Stretegic Analysis of Pepsi

Strategic Analysis of PepsiCo | | Introduction Pepsi co is a carbonated beverage that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. It is sold in stores restaurants and from vending machines. The drink was first made in the 1890s by a pharmacist Caleb Bradham in New Bern, North Carolina. The brand was trademarked on June 16 1903. The has been many Pepsi variants over the years since 1903 to name a few they have Diet Pepsi, Crystal Pepsi, Pepsi Twist, Pepsi blue, Pepsi raw, Pepsi one etc. PepsiCo is situated in a soft drink industry that is dominated by Coca Cola. By the time it got into the market Coca cola had already made its mark among the public and the newcomer Pepsi found it hard to find a consumer base. Their first effective marketing strategy, they put their sodas in beer bottles and sold them cheaper than Coke. There was more drink for less money. They started selling, and Pepsi was seen as the poor man’s cola. Although this strategy worked, Pepsi recognized that if their image remained as that of the Poor Man’s Soda, their customer base would never widen. In order to improve its image, Pepsi devised a new marketing strategy by employing celebrities for its advertisements. One of their first celebrity endorser was Barney Oldfield, the pioneer for automobile racing. Afterwards, PepsiCo dipped its marketing hands into acquiring even more business. They bought Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and exerted effort into developing overseas restaurant ventures. One of the most successful advertising and promotion campaigns in history. SWOT Analysis Strength †¢ Pepsi has a broader product line and outstanding reputation. †¢ Merger of Quaker Oats produced synergy across the board. †¢ Record revenues and increasing market share. †¢ Lack of capital constraints (availability of large free cash flow). †¢ Great brands, strong distribution, innovative capabilities †¢ Number one maker of snacks, such as corn chips and potato chips Weakness †¢ Pepsi hard to inspire vision and direction for large global company. Not all PepsiCo products bear the company name †¢ PepsiCo is far away from leader Coca-cola in the international market – demand is highly elastic. Opportunity †¢ Pepsi should expand into markets that they are not currently in. †¢ Food division should expand internationally †¢ Noncarbonated drinks are the fastest-growing part of the industry †¢ Pepsi should position itself on t he cutting edge of the healthy food trend in the market place by increasing trend toward †¢ Changing customer tastes e. g. variants of drinks †¢ Focus on most important customer trend – â€Å"Convenience†. Threats †¢ Pepsi is blamed for pesticide residues in their products in one of their most promising emerging market e. g. in India †¢ Over 50 percent of the company's sales come from Frito-Lay; this is a threat if the market takes a downturn †¢ PepsiCo now competes with Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, and Kraft foods (because of broader product line) which are well-run and financially sound competitors. †¢ Size of company will demand a varied marketing program; Social, cultural, economic, political and governmental constrains. External Analysis PEST Analysis: Political influences: – The production distribution and use of many of PepsiCo product are subject to various federal laws, such as the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act. – The businesses are also subject to state, local and foreign laws. – The international businesses are subject to the Government stability in the countries where PepsiCo is trying get into (underdeveloped markets). Businesses are also subject to de taxation policy in each country they are operating. They also have to comply with federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations. Economic influences: – Pepsi is subject to the harvest of the raw material that they use in their snack foods, soft drink and juice, like corn, oranges, grapefruit, vegetables, potatoes, etc. Because of they rely on trucks to move and distribute many of their products, fuel is also an important subject, so they are subject to the fuel price fluctuation, and to possible fuel crisis. Operating in International Markets involves exposure to volatile movements in foreign exchange rates. The economic impact of foreign exchange rates movements on them is complex because such changes are often linked to variability in real growth, inflation, interest rates, governmental actions and other factors. PepsiCo is also subject to other economical factors like money supply, energy availability and cost, business cycles, etc. Social influences: – Pepsi is subject to the lifestyle changes, because of it bases its advertising campaigns in a concrete kind of people with a special lifestyle, it is for that PepsiCo has to pay a special attention on the lifestyle changes. Around the world Pepsi drinkers are defined, there is a kind of people who drinks Pepsi another kind who drinks Coca-Cola; it is for that they have to pay attention to the social mobility for not losing a possible market. – Taking into account that PepsiCo is trying to introduce itself in underdeveloped markets, they have to be careful with the possible problems with the governments of this countries, and with the problems could rise from PepsiCo act with the people of this countries. Technological influences: – PepsiCo is subject to new techniques of manufacturing, for their three business sectors, snack food, juices and soft drinks. It has to pay attention to the new distribution techniques. – And they have to fix their attention in the competence developed, to know about the new products. Porter’s Diamond: The Porter’s Diamond Analysis tries to explain the Competitive Advantage of Nations. There are four attributes of a nation comprise Porterâ₠¬â„¢s Diamond of national advantage, they are: Factor Conditions: The basic factor conditions are natural resources, climate, location, the more advanced factor conditions are skilled labour, infrastructure and technology. There are some of these factors that can be obtained by any company (like unskilled labour and raw materials) and, hence, do not generate sustained competitive advantage. Below is a market share structure, Pepsi has around the world as of 2007. Pepsi has a long standing commitment to protecting consumer whose trust and confidence in its products. In order to ensure that consumers stay inform about the quality of all Pepsi products sold in the world. Summary of the Pepsi Strategy Conclusion Assessing Pepsi’s marketing strategies; shows that Pepsi has made several right choices. With the existence of Coke, Pepsi can never lay claim to true originality. It is not that unique. So, before it entered the international market, it first familiarized its customers with its product thoroughly in its home base and lowering their prices. By the time Pepsi was ready to enter the international market, it had a good grasp of what its target audience really is. In conclusion, Pepsi’s marketing strategies, from past to present includes: enhancing their distribution system, knowing the environment of the foreign market and finding the things their target buyers had in common, adding new innovations and products while improving the old products, imaginative advertising, use of advanced technology, assertive promotions, trendy, socially-aware campaigns, alliances with major corporations and expansion into other industries such as restaurants. Al in a one Pepsi-Cola  concentrates on markets where it could prosper alongside  Coca-Cola,  rather than trying to defeat it and its still progressing well. The King III Report and its implications in IT Introduction King III states that – In contrast to the King I and II codes, King III applies to all entities regardless of the manner and form of incorporation or establishment applies to all entities regardless of the manner and form of incorporation or establishment. Unlike previous reports, King III deals with IT governance in detail. According to the introduction of the Report: information systems were used as an enabler to business, but have now become pervasive in the sense that they are built into the strategy of the business and the risks involved in information technology (IT) governance have become significant. The King Report III provides a list of best practice principles which have become an indispensable guide on Corporate Governance to directors, executives and regulators alike. King III provides guidance to all corporate entities on various governance related aspects, including: Ethical leadership and corporate citizenship, Boards and directors, Audit committees, The governance of risk , The governance of information technology (IT), Compliance with laws, rules, codes and standards, Internal audit, Governing stakeholder relationships, Integrated reporting and disclosure. IT governance Unlike previous reports, King III deals with IT governance in detail for the first time. In exercising their duty of care, directors should ensure that prudent and reasonable steps have been taken in regard to IT Governance. IT governance should focus on four key areas: †¢ Strategic alignment with the business and collaborative solutions, including the focus on sustainability and the implementation of ‘green IT’ principles; †¢ Value delivery: concentrating on optimizing expenditure and proving the value of IT; †¢ Risk management: addressing the safeguarding of IT assets, disaster recovery and continuity of operations; †¢ Resource management: optimizing knowledge and IT infrastructure. KEY PRINCIPLES OF THE KING III REPORT The Report places great emphasis on: †¢ Leadership; †¢ Sustainability; and †¢ Corporate Citizenship. The importance of the concepts of integrated sustainability and social Transformation is highlighted. This leads to a lasting concentration on the effects of business on society and the environment. The concept of sustainability is linked with the evaluation of ethics and the improvement of ethical standards in business and in the community. The Minister of Environmental Affairs has pointed out that, unless measures are adopted, greenhouse gas emissions in South Africa will quadruple by 2050. This would result in South Africa becoming a pariah nation. Sustainability reporting is also emphasized in the need to utilize suppliers from amongst previously disadvantaged people. The success of companies in the 21st century is likely to involve: †¢ The natural environment; †¢ The social environment; †¢ The political system; and †¢ The global economy. The King III Report has placed great emphasis on an integrated report, which will evaluate the company’s impact on the economic life of the community in which it operates, as well as many other matters. Conclusion The release of King III is welcomed and represents a significant advance in good corporate governance that looks to the future. Companies will also find King III more user-friendly, in particular the new format of the Code which briefly sets out the recommended best practices against the applicable principles, should constitute a handy quick reference guide. In addition, the Practice Notes, when released, will greatly assist with implementation and going forward, the Institute of Directors will also be developing tools to assist different types of entities identify how to apply relevant principles and recommendations. All in one I would say the release of King III is welcomed and represents a significant advance in good corporate governance that looks to the future. Companies will also find King III more user-friendly, in particular the new format of the Code which briefly sets out the recommended best practices against the applicable principles, should constitute a handy quick reference guide. In addition, the Practice Notes, when released, will greatly assist with implementation and going forward, the Institute of Directors will also be developing tools to assist different types of entities identify how to apply relevant principles and recommendations. Reference http://www. sirpepsi. com/pepsi11. htm â€Å"compiled by 2002† http://www. radessays. com http://www. bookrags. com http://www. allbusiness. com. http://www. peerpapers. com http://www. michalsons. com/king-3-published-for-comment/1463 http://www. pwc. com/en_ZA/za/assets/pdf/pwc-draft-kingiii-presentation-09. pdf

