Responsibilities of the hospitality educator

ht. J. Hospitality Management Printed in Great Britain

Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 179-166.

0276-4319/91 $3.00 + 0.00 Pergamon Press plc

1991

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Responsibilities of the hospitality educator Robert Christie Mill School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Universitv of Denver, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.

In a thought provoking discussion paper ‘A radical proposal for hospitality and tourism education’ Mike Haywood, in this journal (Haywood, 1989), argued that there is a pressing need to rcdcsign education. He suggcstcd that business and society are changing at an increasing rate, that both arc becoming more interconnected and that there is an increasing uncertainty about the future. As a result ‘the specific skills and knowledge acquired through formal hospitality and tourism education are becoming less important than a willingness and ability to seek new knowledge and understanding’ (Haywood, 1989, p. 260). He went on to suggest that control of the educational process be moved from the teacher to the student and called for such things as student participation in the objectives of learning and the methods employed and the freedom to experiment with different methods of learning. I will suggest later that Haywood is both too radical in his suggestions and, at the same time, not radical enough. A few days after having read the paper, in a class on the effectiveness of various training methods, I pointed out that the lecture is a very poor method for changing attitudes, improving problem solving and interpersonal skills or for enhancing knowledge retention. The question came almost immediately. ‘Why, then, do so many of my professors lecture so much?’

Tcachcrs, students and the hospitality industry ‘I’hcsc incidents

and the direction

C~USL’~ IIIC to

rcflcct on the role of iI tcilchcr relative to the Icarncr (Fig. 1) should bc going if WC arc to improve what WC do

in which educators

(Tnhlc 1). I-l’)

Discussion Paper

Instructional skflls / Confidence

4

/ Artistry

What

is

/ En t hwasm

/ Students

/4 -Educators-Industry

,i-,\+ What should be-

Research

Experience

Fig, 1.

Table 1. Respective cational institutions Industry -_-_ - ___

roles

of industry

edu-

Educational Institutions

_____-.._- ._._---_-_-_-

Training Short-term How Task Facts Application Technical First job Present Problem answers Teaching Superstructure

and

Education Long-term Why Process Ideas Theory Conceptual Last job Future Problem solving Learning Foundation

-.--_

IX1

Discussion Paper

Taking

a cue from the marketing profession.

groups of customers-students

I believe that. as educators. we serve two

and the hospitality

industry.

There is a dark side to the oft-

heard comment in academia that ‘this would be a wonderful job if it weren’t for the students’. The advent of a customer-orientation approach to running a business seems to be lost on many educators. What chance for success would we give a business that was open for business when the owner wanted rather than when it was convenient for the customer: that stocked items of interest to the owner rather than requested by the customer; where the objective of the employees was to be as unavailable to the customer as possible? Yet too many of our classes are scheduled at times convenient to the faculty rather than the student; the class material often deals with topics related to the professor’s research interest rather than material relevant to students and the industry; and senior (and more experienced) faculty spend less and less time with students both in and out of class and more and more time on their research. The educator is also responsible

to the industry

her/his students are seeking to enter.

There is a relationship that binds students, educators and the industry together. If companies are unhappy with what is being produced they will not recruit at a particular school. Word will get out that graduates of that school have trouble finding employment and the number of pcoplc seeking entrance to that school will decline. Amongst other things, students are attracted to a particular school by the prospect of getting gainful cmploymcnt at the end of their two, three or four year stint.

Telling it the way it is The responsibility

of the educator to both sets of ‘customers’ is two-fold. Educators have a

responsibility to prcparc students for the world that they will fact and to prcparc them to change that world for the bctlcr. Students must loavc the educational institution ilblc to contribute,

from day one, to the company that they join. This

thnt they sh~hl

bc qualified.

OII

dots not rrccesstrrily mC;\Il

day enc. to make beds. prepare meals, scrvc drinks or

room guests in the way that thcirchoscn company dots these things. It dots mean that they have enough cxposurc to the terminology. environment and operation of the business that, within a very short period of time. they can perform the tasks rcquircd of them. Their educational hackground must give them the foundation whcrcby they can become an cffcctivc performer for their company fusrer than somconc who did not have that cduciltion.

