Bill Ryan

Leadership Competencies for Hotel General Managers: The Differences in Age, Education, and Hotel Characteristics

This study was designed to explore the leadership competencies necessary for general managers (GM) in Thailand hotels. The exploratory factor analysis extracted six leadership competency components: leadership, motivational/interpersonal skills, strategic orientation, planning and implementation, team building and ethics, communication skills, flexibility, and concern for the community. The results showed that team building and ethics, leadership, and communication skills are the most important factors for the GMs. In contrast, flexibility and strategic orientation were the least important competencies for them. There were significant differences between leadership competency factors and GMs’ age, education, hotel stars, and hotel locations in diverse aspects.

Do I fit in? Impact of race on hospitality student perceptions of departmental climate

ABSTRACT Recent reports by the NAACP show there is lack of minorities in upper management positions in the hospitality industry. One possible reason this deficiency exists is that the pipeline of qualified minority hospitality program graduates is slow. This study examined the perception of cultural climate held by hospitality students about their department as a possible antecedent of this stagnation. Current students in hospitality programs evaluated the cultural climates within the department and its effect on satisfaction using the Student Perception of Racial Climate Scale (SPRCS) and items from the Cultural Attitudes and Climate Questionnaire (CACQ). Results indicate a positive attitude toward cultural climate in hospitality management programs; however, both minority and nonminority students highlighted a lack of minority role models both in the classroom and the industry. Theoretical and practical implications for hospitality education and the industry are identified.

Educational Effects of Job Attitudes among Hospitality Employees

Abstract This article examines the relationship between education and overall job attitude in hospitality industry. Data from 1,553 hospitality workers were analyzed. Basically, the finding indicates that education has an indirect positive effect, but a direct negative effect on job attitude. Specifically, the data suggest that education may increase job attitude by increasing the availability of work rewards. Furthermore, it appears that most of the payoff is in terms of intrinsic rewards: task autonomy, task significance, and task involvement. Education seems to have little effect on extrinsic rewards. This finding is probably disappointing to those who evaluate education solely in terms of its economic and social utility in hospitality industry.