Bridging hospitality education and the industry in Taiwan: competency assessment for entry-level lodging managerial trainees

The focus of this study was to determine the essential competencies needed by entry level lodging managers in Taiwan, ROC. Input was gathered from lodging industry professionals and hospitality academic educators. In Phase I, an expert panel consisting of 13 lodging industry professionals and 10 hospitality management academic educators was assembled for a modified three-round Delphi study. The results of this study were 60 agreed-upon competency statements that were then prioritized based on the perceptions of the expert panel. These statements reflected the essential competencies for entry-level lodging management trainees. Utilizing the results and competencies from Phase I, Phase 11 investigated the gaps that existed between lodging management personnel's perceptions and those of hospitality management academic educators regarding the competencies of entry-level lodging managerial trainees. A five-point Likert scale was used in weighting the competency statements. All the competency statements were prioritized and reported. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to test relationship between two different respondent groups. The instrument's reliability was reported at alpha = .963. There was consensus on 44 of the competencies with significant differences occurring between the remaining 16 competencies. Further discussion between industry and academic representatives will allow the development of a complete and meaningful competency foundation for the hospitality management programs in Taiwan.