Travel is not just an activity. It is a comprehensive experience. When the dimensions of leisure and recreation connect with the concept of travel it assumes the form of tourism. Humankinds desire to break away from monotony, explore the unexplored, discover the undiscovered with elements of curiosity, relaxation and fun make travel and tourism much sought after. The facilities of travel have increased so much today. From airline bookings to hotel reservations, travel has been simplified as a process. Information can be retrieved at the click of the mouse. Even before you set out of your house, every detail can be executed to perfection.
Main body
The travel and tourism industry has seen a boom. Most countries have diversified their vision with special emphasis on developing the travel and tourism sector. In fact, the tourism sector hard sells and promotes itself vociferously. It has left nothing to the imagination. A traveler is so very sure of what to look for where when he takes up his journey. Only a well-organized travel and tourism network can offer this ease to a tourist.
The American tourism industry is one of the biggest and varied. The USA is the destination of so many travelers from the world over. With a range of attractions, museums, gambling, amusement parks, campgrounds, outdoor adventures, and great auto-rental, lodging, and dining facilities, it is indeed lucrative, to say the least. The entire tourism and travel network has been well identified, planned, and coordinated. The World Tourism Organization listed the USA as the third most visited destination by tourists in the year 2006 after France and Spain. In fact, Forbes magazine rated the hot tourist attractions in the world, and Times Square in New York, National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington D.C, and Walt Disneys Magic World in Orlando bagged the top three positions.
Despite these cherries on the cake, there are numerous blots that make the American travel and tourism industry open to criticism. After the 9/11 attacks, the US visa rules have become very bureaucratic and stringent. This has deterred tourism. The international travelers in fact have a feeling that America has been inhospitable off late. Though this was completely evident after statistical analyses of the number of tourists who visited America in 2002, yet tourism picked up in 2006. As mentioned earlier, the USA recorded the third-highest tourist influx in the world in 2006. But the graph saw the downhill slope in 2007 again. In fact, most visitors find the US difficult to visit. The complex travel policies need to be reworked and re-strategized. The Travel Promotion Act would help redress problems related to the aforementioned issue. The program would better communicate complex travel policies and assure foreign travelers that they are welcome to visit the United States. Studies show that such a campaign could attract millions of additional overseas visitors per year, resulting in billions of dollars of new visitor spending.
The United States of America has no central tourism office. This deters first-time travelers. Such an initiative can very well take care of their apprehensions. In terms of development on the terms of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), a certain change of approach is much needed. There has been a 21% growth rate in the online travel industry in the last ear. The American travel industry has to take this seriously and line up the changes it wishes to make keeping in mind the very fact that the processes would have to be simplified for the end-users.
Another discouraging factor has been the rising fuel prices that have made air travel costlier. Though these economics of fuel pricing are far from the travel industrys control, yet a more strategic outlook at giving some other facilities to the travelers would have to be seriously looked at. The fact that there is stiff competition in the travel industry is both a problem and a challenge. The travel industry players can make diverse plans to benefit from the emerging business opportunities.
Conclusion
The travel industry needs to become more tourist-savvy. Its job should not only be to update tourists on factual data but take care of their concerns. In fact, the travel industry should devise ways of dealing with duping by fraudulent tour operators. Travel needs to be made a more wholesome experience. With more customers that the tourism industry across the world is vying for, it is imperative that it becomes more communicative and flexible. Todays outlook for the travel industry is one of innovation, high occupancy rates, healthy competition, and, outside of the legacy airlines, returning profits.
People respond differently in each training program. Ultimately, an individualized training program is needed to address the specific needs and responses of the trainee. However, the extent of performance depends on the size of a trainee adaptation window referred to as genetic ceiling for change. The effectiveness of various exercises used in training program defines the amount of physiological adaptation. Exercise training programs need to change and provide variation to keep exercise stimulus effective in eliciting positive changes or maintaining sport fitness. In addition, an athlete training program is different from that of a trainer who is training for good health and fitness. (Baechele & Earle, 1994). Careful balance is therefore needed in the exercise programs to integrate the different types of training in a total conditioning program. There are two types of training program namely anaerobic, and aerobic training.
Anaerobic Training
This kind of training involves two primary energy sources. Anaerobic glycolysis constitutes phosphagen and glycolysis systems, in which aerobic metabolism plays a vital role in maintaining the power of output and recovery energy stores. The second contribution depends on how the body responds to intensity, duration, and rest intervals during a training session. Phosphagen system involves short duration and high intensity with long rest periods whereas glycolytic system involves longer, and less intense with shorter rest periods. Anaerobic training concentrating on phosphagen system is typically done under 10s in duration and provides almost a complete recovery of 5-7 min. So lactic acid does not accumulate to large extent and athletes can perform at maximal intensities. Glycolytic conditioning (enhance acid-buffering mechanisms) has shorter rest periods and performances at less than optimal speed and power output (Kraemer & Vladimir, 2006). Anaerobic training consists of neural adaptation and muscular adaptation.
Neural Adaptations to Anaerobic Training
The activation of motor units is influenced by a concept called the size principle. The motor units that contain Type I and Type II fibers are organized according to size factor; starting with smaller then larger fibers. In typical recruitment, low threshold motor units are recruited first and have lower force capabilities than higher threshold motor units, which can produce more force (Baechele & Earle, 1994).
Muscular Adaptations to Anaerobic Training
This involves hypertrophy (increase in fiber size) and hyperplasia (increase in number of muscle cells, although it is debated whether it occurs or not).
Adaptations to anaerobic depend on increased demands placed on neuromuscular system. With initiation of heavy exercises, changes in muscle protein take place within couple of workouts. Muscle fiber hypertrophy appears to take >16 workouts to increase contractile protein content in muscle cell.
Aerobic Training Adaptations
As with anaerobic, aerobic endurance training requires proper progression, variation, specificity, and overload if physiological adaptations are to take place. Aerobic metabolism plays vital role in human performance and is basic to all sports, if for no other reason than recovery. Athletes can gain aerobic training adaptations without necessary using long-distant running because a number of alternative training programs exist (interval training). Intensity of training is one of most important factors in improving and maintaining aerobic power. For instance, short, high intensity bouts of interval sprints can improve maximal oxygen uptake if interim rest period is also short (Kraemer & Vladimir, 2006). Aerobic endurance training results in reduced body fat, increased maximal oxygen uptake, lower blood lactate concentrations, increased mitochondria and capillary densities.
Nervous system adaptations play a role in early stages of aerobic endurance training. There is increase in efficiency as well as delayed fatigue of contractile mechanisms.
References
Baechele, R., & Earle, W. (1994). Essentials of strength Training and Conditioning. Champaign, Ill: Human Kinetics.
Kraemer, W. J., & Vladimir, M. (2006). Science and Practice of Strength Training. Champaign, Ill: Human Kinetics.
The current trend in the global marketplace has led to the increase in capital mobility, people as well as an exchange of managerial information and ideas among the hospitality industry. In return, it has resulted to change in the employment trend in the United States. With improvements in technological advancement across the world, the hospitality industry in the United States has started relying on services from independent service providers outside their country. There has been an increase in the number of hospitality firms that are outsourcing their services from independent service providers leading to a reduction in the rate of employment in the industry. Employee turnover is one of the problems that challenge the hospitality industry (Brownell & Walsh 2008, p. 54). As a result; managers in the hospitality industry in the United States have a big challenge on how to manage this problem. This discussion will try to look at the methods being used by the managers in the US hospitality industry to curb this. These methods include employee empowerment and Proper use of human resources.
Changes in employment trend in the hospitality industry in the United States
Depending on changes in seasons in different countries, the United States experiences peaks and off-peaks in its hospitality industry. During the peak period, a lot of visitors come to the country leading to the great demand for services offered by the hospitality industry. As a result, the hospitality sector tends to employ a lot of casual workers during this period to facilitate in ensuring that they have enough staffs to provide efficient services to their customers. Most of these workers are young with female workers making the greatest percentage. Most of them are university students who prefer to combine professional studies with elastic working hours in the hospitality industry to supplement their pocket money. This marks as an entry point to the working environment for most young people. Flexibility in the working hours in the industry during this period also leads to most women being employed as they are capable of balancing their work with family duties (Brownell & Walsh 2008, p. 123).
