Editorial

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Volume 3, Issue 1

This theme issue explores the role of workplace action learning at Sandals Resorts International, the world’s leading luxury all-inclusive resort company. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes (WHATT’s) mission is to better understand key industry challenges from the perspective of the practitioners who lead and manage the industry’s response and to facilitate this, six of the articles are founded in the work of Sandals professionals. We have sought to present this work in an accessible case study or viewpoint article format. It has been a privilege to explore the developing role of action learning at this famous company and with some of the best professionals in the business. I am especially grateful to Phillip Brown and his team, Samer Hassan and Shelly-Ann Whitely-Clarke for their deep and sustained involvement in this initiative and to other key advocates of action learning at the company, in particular, Winston Anderson and Howard Spittle.

Richard TeareManaging Editor, WHATT

To what extent can action learning enable Sandals Resorts International to sustain its position as the world’s leading luxury all-inclusive resort company?

This theme issue is based on the workplace learning experiences of Sandals Resorts International, the world’s most celebrated ultra all-inclusive resort company. The work reported here draws from a large team of people engaged in the creation of Sandals Corporate University, serving and supporting some 20 resort locations in five Caribbean countries: Jamaica; St Lucia and Antigua in the Eastern Caribbean and the Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands in the Northern Caribbean. The contents reflect the contributions of hundreds of people over the past two and half years and one of the theme editors (Richard Teare) has co-ordinated the assembly and sequencing of material drawn from these and other sources.

An all-inclusive resort environment is an extremely challenging workplace – employees (known at Sandals as team members) often work six days a week and long working days to deliver services that exceed guest expectations. The company began using action learning because some of its leaders sensed that the process would enable more of its team members to learn at work, especially given the operational pressures they face. The challenge was to find a way of enabling them to realize their aspirations so that they could advance and improve as individuals and professionals – at work. The company’s human resource, training and services standards division (HTSS) led by Phillip Brown and Samer Hassan has now deployed as its core operating system an action learning approach developed by the Global University for Lifelong Learning (GULL), California, USA. GULL – a non-profit public benefit corporation – provides the newly created Sandals Corporate University (SCU) with action learning pathways, each with incremental step-by-step progression to government recognized professional certificates, diplomas and degrees. The SCU-GULL action learning initiative is probably the largest collaboration of its kind with ambitions to provide professional development pathways on a career-long basis for many hundreds of people. The affiliation is on-going and there have been many breakthroughs and benefits during the formative stages.

The theme issue charts aspects of the progress made and assesses the role and impact of action learning as an enabling process for personal change, professional development and business innovation and management. The opening article introduces the Sandals philosophy of exceeding guest expectations and the linkages with its approach to human resource development. Next, a review of literature establishes a practical framework for implementing and then evaluating the effectiveness of organizational learning, followed by a profile of GULL and its approach to systemizing action learning. These three articles provide the background and frame of reference for case studies and viewpoints that follow. First, two case studies in which Shelly-Ann Whitely-Clarke and Winston Anderson profile the approach and frameworks that they have used to embed action learning at two resorts in the Turks & Caicos Islands and St Lucia, respectively. Reflections and perspectives on progress and on the perceived and actual value of action learning to the company are contained in the two viewpoints that follow. These take the form of discussions between organizational leaders and Richard Teare. The final article re-visits the theme issue question and outlines the response made by the company in terms of its vision for Sandals Corporate University.

We would like to acknowledge the many people who have supported the work profiled in this theme issue. In particular, The Chairman, the Chief Executive, the Managing Director and the Group Director, Business Processes & Administration, Sandals Resorts International, the entire HTSS team and the resort senior management teams. Above all, we should like to thank the hundreds of team members who have demonstrated beyond doubt, the compelling case for and benefits of action learning at work.

About the Theme Editors

Phillip Brown is the Group Director, Human Resources, Training and Service Standards, Sandals Resorts International. Prior to his current role he held a senior management role at Air Jamaica.

Samer Hassan is the Director of Corporate Training, Sandals Resorts International. He is also a Professor, Johnson & Wales University, based at the North Miami campus, North Miami, Florida, USA.

Shelly-Ann Whitely-Clarke is the Regional Training & Development Manager, Northern Caribbean, Sandals Resorts International. She is also the Training and Development Manager at Beaches Turks & Caicos.

Richard Teare is the President, Global University for Lifelong Learning, California, USA. He is also a Managing Editor, Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes (WHATT).

Phillip Brown, Samer Hassan, Shelly-Ann Whitely-Clarke, Richard TeareTheme Editors