Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Conceptual framework
- Factors to be considered
- Meeting Model
- Stakeholder management
- ROI Model
- Past conferences analysis
- Conference design recommendations
- Conclusion
- References
- Appendix
- Detail of CHME conferences
- Meeting Architect Model
- DetReturn On Investment Model
List of figures
- Figure 1: Meeting architect model
- Figure 2: Return on investment model
List of tables
- Table 1: Planning template for 2020
- Table 2: Summary of past three conferences
Introduction
The term conference refers to a formal meeting with the people through sharing interests. The objectives of the conference have to be clear and specified that gives a better understanding of the outcomes and reason for conducting these. An educational conference refers to the presentation of information that is scientifically proven and has an important impact on the development of educational strategies. The current report will conduct past conference critique, and regarding this, it will focus on previous academic conferences that have been organized by CHME (Council of Hospitality Management Education) between 2016-18 years. These are Ulster University 2016, Aalborg 2017 and Bournemouth University 2018. Along with this, the factors that influence the design of a conference/meeting in the UK and overseas are also describing in the following sections of the study.
Moreover, the report will analyze the objectives of the stakeholders through critical analysis of the last three conferences and offer the recommendations for scheduling the future conference on Sheffield, summer 2020. The stakeholder of a project refers to either an individual or groups that have a significant impact on decision making and the success of the project. From the academic conference of the CHME, the major stakeholders were looking to encourage the effectiveness of the conferences through personal learning in networking with people and motivation through recognition of their research for hospitality. Furthermore, the report will provide brief information for organizing the conference in 2020 by using the conference design architect model, analysis of stakeholders and understanding of the time frame.
Conceptual framework
Factors to be considered
For organizing and managing the international conferences, there are various factors required to be considered to meet the success criteria. The CHME organizes academic conferences for creating awareness about the quality of the internal hospitality management education and government initiatives for the good practices and learning of the research skills (Chen, and Chen, 2017). According to Ji, and McMahon-Beattie, (2017), clear and concise agenda of meetings, locations, corporate social responsibilities and experience that count for scheduling of the conferences and safeguarding can influence the success of such events (Ji, and McMahon-Beattie, 2017). Apart from that, the ease of traveling is also an essential factor for organizing such events that focus on the price of food, accommodation, and transportation (Hsu, 2017).
As per Bridger (2018), there are immense numbers of trends like marketing, stakeholder management and utilization of technology that can affect the design of conferences in the UK and overseas. The major prompting factors are weather conditions, food costs, networking opportunities, reputation, and marketing plan (Bridger 2018). At the time of managing an academic conference an effective marketing plan to make the audiences informed at larger scales else, the whole event can be failed. The organization must ensure about to conduct proper research on weather condition in a particular period so that management team can manage the designs of the conference accordingly as well as can prepare themselves to handle all the activities of events during all weather conditions. As per the opinion of Ughanwa and Baker, (2018) the nonprofit organization like CHME is less efficient as compared to its competitors like People 1st, Euro Chrie and International CHRIE in designing the conference or meeting in different areas because CHME has failed in the number of conferences (Ughanwa and Baker, 2018).
Meeting Model
It has been identified that the organization could make use of the Meeting Architecture Model to bring improvement among its design of conferences or meetings (Eric, and Manning, 2017). This tool also helps in acquiring a competitive advantage over its competitors and establishes itself more strongly. Because, the model includes four major stages, i.e. identifying the objective, design the meeting, execute the design and assess the impacts.
These strategies indicate that planning related to the concepts, human resources, technical proficiencies, technology are required network for organizing a conference. Morrison, (2018), has stated that activities like proper planning and arrangement of resources need to be conducted before, after and during the design of the meeting (Morrison, 2018)). It has been found that the management of nonprofit making organizations must learn out of their loopholes found in past meetings so that they do not repeat the same in future. It can also be essential to evaluate the competitor activities which will help in understanding the higher level design concept of meetings. Effective execution of the design and planning of conference or meeting helps an organization to acquire positive results out of the same.
Moreover, the final stage of the model includes the assessment of the impact which facilitates the management in recording the drawbacks of the current design of meeting and focuses on rectifying them in further designs. This assessment will contribute to evaluating strengths and weaknesses of the designs and allow the management to bring more improvements in the upcoming academic conference (Scullica and Elgani, 2018).
Stakeholder management
Apart from that, the consideration of stakeholder interest and knowledge about the factors that influence their decision for taking participation in these conferences and it will affect the success of academic conferences. The primary objectives of stakeholders involve learning, business and personal networking and motivation through the promotion of research, contribution to the conference and addressing the issues for the empowerment. There are different tools such as CHATTY that can be used by organizers for enhancing the effectiveness and engagement of the stakeholders for conferences and meeting (Cascetta et al., 2015). This tool includes the development of the Conceptual framework, Human contribution, Art and Technology.
