Foundation Degree in Service Sector Management (Travel & Tourism)

About this course

To complete the FD, you study 16 Modules. You will attend college on a Wednesday. (If for any reason you cannot attend on a Wednesday it will be possible for you to study on a Tuesday.) The course lasts 2½ years. In the first two years, you study 6 modules in each year. The year is divided up into two halves (called 'Semesters'). Semester One runs from mid-September to the end of January. (You then have a week off!) Semester Two runs from the beginning of February to the end of May. The final session runs from the end of May to the beginning of July. In each of the semesters, you complete 2 modules. Additionally, as a part-time student, you attend on a Tuesday in May/June and complete another two modules. After two years you therefore have 12 modules. You complete the final 4 modules between mid-September and the end of January in the final year. All these final modules are related to the Work-based Project.

You will study:

Managing People 1 & 2

Managing People 1 (in Year One of the course) offers a wide range of topic areas related to the use of human resources within the work situation including individual differences and how this impacts on personal development, motivation, the effect of different styles of management and leadership, models of communication and conflict management. Managing People 2 (in Year Two of the course) builds upon the learning from Year One and places managing people within the context of Human Resource Management. You will apply your learning through studying Human Resource issues and practices within workplace settings (usually your own0 and you will be encouraged to evaluate alternative approaches to managing people.

Marketing 1 & 2

Marketing 1 (in Year One of the course) offers an introduction to the concepts and principles of marketing with particular emphasis on how they need to be tailored to the specific needs of organisations in your sector. You will investigate and apply a range of marketing theories and practices suitable for service sector management. Marketing 2 (in Year Two of the course) builds on the concepts and principles covered in Marketing 1 and asks you to study marketing in the Service Sector at a more strategic level. In particular it explores the necessity of gathering information on customers' needs via market research and the need for structured marketing planning. You will therefore investigate and apply a range of marketing research and planning techniques suitable for a manager in your chosen sector.

Investigative Techniques 1 & 2

Investigative Techniques 1 provides you with a framework to acquire the skills needed to carry out the work-based projects that you will be doing. The module encourages you to present work for assessment which adheres both to standard academic norms and addresses the needs of your organisation. The module equips you with a range of critical and analytical research skills which are useful in both an academic and work context. In Investigative Techniques 2, the focus is the application of investigative techniques to the work-related project carried out in the second part of the second year (see below). You will be encouraged to reflect on the application of your research strategy and draw conclusions, useful for your management career through the "lived experience" of this major project. This project is the focus of your final semester of the programme.

Managing Service Resources

In this module you will be introduced to key concepts of finance and accounting. By acquiring these concepts, you will gain the financial knowledge needed by operational managers at work in service sector organisations. To this end, this module focuses on four main areas: sources of finance; financial planning; financial decision-making; and analysis of financial performance.

Personal Effectiveness & Professional Development

You will be given the opportunity to develop a capacity for self-evaluation, critical reflection and self-development. You apply a range of tools and techniques contained in the module and so develop your skills and self-awareness. Subsequently you will have the opportunity to record your self-development and prepare your Personal Development Plan – you will need this as you begin your career as a manager in your service sector organisation.

The Business Environment

This module introduces you to the elements of the business environment which surrounds your sector. The module equips you with the knowledge required by service sector managers to understand the economy and the private sector in which your organisation operates. You will therefore be asked to investigate the interaction of organisations and the environment, both national and European and their impact on the Service Sector business.

The 'Pathway' Modules: (Hospitality; Retail; Travel & Tourism)

You choose your pathway (Hospitality Management or Retail Management or Travel & Tourism Management) at the beginning of Year One and you follow the module throughout the whole of the first year. The module equips you with up-to-date detailed knowledge about what is going on in your chosen sector and encourages you to share your experience and your knowledge with fellow students.

Law for the Service Sector

As a manager in your sector, you will need to have knowledge of the sources of law and the key legislation which impacts on the running of your business – for example liability; planning and environmental law; employment law. In this module you will look at fundamental legal principles in a practical context by applying them to relevant case studies. You will also develop critical reasoning skills by evaluating the effect of particular laws on businesses in the Service Sector.

Managing Information Services

In this module you are asked identify the informational and decision making needs of service sector managers that can be supported by IT. Secondly you will explore the increasingly important role IT plays in managing the flow of organisational information. You will also investigate the new technologies that are rapidly altering the way information is conveyed and used in the service sector and what pressures exist for organisations to embrace these changes. Additionally you will evaluate the increasing use of e-commerce in your chosen sector.

Managing Operations:

Here you will develop both knowledge and skills through the study of Operations Management. The knowledge you gain will be applied to your chosen sector as you examine current issues and practices within this discipline. Skills developed will also be applied – you will be asked to 'problem solve' on a specific issue within an organisation in your sector and so place your learning in context. You will also draw upon further knowledge and experience from your peers in the group and so broaden your appreciation of Operations Management in the sector as a whole.

Work-based Project (Double Module):

This double module provides you with a vehicle to express much of the learning on the programme as a whole. In this module you address a work-based issue in a systematic way. You draw on a variety of primary and secondary sources; produce an analytical and evaluative research project of use to the 'client' organisation in your sector; and finally encourage the service sector organisation to adopt your findings and recommendations. In this way, the module asks you to draw on the cumulative learning acquired from all the modules you have studied as well as your own prior learning and integrate all this into an analytical framework which underpins the research. The module will therefore develop your competence in framing and writing-up the results of your investigation and enhance your personal learning and self-awareness as a manager undertaking an important project at work. This project is the focus of your final semester of the programme.

Entry requirements

The normal entry requirement for the programme is 4 GCSE passes plus a minimum of 60 UCAS points or equivelent. However, if you do not have this level of qualification - please still apply.  We welcome applications from students without formal qualifications.  If you feel you would benefit from this programme, please contact us

Assessment

The work you do on the Foundation Degree is varied and different to a traditional qualification, because it relates to the  'real world ' of travel & tourism   As well as writing reports you will be organising events, investigating a real organisation, making presentations in a group, and undertaking a 'live' consultancy project with an organisation in the sector.

What next?

The Foundation Degree is a 2½ year Higher Education qualification that develops your work-specific skills in a defined vocational area – in this case in the travel and tourism sector, where employment opportunities are growing.  Worcestershire along attracts 12 million visitors each year, spending £422 million.  In 2010, despite the recession, holiday and business visits to the UK grew.  The number of careers in the UK-based sector has grown significantly in the last 5 years -  and is still growing.  Complementing this has been the growth in outbound tourism, which is also increasing across a whole range of jobs, from tour representative to site manager.

The primary aim of the Foundation Degree (FD) is to make you more effective across this fast-growing industry.  We will provide you with the practical, transferable, up-to-date skills that you can immediately use in your career. It allows you to use the knowledge and the skills you already possess to take you towards the qualification.   

It is designed, therefore, to reflect your needs. You can either move on directly into the travel & tourism industry with a Higher Education qualification after your name or progrees your career if you already work there.  Alternatively,  you can stay on to do a full Honours degree in one extra year at the University of Worcester

The Foundation Degree in Service Sector Management (Travel & Tourism Management) is a qualification in its own right.  People with this qualification can use the letters FdA after their name. There is, however, natural progression on to a degree at the University of Worcester.  You will be given full credit for the work you have done - the FD is fully credited towards the BA (Honours) degree in Business Management at UW, and you enter the final year of that degree. In effect the FD + BA (Hons.) top-up takes you 3 years – exactly the same time it would take you to do the whole BA (Hons.) itself!

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For help applying call 01905 743456