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Introduction
No firm is an island and so it should be
responsible not only in its internal operations and profits but also be aware
and responsive in the external environment. This paper presents the attributes
of Oxford City Hotel and the implications of its resources and capabilities to
industry and external events. This will emphasize the role of internal
organization to the context, and in return, the context effects to the
unconcerned firm.
The Oxford City Hotel: Future Problems and
Suggested Solutions
Q1: The Oxford City Hotel is modern hotel that
caters to both local and foreign tourists alike. It offers flexible leisure
break in an environment that combines cosmopolitan and traditional experiences (Skoosh)
with the vision to become the most prestigious four-star hotel venue in Oxford (Home
Initial Page). It competes against Oxford-Spires Four Pillars Hotel
Overseas, Randolph Hotel and Cotswold Lodge Hotel in that category wherein it
nearly coincides with a three star price ($85) and $78-price of the lowest
charging Oxford-Spires hotel. Exceeding Randolph and Cotswold in terms of price
and the presence of business facilities including availability of disabled
facilities and tolerance of pets, it also undermines the pricing of
Oxford-Spires because the latter is located in an isolated Thames historical
environment (Home Initial Page).
The supply of similar tourist industries,
however, is prevalent aggravated by the emergence of University accommodation
services. Common staying visitors are foreigners from USA and Australia who
usually arrive for business meeting purposes. Most of them are professional and
have continuous income that can settle the price of the four-star hotel
particularly Oxford City Hotel that is the most-equipped hotel with business
facilities among its category. Its family-oriented amenities include cribs for
children, fitness center and spa hub including services such as medical, postal,
laundry and currency exchange. The business site has facilities for meeting,
secretarial, fax and business support.
In Oxford, the most preferred
overnight destination of one-day and staying visitors is Oxford City, a location
and brand name advantage of Oxford City Hotel, while the Oxfordshire comes
second. The common purpose of local visitors is leisure while foreigners are
business meetings. They opt to stay in hotels, relatives and friends’ abode,
and University accommodation. Whatever option they choose, they regarded the
service in terms of quality and value of for their money as good. Due to these,
Oxford City Hotel exemplifies flexibility and value against its competitors all
over the supply side of tourism sector.
Q2: The 2005 terrorist bombing in London, the
gateway to the rest of United Kingdom (Price Water House Coopers), could
impede the tourism sector in the short term particularly the hotel services.
Demand, especially foreign would tend to be latent even there is potential.
Because of this, local visitors who are aware of the “real” threats and are
informed about the risks would tend to be the tough (undecided/ neutral)
customers of South East hotels and attractions. Due to the nearness to the
doubted security at London, Oxfordshire hotel industry will replicate some of
demand softening effects in tourism both local and foreign.
In 2004, 80 million passengers boarded the low
cost airline of United Kingdom while 25% of the UK population has traveled using
this (The Info Shop). The inability to stimulate the percentage of adult
population who preferred to use low cost airline could hamper incentives of
local tourists to visit Oxfordshire aggravated by the latest news on bombing
London. The percentage is limited and need to be worked-out in order to alter
the adverse effects of relevant issues.
The internal tourism within country population
was previously threatened with rail disruptions, foot-and-mouth disease and
petrol blockage (Hotel News Resource). Partly due to these and the
bombing incident, the 2009 forecast identified the outbound market as the
biggest contributor for the expansion of the country’s travel and tourism market
(Hotel News Resource). The tendency of finding refuge abroad could be a
natural response to unwanted phenomena but as the previous paragraph had
discussed, this is rather of short-term period. The good thing for UK tourism
is that after this short-term external migration, the 2012 Olympic Games
expected to held in London (Hotel News Resource) has the capability to
deter all untoward image it had experienced and echoed locally and throughout
the world. Expansion continues despite the expected fall in external migration
as every local business prepare for the pouring of developing countries’
delegation.
The problem, outbound migration, could impede
the prosperity of hotel industry in particular. It was deemed as a tool of
travel expansion, although has bad effects in the tourism sector. The
difficulty, if the pessimism persists for a couple of years, is that hotel
owners could loose profits and operate at a lost for a longer period. At the
time the Olympic Games imported international delegates and prospective markets,
the hotel sector could be caught unprepared with their facilities due to the
impact of loosing internal customers in the previous years. The quality of
service could also be tarnished due to bottleneck in the previous demand. These
adverse possibilities are likely to radiate in the nearby destinations around
London particularly In Oxfordshire.
Being an integrated industry to tourism and
hotel accommodation, the five-year forecast (2005-2009) of lowering local demand
to fast foods and home delivery products (Hotel News Resource) could
affect the value-added services within the area of operations of hotels.
Implications to hotel sector are closing of food partners inside and outside
hotel premises and limited food choices that can be largely inclined to
relatively high costs of customized menu from restaurants.
Q3: Terrorist issues cannot be
substantially solved by hotel owners without the aid of the state and intensive
support on security matters. It is a national issue that could not be simply
“forgive and forget” by private advertising claiming such. In the case of
Oxford City Hotel, the management should initially coordinate to local and
national officials about the present conditions and maybe seek permit to accept
foreigners and report any questionable character. Reinstating the peace of the
country especially of the locality and the hotels in general, could be printed
in newspapers and aired in radio. Internet interfaces and use of direct mails
could also provide the environment for customers to feel the promise of peace of
the hotels.
If the tourism industry would like its sector to
maintain profitability, it should counter the effects of the turmoil by
providing incentives occurring in the supply chain. Otherwise, a problem
(bombing) cannot be mitigated by another problem (failure to market low-cost
airline as tourist incentive, at least at the local level). The potential of
transportation costs to divert the attention of the risk-averse local travelers
is probable. For the part of Oxford City Hotel, it can create alliance with a
local airline to be able to integrate travel and accommodation services in a
coordinated chain both meeting the objectives of the low-cost airfare (airline)
and hospitable hotel (Oxford City Hotel).
The short-term migration trend of local
population can be seen as another opportunity for Oxford City Hotel to bring out
its marketing prowess and improve its services like it never did before. The
situation calls for it. Through its sole solution method to mitigate the
transfer of local market, it could send direct mail to regular ones that
embodies the Hotel’s established relationship with local authorities and strict
inspection of languages particularly on foreigners. In the mail, it should
establish its strengths and flexibility of operations. One positive branding
can be stated: ”A hotel for the family who cares about the peace of rural
ambience and seek to experience modern amenities”.
Another option can be done with fellow hotel
operators in the area. They can use their organization to lobby to the local or
national government to deploy additional peace keepers (police, sniffing dogs)
in hotel-populated areas. As it is reiterated, terrorism is a national concern
that business establishments should be concerned not to individual, short-term
and opportunistic profits rather sectoral, long-term and cooperative effort that
can bring back the positive impression to East of the country that instantly was
hang in thin air.
Since food and hotel sectors are complementary
industries, slow growth in the former due to increasing competition and market
saturation should also serve as areas for hotels to ponder about especially in a
long-run cognition. In an individual effort, Oxford City Hotel could not only
increase the size of its bar and restaurant but also diversify to a more healthy
offerings in the menu. In a cooperative scale, economic authorities should be
informed that competition should be monitored. This will provide inputs to the
state on what industry will the business start-ups incentives or tax holidays
could be rewarded as to diplomatically control over-supply of a particular food
industry.
Conclusion
Even though Oxford City Hotel has competitive
advantages in terms of location, price and flexibility of amenities, questions
of national security, transportation cost issues and health concerns remain
hindrance to fully realized gains. This firm advantage is also blurred by the
enormous competition in hotel industry that presently accounted universities and
non-commercial houses as tourist stay-in quarters. It can perhaps produce
substantial attention to foreigners, particularly those in business purposes,
and local prospects that do not have relatives or friends in the East. The
potential of internet can highlight its competitive price, location and
amenities apart from others. The hotel is amenity- and serviced-oriented that
calls for both physical and human resources investment. This fact should not
undermine the partly-rural partly-modern environment of the hotel’s surroundings
that require state investment in land and infrastructure factors.
In the brighter side, the services
(laundry, currency exchange, restaurant and bar) are variable in nature and the
customers should be charges accrue in their transaction with owners. In this
manner, any change in demand will not have substantial effect to its operations
because air-conditioning units and television are kept closed while other
amenities remained unused. Such instances somewhat cut demand looses through
savings in electricity, water and depreciation expenses. Human resources can
also be contracted if necessary especially when the firm hires contractual
employees.
Problems have its solutions and
Oxford City Hotel will not be ran-out of alternatives because its operations,
resources and cost structure are flexible. It only needs strong managerial
leadership in every decision wherein sometimes cooperation from industry
competitors and partners are crucial. Top management should also see the
problems and threats in the external environment as an opportunity to enhance
state coordination of issues that is national in scope and relevance. As a
result of these public relations, the firm can execute effectively its
advantages in a socially-conscious manner.
In
this chapter, the data gathered from the members of the PCCW Credit Union
interviewed in Hong Kong are presented and analyzed. This chapter discusses the
results of the survey and interview responded by 60 members in the said locale
of the study.
Prior to the initiation of the survey process, the purpose, the significance and
objectives of the study were relayed to the participants. They were also assured
that all the information they had provided are solely for the purpose of the
study while their identities would remain confidential. All questions asked in
the interview and structured questionnaire pertain only to the respondents’
insights on the efficacy of service and benefits that they see Athens is
providing.
For a clearer presentation, the findings of the survey are presented in graphs
and tables. To give an appropriate flow of discussion, findings are also divided
into sections. Section one gives a summary of the demographic profile of the
participants used in the study. This profile was categorized according to the
respondents’ age, gender and employment status. The discussion of the facilities
in Athens as described by the respondents is presented on the second section. On
the third section, focus is on the respondents’ response to the status of the
features offered in Athens. Section four presents the assessment of the
respondents in relation to the quality of the services they receive in Athens.
In this section, focus is also concentrated on the respondents’ overall
satisfaction on the benefits and services offered by Athens. Finally, section
five will present the overall analysis of the data gathered in the
semi-structured interview pertaining to the
visitors’ concrete experiences, satisfaction level as well as their suggestion
on how current tourist features and services may be improved.
As
seen on the table, the respondents were equally divided according to the three
categories as selected by the researcher. This is for the purpose of giving an
equal representation of the respondents regarding the subject matter. Since the
research could not afford for a much bigger sample due to time and budgetary
constraints, the equal representation of respondents can represent the
significant sample categories.
Section 2:
Credit Union Development Status
1) There
is positive development that is happening in the credit union sector of Hong
Kong.
As all of the
respondents of the study were from PCCW Credit Union, the way they perceived the
quality of pool facilities appeared to be varied. In Figure 1, although a
greater number of respondents said that there is positive development that is
happening in the credit union sector of Hong Kong, the results of the
participants’ responses seemed to be slightly well-distributed among the survey
choices given.
Generally, the
participants of the study evaluated that environmental changes significantly
affect the development of the credit union sector in Hong Kong. They did
consider environmental changes as a potential threat to the development of the
credit union sector in Hong Kong. majority of the respondents strongly agreed
that environmental changes significantly affect the development of the credit
union sector in Hong Kong. In fact, during the interview, most of the
respondents commonly observed this factor.
Section
3: Credit Union Features Status
1) The
PCCW Credit Union efficiently and fairly offers sharing accounts to their
members.
Credit union
members are able to quickly feel at ease when the services and benefits they
receive from their credit union are helpful and useful to them. As this survey
revealed, the management of PCCW Credit Union was doing a relatively good job in
making sure that their members are guaranteed of being able to open sharing
accounts within the credit union. For the percentage distribution of the
participants’ replies.
2) The
PCCW Credit Union efficiently and fairly offers share drafting accounts to their
members.
As all of the
respondents of the study were from PCCW Credit Union, the way they perceived the
efficiency of the share drafting account feature of their credit union appeared
to be varied. In Figure 4, although a greater number of respondents said that
the PCCW Credit Union efficiently and fairly offers share drafting accounts to
their members, the results of the participants’ responses seemed to be slightly
well-distributed among the survey choices given.
3) The PCCW Credit Union efficiently and fairly offers share
term certificates to their members.
Generally, the
participants of the study evaluated that the PCCW Credit Union efficiently and
fairly offers share term certificates to their members. They did consider it a
problem to obtain share term certificates whenever they needed it. Majority of
the respondents strongly agreed that the PCCW Credit Union efficiently and
fairly offers share term certificates to their members. In fact, during the
interview, most of the respondents commonly observed this factor.
Section
4: Overall Credit Union Services Status
1) The level of efficiency of the services and benefits
offered by PCCW Credit Union is high.
Credit union
members are able to quickly feel at ease when the level of efficiency of the
services and benefits they receive from their credit union are helpful and
useful to them. As this survey revealed, the management of PCCW Credit Union was
doing a relatively good job in making sure that their members are guaranteed of
highly efficient benefits and services within the credit union, for the
percentage distribution of the participants’ replies.
2) The level of quality of the services and benefits offered
by PCCW Credit Union is high.
As all of the
respondents of the study were from PCCW Credit Union, the way they perceived the
level of quality of the services and benefits offered by PCCW Credit Union
appeared to be varied. In, although a greater number of respondents said that
the level of quality of the services and benefits offered by PCCW Credit Union
was high, the results of the participants’ responses seemed to be slightly
well-distributed among the survey choices given.
3) You are
satisfied with the overall quality of services and benefits offered by PCCW
Credit Union.
Generally, the
participants of the study evaluated that they were satisfied with the
overall quality of services and benefits offered by PCCW Credit Union. They did
consider it a problem to obtain the services and features offered by their
credit union whenever they needed it. As shown in, majority of the respondents
strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the overall quality of services
and benefits offered by PCCW Credit Union. In fact, during the interview, most
of the respondents commonly observed this factor.
4) Being a member of PCCW Credit Union, you can say that your
level of security is high.
Credit union
members are able to quickly feel at ease when the level of security they feel
upon benefiting from the services and benefits they receive from their credit
union is high. As this survey revealed, the management of PCCW Credit Union was
doing a relatively good job in making sure that their members continue to make
their members feel secured. For the percentage distribution of the participants’
replies
.
Section Five: Interview with the PCCW Officers and Management
1)
What other ideas do you think PCCW and the Hong Kong Credit Union in general
should implement to improve its services to their members in the midst of
environment changes surrounding the credit union sector?
Among
the ideas that the 4 officials of PCCW Credit Union mentioned in order to
further improve their services include mainly the following:
-
Allocation of appropriate credit union programs besides
technical and professional training of members
-
Participation of the public and the private sectors of
Hong Kong in planning, financing and follow up of the credit union programs
-
Unification of the planning and follow up efforts for
development of the credit unions in Hong Kong
-
Linking the credit union programs with the needs of the
Hong Kong people.
-
Concentration on the application of credit union
programs and technical training on credit union management in order to acquire
the latest skills.
-
Supporting the suggested credit union development
programs of the members themselves
-
Utilizing all credit union resources and capabilities in
Hong Kong
-
Restructuring and updating some of the credit union
facilities and structures
-
Updating the credit union development plans to match the
members’ needs
-
Supporting credit union membership in Hong Kong
-
Directing the focus of Hong Kong to the credit unions
that need development
2) Do you agree that the
services and benefits currently offered by PCCW Credit Union need to be altered
or enhanced? Why or why not?
The 4 officers
of PCCW Credit Union evaluated that the services and
benefits currently offered by PCCW Credit Union were accessible
and in excellent condition for their members, so there’s no need for any changes
or enhancement to be done. The members did not consider it a problem to avail of
the services of PCCW Credit Union any time they needed it. The investment that
their members spent in PCCW Credit Union appeared to be worth it, majority of
the PCCW Credit Union officers strongly disagreed that the services being
offered to their members must be changed or enhanced. In fact, during the
interview, most of the PCCW officers observed that changing the services and
benefits might even cause their credit union’s integrity to be destroyed.
3)
If sufficient funds are available for improving
the services of PCCW Credit Union, where do you think the most consideration
should be allotted?
Credit union
members are able to make the most of their investments in PCCW Credit Union
because of the beautiful experiences provided by the various services and
benefits, especially when these are reliable and highly accessible. As this
survey revealed, the management of PCCW Credit Union was doing a relatively good
job in making sure that the services and benefits being offered by their credit
union were all reliable and accessible for their members. However, the
processing time of important documents within the PCCW Credit Union seemed to be
a problem for the members. Operational hours of the PCCW Credit Union office
were also sometimes inaccessible for the members. With these things under
consideration, the management of PCCW Credit Union must be able to find ways to
make these services and benefits even more advantageous and beneficial so their
members can enjoy their membership in the PCCW Credit Union. See Figure 11 for
the percentage distribution of the officers’ replies with regards to the
services within PCCW Credit Union needed to be allotted the most with funds.
Introduction
United Kingdom, UK, will be a good location for a business in the hospitality industry specifically the hotel sector. The UK hospitality industry which includes hotels, restaurants, tourism, travel services, and gambling, employs about 2 million people and contributes around 4% of UK’s GDP, making the industry an important source of wealth and job across the United Kingdom. According to British Tourism Authority, there are over 22,000 hotels, motels, inns and guesthouses all over UK. The hotel sector in UK has distinct categories such as luxury, business, resort, townhouse, and budget properties each with own characteristics.
A large Irish hotel will have a good expansion opportunity in UK. Because of the high recognition of the people in the hotel industry, there will be no shortage in the workforce. Also, tourism is a significant industry in the country; in 1999 over 25 ½ million visitors came to the UK and this number is forecasted to grow every year which will give opportunity for the hotel to attract more potential customers. Moreover, advancements in technology in UK such as hotel facilities and the internet will help boosts profitability in the UK market.
Doing Business in UK
As a business that originated from Ireland, the hotel will definitely undergo some changes as it opens a business in UK but will not have a herd time adapting to the business environment and culture in UK. However, since UK and Ireland are just neighboring countries with Northern Ireland a part of UK, the business culture, lifestyle, and habits of the people in Ireland are not very different from the people of UK aside from the fact that UK and Ireland are both European country. UK’s basic cultural, ethical and business value and business values is important to any organization, especially in a business service like a hotel, in conducting business.
A hotel business may include the food and beverage business, services and accommodations, resort, entertainment and gaming which are attractive to the UK market aside from the attractiveness to tourists of the places in UK such as London and Edinburgh as well as famous destinations in UK like the Buckingham Palace, Stonehenge and Windsor Castle. Also, there are many international companies and businesses in UK so business travelers are likely to be part of the market of a hotel industry.
People of UK are renowned for their politeness and courtesy; they are also traditionally reserved and avoid display of emotions. In UK, punctuality is very essential and they strictly follow established rules and practices, thus decision-making is a slow and systematic process. While in Ireland, employees should be informed first of how their tardiness can harm the organization, before they become punctual.
Most UK companies have relatively flat organizational structure and the principal decision-making unit is the board of directors while in Ireland, there is a lack of bureaucratic structure. Teamwork is very important but the feeling of individual accountability for implementation and error exists. The bosses in UK take the role of a coach, supportive and courageous to his subordinates. Partnerships and unincorporated bodies type of companies from overseas can not register in UK; the country only allows foreign investors with company structures such as limited by shares, limited by guarantee, private unlimited company and public limited company.
Unemployment rate in UK has increased by 0.3 % during the last quarter of 2005, which means that if a company like a hotel will settle in UK, it will demand for labor and will provide job opportunities to the people of UK.
In UK, an employer has responsibilities to employees like stakeholder pension provision, trade union recognition, data protection, health and safety provision, minimum ret breaks and rest periods. All businesses in UK comply with working time limits of 48 hours a week providing a minimum rest break of 20 minutes per six hours. Since a hotel usually employs working students 16 to 18 years old, this age bracket must only work 40 hours with a minimum rest break of 30 minutes every 4.5 hours. In Ireland, the same rules regarding working hours apply with Ireland’s Protection of Young Persons Act 1996. Majority of employees are not allowed to work more than the limited working time set by the UK law. Moreover, UK employees must be paid at least the national minimum wage. The minimum wage for adults 22 years or older is £5.05 per hour while young workers 16 to 17 years old are paid £3.00 per hour. Development rate of £4.25 per hour is applied to workers 18-21 years old and to new employees during their first six months at work.
Employees in UK may work permanent full-time, part-time or contractual. Employment contract can be verbal or written but it is advisable to make the contract written which includes the terms and conditions, job description and staff rules.
UK is a known developed country with good transportation infrastructure important to a hotel business. UK has developed roads that provide easy access to major cities within UK and in other parts of Europe. However, when employees will move from Ireland to UK, they will experience a higher cost of living and more of a social structure in UK than in Ireland.
Recommendation
When investing in a country, investors see to it that the country where they will expand their business has good transportation, distribution system and infrastructures, factors which are important in doing business to provide the business ease of transaction to customers and suppliers, communication reliability and other facilities. It is also needed to look on some personal factors that are relevant to attract and retain employees and professional workers.
In UK, a hotel business would be likely to succeed due to UK’s attractive market and having met the factors necessary for the expansion of a hotel business. UK had met the factors for labor, infrastructure and access to market. However, a hotel from Ireland should expect to spend project costs and living expenses in UK a little higher than what they spent back in Ireland.
It was a cold and awfully quiet February last 2003 in Hong Kong. The once crowded streets, where shoppers, employees, students, and tourists had converged and roamed around, had been emptied out and become deserted. One of the world's busiest cities, once brimming with life, commerce and energy, had become shrouded by a profound sense of grief and melancholy due to the outbreak of SARS.
One particular afternoon, as I was walking towards home after school, I chanced upon an elderly man who slipped and collapsed right in front of me. Were it in other days, I would not have hesitated to assist him. But this was a time of SARS: a time of doubt, calamity, and danger. We are kept yardsticks away from people at the fears that one of them may be afflicted with the disease. My mind was conditioned to see the old man as a carrier and thus I had difficulty in choosing to lend a helping hand. In the midst of this indecision, a woman stepped up forward and, without any repercussions, had reached to pull him up. The woman had on an unmistakable expression of courage and determination that remained etched in my mind, along with the memory of burning shame and gnawing guilt for having been a coward in the face of need. It was so much easier to turn away than to make the least effort or muster the slightest courage, especially when there was no apparent reason for me to do so except a call of my conscience.