ROI Model
The consideration of ROI model is essential for analyzing the effectiveness of an academic conference or event. According to this model, the analysis of conferences can be done by the satisfaction level, applications and total return of the investment. The analysis of satisfaction level of stakeholders helps in making a difference between the level of expectation and actual outcome (Lu, Rao, and Gursoy, 2016). Apart from that, the application of operations and evaluation of functions as per the planned actions can also provide information about the effectiveness of the conference. The assessment of return on investment is helpful for identifying the impact of the conferences and meetings focusing on the post and pre-event planning (Buhalis, and Mamalakis, 2015). The proper consideration of networking functions through this model can help the organizations to overcome the issues and manage the resources.
Past conferences analysis
CHME being a non-profit making organization comes across various aspects which mostly results in inefficiencies out of the conferences or meetings. Apart from that, the annual research conferences organized by CHME have provided a valuable platform for the new researcher to showcase the findings of their work and support in developing a sustainable environment for the business and new operations in the particular area of hospitality (About CHME, 2018). Moreover, the conferences are beneficial for promoting the link between industry and education.
The 25th annual research conference of CHME was held in Ulster University in 2016 and motive of this conference was to explore the dimensions of the innovation and customer centricity in hospitality. The key stakeholders of this conference involve STR, Russell partnership technology, Ulster University, Belfast city council and Belfast Harbour (About conference of 2016, 2018). The primary outcome of this academic conference involves the analysis of innovation in food and beverages, niche tourism and critical analysis of cultural hospitality. But on the other hand, the lack of marketing and facilities for the speakers and overseas researchers has affected the success of the conference. The management team of CHME has not paid attention towards the conceptual planning for engaging the stakeholders in this conference. For example, prior analysis of weather, food and accommodation conditions was not done correctly which is essential for the management to take decisions about the Human resources planning, arts and cultural activities for attracting the local and international researchers in academic conferences as per the CHATTY tool discussed in the literature (Parent et al., 2016). Moreover, the lack of attention for application of functions as per the ROI model and motivation according to meeting model has a negative impact on the design of the conference of CHME.
The 26th CHME conference was held at Aalborg, Denmark and the aim of the meeting was Hospitality on the move- Beyond Borders. In this conference, the committee has been focused on the use of themes “New Bizz in Hospitality" related to the provision of food, beverages, and improvement in the academic interest in hospitality. The primary stakeholders of this meeting involve the Aalborg University, AKKC executives, Christian Nutsch Stenden Hotel Management School, UK and Russell (About conference of 2017, 2018). The conference was lengthy and lacking in the accommodation, technical functions and proper analysis of climate and location planning. According to the discussion in the literature, it has identified that locations are one of the significant factors for the success of an academic conference. But, the 26th conference of CHME was held in Denmark which was far away for UK sites and required the prior analysis of weather and accommodation costing for visitors. It was not possible for all researchers to bear the expenses and utilize the amenities of the city (Solomon, and Soltes, 2015). However, marketing aspects of the 26th conference of CHME were better from the 25th, but still, it was not successful even due to other above-discussed factors. Apart from that, the management has not considered the elements of meeting and ROI model such as analysis of the impact of investment and technical assistance for managing the communication with the stakeholders.
The 27th CHME research conference was organized at Bournemouth which was a thematic stream that focused on the technology and innovation in hospitality. The primary stakeholders of the 27th conference were hotel Miramar, Goodfellow publisher, Jurys Inn, RP technology and STR (About conference of 2018, 2018). According to analysis, this research conference of CHME was one of the best because the venue, accommodation, and approach of the management committee were favorable. However, this event was suffering from the poor marketing activities of CHME so, organization needs to improve this in future. In contrast, the management of stakeholder interest was right in this conference. But, the organizers have not utilized the technical tools for marketing as per the meeting model (Neal, 2016). Apart from that, the lacking in an application of ROI model for analyzing the satisfaction level of the stakeholders have also affected the success of the 27th CHME conference.
Conference design recommendations
Various factors required the concern of CHME for successful management and developing the scenario for the conference of Sheffield, summer 2020. By considering the analysis of past three research conferences, it has been recommended to the CHME management to focus on technology and utilization of meeting architect model. For example, the management could involve the stakeholders in the planning of the event by using the model (Nankervis et al., 2016). The identification of objectives and technical development requires the input of the stakeholder from the local and international domain. Moreover, it is also recommended to the CHME to arrange the technical resources for marketing and for creating the awareness and increasing the involvement of researchers as there is less information available for such meetings and conferences. Apart from that, the social aspect of the past conferences of CHME was weak as the management has not been focused on local market trends. But, in future, the management team can overcome the impact of social and technical aspects by consideration of ROI model (Goffin and Mitchell, 2016).
Conclusion
From the above study, it has been concluded that the design of the conferences of CHME was based on the key stakeholders, speakers, and requirements of the particular events. However, the management was focused on identified factors and elements, but lack of marketing, sponsors, overall budget and selection of the theme have affected conferences in the past negatively. The design framework of Sheffield, summer 2020 will be based on the past issues and effectiveness in the particular conference. For organizing conference at Sheffield, summer 2020 can use the following plan:
Table 1: Planning template for 2020
Factors |
Description |
Objectives |
- Development of value chain for the industry
- Proper consideration of stakeholders like the owner, manager, designer sand researchers
- Analysis of emerging strategies and approaches for hospitality and tourism
|
Demand of meetings |
- Exhibition of strategies for 2020 trends
- Proper analysis of the scenario
- Focus on the alternatives
|
Event landscape |
- More widespread support
- Specialization of meetings and academic choices
- Meeting promotion and budgeted facilities
|
Event model |
- Involvement of private stakeholders
- Improvement in incentives
- Event marketing should be open
|
Technology |
- Use of scientific models of communication
- Emerging technology like live event broadcasting
- Remote attendance and use of 3D functions
|
References
Bridger, H., (2018). The working conference design. In The transitional approach to change (pp. 137-160). Routledge.
