Research consultancy
This chapter reviews literature related to the study. The review is systematically based on the objectives of study namely; characteristics of the cookery content of the various curricula of the different Hotel training institutions in Uganda, job requirements of a chef in the various five-star hotels in Uganda and to relate the characteristics of the cookery curricula to the job requirements of Chefs in the five-star hotels in Uganda.
2.1 Characteristics of the cookery content of the various curricula of the different Hotel training institutions in Uganda
Burns, Palmer and Cooper, (2010) observes that chef’s job and the profession in its entirety is defined as a dynamic and progressive world where not only certain people will have to survive to thrive in. A Chef duty is vast that entails selection and training of cooks, doing food preparation and developing trendy recipes, presentation of meals to guests, menu planning, inspecting cooking equipment, ordering food and supplies and ensuring kitchen safety standards.
(Reese, 2013), further notes that knife skills, butchery, handling kitchen paperwork, managing people, managing the business as well as managing the gross profits are components of the whole function.
According to Smilow and McBride (2010) it is possible to transform passion for food into a career. What is important is how an individual render the enthusiasm for flavor into a satisfying profession. Chef Wilfred Lim, an Executive Chef at Palace of the Golden Horses Hotel, Malaysia shared in Amazing Inspiration (2013) “…being a chef is much more than just cooking!”
There is no way a chef will have the confidence to manage such a big team of staff particularly in a facility of this magnitude if he is not well grounded in terms of knowledge and skills, a chef has to be sharp, and on top of things with hawk-eye to every activity taking place in the kitchen” says a (hotel manager) during data collection. Koenigsfeld, Perdue, Woods and Youn (2012: and Nelson and Dobson, 2001) noted that hospitality education was developed to provide a platform for supplying the hospitality industry with competent managers that is often driven by industry standards.
The major determinants of success in the training as Nelson and Dubson (2001), further noted are graduates of worth and retention of those graduates in the industry. It is imperative to appreciate that chefs require training and knowledge along their career to develop. Pratten, (2003a) notes that gaining familiarity with food ingredients and their usage, the preparation, maintaining nutritive value and related knowledge, to satisfy the ever changing taste demand of the customers and to be competent within the industry.
Training as further explained includes and not only the cooking skills and techniques but also to infuse an individual with the Chef culture (Palmer et al. (2010). Even though Pratten (2003b) stated that the formal trainings for Chef nowadays are gained through college course in food preparation and hygiene, Krause (2013) argues that to develop professionally or to plan the career activity and getting better at or mastering in a job requires acquisition, attention and refinement of skills and knowledge.
Mullen, (2008) notes that training makes chef get their own work trajectories in and this is only achievable by providing adequate learning activities and resources. Further trainings have been an ongoing dynamic cycle to cope with changing job demands and work specifications.
Fundamentally, training constitutes three key elements i.e. substantive knowledge, skills and values. He explains further that the substantive knowledge is key for day to day the practice in the profession whereas skill component offers the ability to apply knowledge to practice. The values component is integral in fostering career values for necessary success.
Previous research has indicated that a seamless synchrony between job competency expectations of chefs and actual job competencies achieved by the chefs during their college training, the higher the chance for greater work achievement, lower employee turnover and higher job satisfaction (Koenigsfeld, et al 2012); Weeks and Muehling (2007); Lewis & Airey, 2010).
Further, Goodman & Sprague (2001) in their study found that graduates will be in the industry longer if they develop a firm base of understanding and principles of what is expected of them by the industry. Despite the fact that hospitality industry operates in a very competitive and fluidly environment, catering must be more focused to very dynamic consumer trends whose tastes are preferences change with introduction of new menu items and food presentations.
As a chef, the competitiveness of a chefs job makes it mandatory for continuous improvement with updates and should always be in the frontline to take up the challenges (Manzoori-Stamford, 2013) so that they contribute to the general success of the organization.
Chefs may advance to climb higher to head Chefs in their career, or opt for business as caterers or personal Chefs by becoming entrepreneurs or instructors in culinary training programs. Opportunities may come up as consultants in kitchen design or food product or equipment sales. Some may choose to remain as Chef in food service management positions, or assume corporate level positions to oversee several restaurants of food service facilities or develop recipe or menu and even designing concepts (Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010).
- Job requirements of a chef in the various five-star hotels in Uganda and to relate the characteristics of the cookery
The education, training and development of employees of all levels within the hotel industry are vital in maintaining the industry’s competitiveness in the international ground. Absence of professionalism could be linked to lack of training and experience. Skilled staffs are confident, motivated and hence competent as they perform well in their job (Mwendwa, 2005).
According to Murasiranwa et al. (2010), the key success factor in the hospitality industry is having a stable, well trained, competent and committed team. The authors further note that work teams are key players who can either delight or annoy guests through their attitude and behaviour. Considering that employees are part of the product and they are responsible for the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of guests, they must be competent to meet the customer’s expectation.
