The Nature of Events and the Critical Motivating Factors for the Individuals to Attend the Events - Coursework Example

Lecturer Introduction The research study aims at illustrating the nature of events and the critical motivating factors for the individuals to attend the events. The research technique applied in qualitative; this is because it aims at understanding the reasons why individuals participate in various events, and also how the events are organized, managed and evaluated (Morgan 2008). The event data will be collected through the semi-structured interview process. This is because the data collection process is open. Thus, several ideas will be illustrated and discussed during the interview sessions. The interview process and questions are opened to diverse interpretations and discussions in the areas of appeal, publicity, management, organization, evaluation, and attendance (Silverman 2000). The duration of the semi-structured interview is thirty minutes. The interview will be conducted in the class environment because a fellow student will be subjected to the one-on-one interview session. The respondent is carefully chosen; this is to ensure that he or she has adequate knowledge in the areas of events (Fastard 2012). The key selection criteria entail monitoring of the levels and trends of events attendance. A good festival is determined through several factors. The factors all aim at improving the events experience. The papers analyze the Sidmouth Folk Festival that that took place in 2005, in terms of the extraordinary experiences as illustrated by netnography. The respondent attended the festival, which was under a new and collaborative management and on a much lower scale. The former events management organization was withdrawn, due to the cases of financial management. The festival was adequately discussed through the internet; thus it benefited from a lot of publicity (Arnould 2014). Method The research aimed at identifying issues related to a good festival. Thus one respondent was contacted to illustrate the experiences of a good event. Only one respondent was chosen due to the limitations of the study. The time duration for the interview session was just 30 minutes. This is only adequate for collecting events data from only one person. The classroom was conducted in classroom environment due to the limited financial resources. Thus, the financial costs for conducting the interview in other sessions were not adequately catered for. The instructor also directed that the respondents should only be student peers. Thus the student who had participated in so many events and festivals was contacted (Patton 2012). The research process adhered to several ethical practices. The respondent was adequately contacted, and informed about the aims of the research process (Ragin 2014). This was done during a class discussion period. The respondent agreed to participate in the study. As per his wishes, the name is not illustrated. Thus the respondent is anonymous. The respondent was also informed that the information will only be used for academic purposes (Silverman 2013). All the data collection equipments and materials will then be stored in the institution library. This ensures that it benefits all students who are interested in learning about events management. The venue of data collection was very private; this was aimed at minimizing destructions during the data collection process, and also at ensuring confidentiality of the interview environment (Reissman 2013). The qualitative interview technique applied, ensured understanding the factors that realize events and festivals success. The research process also aimed at understanding how effective events and festivals are conducted. The semi-structured interview technique aims at ensuring adequate understanding of the general topics concerning the events and festivals organization and management (Stebbins 2011). The method applied in the data collection process is the transcription process. The interview discussion session is recorded through an mp3 player installed in the laptop used for research purposes. The recorded audio speech is then edited and stored. The audio data will thereafter be converted to a written format that can be printed, or the electronic text that can be stored in electronic format. Analysis The good festival or event experienced is studied through the netnographic analysis that focuses on the extraordinary experiences (Goldblatt 2013). The respondent confirmed having attended the Sidmouth Folk Festival in 2005. The new format of the events management was adequately debated through comments to the internet message board. The internet communication platform is referred to as the Mudcat Café. The internet platform, that the research respondent adequately commented on, provided diverse opinions on the approaches for a successful event. All the responses in the internet platform were analyzed through a framework, and the holistic prism model resulted from the literary aspects that integrated internal and external aspects of the festival. These aspects are; design and programming, cultural communication, personal benefits, physical organization, symbolic meanings and social interactions (Beaven 2013). These elements are necessary in the understanding of the experiences of the festival goers. The respondents illustrates that the festivals generates an avenue, away from the normal ordinary life, where great extraordinary experiences are developed and appropriately shared. The evaluation is conducted based on the subjective responses of the entire event, analyzed in terms of the broader narrative environment of the lives and values of the consumer (Morgan 2008). The respondent illustrates that a special event provides the opportunity for analyzing the extraordinary choices and experiences. Thus the experiences are illustrated in terms of the respondent’s views concerning the 2005 Sigmouth Folk Festival. During the previous years, the festival was based on the 50th anniversary. However, in 2005, the existence of the festival was negatively affected through the withdrawal of Mrs. Casey Music, the organizing company during the entire existence duration. The main reason for the withdrawal was due to the increasing insurance costs in areas of bad weather. The withdrawal greatly affected the management of the festival; thus a collaborative organization managed operations but on a lower level (Blain 2015). The new operation format success was greatly analyzed in the debates illustrated through the Mudcat Café that concentrates on the folk music message board. Hence, the information provided by the respondent who engaged in the message board discussions, illustrates an appropriate criteria for organizing a successful festival. The event experience prism approach illustrates the effective festival elements from the management and the customer perspectives. The issues enable the festival attendees to evaluate the festival success. Thus, the research study focuses on the effects of events planning to