The woman was very much a stranger as I am, but what made the difference was the effort she made to assist the elderly man. Somehow, this makes the woman step above me. She would exude the same bravery the late Dr. Joanna Tse Yuen-Man had when she died of the same disease she had been working in the frontline to help find a treatment. While the woman did not perform a daring feat such as directly attending to SARS patients, the woman similarly was fired by that same determination of helping against all odds. In that matter, the woman is as great as Dr. Tse was.
Ultimately, as I recognize this deep sense of regret of having not done anything that particular afternoon encounter, I would undoubtedly consider this as a mistake I would eagerly want to correct should I be given a chance to turn back time. The truth remains that mistakes are, by nature, accomplished and finished in the past. However, this does not imply that we cannot do anything else. In Dubliners, James Joyce wrote that "Mistakes are the portals of discovery." Mistakes exist not only as failed actions, but also as a means towards learning so that we may not commit the same act again in the future. In this manner, mistakes are stepping stones that allow us to be better persons and so we may do the right decisions the next time. In this situation, I have made the mistake of not helping the elderly man when he lost his step and fell down. I have made a mistake for prioritizing my selfish fears and trepidations despite the fact that my hands were gloved and I could certainly step up to help him. It would not take so long and so much effort in my part at all. Needless to say I have failed to muster the strength and bravery needed. However, this very act will allow me to have the strength and bravery in the next predicaments to come. The next time I would be able to do things right the way I want them to be. In that merest mistake I am able to mature and grow to act more responsibly.
Today, in my student years, I choose to make this a career. As the Dean-appointed Student leader I am able to unmake the mistake by performing the initiative and my innate responsibility as a human being to help others fearlessly and without hesitations. When conflicts between students should rise, I do not try to brush them off to avoid trouble. Rather, I choose to confront it and sort it out. If life shrinks or expands according to how courageous we are as Anais Nin said, I hope to be committed to an expansive life.
This paper will discuss the two short stories written by Lu Xun entitled “My Old Home” and “New Year Sacrifice”. It will specifically address the fate and perspective of Chinese peasants. It will also analyze the social background and the outlook with regards to a typical Chinese peasants and characters mentioned in the story.
In the short story entitled “My Old Home”, the main characters went back to the place and his childhood house to help his relatives in packing up family belongings that will be carried to the a new house. During the course of the story we can see that the main character has become quite wealthy and in this visit to his old hometown, various characters were met and introduced in the story. The main character is reintroduced to a Mrs. Yang who is a close friend and neighbor of the family and his childhood bestfriend named Jun-tu. In the course of his reminiscence the reader is presented with the situation that the main character had an friendly and strong bond of relationship to his friend Jun-tu but as he met his best friend again, Jun-tu is not the same boy that he used to be. In their meeting Jun-tu had a face that represents sadness, resentment and poverty. He is not only burdened because of earning a living but he was also burdened by agrarian problems mentioned in the story. During these meetings, Hung-erh, the main character’s nephew and Shui-sheng (Jun-tu’s son) became close friend but this friendship was cut short because the family of the main character leaves the village.
In this short but emotional story we can point out certain aspects and topics that concern the peasantry and rural society in China. This story presents a clear-cut division between the rich and the poor, between the landed gentry and the poor and landless farmers. A social and economic hierarchy is evident in this society. The main character and Jun-tu represents the two extremes in a Chinese rural society where Jun-tu represents the poor and landless farmers and laborers. This apparent division is clearly illustrated symbolically when Jun-tu taught and tutored his friend with when it comes to topics that concerns the land and farming (like the incident with the bird traps and the zha) while Jun-tu is being employed as a part time laborer in the household of the main character. Jun-tu taught the main character many and varied things that were not familiar to him and this started the friendship between them. However, this friendship was cut short when Jun-tu had to go home and they never met again until the time the main character went back to his village. During their childhood, social class and the economic standing in life was unimportant in the eyes of the children. They did not see that both of them came from two vastly different world.
Although they were friends during their childhood, society and tradition still dictates people of lower class to bow down and to affix the word ”master” when talking to people who are of higher class. When Jun-tu did these things when they met again, the main character was shocked and shuddered at the greeting and the practice but he cannot stop and eliminate these practices.
In this story we can infer about the conditions of a simple and poor peasant exemplified by Jun-tu. The description of his hands, face, eyes and built are enough evidence that the life of a simple peasant was hard, arduous and burdensome and he even asked for certain items like incense burner, candlesticks, tables and chairs to augment and to improve his house.
In the story we can also read about the growing friendship between Hung-erh and Shui-sheng that was cut short because the family was to be relocated. The main character then commented on the “barrier” that grew between him and Jun-tu and how this economic and societal barrier ahas also affected the friendship between his nephew and the son of his friend. This barrier would remain in effect and would separate the two portion of society. It will be a hindrance and an obstacle that would prevent each party from reaching out to one another. This deterrent cause by the economic forces that is based in wealth and landownership has a strong impact on the lives of the masses and poor laborers represented by Jun-tu and Shui-sheng. They become distant, and resentful to the people who are rich and well to do. Besides distant and resentful attitudes, the landed gentry and wealth also cultivate a feeling of apathy and indifference focused on the poor. This same barrier provides for the condition why poor peasants are forever tied to being tillers of the land and why landowners and rich families continue to get rich. This barrier and obstacle also perpetuates and continue this vicious cycle of poverty and separation.
The second short story is entitled “The New Year’s Sacrifice” which tells about the story of a woman simply named Hsiang Lun’s wife. Hsiang Lun’s wife was a former maidservant for the narrator’s uncle. The story progresses from the point where the woman was hired, kidnapped by her cruel mother-in-law to be remarried and then rehired again after her husband and son died and her brother-in-law threw her out of the house. Aside from these the narrator stated that Hsiang Lun’s wife became a beggar when the family decided that she was useless in doing household works.
In this story we can see the economic and emotional exploitation of young women in a rural family where their labor and the economic advantages that they bring are skillfully used by their husband’s family. This is illustrated when Hsiang Lun’s wife were married and remarried to men who are ten years younger than she is, this practice is advantageous for the husband’s family since the new wife can help in household jobs and field works. The husband’s family can be greatly helped by the extra help and manpower that is needed in harvesting and cooking. This is further emphasized when her mother in law came to take her to be remarried and to be able to collect the dowry for the woman.
Women inside old Chinese society were not only exploited but they exist in a condition where they cannot voice out and say their opinion and outlooks regarding certain matters such as their marital life. They are mute when it comes to determining their fate and future course in life. They cannot go against the flow of what is dictated by the society and by the family that they are married to. This is exemplified when the mother-in-law decided to arrange a marriage between Hsiang Lun’s wife and a certain man living in the mountains. Even if she protested, shouted out her objections and injured herself, she was eventually remarried. After her husband and only son were killed, she was thrown out of her house because a brother in law decided to live in her house. There was no objection and protest on the part of Hsiang Lun’s wife because she knew that in the Chinese society, she has no power and influence against the family of the husband, the brother in law meanwhile was downright cruel when he unceremoniously threw the woman from her house. When all benefits and profits from a woman in an old Chinese society are exhausted, the woman serves no purpose and is promptly disposed.
On the short story we can see that there is an atmosphere of apathy and indifference that exist between people when the old Chinese society is viewed. In this society an atmosphere or outlook of indifference is presented when they the people of the village made fun of the story regarding the event about the son of Hsiang Lun’s wife. Although at first they were receptive and sympathetic to the story regarding the son, they soon became bored in it, made fun with it, and imitated it and added sarcasm and criticism to a story that needs sympathy and understanding. The village did not also provided attention and care to the woman when she became beggar and literally forgetting her although she had become a part of the village during her younger years.
The story and the events that were mentioned in it happened during the celebration of the Chinese New Year. The reader is presented with Chinese traditional practices and traditions such as using candlesticks, making sacrificial offerings and offering prayers and other precious objects to the gods. It also presents us with the outlook and the old Chinese perspective with regards to life after death. Hsiang Lun’s wife became worried when she heard that she would be cut into two in Hell because her two husbands would fight over her and because of the advice of a fellow maidservant, she went to the temple to perform a ritual to cleanse her soul and to atone for her sins. It is plausible therefore to conclude that the typical Chinese rural peasants believed in superstitious beliefs and perform superstitious customs and traditions even if learning and knowledge is presented to them
"It can destroy an individual, or it
can fulfill him, depending a good deal on luck. No one should come to New York
to live unless he is willing to be lucky."
New York is an enigma, a rock star,
a celebrity among all cities in the world. So much have been said and have been
written about her. The city appeared in movies, in its own Broadway plays, and
many songs have been sung for the great New York, but still it seems that the
city is the most misunderstood city of all. New York is arguably the most famous
or infamous city, depending on which perspective we are, in the whole world.
Two different stories,
two different times, and one city is more than enough to inspire two individuals
to write about the schizophrenia of New York. Schizophrenia, because New York is
a city of different personality, different moods, and according to many, one can
never be too familiar with New York. “Pregnant in New York” and “New York, 1936”
are but two glimpses of the many different kinds of New York to many different
people.
Ralph Ellison’s “New
York, 1936” is an account of the city’s personality at the turn of the century
and the author’s amazement and awe of his first few days in the great city of
New York. The American writer Ralph Waldo Ellison was born in Oklahoma City, on
Mar. 1, 1914. He achieved international fame with his first novel, Invisible Man
in 1952. In 1936 he moved to New York City, where he met the novelist Richard
Wright, and became associated with the Federal Writers' Project, publishing
short stories and articles in such magazines as New Challenge and New Masses.
Ellison hailing from the South saw
racial discrimination as part of everyday life. Add to that the problems of
Great Depression during the decade, whites called for blacks to be fired from
their jobs as long as there where whites out of work. Because of this racial
violence erupted especially in the South (American Memory Timeline). This
prompted, among many other reasons for Ellison to move to New York. New York
being a melting pot of races and ethnicities all around the world was a little
more indifferent to cultural differences that black and white Americans can
co-exist, albeit strangers.
Racial segregation was common in
many parts of America during that time, that in extreme cases, public facilities
and transportations often label people through skin color. But in New York, it
was different, in fact according to Ellison, it was as if he was transported to
the Eden of American culture for he was actually free to do whatever he likes
(watching a theater which actually plays the struggle of the blacks in the
South) and as to wherever he wants to go (riding a bus without being told to sit
at the back, which was a common practice in the South) though he also said that
his freedom is not absolute for he was personally restrained by himself
unconsciously, that in escaping discrimination from the South, he brought it
along to New York where he viewed the city dwellers through the overlay of his
own Southern experience. Racial segregation was definitely a big niche in his
childhood that New York could not erase easily.
Pregnant in New York by
Anna Quindlen is a poignant story written in a
humor-filled-with-sarcasm prose against male machismo in New York. The author,
Anna Quindlen is a novelist, social critic, and Pulitzer Prize-winning
Columnist. She is the author of Object Lessons, One True Thing, and Black and
Blue.
Pregnant in New York is
a story not only focused on difficulties of pregnancy which is even made more
difficult by being in New York, but it also tackles a wider issue, specifically
being a woman along the streets of New York. Quindlen exposed New York as a
place where most lives are anonymous and indifferent to each other. New York,
according to her, has no pity and is always engage in a rat race. And in that
race it’s a man to his own, and she being pregnant (herself and a half) seemed
to be always a step behind.
Though in New York, one
could actually do anything as he pleases, privacy is another issue. In fact,
according to Quindlen” everyone is right
up against everyone else and they all feel compelled to say what they think”
that privacy is no longer an issue because there
really is no privacy in the city. The author narrates her experience with the
deli countermen where she gets unwarranted and rude comments just because she is
pregnant. New York, famous for the yellow cabs are also infamous for not picking
up pregnant women, because according to Quindlen they could be afraid or they
don’t just like it when pregnant women delivers inside their cars. So most of
the time, pregnant women have to take public transportation which are usually
crowded and where women pregnant or not wont have to expect male gallantry by
offering his seat.
The streets of New York
are also famous for thugs and muggers, which in sarcasm the author felt that
muggers in the city could take anything from anyone, even her baby, and that’s
how dangerous the streets are especially to women who are generally pitied as
defenseless. And a very typical New Yorker would alone in the street would look
for a group not for social necessity but for protection, ignoring the fact that
they are strangers to one another. And after the perceived danger is gone, they
are back to being individuals indifferent with each other.
for
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Problem
In China, foreign and
domestic hotels are one the country’s important economic source. People from all
parts of the world visit China in order to see its famous foreign and domestic
hotels and dine in its fine restaurants.
In spite of the increasing popularity of China as an urban
tourist destination, certain hotel business issues affect the influx of tourist
and the revenue acquired from this business. The problem on competition for
example, is one of the growing concerns of the foreign and domestic hotel
business in China. In addition, customer satisfaction is one of the highly
significant priorities in the business. Being the major source of tourism
revenue, foreign and domestic hotel business owners in China are applying
various strategies that will enhance the experience of visitors coming to the
city.
One of the main issues
relevant to the need of assessing service quality is the significant transitions
that the foreign and domestic hotel business in China must undergo. One of the
recognized changes in the hotel business of China was the transformation of its
domestic and foreign hotels, where the once conventional hotels were converted
into modernized ones. This transition implies the apparent increase of small
firms providing tourism services at present, while the foreign and domestic
hotel business used to be dominated by a few producers. In other words, the
hotel owners in China now have a number of accesses to strategies and factors
that amplify business competition. While this tendency has in many ways improved
the overall state of foreign and domestic hotel business of the country, hotel
owners also encounter difficulties to operate their businesses successfully,
making the evaluation of service quality all the more essential.
They have also stated that the competition in the domestic
and foreign hotel business in China is augmented by new strategies introduced
and implemented by various hotels. With the introduction of information and
communication technology (ICT) as well as other technological facilities,
tourists have more options and control over they type of hotels they want to
stay. Hence, with the present advancements, foreign and domestic hotel
businesses in China are giving more importance to specialized and enhanced forms
of services for tourists, especially the service quality of the restaurants in
these hotels.
Another issue that is related to the need for evaluating
service quality is the tendency of consumer behavior to change drastically. This
has been observed by several researchers. According to these researchers, the
changes in the consumers’ cultural values are among the most influential factors
that affect the foreign and domestic hotel business in China. The difference on
how consumer responds to products or services given to them is significantly
dependent on their cultural origins and values, which naturally affects visitor
experience.
There are a number of interconnected issues that falls
under the foreign and domestic hotel businesses in China. Competition, new
strategies and changing consumer trends are among these issues. The main focus
however, is on the comparison of the service quality of the foreign and domestic
hotels in China. One way of doing so is by means of assessing the visitors’
expectation and satisfaction. Enhancing the quality of foreign and domestic
hotel services given to the customer or tourists naturally leads to
satisfaction. This essential business element is highly significant in combating
the problems and issues cited. Hence, consumer studies in the foreign and
domestic hotel business of China are very important.
By means of evaluating
service quality and visitor satisfaction, developing new strategies for tourist
hotel facilities that will augment customer satisfaction in China can be done.
China is a popular tourist destination. Nonetheless, tourism issues affect this
industry in one way or another. The local government should then adopt
strategies and methods that will prepare the country for tourism. The comparison
of China’s foreign and domestic hotels’ service quality and visitor satisfaction
will facilitate the achievement of this objective.
In this proposal, focus will be given on the tourists’
expectation and satisfaction upon staying in the foreign and domestic hotels in
China. Specifically, this proposed study will evaluate the different hotel
features offered by the foreign and domestic hotels in China and determine the
level of satisfaction among randomly selected tourists within the vicinity. In
order to evaluate the service quality, the survey and interview method will be
used. This particular study will be of significant value to the foreign and
domestic hotel businesses in China as it will provide an overview of the current
status of the foreign and domestic hotel industry in China as well as ways on
how its foreign and domestic hotels may be enhanced.
Statement of the Problem
The foreign and domestic hotel industry in China is placed
in a highly competitive business environment. Various strategies and marketing
means must then be employed by entrepreneurs in order to enhance the services
they provide. China is among the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
With the abundance of historical tourist spots and archaeological sites, China
is one of the countries in the world with the highest number of visitors.
Nonetheless, considering the changing consumer trends as well other
tourism-related issues, China must apply ways on how to enhance its foreign and
domestic hotel industry and increase tourists’ satisfactory experience. Studying
service quality is then necessary for this issue. This study will then attempt
to answer the following inquiries:
-
How did China respond to the changing trends
in the hotel industry?
-
How do tourists describe their experience upon
staying in the foreign and domestic hotels in China in general?
-
What hotel features do they find most
satisfying?
-
What hotel features in the hotels need
improvement?
-
In what ways can the facilities, features and
services of the foreign and domestic hotels of China be improved?
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The domestic and foreign hotel business is among the
fastest growing economic sectors in China. In fact, the domestic and foreign
hotel business by itself is recognized as multi-million dollar and still a
progressing business in China. The domestic and foreign hotel business is among
the major economic forces in the country as its enables growth and creation of
job opportunities. The domestic and foreign hotel business has employed over a
million workers who were distributed within various hotel establishments,
totaling to revenue generation of billions of dollars. From these records, the
domestic and foreign hotel business has indeed become one of the most
competitive businesses in the world.
Important changes in the understanding and
management of the service quality of most domestic and foreign hotels have been
developed in the past 10 to 15 years. Various researchers, practitioners and
policymakers now acknowledge that service quality can be conceptualized from a
functional perspective and that appropriate interventions involve the
development of alternative measures to cope up.
It was also noted that the establishment of a conducive restaurant environment
for tourists to enjoy and relax have served effectively in lowering the
prevalence of un-satisfaction among tourists.
At present, this philosophical shift has extended to various settings, including
China. Domestic and foreign hotel owners and entrepreneurs here have recognized
that some tourists do not appreciate so much the quality of service that their
hotels and restaurants offer. Hence, these tourists may have the tendency to shy
away from visiting China and its other great cities because of this bad
impression they have.
For decades,
researchers have tried to discover the elements of service quality among tourist
establishments such as foreign and domestic hotels and restaurants. And while
they might have been able to identify certain essential elements of service
quality, they have yet to determine the elements that common tourists pay
particular attention to. However, it has been shown that negligence of service
quality produces consequences that foster bad impressions from tourists. Strong
evidence suggests that service quality and its negligence engage in a reciprocal
relationship that has a short and long term effect on the tourist’s future
opinion regarding the service quality of tourist establishments. One of the
criteria for identifying if a tourist establishment such as hotels is of high
service quality is whether it has an impressive environment with fully
operational facilities meant for the relaxation and enjoyment of the tourists
and visitors. A deficit in basic services, as well as skills related to making
the tourists and guests fully accommodated, significantly impairs a hotel’s
ability to encourage more and more tourists to come over to their place. When
compared to high quality serviced foreign and domestic hotels, low quality
serviced foreign and domestic hotels have lower performance rates, lower income
and are less likely to be known all over the place. As a consequence, low
quality serviced hotels often experience a lifetime of problems in employment
and publicity, and they are likely to become bankrupted even at a developmental
stage.
Take for
instance the various foreign and domestic hotel establishments in China having
difficulty in adapting to the modern standards of service quality. At present,
foreign and domestic hotel owners in China are facing an alarming acceleration
in the occurrence of disruptive and challenging behaviors among tourists that
seriously impede the performance and credibility of their hotels. Also, there
has been a rapid increase in percentage of tourists who have failed to be
impressed by the hotel and restaurant services of some domestic and foreign
Chinese hotels. Unfortunately, many of today’s foreign and domestic hotels all
over the world have both problems. Behaviors and tourist impressions such as
lack of sanitation, boring environment and unfair tourist price accommodation
rates have all been rampant nowadays. True enough, these problems are
counterproductive towards the effective performance of foreign and domestic
hotels. Serious impressions of tourists such as aggression, argumentativeness,
and defiance are even more of a threat to these poorly serviced foreign and
domestic hotels, yet common in countries which cannot afford to establish 5 star
quality foreign and domestic hotels. Impressions and evaluations of tourists,
both positive and negative, affect performance outcomes of hotels at the
employee and management level.
From a tourist
perspective, tourists who displayed their un-satisfaction remarks in staying in
poorly serviced foreign and domestic hotels had a 90% chance of not going back
or staying again to the same hotel. They reported that such tourists begin to
actively dislike the place itself and actually visit less that particular place.
Continuing over years, these tourists are not likely to change their minds after
a terrible experience staying on a poorly serviced hotel. Similarly, tourists
exhibiting ongoing, serious bad impressions well even after so many years of
that terrible experience are increasing.
Service Quality
Service quality generally pertains to a tourist’s
perception over a certain area or destination’s quality of services being
offered, people of tourists tend to interpret the services in their surroundings
without realizing it. This interpretation is based on the visitors’ needs and
preferences that will allow them to function more efficiently. This makes up the
visitor’s overall experience or perception. More recently, noted that service
quality suggests awareness but not conscious awareness. The service quality is
naturally enhanced when tourists could identify with specific environmental
characteristics that they need or are important to them. Thus, the perception or
experience in terms of service quality of the visitor is significantly related
to the environment they wanted to be in.
Service quality pertains to the
degree of efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of the policies and
tasks necessary to satisfy a firm's customers, employees, and management.
Service quality focuses on the careful management of the processes involved in
the production and distribution of products and services.
More often than not, small firms and
business establishments such as hotels and restaurants don't really have the
capabilities to directly determine the quality of their services to their
clients or customers. Instead, they engage in activities that various schools of
management typically associate with service quality management. These activities
include the inspection of their products, service development, production and
distribution.
However, service quality deals with all
operations done within companies and organizations. Activities such as the
management of purchases, the control of inventories, logistics and evaluations
are often related with service quality. A great deal of emphasis lies on the
efficiency and effectiveness of processes. Therefore, service quality includes
the analysis and management of internal processes.
With the increasing competition in the industry as well as
the changes observed among consumers, studying service quality is essential not
only to keep the industry successful and productive but most importantly to
satisfy and meet the needs of the tourists. Specifically, most firms in the
industry are applying various strategies on how to improve their services and
enhance service quality. Several technologies are being applied by operators so
as to take over with some of the businesses’ main activities. Computerized
reservation systems for instance, are one of the known advancements in tourism.
