<p>The current research aims to identify the variables that influence turnover intentions. In particular, this research explored the concept of turnover intentions by investigating the mediating effects of job satisfaction and psychological capital amongst a sample of 70 employees involved in the tourism industry. The study highlights that employees within the tourism industry within the Western Cape were the most satisfied with work content, and the least satisfied with leadership / supervision. The results emanating from the current study indicate that there is a strong, inverse relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention amongst tourism employees in the Western Cape. Furthermore, the study revealed that a statistically significant, inverse relationship exists between psychological capital and turnover intention. Multiple regression analysis revealed these variables significantly explained the variance in turnover intention.</p>

The economic growth in the tourism industry is changing the structure of labour markets, increasing the level of competitiveness and thereby creating a need for improved labour productivity and a more flexible workforce. Education and the creation of employment are among the key priorities of the South African government. This process can be successful only if companies raise performance and productivity standards through the enhancement and development of skills. To succeed in the rebuilding process, it is imperative that the various stakeholders interact to establish the composition of the relevant skills and qualifications required. Consequently, the growth of job opportunities in the tourism sector has uncovered various challenges, including gaps in the areas of education, training and development. These gaps have resulted in low levels of productivity and are currently creating unsatisfied expectations for students and job providers. Hence, it is a priority of government to develop quality Learnerships and Internships in South Africa to improve skills and the qualifications of the tourism workforce. Employers are increasingly conscious of the value for money from their investments in training and are demanding that training be more deliberately aligned with the strategic needs of their organisations. However, the tourism industry is still complaining that learners are not adequately prepared for the workplace and the learners believe that they have sufficient knowledge to meet the needs of the industry. The purpose of this research was to analyse the skills expectations of learners versus employers: the case of the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport SETA (CATHSSETA). To achieve this aim, the following objectives were set: to analyse literature concerning human resource management with the main focus falling on training, to contextualise the current tourism education environment in South Africa, to compare the differences in skills expectations between learners and employers in the tourism industry and, lastly, to draw conclusions and make recommendations regarding the skills expectations in tourism education. This was achieved by conducting quantitative research by means of a structured questionnaire that was distributed to 202 employers and 1023 learners on the CATHSSETA database. The questionnaires were linked and captured on an online program named SurveyMonkey. The application of SPSS, descriptive statistics, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, ANOVA and t-tests resulted in indicating various significant differences between skills expected by employers and skills presented by learners. These statistical analysis methods were used to demonstrate the gaps between the skills expectation of the role players. It was surprising to find that significant differences existed for most skills with the biggest gaps on self-reliance and people skills. The employers’ survey reflected that a priority for employers is customer orientation and learners’ willingness to learn. In all instances, employers expected learners to be better skilled than was the actual case. The results suggest that the learners are unable to adhere to the current demands of the industry. It was also found that learners rated their own skills much higher than the perception of employers. The results of this study can be used to assist CATHSSETA in improving their current training programmes to ensure they meet the needs of the broader tourism industry. It can also be used as a guideline for any training institution for improving the current tourism training programmes. This will contribute to the overall quality and sustainability of the tourism industry. / Thesis (MCom (Tourism Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The economic growth in the tourism industry is changing the structure of labour markets, increasing the level of competitiveness and thereby creating a need for improved labour productivity and a more flexible workforce. Education and the creation of employment are among the key priorities of the South African government. This process can be successful only if companies raise performance and productivity standards through the enhancement and development of skills. To succeed in the rebuilding process, it is imperative that the various stakeholders interact to establish the composition of the relevant skills and qualifications