BA (Hons) International Hospitality & Business Management

Program Overview

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This innovative joint degree in International Hospitality and Business Management from Bournemouth University combines the study of hospitality and business, opening up a wide range of employment options. Graduates gain a broad understanding of the hospitality industry, develop invaluable business skills, and benefit from industry connections and practical work experience to enhance their employability.

Program Outline

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BA (Hons) International Hospitality and Business Management - Bournemouth University

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Degree Overview:

This innovative and exciting joint degree allows you to study Hospitality and Business together. It will allow you to develop a broad range of knowledge and skills, opening up a wide variety of employment options.

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Objectives:

• Combine the study of hospitality and business to broaden your expertise and skills in both areas.
• Learn about the hospitality business from leading industry speakers and events, 'live' scenarios and visits in the local area.
• Develop invaluable business skills such as team working, communication and problem-solving skills.
• Experience working for 30 weeks in a real-world environment, at home or abroad, ensuring you build a network of professional contacts and enhance your employability.

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Outline:

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Foundation Year (Optional):

• Fundamentals of Business & Management: Develops understanding of the business context across industry and sectors globally.
Covers key issues and challenges facing businesses and the role of people in organizations. Explores key functional business areas including marketing, finance, accounting, economics, people management, and organizational behaviour.
• Academic & Professional Practice: Builds confidence in both academic and professional skills.
Covers academic skills required at degree level study and provides practice with support from university services. Develops professional skills through interactions with employers, careers services and online resources.
• Fusion Business Project: Undertakes a business project based on a real issue or problem.
Projects are undertaken in workplaces, community settings or part of research processes related to the chosen field of study. Students are allocated an academic mentor to support them in developing and undertaking the project.

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Year 1:

• Contemporary Hospitality: Develops detailed knowledge of current operators and markets in the hospitality industry.
Focuses on global issues affecting the hotel and food industry, including innovation and sustainability.
• Hospitality & Food Operations: Combines lab-based learning, lectures, seminars and industry-focused research exercises to develop knowledge and understanding of operations within hospitality environments.
Encourages informed and responsible attitudes to current issues and the relationship between food and health.
• Global Business Environment: Introduces the fundamentals of the external global business context, enabling students to understand business-related political, economic, social and technological news stories and developments.
• Developing Management Competencies: Exposes students to real-life business and management challenges, enabling them to develop interpersonal, organizational, transferable, creative and reflective learning skills.
• Fundamentals of Marketing: Identifies interesting marketing problems, understands the range of marketing solutions available, and learns how to develop appropriate marketing strategies by focusing on real-life case studies.

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Year 2:

• Core Units:
Includes practical skills development in the Food Management Studio and designing and pitching a live hospitality event.
• Managing People in Tourism & Hospitality: Develops awareness and understanding of managing people in tourism and hospitality contexts, introducing principles and practices of contemporary human resource management.
• Consumer Behaviour in Tourism & Hospitality: Focuses on individual and social processes that influence human behaviour in the hospitality and tourism industries.
Develops skills to understand and profile the consumer and evaluate industry practices to cope with changing consumer behaviour.
• Strategic Management: Develops the ability to apply tools and techniques to critically analyze the organization and its environment, learning about the development of competitive marketing strategy and operations.
• Business Accounting: Develops a solid foundation in the fundamentals of financial and management accounting, together with a basic understanding of the regulatory framework.
Develops knowledge and skills to progress to further study of financial reporting and/or financial analysis.
• Option Units (Choose One):
• Branding & Integrated Communications:
Covers strategic issues of integration and planning, as well as tactical considerations needed to execute relevant marketing communications campaigns that meet consumer needs.
• Project Management: Develops critical awareness of project management, understanding the role and responsibilities of different stakeholders.
Evaluates techniques for effective project management in the context of organizational change and complexity.
• Supply Chain Management: Explores and evaluates key elements of supply chain management to understand how firms can match the flow of materials, products and services with customer demand.

