Developing future hotel managers in Taiwan: from an industry viewpoint

Int. J. Hospitality Management Vol. 14 No. 3/4, pp. 261-269, 1995 Copyright Q 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 027U319195 $9.50 + 0.00

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Developing future hotel managers in Taiwan: from an industry viewpoint Jai-Fong Hsu and Susan R. Gregory Restaurant & Resort Management Program, Colorado State University, Colorado, U.S.A.

The purpose of the study was to investigate and identify competencies needed for entrylevel hotel managers from the industry professional’s point of view. A survey instrument was used to gather data from present hotel managers in Taipei, Taiwan. Competencies identified in this survey, as being important by entry-level managers, could be a foundation for development of hospitality management curricula in Taiwan. Key words:

management

hotel competencies

Taiwan

curricula

Introduction During the past 3 years, the hospitality industry in Taiwan has grown in tandem with the expanding economy of the country and the increased use of hospitality facilities by the local people. The growth of the hospitality industry has created high demand for competent managers and poses a challenge to hospitality educators. In addition, the hospitality industry in Taiwan has been suffering from chronic manpower shortages (Chang, 1993). Hotel insiders attribute the phenomenon to the lack of educational institutions involved in the hospitality management programs that can generate large numbers of well-trained graduates (Juan, 1993). It is recognized that quality of service in the hospitality industry is closely related to welltrained professionals in the industry (Zhao, 1991). Efforts need to be made to enhance hospitality educators’ perspectives of the industry’s needs and to design effective courses in the field of hospitality management. In response to the increased demand for professionals, many educational institutions such as vocational schools, colleges and universities have established programs of study in the field of hospitality management as an adjunct to existing programs (Chang, 1993). Gale and Pol(l975) proposed that the first step in planning and evaluating educational programs is the description of competencies required for successful functioning in a position. These authors also suggested that such statements can be developed from a survey of experts in the field. 261

262

Jai-Fong Hsu and Susan R. Gregory

International

and tourist hotels in Taiwan

There are two types of hotels in Taiwan, international tourist hotels and tourist hotels. According to a hotel guide published by the Tourism Bureau, there are 43 international tourist hotels and 34 tourist hotels approved by the government of Taiwan (Taiwan Tourism Bureau, 1991). Taipei, the capital, has 24 international tourist hotels and 14 tourist hotels (Taiwan Tourism Bureau, 1991). There are more international tourist hotels than tourist hotels in Taiwan which is a typical reflection of the hotel industry in South-East Asia. In South-East Asia, the hotel industry has traditionally been dominated by four- and five-star hotels in major cities. The structure is a reflection of traveller’s traditional hotel preferences and of the owners’ desire for prestigious locations and brand names (Saunders and Renaghan, 1992). In the past, hospitality management professions were not viewed as respected fields by many Taiwanese. A position in services was regarded as a ‘lowly’ job in Chinese culture, people gain ‘no face’ by being a waiter (Zhao, 1991). Moreover, local guests often treat service personnel as lower-class people. The negative attitude of guests reinforces prejudices against a career in the hospitality industry. The traditional concept and the negative attitude of guests make it more difficult to recruit people and convince them to consider the hospitality management profession as a respectable career (Liu, 1991). Fortunately, this attitude is changing gradually. The Government and local hoteliers are trying to educate the public to the legitimacy of the hotel industry and its desirability as a career field (Liu, 1991). Hospitality

education

in Taiwan

At present, there are 38 vocational schools and 11 universities and colleges offering tourism programs throughout Taiwan. Some of those schools have added programs of hospitality management ancillary to their existing tourism programs (Chang, 1993). The National Hotel and Restaurant Management Junior College, the first school in hospitality management education, recently opened in Kaoshiung in July, 1994. This school was established by the Ministry of Education (Chang, 1993). Statement

of purpose

The primary purpose of this research was to investigate and identify competencies needed by entry-level managers in Taiwan’s hotel industry. The results of this study will be beneficial to (1) schools in developing adequate hospitality management programs, and (2) to hotel recruiters as a reference in the hiring process for the position of entry-level manager.

