Work in Tourism and Hospitality
- At a management level
- Or start your own business
Hospitality and Tourism - A stable and adaptable industry
Hospitality and Tourism is an interesting, stable industry that, unlike many other industries, tends to withstand economic downturns, Due to the variable nature of the industry, and its continual growth, a myriad of career options are available. As the industry continues to grow, there is an associated need for skilled professionals within the industry.
If you enjoy interacting and engaging with people; or if you are enticed by a career with travel prospects, then studying our 1500 hour learning program in Hospitality and Tourism will provide you with the skills and knowledge needed to set your sights high.
Course Content
Fifteen modules need to be completed as follows:
- Tourism I
- Tourism II
- Hotel Management
- Food and Beverage Management
- B and B Management
- Facility Management
- Ecotour Management
- Ecotourism Tour Guide Course
- Supervision
- Sales Management
- Financial Management
- Research Project I
- 100hrs Industry Meetings. (eg. attending trade shows, committee meetings, or conferences)
Plus two electives chosen from the following:
- Food Preparation
- Bar Service
- Event Management
- Health and Fitness I
Customer Expectations can Overwhelm
Customers often have high demands and expectations in this industry. To meet high demands you have to be able to offer the best, twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. Reliability is one of the keys to top quality and in order to achieve this, the necessary control systems must be functional and in place.
Computer systems, including systems for hotels, are available now that are written and designed to specifically meet the diverse needs of the industry from front desk bookings with online facilities, to stock control and complex security systems as well as sophisticated accounting packages. A manager needs to be able to implement an integrated system that is suited to the scale of the operation that they are managing.
Business Success Relies on Control
Control is one of the functions of management, planning is another. If planning has been adequate, then the achievement of the programmes, budgets and standards which it has established should result in the achievement of the objectives at which it is aimed.
Control is introduced in order to ensure that the programmes, budgets and standards are really being met and is aimed to provide a continuous means of highlighting any tendency to move away from the basic elements of the plans.
Control must involve the process of receiving key information regarding the activities of each section of the organisation and by measuring the results against pre-determined standards upon which the plans are based.
Planning must be applied in all the activities of the organisation, therefore control must also penetrate all important phases of the business. From this it can be seen that the sources of information will be numerous.
Many of the sources of information will also be storage areas, because the organisation itself contributes to the build-up of information about the business. Records and analysis which are kept from day to day are the sources of internal information.
The fundamental aim of control procedures is to minimise cost and maximise revenue.
Any Business Can be Complicated
In today's world, the manager of any hospitality or tourism business will need to be doing the right things with respect to not only providing a service, but also managing finance, technology, marketing and much more.
For a larger business, this may be achieved by compartmentalising the work into departments and using experts in each area to head each department. In a smaller enterprise, there may be only one, two or three people working there; and the proprietor may need to do almost everything
For large concerns such as a resort or big hotel, it is no longer possible for the Chief Executive to manage every aspect of the business without assistance. They must delegate authority and confine themselves to directing and evaluating the achievements of other executives. They must rely upon these executives to manage the details of the business on their behalf. Therefore, the Chief Executive is becoming increasingly dependent on properly presented management information, in order for them to evaluate results and to aid decision making. This is also true at all levels of management, because it has become vitally important to set carefully allotted tasks.
Four important information aspects emerge when one is creating systems of control:
- Only a proportion of the information which is moving through the organisation is of real management importance. Much of it may be relatively valueless. Some of the information may even tend to confuse the issues. The former must be identified, studied and developed from an overall viewpoint.
- Both the control system and the organisation structure must be designed so as to use the important information, and discard that which is valueless and concentrate only on that which is meaningful for management purposes. This reasoning applies to each level of management.
- It is important that the information system provides for the needs of different levels of management, that is, top and middle management, and for supervisors at work level. This includes feedback to the owners/shareholders and provision for certain legal and government requirements.
- Decision making may be involved at each management level. Therefore, each level requires information for its own specific needs. Often the information for various levels of management may develop from the same initial sources. Therefore, its value will lie in the manner and form in which it is presented to suit each level concerned.
It is, therefore important before considering how best to provide information needs for decision making, to examine the following key factors:
- What to measure
- Interpretation, to aid decision making
- Selectivity
- Accountability and controllability
Why study with ACS?
ACS offers you the convenience of studying online at your own pace in conjunction with the opportunity to network with industry professionals through our unique “experiential” learning programmes. This study program through ACS will provide you with the knowledge and transferable skills to set you in good stead for pursuing your career goals.
