Search results

As its market and society open up, China has transformed itself from a closed agrarian socialist economy to an urban state and an economic force. This has released accumulated tourism demand, led to the development of a diversified industry, and the spread of university and vocational courses in this field. However, the industry faces challenges to recruit and retain staff, with tourism education in higher education blamed for the shortfall in numbers and quality of candidates with suitable purpose, knowledge, and passion to serve. This chapter provides a background to the development of and problems facing tourism education in China, and suggests how to support student engagement and hence the future workforce.

The Six Sigma phenomenon has followed the TQM movement as the latest thrust for many companies seeking to improve their performance and effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to review the basic concepts of Six Sigma, its benefits, and successful approaches for implementation. In particular, we benchmark the practices of the General Electric Company, one of the leaders and innovators in implementing the process. We conclude that keys for successful implementation include upper management support and involvement, organizational infrastructure, training, tools, and links to human resources‐based actions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the workplace learning preferences of the Generation X employee. A total of 197 Generation X employees were surveyed. Additional descriptive data were obtained from follow‐up interviews conducted with ten of the survey participants and one focus group. Participants indicated that they value action learning and incidental learning in the workplace. They also realize the need for formal training but offer suggestions for how it could be conducted better. The article concludes with a set of suggestions and a model of workplace learning for Generation X.