Quality managment techniques and their relationship to revenue managment - Research Paper Example

?Synopsis: This is a twelve page APA citation style research paper with seventeen works cited. The is Quality Management Techniques and Their Relationship to Revenue Management, The aspects of information technology on the travel and hospitality industry will be explored. This research paper is composed of three sections. These sections are the introduction, discussion and conclusion. The various factors affecting quality management techniques and their relationship to revenue management in the travel and hospitality industry will be explored. Introduction The travel and hospitality industry may be perceived as an umbrella industry which is composed of a number of other industries which serve as components (Adriana, 2009). Tourist based web services are a new research concern created by the assimilation of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the travel and hospitality sector . The technology which composes the Internet has been assimilated and is now applied toward the administration of travel and hospitality services (Damala et al., 2007). The information and communication technologies are one of the more important aspects of sustainability with regards to the travel and hospitality markets. The information and communication technologies also have long reaching impact into the strategic administration of travel and hospitality services (Bojnec & Kribel, 2006). There have been an increase in trends of Internet sales of a variety of different travel and hospitality services in the Western European market from 1998- 1999. The basis of this evaluation has been achieved by means of measuring the Internet sales of sixty four important travel and hospitality concerns which have a foundation in the United States and Europe. These sixty four important travel and hospitality concerns are composed of thirty seven travel consultants who market travel and hospitality services and twenty four primary suppliers of travel and hospitality services (Xiang et al., 2009 ). The introduction of the Internet into commerce has become a widespread phenomenon and has generated a great deal of investigation. The world wide web, which is a conglomeration of interdependent and linked computer systems, allows for the liberal transmission of data. Today, there are over 400 million computers which are linked to 400,000 computer networks. All of the information connectivity devices are exchanging data. As a consequence, the Internet has evolved into an efficient and effective means of commercial marketing and data exchange. This is applicable as e- commerce . This new phenomenon of e- commerce allows greater free market trade. Smaller suppliers can vie for commerce in the same manner as larger firms, simply by providing a website representing their products and services. By the same means, the consumer who purchases services online has access to a greater selection of products and services. The Internet facilitates communication between buyers and sellers by means of electronic data exchange (EDI). E- commerce is known as the free trade of products and services by suppliers and consumers through the Internet. Consumers and producers are enabled with an opportunity through the free exchange of information and the ability to effect purchases online- to be better informed, in order to acquire the correct product or service at the correct time. Trend setting business people and small to medium sized concerns are leading the way to e- commerce. Research has demonstrated that 90% of all business people are applying the case of data exchange over the Internet, to either promote their products or services and/ or to create new opportunities (Hallin & Marnburg, 2008). The purpose of this research paper is the following: To demonstrate how Internet based services may facilitate the travel and hospitality industry in increased sales and revenue. To demonstrate how the coordination of this procedure can help vacationers receive efficient customer service by means of the Internet. To demonstrate how the introduction of web based services can enable the travel and hospitality industry model to become more effective in revenue generation (Aguirregabiria & Ho, 2008). The travel and hospitality industry is composed of a number of enterprises which are involved in supplying travel services to vacationers, business executives and entrepreneurs. These services may include hotel packages or bed and breakfasts, airline travel packages or services such as guided tours and automobile rentals. An important element is the travel representative, who is the intermediary between the vacationers, business executives, entrepreneurs and the purveyors of travel based services. The expertise of the travel consultant is desired and required by the travel and hospitality consumer. This research paper commences by presenting some of the increased connectivity technologies which have been demonstrated over the past few years, prior to researching the effects on the hospitality and travel sector. The effects of increased connectivity technologies will be explored from the perspective of travel consultants, airline passenger carriers and hotels. The adaptation of increased connectivity technologies will be explored with regards to the travel and hospitality industry supply chain (Kosh, 2010). Travel consultants have always been the interface between the travel and hospitality consumer and the travel and hospitality supplier. Many individuals select a travel consultant in order to look for the best vacation packages and to establish the travel and hospitality reservation. The travel consultant coordinates a number of travel and hospitality elements and combines them into a single hospitality and travel package. In some instances, government based tourist organizations provide the services of the travel consultant, disseminating information and pamphlets