Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1982

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Human Ecology

Major Professor

Mary Jo Hitchcock

Committee Members

Russell L. French, Daniel W. Hubbard, A. Allan Lasater

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to design a model for an International Educational Cooperative Program in Hotel Administration between Egypt and the U. S. A. Such a program is needed to assist the hospitality industry in Egypt in facing its shortage of qualified personnel and to elevate the existing standard of service which now endanger the projected tourism revenue and the national economy as well.

The research procedure included the following steps: (A) A model was developed for implementing the proposed international program and sent with a questionnaire for evaluation to 60 two-year and four-year hospitality education programs in the U. S. A. (B) Goals and objectives of the proposed program development were included with the model to identify interest from U. S. hospitality programs in joining the proposed program in Egypt. (C) Another questionnaire was sent to 100 randomly selected hotel managers representing the five major hotel categories in Egypt. Methods of analyzing the data included frequency distribution, percentages and cross tabulations of responses to the various questions asked of respondents in the two populations.

The study showed that the majority of the American respondents favored participation of three-to-five schools involved in the proposed cooperative program. Fifteen or 65.22% of the total respondents stated that it would be feasible to initiate the proposed program in three years or less. Seventeen or 73.91% of the total American hospitality programs responding were interested in participating in the proposed program; however, funds were the major obstacle mentioned by the majority of the respondents.

The study also revealed that the existing hotel schools in Egypt were not providing enough qualified personnel for the hospitality industry; that an advanced educational hospitality program where English would be the first official language would be very helpful in preparing graduates with better background and understanding of the international tourists in Egypt. Short-term programs (1-3 months) and intermediate programs (3 months-1 year) were preferred programs on the short-term plan to meet the immediate needs of the hospitality and tourism industry in Egypt. Egyptian respondents did not have any prejudice toward any nationality becoming involved in the proposed program. On the contrary, they felt that an international environment in an advanced educational program in Egypt would be of great help to the hospitality industry in providing qualified personnel to meet the needs of the hospitality and tourism industry and in ameliorating the standard of service provided to the tourists at an international level.

The model for program planning developed in the study was judged by reviewers to be a useful planning tool, if minor modifications were incorporated.

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