Buhalis, D. & Mamalakis, E., (2015). Social media return on investment and performance evaluation in the hotel industry context. In Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2015 (pp. 241-253). Springer, Cham.
Cascetta, E., Carteni, A., Pagliara, F. & Montanino, M., (2015). A new look at planning and designing transportation systems: A decision-making model based on cognitive rationality, stakeholder engagement and quantitative methods. Transport policy, 38, pp.27-39.
Chen, Y.S. & Chen, P.J., (2017). Front-Desk Agents Versus Flight Attendants—“Can You Just Check me in?” Resolving Customer Complaints in Hospitality Management. In Trade Tales: Decoding Customers' Stories (pp. 147-153). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Eric, M. & Manning, C.D., (2017). A copy-augmented sequence-to-sequence architecture gives good performance on task-oriented dialogue. arXiv preprint arXiv:1701.04024.
Goffin, K. & Mitchell, R., (2016). Innovation management: effective strategy and implementation. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Hsu, A.Y.C., (2017). Tourism education and beyond: the 22nd annual graduate education and graduate student research conference in hospitality and tourism: 5–7 January 2017, Houston, Texas, USA. Anatolia, 28(4), pp.598-600.
Ji, M. & McMahon-Beattie, U., (2017). The 25th Council for Hospitality Management Education Annual Research Conference: 4–6 May 2016, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., Rogelberg, S.G., Allen, J.A. & Kello, J.E., (2018). The critical importance of meetings to leader and organizational success. Organizational Dynamics, 47(1), pp.32-36.
Lu, A.C.C., Rao, Y. & Gursoy, D., (2016). Conference proceedings, the 6th Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and Management Conference, Guangzhou, China, 14-17 July 2016. In Conference proceedings, the 6th Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and Management Conference, Guangzhou, China, 14-17 July 2016.. Sun Yat-sen University and Washington State University.
Morrison, A., (2018). Hospitality research: legacies and futures. Tourism management perspectives, 25, pp.189-192.
Nankervis, A.R., Baird, M., Coffey, J. & Shields, J., (2016). Human resource management: strategy and practice. Cengage AU.
Neal, M., (2016). The culture factor: Cross-national management and the foreign venture. Springer.
Parent, E., Richter, A., Aulisa, A.G., Guzzanti, V., Pizzetti, P., Poscia, A., Aulisa, L., Simony, A., Christensen, S.B., Andersen, M.O. & Negrini, A., (2016), August. 12th International Conference on Conservative Management of Spinal Deformities–SOSORT 2015 Annual Meeting. In Scoliosis and spinal disorders (Vol. 11, No. 1, p. 23). BioMed Central.
Scullica, F. & Elgani, E., (2018). Reinventing the Hospitality: Sharing Economy and New Hospitality Formats. In Multidisciplinary Design of Sharing Services (pp. 63-79). Springer, Cham.
Solomon, D. & Soltes, E., (2015). What are we meeting for? The consequences of private meetings with investors. The Journal of Law and Economics, 58(2), pp.325-355.
Ughanwa, D.O. & Baker, M.J., (2018). The role of design in international competitiveness. Routledge.
Online
About CHME. (2018). Retrieved from < http://www.chme.org.uk/about-us/>
About conference of 2016. (2018) Retrieved from < https://www.ulster.ac.uk/conference/chme>
About conference of 2017, (2018). Retrieved from < https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=ind1610&L=TOURISM&F=&S=&P=8862>
About conference of 2018, (2018). Retrieved from < https://www1.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/our-faculties/faculty-management/our-departments/department-tourism-hospitality/chme-2018-research-conference>
Appendix
Detail of CHME conferences
Table 2: Summary of past three conference
Year |
Learning |
Networking |
Motivation |
CHME 2016 |
- Hospitality management
- Innovation in food and beverages
- Teaching and assessment of hospitality management
|
- Institute of hospitality
- Belfast city council
|
- Togetherness of culturally diverse researchers
- Empowerment for new researchers
|
CHME 2017 |
- Corporate social responsibility
- Business innovation
- Analysis of hospitality perspectives
|
- STR
- 24 Fellow students
- Experts from Greece
|
|
CHME 2018 |
- Technology and hospitality
- Innovation in managing customer services
- Use of corporate social responsibility
|
- Oxford school of hospitality
- Auckland University of technology
- General manager of Hilton Worldwide
|
- Improvement in incentives
- Empowerment of new researchers
- Effective promotion of conference activities
|
Meeting Architect Model
Return On Investment Model