Review of the literature Hospitality

education

‘Today’s beginning hospitality manager needs a diversity of talents, skills and competenties to meet the experiences of the industry’ (Buergermeister, 1983). Before any development and evaluation of hospitality education, it is important to consider what kind of graduates the industry would like to hire and what factors should be included in starting a

Developing future hotel managers

263

program. The first step in planning and evaluating educational programs is the description of competencies required for success in the hospitality industry. Such statements can be developed from a survey of experts in the field (Gale and Pol, 1975). Buergermeister (1983) and Mariampolski et al. (1980) found that technical and human skills are far more important than conceptual skills for the beginning manager. These authors suggested that restaurant management curricula should help students develop technical and human skills. Tas (1988) established that there were six essential competencies for hotel manager trainees that centered primarily on human-relations skills. These skills are: managing guest problems, professional and ethical standards, professional appearance and poise, effective communication, positive customer relations, and positive working relationships. Industry prospective of hospitality education

Hogan (1989) conducted a survey with 77 hotel and restaurant companies in the U.S.A. In this study, Hogan found that hotel operators were particularly interested in three employment areas for entry-level managers. These areas include marketing and sales, food and beverage, and housekeeping management. The results of Hogan’s survey also showed that the hotel operators were interested in people skills such as human relations and service. In 1992 and 1993 hospitality recruiters were asked to rank attributes that they look for in hiring hospitality graduates. The same top four attributes were identified. They were: work experience, verbal communications, personal appearance and grade point average. The only difference in the two studies was the top two attributes, they changed positions from one year to the other (Jones, Izzolo and Christianson, 1993). In Cassado’s (1993) study, hospitality recruiters were asked to rank order hospitality courses, based on their importance to candidates future success with their company. Food, beverage and labor costs, principles of management, hospitality human resources, industry work experience and hospitality accounting were the top five courses listed. In addition, front office operations, hospitality law, hospitality sales and marketing, financial analysis, and housekeeping rounded out the top ten courses cited by recruiters as being important.

Methodology was mailed to all Taipei hotels listed in the 1991-1992 Guide to Tourist tourist hotels and 14 tourist hotels. The questionnaire for the study consists of 30 competency statements in three categories: (1) general management statements; (2) food service and restaurant related statements; and (3) lodging statements. The second part of the questionnaire included two questions regarding education level and experience necessary for entry level manager and seven questions designed to obtain demographic information about the respondents and the respondents’ operation. These questions were to identify the type of hotel ownership, hotel classification and number of rooms. These questions were asked to determine if responses to these variables impacted how respondents answered the 30 competency statements. In addition, a space for individual comments was provided. Competency statements for Part I of the instrument were derived from studies by Mariampolski et al. (1980) on entry level competencies for commercial food service A questionnaire

Hotels in Taiwan Republic of China. There were 24 international

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Jai-Fong Hsu and Susan R. Gregory

managers: Buergermeister (1983) on competencies needed by beginning hospitality managers and Tas (1988) on entry level hotel manager trainee competencies. All the competencies stated by the above-mentioned studies were collated and similarities were deleted and a final of competencies remained in the instrument. A semantic differential scale (a variation of the Likert scale) was used to evaluate the importance respondents placed on each of the competencies (1 = not important to 4 = very important). The respondents could mark ‘not applicable (NA)’ for those competencies, in their opinion, that were not needed for entry level managers. Limitations The study is limited (1) The survey was (2) The survey was Chinese to English.

by the following factors: limited to managers at 38 hotels in Taipei, Taiwan. translated from English to Chinese. Responses were translated Subtleties in the language may not translate precisely.

from

Instrument distribution A mail survey was used with pre- and post-questionnaire telephone calls to increase responses. The questionnaire, a cover letter, and a pre-stamped return envelope were mailed to each of the participants. A 79% response rate was achieved.

