Families Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Families - Essay Example t would be fundamental for a day care provider to dedicate his efforts towards developing positive and productive relation to both children and parents. It is necessary for parents to develop comfortable zones with instructors and personnel who will be caring for their children. In other words, unless the families feel apprehension, the children will easily mirror the same emotion; thus, resulting in tearful good-byes every time the parents leave their children in a day care. If there are scenarios of discomfort, it would be extremely difficult for parents to leave their children in a day care (Cornish 86). Therefore, as a care provider it would be necessary to create a comfortable environment directed towards the parents and their children. One way of establishing and developing quick comfort zones for the children is by allowing or requesting the families to visit the facility frequently at any time during the working hours. This makes the bond between the child and the parent hold, which results to children feeling comfortable. Furthermore, the liberty of visiting the institution will make the parent feel free and not to feel that there is anything hidden from her. Additionally, visiting the day care will ensure that the families fully understands the open door policies of the institution before they get the chance of admitting their children into the facility (Cornish 86). This will be a fabulous opportunity for families to understand and apprehend a care provider’s experience and qualifications. These qualifications should sappers the minimum qualification of the care provider, so that the parent can develop confidence in a care provider. The confidence goes further to reaffirm the families that their childr en are in the position of developing positive childhood skills. Apart from qualifications, as a daycare manager, the families should also be exposed to the qualification and experience of other staff members (Cornish 87). As a daycare manager, it is

Legal Studies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Legal Studies - Term Paper Example ose living in Hong Kong continuously for seven years, shall be deemed as permanent residents of HKSAR; as per Article 24(2) category (3) of the basic law. As per the provisions of basic law, many parents qualifying for permanent resident status in HKSAR had children born in Mainland China, who have then moved to Hong Kong and overstayed there illegally. However, they approached the Immigration department for getting recognition of their status as permanent residents of HKSAR, as well as, for issuing them the necessary identity cards for this purpose. On 11 July 1997, Provisional Legislative Council of Hong Kong enacted the Immigration Amendment #3 ordinance of 1997, while specifying the formation of a certificate entitlement scheme, which required compliance from all permanent residents of HKSAR. Accordingly, Bureau of Exit-Entry was set up for this purpose at Mainland china, for applying under this scheme at Mainland China. However, acting as per this ordinance #3, the Director of Immigration refused permission to those, who applied after 1 July 1997, while ordering them to return to Mainland China. Hence, certain test cases were sel ected, which approached the Director of Legal Aid for challenging this ordinance. The Na Ka Ling Vs. Director of Immigration is one such test case. The child was able to prove being natural resident of Hong Kong, as also being lawful child of permanent Hong Kong residents. (Hong Kong Cases, pages 296-301) While all the four test cases were consolidated for hearing before Keith J, the judge dismissed all cases, including the Na Ka Ling case, with the exception of case involving Cheung Lai Wah, on 9th Oct 1997. The test applicants appealed against the order of dismissal, in the Court of Appeal. Hence, the court was requested to address the issue of constitutionality of Ordinance #3 and validity of wedlock requirement for defining the parent-child relationship, as per the ordinance #2. However, on 2nd April, 1998, this court upheld

The S'No Risk Program (Management Decision Models) 1 Assignment

The S'No Risk Program (Management Decision Models) 1 - Assignment Example The increasing interest among the customers to buy Toro provided dealers the opportunity to clear inventory and regained confidence. Also S’ no risk promotion had basic cost of sales of 2.1% of sales which is normally 10% and hence the rates were raised (Bell, 1994, pp.1-2). The fair estimate of insurance rates will depend on the following factors namely, customer confidence, demand, insurance rates of other companies, cost of sales and profit margin of the company. On the basis of information given in the case, the impact of probable insurance rate on the profitability may be analyzed as follows, Items Single Stage Power Shovel Two-Stage Power Shovel    Min Max Min Max    Price ($) Retail Price 270 440 640 1500 Units Sold 100000 100000 20000 20000 Total Revenues 27000000 44000000 12800000 30000000 Basic Cost of Sales/Premium @ 2.1% 567000 924000 268800 630000 Profit 26433000 43076000 12531200 29370000 Premium @6% 1620000 2640000 768000 1800000 Profit @ 6% 25380000 4136000 0 12032000 28200000 Premium @8% 2160000 3520000 1024000 2400000 Profit @ 8% 24840000 40480000 11776000 27600000 premium @ 10% 2700000 4400000 1280000 3000000 Profit @ 10% 24300000 39600000 11520000 27000000 From the above table it can be said that when the rates are increased profitability will decrease and vice-versa. 