offers methodological framework for answering key benchmarking questionsonly substantial work covering this topicworld-wide coverage and usageBenchmarking is a buzzword of the last decade that describes a method for comparing different companies, by measuring various data, performance and goals. This book focuses on the methodological aspects of the right selection of benchmarking partners.
Develops a specific benchmarking methodology relevant to international tourism destinations. This book evaluates different approaches to benchmarking, and their application within tourism destinations. The book considers organization benchmarking - performance evaluation of a particular organization and its departments - and destination benchmarking, which involves all elements such as transport services, airport services, accommodation, leisure and sport, hospitality and local attitudes.
This pioneering book will familiarize you with benchmarking techniques that can be used to gauge and improve the performance of hospitality and tourism businesses anywhere! With compelling case studies drawn from hotel management, environmental systems, and destination practices, it examines important aspects of benchmarking, including satisfaction barometers, indicator development, and finding/networking with benchmarking partners.
Learn both theory and practice of knowledge management Sir Francis Bacon once wrote, “Knowledge is power.” Knowledge Sharing and Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism provides strategies to grab that power and the competitive edge in the tourism industry through knowledge management (KM) and quality assurance. Leading tourism and hospitality experts offer the latest theory and practical frameworks to expand the knowledge needed for creating and maintaining success at destinations around the world. Each cogent chapter provides fresh directions for future research and the creation of effective ways to share and use knowledge. As the tourism and hospitality industry expands, the competition increases as the search continues for ways to ensure quality, know the consumer, and discover the best standards of destination operation. Knowledge Sharing and Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism is a unique foundational text that clearly explains the theory and practical management of knowledge in this lucrative, very competitive industry. Knowledge theory is used to explore organizational functioning, change issues, and operations at destinations in industry clusters and networks. Chapters are extensively referenced. Topics in Knowledge Sharing and Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism include: the role of higher education in transferring knowledge into practice four kinds of benchmarking e-mail response quality quality management at the destination level and its path to knowledge sharing tourism managers knowledge needs—the knowledge type, where the knowledge is available, and sharing that knowledge between academics and the industry strategic planning in knowledge management three element framework of knowledge management assessment a case study of an international tourism project and the use of knowledge management a case study of best practice in tourism research dissemination in Quebec and Queensland Knowledge Sharing and Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism is crucial, idea-sparking reading perfect for tourism researchers, tourism managers, administrators, educators, and students.
The aim of this book is to enhance theoretical and practical understanding of quality management in tourism and hospitality. It provides a benchmark of current knowledge, and examines the range of research methods being applied to further develop tourism and hospitality service management research. It is hoped that this book will stimulate new research questions by highlighting tensions and challenges in the area.
Improve your hospitality and tourism research abilities with this impressive collection of research methods! The Practice of Graduate Research in Hospitality and Tourism assists you in gaining insight into different facets of research design, conceptual development, research methods, and conclusions drawn from research in hospitality and tourism. As a professional, researcher, or graduate student in the hospitality and tourism field, you will benefit from this collection of chapters that represent examples of research trials conducted by graduate students in hospitality and tourism and are selected on the basis of the originality of the students’concepts, research methods, and interest of the work to graduate students. This informative volume will provide you and your students with up-to-date and effective ideas for researching topics within the field of hospitality. The Practice of Graduate Research in Hospitality and Tourism is an excellent supplemental textbook for research methods classes in graduate hospitality and tourism programs. The wide variety of chapters will stimulate discussions on research in hospitality and tourism from conceptual, secondary data, and primary data approaches. Some of the research articles you will explore in The Practice of Graduate Research in Hospitality and Tourism are based on different statistical techniques, research designs, and trends of subjects. Topics include: selecting service-oriented employees based on person-organization fit measuring the effectiveness of advertising on the Internet examining factors that affect food expenditures of U.S. tourists when they are away from home explaining the competitive structure of Japanese travelers’overseas destination plans determining the motivational needs of managers in the on-site foodservice segment providing adequate education on HIV and AIDS in the workplace for hospitality managers identifying influential variables of employee turnover in the food and beverage industry The Practice of Graduate Research in Hospitality and Tourism serves as an important forum for initiating research and new ideas internationally. The carefully selected chapters of this essential text will provide you and your students with suggestions that will improve research competency as well as hospitality services to patrons.
At the age of nine, Burt Cabañas found himself an immigrant to the United States, speaking only Spanish and facing a challenging home situation. A year before, his father had died and his mother had moved from Cuba to Miami to become a hairdresser so she could support Burt and his younger sister. From his initial struggles learning English to his first job as a paperboy to hotel pool boy to Marine sergeant to hotel night clerk and, ultimately, to the founder and owner of Benchmark, A Global Hospitality Company, Burt's is a classic American success story. Given his background, it is not surprising that Burt has many insights to share: the wisdom of letting things take their course the folly of having a big ego the need to take risks the realization that listening beats talking and, the importance of believing that everything is possible Using examples, anecdotes, and stories, he shows us how these and other principles apply to the daily life of a business.
Worldwide, tourism is the third largest economic activity in direct earnings after petroleum and automobile industries, and by far the largest one if indirect earnings are also taken into consideration. Taking into account the profound economic impact the tourism and hospitality industries can have on regions and cities around the world, further research in this area is critical. Global Dynamics in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality takes a holistic approach to tourism and hospitality operations, education, and research. Highlighting the latest research in the field, real-world examples of how these industries are shaping economic development as well as future outlooks and opportunities for growth, this publication is an essential reference source for researchers, professionals, and graduate-level students.
The papers presented in this volume advance the state-of-the-art research on social media and Web 2.0, electronic tourism marketing, website development and evaluation, search engine marketing and optimization, IT adoption and diffusion, virtual travel communities, mobile technologies, management information systems in tourism, eLearning, recommender systems for tourism businesses and destinations and electronic distribution for hospitality and travel products. This book covers the most significant topics contributed by prominent scholars from around the world and is suitable for both academics and practitioners who are interested in the latest developments in e-Tourism.