for the travel and hospitality purveyors in their vicinity. The main function of the travel consultant in all of these instances, is to enable the interchange of information and to facilitate the consumer decision making process. In order to achieve this result, the travel and hospitality suppliers, airline passenger carriers, automobile rental enterprises, hotel and tour guides must all provide the correct information to the travel consultant in an attractive presentation, in order to enable the generation of revenues in the travel and hospitality industry (Kosh, 2010). In order to establish the differences in products and services, many travel and hospitality concerns have initiated using the Internet as a means of distribution for their travel and hospitality services. This is directly related to the consumer demand, as most of the consumers in the travel and hospitality industry commence the planning stage of their travel and hospitality consumption via the Internet, seeking information from travel websites. In fulfilling the increased consumer demand for travel and hospitality services, the travel consultant has encountered a multitude of obstacles. The greatest obstacle which has been found by Internet based travel consultants is the uncertainty with the financial expenditure. While the websites which offer the travel and hospitality services may be secure, travel and hospitality consumers have often been reluctant to divulge their personal and financial information over the Internet, in order to conclude a purchase. An additional obstacle which has been encountered by travel consultants is the deficient Internet structure. Many consumers perceive the necessity of direct interaction with the travel consultant, in order to feel at ease with the details of the financial transaction required to make a purchase (Kosh, 2010). In exploring Porter's five forces with regards to the travel and hospitality industry which are the following: Insecurity with regards to new entrants as travel consultants and suppliers. Insecurity with regards to the substitution of services. The market power of the travel and hospitality supplier. The market power of the travel and hospitality consumer. The competitive factors such as supply and demand and market saturation. It is demonstrated within the travel and hospitality supply chain how these forces interact. Porter's five forces are motivational drives within the travel and hospitality industry organizational approach. The five forces may be used to evaluate the strength of important business models which are inherent within the travel and hospitality supply chain (Kosh, 2010). The following segment of this introduction is dedicated to providing a categorization of the industry within the travel and hospitality industry designated as tourist lodging. This categorization is realized by means of identifying the stakeholders and their various classifications which are elements of the travel and hospitality sector. The concept of stakeholder theory is to be further explored (Cassidy and Guilding, 2006). A section which is designated as a property plan is a 'subdivision of land and/ or buildings into units which can be owned separately and common property which is owned communally' (Ball, 1984; Cassidy & Guilding, 2006 ). Starting in March of 2005, furnished apartment units composed 21% of all of the tourist lodging in Australia (Jones, Lang, La Salle Hotels, 2005). The primary amount of furnished apartments are owned under subdivisions of land (Jones Lang, La Salle Hotels, 2005). The increase in the size of the furnished apartment sector has been demonstrated to compose 62.6% of all new room inventories in Australia (Jones, Lang, La Salle Hotels, 2005). When all of the information is acknowledged along with the strategic management problems introduced by strata titled tourist accommodations (STTA) (Guilding, 2005), the investigative inquiry which is proposed by this segment, especially in the hotel segment, is remarkably minimal. Notwithstanding that lodging is one of the most important elements of the tourist segment (Goss- Turner, 1996; Sharpky, 2000). The largest area of the tourist economic function and the STTA is the most common form of tourist lodging ownership (National Tourism Investment Strategy Consultative Group, 2006; Jones, Lang, La Salle Hotels, 2005). There is relatively little information in reference to the function of the expanding STTA sector (Cassidy & Guilding, 2006). The stakeholder matrix proposed by Rowley (1997) has been referenced in order to classify the Australian STTA stakeholders. Rowley's proposal for the comprehension of this certain stakeholder environment is founded upon the ideas of social network research. This research endeavors to investigate the elements of the entire stakeholder system and their influence on organizations' motivations, instead of the particular stakeholder differences. This model demonstrates the prevalence of interactions between stakeholders which may impact the motivation of stakeholders and central organizations. It is clear from this point of view that organizations are not primarily at the focus of the stakeholder network, therefore an organization's role in the network is an important consideration of this behavior (Cassidy & Guilding, 2006). The matrix proposed by Clarkson (1995) has been referenced in order to differentiate between the minority and majority stakeholders. A majority stakeholder is defined as ?ne without whose continuing participation the corporation cannot survive as a going concern' (Clarkson, 1995). The implementation of this point of view has had the outcome of the perception that unit holders, resident unit managers and the tourists who lease the STTA apartments compose the majority stakeholders. A minority stakeholder is defined as ' those who influence or affect, or are influenced or affected by, the corporation, but they are not in transactions with the corporation and are not