Importance of persuasion is especially evident in the current debates about COVID-19. In particular, media, experts, and ordinary people compare economic crisis caused by COVID-19 with global financial crisis of 2008 (Estrada & Arturo, 2020). The authorities traditionally prepare for the past, already known downturn. However, the events caused by the pandemic could go in a completely different scenario. The crisis of 2008-2009, although it was structural in nature, did not lead to significant restructuring of the economies (Sogani, 2020). Governments took vigorous anti-crisis measures which did not allow catastrophic consequences, such as the transformation of the economic crisis into a socio-political one. However, in time of the pandemic, downturn acquired structural nature and caused more serious social consequences, changing many social practices. Comparison with crisis of 2008 and attempts to apply similar measures appear to be irrational. The situation today requires agile thinking and careful actions, as, unlike economic downturn and stagnation, coronavirus spreads globally not in a consistent pattern, and even the nearest future is hardly predictable. These crucial issues should be included in the sphere of direct interest of Business administration specialists, as they have to apply all their skills and creativity to help their organizations survive in the current turbulent environment.
Another issue, which is inextricably intertwined with the above, is the necessity and rationality of restrictive measures in frames of quarantine. In most countries affected by the pandemic, restrictive measures contradict the Constitution and the rights of the citizens. The only lawful option to justify these measures is to introduce state of emergency or warfare state. However, it is difficult to be implemented, as voting in Parliament is needed. Still, all countries introduce restrictive measures, which divide society into two camps one group supports these restrictions and even demands to increase them, while others oppose them and organize protests and even acts of civil disobedience.
Restrictions appear to be a cause for tremendous growth of unemployment, bankruptcy of small businesses, and other crucial problems. While healthcare sector representatives advocate for the necessity of strict quarantine, many economists claim that lockdown will put economy into long stagnation. It is difficult not to agree with this opinion, and political consequences should be also considered. While these issues represent entwinement of economic, social, and political issues, Business administration specialists can play significant role in the development of effective solutions for mitigation of lockdown consequences. It is possible due to their ability of applying systemic thinking and deep knowledge of economy systems functioning to the issues of national security on its different planes.
The potential audience for persuasion efforts are state regulatory bodies and national healthcare administrations. Persuasion is most effective when the addressee is interested in obtaining complete and detailed information and strives for its critical analysis. However, the persuasion method is often used in situations of disagreement between people, being the best means of reaching consensus. Successful persuasion leads to the opponents acceptance of new information and, consequently, to a change in the motivational basis of behavior. Therefore, in some social practices, persuasion is considered as a method of influencing the thinking and behavior of a person (Duckworth, 2016). In contrast to such a method of influencing consciousness as suggestion, persuasion is based on a meaningful individuals acceptance of the information transmitted to them, its analysis, and subsequent assessment.
In particular, in debates about restrictive measures connected with COVID-19 pandemic, persuasion skills, especially of experts, politicians, and journalists, appear to be crucially important. Their ability to persuade will ultimately define further vector of society life, economy growth, and political stability, as well as homeland security in general. Definitely, tough restrictive measures, bringing only slight reduction of virus dissemination, lead to catastrophic social and economic consequences. Moreover, they violate the rights of citizens, destabilize political environment, and create a threat to overall homeland security. Thus, it is expedient to eliminate or minimize quarantine restrictive measures.
References
Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner.
COVID-19 pushes companies to quickly change approaches to work and puts the stability of various systems to a severe test. Businesses have to deal with the risks of disruption of continuity, sudden quantitative changes, real-time decision-making, productivity indicators, and security threats. Managers must act very quickly, addressing the immediate challenges of system resilience while laying the foundation for the future of their organizations. Many businesses have been severely affected by the spread of the coronavirus, including the restaurant business. The COVID-19 virus has led to terrible consequences not only for restaurant owners, reducing the number of visitors but also for employees, as many were laid off due to crisis circumstances.
Restaurants are one of the few industries most affected by the pandemic. Many people are used to visiting restaurants, ordering takeaway food, celebrating family, and social celebrations in public catering places. Many of them were forced to close for a while, and some for good, as this type of business ceased to be profitable and profitable. The Restaurant Association claims that in the US, the restaurant industry ended 2020 with a total sales volume of $240 billion below the pre-pandemic season ( State of the restaurant industry report measures virus impact on business, 2021). Currently, business people who have suspended the operation of restaurants during the pandemic, but did not close it, are looking for ways to earn money, even in a crisis.
The suspension or closure of restaurants has put many people out of work. It is disappointing that even if the restaurant is re-launched after the pandemic, not everyone will get their jobs back. Kochhar and Barosso argue that in 2020 in the United States, the number of applications for unemployment insurance increased by 3 million in one week (Factank, 2020). These statistics mean that an incredible number of people have suffered from unemployment, and now it will be challenging to find a new job where their skills will be needed.
In conclusion, the coronavirus has caused irreparable damage not only to businesses but also to many peoples lives. In order to restore at least a small part of the past habitual life, it takes a lot of time and patience. Currently, people need to adapt, and they need to look for new jobs and think about how profitable it is to maintain a business that does not generate income.
References
Kochhar, R., and Barroso, A. (2020). Young workers likely to be hard hit as COVID-19 strikes a blow to restaurants and other service sector jobs. Factank. Web.
State of the restaurant industry report measures virus impact on business. (2021). National Restaurant Association. Web.
The coronavirus pandemic is a global phenomenon that literally shut down businesses and forced people to stay locked indoors for fear of contracting the virus. Subsequently, the pandemic was a rude awakening for institutions without any disaster management strategies as most of them were forced to close their doors and declare bankruptcy. Compared to these organizations, Walmart, one of the largest consumer retail companies in the US, faced a different set of issues because the virus had unprecedented implications for the organizations business. Although Walmart was not prepared for a disaster of such magnitude, it leveraged its resources and the collective minds of its brilliant leadership and stakeholders to regain stability and meet consumer needs. Therefore, this report features a case study on Walmart because of the unique strategies the organization adopted to mitigate its business from the impact of the virus in the face of diversities.
Walmart is one of the worlds most established organizations, operating hypermarkets in thousands of locations globally. As a result, the organization controls substantial amounts of resources and handles transactions worth billions daily (Bhatti et al., 2020). On that account, setbacks that impact the global business landscape have a devastating destructive potential on internationally established organizations like Walmart. The retailers online product sales jumped by 74% during the first three months of the pandemic because more people were locked indoors and preferred having their goods delivered right to their doorstep (Sheth, 2020). Moreover, many people adopted panic spending habits, allowing them to over-purchase essential items like toilet rolls and supplies, thus interfering with the organizations stocked inventory.
Therefore, contrary to other business owners who lost most of their customers, Walmart experienced a significant upsurge in business activity, which came close to overwhelming its supply chain and logistics setup. Additionally, the virus contributed to significant issues in product production and distribution due to market imbalance and a shift in consumers purchasing products as more consumers opted to purchase products online and preferred door-to-door deliveries. However, ensuring the health and safety of its personnel was one of the unique challenges the organization faced since the virus posed a critical risk to its employees, who occasionally interacted with people, thus impacting the organizations labor force (Sulaiman et al., 2020). Fortunately, its leadership committee embarked on several resolutions to protect shareholders investment.
Some of the strategies the organization leaders proposed and adopted to secure its business environment include purchasing brands like Jet.com to leverage their power and resources, opening up new stores, implementing an emergency leave policy across all its institutions for workers, and limiting the number of hours individuals shopped in their stores. Despite being effective, providing its 1.4 million workers with paid leave that could extend for more than 26 weeks in case of illness and limiting the number of shopping hours was met with significant criticism by the formal authority since it would limit the organizations revenue and returns (Nassauer, 2020). However, most stakeholders, especially employees and retailers, agreed that the measures were critical to prevent the spread of the infection and allow all employees to deliver on their objectives as required.
Recommended Strategies to Resolve Associated Dilemmas
The main source of conflicts in the adopted strategies to mitigate the organization against the impact of the pandemic is the increased worker leave plan and shutting down stores. Nonetheless, the ideas are not openly welcomed by all parties because they go against the interests of investors who deem the organization more stable with more cash flow and financial resources. Thus a reliable approach to negotiating and resolving this conflict is allowing ideas from both sides to be heard so that they can agree on a solution that will benefit both parties (Jang et al., 2018). For instance, workers should be asked about their take on abolishing the leave policies and whether they could compromise and work for extended periods when not on leave. On the other hand, leaders in the administration should acknowledge the opinions of all shareholders and consider revising their leave policies. For example, providing individuals on leave with a certain percentage and not the full amount of their hourly wages can reduce the total expenditure on the program. Similarly, decentralizing Walmarts business structure can assist the organization in achieving harmony since it will designate planning responsibilities to managers and administrators in various regions (Jang et al., 2018). As such, the organization will be able to operate its stores for limited periods in areas severely impacted by the virus and open as usual in other areas.
Conclusion
The coronavirus pandemic came as a setback to business organizations worldwide. However, some organizations were quick to adapt and continue with activities despite facing aggravated challenges. Walmart is a perfect example of one such organization because it experienced implications that were different from any other. Apart from its supply chain disruption, the organization received an unusual number of customers and had to acknowledge the health risks posed to its workers. As a result, its leaders sought to reduce store service hours and provide employees with paid leaves, among other resolutions that produced mixed reactions between shareholders, investors, and employees. However, this report recommends bringing together shareholders, leadership, and all representatives to agree on a middle-ground or decentralization to allow regional control over organizations. Eventually, the organization will identify an approach that maximizes benefits for all involved parties.
References
Bhatti, A., Akram, H., Basit, H. M., Khan, A. U., Raza, S. M., & Naqvi, M. B. (2020). E-commerce trends during COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Future Generation Communication and Networking, 13(2), 1449-1452.
Sheth, J. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior: Will the old habits return or die?. Journal of business research, 117, 280-283.
Sulaiman, M. A. B. A., Ahmed, M. N., & Shabbir, M. S. (2020). Covid-19 challenges and human Resource management in organized retail operations. Utopia y Praxis Latinoamericana, 25(Esp. 12), 81-92.
