HMD-171 -- Semester Project Guidelines Shadow a Manager in the Hospitality Industry 1. Each student will make contact with a manager in the hospitality industry and shadow that individual for a minimum of three (3) hours. This will entail being with the manager for the entire period to determine the duties and responsibilities of that individual. (Note: The time spent with the manager needs to be continuous.) A 1200 to 1600-word report (not counting the cover page or any attachments) will be written describing what was learned/observed during the shadowing time. See paragraph number 12 below for guidelines on how to format the paper. 2. It is incumbent on the student to find a manager in the sector of the hospitality industry in which you are interested. You may use restaurants, hotels, hospitals, airline feeding, recreation, tourism etc. First make contact with a manager in the area of your choice. Explain to them the objectives of this project. Negotiate a time that is mutually convenient for both you and the manager. You want to find the time where you will see the most in terms of what the manager does. Remember, you need to be the one who is most flexible. 3. There is no problem with two or three students shadowing a manager at the same time as long as the manager knows in advance and approves. Please keep in mind that all reports must be written independently -- you may not collaborate on reports (that would be considered cheating). 4. When you do your shadow project, you are representing the Hospitality Management program at Western as well as yourself. As our representative, you must be professionally/appropriately dressed and demonstrate professional conduct at all times. Remember, the managers you are shadowing are potential future employers and they are evaluating you as well as our program. 5. If you are already working in any segment of the hospitality industry, you may not choose a manager in your current place of work. For example, if you currently work or have a lot of experience in the hotel side of the industry, it is to your advantage to choose the restaurant side to do your project so you have the opportunity to learn more. Don't assume you will only like one side of the industry just because the majority of your experience is there. Once you commit to either hotel or restaurant and begin accumulating experience in that sector, it becomes increasingly more difficult and threatening to switch. 6. You can also shadow a manager in a different sector of the same industry. For example, if your experience is in the quick service sector of the restaurant industry, you can choose a different sector such as a casual dinner house or fine dining manager to shadow. Whatever the case, you may not shadow a manager in the unit where you currently work. 7. The objectives of this project are: * To determine the roles and responsibilities of a general manager in the hospitality industry. * To determine if the hospitality industry is the professional area for you. * To determine if a given sector of the hospitality (either food and beverage or hotel/motels) is for you. * To see what it takes to be a manager in the hospitality industry and to evaluate if you have what it takes. 8. When you are spending time with the manager, keep in mind that he/she is also forming an impression of you. You may want to parlay this contact into a practicum/internship/job later on. Think about questions to ask before you go so you are prepared. Look sharp -- be sharp! 9. Some areas to address in your report include (but are not limited to) the following. Address only the areas that apply to your situation. For example, "number of covers" applies to restaurants and "rooms occupied" applies to lodging operations. For approximately the first half page, you need to describe the operation where you are shadowing. This would include (as appropriate) some of the following information: * Description of the location and local trading area -- who is their competition * For restaurants/food service operations: The number of seats, average number of covers served per day/meal, approximate dollar volume per week/month, food cost percentage, beverage cost percentage, labor cost percentage, number of employees, number of managers -- as available to the student. * For lodging operations: The average number of rooms occupied per day/week/month, RevPar, ADR, number of rooms cleaned per housekeeper, number of guests per occupied room, approximate dollar volume per week/month -- as available to the student. For the financial aspects, some managers may not want to share this information for proprietary reasons. Tell them that you don't need exact figures but approximate figures. If they are still reluctant to provide this information, ask them what they would consider good performance figures for an operation their size and/or what their target goals are. * What are the typical problems they face in any given day * What are the most critical problems they have to deal with on an ongoing basis * Where do they have management jobs/opportunities in their organization * What is their opinion of the restaurant/hotel/tourism industry as a place for employment and why * What is their opinion of the future of the industry * What are their typical daily responsibilities * How many people do they supervise * How many hours per week do they work * What methods do they use to control costs * Observe and evaluate the traffic flow throughout the organization -- comment as appropriate * What do they like best about their job and why * What do they like least about their job and why * What personal characteristics and competencies should an individual have in order to make it in the hospitality industry Be sure to think about what you would want to know and learn before you shadow the manager. Have your questions ready and write down the answers so you don't forget them. 10. When you write your paper, keep in mind that this project is intended to give you an in- depth look at what a manager in the hospitality industry does in a day. Be sure to capture this information in your paper. Also, do not use a question and answer format when writing your paper. This paper is an essay paper and should not be written as if you are talking to the instructor. Avoid using the words "I" and "you" in the paper. 11. On a separate page at the end of your paper, list the complete name of the manager you shadowed, his/her title, name of the business where the manager works, business address, and the business telephone number where the manager can be reached. If this information is not included with the paper and I have to ask for it, you will lose five point from your grade. 