This in turn, helps in enhancing service quality as it offers them more options
and allows a faster access to information.
While there are
numerous efforts done to enhance service quality, researchers concluded that
there are also several factors that influence service quality. The preferences,
attitudes and perceptions of the visitors in terms of service quality are some
of the important factors affecting service quality. Other researchers such as
also concluded that the perception on service impacts is also an influential
factor of service quality. In general, the researchers noted that the
satisfaction and un-satisfaction that tourists experience while using the
services in various destinations affect their overall experience. Hence, he
stated that this makes this factor a significant dictator or basis for
developing standards of service or product quality.
China and Hotel Improvement
Efforts
China has long been an ancient
destination of many tourists from all over the world, who are very eager to see
the city’s famed museums and historical sites, especially the Great Wall. During
the early times however, a number of problems in tourism has been encountered by
China. Pollution, overcrowding and poor domestic and foreign hotel
infrastructures are among the country’s major concerns that affected its image
among tourists.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the
social amenities and hotel infrastructures in China have gone through
significant changes. Funds and financial support from both UK and the European
Union have made it possible for the nation to establish foreign and domestic
hotels such as Beijing hotel and the Grand Hyatt Beijing hotel. The Metro
system was also expanded massively. Other private investments also led to the
great expansion of hotels and other tourist sites.
One of the major developments that China had gone through
in terms of tourism was the remodeling of their foreign and domestic hotels. In
addition, a great pedestrian area was also constructed. These pedestrian areas
are highly beneficial for tourists as these allow them to appreciate the
country’s hotel infrastructures while walking calmly along paths of trees.
Aside from the developments done for China’s foreign and
domestic hotels, some of its major theatres and art galleries that house the
world’s most precious artworks have also been renovated. Other famous tourist
destinations in the country, including the Great Wall and the Forbidden City,
have also been extensively transformed to resemble their original state for the
pleasure and satisfaction of their tourists and visitors worldwide
China and Service Quality
It appears that most of the country’s efforts for service
quality development had led to great results based on the number of tourists
that visited the country during the past couple of years. In one article, China
has been described as a country that is busier than ever. Yet, in spite of the
crowd, the newly-built foreign and domestic hotels have been helpful in
accommodating the great number of visitors that came to the city. As a result,
overcrowding of tourists has been prevented during this time, benefiting both
Chinese residents and visitors. The article also stated that the energy
perceived in the country is good and amazing. This perhaps is attributable to
the fact that every tourist in the country felt that they are part of a family;
hence, every tourist encountered is genuinely happy to be in China.
Some write ups however
had commented on China’s spot security personnel on some foreign and domestic
hotels and described the hotels as an army camp. The article author pointed out
that in spite of their number, the security personnel do not really hinder
tourists or visitors from appreciating the country. In addition, China at that
time was without a doubt a country of hope and joy; it has definitely been a
worthwhile experience for visitors from all over.
In an article, the author described his experiences in China’s
tourist destinations. In general, the author saw China as a historical country
edging towards contemporary backgrounds. Though China and its significant
foreign and domestic hotels are important tourist destinations, the pollution
and overcrowding appear to be a disadvantage. In spite of these problems,
trekking through the country’s remarkable foreign and domestic hotels was truly
a worthwhile experience. Staying at the foreign and domestic hotels for instance
was an exciting experience for the author as it was just like visiting the
downtown sceneries. Though hotels offer different scenic views and environment,
the impression of excellence can be perceived. According to the author, staying
at the foreign and domestic hotels resulted to excellent visitor experience;
some facilities offer less elegance, while others are interesting and
influential.
Described how his trip
to the foreign and domestic hotels in China was similar to the foreign and
domestic hotels in America. The area was very busy and going to this place was
tiring. However, once the author reached the hotels, the trip was all worth it.
McHenry noted that the foreign and domestic hotels in China were different from
all others found within America as it highlighted modern facilities in
designated rooms. The artworks inside the hotels were more than a place
displaying antiquities as treasure of great tastes were exhibited and made
available for inspection. The foreign and domestic hotels were also an inviting
tourist location with its great sights, food and shops. This, according to
McHenry, was one of the main reasons for tourists to come visit China over and
over again.
During the author’s visit to China, the country was busy preparing itself
for hosting the coming Olympic Games in 2008. Thus, he was able to witness the
considerable effort China had done to enhance the country’s hotels, transport
systems and roadways. Through this experience, the author no longer doubted how
China was greatly spearheaded by tourism. There have been literatures describing
visitor experience regarding service quality to various tourist destinations.
However, studies of service quality in China are apparently insufficient. This
further stresses the need to evaluate the perception of the country’s visitors
so as to help enhance its existing foreign and domestic hotels and overcome
various tourism issues.
Service Quality in relation to Customer
Satisfaction and Needs
Gone are the days when employees work on their
desks for eight hours a day. Today’s employees want to become as productive as
possible while in their offices and interact with different individuals and
groups in different settings. The technological advancement in wireless
technologies has allowed workers and employees to access communication tools in
new settings. Because of this rigorous and hectic schedule of employees, it
became imperative for them to indulge in relaxing products and services to help
them ease the pressure after every day’s work.
Foreign and Domestic Hotel Service Quality
Service quality among foreign and
domestic hotels can be subdivided into three main categories. These are:
A. Convenience
A
particular foreign and domestic hotel’s dedication to service quality can easily
lead to the satisfaction of its customers in whatever place it is located.
Making a particular foreign and domestic hotel convenient to its customers and
visitors is not an easy task, and credit must be
given to the management who always pursue the
best service quality and craftsmanship in the name of convenience.
B. Health / Safety / Sanitation
The raw materials and ingredients that are used in the
production of beverages and other delicacies must be able to meet the high
quality standards and specifications. Even the packaging materials must be also
subjected to strict quality standards. In line to the hotel’s policies in food
and product safety, appropriate measures must be taken in the preparation of all
food and drinks to prevent the possible contamination. Hotels must also
implement the principles of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Points) system in order to show their testament to their dedication to service
quality. The food and beverages that their customers eat and drink must be
prepared using nothing but the original and unparalleled recipes. To achieve a
sweet taste, fresh aroma, bright color and clarity, only the purest ingredients
must be used.
C. Affordability of Services
Normally, foreign and domestic
hotels base their pricing strategies on several key trends that continuously
shape the global marketplace of the foreign and domestic hotel industry. One
particular trend is labeled as “premium-tization”. This phenomenon causes the
polarization of different markets. This would then trigger the consumers to
demand and pay much higher prices for perceived service quality. However,
discounting in prices is also simultaneously taking place, therefore squeezing
out the middle range. More often than not, hotels and restaurants undergo
internationalization which leads to a tighter squeeze for shelf space. This will
in turn leave them as winners. It is for this reason why most foreign and
domestic hotels value the “premise sector” so much because this would allow
consumers can to try their services at low risk and price.
MEASURING SERVICE QUALITY
A. “Consumer Understanding”
The occurrence of consumer research to determine service
quality within the economy reflects the growing difficulty in the management of
foreign and domestic hotels that require the effective use of valuable resources
such as money, materials, equipments, and people. This is the reason why
consumer research is being done by most foreign and domestic hotels in order to
determine the most effective ways to coordinate these resources through the
application of analytical methods derived from fields of studies such as
mathematics, science, and engineering.
Through this process, problems are solved in different ways
and alternative solutions are then relayed to the hotel’s management. The
management then selects the appropriate course of action in line with their
goals. More often than not, consumer research analysis in foreign and domestic
hotels are concerned with complicated issues such as top-level strategy in
attracting more customers, hotel resource allocation, designing of hotel
facilities and systems, pricing and the analysis of goods and services.
B. Balanced Scorecard
The balanced scorecard
is a strategic management system that allows foreign and domestic hotels to
clearly establish and follow their goals and business strategies and put them
into action. This approach also enables the foreign and domestic hotels to issue
feedbacks around both the internal business processes and external outcomes, and
this undoubtedly will help the hotels on their drive to continuously improve in
terms of its strategic performance and results. When appropriately implemented,
the balanced scorecard will be able to develop strategic planning into the
brains of the hotels.
The balanced scorecard
approach is based on integral concepts of past management ideas such as Total
Quality Management (TQM) and measurement-based management and feedback. The
balanced scorecard integrates feedback within internal business process outputs,
just like in TQM. The only difference is the existence of an additional feedback
loop around the results of business strategies.
C. Customer
Satisfaction
A major factor involved in the
improvement of foreign and domestic hotels involves the establishment and
utilization of performance measures or indicators that in turn measure their
customer’s satisfaction. These measures or indicators are measurable
characteristics of products and services that foreign and domestic hotels
typically utilize in order to study and improve their performance. The
indicators that will be chosen should be able to represent the essential factors
that are crucial to the improvement of operational and financial performance.
Through the analysis of accurate information brought about by the tracking
processes, the measures or indicators themselves can possibly be analyzed and
improved to support such goals.
Introduction
The latter half of the twentieth century has been marked with amazing changes in technology, transportation, and communication and, in varying degrees, a spread of geo-political stability that has accompanied economic affluence for many citizens in industrialized and developing countries throughout the world. These changes have triggered the development of a number of new industries and the substantial evolution of existing industries to address the needs of increasingly prosperous, educated, and sophisticated post-industrial societies. One of these industries, tourism, has quietly emerged to become an important force in many societies and economies in various parts of the world.
Though not usually thought of as a single cohesive industry, the growth of tourism since World War II has nonetheless been dramatic. Higher discretionary incomes, smaller family size, changing demographics, lower transportation costs, improved public health standards, infrastructure development, and hospitable environments for tourists in many destinations have made tourism, especially long-distance tourism, an activity within the reach and desires of many members of many nations. Furthermore, developments in marketing, management, vertical and horizontal integration, pricing, and tour packaging, as well as capital investments in physical facilities -- "bricks and mortar" -- and public infrastructure, have provided tourism with the necessary framework to allow the tremendous growth it has experienced over the past half century. Thus, tourism has indeed emerged as an "industry" which, according to the World Tourism Organization, in 1989 generated approximately 74 million jobs in its direct and service-related industries, such as airlines, hotels, travel services, and publications.
Hospitality and Tourism industry becomes the core development in the Hong Kong industry. With the opening of Disney Land Hong Kong in 2005, many secondary school graduates aim to apply for the study of Hotel & Tourism Management in Hong Kong. At present, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Chinese University offer degree courses for the Hospitality and Tourism Management. City University has started to offer Associate Degree in Leisure Study. In addition, the Hong Kong University works jointly with Strathclyde University, UK to offer a degree course in Hospitality.
Because of the growing awareness of tourism as an activity, an industry, and a catalyst for economic growth and development, competition for the tourist and for tourism expenditures has been significant in recent decades. One result has been market segmentation and a considerable broadening of the perceived and actual opportunities available for potential tourists. Thus tourists can choose from "sun and sand" holidays, "adventure travel," "theatre tours," "shopping sprees," summer or winter sports vacations, cultural immersion, historic re-enactments, and various other tourism experiences. All of which are an opportunity to gain education and knowledge.
As with many other aspects of modern life, tourism has brought with it benefits and costs, blessings and curses. Reflecting people's inherent curiosity, hedonism, desire for adventure and excitement, or just a need to change the pace and setting of everyday experiences, tourism has opened the door to many to seek out and fulfil their vacation as well as educational needs. Furthermore, tourist industries have been the willing suppliers of the demanded services. But all of this has not come without dissatisfaction. Perceived difficulties with educational tourism have encouraged planners, researchers, and social critics to rethink the logic of traditional tourist development, to examine the alternatives to mainstream or mass tourism, and to begin formulating better ways to integrate tourism into a broader range of values and social concerns that traditional tourism development has somehow put at risk. Fully understanding the benefits educational tourism, especially in Hong Kong, in terms of their sources, possibilities for mitigation, and implications of "alternatives" will we hope play a major role in correcting the mistakes of the past.
Objectives
The overall objective of the study is to investigate the perception of Secondary Students Perception about HTM program Study in Hong Kong. Basically, this paper aims to study the “What” and “How” this group of fresh secondary students perceive about this study. The findings will be benefit for both educators and students to have a correct image into the industry. To address this objective, the researcher explores the nature of Hotel and Tourism Management in Hong Kong: its benefits and advantages to the students, in the hotel and tourism industry in Hong Kong. Moreover, this study will focus the secondary students in Hong Kong
The objectives of this study will be to:
- To discover the perception of fresh secondary school students towards studying about Hotel and tourism course in Hong Kong
- To discover any underlying dimensions of these perception
- To find out any significant difference of the identified the factors among demographic variables
- To recommend educators both University and Secondary School on giving correct image and better matching of students expectation and institute’s expectation.
Morgan Stanley
The company Morgan Stanley has acquired a reputation for being the best in market advice and market execution. Its 53,218 employees in 28 countries connect people, ideas, and capital to help clients achieve their financial objectives. The company is one of the top investment banks, in addition to it being a traditional corporate investment banking services that offers services like securities underwriting, mergers, and acquisitions advice, it also offers brokerage and investment management products and services for institutions and wealthy individuals.
Location of Headquarters
The company’s headquarters is located in Broadway, New York City in the US. Stanley Morgan has 600 offices in 28 countries. It has offices in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America.
Industry products and services
The company offers its services for individual investors and it gives institutional services. Included in the individual investor services it gives are optimization of individual investor’s asset collection, private wealth management, platinum and gold benefits of individual investors, and assistance in finding the nearest local branch the clients can make business with. Included in the institutional services it offers are securities, investment banking, investment management and researches. As mentioned earlier from Hoovers online, the company is one of the top investment banks, in addition to it being a traditional corporate investment banking services that offers services like securities underwriting, mergers, and acquisitions advice, it also offers brokerage and investment management products and services for institutions and wealthy individuals. The company is covered by a regulatory structure. Regulatory Structures are rules and regulations of the different types of investments in different parts of the world. Products have different life cycles. Life Cycle is the Birth of products, its growth, maturity, and downside of products. The company’s products have no life cycles since these are consultancy services.
Amount and date of company's last annual dividend and current market value per share
The company’s annual dividend is $156,488,819 (net of $ 109,733 foreign withholding tax) for the year ended February 28, 2005. The current market share of the company is $4.15 as of 2004.
Key executives of the corporation
The company’s board of directors includes John J. Mack who is the chief executive officer and the chairman of the board of the company, Roy J. Bostock, Erskine B. Bowles, Sir Howard J. Davies, C. Robert Kidder, Charles H. Noski, O. Griffith Sexton, Dr. Laura D’Andrea Tyson, and Dr. Klaus Zumwinkel (Morgan Stanley Online 2000). These are the persons that ensure the operations of the company run well. They ensure that the company is traveling within its objectives and it is successful in its industry. The members of the board of directors have experienced so many things and can show a wide range of accomplishments. They had different experiences with various companies; this experience they acquired assists them in making sure the company is following a right path. The experience they acquired assists them to make vital decisions.
Global exposure: political and economic risks
Any company operating at any country may experience problems both politically and economically. Since the company is operating at many branches in different parts of the world there is a big risk that they might encounter political and economic problems. Risks are part of the daily things that companies must overcome and Morgan Stanley is capable and can overcome such risks.
Through the use of demographics problems can be given proper action. Demographics are the distribution of facts and information needed in a study. It answers questions mostly beginning with who, where, and what. It is used to measure adaptability of products from place to place and person to person. It is also used to measure worldly influences effecting company profits and growth. Problems can be given proper action. Through analyzing the demographics, the political and economic situation in a country measures can be made to give proper solution to problems.
Financial report analysis
Will show the financial report of Morgan Stanley from Hoovers online (1994). All amounts are in millions of U.S. dollars except share amount.
A. Major changes from the previous year
The table shows that from the 2003 to 2005 the revenue, operating income, total net income and the diluted Earnings per share (EPS) of the company increased. This shows how good the company is doing during these 3 years. It also shows how well the company was managed during these years. The improvements that happened during these 3 years can be well commended, as seen in the table significant increases in each category happened during these years. The table showed that during these years there were slight increases in the amount of each category.
B. Causes of these changes
These changes can be due to many things. One is due to the continuous struggle of the company to be the best in its industry. The company constantly improves it services and because of that consumers achieve satisfaction. Customer satisfaction leads to encouragement of more costumers to avail the services of the company and this affects the categories stated in the table. Another cause of these changes is the admirable management of the company. If a company is well managed good results can come out. Through the good effort of the management team the goals and objectives of the company is realized. Lastly a cause of these changes is the dominance of the company against its competitors. The competitive advantage a company has towards its rivals can lead to positive changes in the status of the company.
C. Financial strengths and weaknesses of the company
The company’s financial strength is its ability to increase its revenue, operating income, total net income and the diluted EPS. The capacity of the company to make increase in the said category helps it to have a favorable image in the financial market. It also assists in giving it a high market value. The financial weakness of a company is its inability to create huge increase its revenue, operating income, total net income and the diluted EPS. As stated earlier these were significant increases in the amount of each category but it was not that huge. Some things within the company can still be improved so that huge increase in the categories can be realized.
Global Competition
Global Competition is competition between companies throughout the world and how it changes from one area to the next. Within global competition a smaller scope exists and this is called Industrial Organization. Industrial Organization is the competition between companies to ease difficulty getting into the industry with the use of similar alternative investment products at varying prices, top companies use this as a way to achieve success through the different products offered.
The financial performance of the company compared with competitors
Will show the financial performance of the company against competitors from Hoovers online (1994). All amounts are also in millions of U.S. dollars.
As shown in the table the company is doing well against its competitors. Among all the companies it has the largest annual sales followed by Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Citigroup Global Markets. The company has used a huge sum of capital market and it benefited the company through its annual sales unlike Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch who used larger amounts of market capital but still acquired lesser annual sales.
Current issues (positive and negative) facing this company
Positive
The positive issue the company is facing is the merging of Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter. The union of these two companies can lead to benefits for both companies. Through the union of these two companies the problems they are experiencing can be jointly solved, more people can be used to think about ways to solve problems and how to improve the services offered by both companies. The union of these two companies can lead to better status and realization of the goals and objectives for both companies.
Negative
The negative issue the company is facing is the resignation of the some of the best employees of the company and their defection to rival companies. Employees’ leaving a company is a bad thing but what adds to it being worsened is the defection of these employees to rival companies. Employees that defect to other companies may be used against the former company through the rival company learning from the employee that defects the company’s strategies and other information about the company. The company should be prepared for the different problems that may arise out of this and for future events that might be caused by such.
Issues that the company must address in the future
An issue that the company must address in the future is a wider consumer target. The company is currently offering services mostly to other companies and other people who are well off. This consumer group is a small part of any population. Most population in any country is on the middle class group and the poor group. The company can try to focus on other groups to attain more profits, have huge increase in its consumer population, and boosts the company’s image in its industry.
The company being a good investment at this time
If a person wants to invest, Morgan Stanley is a good company that should be invested at this time. The company is doing well financially and hasn’t had any big problems. A person who wants to invest his/her money can acquire benefits from this company.
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Problem
In China, foreign and domestic hotels are one the country’s important economic source. People from all parts of the world visit China in order to see its famous foreign and domestic hotels and dine in its fine restaurants. In spite of the increasing popularity of China as an urban tourist destination, certain hotel business issues affect the influx of tourist and the revenue acquired from this business. The problem on competition for example, is one of the growing concerns of the foreign and domestic hotel business in China. In addition, customer satisfaction is one of the highly significant priorities in the business. Being the major source of tourism revenue, foreign and domestic hotel business owners in China are applying various strategies that will enhance the experience of visitors coming to the city.
One of the main issues relevant to the need of assessing service quality is the significant transitions that the foreign and domestic hotel business in China must undergo. One of the recognized changes in the hotel business of China was the transformation of its domestic and foreign hotels, where the once conventional hotels were converted into modernized ones. This transition implies the apparent increase of small firms providing tourism services at present, while the foreign and domestic hotel business used to be dominated by a few producers. In other words, the hotel owners in China now have a number of accesses to strategies and factors that amplify business competition. While this tendency has in many ways improved the overall state of foreign and domestic hotel business of the country, hotel owners also encounter difficulties to operate their businesses successfully, making the evaluation of service quality all the more essential.
They have also stated that the competition in the domestic and foreign hotel business in China is augmented by new strategies introduced and implemented by various hotels. With the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) as well as other technological facilities, tourists have more options and control over they type of hotels they want to stay. Hence, with the present advancements, foreign and domestic hotel businesses in China are giving more importance to specialized and enhanced forms of services for tourists, especially the service quality of the restaurants in these hotels.
Another issue that is related to the need for evaluating service quality is the tendency of consumer behavior to change drastically. This has been observed by several researchers. According to these researchers, the changes in the consumers’ cultural values are among the most influential factors that affect the foreign and domestic hotel business in China. The difference on how consumer responds to products or services given to them is significantly dependent on their cultural origins and values, which naturally affects visitor experience.
There are a number of interconnected issues that falls under the foreign and domestic hotel businesses in China. Competition, new strategies and changing consumer trends are among these issues. The main focus however, is on the comparison of the service quality of the foreign and domestic hotels in China. One way of doing so is by means of assessing the visitors’ expectation and satisfaction. Enhancing the quality of foreign and domestic hotel services given to the customer or tourists naturally leads to satisfaction. This essential business element is highly significant in combating the problems and issues cited. Hence, consumer studies in the foreign and domestic hotel business of China are very important.
By means of evaluating service quality and visitor satisfaction, developing new strategies for tourist hotel facilities that will augment customer satisfaction in China can be done. China is a popular tourist destination. Nonetheless, tourism issues affect this industry in one way or another. The local government should then adopt strategies and methods that will prepare the country for tourism. The comparison of China’s foreign and domestic hotels’ service quality and visitor satisfaction will facilitate the achievement of this objective.
In this proposal, focus will be given on the tourists’ expectation and satisfaction upon staying in the foreign and domestic hotels in China. Specifically, this proposed study will evaluate the different hotel features offered by the foreign and domestic hotels in China and determine the level of satisfaction among randomly selected tourists within the vicinity. In order to evaluate the service quality, the survey and interview method will be used. This particular study will be of significant value to the foreign and domestic hotel businesses in China as it will provide an overview of the current status of the foreign and domestic hotel industry in China as well as ways on how its foreign and domestic hotels may be enhanced.