Jang, D., Elfenbein, H. A., & Bottom, W. P. (2018). More than a phase: Form and features of a the general theory of negotiation. Academy of Management Annals, 12(1), 318-356.
The COVID-19 pandemic had far reaching implications on the global economy. The air travel industry is arguably the most affected from the crisis as traveling was halted by the measures put in place to curb its spreading. Ryanair is a major industry player whose stability and performance were negatively impacted by pandemic due to low revenue generation. Financial reports on the companys performance indicate that the company suffered a record loss of £ 702 million in the recently concluded financial year. Following the setback there is need for revival and revitalization of the company in the post COVID-19 era. The following recommendations were made for the recovery of Ryanair.
Implementation of cos effective strategies including use of larger air crafts that are more economical.
Focus on leisure and social travel
Re-evaluation of the companys pricing logic
Venture into the booming cargo transportation niche
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic was a great disruption for business across the world. Other than the visible social impact, the pandemic resulted in unprecedented economic damages that threatened the survival of major businesses (Craven et al.,2020). Measures to curb the spread of the pandemic such as travel advisories and lockdowns were a major setback especially to the travel industry (Kökény et al. 2021; Chang et al., 2021). The sector hit its bottom low due to a rapid drop in traveling volume and a decline in stock prices (Ramelli & Wagner 2020; Bucsky, 2020). In order to have a speedy recovery and bounce back from the impacts of COVID-19, organizations must re-evaluate and reimagine their business model. Industry players, who will adapt faster, take on resulting opportunities, and effectively handle challenges are expected to be better off placed to succeed and accommodate the needs of the new normal. This report focuses on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the air travel industry with a focus on Ryanair and gives strategic recommendations for the company to effectively bounce back in the post-Covid 19 business environment.
Literature Review
Effect of the high magnitude crises on the Air travel industry
The air travel industry is characterized by a high degree of uncertainties and economic risks making it one of the most delicate industries to venture into. Numerous reports indicate that the airline industry has for a long time been characterized by financial turmoil, with a good number of airline companies entering the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and employees subjected to remuneration cuts. Following the continued financial troubles major airlines were forced to reduce their domestic capacity in response to the financial crisis (Simpson, 2006). An analysis of literature however reveals that the majority of studies in relation to previous crises on air travel focus on the 9/11 attack. According to studies, the 9/11 attack had a global effect on the air travel industry pushing it into financial meltdown. Before the attack, the United States airline industry had registered profitability in 24 financial quarters (Blunk et al.,2006). According to Blunk et al., the industry reported a total of $7.9 billion as net profits in 2001. In the same period, the Federal Aviation Administrations reports showed that the daily average seat availability in the industry was 2.64 million. This was, however, during the economic recession that was experienced at the beginning of early 2000.
However, following the 9/11 attack, the industrys performances fall drastically to a tune of 20 % in comparison to the status in the previous year at such a period (September December). Recovery efforts for the industry followed but the industry failed to replicate its earlier performance four years after the crisis. According to Simpson (2006) in spite of the recovery, the industry failed to match its previous record on average seat availability. In 2005 the industry reported a daily seat availability of 2.31 million. In response to the reduced demand for air travel majority of the airlines resorted to cutbacks for survival. Cost reduction was the number one strategy applied to deal with the situation and to avoid loss incidences. In line with the cost reduction strategy, capacity for major carriers was reduced to cut costs, improving the airlines pricing power. According to Albers and Rundshagen,( 2020), air travel companies reduced the number of flights on specific routes and also ditched large planes that were costly and high on fuel consumption in favor of smaller planes. The strategy to reduce capacity resulted in a limited supply of seats which in turn increased demand giving the airline companies the leverage to increase prices; thus profitability.
Discussion
Ryanair, just like other major airline companies has had negative implications as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Financial reports on the companys performance indicate that the company suffered a record loss of £ 702 million in the recently concluded financial year (Sillars, 2021). This was majorly due to applied measures to curb the health impacts of COVID-19 and the safety concerns of the majority of travelers. The companys passenger level dropped by 81 percent to only 27.5 million indicating massive revenue loss during the period. The company was kept afloat by government schemes while employees had to accept pay cuts (Garcia, 2021). According to Bouwer et al. (2021), the airline sector is expected to struggle at least until 2024. Unlike the 2008 Global financial crisis that was purely touching on the economy resulting in the weakening of consumers spending power, the COVID-19 has been unique and has had more profound impacts on the industry as it has impacted consumer behavior in addition to the economic aspect of it.
The response of airline companies in previous crises could offer a great framework on how to bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Bouwer et al. (2021) business trips greatly reduced as a result of the 911 attack and the 2008 global financial crisis and took long before full resumption (Hotle, &Mumbower, 2021; De Haas et al.2020) On the other hand, social and leisure trips rebounded quickly and the same is expected in the case of the pre-COVID era (Orîndaru et al., 2021). While this set of travelers does not lead to profitability, the revenue generated is sufficient to cover part of the companys fixed costs. Generally, the airline industry responded to previous crises by effectively responding to specific shifts and gradually bounced back to robustness.
Recommendations
The four major strategic areas of focus during the post-COVID-19 era include revenue recovery, revitalizing of key organizational operations, rethinking of the organization in general, and integration of digital solutions in the business operations. In other terms, Ryanair should move towards the Cost- leadership strategy to bounce back and succeed in the post-COVID-19 era. An analysis of previous crisis reveal that after the pandemic high revenues generating corporate trips will take considerable longer periods of time to pick up and thus focus should be turned to social and leisure travel (Iacus et al.,2020). As such, the company should re-evaluate the economics of its current operations to suit the situation at hand. The company should evaluate its pricing mechanism, networks, and crafts used in the operations. The reduction of corporate travel in favor of leisure travel demands for side-lining of shorter flights and small-sized crafts such as the Boeing 787. Instead, the company should shift focus to large airbuses that are economical and favored by the price-sensitive social and leisure travelers. This is to cut down unit costs that otherwise be incurred when small-bodied crafts were to be used.
Secondly, Ryanair should embrace collaboration with other international airline companies to facilitate the connection of flights for customers traveling to various destinations that could be unreachable at the moment due to route cancellations. The company should also consider investing in IT specifically in automation to increase customer experience, foster efficiency, and convenience. Lastly, due to the drop in passenger service, Ryanair should capitalize on the booming cargo transportation to boost its revenues and become the leader in this particular niche.
Conclusion
The COVID- 19 pandemic had major negative impacts on the social aspect of humanity and even greater undesirable impacts on the economy. Measures to curb the spread and health effects of the virus including lockdowns travel advisories, and social distancing pushed the air travel industry to its knees. However, companies must move with speed to implement recovery strategies or risk imminent collapse. Literature on previous crises indicates that the air travel industry has always bounced back after such a crisis by adapting effectively responding to specific shifts in the busses environment. Therefore, Ryanair should embrace change and respond immediately to the shifts brought about by the pandemic to bounce back to its previous glamour.
Reference List
Albers, S. and Rundshagen, V., (2020). European airlines2 strategic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of air transport management, 87, p.101863.
Blunk, S.S., Clark, D.E. and McGibany, J.M., 2006. Evaluating the long-run impacts of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on US domestic airline travel. Applied economics, 38(4), pp.363-370.
Bucsky, P., 2020. Modal share changes due to COVID-19: The case of Budapest. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 8, p.100141.
Chang, C.L., McAleer, M. and Ramos, V., 2020. A charter for sustainable tourism after COVID-19.
Craven, M., Liu, L., Mysore, M. and Wilson, M., 2020. COVID-19: Implications for business. McKinsey & Company, pp.1-8.
De Haas, M., Faber, R. and Hamersma, M., 2020. How COVID-19 and the Dutch intelligent lockdown change activities, work and travel behaviour: Evidence from longitudinal data in the Netherlands. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 6, p.100150.
Garcia, M. (2021) Ryanair Plots Fare War As Coronavirus Recovery Tool, But That Tactic Might Make Things Worse. Web.
Hotle, S. and Mumbower, S., 2021. The impact of COVID-19 on domestic US air travel operations and commercial airport service. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 9, p.100277.
Kökény, L., Kenesei, Z., and Neszveda, G., 2021. Impact of COVID-19 on different business models of European airlines. Current Issues in Tourism, pp.1-17.
Iacus, S.M., Natale, F., Santamaria, C., Spyratos, S. and Vespe, M., 2020. Estimating and projecting air passenger traffic during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and its socio-economic impact. Safety Science, 129, p.104791.
Orîndaru, A., Popescu, M.F., Alexoaei, A.P., Cescu, .C., Florescu, M.S. and Orzan, A.O., 2021. Tourism in a Post-COVID-19 Era: Sustainable Strategies for Industrys Recovery. Sustainability, 13(12), p.6781.
Ramelli, S. and Wagner, A.F., 2020. Feverish stock price reactions to COVID-19. The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, 9(3), pp.622-655.
The researcher seeks to assess the influence of covid-19 restrictions on Australia’s population to determine the effects on public transportation compared to pre-covid use of this transport mechanism.
Background
Since its onset, Australia has been aggressive in managing community propagation of the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming for government supervision of the pandemic effect. While prompt implementation of appropriate public health measures to stem the outbreak of COVID-19 benefited Australia, the pandemic’s consequences on citizens’ everyday lives and the places in which they live have caused dramatic changes as more industries tuned to businesses with an online faction as opposed to physical shops (5). While it adversely affects the public transportation network, covid-19 restrictions have reduced the mortality rate and reduced the number of people affected by the illness. In reaction to epidemiology and infections in the state at the time, provincial governments implemented emergency public health authorities. The prohibitions on people’s freedom to move locally, within Australia, and globally altered quickly. People were supposed to get up-to-date guidance by visiting government computers, which had a patchwork of varying occurrences around Australia (5). Only a relaxation of COVID-19 containment regulations and administration financial backing will allow the transportation industry to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
Current Knowledge
The government remains unsure of its stance concerning covid-19 restrictions as the Australian public may be severely affected if travel bans and other restrictions continue well into the future. Covid-19 has created many issues in different sectors across a country’s economy (5).
