResultsofmultipleregressionanalysisHospitalityspecificskills

(Dependentvariable:Studentspreparedness)

Independentvariables
B
Std.Error

Beta
tratio

Constant
.970
.561

1.729

FundamentalCurriculumrelated
.060
.046
.161
1.303
.774

Marketing
.064
.063
.123

1.011
.704

HumanResource
.211
.068
.439
3.104
**

.592

Finance&Accounting
.151
.053
.364
2.828
**

.703

InformationTechnology
.153
.104
.163
1.469

OperationsManagement
.035
.067
.068
.529

.467

Food&Beverage
.205
.064
.415
3.205
**

.551

Events
.039
.045
.131
.885

.813

Lodging
.237
.119
.232

1.989
*

Club
.184
.111
.264

1.651

Casino
.050
.053
.146
.948

.885

Tourism
.156
.108
.181
1.446

R2=.41F=(p<.000)

p<.05;**p<.01

Resultsshowthathumanresource,finance&accounting,foodandbeverage,and

lodgingarestatisticallysignificantatasignificancelevelof.05.R fortheanalysiswas.41,
whichmeanstheseskillsaccountedfor41%ofvariationinstudents

46

preparedness.Thepositivebetavalueofhumanresource,foodandbeverage,andlodging
showthatthevariablesarepositivelyrelated.Thus,ifstudentsaremorepreparedin
humanresource,foodandbeverage,andlodgingskills,theyarelikelytobemore
preparedfortheirfuturecareer.However,financeandaccountinghasanegative
relationshipwithstudentspreparedness,indicatingthat,asstudentsaremorepreparedin
thissubject,theirreadinesslevelforthefuturecareergoesdown.Reliabilitytesthasbeen
performedonsomeskillsets,andCronbachsalpharangesfrom.467to.885.Skillsets
suchasIT,Lodging,Club,andTourismhaveonlyonevariableassociatedwitheachof
them.Therefore,itwasnotfeasibletoperformreliabilitytestonthem.

Resultsfromttests

Theindependentsamplesttestswereconductedtoidentifydifferencesinstudents
preparednessofeachfactorbytheirdemographiccharacteristics.Thefirststepinvolved
performingLevenestesttoseeifthevariancesaredifferentenoughtoassumewhether
theyareequalornot.IfLevenestestissignificantatp<0.05,thenwecanconcludethat
thevariancesaresignificantlydifferentandthustheassumptionofhomogeneityof
varianceshasbeenviolatedintheanalysisandifLevenestestisinsignificant(i.e.p>.05),
thenthedifferencebetweenthevariancesiszeroandsothevariancesmustberoughly
equal.Thus,variancesforindividualskillsinthettestshadbeenconsideredequalornot
equalaccordingtoLevenestestcriteriaandaccordinglythesignificancelevelsofthose
skillswerefound.

Asaresultofttest,studentshaddifferentperceptionsofpreparednessintheidentifiedskill
setsbygender,transferstudents,andindustryexperience.Nosignificant

47

differenceswerefoundinanyoftheskillsbetweenjuniorsandseniors.Therewasa
significantdifferenceinthepreparednesslevelforlisteningskillsbetweenmales(M=
3.67,std.=.879)andfemales(M=4.11,std.=.888);t(99)=2.492,p=.014.Thus,
femalesaresignificantlybetterpreparedthanmalesinlisteningskills.Asignificant
differencewasalsofoundregardingthebelievingthathospitalitymanagementisagood
courseofstudybetweenmales(M=3.67,std.=1.087)andfemales(M=4.09,

std=.940);t(99)=2.095,p=.039.Thus,femalesbelievemorestronglythanmalesthat
hospitalitymanagementisagoodcourseofstudy.Betweentransferstudentsandnon
transferstudents,therewasasignificantdifferenceinthepreparednesslevelfor
demonstratingskillfuluseofITforprocessingandcommunicatinginformationinthe
hospitalityindustry(p<.01).Therewasalsoasignificantdifferenceinthepreparedness
levelfordemonstratingcateringandbanquetingfunctionsandskillsbetweentransfers
(M=3.47,std.=.929)andnontransfers(M=3.91,std.=.949);t(99)=2.217,p=.029.
Thus,nontransferstudentsaresignificantlybetterpreparedindemonstratingskillfuluse
ofITforprocessingandcommunicatinginformationinthehospitalityindustry,andin
demonstratingcateringandbanquetingfunctionsskillsthantransferstudentsinthis
hospitalitymanagementprogram.