2. The S’No risk program by Toro is shown below From the consumer’s viewpoint, the above structure exhibits an alluring percentage of refund which is entirely dependent on the amount of snowfall in the region. The structure states that when the snowfall would be more, the consumers would have the option to buy any variant of the shovel and when the snowfall would be comparatively lesser than other years then the consumers would be entitled to a refund. However the refund option would be valid till the figure reaches 50% average snowfall. Beyond 50% snowfall the customers won’t get the money-back benefit. Therefore we can conclude that both the pla ns would be in favor of the consumer. However a situation might arise when in a particular year, a customer purchases a self-propelled two-stage machine by paying a price of $1500 and on the same year the average snowfall in the region reaches 80%, then he will not be entitled to any refund. In this case the customers might think that he has made a wrong decision by spending $1500 for the shovel when he had the option to buy the one priced at $ 640. The chart discussed previously exhibits that the consumers prefer to spend the minimum and derive the maximum benefit from a product or service. Therefore it can be concluded that the rate which is most preferred by the customers is 6%. But 6% would not be preferred by the insurance firm as it would not bring them adequate revenue. Therefore Toro must choose a middle path to satisfy both the groups and it should go for the 8% rate. 3. The common decision trap in this case is the snowfall. For Toro, the sales volume would entirely depend on the amount of snowfall. For the Insurance firm, the snowfall would decide how much premium they are going to earn and for the consumers the snowfall would guide their decision of spending money towards the shovel. For all the three groups, thus the deciding factor is snowfall which itself is an uncertain and

Value Creation - Mergers and Acquisitions in the Banking Industry Thesis

Value Creation - Mergers and Acquisitions in the Banking Industry - Thesis Example The dominance of the US and Europe in the current global financial services landscape means that most European and American banks enter new markets outside their region through transatlantic M&As. These developments are not lost on bank CEOs, who must keep a watchful eye on competitors’ strategies and assess what these acquisition moves mean to their own bank’s position. With their massive increases in market capitalization due to mergers, leading banks are in a strong position to invest heavily in new products or services and to make even larger acquisitions. This would pose a significant competitive threat that would require other banks to respond. Indeed, all acquisitions will result from value enhancing unless there exists some element of market inefficiency, i.e., imperfect competition in either the product and/or labour market and/or agency conflicts. Most large mergers and acquisitions fall short of achieving the desired synergies. In January 1999, The Economist reported that study after study of past merger waves has shown that two of every three deals have not worked. And at least 50% of major mergers since 1990 have eroded shareholder returns. Reasons for failed mergers are diverse and complex, but most can be attributed to losing something: critical people, customers, market confidence. Uncontrolled costs, hidden losses, unrealized benefits, avoiding decisions, cultural barriers, and power struggles can also undermine the most promising unions. Despite the high failure rate, M&As that succeed can pay large dividends. The most successful acquiring firms have clearly established and well-understood acquisition processes, both for ensuring good strategic decisions before the acquisition decision is made and for integrating the acquired firm once the deal is complete. This has created an interest amongst other banking firms to make a research on the M&As and the reasons behind their success or failure.  Ã‚  

The S'No Risk Program (Management Decision Models) 1 Assignment

The S'No Risk Program (Management Decision Models) 1 - Assignment Example The increasing interest among the customers to buy Toro provided dealers the opportunity to clear inventory and regained confidence. Also S’ no risk promotion had basic cost of sales of 2.1% of sales which is normally 10% and hence the rates were raised (Bell, 1994, pp.1-2). The fair estimate of insurance rates will depend on the following factors namely, customer confidence, demand, insurance rates of other companies, cost of sales and profit margin of the company. On the basis of information given in the case, the impact of probable insurance rate on the profitability may be analyzed as follows, Items Single Stage Power Shovel Two-Stage Power Shovel    Min Max Min Max    Price ($) Retail Price 270 440 640 1500 Units Sold 100000 100000 20000 20000 Total Revenues 27000000 44000000 12800000 30000000 Basic Cost of Sales/Premium @ 2.1% 567000 924000 268800 630000 Profit 26433000 43076000 12531200 29370000 Premium @6% 1620000 2640000 768000 1800000 Profit @ 6% 25380000 4136000 0 12032000 28200000 Premium @8% 2160000 3520000 1024000 2400000 Profit @ 8% 24840000 40480000 11776000 27600000 premium @ 10% 2700000 4400000 1280000 3000000 Profit @ 10% 24300000 39600000 11520000 27000000 From the above table it can be said that when the rates are increased profitability will decrease and vice-versa. 