module specification

During this module students will explore various contemporary issues affecting the hospitality industry. Students will have the opportunity to gain a fuller appreciation of how and why hospitality is a dynamic and changing industry that is greatly influenced by external factors.

This module thus provides opportunities for students to examine various topical issues and future trends, for example demographic trends and demand, contemporary market and competitive trends, emerging technologies, use of social media, Air BnB, serviced apartments and eating out; as well as current food trends within the restaurant sector, trends in diets and their impact on wellbeing, and changes in the operating patterns of various hospitality organisations.

Additionally, this module will provide students with an opportunity to research contemporary issues and recent developments affecting the hospitality industry. It will also allow students to analyse and evaluate breaking news and pioneering developments in the hospitality industry.

This module will be delivered using lecturers, group tutorials and practical workshops conducted by experienced hospitality practitioners. The students will be assessed based on group coursework requiring a report, and individual coursework based on a critical review of the literature.

The aims of this module are to encourage students to:
• Examine the interaction between organisations in the hospitality industry and their wider contexts for effective management and responsible business leadership.
• Study corporate social responsibility and ethical behaviour in relation to social, cultural, economic and environmental issues affecting modern organisations in the hospitality industry.
• Evaluate the role of social media tools in the context of organisational strategies.

• Introduction to CSR
• Sustainable development
• Management of corporate responsibility
• Contemporary SALT (Satisfaction Loyalty Tracking) and its implications
• Contemporary yield management practices e.g. TSA up-selling software
• Professionalism and ethical behaviours
• Ethical dilemmas in leadership
• Managing knowledge and innovation
• Embracing social media and social networks in furthering organisational goals.
• Challenges facing the hospitality industry.

The module will be delivered through weekly teaching sessions in the form of seven lectures, five group tutorials, one workshop with industry experts, and two weeks of assessed group seminars. The key differentiator for this module is that it is focused on determining leading edge thinking and will be supported by research undertaken by the students. Tutors will facilitate the learning sessions including the lectures and group tutorials, and students will deliver the assessed seminars in accordance with the specification for Assignment 2.

The lectures will aim to focus on the theoretical knowledge and understanding whereas group tutorials will focus on the application and analysis of these using a variety of means including case studies, problem solving discussions and topical debates. Articles from various magazines and journals and special reports from newspapers will be used, in addition to directed reading from text books.

Industry experts with relevant experience will be invited as guest speakers during the one workshop session with a focus on career skills, employability issues and emerging trends. Although there are no placements planned for this module, the workshop may take place in an employer’s workplace if this is appropriate to the content and learning experience.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate current understanding of some specialist areas in depth in appreciating the different approaches to leadership and their relevance in a multi-cultural context in the hospitality industry.
2. Critically reflect upon the concepts of 'organisational responsibility' and 'responsible leadership' and their implications for private, public and third sector institutions.
3. Critically examine the evolving and complex relationship between businesses in the hospitality industry, government and civil society in the context of ethical and corporate social responsibilities.
4. Acquire advanced knowledge and understanding of the key categories, social media tools, and organisational approaches towards social media and their impacts on business organisations in the hospitality industry.

The students will be assessed by two assessments:

Assignment 1 (50%) – Students will be required to produce an individual essay (maximum of 2,500 words) based on an emerging business issue in line with a topical context selected by the tutor within the hospitality industry.

Assignment 2 (50%) - Students in a group will be required to prepare and deliver an assessed seminar of 40 minutes duration on an agreed theme that should align with the indicative content for this module. The seminar mark will be peer adjusted to account for individual contribution during group work.

Core Books
• Blowfield, M. and Murray, A., (2011) Corporate Responsibility. 2nd  Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Hamilton, L.,   Mitchell, L., Mangan, A., (2009) Contemporary Issues in Marketing and Consumer Behaviour.  Gloucestershire:  Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Recommended Books
• Amerland, D., (2012) The Social Media Mind: How Social Media Is Changing Business, Politics and Science and Helps Create a New World Order. New York: New Line Publishing
• Cabrera, A. and Unruh, G., (2012) Being Global: How to Think, Act and Lead in a Transformed World.  Boston: Harvard Business School Press
• Parsa, H., and Narapareddy, V., (2015) Sustainability, Social Responsibility, and Innovations in the Hospitality Industry (Advances in Hospitality and Tourism). Oakville: Apple Academic Press

Journals and Other Learning Resources

Current Issues in Tourism
International Journal of Hospitality Management
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
Tourism & Hospitality Research - The Surrey Quarterly Review
The Caterer
‘State of the Nation Report’, People 1st, 2013
www.instituteofhospitality.org