Statement of Relevance
Public transportation is seen as a cesspool of illnesses, and the virus has resulted in the shrinking transportation industry. It is important to note the behavior and trends of Australian citizens based on how they interact with restrictions. Using the Australian continent provides a clearer picture of countries with relatively few ways one can leave or enter the country. In this instance, travel restrictions adversely affected citizens as the government found it easier to implement restrictions than in other countries such as Europe.
While diseases are not unprecedented, this exceptional period of revolutionary change in the linked digital era presents a unique setting to analyze how people’s expectations and ambitions shift in the aftermath of a severe negative worldwide upset like the COVID-19 pandemic (1). The impact of pandemics on people’s daily lives strongly affects mobility. People and communities have impacted their lives as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, whether it was the death of a loved one, a career, or a feeling of normality, which requires more investigation. Recognizing the impact, not just in the near term but also on people’s long-term thinking, is essential for sustainable epidemiological response competence and awareness.
COVID-19-related restrictions have different effects depending on the method of transportation. The state government has enacted several severe measures to combat the virus’s transmission in Australia, including social distance, community gathering bans, lockdowns, and quarantine rules (6). People work from home and do their tasks. Travel routines, like other behaviors, are notoriously difficult to break. Environmental signals can come to trigger the activity with next to no conscious awareness, and well-practiced activities require minimal attention (1). Restrictions on travel and cautions connected with the advent of emerging infectious diseases, such as outbreaks of contagious diseases, are one form of transportation disturbance.
The epidemic has substantially impacted commuters’ daily travel habits and mobility behavior. There are fears that some people who utilize public transportation will be more motivated to drive (7). Ridership on public transit, in particular, has reached an all-time low. People avoid public transportation because they fear contracting the illness (3). In metropolitan regions, overcrowded public transportation is considered a concern for viral propagation. Instead, people are opting for personal autos, bicycles, or even walking as their principal forms of transportation.
In particular, the emergence of cycling as an alternative for safer mobility may have long-term implications for green transport policy. Moreover, people are reluctant to participate in activities outside of the home, and the demand for telecommuting has increased (6). Easing lockdown measures and restarting the economy will lead to more people on the streets, riding buses, trams, subways, cars, and other modes of transport. In general, the higher the mobility, the greater the economic activity and human interactions.
Methods
The study uses quantitative data methods, employing a survey gathered from the Sydney region in Australia. Using a Pearson correlation coefficient to determine the strength of connection and direction it exhibits (8). A quantitative study helps develop an accurate notion of the people’s sentiment concerning public transportation using data to accentuate that covid-19 restrictions restructured our societies. Many countries have deviated from using physical shops and are continually employing online shopping. It entails conducting an online survey to illustrate whether current measures reduce the risk of contracting covid-19. The method is cheaper and takes less time as individuals can conduct the interviews conveniently. The primary analysis consists of studying a sample of interviewed people in Sydney, Australia. The ratio of people interviewed is the outcome measure of the study. The eligibility criterion for the subject is a summary of the questions created to interview people who agreed to be interviewed about transportation during COVID-19.
Surveys are inexpensive as using polls provides the chance for self-administered testing. In this instance, it is a crucial concept as the researcher utilizes technology to gain information using online surveys. In this way, the researcher discerns they can generate large volumes of information from a major demographic within a short period. Therefore, surveys indicate a practical solution for gathering data. The study will utilize polls to develop an accurate notion of sentiment within the area.
The study began with a poll of 300 persons in Sydney, Australia, who were recruited through the business community and social networks. A total of 156 people said yes when asked whether they would be prepared to participate in a survey. For four months, 90 of the initial 156 members from various Australian states completed online surveys provided via Google forms. Respondents had to be 18 years old or older, live in Australia, and have indicated that they had a chronic condition in the original survey.
The poll questions were semi-structured, with prompts focusing on social distancing, public transit, cleaning and sanitizing control conditions, going home, official guidelines on lack of familiarity, changes to everyday life with public transport services, weakness to COVID-19, influence on physical wellbeing, feeling comfortable, impact on quality of life, and the chance of disease in one’s society.
The researcher employed digital tagging to attribute themes that emerged and construct a usable database out of the initial notebook. In this instance, a person’s orientation towards public transport in light of a deadly pandemic was analyzed using the polls. The researcher sought patterns in reports to determine the connection between the sample population. Through absorption with the poll transcriptions, return to and engrossment in the digital files as required, and institution of connections between guidelines to create themes that emerged, the debate of links to understand the critical publications on prospective dreams and aspirations grouped across dozens of polls, an inductive approach was used.
Many individuals have shifted from using public transportation and opt to either walk or use their vehicles (4). Online shopping has risen tremendously as more people use these services and propagate the industry to new heights. This is a long-term shift in behavioral patterns towards using public transport. Car manufacturers are focused on developing self-driving vehicles as the covid-19 restrictions led to an uncertain atmosphere (4).
To mitigate the negative repercussions, authorities should offer funds to transportation service providers to sustain transportation supply while also observing social distancing procedures in cars to minimize overcrowding. Characterizing the epidemic risk, prioritizing the actions to be performed, and identifying current gaps in the existing campaign in the transportation industry are all required (5). Controlling the spread of the virus needs rules like wearing facemasks, verifying the temperature of passengers, and cleaning them before entering the vehicle (6). They infer from evaluating the findings of many polls that the current situation of the country’s transportation industry would not change though in the post-COVID-19 period without effective government action.
Road congestion concentrations in cities are decreasing, with various sound side effects. One beneficial result is a reduction in traffic safety issues. With fewer automobiles on the road, potential benefits such as reduced pollution and noise are realized (4). Due to decreased economic growth for extended durations, carbon dioxide emissions will be erased from the environment throughout the epidemic.
Finally, it is crucial to note the extent of behavioral shifts that Australian residents face due to covid-19 restrictions. Nonetheless, the researcher will confirm with each patient that conducting the study is a voluntary task where the researcher has explained the results will be used for academic purposes. The researcher will hide participant names and is the only party privy to such sensitive information. Participants have the right to leave the study for any reason whatsoever as it is voluntary, and they may refrain from answering any question they feel uncomfortable dealing with.
Potential Impact
Daily operations such as making connections to their employment, schools, residences, and other critical services rely on public transportation. The vital necessity to maintain physical distance and adopt safety and sanitary procedures impact these services’ capacity. Like all other countries, the Australian government recommended residents avoid nonessential travel for unnecessary things and reasons (2). As a result, there has been a significant drop in private automobiles and public transportation usage.
Pre-COVID-19 travel habits and behavior of public transport passengers in Australia must be studied and investigated. This will estimate the number of probable users, and measures may be made to accommodate them accordingly. The shutdown scenario must be assessed at the following stage. As a result, public transportation utilization has decreased significantly, and it is now only used for critical functions (7). The majority of services continued to run at the same speed as before COVID-19. Steps like boarding from the back and alighting were included to assure the driver and customers’ security and safety. In Australia, these limitations and the fear of contracting the virus from a fellow passenger limited the use of public transportation.
Assessing public reception of covid-19 restrictions based on their economic output plays a major role in propagating effective economic policies to address current issues. Australians gradually stopped using public transportation due to the risk of contracting covid-19. While this illustrates a tendency toward renewed rapid growth in costs linked with burning more fossil fuels, determining the impact could lead to further studies seeking to gauge how governments can make public transport safe. Such research may help alleviate commonly transmitted illnesses in public spaces.
Reference List
Arellana, J.; Márquez, L.; Cantillo, V. COVID-19 Outbreak in Colombia: An Analysis of Its Impacts on Transport Systems. J. Adv. Transp. 2020, 2020, 8867316.
Australian Government. 3-Step Framework for a COVIDSafe Australia. Web.
Budd, L.; Ison, S. Responsible Transport: A post-COVID agenda for transport policy and practice. Transp. Res. Interdiscip. Perspect. 2020, 6, 100151.
Hensher, D.A.; Wei, E.; Beck, M.; Balbontin, C. The impact of COVID-19 on cost outlays for car and public transport commuting-The case of the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area after three months of restrictions. Transp. Policy 2021, 101, 71–80.
Huang, J.; Wang, H.; Fan, M.; Zhuo, A.; Sun, Y.; Li, Y. Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on transportation-related behaviors with human mobility data. In Proceedings of the 26th ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining, San Diego, CA, USA, 2020; pp. 3443–3450.
Gössling, S.; Scott, D.; Hall, C.M. Pandemics, tourism and global change: A rapid assessment of COVID-19. J. Sustain. Tour. 2020, 29, 1–20.
Liu, L.; Miller, H.J.; Scheff, J. The impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on public transit demand in the United States. PLoS ONE 2020, 15, e0242476.
Nettleton, D., 2014. Commercial Data Mining: Processing, analysis and modeling for Predictive Analytics Projects, Morgan Kaufmann.
The business news reviews the situation around the luxury hotels in Chicago that is taking place due to COVID-19, also known as coronavirus. It is stated that the luxury properties, the Park Hyatt and Peninsula, could be the first among plenty of hotels that close because the pandemic has led to customers’ absence (Ecker, 2020). The hospitality market is facing substantial hardships caused by COVID-19.
The Park Hyatt and Peninsula hotels claimed that public health concerns force them to close their doors. The mentioned actors of the hospitality industry are the first properties that were affected by coronavirus to the extent to make a decision of closure. The Park Hyatt will not be working until April 30; the Peninsula will not be operating until further notice (Ecker, 2020). It might be assumed that the hotels are following the highest principle of their clients’ and employees’ safety.
Unfortunately, these closures only add the list of suspended businesses because the governments of the United States are striving to restrain the spread of coronavirus. A plethora of hotels in Chicago had to fire many staff members as their occupancy rates are substantially low. According to the representatives of big hotel chains, the described situation is the only beginning of upcoming difficulties in the industry because plenty of hotels simply cannot pay to their employees. There are even proposals, according to which the government is to interfere in the market to provide help by giving necessary resources in order to reduce layoffs (Ecker, 2020). It should also be mentioned that many Chicago hotels have faced colossal revenue losses in March if to compare with the same period last year.