2. The S’No risk program by Toro is shown below From the consumer’s viewpoint, the above structure exhibits an alluring percentage of refund which is entirely dependent on the amount of snowfall in the region. The structure states that when the snowfall would be more, the consumers would have the option to buy any variant of the shovel and when the snowfall would be comparatively lesser than other years then the consumers would be entitled to a refund. However the refund option would be valid till the figure reaches 50% average snowfall. Beyond 50% snowfall the customers won’t get the money-back benefit. Therefore we can conclude that both the pla ns would be in favor of the consumer. However a situation might arise when in a particular year, a customer purchases a self-propelled two-stage machine by paying a price of $1500 and on the same year the average snowfall in the region reaches 80%, then he will not be entitled to any refund. In this case the customers might think that he has made a wrong decision by spending $1500 for the shovel when he had the option to buy the one priced at $ 640. The chart discussed previously exhibits that the consumers prefer to spend the minimum and derive the maximum benefit from a product or service. Therefore it can be concluded that the rate which is most preferred by the customers is 6%. But 6% would not be preferred by the insurance firm as it would not bring them adequate revenue. Therefore Toro must choose a middle path to satisfy both the groups and it should go for the 8% rate. 3. The common decision trap in this case is the snowfall. For Toro, the sales volume would entirely depend on the amount of snowfall. For the Insurance firm, the snowfall would decide how much premium they are going to earn and for the consumers the snowfall would guide their decision of spending money towards the shovel. For all the three groups, thus the deciding factor is snowfall which itself is an uncertain and

Business organisations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business organisations - Assignment Example The scientific perspective may be better known, as it starts with Taylor and the foundation of the scientific methods. This paper will give an overview of the classical (management) era by discussing the scientific and administrative perspectives, the theorists behind each perspective, and the relevance of the classical management methods. Management practices may go back as far as the planning, controlling, directing, and building of the ancient pyramids (Wren and Bedeian, 2009). Starting with the late 19th and early 20th century management theorists who began their work during the Industrial Revolution, the major theorists of scientific (management) perspective believed there is one best way to do everything – and that is the most efficient way. Those theorists believed they could determine that method via whatever means they were using or purported was the best method to study the task. Those theorists of the scientific perspective discussed first are F. W. Taylor, H. L. Ga ntt, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, and Hugo Munsterberg. The Scientific Perspective Frederick W. Taylor’s philosophy led the way for many others in using scientific and mathematical methods applied to workers, attempting to match a person’s abilities to a job in the best way possible, instituting a mutual self-interest mind-set that had never existed and improving employee productivity through incentives (Locke 1982; Wren and Bedeian 2009). Crain (2003) says that Taylor was noted for his scientific approach, his ability to solve problems, and his ability to invent things. His thought was that by being observed and measured the worker increased productivity. In one example, the test subject significantly increased production while receiving more in pay. Taylor’s management philosophy is built on the manager finding the facts, conducting research, and following tradition rather than relying on guesswork and personal opinion or hearsay (Locke, 1982). Chadha (2008) be lieves that Scientific Management is a form of systems thinking integrated with a worker and the work. Taylor was best known for using a stopwatch to time the workers pace to complete a task, but he believed that money is what the workers craved and they were determined to get it. He believed that ultimately improving efficiency improved society. Hodgetts (1995) analyzed ten organizations against Taylor’s principles and found that each organization utilized the principles in some way to stay focused on their quality management strategy. (Williams 2000) Taylor’s four principles summarized are: 1. Develop a science for each part of a person’s work, replacing a rule of thumb method. 2. Scientifically pick and train employees rather than allow employees to arrive and work as they wish. 3. Cooperate with employees to ensure work is done according to scientific guidelines. 4. Divide work as equally as possible. Allow management time to oversee the work of the employee s and shoulder the responsibility of holding others accountable. Henry Laurence Gantt worked closely with F. W. Taylor. Gantt brought a human quality into the scientific side of Taylor’s work. Gantt developed a bonus pay structure for the employee who completed their piece rate work for the day and was able to complete more than the assigned tasks. With Gantt’s methods of the use of incentives for employees production was significantly increased (Wren and Bedeian 2009). Frank Gilbreth used time motion studies where Taylor used a stop watch and was using only time

Customer Relationship Management In Hospitality Industries Tourism Essay

