CHAPTER 1THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

This chapter is composed of the introduction, background of the study, significance of the study, theoretical framework, conceptual framework, statement of the problem, statement of hypothesis, scope and delimitations of the study and operational definitions of terms.

IntroductionTravelling is not as expensive as it used to be with cheap flights being offered by many airlines there has been a boom in global tourism industry and an influx in airline passengers. Travel agencies are in demand nowadays, especially for people who are clamoring for cheap flight and seat sales. With the high rate of customers that agencies are having, a reliable ticket reservation system is very important to accurately provide the customers needs.As tourism students, the researchers believe that it is essential to know and truly understand how computer reservations system works for this is the bread and butter of the Tourism industry. Learning this before graduating in college gives the tourism students the edge and advantage to score a job under the Tourism industry.Global Distribution System (GDS) are worldwide distribution systems used by travel agents in making an air, hotel, car, or other travel service booking. GDS also provide pricing, availability, and reservation functionality to many online travel agencies. There are major GDS used in Travel agencies and hotels: Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo, Worldspan, Abacus, and Infini.Amadeus is a leading transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry; providing transaction processing power and technology solutions to both travel providers (including full service carriers and low-cost airlines, hotels, rail operators, cruise and ferry operators, car rental companies and tour operators) and travel agencies (both online and offline).The company both acts as a worldwide network connecting travel providers and travel agencies through a highly effective processing platform for the distribution of travel products and services (through our distribution business), and as a provider of a comprehensive portfolio of IT solutions which automate certain mission-critical business processes, such as reservations, inventory management and operations for travel providers (through our IT solutions business). (Amadeus-Iran)In a short span of time, Amadeus Philippines has partnered with some universities and colleges including San Sebastian College which started on 2009. The partnership will provide a wide range of Amadeus e-Learning courses to the schools BS Tourism Management students.

Conceptual Framework

Output- Improve the training program of Amadeus in San Sebastian.Process- Construction of Survey questionnaire- Distribution of questionnaire- Gathering of survey questionsInput- Evaluation of Amadeus Training Program to SSC-R Tourism Students: Basis for Improvement.

Figure 2: Improvement of Amadeus Training Program in San Sebastian College-Recoletos

Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the study which follows the input-process-output model. The input part includes the evaluation of Amadeus training program using self-constructed survey questionnaires. For the process part, the researchers included the construction of survey questionnaires, distribution of questionnaire, gathering of the survey questions, and personal observation. Lastly, in the output part is the researchers aim to improve the training program.

Statement of the ProblemThe researchers seek to know if the Amadeus Training Program can improve its services to SSC-R tourism students. Specifically, this aims to answer the following questions:1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents according to:0. Year;0. Gender; and0. Year taken Amadeus?1. How do the respondents rate the Amadeus Training Program?1. What are the problems encountered by the students during the Amadeus Training Program in terms of:2. Internet Connection;2. Computer Systems; and2. Outdated Programs?What is the recommended improvement to the training program based on the evaluation of the Amadeus Training Program?

Scope and Delimitation This study will be conducted in San Sebastian College-Recoletos at Claro M. Recto Avenue, Manila. This study focuses on the Improvement of the Training Program given by Amadeus to tourism students, specifically the third year and fourth year students. In terms of respondents, this study did not cover other year levels but only the tourism students who took and are taking Amadeus Training Program in the academic year 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.

Significance of the StudyTo the Management of Amadeus Corporate University. This study will help Amadeus to gain more partnerships with different universities and colleges because this will capture the needs of tourism students.To the Management of San Sebastian College. This will help San Sebastian College to improve and develop the skills and knowledge of the students and to be able to boost their tourism competitiveness.To Tourism Students. The students can benefit for they could learn and gain additional knowledge about how reservation works and can serve as a guide to students for their future study that is related to this topic.To the Researchers. The researchers can gain a lot of knowledge which they can apply and contribute to the travel industry. The knowledge they have gained throughout the whole process of this research will give them an opportunity to grow as a person and most importantly as a future practitioner in the travel and hospitality industry.To the Future Researchers This study will be very valuable to tourism for this can help the future researchers to gain additional knowledge about Amadeus. This can also serve as a reference to them in Improving the Amadeus Training Program.

Definition of TermsThe following terms are operationally defined for clearer understanding of the readers.Central Reservation System. A computer reservation system used to book travels.Demographic Profile. These are socioeconomic characteristics of a population expressed statistically.Evaluation. An observation about the amount, number, or value of something.Improvement. An act of doing something better.Reservation. Arrangement of goods and services that represents complete sale. It is also called booking transaction.Training Evaluation. A step by step training cycle where data is collected to ensure if the program is achieving its goals.Training Program. A set of manuals, lectures, trainings to enhance a person's skills and knowledge in a specific field of work/study.