Relevance and Impact
The information given above might be considered as the major news story as all the facts related to the consequences of COVID-19 has the greatest extent of relevance now. Currently, coronavirus has a significant impact on every aspect of activities, not allowing people to adhere to their settled routine. Almost all entrepreneurs claim that they suffer from the situation in which the world is put – borders are closed, movement is restricted, and the opportunity to gain profits is hindered. Then, many businesses are running out of ideas regarding the issue of how to organize their supply models in such severe conditions.
It is hard to foresee what the situation around big companies will look like within the next few months. However, analysts state that the prognosis is disappointing, and the circumstances will get worse. It seems reasonable to mention that restaurants in Chicago are facing the same disruption as hotels (Barker, 2020) – again, the hospitality market is among the most vulnerable industries to COVID-19. Today, the effects of coronavirus seem inevitable, harsh, and long-standing.
Governments are doing their best to prevent the spreading of this tragedy, and the most prominent scientists and research centers are looking for a solution to the problem. The latter requires significant financial support, which reduces the possibility of providing resources to the hospitality sector. It should be emphasized that the described news is of the same tenor with the ones depicting the circumstances in other industries. This fact allows assuming that the article provided by Ecker (2020) is directly related to the most major and relevant theme now.
What is more, the above facts will impact existing businesses to a significant extent, leading to noticeable shifts and changes in the market. It might be apparent that the movement restrictions result in the diminished flow of tourists and people on a business trip. Due to the latter fact, the reduced occupation is taking place, as well as reduced incomes. Top managers are developing new and unique strategies, trying to save at least the minor part of expected profits.
It might be supposed that there is no hotel in the world today that has not been threatened with the visible possibility of layoffs. A lot of hotel personnel cannot obtain their promised salaries because, in many states, the current period is associated with a sizable number of customers. It seems that there is no obvious way to affect and change the situation for the better. The stable flow of clients is impossible when such an emergency takes place in a country.
It seems essential to notice that COVID-19 stroke the United States suddenly, which affected even the present customer pool in hotels. Many people had to cancel their trips right after they heard the breaking news about coronavirus and the actions that the government recommended to undertake. Self-isolation cannot be considered as a favorable condition for any segment of the hospitality industry. Hence, the closure of the Hyatt Park and Peninsula hotels is just the first step of mass hotel-closing both in Chicago and the whole country. It will definitely harm the economy of the US, but the solution has not appeared yet. Nevertheless, it is vital to conduct continuous strategic research in order to distinguish the best way to overcome the relevant business obstacles.
Links With Management Theory
It might be assumed that the discussed business news is connected with the management theory via the driving change and social aspects. As mention above, the industry is being influenced by COVID-19, which should be considered as force majeure that results in ample market shifts. Thus, coronavirus is a condition that may be defined as a driving change factor, accent on which was made in the article. “The closures add to the long list of businesses shutting their doors as governments across the country try to contain the spread of COVID-19” (Ecker, 2020, para. 6).
It means that this factor is causing a strain in the business both at the federal and national levels, affecting the entire world similarly. Hence, coronavirus is an undoubtful driving-change element that is to be investigated within the scope of management theory when one decides to develop or adapt business strategy today.
The social factor also has a significant weight in the framework of strategic management impacted by COVID-19. The society is reasonably afraid of the illness as it may lead to even lethal results. People are trying to reduce their movement and refrain from any unnecessary trips. Hence, hotels are losing even potential customers, not speaking of the ones leaving their rooms and asking for a refund due to force majeure from which the country is suffering. Moreover, hotels that consider the social factor as a core of their policy, caring about clients’ needs – which is typical for big chains, such as Hyatt – tend to satisfy such requests. Thus, it seems rational to conclude that the driving change and social aspects serve as a connection of the above business news with management theory.
Value Chain Analysis
It seems reasonable to claim that the top management of Hyatt has always been pursuing the purpose of perfect site selection. Since its foundation in 1957, the Hyatt team has built about 900 properties in 60 countries, which allows stating that Hyatt is a full-scale transnational company (About Hyatt, no date). Locations of these properties are almost always besides water – an ocean, sea, or river – which provides customers with an exciting and beautiful view (Hotels & Resorts, no date). Then, it seems that the company effectively governs lineup of hotel locations as it has properties in big resort cities – it means that Hyatt always has significant demand for its services. Finally, Hyatt is a five-star luxury hotel chain that has great design and construction. Clients have never left dissatisfied reviews on the latter aspects.
The chain gives its customers vital services within the scope of reservation affairs. The assistance is available 24/7 and ready to help with any occurred issue. Although Hyatt has quite high rates of occupation, it is relatively easy to book a room at any time of year as the hotels are expensive and rarely have no rooms to offer. The properties operate coherently and harmoniously due to an efficient management approach, providing opportunities for various activities – starting from the spa and ending with tennis.
Moreover, Hyatt has remarkably developed its support activities, which contributes to coherent inner business processes. The company has a sophisticated accounting system – it is evident from Hyatt’s transparent reports on investment affairs and documentation available via the official website (About Hyatt, no date). The hiring and training approach might also be characterized as notable because the company provides great career opportunities and hires employees of diverse races, skills, and knowledge. Hyatt has its own significant training program for the staff, as well as corporate responsibility.
The firm has an established and well-known brand that is quite popular around the world. Hence, it does not have a strict necessity to conduct a drastic advertising company – the chain makes a few advertisements during a high-occupation season via central TV channels and social media. However, Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO of Hyatt, has a relatively low CEO approval rating – 63/100 (Hyatt’s Competitors, no date). For instance, according to Hyatt’s Competitors (no date), Arne Sorenson, President and CEO of Marriot – the main Hyatt’s rival, has the following rating – 90/100.
SWOT Analysis
Hyatt has developed a notable approach that indicates the continuous implementation of innovations in its inner and external processes. It contributes to high-quality service providing, as well as to choosing great locations for properties. Top brand reputation and qualified staff are also among the considerable strengths of the chain. Then, Hyatt has many opportunities to even improve its performance, such as personnel exchange between the branches, franchising, and more advertisement and promotion.
However, Hyatt has a number of weaknesses that might be considered substantial. The chain depends too much on luxury and provides customers with the inflexible choice of rooms and services – everything is critically expensive. Additionally, Hyatt demonstrates a great extent of expenditures, which reduces its incomes; such a policy seems irrational as the chain exists in severe global competition. Finally, Hyatt is currently put in an unfavorable business situation due to COVID-19. Other threats might be economic crises and the steal of its technological data.
Industry’s Key Success Factors
It should be stated that the crucial success factors in the hotel industry have constantly been changing with the flow of time. Nowadays, the market cannot be rationally assessed out of the scope of international competition and noticeable policies of rivals; hence, the first key success element is a global outlook (Thompson, no date). Tourists have open access to the Internet and search, evaluate, and compare the quality of services of different hotels.
It is vital to have an appropriate vision of how the industry functions at the international level and be able to conduct continuous investigations in this regard. It contributes to a chain’s ability to adapt its strategy to relevant trends and needs, which is another key success element called flexibility (Thompson, no date). The latter might also be perceived from the angle of providing authority to managers to make critical decisions as they know current clients’ requirements best.
Then, a client is always looking for a hotel that has beautiful surroundings and views. Thus, location is the second element to remain successful in the industry (Thompson, no date). Another factor that is directly related to the latter is the construction of a hotel. The better properties are built, the more customers tend to choose such an accommodation to stay. The ones making accent on these two factors usually gain a solid reputation and popularity, which leads to the status of a luxury chain.
The organization of service-providing also plays a significant role in the hotel market. Quality management provided by experienced employees results in customers’ satisfaction and their loyalty (Thompson, no date). Nevertheless, the development of diversified training programs for personnel might be considered a key success factor too. Continuous staff improving via lectures, seminars, and mobility contributes to their confidence and qualification, which, in turn, leads to better interactions with a client. Top managers are to take into account the listed factors if they want their chain to remain profitable, recognizable, and successful.
PESTEL Analysis
Being a luxury and top brand chain, Hyatt is not affected by political changes substantially as the properties are located mostly in safe countries in this regard. Economic issues that impact Hyatt are recession, inflation, and global tax increases. Keeping in mind Hyatt’s outstanding reputation, it is relatively easy to obtain a loan for Hyatt. Then, the chain should take into account various people’s lifestyles and societies’ cultural peculiarities as Hyatt is located worldwide.
The world is constantly improving in technology regard, so as competitors; hence, Hyatt needs continuous technological development and investments, as well as sharing techniques between branches. Ecological issues affecting the chain are as follows: global warming, the trend to use environment-friendly technologies, and pollution increasing. The most crucial legal external aspects are strong regulatory bodies, complicated visa procedures, and continuous laws changing.
Strategy for Changing the Game
Hyatt has faced a harsh business situation that threatens the further stability of the company. Thus, it is essential to undertake a number of principal and compromising actions. COVID-19 is affecting many of Hyatt’s rivals that suffer from the lack of clients so as the firm. It seems reasonable to state that there are no issues of competitiveness in the market now – there is rather a problem of simply surviving.
The chains need new industry opportunities and mitigation of risks to their businesses. Hence, these common reasons allow assuming that Hyatt can enter into a strategic alliance with some of its competitors. For example, it may cooperate with the Peninsula at the local level in Chicago. They may develop a new saving policy and make a report on substantial threats to the industry and present them to the municipal government in order to request financial support. Moreover, these firms are pursuing a similar pivotal goal of keeping their personnel and clients safe and secure.
The mentioned strategic alliance also may contribute to the development of the management process during the period of coronavirus and quarantine. The properties might exchange their staff and implement something kind of bundling strategy regarding salaries. They may negotiate the issue of the current lack of money and reduce their wages temporarily. Instead, employees will be provided with the opportunity to have an internship in respectful partner properties, which will contribute to their professional development. It should be emphasized that a strategic alliance and productive partnership might be the only rational decision in the present business conditions. Companies involved in the industry are to be careful with being absolutely independent and with conducting risky and unsafe strategies.
