Rita Ralston
Rita graduated in management and joined MMU in 1978 following a number of years in industry. She gained her Masters (by Research) in HRM and is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Her teaching expertise includes HRM, strategic management and research methods. She has experience of external examining, programme leadership and managing undergraduate dissertations across a range of programmes. She supervises PhD students and has been involved in examining PhD candidates and chairing viva panels.
She also has extensive consultancy experience in management development within UK hospitality organisations and curriculum development in the tourism and hospitality industries in Central and Eastern Europe. She has delivered a number of short courses and seminars at the Universities of Sophia and Bourgas in Bulgaria and Budapest Business School where she co-authored a HRM textbook with the late Dr.Judit Hutiray, She has conducted management development seminars (for academics, industrialists and students) at universities across C&E Europe on behalf of La Fondation pour la Formation Hoteliere.
Rita is a founding member of the Service Industries Journal where she continues to act as a peer reviewer for this and several other academic journals including Event Management; European Sport Management Quarterly; Tourism Planning and Development. She is also a research advisor to the International Centre for Tourism, MMU and a member of several other regional and national research organizations. Rita retired from lecturing in 2011 and continued her research activities as a Visiting Research Fellow until 2015. She is now fully retired from academic life.
She also has extensive consultancy experience in management development within UK hospitality organisations and curriculum development in the tourism and hospitality industries in Central and Eastern Europe. She has delivered a number of short courses and seminars at the Universities of Sophia and Bourgas in Bulgaria and Budapest Business School where she co-authored a HRM textbook with the late Dr.Judit Hutiray, She has conducted management development seminars (for academics, industrialists and students) at universities across C&E Europe on behalf of La Fondation pour la Formation Hoteliere.
Rita is a founding member of the Service Industries Journal where she continues to act as a peer reviewer for this and several other academic journals including Event Management; European Sport Management Quarterly; Tourism Planning and Development. She is also a research advisor to the International Centre for Tourism, MMU and a member of several other regional and national research organizations. Rita retired from lecturing in 2011 and continued her research activities as a Visiting Research Fellow until 2015. She is now fully retired from academic life.
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Papers by Rita Ralston
Ambassador volunteer programmes to create a sustainable tourism
legacy. It contributes to the literature on event legacies, particularly the
role of volunteers promoting tourism in their home destination. Using an
exploratory inductive approach, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted, in 2012 and 2013, with managers of all 11 Ambassador
volunteer programmes associated with London and the 10 other regional venues that hosted London Olympic and Paralympic Games events. These show that volunteer Ambassadors enhanced tourist experiences during the Games through the Ambassadors’ pride in their home city, enthusiasm and local knowledge. However, although the Ambassador programmes had aspirations to create a sustainable legacy, in the form of a pool of experienced volunteers to support future events and further tourist visits, this was severely constrained by cuts in local government budgets. The Government Olympic Executive provided a coordinating role leading up to the Games, but neither they nor the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games provided practical assistance for legacy development.
This was a missed opportunity to channel the enthusiasm of mega-event volunteers into further volunteering to promote tourism.
Ambassador volunteer programmes to create a sustainable tourism
legacy. It contributes to the literature on event legacies, particularly the
role of volunteers promoting tourism in their home destination. Using an
exploratory inductive approach, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted, in 2012 and 2013, with managers of all 11 Ambassador
volunteer programmes associated with London and the 10 other regional venues that hosted London Olympic and Paralympic Games events. These show that volunteer Ambassadors enhanced tourist experiences during the Games through the Ambassadors’ pride in their home city, enthusiasm and local knowledge. However, although the Ambassador programmes had aspirations to create a sustainable legacy, in the form of a pool of experienced volunteers to support future events and further tourist visits, this was severely constrained by cuts in local government budgets. The Government Olympic Executive provided a coordinating role leading up to the Games, but neither they nor the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games provided practical assistance for legacy development.
This was a missed opportunity to channel the enthusiasm of mega-event volunteers into further volunteering to promote tourism.