Customer Relationship Management In Hospitality Industries Tourism Essay Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, has many perspectives and definitions that illustrate its fundamental thrust, that of trying to present a holistic strategy for managing customer relationships by getting to know the customers and their needs better, communicating with them more effectively and trying to fulfil these needs (Payne, 2005, Pp. 1 2). Because CRM is about getting to know customers and their needs better, it is about implementing specific Information and Communication technology projects within an organisation to process organisational data to deliver knowledge about customers and their needs. It is now possible for organisations to implement more effective and sophisticated technology solutions for processing customer related data because computers are now far more powerful and cheaper compared to what they used to be, with a vastly increased storage capacity. In addition, businesses and organisations can now store vast amounts of data about their customers on co mputerised systems that can communicate more effectively with individuals and other computer systems using technologies for the Internet. Companies in all sectors, including the hospitality and tourism sector, now routinely engage their customers on the World Wide Web and process customer data to deliver more useful products and services at competitive rates (Gretzel, 2010, Pp. 1 48 63 72). Thus, CRM presents opportunities leading to higher profitability and superior competitive advantage (Roberts, 2005, Pp. 315 316). It is important for modern hospitality organisations to try to increase customer occupancy rates and customer experience in a tough and rapidly changing business environment that presents intense competition (Minghetti, 2003, Pp. 141 143). Thus, managers associated with the hospitality sector, including the hotels and tourism sector must have a deep knowledge of customers needs, behaviours, and preferences to offer services that deliver value to create customer retention, value and loyalty. In addition, it is important to try to communicate effectively with customers in a timely manner and to encourage them to engage in a dialogue with an organisation that can benefit everyone. Thus, customer-centric information systems are important for the hospitality industry, which must use these systems to develop effective relationships with customers to serve them better, encourage them to use more offerings from an organisation and to get to know about their needs in order to satisfy them an d to retain them. It is important to understand that customers are the lifeblood of an organisation and without customers, there will be no revenues and no organisation. Customers who are not satisfied or fulfilled leave to benefit from others who can offer more and this means that efforts directed towards trying to maintain effective customer relationships are now essential for all organisations, including those operating within the hospitality and tourism sectors. It is far more expensive to try to get a new customer than it is to retain and to earn from an existing customer (Buttle, 1996, Pp. 155). The collection and use of customer information, its effective analysis and use for delivering to customers are now more important than ever before (Minghetti, 2003, Pp. 1 2). To understand better the importance of CRM in hospitality industries, it makes sense to try to carry out an in-depth investigation into the topic of discussion from the perspectives of customers, managers and other stakeholders, including employees, from within the context of a place with established hospitality industry that has achieved a reputation for excellence around the world. Edinburgh, in Scotland is a suitable location for such an investigation, not only because the author of this dissertation studies nearby, but also because in addition to being the United Kingdoms favourite domestic holiday destination, Edinburgh is now a world renowned destination for its festivals, events and conferences (Susan, 2008, Scotland A World Class Product). Susan (2008, Scotland A World Class Product) goes further to state that Edinburgh is the most favourite city in the United Kingdom to hold a conference and the demand for rooms for guests is fast outstripping supply. Edinburgh is at the forefront of hospitality and tourism in terms of innovation and quality and the hospitality sector in this city employs 31,000 people, which is nine percent of the workforce (Edinburgh Tourism Action Group, 2010, Edinburgh Tourism Framework for Growth 2007-15). According to the previously mentioned publication, Edinburgh won the Guardian / Observer Travel Award as the UK best city for seven consecutive years and tourism generates more than  £ 1.7 billion expenditure in this city. Efforts are ongoing to maintain Edinburgh as a competitive tourism destination of world class and to try to expand on its potential. Thus, it makes sense to try to examine how the hospitality industry in Edinburgh uses CRM to attract customers and to deliver more to Edinbu rgh and its tourists. The research presented in this dissertation attempts to examine the importance of CRM for the hospitality industry in Edinburgh by presenting a review of selected literature, a customer survey, insights from senior managers and executives from the hospitality and tourism industry in Edinburgh and opinions from those who have the real ground-level knowledge, the employees working within the hospitality sector. 