An Examination of Management Competencies in Hospitality Higher Education: an Eastern Culture Context
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An Examination of Management Competencies in Hospitality Higher Education: An Eastern Culture Context Author Hsu, I-Cheng Published 2016 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School Griffith Business School DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/729 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/368000 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au An Examination of Management Competencies in Hospitality Higher Education: An Eastern Culture Context I-Cheng HSU Master of Arts Department of Marketing Griffith Business School Griffith University Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June, 2015 Abstract The competency-based approach to curriculum design has received much attention, particularly in the context of hospitality higher education. However, in order for the competency-based approach to remain effective in producing graduates with the skills commensurate with current industry needs and with the capability of pursuing career success, management competencies need to be constantly updated. Thus, the need for research in this area is ongoing. However, there are a number of key stakeholders (e.g., educators, industry, early career graduates and students) who need to be considered if a thorough understanding of management competencies is to be gained. While past research has been instrumental in comparing the perspectives of industry and educators, there has been little research that has adopted a truly multi-perspective approach. Furthermore, as culture has a substantial impact on peoples’ beliefs, thinking patterns, preferences and expectations of performance in work environments, it could well be argued that generalising Western competency models in an Eastern cultural context may not be appropriate. However, there has been a tendency to do just that because most of the literature, with this focus, reflects the Western context, with little being known of the Eastern perspective. This being the case, the proposed study addresses both of these gaps, by contributing a multi-perspective approach to management competencies in the context of Eastern hospitality education. To this end, this study examines the management competencies that hospitality graduates need for occupational success in Eastern cultures, (e.g. Taiwan) from the perspectives of four key stakeholder groups, i.e., hotel managers, hospitality graduates, educators and students. A mixed method approach is employed to answer two research questions. In the first qualitative phase, 13 industry practitioners (i.e., hotel managers and early career graduates) and 14 educational stakeholders (i.e., hospitality educators and students) participated in in-depth interviews. Adopting the technique of convergent interviewing, 72 management competencies are identified in four domains. They are generic and specific i competencies in both general business and hospitality management setting. The competency list is then used in the survey instrument in the following phase. In the second quantitative phase, a total of 495 complete questionnaires (97 from hotel managers, 101 from hospitality graduates, 102 from educators and 195 from students) were collected via mail survey. Through factor analysis of the resultant data, the four domains emerged representing eight specific segmentations. As a result, the separation between generic and specific competencies, as well as business and hospitality management competencies, was validated and, thus, research question one was addressed. Furthermore, the results of MANOVA revealed that the significant differences amongst stakeholder groups, in terms of perceived importance level of competencies, were found in the domains of hospitality traits (Gi2), hospitality communication capacity (Gi4), and hospitality public relation (Si2). The discriminant analysis validated this result by showing that hospitality traits (Gi2), hospitality communication capacity (Gi4) and business operation (Si1) were powerful discriminators in separate functions. Hence, research question two was addressed. Although there are several methodological limitations in this study, there are a number of theoretical and practical implications realised. In theoretical terms, this study provides the first multi-perspective, empirically tested model of management competencies specific to Eastern cultural contexts. By identifying both generic and specific competencies, as well as business-focused and hospitality-focused categorisations, the eight resultant management competency domains contribute to the understanding and interpretation of important knowledge, skills and attitudes perceived by Eastern education stakeholders. In practical terms, valuable information is drawn from the findings, which will assist educators in hospitality curriculum design; industry in relation to personnel selection, performance review and career development; and students in relation to expectations and performance management. Furthermore, the findings provide a solid platform for future research in this important research domain. ii Academic Declaration This work has not been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. I-Cheng HSU June, 2015 iii Table of Contents ABSTRACT…………….……………………………………………………………………………………….….….. i ACADEMIC DECLARATION………………………………………………………………………….………….. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………………………………. x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 1.1 RESEARCH PROBLEM ....................................................................................... 2 1.2 RESEARCH CONTEXT ....................................................................................... 3 1.3 RESEARCH GAPS ............................................................................................... 7 1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ................................................................................... 8 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .......................................................................... 9 1.6 FORMAT OF THE THESIS ................................................................................. 10 1.7 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................... 12 2.1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION .............. 12 2.1.1. PHILOSOPHICAL ROOTS .............................................................................. 13 2.1.2. SOCIAL ROOTS ............................................................................................ 14 2.1.3. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES AND COMPETENCIES ..................................... 15 2.1.4 SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 17 2.2 DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION .................................. 18 2.2.1. HISTORY OF COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION ........................................ 18 2.2.2. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION ......................... 19 2.2.3. PROS AND CONS OF COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION ............................ 20 2.2.4. SUMMARY ................................................................................................... 22 2.3 COMPETENCY-BASED APPROACH IN HOSPITALITY HIGHER EDUCATION .... 23 2.3.1 SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 25 2.4 CONCEPTUALISING HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES .............. 26 2.4.1. CONCEPTUALISING HOSPITALITY COMPETENCIES ................................... 26 2.4.2. CLASSIFICATION OF MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES ............................... 33 2.5 MODELS OF HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT COMPETENCY ............................. 38 2.5.1. KATZ’S THREE-SKILL APPROACH (1955) .................................................. 39 2.5.4 HOSPITALITY COMPETENCY MODELS: EAST VERSUS WEST .................... 50 2.5.4.1 THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON HOSPITALITY PROVISION........................... 56 2.5.4.2 THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON EDUCATION PROVISION ............................. 61 2.5.5 SUMMARY ................................................................................................... 65 2.6 RESEARCH ON HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES ...................... 66 2.6.1 PERCEPTIONS OF HOSPITALITY MANAGERS .............................................. 66 2.6.2 PERCEPTIONS OF HOSPITALITY STUDENTS ................................................ 68 2.6.3 PERCEPTIONS OF HOSPITALITY GRADUATES ............................................ 69 2.6.4 PERCEPTIONS OF HOSPITALITY EDUCATORS ............................................. 70 2.7 CONCLUSION AND CONCEPTUAL MAP FOR THIS STUDY ................................ 74 iv CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHOD ..................................................................... 77 3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN .......................................................................................... 77 3.2 TARGET POPULATION AND SAMPLING FRAME .............................................. 79 3.3 PHASE ONE: IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS ............................................................. 81 3.3.1 SAMPLING AND ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURES ......................................