Instructions

This assignment focuses on course learning objectives 2 and 3 – Describe career opportunities available in hospitality organizations and Recognize skills and knowledge necessary to advance within the Hospitality Industry.

This assignment will be an essay, written in APA format (If you are unsure of the proper paper format, refer to the template provided in the classroom or the resources in our online library). Be sure that you have reviewed the feedback you received from your first written assignment. Your essay should be no more than 3 pages of written content, along with a properly formatted title page and reference page. An abstract should not be included. The content for your essay is described below.

First, do some reflection on your career goals and choose a job/career goal, defining your ideal position within the hospitality industry. The essay will focus on describing and explaining the necessary skills and knowledge required or preferred for advancement in the field, from an entry level position to that goal position in management (preferably to general manager, vice president, or director level). The writing should be outlined by job progression and you can refer to specific job postings from company or third party job sites, like hcareers.com for example.

NOTE: Even if you are not actually planning to obtain employment within hospitality, you will choose a hospitality job for the purpose of this writing. Also, you should be reviewing the feedback from your week two submission prior to beginning this assignment.

If you have any questions on content or format expectations, please email me or post a question in the Q&A forum. Refer to the grading rubric for guidelines and expectations.

Be sure to review the Week 4 Assignment Hints and Tips found in your course content in the Activities & Assessments tab for week 4. It describes step by step how to be successful at this assignment.

Are there any questions about the week 4 assignment? Be sure that you have opened and reviewed your returned assignment from week 2 – review comments and feedback about writing style, format, tone, etc. and please let me know if you have any questions. This week 4 assignment should also be formatted in APA format. The instructions for content are below:

Identify an upper level management position within the hospitality industry. Describe and explain the necessary skills and knowledge required or would be preferred for advancement in the field, from an entry level position to management (preferably to general manager, vice president, or director level). The writing should be outlined by job progression and you can refer to specific job postings from company or third party job sites, like hcareers.com for example.

Even if you do not plan to make a career in the hospitality industry, this paper should be focused on an upper level goal position in the hospitality industry and focused on career progression for a person who wants to begin at entry level and work their way up to that position.

So, I am going to use an example from retail – but your assignment must be focused on a hospitality position – GM of a Hotel, Regional Manager of a Restaurant Franchise, Director of Events at a Convention Center, etc.

But for illustration here let’s say that you want to become the GM of a major box store.

So, you will be using actual career listings and other industry sources to show your path from entry level to your ideal position. So, begin at the end with your research (not with your paper). Find a job listing for your ideal career position. For our example, find a job description or employment listing for the GM of a major retail store (again – do NOT use retail for this paper, use a hospitality position). Read over the education, skills, and experience required for that position. Take notes on them because you will be using this in your paper. Let’s say, this position requires a bachelor’s degree at minimum (master’s preferred) plus 5 years of supervisory experience in a retail operation, knowledge of XYZ inventory systems, etc.

Then work backwards, to see what that supervisory position may require in terms of education, skills, and experience – and determine what you would need to do to land that supervisory position. After you have worked backwards to define the skills, education, and experience required for each step, then start writing your paper at the beginning, with your entry level position.

Maybe you begin as a part time cashier while you are finishing your degree. Find a job listing that details those requirements, which may not be extensive. Then maybe the next step you found during your research is shift leader or department assistant manager. Find a listing that details the skills, education and experience for that and describe how your entry level position plus whatever education and training you have earned along the way qualifies you for that position. Then the next step that you found may have been store assistant manager, which required that supervision experience that you gained as the shift leader or departmental manager. Note the levels that additional education is required.

So it’s basically setting a goal for your career and then devising a road map that will get you there. Don’t get overly stressed about it – it is your road map to success, based on actual job listings or job descriptions.