Best Practice Companies: Training in the Airline Industry

After September 11th, there was a great deal of turmoil in the airline industry as a tremendous amount of money was needed to be allocated toward other things such as security enhancements. As a result, most airlines cut back costs in other departments, especially in the department of training. However, some airlines deemed training their employees effectively to be pertinent to their development, and thus decided to enhance their training programs to provide a more long term benefit. This is part of what contributed to the title of a â€Å"best practice company† for many of these airlines. They recognized training as not only a fundamental part of human resource management but also for their growth and reputation. Training offers a way of developing skills, enhancing productivity and quality of work, and building worker loyalty to the firm, and most importantly, increasing individual and organizational performance to achieve business results. Training is widely accepted as an employee benefit and a method of improving employee morale, and enhancing employee skills has become a business imperative. Increasingly, managers and leaders realize that the key to business growth and success is through developing the skills and knowledge of its workforce. The best practice companies we observed included Southwest Airlines, Jetblue, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic Airways; all of which have made it on the Fortune 500 list of â€Å"Most admired Companies†. We came to the conclusion that these five airlines can be seen as best practice companies in the field of training, due to their dedication in providing high quality training, their innovative training tactics, and their emphasis on training in customer service. Dedication To Providing High Quality Training as a Means to Being a Best Practice Company: The superior quality of training is something in which these airlines take a great deal of pride in, and has been achieved through employee motivation and an intensive amount of learning. Three of the airlines including Southwest, Jetblue, and British Airways actually have â€Å"training universities† in which every employee is expected to attend. Some classes are standard for everyone in the workforce, while others cater to specific jobs, such as pilots, stewards, ground workers, etc. Employee's are paid for the time they spend in class at these designated schools and will typically work forty hour weeks doing so. All five of these airlines cater to the learning development of their employee's, to ensure complete knowledge of the company and their specific job. Dedication To Providing High Quality Training: Southwest Airlines The key to success in any organization is motivation, the ability to rally a group of people behind a specific goal. When motivation is in place employee’s engage in low absenteeism and job satisfaction, to name a few. Herb Kelleher, the founder and creator of Southwest Airlines has been able to do just this through many ways such as implementing training and career development programs. As many people have heard Southwest does not hire for skills but rather attitude and personality. Before considering if you would like to be employed you must first ask yourself, â€Å"Am I motivated? † if not there is a great chance you will not be hired. Not having all of the correct skills on the other hand is not something to worry about seeing how Southwest will train you for the skills needed. ‘It is the people; it has always had to do with their selection,† Heskett says. †They are selected primarily for attitude, and most people primarily select for skills. They have a particular view for people who will fit into a team-oriented organization and the airline industry is team-oriented. If you have people pointing fingers, you have problems† (people. bu. edu). Southwest has develo ped their own training program which they have named the â€Å"University for People. † This school is based in Dallas out of the Love Field Airport. , more specifically within an old airplane hanger. Within this hanger employee’s engage in a significant amount of role-play. For example someone might get to play the pissed off customer whose flight just got cancelled or the mother traveling with her children. The whole center has been designed to facilitate learning in real life situations. â€Å"The University for People is where new recruits are sent for orientation and indoctrination into Southwest's culture. They get to see video footage of Herb Kelleher, Southwest's legendary founder, dressed as Elvis at a company party and otherwise carrying on. † (key. om) Southwest is an organization that believes in continuous learning therefore Southwest’s â€Å"individual employees become ‘international learns’ who look to learn in everyday experiences rather than occasional classes† (ccp. com). The main purpose of the University for People is to introduce and enforce hard work, high-energy, fun, local autonomy, and creativity. Dedication To Prov iding High Quality Training: JetBlue Airlines JetBlue, which has only been in existence since 1999, has learned the training practices of many other airline companies to formulate its very own unique program, and has since been extremely effective. JetBlue established its own universities to ensure that people were properly trained; they have the College of Flight, the College of In-flight, and the College of Customer Service (Wynbrandt134). Third, the company consciously evaluates employees, including management and gives them feedback. Once hired, pilots and flight attendants are sent to Florida for three weeks for their training. JetBlue’s philosophy on training is creating the best working environment so the crew is motivated to work for the company. The Chief Learning Officer at JetBlue University shares the training viewpoint behind the company. At JetBlue U, our goal is to provide our crew members the tools they need to succeed. These tools include the technical aspects of each crew member’s responsibilities†¦ and inculcation of our crew members in our unique corporate culture† (Sosbe). Many airline companies have separate training sessions for pilots and flight attendants, because the nature of their training material is very different. However, JetBlue tired something different, â€Å"Flight attendants and pilots are together for much of the first two weeks, and while a lot of the training is in separate classes, there is still a lot of overlap. Most airlines keep the two employee groups strictly apart. † This process of putting the two groups together is a strategic method of JetBlue who believes that â€Å"analysis of accidents have revealed that lives have been saved when the crews were comfortable with one another† (Peterson 184). The first week of JetBlue U is about crew culture. They use icebreakers and activities to bond the flight attendants and pilots. They then go over Federal Aviation Administration or FAA regulations. They have a lifestyle lecture, â€Å"the vagaries of drugs and booze awareness, and even hair and makeup pointers† (Peterson190). Each crew member must follow the appearance standards. From the second week on, the flight attendants and pilots divide into their different areas of focus. Dedication To Providing High Quality Training: British Airways British Airways, which is the largest airline in the United Kingdom, and considered one of the largest in Europe, is a best practice company because of the in depth way they train their employees. They put time and effort into educating their pilots, flight attendants, and other company personnel. They go above and beyond the required amount of training. They have even created their own university, and incorporate real life simulators as a training component. According to 2006 Fortune 500 Magazine British Airways ranked seventh under the airline industry category, British Airways is, â€Å"catching the competition wide awake. † British Airways is always finding ways to make their company more profitable. According to Oracle press, â€Å"British Airways is using a new, comprehensive learning offering from Oracle to create a global learning programs for its 48,000 employees. † This company has taken pride in making the best company it can be. Dedication To Providing High Quality Training: Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines is one of the most renowned companies in the world and is ranked in Fortune as number seventeen in the year 2007 list of â€Å"World’s Most Admired companies. Singapore Airlines’ CEO, Chew Choon Seng, attributes his company’s success to their extensive training programs. â€Å"Training is a necessity, not an option. It is not to be dispensed with when times are bad†¦ Training is forever. No-one is too young to be trained. † As you can see, there is no one in the company that is not trained extensively. This keeps everyone in the business on their toes and ready to handle any situation. Mrs Lam Seet Mui, Singapore Airlines’ Senior Manager for Human Resource development, talks about two types of training that Singapore Airlines does. Essentially we do two types of training, functional training and general management type training. Functional training is about equipping people with the skills to do their job, to make them technically competent and confident as possible†¦ The general management training has to do with the softer skills. † Within these two groups, Singapore Airlines trains about 9,000 annually, the same amount as the National University in Singapore. Their courses are usually short and concise, and they feel that this allows them to be efficient and stay committed. (www2. arwick. ac. uk) To share the latest ideas and newest training techniques, Singapore Airlines brings together 50 executives from different departments all over the world. When the executives return they have all been exposed to the latest ideas and should be prepared to be a role model for the changes being made to better the company. (Fung) Dedication To Providing High Quality Training: Virgin Atlantic Airways Virgin Atlantic Airlines has only been around since 1984 and has managed to become the second largest airline in the United Kingdom. (Branson 185) Virgin Atlantic has been formerly recognized on many occasions for its excellence in training. In 2005 they won the regional final of the National Training Awards. The awards acknowledge outstanding and lasting excellence and success through training. Dr Graeme Hall, Chief Executive of UK Skills, who runs the National Training Awards on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, says, â€Å"Effective training will help create a more effective, productive and flexible workforce. The message to UK Plc is simple: invest in training to gain a true competitive advantage. Meanwhile, Virgin staff are happier and more motivated, and attrition is down. (Jackson 25) Like the other airlines, Virgin is committed to instilling a great deal of learning into the minds of their employees. This is accomplished by outlining the company framework, and using a variety of techniques to teach, with an emphasis on e-learning. Although Virgin Atlantic Airlines does not have a so called â€Å"unive rsity† to train its employee's, it does have a general training facility used to employ all of its staff and specializes in individual e-learning. One of the groups Virgin is most noteable for training is their management team. After the major descent in air travel following the attacks of 9/11, Virgin Atlantic went through a period of intense growth. The management team however, was not quite ready to take on such a period of rapid growth or to respond to new opportunities which may unwillingly present themselves. Branson also found it keen to increase the amount of management vacancies that were filled internally, to safeguard Virgin's work culture. In order to provide a resolution to this shortcoming, â€Å"Virgin decided to send all of its 120 managers on personal development workshops at Roffey Park, at a cost of ?2,000 to ?3,000 per head†. (Bringing out the Branson) The workshops began with individual coaching sessions that set personal development objectives for the managers, based on feedback from the 360-degree appraisal and personality tests. These were followed by a series of activities that aimed to instil Virgin's leadership principles into management behavior. The program finished by producing individual personal development plans and split each group into two sets of six managers, who met up six times over the next nine months to monitor their own progress and bounce ideas off each other. (â€Å"Bringing out the Branson†) Innovative Training Tactics as a Means to Being a Best Practice Company: Another distinguishing feature of these airlines is the innovative practices used to train their employees. A typical day of training will use an extremely wide variety of ways to enforce and encourage productive learning. These techniques include: on-the-job training; apprenticeship training; role playing, scenario building, classroom training; and electronic learning, which may involve interactive Internet-based training, multimedia programs, distance learning, satellite training, other computer-aided instructional technologies, videos, simulators, conferences, and workshops. We noticed that the majority of the innovative training has been used for the pilots as many airlines have taken advantage of today's great technology to provide an excellent source of simulated training. Also, with the release of the new aircrafts, such as the airbus, there has been an increase in providing new training tactics to meet the quality of the new aircrafts. Innovative Training Tactics: JetBlue JetBlue has been all over the media for its developments in pilot training. Special training for pilots is given to ensure they know the newest technology and procedures. In 2005, JetBlue signed a contract to send their pilots to College of Flight were they are trained by experienced professionals at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. â€Å"The agreement calls for Embry-Riddle to deliver the ‘Initial Training Course’ (TS1) and the ‘Recurrent Training Course’ (TS2) to JetBlue’s ‘College of Flight’ instructors beginning in early 2006. The instruction is designed to enrich the pilot training programs for JetBlue’s fleet of Airbus and Embraer aircraft† (Embry-Riddle). JetBlue wants to equip its pilots with the most current information. As part of the plan, all current and new JetBlue flight instructors will be taking introductory and advanced courses designed to boost teaching effectiveness for instructors who provide academic and simulator training to front-line pilots† (Embry-Riddle). A major difference between JetBlue’s training programs compared to other airlines is JetBlue pays its employees for their time during trainings. â€Å"Certain other big airlines, when they hire pilots, they say ‘you’re privileged to work for us, so we’re not going to pay you while you’re in training. Moreover] we’re going to make your pay for your own hotel [during your training]. ’ And then little wonder people come out of the class mad because they had to borrow money or they had to sacrifice, and they didn’t really respect the company because they took advantage of them† (Wynbrandt135). JetBlue not only pays their pilots, but pays for all of their accommodations while training. JetBlue makes their employees feel like they are cared about. An important role in their training is feeling like they are wanted. Pilots sign a five year contract guaranteeing them employment, which doesn’t allow the company to lay them off. According to Neeleman, the net result is â€Å"employees are convinced the airline cares about them† (Wynbrandt135). Upon graduation from the University there is a final exam to test each crew member on the knowledge they have acquired. There is a graduation ceremony and many crew members have flights that depart the next morning. â€Å"They’ll be training two groups a month, cranking out the crew members at the rate of nearly one hundred a month† (Peterson 199). Innovative Training Tactics: British