Chinese Students Enrolled in Hospitality and Tourism-Related Programmes in the UK - Essay Example

Managing Across Culture Table of Contents Introduction 2 Discussion 3 Conclusion 11 References 13 Introduction There is a huge contribution of international students in the income and prestige of individual universities of U.K. and other Western countries. Despite the developments there is little research done on the progress and achievements of international students. It has been observed that students mostly migrate from countries like China, India, and U.A.E etc. to Western countries like U.K. and U.S.A. in search of higher studies and better carrier objectives. Studying abroad is very challenging and exciting during college years. Students get the opportunity to learn different languages and experience different type of cultures. Students can enhance their knowledge and clarify their career directions by studying abroad. The developing countries like China and India follow the traditional method of education, which does not emphasise on the student’s career prospective appropriately. The educational system in U.K. is distinct because the universities not only emphasize on theoretical subjects, they also focus on practical implications of the theories, which helps students to enhance their future endeavours. In 2010, AGCAS received funding for several pilot projects that allowed better links with U.K. along with alumni’s and employers in order to build successful employment relationships for international students. Universities of the Western countries majorly focus on the career and entrepreneurial ambitions of students. It is essential for colleges to have a proper understanding about the existing job market and prepare students accordingly. With the help of abroad studies, students can gain international experiences and develop their career aspirations. This research interviews Chinese students, who are currently enrolled in hospitality and tourism related programmes in the U.K. The essay discusses the future career planning of Chinese students at a higher education facility in the U.K. and the responsibility of the institution towards management of employability. Discussion Studying in a different country is an extremely rewarding and exciting experience. According to famous theorists Archer and Davidson, the value of international experience is not just limited to learning of foreign language; the value of the experience is mainly determined from the ability of a person to distinguish the personal issues and business between his own country and the foreign country. The experiences can enhance the creative thinking ability of the person and it can be helpful in personal growth and change (Berger and Huntington, 2002, p.17). Global economic and political forces provide the opportunity for students to set apart and develop new competencies and intercultural skills. The most important feature of abroad education is that international organisations and multi-national companies value the international experience a student acquires while studying abroad (Cox, 2004, p.98). The multi-national organisations especially seek for employees, who can accept relocation frequently during their employment period. It has been observed that Chinese students studying abroad have the tendency to build their career in outside countries after completion of their graduation (D’Almedia, 2007, p.117). The most important reason behind students’ preferences towards Western countries is because of the scope of development they see for themselves while working outside their own country. This factor is definitely profitable for the obtaining successful-goal for the student as well as the country they are working for. It is also essential for students to understand the ways that can help them achieve their goal in a purposeful manner, while staying abroad. In case of Chinese students studying in U.K., it is essential that they improve their communication skills, gain better understanding about the international job market and learn the value of professional networking (Diller, 2010, p.92). Studying in abroad countries is fun for students but at the same time there are some essential investigations students must conduct in order to enhance their education process and obtain desired graduate employment. Students must investigate some important conditions of the country like religion and community because it would help them understand the living style of people and finally students can adhere to the culture and get benefited by attaining proper attention from important people during their graduation period (Edberg, 2012, p.83). Modern researchers and Government officials believe that higher education should contribute to national economic growth. Researchers like Hillage and Pollard have mentioned in their theories about the importance of higher education in the society. They have argued in favour of higher education by stating that “employability is constructed as largely a matter of an individual’s skills” (Halliman and Jackson, 2008, p.72) The importance of higher education has forced institutions to embed skills in their curriculum based on which students can obtain the appropriate knowledge required for personality development. Implementation of skills in higher education can also benefit students to obtain desired employment in abroad countries. According to famous researcher Holmes, there are mainly three approaches of employability for graduation pursuing students and they are termed as positioning, possessive and procession (Hogan, 2012, p.32). These approaches mainly set-up the attributes of skills and dominates practice and policy. With the enhancement of higher education students will be able to understand the global job market and prepare themselves for competing with the challenges associated with the employment in the modern world. The Chinese students studying in the U.K. would be benefited the most because the knowledge and skills acquired from the institutions of Western countries are versatile and they provide complete set-up guidelines for the students based on which students can obtain their desired roles during employment opportunities (Hugman, 2013, p.63). As discussed earlier, Chinese institutions mainly focus on the subjective matters of education and tend to ignore the practical implications of education in the employment sectors. This factor does not allow students to gain proper interest towards their subjective matter moreover students face trouble during employment opportunities (Leininger, 2006, p.56). Within higher education, skills agenda has been believed to be a narrow concept and it possesses threat to academic freedom. It is also important to understand that employability should be conceptualised as identity; it is emergent, relational