Organizational Communication and Tourism - Dissertation Example

OF SURREY SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT HOW DOES THE CONCEPT OF ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION IMPACT THE MODERN DAY TOURISM MANAGER IN TERMS OF ASSISTING COMMERCIAL SUCCESS BY SUNYONG MOON URN: 1358219 A project submitted in part-fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the BSc (HONS) in International Hospitality & Tourism Management Supervisor: Professor Victoria Eichhorn ABSTRACT Communication has always been fundamental to the operation of a business (Leiper, 2004), and it therefore has an historical dimension (Page S., 2003). However, as processes of communication have become recognised to be critical within the domain of business, these processes have been fine-tuned and sophisticated by various stakeholders (Page S., 2003), with their operation increasingly being aligned with the strategic aims of the business (Page S., 2003). The modern day tourism manager operates in a context, where principles of organisational communication can be the difference between optimal performance viz a viz competitors operating in the tourism industry, and the failure of a business to meet its business objectives (Page S., 2003). These principles affect how communication takes place between the organisation itself and the various stakeholders holding an interest in the business (Burack E. et al., 1996). Principles of good communication practice therefore inhabit the domain of strategic business vision in terms of achieving set business aims and objectives (Page S., 2003). The tourism industry has been fundamentally affected by processes of change (Leiper, 2004), within the domain of business and within the international markets, where the business of tourism is conducted (Page S., 2003). However, it is needed to assess that how these changes have happened, and how it can be evaluated in terms of the strategic aims of business actors, such as, the modern day tourism manager. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 The aims and objectives of the dissertation 4 1.2 Background 4 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 5 2.1 Scope of project 6 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW 6 3.1 The definition of organisational communication 6 3.2 The role of the modern day tourism manager 8 3.3 On-line tourism and the role of the tourism manager 9 3.4 Tourism managers working in retail outlets with a physical location 9 3.5 Organisational communication and employees 12 3.6 Organisational communication and customers 14 3.7 Organisational communication and competitors 15 CHAPTER 4: CASE STUDY 17 CHAPTER 5: EVIDENCE 17 5.1 What evidence was used 17 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION 17 CHAPTER 7: RECOMMENDATIONS 18 CHAPTER 8: REFLECTION REPORT 19 LIST OF REFERENCES: 19 BIBLIOGRAPHY: 20 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 The aims and objectives of the dissertation The aims and objectives of the dissertation are to consider the processes of organisational communication in regard to its relevance with the operation of businesses within the tourism sector. To achieve this aim, the role of the tourism manager will be considered in depth, and there will be a discussion on how the concept of organisational communication has an impact on the role of the tourism manager, in terms of achieving commercial success. The roles of various other stakeholders such as employees and customers will also be focused upon, in considering this matter further. This dissertation aims to synthesise all of this material and communicate a view as to how the modern day tourism manager has been shaped by the recognised processes of organisational communication. 1.2 Background The challenges faced by the modern day tourism manager are numerous (Page S., 2003). The environment in which the modern day tourism manager operates demands professional and effective communication techniques (Page S., 2003), with many stakeholders such as colleagues, third party businesses, investors, competitors and others (Page S., 2003). Baker notes the shift from informal to more formal methods of communication for these sectors: "managers have traditionally spent the majority of their time communicating in one form or another (meetings, face-to-face discussions, memos, letters, e-mails, reports etc). Today, however more and more employees find that an important part of their work is communication" (Baker K., 2002) The business organisation itself must therefore support these needs and it must facilitate these effective methods of communication, if the organisation that employs the tourism manager, is to exist as a competitive entity in the world of business. The tourism manger themselves must also facilitate and preserve these effective methods of organisational communication, in order to achieve a competitive existence on behalf of the organisation they work within. Therefore, principles of organisational communication, their understanding, scope and application may be seen as a part and parcel of the role of the modern day tourism manager that wishes to perform the role of manager in an effective, profitable and competitive manner. Good communication is a key to this role, and this communication takes many forms. It can be face-to-face, informal, formal, external or internal. The modern day tourism manager must choose how best to approach the demands