Thelastttestwasconductedtocomparegroupmeansbetweenstudentswhohavework
experienceandstudentswhodonothaveanyworkexperience.AsshowninTable48,results
ofttestindicatethatstudentsandrecentgraduateswithindustrylevelworkexperienceare
significantlybetterpreparedinthegenericskillssuchaslistening,writing,speaking,ethical
behavior,andadaptabilityandlearningthanthosewithnoindustryexperience.Ontheother
hand,thosewithnoworkexperiencearesignificantlybetter

48

preparedinhumanresource,hospitalityinformationtechnology,andhospitalitylawthan
thosewithindustryexperience.Inadditiontotheseskills,asignificantdifferencewas
alsofoundregardingoverallsatisfactionwithlearningbetweenthosewithwork
experience(M=3.95,std.=.842)andthosewithnoworkexperience(M=3.50,std.=
1.030);t(98)=2.189,p=.031).Moreover,therewasasignificantdifferenceregarding
thelikelihoodofrecommendingthehospitalityprogramtoothersbetweenthosewith
workexperience(M=4.12,std.=.875)andthosewithnoworkexperience(M=3.42,
std.=1.027);t(98)=3.345,p=.001).Thus,thosewithworkexperiencearesignificantly
moresatisfiedwithlearningthanthosewithnoworkexperienceandarealsomorelikely
torecommendthishospitalityprogramtoothers.

49

Table47:Resultsofttestbetweengroupswithworkexperienceandwithout

workexperience

Skill
Group
Mean(std.)
t
p
Listening
Workexperience
4.05(.87)
2.77
.007

Noworkexperience
3.50(.91)

Writing
Workexperience
3.81(.83)
2.49
.014

Noworkexperience
3.35(.80)

Speaking
Workexperience
3.84(.87)
2.14
.035

Noworkexperience
3.42(.81)

Hospitalitylaw
Workexperience
3.56(1.19)
2.58
.011

Noworkexperience
4.23(.99)

Adaptability&learning
Workexperience
4.24(.77)
2.28
.025

Noworkexperience
3.85(.73)

Ethicalbehavior
Workexperience
4.32(.79)
2.84
.006

Noworkexperience
3.81(.80)

Understandandapplyhuman
WorkExperience
3.61(.84)
2.24
.027
resourcefunctions&policies

noworkexperience
4.04(.82)

Understandemploymentpotential
Workexperience
3.32(.98)
2.26
.026
ofidentifiedsupportedpopulations
Noworkexperience
3.81(.80)

andlaborrelationsintheUnited

States

DemonstrateskillfuluseofITfor
Workexperience
3.55(.84)

2.47
.015
processingandcommunicating
Noworkexperience
4.04(.96)

informationinthehospitality

industry

50

CHAPTER5

DISCUSSION

Thischapterhighlightskeyfindingsofthisstudybyreferringtothestudysobjectives,
identifiesthedrawbacksandlimitationsofthestudy,andprovidessuggestionsforfuture
researchinthisarea.

Thefirstobjectiveofthestudywastodevelopamodelthatwouldallowstudentstorate
theirlevelofpreparednessfromtheircurriculum.Thehospitalitycurriculumwaslooked
intodetailstocomeupwithcurriculumvariablesthroughwhichstudentscanmeasure
theirperceivedlevelofpreparedness.Eachindividualcoursedescriptionwaslookedinto
fromthecoursecatalogtocomeupwithskillsthatstudentslearnfromeachofthese
courses.Whilethismethodhadworkedforthepurposeofthisstudy,theskillsstudents
learnfromacoursemightnotbeaccuratelyrepresentedinthecurriculum.Abetter
approachmightbetoconsulttheinstructorandincorporatetheinstructorsperspectiveto
developtheskillsthestudentsarelearninginthecourse.Ifthatturnsouttobetootime
consuming,developingthecurriculumvariablesfromthecoursesyllabusmightalsobea
betterway.Thus,coursedescriptionswereanalyzedandappropriatecurriculumvariables
weredeveloped.Theconcentrationandfunctionalareaswerealsodevelopedaccordingly
fromthecurriculumbasedonthecoursesofferedinthecurriculum.Genericskill
variablesweredevelopedfrompastresearchandcourseofferingsinthehospitality
curriculum.Somefundamentalcurriculumrelatedskillswerealsodevelopedbasedon
thecourseofferingsanddescriptions.Thisfulfillsthefirstobjectiveoftheresearch.

