Systems Engineering Perspective of the Cruise Industry

The maturation of the cruise industry has led to increased competition which demands more efficient operations. Systems engineering, a discipline that studies complex organizations of material, people, and information, is traditionally only applied in the manufacturing sector; however, it can make significant contributions to service industries such as the cruise industry. The author describes this type of engineering, explores how it can be applied to the cruise industry, and presents two case studies demonstrating applications to the cruise industry luggage delivery process and the information technology help desk process. The results show that this approach can make the processes more productive and enhance profitability for the cruise lines.

Management Retention Factors in the School Foodservice Industry

Management retention in the school foodservice industry has been a growing concern for school district decision makers due to the large numbers of managers reaching retirement age and the shortage of qualified people to fill the positions. As with other foodservice positions, turnover rates and the shortage of service employees will continue to be challenges well into the 21st centery. The current study employed by a self-administered questionnaire and asked 101 school foodservice managers in Central Florida to rate their perceived importance of and their perceived experience with 20 employment characteristics of their job. There were significant differences in 17 of the 20 characteristics thus highlighting significant gaps between perceived importance and perceived actual experience on the job and what would keep them from changing jobs. Management and human resources implications are discussed.

Current Perceptions of Hospitality Accreditation

The role of accreditation in hospitality education has always been controversial. The author reports on the perceptions of educators, accreditors, and industry.

Differential Impacts of Information Technology Services in the Korean Hotel Industry: A Study of Management Perceptions

Successful introduction of information technology applications in various operations of hotel management is vital to most service firms. In recent decades, technologies of information, automation, and communication are increasingly recognized as essential components of a hotel company’s strategic plan. In this study, 62 super-deluxe hotels (5 star), deluxe hotels (4 star), and tourist hotels (3 star) in Korea are examined for differences in the impact of information technology services on guest’ satisfaction, guest convenience, and operational efficiency. The findings generally suggest that the impacts of information technology-enhanced services vary according to the category of hotels in Korea. The results of the study are expected to assist managers in the selections and implementation of information technology systems in their hotel.

Extending the Boundaries of Hospitality Education

To date, hospitality management educators have struggled to modify generic software or adapt vendor-designed industry systems as a means of bringing hospitality information systems to the classroom. Specially- designed computer-based courseware can enhance learning while extending the boundaries of the traditional hospitality classroom. The author discusses the relevance of this software to the hospitality curriculum.

Women Hospitality Managers: Perceptions of Gender-Related Career Challenges

In spite of increases in the number of women who are both academically pre- pared and interested in pursuing hospitality management careers, women appear to be leaving the industry at a much higher rate than their male counter- parts. Although women are better represented in lower and middle management than ever before, there has been no corresponding increase in the number of women in top level management positions. The author explores women managers' perceptions of the career-related challenges they confront in hospitality environments and suggests that inadequate access to informal information networks, lack of women mentors, and the impact of unique job characteristics are their most significant concerns.

Database Marketing: A Potent Tool for Hospitality Marketers

Nearly every industry, including hospitality, has adopted database marketing techniques. Why have they become so popular and what advantages do they offer for hospitality companies? The authors examine these issues.

The International Hotel Industry in the New Millennium

The top priorities of 170 hotel managers from 25 countries were identified as human capital, understanding customers, use of capital, alignment of stakeholder interests, use of information technology, and valuing brands in a Cornell University study.' The authors discuss how managers in a hotel's functional departments are ultimately responsible for addressing each of these concerns and issues.

Trends for Meetings and Expositions Industry

During the last decade, the meetings and expositions industry has flourished, even as it has struggled to cope with difficult challenges. This is a taste of things to me. In the years ahead, the global population will continue to grow and change, science and technology will tighten their hold on business and society and the world will knit itself ever more tightly into a single market. As a result, both opportunities and trials will abound.

The Food Service Industry: Beliefs Held by Academics

In his study - The Food Service Industry: Beliefs Held by Academics - by Jack Ninemeier, Associate Professor, School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management at Michigan State University, Associate Professor Ninemeier initially describes his study this way: “Those in the academic sector exert a great deal of influence on those they are training to enter the food service industry. One author surveyed educational institutions across the country to ascertain attitudes of teachers toward various segments of the industry.” Those essential segments of the industry serve as the underpinnings of this discussion and are four-fold. They are lodging, institutional, multi-unit, and single-unit properties. For each segment the analysis addressed factors relating to Marketing, management and operating concerns: Marketing, operations, fiscal management, innovation, future of the segment Employee-related concerns: quality of work life, training/education opportunities, career opportunities The study uses a survey of academicians as a guide; they point to segments of the food service industry students might be inclined to enter, or even ignore. The survey was done via a questionnaire sent from the campus of the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management at Michigan State University to 1850 full-time faculty members in two and four-year hospitality programs in the United States. Through the survey, Ninemeier wishes to reasonably address specific problems now confronting the food service industry. Those problems include but are not limited to: reducing employee turnover, retaining staff, increasing productivity and revenue, and attracting new staff. “Teachers in these programs are, therefore, an important plank in industry's platform designed to recruit students with appropriate background knowledge and interest in their operations,” Ninemeier says. Your author actually illustrates the survey results, in table form. The importance to an employee, of tangibles and intangibles such as morale, ego/esteem, wages, and benefits are each explored through the survey. According to the study, an interesting dichotomy exists in the institutional property element. Although, beliefs the academics hold about the institutional element suggest that it offers low job stress, attractive working conditions, and non-demanding competitive pressures, the survey and Ninemeier also observe: “Academics do not believe that many of their graduates will enter the institutional segment.” “If academic beliefs are incorrect, an educational program to educate academics about management and employee opportunities in the segment may be in order,” Ninemeier waxes philosophically.

Leadership in the Hospitality Curriculum

Although some universities have introduced leadership courses in their curricula, schools of hotel and restaurant management are not following suit. As the industry's rate of growth and complexity outpaces that of its human resources, the formation of hospitality leaders becomes indispensable.

Future Seniors and the Travel Industry

Persons over the age of 55 will soon comprise the majority of the travel industry. The impact of market size and potential is staggering. The author discusses the future senior travel market and provides recommendations for attracting and servicing this group.

Maintaining your loyal customers during hard times: An observation from the gaming industry

The Las Vegas gaming arena was one of the most severely affected consumeroriented industries to be impacted by the recent economic recession. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of relational benefits on customers’ behavioral loyalty in the Las Vegas gaming industry. This study particularly took a comparative approach and examined the relational impact during the economic recession and after the economic recession. Secondary data was obtained and regression analysis was performed to test the study hypothesis. The findings of this study revealed the economic recession impact on the Las Vegas gaming industry, as well as valuable insights for effective utilization of relational benefits to increase customer loyalty.

Industry Expresses Attitudes Toward Accounting, Finance Curricula

A survey of hospitality financial executives provides guidance for those planning accounting and finance curricula for schools of hospitality management. The authors discuss the results of their survey sponsored by the Association of Hospitality Financial Management Educators.

The Use of Exit Interviews in the U.S Lodging Industry

This study investigated whether hotel managers systematically collected and analyzed data via employee exit interviews to determine why employees left jobs at their properties. Telephone interviews were conducted to determine whether exit interviews were conducted, what use was made of the interview data, and whether there was a relationship between the use of interviews and the level of turnover. Exit interviews appeared to be more common in larger properties and were used primarily for improving employment conditions, identifying problem areas, and providing closure for the employment relationship. There appeared to be an inverse relationship between the use of exit interviews and the level of turnover