My Academic Blog
11 November 2022

Contemporary Career Value of Hospitality Education In India

A brief Idea

The IHMs established by the Central government don’t get any revenue grants from the Government of India. The entire revenue expenditure of the IHMs are only met through the students’ admission fees. It means if the IHM admits its full students’ intake capacity it can run the institute. The capital grants are provided by the Central Govt when required. The present total cost of pursuing a 3yyears hospitality education in a central Govt IHM is Rs (3.75lakhs Tuition fees + 1.30lakhs Hostel + 0.75lakh for IT) = Rs. 5.80lakhs. This is the amount one spends to complete the 03 years programme on BSc in Hospitality course on time. After completion of this course, the students get a Job in hotel / in food retail / non-food retails / other sectors. The average salary that one gets is around Rs. 18000/ month. It’s a generally accepted observation regarding the placements that the students get promotion after two years with a maximum increase of Rs. 2000/ month in the salary. In a way we can say that after five years of graduating, if they continue jobs in hotels, candidates on average get the maximum of Rs. 25,000/ month.

I would put it like that, after 05 years of regular service in hospitality sector, the average qualified hospitality Graduate gets a salary of Rs 25,000/ month. Means the average salary of a candidate is Rs (18,000 +25,000) / 2 = Rs. 21,500/- month for the 05 years of service. Assuming that the candidate takes admission in Hospitality after 12th class, at the age max 20 years, by the time he completes the 3 years course and 05 years of Job, he attains the age approximately 27 years. Just Imagine an average hospitality qualified person at the age, 27 years draws the average salary of Rs. 21,500/ month for 7 years in the core hospitality sector. Few of the central IHMs are having specialisation in hospitality courses. But that specialisation is not really recognised by the Industry.

 

If one pursues other professional courses, regarding their salary after 5 years of service? Would it be higher or lower? A brief view was taken and the following were observed concerning other professional education. The number of students participating the JEE (engineering) admission test is very high and the amount of fees charged by IIT/NIT/IIIT& other reputed engineering colleges are definitely higher than IHMs though these educational Institutes are fully funded by the Government. The total admission fees are around Rs. (12-15) lakhs for the entire 04 years. Hostel fees are separately charged. The Engineering colleges have different specialised branches for advanced study and the students are recruited accordingly. The engineering courses have Master’s Programme and PhD programme too.

What is the average salary of the engineering graduates after 5 years of job experience? Is there any attrition among the engineering graduates?

If we take the case of the BSc Nursing students (04 year programme), we find a small degree of attrition among the nursing students in job.

What would be the average salary of a nurse in a hospital after 5years of job experience?

If we check, the fashion designing course, the attrition is acceptable and it leads to entrepreneurships too.

If we check the undergraduate Journalism and mass communication programme, there is less attrition too.

If we check Undergraduate Physiotherapy course, we find the course fees is around Rs 4lakhs to Rs 6lakhs.What would be the average salary of a BPT graduate with 05 years Job experience?

One finds the undergraduate degree course in agriculture too does not see large degree of attrition as the students join the agriculture course by design not by default.

If we make a comparative study on the investment cost on the professional courses and the return on the investment there in, we will find it will be tough for the aspiring students in hospitality courses. The salary, the attrition and the career growth and social safety will be a big debate point. As such during the last two years the attrition rate in the Hotel and restaurant business is more than 75%. So the stake holders of the hospitality need to think and act fast in redesigning the curriculum with multidisciplinary approach and flexibility. The Hospitality industry too need to take some real tough decisions to attract the young people into industry with good paying standard, ideal working hours and job security.

The 1st five years in service is referred as this period sees the maximum attrition among the hospitality graduates. The Medical course of MBBS/Architecture was not considered as these are 05 years programme.

 

Jagatmangaraj.in

 
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02 October 2021

Working Life Of A Hotel Employee

After graduating Hotel Management course, I worked few years in commercial Hotel before shifting to Academics in Hospitality Management Institute. Since then I have spent 34 years in Hospitality Academics. During this period, I have seen thousands graduating from the Hotel Management Institute. Many students had shared stories regarding the hard physical works they encounter on daily basis, nonstop, for years. Further, during my stay in the Hotel as a Guest, I too come across with few of my students working in those Hotel who narrated their experiences. Their experiences are worth listening and is a source of learning. After listening to many, I decided to pen their professional life experiences in my article. The experience stories narrated are almost the same for the people who work in food production (cooking), Food and Beverage service (waiter), House keeper & Front office Receptionists in the Hotel. I preferred to describe the story of hard physical works of an employee in a Resort Hotel.

