Business Commons^™

The Specialist: Coming Soon To Your Local Hotel, Stan Bromley

Hospitality Review

In an article entitled - The Specialist: Coming Soon To Your Local Hotel - by Stan Bromley, Regional Vice President and General Manager, Four Seasons Clift Hotel, San Francisco, the author’s introduction states: “An experienced hotelier discusses the importance of the delivery of a high “quality-to-value” ratio consistently to guests, particularly as the hotel market becomes specialized and a distinction is drawn between a “property” and a “hotel.”

The author’s primary intention is to make you, the reader, aware of changes in the hospitality/hotel marketplace. From the embryo to the contemporary, the hotel market has consistently evolved; this includes but …

The Tax Reform Act Of 1986: Impact On Hospitality Industries, Elisa S. Moncarz

Hospitality Review

In her discussion - The Tax Reform Act Of 1986: Impact On Hospitality Industries - by Elisa S. Moncarz, Associate Professor, the School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, Professor Moncarz initially states: “After nearly two years of considering the overhaul of the federal tax system, Congress enacted the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The impact of this legislation is expected to affect virtually all individuals and businesses associated with the hospitality industry. This article discusses some of the major provisions of the tax bill, emphasizing those relating to the hospitality service industries and contrasting relevant provisions with prior …

Ethics, Value Systems And The Professionalization Of Hoteliers, K. Michael Haywood

Hospitality Review

In the discussion - Ethics, Value Systems And The Professionalization Of Hoteliers by K. Michael Haywood, Associate Professor, School of Hotel and Food Administration, University of Guelph, Haywood initially presents: “Hoteliers and executives in other service industries should realize that the foundation of success in their businesses is based upon personal and corporate value systems and steady commitment to excellence. The author illustrates how ethical issues and manager morality are linked to, and shaped by the values of executives and the organization, and how improved professionalism can only be achieved through the adoption of a value system that rewards contributions …

Ethics In The Hospitality Industry: A Management Control System Perspective, Robert H. Hagner

Hospitality Review

Hospitality managers may assume that unless under control, ethics in their operations are out of control. This article proposes a management control system for ethics.

Planning Buy-Sell Agreements In The Hospitality Industry, John M. Tarras

Hospitality Review

In the article - Planning Buy-Sell Agreements In The Hospitality Industry - by John M. Tarras, Assistant Professor, School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management at Michigan State University, the author initially observes: “The vast majority of hospitality firms (restaurants, hotels, etc.) would be considered closely-held corporations. As such, they have unique planning problems compared to large, publicly-traded hospitality firms. One area of special concern to the closely-held hospitality firm is the planning and adoption of a buy-sell agreement.”

The above thesis statement outlines the heart of the article; the buy-sell agreement in regard to smaller [closely held, as Tarras …

The Chef In Society: Origins And Development, Marcel R. Escoffier

Hospitality Review

In his discourse - The Chef In Society: Origins And Development - Marcel R. Escoffier, Graduate Student, School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, initially offers: “The role of the modern professional chef has its origins in ancient Greece. The author traces that history and looks at the evolution of the executive chef as a manager and administrator.”

“Chefs, as tradespersons, can trace their origins to ancient Greece,” the author offers with citation. “Most were slaves…” he also informs you.

Even at that low estate in life, the chef was master of the slaves and servants who were at …

Selection Of Students For Hotel Schools: A Comparative Study, William Morgan

Hospitality Review

In the discussion - Selection Of Students For Hotel Schools: A Comparative Study - by William Morgan, Professor, School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, Morgan’s initial observation is: “Standards for the selection of students into schools of hospitality management around the world vary considerably when it comes to measuring attitudes toward the industry. The author discusses current standards and recommends some changes.”

In addition to intellectual ability, Professor Morgan wants you to know that an intangible element such as attitude is an equally important consideration to students seeking curriculum and careers in the hospitality field. “…breaches in behavior …

Industry Education: The Merger Continues, Rob L. Heiman

Hospitality Review

In the discussion - Industry Education: The Merger Continues - by Rob Heiman Assistant Professor Hospitality Food Service Management at Kent State University, the author originally declares, “Integrating the process of an on-going catering and banquet function with that of selected behavioral academic objectives leads to an effective, practical course of instruction in catering and banquet management. Through an illustrated model, this article highlights such a merger while addressing a variety of related problems and concerns to the discipline of hospitality food service management education.”

The article stresses the importance of blending the theoretical; curriculum based learning process with that …

Database As A Tool For Hospitality Management, William G. O'Brien

Hospitality Review

In his discussion - Database As A Tool For Hospitality Management - William O'Brien, Assistant Professor, School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, O’Brien offers at the outset, “Database systems offer sweeping possibilities for better management of information in the hospitality industry. The author discusses what such systems are capable of accomplishing.”

The author opens with a bit of background on database system development, which also lends an impression as to the complexion of the rest of the article; uh, it’s a shade technical.

“In early 1981, Ashton-Tate introduced dBase 11. It was the first microcomputer database management processor …

Anarchy In The Airways, Joseph C. Von Kornfeld

Hospitality Review

In his dialogue - Anarchy In The Airways - Joseph C. Von Kornfeld, Assistant Professor, College of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas initially states: “Deregulation of the airline industry has brought about financial vulnerability for the traveling public. The author analyzes the situation since that point in time and makes recommendations for some solutions.”

In this article, Assistant Professor Von Kornfeld, first defines the airline industry in its pre-regulated form. Then he goes into the ramifications and results of deregulating the industry, both in regards to the consumer, and in deregulation’s impact on the airlines themselves.