and influenced by graduates’ experiences over labour market. Hence government and educational committees should emphasize largely on development of higher education (Naylor, 2001, p.7). Martin Tillman is a well-known researcher, who has proposed many theories for abroad education and career development. Tillman’s implementation of ideal-type model in the student curriculums have helped to explain the orientations of their future careers, work and employability. Tillman’s ideal-type model captures students’ direction to the global labour market and it helps them to manage and understand their employability. The ideal-type model is influenced by Merton’s theory of social adaptation (Parvis, 2013, p.79). The ideal-type model mainly constitutes four objectives for students i.e. careerists and rebels. The orientation also includes direction to market, direction to non-market, passive and active. For students studying in abroad the model provides accurate implications from the behaviour of students regarding their career objectives. The students, who fall under the category of careerist and ritualist generally, enter the global labour market by establishing their career (Huang, 2013, p.89). These approaches are different from the other groups of children. The students belonging to the careerist group developed their orientation towards their future perspectives and they were also observed to be active during the management of employability and understanding the UK labour market. The ritualists are generally passive towards their approach and they tend to settle for their future employment with lower stakes. The other two groups i.e. retreatists and the rebels have different approach towards the global labour market. During the implementation of the model it has been observed that the categorization of rebel is not preferred by any student. None of the students fell into the rebel category, which were believed to abandon the global labour market goals. Hence the rebel group is majorly considered to be hypothetical (Thyer, 2010, p.12). Orientation to market (ends) Careerist Ritualist Active Passive (means) Rebel Retreatist Non-market orientation The above mentioned figure is a resemblance of the ideal-type model. Based on the model it is significant that the students belonging to the careerist group are directed to the global labour market and they are active in their approach. The ritualists are also directed to the global labour market based on their approach however they are passive. The retreatists are the group of students, who are directed to the non-market orientation and they are passive in their approach (Tieney, 2013, p.29). The last group of students are known as rebels but based on the research conducted no student would fall under the category. This shows that international experiences are very important because they provide appropriate orientation towards the global labour market during the progression of graduate studies. It is significant that every student has career aspirations during the initial days of college however it passion tends to decrease in some students due to their passive attitude. The students, who are not able to focus appropriately in their education curriculum period, are generally observed to be suffering with their employability. The Tillman’s model has helped researchers to understand the significance of student behaviour and its impact on their graduate employability (Armstrong, 1998, p.9). As the discussion highlights the education progression of Chinese students studying in U.K. for hospitality management, the ideal-type model is very useful in determination of career aspiration and employability for the students. In the Western countries, due to development of tourist spots hospitality management has intensified and students pursuing the courses related to hospitality management have great opportunities regarding employments. It is very important for students to observe the cultural behaviour of the country based on which they would be able to implement their international experiences in their curriculum (Beard, 2004, p.63). The experiences gained by the students will enable them to adopt the cultural differences of U.K. and finally they will able to incorporate their ideas in their labour management skills. The experiences will also help the students to enter the global job market of the country and they would get significant opportunity to gain the interest of the employers (Berr, 2011, p.16). Effective career aspirations would help the students to enhance their orientation and they would be able to be active in order to achieve their employability. Students can take help from experienced advisors to overcome their carer-related issues. From the country’s socio-economic point of view students should be motivated for pursuing higher studies. It is essential to understand that higher education can provide students the ability to generate their own employment by obtaining experiences from the society. This factor is very important because self-employment not-only increases the job vacancies for other students but it also helps in generating surplus jobs for other employees in the global market (Dubey, 2008, p.61). The career management model presented by Kurt focuses on career growth in terms of progress stages of students. In the changing work environment of the modern world, technical professionals have great responsibilities towards their students. The traditional approaches to education and career development are inadequate for students because of the rise of competitive job market. Students pursuing international studies can become victims of the job market. In order to enhance the development of career Kurt has suggested four basic steps that help students to overcome the challenges associated with abroad studies. For Chinese students, it is very essential to understand the cultural differences of U.K. and they should try to adopt in the environment (Gay, Hill, Janes and Madsen, 2013, p.54). Hospitality management is a subject wherein students need to emphasise on the cultural and social life of people and learn the methodical ways that can help them to achieve their goals. With the implementation of the Kurt’s model, Chinese students can enhance their knowledge and sustain in the competitive job market of U.K. The first step of Kurt’s model is known as the Apprentice. In this phase students are made to work under the supervision and direction of a senior person. Students are taught to learn the art of costumer management, which is very essential in hospitality industry (Hall, Evans and Nixon, 2013, p.34). The first phase of the model allows supervisors to train students to work with combined effort. Team-work is very essential because hospitality management works efficiently if people