Training the World to Work Better

1. Training the World to Work Better Capstone Project Interdisciplinary Studies Courtney McBride IDS 4934 Capstone April 18, 2010

2. Why today’s graduates aren’t ready to work. For the past several years, the college graduates that have moved on to professional careers have been among the most highly skilled employees of all time. They have had their entire lives to learn and understand the new technology that now runs practically every aspect of society. From automated libraries to even automated farming, technology plays a huge part in almost everything we do. But our world—our corporate world in particular—cannot run on computers alone. The Hospitality industry thrives on people. Of course, certain tasks have been made easier and quicker through computer applications, but hotels, restaurants, clubs, theme parks, and even golf courses rely heavily on human interactions to provide the service their guests expect. Some may argue that a knack for great guest service is something you can be born with. However, more believe that these are skills that can and must be taught. This is quite possibly why one of the fastest growing non-technology-based college degree programs is Hospitality Management. These programs are built to teach the fundamental skills and theories relevant to running a hospitality operation. But is there more to this industry than the five steps to inspecting a clean hotel room or the green zone temperatures for food safety? The answer should be “yes”. This new generation has been working since they were fifteen years old, and they all have the same Hospitality Management degree. What is going to make one better than the other or set one apart from the pack? Hospitality Magazine suggests several skills new graduates need to build in order to be successful at work: understanding modern marketing, the know-how of selling, ability to train others, and building people skills. (Burgin) Aside from just the guest service impact, these new graduates seem to be lacking the fundamentals of just being at work. Until being hired, they ruled to roost starting in elementary school. They know more about computers and technology than their parents. They were left home alone afterschool for more hours than they were supervised. This generation, coined the Millennial Generation, is characterized by helicopter parents that were grossly overprotective and a tidal wave of social media that introduced micro-blogging and removed any sense of privacy or censor. Essentially, these kids are older than their age, but held back by their progress. Where they should have been outside learning communication skills by interacting with friends, they were inside watching television. When they should have been learning writing and reading skills, they were playing Math Munchers on a computer.

3. An interdisciplinary identity The relevant academic disciplines are Hospitality, Communication, and Letters and Modern Languages. • Hospitality—The most affected industry. This gives the functional and technical information needed to solve the problem and also is the basis for the problem. • Organizational Communication—Understands the need for improved or effective communication skills and understands how employees function in the organization. This also explains the teacher/student and employee/customer relationships. • Letters and Modern Languages—Gives the educational content and understands the need to develop well-rounded students in order to become well-developed employees. Teaches functional writing and communicating skills needed for work. An interdisciplinary perspective The relevant academic disciplines of Hospitality, Communication, and Letters and Modern Languages each have their own perspective on the controversy at hand. • Hospitality—There is a need to improve quality standards and this must be done is several ways. One way is to improve the skills of the professionals in these careers by combining the skills they already know with skills to help them apply their knowledge • Organizational Communication—The need is learner-centered. Educators and employees need to address the issue through improved training and through means that will be helpful and effective. • Letters and Modern Languages—A profound knowledge of written and verbal skills are needed for any workplace competence. Comprehension and application skills that are currently lacking need practice to improve.

4. Assumptions from an interdisciplinary outlook Communication is broad and includes several means, while Letters speaks particularly of written work—and the placement of the evidence. For instance, the assumption of Communication (the lack or presence of communication is directly related to the understanding of the scenario) places the communication or evidence inside of a situation of which it affects. The assumption of Letters (the written work is developed on several levels including the literal and figurative) places the evidence as the situation being affected. Both are forms of communication and both relate to their context. Hospitality does not seem to be related at all to the others, but it can be related by thinking about the context of the guest’s situation and how the communication or lack of communication affects it. • In Communication, people often approach issues already assuming that there is a lack of communication or that a party is not communication “correctly”. Before establishing any other variables, they immediately begin to analyze the situation for what is being done “wrong”. The discipline is one that relies heavily on a known foundation of knowledge and uses it to apply to the situation. By doing that systematically, people take a narrow perspective based on what they know to be true and disregard other information that might be important. Communication folks generally miss out on context that exists regardless of the communication involved. • In Letters and Modern Languages, people approach the situation assuming the written work is the result of expression or reality. What they generally miss is the several layers written work usually holds. One of the biggest controversies in professional writing is the absence of critical reading, and therefore, the assumption that writing occurs on several levels is lost. In an email, the reader can easily misconstrue humor or sarcasm for literal meaning which affects the entire message. The perspective is one of personal perception which can mask the true meaning of the message. • In Hospitality, the assumption is that the ultimate goal is to provide exceptional service to guests. People in this industry often approach issues with the idea that the guest is always right and their desires are to be fulfilled. What they often miss is the fact that every establishment in the service industry is a business first and foremost. While exceptional service will bring continued business, making poor business decisions in favor of the guest will not keep the business running.