CHAPTER IIREVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the review of related literature and studies both foreign and local and synthesis to substantiate the present study.Foreign and Local LiteratureAccording to Cass (2014), the tourism and hospitality industry incorporates many different types of business, such as accommodations and food service providers, transportation companies, and tour operators. As a labor-intensive industry, organizations depend on the availability of good quality personnel to deliver, operate, and manage the tourist product (Amoah & Baum, 1997) as well as for competitive advantage (Zagonari, 2009). Thus, organizations must ensure that their employees are capable of providing top quality service to increasingly discerning customers in a global market. One integral aspect of ensuring that employees have the right knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide top service providing effective training. Training and development in organizations has come to be seen as a normal cost of doing business in order for companies to maintain productivity (Percival, Cozzarin, & Formaneck, 2013) and stay competitive in the marketplace (Zagonari, 2009).Stated by Shapero, hospitality and travel combined have become one of the worlds largest industries. The World Travel and Tourism Council states that these two sectors will contribute about $9.3 trillion in economic activity by 2011. This significant growth in international travel over the next decade will heighten the importance of cross cultural service encounters and reward companies who have trained their workers to a higher level of intercultural sensitivity. Training programs which use critical incidents, specifically designed for hospitality and travel related businesses, will improve service delivery and reduce cultural misunderstandings between the organizations employees and the customers they serve. Multinational firms in all industries have included cross cultural training and critical incidents in their training programs for middle and upper level managers in the past. However, frontline employees who actually make contact with the firms customers are seldom prepared for encounters with customers from other cultures. The purpose of this study is to suggest ways that firms in the hospitality and travel industry can better prepare their frontline employees for successful service encounters with people from foreign cultures.Based on TTGAsia (2005), travel agents in the Philippines now have access to Amadeus Learning City, an online interactive course available in English, Spanish and Chinese that will further educate agents on the Amadeus system any time or day. Amadeus Learning City offers courses on basic Amadeus functionality, fares, queues and e-ticketing. A day in the life of a travel agent which consists of lessons on the Amadeus System functionality and GDS industry is particularly useful for beginners. There are also quizzes, product demos and online reference materials. Amadeus Philippines general manager, Mr. Albert Villadolid said: To enable agents to better service, Amadeus Philippines is providing Amadeus learning city free to its most valued customers.As Arnold O. De Vera of InterAksyon.com (2013), Amadeus Philippines said seven more colleges and universities have partnered with its training program for tourism students. He further added that Amadeus Corporate University (ACU) recently entered into agreements with Colegio De San Juan De Letran in Manila, Colegio De Santo Cristo De Burgos, Treston International College, Trinity University of Asia, University of the Philippines-Asian Institute of Tourism, and World Citi Colleges. ACU partner schools include Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Institute; Cebu Institute of Technology; Concordia College; De La Salle University-Dasmarinas; De La Salle-College of St. Benilde; Far Eastern University; Good Samaritan College; Holy Angel University Pampanga; Indiana Aeronautical School Cebu; La Consolacion College Bacolod; Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila, Batangas, and Cavite; Philippine Christian University Center for Tourism Policy and Development Studies; Polytechnic University of the Philippines; Saint Paul University Manila; San Sebastian College Manila and Laguna; Southville International School and Colleges; STI Colleges; Universal College of Paranaque; University of Caloocan; and University of San Jose Recoletos Cebu.According Khan, Furqan Ahmed Khan, Khan, and Khan (2011), training and development, on the job training, training design and delivery style are four of the most important aspects in organizational studies. The focus of the current study is to understand the effect of the above mentioned aspects, on the organizational performance of the back bone of this study is the secondary data comprised of comprehensive literature review. Four hypotheses are developed to see the impact of all the independent variables on the overall Organizational Performance. The hypotheses show that all these have significant effect on organizational performance. These hypotheses came from the literature review and we have also proved them with the help of literature review. Results show that training and development, on the job training, training design and delivery style have significant effect on organizational performance and all these have positively affect the Organizational Performance. It means it increases the overall organizational performance. The hypothesis will be proved through an empirical data. However, results are strongly based on the literature review. Keywords: Training and Development, On the Job Training, Training Design, Delivery style, Organizational Performance.According to Kirckpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2006), the reason for evaluating is to determine the effectiveness of a training program. When the evaluation is done, If the results maybe positive and gratifying, both for those responsible for the program and for upper-level managers who will make decisions based on their evaluation of the program. Therefore, much thought and planning need to be given to the program itself to make sure that it is effective.According to DTI Understanding processes so that they can be improved by means of a systematic approach requires the knowledge of a simple kit of tools or techniques. The effective use of these tools and techniques requires their application by the people who actually work on the processes, and their commitment to this will only be possible if they are assured that management cares about improving quality. Managers must show they are committed by providing the training and implementation support necessary.