51

Thenextobjectiveoftheresearchwastohighlightthestrengthsandweaknessesofthe
program.Thecurriculumvariablesweretransformedintoauserfriendlysurveythrough
whichstudentsandrecentgraduatesratedtheirperceivedlevelofpreparednesstowork
intheindustry.Basedontherating,themeansoftheseskillswererankedinorderof
importance(seeAppendixC).Genericskillssuchasteamwork,interpersonal,critical
reflectivethinking,problemsolving,planning,listening,andclearunderstandingofthe
industryareratedquitehighlybytherespondents.Amonghospitalityspecificskills,
events,sales,promotion,overallfoodrelatedskills,andlodgingmanagementwererated
veryhighlybytheresponders.Theskillsinwhichstudentswereleastpreparedinvolved
casinomanagement,clubs,financialmanagement,employmentpotentialofidentified
supportedpopulation,forecastingandbudgeting,andusingnumbers.Veryfew
respondentsareconcentratingincasinomanagementandclubmanagement,which
explainsthattheymightnothaveexposedtovariouscoursesrelatedtotheseareasand
hencetheyarenotwellpreparedinthem.Basedonthemeanscoresofeachskillset
(AppendixA),thegeneraltrendthatcanbenoticedisrespondentsareverywellprepared
inskillsthatinvolvekeymanagementqualitiessuchasinterpersonalskillsandpeople
skills.Onthedownside,skillsthatrequiredealingwithnumbersandanalysistendtobe
thoseinwhichrespondentsarelessprepared.Nevertheless,overallstudentswerequite
wellpreparedinalloftheskillsofferedinthecurriculum,asthelowestmeanwas3.19/5,
whichwasnotverylow.Thus,therewasnotanygrayareainthecurriculuminwhich
emphasishastobegiventoensureproperstudentlearning.

Consistentwiththisobjectiveitwasnecessarytocarryoutmultipleregressiontoidentify
whichskillareascontributesignificantlytostudentpreparedness.Intheend,four

52

skillareaswerefoundtobekeypredictorsofstudentsreadinessorpreparedness
includingthreehospitalityspecificskillareaandonegenericskillarea.Theskillareathat
affectedpositivelytostudentpreparednessincludescommunicationskillsunderthe
genericskillcategoryandhumanresource,food&beverage,andlodgingunderthe
hospitalityspecificskillareas.Interestingly,financeandaccountingisfoundtobe
negativelyrelatedtostudentspreparedness.

Thenextobjectivewastocarryouttteststoexamineanydifferencesbystudents
demographiccharacteristicsintheirpreparednessforfuturecareer.Astatistically
significantdifferencewasfoundbetweenrespondentswithandwithoutworkexperience.
Respondentswithworkexperiencehadratedtheirpreparednessinmanyoftheskills
significantlyhighlythanthosewithoutworkexperience.Aninterestingpointtonotein
thiscasewasthatskillssuchashumanresourceskills,informationtechnology,and
hospitalitylawweredifferentbetweenthetwogroups.Respondentswithnowork
experiencewerebetterpreparedintheseskillsthanthosewithworkexperience.Onthe
otherhand,studentsandrecentgraduateswithworkexperiencewerebetterpreparedin
listening,writing,speaking,adaptability&learning,andethicalbehaviorthanthosewith
noworkexperience.