required. Consequently, the growth of job opportunities in the tourism sector has uncovered various challenges, including gaps in the areas of education, training and development. These gaps have resulted in low levels of productivity and are currently creating unsatisfied expectations for students and job providers. Hence, it is a priority of government to develop quality Learnerships and Internships in South Africa to improve skills and the qualifications of the tourism workforce. Employers are increasingly conscious of the value for money from their investments in training and are demanding that training be more deliberately aligned with the strategic needs of their organisations. However, the tourism industry is still complaining that learners are not adequately prepared for the workplace and the learners believe that they have sufficient knowledge to meet the needs of the industry. The purpose of this research was to analyse the skills expectations of learners versus employers: the case of the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport SETA (CATHSSETA). To achieve this aim, the following objectives were set: to analyse literature concerning human resource management with the main focus falling on training, to contextualise the current tourism education environment in South Africa, to compare the differences in skills expectations between learners and employers in the tourism industry and, lastly, to draw conclusions and make recommendations regarding the skills expectations in tourism education. This was achieved by conducting quantitative research by means of a structured questionnaire that was distributed to 202 employers and 1023 learners on the CATHSSETA database. The questionnaires were linked and captured on an online program named SurveyMonkey. The application of SPSS, descriptive statistics, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, ANOVA and t-tests resulted in indicating various significant differences between skills expected by employers and skills presented by learners. These statistical analysis methods were used to demonstrate the gaps between the skills expectation of the role players. It was surprising to find that significant differences existed for most skills with the biggest gaps on self-reliance and people skills. The employers’ survey reflected that a priority for employers is customer orientation and learners’ willingness to learn. In all instances, employers expected learners to be better skilled than was the actual case. The results suggest that the learners are unable to adhere to the current demands of the industry. It was also found that learners rated their own skills much higher than the perception of employers. The results of this study can be used to assist CATHSSETA in improving their current training programmes to ensure they meet the needs of the broader tourism industry. It can also be used as a guideline for any training institution for improving the current tourism training programmes. This will contribute to the overall quality and sustainability of the tourism industry. / Thesis (MCom (Tourism Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The primary goal of this study was to construct and test a Community Relations Model (CRM) that may be implemented by policy makers, tourism planners, tourism managers and tourism developers as they develop tourism policies and manage the social impacts of tourism. Five objectives were derived from the primary research goal. The first objective was to analyse the social impacts of tourism by means of a literature study. This was achieved by examining the theoretical perspectives, framework and models for assessing host community perceptions of social impacts of tourism. In this regard, it was found that the social impacts of tourism are an integral part of sociology. Therefore, the social impacts of tourism may not be successfully addressed without drawing on the methods and perspectives of sociology. This indicates clearly that there is a relationship between sociology and other social science disciplines, particularly tourism management. The host communities' perceptions of tourism may be positive or negative and are critical in policy planning and management because they affect the behaviour of the residents toward the tourists. The second objective was to analyse the role of the community by means of a literature study. This objective was achieved by examining the role of the government, the private sector and the community in managing the social impacts of tourism. It was found that the main roles of the government are to facilitate, coordinate, plan and promote development of the nations and tourists products. The private sector's roles are to invest and promote tourism as well as the country. The community should actively participate in tourism management by seeking partnership opportunities with the stablished private tourism sector, voluntary groups and NGO's. Although the community is expected to playa vital role in the management of tourism, it was found that their actual involvement depends on their awareness of tourism activities, on how they perceive tourism developments and their involvement in tourism related issues. The third objective was to determine the components to be used in order to develop and test the Community Relations Model (CRM). This objective was achieved