Statement of the Problem
The foreign and domestic hotel industry in China is placed in a highly competitive business environment. Various strategies and marketing means must then be employed by entrepreneurs in order to enhance the services they provide. China is among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. With the abundance of historical tourist spots and archaeological sites, China is one of the countries in the world with the highest number of visitors. Nonetheless, considering the changing consumer trends as well other tourism-related issues, China must apply ways on how to enhance its foreign and domestic hotel industry and increase tourists’ satisfactory experience. Studying service quality is then necessary for this issue. This study will then attempt to answer the following inquiries:
- How did China respond to the changing trends in the hotel industry?
- How do tourists describe their experience upon staying in the foreign and domestic hotels in China in general?
- What hotel features do they find most satisfying?
- What hotel features in the hotels need improvement?
- In what ways can the facilities, features and services of the foreign and domestic hotels of China be improved?
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The domestic and foreign hotel business is among the fastest growing economic sectors in China. In fact, the domestic and foreign hotel business by itself is recognized as multi-million dollar and still a progressing business in China. The domestic and foreign hotel business is among the major economic forces in the country as its enables growth and creation of job opportunities. The domestic and foreign hotel business has employed over a million workers who were distributed within various hotel establishments, totaling to revenue generation of billions of dollars. From these records, the domestic and foreign hotel business has indeed become one of the most competitive businesses in the world.
Important changes in the understanding and management of the service quality of most domestic and foreign hotels have been developed in the past 10 to 15 years. Various researchers, practitioners and policymakers now acknowledge that service quality can be conceptualized from a functional perspective and that appropriate interventions involve the development of alternative measures to cope up. It was also noted that the establishment of a conducive restaurant environment for tourists to enjoy and relax have served effectively in lowering the prevalence of un-satisfaction among tourists. At present, this philosophical shift has extended to various settings, including China. Domestic and foreign hotel owners and entrepreneurs here have recognized that some tourists do not appreciate so much the quality of service that their hotels and restaurants offer. Hence, these tourists may have the tendency to shy away from visiting China and its other great cities because of this bad impression they have.
For decades, researchers have tried to discover the elements of service quality among tourist establishments such as foreign and domestic hotels and restaurants. And while they might have been able to identify certain essential elements of service quality, they have yet to determine the elements that common tourists pay particular attention to. However, it has been shown that negligence of service quality produces consequences that foster bad impressions from tourists. Strong evidence suggests that service quality and its negligence engage in a reciprocal relationship that has a short and long term effect on the tourist’s future opinion regarding the service quality of tourist establishments. One of the criteria for identifying if a tourist establishment such as hotels is of high service quality is whether it has an impressive environment with fully operational facilities meant for the relaxation and enjoyment of the tourists and visitors. A deficit in basic services, as well as skills related to making the tourists and guests fully accommodated, significantly impairs a hotel’s ability to encourage more and more tourists to come over to their place. When compared to high quality serviced foreign and domestic hotels, low quality serviced foreign and domestic hotels have lower performance rates, lower income and are less likely to be known all over the place. As a consequence, low quality serviced hotels often experience a lifetime of problems in employment and publicity, and they are likely to become bankrupted even at a developmental stage.
Take for instance the various foreign and domestic hotel establishments in China having difficulty in adapting to the modern standards of service quality. At present, foreign and domestic hotel owners in China are facing an alarming acceleration in the occurrence of disruptive and challenging behaviors among tourists that seriously impede the performance and credibility of their hotels. Also, there has been a rapid increase in percentage of tourists who have failed to be impressed by the hotel and restaurant services of some domestic and foreign Chinese hotels. Unfortunately, many of today’s foreign and domestic hotels all over the world have both problems. Behaviors and tourist impressions such as lack of sanitation, boring environment and unfair tourist price accommodation rates have all been rampant nowadays. True enough, these problems are counterproductive towards the effective performance of foreign and domestic hotels. Serious impressions of tourists such as aggression, argumentativeness, and defiance are even more of a threat to these poorly serviced foreign and domestic hotels, yet common in countries which cannot afford to establish 5 star quality foreign and domestic hotels. Impressions and evaluations of tourists, both positive and negative, affect performance outcomes of hotels at the employee and management level.
From a tourist perspective, tourists who displayed their un-satisfaction remarks in staying in poorly serviced foreign and domestic hotels had a 90% chance of not going back or staying again to the same hotel. They reported that such tourists begin to actively dislike the place itself and actually visit less that particular place. Continuing over years, these tourists are not likely to change their minds after a terrible experience staying on a poorly serviced hotel. Similarly, tourists exhibiting ongoing, serious bad impressions well even after so many years of that terrible experience are increasing.
Service Quality
Service quality generally pertains to a tourist’s perception over a certain area or destination’s quality of services being offered. People of tourists tend to interpret the services in their surroundings without realizing it. This interpretation is based on the visitors’ needs and preferences that will allow them to function more efficiently. This makes up the visitor’s overall experience or perception. More recently, noted that service quality suggests awareness but not conscious awareness. The service quality is naturally enhanced when tourists could identify with specific environmental characteristics that they need or are important to them. Thus, the perception or experience in terms of service quality of the visitor is significantly related to the environment they wanted to be in.
Service quality pertains to the degree of efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of the policies and tasks necessary to satisfy a firm's customers, employees, and management. Service quality focuses on the careful management of the processes involved in the production and distribution of products and services.
More often than not, small firms and business establishments such as hotels and restaurants don't really have the capabilities to directly determine the quality of their services to their clients or customers. Instead, they engage in activities that various schools of management typically associate with service quality management. These activities include the inspection of their products, service development, production and distribution.
However, service quality deals with all operations done within companies and organizations. Activities such as the management of purchases, the control of inventories, logistics and evaluations are often related with service quality. A great deal of emphasis lies on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes. Therefore, service quality includes the analysis and management of internal processes.
With the increasing competition in the industry as well as the changes observed among consumers, studying service quality is essential not only to keep the industry successful and productive but most importantly to satisfy and meet the needs of the tourists. Specifically, most firms in the industry are applying various strategies on how to improve their services and enhance service quality. Several technologies are being applied by operators so as to take over with some of the businesses’ main activities. Computerized reservation systems for instance, are one of the known advancements in tourism. This in turn, helps in enhancing service quality as it offers them more options and allows a faster access to information.
While there are numerous efforts done to enhance service quality, researchers concluded that there are also several factors that influence service quality. The preferences, attitudes and perceptions of the visitors in terms of service quality are some of the important factors affecting service quality. Other researchers. Also concluded that the perception on service impacts is also an influential factor of service quality. In general, the researchers noted that the satisfaction and un-satisfaction that tourists experience while using the services in various destinations affect their overall experience. Hence, stated that this makes this factor a significant dictator or basis for developing standards of service or product quality.
China and Hotel Improvement Efforts
China has long been an ancient destination of many tourists from all over the world, who are very eager to see the city’s famed museums and historical sites, especially the Great Wall. During the early times however, a number of problems in tourism has been encountered by China. Pollution, overcrowding and poor domestic and foreign hotel infrastructures are among the country’s major concerns that affected its image among tourists.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the social amenities and hotel infrastructures in China have gone through significant changes. Funds and financial support from both UK and the European Union have made it possible for the nation to establish foreign and domestic hotels such as Beijing hotel and the Grand Hyatt Beijing hotel. The Metro system was also expanded massively. Other private investments also led to the great expansion of hotels and other tourist sites.
One of the major developments that China had gone through in terms of tourism was the remodeling of their foreign and domestic hotels. In addition, a great pedestrian area was also constructed. These pedestrian areas are highly beneficial for tourists as these allow them to appreciate the country’s hotel infrastructures while walking calmly along paths of trees.
Aside from the developments done for China’s foreign and domestic hotels, some of its major theatres and art galleries that house the world’s most precious artworks have also been renovated. Other famous tourist destinations in the country, including the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, have also been extensively transformed to resemble their original state for the pleasure and satisfaction of their tourists and visitors worldwide.
China and Service Quality
It appears that most of the country’s efforts for service quality development had led to great results based on the number of tourists that visited the country during the past couple of years. In one article, China has been described as a country that is busier than ever. Yet, in spite of the crowd, the newly-built foreign and domestic hotels have been helpful in accommodating the great number of visitors that came to the city. As a result, overcrowding of tourists has been prevented during this time, benefiting both Chinese residents and visitors. The article also stated that the energy perceived in the country is good and amazing. This perhaps is attributable to the fact that every tourist in the country felt that they are part of a family; hence, every tourist encountered is genuinely happy to be in China.
Some write ups however had commented on China’s spot security personnel on some foreign and domestic hotels and described the hotels as an army camp. The article author pointed out that in spite of their number, the security personnel do not really hinder tourists or visitors from appreciating the country. In addition, China at that time was without a doubt a country of hope and joy; it has definitely been a worthwhile experience for visitors from all over.
The author described his experiences in China’s tourist destinations. In general, the author saw China as a historical country edging towards contemporary backgrounds. Though China and its significant foreign and domestic hotels are important tourist destinations, the pollution and overcrowding appear to be a disadvantage. In spite of these problems, trekking through the country’s remarkable foreign and domestic hotels was truly a worthwhile experience. Staying at the foreign and domestic hotels for instance was an exciting experience for the author as it was just like visiting the downtown sceneries. Though hotels offer different scenic views and environment, the impression of excellence can be perceived. According to the author, staying at the foreign and domestic hotels resulted to excellent visitor experience; some facilities offer less elegance, while others are interesting and influential.
Described how his trip to the foreign and domestic hotels in China was similar to the foreign and domestic hotels in America. The area was very busy and going to this place was tiring. However, once the author reached the hotels, the trip was all worth it. McHenry noted that the foreign and domestic hotels in China were different from all others found within America as it highlighted modern facilities in designated rooms. The artworks inside the hotels were more than a place displaying antiquities as treasure of great tastes were exhibited and made available for inspection. The foreign and domestic hotels were also an inviting tourist location with its great sights, food and shops. This, according to McHenry, was one of the main reasons for tourists to come visit China over and over again.
During the author’s visit to China, the country was busy preparing itself for hosting the coming Olympic Games in 2008. Thus, he was able to witness the considerable effort China had done to enhance the country’s hotels, transport systems and roadways. Through this experience, the author no longer doubted how China was greatly spearheaded by tourism. There have been literatures describing visitor experience regarding service quality to various tourist destinations. However, studies of service quality in China are apparently insufficient. This further stresses the need to evaluate the perception of the country’s visitors so as to help enhance its existing foreign and domestic hotels and overcome various tourism issues.
Service Quality in relation to Customer Satisfaction and Needs
Gone are the days when employees work on their desks for eight hours a day. Today’s employees want to become as productive as possible while in their offices and interact with different individuals and groups in different settings. The technological advancement in wireless technologies has allowed workers and employees to access communication tools in new settings. Because of this rigorous and hectic schedule of employees, it became imperative for them to indulge in relaxing products and services to help them ease the pressure after every day’s work.
Foreign and Domestic Hotel Service Quality
Service quality among foreign and domestic hotels can be subdivided into three main categories. These are:
A. Convenience
A particular foreign and domestic hotel’s dedication to service quality can easily lead to the satisfaction of its customers in whatever place it is located. Making a particular foreign and domestic hotel convenient to its customers and visitors is not an easy task, and credit must be given to the management who always pursue the best service quality and craftsmanship in the name of convenience.
B. Health / Safety / Sanitation
The raw materials and ingredients that are used in the production of beverages and other delicacies must be able to meet the high quality standards and specifications. Even the packaging materials must be also subjected to strict quality standards. In line to the hotel’s policies in food and product safety, appropriate measures must be taken in the preparation of all food and drinks to prevent the possible contamination. Hotels must also implement the principles of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) system in order to show their testament to their dedication to service quality. The food and beverages that their customers eat and drink must be prepared using nothing but the original and unparalleled recipes. To achieve a sweet taste, fresh aroma, bright color and clarity, only the purest ingredients must be used.
C. Affordability of Services
Normally, foreign and domestic hotels base their pricing strategies on several key trends that continuously shape the global marketplace of the foreign and domestic hotel industry. One particular trend is labeled as “premium-tization”. This phenomenon causes the polarization of different markets. This would then trigger the consumers to demand and pay much higher prices for perceived service quality. However, discounting in prices is also simultaneously taking place, therefore squeezing out the middle range. More often than not, hotels and restaurants undergo internationalization which leads to a tighter squeeze for shelf space. This will in turn leave them as winners. It is for this reason why most foreign and domestic hotels value the “premise sector” so much because this would allow consumers can to try their services at low risk and price.
MEASURING SERVICE QUALITY
A. “Consumer Understanding”
The occurrence of consumer research to determine service quality within the economy reflects the growing difficulty in the management of foreign and domestic hotels that require the effective use of valuable resources such as money, materials, equipments, and people. This is the reason why consumer research is being done by most foreign and domestic hotels in order to determine the most effective ways to coordinate these resources through the application of analytical methods derived from fields of studies such as mathematics, science, and engineering.
Through this process, problems are solved in different ways and alternative solutions are then relayed to the hotel’s management. The management then selects the appropriate course of action in line with their goals. More often than not, consumer research analysis in foreign and domestic hotels are concerned with complicated issues such as top-level strategy in attracting more customers, hotel resource allocation, designing of hotel facilities and systems, pricing and the analysis of goods and services.
B. Balanced Scorecard
The balanced scorecard is a strategic management system that allows foreign and domestic hotels to clearly establish and follow their goals and business strategies and put them into action. This approach also enables the foreign and domestic hotels to issue feedbacks around both the internal business processes and external outcomes, and this undoubtedly will help the hotels on their drive to continuously improve in terms of its strategic performance and results. When appropriately implemented, the balanced scorecard will be able to develop strategic planning into the brains of the hotels.
The balanced scorecard approach is based on integral concepts of past management ideas such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and measurement-based management and feedback. The balanced scorecard integrates feedback within internal business process outputs, just like in TQM. The only difference is the existence of an additional feedback loop around the results of business strategies.
C. Customer Satisfaction
A major factor involved in the improvement of foreign and domestic hotels involves the establishment and utilization of performance measures or indicators that in turn measure their customer’s satisfaction. These measures or indicators are measurable characteristics of products and services that foreign and domestic hotels typically utilize in order to study and improve their performance. The indicators that will be chosen should be able to represent the essential factors that are crucial to the improvement of operational and financial performance. Through the analysis of accurate information brought about by the tracking processes, the measures or indicators themselves can possibly be analyzed and improved to support such goals.
The airline industry is a unique and
interesting industry. The reason for this is because it captures the interest of
a wide audience because of its glamour, reach and impact on the large and
growing numbers of consumers/travelers worldwide. The importance of the industry
is unquestionable. The industry is worth over US$1,000 billion (directly,
indirectly and “induced''), employs 22 million people, and transports and
services over 1.25 billion passengers a year. A quarter of the world's
manufactured exports by value reach their markets by air. The industry also
plays an important role in travel and tourism, the world's largest industry,
employing one in nine workers.
However, like any other industries,
the airline industry also have regulations that it should follow, or in other
words, the simple ‘dos’ and don’ts’ that it should comply with. In the case of
the United States airline industry, most of the regulations are provided by the
industry itself, but the government also plays a great role on how the industry
should act. The U.S. airline industry has been deregulated since 1978 and
continuously does so but with a few additional acts prior to the September 11
attacks incidents, which heavily involved airlines hi-jacking. This paper will
review the history of key regulations in the United States airline industry and
will assess how these regulations affect the industry as a whole.
FROM REGULATION TO DEREGULATION
The Airmail Acts
The airline industry has been around ever since
the early years of the 20th Century. In the United States, airline
history was shaped early in its life by the US Postal Service's airmail contract
system that started in 1918. Ever since then, the industry continued to grow.
The first holiday airlines started in 1926 with Aero maritime Airways. It began
its history flying people from Miami to Havana and to Nassau, often so that the
passengers could avoid the Prohibition for a while. However, the airline
industry didn’t actually begin with them. It only began after the Airmail Act of
1925 or the “Kelly Act” was passed. This act was the first act given for
aviation, which specifically gave the air mail service over to private airmail
operators for four-year periods under a bidding scheme. It authorized the
awarding of government mail contracts to private carries, established the rates
for transporting mail and it set the airmail rates. Contracts were awarded
through the United States Postal Service, and contracts were awarded through a
bidding process. The effect of this act was dramatic as it dramatically
increased the number of companies that offer airmail services within the United
States. The first airliners include Ford Motor Company, Western Air Express,
Colonel Air Transport, Florida Airways, and the Boeing Air Transport. It has
grown bigger and bigger with the following years, particularly in the
mid-to-late 1920’s, when the “big four” domestic airlines of America were born.
This includes American Airlines. The complete list include: TWA, United Air
Lines, Eastern Airlines and American Airlines.
The Airmail Act of 1925 was
implemented because mainly of the political pressure to increase the performance
of aircraft carriers by turning them over to private owners that could have the
ability to expand the industry. Politically, it can be seen that the aim of the
US was to create a possible industry that could boom anytime soon. The whole
country would benefit from it as it will make transaction faster. However, the
Kelly Act, despite giving way to the growth of an industry, was not sufficient
to encourage airlines to provide air passenger carriage as the carriage of mail
was much more profitable and aircraft were limited in gross weight, roughly
around 3,500 pounds. The solution was to create the Airmail Act of 1930. This
act encouraged airline carriers to purchase larger aircraft, increasing the
likelihood of being awarded airmail contracts. It also stimulated the carriers
to fill space on the aircraft with passengers. The only problem with this act
was that it was highly political in nature as it is an issue of management
control on the booming industry. Basically, it gave the nation's postmaster
general the authority to manage the industry. The Postmaster General arranged a
meeting wherein the airlines negotiated territories among themselves. This
resulted in the establishment of three primary routes—north, middle, and
south—across the United States, with United, American, and TWA controlling one
route each. Finally, the Roosevelt presidency enabled the Airmail Act of 1930 to
be replaced with the Air Mail Act of 1934. In this act, the postmaster general's
power over the industry was diluted, and measures to ensure truly competitive
bidding were established. New airlines as well as established ones made low bids
in an effort to snare market share, and as a result of the fierce competition,
no carrier was able to make a profit.
Air Commerce Act of 1926
Another important regulation in the US airline
industry is the Air Commerce Act of 1926. This act had much political color in
its sleeves because it was the first act that defines the airline industry as a
commercial sector. Developed under the Coolidge presidency, this act along with
the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1926 underwent research before being implemented,
in the form of the Morrow report. The Part I of the Morrow Report posed and
answered six essential questions concerning aviation. This include: the
relation between civilian and military aviation; promoting the civil use of
aviation; the country’s military air policy; the danger of air attack from
menacing enemies; and the establishment of a Department of National Defense; and
if there should be a separate Department of Air equivalent with the Departments
of War and the Navy. Regarding the first question, the board of the report
urged that civilian and military aviations should remain separate and that there
is no need for civilian aircraft to be armed with armaments since it begets its
kind. In second question, the board emphasized that people must recognize the
non-military value of aviation, of which the airmail service of the Post Office
was a good example. They recommended the creation of a Bureau of Air Navigation
in the Department of Commerce to address the issue. For the third question, the
board noted that the Navy was adequate to keep an aerial menace away, and that
the military establishment should determine the level needed for an economical
defensive force. For the fourth question, the board believed that the United
States was not in danger with any menacing aerial attacks if ever if would
commercialize airlines within its country because only Canada and Mexico are
near its boarders. In the fifth question, the board emphasized that a separate
department for the defense of commercial and military aviation would be
disadvantageous because of the fact that it would just increase unwanted
bureaucracy. For the last question, the researchers concluded ‘no’ because they
argued that both the Army and Navy needed integral air arms in order to fulfill
their missions, and the air force had yet to demonstrate its value as an
independent instrument of war.
The report received more praises
than criticisms because it did not only present a coherent conclusion, but also
provides some recommendations based on its findings such as: the standardization
of aircraft types; regularly scheduled replacement of aircraft types; continuity
of equipment orders; orders of reasonable size given to companies with active
design staffs; proprietary rights given to companies for their designs; orders
for experimental, competitive designs; the rationalization of government
procurement laws and regulations, and the continuation; and encouragement of
government and private research and innovation. The report supported the view of
former president Coolidge because it also looked at aviation as a moral issue.
Shortly after, members of the Morrow Board quickly introduced bills into
Congress designed to turn its recommendations into legislation. It was passed
into the Senate and then later into Congress, and finally promptly signed by
President Coolidge. The Air Commerce Act became Public Law 254 in May 20, 1926.
The effects of this act was first,
it separated military aviation from commercial aviation. This was a necessary
step to create a booming industry, free from military restraints. Second, the
effect of this act is that it regularizes practice and procedures finally making
aviation as a commercial industry. Because of the act, it became a concentration
of commerce and is expected to contribute to US’s GNP. This pattern was also
followed by other countries as well.
The Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938
The next important act that should be noted in
the US airlines industry is the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938. The Civil
Aeronautics Act of 1938 led to the establishment of the Civil Aeronautics Board.
This act was created because of the need to regulate passenger fares and airmail
routes, monitored acquisitions and mergers, and distributed routes to airlines.
These tasks were of course performed by the CAB.
Other tasks the CAB performs include: airways,
navigational facilities, control towers and ensuring compliance of aviation
regulations. The CAB helped the industry become more civil in a sense that many
of its aspects are ensured not to exceed the limit that may be harmful to the
future of the industry. It also contributes slightly to safety procedures and
risk management within the industry.
After 20 years, the Federal Aviation Act of 1958
was created and was assigned with the task to control air traffic. The FAA was
renamed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1967 and was put under the
control of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), which was also created
that year.
These laws basically helped US airline companies
both in the past and present to improve their standard of service. These also
help them formulate fair pricing as well as obliging with several key safety and
security measures. They did not only contribute to the marketing of the airline
services but contribute to the ethical side of the business as well.
The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978
Stated
that 1978 was a watershed year for the airline industry. The reason for
his statement is because it was the year airline deregulation was first
introduced in the USA. From the outset, airline deregulation had attracted much
attention because of its mass impact on the large numbers of
consumers/travelers.
