HMD-410 -- Internship in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management

1. A report must be written for each two-week period of the ten weeks of the internship (a total of five biweekly reports) The biweekly reports must be typed, double-spaced and must be at least 1225-words in length not including the cover page [one inch margins on all sides and an 11 point Arial font]. Please note that older versions of Word (Word 97 and 2003) defaults to 1.25 inch margins and the Times New Roman font -- you must change these defaults for your reports.

2. Criteria that are to be addressed in the five reports follow. The report is to be in essay (narrative) format so that the answers to these questions are developed into cohesive paragraphs. Questions are not to be answered individually but are to be blended into a narrative which addresses the topic of the report.
   1. Report Number One -- Description of the Operation
      1. Describe the owners of the business, chain affiliation and information about the chain and/or parent organization.

      2. Describe the business where you are working including:
         1. Description of the location and local trading area
         2. Describe the business/venue where you are working including:

         3. For restaurants/food service operations
         1. Type of restaurant such as fast food, casual dinner house, etc.
         2. Square footage of the restaurant/food service
         3. Number of seats/booths, total capacity
         4. Approximate dollar volume per week/month (if available to the student)
         5. Food cost percentage, beverage cost percentage, labor cost percentage, amount of inventory on hand, etc.
         6. Number of people to operate the facility
         7. Any other information the student finds necessary to adequately describe the operation
         4. For hotels and lodging operations
         1. Type of lodging operation such as budget/economy, limited service, full-service, etc.
         2. Number of rooms
         3. Approximate dollar volume per week/month (if available to the student)
         4. Occupancy percentage, ADR, RevPar, number of rooms cleaned per housekeeper every day
         5. A brief description of services and amenities provided
         6. Number of people to operate the facility
         7. Any other information the student finds necessary to adequately describe the operation
         5. For tourism venues
         1. Describe the tourism venue including what it is
         2. Square footage if appropriate
         3. Indicate the number of guests per day, or any other "counts" that would be appropriate performance indicators for the venue
         4. Approximate dollar volume per day/week/month, as appropriate
         5. Cost of admission, entrance fees, etc.
         6. Number of people to operate the facility/operation
         7. Any other information the student finds necessary to adequately describe the operation

      3. Describe the function of the department/area where you are working and how it relates to the entire organization.

      4. Describe the function of your job in relation to the department as a whole.

      5. Discuss the flow of authority and the assignment of responsibility within the organization.

      6. What incidents have occurred while you were on duty? Who handled the incident(s) and how effective were they handled? If you were the manager, how would you have handled the situation?

      7. Provide your analysis of any relevant situation that occurs in the organization.

   2. Report Number Two -- The Organizational Climate
      1. Describe the work environment where you work. Would you describe the work environment at your place of business as pleasant, tough, neutral or threatening? Why?

      2. Do other employees in the organization appear satisfied with their jobs? Explain why.

      3. Do other employees make suggestions to their supervisors? Why or why not?

      4. Do you see any personnel problems in the work environment? If so, what are they and why are they problems? If you were the general manager, what would you do to correct these problems?

      5. To what extent do hourly employees communicate and participate with managers in the management of the facility?

      6. What incidents have occurred while you were on duty? Who handled the incident(s) and how effective were they handled? If you were the manager, how would you have handled the situation?

      7. Provide your analysis of any relevant situation that occurs in the organization.

   3. Report Number Three -- A Marketing Profile
      1. Describe the profile of the guests who patronize your facility.

      2. Who are the target markets for your operation and to whom does it appeal?

      3. What do the guests like and dislike about this operation? What could be done to increase guest satisfaction?

      4. Who are the direct competitors and how do they compare with your organziaton?

      5. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the property in comparison to the competition?

      6. What methods/media are used for advertising and promotion?

      7. What incidents have occurred while you were on duty? Who handled the incident(s) and how effective were they handled? If you were the manager, how would you have handled the situation?

      8. Provide your analysis of any relevant situation that occurs in the organization.

   4. Report Number Four -- Effectiveness of Supervision
      1. How would you characterize your supervisors? Comment on the style of the supervisors in the operation and describe which characteristics you would like to adopt for yourself and why. Which characteristics are not effective? Why not?

      2. Are the supervisors respected by the other employees? Why or why not?

      3. How do supervisors handle guest problems? How would you handle problems differently if you were the supervisor?

      4. Do supervisors provide adequate training for employees?

      5. Are supervisors doing all they can do to retain good employees? Describe what they are doing in this regard. If you were the supervisor, what would you be doing?