through both literature and qualitative analysis. Evidence from the literature and qualitative analysis indicates that the Katse community is unquestionably affected both positively and negatively by tourism developments. It was also clear that effective management of social impacts of tourism may be achieved through collaboration and partnership with the government, the private sector and the community. The stakeholders should work together in order to encourage the positive impacts and ameliorate the negative impacts. The community should be involved and made aware of tourism developments in their respective areas. Both the literature and qualitative study revealed the six community relations components: namely, the positive impacts, negative impacts, the role of government, the role of private sector, community awareness and community involvement that, were used to develop a measuring instrument for Katse residents. The fourth objective was to construct and test the CRM based on an empirical investigations. The CRM is intended to guide tourism planners, managers and policy-makers in managing the social impacts of tourism. To achieve this objective, nine research hypotheses were proposed and tested. The sample of 500 Katse residents was drawn from the household population of four villages: namely, Ha-Lejone, Ha-Poli, Ha-Mikia and Mphorosane. A combination of stratified and convenience sampling approaches were used for sample selection. Data was analysed with the aid of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). SPSS with AMOS 16 software was used to construct and test the SEM model. In constructing and testing model A, a two stage process was followed. Firstly, factors were calculated through the use of confirmatory factor analysis for the six community relations components. Secondly, the factors were used for SEM. Due to unsatisfactory data fit in model A, model B was constructed and tested. In constructing and testing model B factor analyses were not performed; instead all the items of each community relations component were used for SEM. In the resulting structural equation model for both model A and B, eight hypotheses were supported and one was not supported (H7). The results of the two models provided similar results; however, model B fitted the collected data reasonably while model A fitted the data poorly. The fifth objective was to make recommendations and suggestions on how the model may be implemented with regard to the management of the social impacts of tourism. It was recommended that the model should be implemented in the area of tourism management. In order to implement the model effectively the role players should know, understand and perform their roles and duties in managing the social impacts of tourism. The successful implementation of the CRM depends on a positive relationship between and among the role players in tourism management. Specifically, it depends on a positive relationship between the role of government, the role of private sector, community awareness, community involvement, positive impacts and negative impacts of tourism. The proposed model needs to be implemented through the partnership and collaboration of the role players in tourism management. which will lead to sustainable tourism. The most important contribution of this study is the construction of a model through which the positive and negative impacts of tourism may be effectively managed. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Administration))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The primary goal of this study was to construct and test a Community Relations Model (CRM) that may be implemented by policy makers, tourism planners, tourism managers and tourism developers as they develop tourism policies and manage the social impacts of tourism. Five objectives were derived from the primary research goal. The first objective was to analyse the social impacts of tourism by means of a literature study. This was achieved by examining the theoretical perspectives, framework and models for assessing host community perceptions of social impacts of tourism. In this regard, it was found that the social impacts of tourism are an integral part of sociology. Therefore, the social impacts of tourism may not be successfully addressed without drawing on the methods and perspectives of sociology. This indicates clearly that there is a relationship between sociology and other social science disciplines, particularly tourism management. The host communities' perceptions of tourism may be positive or negative and are critical in policy planning and management because they affect the behaviour of the residents toward the tourists. The second objective was to analyse the role of the community by means of a literature study. This objective was achieved by examining the role of the government, the private sector and the community in managing the social impacts of tourism. It was found that the main roles of the government are to facilitate, coordinate, plan and promote development of the nations and tourists products. The private sector's roles are to invest and promote tourism as well as the country. The community should actively participate in tourism management by seeking partnership opportunities with the stablished private tourism sector, voluntary groups and NGO's. Although the community