“The most …

Travel Marketing: Industry Relationships And Benefits, Andrew N. Vladimir

Hospitality Review

In the discussion - Travel Marketing: Industry Relationships and Benefits - by Andrew Vladimir, Visiting Assistant Professor, School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, the author initially states: “A symbiotic relationship exists among the various segments of the travel and tourism industry. The author has solicited the thinking of 37experts and leaders in the field in a book dealing with these relationships and how they can be developed to benefit the industry. This article provides some salient points from those contributors.”

This article could be considered a primer on networking for the hospitality industry. It has everything to do …

The Nevada Gaming Debt Collection Experience, Larry D. Strate

Hospitality Review

In the discussion - The Nevada Gaming Debt Collection Experience - by Larry D. Strate, Assistant Professor, College of Business and Economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Assistant Professor Strate initially outlines the article by saying: “Even though Nevada has had over a century of legalized gaming experience, the evolution of gaming debt collection has been a recent phenomenon. The author traces that history and discusses implications of the current law.”

The discussion opens with a comparison between the gaming industries of New Jersey/Atlantic City, and Las Vegas, Nevada. This contrast serves to point out the disparities in …

Menu Analysis: Review And Evaluation, Lendal H. Kotschevar

Hospitality Review

In the article - Menu Analysis: Review and Evaluation - by Lendal H. Kotschevar, Distinguished Professor School of Hospitality Management, Florida International University, Kotschevar’s initial statement reads: “Various methods are used to evaluate menus. Some have quite different approaches and give different information. Even those using quite similar methods vary in the information they give. The author attempts to describe the most frequently used methods and to indicate their value. A correlation calculation is made to see how well certain of these methods agree in the information they give.”

There is more than one way to look at the word …

Service Management Concepts: Implications For Hospitality Management , K. Michael Haywood

Hospitality Review

In - Service Management Concepts: Implications for Hospitality Management – a study by K. Michael Haywood, Associate Professor, School of Hotel and Food Administration, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, Associate Professor Haywood initially proffers: “The study and application of hospitality management has progressed on its own for many years; however, managers are not immune to the knowledge gained from study of other service industries. The author synthesizes what is happening in the area of service management, looks at its relevance to hospitality management, and identifies a few important implications of service management for hospitality managers.”

The author draws a distinction …

The Food Service Industry: Beliefs Held By Academics, Jack D. Ninemeier, K. Michael Haywood

Hospitality Review

In his study - The Food Service Industry: Beliefs Held by Academics - by Jack Ninemeier, Associate Professor, School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management at Michigan State University, Associate Professor Ninemeier initially describes his study this way: “Those in the academic sector exert a great deal of influence on those they are training to enter the food service industry. One author surveyed educational institutions across the country to ascertain attitudes of teachers toward various segments of the industry.”

Those essential segments of the industry serve as the underpinnings of this discussion and are four-fold. They are lodging, institutional, multi-unit, …

Recreational Food Service Is Big Business, Gary Horvath, Mickey Warner

Hospitality Review

In the analysis - Recreational Food Service Is Big Business - by Gary Horvath, President, Recreational Foodservice Division, Service America Corporation and Mickey Warner, Associate Professor School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, Horvath and Warner initially state: “Recreational food service is very different from routine food service management. The authors review the market and the management planning and challenges that create that difference.”

Recreational food is loosely defined by the authors as food for special events. These can be one-time events, repeated events that are not on a fixed schedule [i.e. concerts], weekly events such as football-baseball-or basketball …

Adult Alternatives For Social Drinking: A Direction, John R. Dienhart, Sandra Strick

Hospitality Review

In their survey/study - Adult Alternatives for Social Drinking: A Direction - by John Dienhart and Sandra Strick, Assistant Professors, Department of Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management, Purdue University, Dienhart and Strick begin with: “Changes in consumer habits have brought about a change in the business of selling alcoholic drinks and have impacted upon hotel food and beverage operations. The authors surveyed a sample of hotel corporate food and beverage directors to ascertain how they are handling this challenge.”

Dienhart and Strick declare that the alcoholic beverage market, sale and consumption thereof, has taken a bit of a hit in …

Database System For Alumni Tracking, Steven V. Moll

Hospitality Review

In their discussion - Database System for Alumni Tracking - by Steven Moll, Associate Professor and William O'Brien, Assistant Professor, School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, Professors Moll and O’Brien initially state: “The authors describe a unique database program which was created to solve problems associated with tracking hospitality majors subsequent to graduation.”

“…and please, whatever you do, keep in touch with your school; join an alum’ organization. It is a great way to engage the resources of your school to help further your career,” says Professor Claudia Castillo in addressing a group of students attending her Life …

Implementing Employee Drug And Alcohol Testing: Implications For Hotel Managers, Kye-Sung Chon, Lynn F. Jacob

Hospitality Review

Abuse of drugs and alcohol in the workplace has reached epidemic proportions in the hotel industry. The authors review considerations for drug testing and discuss drug and alcohol testing methods and the manner in which an effective policy should be developed.

Fast-Food Franchises: An Alternative Menu For Hotel/Casinos, Larry D. Strate, Francis X. Brown

Hospitality Review

In their discussion - Fast-Food Franchises: An Alternative Menu for Hotel/Casinos - by Skip Swerdlow, Assistant Professor of Finance, Larry Strate, Assistant Professor of Business Law, and Francis X. Brown, Assistant Professor of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, their preview reads: Hotel/casino food service operations are adding some non-traditional fare to their daily offerings in the form of fast-food franchises. The authors review aspects of franchising and cite some new Las Vegas food ideas.”

The authors offer that the statewide food and beverage figures, according to the Nevada Gaming Abstract of 1985, exceeded $1.24 billion. Most …