Airways British Airways has developed an extensive training program for both their fight attendants, and pilots. They have developed flight simulators to make their training program tangible. The flight simulators offer joint aviation instruction. Their flight simulators make up the biggest Boeing training center outside of the United States. They are using the most worlds most advanced technology to make the simulators create real world situations. The simulation training includes use with Boeing and Airbus Airplanes. They include work with Boeing 747, Boeing 777, Boeing 767, Boeing 757, Boeing 737, and Airbus A320. British Airways has also included pilot, ground school, and cabin safety to their training programs. Their ground school teaches JAR approval aircraft type-technical courses. They are computer based training and used in every day work. Each class that they offer is two hours long. The classes incorporate scans, procedures, and relevant aspects of the company. The pilots that take the class are tested every three days to make sure they are on task, and have understanding of the course material. The course generally last ten to twelve days, and in order to enroll in the course they are asked to take a pre-course for two to three days on flight management computers. British Airways also uses a number of approaches to prepare their cabin crew for emergency situations. They are trained in cabin safety in areas that include: fire and smoke, wet drills, slide descents, and door operation. They are trained on any and all of the different planes that they fly, so that they are familiar with all of British Airways fleet. Each area of training for safety focuses on different situations. For cabin simulators they teach the crew about skills and how to deal with any emergency situation. They start with the fire and smoke training. The crew is training how to deal with a plane fire emergency. They are given realistic simulation on first and they are taught how to with them in a orderly fashion. They then move on to the wet drills. For this drill the crew is taught how to operate a life jacket, and they are taught how to help the passengers in a water landing. The last set of training workshops that the crew goes through is door operations. In this class they are taught how to use the exist doors and cabin doors. Innovative Training Tactics: Virgin Atlantic Airways Virgin Atlantic Airways utilizes the company Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE), which is a worldly renown company that provides â€Å"customized training services for pilots and maintenance technicians ranging from integrated programs to deployable ground school capabilities and e-learning solutions. Their philosophy is to â€Å"enhance clients' safety and efficiency and provide clients a training environment where they can continuously pursue a practical and operational learning experience through new and innovative technology. † (â€Å"Simulation Products†) There are five different simulator programs in which CAE uses to train pilots, one of which is a simple piece of CD-Rom software which can used at any computer. The other four programs involves the use of a large piece of machinery which utilize programs and are operated by controls that are similar if not identical to what pilots would typically be exposed to when operating an aircraft. The great thing about this new wave of training is that it is extremely hands on and interactive, and it caters to individual learning and progress. Whether the pilot in training is at home or at the training facility using the flight simulators, they can progress at their own pace, which ultimately maximizes learning. Each program is divided into a number of sections or chapters which contains an exam at the end to make sure that the information has been retained. Another great feature about CAE's flight simulators is they even use satellite technology to display current weather conditions across the world, so that the pilot will be prepared to fly in any type of climate. In addition to using actual weather conditions, there are 3D synthetic environments used in every visual system. CAE has been able to make quite the name for itself over the past few years, as it has become a standard training program for the military, has been adopted by a number of other airlines, and has revolutionized human resource management in the field of training and development. â€Å"Simulation Products†) Virgin Atlantic Airways has been recently been labeled as one of the most innovative airlines in the world for their plan to send a select few of their best pilots to have the opportunity to go through astronaut pilot training. In the article titled â€Å"Virgin Atlantic Pilots Are Out of This World,† it was quoted that all 700 of Virgin Atlanic's pi lots are welcomed to apply and those who are chosen â€Å"will receive nine months of aerobatic, fast jet and executive aircraft for zero gravity flights training. They will then spend the next nine months flying the mothership and participating in Mission Control work – the last nine months will be spent flying Virgin Galactic Spaceships into space. Once they have completed their 27 month secondment they will return to Virgin Atlantic as qualified pilot astronauts. â€Å" (Virgin Pilots Are Out of This World With Virgin Galactic) Emphasis on Training in Customer Service as a Means to Being a Best Practice Company Perhaps one of the most significant contributing factors of these companies success is their emphasis on customer service. All of these airlines recognize the importance in training their employees in providing excellent customer service in order to achieve customer satisfaction and retention. Although spending excess time training in this field is expensive, the long term benefits are substantial as they build a clientel more willing to invest their time and money with the airline which pleases them the most. Emphasis on Training in Customer Service: Southwest Airlines â€Å"The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit† (southwest. om). By following their mission created by founder and former CEO Herb Kelleher, Southwest literally has taken off and become a model for a best practices industry. This dedication has led Southwest to develop 10 organizational practices that facilitate the coordination among 12 distinct functions: pilots, flights attendants, gate agents, ticketing agents, operations agents, ramp agents, baggage transfer agents, cargo agents, mechanics, uelers, aircraft cleaners, and caters by building relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect (coachingandmentoring. com). Emphasis on Training in Customer Service: British Airways British Airways serves as an example for other companies because they have a good grasp on what to do to make their customers and employees happy. According to EMCOR, British Airways focuses on, â€Å"serving its customers by getting people where they need to go. † If every airline took pride in their customers like British Airways, the airline industry would run smoother. British Airways customer relations department talked about how they take pride in their customer service, â€Å"we try to ensure you have a good experience when you travel with British Airways†¦ we do our best to respond to you quickly and appropriately. † Emphasis on Training in Customer Service: Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines also places a strong emphasis on customer service training, especially for the stewards and stewardess's, then they must go through two interviews and a written test to even get an offer. After the offer each person must go through four months of training to be prepared to handle the toughest of situations. Some sections of this training includes Food and beverage knowledge, passenger handling, language and communication skills, and safety equipment procedures. Knowing the food and beverage is important because it is important to be able to tell each customer what they are eating on the flight. Passenger handling deals with how to respond to different customers. This includes making sure that each customer is happy and knowing how to satisfy them if they look upset. This also has to do with communication skills. The easiest way to find out how a passenger’s flight is going is to ask them. Since there are many passengers this must be done in a timely and orderly fashion. (www. worksingapore. com) Emphasis on Training in Customer Service: Virgin Atlantic Airways Virgin Airways uses a great deal of scenario building to help their employee’s achieve the highest customer satisfaction. When in training, they will divide the room into groups, each of which includes a current employee who has experienced a situation where a customer was upset with them. The current employee acts as the enraged or frustrated customer, and the other trainees are evaluated based on the way they handle the distressful situation. Afterwards they are given constructive criticism on how they can improve. (Jackson 220). Virgin Airways pays a lot of attention to their customers and emphasizes on providing an excellent customer experience. â€Å"Superior customer service and stress-free travel are two things that our travelers have come to expect from Virgin Atlantic,† said Chris Rossi, Vice President Sales and Marketing, North America. (Branson 78) Interview with Mark Swigonski: After bringing all of our research together, we decided that Southwest would be the best airline to conduct an interview with, since they seem to have the strongest emphasis on both employee and customer satisfaction. We managed to find a Southwest pilot by the name of Mark Swigonski who has been an active pilot for well over ten years now. We asked Mark via email â€Å"What do you think about airlines trying to model Southwest and their best practices within the same industry or different industries? † He replied †The economic plan is a model for any industry. Stimulate sales by making your product more affordable for more people. Instead of making a large profit on a few sales, make a small profit on lots of sales, thereby stimulating the business. Southwest airlines has made air travel affordable for the average American. People who would never dream of flying before can now afford to. Herb says we do not compete with other airlines, we compete with the automobile. One more story. When Southwest first started, the price of a ticket on Continental from Dallas Love to Houston Hobby was $220. Southwest charged $19. People came to Herb and said why don't you just charge $50, you're still a quarter of the price. Herb answered, we will never do that. We will charge what we need to, to make a profit and never a cent more. We are going to stimulate traffic. Southwest still works that way. We also asked â€Å"What would be an anticipated obstacle if companies model this, and are there any financial costs and/or benefits? † He replied, â€Å"It's embarrassing. When you start up an airline and have no first class, no assigned seating, and say you can't afford to buy something, it is embarrassing. If you can't afford it, you can't buy it. You just have to have the self discipline to abide by that rule. You also need patience to wait for the correct market opportunities. Southwest currently has a couple of billion in the bank, waiting for an opportunity. They are in no hurry and will buy airplanes when the price is right, but not before. Three airlines have gone out of business in the last week. The opportunity will be there soon and Southwest will capitalize when the time is right. That takes a great deal of fiscal discipline. Conclusion: Implications and How Other Companies Can Benefit From These Training Tactics Based on the evaluation of our five airline companies, we analyzed how other companies both within and outside of the industries could provide a benefit, and what costs may be associated. We realized that some of the short term implications are the high costs associated with providing such a dedicated training program. These extra costs include what is necessary to run the outside training universities as seen with Southwest, JetBlue, and British Airways. Within the training universities are all of the expenses necessary to use all of the innovative techniques such as the expensive simulative training and all of the software needed for that, as well as the online training programs used both inside and outside of the classroom. These airlines are also responsible for paying all of the highly qualified people who instruct these training courses. The extra time spent in training is also very costly, especially since many of these airlines make some of the training practicum standard for everyone, regardless of their future occupation with the company. Clearly, there are a great deal of costs incurred when running such an extensive training program that is so heavily focused on the employees. However, we concluded that the long term benefits actually outweigh any of these initial costs, because not only will the turn over rate decrease, but business will grow as there will be a more dedicated workforce. More training will prepare all employees for different situations and make them more competent workers. It will also weed out people who do not want to dedicate themselves to the job, making it easier to identify people that actually want to be there. With better workers the company should notice a more efficient use of its resources and it will eventually make up what it lost on the cost of training through more profit in the long run. Maybe a person will be able to help four more customers a day after being trained longer. Four more customers a day adds up over the years to unbelievable amounts of profit. Or perhaps a person gains a better understanding of how to make a machine work more efficiently and can make more products quicker than before. A dedication to training goes hand in hand with a company that succeeds over its competitors. If other companies wish to adopt a training model as extensive as these five airlines, then they must be prepared to take the risk in engulfing an extensive amount of costs, but be aware of all the positive outcomes and benefits which will result. After analyzing the qualities that make these five airlines best practice companies we determined that there are several similarities, however, each airline had a distinguishing trait that gave their company an identity. Southwest is most distinguished for its belief in the idea that if employees are happy, then customers are happy. They focus nearly all of their time and energy in creating a motivational environment to encourage employee satisfaction which eventually transcends to customer satisfaction. British Airways is most notable for their incredibly high standards in training practicum. They call for a rigorous training program so as to achieve only the most qualified employee's. Singapore Airlines strives to be the best in every aspect, whether it be in providing the best customer service, best food, most comfortable seating, or best employee motivation tactics. Singapore believes strongly in the idea that there is always room for improvement. JetBlue is successful in their attempts to standardize education and encourage a solid learning environment in their training practices. They incorporate five core values—safety, caring, integrity, fun and passion—into every aspect of education. They also provide centralized crew-member education in common topics with common courses, creating a strong team orientation and commitment to a greater corporate good. (Sosbe). Virgin Atlantic Airways is most well known constant strive to be innovative in all aspects of the company, whether it be using the most technologically advanced tools for training, or being the first airline to train pilots for space travel. From these five remarkable characteristics, we formulated three main points which were used throughout the paper to draw in the primary defining similarities of these best practice companies. These main points included a dedication in providing high quality training, innovative training tactics, and an emphasis on training in customer service.

