An Analysis of Intermediary/Portal Solutions in the Tourism Industry

by Herman Bailey | Mar 18, 2023 | Essays | 0 comments

Introduction

According to Burgess et al., (2015), the search for information applicable in travel planning always takes longer and also involves the usage of more sources of information compared to the search for information on other products for consumers. The nature of tourism products is always based on information, which implies that the internet that provides multimedia and global reach capability is a significant means of distribution and promoting travel and tourism services. This report analyzes the intermediary/portal solutions available in the travel and tourism industry and is to be presented to the Senior Management Team of a travel company. The travel company in this report is a medium-sized hotel chain, which until 2009 was a domestic hotel chain in Germany, mainly serving the home market; but during the last 5 years, the company has expanded through targeted strategic acquisitions to be an EU-wide chain, and has aspirations to attract worldwide tourists, including those from USA and Asia as well as across the EU.

People Also Read

• Why Microsoft’s Motivational Practices and Rewards Program Stand Out
• Understanding the RMO CSMS Marketing Subsystem Diagram
• Management Strategies of Brekkers and Alongstay

The intermediary/portal solutions currently available, their capabilities, and Critical commentary of their differences

Toimittaja (2015) defined intermediary is the dealer acting as a link in the distribution chain between the customers and the company. Their major role is to bring sellers and buyers together. They also transform the services and goods to a form that the customers would want to buy. The intermediary/portal solutions currently available include web-based portals, travel agents, and Regional Tourism Organizations.

1. Web-based portals

Web-based portals are the latest form of intermediaries or distributors of travel products where the provider of the service or the supplier offers services and products primarily through the internet medium to the clients, in disregard of their physical locality (Dixit, Belwal and Singh 2015).

The tourism industry according to Burgess et al (2015), is characterized by providing other complementary business. The tourists also typically use a variety of travel products such as car hire, air travel, tour, and accommodation services. In most instances, these services are offered by different organizations. Therefore, planning for such travel services can be accomplished by a well-organized and designed portal or website that ensures that the right choices are made, and this may result in a more enjoyable and easy experience for the visitors. Similarly, well-designed web-based portals can also function as a point of distribution for every product or services that a tourist may desire in planning their vacation (Great Britain 2007)

Destinations for tourists always emerge as an umbrella of different brands; therefore, organizations that do destination marketing need to find specific niche markets and suitable design for interaction with the prospective tourists. Similarly, Burgess et al (2015) proposed that each destination for tourists should have a main website that acts as a major tourist’s doorway by offering a central portal to the tourism destination instead of depending on several disjointed individual websites.

2. Travel agencies

These intermediaries are public or privately owned and offer tours and travel-related services to the consumers on behalf of the supplier organizations such as hotels, package tours, railway, hotels, cruise lines, car rentals, and airlines. Moreover, the deal with arrangements for travel for the business travelers, and general sales agents. These agencies are operated by travel agents who professionals are assisting with booking and organizing travel (wiseGEEK 2015).

Travel agencies are organizations that are run by professional travel agents. They can book hotel rooms, reserve a rental car, organize different trips and excursions, and secure restaurant reservations on behalf of the client. Similarly, they can provide recommendations on the places to go, sport to see, things to do, and this is good for the people who have no much experience in the region they are traveling to (Peters & Pikkemaat 2012).

Furthermore, wiseGEEK (2015) indicated that travel agencies offer travel assistance on information about local maps, pamphlets on the appropriate cultural behavior, and travel vaccines information. Besides, they have tips or more information on the best times of the yea to watch out for different things or regions or to travel around the world. Some of them also offer help with travel documents and visas to make it easier for the visitors to travel

3. Regional Tourism Organizations (RTOs)

These are organizations that are usuallypublic-funded intermediaries with their chief purpose of tourism promotion in the entire region. The Regional Tourism Organizations may assume different forms, but they have a tendency of being common and represented mostly in the form of visitor centers and Tourism information. However, more broadly, any organization that promoted a region or any part of the world regarding goods and services that are related to tourism could be potentially classified as Regional Tourism Organization (Burgess et al 2015). RTOs traditionally have acted as the first point of contact for the tourists and provide the tourist’s information on the offered accommodation services and attractions with that particular area or region. However, in recent years, the RTOs have developed a trend of supplementing their traditional functions with web-based portals (Gursoy, Saayman & Sotiriadis 2015).