The advantage of the act is that it
lifted government-imposed barriers that had prevented airlines from entering new
markets. New areas of competition within the industry were explored because of
this act. For instance, airlines with low costs compete with price, while "local
service carriers," which had provided largely regional service under regulation,
competed on the basis of service.
Deregulation might have been a good
idea but no real growth yet has been seen for the airline industry ever since
its implementation. However, this allowed the firms to recreate the industry and
contribute for its development as a structure and as a process. The marketing
condition was affected because of it . He explained that as airlines have had to
become more competitive, they have striven to reduce costs, primarily through
the reduction of staff and the outsourcing of non-core activities. Their prime
competitive advantage is the network and scheduled flights, and consideration of
these is the key criterion of consumer choice. Network rationalization and
expansion have been a dominant strategy and this has widened the basis of
competition as airlines, dominant in some areas, seek to penetrate or expand in
new ones. That to aid this marketing competition has been concentrated on
corporate branding both to attract customers and to ascertain strong
distribution. Branding has become important in being competitive in the industry
because it has tended to permeate marketing oriented airlines and has served as
a focus for staffing initiatives as services ancillary to the core product of
transportation act as discriminators between airlines.
This act also enabled the
development of the Frequent Flyer Program to promote brand loyalty to consumers.
In other words, the deregulation act has given the industry the marketing
revolution it needed. It also allowed the competition within the industry grows
positively.
The political scope of this act is
that it was made not only for the industry but also for the consumers paying
high fares within a regulated airline industry. As a solution, the deregulation
was thought of, and was based on the contestable market theory which suggested
that governments should seek to promote contests for markets, even those where
large firm size and limited competitors existed. Regulation was believed to
encourage competition based on service quality rather than price, limit
operational flexibility, and create no incentives for improving efficiency and
productivity. However, this has been argued that deregulation has shifted
competition from service to price.
CONCLUSION
We can observe that the development
of the US airline industry was made possible by the different interactions that
took place between the government and the business owners, as well as the
concern for the consumers. Discussions about changes and reforms have been
always made through diplomatic legal means that involves the congress and the
different bodies that control the airline industry. Research plays an important
part in the interaction and agreements were developed through in-depth
discussions. In terms of policies, the government influences business decisions
little because of the deregulation policies. However, the latest rules
implemented by government prior to the September 11 attacks can be seen as a
great influence on how US airlines operate today. Although those latest acts
were not discussed in the body of this paper, the well-documented and publicized
issue shows that most airline companies complains because of the high costs and
hassles of complying with those regulations for both the consumers and the
employees of the airlines. However, those were just on safety issues. The rest,
they can still formulate their own regulations at their will.
At this time of our society,
businesses try to influence the decisions of the government by presenting
arguments and press releases that criticize a particular act that former issued.
Of course, there are other means like presenting research results as discussed
earlier. Pleas of airline companies can also be submitted to the government.
However, in the overall view, it is still the government who controls all the
main areas of airlines business. For instance, they can impose new security
standards at the height of red alert level. They can also decide on whether or
not to take or reject a particular reform or request that some airline companies
want – like a bailout from bankruptcy. The issue of merger and acquisition is
also one important area to look at. Because it the aim of the government to
balance the air fare services, they will not allow any merger or acquisition
that may affect that balance.
“Four Leading Airports”
LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT
From the modest beginnings, Heathrow
has flourished into one of the world’s busiest airports, managing over 64
million passengers each year. With that sort of pressure, the strain on
facilities sometimes shows. Nevertheless, Heathrow have provided facilities at
its best for the passengers to utilize making it more user-friendly as
possible.
Facilities
Such facilities as the Heathrow
Express train and on-going terminal improvements are aimed at improving the
Heathrow experience.
Getting to Heathrow
By Car
– All Terminals and appropriate motorway exits are signposted for the
accessibility of passengers getting to Heathrow by car. It would take 45-60
minutes journey time from central London, but it is advisable that passengers
should allow plenty of time more than what is approximated since Heathrow access
road can be busy at all times of the day. In cases of refueling, Heathrow has
two fuel stations situated in the main airport complex between Terminals 1, 2, &
3, and the other between Terminal 4 and the M25 motorway.
By Taxi
– Taxis can drop off on the forecourt of all terminals and journey takes same as
stated above. Fare approximation is about ₤ 35-45.
Train
– Heathrow has two rail services from central
London. In addition to the London Underground “the tube” is the Heathrow
Express train service from London Paddington station.
Bus – Most bus services arrive at the central
Bus Station in the main airport area between Terminals 1, 2, & 3. Pedestrian
access to the terminals is signposted. National Express shuttle from London
Victoria Coach Station to Heathrow runs every 30 minutes. First bus at 07:30,
last bus at 23:30 in seven days a week operation all year round.
The Airbus service links to Heathrow Terminals
from many west London hotels and Kings Cross and Euston main line rail stations.
Departures are every 20-30 minutes with a journey time around 60-75 minutes.
These services drop off at Terminal forecourts. Fare: £7 one way, £10
return/round trip.
Departure and Arrival Area Services
Check In
Entering the terminal, the check-in
desks are from left to right:
British Midland, Aer Lingus, Finnair and British Airways. BA provides check in
for Cyprus Airways, El Al and South African Airways.
If you are flying to Belfast
security is still tight. Allow extra time for security checks. Flights to Israel
also have additional security. Skycap porters are available for a flat fee of
£7 including tip, free to people with special needs.
Luggage Trolleys: Free and
plentiful, available on forecourt and occasionally in the Short Stay car parks.
Toilets: With baby care, showers and
disabled facilities near Domestic Departures gate, additional toilets near
International Departures security area.
Pay Phones:
In various areas, some with fax facility.
Currency:
Two Bureaux de Change in retail shopping area, Travelex open 05:30 to 22:00, and
ICE open 06:00 to 21:00.
ATMs:
None on Departures level, the nearest - on the ground floor near the
International Arrivals Meeting Point - are currently unavailable during the
refurbishment.
Information Desk:
None on Departures level. Nearest in the
Arrivals area on
the lower floor.
Postal Services:
Mail boxes in Departures area by the entry doors in the middle of the terminal.
The nearest Post Office is in
Terminal 2.
Food and Drink:
Meals, light refreshments and bars are situated on the mezzanine level above the
shopping area. There is a self service restaurant and a burger bar on the
Departures level near the Domestic gates.
Shopping:
There is a limited range of outlets on the Departures level. For a wider
selection at better prices go
Airside to the duty
free outlets.
Restaurant and Bars
Restaurants and a bar are located on
the mezzanine level above the shopping area. There is a self service restaurant
and a burger bar on the main Departures level. Access to mezzanine by
lift/elevators or stairs.
LONDON GATWICK AIRPORT
Gatwick Airport is very well served by public transport – trains, buses and
coaches. Let someone else be in the driving seat and use the following pages to
plan your car-free journey to and from the airport.
Gatwick Express offers dedicated,
high-speed travel between central London and Gatwick Airport. With a journey
time of just 30 minutes between London Victoria and Gatwick (35 minutes on
Sundays), there is no faster way between the heart of the city and the airport.
A standard single fare is £12 and a standard return is £23.50.
Location
– The rail station is directly linked
to Gatwick's South Terminal and is just a few minutes from North Terminal via a
free transit train link. Rail information and ticket desks are located in the
rail station and within the arrival areas of both terminals.
Thameslink –
Regular service every 15 minutes
through Sussex to Brighton. Services every 15 minutes north to East Croydon,
central London (King's Cross), Luton and Bedford.
Southern –
Services every 15 minutes during the
day to and from London Victoria, and every hour at night. Regular northbound
services to East Croydon, Clapham Junction and Watford Junction providing
connections to many London destinations. Direct southward services to
Brighton, Eastbourne, Portsmouth and Southampton. Single ticket from Gatwick to
Victoria is £8, with an average journey time of 35 minutes.
South Eastern
– Services to Redhill, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.
First Great Western Link
– Services to Redhill, Guilford and Reading.
Virgin Trains Cross Country
– Services operate to destinations including Birmingham, Manchester and
Edinburgh.
All the services you need to make
your arrival stress free are at hand. There are clear signs directing you to
passport control, baggage reclaim and customs and then through to local
transport links, the transit between terminals and the airport car parks.
For that last minute gift or first
treat of your trip, you can also shop on arrival at Gatwick Airport - visit the
Shopping and Eating section of our website for details of the stores available
Shopping
Assistance
Gatwick, Stansted,
Glasgow and Edinburgh airports have Personal
Shoppers who will help you with your purchases in the shops after
security control. At Heathrow this service is provided by Shopping Consultants,
who, due to the large number of people that pass through the airport, are only
available to advise you on purchases, rather than accompany you while shopping.
British Airport
Authority (BAA) airports also offer a Shopping
Collection service for passengers travelling within the EU (excluding
UK and Ireland flights to/from Heathrow). This allows you to buy before you fly,
and collect on your return – saving you the trouble of carrying heavy or fragile
goods to and from your holiday destination.
DUBAI
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Facilities
-
22 check-in counters incorporating
state-of-the-art processing facilities
-
1,300 square metres of Dubai Duty Free
designed by CIL, internationally renowned experts in the world of duty free
shopping.
-
Special bulk purchasing desk at the duty free.
-
Banking facilities, ATM machines and
restaurants.
-
One first and business class lounge operated
by Asseman Airlines.
Baggage Services – The baggage
and conveyor belts are the widest available on the market and the checked-in
baggage is tagged with a special Baggage Reconciliation System which tracks each
piece of baggage from check-in through loading. All bags are scanned with
barcode scanners and the system stores all information about the location of the
baggage. This makes retrieval - whenever necessary - much faster.
Hotel Reservations – Upon
arriving at Dubai International Airport, a special one stop travel desk is
available in the Arrivals Hall next to the Customs X-ray machines. Passengers
can book hotels, tour packages, airline tickets etc.
Transportation
– Taxi: Public transport service is very efficient in and around
Dubai. Dubai Transport taxis are offered 24 hrs a day in the city and at the
Arrivals Terminal. Airport shuttle service: Available between Terminal 1
and 2. Bus service: Bus stations are located opposite both terminals.
Bus nos 4, 11, 15, 33, 44 connect with Terminal 1 while bus no 2 connects with
Terminal 2 connects with Terminal 2.Special Dubai International Airport Buses
have also been introduced which provides custom-built air-conditioned buses with
ample baggage hold. These buses serve the most popular corridors in the city
center with over 80 hotels and furnished apartments within easy walking
distance. The bus service targets both residents and tourists.
Special Lounge – A dedicated lounge for unaccompanied minors and passengers with
special needs is available in the Arrivals Hall. Those waiting to receive such
passengers can do so here. Airline staff or ground handling staff will bring the
arriving passengers to this lounge.
HONG KONG
NATIONAL AIRPORT
Transfer between Terminals
A free internal shuttle train
runs between the east and west halls of the terminal building from the central
concourse basement. Electric vehicles can also transport passengers around the
terminal for a fee.
Driving Directions
From Hong Kong Island, follow
road signs to Western Harbour Tunnel. Once out of the tunnel, drive along the
West
Kowloon Expressway;
follow airport road signs and cross the Tsing Ma Bridge to the airport island.
Then continue along North Lantau Highway to reach the airport.
Car Rental
Driving is chaotic in Hong Kong
and most people choose to hire cars with drivers.
Limousine services
are available from Intercontinental Hire Car and Parklane Limousine
Service, with counters located in the Arrivals hall, and in the Ground
Transportation Centre.
Facilities
Money and communications: There is a bank, and several bureaux de change
counters and ATMs located throughout the terminal. A post office is located in
the Departures hall. Wireless Internet is available anywhere airside in the
terminal. A Cyber Break Café is located in the northwest concourse and
some 170 PowerPhones for Internet access can be found in the terminal and Ground
Transportation Centre.
Eating and drinking: There are more than 150 food and drink outlets,
including an Irish pub in the Arrivals hall. Shopping: Shops
including gift and duty-free are available. There is a 24-hour convenience store
in the Arrivals hall. A pre-order and pick-up service for duty-free products is
available. Luggage: Trolleys are available at all passenger
drop-off points. A porter service is available at various points, including
outside the Departures hall and the baggage reclaim hall. An excess baggage
shipping service is also available at aisle K, before check in. A left-luggage
facility is also available in the Arrivals hall. Lost and found services are
available at the customer service centre, the airport police report centre and
via the help phones; there is also a lost and found office on level 6 of the
terminal.
Other facilities: There is a medical centre on level 6 and a pharmacy.
The Plaza Shower and Relaxation Lounge on level 7 of the west hall is
open 24 hours and provides shower rooms, semi-private napping rooms and a mini
salon. There is also an Oriental Massage Centre. Children’s play areas
are located near gates 22 and 36, while nursery rooms are located at various
points throughout the terminal. A non-denominational prayer room is situated in
the check-in hall and is open 24 hours.
Conferences and Business
The PCCW Business Centre
is located in the Departures check in hall; services include fax facilities and
mobile telephone hire. Further conference and business facilities are available
from the Plaza Premium Lounge in the west hall and east hall as well as
the Regal Airport Hotel. There are several airline lounges.
Disabled Facilities
The airport is fully accessible
for disabled travelers. There are plenty of wheelchair-accessible toilets,
lifts, ramps and escalators around the airport and Ground Transportation Centre.
Car park spaces reserved for disabled drivers are available in car parks 1, 2, 4
and 5. Wheelchairs are provided free of charge by airlines; passengers should
inform the airline prior to travel. For more information on wheelchair hire and
in-terminal transportation, passengers should contact Worldwide Flight
Services Holding SA. The terminal shuttle train is wheelchair-accessible.
Escalators and walkways have audio warning signals, while lifts, toilets and
telephones have Braille signs. Tactile path guides and induction loops are
installed at various points.
Hotels
The Regal Airport Hotel
is connected to the passenger terminal by a covered walkway. Information
counters and a booking service, operated by Hong Kong Hotels Association, can
be found in the Arrivals hall. Airport Express Line rail ticket holders
can catch a free Airport Express shuttle bus to many hotel
destinations from either Kowloon or Hong Kong stations (World Travel Guide).
This chapter presents the responses
of the respondents based on the questionnaire distributed. There were two hotels
from where the information were gathered, all of which contributed to the
conclusion-formulation for this study; the hotels are Holiday Inn and Novotel,
both found in Birmingham City. These are presented in graph forms and pie charts
for better and quicker analysis of the data as based on the findings of the
researchers and also based on the sentiments of the respondents. The readers
should also note that the data are provided with both the hotels in mind for
easier comparison of the data.
The characteristics of the
respondents are as follows; this shows the various backgrounds that are believed
to have also factored the choices that the respondents have had on the
membership on the loyalty programmes of the hotels.
Characteristics of the Respondents
It can be seen that the respondents are
mostly male in both cases of the Holiday Inn and the Novotel, yet they are
present in almost equal numbers in both respects. It was also shown that the
respondents’ primary income are around 40,000 to 50,000 and thus shows that they
are also able to afford the time to go through the hotel procedures, although
many may have chosen not to do so.
The following information,
meanwhile, also shows the different loyalty club methods of the following
hotels. In the Holiday Inn, the highest membership is at the Platinum while in
Novotel there are various degrees including the Corporate Payment Card. It can
be shown that there are more people in both accounts that they do not have their
loyalty membership cards, yet there are several other options in which the
people may get these loyalty memberships. It can be seen that the higher the
loyalty memberships are, there are less people who are availing of them, showing
that these are not the primary concern of the respondents.
Responses
The respondents have allowed some
analysis of their information and thus have allowed for the questionnaires to be
answered. The findings have shown the comparison of both the Holiday Inn and the
Novotel Hotel and how they have different ideas on the frequency and the loyalty
of the people. It was shown that the respondents are more prone to visit the
Holiday Inn for the first time and also continue to visit it over the years
(thus showing their loyalty) while in the Novotel, there are still some people
who classify that they also sometimes visit the hotel, also indicating some
loyalty although not as much.
Meanwhile, shows the primary reason
for the visit, and it can be seen that the Holiday Inn also shows that there are
more people visiting due to leisure and those who have business in the area;
while for Novotel there are more people who visit the area due to a meeting and
conference that is very likely being held in the same hotel.
The following figures show the
preferred methods of promotion that the people have, and it is surprising that
while the PR marketing and TV advertising are both in almost equal terms, the
benefits that they are receiving are one of the most marketing method, while the
word of mouth method is also one of the most higher preferred. This also
indicates that despite technological marketing method, the effective method of
promoting is still with the consideration of the heard benefits that the people
have had is through the perspectives and the opinions of others, thus also
helping them with the decisions that they may make on where they will be able to
receive comforts. However, it is also shown that there are more people who have
no membership in the hotels, as it is showing that while promotions may be well
and good, these do not necessarily mean that the respondents will immediately
bite the program and that there are still other factors that need to be
considered when these are being given to them. It is also shown that the
membership in Novotel is higher, but may also be due to—as was seen in the
previous graphs—due to the number of level methods in which the loyalty of their
memberships can be given. The accessibility of the benefits are also
contributive to the membership of the respondents to a particular program; the
access that they can get on the reservation within the hotels are part of the
main reasons for the respondents’ possible reason for gaining a loyalty card and
also in observing their benefits as can be shown in.
With regards to the possible reasons
for the respondents to avail of the membership loyalty program in which they are
able to gain the benefits and thus also double the services that they are
entitled to in case they have to stay in the hotel once more. The satisfaction
that they may receive in tune with the loyalty-club membership are part of the
higher reasons in which they may choose to be part of the program and also avail
of the benefits; the specific benefits of the satisfaction that they may receive
and the speed in which they are able to avail of the benefits are indeed parts
of the reasons that they may wish to avail of them.
Meanwhile, the next also show that
they are more likely to be part of the membership and the loyalty club can be
due to the membership with the loyalty yet there may also be other factors.
However, that there is very little opinion concerning the availing of the
membership and that the respondents may either take or turn away the membership,
thus also showing the possible lack of commitments that the respondents may have
with regards to the continuous use of their hotel and also to lessen their
requirement on the particular hotel. This makes sense as there may be other
areas where the particular hotels are not present and thus shows that there is
still some caution regarding the availability of the hotels, and also the
possible requirements that there may be the need for branches and other places
that the hotel may have to build in.
Interview Responses
With regards to the open-ended
questions where the respondents were asked of their loyalty ties to the hotel,
many have responded that they have received their own memberships especially if
they believe that they are to stay in the area. There were also several methods
in which the respondents believe they will be able to gain more benefits with
the frequent stay, which is to say the points that they receive and thus they
are able to avail of several things as based on the hotel as well. At the same
time, the branches of the hotels in other areas that the people are working,
there is an advantage in having the same benefits with only some minor
differences and having the traveler know the benefits that they may receive
wherever. These are generally noticed to be applicable especially to the
business people who are within the area mostly due to the conferences or due to
business, which also shows that they are more likely to travel rather than stay
in an area due to leisure, although that may also be a factor.
Introduction
The automobile industry produces automobiles and other gasoline-powered vehicles, such as buses, trucks, and motorcycles. The automobile industry is one of the most important industries in the world, affecting not only the economy but also the cultures of the world. It provides jobs for millions of people, generates billions of dollars in worldwide revenues, and provides the basis for a multitude of related service and support industries. Automobiles revolutionized transportation in the 20th century, changing forever the way people live, travel, and do business. The automobile has enabled people to travel and transport goods farther and faster, and has opened wider market areas for business and commerce. The auto industry has also reduced the overall cost of transportation by using methods such as mass production which is making several products at once, rather than one at a time, mass marketing which is selling products nationally rather than locally, and globalization of production that pertains to assembling products with parts made worldwide (Berger 2001).
Between 1886 and 1898, about 300 automobiles were built, but there was no real established industry. A century later, with automakers and auto buyers expanding globally, auto-making became the world's largest manufacturing activity, with more than 53 million new vehicles built each year worldwide. As a result of easier and faster transportation, the United States and world economies have become dependent on the mobility that automobiles, trucks, and buses provide. This mobility allowed remote populations to interact with one another, which increased commerce. The transportation of goods to consumers and consumers to goods has become an industry in itself. The automobile has also brought related problems, such as air pollution, congested traffic, and highway fatalities. Nevertheless, the automobile industry continues to be an important source of employment and transportation for millions of people worldwide (Berger 2001).
At the start of the 21st century, the trends of global trade and manufacturing flexibility continue. Computerization continues to be a major part of auto design and manufacture, as do the search for alternative fuels and more efficient automobile designs. Computer-aided design tools are already used in the automobile industry and will continue to save months of design time and improve the quality of cars. Microelectronics will be more fully applied to future automobiles and may become as commonplace as radios are today. On-board systems are becoming available that enable drivers to find destinations through voice-activated navigation or make cellular calls using the computer. These computers can access the Global Positioning System (GPS) and display maps to help drivers avoid congested freeways and find better routes to destinations (Yang 1995).
Alternative energy sources for cars, such as natural gas, electricity, ethanol, vegetable oil, sunlight, and water, will vie for consumer use in the future. Many large automakers are now adapting fuel cell technology for automobiles. Fuel cells are cleaner, quieter, and more energy efficient than internal-combustion engines. Fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen electrochemically without combustion to supply electricity. Fuel cell engines will likely run on conventional gasoline, but with a fraction of the emissions of a normal engine (Yang 1995). The paper will give a background of Daewoo Corporation. The paper will also analyze the advertising campaign used by Daewoo. Moreover the paper will discuss to what extent did the campaign shows signs of following the IMC philosophy, reaping the rewards of such an approach. Through such information a summary and conclusion will be made.
Daewoo Corporation
Business activities are becoming increasingly global as numerous firms expand their operations into overseas markets. Many U.S. firms, for example, attempt to tap emerging markets by pursuing business in China, India, Brazil, and Russia and other Eastern European countries. Multinational corporations (MNCs), which operate in more than one country at once, typically move operations to wherever they can find the least expensive labor pool able to do the work well. Production jobs requiring only basic or repetitive skills such as sewing or etching computer chips are usually the first to be moved abroad. MNCs can pay these workers a fraction of what they would have to pay in a domestic division, and often work them longer and harder. Most U.S. multinational businesses keep the majority of their upper-level management, marketing, finance, and human resources divisions within the United States (Culpan 2002).
