Manage Continous Organisational Improvement Essay

Abstract The sector of healthcare is vital for living that no one may deny. The advancement of technology has been a blessing in disguise for human health. Times are gone when people used to wait in long queues to get attention from the doctors and paramedical staff. The governments of the world were also responsible to not properly utilising the healthcare setup. In many parts of the world, it was still deemed as forbidden until the advent of 21st Century. Manage Continuous Organisational Improvement INTRODUCTION The sector of healthcare is vital for living that no one may deny. The advancement of technology has been a blessing in disguise for human health. Times are gone when people used to wait in long queues to get attention from  the doctors and paramedical staff. The governments of the world were also responsible to not properly utilising the healthcare setup. In many parts of the world, it was still deemed as forbidden until the advent of 21st Century (Alison; 2012). DISCUSSION Change management is something everyone thrives upon be it a business or medical science. For effective progress in any field of study, what matters the most is a well laid out and proper action plan. For example in business arena, gaining momentum is important in terms of financial aspects. For it one who is interested in business must be familiar with implementing a business plan to the suitable effect. The first and the foremost aspect is how much investment would be required for the project to be undertaken. Every country encourages ideas and the best way to be known for this purpose is to bring out something creative. In any aspect of profession, planning plays a vital role as well as management. In all most all the line of work, there is need for budgeting, staffing along with other strategizing options. In the context of globalization and global economy, change management becomes evident when we find that companies are overlooking the global parameters of a business where change is constant. In the context of this change, outsourcing is global strategic alliance that fosters a winning international strategy. The implementation of the policy of health is a complex topic that incorporates conceptual models. It is all about the guiding principles, rules, and regulations that lead to operational strategies. There are several one must be familiar with in order to accomplish explicit healthcare policy. To understand it, the cognition with health policy or governmental law is important. These also comprise of process of funding along with decisions taken at decentralised or national level. These widely effect upon how to deliver such services (Alison; 2012). The contemporary healthcare concept incorporates people from various fields related to medical technology including surgical equipment and medications. Access to evidence from medical and health research as well as latest information is also included within. The area of healthcare is notably one of the few areas which is blessed by heavy spending of the governments and the individuals alike. Alternatively the individual with less income is forced to pay a higher co pay and deductible for a lesser amount of coverage (Alison; 2012). SCENARIO You have recently taken on the role of change manager in an organisation. The organisation has decided to introduce the concept of continuous organisational improvement and you have been asked to lead this development. Before embarking on this work you decide that it is necessary for you to complete some detailed thinking in a number of key areas. In carrying out this assignment you should either use an organisation you have or currently work for. You must know this organisation well at a strategic level. Alternatively you should use the case study material provided. Firstly you need to give careful consideration of how a culture of continuous organisational improvement will be created. The process of change is inevitable in every organisation and NHS is no different. Mr. Regal has been appointed as a new Change Manager for NHS and is a dedicated individual who knows how to run things for the benefit of the organisation. He has been working in many prestigious organisations and thus he is also familiar with psychology of team working alongside him. Mr. Regal knows that all employees of NHS will need his active support to get the job done. For this purpose, involvement of staff and planning at early stage are a key to sure success to bring the process of change. It must also be noted that the policies to bring change must not oppose organisational policies such as redundancy, reorganisation and redeployment (Elizabeth; 2012). Before progressing any further, it is important that people within NHS must have idea of what change is all about. There are many types of changes including the ones instigated from ideas within NHS whereas some come from beyond the organisation. Other ideas include temporary and permanent ones all working for benefit of the organisation (Elizabeth; 2012). Since NHS is a complicated organisation thus many changes within are not clearly defined. In a typical organisational change model, new ways of working, unfamiliar team structures, processes and procedure are encompassed. Speaking individually, changes made at staff level can bring out pessimism, optimism, motivation, energy, enthusiasm and excitement to fear, anxiety, challenge, resistance, ambiguity and dread on various  instances. The fear within the staff is due to the concerns over new management and workload as well as job security and pensions. Thus various emotions can come into play and leads to distraction from development and provision of service. The staffs of NHS are ready to deal with anxiety which may be due to anticipating change. Surely, it will take Mr. Regal to get to know about the employees and the old standards that have been the hall mark of success for NHS. However, these techniques of the past won’t last long and thus change in the system is mandatory. Thus it is important to introduce such techniques that are part and parcel of modern day mechanism (Gallouj & Djellal; 2011). Mr. Regal knows what is the main reason of downfall of organizations i.e. those who are not willing to manage or identify change in human components. He has been performing his services as a freelance consultant for last 10 years. He suggests that the involvement of the individuals working within the organisation is necessary so that the way of thinking and behaviour may be altered. Now this may seem to be easier said than done as it requires thorough practice, time and motivation. The change in behaviour may not be easily measurable or achievable since the elements of humans are unable to get attention they require. As a line manager, it is the duty of Mr. Regal to lead from the front to identify and manage such human elements. NHS must also bear in mind that the change of initiatives must not go beyond the desired capacity. If it happens, the key resources required may turn uncontrollable. The extra workload must be shared by senior support and managers according to the resources and plan of action (Gallouj & Djellal; 2011). Before starting anything, what matters the most is planning same is with organisational change. It is never easy for people to accept what comes within that change process. They find it difficult to adjust or absorb to change and also for the management, it is not an easy task. They may have to face various reactions to it including temporary reductions in performance measurements and activity. For this purpose, a proper timetable must be provided which may give the employees enough time to get ready. This may also produce the impact desired by Mr. Regal and the new management of NHS (Karen, Jean & Gretl; 2012). CLARIFICATION/RATIONALE The second step is to what the outcomes of it may be the Clarification/Rationale. For this, it is important that the management is familiar with measurable outcomes. Mr. Regal and his team managing all must have a comprehensive vision that may lead NHS to new developments. The staff may get affected by the change being implemented. COMMUNICATION & INVOLVEMENT Mr. Regal knows that in order to have proper implementation of plans, the doctors, nurses as well as other workers in NHS must have confidence. For this purpose, it is necessary that they must have recognition of benefits and responsibilities, acceptance, understanding, will, interest, and  awareness. This could only be achieved if proper strategy regarding effective communication and involvement is drawn (Karen, Jean & Gretl; 2012). It is important that all the stake holders of NHS must be taken in confidence before the implementation of policy. The communication between the both parties is vital to reach a break through. Ineffective communication may result in difference of opinion. Thus by implementing proper communication skills, effective involvement can be ensured. RISK ASSESSMENT Mr. Regal suggests that implementing the process of change within NHS may be easier said than done provided that proper planning is implemented. Nevertheless with a process of change also comes the feeling of fear from within such as negative reactions, doubt, change in working and location. This is something that must be assessed at the earliest and must be done by a competent team. They are the individual who look to safeguard the interests of working groups specially the vulnerable people who may get impacted by the change. For this purpose, an implementation plan must be designed according to the time frame of change (Karen, Jean & Gretl; 2012). MONITORING Monitoring within the organisation is necessary to know about the activities the employees are engaged in. This also depends on what type of change is being implemented within the organisation. In many organisations the best way to get feedback is to make use of various perspectives. The best form of monitoring can be done on the basis of complaints, facts, reports, opinion, outputs, behaviour and levels of error. It is not necessary for techniques of monitoring to be elaborate but they must be appropriate and timely. Despite of its effectiveness, it may be considered as violation of privacy matters of the employees. Many organisations make use of various tools including the audio monitors and cameras. The employees too may enjoy various benefits of monitoring  including the safety measures. Many organisations including the hospitals and banks make use of close circuit television systems (CCTV) to monitor for safety. ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING Mr. Regal is of opinion that NHS must implement organisational learning which facilitates room for improvement. He explains that only those organisations that are willing to learn from their mistakes and ready to transform succeed. This phase of learning may not necessarily be a beneficial one. There might be a possibility that any individual within NHS may learn but not share with his team mates. Similarly, the subordinates in NHS may not be share the information learnt due to its policies. In order for NHS to become a learning organisation, it is important that it is ready to change, learn and adapt. In today’s competitive marketplace, an organisation maintaining its position in rapid changing environment is a tough ask. Everyday constant developments are being made thus providing corporations to transform into learning organisation. Mr. Regal believes that NHS has a capability to provide platform for learning. This may be stored in the minds of the people as well as the organisational memory in form of written documents, policies and procedures. If NHS successfully transforms itself as a learning organisation, it may widen the prospects by creating practices (Neil, & Jo; 2013). In order for NHS to prosper according to the modern phenomenon of change, it is important that it must learn from experience directly as well as others. The organisation may directly learn from experience by working on procedures of incremental refinement. Mr. Regal explains that it is natural for an organisation like NHS to be faced with number of obstacles including the lack of learning orientation. This is one of the most important of all the barriers in any organisation. These may be further classified into three types environmental, individual/group and organisational. In order for NHS to progress, the  people within the working group must have an active mind. The barriers of learning within