Evaluation of the benefits of the intermediary/portal solutions to an organization

The web-based portal intermediaries are extremely valuable and beneficial to the organization compared to other intermediaries. Some of the benefits it provides include reduced costs, increased involvement of the customers, increased speed of retrieval and transfer of information, and greater flexibility.

Addressability– The web-based portal intermediaries has the capability of transforming the marketing communication paradigm from broadcasting to narrowcasting, one to one, and one to many. Moreover, by the usage of the internet, it enables the organization to address the consumers individually because every time a visitors browses the portal web sites, the server records the electronic address of the user. This way, the organization can narrowcast or send emails that are tailor-made to an individual consumer or a targeted audience (Liu 2000). However, this form of addressability is not new since even travel agents can apply it using personal selling, telephone, and mail. However, what makes web-based portals so special in this case is the high speed of information and low cost in retrieval and transmission. Moreover, Liu (2000) stated that the addressability of the web-based portals provides organizations a marketing opportunity for managing markets, creating individual relationships, and managing every issue in every development stage

Interactivity– This is another feature of web-based portal intermediaries. Through the relationships has had excellent impact on group relationships. The internet, they have the capability of giving feedback in reaction to the users’ activities on the computer. The potential clients communicate with minimal effort with the organizations in conducting transactions and finding product information with the stroke of keys. Similarly, the organizations can contact their clients easily to inform them of new products or to clarify their needs. Features such as web forms, emails based on the web portals encourage the marketers of the company to interact with their clients (Liu 2000). Moreover, through the benefit of interactivity, the clients who are active participants are in greater control of selecting and processing information about the organization

Flexibility– according to Liu (2000), we based portals is much more flexible compared to other intermediaries. It acts as an electronic catalog, electronic advertisement, and also as an electronic billboard that provides services and products as well as contact information for the consumers interested. Moreover, it can update and gather fresh information based on the received direct feedback from the customers. Besides, it is flexible because the virtual catalog can be organized and developed gradually based on the consumers’ actual interests. Besides, web portals constantly keep consumers informed on the organization’s latest price changes, new product offerings, and sales promotion initiatives.

Accessibility-Web-based portals have an overwhelming advantage over other intermediaries in the travel and tourism sector because of their global market reach and permanent exposure. The website improves its user interaction and information availability greatly. With an effective web portal intermediary, an organization is on business throughout the day and the year on a global spectrum. A user of the web can access the organization’s marketing information at a time convenient for them. This great accessibility is very important t to the company especially in its international trade, especially in Europe.

Global exposure is extremely important to tourism destinations that for many years entirely depended on promotion agencies operating in regions generating tourists to market their products. The adoption of web-based portals will enable the tourism destinations and organizations in the industry to market themselves. Furthermore, the web-based portals assist in avoiding the restrictions and regulations that foreign companies encounter when they physically operate in other countries. Lastly, web-based portals provide unlimited access to millions of users virtually in addition to delivering an unlimited amount of information online because practically there are no restrictions (Liu 2000).

Service improvements– Liu (2000) pointed out that web-based portals also help organizations in improving the quality of their services at all stages of interaction with the consumer- before the sale, during the sale, and after the sale. Web-based intermediaries offer four tangible customer service improvements. First, accessible and larger choices for the consumers since it displays a large set of service and product options. Second, it offers faster processing of payment for customers through credit card charges or cybercash automatic processing. Third, reduced time for delivery for many products such as e-tickets. Fourth, faster, easier, and greater support literature availability, and more particularized and detailed assistance. Liu (2000) observed that web-based portals in the tourism sector can satisfy the needs of the customer for easy and transparent information comparison on a wide range of choices of holiday packages, destination choices, leisure and lodging services, and flights.