the consumer experiences (Booms 2011). The festival experience elements are analyzed through the external managerial perspective, and also the internal experiential aspect. The first success aspect for any event or festival is administrative and also operational efficiency. The managers must all aim at providing reliable services for the customers in the entire process that involves; getting tickets, accessing the festival site, the actual performance, and achieving the needs of the customers. The events planning and management process are important in achieving the required efficiency (Bowdin 2011). Events management can never be a success without adequate considerations of the stakeholder needs. The customer experience aspects or elements rely on the issues of motivation and also satisfaction. Motivation is based in terms of the pull and the push factors. The pull aspects entail the destination attractions which involves the design elements. The push factors involve describes the personal needs that the tourists are aiming at achieving. Reflective Evaluation The complexities involved in the festival experiences illustrate a key challenge in the educational and also managerial studies into the aspects of consumer response. Consumer evaluation greatly depends on the expectancy disconfirmation aspect of service quality. The evaluation approach requires the customer to rate the categories of elements in the service given. This includes reliability, empathy, assurance and responsiveness, illustrated by the employee providing the service (Morgan 2008). The level of perceived performance is then analyzed in terms of the former promotional messages and also experience. Satisfaction is appropriately measured through the quantitative surveys in the aspects of enjoyment, recommendation, money value, and the achievement of the expectations. Several; studies have been conducted on the areas of consumer satisfaction, quality of service, and also effective advertising. These approaches are process based and effective in analyzing attribute related operations; however, they assume that the levels of customer satisfaction is generated through the cognitive analysis of the process, instead of the effective response towards the general outcome. Customers mainly evaluate the extraordinary experiences, by the adequately illustrated expectations in the summary performance index of the several attributes. Satisfaction occurs throughout the entire event time frame. The satisfaction is also analyzed through the general narrative aspects of the life of the consumer (Morgan 2008). The service experience is mainly affective, interpretive and subjective. Thus, it needs qualitative aspects for adequate analysis and understanding (Ramsborg 2009). There is a proposal for a much more holistic, dynamic and context based satisfaction process. This approach entails multimodal integrations of; socio cultural aspects, motivations, emotions and also cognitions, which transforms in the course of the progressive customer-service interactions. The integrated model of the festival experiences illustrates these elements; and thus the general festival image. Appendix Transcription Extract The Sigmouth experience illustrates the appropriate aspects of the participatory events. The level of social interactions and also satisfaction by the personal involvement intensity is also significant in several other related events; for instance, mud camping during the Glastonbury rock event, and also being part of the crowd at the BBC Promenade festival. The organizers of events and festivals should thus take into consideration the operations or the design planning. The most important aspects entail the development of additional or fringe festivals as significant components of the festival events. The provision of enough venues for socializing and relaxing after the key performance is a significant element which is continuously overlooked. Thus, the surrounding areas and individuals participate in developing the festival experience, and hence the organizers must adequately encourage and support this aspect. The 2005 festival that occurred despite the withdrawal of the key festival management company, illustrates the determination of other event stakeholders; for instance, performers, volunteers, local authorities, performers and the local businesses. The festival managers can thus embrace this concept, and improve the relationships involving these key stakeholders and the co creators. The event experience prism model is very effective in providing the effective framework for improving and understanding the general consumer experiences. Interview Schedule 1. What major festival have you attended and when? 2. Did you experience adequate entertainment and personal satisfaction through participating in the vent? 3. What other related events have you attended, and did you derive satisfaction and fun? 4. Was the event properly managed? 5. What other attractions did you get during the event? 6. How can you rate the determination of the event organizers? 7. What can present event managers learn from the 2005 festival? 8. What is the effectiveness of the event experience prism model as applicable to the festical you attended? Bibliography Arnould, Erick. (2013). “River magic: Extraordinary experience and the extended service encounter.” Journal of Consumer Research, 20, 24–35. Beaven, Zek. (2013). ‘World in my eyes’: An evaluation of netnography as a methodology for audience studies. Bristol: Leisure Studies Association Conference. Blain, Levy (2015). “Destination branding: Insights and practices from destination management organizations.” Journal of Travel Research, 43, 328–338. Booms, Ball. (2011). Marketing strategies and organizational structures for service firms. Chicago: American Marketing Association. Bowdin, Glenn. (2011). Events Management. NY: SAGE Publishers. Farstad, Gill. (2012). "Am I rambling? On the advantages of interviewing couples together". Qualitative Research 14 (1): 3–19. Goldblatt, Joe. (2013). “Twenty-First Century Global Event Management.” The Wiley Event Management Series. Michael, Morgan. (2008). “What Makes a Good Festival? Understanding The Event Experience.” Event Management, Vol. 12, pp. 81-93. Patton, Mill. (2012). Qualitative research & evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Ragin, Carl. (2014). Constructing Social Research: The Unity and Diversity of Method. London: Pine Forge Press. Ramsborg, Gill. (2009). Professional meeting management: Comprehensive strategies for meetings, conventions and events. Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing. Riessman, Catherine. (2013). Narrative Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Silverman, D. (2000). Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Handbook. London: Sage. Silverman, David. (2011). Qualitative Research: Issues of Theory, Method and Practice. London: Sage Publications. Stebbins, Robert. (2011). Exploratory Research in the Social Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Read More