Paradigm and the Cultural Web
It might be supposed that Hyatt has a significant cultural web that results in a healthy working environment and an impeccable reputation. The company has many stories that indicate the fact that Hyatt includes a philanthropic element in its culture. Among the latest related activities are: facilitating good hygiene with Hyatt Regency Mumbai, protecting Wild Elephants with Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok, and preserving the Batiquitos Lagoon with Park Hyatt Aviara (About Hyatt, no date). Then, Hyatt has a quite popular logo that is associated with first-class hotels, luxury, and comfort, as well as high prices.
The chain is governed by the President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Hoplamazian, and the Board of Directors elected by the stockholders. They are the most powerful structures of Hyatt that do not merely govern the business but direct employees, allowing them to make independent decisions to the exact extent (Corporate governance guidelines, 2018).
According to Corporate governance guidelines (2018), the Board establishes the following organizational structures, or committees: Audit, Talent and Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance, and Finance. Furthermore, the company has a transparent control system that measures personnel activities. Hyatt prepares quarterly and annual reports, have an interactive analyst center and provide its stockholders with exhausting financial summaries. All the investment affairs are accounted for and conducted according to applying legislation and fundamental principles of the chain.
What is more, Hyatt cares about its staff and has a notable code of business conduct and ethics. Employees’ routine is to follow the following principles: mutual respect, diversity and inclusion, safe workplace, and supremacy of human rights (Code of business conduct, 2018). Such an approach makes it possible for the staff to concentrate on providing high-quality services to clients as employees feel that they work in a healthy and cooperative working environment. To conclude, the Hyatt’s paradigm is to be a luxury brand that cares about all its inner and external stakeholders, as well as to operate transparently and coherently.
Business Process
The company is in an acute and dire business situation at this moment. Due to unpredictable force that negatively impacts the whole hospitality industry, Hyatt is to develop a new and reasonable business pattern promptly. Keeping in mind that the processes of the chain have been quite profitable and efficient for a considerable period, it seems reasonable to assume that the internal policy should not be changed. A significant cultural web, value chain, favorable key success factors of the industry, and a healthy internal environment – almost everything indicates the success of Hyatt. However, because of the large-scale changes in the market caused by the disruptive force of COVID-19, the company has to redesign its processes radically. It means that the most reasonable solution for Hyatt might be the re-engineering of the business process.
The simplification pattern seems inappropriate as the firm is not demonstrating any issues of duplication and redundancy within its processes. The only point here might be unreasonably high expenses of the company, but this aspect does not seem to be crucial within the scope of the current problem. Then, Hyatt has a notably developed and implicated value chain, which is evident from the discussion above.
Hence, the difficulties regarding added value are not a characteristic of the firm, which allows supposing that value-added analysis will not contribute to Hyatt’s success. Finally, the company has a plethora of rational, coherent, and fundamental guidelines and documents that make business processes efficient and unified. The developed managing system contributes to well-coordinated and harmonious governance. The interests of stockholders are secured, customers’ needs are satisfied, and employees also demonstrate high rates of job satisfaction. It might be concluded that the approach of gaps and disconnects is not suitable for the company too.
As mentioned above, the re-engineering pattern might be the most logical option for Hyatt today. However, it should be claimed that this pattern should be applied with a considerable remark. COVID-19 is not able to hinder the market forever, which means that the situation in the industry may be characterized as temporary. The core of re-engineering for Hyatt is establishing a strategic alliance with its competitors as the company will be forced not to adhere to its external strategy of independence. Due to the nonpermanent situation in the market, the mentioned policy of partnership will not last for too long and will not bring any substantial shifts in Hyatt’s internal environment.
Yum! Brands Profit Slumps
The business news is about Yum! Brands company that reported the fact that its brand, Pizza Hut US, faced decreased incomes by the end of 2019 in the United States. “The company’s share price was down as low as $101.08 on Feb. 7 after closing at $106.78 on Feb. 6, the day before earnings were announced” (Danley, 2020, para. 1). Danley (2020) states that in comparison with the same period in 2018, the price of $4.23 per share was down 16% (para. 2).
Then, revenues reduced by 2% if to compare with 2018, which might be considered as a significant loss. Nevertheless, “worldwide system sales grew 9%, with KFC at 10%, Taco Bell at 9% and Pizza Hut at 8%” (Danley, 2020, para. 3). It might be assumed that the firm needs some innovations to be implemented into its strategy in order to prevent any further losses.
It is claimed that restaurant development is a crucial element of growth for Yum. “The company opened 9 gross restaurants per day on average and now has 287 brand country combinations” (Danley, 2020, para. 6). Nevertheless, the sales of Pizza Hut US decreased by 4% in comparison with the year 2018. In order to improve the situation, Kevin Hochman, a former KFC US president, will be a temporary president of Pizza Hut US.
He will make an accent on the distinctiveness of brands and the implementation of innovations, which makes him the right candidate for the position. It is also noticed that Yum’s affairs will have some difficulties due to coronavirus, but because of the diversified business model, the company will not suffer like many of its rivals. Finally, system sales of the firm exceeded $50 billion in fiscal 2019, and there were more than 50 000 restaurants opened.
Relevance and Impact
The described news contains facts that have a substantial influence on existing businesses and are related to the relevant theme of globalization of the industry. It seems the Yum! Brands is going to undertake a new vector within the scope of its policy in the United States. Pizza Hum demonstrated dissatisfying performance in the country; thus, top management made an appropriate decision to bring a number of changes. It is evident from the fact that Kevin Hochman took the position of Pizza Hub US president. He has a solid reputation for the leader who pursues the aim of developing creative ideas and implementing them in the business. Such a manager might contribute to the prosperity of the firm to a great extent. It seems that Pizza Hut US will conduct a strategy with the accent on innovativeness.
The abovementioned cannot be denied by competitors that operate in the market. Pizza Hut might be defined as a crucial rival in almost every country in which in functions. Even a small strategic move from the firm may affect the industry notably. Keeping in mind that Kevin Hochman tends to adhere to the priority of creativity in his affairs, it might be assumed that the further actions of Pizza Hut US will be unpredictable.
Such a situation is not in the interest of rivals in the United States, where the brand is trendy. One of the critical elements of a company’s success is a rational assessment of its external environment in which the prediction of competitors’ strategic moves is an essential aspect. Hence, it might be supposed that the unforeseeable actions of Pizza Hub US will affect the existing businesses because, in the case of rational Hochman’s solutions, the company will gain a definite competitive advantage.
Furthermore, the business news sheds light on the fact that the industry of fast-food tends to become more and more globalized. It was stated that Yum! Brands was opening nine restaurants per day, which is an immense number for any market or company. It has 50 000 restaurants in 150 countries, and demand for the products of its primary firms – KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell – does not seem to reduce. Moreover, its profits from sales worldwide increase year by year, which makes the firm one of the biggest and serious actors in the industry. Yum never misses an opportunity to expand the coverage of its services and invest in many smaller companies or simply buy them. It might seem that plenty of the firm’s rivals adheres to a similar strategy, which makes the globalization of the industry even more apparent.
Globalization has a number of advantages and disadvantages that contribute to the construction of any operating industry nowadays. For instance, borders of countries are becoming blurred, which allows the free flow of capital, goods, and human resources. It is quite beneficial for a business as it may enter new markets at the international level. On the other side, globalization leads to a monopoly of big companies that tend to dictate the rules of the industry and interfere in small and local entrepreneurship. The latter may be a characteristic of Yum! Brands as it buys smaller enterprises and tends not to pay the necessary attention to their affairs. There are many examples of such failures of Yum, such as Habit Burger Grill or Grubhub.
Links With Management Theory
It might be assumed that the business news has an obvious connection with management theory via the impact on rivalry and driving change. As mentioned above, competitors of Pizza Hub in the US are not able to predict the future actions of the company for certain. Nevertheless, a number of substantial shifts caused by the firm’s new approach are expected. It is not clear whether Hochman’s policy will be beneficial for Pizza Hut US or not, but it should be stated that rivals will be forced to take into account Hochman’s ideas anyway. When rivalry is being affected by a transnational corporation, then, the industry is changing due to the transformation of its core element – competition. Thus, it might be argued that the impact on rivalry is the link with management concepts contained in the business news.
The other aspect that was provided in the piece of news is the upcoming driving change within the brand of Yum. It was claimed that Kevin Hochman would do his best to foster innovations in order to increase the profit margins of Pizza Hut US. Bringing a novelty in a business model means that the policy of a company will be changed. A new element or elements will result in diversification of business processes, which, if implemented appropriately, leads to improved performance and the firm’s growth. These changes may occur in various spheres – starting from the production process, and ending with management affairs. Thus, it seems reasonable to state that the above business news has a visible relation with management theory. Yum! Brands might be among the most significant examples of how a firm could bet on efficient managers to achieve success.
Value Chain Analysis
Yum! Brands developed its value chain adhering to the fundamental principles of the fast-food industry. It should be noticed that the firm is functioning primarily on the franchising basis, obtaining the exact share of restaurants’ incomes worldwide. Hence, each brand – KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell – has some peculiarities regarding their value chains. Nevertheless, it might seem that Yum! Brands created the core value chain that is of characteristic to each of its restaurants.
The primary activities of the company may be depicted as follows. The inbound logistics of the firm are the process of purchasing of raw materials and their storage. It seems reasonable to state that the keeping of products takes place in accordance with the economy principle – raw materials are stored close to restaurants. Such an approach might be quite rational because food should not be stored in a warehouse for long, and its close location to a restaurant results in the economy on transportation. Then, the company “deployed a … strategy that emphasizes on transparency of ingredients, sodium reduction, simplified ingredients with increased vegetarian, high-protein, lower-calorie, and other offerings that promote a balanced diet” (Food, no date, para. 12). It means that the firm cares about food safety and purchases only quality ingredients.
Operations of Yum! Brands might be considered via cooking, timing, and cleanliness control. It seems that the corporation hires staff that is able to create significant meals in a minimum possible time. Communication of personnel takes place with the help of modern technologies. Then, the restaurants conduct the strategy of customization – they adapt to local cultural features. Outbound logistics are characterized by a drive-through window, fast shipping of ingredients, and swift order processing, which is quite typical for the industry.
