5000. Merchandising and Hospitality Management Study Tour. 1–3 hours. Experiential learning in industry centers for fashion, home furnishings, and/or hospitality provides a context for career development as well as an overview of the industry at work. Students collect and synthesize primary and secondary data into comprehensive analyses for career opportunities, trends, brands and other appropriate elements for the fashion, home furnishings, and hospitality industries.
5080. Merchandising Ventures. 3 hours. Study of entrepreneurship skills and strategies resulting in application to a business plan that establishes a new venture with fashion and/or home furnishings products. Additionally, students independently identify and investigate innovative entrepreneurial ventures that culminate in a comprehensive research product.
5090. Virtual Merchandising. 3 hours. (2;2) Merchandising application through experiential learning that ultimately results in the development of a product- or service-based web site with an emphasis on target market appeal, appropriate merchandising applications, and a suitable web site infrastructure based on objective research including data collection from a relevant population sample. Students apply theory and critical thinking skills to a virtual merchandising format.
5200. Survey of Beverages in the Hospitality Industry. 3 hours. Examination of wines, beers, and distilled spirits with a focus on vinicultural techniques, beer and distilled spirit production and classification, styles of wine and other beverages, and theory of wine and food pairing.
5240. Global Fashion Retailing. 3 hours. A strategic perspective of fashion-oriented products in a dynamic marketplace. Included are case analyses of merchandising principles practiced by representative companies. Interpretations of global trends and issues affecting multi-channel distribution.
5250. Restaurant Development. 3 hours. The identification, examination and application of restaurant development principles. Topics include menu planning, service styles, dining room and kitchen design, materials purchasing and receiving, food production techniques, accounting and financial management, and merchandising.
5260. Hospitality Business Strategies. 3 hours. Critical thinking and strategic planning processes for hospitality operations. Analyze financial business plans, human resources plans and marketing plans for hospitality organizations; address leadership issues and global dimensions of management for hospitality organizations; analyze ethical issues and legal issues in managing hospitality enterprises, create solutions for hospitality operations from corporate and entrepreneurial perspectives. Utilize case study analysis and computer applications to apply principles.
5280. Hotel and Restaurant Operations: Theory and Analysis. 3 hours. A study of hotel and restaurant management operations problems, including the areas of budgeting, human resource scheduling and payroll control, sales forecasting, costing and financial statement analysis. Students will be actively involved in writing and discussing cases on current operations issues.
5300. Research Methods in Merchandising and Hospitality Management. 3 hours. Critical evaluation of research methods in merchandising and hospitality management fields. Develop research framework and formulate research design questions. Enhance research skills through writing a thesis proposal or research proposal.
5350. Contemporary Issues and Trends in Merchandising and Hospitality Management. 3 hours. An analysis of current issues, trends and future projections influencing the field of either hotel and restaurant management or fashion merchandising.
5400. Research Applications in Merchandising and Hospitality Management. 3 hours. Execute research projects with implications for marketers in textile, apparel, home furnishings or hospitality industries. Emphasis is on conceptualizing problems, analyzing and interpreting data, and writing for industry and/or scholarly dissemination.
5440. Consumer Theory. 3 hours. Classic and contemporary consumer theories analyzed in situational contexts. Emphasis on formulating integrated consumer behavior models for strategic decision-making in both domestic and international consumer-driven markets in merchandising and hospitality industries.
5460. Human Capital Development in Merchandising and Hospitality Management. 3 hours. Major areas of human relations skills necessary for managing employees and customers in merchandising and hospitality management are studied. Topics include employee supervision, motivation, communication, training, management development, problem-solving, decision making and stress management.
5480. Hospitality Industry Finance. 3 hours. Critical evaluation of financial management issues in the hospitality industry. Analysis and evaluation of asset structures, capital structures, costs of capital and capital budgeting for hospitality firms. Determination of financial aspects of hotel valuation. Evaluation and comparison of the financial value, worth and health of hospitality firms.
5500. Merchandising Strategies. 3 hours. Merchandising theory, principles and practice applied to the strategic planning, developing and presenting of textile, apparel and home furnishings product lines. How consumer driven markets motivate product sourcing, pricing, assortment, styling and timing in the global distribution pipeline.
5520. Global Tourism Systems. 3 hours. In-depth analysis of the global travel and tourism industries from a systems perspective. Models of tourism system used as methodological tools to understand this complex global industry. Topics include historical, contemporary and future effects of travel and tourism as related to social, economic, cultural and environmental issues.