They employ some lower-level managers and a vast number of their production workers in offices, factories, and warehouses in developing countries. Mergers and acquisitions are also becoming more common than in the past. With large mergers and the development of new free markets around the world, major corporations now wield more economic and political power than the governments under which they operate. In response, public pressure has increased for businesses to take on more social responsibility and operate according to higher levels of ethics. Firms in developed nations now promote and are often required by law to observe nondiscriminatory policies for the hiring, treatment, and pay of all employees.
Some companies are also now more aware of the economic and social benefits of being active in local communities by sponsoring events and encouraging employees to serve on civic committees. Businesses will continue to adjust their operations according to the competing goals of earning profits and responding to public pressures for them to behave in ways that benefit society (Culpan 2002). Daewoo an international corporation has such problems and it continuously adjusts according to what the environment dictates. The company has many branches and a global network. It has merged with different kinds of companies to be successful and maintain its operations in some parts of the world. It continuously strives to be the best in its industry and give a good contribution to the automotive industry. Daewoo is a trading company that offers different services with regards to automotives, electronics and media, textiles and many others.
Body
Marketing is the process by which a product or service originates and is then priced, promoted, and distributed to consumers. In large corporations the principal marketing functions precede the manufacture of a product. They involve market research and product development, design, and testing. Marketing concentrates primarily on the buyers, or consumers. After determining the customers’ needs and desires, marketers develop strategies that are designed to educate customers about a product’s most important features, persuade them to buy it, and then to enhance their satisfaction with the purchase. Where marketing once stopped with the sale, today businesses believe that it is more profitable to sell to existing customers than to new ones. As a result, marketing now also involves finding ways to turn one-time purchasers into lifelong customers.
Marketing includes planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the decision-making regarding product lines, pricing, promotion, and servicing. In most of these areas marketing has overall authority; in others, as in product-line development, its function is primarily advisory. In addition, the marketing department of a business firm is responsible for the physical distribution of the products, determining the channels of distribution that will be used, and supervising the profitable flow of goods from the factory or warehouse (Beckman & Davidson 1967). Marketing is about satisfying customer wants and needs and in the course of doing so facilitating the achievement of an organization’s objectives. By paying attention to customer wants and needs, organizations are more likely to achieve their objectives in the marketplace. Of course, organizations have to compete with each other and so also have to satisfy customers’ wants and needs at least as well as their competitors. Fortunately, organizations can do this in different ways (Proctor 2000).
Competition involves finding a different way to satisfy customers from other organizations in the market place. In the pursuit of this end, products and services need to be seen as more than physical entities. It is the benefits they offer customers that are being purchased. Competition involves positioning products and services in the minds of customers in such a way that the products and services are perceived to be different from one another. Marketing is about the competitive positioning of products and services in the minds of the customers. It is also about the communication of messages and images and the means which are used to convey these messages and images to the customers (Proctor 2000). Daewoo advertising campaign can be analyzed by the income statement of the company. Figure 1 will show the income statement of the company in millions of US Dollars.
As shown in the first figure the company experienced ups and down over the three years. The things that happened to the company in the first few years can be attributed to different factors that will be discussed later. The figure shows that in 2002 the company had made use of advertising campaign to give the company a boost in its income statement. The following year the company experienced a downfall. This can be attributed to two reasons. First the company may not have used the advertising campaign well. Second the advertising campaign is not updated to current trends and changes in the society. It may not attract consumers anymore.
In 2004 the company regained some success it previously had. The company’s income increased during this year. This can be attributed to an upgraded and better use of advertising campaign. The advertising campaign of the company is effective when used properly and when it is continuously upgraded to meet changes in the world. The advertising campaign of the company helps it to be known by the people and it increases the consumers of the company. Once the client of the company increases it profits increases as well. If this happens the company’s status in the industry will improve. The advertising campaign is vital for the company in the present and in the future. It can create wonders for the company and misuse of it can give the company problems.
The IMC philosophy and the advertising campaign
IMC is the process of developing and implementing various forms of persuasive communication programs with customers and prospects over time. The goal of IMC is to influence or directly affect the behavior of the selected audience. IMC considers all sources of brand or company contacts which a customer or prospect has with the product or service as potential delivery channels for future messages. Further, IMC makes use of all forms of communication which are relevant to the customer or prospect, and to which they might be receptive. In sum, the IMC process starts with the customer or prospect and then works back to determine and define the forms and methods through which persuasive communications methods should be developed (De Pelsmacker & Kitchen 2004). The advertising campaign used the IMC philosophy as its basis of what to do. The campaign made the philosophy a basis for its action. Everything done in the campaign came from the philosophy. The IMC made the campaign more effective and more adaptive to the changes in the society.
Summary and Conclusion
The auto industry has also reduced the overall cost of transportation by using methods such as mass production which is making several products at once, rather than one at a time, mass marketing which is selling products nationally rather than locally, and globalization of production that pertains to assembling products with parts made worldwide. Daewoo is a trading company that offers different services with regards to automotives, electronics and media, textiles and many others. It continuously strives to be the best in its industry and give a good contribution to the automotive industry. Advertising concentrates primarily on the buyers, or consumers. After determining the customers’ needs and desires, advertisers develop strategies that are designed to educate customers about a product’s most important features, persuade them to buy it, and then to enhance their satisfaction with the purchase.
The advertising campaign of the company helps it to be known by the people and it increases the consumers of the company. Once the client of the company increases it profits increases as well. If this happens the company’s status in the industry will improve. The advertising campaign used the IMC philosophy as its basis of what to do. The campaign made the philosophy a basis for its action. Everything done in the campaign came from the philosophy. Through the advertising campaign the company gains a better understanding with the clients. The advertising campaign helps the company give a better understanding of the things a client wants and do not want. It helps in making sure that the company is having a clear communication with the client. The advertising campaign also helps in strengthening the relationship of the company with the client.
AN
INTRODUCTION TO TOURISM
Tourism is one of the world’s chief economic
activities. As a global industry, tourist business activities bring substantial
impacts on local government trends. These impacts are diverse and are often
exceptional to the tourism sector. The tourism industry defines tourist
activities as essentially involved in the transportation and hosting of the
tourism consumer in a local community. Tourism is the only global industry
structure that brings the consumer directly to the product (International
Council for Local Environment Initiative, 2003).
In 1999 the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)
reports that across the global economy, travel and tourism generates, directly
and indirectly: 11% of GDP; 200 million jobs; 8% of total employment; and 5.5
million new jobs per year until 2010. Furthermore, the World Tourism
Organization (WTO) data for 1999 show that 663 million people spent at least one
night in a foreign country, up 4.1 per cent over the previous year. Spending on
international tourism reached US$453 billion — a growth rate of nearly 3 per
cent over 1998 (WTO, 2002).
Even though it is technically a national
endeavor, local authorities play a key role in the tourism industry. They
provide funds to the area tourism boards, and offer a buffet of services to
businesses and visitors. Their major responsibilities include transportation,
planning, tourism signposting, health and safety, and licensing. These things
have a direct impact on the potential success of an area to become a tourist
destination. They also control the main public facilities such as museums and
galleries, theatres, parks, sporting facilities, and conference facilities.
Other local authorities have their own tourism officers who will take charge of
the issues concerning to tourism within their respective local authority areas (ICLEI,
2003).
As the ones responsible for the promotion of
their local area’s pride, one of local authorities’ most challenging roles is
choosing the right strategy, specifically on what specific types of tourism they
would enforce. This may involve being familiar with the different types of
tourists, tourism activities and strategies. For instance, one could use the
strategy of putting up a conference and exhibition tourism, which concerns
organising conferences and international
exhibitions in areas that also offer other facilities. On the other hand, there
is also sports tourism, cultural tourism, tourism for religious reasons, and
eco-tourisms (Fragaki, 2003). Those types of tourism may be considered as events
or exhibitions, but they may not be easy to implement as local authorities
should consider the right approaches in promoting them locally and
internationally. For instance, it may include the strategic use of tourism
agencies within the area, the promotion and distribution of event tickets such
as sports and cultural exhibitions, the utilization of the internet,
coordination with the national and regional tourism boards, and many other
strategies that may work. This study will try to investigate the types of
strategies frequently used by local authorities in the UK.
THE MAIN AIM OF THE RESEARCH
As mentioned earlier, local authorities play a
key role in the promotion of tourism within their turf. It was also mentioned
that events and exhibitions can be used as specific strategies of tourism.
Accordingly, events and exhibitions have the
potential to generate a vast amount of tourism when they cater to out-of-region
visitors, grants, or sponsorships, of direct or indirect intent (Getz, 1997).
They impact on the host population and stakeholders in a number of ways (Raj,
2003). It concerns with the social and cultural, physical and environmental,
political and economic impacts, and can be both positive and negative (Raj,
2003). Getz (1997) emphasized that events and exhibitions such as sports and
cultural festivals can produce potential benefits as they can serve as
attractions for tourists, which may help spread tourism geographically in the
country. They can also be image makers, animators, catalysts and alternatives
for tourists (Getz, 1997). However, the effective implementation of such tourism
approaches relies on the hands of the local authorities hosting the events. This
obviously shows that strategies are needed in order for events and exhibitions
to sell to tourists. There is also a need to determine how these events and
exhibitions help change the image of the community positively and improve its
tourism industry. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to choose a specific local
area in the UK and explore how events and exhibitions tourisms are being used,
specifically the strategies that local authorities use to promote them, as well
as to determine their direct and indirect impact in the development of community
image as a tourist destination.
Specifically, the
study will focus on London because not only it is UK’s capital, but it also
serves as one of the country’s bustling tourism spot. Tourism is the second most
important sector in the city – accounts
for 12 percent of London’s Gross Domestic Product and
supports 13 per cent of the workforce (London Development Agency, 2003).
The following three
objectives will be addressed in the study:
1. To determine the
strategies being used by local authorities in London to promote events and
exhibition tourism.
2. To determine events
and exhibition tourism activities contribute to the destination development of
London.
3. To contribute to
tourism research, specifically on research about the effectiveness of events and
exhibition tourism.
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
Sports, festivals,
and other cultural events and exhibitions are examples of programs that can
attract tourists to London. One of the most important points that will be
eagerly explored in this study is how such presentation of events contributes to
London’s image of being a tourist destination. Furthermore, it will explore
other effects of such events such as its economics and social effects.
Events and exhibitions that
emphasize culture may have a positive impact as there is a widespread view that
‘culture’ in the form of historic buildings and castles, churches and cathedrals
and theatre is one of the most significant factors influencing the flow of
overseas visitors into the UK (British Tourist Authority and English Tourist
Board 1996). Culture is being considered as an attraction and many cultural
organisations have themselves targeted the tourist market. Similarly, a sports
event is also a good strategy to attract tourists.
Recent research has indicated
that the contribution sport makes to the gross domestic product (GDP) of
industrialised nations is between 1 and 2%, while the contribution of
tourism is between 4 and 6% (World Tourism
Organisation (WTO), 2001). London will soon be hosting the 2012 Olympics and is
currently known for sports such as Soccer and Tennis.
In that lieu, the
first question that this research will try to answer is:
1. How do events and
exhibitions such as sporting and cultural events contribute to the economic,
social and tourism image of London?
On the other hand, the management
of the London local authorities on events and exhibition tourism is also the
concern of this paper.
Gilbert (1990) stated the importance of
government intervention in tourism marketing. Marketing activities that
government can contribute include: collection and control of visitor data,
creation and maintenance of trade contacts abroad, provision of literature and
expert advice for the travel trade, and regulation and co-ordination of an
industry characterized by diversity and fragmentation.
Furthermore, it is important to
pull together objectives, market targets and marketing mix programs. This should
include a comprehensive market analysis as well as strategies for each marketing
mix. This should also involve training and organization, implementation and
control, and evaluation and corrective action of market performance
(Papadopoulos, 1989).
The techniques in marketing promotions in the
tourism industry that are indicated in most journals are: innovation marketing
for products competing in a highly competitive marketplace; marketing within the
rural community; product-oriented marketing; and societal marketing strategies
(Eccles, 1995).
Thus, this question will also be explored:
2.
What is the legacy strategy of
London officials toward the promotion of the city’s events and exhibition
tourism?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH
Established work on the field
indicates the importance of tourism to economical and social growth of a
community. Previous researches also emphasize the impact of events and
exhibition tourisms. For instance, a World Trade Organization (2001) research
found that German tourists accounted for 32 million sport-orientated trips a
year or 55% of all outbound travel, while 52% (seven million) of all trips made
by Dutch tourists included a sport component. It was also found that sports
tourism can favor a city depending on the season. For example, favourite
physical activities on holiday ranged from skiing and snowboarding inwinter to
hiking, mountaineering and climbing in summer, to water sports such as scuba
diving, snorkelling, swimming, as well as cycling sport activities (WTO, 2001).
Furthermore, in the local tourism trend in UK, many as 20% of tourist trips are
directly related to sports participation, while 50% of holidays contain some
incidental sports participation (DISR, 2000).
Previous studies also show that
sporting-events are more appealing to adult tourists than young tourists
(Gibson & Yiannakis, 1994;
Gibson, Attle & Yiannakis, 1998). Furthermore, earlier studies also show that
hosting events and exhibitions can boost the morale of the community, giving
community members the chance to be involved (Walo, Bull, and Breen, 1996)
This study, while also focusing on
the impact of events and exhibition tourism, will contribute to related field of
works as it will explore the different strategies being used by a local
government to promote its events and exhibition tourism locally and
internationally. Furthermore, the study will specifically address a single city
(London), providing enough focus and time for research and evaluation. The study
may contribute to the development of new theories relating the relationship
between the management and marketing approaches of local authorities to events
and exhibition tourism and their impact to the community, whether it would be
positive or negative.
CONTRIBUTION TO NEW
KNOWLEDGE ON THE FIELD
There is a small amount of research
that focuses on the strategies of local authorities in promoting tourism,
specifically events and exhibitions. Management and marketing strategies have
been poorly linked with the success of a sports or cultural program. The new
knowledge that this research can contribute is the types of strategies that
London local authorities use to strategically promote and maintain their events
and exhibitions. This study will help determine how events and exhibitions in
London attract visitors from other places, and the specific roles that
government officials’ play is such a phenomenon.
Another new knowledge that this
study may expose is the most prevalent exhibition and events tourism being
favored by London’s local authorities. There are various possible answers to
this. It may be an emphasis on exhibition or artistic works, musical events such
as concerts by popular British bands, festivals, sports championships, and many
others. The study can also explore on how the decisions and marketing and
management strategies of London’s local officials influence the effectiveness of
exhibition and events tourism in the city. Furthermore, it may also raise some
enlightenment regarding the roles that different cultures play within the city,
such as Chinese and Jews, in the presentation of events and exhibitions.
This study may also validate and
confirm previous findings. Validation of findings is important in building a
coherent conclusion for a particular hypothesis or problem statements as it may
solidify results, making them more credible and believable.
Overall, the study may contribute in finding out the different
marketing and management strategies being used by London local authorities in
promoting tourism and at the same time, determine the role of exhibition and
events tourism in the development of the city’s image as a tourism spot in the
UK. Furthermore, a relationship between those two variables may be possibly
discovered creating a new knowledge discovery for this study field. Through this
study, new issues about the exhibition and events management in London may be
discovered and may contribute further to the development of future studies,
which would be important in the development knowledge in the field.
APPROACHES AND METHODS
To clearly present the approach to this study, the research process
onion framework was adopted (see figure 1).
The first layer of the onion, starting from the
outside, refers to the research philosophy of the study. As can be seen,
interpretivism was chosen over positivism, mainly because the aim of this study
is to investigate new situations and not to prove a hypothesis. Interpretivism
will be helpful in addressing this study subjectively. Interpretivism allows the
search the ‘details of the situation to understand the reality or perhaps a
reality working behind them’ (Remenvi et al, 1998). For the interpretivist, it
is necessary to explore the subjective meanings motivating people’s actions in
order to understand these. In other words, the aim of the interpretivist is to
understand situations and give plausible and acceptable accounts of them (Varey,
Wood-Harper & Wood, 2002).
On the other hand, the second layer of the onion refers to the
research approach of the study. Because it will be based on intepretivism, it is
proper that the research approach will be induction rather than deduction. The
deduction approach is dedicated to deducing hypothesis or expressing and testing
hypothesis in operational term. On the contrary, induction is different from
deduction. The purpose of induction is to get a feel of what was going on, so as
to understand better the nature of the problem (Saunders et al, 2003). The task
of the inductive researcher is to make sense of the interview data to be
collected by analyzing those data (Saunders et al, 2003). In other words,
interpretation of raw data will be observed in the study. The characteristics of
an induction approach include: gaining an understanding of the meanings or human
attach to events; a close understanding of the research context; the collection
of qualitative data; a more flexible structure to permit changes of research
emphasis as the research progresses; and less concern with need to generalise
(Saunders et al, 2003).
The third layer of the onion refers to the research strategies that
will be used in the study. Exploratory and descriptive research will be used
because in order to answer the research questions presented above, the London
tourism industry should be explored first and then provide a descriptive
overview. Exploratory research is a valuable mean of finding out what is
happening or to seek new insights (Saunders et al, 2003). The three principal
ways of conducting exploratory research include: a search of the literature;
talking to experts about the subjects; and conducting focus group interviews
(Saunders et al, 2003). Descriptive approach, on the other hand, refers to
portrayal of accurate profile of persons, events or situations. Descriptive
approach will be used to portray events that will be discussed in the study.
The fourth layer indicates the time horizon of
the study. In this case, cross-sectional time horizon is most applicable in the
study as it will not seek to investigate for a long period of time because of
time constraint. Basically, longitudinal study would be time consuming.
Cross-sectional, however, fits well for the study as it only investigate a
particular phenomenon at a particular time. Furthermore, case studies are
usually based on interviews conducted over a short period of time (Saunders et
al, 2003).
Finally, the fifth layer refers to the data collection of the study.
Surveys, interviews and literature reviews are planned to be used. Data
collection will be discussed further in the next section.
DATA
COLLECTION
Primary data will be acquired through surveys and interviews.
Surveys
This study will survey 50 staffs of London Tourism Action Group.
They will be asked about the different exhibitions and events being held in
London yearly to attract tourism. They will also be asked about the total costs
of each project and the total revenue they acquire. Part of the question will
also include asking about which sporting events or cultural exhibitions are
mostly in-demand in the city and generate the highest revenue.
A structured survey questionnaire will be used
in the survey. This survey-questionnaire will have two sections. The first part
will intend to acquire the demographic profile of the respondents, while the
other section will contain a set of attitude statements. The purpose of the set
of attitude statements is to determine the level of agreement or disagreement
using a five-point Likert scale. In the Likert technique, the degree of
agreement or disagreement) is given a numerical value ranging from one to five,
thus a total numerical value can be calculated from all the responses.
(Underwood, 2004) The equivalent weights for the answers will be:
Range Interpretation
4.50 – 5.00
Strongly Disagree
3.50 – 4.00
Disagree
2.50 – 3.49
Uncertain
1.50 –
2.49 Agree
0.00 –
1.49 Strongly Agree
Interview
Another primary research that will
be conducted is interview. A focus group interview will be conducted on the head
managers of London’s tourism council. This will be made to find out the
different strategies that the local authorities in London use to manage and
market exhibitions and events. Both in-depth and semi-structured interviews will
be used. In-depth interviews can be very helpful in an exploratory study to find
out clearly what is happening; while semi-structured interviews may be used to
understand the relationship between variables. Focus group interviews that will
involve both in-depth and semi-structured interviews will be conducted
personally because research shows that managers prefer to be interviewed
personally than filling out questionnaires (Saunders et al, 2003).
Secondary Data
Secondary data for the study will be acquired through the literature
search and review. Related literatures will be acquired from online libraries,
online databases, and journals about tourism, London’s website and books from
university libraries across the area.
As can be seen, the study is expected to be finished within a year.
Data collection, data analysis and the write-up of drafts are the tasks that
will be given the most time in the study.
So far, the milestones of this research are the initial literatures
that were collected from the internet. These literatures have helped in being
familiar with the topic as well as understanding several concepts about tourism,
specifically the different types of tourism that includes events and exhibition.
A certain white paper acquired from the
internet helped in the understanding that London invests in tourism crisis
management to manage its tourism industry better (DTI, 2005). It was basically a
guide to help people in London to understand more about the value of tourism,
looking after customers, the utilization of media messages and marketing,
looking after business and staff. The white paper also introduced this study to
the different marketing agencies operating in London and Britain. In London,
VisitLondon is the marketing organization responsible for promoting tourism in
London, while VisitBritain is responsible for the whole Great Britain (DTI,
2005).
Cave’s (2003) study, although the focus is in Africa, provided a
useful insight about the nature of sports tourism. Furthermore, the study of
Gibson (1999) has also provided insights specifically the emphasis that the new
explosive interest in
sports tourism
is new, and the opportunities for entrepreneurs, recreation students entering
the job market, and researchers are monumental. Ritchie and Adair’s (2002) paper
about sports tourism was also helpful, as well as other notable journals that
emphasize the economic and social effects of previous Olympic events.
Another useful material earlier
found for this study is the London Tourism Action Plan for the years 2004/2005
and 2005/2006 (London Development Agency, 2005). The paper stresses the
importance of tourism to London, as well as the action planning process needed,
which include: leadership and promotion; market development; evidence and
development; and product and development (London Development Agency, 2005). The
white paper action plan also emphasised strategic contexts such as the
challenges that London face in its tourism industry and opportunities. Most
importantly, the white paper emphasised the action plan for London’s tourism.
For instance, several objectives developed for leadership and policy includes
branding, harmonizing of brand messages, and building private and public sector
partnership (London Development Agency, 2005). This material was useful because
it shows information about the importance of tourism in London and the plans
created for effective tourism.
The whiter paper of the London Assembly’s Economic and Planning
Committee (2005) about its Tennis industry is another initial useful material
for the study because of its strong emphasis on how important several sports in
the city, specifically Tennis. The Wimbledon Tennis League was mentioned in the
article and its importance to the tourism of London. It also provided some
insights about the barriers of playing tennis in London, as well as potential
future benefits that the local authorities of London can take advantage of.