Data analysis The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) (Norusis, 1992) was used to process the responses of the returned questionnaires. Frequency of the responses for each item for all respondents, and the measures of central tendency (mean, mode, median) were calculated. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to test the null hypotheses. The null hypotheses of the survey were that there are no correlations (linear relationship) between the level of importance of each competency and (1) different hotel ownership styles; (2) hotels of different room numbers; and (3) different star-ranking hotels. Each null hypothesis was tested at the 0.05 and 0.01 levels of significance.

Results and discussion Respondents’ projile Thirty-three per cent of the respondents hold the title of Human Resource (HR) Manager, 20% hold the title of Assistant HR Manager, another 20% hold that of Assistant Manager and 13.3% hold that of General Manager. The ‘other’ category, accounting for 13.3%, included General Affairs Manager, Room Division Manager and Front Desk Supervisor. The majority of the respondents had been in the hospitality industry for more than 6 years (76.7%). In addition, most of the respondents (53.4%) had been in their present position for 2-5 years. Ten persons (33.3%) indicated that they had been in their present position for more than 6 years. More than half (53.3%) of the respondents worked at independently owned operations. Over 26% responded that their hotels have more than 500 guest rooms. Sixty per cent of the hotels were classified as five-star hotels.

265

Developing future hotel managers Table 1. Measures

of central tendency

of general

statements

Competencies Maintain effective communication with employees Possess skills to effectively supervise personnel Delegate appropriate tasks to others Conduct orientation and training program Interview and selection of personnel Ensure good safety practices of employees and guests throughout the property Motivate employees to achieve desired performance Maintain working relationships and good communication with all departments Use employee performance evaluation effectively Adjust daily schedule and shift personnel to meet changes in demand Prepare accurate and appropriate records for personnel management-reporting purpose Resolve guest problems quickly, efficiently and courteously Demonstrate professional appearance and poise Maintain knowledge of local competition and general industry trend Manage employee grievances effectively Assist in establishing organizational objectives and their priorities Supervise staff in a consistently fair and firm manner Create special promotion packages Achieve budgeted sales and maximum profitability Importance

Competency

scale: 1 = not important to 4 = very important.

Importance results Mean Mode 3.9

4.0

3.9

4.0

3.4 3.1 3.5 3.6

4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0

3.6

4.0

3.6

4.0

3.2 3.2

4.0 4.0

3.4

4.0

3.9

4.0

3.7 2.8

4.0 3.0

3.7 3.0

4.0 4.0

3.6

4.0

2.7 3.3

3.0 4.0

NA = not applicable

analysis

All competencies in the section of general management statements received mode scores of 4 with two exceptions (knowledge of local competition and create special promotion packages). Mode scores indicate the most common answer and are not effected by extreme scores (Table 1). The mode scores of the seven identified competencies in the food service and restaurant related area ranged from 3 to 4. ‘Assure highest standards of sanitation and kitchen safety’;

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Jai-Fong Hsu and Susan R. Gregory

Table 2. Measures of central tendency of food service and restaurant relared statements

Competency Assure highest standards of sanitation and kitchen safety Possess technical skills in receiving, storage and issuing of food and beverage Establish quality standards for all menu items Establish portion sizes for all menu items Train kitchen personnel to meet special dietary requests, including low-fat, low-sodium, vegetarian, and low-calorie meals Coordinate activities of different food service facilities Control food costs efficiently Importance Scale: 1 = not important to 4 = very important.