5550. Promotional Strategies. 3 hours. Analyze internal, external and situational factors that influence promotion strategies including advertising, public relations, promotions and salesmanship. Formulate and judge promotion strategies that generate added economic value to textile, apparel, home furnishings, or hospitality products or companies.
5600. Managing Customer Experiences. 3 hours. Explore creating and managing customer experiences of tangible and intangible products and services that link merchandising and hospitality segments. Apply merchandising strategies of planning, developing and presenting products to consumers with the experiential components of the hospitality industry to provide a total concept-based experience.
5630. Event Management. 3 hours. Focus on meeting, exhibition, event, and convention industry. Topics include planning, designing, managing and evaluating small to large events; applying industry professional standards; and the impacts of event management on operations. Addresses the major trends and successful practices in event management.
5650. Global Merchandising. 3 hours. Critical analysis of merchandising principles and practices in a global context with emphasis on economic, political, environmental, cultural and social issues; geographic distribution; trade theory; trade data; and technological developments. Contrast the global dominance of textile, apparel and home furnishings industries on world trade and on consumer-driven markets by country and geo-political regions.
5660. Advanced Merchandising Applications. 3 hours. Using the case study method, students apply merchandising theory, principles, and practices to industry scenarios. Emphasis on problem solving, creative thinking, fact-finding, data analysis, and data interpretation involved in business operations. Focus on the development of leadership skills while functioning in small and large groups.
5700. Service Excellence. 3 hours. Explores the dynamics of service excellence in the merchandising and hospitality industries. How consumer-driven trends motivate service approaches, management and training procedures, and their impact in the marketplace.
5730. Hotel and Restaurant Management Systems. 3 hours. In-depth analysis of revenue management in hotel and restaurant operations. Integration of the principles of marketing, finance and managerial economics to maximize revenues within the constraints and parameters of hospitality management operational issues and guest behavior. Utilization of computer simulations to model cost and revenue flows in a realistic manner to achieve operational and financial goals of the hospitality enterprise. Emphasis on analysis, report writing and formal business presentations.
5750. Electronic Merchandising. 3 hours. Analysis and application of electronic information exchange technology related to textile, apparel, home furnishings and other fashion-oriented products. Emphasis on product development, manufacturing/production, distribution, merchandising, e-commerce and sales.
5790. Field Experiences in Various Areas of Concentration. 3 hours. Arranged.
5800. Seminar in Various Areas of Concentration. 3 hours. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
5820. Facilities Planning, Equipment Layout and Design. 3 hours. (2;2) Principles of hospitality property management and design with analysis of efficient work spaces for hospitality operations emphasizing space utilization and work flow, ADA adherence, environmental concerns and regulations, and the creation of a safe and secure work environment.
5830. Legal and Regulatory Aspects of Merchandising and Hospitality Management. 3 hours. Introduction to the laws and regulations which influence business and management decisions in merchandising and the hospitality industry. Provides a practical knowledge of the law and operation of the legal system. Focuses on the management techniques for minimizing risks associated with legal liability.
5850. Brand Development. 3 hours. Students understand the role of brand, the concept of brand equity, and importance of creating strong brands. Application of brand knowledge to brand portfolio development. Students integrate theoretical frameworks through case study analyses.
5860. Strategic Management in the Hospitality Industry. 3 hours. Application and exploration of critical issues associated with the hospitality strategic management process. Topics include the hospitality industry internal and external contexts of strategic planning and execution; growth and competitive advantage strategies for hospitality organizations; organizational resource and capability analysis; prevention and management of crisis situations in the hospitality industry including food-borne diseases and the impact of natural disasters on the tourism industry; entrepreneurial strategies for electronic tourism; and global strategic management for hospitality corporations. Cases of hospitality-specific companies, readings, and lectures/discussions are utilized.
5900-5910. Special Problems in Various Areas of Concentration. 3 hours each. Arranged.
5920. Problem in Lieu of Thesis. 3 hours. No credit given until problem in lieu of thesis is completed.
5950. Master’s Thesis. 3 or 6 hours. To be scheduled only with consent of department. 6 hours credit required. No credit assigned until thesis has been completed and filed with graduate dean. Continuous enrollment required once work on thesis has begun. May be repeated for credit.
Date of initial release: July 1, 2009 — Copyright © 2008 University of North Texas
Page updated:
February 23, 2010
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