Globalization has led to the introduction of technology in hospitality operations. There has been the introduction of new systems that combine customer relationship management with other tasks performed within the hospitality industry such as booking of rooms. This has eliminated instances of the breakdown of activities in the organizations. In addition, it has led to a reduction in the workforce and mostly on those involved with the front desk services in the hospitality sector. This is because with the advancement of technology these tasks have been computerized and easily done by one staff. The technology has also resulted in the need for specialized skills for staff to be able to efficiently work with these systems. Currently, for one to be employed in the hospitality industry in the U.S., he or she needs to have skills in operating these systems. Many hospitality firms are now installing personal computers in their guestrooms. The rate of visitors who travel with their portable computers is also increasing in the hospitality industry. This has led to the creation of new jobs in the industry. There has been the introduction of special employees referred to as concierges (Carbery, OBrien & McDonnell 2003, p. 649). Their role is helping guests in setting up their communication tools in the hotels, teaching on how to use the available in-room technology, and how to access internet services within the hotel. Increased installation of technological equipment in hospitality property has resulted in the need for maintenance and upgrading. As a result, people are being employed in these hospitality firms to offer these services.
Use of employee empowerment to reduce employee turnover
The success of every business organization depends heavily on its employees. This is the reason why organizations incur a huge cost in trying to train, recruit and maintain skilled employees in their organizations. In the hospitality industry, employee turnover constitutes approximately fifty percent of the organizations expenses. This makes many employers in the industry lose sleep as they try to look for methods of reducing this cost. Turnover has a direct effect on areas that require customer services in the hospitality industry. If a position is left vacant, it means that the rest of the employees have to have extra work to compensate for the vacant position. It is evident that most of the hospitality companies that have low employee turnover enjoy a high profit. To cater for employee turnover, hospitality companies in the United States employ employee empowerment (Christensen 2008, p. 234). Here, employees are given responsibilities within the company and the freedom to make decisions pertaining to exercising these responsibilities. In the day-to-day operations of their responsibilities, employees can learn various methods of improving their efficiency leading to an increase in their productivity as well as satisfaction. Employee satisfaction is one of the problems that organizations are unable to meet. Empowering employees in hospitality companies leads to their satisfaction thus helping the company retain them. This greatly reduces employee turnover as they do not have to incur an extra cost of training or recruiting new employees all the time (Christensen 2008, p. 238).
Employee empowerment in hospitality companies ensures that there is trust among employees and their employers. This helps in ensuring that employees are always in their best shape to conduct company duties. Lack of employee empowerment may result to conflicts among staffs and their employers within the hospitality companies. This may make it hard for employees to be productive making the company incur expenses of paying unproductive employees. Lack of trust among employees and their employer may also result in experienced employees quitting and looking for other companies where they will be able to trust their employers. This in return may make Hospitality Company incur a lot of cost in training and recruiting other employees to replace those who have left the company. Empowering employees results in their transformation making them believe in the mission and vision of the company. This makes them strive to attain these visions hence improving their productivity and reducing their turnover (DAnnunzio-Green 1997, p. 199). Giving employees the mandate to determine methods of operations in their areas within Hospitality Company also makes them feel comfortable with their activities. No one would like to work under pressure. Subjecting employees to pressure when working may lead to them being uncomfortable, consequently lowering their productivity. This might lead to most employees failing to attend to their duties regularly. Hospitality companies in United States struggle to empower their employees in bid to eliminate cases of employee absenteeism. Employees who feel valued in their organizations have low propensity of failing to attend their duties. With employees given the authority to set targets and completion period for their jobs, they are less susceptible to getting dissatisfied at work. This lowers employee turnover as rate of employee resignation is decreased (Furunes 2005, p. 236).
Impacts of human resource in reduction of employee turnover
With increase in employee turnover in hospitality companies in United States, there is an increase in need for human resource personnel to assist control these expenses. Currently, human resource personnel are capable of evaluating employee turnover rates in any organization using a web-based evaluator. Human resource service providers are also able to predict the effects of reducing employee turnover in any organization. This facilitates in devising numerous models of varying scenarios to evaluate the effects of increasing various expenses incurred during employee training and recruitment. With human resource personnel having this kind of knowledge, many hospitality companies are in dire need of their services in bid to reduce employee turnover in their organizations. Cases of employee dissatisfaction in hospitality companies have led to most employees quitting their jobs or failing to attend to their duties (Furunes 2005, p. 245). This has been attributed to the inability of hospitality operators to cultivate employee satisfaction in their companies. This underlines the reason why most hospitality companies are contracting human resource personnel to train them on methods of ensuring employee satisfaction in their companies.
There are various considerations made by human resource personnel as they try to solve employee turnover problems in hospitality companies. One of their major considerations is the reasons that make employees quit from the company. They evaluate the effects of the working conditions on employee satisfaction to determine whether they contribute to employees leaving the company. Some of the factors that may lead to employees leaving a hospitality company and go to another is failure of the company to offer better salary, poor working conditions within the company and lack of opportunities for personal growth in the company. Human resource has various impacts in reducing employee turnover in hospitality companies. Some of the measures taken by human resource personnel to curb employee turnover include ensuring that they hire the right person for specific tasks in the company (International Labor Organization 2001, para. 2-4). This is attained by clearly setting out the qualifications required for one to be assigned a specific job. In so doing, companies are able to employ qualified personnel and avoid employing overqualified employees. Overqualified employees leave the company on first opportunity if they suspect that the company does not offer them the challenges they want. This leads to increase in employee turnover within the company.
Employee performance depends on the terms of payment offered by an organization. If employees are poorly paid, they are likely to perform poorly in their fields within the company. Human resource personnel helps hospitality companies in evaluating amount of work performed by every employee thus helping them set right salary for their employees. Paying employees according to their performance in the company helps hospitality companies retain their employees avoiding possibilities of having to recruit and train new employees. It also ensures that companies recruit qualified personnel thus not requiring training their employees after they recruit them. Acknowledging work done by employees within an organization leads to employee satisfaction (Kochan 2004, p. 134).This increases their productivity and loyalty to their employer. In organizations where employees are not acknowledged, they tend to look for excuses to absentee themselves from the company. This leads to increase in employee turnover as they are paid for work they have not done. Highlighting good things done by employees at work makes them motivated adding quality to their stay at the company.
Compensating employees depending on their performance in the company can not work alone in employee retention in hospitality companies. Despite employees being well compensated in hospitality companies, some have been found to still quit. Most of them complain of working conditions in the company. As a result, human resource personnel educate hospitality operators on how to ensure that they always maintain favorable working conditions in their companies (Kochan 2004, p. 140). Employees requires to work in an environment that gives them a chance to progress, places where their opinions are listened to and action taken, places where employers cultivate team work among employees as well as places where they are provided with the correct working materials. Before and after employees are recruited into a company, they assess their companies as well as their employers. If they feel not comfortable with the employer, they immediately leave the company. Human resource personnel encourage hospitality operators on the importance of building interest on employees to work in their companies. Encouraging people to work for a company increases their productivity leading to customer satisfaction (Laliberté 2006, para. 3).
Conclusion
Growth and development of hospitality companies in United States depends on good relationship between the employers and their employees. Employers who nurture a good relationship with their employees lead to their satisfaction. In addition, it makes them strive to attain companys goals. With employees being satisfied with working in a certain company, the company is able to save on employee turnover. Human resource personnel has helped hospitality operators reduce employee turnover by educating them on the need of ensuring that their employees are always satisfied when working in the company. Empowering employees also makes them remain in a company (Lucas 1995, p. 268).Giving them the freedom to make decision regarding their fields of operations makes them feel comfortable working with the company.
