Introduction
Since the impacts caused by a two-day weekend and Taiwan's membership in the WTO and the open-door policy for Mainland China, Taiwan's tourism-related products have encountered global competition and required the corresponding transformations and upgrading. However, the increase of service quality and enhancement of competitiveness must rely on the training and fostering of professional forces to meet the requirement of international markets. Such ability must be cultivated through courses in hospitality management, hospitality service skills, hospitality marketing, hospitality planning and grand opening, hospitality financial analysis, menu design and cost control, exhibition management, banquet management, and foreign language training. Therefore, permission was granted by the Ministry of Education to plan our program in 2005. The first class, including the 40 best students in Taiwan, was recruited in 2007. To date, the department has recruited 537 students for the daytime program and the continuing education program.
Our department completed its fifth year in 2011-2012, and during this time it has earned a reputation as among the best educational programs of its kind in southern Taiwan. We are honored to have attracted well-known scholars and practitioners as guest speakers for our program.
Among the many speakers and topics which was a part of our program last year, Dr. Huifen Zhou (associate professor in the Hospitality Management Department of National Taitung College) spoke on “The Intoxicating World of Mixology,” Ms. Deborah Ho (Vice President of Human Resources, Eda Crowne Plaza Hotel) shared her expertise on “Starting a Career in the Hospitality Industry,”and Mr. Junkun Chen (Vice General Manager, Jian Nan Resort) presented “The Management of Holiday Resorts.” Also, Mr. Junzheng Zhen (Personnel Manager for Howard Beach Resort in Kenting) presented a seminar entitled “From Off-Campus Internship to Career Planning”; Mr. Muyuan Hu (National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism) conducted a seminar on “The Art of Fruit Carving”; and Dr. Debing Guo (associate professor in the Graduate School of National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism) supervised our Entrepreneur Tournament.
In addition, Dr. Lu Jiang (associate professor of the Beijing Second Foreign Language Institute and Associate Dean of the International Education and Continuing Education Colleges) presented on “Travel, Culture and Creativity”and Ms. Liqiu Chen (Human Resources Manager for the Ren Jie Lao Si Chuan Dining Group) excited our students with her presentation titled “A 22-year-old’s Passport to Future Success.”
As an added bonus, the students and faculty members of our program made educational visits to the Grand Hilai Hotel, the Hotel Royal Chihpen, and the Formosan Naruwan Hotel & Resort Taitung. These visits allowed them to experience different hotel management philosophies and to learn proper grooming styles in the hospitality industry.
Our program also held the “2008 Conference on the Development of Taiwan Gourmet Tourism and Leisure Industry” with the Department of Tourism and the Department of Leisure Management. Our students had shown their excellence and learned how to focus on both theories and practicum through their service.
Our program not only employs the faculties who had earned PhD and have the qualification for at least assistant professor, but also invites some senior supervisors who own certain experiences in the hospitality industry to provide lectures for enhancing students’ perception of leadership and management.
In the future, our program will integrate the resources of industries, government, and academia to establish a hospitality entrepreneurship consultant center and a hospitality continual education center in order to consult the planning and execution in the hospitality industry. The must-learn management in the hospitality area includes hospitality management, hospitality information technology, human resource, hospitality marketing, hospitality purchasing, financial analysis, food & beverage accounting, service quality, and banquet management. Upon graduation, students can obtain at least one of the specific areas (food & beverage management or hotel management) with the required business ethics and hospitality leadership.