Assignment:Applying what you have learned about in IDS 201, students will write and submit a 2-3 page preliminary research proposal on the interdisciplinary problem they want to investigate.Knowledge:

Hospitality Management

Hospitality Management can be defined as the “act of overseeing the daily operations of businesses like hotels, resorts, restaurants, catering places, amusement parks and any other business providing direct survives to the people”. People working in the hospitality sector have the responsibility of serving customers in a humane and friendly manner so that they do not feel out of place.

In the earlier days, the accommodation business was owned by respective families. These families helped travelers who were tired from the journey to find places to eat and rest. Travel and leisure in the recent past was viewed as only meant for people who were rich. Monasteries belonging to the Europeans were the areas used as lodges. This, however, was overcome with the developments in transportation and modernization leading to a decline in costs of travel. (Walker et al, 2004). The word ‘hotel’ started being used due to the decline in use of the olden day’s taverns and inns. At this point, however, lodging facilities were slowly becoming popular in America. They were referred to as inns. The first travel agency that existed was under the foundation of Thomas Cooks in the 1800s in England. Years later, modernization took a different course that led to the opening a hotel in New York known as the City Hotel. As transportation became more advanced, the industry became owned by a lot of people which led to the rise of the advanced industries present in the current times.

Hospitality management has a number segments which include; food and beverages mostly dealing with restaurants, fast food areas, pubs and other food offering service areas. Food and beverage sector engage in activities like the packaging of food, serving and offering transportation. This sector is regarded as the largest in the hospitality industry. Another segment is travel and tourism (Walker et al, 2004). This segment is majorly concerned with aiding the movement of people from one point to another and ensuring their safety through offering accommodation. In this segment, services provided are transportation, accommodation, food and beverage and entertainment. Recreation another segment which majorly involves leisure activities. They provide services meant for fun, entertainment and achieving relaxation. The last segment is the lodging segment, services provided by this segment are restaurant services, convention centers services and accommodation which include provision of bed and breakfast. The last is the recreation segment which engage people in doing what makes them feel and happy which is essential for human life.

Hospitality management sector is majorly concerned with several issues that in one way or the other is a threat to its operations. This includes the ever-changing consumer tastes and preferences, technological changes, political and security matters, the inadequacy of qualified personnel and booking and revenue issues. These challenges push the mangers to multitask to ensure that balance in sales and income generated is maintained for the business not to run into loses (Walker et al, 2004). As a result, this why most professionals in the sector are striving to come up with ways of staying in balance without compromising on the services provided. For instance, technological changes in the travel industry has driven people to adopt an online booking system, a challenge faced in accessing the booking site results to loss to a company as the customers migrate to other efficient sites. Most managers, therefore, are occasionally looking for a system that is effective for its services.

Some of the career opportunities open to hospitality management graduates are customer service management, fire risk assessment, human resources, tour management, tourism officer, cabin crew, event management, hotel management, accommodation, and catering management as well as fast food restaurant management among other career opportunities. (Walker et al, 2004).

To evaluate issues that are emerging in the hospitality management sector, well-advised and basic approaches employed together with use of experiments, trials, case studies, and surveys to establish what can work and what cannot. To analyze a situation, a logical approach is necessary. However, to improve on a situation in with regards to the data collected, a basic method should be used. The most applicable data collection method in hospitality management is survey research, it is usually aimed at the evaluation of thoughts and feelings of the clients (Clark, 1998). This approach can either be limited or extensive depending on the unit under investigation. Major data collection methods used under this approach are questionnaires and sampling techniques. Questionnaires are a set of predetermined questions while sampling is taking a small portion from a group to participate in data collection. Both methods are, however, aimed at coming up with data addressing the unit being investigated.

There are various associations open to graduates of hospitality management. An example is the Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA) (Clark, 1998). It serves the purpose of developing networks, encouraging the exchange of ideas among its members and also provide education for senor level members in the marketing sector. It is vision is to promote the value of event marketing together with other marketing areas so that it can improve the standards of this industry. Its goals are to; increasing its profile and making it known to other associations, it represents its member’s interests it also voices the concerns of emergency managers.