Reference
Brownell, J. & Walsh, K., 2008. Women in Hospitality. London: SAGE.
Carbery, R., OBrien, T. & McDonnell, J., 2003. Predicting hotel managers turnover cognitions. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 18(7/8), p. 649.
Christensen, H., 2008. Human Resource Management in the Hospitality Industry. London: SAGE.
DAnnunzio-Green, N., 1997. Developing international managers in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 9(5/6), p. 199.
Furunes, T., 2005. Training Paradox in the Hotel Industry. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality & Tourism, 5(3), pp. 231-48.
International Labor Organization, 2001. Human resources development, employment and globalization in the hotel, catering and tourism sector. Web.
Kochan, T.A., 2004. Restoring Trust in the Human Resource Management Profession. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 42(2), pp. 132-46.
Laliberté, M., 2006. Recruiting Tourism Workers: The Time Is Now! Web.
Lucas, R., 1995. Managing employee relations in the hotel and catering industry. New York: Cassell.
Resort World Sentosa is one of the two recently introduced integrated resorts in Singapore, by which the country tries to gain competitive advantages in the tourism and gaming industries. Currently, Singapore stays behind Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia in the tourism industry, and to catch up with the major competitors it needs to modify Resort World Sentosa from a mere gaming destination into a comprehensive holiday resort. For this purpose, Resort World Sentosa should use diversification and customization of services, support of the service concept by internal operations, and modified employment and training policies that are not copied by other industry players.
Introduction
For such a relatively young nation as Singapore, tourism is the basic industry that provides the country with the bulk of its income (Singapore Tourism Board, 2010). At the same time, Singapore faces fierce competition with other Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia in the areas of tourism and gaming industries (Yeoh et al., 2001, p. 7).
Drawing from this, the development of the concept of IR, an integrated resort, and the subsequent launch of the first two of them in early 2010, can be viewed as a powerful step taken by the government of Singapore to gain a competitive advantage in the rivalry with other industry players (Kyodo News, 2010). Resort World Sentosa is one of those two IRs, but its development poses one basic challenge to its management, i. e. making Sentosa a one-stop gateway for tourists from around the world.
Industry Analysis
Competition
As stated above, the competition in the tourism industry in Asia is rather fierce as the number of countries, besides Singapore, bases their development on income from tourism services they offer. Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand are the three main competitors Singapore has to rival to increase its market share and attract larger numbers of customers (Yeoh et al., 2001, p. 7). Trying to stand this competition, the government of Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board have developed the Singapore Tourism Policy, according to which the country aims at the growth of tourist arrivals and revenues to 17 million people and S$30 billion respectively (Kyodo News, 2010). It is also expected that the Policy will allow Singapore to increase its GDP by 1 2% and create about 20,000 additional working places in the country.
Resort World Sentosas Position
Thus, traditionally Singapore has been viewed as the country taking a disadvantaged position in the tourism industry as conditioned by the small size and lack of natural resources (Yeoh et al., 2001, p. 7; Yeoh and Chang, 2001, p. 1026), and the launch of the Resort World Sentosa was one of the government initiatives to change the situation and carry out a substantial breakthrough in the tourism industry (Sentosa, 2010; Singapore Tourism Board, 2010).
Needless to say, the fierce competition in the industry makes this a challenging task as, for example, the Malaysian Resorts World Genting is now one of the largest IRs in the world with an annual reception of 19 million visitors (Kyodo News, 2010). Accordingly, to stand the competition and succeed in the industry, Resort World Sentosa and the government of Singapore should take considerable steps discussed further.
Resort World Sentosa
Service Offerings
So, starting to consider the Resort World Sentosa, it is necessary to examine it from the point of view of operations management. Slack et al. (2007) define four Vs as the milestones of operations management including volume, variety, variation, visibility (pp. 16 17). The ideas of services offered fits into the variety concept as, simply speaking, every customer has individual wishes while on vacation and it is the task of resort management to combine all possible services to satisfy the needs of the largest number of customers possible. Currently, Resort World Sentosa provides a considerably wide service variety, but it needs customization, as argued by Wisner et al. (2008, p. 25) and Metters et al. (2008, p. 43), to provide better customer contact and individual service approach.
Dimensions Targeted for Excellence
In more detail, the major difference that Resort World Sentosa should display if compared to other IRs in Asia and other countries is it is being not a mere gaming destination but a place for comprehensive recreation to which a person can come with a family and find interesting activities for all its members. Pride (2009, p. 170) refers to this need as to the phenomenon of diversification, which helps to satisfy the most varying needs of customer groups. In particular, Resort World Sentosa has a well-developed gaming services segment (Sentosa, 2010), and to achieve diversification and customization of amenities it should work on perfecting:
Family recreation activities;
Hotels and other accommodation facilities;
Children entertainment facilities;
Sporting activities for those preferring active recreation;
Nightlife services assortment.
Dimensions Not Considered
At the same time, Resort World Sentosa should also work on becoming different from its competitors in not covering the points in service assortment that others cover by Sentosa considers irrelevant for the industry. According to Johnston (2003, p. 142) and Slack et al. (2007, p. 73), such an approach can present a sustainable competitive advantage to a business company as far as service refinement allows creating unique services and/or products that competitors cannot copy. So, to focus exclusively on the above-listed items targeted for excellence, Resort World Sentosa should not:
Develop its gaming services further;
Advertise the resort as a mere gaming destination or a huge casino.
Internal Operations
Service Concept Support
Further on, Resort World Sentosa should pay considerable attention to the development and support of its service concept. Defined by Johnston (2003) as a clear and simple statement of the overall form, function, purpose, and benefits of the idea (p. 104), the service concept is the succinct and clear formulation of business goals and means of their achievement. Formulation of a mission statement and a strategic vision is the basic internal operation that Resort World Sentosa should work on for service concept support. The recommended vision statement for the company can be: To become a one-stop getaway holiday destination in Asia that provides a comprehensive range of services and allows its customer get all they need for a good rest in one place .
Pricing Policies
Needless to say, the formation of the vision statement is not the complete support to the companys service concept. As Pride (2009) argues, pricing policies allow businesses to gain competitive advantages because competition based on pricing is one of the basic types of business rivalry (p. 185). Drawing from this, Resort World Sentosa should also compete on price to achieve one of its major goals, i. e. attracting larger numbers of customers and increase its revenues to the desired levels of S$30 billion by 2015 (Kyodo News, 2010). The initial policy that Resort World Sentosa should use for making its pricing policies more competitive is to diversify the assortment of services it offers.
The logic of this step is simple: the larger amount of services allows reducing the price of each of them without dumping this price. In its turn, this price reduction accompanied by service assortment diversification will not damage Sentosas income and will allow attracting new customers.
Customers
Influence of Customer Behavior
Needless to say, the influence of customers behavior on any company that operates in the tourism industry is huge. This fact is referred to as the bargaining power of buyers in Porters Five Forces Model (Yeoh and Chang, 2001, p. 1038), and this power increases proportionately to the strengthening of competition and accessibility of similar products and/or services in the market. The above discussion reveals that the competition in the tourism industry in Asia is the fiercest if compared to other regions, which makes the influence of customer behaviors quite important in it. In simpler terms, customers from all over the world can choose to either go to Singapore or another destination, and this choice will determine the success of Resort World Sentosa and other resorts in the country.
Customer Behavior Management Plan
Accordingly, to cope with the considerable power and influence of customers and their behaviors on the company, Resort World Sentosa should have a customer behavior management plan. In theory, there is no uniform structure for such a plan as contexts of their use and conditions of every particular company usually differ. Therefore, it is possible to develop only a draft of such a plan for Resort World Sentosa and determine a testing period to monitor its efficiency. The basic elements of Resort World Sentosa customer behavior management plan are:
Survey levels of customer satisfaction;
Attract new customers by special offers, price reduction, and discounts;
Encourage loyal customers by special programs, bonus systems, and prizes;
Establish departments responsible for each of the three above listed activities;
Regularly monitor the plan efficiency and make necessary corrections in time.