The importance of expcricncc To prepare students for the industry the educator must have cxpcricnce with the industry. Expcricncc with the industry can take various forms. It might come from actually working in the industry. Personal cxpcricncc is valued more highly by many over theoretical expcrtisc. The expcricncc of having been there lcndscrcdibility to what the tcachcr has to say. Yet. I would suggest. too much emphasis is placed on the hospitality tcachcr having practical experience in the industry. Consider the difficulties involved in the opening of a hotel. The instructor who has opcncd a hotel may say: ‘Hcrc arc the difficulties I was faced

IX2

Dku~ion

Pupcr

with in opening my hotel.’ Yet another instructor

might interview one hundred managers

who had opened hotels and record the difficulties they had experienced in the form of an article that is published in the Inrrrnationalfolrrnrllof Hospitdiry Monrrgement. Yet a third instructor might present a summary of the article to the students. Which instructor is more credible’? Many students will reply: ‘The first. because that manager has actually clone it.’ However. if the objective is to prepare students for the likely problems to be faced in opening a hotel. one hundred experiences are far better than one. Personal experience adds to the feeling of being there for the students. But it can be simulated by the instructor talking to managers and/or by reading the trade press for ‘real life’ examples, names and stories.

Telling it the way it should be The second responsibility

that educators have is to prepare students to change the way the

hospitality industry is being run for the better. There are those who argue that it is arrogant for educators to believe that they can suggest better ways to run business. The people who run business, it is argued. ;lrc the only ones qualified to suggest how business can be improved. But managers arc hampered by being too personally involved in the situation to bc totally objcctivc. AS they move up the corporate ladder, managers make decisions that incrciisingly conscrvativc. In the beginning of their carccrs. they have little to lost or psychologically by making il ‘bnd’ decision or suggesting iI11 unwise course of action. Littlc is cxpcctcd of them. They take chances and. if their batting average is good, ilIT

lllatCriillly

they

illlVilIlCC

lip

rhl! COIpJriltC

Iaddcr. Ill SO doing thCy ilCCllIllllliltC IlliltCriLll possessions

and conlpitny titles. ‘I’hc higher they rise the more they have. Now, they are not playing to win-they arc playing not to lose. AS in sport, the result is more conservative decisionIllilkillg. The disintcrcstcd obscrvcr Can scc things that an insider cannot. So can the recent gradu;ttc. One of the failings of the hospitality industry is that they have not provided a

way. in their managcmcnt training programs, to tap into the graduates’ enthusiasm for the business and ability to question the SIUI~L~ y~o. Industry’s argument is that experience is necessary before the graduate cm be trusted to nlilke decisions or even suggestions. It is back to the early days of childhood when we taught children, when coloring. to ‘stay within the lines’. By the time WC force graduates to ‘pily their dues’ those who are left in the industry huvc had much of the enthusiasm and creativity knocked out of them.

The importance OTrcseurch HOW doss the educillor know ‘wbilt should be?’ the answer is ‘rcscarcb’. Research can mean secondary rcscarch -keeping up with the literature-and primary researchThis is the essential diffcrcncc bctwccn ilCtUillly conducting CItlpiriCill experiments. accepting things the way they arc and constantly seeking to improve. The goal of any research should be the pursuit of knowlcdgc. The educator must keep abreast of ~CW tcchniqucs and findings and make the results and implications ilvilililble to the student. It is not enough, howcvcr. that the teilcher hilvc some nleilsure of expcricncc and keep

IX3

Discrussion Paper

up with the research in the field. It is necessary that ‘what transferred

to the student.

We are aware

of the rather

is’ and ‘what

cute aphorism:

should

be’ be

‘If you cannot

manage you teach: and if you cannot teach you consult.’ However an effective manager may not be very good in the classroom and vice versa. The greatest scholar in the world is ineffective as a teacher unless that experience and research knowledge is passed on to the student.

If no learning

takes place,

has any teaching

occurred?

Instructional skills The effective teacher combines experience and knowledge of the research with effective instructional skills. Such skills consist of a series of deliberate decisions and actions by the teacher that make learning more probable. Yet our universities are long on knowledge of subject matter and short. or non-existent. on instructional technique. In my own case I was thrust into a university classroom upon completion of a MBA and expected to teach as if this were some gift bestowed upon all graduate students. Upon returning to graduate school to complete a Ph.D. 1 expressed concern to a hotel school director about the lack of coursework in the program. specilically in the area of instructional techniques. ‘Don’t worry,’ I was told. ‘You’ll pick it all up on the job.’ Yet this is the very argument we have heard

from

hospitality

managers

in the

past

regarding

the

lack

of need for formal

education in the management of hotels and restaurants. If we. as educators, can argue for the need for classes to prepare students to cntcr the hospitality mnnagcmcnt profession. how can we possibly deny the need for instructional technique classes for those about to enter the tcaching profession?