Does Technology Always Improve Quality of Life Essay

In today’s globalised and modernised world, advancement in old technology resulted in modern technology and many discoveries have been made and quality of life of the people have improved as a result of availability of modern technology. Undoubtedly, modern technology has became a crucial and prominent aspects of our life. Although it has led to complications, it is actually reasonable to say that modern technology has very much improved the quality of life of people. Thus, I opine that modern technology does sometimes improve quality of life. Firstly, modern technology has improve quality of life through the improvement of healthcare services. Researches and development in the healthcare sector of society are conducted to find ways to make further improve quality of life. With the help of modern technology, for example, many different types of drugs and vaccines have been created and developed for disease prevention. The American medical announced that it is possible to vaccinate against brain cancer and perhaps more cancers can be vaccinated in a similar way. The chances of people contracting various illnesses are slim and thus, they live a healthier life. Some surgical procedures that were deemed extreme and dangerous in the past were made easier with modern surgical technology and the chances of succeeding was almost for sure, and one example is heart transplant. Hence, modern technology has lower the chances of us falling sick and increased the chances of recovering. Considering how modern technology has raise and increase life expectancy, allowing people to live healthier lives than before, it has proven to improve quality of life adversely for many people. Secondly, modern technology has improved transport and communication. In many countries, international trade is very important, as no one country can be self-sufficient in providing goods and services. This is especially so for a country like Singapore whereby we do not have a lot of natural resources and thus, our dependence on trade is large. Trade is heavily linked with transport and communication technology as they are vital for trade operations. For example, as a trading hub, Singapore has utilised modern technology to built cargo transportation cranes and in addition, communications between cargo ships and PSA improved and also position locating have became more accurate with the availability of modern technology. Hence more goods and services can be obtained and the people have more choices to consumed from, and they will be able to choice whatever is best for themselves, improving the quality of life. Thirdly, modern technology has increase productivity and made life easier for people as modern tools of production and industrialisation created by modern technology have enabled many countries to enjoy economical growth and create more wealth for the people and consequently creating better live for the citizens. For example, robots are used by many firms in Japan’s packing industries instead of human labour, and this robots such as the RF87 tokyo, are able to produce more output in a shorter period of time compared to human labour. This bring about increase productivity and consequently allowing success for the firms, and economic growth for the nation. Modern technology has also increase our access to information. Now, information technology is so advanced that we are able to find almost any kinds of information on the Internet just by typing certain key words in the search engines. With the increased efficiency and access to knowledge, society is able to identify opportunities for economic growth and with economic growth, quality of people’s lives can be improved. Furthermore, improving communication improves quality of life as information can be disseminated to everyone easily. Natural disasters in a certain country can be made known to the world almost immediately, thus allowing help to be provided quickly. For example, the earthquake that struck Haiti few years back was immediately reported to the rest of the world and countries like singapore were able to provide aid swiftly, so as to improve the quality of life of the victims. The needs of the people are catered to with the availability of modern technology, and has improve quality of life. Lastly, modern technology relieves global hunger. In the world, there are many people living in countries where they are faced with problems of lack of food, which may lead to starvation. This is especially so in developing countries where they are economically not stable and are not able to provide sufficiently for the people. Hence, with modern technology, for example, genetically modified food was developed whereby seeds of crops are injected with certain substances so as to develop traits that are favourable for a specific climate so as for the crop to grow well. Bacillus Thuringiensis(BT) bacteria is injected into corns to increase its resistivity to pests, and allowing them to grow in warmer environment. This allows more crops to be harvested. This is especially useful in third world countries such as Ethiopia whereby they live in regions that experience unpredictable climate, increasing food supply for the people, allowing them to stay nourished. Being more nourished, people will be less prone to falling sick as their daily nutritional requirements are met. Thus, they would live more healthy lives, improving their quality of life. Some people may argue that some of the certain substance used in the foods may cause allergic reactions to occur as some people maybe allergic to the substances. This may in turn lead to health problems, lowering quality of life. However, the efforts of developing GM food has largely improved the problem of hunger around the world, and as for the problem of allergies, this only affects very little amount of people, which can be solved for further advancement with technology. Hence, modern technology has improved quality of life’s. Modern technology does not always improve people’s quality of life, however, the benefits that modern technology has brought upon us greatly outweighs the limitations it carries. In our quest for development, we have no choice but to depend on and embrace modern technology, as the solutions for many problems in the world is dependant on modern technology. Modern technology has radically change the way we live and modern life will be greatly disrupted with technology.