Marketing and sales of the firm are at a notable level if to compare with rivals in the industry. It has a worldwide-recognizable brand that is continually being maintained by significant and customized advertising (Building global, iconic brands, no date). Furthermore, Yum! Brands lures its customers by providing them with continuous discounts and coupons. Finally, the firm has qualitative service-providing – it has the customer call center that is available 24/7, takes into account various complaints and communicates with the client to collect feedback.
Support activities of Yum! Brands demonstrate an in-depth intersection with the primary ones. Procurement is visible via the fact that the company gets about 90% of ingredients from local suppliers, and imports a few ingredients to provide a unique taste; for instance, Pizza Hut imports pepperoni and mozzarella. Then, the company believes that implementing new technologies in its processes is one of the keys to success.
The technology development of the firm is founded on the client’s and employee’s feedback and takes place regularly. The corporation has a quite progressive approach regarding HR management – it provides significant career opportunities worldwide, gives appraisals, and focuses on hiring new personnel. Yum has the experienced and qualified Board of Directors governed by David Gibbs, CEO, who has 86/100 approval rating – the highest among competitors (Yum!’s competitors, no date). Moreover, the company claim that each of its brands “publicly shares its nutritional profile, allergens and ingredients of its core menu items” (Food, no date, para. 14). It indicates that Yum! Brands demonstrates transparent operating that could be easily reviewed online.
SWOT Analysis
Yum! Brands has some of strengths that lead the company to ongoing success. It focuses on emerging markets, which allows Yum always to remain a considerable competitor. It demonstrates the significant localization of its restaurants and a solid brand reputation. Moreover, Yum has sturdy supply chain operations that result in consistent and notable performance. The company is quite able to implement some innovations in its menu and continue the policy of expansion to seize the opportunity of further development. Nevertheless, the firm has weaknesses that hinder its prosperity, such as dearth in innovation or rebranding efforts. Moreover, a number of quality issues were identified, which does not contribute to a good reputation. Current crucial threats might be as follows: currency exchange risks, increasing health consciousness, COVID-19, severe competition, and Chinese market uncertainness.
Industry’s Key Success Factors
The critical factors of the fast-food industry might be described as follows. A company that is involved in the market should have a recognizable brand so that consumers could know what they get when they enter a fast-food restaurant (Xaxx, 2019). Then, top management is to develop and implement an appropriate locating strategy of their properties to make it easy for customers to attend them. Timing is another primary factor of success because the main clients’ expectation from a fast-food brand is to get their meal quickly. Finally, a company is to have an efficient and sustainable operations process because a substantial number of transactions and orders may lead to some system errors that may result in decreased profits.
PESTEL Analysis
Yum is located worldwide, and many countries encourage their citizens not to obtain fast food. It means that the company is affected by political settings – both domestic and international; hence the impact of the applying law is also significant. Crucial economic external factors are quite typical for a fast-food firm: raw material prices, foreign risk exposure, qualified staff pool, and financial crises. Then, societies care to a significant extent about their health; thus, they tend to discuss problems around Yum’s food via social media. Hence, the company is to take into account such cultural peculiarities and adapt its policy to them.
Then, Yum should follow the trend of continuous innovations implementation and advanced marketing because the primary competitors demonstrate exceptional success in this regard. Besides, the firm is to be aware of all supply chain opportunities as they indicate the ways for reducing expenses. Finally, climate change issues should be monitored as customers’ attendance also depends on this factor.
Strategy for Changing the Game
There are two factors to consider in the framework of a new possible strategy for Yum! Brands. First, within the global scope, it remains quite profitable and successful, as well as has noticeable competitive advantages. Second, it has decreased incomes in the United States fast-food market with Pizza Hut US. Thus, it seems reasonable to assume that a new strategy should be mostly related to the latter statement.
Keeping in mind that the firm is among the most successful and popular fast-food corporations, the strategy of strategic partnership seems irrelevant for Yum as it successfully follows an independent policy. The latest experience of mergers and acquisitions was unprofitable and caused a number of problems. Furthermore, in the current conditions of coronavirus, purchasing small companies seems inappropriate. Then, narrowing the scope with outsourcing might also be inadequate for Yum because it has enough resources and capabilities to handle the issue on its own.
For the firm, vertical integration might be the most reasonable decision to make. Yum! Brands could take part in multiple segments of the industry’s value chain to a greater extent, creatively combining in-house and outsourced activity. The mentioned aspects are a characteristic of the type of vertical integration called tapered integration. By adhering to this strategy, Yum can focus on its inner processes, identifying the opportunities for innovations’ implementation that will be proposed by Kevin Hochman. Then, for Yum! Brands, it seems rational to integrate forward toward end consumers of its offers. It will contribute to the increased product differentiation and bargaining power via control of value chain activities, as well as to strengthened position in the market.
Paradigm and the Cultural Web
Yum! Brands has a unique cultural web and its pivotal paradigm. The company is involved in many charity stories, which reinforces its reputation. For instance, the firm participates in the Harvest program, donating food to non-for-profit organizations to serve impoverished communities around the world. Moreover, Yum contributes to international literacy development and youth education, as well as maintains its employees’ charity projects. The above facts result in the global recognition of the brands belonging to the firm. Consumers easily identify the advantages of obtaining products and services from Yum! Brands, which indicates the popularity of the brands’ logos and titles.
Then, David Gibbs is the CEO of Yum! Brands and is a central person in the company; he reports to the firm’s Non-Executive Chairman. Gibbs leads the corporation to significant strategies, structure, HR development, and culture that will cause global improvements and incomes at all franchise businesses. “Yum! functional leaders [Board of Directors] and global brand division CEOs report to Gibbs” (Yum! Board of Directors, no date, para. 1). According to Yum! Board of Directors (no date), the organizational structures are as follows: Audit Committee, Management Planning and Development Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee, and Executive/Finance Committee. Their primary goal is to supervise and implement the critical decisions made by the Board of Directors.
The corporation provides transparent and exhaustive annual and quarterly financial reports that are available via the official web page. It is quite easy to assess the firm’s state of the art and evaluate its profitability. Moreover, Yum has a developed reward system that allows the best employees to obtain their deserved bonuses. Then, it seems that the company does its best to create a healthy working environment. The firm ensures that its employees “are treated with respect and dignity which includes a workplace that is free from discrimination, harassment, bullying, illegal substances and unsafe conditions” (Yum! Global code, no date, p. 21).
Furthermore, the staff is affected by the following company’s principles: mutual respect and dignity, fair labor practices, equal opportunity, employees’ health and safety, ban on substance abuse, privacy and confidentiality, and anti-corruption. The firm provides the following paradigm, “Yum! Brands believes in acting responsibly as we grow KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell around the world when it comes to serving food people trust, growing sustainably and unlocking potential in our people” (Citizenship & Sustainability, no date, para. 1).
Business process
Before conducting the analysis of a possible redesign pattern for Yum! Brands, it should be emphasized that the company needs changes in a narrow market segment. Then, the business news states that the firm has had some problems with its mergers. A redesign pattern cannot be identified appropriately without considering all relevant factors that affect the current situation for the corporation. Again, it seems that Yum requires a number of substantial, but not radical, shifts in the processes of Pizza Hut US.
The abovementioned indicates the absence of necessity to undertake any actions related to the re-engineering approach. Globally, the company remains quite successful and has significant profit margins; the decrease by 4% in the single market of the US with Pizza Hut does not seem to be a good reason for re-engineering. Then, the value-added analysis is also not a wise option because the firm developed a notable value chain, as evident from the discussion above. Such an approach is not likely to contribute to figuring out weaknesses in the established and profitable value chain. The method of gaps and disconnects could have been a functional variant for Yum, but it is apparent that the corporation has a harmonized and coherent structure that does not tend to demonstrate errors.
Thus, it might be assumed that a simplification approach is the most reasonable way for the firm to redesign its business processes. The primary process to be simplified is the company’s policy regarding purchasing small enterprises that usually results in decreased incomes – such a means is simply redundant. The simplification method will challenge the systems of Yum, as well as its sub-processes, which will allow identifying the possibilities for including innovations. Simplified business processes might lead to an in-depth understanding of general policy issues and the improvement of international strategy.
The COVID-19 outbreak has brought the entire world to a standstill in a matter of mere months. The pandemic is unprecedented in terms of scale and profoundness of impact on various sectors of economy. Those of them that rely on travel and gatherings of people such as tourism and entertainment have arguably been hurt the most. American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) (2020) shares pessimistic facts and figures regarding the reality and prospects of running a hospitality business in the United States amidst the pandemic. The following information is instrumental to understanding our client’s case, LaGuardia Airport Marriott hotel located in Queens, New York. Across the country, two out of three (65%) hotels have fewer than 50% rooms occupied. Financially, it is well below the profit level at which hotels can break even and pay off debt. Since the historical low travel rate in April, some hotels have seen more guests. Yet, they are still at risk of shutting down or function at low capacity due to their inability to hire back staff.
While the aforementioned facts applied to all American hotels, it should be noted that our client is in a more nuanced position. Major American cities have become the breeding ground for the pandemic, which is especially true for the nation’s largest city, New York City. NYC has seen 245,000 cases since the start of the pandemic. What is worse, every tenth death from the coronavirus takes place in New York: the national death count of 201,000 vs the NYC death count of 23,780. It is not surprising that leisure and business travelers avoid New York out of fear of infection. American Hotel & Lodging Association reports that urban hotels have taken the hardest hit compared to suburban and countryside facilities. Their average occupancy rate is even lower, at 38%. The hotel industry in major cities is collapsing because it has long relied on groups of people travelling for business or recreation.
Another fact to keep in mind is the hotel class. Krishnan et al. use data to prove that economy class hotels will fare better during the pandemic, even though it might not seem feasible at first. Covid-2019 lowered the purchasing power of many travelers, which is why they are more likely to turn to more affordable options. Among such categories of guests, Krishnan et al. name truck drivers and extended-stay guests. Besides, to cover all costs, luxury hotels need a 1.5 times higher occupancy than economy ones that can still do well with a modest number of guests. Marriott positions itself as “a luxury hospitality brand”; it is a recognized name with a good reputation. Yet, during this pandemic, Marriott might have to work harder to mitigate losses and remain attractive to customers.
