A new and innovative degree

Interview announcing the start of Zaragoza Hotel Management School, September 1, 2007:

Arrancan los estudios superiores de Hostelería

La sede de la escuela estará en el actual edificio de la Universidad San Jorge.

21/04/2007 EL PERIÓDICO

Los alumnos que deseen cursar estudios superiores de Hostelería en Zaragoza podrán hacerlo a partir del próximo mes de septiembre. La sede física de la escuela se ubicará en el actual edificio de la Universidad San Jorge, en la calle Alcalde Sainz de Varanda, aunque la gestionará Hotel Management School, una empresa privada. La universidad abandonó el proyecto de crear una titulación debido a los problemas que tuvo para encontrar una sede apropiada.

El auge del sector de la restauración en la ciudad, fomentado por la llegada de la Expo, ha impulsado la creación de un centro que complementará la oferta de formación profesional que se imparte en Aragón sobre esta materia.

Esta nueva oferta formativa, que tendrá una duración de cuatro años, estará claramente enfocada hacia la gestión de empresas del ramo, englobando desde cuestiones operativas y financieras hasta el liderazgo de un equipo y los conocimientos para crear un negocio propio.

La escuela ofertará tres idiomas, intercambios con las principales universidades extranjeras donde se imparte hostelería y prácticas en empresas internacionales, para lo que ya se han realizado algunos contactos, según explicó Jeroen Oskam, responsable de esta iniciativa.

"Otra de las características de la escuela de estudios superiores serán sus métodos de enseñanza innovadores. Los alumnos analizarán la experiencia de los huéspedes o la creación de empresas a través de modelos de trabajo participativos e interactivos, que fortalecerán la independencia, la creatividad y la proactividad de los estudiantes", señaló Oskam.

La calidad del programa del nuevo centro ha sido avalado por la fundación San Valero, el Grupo Lezama, la Escuela Superior de Hostelería de Sevilla, varias empresas de restauración y la Universidad San Jorge. No obstante, estos estudios no tienen que ver con esta universidad privada, que en su día quiso crear una titulación de Hostelería.

INTENTO FRUSTRADO La Universidad San Jorge intentó en el 2006 poner en marcha una titulación de Hostelería. El problema para encontrar una sede adecuada hizo que la institución desistiera y abandonara el proyecto.

La noticia de crear unos estudios superiores de Hostelería fue muy bien recibida entre los empresarios aragoneses implicados en el negocio de la restauración. El proyecto planteaba la implantación de una carrera de cuatro años de duración. Tres de ellos serían comunes y en el último, los alumnos podrían especializarse en Nutrición o en Gestión de Hoteles.

La universidad se planteó la titulación como una cuestión estratégica que no se quedaría en la Expo sino que dotaría a la comunidad autónoma de un grupo de profesionales de la alta cocina.

Link: http://www.elperiodicodearagon.com/noticias/noticia.asp?pkid=315428

Maastricht Hotel Management School Initiates Cooperation with Business School Southeast Missouri State University

Published: 2005-03-29 00:00:00

Last week Prof.dr.Peter Gordon visited the Maastricht Hotel Management School.Peter Gordon is professor in International Marketing and coordinates the international projects of the Business School of Southeast Missouri State University in the USA. This Business School has a long-standing cooperation with the Hogeschool Zuyd (since 1990). The Graduate department of the Maastricht Hotel Management School cooperates with the MBA-department of SEMO in the field of student and staff-exchange. As a result of Dr.Gordon’s visit both departments decided to start a cooperation in the field of research. Joint research activities will be started in this Spring. More information can be obtained from Jeroen Oskam or Matt Heckman.

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Last week Prof.dr.Peter Gordon visited the Maastricht Hotel Management School.Peter Gordon is professor in International Marketing and coordinates the international projects of the Business School of Southeast Missouri State University in the USA. This Business School has a long-standing cooperation with the Hogeschool Zuyd (since 1990). The Graduate department of the Maastricht Hotel Management School cooperates with the MBA-department of SEMO in the field of student and staff-exchange. As a result of Dr.Gordon’s visit both departments decided to start a cooperation in the field of research. Joint research activities will be started in this Spring. More information can be obtained from Jeroen Oskam or Matt Heckman.

Maastricht Hotel Management School is a bachelor's degree course in hospitality management. Moreover, Maastricht Hotel Management School offers two master's degree courses. On graduation, you can embark on a career as a manager or consultant with hospitality and service organisations such as hotels, restaurants, catering companies, and congress and conference centres.

Link: http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/news/newsroom/item-details.html?id=4022872

Stereotypology and stereotypometry

Since several decades, there has been an increasing interest in studying cultural differences. Initially, these studies focused on ways of approaching people, negotiating and similar practical matters, but since the 1980s the focus has shifted to the underlying patterns of thinking. In his famous Culture’s Consequences (1980), Hofstede set the trend for research into differences in values between different countries. In this paper, I will examine the premises of this type of research and its alleged objectivity. Can these studies really reveal the essential values of cultures around the world, or are they just a scientific cover-up for stereotyping?
 

A certain degree of hospitality

Tourism is one of the fastest-growing and most important economic sectors in the world. According to the World Tourism Organization, more than 700 million tourists chose to travel in 2002; in 2001, international tourism accounted for $463 billion worldwide. It seems logical, therefore, that travel and hospitality organizations worldwide should be looking to business schools to train new managers for their hotels, restaurants, resorts, and airlines. In fact, a number of business schools and freestanding hotel schools around the world have dedicated themselves to just that cause.

[...]

The growth in hospitality degree programs has directly paralleled the growth in the tourism industry, according to Jeroen Oskam of the Maastricht Hotel Management School in the Netherlands. When a region sees an upsurge in tourism and competition increases, he says, “the quality of the tourist product becomes a decisive factor. At that point, hotels and other companies realize that having a well-prepared staff will be the key to success.”
Similarly, the changes in hospitality programs mirror the changes in the industry itself, Oskam notes. He expects the future of tourism to be affected by demographic factors such as aging populations, and economic growth in emerging countries that will lead them to welcome tourists. It’s inevitable that as hotels and restaurants are transformed from family-owned enterprises to multinational companies with thousands of employees, hospitality management programs will become more international in nature and focus on the challenges of running global corporations.

Accent on Flavor
While students in hospitality classes learn the basic functional disciplines of finance, marketing, and OB, specialty courses often define the programs. For instance, at the Maastricht Hotel Management School, students take courses on the sustainable development of tourist areas. [...]

Sharon Shinn, BizEd May/June 2003
Download full article at http://www.aacsb.edu/Publications/Archives/MayJune03/p42-47.pdf

Maastricht Hotel School: Checking out the hotel industry

What do a Dutch TV cook, a 40-year-old Turkish student and a 17th century castle have in common? They all make up part of one of the fastest growing industries in the world, in which Maastricht is a forerunner – hotel and tourism.

In 2000, the Student’s Guide for Higher Education, the national board of Higher Vocational Education and the European Foundation for the Accreditation of Hotel School Programmes found the Management Hotel School Maastricht to be the best in the field nationwide.

The school was founded in 1950 but really took off in the 1970s, moving from the city centre to the 17th century Bethlehem Castle. It is now part of the Hogeschool Zuyd, which boasts 12,000 students, and has an impressive network of contacts with international companies and hotel chains, such as the Hilton, Holland Casino, Euro Disney and the International Congress and Convention Association.

It is now broadening its horizons with the recent introduction of a new MBA in Hotel and Tourism Management. Broken down into three parts, the programme is aimed at graduates and hotel and tourism professionals preparing to take the next step in their career. It is taught by a diverse spectrum of teachers, including guest lecturers from the industry.

“On the MBA programme, you will find people who are making a career switch or want to progress to senior management. They have to learn all the aspects of the industry, even cooking,” says Jeroen Oskam, the MBA Programme Director.

“Our oldest student is 44. We have one Dutch student and people from countries including Turkey, China, the UK, South America, Canada and Germany.”

Jeyan Akcay, a 40-year-old student from Turkey, is among them. “I was working as an executive assistant to the general manager in a hotel and timeshare in Turkey I had graduated in business administration but wanted an MBA,” she said. “The programme looked very promising as I am looking for international experience. I am very satisfied with the course and glad to be here.”

“The Dutch have a very good name in the industry. Tradition is a very important part,” explained Mr Oskam. “For example, due to the education system, students in Germany have to work several years in the industry, then they study before going back into it. It is a very long step in their career. It is a very long process. While in Spain, people are more focused on the material side of the profession, whereas we offer practical and theoretical studies.

“Hotel and tourism is one of the fastest growing industries due to people spending more on leisure and people travelling around a lot more,” he added. “The students want to pursue an international career and discover something different.”

The students have an impressive precedent to follow. Some graduates have stayed locally - you can find them in many hotels in Maastricht - and have also moved into other hospitality industries, such as management consultancies, marketing, sales and HR. While others have gone on to leading positions in prestigious companies such as the Ritz Carlton in New York and the Sheraton hotels, and can be found in companies all over Europe, America and China. Among the school’s list of former students is the President of the Hilton in Washington DC. Even the famous Dutch TV cook, Braakhekke, studied at the school.

By Louise Druce

Source: Crossroads print issue, December 2002

Publication: Falange e izquierdismo en Índice

Book chapter, "Falange e Izquierdismo en Indice (1956-1962): El Fin y los Medios"

Título	Medio siglo de cultura (1939-1989) Número 9 de Diálogos hispánicos de Amsterdam
Autores	Manuel L. Abellán, Universiteit van Amsterdam
Editor	Manuel L. Abellán
Editor	Rodopi, 1990
ISBN	9051832249, 9789051832242
N.º de páginas	262 páginas (pages 169 - 181).