Dr. Simon Were

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Dr. Were Simon Okwachi

swere

Contact details

Department of Nutritional Sciences

School of SPHBS&T (MMUST)

P.O. Box 190-50100

Kakamega, KENYA

Office No: ABA Block B Room 109

Kakamega-Webuye Road

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7055-6296

Web of Science ResearcherID: AAF-9701-2021

Google Scholar:  IbrBz3AAAAAJ&hl=en

Dr. Were Simon Okwachi.

Were Simon O holds a doctorate degree (PhD) in Hospitality Management (Kenyatta University), Masters (M.Sc.) in Hospitality and Tourism Management (Kenyatta University) and Bachelors (B.Sc.) in Hotel and Institutional Management (Maseno University). His areas of academic and research interest are in the fields of hospitality restaurant service operations, Food and Beverage Operations, Ethnic, Fusion and Contemporary Cuisines uptake, Catering operations for captive clientele and Hotel services Management. His major scholarly contribution was his role in the provision of guidance in to the tipping – food service quality impetus within hotels in Kisumu County. He has a specialization in hospitality food and beverage operations management with over five years teaching experience at undergraduate level. Consequently, he has over a decade of experience in the industry, serving in various hospitality organizations in different capacities. He therefore has a perfect blend of both academia as well as industry practice with hands-on experience in food and beverage department as well as general hotel management. He has served widely within the food and beverage departments of Golf Hotel Kakamega, and Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge. Further, he worked as a senior caterer and thereafter as the acting catering officer (Catering Functions Department) at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology for five years. During his tenure in the industry, he served on various committees. One major contribution, together with the general manager, was the revival of the Kakamega Golf Hotel during the years 2008 - 2012 when the hotel was purely making losses and was enlisted for privatisation. He is a member of the Tourism Professional Association, and currently serves a lecturer in the department of Nutritional Sciences (Hospitality and Institutional Management program). He is also the coordinator hospitality and institutional management program as well as the departmental time tabler.

Some of his key published works include: -

  1. Simon O. Were (2024) An Engel-Kollat-Blackwell model application on restaurant clientele purchase decision-making processes in commercial eateries in Kakamega County, Kenya, Research in Hospitality Management, 13:3, 153-159, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2024.2322220
  2. Were Simon, O. (2023). Hospitality Restaurant Operations: Safety and Hygiene Practices. IntechOpen, available at: http://mts.intechopen.com/articles/show/title/hospitality-restaurant-operations-safety-and-hygiene-practices. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112351
  3. Simon O. Were & Vincent N Maranga (2022) Hotel facilities’ management practices and employee performance in Kenya, Research in Hospitality Management, 12:2,125-131, DOI: 10.1080/22243534.2022.2133069. available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2022.2133069
  4. Simon O Were, Vincent N Maranga. Hotel facilities’ management practices and employee performance in Kenya.Published online: 21 Nov 2022 in Research in Hospitality Management. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2022.2133069
  5. Simon O Were, Moses N Miricho, Vincent N Maranga. Pragmatic restaurant tipping in star-rated hotels in Kenya.Taylor & Francis Group.Published online: 10 Dec 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2021.2006927
  6. Were S, O., Miricho N, M., & Maranga N., V. Restaurant Tipping Behavior and its Inspiration on Food Service Empathy; A focus on two and three-star hotels in Kenya. International Hospitality Review, Emerald Publishing. Available at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2516-8142.htm,      DOI:https://doi.org/10.1108/IHR-07-2020-0026.
  7. Were Simon O., Miricho Moses, N., & Maranga Vincent N (2020). Foodservice clientele tipping behavior and its reliability in Kenya. Journal of Foodservice Business Research. Available at: DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/15378020.2020.1834058 .
  8. Were Simon O., Miricho Moses N., Maranga Vincent N.A Study into the Relationship between Restaurant Tipping and Food Service Tangibility in Kisumu County, Kenya. European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation. Volume 10, Issue 2 2020. Available at: DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ejthr-2020-0016.
  9. Were S, O., Miricho N, M., & Maranga, N, V. The Tipping Consequence on Hospitality’s Restaurant Food and Beverage Service Responsiveness in Kisumu County -Kenya International Journal of Tourism & Hospitality Reviews eISSN: 2395-7654, Vol 7, No 1, 2020, pp 11-19,  Available at: https://giapjournals.com/ijthr/issue/view/130. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18510/ijthr.2020.712.
  10.  Were S, O., Miricho N, M., & Maranga, N, V. A Customer - Employee Encounter: A Review of Customer Quality Control on Restaurant Food Service. International Journal of Management, Innovation & Entrepreneurial Research eISSN: 2395-7662, Vol. 5, No 2, 2019, pp 01-10, DOI:  https://doi.org/10.18510/ijmier.2019.521.
  11. Were S, O., Miricho N, M., & Maranga, N, V. A Review of Hospitality’s Restaurant Operations: An Explanation of the Tipping Phenomenon. Global Journal of Management and Business Research: Administration and Management Volume 19 Issue 5, Version 1.0 Year 2019 Online ISSN: 2249-4588 & Print ISSN: 0975-5853.
  12. Were S, O., Miricho N, M., & Maranga, N, V. Study of food security through food waste and loss control mechanism in Kenya. International Journal of Tourism & Hospitality Reviews (IJTHR) eISSN: 2395-7654, Vol 5, No 1, 2018, pp 09-21.  Available at: www.ijthr.in.DOI:https://doi.org/10.18510/ijthr.2018.512
  13. Were S, O., Miricho N, M., & Maranga N., V. "The Role of Culture on Food Choices: A Case Study of Hospitality Clientele in Independent Commercial Catering Outlets." International Journal of Research in Tourism and Hospitality (IJRTH), vol 3, no. 4, 2017, pp. 44-53.  Available at: www.arcjournals.org. DOI: httsp://doi.org/10.20431/2455-0043.0304005
  14. Were S., O. “A Study in to the Influence of Performance Factors on Performance Ratings: an Institutional Catering Perspective of Public Universities in Western Kenya." International Journal of Research in Tourism and Hospitality (IJRTH), vol 3, no. 4, 2017, pp. 30-43.  Available at: www.arcjournals.org. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20431/2455-0043.0304004
  15. Were S., O. “Cultural Determinants of Food Choices by hospitality clientele in Commercial Catering Outlets within Kisumu County, Kenya.” International Journal of Novel Research in Interdisciplinary Studies (IJNRIS) Vol. 3, Issue 6, pp: (1-14), Month: November – December 2016; ISSN 2394-9716. Available at: noveltyjournals.com

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