Conticlcucc,iWtiStfy ilIlt enthusinsn in the classrooni Knowlcdgc

of these techniques

is not enough. The cffcctivc USC of teachers’ experience,

knowlcdgc of the rcscarch and instructional tcchniqucscomcs when all three are dclivcrcd with confidence. artistry and enthusiasm to the students. There are those who might argue that the teacher’s job is to inform. Motivation is the student’s problem. Certainly we as teachcrsc;lnnot directly motivate students. Motivation COII~CSfrom within. It isour task to provide the climate whcrcin the student is motivated to perform. The story is told of the salts representative who, aftera disappointing day on the road, confided to the supervisor: ‘Well. you can take a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.’ ‘Right.’ said the supervisor. ‘But your job is to make him thirsty!’ It is the same with teaching. We create the thirst for knowledge in our students by the way WC run our classes. Enthusiasm is iI two-way street. A group of enthusiastic students can inspire a teacher to new heights just as ;I class ofstudents who arc indifferent to the material can bring a teacher down. But the prime responsibility for producing this climate belongs to the teacher, not the student. The teacher is. after all. getting paid for teaching the CI~SS.The students are the customers. They must get their money’s worth. This does not mean that the class has to bc an cntcrtainmcnt fiesta. comparing it to a night at the movies. It does mean that. at the end of the hour, the students should have Icarncd something new and useful to their futures.

Is.4

Discunsion Paper

The complementary

roles of industry and education

In this journal George Kibcdi (1988) noted the lack of cooperation between educational institutions and the hospitality industry. Often the debate between the two has revolved around the charge that students feaving college are unprepared to contribute to the industry because of unusually high expectations and a lack of practical skills. Educators are slow to counter. They are smart enough to realize that hospitality companies are customers. Criticism of the industry might inHuence the companies’ decision to recruit at that particular school. Within the ivy-covered walls. however. talk is of the lack of ~ippre~i~iti~~nof the abilities of the students and the burr~~~ut caused by long hours and outdated management techniques. Let me suggest that the roles of the industry and the university are complementary. A major Hnw in many curricula is an attempt to compete with the role of industry rather than complement it. There are things that can best be done by industry and others that can be achieved best in a collcgc setting. In Table 1 the respective roles are arranged under two columns. The focus of industry should he on training while colleges should concentrate on education. What are the differences? Education car1 be tflot~gllt of as 2 ft?tttIdiItk?fl with trilifling as the stiperstr~t~t~ir~. A strong fo~ln~i;~ti~~ilis ncccssnry bchrc it house can be built. The same is true of a nl;IIIiIgCr. immcdi;lt~; (111‘why’ illStCilCl

Of f;lCtS:

Such ;IS

theory

;I f~XlridiltiOIl

opp~~l

r;ltllCr

thiln

tkllS

will

‘how’;

to

OIt

ionp-term

tk

the process as distinct

;lppliciltiOil;

IX! C~?llCCptU~ll

riithcr

than the

from the task: ideas

iIS COlllpilrCd

10 tCClllliCill:

prcpart the student for a last job rather than a tirst job; kc future- as distinct from ~rcscnt-ctri~titcrl; ~(~~i~~~ltr~lt~ oit how to solve problems instead of giving answers to will

specific l3roblcms;

“I’llc

ol~,jcctivc

When

institution.

illl
of

Ix

conccrncd with learning rather than

Ctl~lCiltiOll

is to

we give

illakc

students

the

the

sttlclcllt

;IIISwcrS

tCiKlliilg.

Of the tcachcr :lllcl tllc pressing problems WC keep them

imlcpciidcnt to

dcpcndcnt 011 us. At the cd of;1 ct)ifrsc sttItlcI?ts nic?vc 00. ‘I’llCy Cl0 not IlaVe tllc tcil&!r to ask clucstions of. Whtn the course is over. if they have a problem they Cancertainly hire the teacher as ;I ct)nsultant to provitlc the answer! The responsibility is to provide the foundation prcpitrc

the

Should. give

SttIrlcnt

not

only

ofth~‘ctlucator,

for the stutlcnt to answer her/his for the final exam but for the weeks

own

questions.

iiftcr

the

however, It

is

to

final.

as t laywood suggests, the students be involved in this process’! I would have to

:I rlu;tlilicJ

‘yes’.

Claywoocl

sriggcsts

that

students

sh~?iiId

pnrticipatc

in clctcrniiniiig

(~~l~~iriiiil~, the methods to bc e~iipl~~yedin learning and have the freedom to expcrimcnt with ciill’crcnt methods and strategies of Icsrning in which mistakes are viewed as contributing to Icarning rather than as tk basis for punishment. ‘1’1~ principd responsibility for lcarnirig OlJjcctivcs must ret with the instructor. WC arc ‘1%~ instrirctt?r linows. or should know, more than the illl limited by What WC’ dl? not kllOW. This doei Iictt ncccssarily incan tftc StildCIIt :ll~t)lIt tfle stlhjcct tUilttCr ctf ttlC coiirsc. instructor knows all the iI1ISWCrS. 1 Idshc ShoiIld. houcvcr. idlo\\’ Wllilt the important the

ttlljcctivcs

clucstions

arc.