Business

Business studies is an academic discipline that involves molding individuals to be ready to take up activities that bring about productivity. Productivity contributes to accomplishment of set goals which in the end generate profit. Longman dictionary, however, defines it as “the study of fields that are geared towards money and business management”. The term ‘business’ comes from the word “busy” which therefore means that a business is concerned with busy schedules. Individuals, groups, organizations or societies engage in business with the aim of making profits. Business studies were founded by Drucker who is today referred to as the father of business studies.

Sub-fields of business studies are marketing, international relations, human resource management, commerce, bookkeeping, accounting, business administration and management, entrepreneurship, real estate, digital and social marketing, business communication and foreign exchange trading (Moya et al, 2020).However, out of these sub-fields, the most interesting is business administration management. It involves giving directions to an organization to promote efficient operations. Business administration managers oversee the operations of departments like finance, economics, and human resources. They also steer the business in the right direction. Business operations require the efforts of all the employees. These employees report to the business administration managers. The managers ensure that unfavorable conditions are dealt with in advance to minimize challenges that a business may face. This makes this department one of the backbones of a business.

Business studies professionals are majorly concerned with tackling the challenges that may hinder business progress. These issues include huge workloads, cyber security threats, inadequate human resource, digital migration, strain on the budget, leadership support, data management, project management, and career development (Moya, et al, 2002). These challenges usually overwhelm the managers. As a result they strive daily to find solutions so that they are not wiped out by the emerging issues and trends. For instance, unskilled human resource is a threat to the production of a company thereby making its chances of collapsing very high.

Business studies graduates are exposed to a variety of career opportunities that are directly linked with their qualifications. Some of the areas where business studies graduates are employed are; accountancy, advertising, banking and financial sectors, general management, human resources, public relations, management consultancy, retail management, supply and chain management, and sales and marketing ( Ghauri et al,2020). Business studies produce graduates who are fully equipped with skills that help them execute their duties efficiently. The skill are; analytical skills, communication and representation abilities, goal setting, leadership skills, problem-solving abilities, teamwork and time management skills. These skills make business studies graduates adapt and excel in their various fields.

Business research methods are ways through which information is gathered by an industry. Information gathered can cover the existing competition, opportunities that are available and related to the research being done. Business studies incorporate the use of both qualitative and quantitative. Some of the quantitative methods used are interviews, observations, longitudinal studies and focused group discussions (Ghauri et al, 2020). Qualitative methods used include surveys and document reviews. However, the research method majorly used is the qualitative method with great reliance on interviews and questionnaires. This is because it involves first-hand data collection and so enables organizations to be able to know how to effectively improve their operations and so meet its targets.

Business studies graduates have a variety of professional bodies that they can join as per their areas of specialization. For instance, accountants can join the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) (Moya et al, 2002). This is a global organization for accountants currently with a membership of 2.5 million registered accountants. Its overall objective is serving the interest of the public through promoting relevance, reputation, and worth of the accountancy profession. Its inception can be traced back to October 1976. Its activities are overseen by the Public Interest Oversight Board. Its goals include; boosting confidence in the quality and reliability of financial reports, encouraging top quality information on performance, encouraging the provision of excellent services by the professionals worldwide and feeding the accountants with knowledge on the importance of adhering to the ethical conducts of their profession.

References

Clark, (1998).Researching and writing dissertations in hospitality and tourism. London: International Thomson Business Press.

Ghauri, P., Grønhaug, K., & Strange, R. (2020). Research methods in business studies. Cambridge University Press.

Moy, J. W., & Lee, S. M. (2002). The career choice of business graduates: SMEs or MNCs?

Walker, J. R., & Walker, J. T. (2004). Introduction to hospitality management (pp. 20-23). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.