Basedonourresearch,itcanbeconcludedthatcoursesinthefoodandrestaurant
management,humanresourcemanagement,andlodgingmanagementandcoursesthat
contributetoenhancingcommunicationskillswerekeypredictorsofstudents
preparednessinthishospitalitymanagementprogram.Ontheotherhand,coursesin
financeandaccountingwerecontributingnegativelytostudentpreparedness.Maybe

53

theirperceptionofpreparednessforthesecoursesisnotinaccordwiththeiractual
preparednessbecausestudentsoftengetintimidatedbydealingwithnumbers.

Aninterestingpointtonotefromthettestswasthatworkexperiencewasmakingabig
differenceinthewaystudentsperceivetheirlevelofpreparedness.Thelogical
explanationfromthiswouldbethatstudentswerebeingabletoapplytheskillstheylearnt
fromtheircurriculumtotherealprofessionallifeinordertobolstertheirconfidenceand
enhancetheirperceptionofbetterpreparation.Thisagainhighlightstheimportanceof
internships,coops,summerjobs,externships,andparttimejobsinthisfieldof
education.

LimitationsofStudy

Asanexploratorystudy,thesamplesizewouldbeacceptable.However,itmightbea
goodideatoapplythismodeltoalargesamplesize.Inaddition,thismodelwasbeing
testedinoneschoolonly.Itisdefinitelyagoodideatoapplythisresearchindifferent
schoolstotesttherobustnessofthemodel.Moreresearchsitescanaddmoredepthtothe
studyandcanbecrucialtotestingthevalidityofthemodel.Inthatcase,themodelmight
havetobeadjustedaccordingtothecourseofferingsofthedifferentschools.

Itmightnotbepossibletosingleoutthecurriculumastheonlycontributingfactortostudent
preparedness.Therearemanyfactorsthatcontributetostudentpreparedness,asaresultof
which,itisachallengingtasktolimittheotherfactorsand

findouthowcurriculumalonecontributestostudentpreparedness.Likewise,theR
valuesinthemultipleregressionanalysishavebeenquitelow.

54

Theidentifiedskillsetsmightnotrepresentthecurriculumeffectively.Furthertesting
andvalidationmightbenecessarytoassesstheskillsetsdevelopedfromthecourse
descriptions.Itmightnotbeagoodrepresentationoftheactualmaterialstaughtinthe
course.Abetterapproachmightbetoconsulttheinstructorandincorporatethe
instructorsperspectivetodeveloptheskillsthestudentsarelearninginthecourse

Therecanbeseveralskillslumpedintoonecurriculumvariablewhichmightnotentaila
specificandaccurateresponsefromtherespondents.Thismightconfusetherespondents,
whichinturnmightcausethemtoratetheirperceivedlevelofpreparednessincorrectly.

Studentscanbebiasedintheiropinionsaboutthecurriculum.Forexample,eventhough
theyareadequatelypreparedtheymightnotaccuratelyratetheirlevelofpreparedness
becauseoftheirdislikingoftheinstructor.Surveyparticipantsmightbasetheirinputson
personalgrudgeand/orwordofmouth.

Studentscanalsorateaskillwithouteventakingacoursethatteachesthemthatskill.
Forexample,introductiontohospitalitymanagementtalksaboutcasinostosomeextent.
Therefore,studentswillratecasinomanagementcompetenciesbasedontheirlearningin
theintroductiontohospitalitymanagementcourseiftheyhavenottakenthecasino
managementcourses.

Suggestions

Hospitalityeducationisstillgrowingacrosstheworld.Withtheriseindemandfor
hospitalityeducation,theneedtohaveaproperrankingsysteminthisfieldismore
55

thanever.Suchamodelcanonlybemadeafterseveralphasesoftesting,andvalidation.
Thismodeltomeasurecurriculumeffectivenessisinitselementarystage.Althoughthe
objectivesaresuccessfullymetforthepurposeofthisstudy,therearestilllotsmoreto
lookintointhefuture.Keepinginmindallitslimitations,themodelcanbedeveloped
furtherandimprovedtoacompletelynewlevel.Itmightalsobepossibletorank
schoolsbasedontheimprovedversionofthemodelandthisisoneinterestingareato
lookintoforthefuture.