essential for its survival (Clarkson, 1995). The minority stakeholder concerns are not important elements of the corporation's sustainability. These minority stakeholders may significantly impact the plans and implementations which the corporation has enacted in order to comply with its obligations, or to supply the anticipations and requirements of majority stakeholder concerns. Freeman asserts that some concerns have the goal of being obstacles to the expedient operations of the travel and hospitality industry. For example, some organizations must include 'terrorist groups' as an interest in the organization. As difficult as it is to say, such 'unsavory groups' have an interest in the organization, from the perspective of strategic administration, they must be acknowledged. (Freeman, 1984; Cassidy & Guilding, 2006). Following this train of thought, groups which have been designated as minority stakeholder interests are composed of realtors, government tourist boards, developers, bankers, boars of directors, corporate officers, competitors and administrative rights managers. At different points in the development of a STTA complex, all of these groups have significant impact upon the majority stakeholders. It may also be recognized that the classification of minority stakeholders are likely to directly interact with the majority stakeholders (Cassidy & Guilding, 2006). Discussion A tsunami impacted the Indian Ocean and the coast of Thailand on December 24th , 2006. This was the largest tsunami in recorded history. This tsunami led to a tremendous human and economic loss. The gross domestic product of Thailand was affected by 0.5% or $900 million (Dietham Travel, 2005; Saclao & Batra, 2006). Travel and hospitality consumption are a main generator of revenue in the form of tourist revenue. This tourist revenue is classified as a foreign exchange revenue fort Thailand. Recently, the travel and hospitality consumptions have been the main generator of employment in Thailand. The travel and hospitality sector in Thailand continues to expand. Travel and hospitality accommodations have become an important element in the national perspective of Thailand (Ngamhui & Chaisawat, 2006). In 2003, Thailand implemented a National Economic Plan which is dedicated to the protection and advancement of the arts, tourism and culture simultaneously in the environment by placing emphasis on the grade of sustainable travel and hospitality development. This has been done in order to accommodate the increasing number of tourists, while preserving the national identity and patrimony. One of the primary goals of the Ninth National Tourism Development Plan is to develop Thailand's tourism and hospitality sector as a ?uality destination This is in order to develop Thailand into a first class tourist destination (Ngamhui & Chaisawat, 2006). Thailand is famous for its variety of tourist destinations, one of which is Chiang Mei. Chiang Mei is filled with natural beauty, historical sites and other tourist activities (Yamwong &Thongma, 2006). Eco logical tourism has demonstrated an upsurge in consumer attraction. The WTO (2001) assesses that there will be 100 million ecological tourists by the year 2020. The natural population of a country has always been an attraction for tourism. The indigenous people demonstrate how to reach a balance in the ecological system of a region. In Taiwan, the aboriginal people speak an Austro Asiatic language which is among the most expansive in the world (Hsu et al., 2006 ). Mary, who has recently received a college diploma, is considering a vacation. She is planning a trip to a tropical isthmus and has learned of four possible destinations. She looks at the websites and imagines the four vacation options. One website captivates her and she starts to daydream and imagines herself at one of the destinations. Mary was so overwhelmed by her consumption choice that she decided to commit to a purchase of travel and hospitality services (Walters et al., 2010). As the above caption states, one facet of considering a vacation may be dependent upon the consumer vision and daydreams of vacationing in order to fulfill these dreams. The goal of this research is to consider the influence of the causal attributions on the travel and hospitality consumer's purchasing behavior. This behavior which is known as consumption vision is categorized as the mental imagery which consumers entertain with regards to future consumption scenarios. In the travel and hospitality industry, this form of the envisioning of attractive future states is acknowledged as the primary motivation which guides the travel and hospitality consumer in their ultimate stage of decision making toward a purchase. Horowitz (1972) states that this envisioning of attractive future conditions is useful in the perception of the self and surrounding relationships. If the perceived mental image is not in the surrounding environment, one may still imagine the image. This factor often influences the consumption behavior of the travel and hospitality consumer (Walters et al., 2010). The travel and hospitality consumers are looking for high quality service at the right price. As a result, accommodation management has directed its attention to consumer satisfaction and brand names. Brand names are a direct link to the concept of quality in the travel and hospitality sector. A brand name is an essential organizational asset and may represent an advantage by means of good will perception. In order to effectively optimize this asset of good will, many hotel establishments have adopted a number of brands in order to service multiple hospitality and consumer market segments. The importance of a brand is representative of a goodwill perception in the point of view of the consumer. In order to effectively make use of this marketing strategy. The importance of a brand is its ability to satisfy the consumer, its recognition and its history. When a travel and hospitality