 
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The fusion confusion with Indian cuisine

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Category: Hospitality
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- Dr. Jagat Mangaraj, Principal, IHM Ahmedabad

The research objective of this study was to analyze the contribution of destination attributes towards customer satisfaction from the perspective of tourists at two of the most popular glamping destinations in India. The study focuses on the perception of customer satisfaction among crossculture tourists and local tourists at two of the major glamping destinations in India namely Rann Utsav, Gujarat, and Eco Retreat, Odisha. The method of research includes the collection of data using a close-ended questionnaire and random convenience sampling. A total of respondents was involved in the study. Descriptive analysis of the interviewed questions has been done for the discussion and scope of further research. This study indicates the importance of destination attributes in the customer satisfaction curve which aids in development and growth from the service provider’s perspective.

Keywords: Destination attributes, Glamping, customer satisfaction

The worldwide movement of fusion cuisine has arrived in India. The beauty of fusion cuisine lies not just in the adventurous marriage of flavours, but also in the idea of blending and presenting global / regional cultures. In Euro-Asian cuisine, one would find a blend of ingredients from both cultures.

The regional cuisines of Asia are doing well in India. However, coming to Indian cuisine, the idea of ‘fusion’ has led to confusion among chefs. It’s a dream for every chef to innovate a few dishes that would make him immortal in the world of cooking. Hence, every chef tries to innovate, but a lot of them fail to establish a creation in the market. Very few gifted chefs possess the instinct to blend ingredients and flavours to derive the desired taste of the market. Some chefs are of the opinion that the authenticity of old recipes should not be disturbed by blending ingredients. They believe that new, or a blend of, ingredients may imbalance the taste / flavours/appearances of dishes as the new ingredients are grown in different regions and have their unique aroma.

 

One aspect of Indian cuisine is that it always confuses customers. Many dishes taste and look different at different restaurants. For instance, dishes like paneer pasanda and korma may differ from restaurant to restaurant in colour or taste of the gravy. These variations are the ‘brainchild’ of a few chefs who claim them to be their innovations. Further, chefs assign innovative names to their creations and sell them as ‘chef special’.

When a customer likes a new dish by a chef, he tries looking for the same dish at another restaurant. Either the customer fails to find the same dish, or the dish does not match the earlier one in taste, colour and/or consistency. The customer then gets dissatisfied with the restaurant. This type of consumer behaviour spreads a sense of non-uniformity in the standardisation of Indian recipes. To some extent, certain Indian dishes are not well-documented and standardised, which gives chefs the liberty to play with Indian cuisine.

In fact, most chefs have tried creating at least one dish in the name of fusion cuisine. But, due to non-acceptability at other hotels, the dishes slowly meet untimely death. The actual test of fusion cuisine in India meets a serious thought and approach.

 

Indian cuisine is vast and has wide variations in terms of geographical location. Needless to say that India is a country of traditions. Also, it is a fact that presently, the entire country is in the process of a transition in culture, technology and lifestyle. Cuisine is bound to be affected by this transition. If the new food habits/style are affecting the foundation of the traditional Indian cuisine, then it’s a serious case for thought. Imagine a situation where all traditional/regional Indian cuisines are partially substituted with foundation ingredients. All traditional dishes will lose their authenticity.

Imagine a case where a kadai chicken is presented in white gravy, garnished with mint leaves; or a chicken tandoori served in beaten curd, garnished with fried, slit green chilies tempered with mustard and curry leaves. All this in the name of fusion cuisine. Such dishes will definitely challenge the traditionality and authenticity of Indian cuisine.

It has been found from a survey that a majority of dishes at hotels have remained unchanged or unsubstituted. Only a small percentage/segment of the menu is changed periodically. The number of such dishes may be the mix of the so called innovative dishes and local dishes.

Few F&B managers have opined that innovative dishes in Indian cuisine have, to some extent, managed to survive the test of time. But fusion dishes—the combination of continental and Indian dishes—have not been able pass the test. Probably, the strong Indian traditional culture and popular taste for food are barriers.