is expected to playa vital role in the management of tourism, it was found that their actual involvement depends on their awareness of tourism activities, on how they perceive tourism developments and their involvement in tourism related issues. The third objective was to determine the components to be used in order to develop and test the Community Relations Model (CRM). This objective was achieved through both literature and qualitative analysis. Evidence from the literature and qualitative analysis indicates that the Katse community is unquestionably affected both positively and negatively by tourism developments. It was also clear that effective management of social impacts of tourism may be achieved through collaboration and partnership with the government, the private sector and the community. The stakeholders should work together in order to encourage the positive impacts and ameliorate the negative impacts. The community should be involved and made aware of tourism developments in their respective areas. Both the literature and qualitative study revealed the six community relations components: namely, the positive impacts, negative impacts, the role of government, the role of private sector, community awareness and community involvement that, were used to develop a measuring instrument for Katse residents. The fourth objective was to construct and test the CRM based on an empirical investigations. The CRM is intended to guide tourism planners, managers and policy-makers in managing the social impacts of tourism. To achieve this objective, nine research hypotheses were proposed and tested. The sample of 500 Katse residents was drawn from the household population of four villages: namely, Ha-Lejone, Ha-Poli, Ha-Mikia and Mphorosane. A combination of stratified and convenience sampling approaches were used for sample selection. Data was analysed with the aid of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). SPSS with AMOS 16 software was used to construct and test the SEM model. In constructing and testing model A, a two stage process was followed. Firstly, factors were calculated through the use of confirmatory factor analysis for the six community relations components. Secondly, the factors were used for SEM. Due to unsatisfactory data fit in model A, model B was constructed and tested. In constructing and testing model B factor analyses were not performed; instead all the items of each community relations component were used for SEM. In the resulting structural equation model for both model A and B, eight hypotheses were supported and one was not supported (H7). The results of the two models provided similar results; however, model B fitted the collected data reasonably while model A fitted the data poorly. The fifth objective was to make recommendations and suggestions on how the model may be implemented with regard to the management of the social impacts of tourism. It was recommended that the model should be implemented in the area of tourism management. In order to implement the model effectively the role players should know, understand and perform their roles and duties in managing the social impacts of tourism. The successful implementation of the CRM depends on a positive relationship between and among the role players in tourism management. Specifically, it depends on a positive relationship between the role of government, the role of private sector, community awareness, community involvement, positive impacts and negative impacts of tourism. The proposed model needs to be implemented through the partnership and collaboration of the role players in tourism management. which will lead to sustainable tourism. The most important contribution of this study is the construction of a model through which the positive and negative impacts of tourism may be effectively managed. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Administration))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

La mise en place d’une cellule d’Intelligence économique en Côte d’Ivoire, Cas du secteur touristique. Cette thèse porte sur la mise en place d’une cellule d’Intelligence économique en Côte d’Ivoire compte tenu des spécificités culturelles et organisationnelles de ce pays, notamment en matière d’informations. Elle s’intéresse particulièrement au secteur de l’industrie touristique de la Côte d’Ivoire. L'IE fait aujourd'hui partie intégrante de l'économie mondiale fondée sur l'économie du savoir, elle fait de l'information le maillon central de la chaine et permet aux organisations de déceler les opportunités de croissance tout en se protégeant d'éventuelles menaces. Le concept, né au sein de grands groupes issus des pays développés, ne peut souvent pas être appliqué tel quel aux petites et moyennes organisations et encore moins à celles des pays du tiers monde. La Côte d'ivoire peinant à sortir de la crise ainsi que des importants désordres structurels et organisationnels qui minent son économie, a du mal à trouver sa place au sein de cette « nouvelle » culture collective de l'information. Notre démarche consistera, sur la base d'entretiens préalables à toute analyse, à établir un modèle méso économique de cellule d'IE viable en Côte d'ivoire. Sur un plan méthodologique, cette thèse s’articule après une revue de la littérature, à la sélection d’un échantillon de 10 entreprises de l’industrie