Employment
Employee Selection and Training
In addition, Pride (2009) stresses the importance of employee selection, recruitment, and training to gain a competitive advantage and achieve the end-state long-term strategic goals of a company. The best selection practices, as argued by Pride (2009, p. 257) and Wisner et al. (2008, p. 364) include collecting data on applicants before their employment and deciding, based on those data and interview results, which applicants are most fitting for fulfilling the companys tasks. Thus, to succeed in the selection and training of its employees and retrieve a competitive advantage from it, Resort World Sentosa should:
Establish a separate HRM department to deal with selection and training issues;
Base employment decisions on applicants commitment to work, rather than financial needs or professional qualities;
Provide every employee with free training in the area of tourism business he/she prefers;
Employee Quality Service and Ongoing Management
Further on, ensuring that employees provide high quality service to customers is one of the basic tasks for the ongoing management of the staff and management performance. Motivation, as Slack et al. (2007, p. 271) and Johnston (2003, p. 109) notice, is the driving force of performance improvement, and to ensure its successful use in the company, Resort World Sentosa should:
Assess its short-term and long-term performance goals;
Introduce reward/punishment system to encourage employees for better performance;
Regularly monitor employee performance and substitute underperforming employees with new ones.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Concluding Remarks
Thus, the above-presented discussion reveals that Resort World Sentosa can become an opportunity for Singapore to develop its market share in the tourism industry and gain competitive advantages over its major rivals, i. e. Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. However, to achieve this Singapore should develop Resort World Sentosa using the further provided recommendations.
Basic Recommendations
So, based on the above discussion and references to the relevant theoretical views it is recommended that Resort World Sentosa should take up the following initiatives to succeed in making Resort World Sentosa a one-stop getaway holiday destination in Asia :
Carry out customization and diversification of its services;
Improve the services targeted at the various customer groups;
Avoid positioning the resort as a mere gaming destination;
Develop a clear vision statement and the competitive pricing policy to support its service concept;
React properly to the impacts of customers behavior upon Resort World Sentosa;
Introduce and practice unique employee selection, recruitment, training, and management strategies.
The above-listed recommendations are expected to allow Resort World Sentosa to achieve its goals. At the same time, the efficiency of the recommendations practicing depends upon the context, market conditions, and macroeconomic factors. Accordingly, changes to the recommendations can be made as soon as the external and internal conditions of the company change.
Reference List
Johnston, R. (2003) Cases in operations management. Pearson Education.
Kyodo News. (2010) Singapores 1st casino resorts ready to open their doors. Focus. SMU. Web.
Metters, R. et al. (2008) Successful Service Operations Management. Cengage South-Western.
Pride, W. (2009) Business. Cengage Learning.
Sentosa. (2010) Resort World Sentosa. RWS. Singapore. Web.
Slack, N. et al. (2007) Operations management. Pearson Education.
Wisner, J. et al. (2008) Principles of Supply Chain Management. Cengage Learning.
Yeoh, B. and Chang, T. (2001) Globalizing Singapore: Debating transnational flows in the city. Urban Studies, 38(7), 1025 1044.
Yeoh, B. et al. (2001) Tourism in Singapore: Overview of Policies and Issues. In: Yeoh, B. et al. (eds) Tourism management and policy: perspectives from Singapore. World Scientific. p. 3 15.
The widespread of internet technologies led that the web becoming virtually accessible to everyone. The statistics show that as of March 2011 there are approximately 298,002,705 sites responding online. All of those websites vary in their orientation, directivity, and the sphere in which they operate, but most of them share one common aspect they provide information. At the present time, even schools students can design and publish a website online, which will be ranked and used just like others, and accordingly, fill such website with content. Thus, searching information online people come to sources from various origins in which two important groups of factors might emerge, those related to the content of the website, and those related to the representation of such information and the way it is navigated and retrieved. The inspection of those factors is the role of web evaluation. Web evaluation does not have a formal definition yet, where it can be defined as an assessment process through which it will be determined to which a website is easy to use and contains credible and reliable information. However, a definition was provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services which states that website evaluation can be characterized as the act of determining a correct and comprehensive set of user requirements, ensuring that a website provides useful content that meets user expectations and setting usability goal (Law, Qi and Buhalis 297).
The Purpose of the Paper
Following the aforementioned overview, the present report will attempt to evaluate the website of Hong Kong Disney Land, which start-up page in English is available at Web. The webpage will be evaluated based on qualitative and quantitative methods, at the end of which recommendations for improvement will be presented.
Web Evaluation Approaches
There are several approaches to the evaluation of WebPages, some of them are quantitative, i.e. use measures and criteria that can be quantified using indices and scores, while others are qualitative, i.e. the evaluation is based on non-quantifiable characteristics.
Qualitative
The qualitative approach used in this paper is focused on the evaluation of the content, rather than functionality. The method was developed by Jim Kapounand is currently proposed by Cornell University Library. The method is titled AAOCC (Accuracy, Authority, Objectivity, Currency, and Coverage), and which are the main criteria used to evaluate a website (CUL).
Accuracy
The authorship of the webpage is easy to establish, and as with most respectable commercial websites it is found under the link About our Company . The link redirects toward the company corporate website, which in addition to providing an overview of the author, provides other important corporate information, such as the vision of the company, its mission, and its corporate board. The author in that regard is the Hong Kong International Theme Park Limited (HKITP), which is a joint company owned by both the Hong Kong SAR Government and The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) (Hong Kong International Theme Parks). The contact possibilities provided on the start-up page lead to a contact form that can be filled out for inquiry purposes. In that regard, it can be stated that the webpage is accurate in presenting the information about its authors, and accordingly, a way for contact to verify the information presented there if necessary. It should be mentioned that there is no email provided on the contact page, rather than a free toll number for contact.
In terms of the information presented on the website, it can be stated that it is accurate considering the nature of such information. The purpose of the website is commercial, where it provides an opportunity for customers to learn about the park and make reservations online. On the one hand, the qualifications of the company as the author, including the Hong Kong government and TWDC, where the latter has the knowledge and the expertise necessary to provide such information, managing other Disney-themed parks worldwide. On the other hand, most of the information presented on the website reflects the direct activities of the company, rather than third-party initiatives, and thus, it can be stated that the information represented on the website is accurate.
The Homepage of Hong Kong DisneylandThe Contact Page
Authority
The authority criteria are related to outlining the credentials of authors. It is clear that from the website documentation that their author and webmaster are separated, although they are affiliated. The authors of the document are the joint venture between the Hong Kong government and TWDC, while the website is operated by Buena Vista Internet Group, a California corporation, whose office is at 500 S Buena Vista St, Burbank, California, USA, and which is part of The Walt Disney Company group of companies (Hong Kong International Theme Parks). Thus, it can be stated that the materials and their representation on the website are the full responsibility of its indicated owner.
The commercial purpose of the website is indicated through the com domain, which accordingly, indicate the nature of the qualifications of the authors. It should be noted that the credentials of the authors can be seen through the scale of the company which is marketed on the website. Although the involvement of the government in the company can be seen as a sufficient authority indicator, the indication of such facts as the number of employees employed, the investment made, and the contribution of the park to the incr4ease of the travelers in Hong Kong significantly add to the credentials of the authors. Thus, it can be stated that the author of the webpage has the authority and the qualification to publish information on the website.
Objectivity
The webpage is an internet representation of a commercial entity and thus, it certainly serves marketing purposes. Accordingly, the objectivity of such information can be largely disputed. Although at the present time the website did not contain third-party advertisements, the websites terms of use document indicates the possibility of third-party links and advertisements being represented on the website, for which the company does not hold any responsibility. In that regard, it can be stated that the whole website is an advertisement, which is totally appropriate for a site of such nature and in such domain. Accordingly, it can be understood that the author of the website has a particular bias which is represented through the business component, i.e. making reservations, buying tickets, planning visits, etc. Nevertheless, it should be noted that most information on the website has little significance, in an academic context, and thus, its objectivity is unlikely to a part of the criteria in evaluation. Objectivity can be seen in that it is highly unlikely to find information on the website that will compromise the author of the website, even if such information exists. For example, the press release of the company does not contain information on problems that customers whose tickets were not acceptable, because the park was full (Fan). Thus, it can be concluded that the webpage is not objective in presenting its information, which is an appropriate practice for commercial websites, which main goal is profit.