Cost-saving– web-based portal intermediaries save costs from five areas. First, electronic processing of payment and booking cuts downs the cost of sales. Second, deskilling and u=automation of tasks reduce staff training costs and labor intensity. Third, by providing direct links to the consumer from the producers or the organizations, it helps the organization in saving high costs of distribution. Fourth, the ability of the web-based portals in electronic communication and narrowcasting leads to a significant saving on the promotion costs. Lastly, this intermediary also saves costs on sales and office space, decoration outlay and furniture, and the administrative overhead costs (Liu 2000).

Similarly, travel agencies are also beneficial to the organization suppliers in many ways. These organizations include hotels, small businesses, large chains, and the hotel industry. The travel agencies have inventories of thousands of hotels and advertise and promote them to business and leisure travelers globally. This helps these organizations to reach the customers that they could not reach themselves (Archer & Syratt 2012).

Similarly, a partnership between hotels and travel agencies is also to drive up the rates of occupancy in hotels. This way, the hotels can fill the empty rooms. By generating marketing opportunities and promotions, travel agencies help hotels reach new potential clients and for boosting their rates of occupancy. Similarly, the hotels can allow the travel agencies to sell more hotel rooms at lower rates to clients without diminishing he brand image of the hotels

According to Oliver, Romm-Livermore & Sudweeks (2009). Travel agencies help and support owners of small business hotels by offering marketing services to assist them in advertising their features and availability. This way, it provides them an international platform for advertising, connecting them globally to potential customers. This enables the small-scale hotels to compete on level ground with large chains of hotels

Analysis of the whole market for these systems and the possible future developments and the benefits these would give.

According to Burgess et al (2015), the nature of the travel and tourism industry is information-intensive and this suggests the essential function of web technology in marketing and promoting traveler’s destinations. With the numerous accounts of travel reservations and purchases being among the segments of the communicating information. Applying the concept of public sphere, people nowadays communicate, discuss and influence public opinions using the internet community that is growing fastest, it is not surprising that the quantity of web-based tourism operatives has considerably risen for the past few years.

The capacity of the RTOs to complement their traditional functions and locations provides a more feasible and alternative point of contact especially for the international tourists who more and more use the internet to do some inquiry on their holiday destinations in advance before Samsung’s Diversification Strategy: The Case of Samsung Motors Inc. Long Range planning. Burgess et al (2015) indicated that another benefit of the adoption of web technology by the Regional Tourism Organizations is the increased ability of small companies and organizations to compete online. This enables them to market their services and products globally at a significantly reduced cost.

In the travel and tourism industry, travel agents still play a significant role and with the emergence of the online regime, their stakes will be revised soon. However, how they will be affected in the years to come, entirely rest on how innovative and flexible they will embrace and adopt new technologies, as well as how the web affected everyday life and businesses (Dixit, Belwal and Singh 2015). The travel agencies globally will have to readjust to fit into the era of the Internet by acting as product and travel information managers.

Savvy organizations observe their move keenly while marketing their products and services to their clients and are linking new technology with old-style business practices to forge strong customer ties. Web-based portal intermediaries are being embraced by these organizations for selling, serving, saving, and sizzling. With these values, the organizations in the travel and tourism industry can increase sales, get close to customers, add value, save costs and create dialogue as well as extending the organization’s brand.

Dixit, Belwal, and Singh (2015) indicated that a robust system of online technologies assists in creating an atmosphere of convenience and spontaneity. The possible future developments could see sophisticated contact center solutions, self-service tools that are easy to use, focussed marketing, value-added services, and customized websites to provide autonomy, accessibility, and higher user awareness. This way, it will provide several further ways of building loyalty. The organizations that will come up with a strategy that is well-conceived for enhancing loyalty for customers through developments in technology can attain remarkable outputs that would result in long-term relationships, high margin customers, and reduced customer turnover (Wang 2014).