Case Summary LEGO ( Based on the case reading to answer the four Study

Summary LEGO ( Based on the reading to answer the four questions) - Case Study Example Competition as a criterion for evaluating the different product lines and operations determines what products are the competitors involved in making. Such a criterion goes in hand with lessons learnt, in which LEGO identifies the different areas that require improvement, aimed towards the improvement of future performance. Changes in the marketplace for any product line determine the future that a particular product and organization takes. Regardless of the particular product line, changes are necessary for every organization, as a means of making improvements in areas that have failed, or those that never worked as per the required standards. Toy industry, is indeed an industry that requires significant changes in order to develop products that impress children more. Critical changes needed for the industry include increased innovation, which introduces new products, the establishment of an increased performance competition in the same industry. Additionally, changes contribute to the development of new technologies, an aspect that contributes towards the enhancement and improvement of efficiency and performance, as well as the improvement in quality of the products to meet the demands of the market. LEGO is facing a significant number of internal issues, which are currently affecting the organization’s performance and competitiveness, and which require strategic planning to be effectively addressed. First is management. LEGO, previously, remained a successful player in the toy industry; however, with the continued growth of the company over the years, layers of complexities in operations have been added. Such challenges are attributes of poor leadership and management, and which can only be resolved through strategic planning. Another internal issue of great significance to LEGO is increased production wastes. Costs’ cutting is one of the best ways for an organization to increase its profit margins. LEGO currently experiences high

STrategic plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

STrategic plan - Assignment Example It has background in events sponsorship through the MINI Challenge. However, so far, MINI Australia has not yet had exposure to the gym and fitness industry. This report explores the possibility for the creation of the MINI chain of gyms throughout Australia, and analyses the potential success of this project for the purpose of securing the participation of other investors in this long-term undertaking. Analysis of external environment Prior to considering the company’s internal capabilities, it is necessary to look at the Australian automotive industry as a whole. The automotive industry is comprised of two sectors, namely the automotive manufacturing sector and the automotive retail, services and repair sector. The automotive manufacturing sector is dominated by three large vehicle manufacturers (i.e. General Motors, Ford and Toyota), as well as three large truck manufacturers (i.e., IVECO, Kenworth, and Volvo Commercial Vehicles). The automotive manufacturing sector produce s for both the domestic market as well as for the export market; in 2008, production totalled 324,684, or which just slightly over 50% (162,728) vehicles were sold locally, and the remaining 161,956 were exported. In that year, automotive industry exports rose by 14%, with the largest target export market being the Middle East, accounting for 38.1% of export sales. (MSA, 2009). PESTLE Analysis Political Australia is a mature democracy supported by a stable economy. While it has a stable party system, the ruling parties have not historically enjoyed clear majorities in the Senate (Parliament’s upper house). This disadvantage may cause some barriers or introduce delays in having important bills passed. Furthermore, in the recent 2010 election yielded inconclusive results that ushered in once more a coalition government, casting widespread doubts on the ability of this administration to remain in power for the full extent of its three year term (BMI, 2011) Economic Australia enj oys a modern and stable economy backed by a sound financial system and a workforce with a high level of education. There is continuity in policy making, which reduces investors’ risks as well as the vulnerability of the economy to regime change in the government. A measure of economic weakness is introduced, however, by the relatively high current account deficit. This increases the economy’s vulnerability to capital flows and tends to induce greater fluctuations in the currency exchange rate. This in turn causes fluctuations in the prices of commodities and increased apprehensions among the buying public. (BMI, 2011). There are likewise opportunities presented by the country’s economy, as a result of the rapid, region-wide expansion of Asian economies. The region has proven itself resilient to the recent economic recession triggered by the U.S. subprime crisis, and its strong position has created new impetus for diversification of trading ties from the core EU markets. Furthermore, Australia has a relatively lower level of government debt than most developing and developed countries, allowing it greater flexibility in the determination of fiscal policy, in order to provide support for local consumers and business until the global economy recovers from the recent downturn

Organisation and behaviour Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organisation and behaviour - Assignment Example 52). Motivation is among the key determinant of work output of employees. There is a positive association between motivation and work output. When employees are adequately motivated, their output has been shown to increase considerably (Northouse, 2012.p 36). As such, managers ought to be well equipped with knowledge on how to motivate employees. Their primary role is to see goals and objectives of the firm realized and such requires dedicated employees. If employees are not motivated, their performance is not optimal and may not sustain the firm. Managers are; therefore, better off aware about motivation that will keep employees enthusiastic to realize the firm’s goals and objectives. Maslow hierarchy of needs tries to establish human motivations. It is the achievement of certain needs that motivates people, and they are in a hierarchical order from the very basic existence needs. It is upon fulfilling one need that a person ventures into fulfilling the next (Bass and Bass, 2009. p. 78). The model consists five stages that can be classified into three broad categories namely basics, needs, and growth needs. Basics include deficiencies, the needs include physiological needs, safety, love and self-esteem and lastly, growth needs accommodates self-actualization (Nel, 2011. p. 17). An individual toils to satisfy basic needs in the lower levels before progressing to growth needs in higher level. According to Maslow, a person stagnates on a specific level of need until that need is either partially of fully satisfied. When a need aggravates or the person is constantly not able to meet the need, the easy option often becomes to regress back to an earlier need to fulfill it more and to avoid the frustration (Bass and Bass, 2009. p. 80). This result in what the ERG theory calls frustration-regression aspect. The theory assumes that there are two

Equity and Trusts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Equity and Trusts - Essay Example By the delivery of the gift, it can thus be understood that the gift can be considered as perfect when the donor of the gift actually surrenders the control or the right of the property. The intention of the donor making the gift is identified by the court with regard to certain circumstances. These circumstances include the relationship between the parties involved in the exchange of the gift, behaviour of the donor in the event of the exchange of the gift and the actual amount of the gift. The donor must also possess the legal capacity to deliver a gift to someone. Correspondingly, the final element is the acceptance of the gift wherein the person taking the gift must accept it at the time of the delivery. On completion of these three elements, the court would recognise such gift as a ‘perfect gift’. If in any case, the court is unable to identify the following three elements in the exchange of the gift then it is considered as the ‘imperfect gift’, which was also ruled in the Milroy v Lord case2. The aim of this study is to reveal the actual meaning of the perfect gift and the process through which the law has developed exception that the equity is unable to assist the volunteer to perfect an imperfect gift. The study has also tried to analyse the scope of further development in the particular area. Exceptions to the Maxim That ‘Equity Will Not Assist a Volunteer to Perfect an Imperfect Gift’ In the Milroy v Lord case, the main issue intended to prove whether the transferor of the property was really the trustee so that the gift could be treated as a ‘perfect gift’ or an ‘imperfect gift’ if otherwise. The question that rose in the context of this case was that the property was actually registered in the name of Tom Medley or was this was only an interest of Elena in order to enjoy the full right of the property. The case was in possession of the property and the limitations that were levied on the equity of the gift. Elena, niece of Tom Medley was getting married very soon. After the marriage of Elena, Medley had given some dividends from the shares to Elena, which was immediately handed over to the trustee or the Lord. Lord had deposited these shares in the Bank of Louisiana. Soon after the death of Medley, various issues rose such as whether these shares in the bank came under the possession of Medley or were they are the part of Lord’s property. Nevertheless, the real fact was that the shares were not once enumerated in the name of Lord rather it was always in the name of Medley3. At the end of the case, the court held a decision that Elena had no possession of any kind of property in the Bank of Louisiana as the title was never handed over to Lord from Medley. In this case, Lord was only acting as the trustee of the shares but the actual beneficiary was Elena. This case has given rise to a number of issues such as the ‘creation of trust’ and the ex ception that the ‘equity will not assist a volunteer to perfect an imperfect gift’4. In a general sense, trust is a legally binding agreement in which an individual transfers the legal control of the property to another person, namely the trustee, to manage the property effectively for the sake of the beneficiary. A trust usually is levied during the lifetime of the individual

Social Work Skills Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Social Work Skills - Assignment Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that communication is a two-way process involving progression and exchange of ideas, feelings or thoughts towards a mutually accepted direction or goal. Communication skills influence all aspects of life making the learning of effective ways of communication very vital. Ineffective communication is useless since the message or information that is to be passed on is lost. A good communicator has to be proficient in all forms of communication including not only the transmission of communication but also the ability to receive the information received by others. For effective communication, one needs to understand communication concepts to ensure the communication is effective. Communication, being a cycle of receiving and sending information, involves a message being sent to the receiver by the sender. The receiver is to listen to the sender and sends a feedback to the sender to acknowledge that the message was well underst ood. The above steps, when all followed ensure the occurrence of effective communication. A good number of looked after children have an at one time or another experienced family breakdowns, rejection or abuse. These situations can be complex and affect the children’s physical and emotional well-being, educational and social opportunities, effective self-sufficiency, resilience and personal relationships. These effects make it difficult for children in looked after centers to open up and communicate effectively.

The Global Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

The Global Financial Crisis - Essay Example As the discussion declares there are similarities in the regulatory responses that have been given by different nations to the current financial crisis. The responses mainly touch on improved liquidity, management of risks, and lowering leverages. Enhanced insurance on investment and banking sector are other key response. The effects were severe in the developed countries like United States. In this regard, different countries reacted to the crisis identifying the opportunities and the associated challenges. The countries in the OECD advocated for a joint effort to have international standardization of regulatory policies. The main concerns are stimulation of demand in a given economy, improving liquidity, preventing foreclosures of mortgages and improving access to financing by for the SMEs and giant investors. There is a focus in risk reduction through investment in insurance. From this paper it is clear that the current global crisis began in 2007, in some countries, and deepened in 2008.1 Some of the factors that may contribute to financial crisis include application of similar operational strategies by players in the market, changes in the banking business, excessive leverage, changes in regulations and corporate governance, and failure of government policies on the financial sector. Government policies regulate the financial sector within in a country and the operations with a global business partner. The failures in some of these policies could have contributed greatly to the current situation. To fix the situation and mitigate for future crises, various governments have enacted some monetary policies. The current global financial crisis had other related problems like food crisis especially to the developing countries as was, and continues to be, witnessed in the horn of Africa.3 The financial reforms to manage the crisis must then focus on the other financial instruments controlling the economy of the country.  