an organisation include management practices and corporate culture. Besides that concern from external stake holder, industries, and public policy results in external barriers. EMBEDDING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Mr. Regal suggests that NHS must act according to the standards of modern day organisation. Like others, it must introduce initiatives of change regularly perhaps on multiple levels too. Mr. Regal emphasises that proper process of research needs to be implemented on total quality management. This in turn will build cultures of compliance and health. As an organisation NHS has always worked on phenomenon of high quality care for all. Today, many leading organisations throughout the world are focusing on system of the organisation and system health at the same time. These are linked with a promise that quality work today may pave way for tomorrow’s high-quality work. The hallmark of a healthy organisation is that they embed culture promoting engagement, trust and openness. They achieve it on the basis of learning and improvement process. In almost all the organisations, there are often contradictory aspects hidden. In NHS, the priority is the measurement of higher outcomes such as population health. The founding principle of NHS has always been high quality care for all (HQCfA). The main point of focus is how this may be achieved emphatically. For this purpose the priority of work is done is patient and population which is deemed as weakest link. WHAT IS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT? Quality improvement is something that every organisation must thrive upon. There are various approaches and definitions and may be more fruitful than the other one. In medical practice, the purpose of quality improvement is to look for ways to provide better services and care. Mr. Regal says that change management may only be effective if the team performs as a single  unit. Quality Improvement is a team process at its core. When the circumstances are right the team perform according to different perspectives, knowledge, skills and experience. This helps in bringing out improvements that last long and is beneficial for the entire team as one unit. In order for the program to be successful, it is important that the top leadership as well as the employee support the process of change. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed for the process of Quality Improvement. This helps for improvement of safety, effectiveness and efficiency. NHS has always thrived on leadership and engagement for improvement. Every organisation has a room for improvement in one way or another. Same is with NHS as assessed by Mr. Regal along with his management team. As a matter of fact changes needed in NHS include changes made on a drastic level. Change management is a process of transition from current to new mode. It is important for the individuals to be ready for the change. The first and the foremost step, is focusing on the ability of leadership. Mr. Regal must act as a role model for other employees within NHS to follow. He must set an example that becomes cornerstone of the organisation. He must implement rules and regulations that maybe followed in the long run. As a leader, he must avoid using thought process that creates separation in form of perks. Mr. Regal knows that talking to people working in the organisation on policy matter will restore their trust on him. Also he may be able to know about the problems faced by the employees and solve them individually. Two other aspects that matters the most are passion and genuineness. IDENTIFIES AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT In order to bring change within NHS, each working group must know what role they need to play. They must realise importance of their role in the process and consider it as a historical one. As a supreme command, it is the duty of Mr. Regal to communicate with each and everyone involved in the process. Those who have concerns regarding the change need to be addressed at the earliest. In order to bring down frustration, Mr. Regal must keep in mind the six phases that reflect the reaction of the people affected by the change. IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES ANTICIPATION: Many of the employees are anxious what the change may be and how will have an impact on them. Such employees are unable to know what it has for or against them and don’t know what to expect. CONFRONTATION: This is the stage where people discover that something good or bad is going to happen. Many times they are able to figure out that the plan of change has already been initiated. REALIZATION: The third phase is of realisation where the impact of the change is in front of the people. The results will always be different as realised by the people. DEPRESSION: Besides being intellectual people begin to know the outcome of the change that makes them emotional. They begin to mourn on the past but can’t do anything about it leading to stress and depression. ACCEPTANCE: In this phase, people begin to acknowledge the process of change both emotionally and intellectually. In any organisational setup, people at first have some reservation but seeing the benefits may change their opinion. Nevertheless, there is no reassurance to it. ENLIGHTENMENT: In this last phase, people begin to wonder how they were able to manage the old ways while this change has turned out to be more fruitful to them. EVALUATION OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE ORGANISATIONAL ACTIVITIES Bringing change management and to make it work effectively is not a piece of cake for anyone. A consultant like Mr. Regal too will require time to convince employees working within NHS. For this purpose, it is important that why to bring out the best service from the organisation the world has ever seen. It is important that the management and the staff both support one another for the accomplishment of the goals desired. As a unit both of the organisation stake holders need to understand the importance of the decision. The plan is to make NHS sustainable and best value organisation for the benefit of the people. This model of Change in NHS vows for the improvement collectively in terms of experience and knowledge. This process may also take into account former employees of NHS who had a history of quality services within the organisation. Since its birth, the organisation of NHS has worked for the benefit of humanity. Today it stands tall as the largest organisation of Europe dedicated to provide detailed healthcare services at minimal or low rate. Mr. Regal hopes with his new change policy, the organisation may become the largest healthcare organisation in the entire world. However, for that purpose, proper mechanism of work needs to be planned. The day when NHS was born, it comprised of more or less 14 regional hospital boards. Today it is also known to be the extensive employer of the nation (Nigel; 2011). CHANGES REQUIRED INTRODUCING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE ORGANISATIONAL ACTIVITIES NHS may benefit a lot from change process by introducing improvements to the activities of the organisation. In aiming for continuous improvement, NHS must market what they work for i.e. healthcare services. Mr. Regal emphasises that proper planning leads all the way to success for organisations initiating change. Despite this change process being beneficial to the organisation like NHS,  but there are certain things that may turn against if the management isn’t prepared. These challenges may be because of not creating ample room for improvements, slower adoption, work surroundings, resistance and ultimately not creating the necessary improvements for the organization. If in future NHS further aims to make itself better by bringing in new concepts, they must know how to manage and operate it effectively (Nigel; 2011). To begin with changes need to be done must be planned first but implemented gradually. This may help in bringing helpful change to one and all. The employees must be taken into confidence for the implementation of policy and thus building awareness is important. Inform the employees, inviting them to be the part of change process. Make an announcement and publish it via intranet besides informing the employees by meeting them. It is also important to mention the date and time of the process to take effect. Involve in all the employees of the company so that documentation; scheduling or minutes of meeting can be carried out (Nigel; 2011). It is important to satisfy the employees that the change that is going to happen is for betterment of the organisation. Those who have questions or concerns related to it need to be satisfied. The employees are mainly concerned with how the policy change may affect them. For this purpose, it is important for Mr. Regal to remain calm and patient and address the situation effectively. In order for the assistance of the employees, he must provide documentation for the changes going to happen within NHS. Write step by step instructions things required for the completion of expected process. To help out the employees of NHS, he must offer practice and training programs so that they may learn about the new procedures. It is not necessary to implement changes overnight; it may require slow but progressive steps towards the change. The best way is to make changes one at a time. It may help the employees to learn about new procedures before moving to next step. Feedback from the staff involved is also important as comments, suggestions, ideas or concerns may help to move to the next  milestone. This may also help the employees getting closer to Mr. Regal and they may understand process in far better way. Also it is his responsibility what employees have to say about the possible changes in the procedure. Do appreciate where credit is due when any employee comes up with suitable alternative or suggestion. Mr. Regal must be open to all the employees of NHS and thus answer any questions that emerge in their minds. In case of success motivate employees by giving them appreciation through barbecues or pizza parties. This helps to bridge the gap between the management and the employees. The engagement of variety of people such as user groups, as clinicians, administrative staff and patients is also helpful for the improvement of the services. This way conflicts within an organisation may also be avoided. AGREE AND COMMUNICATE THE PROPOSED CHANGES WITH STAKEHOLDERS Before approaching the stake holders Mr. Regal and team has to go through thorough research. The best way of it is to accompany with the group of experts having good networks. Their role will be to conduct brain storming sessions to the people and groups associated. Make a list of the changes associated with NHS and record it on laptop or flipchart. On finalising the names in the list, then the stakeholders must be arranged according to affect, power and influence. There are 9Cs in healthcare service are Competitors, Commissioners, Customers, Collaborators, Contributors, Channels, Commentators, Consumers, and Champions. CONCLUSION Change management is essential part of business and so do healthcare industry. Both of them rely upon the use of technology, organisational structure, management systems and processes. A hierarchy of organisation includes the bureaucratic processes and chain of command. For this purpose approval with the management is considered mandatory. Thus the roles of employees and leaders are well defined one has to obey the order while the  other has to command. References Alison, Hann; (2012); Health Policy and Politics; Ashgate Publishing, Ltd; ISBN: 140949120X, 9781409491200; pp 150-151. Elizabeth, McCormick; (2012); Change for the Better: Self-Help through Practical Psychotherapy; SAGE; ISBN: 144626808X, 9781446268087; pp 300-301. Gallouj & Djellal; (2011); The Handbook of Innovation and Services: A Multi-disciplinary Perspective; Elgar Original Reference Series; Edward Elgar Publishing; ISBN: 1849803307, 9781849803304; 750-751. Karen, Luker, Jean, Orr & Gretl, A. McHugh; (2012); Health Visiting: A Rediscovery; John Wiley & Sons; ISBN: 1444335812, 9781444335811; pp 230-231. Neil, Gopee & Jo, Galloway; (2013); Leadership and Management in Healthcare; SAGE; ISBN: 1446294862, 9781446294864; pp 250-251. Nigel, Crisp; (2011); 24 Hours to Save the NHS: The Chief Executive’s Account of Reform 2000 to 2006; Oxford University Press; ISBN: 0199639957, 9780199639953; pp 200-201.