Effective human resources allocation plays an important role in the success of the hotel industry (Kayoko et al, 2011). In Hotel industry, employers need to consider appropriate and effective allocation of the resources to task because the hotel success or failure depends on its human resource management. Hospitality professionals must support the ongoing development of higher levels of service quality through contact with the wider hospitality community and by supporting the exchange of expertise with other professionals through promoting international conferences, academic exchanges and international placements.
According to Wood, (2013), academic hospitality programs are designed to impart trainees with skills that will prepare them to be competitive in their workplace. He adds that these skills should enable the graduate to manage the rapidly changing demands in today’s hospitality industry by addressing increased competition, changing consumer attitudes and employer demands. Hotel’s performance depends on training of employees in communication, technical, and interpersonal skills. Ladkin (2011) noted that “a higher level of education appears to ensure entry in to the industry at the assistant manager level, whereas those with lower levels of education begin at the supervisor or department head”.
Training plays an important role in employee development since it enhances employee’s skills and the understanding towards the overall work scope (Ching, Hee, Liew 2016). An employees need to gain more specific skills, information and knowledge as most job responsibilities continually evolving as the company matures.
According to Ching et al, (2016), a well-trained employee can make better decisions towards their task and is qualified for a higher level of the empowerment. The qualities are about knowledge, skills and thoughts which lead to a hotel survival and development. Therefore, staff training is essential in many ways which increases productivity while employees are armed with professional knowledge, and experienced skills. Training and development can be seen as a key instrument in the implementation of human resource practices and policies (Nickson, 2007).
A sustainable human resource development approach is underpinned by several principles, among which the most relevant are investment in people as a long-term commitment by all concerned parties. The need by companies to realize the impact that they have on the character and balance of the local labour market, the ability of hospitality training to provide flexible and transferable skill that is able to adjust to changing demands and in response to emerging opportunities, and the incorporation of human resource development as an integral part of overall hospitality development planning (Wagen, 2013)
The global hospitality industry is facing some challenge of attracting and retaining qualified workers, wage level, failure to address worker satisfaction and reputation, long hours and low pay as the contributing factors while the global tourism will depend on the professionalism of its workforce (Jin-Zhao, Jing 2009). Challenges faced by human resources in the hotel industry among others are shortage of skilled employees, lack of quality service, controlling staff turnover and hiring or recruiting qualified graduates and a skilled workforce (Jin-zhao, et al., 2009).
Professionalism is required in the hospitality industry in order to develop and maintain good quality customers in a tourism destination. It is essential for hotels also to develop professional and further training in order to improve the skills of staff at all levels. Education institution in the field of hospitality are the key prayers in training and developing the capacity of the human resources in order to have professional employees in the hotel and tourism industry who are able to provide service quality to the guests in which the allocation of the task should be done to the appropriate skilled staff which can be supplemented by the favourable working environment of the hotel (Tewari, 2010).
2.3 Relate the characteristics of the cookery curricula to the job requirements of Chefs in the five-star hotels in Uganda.
Human resource allocation is defined as allocating the human resources to tasks. The importance of human resource allocation has been recognized in many business fields such as transportation, health care, hospitality and tourism industry (Ernest et al, 2004). The success of human resource allocation is attributed to how to deal with human resource management which is a key issue in order to increase the satisfaction and the profit of the organisation.
As asserted by Adrina, Roberto, Maura, (2011), task allocation between different personnel members is highly dependent on their skills. As asserted by Kayoko et al, (2016), in hotel industry where a primary consideration is efficiency and customer satisfaction, great importance is placed on suitable allocation of human resources.
Conventionally, human resource allocation decisions are usually made according to the experience of the institutional manager. It is important and complex issues that the procedure of tasks and skills of human resource must be evaluated and taken into account together. The resource that has special skills required by the task should be assigned (Kayoko et al, 2011). He continue that among the service industry, in tourism and hospitality management, the allocation of hotel staff is one of the most encountered problems, the staff that has the right skills to deal with the task should be allocated without overwork.
The nature of work in the hotel industry requires skilled workers to compete in the global economy. In reviewing literature, some authors define ‘technical’ skills, as those skills that involve an element of physical exertion or technical aspects of performing a job as ‘hard’. The literature highlights that technical skills are easier to learn and easier to measure than soft skills, however, there is a growing recognition that both skill types are complementary and necessary for individual successful performance in the workplace (Rainsbury et al., 2013; Hodges & Burchell, 2013).
The hard and soft skill types are seen as necessary outcomes in the development of new professionals through higher education and in particular preparing them for the workplace (Nilsson, 2007). Indeed, Zagonari’s (2009) analysis of education and training in the hotel industry highlighted that not only are high quality standards associated with skill specialisation but also: “policies on hospitality education and training should provide a balance between professional skills, basic knowledge, thematic specialization: students should reach professional skills in order to meet the current qualitative need of firms”. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, what these professional skills are in the hospitality and tourism context has not been specifically addressed to date, and represents an area of further interest in the current on-going study.