Safety Training Program Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Safety Training Program - Assignment Example The goals will be to educate workers on handling procedures; hazards associated with chemicals, how to read safety, and were they are stored. The Hazard Communication Act or Hazcom was developed after The Right-To-Know Act of 1986. Its goals are to boost employee awareness, evaluate job safety, design safe work procedures, assign personal protective equipment where needed. Employees need to know about this activity so they will not be afraid to speak up and ask questions about their working conditions (Lang 2010). After internship experiences from questions that I asked from employees that worked out in energy plants, I began to realize a lack of training on knowledge of safety for working around chemicals, handling chemicals, and the storage of chemicals. Training is one of the best methods because it gives the employee the knowledge needed to understand the subject. It can also give examples of what can go wrong if they are not handled properly. This will give a great picture of what is expected of them. The employees of any work location that handles any kind of chemicals in their daily work setting. It can even be someone that works with them every day or someone that only handles them once a week. The employees that do not handle any chemicals should have training on the subject as well so they are a clear understanding of safety as well. The delivery I would like to give would be in a multitude of ways. Like classroom time with PowerPoint slides, visual pictures of what can go wrong, in the field training, and some testing to see if the employees were getting the material.

History AND IMPACT OF COMPUTING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History AND IMPACT OF COMPUTING - Essay Example 546). First Generation (1940-1955) Vacuum Tubes These first computers utilized vacuum tubes in their circuitry and their memories comprised of magnetic drums. These first computers were often massive, taking a lot of space. They were expensive to run and, in addition to consuming enormous amounts of electricity these computers generated immense heat, which often led to their malfunctions. The first generation computers depended on machine code language; a low-level programming language only understood by computers, to execute their operations, and hence they were able to solve a single problem at a time. The computers input used paper tapes and punched cards while their output was presented on printouts. ENIAC and UNIVAC computers are some of the first generation computing gadgets. The UNIVAC was the earliest commercial computer distributed to a business client, the United States Bureau of Census in 1951. Second Generation (1955-1963) Transistor Computers In the succeeding generation of computers, transistors replaced vacuum tubes in the computers circuitry. Transistors were initially invented in 1947 but received minimal use in computers until late 1950s. Transistors were far more superior compared to vacuum tubes, allowing the computers to be smaller, cheaper, faster, reliable, and with increased energy efficiency as compared their former generation predecessors. Although the transistors also generated plenty of heat which exposes the computers to the damage, they were a significant improvement in comparison to the vacuum tubes. The second generation computers also used the punched cards for their input and printouts as their outputs. The second generation computers shifted from obscure binary machine code language to symbolic, an assembly language that allows programmers to stipulate instructions in the form of words. FORTRAN, COBOL, and other High-level Programming language were also under developed during this period. These were the first computers which s tored instructions in their memories, which had also moved from magnetic drums to magnetic core technology. The initial computers in this generation were meant for the atomic energy industries. Third Generation (1964-1970) Integrated Circuits Computers Integrated Circuits (ICs) development was the essential characteristic of the third generation computers. Miniaturized transistors were installed on silicon semiconductor chips, which increased efficiency and speed of computers. The third generation computers interacted with their users through monitors and keyboards interfaced through an operating system instead of the printouts and punch cards. These new features allowed the computers to run different applications at the same time with an inner program which monitored the memory. The third generation computers became handy to a mass of the audience since they were cheaper and smaller than their predecessors. Fourth Generation (1970- Present) The fourth generation computers were brou ght by the development of microprocessors. Microprocessors allowed thousands of integrated circuits to be built on a single silicon chip. A device that consumed the whole room in the first generation computers could be now developed on the palm of a hand. Intel 4004 chip, created in 1971, allowed all the components in a

Eagle Boys Pizza Report Essay Example for Free

Eagle Boys Pizza Report Essay Founded by a young baker in his mum’s garage in 1987, Eagle Boys now operates more than 335 stores throughout all states of Australia. It is one hundred per cent Australian owned and operated and delivers pizzas to hungry families across Australia from metropolitan inner city areas to small remote towns. With over 8,000 team members nationally, Eagle Boys makes just under 18 million pizzas a year and generates an annual turnover of more than $200 million. Focused on delivering real taste, real size and real value to pizza lovers across Australia, Eagle Boys is customer-focused and continually examines ways to improve its customer satisfaction and service. Eagle Boys ensures pizza lovers across Australia receive tasty meals and exceptional service every time by training its franchises to commit 110% to customers’ satisfaction. Explanation of its legal structure Eagle Boys pizza is a Proprietary company, meaning that it is private. The shareholders of Eagle Boys Pizza Pty Ltd, have limited liability protection, which means that the most money they can lose is the amount they paid for their shares. Eagle Boys began as a family business, as it was founded by Tom Potter and his mum in 1989. It is an incorporated business, meaning that the business is a separate legal entity from the owners. This allowed the business to be sold and still be operated, in 2007 to Todd Clayton who is now the CEO and managing director of Eagle Boys Pizza. The fact that it is a separate legal entity, allows the company to sue, be sued, buy or sell property and also have perpetual succession. Identification of the current stage of the business life cycle the business is currently in and give reasons for your views Eagle Boys pizza is currently at the maturity stage of the business cycle. Its goal is to maintain profits at pre-existing levels. Recently, in February 2011, Eagle Boys responded to the growing sophistication of Australians’ pizza palate by unveiling its new Gourmet Pizza Range featuring ingredients such as, Roasted Potato, Salmon Steaks and Tandoori Chicken. Eagle Boys is also the only Australian pizza maker to offer Ready 2 Go! â„ ¢, which allows customers to get their hands on some of their favourite pizzas without phoning beforehand or waiting between 5. 30pm and 8pm daily. Since Eagle Boys was purchased by private equity firm NBC Capital and the current executive team in 2007, Network store numbers have grown by 63% which is the highest period of growth in the company’s 24-year history. Eagle Boys saw sales grow 15. 4% during the 12 months up to June 2010, bringing total sales growth during the past three years to 43. 2%. The company expects the strong double digit growth to continue with the opening of additional stores and the launch of new products. Identification of one business law and one regulatory body in relation to this business – explain how this business complies An example of a business law of the Eagle Boys pizza is a privacy law. Eagle Boys is subject to Privacy Legislation, including the National Privacy Principles (NPPs) under the Privacy Act 1988, The Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act (1988) and contractual requirements relating to Privacy pursuant to a number of State and Territory Government Licence Agreements. Eagle Boys Pizza complies with this law by collecting information by either specifying or letting the reason be apparent at the time the information is collected. It is not Eagle Boys’ general practice to collect sensitive information and they will only collect sensitive information with the persons consent. A regulatory body that Eagle Boys Pizza complies with is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Eagle Boys applied for notification of conduct whereby it would grant franchises on condition that franchisees acquire goods and services from specified suppliers. That notification was lodged on 13 August 2009 and allowed to stand on 21 September 2009. Eagle Boys complies by ensuring product safety and liability and does not provide any false or misleading advertising. Identification of two significant challenges for management in the business life cycle – one challenge management has faced prior to 2011 and one they will face in the future (ensure you state which stage of the life cycle the business experienced /will experience this challenge) A significant challenge that Eagle Boys pizza management has faced prior to 2011 is responding to the growing amount of different pizza businesses, in competition with Eagle Boys, and the need to introduce new ranges and varieties of products to satisfy the needs of consumers. They had been challenged to introduce new products such as gourmet pizzas, desserts, and sides such as pastas, chicken wings, garlic bread etc. This challenge was experienced during the growth stage of the business cycle. A significant challenge that Eagle Boys pizza management will face in the future is decline, in the Recession stage of the business life cycle. As the business would have been running for a while now, it will have become a high-risk business. Products may become obsolete, leaving the business with unsold stock. Another factor influencing decline is well qualified employees beginning to leave and seek better job opportunities. Due to the ongoing introduction of new businesses in the same field, Eagle Boys will be affected by consumers no longer buying the businesses products, resulting in a large dent in the cash flow. Consequently, profits will also decline. Identification of the business environmental influences, both internal and external, that have impacted upon this business Internal environmental influences that have impacted Eagle Boys Pizza include product influences such as the range of menus that it provides as well as services provided. E. g. Delivery services. Location influences also have a large effect on the business. The location of franchises is vital as a prime location means the business will attract higher numbers of customers as it is convenient and visible. The proximity to customers, suppliers and support services is also essential in determining the location of the business. Another internal influence is resources. Employees, being the main asset to the business are an extremely important resource. Other important resources include cooking and servicing equipment and machinery as well as raw materials that allow the business to create and sell their products. Management influences control the workers and help to provide a more organised structure and easy way of communication and co-operation. External environmental influences that have impacted Eagle Boys Pizza include Legal influences such as increasing legal obligations and business requirements. Political and institutional influences include taxation, employee superannuation, approval of new development and alteration applications. These influences have a strong impact on how and where the business is run. Another external influence is financial influences. Financial influences create changes in the financial market which can cause risk for the business. Geographical influences heavily impact the opportunities for the business. Demographic factors such as population, age, and income control the popularity of the business. Explanation and critical analyses of how management has responded to the above range of challenges and influences The first Eagle Boys Pizza opened in Albury, New South Wales. Eagle Boys advertised their products as semi-gourmet pizzas that quite unique to the larger chains, yet cheaper due to the high production output. This successful idea caught on, and the first store in Albury was quickly creating a generous profit. Within less than a year, Eagle Boys opened up two more stores in the neighbouring cities of Wagga Wagga and Dubbo. As the company sustained its growth, it put a lot of energy into researching ways to meet consumer demands in different regions. With stores opening up in rural, suburban and urban areas throughout Australia, the company became very popular due to operating in areas that other large fast food businesses would often ignore. One particularly successful store model was the development of a drive-thru pizza store in 1999, a concept which was unheard of at the time. Australia’s first drive-thru pizza store demonstrated to be immensely popular, as it was easy and convenient. Expanding on this quick pizza delivery system, the company launched the Eagle Boys Pizza Express Store shortly after, which was designed to provide quick service pizza out of a small location in highly populated foot traffic areas. This express system proved to be very popular, and new locations started to spring up at airports, shopping malls and pedestrian malls around the country. Many locations were now generating up to forty precent of their sales. As the company started to experience increased competition, it had to do something to differentiate its express pizza service from other companies offering similar products. Eagle Boys eventually developed a popular offshoot menu for Eagle Express stores: â€Å"Ready, Fresh Go! † in 2008. This idea meant that while it is an express delivery system, the pizzas are made fresh and held in specially-designed slow-cook ovens that ensure their freshness. The company’s dedication to research and response to consumer trends and the development of new, quality products quality concluded in the largest reformation of the Eagle Boys menu in its history. Launched in early 2010, the new menu featured a variety of new items. Apart from new pizzas, new items such as a chocolate fudge mousse dessert, pasta dishes, additional side dishes and drinks were introduced. Customers have responded with a resounding satisfaction, and throughout 2010 Eagle Boys enjoyed one of its biggest increases in sales in company history. Eagle Boys continues to develop new and accessible ways to respond to challenges and internal and external influences. Creating innovative and unique products is what has propelled the company to success, and it continues to be a mainstay of Eagle Boys’ activities today.