touristique ivoirienne dans une démarche qualitative reposant sur des entretiens semi-directifs. Elle se décompose en six chapitres, proposant l’aller du général au particulier. Ainsi, le chapitre premier de cette étude propose de comprendre les fondements de l’intelligence. Tandis que le chapitre II s’intéresse à l’IE dans son approche fonctionnelle et que le chapitre III s’intéresse aux PME ainsi qu’à leur pratique de l’IE notamment dans le contexte du sous développement. Dans un second temps, les chapitre 4, 5 et 6 proposent d’approfondir notre étude en effectuant l’état des lieux de l’économie de la connaissance au sein du contexte particulier d’un pays tel que la Côte d’Ivoire mais également du secteur particulier de notre étude, à savoir, l’industrie touristique ivoirienne. S’ensuit la mise en exergue de facteurs clés de succès de l’IE au sein de l’entreprise ivoirienne appuyée par le cas pratique portant sur l’échantillon sélectionné. Ces travaux permettent la mise en relief les attentes et les besoins des acteurs d’un secteur donné en matière d’IE et d’aboutir à une série d’actions à réaliser pour la pratique de l’IE dans le contexte ivoirien, au sein de l’activité choisie. Dans une logique réplicative, ce plan de mise en œuvre pourra être appliqué à l’ensemble des secteurs sur la base des attentes des acteurs de ceux-ci. / This thesis focuses on the establishment of an economic Intelligence in Côte d'Ivoire given cell specificities cultural and organizational of this country, particularly with regard to information. It is particularly interested in the sector of the tourism industry in Côte d'Ivoire. Business Intelligence is today part integral of the world economy based on the knowledge economy, it is the central link in the chain information and enables organizations to identify growth opportunities while protecting any threats. The concept, born within large groups of developed countries, often cannot be applied as to small and medium-sized organizations and even less to those of the countries of the third world. Côte d'Ivoire struggling to get out of the crisis and important organizational and structural disorders that undermine its economy, has difficulties to find its place in this 'new' collective culture of the information era. Our approach will be based on prior interviews to any analysis, to establish a model meso economic IE cell viable in Côte d'Ivoire. On a methodological level, this thesis is structured after a review of the literature, to the selection of a sample of 10 companies of the Ivorian tourism industry in a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews. It breaks down into six chapters, offering the go from the general to the particular. These work highlighted the expectations and needs of the actors in a given area in Business Intelligence and lead to a series of actions to achieve for the practice of Business Intelligence in the Ivorian context, within the chosen activity. In replicative logic, this implementation plan can be applied to all the sectors on the basis of the expectations of the actors.

Magister Commercii - MCom / The current research aims to identify the variables that influence turnover intentions. In particular, this research explored the concept of turnover intentions by investigating the mediating effects of job satisfaction and psychological capital amongst a sample of 70 employees involved in the tourism industry. The study highlights that employees within the tourism industry within the Western Cape were the most satisfied with work content, and the least satisfied with leadership / supervision. The results emanating from the current study indicate that there is a strong, inverse relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention amongst tourism employees in the Western Cape. Furthermore, the study revealed that a statistically significant, inverse relationship exists between psychological capital and turnover intention. Multiple regression analysis revealed these variables significantly explained the variance in turnover intention. / South Africa

For a long time, the tourism industry has had a high growth rate. This depends, amongst other things, on globalization, increased prosperity and increased leisure time. Nowadays, more and more people across the world has the possibility to travel and explore new places, which has resulted in continuous growth for the industry. Besides the positive aspects that tourism is contributing to, the growing mobility implies a huge impact on the climate. The industry’s carbon emissions are especially a contributing factor to climate change, and the continuous growth is leading to higher unsustainability. When the corona pandemic hit, it paralyzed the global tourism industry, and in Sweden the industry has been amongst the most affected. The whole industry is expected to lose huge amounts of money, and tens of millions of jobs are threatened.  