Comparison of hospitality practitioners and student/practitioner work values

This study identified differences of work values between two types of hospitality workforce members: hospitality industry practitioners and hospitality student/practitioners. A total of 398 nonstudent practitioners were randomly selected from various hospitality organizations to participate in this study. There were 828 student practitioners included in the data collected from a hospitality management college. Fifteen values were identified along with their hierarchical order. Three-dimensional work value structure shared by hospitality-major student/practitioners and industry practitioners were revealed. They are: General Work Values, Management Work Values, and Hospitality Work Values. The differences of the three dimensions among the four categories of student practitioners and industry practitioners were identified. Furthermore, work values were found to differ by gender. Implications are drawn for industry managers as well as educators.