The Use of Simulation in Hospitality as an Analytic Tool and Instructional System: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

This review of the literature presents in-depth research pertaining to simulation modeling in the hospitality industry. The authors' intent is to expand the readers' knowledge about simulation modeling and to provide a more complete discussion of what is known about simulation theory in the hospitality literature. Furthermore, information is provided to assist decision makers, training professionals, and hospitality educators with theoretical and methodological suggestions specific to evaluating simulation's effectiveness and to provide a framework for understanding the enormous contributions to the simulation literature that have been made during the past four decades. A chart of simulation, indicating definitions and applications, is provided. Two comprehensive tables describing and categorizing articles in this area are also provided. The research shows substantial use of simulation modeling in both hospitality operations and education. It further shows some major methodological shortcomings.Following the advice of two prolific authors on simulation-Wolfe and Crookall (1998)-who said that "individuals who know their own literature very well, must also learn and build on the literature of the simulation/gaming field if they are to push the [simulation] field forward" (p. 10), this review presents indepth research pertaining to simulation modeling in the hospitality industry.The specific purpose of this article is to expand the readers' knowledge about simulation modeling definitions and applications and to provide a more complete discussion of what is known about simulation theory in the hospitality literature. A second goal is to assist decision makers, training professionals, and hospitality educators with theoretical and methodological suggestions specific to evaluating simulation's effectiveness. Finally, a third important goal is to provide a frame-

Students’ Perceptions of the Usefulness of a Virtual Simulation in Post-Secondary Hospitality Education

“…Feinstein and Parks (2002) argue that while these studies have highlighted the use of simulation to bridge the gap between theory and practice, which contributes to the literature, they have mostly been conceptual rather than empirical. Fawcett (1996) identified six possible learning outcomes by examining the use of CRASE in educating hospitality students in accounting.…”

“…There has been a steady increase in the use of simulations in undergraduate education in general (Fawcett & Lockwood, 2000;McDonnell, 2000), and specifically hospitality educators have been found to be effective learning tools (Feinstein & Parks, 2002). Simulations introduced to the hospitality industry and education have included CRASE (the Cornell Restaurant Administration Simulation Exercise), based on a medium-sized licensed restaurant; CHASE (Cornell Hotel Administration Simulation Exercise), based on a large hotel with the primary focus on rooms division management; CHESS (Competitive Hospitality Education Simulation Series), based on a large hotel with the primary focus being on yield management; HOTS (Hotel Operational Training Simulation), based on a hotel with a mix of foodservice and accommodation products; and "Top of the House" based on a 500 room hotel in a medium-sized city with a focus on situation analysis, performance assessment, business plan development, and operating decisions for the hotel (Fawcett, 2002;Hinton, 1996;Martin & McEvoy, 2003).…”

The Effectiveness of Applying Multimedia Web-Based Technologies in Culinary Skills Training

“…There are a number of academic works give credits to the application of technology in hospitality education (Rakes & Casey, 2002;Feinstein, Raab & Stefanelli, 2005); however, most of these empirical works have caveats on the methodology of determining the effectiveness of such application (Feinstein & Parks, 2002). For this reason, scholars such as Feinstein et al (2005) propose the necessity of determining the effectiveness of various genres of instruction which includes the integration of technology in instruction.…”

A Teaching Excellence Assessment Process Model

“…In a 2005 Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education article, Andrew Hale Feinstein, Department Chair of Food and Beverage Management at UNLV College of Hotel Administration discusses the recent focus on instructional systems and explorations into this area of study in the field of education. He argues that hospitality administrators and educators in particular are being challenged with successfully employing structurally sound instructional systems that ensure for effective quality assessment processes (Feinstein and Parks, 2002;Feinstein, Raab and Stefanelli, 2005;Stutts, 1995).…”

“…He argues that hospitality administrators and educators in particular are being challenged with successfully employing structurally sound instructional systems that ensure for effective quality assessment processes (Feinstein and Parks, 2002;Feinstein, Raab and Stefanelli, 2005;Stutts, 1995).…”