Public Sector Marketing of Dubai Metro - Assignment Example

Public Sector Marketing-Dubai Metro Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Public Sector Marketing-Dubai Metro 3 Introduction 3 Methodology 4 Linkage to theoretical discussion 4 Recent Developments 8 Evaluation and recommendation 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Butler Patrick and Collins Neil, 2010. Marketing public sector services: Concepts and 12 characteristics: Journal of Marketing Management. Vol 11. Iss. 1-3. Routlege. 12 Road & Transport Authority (RTA), 2012. Power profile, Dubai Metro: Market Segment 12 Municipality. UAE. 12 Public Sector Marketing-Dubai Metro Introduction In recent times, the concept of marketing has had ongoing debates on its role and relevance in the public sector. Public organizations have been progressively turning to marketing in their service even as administration is taken over by managerialism. In order to address the distinct public sector aspects that impact on marketing, the relevant process and structural characteristics have to be examined (Butler and Collins, 2010). Dubai Metro is one of the organizations that seek to use public sector marketing. It is an automated railway network that operates in the UAE and has realized a lot of developments in its operations due to proper marketing of its services. The railway system serves over 170,000 passengers a day and is purported to be the longest, fully automated and driverless system having 47 stations and 46 miles of lines (RTA, 2012). The Dubai Metro railway system seeks to transform its communications with its stakeholders, improve its performance and express positive returns from the resources it has been endowed with through public sector marketing. In this project, the concept of public sector marketing shall e discussed with respect to Dubai Metro. This shall demonstrate how public sector marketing is done in the organization as well as show some of the achievements that have been realized by the organization by using the concept. Objectives The objective of the project is to demonstrate the use of public sector marketing in Dubai Metro. It will also show how transformation to public sector marketing has helped the organization meet some of its objectives, goals and targets and how it has been able to reach enviable standards of railway transport services. Methodology The project will review some of the existing articles on Dubai Metro to obtain information on the operations of the railway system. This will assist in getting some background information about the railway system as well as how the organization promotes itself through marketing. The project will also research on some of the findings that indicate the levels of achievement of the Dubai Metro and how the organization uses the resources it has to reach out to its customers. Linkage to theoretical discussion Marketing is purported to be the process of management that is tasked with identifying, foreseeing and satisfying the requirements of customers while making profits. It is not just about advertising or selling products although these are part of the activities that are carried out in marketing. The activities of marketing are associated with identifying particular needs of the customer’s market and then working to satisfy the customers like the competitors or better than them. In this regard, marketing can be considered as a process that involves planning and executing production, pricing, promoting and distributing of goods, ideas, services and events in a manner that ensures that creates and maintains the relationships that satisfy the objectives of both individuals and organizations. Marketing in the public sector involves activities that satisfy customers even though there may be no direct or indirect competition to the sector. Despite the fact that there may be no competition, the need for marketing is still paramount. This is because according to Marketing in the Public Sector (2012), the public image of the organization matters with respect to other stakeholders. Therefore, in these organizations’ context, marketing plays a broader role in ensuring that needs of different and at times contradictory interests are satisfied. Marketing in the public sector therefore involves a process of management that identifies, anticipates and satisfies the requirements of stakeholders and through this, ensures that the organization achieves its objectives. To achieve satisfaction, the organization ensures that the ideas, values and benefits of the services or products are communicated to the stakeholder. Communication is therefore considered as an important way of ensuring that effective marketing is done. Corporate communication in an organization can be categorized into three types, viz; organizational, management and marketing communication (Bronn and Wiig, 2002). Marketing communications are said to be those that are aimed directly at the consumer and include direct mail, advertising, sponsorship and selling. Organizational communication involves communications that are based in the organization and include public relations, environmental communications, internal communications, public affairs and investor relations. To communicate values to stakeholders, a combination of the three forms of communication is employed. Generally, organizations in the public sector usually provide services rather than goods and they therefore employ the methods for marketing services. According to the Asian Development Bank (2010), marketing in the public sector seems to be the final frontier. Agencies that operate in the public sector use the conventional blend of four P’s. These include product or service, price, place and promotion in combination with other techniques of marketing to make over their communications to stakeholders ensure performance improval and demonstrate optimistic returns on resources that they have been entrusted with. Scrivens (2009) argued that although public sector aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of management, it has been difficult for many public organizations to incorporate marketing into their systems. This has been purported to span from the misunderstanding of the appropriate time for marketing. It is further reported that marketing works when some basic conditions are met. Some of these conditions include the presence of two parties that must each have something that has value to the party it transacts with. Each of the parties is expected to have the ability to communicate, deliver and must be free to either reject or accept the offer made by the other party. Therefore, to determine whether marketing is possible, the relationships that exist between the parties involved have to be examined (Scrivens, 2009). To further enhance the concept of public sector marketing, the e-government and public sector governance have to be discussed. This is because the idea o e-government can be used as a way of communication through the government web-sites. IT has been able to facilitate changes in organizations and businesses. Andersen (2004) suggested that the e-government is capable of transforming all the tasks that are manually done to electronic procedures. Areas of law enforcement, legal control and internal services and administration have predominantly used the e-government. In addition, governments have worked to change the society by lobbying for the use of on-line public services by citizens