Management Service Operation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Management Service Operation - Case Study Example Monitoring of the services rendered and correcting it is an important feedback management technique that needs to be adopted and implemented. The Service Industry that has been taken for analysis purposes is the tourism industry at Pattaya, Thailand. All the aspects of the business management laid out earlier, pertaining to the geographical advantage, facilities and operational management and Human Resources Management are studied during my visit to the location. This is analysed to see whether the theoretical aspects are met by the practical situations in the hospitality and the tourism industry. The extent to which the factors affect the performance of the industry has been studied and presented below. 2. Finance management is a major requirement for any business and this paper studies the methods adopted by the finance management team at the hospitality centre to take care of the issues that might prop up from time to time. 3. Operational Management was studied under the capacity management principles that were employed to take care of the capacities of the location, quality of service and the overall operational management. 4. ... The details of these are presented below. Location and Facility Management The company we are interested in is a resort at the Beaches of Pattaya, Thailand. The resort spans about 4 acres of land facing the ocean front beach called the Dongtan beach. The location is tropical. The hospitality divides the season into three groups rather than two. They call it low, high and peak. The low season is between May 1 and Oct 31. The High is between Feb 15 and April 30 while the peak season is between Dec 20 and Feb 14. There is a gap of about one and a half months, which is used by the management to do maintenance or any other activity that might be needed to make the resort a better one for the customers to walk in. It is designed as a Thai village Resort with only 45 suites that takes care of every need of the customer. The village resort has three types of cottages or suites. These include forest lane houses, pool cottages with garden showers and suites with Thai showers. All the three of them offer similar basic facilities to the customers. 1. Every suite can be occupied by 2 to 4 people, with 60 to 80 square meters of space for the occupant. 2. Some suites come with full kitchen, refrigerators, ovens, burners, etc., 3. But every one of the rooms inherits the architectural splendours of the past and replicates the Thai heritage themes. The silk, the cotton, the furniture are all hand made from the Thai villages. Many of the original artwork of Thai artisans adorns the rooms (Rabbit Resorts 2007). 4. In some of the cottages, private balconies and gardens are also maintained. Even a garden Thai Shower for a bath in the gardens is possible. 5. The resort also provides a room service like any other would, in addition to the restaurant

Social work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 2

Social work - Essay Example I have learned to empathize and see the perspective of the service-user I counsel without crossing the boundaries of professionalism. I work with victims of domestic violence. I am aware that they need to be understood but not patronized in a way that makes them feel pitied. I have also learned to control my feelings and not allow them to get in they way of my pursuit of professionalism. For example, there was a service user who was very agitated when she came to the refuge. Her emotionality caused the other workers to panic or become defensive which further provoked her. Although I was nervous, I approached her calmly with a firm but gentle voice and asked her what was bothering her. I did not mirror her actions and reactions or else it will just be encouraged, so I did the opposite and talked to her in a low, calming voice to soothe her, assuring her everything will be alright but she needed to relax. My approach worked because she did calm down. A little while later, she was ready to talk about her issues. In my dealings with service users, I have learned to ask questions that would elicit more information about them and their cases. As much as possible, I ask open-ended questions to enable them to answer with more information instead of just a ‘yes’, a ‘no’ or any other one-word answers. I am learning so much from my placement experiences although I know I have a long way to go. I take every opportunity to hone my skills, enhance my knowledge and build my professionalism. I receive appropriate training, support and supervision to help me in the successful implementation of my duties (Thompson, 2009). I read books, online articles or simply engage in deep conversations with available mentors in placement. â€Å"Social work is a profession and a social science committed to the pursuit of social justice, to quality of life, and to the development of the full potential of each individual, group and community in a society.† I am fully aware

Holdens Passive and Unwillingness Essay Example for Free

Holdens Passive and Unwillingness Essay Holden is the protagonist in the novel, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1945). Holden is a character who tries to seek for dignity, but he has some flaws holding him back. Holden is passive and unwilling to examine himself and seek his own dignity. Three reasons for his tragic flaw are: his craziness, his immaturity, and his phoniness and madman stuff. The first reason for Holden’s flaw is his craziness. He acts this way because he is not normal like others. Something that he repeats constantly throughout the novel is, â€Å"He is the biggest phony.† This quote shows how Holden thinks and acts towards others. Holden acts this way because who falls in love too quickly with Jane and Sally. He also thinks this way because Jane and Sally equal perfection and he isn’t perfect like them or anybody else. Finally his thoughts are what can he do to be perfect like everyone else because he seems to be the only that is crazy. Therefore, Holden acts and thinks differently from everyone else because he is insane. The second reason for Holden’s flaw is his immaturity. He acts this way because Holden is always alone and have no family to support him except his younger sister, Phoebe. Something that is repeated constantly throughout the novel is, â€Å"Jane keeping her kings in the back row.† This symbol shows that Holden cannot separate the past from the present time. Holden thinks this way because he was always necking with Jane when they were young. He also thinks this way because of his immaturity of always wanting to have sex and always wanting to be a kid instead of growing up to is an adult. Finally his thoughts always want to be with Jane, but because of his immaturity Jane doesn’t choose him. Therefore, Holden acts immature towards others because he has been expelled from four different schools and no one is there to teach him his manners and to discipline him. The third reason for Holden’s flaw is his phoniness and his madman stuff. He acts this way because he doesn’t want to get help. Something that Holden repeats constantly in the novel is, â€Å"I’m a madman.† This quote shows that he has some personal issues going on with him, but he doesn’t want to get help. He thinks this way because his other lover, Jane is going out with others, but not him because he is a jealous person. He also thinks like this because it shows his low-self esteem and his view towards women. Finally his thoughts are I’m a madman because he is inexperienced with women. Therefore, Holden is a madman because of his jealousy toward women and never did have a real relationship with any women before. In conclusion, Holden is passive and unwilling to examine himself and seek his own dignity. Three reasons for his tragic flaws are that he is crazy, he is immature, and his phoniness and his madman things. Holden acts crazy because he is not normal like others and isn’t perfect at everything. He acts immature because no one is there to teach him his manners and no one is there to also teach him his respect and manners. Holden also acts like a madman because he is jealous of Jane and Sally. He also acts like this because he doesn’t like the private schools that he goes to. Therefore, I think that Holden needs to go get some serious help to become a good and a better person.

The Car Rental Industry In The Us Economics Essay

The Car Rental Industry In The Us Economics Essay The car rental industry is a multi-billion dollar sector of the US economy. The US segment of the industry averages about $18.5 billion in revenue a year. Today, there are approximately 1.9 million rental vehicles that service the US segment of the market. In addition, there are many rental agencies besides the industry leaders that subdivide the total revenue, namely Rent-A-Car, Dollar Thrifty, Budget and Vanguard. The rental car industry is highly consolidated which naturally puts potential new comers at a cost-disadvantage since they face high input costs (since companies in this industry have revenues of billions of dollars), with very low possibilities of economies of scale. Moreover, most of the profit is generated by a few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis. For the fiscal year of 2006, Enterprise generated $7 billion in total revenue. Hertz came in second position with about $3.9 billion and Avis with $2.75 in revenues. During this year, revenues were about $20 billio n, with the top six companies having combined market shares of over 90 percent. Competition in this industry goes beyond nationally, companies are expanding globally, and for example Rent-A-Car is operating in the U.S, Canada, U.K, Ireland and Germany. In the U.S market there is a strong competition between the six largest companies, especially between Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Hertz for the rental facilities in airports. The level of vertical integration in the industry has been reduced in the last decades, by letting these companies more flexibility in the market and leading to higher profit margins. In fact, among the industry players only Hertz is vertically integrated through Ford. The market size of this industry is large so there is high demand for renting, but due to the very strong competition, the profit margin is not so high or attractive, moreover, it is best attained by economies of scale. Competitiveness has risen to such an extent that, according to Business Travel Ne ws, vehicles are being rented until they have accumulated 20,000 to 30,000 miles until they are sent for sale to the used car industry. What is competition like and how strong are the competitive forces? There are many factors that shape the competitive landscape of the car rental industry. Competition is fierce not only because the market is saturated and well guarded by industry leader Enterprise, but competitors operate at a cost disadvantage along with smaller market shares since Enterprise has established a network of dealers over 90 percent the leisure segment. On the corporate segment, on the other hand, competition is very strong at the airports since that segment is under tight supervision by Hertz. Competitively speaking, the rental car industry is a war-zone as most rental agencies including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the major players engage in a battle of the fittest. The five competitive forces Competitive Rivalry Among Sellers There are many factors that drive competition within the car rental industry. Over the past few years, broadening fleet sizes and increasing profitability has been the focus of most companies within the car rental industry. Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the leaders have been growing both in sales and fleet sizes. In addition, competition intensifies as firms are constantly trying to improve their current conditions and offer more to consumers. Hertz, for example, integrates its Never-Lost GPS system within its cars. Enterprise, on the other hand, uses sophisticated yield management software to manage its fleets. The Potential Entry of new Competitors Entering the car rental industry puts new comers at a serious disadvantage. Over the past few years following the economic downturn of 2001, most major rental companies have started increasing their market shares in the vacation sector of the industry as a way of insuring stability and lowering the level of dependency between the airline and the car rental industry. On one hand, this action has ensured the success in the long run of the existing firms; on the other hand it has made it much more difficult for new entrants to join this market. Existing firms such as Enterprise, Hertz and Avis carefully monitor their competitive radars in order to be ready to attack any potential new entrant in the market. Another barrier to entry is created because of the saturation level of the industry. In 2006, Enterprise had a rental location within 15 miles of 90 percent of the US population. Because of the network of dealers Enterprise has established around the nation, it has become relatively s table, and most importantly, less reliant on the airline industry compared to its competitors. The Threat of Substitute There are many substitutes available for the car rental industry. From a technological standpoint, renting a car to go the distance for a meeting is a less attractive alternative as opposed to video conferencing, virtual teams and collaboration software with which a company can immediately setup a meeting with its employees from anywhere around the world at a cheaper cost. In addition, there are other alternatives including taking a cab which is a satisfactory substitute relative to quality and switching cost, but it may not be as attractively priced as a rental car for the course of a day or more. While public transportation is the most cost efficient of the alternatives, it is more costly in terms of the process and time it takes to reach ones destination. Finally, because flying offers convenience, speed and performance, it is a very attracting substitute; however, it becomes an unattractive alternative in terms of price relative to renting a car. On the business segment, car rent al agencies have more protection against substitutes since many companies have implemented travel policies that establish the parameters of when renting a car or using a substitute is the best course of action. Generally, the threat of substitute is reasonably low in the car rental industry since the effects the substitute products have do not pose a significant threat of profit erosion throughout the industry. The Bargaining Power of Buyers An interesting trend that is currently underway throughout the industry is forcing car rental companies to adapt to the needs of corporate travelers. This trend significantly reduces supplier power or the rental firms power and increases corporate buyer power since the business segment is extremely price sensitive, well informed about the industrys price structure, purchase in larger quantities and they use the internet to force lower prices. The Bargaining Power of Suppliers Supplier power is low in the car rental industry. Because of the availability of substitutes and the level of competition, suppliers do not have a great deal of influence in the terms and conditions of supplying the rental cars. Because the rental cars are usually purchased in large quantities, rental car agents have significant influence over the terms of the sale since they possess the ability to play one supplier against another to lower the sales price. Another factor that reduces supplier power is the absence of switching cost. That is, buyers are not affected from purchasing from one supplier over another. What forces are at work to change industry conditions? One of the most important forces in the car renting industry is the use of internet in companies. Internet has made possible instant linking between renting stores in different locations and provides a lower distribution and inventory cost. What is more, improvement in technology and the installation of different tools, including the GPS system in rented cars has made this industry more competitive for customers. The installation of specialized software in the facilities where cars are given for rent, for checking preferences of customers in different regions, gives details about what cars are mostly preferred and how many of them should be in that store, reducing storage costs. Which companies are in Strongest/ Weakest positions? As a moderately concentrated sector, there is a clear hierarchy in the car rental industry. From an economic standpoint, disparities exist from a number of dimensions including revenue, fleet size and the market size each firm holds in the market place. For instance, Enterprise dominates the industry with a fleet size of approximately 600,000 vehicles along with its market size and its level of profitability. Hertz comes in second position with its number of market shares and fleet volume. In addition, Avis ranks third on the map. Avis is among one of the companies that is having issues recovering its revenue margins from prior to the economic downturn. For instance, in 2000 Avis returned revenues of approximately $4.23 billion. Over the course of the next several years following 2000, the revenue of Avis has been significantly lower than that of 2000. As a way of reducing uncertainty most companies are gradually lowering the level of dependency on the airline industry and emerging t he leisure market. This trend may not be in the best interest of Hertz since its business strategy is highly linked to the airports. What strategic moves are rivals likely to make next? Since this industry operates in very narrow profit margins, it is very important to predict what the competitors next moves will be in order to be as prepared as possible. In 2007 there were some developments in this industry which were concerning Rent-A-Cars executives. These developments included a possible merger between Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group and Vanguard Car Rental as well as direct attacks on Enterprises off-airport rental markets and insurance company clients by Hertz, the second rental company in the industry. Avis uses its OnStar and Skynet system to better serve the consumer base and offers free weekend rental if a customer rents a car for five consecutive days. What are the key factors for competitive success? There are many key success factors that drive profitability throughout the car rental industry. Capacity utilization is one of the factors that determine success in the industry. Because rental firms experience loss of revenue when there are either too few or too many cars sitting in their lots, it is very important to efficiently manage the fleets. This success factor represents a big strength for the industry since it lowers if not completely eliminates the possibility of running short on rental cars. Efficient distribution is another factor that keeps the industry profitable. Despite the positive relationship between fleet sizes and the level of profitability, firms are constantly growing their fleet sizes because of the competitive forces that surround the industry. In addition, convenience is one of the crucial attributes by which customers select rental firms. Another key success factor that is common among competing firms is the integration of technology in their business proc esses. Through technology, for instance, the car rental companies create ways to meet consumer demand by adding the convenience of online rental among other alternatives. Furthermore, firms have integrated navigation systems along with roadside assistance to help their customers find the desired location easier and faster. Is the industry attractive or unattractive and why? There are many factors that impact the attractiveness of the car rental industry. Because the industry is moderately concentrated, it puts new market entrants at a disadvantage. What is more, existing companies in the industries can take measures to attack new entrants. Because of the risks associated with entering the industry among other factors, it is not a very attractive sector of the marketplace. From a competitive standpoint, the leisure market is 90 percent saturated because of the active efforts of Enterprise to dominate this sector of the market. On the other hand, the airport terminals are heavily guarded by Hertz. Realistically speaking, entry in the industry offers low profitability relative to the costs and risks associated. For most consumers, the main determining factors of choosing one company over another are price and convenience. Because of this reason, rental firms are forced to offer more to the consumers for less just to remain competitive. Based on the impact of the five forces, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry to potential new market entrants.

Analysis of J Sainsbury’s Essay -- essays research papers

Analysis of J Sainsbury’s Unit 1- Business at work Businesses exist to produce goods and services. If someone is thinking of starting up their own business or becoming part of an existing business, they would have to have the knowledge of what makes business work successfully and know how to how to apply that knowledge in the particular area of business. For this unit I will be entering and exploring the world of business. For this unit I will encounter and evaluate information provided by certain businesses and actually gather my own information from at least one business. The business I have chosen to study is J Sainsbury’s. There are many types businesses in this world; these include Sole trader, Plc, Ltd, Partnership, Co-op and franchise. These types of businesses are all different from each other. Some of them need just one owner, some have hundreds. Sole Trader A sole trader is a one man business. There is just one manager. Although they are the sole manager and owner they can employ staff to work for them. They can employ as many as they want to work for them. A sole trader is self employed, this means they work for themselves, they employed themselves, they for nobody. Sole traders trade with others. They may trade expertise, an example of this would be a business consultant taking on a big job and needing an extra hand just for that job, so this person may employ a person with the expertise he/she needs. Because a sole trader is the sole owner he/she keeps all the profits, unless he/she has any employees. The owner of the business makes all the decisions, he/she will not have anyone telling them what to do. When one wants to set up a sole trader business it is relatively easy. There is little paper work involved bec... ...nagement practices which result in measurable continous quality improvement. It is this ongoing procceess of quality improvement. It is this ongoing process of quality improvement which contribute to changes in production. Advantages Prevents errors Prevents poor quality products Features of TQM: Quality Chains Company policy and accountability Control Monitering the process. Monitering the process. Quality Certification This is where the item being sold has been given a kite mark from the british standards institite for being at a certain standard of quality. Advantages: Marketing necessity Saving in cost Fewer problems and complaints Reduction of waste in internal process Disadvantages: Costly Lots of processes to go through Takes time Many take time to produced new products Lots of paperwork   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Adolescent Girls :: essays research papers