However, the corona pandemic could also be perceived as an opportunity to reset and reconstruct the tourism industry in a more sustainable way. Many of the lessons learned from the pandemic, could also be implemented to handle the climate crisis. Instead of going back to the old strategies that existed before the corona crisis, this could be a moment to reconsider how the industry could convert itself into carbon neutrality. Innovation capability is important for the industry’s recovery from the crisis, and that is why we wanted to investigate whether the tourism industry can benefit from the corona crisis, by creating innovation and converting itself to enable a more sustainable tourism. In order to answer the aim of the study, we conducted a mixed methods research, where we interviewed eight different travel companies in Sweden, whilst also conducting a survey to find out how Swedes travel patterns had changed as a response to both the climate crisis and the pandemic. In the study, approximately half of the respondents stated that they had changed their way of travelling because of the climate crisis, whilst a big majority indicated that they had changed their travel pattern because of the pandemic. On the other hand, half of the respondents stated that they will return to the same travel habits as before the pandemic. Our results also indicate that companies in the tourism industry has a high capability to innovate. Many of the companies in the study described that innovation is a way to survive the corona pandemic, while others instead are biding their time and waits until the crisis is over.  According to the results of the study, companies must create innovation in order to enable increased sustainability, but the work that is being done under the pandemic is mainly being concentrated towards the survival of the company, instead of towards increased sustainability. The sustainable development is driven by both the companies themselves and by market demand, but clear guidelines from authorities does also play an important part in the adaption. The results from the study also indicate that even if there has been a lively climate debate, consumers are still more focused on low prices rather than on more sustainable options, which implies that there is a need for government intervention, since the free market cannot adapt towards sustainability by itself. However, there is still hope that the pandemic will lead to that tourism is changing in a more sustainable way, while others think that the tourism will continue as usual, or even rise more than before. / Turistindustrin har länge haft en hög tillväxttakt, vilket bland annat beror på globalisering, ökat välstånd och ökad fritid. Numera har alltfler människor världen över möjlighet till att resa och uppleva nya platser, vilket lett till att branschen har fortsatt växa. Förutom alla de positiva aspekter som turismen för med sig, så innebär den växande rörligheten en enorm klimatpåverkan. Särskilt betonas industrins koldioxidutsläpp som en bidragande faktor till klimatförändringar, och den fortsatta tillväxten leder till att branschen blir allt mer ohållbar. När coronapandemin slog till, lamslog den hela den globala turistindustrin, och i Sverige är denna bransch en av dem som drabbats hårdast under krisen. Hela industrin förväntas förlora enorma summor pengar, samtidigt som tiotals miljoner jobb är hotade. Coronapandemin skulle dock också kunna uppfattas vara en möjlighet för turistindustrin att starta om och rekonstrueras på ett mer hållbart sätt. Många av de erfarenheter som pandemin fört med sig, skulle också kunna implementeras för att kunna hantera klimatkrisen. Istället för att gå tillbaka till strategierna som förelåg innan coronakrisen, kan detta istället vara ett tillfälle för att fundera över hur industrin ska kunna omvandlas till att bli koldioxidneutral. Innovationsförmågan är viktig för att industrin ska kunna återhämta sig efter krisen, och därför ville vi undersöka huruvida turistindustrin kan dra fördel av coronakrisen, genom att omvandlas och skapa innovation för att möjliggöra en mer hållbar turism. För att besvara syftet med studien utförde vi en flermetodsforskning, där vi intervjuade åtta olika reseföretag i Sverige, samt genomförde en enkätundersökning för att ta reda på hur svenskars resande påverkats av både klimatkrisen och pandemin.  Ungefär hälften av respondenterna i studien uppgav att de förändrat sitt resande på grund av klimatkrisen, medan en stor majoritet angav att de förändrat sitt resmönster på grund av pandemin. Å andra sidan kommer över hälften av respondenterna återgå till samma resvanor som innan pandemin. Våra resultat visar också att företag inom turistbranschen har en hög innovationsförmåga. Många av företagen i studien hävdar att innovation är ett sätt att klara sig genom coronapandemin, medan vissa istället avvaktar och väntar ut krisen.  Enligt resultaten från studien måste företag skapa innovation för att möjliggöra en ökad hållbarhet, men det arbete som utförs under pandemin koncentreras huvudsakligen mot företagens överlevnad, snarare än mot ökad hållbarhet. Hållbarhetsutvecklingen drivs både av företagen själva och av marknadsefterfrågan, men tydliga riktlinjer från myndigheter spelar också en viktig roll i omställningen. Studiens resultat visar även att trots att det förekommit en livlig klimatdebatt, så är konsumenter fortfarande mer fokuserade på låga priser snarare än på hållbarare alternativ, vilket implicerar att det krävs att myndigheter ingriper på grund av att den fria marknaden inte klarar av att ställa om mot ökad hållbarhet på egen hand. Det finns däremot hopp om att pandemin kommer resultera i att turismen förändras på ett mer hållbart sätt, medan andra tror att turismen kommer fortsätta som vanligt eller till och med öka mer än tidigare.