5. An interdisciplinary common ground Among the disciplines involved, a familiar frame of reference should be established that bridges the informational gap. The common ground between the two most dominant disciplines, Hospitality and Organizational Communication, in addressing the concern that new employees/recent graduates are not properly prepared to work in a normal high-functioning workplace (particularly a hospitality operation) is the concepts they share, whether or not they have the same names for them. The Systems thoughts in Organizational Communication regard the many facets of leader-follower communication, lateral communication, and role function. In a hospitality operation, the need for open, direct communication and direction are very important, though this usually happens in unconventional methods as these operations run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The stress of the unconventional workplace is what makes these operations unique to using the Systems thoughts in different ways than traditionally thought of by strict Organizational Communication views. When addressing the lack of preparation entry-level leaders have for the work environment, extending concepts between Hospitality and Organizational Communication will identify common ground. It is important to pull thoughts from each discipline to understand what and why they think—how electronic communication affects the operation and the employee, how leader-follower communication plays into the development and success of the employee, etc. Similar to the examples in the text book, both disciplines will be able to contribute their own thoughts to come to an understanding about how to move forward with manipulation in order to integrate them. However, speaking specifically about the expansion of Systems into the hospitality operation and applying that to the employee’s workplace experience, they meet when the Systems concepts blanket their uses in the operation.

6. Analysis of the Controversy In countries all of over the world, this problem is becoming more and more apparent. China, Australia, and Great Britain are all on their toes trying to understand the disconnect and looking to solve the problems. In surveys, employers state that these new employees struggle in simple areas. (Survey: Graduates Not Well Prepared for Work) They cannot formulate a proper email—an important task in the Hospitality Industry when you may work the graveyard shift and not see your boss or peers for several days or weeks. Writing skills are imperative to the success of an operation in which constant electronic communication is virtually the only way information can be passed from one shift to the next, or even person to person. It seems that the new employees are coming lacking a strong mastery of grammar and spelling, let alone how to formulate a well-developed thought. This deficiency is to blame for miscommunications and inefficiencies. (Hines and Basso) Another area these graduates seem to be short on is meetings. Not having spent much time in high-functioning meetings, it seems that they have no concept of managing the time set aside for a meeting, how to behave in a meeting, or what information is appropriate to share in a meeting. In the industry at hand, meetings are important ways of selling convention space, hotel rooms, or catering menus. Meetings are also important to create and maintain processes and even to control safety concerns. It is important that employees have a good sense of conduct in the meeting rooms. (Paton) The need to better prepare new employees for the workforce is an important task. It can perhaps best be looked at from several disciplines to identify the needs and create new solutions.

7. Analysis of the Controversy A study by America’s Promise shows that the problem likely starts well before the students arrive at a university. This doesn’t remove the responsibility from the institution, rather it builds the case that universities and colleges have a duty to foster these skills. Marguerite W. Kondracke, president and CEO of America’s Promise Alliance says: This issue is incredibly important because our nation is often so fixated on academic outcomes and test scores that we are shortchanging our young people when it comes to the equally important skill set of being able to work with one another and communicate effectively. Without these skills our next generation will not be able to sustain the ever-changing and increasingly competitive American workforce. The severity of these findings provides a stark reminder that our nation’s prosperity is at risk. • Soft Skills Deficiencies: • Fewer than half (46 percent) of 15-17-year olds surveyed felt they communicated well with others. African-American youth were more than twice as likely to report poor communication skills as their white peers. • 61 percent of 15-17-year olds reported they often or very often practiced conflict resolution while working in teams in schools (62 percent in after-school programs), leaving more than one-third of students without these important opportunities. • Between one-fifth and one-quarter of African-American, Hispanic and students from lower-income households felt they were not or only somewhat comfortable with basic computer tasks like word processing and presentation preparation. • One encouraging finding was reflected in regards to working with diverse groups—only seven percent of teens said they either somewhat or do not get along well with diverse groups of people.  • The gaps ECEP identified in soft skills sets were also found when examining the opportunities for students to learn or practice these skills during and after school. • America's Promise Alliance

