effect of internship on career perception of hotel ...

ZENITH International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research _______________ISSN 2231-5780

Vol.3 (10), October (2013) Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

EFFECT OF INTERNSHIP ON CAREER PERCEPTION OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT STUDENTS AMIT DATTA*; SUMIT KUMAR BISWAKARMA**; DR. BANDANA NAYAK*** *PH.D RESEARCH SCHOLAR (SOA UNIVERSITY, BHUBANESWAR) ASSISTANT PROFESSOR - NSHM SCHOOL OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT ARRAH, SHIBTALA, DURGAPUR **PH.D RESEARCH SCHOLAR (IGNOU, NEW DELHI) ASSISTANT PROFESSOR - NSHM SCHOOL OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT ARRAH, SHIBTALA, DURGAPUR ***ASSISTANT PROFESSOR – IBCS, SOA UNIVERSITY KALINGA NAGAR, BHUBANESWAR, ODISHA

ABSTRACT The Hotel Industry is growing. To manage this growth the demand for fresh graduates is increasing. To meet the demands hotel schools are responsible for providing skilled manpower. Like other professional courses, hotel management students undergo internship in various hotels to know about the operational skills which are not possible in hotel schools. However, it is quite evident that there is a difference in their career expectation after they complete their internship. The study aims to identify the differences in their perception about their career in the hotel industry. The study hopes to bring out the general opinion student show toward the hospitality business in terms of the image attached to the industry and the possible level of commitment these students will have in pursuing a career once they graduate. A sample of hotel management students participated in this study. A questionnaire was administered to students who have completed their internship and those yet to undergo. Questions were focused on the factors like working conditions, learning opportunities, compensation that affect career in the hotel industry. Students believe it to be a growing industry with immense opportunities for employment. A good percentage of students responded favorably toward working in the industry. There was a differences in expectation between had completed and who were yet to undergo industrial training. The students who had completed their training had a more negative perspective towards the hotel industry. Similarly, level of commitment varied between pre and post training students with the students who already completed their internship showing less inclination to work in the near future in the industry. The research work will try to bring out the challenges that need to be addressed as hotel managements students are the key manpower for the sustainability of the industry. KEYWORDS: Hotel Industry, Internship, Career Perception, Hotel Management Students ______________________________________________________________________________

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INTRODUCTION Hospitality industry is a service industry where having a skilled, enthusiastic and committed workforce is important to the success of the industry. The employee service quality has a direct linkage to customer satisfaction and loyalty (Richardson, 2009). Hotel schools are the source of this industry for getting their future skilled employees. Charles (1992) study indicates that if the professional students‟ expectation is not matching the industry offerings that will lead to the increase of dissatisfaction level which will lead to high attrition rate or unwillingness of the students to join the industry. Hospitality industry for its own survival has to understand the hotel management students‟ future career perception; as these students are the potential hotel employees. The study of (Getz, 1994 and Jenkins, 2001) reveals that the students who enter the hospitality management courses joins with high career perception but by the time they graduate there is a growth of negative perception amongst the student about the hospitality industry. In this study the authors wants to understand whether internship has an impact over this change of career perception amongst the student. The purpose of this study is to understand whether there is a gap on the career perception of the students before going for the industrial training and after they return from the industrial training. This study will also indicate that whether the purpose of sending the students to industrial training for gaining real situation exposure actually been fulfilled or it is changing the perception of the student about the hotel industry which in turn leading to the growth of turnover tendency amongst the student. UNDERSTANDING INTERNSHIP (National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 2010) issued a position statement on internships: “An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent”. Internship is important and it benefits all three stakeholders. For employers, internship provides enthusiastic and dedicated workers who will assist the existing employees and take a share of the work load, so the industry could manage with few less employees. The industry during this period also can train their future employees and groom them as per their requirement and standard without actually making long term commitments (Pauze, Johnson, & Miller, 1989; Petrillose & Montgomery, 1998; Ju, Emenheiser, Clayton & Reynolds, 1998/99). For education providers, internship increases industry – institution link. This can enhance collaborative research opportunities, raise the institution‟s profile and establish long term working relationships between industry and the institution to maximize their students‟ placement opportunities (Bell & Schmidt, 1996; Walo, 1999). 51