As the Head of Department, Department of Tourism at Centurion Academy, I identified an innovative idea to transform my mentoring practice. The Advanced Diploma in Tourism Management is offered at two campuses – the main campus in Centurion and the campus situated in Klerksdorp. I was based on the main campus and served as a peer mentor for my mentee, who was based on the Klerksdorp campus. The concept of blended mentoring that focuses on face-to-face mentoring and e-mentoring was opted for, due to the distance between my mentee and me. The purpose of the mentoring was to facilitate my mentee’s professional development by adapting a whole brain® approach. My mentee, on the other hand, transformed her teaching practice by means of facilitating whole brain® learning in the Accounting module. We were both responsible for presenting the Accounting module – I was the examiner and followed a whole brain® approach (derived from previous study) and it was my mentee’s second year of lecturing Accounting. Adapting a whole brain® approach empowered us to transform our respective practices. Whole brain® learning focuses on the theoretical framework of the metaphorical Herrmann whole brain® model. The Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI®), which quantifies the degree of an individual’s preference for specific thinking modes, was used to assess my mentee, my mentee’s students who were enrolled for the Accounting module and my own thinking style preference. The data derived from the HBDI® served as baseline data for the study. An action research design was followed by both my mentee and me. We both followed our own action research spiral, which overlapped. My action research cycle commenced with a face-to-face mentoring session in Pretoria with my mentee. The study included two visits by me to the Klerksdorp campus. During these visits I observed learning opportunities presented by my mentee. Quantitative and qualitative data, a part from the HBDI®, was gathered during the study. Quantitative data included a feedback questionnaire that my mentee’s students had to complete after the completion of each Accounting theme and included the students’ marks. Qualitative data that was gathered included interviews with my mentee and her students, field notes from observations, audio-visual material from my mentee’s learning opportunities and personal documents. The findings indicate that a whole brain® approach to mentoring and a whole brain® approach to facilitating learning in a teaching practice contributed to my and my mentee’s professional development. Other additional aspects that can be incorporated in a mentoring and teaching practice to ensure lifelong learning and a continuous transformation of one’s practice were identified during the final reflection on the action research cycle that was recorded. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Humanities Education / unrestricted

The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare self-directed learning readiness and online learning readiness between hospitality and tourism college students and industry professionals. The Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) was used for measuring self-directed learning readiness. After examining the reliability and validity indices of the modified Online Learning Readiness Scale (OLRS), it was used in the context of hospitality and tourism for the measurement of online learning and training readiness. Two different study populations, hospitality and tourism college students and hospitality and tourism industry professionals, were identified for the purpose of this study. Data were obtained via online anonymous links which included the demographic and descriptive questions and the two instruments (the SDLRS and the OLRS) through Qualtrics. A total of 550 usable responses (298 from hospitality and tourism college students and 252 from hospitality and tourism industry professionals) were collected for statistical analysis. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the modified OLRS was confirmed as a valid and reliable instrument. The mean score differences on the SDLRS and the dimensions of the OLRS between hospitality and tourism college students and industry professionals were investigated using independent samples t tests. Although there was a significant difference in the SDLRS scores, there were no significant differences in the mean scores of the dimensions of the OLRS among hospitality and tourism college students and industry professionals. Finally, the relationship between the SDLRS score and the dimensions of the OLRS among hospitality and tourism college students and industry professionals were tested and reported a significant and positive correlation among these variables. This study contributes to the knowledge of self-directed learning readiness and online learning readiness among hospitality and tourism college students and industry professionals. This study can stimulate more research on the impact of self-directed learning readiness and online learning readiness in the educational and industrial practices in the hospitality and tourism field.