12. Paper Format Checklist * The paper should be typed in Word or saved as a Word or Rich Text Format document (either .doc, docx. or .rtf is fine). Using another word processor such as Works is fine, just save your document as a Word or Rich Text Format file. I cannot read Works files so please don't send a file in Works format. You will then ATTACH the file to an email message and send it to the instructor. Do not "copy and paste" the paper into an email message -- it must be attached as a complete file. The subject of the email message must be: HMD 171 / Your Name / Semester Project. If you do not know how to attach a file or how to save a Works file in Word format, contact the instructor for assistance. * The paper is to be typewritten double-spaced with 1" margins on each side (top, bottom, left and right). Note: if you use Word 2003, the default margins are set for 1.25 inches so they must be adjusted. To adjust the margins, never, ever use the little sliders at the top of the editing page. Click on the word "File" at the top left of the screen, then "Page Setup" and then fix the margins there. * You must use the Arial type-face only -- no other font-faces are acceptable. Also, the font size must be 11 points -- no bigger or smaller. Note: Word typically defaults to Times New Roman, 12 points -- you must change the defaults for this paper. * Your paper must include a cover page with a title for your project (the cover page is the first page in the file -- not the last), name of organization where you shadowed the manager, your name and date. DO NOT type any "cover page" information such as your name, title of the paper, etc. on the first page of the paper. The typed paper begins on the first line of the page after the cover page. Papers should be written using good grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and spelling since English usage will count 35% of the grade on the paper. 65% of the grade will focus on how much you learned from your observations. * Short papers will detract from the content grade so be sure you have at least 1200 words with the correct margins and font size. For example, a paper that is only 1000 words instead of 1200, starts at a grade of 83% instead of 100%. * On a separate page at the end of the report, include the following information: The actual date and hours you shadowed the manager; and the name, title, place of work, address, and phone number of the manager. This page is considered an attachment and not counted as part of the paper. If this information is not included with the paper, the paper will not be graded until the information is received. Five points will be deducted from the paper's grade if this information is not included as part of the original file. * All papers must be sent to the course email address as an attached file. Do not type the paper in the email message itself -- it must be an attached file. * Please note, if I have to adjust the margins, font-face, font-size or any formatting problems with the paper, you will automatically lose five points off the grade for each item I have to change.

HMD-171 -- Semester Project Guidelines Shadow a Manager in the Hospitality Industry 1. Each student will make contact with a manager in the hospitality industry and shadow that individual for a minimum of three (3) hours. This will entail being with the manager for the entire period to determine the duties and responsibilities of that individual. (Note: The time spent with the manager needs to be continuous.) A 1200 to 1600-word report (not counting the cover page or any attachments) will be written describing what was learned/observed during the shadowing time. See paragraph number 12 below for guidelines on how to format the paper. 2. It is incumbent on the student to find a manager in the sector of the hospitality industry in which you are interested. You may use restaurants, hotels, hospitals, airline feeding, recreation, tourism etc. First make contact with a manager in the area of your choice. Explain to them the objectives of this project. Negotiate a time that is mutually convenient for both you and the manager. You want to find the time where you will see the most in terms of what the manager does. Remember, you need to be the one who is most flexible. 3. There is no problem with two or three students shadowing a manager at the same time as long as the manager knows in advance and approves. Please keep in mind that all reports must be written independently -- you may not collaborate on reports (that would be considered cheating). 4. When you do your shadow project, you are representing the Hospitality Management program at Western as well as yourself. As our representative, you must be professionally/appropriately dressed and demonstrate professional conduct at all times. Remember, the managers you are shadowing are potential future employers and they are evaluating you as well as our program. 5. If you are already working in any segment of the hospitality industry, you may not choose a manager in your current place of work. For example, if you currently work or have a lot of experience in the hotel side of the industry, it is to your advantage to choose the restaurant side to do your project so you have the opportunity to learn more. Don't assume you will only like one side of the industry just because the majority of your experience is there. Once you commit to either hotel or restaurant and begin accumulating experience in that sector, it becomes increasingly more difficult and threatening to switch. 6. You can also shadow a manager in a different sector of the same industry. For example, if your experience is in the quick service sector of the restaurant industry, you can choose a different sector such as a casual dinner house or fine dining manager to shadow. Whatever the case, you may not shadow a manager in the unit where you currently work. 7. The objectives of this project are: * To determine the roles and responsibilities of a general manager in the hospitality industry. * To determine if the hospitality industry is the professional area for you. * To determine if a given sector of the hospitality (either food and beverage or hotel/motels) is for you. * To see what it takes to be a manager in the hospitality industry and to evaluate if you have what it takes. 