A fresh look at competency-based teaching for hospitality management education: an applied learning approach to a training restaurant environment.

This research explores the design and operationalization of a food and beverage
module, introduced onto a hospitality management program in a higher education
institute (HEI), in pursuit of enhanced service competencies (e.g. knowledge, skills
and attitudes), among its students. The goal of this research is to realign the teaching
of hospitality management students in a training restaurant environment to incorporate
the service competency requirements of the contemporary hospitality industry. The
author used an action research method incorporating a learning intervention in a
student training restaurant environment, supplemented by interviews with hotel
specialists to ascertain the service competencies required by the hospitality graduates
for industry. This applied research identifies and maps the service competencies
required by hospitality graduates working in food and beverage to be better suited to
the industry requirements and ultimately enhance guest experience. It also draws on
the value of a sequential change management process in a practical teaching
environment and delves into the learnings gathered. Subsequently, short self-administered
surveys completed by the training restaurant customers ascertain
whether the students’ service competencies were enhanced as a result of the learning
intervention. The proposed food and beverage service competency framework
contributes to the professional competency debate in the hospitality domain and may
also has training value to industry specialists. Future research seeks to explore
engagement with students’ service competency development plans.