Recreational Foodservice management: A Delphi study of needed competencies

The purpose of this study was to identify the needed competencies of a Recreational Foodservice manager. A three round Delphi method of iteration was used. Delphi is a research method that utilizes iterating rounds to elicit the opinion of a panel of experts regarding a specific subject.^ A nominating committee of 22 industry leaders was consulted to establish a panel of 40 management experts, of which 35 (87.5%) completed all three rounds of the Delphi study.^ Round One of the study identified 17 specific job functions of a Recreational Foodservice manager. The researcher prepared an instrument detailing 60 competencies derived from an analysis of Round One results and distributed it as a Round Two instrument requesting the panel opinion regarding the relative importance of each listed competency on a five point Likert scale.^ The results of Round Two were tabulated and analyzed to ascertain areas of consensus. A Round Three instrument was prepared advising panelists of all areas of consensus, their dissenting opinions, if any, and a request for a revised opinion.^ A final report was prepared listing the 60 competencies and the panel opinion that eight were of highest priority, 29 of above average priority, and 23 of average priority. No item received two other available ratings, below average priority and lowest priority.^ The implications of these findings suggest necessary areas of curriculum development and industry management development to implement professionalism for Recreational Foodservice managers. ^

Recreational Food Service is Big Business

In the analysis - Recreational Food Service Is Big Business - by Gary Horvath, President, Recreational Foodservice Division, Service America Corporation and Mickey Warner, Associate Professor School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, Horvath and Warner initially state: “Recreational food service is very different from routine food service management. The authors review the market and the management planning and challenges that create that difference.” Recreational food is loosely defined by the authors as food for special events. These can be one-time events, repeated events that are not on a fixed schedule [i.e. concerts], weekly events such as football-baseball-or basketball games, or other similar venues. Concessions are a large part of these fan based settings. “An anticipated 101,000 fans at a per capita spending of $5-6 [were expected]. A typical concessions menu of hot dogs, popcorn, soda, beer, snacks, novelty foods, candy, and tobacco products comprises this market segment,” say Horvath and Warner in reference to the Super-Bowl XXI football championship game, held in Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California, on January 25, 1987. Some of the article is based upon that event. These food service efforts focus on the individual fan, but do extend to the corporate-organizational level as well. Your authors will have you know that catering is definitely a part of this equation. The monies spent and earned are phenomenal. “Special events of this type attract numerous corporate catering opportunities for companies entertaining VIP guest lists,” the authors inform. “Hospitality tents usually consist of a pregame cocktail party and buffet and a post-game celebration with musical entertainment held in lavishly decorated tents erected at the site. In this case a total of 5,000 covers, at a price of $200 each, for 12-15 separate parties were anticipated.” Horvath and Warner also want you to know that novelties and souvenirs make up an essential part of this, the recreational food service market. “Novelties and souvenirs are a primary market and source of revenue for every stadium food service operator,” say Horvath and Warner. The term, “per capita spending is the measurement used by the industry to evaluate sales potential per attendee at an event,” say the authors. Of course, with the solid revenue figures involved as well as the number of people anticipated for such events, planning is crucial, say Horvath and Warner. Training of staff, purchasing and supply, money and banking, facility access, and equipment, are a few of the elements to be negotiated. Through both graphs and text, Horvath and Warner do provide a fairly detailed outline of what a six-step event plan consists of.

Competencies of a Recreational Food Service Manager

Recreational food service is a newly-identified industry segment. It represents over 3 percent of the total industry and has its own specific competency requirements, in addition to core food service management competency needs. The education, training, and development needs for professionals in this industry segment have not as yet been ascertained. This article is an effort to establish a benchmark for future research in this area.

Economics of Operating An Employee Food Service

The author, who has spent 30 years as an operations executive in the food service industry seeks to acquaint management with some of the basic economics of operating an employee food service. The article is designed to assist the executive in understanding the basic philosophies and concepts of providing a food service to employees, as well as the cost factors involved in giving that service.

A New Look at Institutional Food Service Management

Institutional food service management, especially by contract management companies, offers unrecognized career opportunities for many of today's hospitality students. It is one of the best kept secrets in the food service industry. This article endeavors to provide a new look at and overview of the industry as it has evolved and now stands.

Recreational Food Service Management: A New Academic Challenge

The School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University recently offered a new course, recreational food service management, in an effort to address the specialized needs of that segment of the industry. The author discusses the size and scope of this area, its history and presentations, its specialized operational nature, its menu structure and style of service, and the unique management requirements for success.

Transcriptional Response of Two Core Photosystem Genes in Symbiodinium spp. Exposed to Thermal Stress

Mutualistic symbioses between scleractinian corals and endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.) are the foundation of coral reef ecosystems. For many coral-algal symbioses, prolonged episodes of thermal stress damage the symbiont's photosynthetic capability, resulting in its expulsion from the host. Despite the link between photosynthetic competency and symbiont expulsion, little is known about the effect of thermal stress on the expression of photosystem genes in Symbiodinium. This study used real-time PCR to monitor the transcript abundance of two important photosynthetic reaction center genes, psbA(encoding the D1 protein of photosystem II) and psaA (encoding the P700 protein of photosystem I), in four cultured isolates (representing ITS2-types A13, A20, B1, and F2) and two in hospite Symbiodinium spp. within the coral Pocillopora spp. (ITS2-types C1b-c and D1). Both cultured and in hospite Symbiodinium samples were exposed to elevated temperatures (32°C) over a 7-day period and examined for changes in photochemistry and transcript abundance. Symbiodinium A13 and C1b-c (both thermally sensitive) demonstrated significant declines in both psbA and psaA during the thermal stress treatment, whereas the transcript levels of the other Symbiodinium types remained stable. The downregulation of both core photosystem genes could be the result of several different physiological mechanisms, but may ultimately limit repair rates of photosynthetic proteins, rendering some Symbiodinium spp. especially susceptible to thermal stress.