8. When you are spending time with the manager, keep in mind that he/she is also forming an impression of you. You may want to parlay this contact into a practicum/internship/job later on. Think about questions to ask before you go so you are prepared. Look sharp -- be sharp! 9. Some areas to address in your report include (but are not limited to) the following. Address only the areas that apply to your situation. For example, "number of covers" applies to restaurants and "rooms occupied" applies to lodging operations. For approximately the first half page, you need to describe the operation where you are shadowing. This would include (as appropriate) some of the following information: * Description of the location and local trading area -- who is their competition * For restaurants/food service operations: The number of seats, average number of covers served per day/meal, approximate dollar volume per week/month, food cost percentage, beverage cost percentage, labor cost percentage, number of employees, number of managers -- as available to the student. * For lodging operations: The average number of rooms occupied per day/week/month, RevPar, ADR, number of rooms cleaned per housekeeper, number of guests per occupied room, approximate dollar volume per week/month -- as available to the student. For the financial aspects, some managers may not want to share this information for proprietary reasons. Tell them that you don't need exact figures but approximate figures. If they are still reluctant to provide this information, ask them what they would consider good performance figures for an operation their size and/or what their target goals are. * What are the typical problems they face in any given day * What are the most critical problems they have to deal with on an ongoing basis * Where do they have management jobs/opportunities in their organization * What is their opinion of the restaurant/hotel/tourism industry as a place for employment and why * What is their opinion of the future of the industry * What are their typical daily responsibilities * How many people do they supervise * How many hours per week do they work * What methods do they use to control costs * Observe and evaluate the traffic flow throughout the organization -- comment as appropriate * What do they like best about their job and why * What do they like least about their job and why * What personal characteristics and competencies should an individual have in order to make it in the hospitality industry Be sure to think about what you would want to know and learn before you shadow the manager. Have your questions ready and write down the answers so you don't forget them. 10. When you write your paper, keep in mind that this project is intended to give you an in- depth look at what a manager in the hospitality industry does in a day. Be sure to capture this information in your paper. Also, do not use a question and answer format when writing your paper. This paper is an essay paper and should not be written as if you are talking to the instructor. Avoid using the words "I" and "you" in the paper. 11. On a separate page at the end of your paper, list the complete name of the manager you shadowed, his/her title, name of the business where the manager works, business address, and the business telephone number where the manager can be reached. If this information is not included with the paper and I have to ask for it, you will lose five point from your grade. 12. Paper Format Checklist * The paper should be typed in Word or saved as a Word or Rich Text Format document (either .doc, docx. or .rtf is fine). Using another word processor such as Works is fine, just save your document as a Word or Rich Text Format file. I cannot read Works files so please don't send a file in Works format. You will then ATTACH the file to an email message and send it to the instructor. Do not "copy and paste" the paper into an email message -- it must be attached as a complete file. The subject of the email message must be: HMD 171 / Your Name / Semester Project. If you do not know how to attach a file or how to save a Works file in Word format, contact the instructor for assistance. * The paper is to be typewritten double-spaced with 1" margins on each side (top, bottom, left and right). Note: if you use Word 2003, the default margins are set for 1.25 inches so they must be adjusted. To adjust the margins, never, ever use the little sliders at the top of the editing page. Click on the word "File" at the top left of the screen, then "Page Setup" and then fix the margins there. * You must use the Arial type-face only -- no other font-faces are acceptable. Also, the font size must be 11 points -- no bigger or smaller. Note: Word typically defaults to Times New Roman, 12 points -- you must change the defaults for this paper. * Your paper must include a cover page with a title for your project (the cover page is the first page in the file -- not the last), name of organization where you shadowed the manager, your name and date. DO NOT type any "cover page" information such as your name, title of the paper, etc. on the first page of the paper. The typed paper begins on the first line of the page after the cover page. Papers should be written using good grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and spelling since English usage will count 35% of the grade on the paper. 65% of the grade will focus on how much you learned from your observations. * Short papers will detract from the content grade so be sure you have at least 1200 words with the correct margins and font size. For example, a paper that is only 1000 words instead of 1200, starts at a grade of 83% instead of 100%. * On a separate page at the end of the report, include the following information: The actual date and hours you shadowed the manager; and the name, title, place of work, address, and phone number of the manager. This page is considered an attachment and not counted as part of the paper. If this information is not included with the paper, the paper will not be graded until the information is received. Five points will be deducted from the paper's grade if this information is not included as part of the original file. * All papers must be sent to the course email address as an attached file. Do not type the paper in the email message itself -- it must be an attached file. * Please note, if I have to adjust the margins, font-face, font-size or any formatting problems with the paper, you will automatically lose five points off the grade for each item I have to change.