Third-Party Ad Policy
Currency
The website does not have an indication of the dates at which the website was created or when the last time the information was updated. The nature of the information in that matter might provide implications on the frequency of the updates on the webpage. In that regard, the only document that contains an explicit indication of its update date is the privacy policies of the website, updated at the 10th of March, 2011. Other aspects are implied to be up-to-date, as their currency falls within the interests of the author, e.g. the recent events associated with the park, the discounts, and the special offers. The date of the creation of the website in general can be assumed to be around the time the park was opened in 2005 (Hong Kong International Theme Parks). Such information was supported through an investigation of the websites information on NetCraft, a company providing research data and analysis on many aspects of the Internet , which stated that the website was first reported on October, 2005 (Netcraft). Any other more detailed information on the currency of the website is absent, and at the same time, no dead links were found during the investigation. Thus, it can be concluded that despite the fact that the website lacks an explicit indication of the currency of its information; such information can be safely assumed to be current, according to an analysis of its contents.
The indication of the Currency of a Document on the Website of Hong Kong Disney Land
Coverage
The coverage aspect is related to the comprehensiveness of the information on the webpage. In that regard, it can be stated that there are no apparent gaps in the information for the purposes they serve. The majority of the information is factual, where the opinionated aspect is related mostly to the descriptive marketing side of commercial websites. Nevertheless, the factual part of information is almost completely authored by either Hong Kong International Theme Park Limited (HKITP) or by the parties incorporated in the venture. Accordingly, no external materials are mentioned on the website. The link that connects to the corporate website of the park however, might contain information from external resources, namely ion the press releases section. Such resources are mostly quotes of public figures, which are appropriately credited within the text. Other than that, the information on the website is published firsthand, and thus, no citations are required. The information on the website heavily relies on Adobe Flash on its representation, and thus, in case such software component is not installed on the browser, the user might have less than comprehensive experience from the information. In addition to textual information, the website provides interactive guides and tours which complement the information on the website. It should be noted that almost all websites are compatible with such software plug-in, and thus, only a small category of users might be affected. Such category might include the users of mobile devices from Apple e.g. IPod Touch, IPad, iPhone, which browsers do not support Adobe Flash (Raphael). Thus, it can be conclude that the information on the website is fairly comprehensive for its purpose.
The Adobe Flash Component on the Website (Hong Kong International Theme Parks)
Quantitative
Overview
The quantitative approach to evaluating a website implies the usage of metrics and indices that can be quantified. In that regard, such approach implies several methods such as web content mining, web structure mining, web usage mining, and others. Most approaches imply analyzing logs, which can be hindered by the difficult to have access of such logs. Thus, the method chosen in this paper is web usage mining, which will be provided based on external third party software which will provide essential information for evaluation. The evaluation will be conducted through the site Alexa.com, a website that provides analytical information on web usage, through the installation of toolbars on the computers of their participants. Thus, such data mining technique can be paralleled to the use of surveys for data collection, which are compared in accordance with established indices (Alexa About Alexa Internet ).
Findings
The main information important for the evaluation can be seen through the following facts (Alexa Tokyo Disneyland ):
20% of the visitors come to the website through search engines.
The users are mostly females, and browse from school and work, have no college or some college degree.
The website is slower than 66% of the websites on the internet.
The website is ranked the highest in Hong Kong, followed by Macao and the Philippines.
95% of the visitors stay on the starting homepage of the website.
The highest percentage of websites visited before and after visiting the homepage of Hong Kong Disneyland are Yahoo and Facebook.
37% of visitors viewed a single webpage on the site, the highest among Disneyland Paris and Disneyland Tokyo.
The average time spend on the website by users is 4.5 minutes, which is the lowest among Disneyland Paris and Disneyland Tokyo.
Thus, according to the aforementioned findings it can be stated that the use of the website and the behavior of visitors corresponds to its commercial nature. The majority of users do not browse the whole website, where the starting page provides sufficient information. Only two percent of the total numbers of visitors were visiting the corporate website of the website, and the only link followed form the website was Disneys parent company website. The latter indicates that the usage pattern of the website is mostly restricted to the commercial aspects of the site, i.e. dates, events, schedules, etc. The time spend on the website indicates that no significance being placed on the authorship of the material. Comparing the use of the website to similar park themes, Hong Kong Disney land slightly lags behind. Accordingly, it might be assumed that the visitors have a predefined objective visiting the site, which might be explained through the description of the audience, i.e. females, with children. The general conclusion that can be made regarding the website is that its content corresponds to the profile and the goals of its target audience and their expectations. A comparison with similar websites revealed slight differences in favor of competitors, which do not change the general conclusion on the website.
Recommendations
The recommendations that can be made regarding the website can be divided into three points. The three points can be seen as follows:
Indication of the currency of the websites information.
Changing the start-up page.
Improving the speed and the compatibility of the website.
The currency of the website is related to the findings of the AAOCC evaluation. In that regard, a typical scenario is writing a report of the Hong Kong Disney Land in which the writer will not have the opportunity to prove the currency of the information found on the website. Thus, it will be recommended that the author of the website puts information that indicates when the website was created, a specific page was created, and the last time it was updated.
The Places Where Dates Should be Indicated
A change in the starting page might increase the efficiency of the navigation for the users. Identifying the typical pages to which the users navigate, it can be stated that it be easier if those pages were put right at front page of the site. A good example in that matter can be seen through the website of Disneyland Paris, in which the homepage opens right away on the booking options for visit planning. Considering the finding that the speed of loading is lower than 66% of WebPages online, it can be stated that such improvement might enhance the browsing experience for the users.
The Homepage of Disneyland Paris
Finally, one area of improvement can be seen through the speed of loading pages. For many search engines the speed of the websites engine is a considered as a factor in the rank of the page, as well as a factor in improving the user experience (McGee; Hopkins). Considering that that the website is significantly low in [age loading and considering the commercial nature of the website, it is important to increase the speed of the page loading, where it is argued that delays under half a second impact business metrics (McGee). One suggestion can be seen through using different techniques, e.g. Ajax, and reducing the components that the user downloads, especially if those components are remotely connected to users objectives on the website. An example can be seen through the elimination of Adobe flash from the website. On the one hand, such aspect will increase the compatibility of the webpage with more browsers, and on the other it will increase the load time for the page, without affecting the user experience. The Website for Disneyland Tokyo does not use Flash, it is 37% faster than Hong Kong Disneyland , and it is significantly higher in Alexa rank, 6,998 against 61,314 (Alexa Tokyo Disneyland ).
Conclusion
The present paper provided a web evaluation for the website of the Hong Kong Disneyland. The evaluation used a qualitative approach in analyzing content, using AAOCC (Accuracy, Authority, Objectivity, Currency, and Coverage), and a quantitative approach, using data mining through reports from the website Alexa.com. The report found that generally the content of the website corresponds to the expectation of users and the purpose of the website, although lacking currency indicators. In terms of user experience some problems can be seen through the speed of page loading.The report recommends putting dates on the information of the website, changing the homepage, and increasing the load speed of the page.
Law, Rob, Shanshan Qi, and Dimitrios Buhalis. Progress in Tourism Management: A Review of Website Evaluation in Tourism Research. Tourism Management 31.3 (2010): 297-313. Print.