Proposed Products
Summing up all these facts, LaGuardia Airport Marriott hotel is in a vulnerable position. Surviving the pandemic requires introducing new disease prevention strategies, which includes new products. Surely, investing in installment and bearing all other expenses may come off as counterintuitive during a financially challenging time like this. However, the reality is that even if the most optimistic scenarios come true, the Covid-19 is still here to stay. McKinsey’s Krishnan et al. write that at present, there are nine scenarios of how the outbreak may unravel globally and in the United States. After interviewing industry leaders, McKinsey experts have come to the conclusion that two out of nine scenarios are the most viable. The more conservative one, A1, projects that the pandemic will linger into the next year, and US GDP will continue to suffer until 2023 (Krishnan et al.). A3 offers a more optimistic perspective, estimating that US GDP will recover in 2021 (Krishnan et al.).
Regardless of which scenario will take place, LaGuardia Airport Marriott needs to be prepared. This report proposes three products that have an excellent potential of helping the hotel to gain a competitive advantage in the time of adversity. The first is Face Analyst, a fast, precise, and intuitive device that serves two purposes: measuring guests’ and the staff’s temperature and checking whether they wear masks. The second is DesinfecTunnel, a tunnel that kills viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Like airport scanners, such tunnels require a person to enter them and stand still with arms stretched out. The disinfectant used in the device is harmless to humans, does not leave any smell or stains clothes. Lastly, high-performance ventilation systems are of great use against the spread of the virus.
Organizational Strategies: Infrastructure, Communication, and Technical Skills
Covid-2019 has already had a profound impact on many aspects of the hospitality industry. According to Hutchins, one such aspect is hotel design and construction that needs to take into account the reality of the pandemic. The author observes that today, hotel owners and developers have to put a greater emphasis on the health-related features of their property. Hutchins points out that it is luxury hotels such as Marriot that might have to make greater changes. In particular, she explains that luxury brands prioritize aesthetics and make design decisions according, for instance, by covering entire floor areas with carpets. Unfortunately, many materials that look pleasing to the eye are prone to collecting viruses and bacteria. Hutchins envisions stainless steel, porcelain, solid surfaces, glass commonly encountered in health facilities to be adopted by the hospitality industry.
However, it is not strictly the materials and design that matter. In fact, the entire infrastructure is in dire need for a change. The products proposed in this report follow a guest’s or staff member’s journey and offer solutions for each step their take. Access to the hotel is now to be granted only after passing through the DisinfecTunnel. Spending time in shared places requires that guests and members have a healthy body temperature and wear a mask, which is taken care of by Face Analyst. Lastly, what makes staying in the individual room safer for every guest is the high-performance ventilation system.
Without doubt, enforcing all these measures is impossible without having comprehensive policies and procedures at the hotel. Indeed, having a shared vision spares a great deal of trouble and miscommunication. While LaGuardia Airport Marriott hotel should tailor policies to meet its own needs, it has to also take into account worldwide and national guidelines. The World Health Organization (WHO) provides clear and straightforward recommendations for hospitality businesses. In accordance with them, first and foremost, our client needs to have an action plan. It should contain steps and deliverables to handle Covid-19 cases and mitigate the impact among guests. The WHO prescribes hospitality businesses to build a Crisis Team that would supervise staff members and ensure compliance with the use of the new products. Lastly, the hotel could benefit from a logbook where it would take note of all measures and actions taken to address the pandemic.
Communication is the glue that will hold all the parts of the plan together. Being able to communicate efficiently is especially important during crises as people tend to be easily overcome by emotions and act irrationally. It is not improbable that some guests might be put off by the new products and rules around them. Marples describes denial as a common phenomenon during the Covid-19 pandemic. Psychologists ascribe it to natural psychological defense mechanisms in humans. The World Health Organization recommends to resolve ambiguity and confusion by clearly setting expectations for guests and staff members. The key points can be conveyed in a meeting or a conversation. An acceptable alternative, if not an addition, is leaflets, posters, and fliers.
However, communication is not only about the ground rules, but it is also about reporting. The World Health Organization puts an emphasis on guests’ and members’ initiative in communicating information about incidents so that the hotel can make decisions quickly. There needs to be a system in place that allows all the stakeholders to quickly exchange reports and take action. It might be especially critical given the introduction of new products. For instance, if the Face Analyst detects a guest or a staff member with fever or violating health and safety rules, managers need to get a hold of the situation as soon as possible.
For all its advantages, the introduction of the new products is likely to require more technical and maintenance services. The World Health Organization states that more attention should be given to the condition of filters and the quality of indoor air. Since high-performance ventilation systems are part of this proposal, they need specific technical skills from the repair/ maintenance staff. The disinfection tunnel and Face Analyst also take time to get used to, even though the devices and software are user-friendly and intuitive. Therefore, staff are likely to need training and dedicate some time to reading technical information about the new products.
Supply Chain Strategies
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of supply chains. When discussing hotel design and infrastructure in the time of pandemic, Hutchins highlights the possibility of shortages. The author suggests a proactive approach in which hotels contact contractors and suppliers early to avoid deficits. Hutchins predicts an influx of new work for US contractors because of the increased demand. In this case, suppliers do have the upper hand on the market, dictating which businesses receive their products and services first.
Ng develops the conversation further, pointing out that the pandemic has caused a shift in hotel procurement. In particular, hospitality businesses are now more connected to suppliers. Everyone has to collaborate to mobilize resources and support structures. All the products proposed in the present report can be supplied locally, without burdening the struggling international logistics system. Additionally, if the devices need repair, there is no need to order new parts from afar. Taking these facts into consideration, a close, local network of suppliers during the pandemic will allow for uninterrupted supply.
Image 1. A new procurement model (Ng).
Ng proposes a holistic approach to supply management in which critical situations are approached in a comprehensive manner. As seen in Image 1, supplier management is broken down into categories each of which can potentially be a growth area: (1) social, ethical & environmental, (2) operational, (3) strategic, (4) financial, and (5) continuity. The new procurement model applies to supply management in general, so the recommendations there are not exactly nuanced. It can be tailored to fit the LaGuardia Airport Marriott case. Right now, continuity, finance, and social, ethical, and environmental aspects pose the biggest risks to the hotel’s supply chain operations. As recommended by Ng, tackling the continuity issues requires rejecting the linear supply chain model and adopting the distributed, digital one. It is during the time like this that LaGuardia Airport Marriott needs to manage finances by reducing waste and materials intensity. Lastly, ethical labor practices, health, and safety are to prevail.
While all the aforementioned advice is valid, it provides only vague recommendations. The issue that our client has at hand is purchasing the new products without compromising its financial standing. Therefore, it is critical to discuss purchasing and price decisions. Broughton, a chief financial planner, says that during the Covid-19 outbreak, businesses’ budgets have been shifting wildly. According to Broughton, cutting losses and preparing for a long-term struggle may mean switching to zero-based budgeting. This expense-management approach requires justifying each line item on the budget. Conversely, more conventional budgeting strategies imply an adjustment to the last year’s expenses and cutting off top-line budget figures with a flat percentage derived from economic forecasts.
Zero-based budgeting might appear to be a time-consuming activity and an additional burden for a business. However, as reported by Broughton, other companies have so far benefited from this non-traditional approach. For instance, one of the world’s largest clothes and accessories retailers, Guess, cut operating costs by $60 million and brought capital expenditures down to $6 million. It is difficult to predict what LaGuardia Airport Marriott Hotel profits would amount to, were it adopt the zero-based budgeting. Still, it makes sense given that this year, it has to put new items on its budget – high-performance ventilation systems, disinfection tunnels, and Face Analyst software. Besides, an additional benefit is that while some cuts will be temporary, the overall efficient model may yield long-term benefits.
Last but not least is raw materials quality assurance, which is also critical to supply strategies. Again, the guidelines set by the World Health Organization may help navigate this aspect better. The institution insists on the enforcement of good manufacturing practices, purification of raw materials, and quality assurance of the end product. The new products proposed in this report are delivered and installed in their final form. Therefore, LaGuardia Airport Marriott Hotel does not have to worry about handling raw materials on site. However, it would still be a good idea to inquire suppliers about how they handle raw material quality assurance.
Logistics Management/Supply Chain Management
Inbound logistics is a term that refers to the network that transfers goods or materials to a company. This type of logistics encompasses all the operations needed for transportation, storage, and delivering goods. The type of goods or materials involved in inbound logistics depends on the type of industry that a business is in. Manufacturing businesses typically deal with raw materials while others may need finished products to deliver services to their clients. In the hotel industry, inbound logistics include food and beverage, cleaning and laundry service, security, and others. It is important to define exactly how inbound logistics will change with the introduction of the new products. Below is a list of some considerations to make:
Disinfect Tunnel requires a steady supply of the disinfectant that is water-based. The chemical is turned into a thin mist by the device and covers a person’s entire body to kill viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Surely, the occupancy of LaGuardia might not be exactly high. Based on the facts mentioned previously, it could be anywhere between 38% and 50%. However, since many guests and staff members leave and reenter the hotel, they need disinfection each time. The costs of inbound logistics in this case is still spared since Disinfect Tunnel has to be installed only once;
Face Analyst does not need a steady supply of raw materials or finished goods. The device requires a one-time installation, after which the hotel has to only invest in maintenance and technical repair. In this case, the only workload added to inbound logistics would be finding a technical specialist to take care of the software and hardware in the event of failure;
High-performance ventilation systems are installed once and only require some maintenance and technical service. Just like in the previous case, the hotel will need to have a specialist on call in the event of failure.
Inbound logistics are inherently associated with risks because of the complexity of supply chains. Urciuoli et al. enlist the most common risks of supply chain management across the world (200). The list includes quality levels and defects, time zones, long-range logistics, accountability and compliance, and delays (Urciuoli et al. 201). Fortunately for LaGuardia Airport Hotel Marriott, the majority of these risks can be mitigated because the new products are sourced locally. Therefore, the hotel will not have to face the difference in time zones and language barriers.