Foreign and Local StudiesAccording to Monsef, Gilaninia and Vajargah (2013), tourism is one of the most dynamic economic activities in present age that plays an important role in local sustainable development. Tourism industry is rapidly expanding (Gilaninia et al. 2011). This industry by combining and utilizing both internal and external sources will lead to lot benefits of social, environmental and economic and cultural and environmental (Cooper et al. 2008). Indeed, the current visitors may affect also other peoples likelihood when they show them their own perception of the visit and their intention for a second visit (Darnell & Johnson, 2001). Nowadays in many countries, tourism is considered the main force to promote and economic development of the country and by providing a strategic opportunity is caused diversify in the local economy, employment, income and increased resources entered into the local environment. So the first option in the development of regional is tourism development (Khodadadi, 2011). The importance of this industry and its role in economic development has caused many local, regional and national managers and planners everywhere efforts and plan to expand it.Based on the study of Ahammad (2013), today the highly competitive market, in which business operates, requires a skilful workforce in order to remain a successful player in the competitive game of the industry. One of the main obstacles which occurs in the workplace is the lack of training and development. Training is an essential process which should be cautiously designed and implemented within all firms. The overall aim of this dissertation is to examine an importance of training in hospitality industry. Training is a part of the human resource development, along with the other human resources activities such as recruitment, selection and compensation. The role of human resource department is to improve the organizations effectiveness by providing employees with knowledge, skills and attitudes that will improve their current or future job performance. In order to implement the right training methods, the training specialist should be aware of the pros and cons and effectiveness of each training method. Besides, for evaluating training effectiveness, measurement should be done according to the models. Training refers to a systematic approach to learning and development to improve individual, team, and organizational effectiveness (Goldstein & Ford, 2002). Alternatively, development refers to activities leading to the acquisition of new knowledge or skills for purposes of personal growth. However, it is often difficult to ascertain whether a specific research study addresses training, development, or both. In the remainder of this review, we use the term training to refer to both training and development efforts.According to Khanfar (2014), training provides individuals the experience and makes them more confident. The opposite happens in the organizations that do not use training as an administrative system. Some organizations organize special training systems with experts and scientists as employees in the administration or from abroad. The wideness speed and development of the tourism sector which happened in Jordan is definitely important. The future is hopeful to develop the tourism sector and increasing its activity in Jordan. So, using the successful training methods became an important factor in making the modern hospitality and its development. Training is very important to develop and ability in competition. It is also important to make individuals more confident and have a good experience. The service organizations especially hotels depend on the way of how employees deal with guests. So, the efficiency of employees in hotels is considered an important factor to achieve targets and develop the hotel industry. It is an important factor to develop the society and its economy.According to Jones and Lowe (1990) the effective training programs should have at least two potential outcomes: change of teachers classroom practice, and change in teachers belief and attitudes. In the college level, it might include specific training and educational courses in counseling. These techniques are typical short-term strategies used for changing individual instructors teaching methods and attitudes.According to Borich (1977) categorizes teacher training programs based on competencies into three types: knowledge competencies (where a knowledge competency means a cognitive understanding derived from the instruction process or subject-matter content that the teacher is expected to demonstrate); performance competencies (which are the behaviors the teachers demonstrate in the classroom,); and consequence competencies (which are the outcomes of the teaching and learning process between the teacher and his students).According to the results of Brownell (2005) has vividly shown that teachers need specific competencies for the advancement of their knowledge and skills, which are program characteristics that include extensive field experience, collaboration, and program evaluation, although the ways in which programs incorporated these components varied. In another empirical study, Gilberts and Lignugaris- Kraft (1997) search for classroom management competencies address to teacher ability to manage the educational environment, and directly manage and assess students classroom behavior. In that study classroom management competencies are divided into four categories address the educational environment: arrangement of the physical environment to facilitate student management, formulation of a standard for student behavior in the classroom, and two categories address teachers management and behavioral assessment; implementation of strategies to increase appropriate behavior or reduce inappropriate behavior, and assessing the effectiveness of the implemented strategies. In these programs, teacher educators used a variety of strategies to help students examine their beliefs about instruction; integrate the knowledge; acquire academic, social and cultural knowledge about their students; and reflect on the impact of their instruction.