      6. What incidents have occurred while you were on duty? Who handled the incident(s) and how effective were they handled? If you were the manager, how would you have handled the situation?

      7. Provide your analysis of any relevant situation that occurs in the organization.

   5. Report Number Five -- Financial and Strategic Management
      1. For hotels, what are the occupancy percentage and the ADR? What is the gross sales for the week, month, year (if available to the student)? Do you consider these figures reasonable, why or why not? For restaurants, what are the food and labor cost percentages? What are the gross sales for the week, month, year (if available to the student)? Do you consider these figures reasonable, why or why not?

      2. What would you do, if you were the general manager, to increase sales and decrease cost?

      3. How are budgets determined? Who is involved in planning the budgets? Is there anyone else who should be involved, if so who and why?

      4. Describe the operational cost control procedures which are used to control the major expense categories. Are they effective? Why or why not?

      5. What are the firm's short term and long term goals and objectives?

      6. What current trends do you see that will have an impact on the business? If you were the general manager, how would you adapt to these trends?

      7. What incidents have occurred while you were on duty? Who handled the incident(s) and how effective were they handled? If you were the manager, how would you have handled the situation?

      8. Provide your analysis of any relevant situation that occurs in the organization.

3. Students are required to submit a 2000-word final report regarding the ten-week internship. This is the sixth and final report. The same report can be submitted to Center for Career and Professional Development to fulfill their requirements. The report should be sent no later than two weeks after the tenth complete week of the internship.

4. The final report is to be in essay (narrative) format which addresses the following questions in well developed and cohesive paragraphs. Questions are not to be answered individually but are to be blended into a narrative description which summarizes your experiences in the internship.
   1. Discuss the degree to which you believe you accomplished your objectives.

   2. How did your internship contribute to your professional goals? Did your career goals change as a result of the internship?

   3. Did what you learned in your internship parallel what you learned at WKU?

   4. Have you acquired any special skills in the internship that you did not already have?

   5. What are some of the most important management skills you think are a must for a successful hospitality manager?

   6. What are some personal characteristics which you believe are necessary for a successful hotel or restaurant manager?

   7. What are the most important learning experiences you had during your internship?

   8. From your experience and observations of the hospitality industry thus far, what changes can we make in the curriculum at Western which would better prepare you for an entry level management position?

   9. Would you recommend this internship site to another student in Western's Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management Program?

5. Reports will cover weeks beginning on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday. They are to be sent to the instructor so they are postmarked no later than the Thursday following the end of the second report week. A total of five (5) biweekly reports will be submitted.

6. The student must have a valid e-mail address where he/she can receive messages in case there is a transmission problem. Students are required to check their preferred email address at least once per day for messages from the instructor.

7. All reports must be either typed or saved in Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) -- no other format is acceptable. I can only read Microsoft Word files -- not Works. If you use Works or any other word processor (which is not a problem) just be sure to save the file in Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text (.rtf) format. If you don't know how to do this, contact the instructor for assistance. Please note, if you send a file in Works or other non-approved format, it will not be accepted. Also, reports must be sent as an attached file, not typed in an e-mail message.

8. Keep a copy of all reports and forms until you finish the course and receive a grade for the course. When you send the file via email, set up a folder in your email account to store all messages with files attached until you receive a grade for the course. Hotmail account holders -- Hotmail will delete all messages in your sent file 30 days or older. If you want to keep a message that you have sent, you will need to transfer the file to another folder.

Format

1. All biweekly reports must have a cover page with the following information: Your name, where you are working, the report number (e.g. Report # 1), the dates of the weeks covered by the report, the due date for the report and the number of hours you worked each week during the report period. See the examples for the appropriate format. Note: The information on the cover page should not be included on the the first page of the narrative report.

2. The final report must have a cover page with the following information: Your name, where you are working, the words Final Report, and the due date. The final report is due two weeks after the fifth report. For example, your fifth bi-weekly report is due on a Thursday -- the final report is due on a Thursday two weeks after the due date for the last bi-weeklyreport.

3. All reports must be typed double-spaced with a standard 11 point font using the Arial font-face and one inch margins all around. No other fonts or font sizes are acceptable. Papers with inappropriate fonts and/or margins will be returned for reformatting and will lose five points for each formatting error found. Note: Microsoft Word defaults to 1.25 inch margins all around and also defaults to the Times New Roman font-face. You will need to change the default to one inch on all sides and change the font to Arial. Don't forget, I only accept Word (.doc and .docx) and Rich Text (.rtf) formats when you save the file -- no other formats are acceptable.

