Semester 2 

Unit(s) of Assessment 

Weighting towards Module Mark (%) 

Individual Consultant Report 

50% 

Group Consultants Presentation 

50% 

Qualifying Condition(s) 

The module is intended to provide an opportunity to review current trends and strategic issues in the international hospitality industry.  The content of the module will therefore respond to the changing nature of the international hospitality industry. 

The aims of the module are to provide students with a range of perspectives for reviewing the strategic decisions taken by hospitality companies.  The nature of the industry determines that this will be largely influenced by the actions of global and large companies.  It aims to consolidate student’s knowledge and understanding of business strategy and, in particular, to apply this to hospitality companies. 

On the completion of the module, students will be able to: 
·              Appraise the strategic performance of one hospitality company. 
·              Evaluate trends in the environment in which hospitality companies operate, both locally and globally. 
 ·              Comparatively assess a strategic group of hospitality companies and evaluate their ability to respond to trends in the local and global environment. 
·              Identify those strategic choices and growth options available to hospitality companies and forward and justify those most appropriate for one/two selected companies. 

The content of the module is driven solely by the two assignment tasks. 
Working as consultants, students will be commissioned by an important client to evaluate the strategic performance of one company in the global hospitality industry (it must be listed on a stock exchange).  The client ultimately wants to know whether they should invest in this company or not.  Therefore, each student will need to prepare a professional report which critically evaluates the sources of competitive advantage of this company, as well as assesses its performance to date, both strategically and financially. 
The client then requests a comparative analysis of a number of similar hospitality companies (a strategic group) in order to make the best investment choice.  Students will form ‘strategic group’ teams to undertake the second assignment in the form of a presentation.  The client also wants there to be some evaluation of the ability of companies to cope with and respond to (or be proactive to) trends in the remote and industry or competitive environments.  Teams need to undertake some level of environmental scanning and then evaluate the implications of the findings from this to the different companies.  Ultimately they are going to have to recommend to the client which one company to invest in and forward some realistic alternative strategic options for the chosen company in order for it to grow. 
A select number of sessions are facilitated by tutors (as the consultant ‘bosses’) to support the accomplishment of the assignment tasks.  The module content draws on learning from the Business Strategy Module with some new knowledge introduced, where necessary. 

The teaching and learning strategy is designed to encourage students to think critically about the strategic performance of companies in the international hospitality industry. 
There is a wide range of teaching and learning methods including: 
·              Workshops facilitated by tutors (including the use of case studies). 
·              Individual and group tutorial sessions with tutors. 
·              Student presentations. 
·              Where appropriate and available, guest presentations by invited industry professionals. 
Assessment Strategy: 
The assessment strategy is designed to encourage students in the first instance to develop their individual ability to analyse in depth a hospitality company.  The second assignment brings together students in order to comparatively evaluate a group of strategically similar companies and to assess their ability to cope with and respond to trends in the remote and competitive environments.  In both assignments students will take on the role of consultants and will undertake research into the strategic position of hospitality companies using secondary data sources such as financial reports, industry and company reports, computerised databases and the Internet. 

Essential Reading 
Recommended Reading 
Andrew, W.P, Damitio, J.W. & Schmidgall, R.S. 2007, Financial Management for the Hospitality Industry, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, N.Y. 
DeFranco, A. & Lattin, T, 2007, Hospitality Financial Management, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey . 
Johnson, G.,  Scholes, K. & Whittington, R. 2008, Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8^th Edition, Pearson Education Ltd, Harlow.   
Olsen, M.D., Joseph J. West, & Eliza Ching-Yick Tse, 2008, Strategic Management in the Hospitality Industry, 3^rd Edition, Pearson Education Inc, Upper Saddle River, N.Y. 
Harrison, J.S. and Enz, , 2005, Hospitality Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey .
Background Reading 
Brotherton, B., (Ed.), 2003, The International Hospitality Industry: Structure, Characteristics and Issues, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford . 
Ransley, J., Ingram, H. 2004, Developing Hospitality Properties and Facilities, Elsevier, Oxford . 
Lashley, C. and Morrison, A. 2000, Franchising Hospitality Services, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford 
Conrady, R. and Buck, M. (Eds) 2009, Trends and Issues in Global Tourism 2009, Springer, Berlin