Because this paper will focus more on the management and marketing
of publicities about events and exhibition tourism in London and their role,
several public relations papers were also initially reviewed. The promotion of
tourism in London lies in how the city is being perceived by the public.
According to Lamb and Mckee (2005), public relations provides the opportunity
for the organization to successfully monitor, interact, and react with other key
groups within the organizational environment. Thus, it is defined as: “…the
communication and action on the part of an organization that supports the
development and maintenance of mutually beneficial relationships between the
organization and the groups with which it is interdependent” (Lamn and Mckee,
2005, p.1). It is also defined as the “management function that identifies,
establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an
organization and the various publics on whom its success or failure depends” (Cutlip
et al, 1999, p.6). Public relations can be seen as a function motivated by
desires to understand or control the environment and to gain understanding from
those in the environment, or alternatively, motivated by desires for mutual
understanding (Botan and Hazleton Jr., 1989). Another statement is that public
relations is not merely making a good impression, but more closely about
fashioning and projecting credible renditions of reality itself (Ewen,
1996). Through these articles reviewed, the study enabled to take a step of
deciding which area of marketing and management functions should be taken into
focus. Public relations were determined as the main focus of study because it is
basically the approach to build a strong image out of a brand. Responsible for
these public relations tasks are the local authorities of London, as well as the
specific organizations that contribute to cultural and sports tourism such as
Soccer teams, Tennis leagues, theatre and arts group and many more.
Regarding the methods, this proposal made a good use out of Saunder
et al’s (2003) book entitled: “Research Methods for Business Students”. This
book provided the researcher basic information about different methods that can
be used in a research. Tourism is a form of business, and specifically,
organizations that contribute to it. The book help the study create a method
that is suited for business studies. The book introduced the researcher to forms
of research that were adopted for this study such as exploratory and descriptive
approach. It also reminded the researcher about the difference between inductive
and deductive research, and the difference between interpretivism and
positivism.
Online libraries such as Questia and Highbeam also helped the
researcher in initiate the study. Online pdf files that discuss sports tourism,
cultural tourism, tourism in London, and general tourism were also helpful.
VIP
MEMO
Ø
Do you intend
conducting fieldwork or research using archives or working in collaboration with
others?
My intention in this research is fieldwork as
primary sources, and archives as secondary sources. A fieldwork would be an
effective strategy in this research since the objectives and the research
questions developed need first hand data from actual respondents. As mentioned
in the research design section of this proposal, the research will be both
exploratory and descriptive. An exploratory study cannot be as effective as it
can be without firsthand data because it may degrade the credibility of data
that will be analyzed. Interviews and surveys will suit this study as it may
reveal interesting facts about exhibition and events tourism in London.
Respondents are to be acquired from the local government of the city, meaning
they will have enough experience and knowledge to share certain information,
like for instance, how events and exhibitions are promoted in London, the types
of public relations efforts being put into, and the role that events and
exhibitions play in London’s tourism industry.
On the other hand, to be able to collect
effective secondary data, previous research archives must be explored as they
may show interesting findings that which this current research can relate into.
Related literatures can be helpful in analyzing the data and providing
interpretations to data.
Regarding collaboration, I will collaborate
with a statistician to help me in the computations of data acquired from the
survey. The rest of the research will be conducted by me alone. The help of a
statistician is needed to ensure that the data is well-analyzed. However, the
interpretations of the data will be provided by me alone. Literatures reviewed
will serve as a guide in the interpretation process.
Ø
Ethical Issues
There are several ethical issues that are needed to be considered in
this study. First and foremost, the study must take into priority the welfare of
the respondents. Respondents are the heart and soul of this research that is why
they should feel comfortable when into an interview or survey. Respondents will
be given the privilege to choose the level of confidentiality of information
about them. If a respondent does not wish his name to be mentioned in the data
analysis part, the researcher will be obliged to comply. Respondents will be
given full control of how much information they want to unveil. This may go
against the study but it is needed to gain the respondents’ trust. To counter,
the objectives and purpose of the study will be clearly explained to them before
the engaging into interview or survey. In that way, they can understand why the
study is being conducted including how it can benefit their city and its tourism
in particular.
Ø
Estimated Cost
The cost of this research may be difficult to
estimate since most of the resources and materials needed are necessities, such
as transportation, hotel accommodations and food. Other important items that
this study will need include online library fees, as well as Internet and
computer fees. Nonetheless, the following are the specific estimated cost for
the project:
Ø
Transportation - £12 per day
Ø
Food Budget - £14 per day
Ø
Hotel accommodations - £30 to £50
per day
Ø
Online journals - £18 per journal
article.
Ø
Library fees – may be free or
have a nominal fee of £1 per book rental.
Ø
SPSS software - £100 and up (this
is needed for statistical analysis).
Ø
Statistician service - £12 per
page or above.
Ø
Miscellaneous (papers, pens, tape
recorder, cassette tapes, mass copying of questionnaires) - estimated £80
Overall, there is still no exact estimated cost
of the study because of the difficulty to identify items that will be needed.
However, a detailed financial report will be provided every month to record how
much the study costs per month.
Ø
Qualifications for the
Research
I believe that I am well qualified for the
research because of my previous academic trainings about tourism management and
marketing.
Ø
Source of Funding
The source of funding will be from sponsors contracted by me. Yes,
this funding will continue for the duration of the project.
INTRODUCTION
The airline industry has undergone significant
restructuring in recent years. Airlines, formerly rivals in a highly regulated
industry, have become opportunistic seekers of co-operation. In today’s world,
mega-carriers and small airlines are working together rather than competing with
one another. Forms of co-operation include sub-contracting, code-sharing,
franchising and the formation of global marketing networks. Such alliances allow
firms to focus on their respective core competencies, while drawing the benefits
of scale economies. In essence, co-operation among competitors has led to
increased competitiveness. This has accelerated the trend of joint marketing,
and the airline has become characterized by the desire to belong to a global
network. The tendency has been to strive for a global presence. More recently,
there has been a shift toward co-operative marketing rather than acquisitions.
Instead of expanding their own services, airlines have been connecting with one
another, such as to form networks. These include very small firms as well as
larger corporations. In addition to using networks as a means to expand,
alliances are also being used to maintain market-presence during downsizing.
DISCUSSION
Air Canada recently launched a pass program
similar to cellular telephone plans: It lets customers pre-purchase a set number
of flights in the U.S. and Canada at a fixed price. Some plans are targeted to
vacationers heading to Florida or Hawaii; others to oil workers commuting to
work for three-week shifts into northern Alberta. Big companies can buy as many
flights as they want, usable by as many as 300 employees within any three month
period. Some big U.S. carriers are eyeing the program with interest. AMR Corp.'s
American Airlines is trying to design a prepaid travel pass for consumers, a top
executive says. (American already has a version of a pass program available to
business travelers: Users can buy 25,000 miles worth of travel in one year for
$10,000.) UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, which also has a program for business
travelers, is watching the consumer offerings, says a marketing executive. Last
month, Canadian discounter West Jet Airlines struck back at Air Canada by
offering a package of 10 one-way flights between Toronto and either Montreal for
about US$1,100.
Thus, airlines used to be able to buy monogamy
from customers with frequent-flier programs, but those loyalty programs aren't
as powerful as they used to be. Customers find miles difficult to redeem and
upgrades hard to come by. Some have more miles than they can use, so don't care
as much about accumulating more miles. As a result, airlines are looking for new
ways to battle low- cost carriers without simply matching prices. Air Canada, a
unit of Ace Aviation Holdings Inc., believes the pass push will help it lock in
loyalty from customers who might otherwise stray to competitors like U.S.
airlines for trans-border travel and to its main Canadian competitor, West Jet.
"It gives customers price predictability the thing airlines always get
criticized for," says Charles McKee, Air Canada's senior director of strategic
marketing. Pass prices are generally higher than the cheapest fares and lower
than the most expensive coach tickets. The customer gets the certainty of
locking in reasonable fares that can be used on short notice. And while the
airline loses the ability to monkey around with prices, it benefits by getting
cash in advance and keeping customers from shopping at competing airlines. Since
pass holders are less likely to shop around with competitors, the airline says
it won't have to spend as much on advertising, costs will be lower since Air
Canada won't have credit-card transaction and booking fees on every ticket.
The pass program transfers some of the risk of
empty seats from the airline to the customer. If customers don't use up all the
segments they buy before they expire, the airline gets paid anyway. American has
already had success with its program for business travelers. But at 40 cents a
mile (compared with an average 12.85 cents per mile overall in the first
quarter), it's only enticing to corporate road warriors who buy tickets at the
last minute and don't want the hassle of ticket-shopping. That is why American
is busy designing a new consumer-focused pass program. But to make it work, Air
Canada says, the airline has to make sure it holds back seats for pass holders,
who are more likely to book closer to departure rather than chasing
advance-purchase fares weeks before a trip. Air Canada
will consider adding all-cargo domestic service this year but only after
withstanding a regulatory challenge from Cargo jet Airways and a scathing
criticism from the government for operating a cargo flight within Canada. The
Canadian Transportation Agency criticized the carrier’s "reprehensible" conduct
in refusing early on to acknowledge that it had moved cargo on a freighter
within Canada without a license. But the agency also imposed no penalty and
granted the carrier a license to run cargo-only aircraft domestically,
responding to a request filed June 1, 2005. The approval appears to end a
dispute with rival Cargo jet and frees Air Canada to consider starting scheduled
all cargo services within Canada as it also considers adding to the three
freighters it uses internationally.
Market Strategy Plan is one of the
fundamental influences on the way organisations are managed. Air Canada’s
strategy affects the way the business is structured, and the recent
reorganisation of Canada’s structure was made to allow for new initiatives to
prosper and succeed. According to Chandler (1962), strategy is the determination
of long-term goals and objectives and the adoption of behaviours and allocation
of resources, which are necessary for the organisation to achieve these goals
and objectives. Chandler believes that as companies grow, their structure needs
to grow with them, moving from a simple, to a functional, to a divisional
structure, if they are to remain efficient, and that if an organisation assumes
a new strategy, they require a new or updated structure if the larger company is
to operate effectively (Robbins & Barnwell 2002). Raymond Miles and Charles Snow
has determined four strategic organizational types based on the speed of the
market and product changes and based on their theory, Air Canada may adopt a
defender strategy. Miles and Snow state that defenders seek stability by
offering a limited range of products and or services directed at a narrow target
market and be able to prevent competitors from stealing their market, defenders
strive to produce a high quality service and offer competitive pricing. (Robbins
& Barnwell 2002).
Although Air Canada does focus
onimproved efficiency and lowering operating costs but still Air Canada is
continually looking for new opportunities to grow and diversify their business.
Air Canada’s long-term strategy is to improve its profitability to create
substantial shareholder value and to maintain its position as Saudi’s leading
national air carrier and to continue to grow and diversify the business into new
markets nationally and internationally. If such consumer trends continue to move
towards lower airfares, the other strategy is to become the national as well as
domestic airline leaving behind the international market with other key elements
involved in achieving the airlines goal to maintain their position as a better
domestic carrier are upgrading and expanding the fleet to improve efficiency,
maintaining a flexible and diversified network, maintaining current alliances
and seeking mutually beneficial relationships with other quality airlines,
improving the profitability of the business organization, maintaining financial
strength, high level of success as well as investing in product and customer
service initiatives in order to avoid failures (Air Canada Annual Report 2000).
Part of Air Canada’s broader strategy is to simplify its operations and that
certain measures are being taken to implement this strategy and has simplified
their fare structure by means of reducing the available fare types and its
reorganisation as noted by many staff procedures and passages of communication
in response to changing demands, as the Air plans to move to economy seating on
some routes and also a fleet of new aircraft.
Henceforth, Michael Porter argues
that for an organization to successfully perform its basic functions it must
select a certain marketing strategy that will give its organisation a
competitive advantage. Porter states that three business strategies should exist
such as cost leadership, differentiation and focus and the organizations should
choose the marketing strategy that best facilitates their strengths over their
weaknesses (Robbins & Barnwell 2002). Success with the marketing strategy
usually requires the efficiency of operations, economies of scale, technological
innovation as well as preferential supplier agreements and that the marketing
strategy should be able to break into the Canada market and be the essential
provider in the industry. A differentiation strategy is where an organisation
seeks to be unique in its industry in ways that are widely valued by customers.
It involves emphasising an attribute that makes the firm different from its
rivals and it significant enough to justify a premium price. For an organisation
with a differentiation strategy to succeed, it requires many skills and
resources, including strong marketing and research capabilities. Basically,
Porter believes that a firm should have strong coordination among functions in
research and development and marketing and that intuitive measures should be
used rather than quantitative measures.
Air Canada plans to become the first international airline to offer U.S. cruise
line customers the first portside check-in service since Sept. 11, 2001. The
airline has been working to win approval from the Transportation Security
Administration using a portable podium, along with a weight scale and wireless
technology, Air Canada’s
current market situation are evident as the Airlines may be able to plan and
realize the use of an e-Business centre that will internet technology to allow
the development, deployment and hosting of the airline's e-business solutions
and the goals of providing integration with its existing core enterprise systems
and applications to meet and realize their marketing strategies and its changes
in the system and approach in the business. This a series of carefully planned
implementations aimed at supporting the airlines e-business marketing strategies
and boosting its internal capabilities to leverage Internet technologies
involving the Air Canada’s technical team relating to its general marketing and
services representative for Canada as it will be successfully completed through
this strategical phase.
The eBusiness Centre could be the
milestone in driving Air canada's corporate e-business strategy and be able to
improve corporate capabilities as well as to reduce costs and improve services
to the loyal customers. It provides the Airlines with new capabilities and
opportunities to serve their customers, partners and employees in an integrated
manner while leveraging existing investments and middleware technology was a
result of a research that started on finding the partner that could provide an
open, portable and scalable solution that would best integrate with its existing
enterprise and marketing environment. It is important that Air Canada to address
issues of acquiring technologies components, knowledge as well as competencies
transfer and most importantly the Airlines should be able to adopt a proven
process of its marketing value in lieu to its strategic plan of organization and
useful methods for operating the e-Business Center which has the key pillars and
pivotal for a successful implementation of such a large scale of their marketing
process and to ensure a successful completion of its strategies while sticking
to the boundaries of their original allocated budgets in terms of their market
situation. Furthermore, the Airlines possibly takes on a unique approach in the
way that it has decided to move forwards with its marketing environment and that
is the importance it has given to its marketing integration to be able to
provide and develop more on its quality service in aspiring satisfaction to
their valued customers.
Marketing Mix strategies
There are certain marketing mix strategies and
sales techniques which have to be observed in order to develop and sustain
business relationships
Ø
Air Canada
should be constantly reviewed for market
evaluation, adaptation process and change assessment
Ø
Complete services should be in
detail and should be introduced in order to benefit from greater demand
stimulation and cost reductions
Ø
The airline should be in
communication with the Air
Canada Standards Organization on the
precise implementation of the standards pertaining to their services offered
with respect to the country
Ø
Efforts should be made to improve
the appearance of value and areas involving its commodities by means of quality
assurance to their services
Ø
In the case of any machinery and
equipment problems including warranties as well as maintenance should be prompt
and efficient
Relevant marketing mix approach to
their strategy in handling business has offered Air Canada the unleashing of
important information and functionalities on their mainframe platform in
engaging the high standards and goals in providing best services to their
customers and that such strategic feature will be able to reduce the time needed
by the user to perform a specific business process in relation to the
application of its respected business strategies wherein, Air Canada Airlines
has set plans to expand into specific projects to increae their market sales and
profit in enhancing more on their marketing strategy in terms of balancing and
maintaining their current business scale in the market field and proper
management resource.
Segmentation
The presence of any market segmentation of the
Air Canada
has involved several areas being in constant
coverage by their business operations in serving countries worldwide.
Air Canada has
involved to such division in their sales and profit process but its major
marketing operation is directed to several destinations outside Canada then,
there could be such clear indication that the airline has applied its
segmentation process.
The strategy and its implementation
The airline believes that Carmen’s solutions
will provide opportunity to vastly improve their planning process, increase
flexibility and bring greater efficiency to their marketing operation and
performance with the aim of reducing lead-times and crew costs of such matter.
The optimization software from Carmen will also support the airline with exact
simulations which will be useful to maintain the daily efficiency of the
operation to meet the demands of their marketing strategy and its implementation
and can also be essential when evaluating major changes regarding new business
opportunities and or consequences from modifying the market strategy and be able
to start working in guidance to the values found in within the process. The goal
is to strengthen further the profitability of
Air Canada
and assist in resolving their challenging
planning situation in relation to their marketing planning approach as of
today’s epoch. Global events and market downturns have continued to put pressure
on the airline and railway sectors. It is a permanent structural change. The
companies in the airline’s key markets that have been able to adapt well are
poised to become the leaders in profitability and in view to their primary role
as being the support of their current and future clients in building a stronger
position in their respective industry and market segment by helping them control
cost structures and changes to their business strategy.
As
Air Canada
continues their efforts to build a complete and
integrated market strategy planning and decision support software solution
combining the major revenue and cost drivers and the proficiency coupled with a
strong knowledge based service offering as it can be essential to any idea of
expansion of services.
The sustainable strategy
Air Canada must plan to develop a communication
analysis tool such as the Sustainability Reporting Spider web as it will
advocate the business industry for sustainability. The Sustainability Reporting
Spider web illustrates the management paradigm shift involved in moving towards
a more inclusive stakeholder organization (KPMG, 2001). It comprises four of the
Balance Business Scorecard dimensions joined by four additional sustainability
dimensions.
The eight dimensions are as follows:
Ø
financial management
Ø
eco-efficiency
Ø
sustainable management
Ø
operational performance
Ø
competence management
Ø
innovations
Ø
stakeholder management
Ø
product performance
A sustainable development management and
reporting system is increasingly becoming a common base line for many
organizations. This is a way of implementing a strategic framework that will
integrate present and planned initiatives and programs for social, environmental
and economic management. According to KPMG (2001) the hallmark of commitment to
sustainable business development is the move to triple bottom line reporting.
Air Canada can seek to monitor, measure, report and continuously improve their
performance in three areas:
Ø
financial responsibility
Ø
environmental responsibility
Ø
corporate social responsibility
Design/methodology/approach
There are two phases involved. In the first
phase, the current research develops a web-based mobile airline ticketing
(W-MAT) model to study usability features necessary to perform mobile air
ticketing commerce. Thirty-six features are mapped and identified based on the
W-MAT model. In the second phase, the air ticketing web sites for 27 most
popular airline companies and online air travel agencies are examined to analyze
their existing implementation patterns on these 36 features. The pattern
analysis is based on web site features analysis and web site versatility
analysis. The W-MAT model-based air ticketing features with usability emphasis
are crucial to develop efficient mobile air ticketing web sites; and thereby,
accelerating the adoption of m-commerce for the air travels industry in the near
future. Most organizations in the airline industry have attempted to respond to
the financial turmoil through drastic evolution. Since the tragedy in September
2001, the carriers have sought ways to improve business values and minimize
losses by cutting jobs, eliminating routes, decreasing infrastructure,
streamlining production costs, improving customer services and creating a
profitable market (Will,
2004).
One of the most effective solutions for
increasing business values, attracting more customers, and increasing customer
satisfaction is to provide internet-based low-fare air travel tickets (Marks,
2004) to sell low-fair air travel tickets and expedite boarding
processes through company web sites. Currently, many airlines are utilizing
their own web sites to market and sell their products to current and potential
customers. Some airlines also offer discounts to customers who purchase their
tickets online (Hanke
and Teo, 2003). Through the expanded use of the internet-based
ticketing, airlines are able to reduce labor costs and in some cases eliminate
commissions altogether so as to improve profit margins. To sustain a significant
competitive advantage, innovation and product differentiation are critical for
organizations. The next opportunity for airlines to reach new markets, maintain
low distribution costs, and enhance customer values and satisfaction can be
achieved through the use of mobile technologies, including using mobile devices
to purchase online air tickets (Hanke
and Teo, 2003). However, unlike e-commerce participants, users of
mobile commerce usually find themselves in an unfamiliar and unpredictable
environment (Perry
et al., 2001); and therefore, developing a user-friendly
interface can reduce the constraints put by the unpredictability of the mobile
environment.
The adoption of mobile ticketing (m-ticketing)
will enhance the flexibility and effectiveness of using electronic ticketing
(e-ticketing) due to its inheriting mobility by using mobile devices. However,
the adoption of m-ticketing in the air travel industry is still slow and has not
been widely implemented. In the US, the United Airlines is the only airline
company that currently provides m-ticketing. The development of m-commerce
environment with user-friendly features is important to accelerate the adoption
of m-commerce in the air travel industry. Motivated by the apparent lack of
literatures in the area of m-ticketing, the current research aims at studying
web-based features that are crucial to the success of mobile air ticketing
commerce. Generally, e-commerce is defined as a monetary transaction conducted
using the internet and a desktop or a laptop computer (Will,
2004).
M-commerce usability
Research indicates new challenges in usability
design in m-commerce that are not present in e-commerce, including small screen
size, limited screen resolution, limited processing capabilities, limited
battery power of mobile devices, and cumbersome input mechanisms (Ghinea
and Angelides, 2004).
Sears and Arora (2002)
mentioned that the most important user-related obstacle in m-commerce was the
limited data entry and data retrieval capabilities.
The goals m-commerce customers try to achieve
are different than their goals in the e-commerce environment, because in
m-commerce environment goals are often conducted based on a location or time
pressure (Sadeh,
2002). M-commerce aims at providing services to support time-critical
activities, and designers need to leverage the desires for specific usability
aspects of m-commerce. From a customer perspective, the issue of information
privacy is of growing concern as our society becomes more and more digitized (Kelly
and Erickson, 2004). The increasing acceptance of the mobile
technology is conspicuous in the air travel industry, in particular. Air
travelers are on the go, and mobile devices give them a tool to stay informed at
all times (Marks,
2004). Therefore, the current study focuses on understanding the
opinion of mobile air travel ticket shoppers from a usability perspective and
developing a successful m-commerce environment for the air travel industry by
uniquely combining and studying the concepts of m-commerce, usability and the
air travel.