8. What Must Be Done to Address the Problem The most obvious and prevalent solution to this issue would be to teach students the necessary skills to work better while they are still in school. The quandary then lies in how that should be accomplished. It is the responsibility of the institution that awards a degree to provide the instruction worthy of the name and certification that comes with it. Hospitality programs must better incorporate the skills of the other disciplines, Communication and Letters and Modern Languages, in order to produce the best candidates for jobs. These schools need to reevaluate their curriculum and core course requirements to make sure that the skills needed to perform and apply the theories they teach in their lectures are passed to students who so badly need them. When considering the “New Academy” and educational reform, some organizations like the Association of American Colleges and Universities is campaigning for this thought as well. Their goal is the teach students in any discipline “what really matters in college.” This justly applies to the Hospitality industry, because, like any skill-based degree like Engineering, students need to blend both technical skills with functional skills in order to be a marketable asset and advance in their careers. (Cleary and Allegra) There are three proposed actions needed in order to fulfill this new plan: improve classroom exercises to improve written communication and presentation skills, adapt the current core curriculum to include mandatory communication and soft skills classes as a prerequisite for graduation, and enforce quality internshipss and experiential learning as a degree requirement. Include these skills in everyday instruction In Technical Writing courses across university campuses, students are required to submit all of their assignments in the form of a memo, email, or any type of formal report. Why shouldn’t Hospitality students be required to do the same? Are the PowerPoint presentations that prefer bullet points to full sentences and paragraphs really a better method? Not likely. Using class assignments as communication exercises gives students the opportunity to practice formal, business-like written communication. It also allows instructors an opportunity to evaluate students’ skills and correct issues long before they even reach the office. This approach not only allows them to learn and practice written communication and perhaps even presentation skills, but the students also learn ways to use these skills as part of their profession by applying them to theories they learn in the lectures. Reid, Petocz, and Gordon call this the Apprenticeship Theme: “In this approach, the intention of the introductory classes is to enable students to gain practical experience and the understanding of future professional practice, while identifying the component skills and resources that students could use in their future professional work.” (Reid, Petocz and Gordon 72-73)

9. What Can Be Done to Address the Problem Adapt the core curriculum A lot of Hospitality schools offer classes in Communication and Writing as electives in the degree program. All Hospitality schools require Guest Service Management classes in the degree program. So why are they still struggling to graduate well-developed students? Because the students don’t choose the Communication and Writing electives, and Guest Service Management doesn’t teach a whole lot about guest service. Classes like these should be required as part of the degree. Without these skills needed to apply theory and survive at work, what is the point of teaching the other classes at all? Or course, communicating in a Hospitality work environment is different than in a Data Processing environment or Chemical Engineering environment, so it is necessary to formulate courses that expand the students’ knowledge of Communication relevant to Hospitality. In order to be more productive and improve conduct in meetings, a good idea about Organizational Communication is important. An employee should be aware of how businesses are structured and the type of business they are getting themselves in to. Does the hotel or restaurant they plan to work in encourage lateral coaching? Is it a Systems approach organization? What does the manager/direct report relationship look like? Implementing a Hospitality Organizations course would help to develop a better understanding of where the new employee will fit in the business. It should also keep their naturally inflated attitude in check. In addition, Guest Service Management needs to be enhanced with Guest Service soft skills. Soft skills are those that allow you to relate, sympathize, and empathize with others—an area most new employees lack. (Schilling) What Dress for Success Taught Me Dress for Success is a worldwide organization. I had the pleasure of spending several hours with them in their Orlando location on the campus of Winter Park Technical College. Their mission is to help underprivileged or disadvantaged women in the greater Orlando area prepare to enter the workplace. Their main function is giving at least one interview-appropriate business suit to each woman that is referred to them so that they can go to interviews ready for success. In the process, they teach their clients the importance of a professional image and the skills to market themselves from the first interaction with an employer. Beyond just clothes, Dress for Success also encourages their clients to become members of the Professional Women’s Group that meets monthly to discuss issues from workplace diversity and inclusion to Microsoft Office classes. I found through my time with the group that their service is one of just a few that has targeted this deficiency in the work population. Since opening their doors in 2001, Dress for Success Greater Orlando has dressed over 2,500 women for work. Organizations and services like this are beneficial factors to solving the problem we face.