work together. Trainees are also required to focus on their creative skills because it helps them to develop healthy relationships in the workplace (Luppicini, 2012, p.123). The second phase is known as the Independent Contributor. In the second phase of training students are allowed to make their own decisions regarding customer management as well as other aspects. Most of the individuals are assigned their own projects and based on their performance they are further trained. The institutions should also adopt such kind of models because it can help students to overcome the barriers between academic careers and employment trainings. The Kurt’s model acknowledges student’s responses and motivates faculties towards development of students’ skills (Rutherford, 1998, p.65). The third phase of the model is known as the Coach or Idea Leader. In this phase trainees of an organization are given the responsibility to handle other people because it helps the trainees to utilize their critical thinking skills. Trainees get better understanding about the work culture and the responsibilities of the management after being responsible for others actions (Strinati, 2004, p.50). This phase is very important and according to Kurt it should be definitely implemented in the institutional level trainings. Faculties can assign the responsibility of mentor to a group of people and they can finally help other trainees to work appropriately. The final phase of the management training program is the Organization Leader (Parris and Peachey, 2012, pp.377-393). Leaders are responsible for every action that occurs in an organization. Kurt has given importance to this phase because students in the modern world are expected to earn on their own instead of working in other organizations. Self employment is very essential for the economic development of a nation (Wood and Smith, 2004, p.108). Self-employment allows people to work for their own organization as well as generate employment for others. In the developing countries lack of majority of self-employment has limited the per-capita income of people. Hence students should be motivated from very beginning of their career to enter the job market with an ambition to become a leader of an organization. The main reason behind the migration of Chinese students to institutions of U.K. was to obtain a good quality education. In countries like China, the prospect of higher education is very low. There are limited universities that provided degrees like PhD. Lower number of universities also result in occurrence of lower number of seats where students need to be admitted. This factor has resulted in the migration of huge number of Chinese students to the Western countries for pursuing higher education (Raisch and Birkinshaw, 2008, pp.375-409). Students also feel that the quality of education in the Western countries is high and institutions allow implementing practical experiences in the educational curriculums. There are many researchers who argue against the facts stating that the quality of education of education cannot be judged by students alone. Lack of implementation of higher technology does not mean that education prospect in the developing countries is low. Students should focus in their subjective matters and try to gain interest towards their respective subjects. Most of the Chinese students have the incorrect perceptions about abroad studies (Kelley, 1988, pp.142-148). Chinese students pursuing hospitality management courses in U.K. believe that the advanced mode of graduation study would help them get their desired job in the country. In the competitive job market of UK, achieving desired future perspectives is difficult. Employers and hiring managers judge students performances thoroughly before selecting them. In order to make successful career perspectives students must focus on their skills and learn the cultural differences. These methodical ways can help the students to enhance their cultural knowledge, which is very essential for hospitality management industry (House and Aditya, 2009, pp. 409-473). Faculty members should also motivate students for pursuing higher studies because it would be beneficial for the Chinese students studying in U.K. and it will enhance the country’s economy at the same time. The ideal-type model and the Kurt’s model are very important for students’ approaches towards employability. The ideal-type model is essential for the enhancement of the student skills. On the other hand the Kurt’s model has significant effect on the future prospects of the students. With the help of Kurt’s model students can acquire knowledge about the working atmosphere of hospitality and tourism industry (Hirschhorn and Gilmore, 1992, pp.104-115). Conclusion From the above discussion it is clear that Chinese students have many aspirations related to career futures before getting enrolled in abroad studies. The discussion has been presented after interviewing Chinese students studying hospitality and tourism management courses in the graduation colleges of U.K. Based on the experiences gathered from the students it has been observed that higher education is an essential parameter in the future perspectives of students. Initially the students have a tendency to enjoy in the abroad countries but slowly they feel the pressure associated with their courses and work accordingly. Chinese students feel the difference in the behaviour and culture of people residing in U.K. compared to Chinese people. Based on the students’ experiences some suggestions have been mentioned for faculty members as well as for the students. The models discussed in this essay are important because they focus on enhancing the knowledge and skills of the students enrolled in the hospitality management industries. The experiences gathered by Chinese students after reaching a foreign country would help them to attract hiring managers towards them. Employability is the most important factor that attracts Chinese students to countries like U.K. Students needs the access towards the global job market and wants to be a part of it. Studying in abroad locations is not easy for the students but their determination can be shaped perfectly by faculty members of the hospitality management colleges of U.K. With the enhancement of student’s skills the economic and social conditions of the country will also enhance. Implementation of the discussed models in the education and training module of international studies will enhance the career aspects of the students and will also enable them to achieve desired employment. Hence it can be concluded that Chinese students studying in U.K. have gained many international experiences that can shape their career futures and provide them the best employments. 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