Sturlc~?ts

do

COI~IC

from getting an ‘A’ to bcin,*I ;I

hctlcr

to ;I class illilllil~Cr.

with

ol)jcctivcs StutlclltS

of will

bc

their iiicm

own.

T~CSC may range

niotivatctl

to Icurt?

(0

IX5

Discussion Plrpcr

the extent that their objectives are incorporated into those of the course. The teacher’s role is to incorporate

student objectives into the course wherever possible and to show how

these objectives can best be met by meeting the objectives of the course. There are several ways in which this can be accomplished. Students can be asked. on the first day of class. to write down what they want from the course and what questions the> want answers to. These topics and questions can then be incorporated into the course outline and distributed on the nest class day. This technique could be expanded by assigning to each student their most pressing qutstion as a term paper. In this way the, begin to take responsibility for their own learning. There is a certain amount of literature to indicate that teaching is more effective when tailored to an individual’s learning style (Rogers. lYX1). One such model is that of hlurrell. His Icarning-model for managers’ mcilsurcs responses on two scalcs-cc~gnitivc/affcctivc and concrctclnhstrnct. I’coplc who score low on the cognitivc/affcctivc scale prefer Icarning through thought or other mcntnl activity. Rationality appeals to thcsc individuals as does logic ilnd other thinking skills. People who Ican towards the affcctivc side of this scale i\rc more comfortnblc with and sctk out Icarning from his/her emotions nnd feelings. Those who score high on the concrcte/at~stract scale Icitrn best by getting directly involved with the subject at hand. t lands-on cspcricnccs arc illN~Ut tk SitUilti0n :llld ;lhStrilCt prcfcr thinking situntions. :llld

It might

ilda[?t

OIlC’S

hc pCrson;iI

itistriictivc. StylC

though t0

that

tlcniamling.

Of thC

very

itllpOrtilnt.

relilting

it.

to survey

Pcoplc in cdi

their

who hcark.

class

wi

tcnil tcj thcsc

to the Similar Scales

StlltlClltS.

An carlicr p;lr;1gr;iph mcntionccl tlic stiitlcnt whose objcclivcs was 10 get ;ui ‘A’. I laywood’s at-tick is nol riitlic:ll enough in clcaling with thcsc kinds of slurlcnts. I’irsig ( 197-I) has wriltcn: “l’hc itIc; Ihat lhc majority of students attcnil ;I university Ior ill1 education inclcpcnclcnt of the ilcgrcc ;lnil graclcs is a littlc hypocrisy cvcryonc is happier riot to csposc. Occasionally some students do ilrrivc for an ctlucation but rote ~kl the mcchank~l nature of the institutic>n s0011 converts them toil less ickllistic attitiiclc (Pirsig. 11174. p. ISO). f-lc goes on to suggest that univcrsitics continue to csist but that they stop conferring dcgrccs. Classes would bc taughl 11111 no grades would bc given. Students \vould come to class only if they wantccl to Icarn sonicthing. This. in turn, \voulcl put mot-c prcssurc on the facul1y to ;ic1u;iIIy teach somcthin, (1rclcvant to the needs of the stutlcnt 01 10 csplain why What was king covcrcd in class WilS rclcvant to lhc Stuclcnt. Hilt how. it might bc askctl. would industry /irroLt* lvhich stuclcnts wcrc qu;ililictl’! The question prcsumcs that gr;iclcs arc an cffcctivc indication of ;I student’s ability to perform \vilhin the hospitality industry iis ;I man;lgcr. 110 rccruitcrs look at graclc5 now? Do the) ;ihk which clcctivc clascx the stuclcnt has tilkCll? Is pcrforniancc in Chss ;I nica3iirc 01’ the 5tuclcnt’s llotcntial 25 ;I ni;in;igcr? It’ the iIIlSWCl3 arc ‘110’ ancl ‘WC don’t knou’ then \\ h) amigo

graclc~‘! Now, tlrtr/ il* r;lclic;~l.

The way stutlcnts arc ctluc;itctl for entry into lhc hospitality industry and bcyontl \vill ILIW 10 Ckingc in rc3ponsc to criticisms of the ctlucational i3roccs5 and to niccl tlic tlcni;~nil~ ofa

Discussion Paper

lsh

changing society. Educators must realize their responsibilities to both students and the industry. They will fulfill their roles by exposing students to how things are presently operated and how they should be operated using a blend of experience.

research and

instructional skills presented with confidence. artistry and enthusiasm. Educationnl institutions should provide the found~ttion for students and their efforts should complement that of industry’s

by doing what they do best-focusing

on process.

ideas, concepts. the future and problem solving. Involvinp students in the process will produce people who will take more responsibility for their o\t’n learning-both

present and future.

The key is to develop people who will

continue to learn long after they have left the classroom.

References