consumer is satisfied, they tend to generate more revenues in their purchases. This aggregates to the net operating profit of the organization. As a result of augmented consumer focus, brand administrators employ consumer satisfaction as an assessment of the overall success of their overall marketing strategy. Guest satisfaction is directly correlated to operating revenues (Mount, 2006 ). Case investigation has been proven to be one of the most important research implements in operations management, especially in the development of novel postulations. This remains valid in the present hospitality environment. In order to adapt to the new developments in technology and administration, operations administrative investigators have requested the greater inclusion of field based research methods. In North American operations management, the research of pure cases in order to perform statistical analysis is less applied than it is in European operations management. The research of purchasing traveling and hospitality services and products has composed 4.94% and 3.8% of all published research documents (Barratt et al., 2010). An important aspect of customer relations management is that an enterprise is able to calibrate its transactions according to the life cycle developments of the customer and they may be able to impact that development by amplifying or allowing the relationship with the customer to mature (Richard, 2007). The concept of service has captivated the focus of operations management for the past few decades. The service administration economy was motivated by the premise that the institution of higher education would consist of students who were involved in non- manufacturing responsibilities. The ideas of customer service, quality of service and the planning of the distribution of services were the primary issues confronting service managers. The requisites confronting service managers is a result of customer oriented perceptions. This is a strategic form of thinking. The concept is that operations management may not only sustain the organization, it may enable the organization to develop a strategic advantage (Johnson, 2008) Conclusion The introduction of e- commerce into the Internet has become a widespread phenomenon. Which has generated a great deal of investigation. The world wide web, which is a conglomeration of interdependent and linked computer systems, allows for the liberal transfer of data. Today there are 400 million computers which are connected to 400,000 computer networks . As a consequence the internet has evolved into an effective means of commercial marketing and data exchange. This new phenomenon of e- commerce allows greater free market trade. The Internet facilitates communication between buyers and sellers by means of electronic data exchange (EDI) (Hallin & Marnburg, 2008). The purpose of this research paper is the following: To demonstrate how Internet based systems may facilitate the travel and hospitality industry by increasing sales and revenue. To demonstrate how the coordination of this procedure can help travel and hospitality consumers receive efficient customer service by means of the Internet. To demonstrate how the introduction of Internet services can enable the travel and hospitality industry to become more effective in revenue generation (Aguirregabiria & Ho, 2008). In order to establish the differences in products and services, many travel and hospitality purveyors have initiated using the Internet. As means of distribution for the travel and hospitality services. This is directly related to consumer demand as most of the consumers commence the planning stage of their travel and hospitality plans via the Internet, seeking information from travel and hospitality supplier websites (Kosh, 2010) Porter's five forces which influence the behavior of the suppliers and the consumers in the travel and hospitality environment are: Insecurity with regards to new suppliers in the market place. Insecurity with regards to the substitution of services by suppliers in the supply chain. The market power of the travel and hospitality supplier. The market power of the travel and hospitality consumer. Competitive factors, market saturation, supply and demand (Kosh, 2010). The complexity of real estate markets in different parts of the world must be acknowledged. The accommodations component of the travel and hospitality sector is one of the most important elements. In Australia, for example, some organizations must acknowledge 'terrorist groups' as an interest in their organization. As difficult as it is to say, such 'unsavory groups' have an interest in the organization, from the perspective of strategic administration, they must be acknowledged (Freeman, 1984, Cassidy & Guilding, 2006). References Adriana, B. (2009) Environmental supply chain management in tourism: The case of the large tour operators Journal of Cleaner Production 2009, Vol.17, Issue 6 Elsevier Ltd.: 1385- 1392 Retrieved from: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro Aguirregabiria, V. (2008) A dynamic oligopoly game of the US airline industry: Estimation and Policy Experiments Technology 2008. Retrieved from: http://www.papers.com Barratt, M. (2010) Qualitative case studies in operations management: trends, research outcomes and future research implications Journal of Operations Management (2010) Vol. 29(4): 329-342 Retrieved from: http://www.linkinghubelsevier.com Bojnec, S. 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(2009) Semantic Representation of Tourism on the Internet Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 47(6): 440-453. Retrieved from: http://www.jtr.sagepub.com Yamwong, T. (2006) Recreation activities management for Tourism Pha Nok Kok Village, Pong Yaeng Subdistrict, Mae- Rim District, Chiangmai Province, Thailand Forum Proceedings: Fifth Asia Pacific Forum Retrieved from: http://www.fulltext.phuket.psu.ac.th/proceeding/2549/25039.pdf Read More