For students, internship provides a platform to practice what they have learnt in the institution, cope up with industries‟ requirements, set up their career choices and develop hands-on skills (Casado, 1991; Barron & Maxwell, 1993; Emenheiser, Clayton, & Tas, 1997; Petrillose & Montgomery, 1998; Barron, 1999). REVIEW OF LITERATURE Ross (1994) study revealed that hospitality profession is treated as a glamorous one and the students are attracted to join the hotel schools with the perception of achieving a great career prospect in the hospitality industry. Purcell and Quinn (1996) study indicates that the main factors that attract students towards hotel management education is their perceptions about the industry. Lewis and Airey (2000) study indicates that the secondary school students show a positive attitude towards the hospitality industry profession and their perception about the job is that it is interesting, good career opportunity and are well paid. Barron & Maxwell (1993), study on the junior students of hospitality management course who doesn‟t have any industrial exposure shows a very positive perception about the industry. Barron (1997) research on 160 first year hospitality students from Australia indicates that the students felt that employees working in the hotel industry are treated fairly; working environment, career opportunity, career advancement, remuneration of the hotel industry is good. Getz (1994) conducted a study of students in the Spey Valley in Scotland. His study shows that the junior student agreed that hospitality jobs were fulfilling and satisfying. However in later year many students start developing a bad impression of the industry and would like to pursue a higher education and shift to other industry. Jenkins (2001) study also reveals that students‟ interest in the hospitality career tends to decline as they proceed through their years at the institution of learning. Roney and Öztin (2007) study shows that the senior students have more negative perception about the industry. They consider irregular working hours, low pay, hard labor and low job security as the major factor. Lu and Adler (2008) examined future career expectations of hospitality and tourism management students in China. The reasons which the student rated most for their unwillingness to join the industry are unattractive job, low pay and lack of career advancement prospects instead they want to switch to other industry where their earnings would be high. Richardson (2008) study also revealed that the students are keen in switching their career to other industry. Michael Armstrong (2000) opines that training is directly related with the employees„performance. It is a formal and systematic modification of behavior through learning which occurs as result if education, instruction, development, & planned experience.

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Mayo (1997) points that, as hospitality is deeply rooted in action management, the industry does require maintaining certain necessary skills in the curriculum. Baum (1990) believes that even though academics tend to promote the insertion of general management skills in the curriculum, the industry does not show particular interest in the development of high order cognitive skills. Rimmington (1999) argues that hospitality course provides foundation, generic and transferable skills whilst the industry will provide the practice part of the studies, which is twice as important as it gives students the chance to learn in real life and a period of time to reflect upon the reality of their studies. Baum and Nickson (1998) their study points that the greatest challenge is to find the right balance in terms of emphasis to place on different skill sets. In reality, too much emphasis on theory could leave students confused on the relevance of their studies whereas too much focus on the practical side will leave them without the necessary skills to understand the industry. (Beggs, Ross, and Goodwin 2008) noted that internship courses provide learning opportunities for undergraduates to understand professional practice and activities associated with knowledge application. (Lam & Ching, 2007) opines that internship is an integral part of a student‟s career development and may have several positive impacts on students. Lerner (1988) noted that internship provide graduates students with experience in specific areas of career interest and ultimately increase their potential to have a successful career. On the other hand educators believe that real life experiences and professional development are the most beneficial aspects of the internship for hospitality students. Calloway & Beckstead (1995) from the student‟s point of view, internship helps to familiarize them with practical skills, develop social relationships, motivate future learning and develop a socially acceptable personality. Davies (1990) points that internship is a great chance for students to put together knowledge and skills. The learning experience in an internship affects students‟ learning outcomes and attitudes towards their future careers. O‟Driscoll & O‟Connell (2005) Study of the hotel management students‟ perception reveals that student‟s shows eagerness towards working in the industry. Students believe it to be a growing industry with opportunities for employment. Differences exist between junior and final year students in terms of pay, working hours, attitudes towards the industry. Final year students have more negative perception on these factors. Kusluvan (2003) study suggested that it is very vital to understand the career perception of students who are currently pursuing hospitality management course to gain an insight to the 53



reasons why students attitude towards their career in the industry changes drastically that there is a growth of negative impression about the industry and even to the extent of unwillingness to join the hospitality industry at all. Fox (2001) suggested that a terrible internship experience could cause students to change their career path. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: To study the career perception of the hotel management students before they have undergone internship. To compare with the career perception of the students after their completion of internship. To identify the impacts of internship on the students‟ career perception. HYPOTHESIS: Ho: There is no difference of the students‟ career factors perception, pre and post internship. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: For this work an empirical approach was adopted and data collected from the concerned stakeholders on the same areas prior and post internship. The questionnaire was based on 3 point Likert‟s Scale and 60 pre internship students and 60 post internship students were asked to mark their responses. Convenience sampling was adopted and the students had the following characteristics: Both male and female students were included in the study. Questionnaire was explained to the students for getting proper responses. Unwilling students were not included for the questionnaire. Samples were existing undergraduate students of hotel management institutes located in West Bengal. The collected data was properly entered in SPSS 16; for analysis. In statistic Cronbach‟s Alpha which is coefficient of internal consistency is an estimate of reliability of a psychometric test for a set of samples. This is used in social science research work to test the reliability of the set of variables. Value of the Cronbach‟s Alpha ≥ 0.9 is considered as excellent internal consistency. For this research the Cronbach‟s Alpha statistic was implemented