as well as the private sector. This is achievable through use of the design and implementation of government websites that are up to date and give details on the services that are offered by the government. For instance, the Dubai Metro website is a community based online website that has information on the new transportation system offered by the Dubai Metro. Further, the website has guiding instructions on what passengers should do once they the onboard the train. An interactive session between the customers exists where they share their experiences with the transport system and by so doing, the organization is advertised to members who get to the site (MyDubaiMetro, 2009). Another way in which the government is adopting use of IT in its governance is by taxation through the internet. This has been achieved by e-ticketing in most organizations. Dubai Metro is not excluded. The new mode of governance portrays the government not just as being a law enforcer but also a body that addresses the mechanism for who should get what, when they should get it and how they can get it. Therefore, there exist a range of processes, structures, policies and actors which implement or determine how public values are allocated collectively. The initiatives of using IT in the public sector come with various objectives. Some of the initiatives find their motivation in the diffusion of knowledge. Through this, they transmit information on what they offer. This can be evidenced by the Dubai Metro’s use of its website to give information on what they offer, their ticket prices and how their services are valued. Other initiatives are motivated by the drive to improve government procedures in areas like e-procurement. By developing its own website, the public sector is better managed since a lot of information can be accessed by many people at the same time and they can also be assisted in the areas that they need assistance. Recent Developments Recent developments in the public sector marketing by the Dubai Metro have seen it adopt the use of Silver Cards from Marketing Communications. This technology of the cards enables the employees of O2 Marketing Communications to access the Dubai Metro and other public means of transport so as to reduce congestion and traffic jams. This promotes the public transport in the country because the credentials of the transport industry, especially the Dubai metro, are made known to the people. Through e-governance, the Dubai Metro is able to reach out to most customers. This is because information about the organization is readily available and can be accessed by the click of a button. Ticketing can be booked on-line and this means that the government uses this IT technology in its taxing. Information on the availability of the train is found on the website. This includes the time that the train is available relative to the routes. Through this, people get to know a lot of information about the organization and this efficient way of running the organization presents a good public image. This blends well with the requirements of the stakeholders. Another important relation that can be derived from public sector management in Dubai Metro is the way communication is done by the organization. Communication is required for transmission of any information to the public. In the website of the government, all the entries to the icons have been tagged with a statement that indicates the sectors of communication and marketing. This indicates the importance of communication in marketing. Communication is therefore presented as being important to ensure proper marketing of the services that are offered. The mode of communication encompasses both organizational and marketing communications. Organizational marketing gives information on the credentials of Dubai Metro, with its reputation of being a state of the art railway transport system standing out. Marketing communications give the services that are offered. The services are advertised on the website of the organization (MyDubaiMetro, 2009). From the findings on how Dubai Metro utilizes the concept of public sector marketing, the utilization of various aspects of marketing like communication and use of the IT, the e-government, demonstrate how Dubai Metro has resorted to public sector marketing. Most particularly, the organization uses e-government in its management and this helps it in efficient management. Through this, the organization is able to reach out to its many customers and as a result, it is able to satisfy their needs. In addition, the interactive community based website gives the customers an opportunity to bring forth their comments on services, suggestions and any other important information to the organization. The organization is able to assess its performance and through this, customers will be satisfied. This demonstrates how the organization is utilizing e-governance to achieve its objectives. Evaluation and recommendation The interpretation of the findings indicates that use of IT, especially e-governance contributes majorly to marketing in the public sector. This is evidenced by the way Dubai Metro uses its website to post information on its services as well as getting the views of customers so as to ensure that they are satisfied. The mechanisms that Dubai Metro uses to promote public sector marketing have helped the organization to meet its objectives that include serving the more than 170,000 passengers daily. The service is offered efficiently and effectively and this has enabled the organization to be a world class public transport organization. The organization can however develop further by ensuring that its customers are given membership and this provision should be marketised through is website so that the members are also given certain offers and tickets that are season long. Conclusion Although marketing of the public sector does not seem necessary to some organizations, it is important because it boosts the image of the organization before its stakeholders. This image gives the organization an even more enviable reputation and its performance in the market share is improved further. This project teaches on the various aspects that can be used in promoting marketing of the public sector and the concepts that are stated can be related to the practice that s done by the organization. For instance, use of communication as a way of marketing is well utilized by Dubai Metro through its website. References Andersen Kim Viborg, 2004. E-government and Public Sector Process Rebuilding: Dilettantes, Wheelbarrows, and Diamonds. Springer. Asian Development Bank, 2010. Marketing in the Public Sector. Retrieved on December 15th 2012 from: http://www.adb.org/publications/marketing-public-sector. Bronn P. S. and Wiig R., 2002. Corporate Communication: A Strategic Approach to Building Reputation. Oslo, Gyldendal. Butler Patrick and Collins Neil, 2010. Marketing public sector services: Concepts and characteristics: Journal of Marketing Management. Vol 11. Iss. 1-3. Routlege. Marketing in the Public Sector, 2012. Retrieved from: ftp://ftp.pearsoned-ema.com/HPE_Samples/SampleChapters/9780273708094.pdf. MyDubaiMetro, 2009. DubaiMetro. Retrieved on December 15th from: http://www.mydubaimetro.com/en. Road & Transport Authority (RTA), 2012. Power profile, Dubai Metro: Market Segment Municipality. UAE. Scrivens Ellie, 2009. Is there a Role for Marketing in the Public Sector? Taylor & Francis Online. Read More