The same goes for accountability and compliance: when ordering finished goods from abroad, it is often difficult to enforce quality standards. In turn, local standards may be subpar to what the US companies are expecting. All the products proposed in this report are manufactured in the United States and comply with the national laws. It appears that the only risk that LaGuardia Airport Hotel Marriott will have to address is delays. What may help in this situation is being proactive and purposeful about inbound logistics. Emergency stocks will tide the hotel over in case the suppliers struggle to deliver in time. Apart from that, it is important to follow the news and keep up with the situation. If the Covid-19 outbreak dynamics worsen, LaGuardia Airport Hotel Marriott should consider stocking even more aggressively.
Undoubtedly, a major threat to the integrity and efficiency of inbound logistics is changing legislation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, it was expected that up to 53% of US manufacturers will experience disruption in their operations (Cleeland). Out of 12 million people working in manufacturing, a significant share was projected to be either furloughed or gone on sick leave (Cleeland). Some of these negative changes are associated with the accumulating losses that these factories are facing; others – with legislation that forces them to shut down production. As of September, 2020, the situation has shown some improvement with the industry revitalizing after the hard hit. Unless there is going to be a second wave, factories will continue working and receiving stimulus from the government.
Information Technology
LaGuardia Airport Hotel Marriott could benefit from new technology developed to address Covid-19 threats. There needs to be a solution that would integrate all products and keep track of all changes. As mentioned before, it is a recommendation by the World Health Organization to start a logbook to gain detailed insights and put together a full picture of what is happening. A suitable idea would be to introduce an Infectious Disease app, a platform for all staff members to share confirmed or suspected cases of Covid-19. Managers would be immediately alerted and can set out on a multi-step plan to tackle the problem at hand.
Face Analyst is a product that fits in the information technology category. The AI-based (artificial intelligence system) recognizes masked and unmasked faces, apart from taking body temperature. All this information together with videos and images could be stored for later analysis. For instance, if a case is confirmed, Face Analyst footage can help identify who this person has interacted with. All the contacted people would be notified and encouraged to test and receive appropriate treatment.
Indeed, reporting, communicating, and taking control constitute an approach that will give LaGuardia Airport Hotel Marriott a competitive edge. In addition to software solutions mentioned above, an emphasis could be put on making use of ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems. ERP is developed for process automation, complex system management, internal controls, and more rigorous reporting. It is likely that LaGuardia Airport Hotel Marriott has at least some employees working from home. Consolidating their work processes is difficult without ERP because otherwise they disjointedly interact with different software. On top of that, ERP can help increase security and enforce safety standards. Since some processes such as checking masks and taking body temperature are automated, they require a protection against cyberattacks and data breaches.
Aside from ERP, CRM (customer relationship management) tools could prove extremely helpful in this stressful time. Because of the collapse of the hospitality industry and low occupancy rates, every client matters and needs to be retained. CRM solutions will help with building a common database of clients. Besides, customer relationship management facilitates targeting the right audiences whose interaction with web materials will turn into action and purchases.
Conclusion
The Covid-19 outbreak is an unprecedented disaster that keeps hurting many major industries. The US hospitality industry took one of the hardest hits and suffers from low occupancy rates and losses persisting into an indefinite period of time. Even though LaGuardia Airport Hotel Marriott is financially strained, it might still benefit from budgeting for new products such as Face Analyst, disinfection tunnels, and high-performance ventilation systems. The products will fit into the hotel infrastructure that now needs to take into account the realities of the pandemic. Their introduction will require zero-based budgeting, a new procurement model to improve supply chain management, and mitigating the risks of inbound logistics. What will hold all these different aspects together is communication with both guests and staff members. Another unifying element is technology such as enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management systems.
Works Cited
American Hotel & Lodging Association. State of the Industry. 2020, Web.
Ng, Jeremy. Key Considerations for Hotel Procurement Post Covid-19. 2020, Web.
NYC Health. Covid-2019: Data. 2020, Web.
Urciuoli, Luca, and Juha Hintsa. “Improving Supply Chain Risk Management – Can Additional Data Help?” International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management vol. 30, no. 2, 2018, pp. 195-224.
The performance of business entities in the times of a crisis is significantly impacted by a wide range of external factors. The economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic is triggered by the risk burdens laid on consumers, whose readiness to use recreational services, including rural tourism, was diminished.
The literature review conducted by the authors of the article identifies that the various types of risks, such as performance, psychological, physical, and social risks, are thought to be influential factors for consumers’ decision-making when choosing tourism services. In addition, cost risks related to finances and time also have a distinctive influence on tourism.
The theory of knowledge-attitude-behaviour relation is used to identify the interdependence between the knowledge of risks, their perception, and ultimate behavioural responses to those risks in terms of risk aversion. The dependence between knowledge of risk and its perception is manifested via the level of familiarity with a particular situation, as well as the perceived possibility of its happening. Thus, more experienced travellers are expected to perceive fewer risks; however, risk knowledge has a negative impact on risk perception.
On the basis of the identified patterns from the literature review and the theory, several hypotheses were introduced. The multiple hypotheses were formulated on the basis of the negative effect of tourism risk and pneumonia risk on risk perception or risk aversion. Overall, risk aversion as the behavioural part of the theoretical framework is dependent on the knowledge and attitude toward risks induced by COVID-19 and define whether consumers are willing to engage in tourism.
On a general scale, the risk associated with health losses is much higher than the benefits from tourism, as perceived by consumers. Therefore, the performance of companies operating in the tourism sector during COVID-19 is highly dependent on the public’s perception of health risks.
The onset of COVID-19 caused a decrease in the number of migrations and travel activities around the world. Many nations established travel restrictions that barred people from moving in and out of the countries; thus, few activities related to migration. This was done to reduce the chances of the virus spreading among the population. Individuals who had an intention to migrate changed their minds as a result of the pandemic. COVID-19 also affected both local and international travel since governments established restrictions that would help control the spread of the virus among citizens and foreigners. The pandemic caused a huge blow to migration and travel activities since governments established restrictions and travelers had low confidence due to fear of contracting the virus.
The pandemic caused a big blow to migration activities after governments established travel restrictions to limit the spread of the virus. After COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, countries closed their borders as a health measure to contain the pandemic. The restrictions disrupted air and sea transportation, with some operators shutting down operations (International Organization for Migration, 2020). The restrictions also brought about changes to migration policies, trends, and the needs of various migrants worldwide. Migrants who had started to move to their countries of desire ended up being stranded due to the travel regulations established by various governments.
The spread of COVID-19 around the world caused a significant decline in the number of international arrivals. People did not want to spend money on air travel since they were not sure about the period the pandemic would last (Macchiarelli, 2021). The travel restrictions established by various governments led to a reduction of commercial flights such that in 2020 the number was below 2019 levels. This also contributed to the limited number of people traveling around the world.
Travel activities around the world were also affected because travelers have reduced confidence in the safety protocols established to limit the pandemic. This has caused a reluctance among travelers to move around, fearing that they are likely to contract the virus from the people they meet. Many people chose to focus on their safety rather than on the activities they were likely to be involved in as they traveled (Price Waterhouse Coopers, 2020). Travelers claimed that they would wait for safety protocols to be established for them to resume normal activities. Travelers were also not confident enough about the safety of their destinations; therefore, they decided to prioritize their health. Those who chose to travel focused on identifying destinations with healthcare facilities that were properly equipped to handle COVID-19 patients.
In conclusion, the onset of the pandemic limited travel and migration activities due to the restrictions established by governments around the world and reduced traveler confidence. Establishing travel barriers was the first move taken by various countries to limit the spread of the virus among their population. This caused a significant blow to air and water transport, thus reducing travel activities. Airlines were also forced to reduce the number of commercial flights to adhere to the established regulations. Travelers had reduced confidence in the safety of various means of transport and destinations, therefore, decided to prioritize their health. Many travelers had fears that they would contract the virus from the people they interacted with as they traveled. Therefore, countries and travelers in various parts of the world had to suspend travel operations to prioritize health.
References
International Organization for Migration. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 on migrants.International Organization for Migration. Web.
The Covid-19 virus is a global pandemic that has taken the globe by storm. Many industries have been affected and the hospitality industry is vastly impacted. Since the pandemic began, people have been advised to stay at home and this has made individuals utilize online platforms to identify new restaurants; thus, changing the hospitality industry from physical service delivery to e-commerce experience. Most eateries have adopted online orders than sit-down services. This has majorly been brought about by the increase of internet users globally, due to the identification of new cafeterias and making orders made while at home. As one of the effective ways implemented by cafeterias, the occupation rate has been reduced to minimize the spread of the virus. Besides, good ventilation and air conditioning of the rooms in the restaurants has to be done by providing exhaust fans and frequent opening of windows. In addition, the staff should always have disposable masks and long-sleeved gowns while on duty.
To effectively run a restaurant during the current pandemic, customer-to-staff interaction has to be reduced. This will make sure the virus spread is minimized acting as a way to protect the population from this deadly virus. Furthermore, the ventilation of the rooms should be in place to have a fresh air supply and a constant check of the air conditioners. Additionally, the use of shields at the counters and non-paper menus limits the interaction of clients with the staff. Appropriate implementation of these measures will constantly make the customers attracted to the services offered in most eateries (Tuomi & Ascenção, 2021). As the need for customer satisfaction and business promotion increases, restaurants should ensure these measures are working to reduce the spread of the virus. The virus has changed the world, and more so, in the hospitality industry, service delivery has been affected. Both service providers and guests should cooperate to ensure policies are taken into consideration. Through this, there will be smooth delivery of services, and all stakeholders in the hospitality industry will perform productive activities. Presently, provision of friendly services from the cafeteria staff to the clients is more paramount as the need for customer satisfaction and safety from the virus seems to be achieved.
Reference
Tuomi, A., & Ascenção, M. P. (2021). Intelligent automation in hospitality: Exploring the relative automatability of frontline food service tasks. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights.