Synthesis All the gathered information from literature has been related to the researchers study because it discussed about, the tourism and hospitality industry incorporates and many different types of business, such as accommodations and food service providers, transportation companies, and tour operators and most of all bring people together. However, organizations must ensure that their employees are capable of providing top quality service to increasingly discerning customers in a global market. One integral aspect of ensuring that employees have the right knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide top service providing effective training. Training and development in organizations has come to be seen as a normal cost of doing business in order for companies to maintain productivity and stay competitive in the marketplace. Stated by Shapero, hospitality and travel combined have become one of the worlds largest industries. The World Travel and Tourism Council state that these two sectors will contribute about $9.3 trillion in economic activity by 2011. This significant growth in international travel over the next decade will heighten the importance of cross cultural service encounters and reward companies who have trained their workers to a higher level of intercultural sensitivity. Training programs that use critical incidents specifically designed for hospitality and travel related businesses will improve service delivery and reduce cultural misunderstandings between the organizations employees and the customers they serve. Multinational firms in all industries have included cross cultural training and critical incidents in their training programs for middle and upper level managers in the past. However, frontline employees who actually make contact with the firms customers are seldom prepared for encounters with customers from other cultures. The purpose of this study is to suggest ways that firms in the hospitality and travel industry can better prepare their frontline employees for successful service encounters with people from foreign cultures.CHAPTER IIIResearch Methodology

This chapter is composed of the research design, research locale, population of the study, data collection procedure, instrumentation and statistical treatment of data.

Research DesignThe researchers used the descriptive method of research. Descriptive research is a design used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. This Study aimed to know if there will be an improvement on the evaluation of Amadeus Training Program in SSC-R tourism students.Descriptive research can be used to accomplish a wide variety of research objectives. However, descriptive data become useful for solving problems only when the process is guided by one or more specific research problems, much thought and effort, and quite often explanatory research to clarify the problem and develop hypothesis. The researchers used descriptive research design to describe the characteristics of certain groups, determining the proportion of people who behave in a certain way, making specific predictions and determining relationships between variables.

Research LocaleThe research was conducted at San Sebastian College-Recoletos, Manila and base on our research amadeus provides the technology which keeps the travel sector moving from initial search to making a booking, from pricing to ticketing, from managing reservations to managing check-in and departure processes by joining up and connecting key players in the travel industry: travel agencies, corporations, airlines, airports, hotels, railways and more.Population of the StudyThe research population of the study are the 3rd and 4th year Tourism students of San Sebastian College-Recoletos, taking up Tour & Travel Agency Management with Laboratory. The researchers will select a total of one hundred and thirty (130) respondents in the study.

Data Collection ProcedureThe researchers will write a letter of request to Dr. Corazon Reyes, dean of College of International Hospitality Management, to conduct a study. Upon approval, the survey questionnaires will be distributed to selected 3rd year & 4th year Tourism students. Thereafter, the researchers will gather all the information to be tallied, tabulated and interpreted.

InstrumentationThe survey questionnaire was used to gather data for the study. The researchers devised the questionnaire which was based after the evaluation of Amadeus Training Program. The first part was the Personal Data sheet which includes demographic variables such as year, gender, and year taken the training program. The second part includes the factors that will help develop Amadeus Training Program.

Statistical Treatment of DataThe following statistical tools will be used to the interpret data:1. Frequency the rate at which something occurs or is repeated over a particular period of time or in a given sample. In this study, the researchers used frequency to access the demographic profile of the respondents such as year, gender, year taken.2. Percentage is defined as a number represented as a fraction of 100. Percentages are used to express numbers between zero and one. It is used to compare things. The researchers used this statistical treatment for accessing the demographic profile of the respondents such as year, gender, year taken.

The Percentage Formula is given as:Percentage =x 100%Where:f = frequency of each class intervaln = the total number of observation3. Weighted Mean the measurement of central tendency. It represents the average of the given data. Weighted mean is similar to arithmetic mean or sample mean. The average of a quantity is calculated after getting the total of all the values then divided by the total number. The researchers used Weighted Mean to measure the factors that will help develop Amadeus Training Program.

Weighted mean formula is as follows:

Where:x = weighted mean.xi = x1, x2, x3...... = Items given. fi = f1, f2, f3, ...... = Frequencies corresponding to the given items.Likerts Scale - are a non-comparative scaling technique and are unidimensional (only measure a single trait) in nature. Respondents are asked to indicate their level of agreement with a given statement by way of an ordinalscale.

Bibliography

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