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on the 18 career factor items using the SPSS 16, the value (Table 1) confirms that the reliability of the test to be excellent. Table 1: Reliability Statistics Cronbach’s Alpha

No. of Items

0.958

18

Test statistic which was used is t- test, which shows that there is no difference of the means of the two parameters; for this study between the pre internship students and post internship students. Secondary research was also used and a vast number of literature was reviewed based on which the research objectives were identified and this work designed. DATA ANALYSIS: Test statistic which was used is t- test, which shows that there is no difference of the means of the two parameters; for this study between the pre internship students and post internship students. Secondary research was also used and a vast number of literature was reviewed based on which the research objectives were identified and this work designed. Analyzing the data from the Group Statistic (Table: 2) shows that the mean difference of the two set of students on the 18 career factors before undergoing internship and after completion of internship reveals that both the set of students believe that work of the hotel industry is interesting and hotel staff are friendly. But there is huge contradiction amongst the 2 set on the other career factors. Pre internship students are more inclined towards the positive aspect of the hotel industry; post internship students are not at all favorable about the career factors.

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Table 2: Group Statistics

Career Factors

Internship status

Std.

Std. Error

N

Mean

PRE

60

.87

.503

.065

POST

60

.90

.354

.046

PRE

60

.93

.362

.047

POST

60

.90

.399

.052

Pleasant Working

PRE

60

1.00

.000

.000

Environment

POST

60

-.77

.647

.084

Job Security

PRE

60

1.00

.000

.000

POST

60

-.82

.567

.073

PRE

60

1.00

.000

.000

POST

60

-.83

.526

.068

Career Advancement

PRE

60

1.00

.000

.000

Opportunity

POST

60

-.78

.585

.076

Professional Responsibility

PRE

60

.95

.220

.028

POST

60

-.78

.585

.076

PRE

60

.95

.220

.028

POST

60

-.78

.585

.076

PRE

60

.87

.430

.056

POST

60

-.37

.920

.119

PRE

60

.95

.220

.028

POST

60

-.78

.585

.076

Interesting Work

Friendly Staff

Challenging Job

Work Life Balance

Good Salary

Job Mobility

Deviation Mean

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Social Status

Social Working Hours

Reasonable Work Pressure

Education

Training for Development

Appraisal

Work Benefits

PRE

60

.90

.303

.039

POST

60

-.72

.666

.086

PRE

60

.92

.279

.036

POST

60

-.75

.628

.081

PRE

60

.93

.252

.032

POST

60

-.83

.526

.068

PRE

60

.58

.766

.099

POST

60

-.83

.526

.068

PRE

60

.92

.279

.036

POST

60

-.62

.783

.101

PRE

60

.93

.252

.032

POST

60

-.38

.922

.119

PRE

60

.83

.493

.064

POST

60

-.62

.783

.101

The t test statistics result is considered to be The usual null hypothesis is that the difference in the mean values is zero. A significant difference is found if an alpha level (p-score) is less than 0.05. This test is applicable in this study as it has been tried to determine whether there was significant differences between the student‟s career factor perception before undergoing and after completion of internship.

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Table: 3 Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances Career Factors Equal variance assumed F Interesting Work Friendly Staff Pleasant Working Environment Job Security Challenging Job Career Advancement Opportunity Professional Responsibility Work Life Balance Good Salary Job Mobility Social Status Social Working Hours

yes no yes no yes no

.916 .841 41.378

yes no yes no yes no

30.966

yes no yes no yes no yes no yes no yes no

19.861

29.140 42.598

19.861 88.431 19.861 18.592 16.821

Sig. (p)

t-test for Equality of Means

T

df

.340 -.420 118

95% Confidence Interval of the Sig. Std. Difference (2- Mean Error tailed) Diff Diff Lower Upper .675