The hospitality industry is very volatile. The market competition is very stiff. To succeed, a company must develop guiding objectives in order to capture and retain customers. Aqua by Grandstand was conceived and developed with specific objectives by its owners. They wanted to transform it into a modern club-lounge by constructing a simple, easy to operate open-air club-lounge which is safe and durable. For purposes of sustenance, customers safety there is the need to build a lounge that allows flexibility in mobility to new locations as the market dictates. This objective makes the club simple to relocate to new locations giving it competitive advantage over other lounges. The club lounge was built to maximize profit by serving high income earners. The club aimed at serving the middle and higher income groups who would afford high and costly lifestyles. To provide a hot scene or something new to the higher income earners so as to be able to contain them in order to increase their sales. They wanted to develop a new hospitality concept that could resist the risk of losing customers due to relocating to new and exciting sites. They wanted to mainly produce mobile locations to satisfy the needs for large organizations (Darmon 115).
Key problems experienced by the club-lounge Aqua by Grandstand
According to the managing director, the materials that are used in construction must be given adequate care and properly maintained if the lounge is to survive for long. The hospitality industry is very competitive and customers usually shift based on new sites. Aqua by Grandstand has to face this problem and devise ways of solving it. They have to keep on redesigning their landscape and relocating to a new site in order to appear as a new lounge and meet the customers needs. This is essential to keep a wide customer base. The three proprietors of the lounge were faced with the problem of raising enough funds to cover the start-up costs. They had to attract additional funding from investors. They had problem convincing the investors of the viability of the investment since they had not done thorough market research and the project relied on their own observation and prior experience in the industry. The partners experienced a problem of hostility from the natives having come from outside Singapore. The Singapore craftsmen posed cultural barriers to these investors and delayed the production and construction speed of the project. Due to this problem of cultural biasness, the craftsmen raised the prices of labour and materials to unfair levels. The licensing of the project was rather difficult due to the nature of its mobility. The licensing authority could not establish the actual location of the business as a condition for licensing (Lewis 77).
Evaluation of the issues and strategies shown in the case
Lanyi and partners employed complex strategies to conceive and develop Grandstand. They observed a gap in the hospitality industry. They thought of an idea from their observation that consumers interests were not well catered for and therefore their loyalty kept on shifting from one service provider to another, or from one entertainer to another. They developed a strategy of sustaining their customers by making their lounge mobile and having the capability to change its landscape any time they move to a new location to make it appear new and different. Aqua is safe and designed to last long and hence has low maintenance costs which makes it profitable and hence worth investment. Aqua is flexible and easy to set up in new locations. Its stylish and modern with DJs and sound equipment. It is planned to attract high income earners as well as executives. The lounge is capable of sustaining its customers by changing its surroundings to appear different. As a strategy to popularize its mobile venue concept, it is involved in construction of Nokia road show venues as well as developing mobile sound Xperience which is the first recording studio which is mobile. It is also in the process of introducing another mobile venue, Voodoo which is container based in 2009 (Hsu, and Powers, 92-96).
The reliance and impact on innovation
Lanyi had enough prior experience in hospitality from several restaurants he had managed. He had observed that customers interest kept on shifting to new entertainment lounges and therefore he took the issue of developing one which would keep on changing to accommodate the interest of the customers. The structure of the Aqua can be set up within twenty four hours with extra twenty four hours for adjustment into the new location. This shows a high level of innovation. Aqua by Grandstand has been able to cope with the customers desires due to the high level of innovations and technology involved. It is build by materials which are able to withstand sun and water without deteriorating. Further innovations occur where the club lounge can afford to change its landscape in order to appear different. Grandstand is in the process of launching another mobile structure, the Voodoo which will be capable of offering tapas-style finger food on top of beverages. This is also a great work of innovation (McDonald 76).
Necessary recommendations to solve the problems experienced by the hotel
In order to solve problems experienced by businesses within the hospitality industry, it should carry out extensive research about the market before venturing into it. The business should take into account the legal framework in which its operating and fulfill all the requirements to avoid confrontation with the law. It should also relate well with the environment so as to enjoy the goodwill of the surrounding immediate consumers. A complete research of the intended business is vital to determine the sources and availability of the resources required. Through thorough research, the business can be able to assess the profitability of the sector as well as establish the key competitors and their influence in the market. With proper information, the business can be able to lay out good strategies in order to meet the customers requirements as well as compete favourably and out do its competitors.
How the hotel can take advantage of opportunities and improve strategies
To take advantage of the opportunities available, the investor should carry out an accurate assessment of the business environment to determine available opportunities and assess the expected returns before venturing into the business. An existing business must employ new technology and embrace innovations in order to provide good quality and superior products than its competitors. Research has shown that a business that is fast in acquiring new technology is always a mile ahead of its competitors in terms of product improvements and development. Business strategies should be constantly reviewed to assess whether they are in line with the business goals (Futrell 58).
Case With Royal Plaza on Scotts
The objectives of the Royal Plaza on Scotts hotel
Royal Plaza has been unable to establish in the market after being in the market for quite such a long time. The management had to review its operations through evaluation of the hotel objectives. The hotel major objectives were to establish the hotel as a market leader in the industry to renovate and upgrade the hotel and to restore customer confidence. There was need to improve the employees perspective and productivity towards achieving the objective of the farm. The employees required to re-evaluate their commitment towards the achievement of the hotels goals. Beside product differentiation, there was need for overall restructuring of the design and operation of the whole hotel. In an effort to restructure the performance of the hotel, the management started redesigning its customer care service through upgrading and reenergizing it to increase its productivity and enable it compete favourably in the market. It undertook a complex approach to brand its customer service. The objective was to make the hotel a brand that was relevant and meaningful to the needs of the staff, customers and the community in large. The staff should be able to develop and operate on the new concept values to ensure that the brand succeeds in the market (Hite and Johnston 69-71).
Key problems experienced by the Royal Plaza on Scotts hotel
Royal plaza on Scotts has faced a lot of challenges in the hotel industry. Despite being in the service for thirty two years, it could not establish itself in its class as a world- class hotel. The hotel was so dilapidated and down graded to an extent of giving out a tired look. The hotel could not attract customers due to poor administration, service delivery, poor customer service and neglect of the entire property. According to the general managers comment on renovating the heartware of the staff, it is clear that the staff lacked morale and enthusiasm in their work. The hotel had very poor customer service and hence it could not attract or retain its customers. Good customer service is paramount to the success of any business. The hotel did not allow free interaction of the customers with its staff. Instead, the customers could use scripts to order for services. The customers viewed this system as robotic and cold. The standards that governed the operation of the hotel were rigid. There was very little if any free communication between the workers and the management. The management systems provided a harsh environment for workers to operate. The hotels service delivery standards and style were generally poor (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons 113-115).
Evaluation of the issues and strategies shown in the case
It is evident that Royal Plaza on Scotts has undergone several phases before being one of the world class destination hotels. It has been transformed from non-performing hotel through innovation and branding to uplift its image, and through upgrading customer care service to create an independent brand. The management re-evaluated the image of the hotel to the public in order to create confidence in its customers. In order to achieve the branded customer service the hotel had to undergo extra costs of engaging an expatriate to coordinate and spearhead the process. The first strategy was to conduct a brand audit. This was to be done through guest focus group. The staffs were to be surveyed to determine how they viewed the hotel and state what they liked and disliked in the existing hotel and what they expected after the hotel renovation. The same was done to the regular customers and all the stakeholders. The answers they got helped them to establish how the different interest group viewed the hotel and their suggestions were put into consideration. The second strategy was to conduct a two day workshop for staff members which aimed at developing the new brand, articulating of the hotel brand values, identifying new techniques to be taken by the hotel, empowering staff on how to take care of their customers needs and enhance their services to make business attractive. They also adopted the strategy of incorporating the formulated brand values into their daily activities. The management systems were changed to create a favourable climate for the implementation of the formulated values (Donaldson 28-29).