Customer Satisfaction In The Hotel Industry Tourism Essay

Customer Satisfaction In The Hotel Industry Tourism Essay The Study mainly reviews and discusses the topic of customer satisfaction and its application to the Hospitality and Tourism industries. Defines the concept and analyzes its importance to services and its importance to serves in general and to hospitality / tourism services in particular. Following a discussion on the dimensions and attributes of satisfaction, lists the main methods of measuring satisfaction and concludes with a review of global and cross-cultural issues that affect satisfaction in hotel industry. Customer satisfaction is the leading decisive factor for determining the quality and standard which is actually delivered to the customer through the product, service or by the accompanying servicing. (Vavra, 1997); Its simply stated, Customer satisfaction is essential for corporate survival Several studies have found that it costs about five times as much in time, money and resources to attract a new customer as it does to retain an existing customer (Neumann, 1995). This creates the challenge of maintaining high levels of service, awareness of customer expectations and improvement in services and product. Hayes states that Knowledge of customer expectations and requirements is essential for two reasons it provides understanding of how the customer defines quality of services and products, and facilitates the development of a customer satisfaction questionnaire (Hayes, 1997, p7). Furthermore, customer satisfaction is recognized as of great importance to all commercial firms because of its influence on repeat purchases and word of mouth recommendations (Berkman and Gilson, 1986). The researcher interest is to carryout a study of customer satisfaction at Express by Holiday Inn, London. Research Problem Customer satisfaction research is not an end into itself. The purpose, of course, in measuring customer satisfaction is to see where a company stands in this regard in the eyes of its customers, thereby enabling service and product improvements which will lead to higher satisfaction level. Satisfaction is not a universal phenomenon and not everyone gets the same satisfaction out of the same hospitality experience. The reason is that customers have different needs, objectives and past experiences that influence their expectation. The results of a customer satisfaction survey need to be evaluated to determine what needs to be improved. Goals should be as specific as possible. Hotels are often challenged on how to best increase guest satisfaction, and how to optimize both price and occupancy. Employee satisfaction, guestroom cleanliness, amenities, appearance, food and services all contribute to customer satisfaction, and increase customer satisfaction is a proven driver of guest retent ion and higher occupancy rates. Understanding customer experience through research is widely recognized as a key factor in improving long-term business performance. Express by Holiday Inn Hotel had a requirement to obtain daily feedback at an individual level by rooms/reception questionnaire in general for its GSTS (Guest satisfaction tracking system). It has to introduce web based questionnaire survey to create an opportunity to built feedback interface for general public to get provided a cost-effective and practical methodology so hotel future guest see the reviews in term of past feedbacks. In the customer arena, we believe that regular, quantitative measurement of customer satisfaction provides a much better lead indicator of future organizational health than profitability of market share change (Tom Peters, Management guru) Objectives of the Study The main objective is to conduct the customer satisfaction and its measurement in the hotel industry with special reference to Express by Holiday Inn Hotel, London. Subsidiary Objectives Analyses of costs demonstrating that customer retention is substantially less expensive than customer acquisition. Customer behaviourists in the area of lodging, restaurant, food services and tourism. Customer satisfaction is a psychological concept. Customer purchase goods and service with pre purchase expectations about anticipated performance. Assessment of satisfaction is made during the service delivery process. Satisfaction is not a universal phenomenon and everyone is not getting the same satisfaction out of the same hospitality experience. Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy and Tangibles. Significance of Study Customer Satisfaction measurement (CSM) consists of on two major roles Providing Information Enabling Communication with Customer The initial or primary reason for taking the time to measure customer satisfaction is based on to collect the information. It means that what customers say that need to be done differently or on the other hand to assess how well an organization is currently meeting its customer needs or requirements. But the secondary is not less important function of CSM in hospitality industry that by surveying customers. An organization is emphasis its interest in communicating with its customers. In hotel industry, its always finding out customers needs, pleasures, displeasures and overall well being. Though it is impossible to measure the satisfaction of every single customer needs. The customer satisfaction may different from organization to organization or hotel to hotel. Here we would like to quote Neumann (1995) five objectives suggestions as follows: To get close to the customer Measure continuous improvement To achieve customer driven improvement To measure competitive strengths and weaknesses To link Customer Satisfaction Measurement (CSM) data to internal systems Hypothesis Customer Satisfaction is a psychological concept. Customer purchase goods and services with pre purchase expectations. Assessment of satisfaction is made during the service delivery process. Satisfaction is not Universal phenomenon. Recognition of the employees who contribute to the Customers satisfaction Customer based improvement goals Plans for improving operational variables Incorporation of customer satisfaction skills into employees training programme Measurement and plan for improvement of employee satisfaction Importance of my Study To satisfy each and every customer or to meet his / her expectation every time is not an easy task especially in hotel industry. This work is to investigate and examine the psychology of the customer, their expectations and behaviour. Methodology My methodology of research will be based on experience, day to day operation of the hotel, customer complaint, customer satisfaction standard, theory, hypothesis, observation and confirmation. Universe of the Study The research would be conducted Hotels based in London, utilizing my own experience but the mainly focused on the Customer Satisfaction Measurement. Sample Design My sample will be comprised of the Customer Satisfaction Measurement in Express by Holiday Inn Hotel, London Data Usage In my research I would like to go for primary data collection, secondary data collection, quantitative and qualitative data collection. Tools of data Collection The data collection would include the use of questionnaire, scheduled interviews, guest feedback, and management feedback, guest services track system (GSTS), guest survey, and personal experience along with personal observation. In the questionnaire design, I will use the respondent completes short closed ended questions and long open ended questions. In the interview design, I would like to use personal forms, sharing their experience and work directly with the respondent. In the guest feedback, I would like to get the guest feedback while they are checking out from the hotel, compare their past and current experience. In the management feedback, I would like to get the information from management regarding the standard and complaint level of the guest activities in the hotel. Hypothesis Testing My hypothesis is Customer Satisfaction is a psychological concept. Customer purchase goods and services with pre purchase expectations. Assessment of satisfaction is made during the service delivery process. Satisfaction is not Universal phenomenon. I would like to test this hypothesis with my proper research along with my personal experience with respect to the Customer Satisfaction Measurement theory. Research Design and Timing Feb 2010 In the month of Feb 2010 I will finish my primary data collection (questionnaire, interviews, guest feed back, and management feedback, guest services track system, guest surveys, personal observation and experience) Feb 2010 In the month of Feb I would like to finish my complete data collection and I will systemize the data in the proper form according to the distribution of report. March 2010 In the month of July I would like to finish my final report writing and I will make it ready for the submission at the end of March 2010. Structure of the Report Chapter No 1 : Introduction Chapter No 2 : Literature review Chapter No 3 : Theory base (all theoretical background) Chapter No 4 : Analysis of the findings Chapter No 5 : Discussions Chapter No 6 : Conclusion and Recommendations Monitoring and Evaluation Feb, 2010 by Researcher Feb, 2010 by Supervisor March, 2010 by Researcher March, 2010 by Supervisor Literature Review My literature review comprises of theories, models, customers satisfaction surveys and related information. Brief and summarized form of my most important literature review is given below: Satisfaction Theories: Satisfaction Models: Satisfaction Surveys: Express by Holiday Inn Hotel Experience of Guest Satisfaction: Recently, numerous researchers have attempted to apply CS theories developed by consumer behaviorists in the areas of lodging in order to investigate CS applicability to the hospitality and tourism industries. The majority of these theories are based on cognitive nine distinct theories of customer satisfaction. The majority of these theories are based on cognitive psychology; some have received moderate attention, while other theories have been introduced without any empirical research. The theories include: Expectancy Disconfirmation Assimilation or cognitive dissonance Contrast Assimilation Contrast Equity Attribution Comparison level Generalized negativity Value precept Cognitive state of reward Customer satisfaction can also be defined as satisfaction based on an outcome or a process. Outcome definition of customer satisfaction characterizes satisfaction as the end-state resulting from the experience of consumption. This end state may be a cognitive state of reward, an emotional response to an experience or a comparison of rewards and costs to the anticipated consequences. Vavra also puts forth a definition of customer satisfaction based as a process, emphasizing the perceptual, evaluative and psychological processes contributing to customer satisfaction. In this definition, assessment of satisfaction is made during the service delivery process. Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory Richard Oliver has developed the expectancy disconfirmation theory in 1980. According to his theory, customers purchase goods and services with pre-purchase expectations about anticipated performance. Once the product or service has been purchased and used, outcomes are compared against expectations. When outcome matches expectations, confirmation occurs. On the other hand when there are differences between expectations and outcomes then disconfirmation occurs. Negative disconfirmation occurs when product / service performance is less than expected. Positive disconfirmation occurs when product / service performance is better than expected. Satisfaction is caused by confirmation or positive disconfirmation of consumer expectations, and dissatisfaction is caused by negative disconfirmation of consumer expectations. Basically we may say that Customer satisfaction is a psychological concept that involves the feeling of well-being and pleasure that results from obtaining what one hopes for and expects from an appealing product and/or service. Satisfaction is not a universal phenomenon and not everyone gets the same satisfaction out of the same hospitality experience. The reason is that customers have different needs, objectives and past experiences that influence their expectations. Therefore, it is important to gain a clear idea of the customer needs and objectives that correspond to different kinds of satisfactions. This necessitates the segmentation of the market, because no service or product can offer everyone the same degree of satisfaction. Experience may result from changes in the perception of the actual quality of outcomes received, or from changes in the expectations against which these outcomes are compared. The components of satisfaction Most hospitality experiences are an amalgam of products and services. Therefore it is possible to say that satisfaction with a hospitality experience such as a hotel stay or a restaurant meal is a sum total of satisfactions with the individual elements or attributes of all the products and services that make up the experience. Reuland Model of Satisfaction There is no uniformity of opinion among marketing experts as to the classification of the elements in service encounters. Reuland suggests that hospitality services consist of a harmonious mixture of three elements: The material product in a narrow sense which in the case of a restaurant is the food and beverages; The behavior and attitude of the employees who are responsible for hosting the guest, serving the meal and beverages and who come in direct contact with the guests, The environment, such as the building, the layout, the furnishing, the lighting in the restaurant, etc. Reuland et al. (1985, p. 142) Czepiel Model of Satisfaction On the other hand, Czepiel suggests that satisfaction with a service is a function of satisfaction with two independent elements, the functional element, i.e. the food and beverage in a restaurant, and the performance-delivery element, i.e. the service. To prove the independence of the two elements from each other, the authors claim that restaurant clients are quite capable of having responses to each element that differ one from the other: The service was great, the food poor or conversely. (Czepiel et al) (1985. P. 13) David and Stone Model of Satisfaction Davis and Stone divide the service encounter into two elements: Direct Services Indirect Services For example, direct services may be the actual check-in/check-out process in hotels, while the indirect services include the provision of parking facilities, concierge, public telephones for guests use, etc. (Davis and Stone (1985, p.29) Dimensions of satisfaction In service organizations, the assessment of the quality of a service is made during the actual delivery of the service usually an encounter between the customer and a service contact person. Parasuraman identified the following five generic dimensions of service quality (SERVQUAL) that must be present in the service delivery in order for it to result in customer satisfaction: Reliability the ability to perform the promised services dependably and accurately. Responsiveness the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. Assurance the knowledge and courtesy of employees as well as their ability to convey trust and confidence. Empathy the provision of caring, individualized attention to customers, and Tangibles, the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials. The model conceptualizes service quality as a gap between customers expectations (E) and the perception of the service providers performance (P). According to Parasuraman that service quality should be measured by subtracting customers perception scores from customer expectation scores: (Q = P E) The greater the positive score represents the greater the positive amount of service quality or vice versa. The gap that may exist between the customers expected and perceived service is not only a measure of the quality of the service, but is also a determinant of customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Measuring the gap between expected and perceived service is a routine method of utilizing customer feedback. Measuring service quality via customer satisfaction Hayes states that Knowledge of customer expectations and requirements is essential for two reasons: It provides understanding of how the customer defines quality of service and products and facilitates the development of customer satisfaction questionnaires. (Hayes, 1997) Customer satisfaction is recognized as of great importance to all commercial firm because of its influence on repeat purchases and word of mouth recommendation (Berkman and Gilson, 1986). Satisfaction, reinforces positive attitudes towards the brand, leading to a greater likelihood that the same brand will be purchased again, but on the other hand dissatisfaction leads to negative brand attitudes and lessens the likelihood of buying the same brand again (Assael, 1987) Guest Expectation from Express by Holiday Inn Hotel Expectations can be described as a mutable internal standard which is based on a multitude of factors including needs, objectives, past personal or vicarious experiences with the same establishment restaurant, with similar establishments, and the availability of alternatives. To recapitulate what we have established by now is that an individuals satisfaction with outcomes received from a hospitality experience results from a comparison of these outcomes with expectations. Some hotels / restaurant attributes are more likely to earn guest complaints than compliments. Availability of parking, hours of operation, traffic congestion, noise level, and spaciousness of the establishment all appear in the top-ten complaint list. In contrast, guests express appreciation for high performance in some areas, but rarely complain when performance is so-so. The survey results suggest that guest react favorably to a clean neat restaurant, neat employees, ample portions, and responsiveness to complaints. The quality and quantity of service, food quality, helpfulness of the employees, and the prices of drinks, meals and other services appear in both the list of most frequent complaints and the list of the most frequent compliments. Cadotte and Turgeon attribute model of performance Cadotte and Turgeon divided the attributes into the following four categories: Satisfiers Dissatisfiers Critical Neutral Satisfiers were those attributes where unusual performance apparently elicited compliments and satisfaction, but average performance or even the absence of the feature did not cause dissatisfaction or complaints. Large-size food portions, smartly dressed employees, clean and neat restaurants are all examples of a restaurant satisfier. Normal food portions, regularly dressed employees and not so neat restaurants do not cause dissatisfaction. In contrast, large food portions and well-groomed and smartly dressed employees please the restaurant guest. Satisfiers, represent an opportunity to shine, to move ahead of the pack, and to stand out from the crowd Dissatisfiers were more likely to earn a complaint for low performance or absence of a desired feature than anything else. But an operation that exceeds the threshold performance standard apparently will not receive compliments on the attribute. Parking and excessive noise are good examples of dissatisfiers; they have to be provided and maintained at a minimum or sufficient level. But efforts to achieve a higher performance level will not be appreciated by customers nor will it cause them satisfaction. Dissatisfiers particularly require management control to prevent poor performance. Minimum standards should be established, and the focus should be on maintaining these standards. Be as good as your competition, but do not waste resources trying to be better. Critical attributes were capable of eliciting both complaints (dissatisfactions) and compliments (satisfactions), depending on the situation. Quality of service, food quality and helpful attitude of employees ranked high in eliciting both complaints and compliments. Critical factors deserve special attention, because of their potential for both hurting and helping a business. Like dissatisfiers, minimum standards must be set to avoid negative responses to your service. For the critical attributes, the objective is to raise performance beyond the norm Neutral attributes neither received a great number of compliments nor many complaints, therefore probably indicating that they were either not salient to guests or easily brought up to guests standards. Cadotte and Turgeon draw our attention to the fact that the classification of these factors is not permanent but constantly changes. Some dissatisfier type attributes were probably critical at one time. Higher industry standards, though, may have improved performance to the extent that most restaurants are able to meet guest requirements on these factors. For example, in warm climates, the availability of reliable air conditioning in hotels or restaurants was a critical factor; today, with the advent of modern refrigeration technology, all hotels and restaurants in such climates will have it. Having more of it will not satisfy anyone, but when air-conditioning breaks down, suddenly everyone becomes dissatisfied. Resources I would like to use limited resources for my research. I will use internet, complete media library, company visits, interviewing with different guests who are staying in different hotels or regular guests and frequent flyers, news papers, journals, books, telephone and other possible resources which are easily available and easily accessible. Possible outcome of my study I would like to say that my research work on Customer Satisfaction Measurement will bring new turn and increase the satisfaction level in Central Park Hotel Hyde Park, London. More importantly, my study will analysis the guest satisfaction level and will point out the main causes, how to improve and bring the level of customer satisfaction up to the mark. Limitations of the Study My study on Customer Satisfaction Measurement in hotel industry will be limited only as well as on Express by Holiday Inn, London and other Hotels in London.