Social Media Marketing

Evaluate the Effectiveness of Social Media Marketing on Hotels Jennie Russell 1. Abstract Purpose; The internet has forced companies to transform themselves to be more interactive, innovative and efficient as the online consumer is more active, demanding and in control; if unhappy about a service the hotel’s reputation c an be damaged as negative information posted online is instant and public; sharing their opinion with hundreds of thousands of potential customers. However, savvy marketers are increasingly using social media to let guests sell their hotels, which is authentic marketing at its best.Marketers need to implement dedication, time and resources in social media marketing to be successful and stay ahead of their competitors; most hotels lack the resources required to effectively implement social marketing strategies. Methodology; This paper integrates triangulation to ensure all views of social media marketing are portrayed; three hotel marketing managers were questi oned, consumers on PollDaddy answered polls and the role of the practitioner research was undertaken to analyse Cedar Court’s Facebook campaign.Secondary research was used to develop recommendations for the effective use of social media marketing. Findings; This paper presents the results of an exploratory study on the different perspectives of social media marketing. It was found that some hotels have more developed social media marketing strategies than others but all are willing to learn and develop. Consumers had mixed opinions on social media marketing which lead to calls for recommendations to be derived from secondary research for the effective use of social media marketing.Research Limitations; More time was needed to research and analyse the Facebook campaign and a payable account was needed on PollDaddy to increase the exposure of the polls. Value; Social media marketing is a fairly new trend; it will be a key factor in the future of marketing; Large hotels like Hil ton and Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts have fully integrated social media into their marketing strategy, but for most hotels the difficulty is not only where to begin, but who to use and what to do; this paper will significantly impact how hotels market on social media sites.Keywords; Social Media, Marketing, Hotels, Effective, Participation, Interaction 1|Page 2. Context & Objectives Long before the Internet, people shared their opinions of products with friends and family through word of mouth; ‘a happy guest tells five others; an unhappy guest tells 9-10 others. ’ (Kennedy, 2009) Nowadays, consumers are spending more and more time on social network sites where they can broadcast their experiences directly online via social media sharing their opinion with hundreds of thousands of potential customers; hotel marketers need to reach these communities and interact with them to stay competitive.TIG Global (2009) describes how the internet has changed marketing; ‘what was once an efficient one way communication tool has evolved into an interactive two way communication device. ’ The internet is forcing companies to transform themselves to be more interactive, innovative and efficient. Kozinets (1999, p254) discussed that ‘online consumers are not merely passive recipients of consumption information but active creators’; consumers are now in control. The information the consumers post is instant and public; giving them the opportunity to be heard in large numbers.Marketers need to form alliances with these online consumer communities as it is the dawn of customer engagement; ‘Engaged customers spend more money and come back more often. ’ (Mclean, 2008) Social media marketing requires participation, interaction and dedication (Raza, 2006); time, commitment and resources are essential for the efficient use of social media marketing; however most hotels lack the resources required to effectively implement social mark eting strategies.Most hotels either don't do social media marketing or they don't do it efficiently; W eber (2009) understands that marketers have to be aggregators not broadcasters; they have to be part of the consumer’s conversation, not bombarding them with constant sales pitches. (Evans, 2009) Marketers have to ensure their content is beneficial to the hotel and their consumers; they should not perceive the hotels presence to be a nuisance.Large hotels like Hilton, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts and MGM Grand have fully integrated social media into their marketing strategy, but for most hotels the difficulty is not only where to begin, but who to use and what to do. Is it detrimental for a hotel not to use social media sites? Can it be detrimental if social media sites are used but not appropriately? The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of social media in hotel marketing. The objectives of this study are to; ? Evaluate how the internet has changed hotel marketing. |Page ? ? ? Assess the key activities involved in social media marketing. Evaluate the role of social media marketing within hotel marketing strategies. Develop recommendations for the effective use of social media marketing in hotels. 3. Literature Review Marketing Raza (2005, p 2) defines marketing as an ‘ongoing process comprising various co-ordinated activities a company must perform to develop and/or wanted product, bring it to the market, maintain it there and maximize the customers benefit. The customer is an integral part of the marketing process; marketers need to focus on their customer’s needs, wants and expectations which will reflect in their services and result in a successful hotel. ‘For many years hospitality firms have believed that the goal of marketing is to create as many new customers as possible. ’ (Shoemaker & Lewis, 1999, p345) They believed it was important to satisf y the guests while they were on the property, but the real goal w as to continue to find new customers; their interest in getting new customers dominated the task of keeping customers.Nowadays, companies have realized that both aspects are vital; finding n ew customers and keeping current customers; Chen et al (2009) suggest that companies exploit the internet to become more innovative and effective at this task. Marketing using traditional methods used interruption techniques which consumers accepted as they classed them as necessary ‘happenings’; the marketers were in control. But the internet forced marketers to transform themselves; Chen et al (2009) discovered that marketers were no longer in control; the balance of power had shifted to the consumer.The existence of united groups of online consumers interacting shifts knowledge and power from marketers to consumers; Kozinets (1999, p258) supports this; ‘The more online consumption members communicate with one another through the internet, the more bold they feel about chall enging marketers and marketing claims. ’ Scott (2009) & Tuten (2008) realized that the ‘old rules’ of marketing were ineffective in a web 2. 0 world; (consumer generated content) marketers have to work harder as consumers control their media content.Saugestad (2009) reinforces this; ‘research shows that there is a growing proclivity among web users to tune out ‘corporate speak’. ’ Miguens, Baggio & Costa (2008) clarify that the internet is no longer just a static page, but a dynamic platform which allows consumers to independently generate their own content; sharing with other users and passing on their own experience. Marketers need to realize that online consumers are much more ‘active, participative, resistant, activist, loquacious, social and communitarian. ’ (Kozinets, 1999, p261) Social Medias 3|PageIt is important to ensure social media is explained to avoid confusion; ‘Social media is about sharing information and experiences with acquaintances in your networks. ’ (TIG Global, 2009) Weber (2009) noted that social networks are places where people with a common interest or concern, meet and express themselves, their opinions and ‘vent’. There are different social media channels depending on the desired goals; Table 1; Authors Analysis of Social Media Sites Type of Description Statistics Social Media Facebook Facebook is a social networking website that Facebook reports was originally designed for students, but is n average of now open to anyone 13 years of age or older. 250,000 new Facebook users can create and customize registrations per their own profiles with photos, videos, and day since January information about themselves. Friends can 2007. (Scott, 2009, browse the profiles of other friends and write p229) messages on their profiles. Twitter Twitter is an online service that allows you to There are a share updates with other users by answering reported 3 million on e simple question: â€Å"What are you doing? † tweets posted per Twitter is a free social networking and micro- day. (Social Media blogging service that enables its users toStatistics, 2008) send and read other users' updates known as tweets. TripAdvisor TripAdvisor is a free travel guide and 90% of online research website that hosts reviews from consumers trust users and other information designed to help recommendations plan a vacation. from reviews (Mclean, 2008) YouTube YouTube is a video sharing service that ‘Videos posted on allows users to watch videos posted by other You tube attract users and upload videos of their own. The more than 40 slogan of the YouTube website is â€Å"Broadcast million visitors Yourself. † This implies the YouTube service monthly. ’ (Weber, s designed primarily for ordinary people who 2009 p4) want to publish videos they have created. ‘Social networking continues to grow and shape the way people communicate. ’ (Hotelworld, 2010) There are hundreds of active social networking websites, but the social media sites listed in table 1 are relevant to this project as hotels are currently using them to market themselves. The internet is becoming one big social networking site; ‘Over 44% of all internet users are active in social media’ (TIG Global, 2009) Saugestad (2009) & Miguens, Baggio & Costa (2008) argue that social media sites are the most 4|Page opular sites on the internet due to the fact it is available 24/7, giving potential online customers the opportunity to access information at their own convenience. Starkov & Mechoso (2010) acknowledges that internet users spend 17% of their surfing time on social network and blogging sites, nearly triple the percentage of time spent on sites than a year ago which is beneficial to marketers if they use social media effectively, as they are reaching a growing audience. Using Social Media Effectively Many authors agree that social media marketing needs to be fully integrated in the hotel’s marketing process.Marketer’s need a solid internet strategy; merging social media marketing into their marketing plan and the hotels brand; integrating videos, images and blogs to increase exposure and improve online positioning. (Davis, 2009, Raza, 2005, Tikkanen et al, 2009) Social media gives marketers an incredibly inexpensive way to build brand awareness, while doing it in a way that makes the hotel seem simultaneously hip, down to earth and fun. Hotels (2009) explain how savvy marketers are increasingly using social media to let guests sell their hotels, which is authentic marketing at its best.Kennedy (2009) found that guests who have had extremely positive experiences do often feel motivated to post their positive feedback on the internet. Successful word of mouth marketing isn’t about what the hotel thinks it represents; it’s what the consumers choose to talk about; ‘Word of mouth hinges on real consumers spreading the word for you. ’ (Mclean, 2008) It’s the best marketing tool; with high credibility as it comes from previous customers and there is no cost to the hotel.However, if consumers have a bad experience it can be unfavourable for the hotels reputation; ‘a single negative online guest review can cause significant damage by scaring off future potential guests. ’ (Kennedy, 2009) The scope of internet marketing is huge; numbers could be in the realms of tens of thousands of potential guests scared off from one bad review on the internet. Hotels reputations are at stake; consumers are going to be talking about how they were treated for better or for worse.Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts has set the bar for social media customers service care; a guest went on twitter whilst staying at the Biltmore Four Seasons Resort to make a criticism about the hotels music, to her surprise she received a bottle of wine and a note from the general mana ger apologizing. Another situation at Four Seasons Bangkok, where a guest complained on twitter about the lack of appealing movies on TV that night; management were notified and the guest was informed about the hotels in-house DVD library. Kirby, 2009) These situations show the effective engagement and participation required with social media marketing that results in high customer satisfaction. Interaction, Participation and Authenticity Social media is all about forming relationships, trust and building an online reputation. The main focus in social media marketing is to keep consumers informed and not to fool them. TIG Global (2009) explain that social media users 5|Page will likely be appreciative of hotel marketers updates and more inclined to pass them along to their networks of friends and family, if they feel the updates are authentic and useful.The main purpose of social media is social interaction and networking with other users; hotel marketers need to enhance their socia l interactions to be successful; ‘the speed of the response is a significant factor in interactivity. ’ (Tikkanen et al, 2009, p1371) The stronger a hotel’s genuine interactivity on social media sites, the stronger their social media brand will be. Starkov & Mechoso (2010) reveal that if a hotel enhances its social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, it can create a buzz around the property and contribute to increased awareness and booking considerations.Engaging and dynamic content can enhance a hotels presence and generate continuous interest; ‘the online social media process is all about the ‘word of mouse’. ’ (Parsippany, 2009) Social media sites are all about customer engagement; companies who focus on engagement rather than selling will see success. (Mclean, 2007, Tikkanen et al, 2009) By incorporating value, interactivity and engagement; hotel marketers could thrive with social media marketing. Valuable Content Evans (2009) ad vises marketers to ensure they have significant cont ent on their social media sites otherwise they will lose consumers and search engine rankings.Consumers aren’t afraid to tell hotel marketers if their content is rubbish but at least social media offers the ability to make instant adjustments in case they need to change detrimental content. ‘Marketers have to provide customers with value to have a better chance of engaging their customers in their marketing activities. ’ (Parsons et al, 1998 cited from Tikkanen et al, 2009, p1369) Value is one of the most important things to keep in mind when creating great social media content that will persuade consumers to interact and engage with marketers.Armstrong (2001) understands that marketers are sceptical about social media marketing but tries to convince them to use the internet as a sales and marketing tool; he summarizes that the issue is not only how to engage the consumer, but also how first to attract the cons umer to the website and then to retain them; however this book is dated with basic knowledge of the internet and limited reference to social media marketing. Saugestad (2009) argued that successful social media marketing requires meaningful participation, authenticity and real engagement.Social media is a continual process of evolving and updating to ensure exciting and lively content; ‘Involvement in (and success with) social media takes time and commitment. ’ (TIG Global, 2009) Future of Marketing Hotels (2009) predicts social media will become firmly entrenched as a marketing channel in 2010. Savvy marketers will continue to shift marketing funds to online channels at the expense of traditional marketing methods which Starkov & Mechoso (2010) reinforce ‘social media and mobile marketing are quickly becoming the mainstream in the hospitality industry. Accelerating technological 6|Page developments are evolving as a new generation of opportunity and challenge for the marketer. The issue with social media marketing isn’t whether to use it or not but to ensure the time, commitment and resources are spent developing it effectively. There is a lot of literature around social media marketing but no distinct recommendations for effective usage. 4. Method of InvestigationAn exploratory research approach will be used to gather information; a mixture of deductive and inductive; deductive as I want to find if hotel marketing managers find social media marketing useful, also want to find if the level of communication on social networking can gain loyalty from consumers or discover if social me dia marketing is beneficial to a hotel or detrimental to their image. Inductive secondary research will develop recommendations for the use of social media marketing. Triangulation refers to the use of different data collection techniques in ne study in order to ensure the data is correct and precise. (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2005) Triangulation will be used in this project as it will provide better opportunities to gather all perspectives on social media marketing and will allow effective evaluation of the findings. A mixed method research approach will be undertaken and data will be analyzed throughout the process; Tashakkori & Teddie (2003) quoted in Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, (2005, p 146) argue that ‘multiple methods are useful if they provide better opportunities for you to answer your research question. The role of practitioner researcher will be undertaken as I designed a Facebook page for Cedar Court Hotel Wakefield when I worked for them on my placement which I now manage. I plan to add 1 event and 3-4 status updates per week as well as requesting at least 40 friends. I understand it will be time consuming; I’m a full time student so all my time is spent on university work which does not allow me to be fully immersed in the daily events at Cedar Court.Therefore familiarity may affect the research as I don ’t have any up to date information to enable me to frequently update the status with current issues; I have overcome this problem by asking the sales manager to keep me informed. I will analyse the campaign for 3 months to observe the impact and responses from the hotel’s social media activities. Structured questionnaires will be conducted using purposive sampling (typical case) with three hotel marketing managers that are currently using Facebook to market their hotel in order to explore their opinions of social media marketing.The questionnaires will be conducted through email so the managers can complete the questionnaire at a time and place convenient to them. The delphi technique will be used to ensure the key issues are addressed; when all the data is collected I will distribute it to the marketing managers to see if they agree with 7|Page the findings and to ensure all the important issues have been illustrated. All three managers will answer the same set of que stions to ensure reliable data. From these questionnaires I will develop polls to ask the general ublic their opinions on social media marketing using PollDaddy as the sampling frame ‘The larger your sample size the lower the likely error in generalising to the population. ’ (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2005, pg. 210) Poll Daddy has 500,000 users around the world (PollDaddy, 2009) which should generate a good response rate; I am aiming for at least 100 answers to each question to generate findings that are representative of people who are interested in social networking. There is no limit to the amount of questions I can post as PollDaddy provides interactive polling, which I thought was relevant to this project.I will post the questions in November and 3 months later I will gather the quantitative data which allows easy comparison. As well as primary data, documentary secondary data will be gathered from literature on the internet; journals and articles from websites s uch as e. hotelier. com/caterersearch. com will be used to develop recommendations for a hotel marketer to efficiently use social media marketing. Secondary data is unobtrusive; it will aid the project’s objectives and will enable triangulation.An external ethics committee is not required for this research; none of the participants will be vulnerable and social media marketing is a neutral subject. Participant error, bias or observer error shouldn’t occur as triangulation should yield consistent, reliable findings. For this project written consent will be implemented, if participants do not want to participate then they simply do not have to answer the questions. Participants will be volunteers and will be adequately informed of the research; they will be free to withdraw at any time and if necessary the findings can be anonymous.I will monitor Facebook and PollDaddy 4 times a week to ensure the activity is sincere and will re evaluate the validity if I feel it’ s being compromised. 8|Page 4. 1 Research Agenda From the literature review the key issues were highlighted and incorporated into the table below; these issues will form the basis of the questionnaires and polls. Table 2; Table of Issues Issues Reference The more online consumption members communicate with one another through the internet, the bolder they feel about challenging marketers and marketing claims. KOZINETS, Robert, V. (1999) E-Tribalized Marketing? The strategic Implications Of Virtual Communities of Consumption. European Management Journal. 17 (3) 252–264. Online social networking sites are the most popular sites on the internet. MIGUENS, J. , BAGGIO, R. , COSTA, C. (2008) Social Media and Tourism Destinations; TripAdvisor Case Study. Advances in Tourism Research 2008. Aveiro. Portugal RAZA, Ivo. (2005) Heads In Beds; Hospitality & Tourism Marketing. 1st Edition. United States of America. Pearson Prentice Hall. DAVIS, John. (2009) Social Media; Marketing Magic or Madness. [online] 16 July. Article from Hotel Online; News for The HospitalityExecutive. Last accessed on 19 October 2009 at: www. hotel- It is virtually impossible to compete in today’s marketplace without a solid internet strategy. Hotels need to merge social media marketing into the brand and the marketing plan; integrating videos, images and blogs to increase exposure and improve online Question derived from issue Do you find that online consumers are much more active, participative, resistant and more demanding? What types of social media marketing do you use and how do you use it? Do you have an internet marketing strategy? How important is social media marketing in your arketing plan? Is it fully integrated? 