1.1 A Discussion of the Problem for Research Marketing is important for the hospitality industry and for marketing for a successful hospitality organisation should touch the customer (Buttle, 1996, Pp. 155 157). The hospitality product is highly personalised with a substantial intangible content judged on experience. Relationship marketing is important for hospitality because the hospitality market with its ongoing and periodic demand in the face of competition presents a greater need for relational efforts and an understanding of the needs of customers. A need for the personal touch exists in hospitality and information technology provides opportunities for using information about customers to deliver the personal touch in novel ways. However, it is important to deliver correctly the CRM effort, based on the right information analytics and using the right channels to make a positive impact for the customer and the hospitality organisation. Despite the fact, that CRM has continued to present a promise of effecting improvements in corporate profitability, performance, customer retention and customer satisfaction, the proper implementation of CRM in an organisation is essential for success (Van Bentum, 2005, Pp. 28). CRM literature not only reports successes, it also reports a large number of failures in situations when well thought ought CRM solutions were not implemented correctly to impact the customer and to benefit an organisation. Thus, it is important to try to find out how the hospitality industry in Edinburgh is effectively making use of CRM in its efforts to compete with destinations from the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and the world. It is far easier to articulate CRM than it is to implement it (Dickinson, 1999, Pp. 11 12). Today, the hospitality industry needs exceptional marketing that has the capacity for delivering the long-term customer who profits the business over time to emerge as a business partner. Thus, it is important to know the right way for CRM in hospitality and to get to know how the winners are making use of this new marketing reality for hospitality. For the small business operator in the hospitality sector, a customer information database that has evolved over time is likely to serve well using personal computers and internet connectivity if business continuity persists. However, for a large luxury hotel chain, resort or hotels involved with hosting and arranging conferences, the equation becomes more complex. In the present day and age, the design of CRM system emphasises linking knowledge management in organisations with CRM to try to enhance operational and strategic efficiencies (Xu, 2005 , Pp. 955 956). Thus, hospitality organisations and businesses must not only try to use CRM implementations effectively, but it must also be ensured that the right CRM implementation is serving an organisation by capturing the right data to perform the right analysis to present the most useful of results. With the passage of time, the lifestyles and preferences of customers change, customers become more demanding, new customers become involved with organisations and the business environment places new demands on businesses. Thus, it is not possible to say that knowledge acquisition for CRM in hospitality will be a once only exercise that will not be required on a continuous basis. A requirement exists for understanding CRM implementations, processes, practices and techniques with a view for making projections for the future to benefit most from this essential and important component of hospitality marketing. 1.2 Rationale for the Study It is important to consider the fundamental reason or reasons serving to account for something, or a statement of reasons when contemplating a research study because such an approach serves to elucidate, the aims of a research project or that which is required to be researched. For this dissertation, rationale for undertaking research into CRM in hospitality industries in Edinburgh is important because this influences the thrust of research into the topic of discussion. Clearly, an understanding of CRM and its implementation is not only of importance to the researcher who intends to make a career in the hospitality management, but it is also important for Edinburgh, Scotland and all destinations with an interest in enlarging and enhancing hospitality and tourism industries. Thus, a research project involving CRM in hospitality will benefit the industry and the place where the research is carried out to present new insights into what hospitality management should aim for in the future. Many of the more successful and ambitious hospitality establishments from around the world have practices in place to manage customer relationships (Lo, 2010, Pp. 139 156) and (Pechruttanamunee, 2008, Pp. 134 142). Not only is it likely that the more traditional forms of CRM will continue to play an important role in the evolution and success of hospitality organizations, but it is also likely that eCRM, which is made possible by advances in computer and communicatio n technologies, will present a new global meaning to marketing for hospitality at a destination. Thus, the right way to deliver, manage and to drive the CRM effort in hospitality will make the difference and is worth researching in depth. 