10. What Can Be Done to Address the Problem Recognize the Importance of Experience One Hospitality program is already attempting to address the problem this way. The Conrad Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston boasts a full-size Hilton-branded hotel built into their building on the school’s campus. It also has several restaurants and bars. Every student is required to spend some time working in the operation of the business—this also helps fund much of the school’s expenses. Internships are consistently rated as beneficial experiences by students across disciplines. They can hold tons of value for the student and the organization hosting the intern. Students get to spend time in their field, add another line to their resume, and perhaps get a job with the company they work with. And organizations get free or cheap work out of eager minds. However, not all experiential learning and internship opportunities teach much to the students. Many of them just bring students in to stuff envelopes and empty trash cans. This is where universities and colleges need to take control. “Work integrated learning exposes students to a variety of tasks and the chance to develop the specific competencies, desirable attitudes and transferable skills that college based education by itself is not able to provide,” writes Solnet, et al. They continue that this experiential learning must hold certain qualities to make them important enhancement to the learner’s education. (Solnet, Karlj and Kay)

11. What Can Be Done to Address the Problem The institution that supports the student in the internship or experience learning process needs to be mindful of what the student will learn while away from its watchful eye. Instead of allowing students to participate in internship programs that don’t test their education or provide involved work, universities and colleges must monitor the type of work the student is doing through correspondence. As a requirement for the completion of the internship experience, the student must be required to attend meetings, give at least one comprehensive presentation, and show evidence of written and verbal communication. This figure shows the skills that could be attained through internships and experiential learning. (Solnet, Karlj and Kay)

12. Bibliography See additional document for annotation America's Promise Alliance. America’s Promise Research Finds Majority of Young People Are Not Prepared for the Workforce. Alexandria, VA, 2010. Burgin, Ken. "New Skills for Young Managers." Hospitality Magazine December 2009: 27. Cleary, Rosemary and Eve Allegra. "Whose "Greater Expectations" Are They, Anyway?" Liberal Education (2009): 30-35. Gardner, Phillip. Are College Students Prepared to Work? East Lansing, MI, 29 September 2000. "Generation Gap?" Travel Agent 25 May 2009: 2. Hines, Randy and Joseph Basso. "Do Communication Students Have the "Write Stuff"?" Journal of Promotion Management (2008): 293-307. Maslen, Geoff. "Australia: Foreign Graduates Fail Job Search." 25 May 2008. University World News. 13 April 2010 <http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php>. Mullen, Rosalind. "Make it Happen." Caterer & Hotelkeeper (2009): 35. Paton, Nic. "News and Research." 2 July 2008. Management-Issues. 17 April 2010 <http://www.management-issues.com/2008/7/2/research>. Reid, Anna, Peter Petocz and Sue Gordon. "University Teacher's Intentions for Introductory professional Classes." Journal of Workplace Learning (2010): 67-78. Schilling, Becky. "Staffed for Success." Foodservice Director 15 June 2008: 62-64. Solnet, David, et al. "A Lodging Internship Competency Model: Enhancing Educational Outcomes through Work Integrated Learning." Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education (n.d.): 16-24. "Survey: Graduates Not Well Prepared for Work." 5 April 2010. China. 17 April 2010 <http://www.china.org.cn/china/2010-04/05>.