Postgraduate Diploma in Hospitality Management

Hospitality organisations are operating in an ever-changing environment and competition is becoming more fierce by the day. These organisations have to prepare themselves for a volatile and uncertain future where only the best of these organisations will be able to survive. The purpose of this module is to equip graduates with advanced knowledge through practical, real-life, strategic management-related problems and solutions. Students will acquire knowledge of the underlying theoretical principles regarding the strategic management process focusing on issues such as vision and mission statements, and the formulation and implementation of strategies. The strategy review will be analysed and selected in a hospitality organisational context, as well as the crisis management in dealing with practical experiences to assist managers with strategic issues.

Society allows hospitality organisations to exist and operate in a community, therefore hospitality organisations have a social obligation and responsibility to society and its community by being accountable for not only the product and services they deliver but also to be responsible for ecological, environmental and social costs resulting from their actions. The concept of corporate social responsibility means that hospitality organisations will need to implement socially responsible practices into their business. They need to take responsibility for all actions related to society focusing on people (community), environment and ethics. The module contributes to the development of the student to demonstrate the competencies needed to identify, select and apply Corporate Social Responsibility concepts and strategies that will emphasise their contribution and accountability to a hospitality organisation through its core business activities, its social investment, and its engagement in worthy causes. The student will also need to demonstrate the ability of a hospitality organisation to operate effectively within a system, and/or manage a system based on the roles and relationships between the organisation and the community in which it is operating.

Buildings, equipment or services that provide a particular purpose are part of hospitality facilities and these can be complex and unique. These facilities play a critical role as they provide an appealing visual environment that contributes to the overall ambience, experience and comfort of a guest. Creating and managing a hospitality facility requires special knowledge, skills and dedication. The module contributes to the development of the student through the ability to demonstrate substantial knowledge and subsequent application through comprehensive and critical engagement of the functions, interventions, and new trends related to the effective and current management of facilities in the hospitality organisation.

Human resource management (HRM) in the hospitality industry has to continue supporting employees throughout their employment, ensuring employee satisfaction, growth opportunities and career development training where appropriate, ironing out payroll issues and implementing benefits schemes. The industry requires people who are willing to provide the quality service needed to ensure competitiveness and sustainability in the organisation. Not only does human resources management in the hospitality industry play an essential role in keeping employees satisfied so that they can maintain the excellent reputation of the organisation, but it also ensures that employees will behave appropriately to fulfil and exceed the guests’ expectations. Strategic HRM refers to Human Resource that is coordinated and consistent with the overall business objectives in order to improve business performance. This module contributes to the development of the student through the ability to demonstrate comprehensive and effective engagement with human resources development practices and strategies. This engagement will provide students with the required competence regarding the combination of the organisational structure, control systems, culture and human resources management system that hospitality managers develop to use resources efficiently and effectively.

Hospitality organisations have historically had a dramatic impact on the environment through energy and water consumption. Organisations realise that they have to take responsibility by becoming sustainable and eco-friendly and that can only be done by reducing the environmental impact through green practices in maintenance, services, logistics, products and supplies. The module contributes to the development of the student through the ability to demonstrate comprehensive engagement with critical issues as these pertain to the green revolution in the hospitality industry, and the importance of reducing the environmental impact through green practices. Students engage with applicable methods and techniques, with the core elements revolving around reducing waste, saving energy and cutting down on water usage.

The tourism and hospitality industry has evolved over the years. Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship are seen as the engines that contribute to the success of any industry or economy on a national and global level, as entrepreneurship generates economic growth and ensures economic and socio-economic development in societies. The hospitality industry in particular lends itself to entrepreneurship. The module contributes to the development of the student to use a range of specialised skills to assess processes and manage information regarding hospitality opportunities that arise out of market dynamics or inefficiencies. The student builds the capability to detect and focus on opportunities and a combination of resources in the hospitality industry, seize these and transform them into new ventures.

Globally, the majority of organisations have entered the digital era. Successful hospitality organisations learned that the ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with their target market is critical to their success, thus to gain a competitive advantage these organisations are now investing wisely in digital marketing. Hospitality managers rely on management software to operate and run their businesses. Digital marketing in hospitality is used to promote products, services and brands online through the use of various tools. The module contributes to the development of the student to engage with aspects related to digital hospitality marketing. The student will show the ability to investigate and focus on critical digital marketing trends by analysing these trends and selecting appropriate pathways to become innovative, competitive and sustainable in the hospitality industry.

Operations management in the hospitality industry involves the planning, coordinating and control of transforming resources and processes to ensure that these converted resources/inputs are transformed into finished products and services. The operation management process includes essential activities to create, design, manage and deliver a product and or service appropriate to the hospitality organisation. The module contributes to the development of the graduate through the ability to demonstrate the mental agility to follow scaffolded steps to design interventions and new trends by covering the essentials of various areas in a hospitality organisation related to operations management. This will develop the graduate to identify and describe, but also to investigate and apply current interventions and trends in the industry, analyse the interventions and trends and enable the student to select the way forward that will ensure competitiveness and sustainability in a hospitality organisation.

Leading hospitality organisations have found that there are key principles that will ensure guest/customer satisfaction, retention and relationships. These key principles are related to organisational behaviour, and how management and employees interact with one another inside the organisation will subsequently influence the effectiveness of how the business operates. The module contributes to the development of the student through the ability to demonstrate insight into the importance of human behaviour in leading hospitality organisations as it relates to system elements, such as structure, technology and the external social system. Students will strategically analyse cultural components and make choices regarding these components and systems.

The purpose of this module is to equip students with the applied competence to demonstrate knowledge of and ability to use a range of specialised skills, such as an understanding, selection, and application of research theories, methodologies, methods and techniques appropriate to a specific field, discipline or practice. Learners will identify, analyse and address complex or abstract problems drawing systematically on a body of knowledge and methods appropriate to a field, discipline or practice.

The purpose of this module is to support students as they embark on a research proposal writing process, following a phased process and incorporating various research-related competencies in order to formulate a research problem, apply multiple research concepts, and compile and present this research proposal according to specific criteria. The module is intended to expose students to multiple research concepts so that they will build solid research-related competencies that can then be translated from theoretical to practical application in their own research engagement. The module further contributes to the purpose of the qualification in that it prepares students to embark on studies at the Master’s and Doctoral levels and the increasing complexity of learning and assessment practices across the programme and into further studies. In addition, the module will develop learners to solve complex problems in the world of work, irrespective of whether they embark on further studies. Finally, the module addresses sufficient ethical research issues to develop personal and professional ethics in our students.

The purpose of this module is to support students as they embark on a research proposal writing process, following a phased process and incorporating various research-related competencies in order to formulate a research problem, apply multiple research concepts, and compile and present this research proposal according to specific criteria. The module is intended to expose students to multiple research concepts so that they will build solid research-related competencies that can then be translated from theoretical to practical application in their own research engagement. The module further contributes to the purpose of the qualification in that it prepares students to embark on studies at the Master’s and Doctoral levels and the increasing complexity of learning and assessment practices across the programme and into further studies. In addition, the module will develop learners to solve complex problems in the world of work, irrespective of whether they embark on further studies. Finally, the module addresses sufficient ethical research issues to develop personal and professional ethics in our students.