A seat at the table: An investigation of the relationship between knowledge and power in hospitality management education

Abstract

In some academic circles it is contended that in the very nature of training potential employees to effectively complete the tasks of today, educators are missing the opportunity to provide learners with access to the powerful knowledge required to challenge industry status quo. In Australia, vocational hospitality education is framed within competency based training (CBT) based on training packages designed by industry skills councils. The power in such processes is strongly in favour of current industry (and often commercial) outcomes and may potentially limit the growth opportunities for both students and industry as a whole. In order to investigate this premise, the following research paper reflects on the experiences of a group of hotel department managers who undertook a CBT framed Graduate Certificate in Management in 2012.