MBA in hospitality leadership

INTRODUCTION TO HOSPITALITY LEADERSHIP

This course addresses the concept of leadership from a number of organizational perspectives. Students will focus on the complex relationships between employers, employees, owners, customers and other stakeholders, through increased insight into managerial and leadership functions. Emphasis is placed on the importance of learning in the workplace as a means of enhancing managerial and leadership effectiveness.

STRATEGIC OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT

Driven by the globalization of trade, financial flows, transportation and the digitalization of exchanges, the international hospitality industry has evolved into complex systems linking activities such as distribution, branding, management, real estate ownership and financing. In such an environment, hospitality companies have espoused singular strategies that have shaped their boundaries and changed the sets of relationships governing the industry. This course provides an overview of the current strategic orientations of hospitality firms, and of the consequences of major trends on the past and future of the industry. Classic strategic theories and frameworks will be introduced and reviewed, and their application to the industry discussed. The idiosyncratic characteristics of the industry will be highlighted in this context.

MANAGING CULTURE IN ORGANIZATION

Adopting a multi-level approach to cultural influence, this course introduces participants to key theories and models of cultural difference at the societal, organizational and individual levels. These models are used firstly to develop an understanding of the different ways in which we can assess the impact of societal and organizational culture on management values and practices and, secondly, to predict key employee-related outcomes via mechanisms of cultural fit versus misfit and employee need satisfaction.

HOSPITALITY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Financial knowledge and understanding is essential for managers in the hospitality industry. This course is divided into three specific parts. It first explores the fundamentals of financial accounting, focusing on the financial statements. It then looks at management accounting issues such as costs identification, cost-volume-profit analysis, full costing and activity-based-costing analyses, pricing issues, as well as the preparation and use of budgets. Finally, it assesses different capital budgeting tools and their applications in investment decision making process.

RESEARCH METHODS

This course is designed to provide graduate students with a framework for academic and applied research. It first explores different research paradigms and approaches. Then it looks at evaluating appropriate research strategies in the hospitality and tourism industry. The course discusses different in-depth research instruments and their administration and ends with techniques to present and analyze research findings.

LEADING WITH INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY

Innovation is not only a technical outcome, it is also a process where challenges and changes are acceptable features of the work environment. Establishing and encouraging an innovation-focused atmosphere requires flexibility on the part of management with regards to existing organizational procedures as well as having trust in the intentions and initiatives of employees. Students in this course will address a concept of creativity as a skill which the work environment can encourage and support and not as a special attribute of a few gifted employees. In addition, students will examine the challenges of establishing business processes and attaining corporate goals through the imagination and interest of creative employees. They will also have the opportunity to explore the management competencies that initiate and support organizational innovation.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

This course provides an opportunity for students to explore corporate planning techniques and to build on the practice of strategic management. A major objective of this course will be to analyze the hospitality industry environment and to examine the main strategies used by the most important hospitality companies. Case studies and examples will be used to study complex strategic issues with the hospitality world.

MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION

This course provides an in-depth focus on different types of conflict as they manifest at the intrapersonal, interpersonal and intergroup level. Participants develop the capacity to analyze core causes of conflict and factors that influence the evolution of a conflictual situation, as well as to track the evolution of a conflict and to apply appropriate methods of conflict resolution by means of the application of theoretical principles to a wide range of conflict situations set in business, political and social contexts. The dynamics of negotiation situations and practical negotiation techniques are studied and, through the use of hands-on exercises, simulations, video-analysis and interactive presentations, participants learn the skills of successful negotiation.

LEADING ORGANIZATIONS

This course addresses the concepts of ethical and positive leadership as well as leading change from a number of organizational perspectives. Students will focus on their own development regarding leadership skills, such as for instance social and emotional skills. Emphasis is placed on the importance of implementation and application to the workplace.

APPLIED RESEARCH PROJECT IN HOSPITALITY LEADERSHIP

In this course, students will have the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge that they have learned in the program to real-world problems. More specifically, students will work in groups on management issues presented by hospitality companies. The process is comprised of the following steps: 1. The “client”, a hospitality company, present a management problem to the students at the beginning of the second semester; 2. Students research the problem during the semester designing appropriate strategy, using relevant research instruments, and critically evaluate the research findings; 3. At the end of the semester, students present the outcomes of their research and their solution to the client.

DISSERTATION

A master’s dissertation (a range of 18,000 to 22,000 words) is required for the completion of the Master in Hospitality Leadership. It provides an opportunity for student to work in a specific area of their choice in which he/ she must take a leading role in their own learning process. The dissertation project provides a mechanism for individual growth and learning, resulting in a memorable and rewarding experience. The project, which will explore a leadership issue in the hospitality industry, must be of strategic significance and worthy of research at a graduate level.

Students are required to complete and submit their dissertation at the end of the second semester.