This study examined the perceived role of three types of sociocultural agents (peers, parents, and media) in influencing body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint in adolescent girls. Participants were 577 grade 10 girls from six schools who completed questionnaires in class and had height and weight measured. Two path analyses resulted in a similar pattern. While current body size strongly predicted ideal body size and body dissatisfaction, perceived influence of multiple sociocultural agents regarding thinness also had a direct relationship with body ideal and dissatisfaction. Dietary restraint was predicted directly from body dissatisfaction and sociocultural influences. Peers, parents, and media varied in their perceived influence. The findings support the idea that those girls who show the most body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint live in a subculture supporting a thin ideal and encouraging dieting. Body concerns and/or dieting behaviors are reported by mast adolescent girls (Paxton et at, 1991; Wadden, Forster, Stunkard, & Linowitz, 1989; Wertheim, Paxton, Maude, Gibbons, Szmulker, & Hillier, 1992). Although body concerns may lead to healthy eating choices and exercise in some girls, many others diet despite already being a healthy weight or report using unhealthy methods such as fasting or vomiting (Paxton et al., 1991; Wadden et al., 1989; Wertheim et al., 1992). These latter behaviors are of concern since longitudinal studies suggest that dieting in adolescence is a risk factor for the development of eating disorder symptoms (Killen et al., 1994; Leon, Fulkerson, Perry, & Early-Zaid, 1995; Patton, Johnson-Sabine, Wood, Mann, & Wakeling, 1990). Most theories of dieting, body image, and eating disorders assign a major role to sociocultural factors (Levine & Smolak, 1992; Stice, 1994), such as the media. There has been a trend in the media, over several decades, for smaller ideal female body size despite increases in the actual body size of young women (O'Dea, 1995). These findings have led to the idea that body dissatisfaction results from the discrepancy between a female's actual body size and an ideal size strongly influenced by images in the media. Indeed, larger girls (those farthest from media ideals) report more dieting and body dissatisfaction, and many normal-weight girls also diet and report dissatisfaction (Huon, 1994; Patton et al., 1990; Paxton et al., 1991; Wadden et al.

Postcolonial Indian Literature in English: Narayan, Jhabvala, Rushdie :: Essays Papers

Postcolonial Indian Literature in English: Narayan, Jhabvala, Rushdie Indian literature in English which is accessible to us in the West, still has its roots in colonial literature and the tensions between East and West. A European naturalism is often present; a concern to posit India as an arena within which Western readers can identify realities is inherent within much of this writing. The following are three examples of the progression of post-Independence literature. Twenty years after Independence, R.K.Narayan was still tackling issues of colonialism. The Vendor of Sweets (1967) takes us through the tensions integral to a family in which two generations belong to two different cultures. Ascetic Jagan belongs to an old India of family and history ;his son to an India increasingly subject to the foregrounding of the commodity and a dramatic industrialisation. Narayan explores the inevitable clash of what is, in many ways, both a colonial and a post-colonial encounter: Jagan, a follower of Gandhi and a veteran of the wars against British Imperialism, must attempt a negotiation of an ethos invasive to his own definitions of nationality; Mali, without this structure, must reconcile an American capitalism with India's own sense of what constitutes a modern nation. This theme is continued in Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's Heat and Dust (1975). Again two generations, this time British, must come to terms with an alien culture. Whilst Olivia's adventures are romanticised, Jhabvala attempts to explore in a more sophisticated manner the social outlay of Anglo-Indian relations with the higher Muslim classes and Olivia's step-grand-daughter is confronted with an India that remains hidden in the works of Kipling, Forster or Narayan. Leelavati the beggar-woman's life, if not her behaviour, demonstrates an unusual social awareness of the lowest castes. It is to be noted that the East-West dichotomy within the later generation has become less strained: modern Britain is expected now to accept India on its own terms. Salman Rushdie, whose work has been produced in the eighties and nineties, has removed himself from the sites of both nationality and naturalism but remains in an engagement with economic colonialism and its consequences.