1.3 Significance of the Study An examination of literature available in learned journals and books on the subject suggests that a very large body of published literature is available for CRM in organisations and the number of published research studies on CRM in hospitality is increasing. However, although a keen interest exists in Edinburgh and Scotland for promoting and further enhancing the hard won competitive advantage in hospitality and tourism for this city, little is available in terms of what role CRM plays in hospitality industries in Scotland and how better, more effective CRM strategies may be implemented for greater success. Thus, it is likely that this study will not only serve to add to the knowledge about CRM in hospitality, but it will also serve to highlight and to emphasise the importance of CRM in the hospitality industries of Edinburgh and Scotland. It is very likely that an effort to examine CRM practices and implementations in the hospitality industry in Edinburgh will present new insights and ideas that will be use to all with an interest in the management of hospitality and tourism. 1.4 Purpose and Research Questions The following research questions are of interest in the research presented for this dissertation: What is the thrust of CRM strategies in the hospitality industries of Edinburgh? What impact has CRM made on the hospitality industries in Edinburgh and is it possible to improve or to innovate further? What are the critical factors that influence deployment, development, planning and implementation of CRM in the hospitality industry in Edinburgh? What role does technology play in the delivery and implementation of CRM in the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? How has CRM shaped the corporate culture and vision for the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? What rewards has CRM presented to the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? How has CRM influenced the design and delivery of competitive and superior services for the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? What essential framework for the implementation of CRM has emerged in the hospitality sector for Edinburgh? What is the alignment that characterises CRM success for hospitality industries and businesses in Edinburgh? A literature review that attempts to examine and to present relevant perspectives on the importance of CRM in hospitality industries is in the next chapter. Chapter 2 Review of Relevant Literature and Research In the tourism and hospitality industries in general and the hotel industry in particular, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) becomes important as travellers become more price sensitive, less brand loyal and more sophisticated (Sigala, 2005, Pp. 391 392). In the present day and age, information technologies have made it possible for shoppers to make instant comparisons between hospitality and tourism offerings on websites and this means that it is important to implement CRM efforts to ret to retain customers and to provide them with better than what the competitors offer. The hotel industry around the world in particular is experiencing increased globalisation, competition, higher customer turnover, growing customer acquisition costs and rising customer expectations not only because the financial recession and competition but also because prospective customers can quickly make comparisons. Depending on the nature of hospitality business in which an organisation is involved, proc esses for automated data collection and analysis for influencing engagement with the customers are possible. Ryals (2001, Pp. 531 535) states that CRM in hospitality and service industries is important because efforts directed towards trying to enhance customer relationships pay in terms of offsetting high customer acquisition costs for those customers that use certain types of service offerings frequently. After covering acquisition costs, a stream of profit flows emerges for the previously mentioned customer and the longer a customer stays with a hospitality firm, the higher the profit. Thus, CRM helps to offset acquisition costs and to generate higher profits. In addition, the return from CRM increases even further when satisfied customers refer other potential customers who add to the bottom line for an organisation. Because efforts to develop a relationship with customers have generally positive effects on customers, a relationship with a hospitality organisation has a value for customers who associate with a brand to become price insensitive. The impact of efforts to enhance CRM in hospitality organisations are likely to result in the following (Ryals, 2001, Pp. 535): Long-term retention of selected customers Gathering and integrating information on customers An emphasis on data mining and analysis of customer data An emphasis on customer segmentation in terms of lifetime value Identification and micro-segmentation of markets for types of offerings Efforts towards enhanced customer value creation An emphasis on the delivery of customer value through channels optimised for serving various market segments A shift in emphasis from management of product portfolios to the management of portfolios of customers, resulting in efforts directed towards optimising an organisation to serve better customer segments Sigala (2005, Pp. 409 410) goes further to suggest that profound change in service marketing, including marketing for hospitality and tourism, demands that an emphasis exist for customer retention, customisation of products and customer focused processes that incorporate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for collecting and processing customer data. Processed data is required to deliver customer insights, superior customer relationships and design of superior products and services. The previously mentioned