Turism and Hospitality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Turism and Hospitality - Essay Example Information and Communication Technology (ICT) techniques are seen to be an answer to such a dynamic business environment. Five themes driving the future of international hospitality industry include information technology, assets and capital management, capacity control, safety and security, and management skills (Olsen in Olson and Connolly, 1999). With the example of airline reservation systems in the 60s to the Central Reservation Systems to the current Global Distribution Systems providing holistic tourism products such as information, reservations and linkages with stakeholders, ICTs have become indispensable. Further with the society changing into 'information knowledge society', business organizations are turning to newer information technologies for survival and competitiveness (Gratzer et. al, 2003). Go (in Buhalis, 1998) identifies some of attributes of ICTs acting as drivers of tourism globalisation. These include, 'cost drivers' in terms of increased efficiency, low distribution cost, low communication cost, low labour cost, minimisation of waste factor and facilitator of flexible pricing; 'market drivers' satisfying sophisticated demand, offering flexibility in operation, supporting specialization and differentiation, providing last minute deals and accurate information, supports relationship marketing strategies for frequent flyers / guests, there is quick reaction to demand fluctuation, multiple / integrated products can be offered and results in better yield management, corporate research and marketing research; 'Government and regulatory drivers' such as support from Government, deregulation and liberalisation and 'competitive drivers' as strategic tool, managing network of enterprises, value-added skill building, flexibility, knowledge acquisition and a barrier to entry . ICTs: Implications for Tourism Industry Poon (in Gratzer et. al, 2003) has described the implications for tourism industry caused by information and communication technologies (ICT). These include, change of rules in the industry; change in role of each player involved in the process of value-creation; facilitation of 'new, flexible, and high quality travel and tourism services that are cost-competitive with mass, standardized, and rigidly packaged options' and transformation of tourism from 'mass, standardized, and rigidly package nature into a more flexible, individual-oriented industry.' Marcussen (in Gratzer et. al, 2003) cites the example of European online travel market to be worth 14 billion Euros by 2006. Buhalis (1998) suggest a multi-dimensional strategic framework for use of information technology and illustrates the strategic implications of information technology for the tourism industry. Strategic Framework for Information Technology in Tourism (Source: Buhalis, 1998, pp. 417) Buhalis (in Buhalis, 1998) illustrates role of information technology in facilitating both intra- and inter-organisational communications and functions. Within a tourism organisation, information technology facilitates management functions such as 'strategic planning, competition analysis, financial planning and control, marketing research, marketing strategy and implementation, pricing

Motor Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Motor Industry - Essay Example The government is trying to reduce people's reliance on cars and get them to use the public transport network, which may well be good news for buses. Unfortunately they appear to be using the stick and stick approach to getting people out of their cars. Consumer confidence in the new car market is currently in a downturn. This is due to a number of factors. Firstly, rising interest rates mean that the cost of car ownership is increasing (due to the increasing cost of loans needed to pay for owning me a new car). Also the rise in interest rates means that there is less income available for spending on a new car. There is also a lot of consumer uncertainty in the costs of fuel. Taxation is also playing a part; taxation rules now view company cars as a benefit to the employee rather than its necessity of doing the job. And as such taxation rules regarding them are tightening sharply it is no longer much of a benefit to have a company car - although they can be considered a status symbol. A higher proportion of households now have more than one vehicle and this has led to a number of interesting effects. There are a growing number of women in the workplace, and as such or ownership amongst women is going up. In addition as households have more than one vehicle, those vehicles are becoming differentiated. ... A household may well a people carrier or large vehicle for family use and a smaller or sportier car for personal use. T - Technological - How new and emerging technology affects our business There are two main technological challenges to the modern motor industry. Firstly there is a change to the way people buy cars. Due to the internet people are able to research their choices more thoroughly. For example, J.D Power and Associates studied nearly 30,000 car buyers in 2002 to discover that more than half the buyers look at the internet before making a buying decision about a car. Additionally nearly 90% of car buyers visit the car manufacturer's website to get a better idea about the look and feel of the car. Therefore, the use of technology in this area is an essential requirement for car manufactures of today (Baki et. al., 2004). And secondly a quotation from the introduction to the Automotive Electronics show: "What sort of car will you be driving in ten years time The most significant difference will be the use of electronics to make cars safer, smarter, less polluting and more enjoyable to drive. Tomorrow's road vehicles will have significant in-car processing power to lighten the driver workload and will be able to communicate with the road infrastructure receiving advance warning of congestion or other hazards. The possibilities appear endless and limited only by our imagination. The two major drivers will be to reduce road accidents and pollution as car ownership rises in the decades to come." L - Legal - How local, national and world legislation affects us The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders did a survey in 2006. Nearly 90% of respondents said that legislation had