Career Factors In Hospitality Management: A Case Study

Brown, E.A., Arendt, S.W. & Bosselman, R.H. (2014) Hospitality management graduates’ perceptions of career factor importance and career factor experience. International Journal of Hospitality Management; 37, 58 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2013.10.003 This article was focused on the experiences and importance of career factors to hospitality graduates with comparisons to line managers’ perceptions. When examining the career factors that influence graduates when choosing a specific career, the motivational theory was used. The purpose of this research was to examine the perceived importance and perceived experiences of career factors for hospitality management graduates and to examine differences in perceptions of hospitality graduates who left the

The sample of students comprised of freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior students and was drawn from four of the top ten undergraduate hospitality programs in the United States, ranked according to Brizek and Khan (2002). The method used to carry out this study was quantitative as it used a five-part survey which facilitated data collection. The study used a convenient sample consisting of four programs that included the researchers’ home institution and the other three institutions with faculty members who were colleagues of one of the researchers. The sample size was four hundred and forty students. Qualtrics was used by the researchers as it generated the questionnaires that were used. Additionally, the researchers used IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences that analyzed the data. Independent sample t-tests were used to analyze each response from recruiters and students regarding their perceptions of entry-level

The target population was senior level students and graduates from hospitality programs across the United States of America.

The mixed method of data collection was used for this research which included web- based questionnaires used to gather the data. Questionnaires were issued to students of thirty-one hospitality programmes nationwide to examine the influence of work related experiences while completing their degree. The total sample was seven hundred and seventeen students of which four hundred and nine were senior level students and the remaining three hundred and eight were graduates.

This research concluded that fifty percent (50%) of current hospitality students work twenty-one or more hours per week, while more than ten percent (10%) worked forty or more hours per week; both students and graduates perceived their work experiences positively. Additionally, it was concluded that both students and graduates rated work experience highest in importance when interviewing for industry