author suggests an integration of ICT, knowledge management and CRM for hotels and the hospitality industry. However, CRM can and does exist in small hospitality and tourism establishments without the implementation of elaborate ICT applications, and it is important to try to have a good fit between the CRM implementation and the business. It is important to understand that with a good fit, the integrated CRM system will present opportunities for improving staff skil ls, competencies, the working environment and services in addition to enhancing customer relationships. The advent of e-commerce has meant that online intermediaries on the web present a threat to hospitality operators because although such intermediaries do present opportunities to customers to select after comparing a number of offerings, they do not always correctly depict the true value of offerings (OConner, 2004, Pp. 474 476). By implementing CRM efforts, hospitality establishments are in direct contact with customers and they can try to sell the value of their offerings to customers with a personal touch that is missing with online intermediaries. To illustrate the point, it is possible to suggest that by mailing a hotel magazine to selected customers who qualify, it will be possible for a hotel to keep customers informed about developments and at the same time to offer new or discounted products to try to maintain and enhance customer interest. In the age of Internet and the World Wide Web, post visit presentations, including magazines or other advertising literature from hosp itality establishments will neither be expensive to deliver nor late in a fast changing world full of new developments. CRM in the hospitality industry has the potential for reducing marketing expenditure and for increasing sales, but it is important to ensure that potential data-ownership dilemmas are in control so that CRM can work optimally at the brand level (OConner, 2004, Pp. 480 481). Effective data mining using artificial intelligence and sophisticated statistical techniques for data analysis on warehoused data is important for CRM, especially for the large hospitality organisations. However, the previously mentioned author suggests that the regional proliferation of Internet and interest in web-based interactions determines how effective eCRM will be when focusing on a region. The developed world with a more prolific proliferation of the Internet is far more suited to eCRM compared to regions in the developing world with limited access to ICT. In addition, large multinatio nal hotel chains must practice and present effective knowledge sharing for international hotel joint ventures (Magnini, 2008, Pp. 249 252). Hence, clearly CRM implementations in hospitality present both risks and opportunities. OConner (2004, Pp. 482) states that the hospitality industry spends millions of dollars on information technology acquisitions every year, but not much published material exists about the management of acquired information technology resources. According to Ozgener (2006, Pp. 1356 1358), senior management commitment and adequate budgets are important for CRM implementations in the hospitality industries. CRM implementations in the small and medium hospitality firms are likely to feel the effects of innovation quality, customer relations, communication-distribution infrastructure and business dynamics. Business dynamics, which refers to change imposed on businesses due to economic, social, technological and environmental change, is important for CRM because it is such change that demands new offerings from businesses to retain customers in the face of competition. Although the smaller hospitality firms will have less to spend on CRM, they are likely to be more interested in having CRM systems because existing customers are far more important to the smaller businesses compared to the larger ones. Thus, within the context of the hospitality industries existing in a city or a region, CRM implementation within small and large h ospitality businesses may vary, depending on the peculiarities of the place. The previously mentioned, together with barriers for the implementation of CRM in hospitality, is likely to be something that will be worth investigating in the small-scale research project for the importance of CRM in Edinburgh. In addition, the more important goals for implementing CRM in hospitality are also worth investigating because the relative reasons for an interest in CRM are likely to differ. It is possible to use CRM systems in hospitality firms for decreasing costs, sustaining competitive advantage, improving customer services, improving customer retention, acquiring new customers or for increasing profits. However, the relative priority reasons for CRM implementation may vary from firm to firm. Oronsky (2007, Pp. 944) suggests that CRM implementations in hospitality industries are not just limited to hotels, resorts, airlines or travel agencies because it is possible for restaurants to benefit from such implementations and a strategic thrust for CRM. The previously mentioned author suggests that chain restaurants and independent full-service restaurants may benefit from information technology and CRM implementations that effectively use IT for engaging customers and better understanding their needs. Within the restaurant sector, information technology has made an impact on the dining experience of customers and the way in which meals are prepared, even though according to the previously mentioned authors, some researchers suggest that the hospitality industry