School Core Course

Introduction to Hospitality
This course defines the sectors of the hospitality industry, and the elements that interrelate to provide services and products to the tourism consumer. The impact of the hospitality industry, in particular operators, accommodations, food and beverage, attractions, event management and gaming are significant in their contribution to the world economy in terms of job creation, travel expenditures / receipts and purchasing of goods and services from local economy suppliers. This course will introduce the student to the hospitality industry, its key associations, service providers, the “host” and “guest” relationship and operational areas of the industry. This course will introduce career choices in the hospitality industry and prepare students for further study in their chosen fields.

Introduction to Tourism
This course provides an introductory examination of the tourism system, its concepts and terms. It examines the structural sectors of the tourism industry and its relationship to society, culture, the environment and the economy.  The challenges and issues affecting tourism supply and demand will be analyzed. The course will provide an international perspective on tourism through the use of international case studies and examples.

World Travel and Food Culture  
This course introduces students to key terminology and concepts in the field of food studies, particularly those in relation to the role culture, politics, economics and geography plays in influencing food beliefs, attitudes, behaviors and use. Students will gain an understanding of the current cultural, religious and ethnic foodways around the world through the study of various cuisines and their changes over time.

Principle of Management 
This course will assist the student in self-assessing and developing concrete, usable management and leadership skills. It will focus on key management and leadership concepts and how these can be applied in a rapidly changing global environment. The course will examine traits, behaviors and attributes of leadership and followership, and the practical skills required to build effective working relationships with individuals and teams, including decision making, motivation, communication, power and influence, and change management. It will also explore factors that impact effective leadership in today’s hospitality world, including ethics and diversity.

Service Management
This course will provide the student with service quality concepts, principles and practices through which tourism, hospitality, and other service oriented businesses operate. The student will study a broad range of specific tools used by managers for planning and control in quality service delivery. The course will cover such areas as the nature and role of services within the overall economy, operationalizing quality within service delivery, understanding consumer service needs and wants, and finally, designing and implementing suitable service systems within organizations. Through case studies the student will examine theoretical models and compare and contrast them with applications. Students also discover how to evaluate customer service potential and issues in a specific organizational context.

Seminars in Hospitality & Tourism Topics
Students will attend a number of professionally-themed lectures given by guest speakers from different sectors of the hospitality industry, including hotel/ airline/airport, and travel/tourism. Students will also obtain practice with small-scale event planning by doing preliminary anticipatory work in hosting these lectures, attending to the speakers’ needs during the lectures, and doing follow-up performance evaluations.