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Placement Year (Optional):

• A minimum 30-week supervised work placement in the UK or overseas.
• Provides the opportunity to turn theory into practice in a business environment.
• Gains practical experience that could help secure a management-level position immediately after graduating.

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Final Year:

• Core Units (Choose One):
• Dissertation (Tourism and Hospitality):
Independent research involving collecting, interpreting and analyzing data. Develops analytical and problem-solving skills, critical attitude to research methods, and ethical issues associated with researching.
• Consultancy Project (Tourism and Hospitality): Working to a brief set by an industry partner, both individually and in teams, develops awareness, understanding and appreciation of business decision making and the ability to consult within the tourism and hospitality sector.
Also develops project management, analytical and interpersonal skills.
• Core Units:
• Issues & Futures in Hospitality:
Draws on current innovations and ideas, considering their application and implementation within a hospitality context. Critically analyzes contemporary and future issues and reflects on their impact on business and management careers.
• Organizational Leadership: Critically explores leadership styles, theories and followership concepts in a range of organizational contexts.
• Option Units (Choose One):
• Digital Marketing:
Equips students with technical skills and conceptual understanding of how to engage effectively in digital marketing.
• International Human Resource Management in Tourism, Hospitality & Events: Addresses current human resource management opportunities and challenges, shaping the international hospitality and tourism industries and organizations.
Provides a forum for critical analysis and reflection on relevant issues and their impact on business and management careers.
• Visitor Attraction Management: Explores factors and issues that influence the development and management of visitor attractions in the UK and other countries.
Develops awareness, understanding and appreciation of principles and practices relating to the development and management of visitor attractions.
• Tourism & Hospitality Design: Explores factors and issues that influence the development and management of visitor attractions in the UK and other countries.
Develops awareness, understanding and appreciation of principles and practices relating to the development and management of visitor attractions. Provides skills in strategically managing the key elements of global marketing.
• Global Supply Chain Management: Develops a strategic understanding of global supply chain management through planning, sourcing, making, delivering and returning products and services.
• International Management: Focuses on practical aspects of management, teaching training and development in the contemporary global organization, looking at global management policies, practices and processes.

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Assessment:

• Details of the assessment methods and contact hours for each unit of the course can be found in the programme specification.
• Assessment methods may include exams, coursework, presentations, group projects, and individual assignments.

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Teaching:

• Taught by a range of staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit.
• Includes senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners, demonstrators, technicians and research students.
• Benefits from regular guest lectures from industry.

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Careers:

• Opens doors to a wide range of careers.
• Extensive links with the hospitality industry mean that graduates are in demand.
• Graduates can work with major hotel chains or restaurants in a range of managerial positions.
• The degree prepares graduates for a job in any organization (whether large or small) and in a wide range of sectors.

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Potential Job Roles:

• Hospitality:
• General Manager
• Marketing Manager
• Restaurant Manager
• Room Manager
• Conference and Exhibition Organiser
• Sales and Marketing Administrator
• Events Coordinator
• Business:
• Account Executive
• Account Manager
• Business Analyst
• Business Development Assistant
• Operations Manager

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Industries Worked In:

• Graduates work in a range of positions across the hospitality sector.
• Employers include global hotel chains, premium independent hotels, and a range of restaurant/food service companies.
• Business graduates have gone on to positions in a range of organizations in a wide range of sectors.
• Some graduates have set up and now manage their own businesses around the world.

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Further Study:

• Graduates can further develop their education by studying for a postgraduate degree.
• Bournemouth University offers a range of Master’s degrees.
• Graduates can choose to undertake an MRes or PhD level research degree.

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Other:

• The Tourism Department at BU is recognized as an Institute of Travel & Tourism (ITT) Centre of Excellence.
• The BU Business School is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
• The course includes a minimum 6-week work placement on the 3-year degree or a minimum 30-week professional work placement on the 4-year degree.
• Students have the option to undertake their placement abroad.
• The faculty running the course offers the support of a Placement Co-ordinator.
• The CareersBU service is available throughout students' time at BU, offering services like CV checking and careers fairs to meet employers.
• Placement Development Advisors support students once they have started their sandwich placement.