A web-based mobile airline ticketing model
Shih and Shim (2002)
developed an m-commerce framework that focused on the inside of business
scenarios to utilize m-commerce. The current research develops a web-based model
for mobile air travel ticketing that sprung from
Shih and Shim's (2002)
framework and focuses on the usability features of the web sites through which
transactions are conducted. A secure electronic payment system with many payment
alternatives developed by
O'Brien (2004)
is also integrated into the web-based mobile air travel ticketing model to
enhance the features for payment transactions by adding in a payment server. The
communication between a client and a server is based on wireless network and
wireless application protocols. On the airline ticketing server site, the
wireless web server is used and wireless web development is based on wireless
markup language.
There are eight transaction flows involved in
order to complete the m-commerce information transactions:
Flow F1 (send request).
A mobile customer enters data and specifies the requests. The request is sent
via a mobile device to the client browser.
Flow F2 (access account).
The customer uses a wireless device to log onto m-commerce sites of major
airlines or air ticket agencies that are available. The airlines and airline
agencies recognize the customer.
Flow F3 (search flight information).
The travel agency transfers the mobile customer's request to multiple airlines
databases.
Flow F4 (retrieve flight information).
Airlines that have matching flights to the customers' requirements send back the
information to the customer via online travel agency's user interface.
Flow F5 (submit payment).
When the customer accepts the proposed itinerary and the fare, payment
information is sent to the credit card processing company.
Flow F6 (check payment).
The credit card processing company credits the payment to the online travel
agency's account.
Flow F7 (purchase confirmed).
Upon positive indication from the payment company (such as credit card company),
the airline travel ticket server accepts the customer's travel request and
issues a confirmation number. The customer can also get an mobile boarding
(m-boarding) pass with bar codes through a wireless device.
Flow F8 (complete purchase).
When the purchase is completed, the mobile customer can check schedule and gate
information for the booked flights. More links to other web sites such as
weather information and destination maps.
Therefore,
e-ticketing that is more widely and popularly used should provide a good
platform to analyze m-ticketing framework and provide guidelines on how mobile
airline ticketing may be approached from existing web sites of the dominant air
travel companies and major online air travel agencies that offer e-ticketing
used for the development of the W-MAT model-based m-ticketing features in the
current study. (Sears
and Arora (2002) The W-MAT model-based m-ticketing features can be
validated by comparing m-ticketing features developed in the current research
with the existing implementation patterns of these features in the e-ticketing.
The current research developed a web-based
mobile air travel ticketing commerce model by considering the usability features
and studied the existing m-commerce environment. The breakdown of the
m-ticketing information transaction flows from the W-MAT model can allow airline
companies and air travel agencies to determine what features need to be
concentrated on differentiate themselves from their competitors. The findings
from the current research indicate that developing user-friendly m-commerce
features is crucial to the success of m-commerce. The air ticketing feature
adoption pyramid developed in the current research reflects the availability of
air travel ticketing features.
Air Canada could possibly continue to create a
national transportation network and established its own integrated airline and
passenger-ship network as the airlines have been becoming increasingly involved
in horizontal relationships which strengthens market share. The dynamism of the
airline industry makes it a challenge for any one player to respond to the broad
spectrum of competitors experienced by Air Canada as many foreign airlines
implemented a variety of innovations to lure passengers, especially business
travelers. In 1998, Air Canada opened its own arrivals lounge, the lounge has
private showers, shoe-polishing and clothes pressing services and a breakfast
area within the business centre areas with telephone and Internet facilities as
it is open to Air Canada’s most frequent travelers.
The increasing importance of the
contribution brought about by the hospitality industries particularly tourism in
the local as well as world economy is highly remarkable. Today, the
hospitality industry is among the fastest
growing economic sectors worldwide. In fact, the hospitality industry by itself
is recognized as multi-billion dollar and still progressing industry (Gailliard
1998). In UK, hospitality industry is among the major economic forces as its
enables growth and creation of job opportunities. According to the British
Hospitality Association (2002), the business has employed over 1.8 million
workers who were distributed within 300,000 hospitality establishments,
totalling
to revenue generation of more than £64 billion. Further, the hotel industry is
the linchpin of the UK's leisure-related service sector: a big business with
enormous growth potential. It also contributes to the country's attractiveness
as an international business destination (Lovegrove & Lewis 1998).
Generally, hospitality industry
covers the tourism and other tourism related enterprises. Thus, the concepts of
hospitality management are almost related to the concepts of tourism management.
Hospitality management involves a wide
range of planning, organizing and controlling human and material resources
within the business of providing an avenue of good reception and hospitality to
customers (Gailliard 1998). Along with these functions, the hospitality industry
includes workers who are equipped with the necessary skills to man the job –
both men and women. On the other hand, tourism is traditionally defined as the
travel of people to specific destination of their choice that is away from the
usual places in which they go (Mathieson & Wall 1882). It includes the effective
utilization and management of facilities that will attend to the needs arising
along their planned travel.
Masschelein and Buyten (2002) presented a more comprehensive
definition of tourism which is a “set of activities performed by people who
travel and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one
consecutive year for the purposes of leisure, business, and others”. Basically,
this is the principle behind tourism management – the effective and appropriate
management of people in their traveling experiences.
Since tourism management involve
taking care of clients, it is expected that workers who are operating in the
said industry must be equipped with the proper skills, attitudes, and
perspective towards the full maximization of their potentials in relation to
customer service satisfaction. The role of emotions in connection to tourism
management or hospitality management as whole is crucial. Thus, this paper
discusses the key factors affecting the successful implementation of emotional
labour in tourism management.
Emotional Labour
Emotional labour is
defined as “the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and
bodily display [which] is sold for a wage and therefore has exchange value” (Hochschild
1983, 10). It is a type of work that involves the stimulation or control of
emotions particularly in relation to investing conditions of work. In relation
to tourism management, emotional labour is highly utilized. The conditions and
the pressures the work requires challenge the ability of every employee to
manage their emotions.
Basing it from the
above assumption that tourism management involve taking care of clients the best
way possible, it is also imperative to identify the factors necessary in the
whole process. For instance, most of the people inclined in the tourism related
industry are women
(Taylor & Tyler 2000).
The preconceived and sexist view on women as nurturers equates them to be the
“man” for the job that requires a sufficient emotional labour. This belief is
commonly practice among the areas of hotel, restaurants, services in the
airlines, and other professions that are identified as such. Emotional labour is
not gender neutral as work containing significant amounts is dominated by women
(Taylor & Tyler 2000). For example, working as cabin crew is defined as women's
work by employers, employees and customers. But then again, emotional labour
does not only affect women but also men. In general, emotional labour is the
effective utilisation of emotions in order to serve the customers and the
organisation as a whole. Furthermore, it allows an employee to contribute to the
eventual growth and continuous improvement to the whole business.
More so, emotional labour is
highly required among the tasks present in tourism management because tourism
itself is the service that demands very satisfactory interpersonal communication
among the employee and the clients. Thus, there are key factors to be considered
in dealing to emotional labour relations of every worker involved in the
business of tourism. Most of the time, this factors are common values essential
in the human resources management of an organization. The following are
significant factors to be considered to the successful implementation of
emotional labour in tourism management.
Motivation
Basically, there are three
assumptions in human motivation established in any organization. The first one
assumes that motivation is inferred from a systematic analysis of how personal,
task and environmental characteristics influence behaviour and job performance
(Wiley 1997). The next one infers that motivation is not a fixed trait; but
rather it refers to a dynamic internal state resulting from the influence of
personal and situational factors. This means that motivation may change with
changes in personal, social or other factors. Finally, motivation affects
behaviour, rather than performance. Wiley explained: “Initiatives designed to
enhance job performance by increasing employee motivation may not be successful
if there is a weak link between job performance and an employee’s efforts”
(p.263).
Definition of motivation varies.
This is a basic example why the term ‘motivation’ is filled with complexities.
Robbins (1998) stated that it is “the willingness to exert high levels of effort
toward organizational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy some
individual need”. On the other hand, Greenberg and Baron (1997) define the
motivation as “the set of processes that arouse, direct and maintain human
behaviour toward attaining some goal”. This definition contents three key
essential aspects: arousal, direction and maintaining. Arousal is to do with the
drive/energy behind people’s actions such as their interests to do the things or
they do it just want making a good impression on others or to feel successful at
what they do. Direction means the choices people make to meet the person’s goal.
Maintaining behaviour could keep people persisting at attempting to meet their
goal hence to satisfy the need that stimulated behaviour in the first place.
When the workforce on an organization is effectively motivated, employees’
continuous improvement is not far at hand.
In connection to emotional labour,
motivation of employees is vital. There are times that the pressures of the work
exhaust most number of employees. During this instances, there are simple ways
that can help them motivate themselves to work even better even with the
presence of some barriers in their effective service management. For example, a
tap in the shoulder from the manager, kind words from co-workers, a simple
praise, or mere gestures of appreciation can highly motivate an employee.
Furthermore, incentives and rewards may also be offered by the management.
The objective of the reward system has been to motivate employees in delivering
the best service they can. In order to do this, rewards are distributed in such
a way that the more valuable employees will be left with a feeling of
satisfaction (Campbell
& Pritchard 1976). Pay is also a contributory element in the process of
motivation. The reason for basing pay upon performance is the impact that may
result from employees' pay satisfaction, job satisfaction, and performance.
While there are other reasons for making pay contingent on performance, such as
the effect it may have on absenteeism and turnover, these are the most important
ones. Indeed, the primary reason for having such a pay system is the potential
it has for the motivation of performance (Evans 1986).
Coordination
Hardy and Clegg (1996) believe
that as modern organizations grew larger, skills become increasingly fragmented
and specialized and positions become more functionally differentiated. However,
it should be likewise put in mind that people are diverse and complex beings. In
tourism management, sometimes it is very crucial that collaborative effort must
be utilised. For instance, the dealing with unreasonable clients stresses an
airline attendant (Taylor & Tyler 2000). There is a need for reinforcement and
collaboration.
As social beings, employees are
entitled to their own opinions, needs and expectations. The role of HR is one of
catalytic conversion that prepares organizations to understand their history,
strategize for the present, and create visions for the future as a one of
visionary guide, change agent, and culture monitor (Williams 1995). The HR
department has the responsibility of making employees feel they are crucial in
the efficient and effective functions and operations of the company especially
during times of organizational development wherein change is inevitable. In this
light, the management was confronted with the need to promote positive working
relationship and good communication channelling among the personnel in the
establishment whether between the supervisor and the subordinates or employee to
peers and colleagues.
Commitment
Argyris and Schon (1996) believe
that organisational behaviour is resistant to change due to human cognitive
processes and defensive routines which were accumulated from past experiences
forming beliefs that rationalize every action. Such human characteristics
prevent managers from learning that their behaviour is inconsistent with their
aspirations which could lead to the persistence of organizational policies and
practices in the context of new business environment and realities.
In tourism management, commitment
for service is demanded. Such inclination is natural to employees, however, due
to some consequences and circumstances occurring in the process, there are some
changes occurring in their behaviours. To resolve this, the process of
motivation plays a great role. It is because employees view recognition of work
as both an accomplishment of and a form of compensation to their knowledge,
skills, and efforts rendered in the endeavour, as Cottringer & Kirby (2005)
point out, “Most employees have in common a desire for achievement and
recognition, but each employee is motivated to perform well for different
reasons, and each may want recognition to take a different form.”
Competency
Keeping an organisation’s place in
the business world as competitive innovator and provider of a specific service
has sustained its ever increasing number of customers. However, the company, in
order to be successful in their implementation of any change in their operations
and transactions, has also considered the not just the competence and
competitiveness of the organization as a whole but also take into account the
competence and competitive behaviours of the people that run the business. A
weak workforce simply means less productivity and progress, while a strong
workforce means more. Leadership potentials among the management personnel are
highly evaluated during times of change and participation and aggressive working
environment among the staff were likewise monitored for the smooth pace of the
improvement processes within the business organization.
Ensuring employee performance requires
establishing a level of competence which the employee should be aware of as a
target to be achieved. This is the measure to be used by managers in determining
compliance with the standard and in identifying problems met by the employees in
meeting the standard. In developing a training program to enhance the
productivity of employees the manager will look at the competency problems of
the employees and fashion the program to enable the employees to reach and even
exceed the competency standard established for their work. This requires a great
amount of perceptiveness on the part of the manager in determining what method
of training will be most effective in improving employee competence. Some of the
training includes computer software training, internet-based training and self
teaching by encouraging innovativeness in the workplace (Sims 1998).
Tourism management requires
a wide range of planning, organizing and
controlling human and material resources within the business of providing an
avenue of good reception and hospitality to customers (Gailliard 1998), thus
every employee is expected to exude the most appropriate skills, attributes and
strengths in relation to serving the clients. The role of emotions must be
recognized since tourism deals with people and their satisfaction.
Leadership
Leadership comprises the aptitude
and ability to inspire and influence the thinking, attitudes, and behaviour of
other people (Adler 1991; Bass, 1985; Bass & Stogdill 1989; Bennis & Nanus 1985;
Kotter 1988). It is a process of social influence in which one person is able to
enlist the aid and support of other individuals in the achievement of a common
task (Chemers 1997). The major points of this definition are that leadership is
a group activity, is based on social influence, and revolves around a common
task. Leadership has different styles that a leader may follow or may not. Klein
(1996) distinguishes the basics elements of leadership. Leadership is considered
to be situational; it is dependent on organizational, environmental, and
historical context. Relational, signify the relationship between the leader and
the followers, and last element is the distinct from position. Structural
leadership plays a decisive role in shaping the organizations. Structural
leaders can be successful when they have the right answer for their organization
and they can get their answer acknowledged and implemented (Sorra 1996).
An effective employee in the
tourism sector is an asset and facilitator who motivates and empowers
subordinates. To be an effective leader, he/she must use skills and creativity
in helping people to achieve surprising outcome. They build organizations that
obtain their success from a highly committed and productive work force.
Moreover, successful leaders are advocates who understand that influence needs
to begin with an understanding of others’ concerns and interests (Anderson &
King 1993).
The implications of this
perspective to the role of the future managers in the tourism industry is to
understand their own frame and its limits, take advantage of their strengths and
must work hard to improve on their weaknesses and build teams that supply
leadership in all modes (Noori 1996). The intervention of emotional labour will
truly guarantees a maximum performance and service satisfaction.
Customer Satisfaction
One of the most important elements
for the hospitality industry particularly tourism is the presence of the
customers. Without the clients, efficient services of the business cannot be
delivered. Moreover, the tourism industry needs the response of the customers as
this will determine the demand pattern of the business. The customer then serves
as the final judge of satisfaction in relation to the quality of the products
and services provided. This pattern shifts the focus on total quality management
and quality assurance.
In order to achieve customer
satisfaction, the business should consider individual customer demands and
needs. As every customer need is different from another, customization is very
important. In applying customization, two factors must be taken into account.
First, one must consider whether customization is possible based on the
services’ characteristics and delivery systems. Second, one must identify the
amount of judgement that can be exercised by the customer contact personnel in
defining the nature of service individual customers receive. This is necessary
as some service concepts are standardized while others are able to provide
various alternatives and options (Spillane 2001).
Some class of services do not only
require a high level of customization but also needs customer contact personnel
to deliver the services to the customers. This type of service provision is also
known as prescriptive, where the focus of control is transferred from the user
to the provider. Professional services of the hospitality industry as well as
accounting, medicine, law and architecture are included in this category. These
knowledge industries need to have sufficient education and training so as to
satisfy individual customer needs. This is one of the reasons why literature on
service industry pertains to the interaction between the service provider and
the customer as this relation determines the degree of customer satisfaction.
This in particular is applicable to the hospitality industry (Spillane 2001).
According to Mainardi (1980),
hospitality professionals are dependent on the contact and the reception they
receive from the customers. Hence, hospitality personnel must have a certain
degree of availability towards the customers, a substantial margin of initiative
and a strong sense personal responsibility. In a tourist interaction, employees
in fact serve as a mediator between the clientele and the structure of the
industry. This role is very much significant in obtaining the desired results of
both the customers and the business. In satisfying the wishes of the customers,
the ethical and psychological factors must also be involved among hospitality
professionals. There is considerable evidence that clients appreciate actual
interaction with people; thus, the treatment clients should receive from service
providers must be different from what they receive on daily routines.
Indeed, customer satisfaction is
an important element of the hospital industry that makes it different from
manufactured products. However, while interpersonal skills are learned from,
hospitality and customer service programs, the effectiveness and the quality of
service provided should go beyond eye contact and warm greetings (Taylor 2000).
The generation of customer satisfaction should then be produced out of effort
and good rapport. Most people equate customer service with personal interaction,
while few of them realize the complexity of business systems involve in it.
Without these helpful systems, the smile or the warm greeting service employees
provide will lead to minimal results.
However, the fact that tourism is
a collection of various individuals and cultures, there is diversity issues
among employees that will definitely affect the organisational workforce.
Diversity in behaviour and culture builds gaps and biases among participants.
Personal issues such as beliefs, practices, ideologies, and personal limitations
may defer service. These may serve as barriers and problems in achieving the
best possible outcomes expected. To fully manage organisational culture into
competitive advantage, the management can turn it into positive approach.
Organisational Culture
The culture in a particular
workplace is an interactive one. Workers have different culture that makes them
distinct above others. However, one great factor that influences the culture in
a particular workplace is the behaviour of the workers themselves (Ramsey 2004).
In this regard, it is found that a certain workplace has different and
diversified types of workers.
Zammuto (1992), argue that culture
is the single most important factor contributing for the success or failure of
organizations. Some suggests a psychological theory of the link between
organizational culture and business performance. Some perceived culture as a
reward of work for if we sacrifice much to the organization – a form of return
to the exerted effort. Responsive culture provides the organization the ability
to be culturally inventive which is also related to leadership and top
management has the responsibilities for building strong cultures. Leaders create
the social reality of the organization; they mould the values and attend to the
vision and mission of the organization. Relationship culture is also generally
constructed and it reflects the meanings that are constituted in communication
and that form commonly acknowledged definitions of the situation (Bolman & Deal
1991).
Culture is controlled and it
refers to the processes that unite the organization together. It must be
consensual rather than conflict-oriented. Idealism of organization culture
reinforces the unifying strengths of fundamental goals and establishes a sense
of common responsibility. Task culture or performance culture are the considered
to be the opposite of role cultures. It maintains the strong sense of the basic
mission of the organization and teamwork is the basis on which jobs are
designed.
Managing Diversity
"Because management philosophies
and practices are culturally conditioned, it stands to reason that there is much
to be gained by including cultural studies in all management or professional
development. This is particularly relevant during the global transformation
underway. Culturally skilled leaders are essential for the effective management
of global corporations, as well as for the furtherance of mutually beneficial
world trade and exchange." (Harris & Moran 2000).
The concept of culture at work, whether
international, local or at the organizational level, extensive emphasis should
be warranted for because effective HRM practices plays an effective role on
achieving high performance levels of employees.
According to Aronson (2002),
diversity is important in an organization because it is about inclusiveness;
that it's not simply a code word for minority concerns, but embraces a new way
of thinking about maximizing the potential of everyone within the organization.
It is basically about providing equality within the organization. Blair et al
(2000) stated that since the early 1990s, the debate on equal opportunities (EO)
at work has been characterised by the introduction of the relatively new concept
of managing diversity. With its many definitions, managing diversity was defined
best by Bartz et al (1990). They defined it as: “…understanding that there are
differences among employees and that these differences, if properly managed, are
an asset to work being done more efficiently and effectively. Examples of
diversity factors are race, culture, ethnicity, gender, age, a disability, and
work experience”.
EO is different for
managing diversity. EO focuses on discrimination while managing diversity is
concerned with ensuring that all people maximise their potential (Kandola 1995;
McDougall 1996). Thus the emphasis in managing diversity is that differences
between people should be effectively managed (Cassell 1996) as opposed to being
avoided (Liff & Wajcman 1996), or viewed as a liability (Wilson & Iles 1999).
Furthermore, the managing diversity approach focuses on individuals in contrast
to EO’s focus on groups such as: women, ethnic minorities, and disabled people.
The managing diversity approach
has been suggested as engaging with a strategic perspective, playing a critical
role in ensuring economic and competitive success (Wilson 1996), and is
described as being the responsibility of all employees (Ross & Schneider 1992),
but particularly managers (Kandola & Fullerton 1994). EO on the other hand, is
largely considered as the concern of personnel departments or human resource
specialists (Wilson 1996).
The role of managing diversity in
business has been considered important particularly to the welfare of the
employees. It places an important emphasis on the nature of organizational
culture (Ross & Schneider 1992; Kandola 1996; McDougall 1996) and management
styles (Iles 1995). Certainly it has been asserted that cultural transformation
is integral to the managing diversity approach (Carnevale & Stone 1994), with
the organisation adapting and changing, rather than individuals conforming to
long established processes (Carnevale & Stone, 1994; Liff 1999).
Synthesis
Recognizing the significant role
of emotions in tourism management leads to the effective performance of service
and achievement of goals. The presented key factors to successfully implement
emotional labour in the tourism industry are innate to every employer and
employee on an organisation. However, there is an immediate and continuous
evaluation on the aspect of providing services among customers. The employees
must be equipped with proper motivation that the management should define.
Employees must be innately motivated with their personal drive to their chosen
career. Further, leadership is also needed. On the aspect of the employee, the
concern and awareness to the limits and drawbacks of employees, policies, and
even styles must be taken into full attention. The coordination, competence, and
commitment among everyone will result to the success of the company.
Emotional labour
clings on the emotions of every participant in the tourism industry. The role of
effective HR management is also contributory in the whole practice.
Believing that the most important asset of a
business is the people in order to achieve sustained business success is the
core philosophy of human resource management. Realizing this leads to a
strategic management of people within the organization especially to the areas
where tourism management is pertinent.
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Heathrow
Airport offers a Fast Track priority service for business class travelers.
Saving you up to 30 minutes on the time it takes to walk from the car park to
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Heathrow
Airport offers a Fast Track priority service for business class travelers.
Saving you up to 30 minutes on the time it takes to walk from the car park to
the airport, check-in and then on to your flight. The Fast Track service offers:
Heathrow
Airport offers a Fast Track priority service for business class travelers.
Saving you up to 30 minutes on the time it takes to walk from the car park to
the airport, check-in and then on to your flight. The Fast Track service offers:
