ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE HOSPITALITY, TOURISM AND EVENTS INDUSTRY - 2020/1

Module Overview

Hospitality and tourism businesses significantly contribute to the European and world economy in terms of job creation, GDP contribution and have significant impact on local communities. Interestingly, majority of those businesses are small. However, majority of research has been focused on management strategies of small business owners overlooking other perspectives. This module aims to provide students with a broader picture on tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs, encompassing both management and sociological perspectives and case studies from various settings, such as developing and transition economies. Such systematic and comprehensive overview of small businesses and entrepreneurship can add breadth and depth to knowledge and intellectual skill progression, and ultimate career development on graduation.

Module provider

Hospitality, Tourism & Events Management

Module Leader

HUMBRACHT Michael (Hosp & Tour)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

The lecture in week 1 will be plenary lecture, guiding students in their learning. We will discuss the content of the module, how to prepare and conduct interviews, how to write a group report and how to read and reference academic papers.

The lecture in week 11 will summarise the module and prepare the students for the individual essay assignment.

 

The content of the class is divided into the key areas of entrepreneurship and small business development:

 

1. Introduction, definitions, theories and perspectives on small business and entrepreneurship.


2. The nature of entrepreneurs and small business owners.


3. Entrepreneurial management and growth.


4. Franchising.


5. Culture and the initiation of entrepreneurship. International evidence on entrepreneurship and small business.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Alternative Assessment Where students fail the group work, they will be allocated an individual PowerPoint presentation on a specific topic (40%).

Assessment Strategy

Assessment Strategy:

To achieve outlined learning outcomes this class is assessed 40% by means of group work and 60% by means of an individual essay.

1. Group work - students will interview entrepreneurs who have established a business within the hospitality and tourism industry and analyse them individually, their business and business environment against the literature and theories covered in the lectures (learning outcomes 1-3). Report is to be submitted on Monday week 13 (3000 words excluding references).


2. Individual Essay – is used to evaluate the students’ overall understanding of the topics covered. Students will be given a list of debatable topics. Each student has to select a topic and argue either ‘for’ or ‘against’ a chosen position by providing theoretical arguments and industry examples. An essay is to be submitted on Monday week 10 (2000 words excluding references).

Module aims

• Evaluate and apply, within the hospitality and tourism context, appropriate theories and concepts of entrepreneurship and enterprise development;
• Analyse and evaluate the business environment, its impact on the hospitality and tourism industry sectors and potential for entrepreneurship and enterprise development therein;
• Critically assess factors which influence the development of enterprises operating within the hospitality and tourism sectors; and
• Interpret and synthesise understanding and knowledge relative to the vocational domain.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The teaching and learning strategy is designed to encourage students to think critically about the small businesses and entrepreneurship, the context where they operate and consequent management strategies undertaken. The overall teaching and learning strategy is designed to foster the active and reflective engagement of students in the learning process.

The principal teaching and learning method is a combination of lecture, tutorials and feedback sessions. One-hour lecture slots are designed to illustrate and explain key theoretical concepts and debates in entrepreneurship field. In order to apply learned knowledge into the practice, each week we will run tutorials (two hour slots). Each topic discussed during the lecture will be backed up by concrete business examples through the case studies, videos and guest lecturers. Tutorials are also designed to stimulate peer discussion on theoretical concepts with reference to specific cases or real-life examples. In order to encourage independent learning and provide additional support, we will organise feedback sessions. The role of feedback in the learning process (formative feedback) is to inform the student of where and how their learning and performance can be improved. In order to make sure that each student gets equal chances for additional feedback, each week a spread sheet with 10 minutes time slots will be available on the lecturers’ door and each student who wants to take this opportunity has to sign their name under specific time slot.

 

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MAN3151

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.