9|Page positioning. online. com/News/PR2009_3 rd/Jul09_SocialMediaMagic. html Engaging and dynamic PARSIPPANY, NJ. (2009) content can generate Introducing: CoMMingle continuous interest; ‘the Social Media Marketing online social media Agency for Hospitality. process is all about the [online] 21 September. ‘word of mouse’. ’ Article from Hotel Online; News for the Hospitality Executive. Last accessed on 19 October at: http://www. hotelonline. com/News/PR2009_3 rd/Sep09_CoMMingle. html Successful social media SAUGESTAD, Stephen. marketing requires 2009) Social Media and the meaningful participation, Hospitality Industry. [online] authenticity and real 23 September. Article from engagement. ehotelier. com; the one stop website for hoteliers. Last accessed on 19 October 2009 at: http://ehotelier. com/hospitali tynews/item. php? id=P17166_ 0_11_0_C Four Seasons Hotels & KIRBY, Adam. (2010) MGM Resorts has set the bar Grand Billboard Takes for social media Twitter to Masses. [online] 4 customers service care; January. Article from Hotels; a guest went on twitter The Magazine of the whilst staying at the Worldwide Hotel Industry.Biltmore Four Seasons Last accessed on 6 January Resort to make a 2010 at: criticism about the http://www. hotelsmag. com/b hotels music, to her log/Musings_Miscellany/296 surprise she received a 91bottle of wine and a note MGM_Grand_Billboard_Tak from the general es_Twitter_To_Masses. php manager apologizing. 1. Does your social media site incorporate engaging and dynamic content for your consumer? 2. How often do you update your content on your social media sites? 1. Successful social media marketing requires meaningful participation, value and real engagement do you feel you give this and how? 2.How often do you check/interact on your social media sites? 1. If you find a negative comment online what do you do? 2. Can you give me 3 examples of how social media marketing has worked well for you and what was the impact? 10 | P a g e 5. Findings & Analysis 5. 1 Facebook Research The impact and responses from Cedar Court’s social media activities on Facebook were recorded. Every week Cedar Court’s status was updated 3 times, a new event was added and an average of 40 friends were requested; the campaign was analysed for 3 months to investigate positive and negative reactions of the consumers.It can be immediately seen from column 2 that Cedar Court’s friends have consistently increased, doubling the amount of friends it started off with from 323 on 24. 11. 09 to 692 on 19. 02. 10. The number of people adding Cedar Court to be their friend (column 5) also consistently increased, in the first month Cedar Court had 0-1 people requesting to be their friend but towards the end of the campaign an average of 6 people were requesting to be their friend with a maximum of 8 people on 19. 02. 10.The popularity of Cedar Court definitely increased; at the start only 1 person ‘liked’ the status, then only 1 person commented on the second status, gradually throughout the weeks more people started to ‘like’ and comment on the statuses. Towards the end of the campaign an average of 30 people were ‘liking’ the sta tus and an average of 3 people were commenting; the Valentine’s Day status (15. 02. 10) had 70 friends ‘like’ it and 3 comments which is significant. Generally, the popularity of Cedar Court’s profile did increase however there was a decrease of 7 friends on 24. 2. 09 which could be due to the fact 4 events were sent out the previous time or it could have been due to festive pessimism, after this incident I ensured I would only send 1 event out each week to ensure I didn’t annoy any more of Cedar Court’s friends. The number of people accepting Cedar Court to be their friend and adding Cedar Court to be their friend consistently increased, which could be due to the fact that more consumers are accepting companies presence on social media sites owever consumers tended to ‘like’ and comment on the personal status update; not the sales pitch status es, which goes against companies objectives to use social media as a marketing tool. A ll the comments were positive which is encouraging; this shows a positive impact as consumers enjoy participating in the personal statuses; they take pleasure in the engagement and interactment with the hotel’s day to day activities; birthday’s, promotions, new employees etc. 11 | P a g e 5. 2 Questionnaires with Marketing Managers Questionnaires were emailed to the marketing managers of Hilton, Marriott and Malmaison.They were given 1 month to reply; giving as much detail as possible. To analyse these questionnaires, themes have been derived to allow ease of comparison between the hotels. Marketing the Hotels At the moment all three hotels use a variety of sources to market their hotels; social media, emails, newspapers, tradeshows, search engines, word of mouth and leaflet dropping. All three also have an internet marketing strategy; Hilton explained their marketing team works together with their PR and promotions to shape this strategy.Social media is important in t he hotels marketing plans; Marriott have only been using social media for around 6 months and hopes to be fully integrated by the end of the year. Hilton acknowledges social media is a ‘new space’ and have integrated it through PR and partnerships/promotions. All three hotel’s use Facebook, plus another social media form, however they all use them in slightly different ways. Malmaison started using social media marketing after attending a ‘future of hospitality’ course and uses Twitter and Facebook to update promotions and news etc.Hilton recognised that conversation about their brand were taking place on Facebook and Twitter whether they were participating or not; they use the same sites as Malmaison as ‘additional channels’ for brand news and giveaways. Marriott started in response to their sister hotel having used it for several months and uses Facebook and LinkedIn. Opinions on Social Media Marketing Malmaison’s opinions are m ixed; they believe it is the way forward because it has many benefits but understand there are negatives and that hotels should be careful.However Marriott is not in favour of it; ‘using sites that are not necessarily business focused as a marketing tool can cheapen your product and portray the wrong image. ’ Hilton understands the need for a sound strategy, time and commitment before adopting it; ‘social media marketing should never be used in place of traditional marketing tactics. ’ 12 | P a g e All three hotels agree that social media marketing is useful; Malmaison finds it easy to a point, ‘its quick, reaches a mass audience, builds relationships and is relatively cost effective. ’ Marriott thinks it is cost effective and likes the ‘speed to market. Hilton states that it is ‘extremely helpful in building buzz for our brand , sharing news quickly. ’ Occurrence of Content Updates and Interactions All three hotels interact on their social media sites however there are different levels; Hilton is the highest and checks theirs frequently throughout each day whereas Marriott only check theirs once a week; hotels on social media sites should be giving instant information; a week is far too long. Malmaison checks theirs as ‘often as they can’; but this is a loose term and could range from Hiltons highest level to Marriott’s lowest level of interaction.Again, with content update the rankings were the same; Hilton was the leader as they ‘post multiple messages to Twitter each day and add content to Facebook regularly’, Marriott only update their content on average once a month which is insufficient and Malmaison were vague with ‘as often as we can. ’ Participation, Engagement and Valuable Content Malmaison follows up on complaints and says thank you for good comments, they offer incentives and promotions their customers would appreciate.Hilton talks with their â €˜fans’ rather than ‘at’ them, they try to provide content that has real value, rather than simply ‘pushing marketing messages. ’ Whereas Marriott acknowledges that they are not giving the ‘appropriate level of participation’ however this year they do hope to overcome this and build their online profi le. Malmaison believes that their site incorporates engaging and dynamic content for their consumers; Hilton always ‘tries to provide information that is valuable to our audience. ’ Marriott is drawing up plans to address their ‘limited’ content.Champions and Time Spent with Social Media Marketing All three hotels understand the importance of assigning a dedicated social media marketer; Hilton has ‘an agency team and three internal team members’; Malmaison has 1 person from each hotel responsible and Marriott has nominated six people for their social media activities. Marriott only spends a couple o f hours per week on social media marketing whilst Malmaison spends ‘as much time as we can’ which is again vague but sounds keen! Hilton understands that ‘time investment is considerable and necessary. Attracting the Active and Demanding Online Consumer Malmaison attracts online consumers to their social media sites through exclusive offers and competitions; Hilton has integrated their Facebook and Twitter with their official brand site and other microsites; they also rely heavily on 13 | P a g e word of mouth from their current ‘fans’ and use giveaways. In the near future Marriott will be adding their social media addresses to their traditional ‘collateral’ that they hand to clients. Malmaison agrees with the statement that ‘online consumers are more active, participative, resistant and demanding. Hilton thinks it varies; ‘most followers are honest and enjoy travel so their posts and comments are positive’ but Hiltons social media channels are ‘not intended to be a guest assistance centre. ’ Which I disagree with; guests should be able to have their p roblems resolved through social media, I do understand that it’s an international company but strategies should be in place for these encounters. Marriott said ‘we will only really begin to see this in the coming months as our exposure grows. ’ Analysis of Social Media MarketingMalmaison analyses their social media marketing at the end of every week using tools such as ‘trendistic, tweetbeep, twittercounter, twitpwr. ’ Hilton receives weekly reports from an agency that ‘tracks major topics. ’ However Marriot t’s focus is ‘bringing our profile to a level where it actually merits tracking. ’ TripAdvisor Reviews Malmaison and Marriott both stated that they use TripAdvisor reviews but didn’t say how they used them. Hilton encourages its hotels to monitor consumer revie ws as ‘they are a great way to understand what is and is not working for a particular property. ’ Negative CommentsIf Malmaison finds a negative comment then they ‘address and investigate the situation, if a contact number/email address is left then the matter will be dealt with in private. ’ Hilton does their best to resolve the issue; ‘just as we do at our hotels when a guest complains. ’ Until this year Marriott only acted on feedback without replying to the customer; but now they use the ‘Manageme nt Response’ function to post replies to both negative and positive comments. Hilton doesn’t believe social media can necessarily go wrong, but negative posts about customer’s experiences at their hotels is ‘disheartening. Malmaison stated that they seem to be doing ok and Marriott said ‘this remains to be seen. ’ Social Media Working W ell All three hotels have had positive experiences with social med ia; Malmaison has had positive feedback from its ‘fans’, the events they advertised have had favourable responses and offers have been well received. Hilton asked ‘Tweeters’ to cheer for the film premier ‘Up in the Air’ for a chance to win various prizes; this was mutually beneficial and increased the hotel’s profile; reporters often post stories from Hiltons Twitter or Facebook.Marriott use Facebook to advertise charity events and to drive exposure of their Christmas party packages. 