Reliance and impact on innovation
The overall change of the hotel, and facing out of the challenges that faced it rests on the innovation that were carried out during renovations. The general operations of the hotel had to be changed and new methods of operation put in place. Through innovations, the hotel was put back to the position of world class hotel. The hotel can now compete favourably and out do its competitors due to the technology employed in its operations. The hotel was redesigned to give a new look, it was upgraded to acquire the standards of its caliber, and the staff were retrained on customer care and quality service. System to appraise performance management was innovated to measure the success of each staff member in making the success of the brand value. The guest feedback could be measured on service experiences and customer satisfaction using certain metrics. The innovated systems reviews were used to create continuous alignment of the brand (Bowie and Buttle 89).
Necessary recommendations to solving the problems experienced by the hotel
Most of the problems found in hospitality industry are stiff competition, continuous change in taste and preference of the customers and continuous change in technology. To cope with these challenges and remain in profitable business, the business must focused on its goals, and formulate changes that are required to drive the business towards success. To cope with the challenge of stiff competition, the hotel must design its product in a superior way than its competitors. It must embrace good customer service as a competitive tool. It must have a system where the needs of the staff as well as those of the customers are taken utmost good care. Good service delivery ensures satisfaction of the clients and hence ability to retain customers (Reid and Bojanic 113-116).
How the hotel can take advantages of opportunities and improve strategies
To stay in line with the changing taste and preference, the hotel should constantly upgrade its production technology to ensure its products are always of high quality than competitors. Innovations enable the business to identify itself as an independent brand. Customers are able to identify with its product since it is unique. The hotel should time to time evaluate the satisfaction level of its customers through random surveys in order to evaluate their feedback and adjust towards achieving their needs. The business should at regular times conduct research on the performance of other key businesses in the industry so that it can asses its performance and adjust according to the market trends (Reid and 211-213).
Bowie, David and Buttle, Francis. Hospitality Marketing: An Introduction. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. 2004. Print.
Darmon, Rene. Leading the Sales Force: A Dynamic Management Process. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2007. ed. Harcourt. 2001. Web.
Donaldson, Bill. Sales Management: Principles, Process, and Practice. 3rd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print.
Fitzsimmons, James and Fitzsimmons, Mona. Service Management: Operations, Futrell, Charles. Sales Management: Teamwork, Leadership, and Technology. 6th. Print.
Hite, Robert and Wesley, Johnston. Managing Salespeople: A Relationship Hsu, Cathy and Powers, Thomas. Marketing Hospitality. 3rd edn, John Wiley & John Wiley and Sons, 1997. John Wiley & Sons, 2005. Print.
Lewis, Robert. Cases in Hospitality Marketing and Management. 2nd Ed. New York: McDonald, Malcolm. Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann, 1999. Print.
Reid, Robert. Bojanic, David. Hospitality Marketing Management, 4th Ed. New York: Sons: New York, 2002. Print.
Strategy, and Information Technology, 4th Ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2004.
Courting is generally regarded as the necessary ritual between representatives of two sexes that is needed for making the proper choice. Because this ritual is attributed not only to humans but to animals also, the significance of courting is biological. Its duration and significance strongly depend on the development level of the species. In general, the courting period is divided into five stages, and each stage presupposes a particular ritual. The paper aims to analyze the courting of King David when he was trying to conquer Juanitas heart from the perspective of courting significance and value as it is described by Helen Fisher in her Anatomy of Love .
Importance and Theory of Courting
Courting is the necessary ritual within animals before pairing. This is required for selecting the proper partner, and defining whether a partner is worth attention. Therefore, courting is aimed at proving that the choice is correct. Professor Helen Fisher tries to explain courting within humans from the perspectives of the animal world. Therefore, she concluded that the general rules of courting are similar for animals and humans. In general, the courting period, following Fishers researches is divided into five stages:
Attention-getting stage. This is similar to establishing the territory. Men and women start showing off to make the necessary impression.
Recognition. This is required for showing the attention of the other is accepted, and following actions are encouraged. Male has an opportunity to approach the selected female.
Talking phase. Insects, birds, mammals start singing. Men start talking and showing their IQ level. A Males song is the signal for females whether courting should be accepted or not.
Touching phase. The distance between both starts decreasing. This means that the comfort level of both improves, and more daring actions may be taken. This involves hugging another person, touching, brushing delicately.
The final phase of courting is synchronizing, or mirroring. Animals do not have this phase; however, it is one of the most fascinating within humans. This stage is performed unconsciously: people start copying movements and gestures made by the other. This gives the signal to another person that both are in tune with each other. (Fisher, 145)
These five stages will be used as the basis for analyzing the behavior of King David, and his courtship with Juanita. In general, these actions are not exemplary, as King David violates the rules of correct courtship. Anyway, he succeeds, and Juanita shows that she is quite interested in him.
Never Die Alone
The process of courtship shown in movies, fiction, or stories often differs from the commonly accepted rules. On the one hand, the process may seem quite attractive for watching, romantic and effective; on the other hand, it may differ from the stated principles of courting, as humans are individual, and their individualities may require applying non-standard approaches.
In the movie, Never Die Alone in which King David shows courtship when trying to win Juanitas heart, the process of courtship is shown as the situational contact. This is described by Clement (178): courtship process is always defined by the requirements of the situation, as any type of communication should be reasonably grounded. Therefore, King David acts by the surrounding circumstances to attract Juanitas attention, and then conquer her heart. He does not act by Helen Fishers observations that she had described in her book, Anatomy of Love . King David does show plenty of examples. Hence, he is extremely work-oriented, and he had never fallen in love as deep as it is needed for proper courting. The opening stage of courting also presupposes some flash of falling in love at first sight. Hence, by the plot, King David drops in a bar to have a drink, when he notices a young beautiful girl named Juanita. His reaction is shown in the phrase below: Shes everything a man could want, beautiful, intelligent, uncorrupted. David approaches her nonchalantly, and, he is rejected instantly. Even though courting should stop by scientific classification, and the initial stage has already failed, he starts the next phase recognition. When Juanita is walking with a drink, King David bumps into her slightly, and that causes the drink to spill all over him. She helps him clean up; hence, they skip to the next phase touching. King David notices that Juanita is quite responsive; however, she is simply playing hard to get for making the courting game more interesting. Then, David insists on seeing her after work. Juanita explains that she is a student and works in the restaurant. She does not have much time, but she agrees to see him again. This is the successful ending of the courting process that was invented in the course of the contract. It has been already emphasized that some stages were skipped, and the entire process was not subjected to particular rules stated by Fisher (78).
The instance of King David and Juanita reveals that the courting process may differ from the generally accepted norms. Nevertheless, these norms can not be regarded as obligatory, as motives of the process among humans differ from the motives among animals. Courting maybe just be a part of communication, and people tend to know each other better before making sex. People are subjected to mood change, and while Juanita takes Davids wooing aggressively, then, she realizes that his intentions are serious enough for making another attempt. Though, her reaction may be also explained by Davids aggressive start of wooing. Then, he appears to be an interesting and attractive collocutor for her. By the scientific principles stated by Fisher, a male (a man) rarely continues trying or makes another attempt if he is rejected. His attention may be switched to another object. Therefore, Anatomy of Love, which is based on analyzing animals behavior may be helpless when describing some instances and patterns of human behavior.
As for the matter of skipping the stages, this phenomenon may be explained by the fact that the comfort level between two people was high enough for this. Therefore, Juanita, in order not to seem too available, continued acting as a hard to get , while David accepted her rules of the game. This skipping was necessary for developing the situation as if David did everything by the rules, the attraction, as well as comfort, levels would decrease instantly. There could be an opportunity for a third attempt also, however, its effectiveness would be essentially lower. Because circumstances were suitable enough for violating some courting rules, humans courting process is more situation-oriented. This is clearly shown in the movie, as David acts by the situation, and attracts Juanitas attention delicately after the first failure.
Additionally, it should be stated that the possible differences in the described processes and real-life are obvious. Humans are also animals from the biological point of view, however, humans are also social creatures. Therefore, human actions are also dictated by social norms, education, psychological patterns, tastes, and preferences, etc. Therefore, the classification of courting by Helen Fisher may be regarded as the basic principles of inter-human relations, while the actual principles of courting and communication of two persons who attract each other may be stipulated by numerous other factors, and these factors create unique situations with unique communication rules and principles.