of their role, whilst implementing these principles (Page S., 2003). This dissertation considers the many ways in which the concept of organisational communication has an impact on the role of the modern day tourism manager, in terms of assisting commercial success. The nature of a tourism operator as a business concern will be considered in depth, along with the roles and everyday responsibilities of the tourism manager. The contribution of organisational communication to the success of an organisation will also be considered and explained. CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY The methodology employed in this dissertation is a book-based, critical theoretical analysis. It may be argued that this is the approach which best matches the overall aims of the dissertation in terms of evaluating the role of the tourism manager and the relationship of the modern day tourism manager, with the concept of organisational communication. (Jensen K., 2002) This approach is a qualitative one. Qualitative research is a type of research that is conducted and influenced by the interventions and the subjective influence of the researcher, as opposed to the quantitative methodology, which is more objectively constructed and tends to be centered on experiments and tests that produce uniform results. (Jensen K., 2002) This qualitative approach was focused upon because this allows the writer to select from the huge body of available literature, and consider what is chosen as most relevant to the overall aim of the project. This is because the project itself is mainly discursive and analytical. There are no "right" answers involved in this type of analysis, but there is a requirement that the views that are drawn from the literature are discussed fairly and in a balanced manner. The qualitative research is therefore presented as a view that may be agreed with or disagreed with by the reader. (Jensen K., 2002) Books, academic articles, the internet, internet articles, and academic databases, are used as sources for the evaluation of the subject-matter of the dissertation. Research plans and timetables are also used to decide and implement the main objectives of the research. It is a useful way of allocating the most important resource available. 2.1 Scope of project Ethical principles are not necessarily required to be considered within the scope of this dissertation, because these is necessarily when it is relevant to those projects that are not mainly book-based in application. Interviews, tests or experiments have not been employed, which require a dedicated ethical framework. For the purposes of this project, it is suffice to say that the relevant materials used in the research have been referred; as otherwise, the ethical considerations necessary are themselves limited by the scope and application of the chosen methodology. (Jensen K., 2002) CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1 The definition of organisational communication Broadly speaking, organisational communication is the study of how organisations function communicatively. Communication is such a key aspect of the operation of an organisation that studying its efficacy within particular organisations, and assessing how generic, good communication practices can help achieve the overall aims of an organisation, has become popular. Given this, the key aims of an organisation and the ability of the organisation to achieve those aims may be linked with the communication processes within the organisation. Therefore, it is easy to locate the flaws within one domain (communication processes), that may be linked to the problems within the other (the actual organisation), and therefore, seeking to improve communication processes within a given organisation, which can help it to maintain a competitive, commercial presence in the global market, for the sale of tourism services. (Page S., 2003) The importance of communication within organisations has grown as businesses, such as those within the tourism industry have changed over the last fifty years. These changes have been both external (globalisation, the development of technology and new communication systems), and internal (the requirement for the use of particular, new technologies within businesses, and the increasing focus on evaluating the success of an organisation). (Page S., 2003) In modern tourism businesses, the internet plays a key role in the functioning of the organisation. Some tourism businesses use the internet to facilitate communication with different audiences including potential customers, the public at large, actual customers, employees, prospective employees, investors, competitors and business affiliates. In this sense, the internet facilitates communication with both external and internal audiences. The use of the internet involves the use of websites, both internal to the organisation (intranets), and external to the organisation (such as, where tourism services are advertised through the operation of a website). Internally, the internet facilitates the use of email and video-conferencing services. (Page S., 2003) So, what does this mean for tourism organisations, operating in the private sector According to Baker, organisations are more fast paced, more complex, involve communication with a diverse range of stakeholders (Page S., 2003), and involve distributed work processes (Baker K., 2002) - where work is performed in many different locations. Organisations perform their functions in many different locations, often simultaneously and this makes innovation, science and the management of knowledge within the organisation more important (Page S., 2003). Indeed, citing the role of communication within modern organisations, Baker, quoting Grenier et al. states "communication is not only an essential aspect of these recent organizational changes, but effective communication can be seen as the foundation of modern organizations" (Baker K., 2002). The next section focuses on the actual role of the modern day tourism manager, and this introduces the main focus of this dissertation - how does the concept of organisational communication impact the role of the modern day tourism manager 3.2 The role of the modern day tourism manager Tourism managers manage and administer the activities of people, who visit different locations for leisure purposes. These activities are usually performed by individuals in order to relax, for fun and a "break" from the stresses and strains of everyday life - people who wish to "get away from it all".(Page S., 2003) "Tourism" as a means of relaxing, and spending an individual's leisure time is such a diverse and commonplace activity across cultures, borders and countries, that the concept of what it means to be a "tourism manager" is necessarily diverse. In many ways the role of the tourism manager will be defined and contextualised according to the location where they work, and their role will therefore inevitably vary from one country to the other. For the purposes of this dissertation, therefore, the role of the UK tourism manager will be focused upon. Tourism services are provided by the public and the private sectors within the UK. However, public sector provision of tourism services will not be the focus of this dissertation. (Page S., 2003) The tourism manager operating in the UK private sector undertakes many responsibilities. There are many ways in which tourism services are provided to the public in the UK, and the tourism manager co-ordinates this process. (Page S., 2003) 3.3 On-line tourism and the role of the tourism manager Tourism in the UK operates online, and tourists peruse the websites that sell holidays (such as lastminute.com) and purchase holidays online. Tourism managers organise this process and ensure that it runs efficiently, competitively and profitably while also providing a high quality service to the customer. The role of the tourism manager within this context is to be the point of contact for business activities that require a higher level of skill, experience and expertise to resolve. The tourism manager can also delegate certain tasks that are below his or her level of experience, expertise and skill. (Page S., 2003) The tourism manager also supervises the efficacy and functioning of the online tourism business. In this sense, the tourism manager is required to be sales-orientated and aware of the needs of the consumers and the organisation as a means of meeting these needs. The tourism manager, working within this online sales sector is focused on ensuring that the website interface is easy to use, runs smoothly and advertises the holidays on offer to the best effect. The tourism manager is also required to evaluate the success of the organisation, and respond to shifts in the successfulness of how the organisation achieves its aims. (Page S., 2003) 3.4 Tourism managers working in retail outlets with a physical location Other tourism managers operate from retail tourism outlets, such as Thompson Holidays, and other outlets that occupy a physical location within the UK, such as a busy High Street in a city or town. These outlets in many instances comprise of a chain of similar outlets, and customers visit the premises in order to get information about available holidays and tourist attractions. Holidays are sold from these organisations through brochures or through advertisements placed on the actual premises, rather than online. (Page S., 2003) The tourism manager working in this context like the tourism manager working in the online sector is responsible for the optimal functioning of the organisation, maximising the sale of a product, ensuring that customers are satisfied and in turn, the organisation makes as much profit as possible. The tourism manger is also responsible for the effective communication in between the organisation, the general public, competitors, media and other stakeholders that may affect the effective administration of the organisation. (Page S., 2003) The communication required serves many purposes, all tied to the role and duties of the tourism manager operating within this context (Page S., 2003). The product (usually holiday packages) needs to be described accurately and clearly and in an enticing manner, so as to attract the attention of the potential customers. The tourism manager is also responsible for ensuring that sales of the products on offer are profitable (Page S., 2003). To this end, the tourism manager is required to evaluate sales figures and to stimulate sales with discounts and offers, where this is necessary (Leiper, 2004). It is the responsibility of the tourism manager to deal with things that go wrong - holidays where the purchaser is not satisfied, for any number of reasons, such as where there has been an incidence of food poisoning, where a tourist has been injured, or where the holiday sold did not meet the expectations of the tourists. (Page S., 2003) The tourism manager, operating in this context has an array of responsibilities that are distinct from those of the tourism manager working in a retail tourism outlet that has a physical location. The tourism manager has to manage the staff employed within the organisation. This usually includes their employment, training and supervision. So, the manager is required to carry out regular appraisals of the staff, and to keep records of employment so as to be in a position to effectively appraise their performance. (Leiper, 2004) So, how does organisational communication impact upon the role of the modern day tourism manager in terms of achieving commercial success Performing good practice in terms of organisational communication impacts the role of the modern day tourism manager in two main ways - (i) it enables the tourism manager to understand how best to communicate with key stakeholders associated with the business and therefore, achieve the aims of the business (Leiper, 2004) , and, (ii) it enables the modern day tourism manager to understand what have become generic almost benchmarked techniques within the tourism industry and compete with competitors that are using them (Page S., 2003). Considering the relationship between the concept of organisational communication and the role of the modern day tourism manager in abstract terms, organisational communication helps a given organisation to function more effectively (Leiper, 2004), in the modern global and technologically advanced (Leiper, 2004) domain of business. It also helps the organisation to achieve its goals as a business entity by making communication between the various stakeholders associated with the work of a tourism business, easier (Page S., 2003), more effective, and clearer (Leiper, 2004). Indeed, as Baker notes: "...before 1920, communication in small organizations was largely informal. As organizations increased in size, formal top-down communication became the main concern of organizational managers. Organizational communication in today's organizations has not only become far more complex and varied but more important to overall organizational functioning and success(and).the emphasis has increasingly turned to understanding how new communication technologies and capabilities can help bring about new and more effective organizational forms and processes". (Baker K., 2002) Further, organisational communication techniques help the tourism manager to understand the needs and, or the role of the customers, employees and competitors associated with the operation of a tourism business. (Leiper, 2004) The next sections consider these individual topics more closely. 3.5 Organisational communication and employees The concept of organisational communication not only affects how employees are communicated with by the business entity itself (i.e. the tourism business), but also by the tourism manager (Page S., 2003). This has an indirect effect on the ability of the tourism business to achieve commercial success, as the performance of employees inevitably affect how the tourism business performs in global markets. (Leiper, 2004) In many ways, the tourism manager acts as a conduit in between the business entity and the individual employee (Leiper, 2004). The tourism manager, however, has an active role within this dynamic as the tourism manager assesses and evaluates (Page S., 2003) the performance of individual employees and also communicate this assessment to the employees, on behalf of the business entity (Leiper, 2004). These assessments of employees are conducted within a framework that may be said to be generic, or benchmarked with the business domain (Leiper, 2004). The framework employed is however one that is based upon the principles of organisational communication (Page S., 2003). The approach is taken by most of the sophisticated organisations, where employees work typically involves a continuous assessment (Leiper, 2004) of the employee's performance by the employer (Leiper, 2004). In this sense, the needs of the business as they are interpreted by the tourism manager are conveyed to the employee on a regular basis (Page S., 2003). This procedural framework also involves reviews at stages of employment, such as, at three months, six months etc. (Leiper, 2004) This process usually involves a meeting between the employee (Leiper, 2004), and the tourism manger, where the employee is asked for feedback as to how they believe their performance and contribution to the tourism business may be considered (Page S., 2003). The tourism manager then provides the employee with feedback within the same terms (Leiper, 2004). The employee and the manager identify the areas that may be considered as strengths and the areas that may be considered as weaknesses (Page S., 2003), and a plan of action is set out in order to address the weaknesses and find effective solution (Leiper, 2004). Sometimes, the employee is given a "grade" or a score in order to make them aware as what the organisation that employs them, think about their performance. In some cases, this is linked to a financial incentive scheme, such as a bonus or a pay structure (Leiper, 2004), where employees who perform optimally are rewarded with progressions on that particular pay scale (Page S., 2003). This process thereby evaluates and assesses the employee on a continuous basis (Leiper, 2004). The framework accommodates possible room for the employee to improve the areas of weaknesses (Page S., 2003). Most importantly, this is a process of communication involving the employee, the tourism manager and the tourism business, albeit the tourism business is represented within the process by the tourism manager, as it is their role, ultimately to assess the contribution of the employee to the tourism business (Baker K., 2002). Principles of organisational communication recognise these review processes as integral to the successful functioning of the business (Page S., 2003). The employee is given clear advice regarding their performance in the business (Leiper, 2004); there are chances for improvement and further training, and there is a chance for the employee to be informed of how they are progressing, and whether their contribution to the business is one that is accepted as optimal (Leiper, 2004). Therefore, what is quite a modern approach to organisational communication in terms of rating employee performance, has an impact on the role of the modern day tourism manager, as they must usually adopt this framework as a means of evaluating employees (Page S., 2003). This requires training, and their own conduct of the process may also be susceptible to review as one considers how the hierarchy of an organisation unfolds (Baker K., 2002). So, it is required to shift the focus of the discussion to these processes of training; how important are these, and how the principles of organisational communication help the training process within a tourism business, in order to run more smoothly. Modern methods of organisational communication have influenced the ways in which employees function within a given tourism business in terms of training (Leiper, 2004). More and more the internal intranet is used as a tool to facilitate staff training, development and progression within the business itself (Page S., 2003). The staff intranet is an internet based facility that only the designated users can access (Baker K., 2002). The tourism manager uses this mechanism to upload documents that an employee may access personally (Page S., 2003). Furthermore, the internet is also used to arrange meetings and deliver personal documents relating to the staff training process to individual employees (Leiper, 2004). The training of employees may therefore be seen as being affected by the principles of organisational communication that a modern day tourism manager must employ in order to facilitate the competitive functioning of a tourist business. 3.6 Organisational communication and customers Organisational communication has a distinct effect on how a tourism organisation may communicate with its customers (Leiper, 2004). The influence of the internet and specifically the use of e-mail, both within the businesses and outside, have facilitated more effective communication in between customers and members of the business organisations, like tourism managers and the organisations they work for (Page S., 2003). Customers can use e-mail to communicate with business organisations (Page S., 2003), and to have their requests dealt with more effectively and swiftly (Leiper, 2004). Customers can set up accounts with particular organisations, and this enables the organisation to evaluate how many customers they have (Leiper, 2004). This helps to predict and evaluate the level of interest in the product that is being sold (Page S., 2003). Further, customers that set up accounts with particular organisations may be more likely to use the services provided again, rather than approach a competitor offering the same service (Page S., 2003). Organisations therefore usually attempt to ensure that their e-mail communications are responsive and customer-focused (Leiper, 2004). The same may be said of the internet, where a business has a website, which is easy to use and attractive to customers, with information displayed clearly, in an accessible manner (Page S., 2003). Tourism managers that wish to achieve commercial success for the organisations, usually recognise the role that is played by e-mail (Baker K., 2002) and the internet, in the day-to-day administration and functioning of a business (Leiper, 2004). This recognition is now seen as almost industry standard, considering the people who use Internet, acting as consumers in their day-to-day lives (Page S., 2003). 3.7 Organisational communication and competitors The modern-day tourism business is required to communicate effectively as an organisation, even with their competitors (Leiper, 2004). The modern tourism manager is impacted by these changes to the methods and means, through which the organisation communicate with the competitors, each seeking the same share of the profits that are to be made within the tourism sector (Page S., 2003). Competitors can be an asset to a tourism business, in the same way as they may be to any organisation. For example, where a business entity wishes to achieve a common aim; that business and its competitors who wish to achieve the same things will benefit from having a co-ordinate, clear, focused and effective communications strategy. (Leiper, 2004) An example can be drawn where the government proposes to change some legislation that may have an impact on the tourism sector as a whole (Page S., 2003). The government may wish to consult with affected commercial actors (Leiper, 2004). Competitors within the tourism industry, although they may be adversaries in usual circumstances may wish to present a united front (Baker K., 2002), or a common view in terms of input into the consultation process (Leiper, 2004). Drawing example from contemporary society in the UK (Page S., 2003) - the recent contraction of the UK, and global economies has precipitated calls for reform of the banking industry, and government actors have sought the views of interested parties within the banking sector (Leiper, 2004). To achieve effective representation and to best take advantage of this means of influencing the process of change (Leiper, 2004), economic adversaries may wish to consult with each other and reach conclusions about their common interests and objectives (Baker K., 2002). The same is true for the tourism industry within the UK, and this has an impact on the role of the modern day tourism manager that wishes to achieve commercial success. Achieving commercial success involves adopting an approach to external risk that allows for adversarial interests to be put aside, even if this is only a short-term objective. (Page S., 2003) Principles of organisational communication facilitate these processes of communication (Leiper, 2004). The use of e-mail, websites, and computer equipment enable the tourism manger to establish and maintain communication channels (Page S., 2003) that third parties to effectively and quickly communicate with the business organisation they represent (Page S., 2003). A tourism manager who does not recognise the importance of these channels may stand to be left out of the "loop" so to speak, with competitors organising the management of external risks in their absence (Leiper, 2004). CHAPTER 4: CASE STUDY CHAPTER 5: EVIDENCE 5.1 What evidence was used The evidence relied upon to compile this dissertation has been qualitative and secondary (Jensen K., 2002) in nature. This means that it was collected and selected relevant material from a range of available sources in order to preset the views that have been presented within the dissertation. These sources span the contemporary to the historical with books, articles and the internet, all being used to draw together the material needed in order to conduct the dissertation study. The dissertation is a product in this enquiry, and its range spans the range of the sources that have been consulted. The dissertation is essentially a commentary upon, and an interpretation of these sources to form a view and a focus for answering the ultimate questions posed by the dissertation. CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION This dissertation has considered the theme of organisational communication, as it relates to the role and functioning of the modern day tourism manager. It has been concluded that the role of the modern day tourism manager is affected very significantly by the concept of organisational communication. This is due to the proven relationship (Page S., 2003) in between practicing good methods of organisational communication and the achievement of competitive advantage in business terms, and the achievement of the ultimate aims of a tourism business (Leiper, 2004). The dissertation has considered the role of the tourism manager as it has developed over the past few decades. Changes to the operation of business that are related to the role of the tourism manager have been discussed and considered within the context of the question. Furthermore, the roles of actors such as customers, employees and competitors have been considered in terms of how they feature, in regard to how a modern day tourism manager achieves commercial success. It has been argued that adopting good, recognised principles of organisational communication assists the modern day tourism manager to manage the activities of these actors so as to secure long-term profitability and security for the tourism business they represent. The dissertation has concluded that the role of the modern day tourism manager is extremely diverse and varied (Page S., 2003). However, it is also true that benchmarks and generically accepted processes exist that are proven to be effective in running businesses (Page S., 2003). Recognised principles of organisational communication are among these processes (Leiper, 2004), and this must be acknowledged by the modern day tourism manager that wishes to achieve commercial success. CHAPTER 7: RECOMMENDATIONS The recommendations of this dissertation are related to a confirmation of the relationship between principles of organisational communication, business strategy, and the role of the tourism manager. These processes must be seen as changing in response to their environment as it is encapsulated within the wider domain of business. This brings the ultimate recommendation of this dissertation into focus; a successful tourism manager, operating in the modern day tourism business must understand how principles of good organisational communication can be critical to the overall success of the tourism business. CHAPTER 8: REFLECTION REPORT I NEED 500WORDS FOR THIS LIST OF REFERENCES: Books Burack, E. et al. (1996) Human Resource Planning (3rd Edition), USA: Brace-Park Press. Jensen K (2002), A Handbook of Media and Communication Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies, Routledge, London. Leiper (2004), Tourism Management, Australia: Pearson Education. Page, S. (2003) Tourism Management, UK: Butterworth. Article Baker, K. 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