14 | P a g e Recommendations Malmaison and Marriott are welcoming of recommendations ‘that are tailored for our product and the market we are in. ’ Hilton are ‘always looking for suggestions that we can use at the brand level and share with our hotels. ’ Social media is a continual process of evolving and updating that takes time and commitment, even though Hilton are the most advanced in social media, the willingness for suggestion s shows true commitment and is an important attribute.Hilton are the most savvy in social media marketing; Marriott is fairly new in this concept and need more time to extend their strategies. Malmaison is well developed but not up to Hiltons standards however Hilton is a multi-national company which is hard to compete with. Unfortunately some managers did not answer in as much depth as I would have liked; none would disclose any financial information which is understandable but disappointing as it would have been interesting to compare the financial implications and set a guideline amount in the recommendations.One manager took 3 months to fill out the questionnaire and only replied when I used Facebook to prompt them to fill it in. 5. 3 PollDaddy Results Polls were developed on PollDaddy to ask the general public their opinions on social media marketing. Originally I had problems with the response rate as I only had a free account, if I had a paid account I would have received mor e responses and more exposure, but I overcame this by using Facebook to link my questions from PollDaddy and the responses increased rapidly; reinforcing the argument that social media is effective.Table 3; Key Points from PollDaddy 1. 87% think that social media marketing isn’t just a trend. 2. 50% think that marketers abuse social media marketing. 3. 48% think there should be rules for the appropriate usage of social media marketing. 31% think marketing on social media is innovative. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 60% find it easier to challenge marketer’s claims through social media marketing. 30% use Facebook and 27% use Twitter as their main social media forms. 36% think companies on social media are demonstrating meaningful participation, authenticity and real engagement. 2% engage in social media if they see it as beneficial. 15 | P a g e 9. 57% think social media marketing is a convenient and efficient way of finding information and interacting with an organisation Source; Aut hor’s Analysis of Poll Daddy Results 1. This is a significant percentage of people who think social media marketing isn’t just a trend; they believe it will be around permanently so hotels should take up this information and use this to their advantage through marketing. 2.Half who answered thought that marketers ‘just don’t get’ social media marketing; people felt that marketers could make more of the opportunities they have; the ‘recommendations’ may help marketers use social media marketing more effectively. 3. This point reinforces the need for marketers to effectively use social media marketing; it is a fairly new concept and marketers need to develop their strategies if they want to succeed. 4. 31% think marketing on social media is innovative which is encouraging for marketers; 32% of people don’t mind social media marketing as long as it isn’t excessive. 5.Online consumer aren’t afraid to challenge marketers claims; they are more assertive which strengthens Chen et al (2009) and Kozinets (1999) argument that the balance of power has shifted away from the marketer to the online consumer. 6. Most people who answered used some form of social media marketing, from Facebook to LinkedIn; companies should begin marketing on Facebook and then develop their strategies from there. 7. 36% thought that social media marketing shows companies commitment to engagement and interaction; however the polls were very close with some people being suspicious of social media marketing and the marketing ploys. . Social media sites are all about customer engagement with beneficial content this point reinforces Mclean (2007) and Tikkanen et al (2009); companies who focus on engagement rather than selling will see success. 9. This supports TIG Global’s (2009) point that social media users will likely be appreciative of hotel marketers updates and more inclined to pass them along to their networks of frien ds and family, if they feel the updates are authentic and useful.All questions answered had different response rates ranging from 97 to 497. Even though some of the percentages are fairly inconclusive, social media 16 | P a g e marketing is a growing trend and it would be interesting to see the results in a year’s time. 5. 4 Recommendations The dynamic growth and popularity of social media sites has created new opportunities for hotels; I have created recommendations to ensure proper usage of social media marketing and eliminate the risks involved for hotels. 6. ConclusionThe purpose of this project was to evaluate social media in hotel marketing; this project aims to help hotel marketers assess the key activities involved in social media marketing and evaluate the impact on a hotels marketing strategies and their image. Literature Review The internet has forced companies to transform themselves to be more interactive, innovative and efficient as the online consumer is more a ctive, demanding and in control; if unhappy about a service the hotel’s reputation can be damaged as negative online information posted is instant and public; sharing their opinion with hundreds of thousands of potential customers.The more online consumers communicate with one another, the bolder they feel about challenging marketers and marketing claims. Social media marketing requires participation, interaction and dedication; time, commitment and resources are essential for the efficient use of social media marketing; it is a highly engaging and innovative marketing method. Engaging and dynamic content can enhance a hotels presence and generate continuous interest; it needs to be focused on the consumer, it’s not what the hotel wants to talk about it’s about what the consumers want to talk about.If a hotel enhances its social media presence, it can create a buzz around the property and contribute to increased awareness and booking considerations. Savvy market ers are increasingly using social media to let guests sell their hotels, which is authentic marketing at its best. Findings By analysing the impact of social media marketing through different mediums the research was able to demonstrate the impact of social media marketing. More time was needed to analyse the Facebook campaign and a payable account was needed on PollDaddy to increase the exposure of the polls.Despite the limitations there are a number of important points that came from the research; more consumers are accepting companies presence on social media sites like Facebook however consumers prefer personal status updates; not 17 | P a g e sales pitch statuses. The company profile needs a personality in order for engagement to be fulfilled. Social media is a continual process of evolving, updating and developing; hotels should be consistent in regularly usage on social media sites; instant information is needed to be given; a week is far too long to interact and deliver thei r message effectively.Hotels should implement weekly analysis of their social media marketing strategies to ensure effective usage. All three marketing managers have positive experiences with social media marketing with Hilton stating ‘social media marketing can’t necessarily go wrong. ’ PollDaddy consumers don’t mind social media marketing as long as it isn’t excessive; it shows companies commitment to engagement and interaction; however the polls found some people being suspicious of social media marketing and the marketing ploys.Consumers thought that marketers ‘just don’t get’ social media marketing; they felt that marketers could make more of the opportunities they have; the ‘recommendations’ may help marketers use social media marketing more effectively. Recommendations have been derived through secondary research for the effective use of social media marketing. A dedicated and committed employee needs designat ing to monitor and interact on the social media sites.Marketers should establish themselves as credible members of the community and legitimate experts in their field by sharing knowledge and useful links. To Conclude Social media marketing is a fairly new trend; marketers should intensify their efforts to develop and expand their social media marketing strate gies to improve their online positioning. There are positives and negatives to any new venture but overall if social media is effectively used the positives out weight the negatives.It is virtually impossible to compete in today’s marketplace without a solid internet strategy and hotels need to merge social media marketing into their brand and their marketing plan. Social media will soon be the norm in marketing and marketers need to implement dedication, time and resources to be successful and stay ahead of their competitors; most hotels lack the resources required to effectively implement social marketing strategies s o this paper should significantly impact how hotels market on social media sites.Social media marketing is a free marketing tool and if used effectively can be beneficial to the hotel with high returns, however if hotels use social media but not effectively then this can be detrimental to their image; online consumers will perceive them as a nuisance and their online reputation will be ruined. Referring back to the questions asked at the start of this paper; ‘is it detrimental for a hotel not to use social media sites? ’ and ‘can it be detrimental if social media sites are used but not appropriately? I think it can be both detrimental to a hotel to not use social media, as they are missing out on a mass online market, who will be 18 | P a g e discussing their brand whether they are participating or not, however it can also be detrimental if social media is used but not appropriately. By incorporating value, interactivity and engagement; hotel marketers could thriv e with social media marketing. Future research from this paper should look into the long term benefits of social media marketing.Some of the percentages were inconclusive from PolDaddy, it would be interesting to see the results in a year’s time to discover how opinions had changed. 8. Bibliography ARMSTRONG, Steven. (2001) Advertising On The Internet; How to Get Your Message Across On The World Wide Web. 2nd Edition. Wales. Kogan Page. CHEN, Wei, et al (2009) Strategic Management: Undergraduate Programme in Service Sector Management. Essex. Pearson Education. DAVIS, John. (2009) Social Media; Marketing Magic or Madness. 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TIG GLOBAL (2009) Why All Travel Pros Must Use Social Media. [online] 17 November. Article from Hotels; The Magazine of the Worldwide Hotel Industry. 21 | P a g e Last accessed 18 November 2009 at:

The Four Planes of Development

â€Å"Development is a series of re-births. There comes a time when one psychic personality ends and another begins†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"Our work as adults does not consist teaching, but in helping the infant mind in its work of development† (Dr Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, Chap 3) What did Dr Montessori mean by the four planes of development? Describe each plane of development. Explain how we use this knowledge about the child in the Montessori classroom, with the main focus at the age group of 0-6 years. THE FOUR PLANES OF DEVELOPMENTThe life of the child that will become tomorrow’s adult is basically divided into four planes or stages. Each plane consists of a period of six years. Within these stages the development of the child is quite intense at the beginning, then it consolidates and finally trickles into the next. The first & third planes of development are periods of intense creation, whereas the second & fourth planes of development are the ca lm periods of consolidation. First plane of development (0-6years) â€Å"Development is a series of re-births.There comes a time when one psychic personality ends and another begins. The first of these periods goes from birth to six years of age and the child’s mentality basically remains the same. It includes two sub-phases, from birth to three years and three to six years. In the first of these, the child has a type of mind that adults cannot exert upon to influence. In the second sub-phase (3-6years), they are still mentally the same but the child becomes susceptible to adult influence and their personality undergoes great changes. † (The Absorbent Mind, chapter 3, Pg 17).The first plane of development (0 – 6 years) is a period of intense creation. This period is of very great fundamental importance for the formation of the child or the foundation of the personality of the child. This is the period of transformation. This plane of development is further divid ed in to two sub phases, (0 – 3) and (3 – 6) years. The first sub plane is known as ‘The unconscious absorbent mind’. The infant during this period is also identified as a ‘spiritual embryo’ as the infant has within himself the potentialities which determine his future development.The child can learn subconsciously, and effortlessly, through observations and explorations. The child is a sensorial explorer at this stage, that is, the child basically learns through his senses. During the absorbent mind stage, the sensitive periods are at their strongest and help the child’s learning process as well as the child’s initial adaptation. During this first plane of development various physical abilities develop in the young child. Physically the body develops from head to toe. Between the age of zero to three years, these abilities develop separately and independently of each other.Hand and leg movements are not guided by the mind. At th is stage, the child needs to create himself. It is a period of rapid development for the child and the child develops physically, mentally, socially as well as emotionally. As his physical body becomes more defined, he learns both consciously and unconsciously as his mind easily absorbs his environment. He becomes more sensitive to things adult take for granted and learning for him is easy and fast. At this stage, he also learns to care for himself, dress himself, feed himself etc.

International Current Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Current Issues - Essay Example self-defence in international law Contemporary attitudes on the issue of pre-emptive self-defence appear to fall into four distinct schools of thought. The strict-constructionist school starts with the proposition that Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter details broader prohibition on the utilization of force. The utilization of force, as opposed to â€Å"war,† mirror a desire to ban transnational armed conflicts, not merely conflicts emanating from formal state of war. Strict constructionists’ highlights that Article 2 (4) ban any trans-boundary utilization of military force, inclusive of force justified by reference to the diverse doctrines established in the pre-Charter era of reprisal, forcible self-help, humanitarian intervention, and protection of nationals. Strict constructionist outlines that states may utilize force in self-defence as dictated by Article 51 of the UN charter. Proponents of the â€Å"imminent threat† school embrace the language of Article 51 speaks of self-defence in retaliation to an armed attack. However, proponents of this school of thought employ three lines of argument to progress a norm favouring a right of anticipatory self-defence, rather than pre-emptive self-defence. The proponents of this school of thought acknowledge that the UN Charter provides an intrinsic right to defend against an imminent threat. The provision â€Å"if an armed attack occurs† fails to impose conditions on the exercise of the intrinsic right; moreover, the broad meaning of the term â€Å"armed attack† accommodates the perception of â€Å"armed attack† as encompassing an attack that is imminent and inevitable. Nevertheless, proponents of this school of thought are unwilling to broaden the meaning of Article 51 beyond the notion of addressing imminent armed attack.2 This... This paper approves that the customary international law has a huge bearing on issues relating to self-defence. However, controversy still reigns since there is minimal scholarly consensus on the meaning of â€Å"imminence† within the context of contemporary threats. Furthermore, there is minimal consensus on who may be targeted in the sphere of non-state actors of those threatening, planning, perpetrating, and availing material support critical to organizing an armed attack. The labelling of an armed attack as â€Å"imminent† can be shaped by the relevant circumstances inclusive of the immediacy and nature of the threat; the possibility of an attack; whether the foreseen attack is part of a concerted pattern of persistent armed activity; the probability scale of the attack and the injury scale, or damage possible to emanate in the absence of mitigating action, and, the the probability that other opportunities to effect effective action in self-defence, which may yield to severe collateral injury, damage, or loss. This report makes a conclusion that opinions regarding the legality of self-defence under international law remain divided; one school of thought demands that an armed attack ought to occur prior to a state lawfully acting in self-defence. The resort to armed force remains outlawed as per the international law, except in cases where the UN Security Council awards permission. Military action ought to be employed as a last resort and must be essential to utilize force to deal with the precise threat at hand.

Marketing Strategies of Auction Houses Coursework

Marketing Strategies of Auction Houses - Coursework Example This dissertation discusses the various marketing strategies proposed for the auction houses keeping in mind the relationship of the buyer and the seller. Moreover, it talks about the methods for the promotion of activities carried out in the auction houses which assist in keeping up with the loyalty between the buyers and sellers. Various case studies witness the issues influencing the performance of auction houses in which technology plays a key role. Lastly, this discourse proposes a methodology for further practices in the field of auction houses, thereby, effectively studying the results of the practices involved. All in all, this dissertation sets the stage with the recognition of area for potential research on the auction markets, meticulously on the ones of interest to the market individuals and groups. This dissertation anticipates the augmentation of supplementary work which enhances our comprehension of the corporation and consumer characteristics in the evolving market-pl ace. The Business Week discusses that Conventional auctioneers identify the significance of marketing in their business and discuss the principles as well as the notion of selling as the key to success in auctioning. The increasing prominence of auctions is driving new-fangled product market and pricing representations, assessed channel functions, and innovative market research approaches (Business Week, 2001). Still, the marketing literature on auction houses is little for the reason that, regardless of the suggestions by Rothkopf that, auctions prove to be a fruitful field of analysis for the marketing scientists, there are only little hypothetical and pragmatic documents and literature which deal with the title of auction houses (Rothkopf, 2002). This incongruity has called for more research on the marketing strategies of the auctions and auction

International Marketing Management Research Paper

International Marketing Management - Research Paper Example International Marketing Management The purpose of this paper is to understand the trading simplex between United States and China, the country of choice for this paper. The idea is to define the scenario as it stands i.e. the historical facts and figures with regards to the trading activities between the two countries, and then try to identify the reasons that the said patterns have been ascertained. The process followed for the creation of this research paper was simple; primarily the figures relevant to the trading activities were ascertained and subsequently secondary sources of literature review were perused in order to understand the reasons behind the said patterns. Most of the literature review is secondary and the trading figures are availed from both the people’s republic of China and the USA.From the Figure given below, with either belong to the Chinese or the US, the US runs a trade deficit with the Chinese, however, there is a marked difference between the two figures that are reported by each count ry as the Chinese report a trade surplus of $114 billion in 2005 whereas the United States state that this figure is $201 billion, about 76.32% times higher than the one reported by their Chinese counterparts.There is also a marked disparity between the span of time which has seen the US report a trade deficit against the Chinese as they claim it to be since 1983 whereas the Chinese only report the trade surplus to have originated from 1993 onwards. It is also important to note that not only is the size of the trade deficit that is being run by the U.S. against the Chinese exorbitant, but there is another facet that is equally important in the grander analysis i.e. the inordinate imbalance that lies between the imports from China and the exports to China by the US. Taking 2005 as the base year, the Japanese exported about 0.4 times the amount that they exported to the US while the Canadians and the Mexicans also reported figures of 1.3 times and 1.4 times respectively. As compared t o these, the Chinese exported a whopping 5.8 times the value of goods to the US as compared to the value of goods that they imported making it abundantly clear that the Chinese is not a destination of choice for US exported products. (Lum et al, 2007) Figure 1: U.S. Exports to China From the table 1 given below, it can be seen that from the top twenty exports from the US to the Chinese in 2005, the items rated the top five include (in no specific order) transport equipment, metalliferous ores, general industrial machinery, electrical machinery and oil seeds and fruits. The exports of the oil seeds and fruits and metalliferous ores have expanded over a period of six years, beginning from 1999, by 6 times and 12 times respectively. This clearly indicates that the Chinese requirement for the agricultural commodities as well as the raw materials has expanded in line with that of the need for office machines and general industrial machinery. Over the span of the five years starting from 2000 to 2005, textile fibers has expanded the most amongst all the items exported from the US to China, having supplanted itself by about 969%. China’s top ten imports from all around the world (in no particular order) in 2005 were: organic chemicals, optical and medical instruments, mineral fuels, vehicles, iron ores, copper articles, plastics, iron and steel, machinery, and electrical machinery. (Lum et al, 2007) U.S. Imports from China From the Figure given below, it can be seen that from the list of the top 20 items that are imported by the US from the Chinese, in dollar amount, in no particular order include: Miscellaneous manufactured articles Furniture and bedding Electrical machinery Telecommunications and sound equipment Apparel and accessories Office machines and automatic data processing machines It is a significant fact to note that the value of the US imported item under the umbrella of office and data processing m