Importance results Mean Mode 3.5

4.0

3.4

3.0

3.3

4.0

3.1 2.6

4.0 3.0

3.1

3.0

3.6

4.0

NA = not applicable

‘Establish quality standards for all menu items’; ‘Establish portion sizes for all menu items’; and ‘Control food costs efficiently’ received mode scores of 4, indicating that these skills were ‘very important’ (Table 2). Of the ‘four competencies in the lodging section, three received mode scores of 4. ‘Thorough understanding of front office operations’ had the highest mean score (3.8). ‘Understanding of front office accounting procedures’ received the lowest mode and mean score (3.0) (Table 3). Respondents were requested to supply any additional competencies that were not covered in the 30 competencies listed that they felt were important for entry level managers. Responses to this question included: listen to guest opinions with understanding and patience, thorough understanding of service personnel’s service attitude, loyalty to the business, be enthusiastic and progressive, language ability, good physical condition, and time management. Respondents were asked what education requirement and the length of hospitality work experience they look for when recruiting entry level management employees. Thirteen persons (43.3%) rated associate degree (2-year college degree) as the most acceptable educational level for the entry level manager. Seven respondents (23.3%) indicated that educational level was not a criteria for the entry level manager. Only three persons (10.0%) felt that baccalaureate degree (4-year college degree) was needed for the entry level manager. Fifty-three per cent of respondents indicated that they looked for l-3 years of hospitality work experience in management candidates. There was no significant difference in responses between ownership classification,

267

Developing future hotel managers Table 3. Measures of central tendency of lodging-related

statements Importance results Mean Mode

Competency Thorough understanding of front office operations Ability to forecast reservations Understanding of front office accounting procedures Ability to use computerized front office property management system Importance

Scale: 1 = not important to 4 = very important.

3.8

4.0

3.2 3.0

4.0 3.0

3.5

4.0

NA = not applicable

number of hotel rooms or star-ranking classification of respondent’s managed hotel except for two competencies. These competencies were: ‘Interview and selection of personnel’, and ‘Thorough understanding of front office operations’, which were significantly correlated with hotel ownership style. The positive correlation coefficients (0.4202 and 0.3873) mean that respondents in international franchise hotels and respondents in corporate hotels tend to rate those two competencies with higher level of importance. Only the length of hospitality work experience required was significantly correlated with numbers of hotel guest rooms. The positive value (0.4749) means that respondents in hotels with more guest rooms tend to look for entry level managers who had more hospitality work experience. ‘Thorough understanding of front office operations’ was the only one competency that had significant correlation with the star-ranking classification of hotels. The positive value (0.3841) means that respondents of higher star-ranking hotels had the tendency to rate this competency with higher level of importance.

Summary

and conclusions

The growth of the hospitality industry in Taiwan has created high demand for competent managers and poses a challenge to hospitality educators. Efforts need to be made to enhance hospitality educators’ perspective of the industry’s needs and to design effective courses in the field of hospitality management. The results of the survey showed that respondents rated the majority of the competency statements at a high level of importance. Nine of the top 11 competencies found most important for entry level hospitality managers by the majority of the respondents were human-relations skills. The only exceptions were the competencies ‘Thorough understanding of front office operations’; and ‘Ensure good safety practices of employees and guests throughout the property’.

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Jai-Fong Hsu and Susan R. Gregory

The findings of the survey also indicated that the null hypotheses were rejected by the following variables: (1) There were positive linear relationships (p < 0.0s) between hotel ownership style and the level of importance of both ‘Interview and selection of personnel’, and ‘Thorough understanding of front office operation’. (2) There was a positive linear relationship (p < 0.01) between the length of hospitality work experience required and the number of guest rooms of respondents’ managed hotels. (3) There was a positive linear relationship (p < 0.05) between ‘Thorough understanding of front office operation’ and the star-ranking of respondents’ managed hotels. Conclusions

Based on the findings of the survey and evidence from the literature, the following conclusions are warranted relating to the hospitality management programs in Taiwan: (1) The competencies for an entry level hospitality manager, identified as important in this survey, can provide a foundation for development of hospitality management curricula in Taiwan. (2) To have a meaningful on-going evaluation of hospitality curricula, there should be a substantial input from the hospitality industry on a regular basis. (3) In addition to classroom lectures, the hospitality management programs should also include field experience that enable the student to develop the competencies identified in this survey. (4) Human-relation skills such as communication and leadership skills should receive extra recognition in the future.

References Buergermeister, J. (1983) Assessment

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