56

APPENDIXA

RANKINGOFSKILLAREASBYMEAN

Skills
Type of skills
Mean

Workingwithothers
Genericteamwork
4.22

EthicalBehavior
Genericinterpersonal
4.19

Passionforservicetotheindustry
Genericinterpersonal
4.18

AdaptabilityandLearning
Genericinterpersonal
4.14

CriticalReflectivethinking
Genericanalytical
4.03

Clearunderstandingofhospitalityindustry
Genericconceptual
4.01

SelfManagement
Genericinterpersonal
4.00

Providingfeedback&motivatingothers
Genericteamwork
4.00

EmployeeRelations&Training
Genericteamwork
3.96

Planningskill
Genericleadership
3.95

ListeningSkill
Genericcommunication
3.91

ProblemSolving
Genericanalytical
3.88

eventmanagementskills
Concentrationareaskillsevents
3.84

Understandthedifferentfunctionalareasofhotels,&

resortssuchasfrontdesk,housekeeping,rooms

division,guestservicesanddevelopmanagerialand

supervisoryskills
Concentrationareaskillslodging
3.84

meetingsandconventionmanagementskills
Concentrationareaskillsevents
3.81

Demonstrateaclearunderstandingoftheprinciplesof

foodfabrication,production,nutrition,safety,quality,

services,purchasing,costcontrols,andcriticalissues.
Concentrationareaskillsf&b
3.80

UnderstandandapplyHospitalityPromotion,sales,

andadvertisingtechniques
Functionalareaskillsmarketing
3.78

Developing&applyinganalyticalskillsrelatedtothe

hospitalityindustry
Functionalareaskillsfinance

3.77

demonstratingcateringandbanquetingfunctionsand

skills
Concentrationareaskillsevents
3.76

Managerialskill
Genericleadership
3.75

PresentationSkill
Genericcommunication
3.74

SpeakingSkill
Genericcommunication
3.73

HospitalityLaw
Genericconceptual
3.73

understandingandapplyinghumanresourcefunctions
Functionalareaskillshuman

policies
resource
3.72

Understandmarketingconcepts&ApplyHospitality

Marketingfundamentals.
Functionalareaskillsmarketing
3.70

WritingSkill
Genericcommunication
3.69

Staffing
Genericleadership
3.69

Experiencebasedlearning&application
Fundamentalcurriculumrelated
3.68

DemonstratingskillfuluseofITforprocessingand

communicatinginformationinthehospitality
Functionalareaskills

industry.
informationtechnology
3.67

Experimentallearning&application

Fundamentalcurriculumrelated
3.61

57

Understandingcurrentissuesandpracticesinthe

hospitalityindustry
Fundamentalcurriculumrelated
3.61
Understandtheoveralltourismphenomenonand

developmanagementcompetenciesintravel&
Concentrationareaskills

tourism
tourism,travel
3.58
Indentifyingtypesofbeveragesanddemonstrating

knowledgeofbeveragemanagement
ConcentrationareaskillsF&B
3.57
Demonstratingknowledgeoflodgingandfoodservice

systemsincludingPMS,POS,andRevenue
Functionalareaskillshospitality

Management&Reservationsystems.

operations
3.57
Salestechnique&concepts
Genericconceptual
3.57
understandingandanalyzingaccountingdata
Functionalareaskillsfinance
3.53
Forecasting&Budgeting
Genericanalytical
3.50
Usingnumericalideas&techniques
Genericanalytical
3.49
Demonstrateindepthclubknowledge,understanding

thefundamentalsofclubmanagementandapplying

thoseskills
Concentrationareaskillsclub
3.45
Understandemploymentpotentialofidentified

supportedpopulationsintheUnitedStatesandlabor
Functionalareaskillshuman

relations
resource
3.45
understandingboththeinternalandtheexternalcasino

environment
Concentrationareaskillscasino
3.40
UnderstandHospitalityFinancialmanagement

fundamentalsincludingrealestateandapplythem
Functionalareaskillsfinance
3.20
applyingcasinomanagementcompetencies
Concentrationareaskillscasino
3.19

58

APPENDIXB

SURVEYINSTRUMENT

59

6
0

6
1

6
2

6
3

6
4

6
5

6
6

6
7

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