Procurement Policy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Procurement Policy - Case Study Example rights to a startup company's new drugs which was later turned into a new corporation worth $500 million a year. The end result of this engagement was that Merck sold 50 percent of its shares in the new corporation to Astra (Ghauri, 2001, p. 40). In so doing, consumers are able to acquire life-saving and life-altering pharmaceuticals in a timely manner. At the heart of this alliance is the notion that in order to effectively and efficiently manage a business such as Merck, there is a need for strategic supply management. In recent years Merck has embodied a strong shift from a predominantly domestic supply management strategy to one which has entailed global management strategies. This strategy operates under the assumption that procurement policy is central to the success of the company. This strategy can be characterized by two main elements: Arnold (1989) illustrated one of the most concise conceptualizations of the global supply management strategies utilized by Merck by delineating four very distinct procurement policy development stages. These stages are as follows: 1. The Traditional Procurement Policy. In this phase, the scope of the procurement policy is narrowly define and limited to domestic sources. ... One important characteristic of this phase is the understanding that there is no attempt to link the procurement strategy with the other components of the business process. Essentially, the traditional procurement process is somewhat haphazard and does not represent any long-term business strategy (Rai & Eisenberg, 2003). 2. International Purchasing. The second phase of the procurement policy is one which expands the supply sources to non-domestic sources. The underlying intent of this phase is to reduce the production cost by acquiring the necessary materials at a lower cost. During this phase, there is a systematic exploration of foreign sources with the aim of realizing a price advantage over its competitors by purchasing the raw materials at a lower cost without adversely affecting the quality of goods, the level of service provided to consumers and the delivery as well as the availability of goods. An example of this can be seen in the very presence of Merck in Japan. This can be both positive and negative with the positive implications very evident and a negative implication whereby there is limited American investment within the Japanese economy. Essentially, Merck's presence in Japan is solely for the purposes of acquiring materials at a low cost and exporting those materials for economic gain within the United States (Chen & Drysdale, 1995, pp. 141-142). 3. Strategic Procurement Policy. During this phase, the procurement policy of the organization becomes an integral part of its overall business strategy. It is utilized as a means of gaining a significant advantage over its competitors. One important component can be seen in the fact that global sourcing is exploited in such a manner as to improve the

Venture Idea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Venture Idea - Essay Example Clients can still visit the truck and place an order (face-face transaction). The services can be initiated using online platform, but finalizing of the services will require a discussion with the client. Currently, most Americans have become too busy trying to make ends meet, thus time to prepare food for themselves or the family has become limited. Therefore, this gap has created an opportunity for this venture to be implemented and be successful. Demand for healthy food has been on the rise due to the increased lifestyle diseases such as cancer, obesity et cetera. Weekdays when most people are on work the demand for the food is at maximum, thus best returns are realized. The future for this venture is brighter as day goes-by. The growing population and health conscious clients will definitely demand healthy food, and this will create an opportunity for the business to expand. New trucks will be purchased to enhance service

Cap task#3c Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 1

Cap task#3c - Term Paper Example It is therefore very important for the hospital management to consider introduction of an image segmentation facility to help with early warning of breast cancer, because this is literary the key to improve breast cancer diagnosis in the hospital. Image segmentation use contours or the region they are position on to find the features of an image. One of the most common screening methods used by radiologists in analysis of the mammograms is X-ray mammography. This technique is very importance in detection of the presence or absence of lesions from the mammograms (Stems, 1996). It is, however, becomes extremely difficult to detect breast cancer during its early stages because its presence is especially restrained and unsteady. As such, if only experiences are diagnosed, radiologists and doctors can easily fail to detect the presence of abnormality. Having said that, the doctors and radiologists can rely on computer aided screening technology to get a more effective and reliable diagnosis (Sheng, Hong and Enmin, 2011). The aim of having such a computer aided imaging technique is to ensure an accurate segmentation of medical images. This process involves use of different criteria to segment different areas of an image (Chang and Teng, 2007). Use of mammography images in breast cancer image segmentation is a tasking procedure tho ugh its accuracy is essential for screening of tumors as well as classification of tissue for early discovery of breast abnormalities. Although it is not perfect, mammography imaging is recommended for this project because of it is essentially the most efficient imaging method (Guido and Nico, 1999). For women without symptoms, Mammography imaging is believed to detect between 80% and 90% of the breast cancer. A precise image segmentation of the mammography images is very crucial for a computer aided equipment to perform accurate diagnosis. The type of the equipment used is one of

Immigrant Question Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Immigrant Question - Research Paper Example These are the immigrants from Asia, Africa and South America, the less powerful continents of the world, in terms of finance and geopolitics. These immigrant laborers are paid very low wages and have been reported to become victims of human rights violations many times, in the USA. The companies who employ them have also been accused of being insensitive to environmental concerns as much as they are to humanitarian concerns. This study is an attempt to find the root causes of the immigration problem by linking these two aspects based on a paradigm of sustainable development.Especially, the immigrants from South America have been employed in huge numbers by the multi-national companies which have ventured into mining, farming and railroad industry in the USA (Sheppard and Barnes, 294). What is the factor that made people from the developing world of South America to immigrate to USA (even illegally) facing risks even to their lives and why do they opt for the lower paid jobs and discr iminatory existence in an alien land, is the primary question that has to be addressed in this regard. The one and only logical answer to this question are that they had been deprived of their livelihoods in their native lands. And the cause of this phenomenon easily connects back to the intervention of the US capital in these countries, as will be made clear in the following part of this study. The companies who employ the immigrant workers in the USA have a notorious history of exploiting nature and human resources (Cooke, 52).

The First Chapter of Of Mice and Men in his Film Version of the Book Essay Example for Free

The First Chapter of Of Mice and Men in his Film Version of the Book Essay Gary Sinese presents the first chapter of Of Mice and Men quite differently in his film version, compared to the book because of several major changes he has made. The book was written in the 1930s and is about the events that happen involving two men, George and Lennie, going to work on a ranch. The film, however is a modern adaptation, made in the 1990s. Probably one of the most important changes made is that of the mood of the opening. In the book the opening is very descriptive with a very calm and tranquil feeling. This is shown by the following extract: The water is warm too, for it has slipped, twinkling over the yellow sands and on the sandy bank under the trees the leaves lie deep. There is also quite a slow pace in the book because there is over a page and a half of text describing the area and atmosphere before the characters are even introduced. In the film version the opening is quite different to the book. The mood is darker as the opening scene consists of George sitting in a dimly lit train with a beam of light focusing on his eyes. There is then a flashback, to a woman, crying, running through a field. The camera tracks her movement, focusing on her eyes, until she runs past it. This tells the audience that she is fleeing from something terrible because of the terror in her eyes. The scene then switches to George and Lennie being chased by a mob. This shows there is a faster pace to the film, as there is no descriptive setting of the same location. Also Sinese added the detail of George and Lennie being chased, because this is only briefly mentioned in the book, and not in great detail. He added this scene to create an opening with tension, which chases often create in film. The fast paced music included in the scene also creates tension, and the silence as George and Lennie hide with the mob a few feet away creates a feeling of suspense. This then makes the audience want to keep watching to discover why George and Lennie were being chased. Sinese also added scenes where George and Lennie collect their work passes and ride the bus so these events would not have to be explained using dialogue like in the book, as this might bore audiences. For example, in the book George says to Lennie: You remember about us goin into Murray and Readys, an they give us work cards and bus passes? If it were done this way in the film, George would also have to explain what happened on the bus ride and why they are now on the road, which would have been harder for the audience to understand. The costumes of George and Lennie stay loyal to the book. In the book their outfits are described as: Denim trousers and denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls. The costumes in the film stay true to this, especially with Lennie, who wears exactly the same outfit. George, however, has a slightly different jacket and hat. In the book George is described as: small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Sinese decided to play George himself, but he does not have the sharp, strong, defined features that are described in the book. Lennie is described as: a huge man, shapeless of face, with large pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders. He is also compared to a bear on several separate occasions, one of these being: he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. John Malcovich, who plays lennie, does not have many of these features. Although he slouches and drags his feet, he does not have the large pale eyes or the build. Also he makes Lennie sound too simple. First impressions of the characters are shown quite similarly using the characters dialogue. It is more apparent that Lennie is more forgetful in the book but George seems more controlling in the film. This is shown when George discovers that Lennie has a dead mouse. In the film George forcefully takes it away from Lennie, while in the book George tries to reason with Lennie by calmly saying: come on, give it here, and Lennie obeys. After George takes the mouse away in the film, Lennie begins to cry. This show how strict George can be and how much like a child Lennie, which is not shown much in the book. The location in which the characters are first introduced is described as: a narrow pool with a path through the willows and sycamores The location they use in the film is true to the setting in the book, although the pool seems to be shown inn a different area to the road. Overall, the film is an average adaptation of the book with authentic locations and costumes and a dramatic, tension-filled opening, that grips the audience. But more time could have been spent on casting the main characters of George and Lennie and developing their dialogue and body language.