4. The biweekly reports must be a minimum of three full pages, not including the cover page or any attachments. The final report must be a minimum of five pages, not including the cover page or any attachments.

Written Report Grading Procedures

1. Grades will be determined based on the quality and timely completion of all required reports and the employer's evaluation of work performance. Reports will be graded in the following manner: 65% content; 35% grammar, sentence structure, punctuation etc. The paper will be read, graded and critiqued by the instructor and sent back to the student before the next paper is written. The student should review the comments and make appropriate adjustments to correct identified problems.

2. Late papers will lose 25 points for every day, or part of a day, they are late. If papers must be returned for reformatting, they will automatically lose five points for each formatting error found.

3. The final grade for the course will be determined using the following percentages:
   • Five -- Bi-Weekly Reports --50% (10% each)
   • Final Report -- 20 %
   • Employer's Evaluation -- 20%
   • Attention to Details -- 10%
   
   
4. The grade for this course will not be determined by how hard you had to work nor how many hours you had to work. The grade will be determined by how much you learned and, equally as important, how you translated that learning into writing. Even though you might have had a very good learning experience, if you are unable to convey that learning in an appropriately written report, you will not receive a top grade. Additionally, the final grade will be partly determined by how well you follow directions and your attention to details. If you submit papers late, get confused on your due dates, or fail to submit your objectives, local address, etc. in a timely manner, your final grade will be lowered. It is incumbent on the student to keep track of all forms and reports to be submitted and when they are due.

5. After grades are submitted, they are final and will not be changed unless there was a computational error or other error on the part of the instructor. If you need a certain grade in this course to maintain or increase your grade point average, you must put the appropriate amount of effort into the reports and course requirements to earn that grade. If you do the minimum required, just to get by, you will receive a grade which reflects your minimum effort.

6. If a contingency arises which precludes the student from meeting deadlines, it is incumbent on the student to discuss the problem with the instructor before the deadline elapses.

Address to Send Documents to the Instructor

Dr. Rich Patterson
Department of Consumer and Family Sciences
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd. #11037
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1037



Phone Numbers for the Instructor

Office phone: 270-745-4031 (leave a message on voice-mail if I am not in the office.)

24-Hour Fax -- 270-745-3999 -- Note: You must use a fax cover sheet to accompany any faxes. Faxed papers and forms are not accepted unless specifically approved in advance by the instructor.



Address to Send Documents to Center for Career and Professional Development

Ms. Tess McKinley
Center for Career and Professional Development
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd. #11051
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1051

Office phone:270-745-3095
Fax: 270-745-3094


Summary of Documents to be Sent

To the Instructor

• Address and Housing Report (the original form only mailed or hand delivered -- no faxes or photocopies) [Note: This report must arrive no later than the first report]
  
• Objectives -- signed by both the supervisor and the student (the original form only mailed or hand delivered -- no faxes or photocopies) [Note: This report must arrive no later than the first report]
  
• 5 - bi-weekly reports -- (emailed as an attached file only -- do not fax, mail or hand deliver)
  
• Final Narrative Report [Note: This is the sixth and final report] -- (emailed as an attached file only -- do not fax, mail or hand deliver)
  
• Employer's Evaluation Form (the original form only -- do not send faxes or photocopies) [Note: This report must arrive no later than the final report -- either mailed or hand delivered.]
• Data report for Coop/Intern Experience -- (the original form only -- do not send faxes or photocopies) [Note: This report must arrive no later than the final report -- either mailed or hand delivered.]

To Center for Career and Professional Development

• Address and Housing Report -- (fax or mail a photocopy)
  
• Objectives -- (fax or mail a photocopy)
  
• Final Narrative Report -- (fax, email, or hand deliver) [Note: Only the final report goes to Center for Career and Professional Development -- they do not want any other reports.]
  
• Employer's Evaluation Form -- (fax, mail a photocopy, or hand deliver)
  
• Data report for Coop/Intern Experience -- (fax, mail a photocopy, or hand deliver)



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Cover Page for
Internship Reports

Template

Your Name
Name of Place Where You are Doing Your Internship

The Report Number (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.)

Weeks covered by the report (Week # plus dates)
Number of hours worked during the report period

Report Due Date:


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Example -- Working Full Time

Sandra Dee
Hampton Inn, Bowling Green, KY

Report #3

Week #5 -- July 8 - 14, 2012 -- Worked 46 hours
Week #6 -- July 15 - 21, 2012 -- Worked 36 hours

Report Due Date: July 26, 2012




Date this syllabus was last Modified: May 5, 2014