is not technology oriented. However, it is clear that if information technology for implementing CRM systems can benefit large hotel chains, then there is no reason why the same technology cannot benefit chain restaura nts. Oronsky (2007, Pp. 942) states that within the restaurant industry, information technology has the potential for minimising costs, providing support for superior employee and revenue management, enabling analysis of customer preferences and optimising menus for target costs that will appeal more to customers. Thus, despite reservations expressed by some researchers about hospitality not being a technology industry, other researchers suggest that it is likely that more than 50% of the change that will have an impact food service within the hospitality sector will involve technology influences. Thus, it is clear that a potential exists for using information technology and CRM systems within the food service sector in hospitality organisations. According to Oronsky (2007, Pp. 944), customer feedback and analysis of customer needs is as important for restaurants as it is for any other hospitality operation. Like hotels, airlines and tour operators, restaurants too can engage customers using websites and receive comments, feedback, suggestions or survey results presented on the web. For large restaurant chains, it is possible to implement systems for deciding about how well menu items are doing across the entire chain, and it is possible to enhance customer relationships by using imaginative ways, including deal offerings, special promotions, joint offerings with other businesses or offerings related to food events, etc. Thus, clearly technology facilitates information management, knowledge management and engagement with the customer even in the food service sector. In the business environment that prevails today, CRM is as important for airlines as it is for other hospitality industries because serving and having the customer counts and influences the bottom line (Cheng, 2008, Pp. 487 490). CRM is likely to make a difference for airlines in their effort to retain and attract the frequent flyers because relationship marketing emphasises maintaining long-lasting relationships with customers and a significant proportion of airline customers, even during the tough economic times, are business travellers who fly more frequently than tourists do. Thus, it is clear that the character of airline service offers many opportunities for practicing the relationship marketing approach and many airlines do maintain frequent flyer databases that are useful for deciding about customer requirements and for engaging the customer. Because airline operations present a substantial dependence on computers and information technology for reservation systems, schedulin g and maintenance activities, it is quite possible to incorporate effectively CRM implementations as an addition to existing information technology support systems. For airline CRM that delivers results, it is important to ascertain what keeps customers loyal to airlines and how airlines can respond better to offerings presented by competitors (Cheng, 2008, Pp. 488 489). Loyal customers do appreciate rewards for patronage by loyal customers if airlines present competitively priced offerings that are comparable in quality to offerings from competitors. Although, it is very likely that the touch, the thoughtfulness, benefits and the effort will count in CRM for airlines, customers must be satisfied with the price for quality and type of service offerings. Thus, enrolling customers in frequent flyer programs is not a guarantee of customer loyalty because service quality and service recovery policies in case of service disruption are important for frequent flyers. Clearly, a frequent flyer is likely to prefer an airline that checks them into a decent hotel and presents meals instead of leaving them to wait it out in a departure lounge if a substant ial flight delay persists. A balance must exist between rewards for frequent flyers with the care that airlines can offer to such customers who must constantly be on the move to attend to important business matters. In the present day and age, the digital market on the World Wide Web made possible by the Internet is important for airlines, and it is important that airlines lean closer to their customers to try to cut off agents and other intermediaries. In addition, the previously mentioned author suggests that airlines need to emphasise customer orientation, domain expertise, interpersonal relationships, service recovery performance and the judicious use of information technology to make an impact with customers that will result in superior relationship quality. From a customer perspective, domain orientation or the quality of offerings made by an airline and the quality of its employees are of the greatest importance to customers and this means that it is important to tune the CRM system for presenting superior offerings that benefit customers most. 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 The chapter, which follows, presents a discussion about the methodology for this dissertation. Chapter 3 Methodology / Methods Used 3.1 Research Approach for the Thesis 3.2 Preparation of a Literature Review Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Discussion A discussion about the conclusions derived from the results of the literature review and the interviews are in the next chapter. Chapter 6 Conclusion, Recommendations and Suggestions for Further Work Appendix A (This page intentionally left blank)