The design of a job specification model for hospitality management educators: Using the Delphi method to analyze competency requirements

The purpose of this investigation was the development of a job specification model that identified a broad list of competencies needed to make teaching in hospitality management more effective. Competencies were seen as specific tasks that needed to be achieved by hospitality educators. Therefore, they needed to represent outcomes made up of knowledge, abilities, and skills that hospitality educators could obtain and become part of their being.;These competencies were identified, verified, and validated by a group of hospitality administrators who participated in a three-round Delphi study. Through this process, the researcher managed to approach consensus among the participants and generate adequate information exchange on the required competencies that make up a hospitality educator's job specification.;The Delphi study allowed the researcher to: (a) rank-order the proposed competencies according to mean responses from the Round III questionnaire; (b) use the repeated measures design (t statistic) to test for convergence or divergence of responses from Round II to Round III; (c) identify twenty five competencies that administrators considered important to hospitality educators; and (d) develop a job specification model for hospitality educators.;The developed job specification model is divided into three sections: (a) knowledge competencies; (b) abilities competencies; and (c) skills competencies. Knowledge competencies constitute the body of information in the broad area of hospitality education that is required by a hospitality educator to perform the job satisfactorily. Abilities competencies refer to those mental and physical activities required of a hospitality educator. Finally, skills competencies include observable capabilities performed on the job.