In order to keep competitive, tourist firms and destinations have to deal with constant changes at the social, cultural, political, legal, economic, technological and even natural level. Tourist products need to be developed and marketed with efficiency and quality and tourism managers need to be ready to respond to changing customers’ demands by being innovative and embracing change. In this context, the course Strategic Management in Tourism Organizations presents four main areas of concern. First, operations strategies are relevant in order to gain efficiency (and thus save unnecessary costs) and guarantee the quality of the processes involved in the delivery of the tourism service. Second, Human Resource Management is essential for he motivation of employees in tourism firms and other organizations. Employee behaviour is essential for the satisfaction of tourists and, as we will see, concepts like flexibility, empowerment, etc. are paramount for the efficient operation and quality of tourist services, and for developing a new culture of innovation and change. Nonetheless, the high interdependence among all the relevant actors in a tourist destination calls for a joint or shared strategy at the destination level in order to avoid negative externalities and guarantee the coherence and attractiveness of the tourist product as the overall experience of the tourist while on a journey. Because of this fact, innovation in tourism is highly dependent on collective decisions and actions. The course will focus, therefore, on the strategic issue of innovation in tourism, and of the importance, co-operation, alliances, partnerships and collaboration networks have in the management or innovation processes in tourism.
1. TH01 Advanced Operations Management in Tourism Organizations 2. Starting date: 25 October 2004 3. TH02 Human Resource Management in Tourism Organizations 4. Starting date: 08 November 2004 5. TH03 Innovation Management in Tourism Organizations 6. Starting date: 19 November 2004 7. TH04 Partnerships and Competitiveness in Tourism Organizations 8. Starting date: 13 December 2004
Mètodes docents: The instructional process of each theme is divided into three main elements: a. Distribution of the instructional material: one week before lectures start, the participants will get the syllabus and objectives of the theme, expectations, assessment method; assignment questions and required readings and preparatory work for the module, etc. b. Lectures: a total of 18 hours, during one week on Monday to Friday afternoons, given by academics and practitioners. c. Assignments: the week following the lectures, participants will immediately apply the knowledge assimilated by completing and submitting the assignments required by the instructor of the theme. Tipus d'exàmens: Students will be asked to complete assignments relative to the aims of the course.