Conclusion
Courting is generally regarded as the necessary ritual between potential sex partners. Courting among humans may be classified by the general courting principles among animals, nevertheless, Helen Fisher in her Anatomy of Love gives basic rules of this ritual. The example shown in Never Die Alone movie clearly shows that the course of courting may differ, and humans may easily skip some stages, while animals usually can not. This is explained by the fact that King David and Juanita agreed with the rules of each other, that is why both succeeded. By the scientific classification of the courting process, both violated the rules, however, this did not prevent them from winning the game of courting.
Works Cited
Clement, Elizabeth Alice. Love for Sale: Courting, Treating, and Prostitution in New York City, 1900-1945. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.
Fisher, Helen. Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray . Ballantine Books, New York. 1994.
Cellphones are an inherent part of daily life for many contemporary people, including me. Therefore, it is only natural to ask a question of how not using a cellphone for at least half a day will have a significant and noticeable effect on a persons behavior. There are several factors to keep in mind when hypothesizing how going without a cellphone for twelve hours will impact my physical activity. First of all, I use a cellphone often, and not doing that will free more time for other things, such as physical activity. Secondly, using a cellphone throughout the day gives me something to distract myself with every fifteen to twenty minutes or so. Continuous physical activity may be a way of overcoming this urge for distraction. Finally, it is also important to consider than I am on quarantine now, meaning that outdoor physical activity is pout of the question. Therefore, the hypothesis is as follows: not using a cellphone for the whole twelve hours will have a positive effect on physical activity as it will create more time for indoor exercise and encourage it as the means of avoiding distraction.
Reflection
Going without a cellphone for twelve hours may affect my physical activity positively, as cellphone usage tends to be time-consuming. Under normal circumstances, I use my phone all the time, and even though each particular use is not very long, together they must comprise a large portion of my day. If I do not use a cellphone for twelve hours straight, I will have more mime for other things to do, including physical activity. Of course, this effect should not be taken for granted because I may spend the newly acquired time on other things. Still, it is important to note that not using a cellphone for half a day will provide more time that can be used, among other things, for physical exercise.
A habit of using the cellphone frequently makes a person easier to distract, as a cellphone provides a convenient distraction that is always at an arms length. Going without a cellphone for twelve hours will make this habitual distraction unavailable, and I will have to cope with it by some means. Physical exercise seems to be a reasonable alternative because it requires much energy, thus leaving less for distractions. Additionally, physical activity may be an effective way to take ones mind off things such as the desire to use a cellphone. To put it simply, physical activity may be a useful distraction in its own right, allowing a person to overcome the cellphone addiction and the desire to use the phone out of habit.
Finally, another important factor is not related to cellphones directly. As of now, I am on quarantine, which prevents me from going out. As a result, I cannot engage in some of the more pleasant types of physical activity that involve human contact and usually happen outdoors. Exercising at home effectively becomes the only type of physical activity available to me. The fact that I cannot go out and exercise on plain air may make the physical activity less attractive for me overall. Still, considering that I will have more time for other activities and that physical exercise will help to take my mind off things, not using the cellphone will have a positive impact on my physical activity.
Softball is a team sport with a ball; it is a form of baseball. This sport originated in 1887 and is generally popular with non-professionals. This is due to the fact that, unlike baseball, softball is adapted for less physically prepared people and is not traumatic. Initially, softball was developed for playing indoors, which is why weaker shots on the ball were provided, which are not dangerous for the enemy. The game was originally called mushball or kittenball. In 1895, the game began to be played outdoors. The International Softball Federation (ISF) was founded in 1965 and already as of 2001 united 122 national federations. The world championships are held for women since 1965, for men since 1966 (Smith, 2019). The growing popularity of this sport was facilitated by the serious efforts of the ISF. The greatest challenge was inclusion of softball into the list of Olympic sports. However, after years of effort, on June 13, 1991, softball was finally included in the Olympic program (Smith, 2019). Softball was part of the Summer Olympics program from 1996 (Atlanta) to 2008 (Beijing).
There are several versions of the origin of softball. According to one of these versions, softball appeared along with baseball more than 200 years ago, when immigrants from different countries came and brought their culture to America. The well-known game was brought from Russia in the form of rounders, from England cricket, from Scandinavia pesopolo, and softball appeared as a result of their merger at the junction of various national traditions (Smith, 2019). Subsequently, baseball became a sport for men, while softball remained a popular sport and recreation. The rules of this game were standardized in 1926, and at the same time, the modern name softball was born. This sport is interesting in that it does not require serious physical training, and, at the same time, it develops such qualities as agility, endurance, attentiveness, which will allow in the future to switch to baseball at will. Thus, this activity definitely can be recommended to others those who are not ready to be engaged in professional sport yet but would like to practice some sports activities.
References
Smith, T. R. (2019). How to Play Softball for Girls: A complete Guide Special Edition. S.S. Publishing.
Honduras is the second-largest country in Central America. It attracts tourists with its natural beauty and diversity of wildlife. There are many places to see and activities to do, but it would be better to distinguish a few. An exciting place for tourists to visit is the city Copan, the most studied Maya city in the world, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site ( Maya Site of Copan, n.d.). Interesting elements include a ball platform, a unique temple with the longest known Mayan text, and Acropolis with carved reliefs of the 16 kings of Copan.
Not far from Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras is the countrys first national park La Tigra ( Parque Nacional La Tigra, n.d.). This untouched area of Central Americas tropical jungle is home to ocelots, pumas, and monkeys. Moreover, the park is also a haven for many surprisingly bright and beautiful birds within its borders, including toucans and trogons. It is one of the most visited parks in Honduras, and it is worth a separate excursion. Along the main road between San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, is the natural attraction of Honduras Lake Yojoa (Masters, 2016). It is the largest natural lake in the country and the primary habitat for birds in this Central American country.
Accommodations in Honduras depend on the desires and opportunities of a tourist, and prices can vary. It is crucial that the country has a popular Couchsurfing service, allowing people to offer free overnight accommodation to travelers. Those who want to explore as many attractions as possible in Honduras should familiarize themselves with the areas transport system in advance. One of the most popular types of transportation is buses with many different destinations ( Honduras Transportation, n.d.). Moreover, taxi and car rental services work for everybody. If a tourist wants to get to the islands, then he or she needs to use the ferry and water taxis.
The best shopping experiences can be obtained while searching for souvenirs. The most popular tokens in Honduras are pottery, ceramics, leather items, tobacco, and coffee ( Honduran Souvenirs, n.d.). The last souvenir deserves special attention as it will warm the traveler for a long time and please with an unusual taste, which may differ depending on the growing region. Before shopping, it is worth repeating the numbers in Spanish, as there is a chance that the seller may not know English. Those who have a desire for this can try to bargain.
Hondurans usually start conversations with a friendly salutation and consider it impolite to bypass someone with a greeting. In the rules of an ethics tone, there is also a firm handshake when meeting. Courtesy is viewed as the basis of local etiquette, so it is important how and what is said and in what situation. Various signs are generally given a significant place the more the high status of the interlocutor is emphasized, the higher the respect for the guest himself. The official and predominant language of the country is Spanish, but one can find a population that communicates in dialects with an admixture of Native American words.
Since the main language of the country is Spanish, phrases such as Buenos días, Hola, Hasta luego, Sí, No, Gracias, Por favor, Lo siento are useful for personal communication. Cerrado, Abierto, Entrada, Salida, A la izquierda, A la derecha, Prohibido is the other group of words useful for tourists. If there were problems in understanding phrases No hablo español¿ Habla ingles? were used. At acquaintance, it is possible to use ¿Cómo te llamas? Me llamo.
References
Honduran souvenirs. (n.d.). Web.
Honduras transportation. (n.d.). Web.
Masters, T. (2016). Lago de Yojoa: Honduras hidden oasis. Web.