-.033

.079

-.191

.124

-.420 105.94 .676 .361 .479 118 .633 .479 116.89 .633 .000 21.136 118 .000

-.033 .033 .033 1.767

.079 .070 .070 .084

-.191 -.104 -.104 1.601

.124 .171 .171 1.932

21.136 59.00 .000

1.767

.084

1.599

1.934

.000 .000 .000 .000 .000

1.817 1.817 1.833 1.833 1.783

.073 .073 .068 .068 .076

1.672 1.670 1.699 1.697 1.634

1.962 1.963 1.968 1.969 1.933

23.618 59.00 .000

1.783

.076

1.632

1.934

1.733 1.733 1.733 1.733 1.233 1.233 1.733 1.733 1.617 1.617 1.667 1.667

.081 .081 .081 .081 .131 .131 .081 .081 .094 .094 .089 .089

1.574 1.573 1.574 1.573 .974 .973 1.574 1.573 1.430 1.429 1.491 1.490

1.893 1.894 1.893 1.894 1.493 1.494 1.893 1.894 1.804 1.805 1.842 1.843

.000 24.808 118 24.808 59.00 .000 26.990 118 26.990 59.00 .000 23.618 118

.000 21.488 118 21.488 75.33 .000 21.488 118 21.488 75.33 .000 9.406 118 9.406 83.65 .000 21.488 118 21.488 75.33 .000 17.116 118 17.116 82.34 .000 18.796 118 18.796 81.39

.000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

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Reasonable Work Pressure Education Training for Development Appraisal Work Benefits

yes no yes no yes no yes no yes no

7.942 16.935 44.707 176.13 15.828

.006 23.465 118 .000 23.465 84.63 .000 .000 11.812 118 .000 11.812 104.56 .000 .000 14.288 118 .000 14.288 73.71 .000 .000 10.669 118 .000 10.669 67.73 .000 .000 12.138 118 .000 12.138 99.40 .000

1.767 1.767 1.417 1.417 1.533 1.533 1.317 1.317 1.450 1.450

.075 .075 .120 .120 .107 .107 .123 .123 .119 .119

1.618 1.617 1.179 1.179 1.321 1.319 1.072 1.070 1.213 1.213

1.916 1.916 1.654 1.654 1.746 1.747 1.561 1.563 1.687 1.687

CONCLUSION: This research paper focused on the career perceptions of the hotel management students. Through the use of a questionnaire, the responses of the two set of students i.e. one who have completed their internship and the other who are yet to undergo were compared and analyzed. This study shows that the overall undergraduate students who are studying hotel management highly disagree what the industry offers them in choosing a future career. Both sets of students expressed a positive perception that the job in hospitality industry is interesting and that they are willing to join the hospitality industry upon completion of their course. This is in contrary to the studies of the authors who had done their work on foreign country which might be that the opportunities and job market in India is not that advance as that of the developed nations. Almost all pre internship students have perceived that hospitality staffs are friendly and helpful which is not so in case of post internship which might be that the students had some bitter experience with the hotel staff during their internship period. Both the sets of students have agreed on the job mobility part. After gaining some years of experience, opportunity of switching hotels is easy. Hotel industry is a growing industry; there are lots of scopes of getting hospitality jobs within India and even abroad in comparison to other industry. All the pre internship students perceive that there is job security in the hotel industry but only half of the post internship student believe that hospitality jobs are secure. Hospitality industry is direct customer oriented industry, where service qualities of the staff are of outmost important and hotel industry does not retain such staffs who do not match their standard level. These students have experienced such situations happening during their industrial training which lead them to this perception. Another reason might be that the hotel where the students have done their internship does not have proper HR practices and such kind of employee termination is a common practice, has affected the student‟s perception. 59



On „training and development‟, „appraisal‟ and „work benefits‟ the post internship students have rated less than their juniors as their perception does not match after their completion of their internship. The post internship students highly disagreed with their junior mates and have negative perception on the factors like „Pleasant working environment‟, „challenging job‟, „career advancement opportunity‟, „professional responsibility‟, „work life balance‟, „social status‟, „social working hours‟, „reasonable work pressure‟ and „education‟. From the point of the post internship students their junior mates have unrealistic view over their career perception. During their internship the students have faced the real life situation of the industry and their illusionistic view about the industry has changed. RECOMMENDATIONS: TO STUDENTS: The student should have the right attitude and take this opportunity to enhance their skills from this firsthand practical experience and explore all the areas of the hotel. The student should take their college education seriously so that they know the basics which will help them to work in the forefront than doing menial jobs. The students should be open minded and understand the industry is not a school for learning. It is a service delivery area where they will not be spoon fed. TO INDUSTRY: They must increase the work pressure upon the capability of the individual student. In case a student is under performing they should counsel the student and guide them accordingly. Industry should not take students as cheap labor but give them proper training and exposure as they are the future employees of this industry. LIMITATION: Like all research, the findings presented here have some limitations, the study is based on a sample of students‟ located in West Bengal of India and cannot be generalized in other parts of India. Since there are very limited papers available on Indian hospitality issues, it was difficult for the researcher to get more literature on the topic on Indian context. Measurement factors derived from secondary data for this study is generally based on study done by researchers of other countries where the scenario is much different than the one in India. Further studies in other states of India are required for complete understanding of the change of hotel management students‟ career perception after returning from internship.

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