According to Dixit, Belwal, and Singh (2015), the adoption of online technologies in addition to traditional methods of intermediary has resulted in numerous changes in the travel and tourism industry. The main impact of the several changes has been an interaction between traditional intermediaries and service providers. Moreover, it has provided the tourists globally a tool for expressing their needs, seeking details on facilities, destinations, geography, prices, and climate information for different tourism services and products. Similarly, online technologies have boosted the travel agencies while looking for more details or information about trends in the market, tourism, destinations, service providers, availabilities, facilities, our packages, prices, and lastly in keeping direct contact with their partners in the industry

References

Archer, J., & Syratt, G. (2012). Manual of Travel Agency Practice. Hoboken, Taylor, and Francis.

Burgess, L., Cooper, J., Cerpa, N. and Sargent, J. (2005). A comparative analysis of the use of the Web for destination marketing by regional tourism organizations in Chile and the Asia Pacific. [online] Ro.uow.edu.au. Available at: http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2619&context=infopapers [Accessed 20 Nov. 2015].

Dixit, M., Belwal, R. and Singh, G. (2015). ONLINE TOURISM AND TRAVEL-ANALYSING TRENDS FROM MARKETING PERSPECTIVE. [online] Academia.edu. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/567058/ONLINE_TOURISM_AND_TRAVEL-ANALYSING_TRENDS_FROM_MARKETING_PERSPECTIVE [Accessed 20 Nov. 2015].

Great Britain. (2007). Travel agencies (registration). A bill to provide for the registration of travel agencies; and purposes connected therewith. Cambridge [England], Proquest LLC. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:hcpp&rft_dat=xri:hcpp:rec:1963-051846.

Gursoy, D., Saayman, M., & Sotiriadis, M. (2015). Collaboration in tourism businesses and destinations a handbook. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=948288.

Liu, Z. (2000). Internet Tourism Marketing: Potential and Constraints / July 2000. [online] Hotel-online.com. Available at: http://www.hotel-online.com/Trends/ChiangMaiJun00/InternetConstraints.html [Accessed 20 Nov. 2015].

Oliver, D., Romm-Livermore, C., & Sudweeks, F. (2009). Self-service in the Internet age expectations and experiences. London, Springer. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=602841.

Peters, M., & Pikkemaat, B. (2012). Innovation in hospitality and tourism. Hoboken, Taylor and Francis. http://www.123library.org/book_details/?id=72546.

Toimittaja, M. (2015). What are Intermediaries?. [online] Www2.amk.fi. Available at: http://www2.amk.fi/digma.fi/www.amk.fi/opintojaksot/050809/1184649944500/1184650110907/1184651281368/1184651369225.html [Accessed 20 Nov. 2015].

Wang, J. (2014). Information Systems and New Applications in the Service Sector Models and Methods. Hershey, IGI Global. http://public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=3310861.

wiseGEEK, (2015). What are Travel Agents? (with pictures). [online] wiseGEEK. Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-travel-agents.htm [Accessed 21 Nov. 2015].

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.

Uncovering the Unethical Practices of Starbucks

by Herman Bailey | Mar 16, 2023 | Essays | 0 comments

Starbucks is a leading and well-known coffee company in the world. It started as one store but has developed with time to over1700 branches of stores in many countries (Ferrell et al 2008). Furthermore, the company is expected to rapidly grow in the coming years. Starbucks Company recent has created the worst image due to its political activities and her stance on the rights of workers. Starbucks created an impressive image as one of the coffee shops by being friendly to the environment. However, recent discoveries show an otherwise picture (Cross et al 2009).

People Also Read

• Starbucks Company: SWOT Analysis and Strategies for Competitive Advantage
• Strategies for Launching a Successful Coffee Cup Business and Advertising Agency
• Understanding Psychographic Segmentation for Starbucks Marketing Success

According to the Rhetoric Society of America et al (2004), Starbucks has been covering up many things such as serving milk with GM growth hormones in the US. Besides, it has been running relentless campaigns of bursting unions. According to Schultz et al (2011), the company is also accused of attempting to block the attempts of Ethiopia to improve the coffee grower’s livelihoods. Furthermore, it has also petitioned a federal judge to accept in past sexual history evidence of a former employee aged 16 years when she took sexual harassment case to court.

Even though the company has sold as standard Fair-trade Coffee since 2009 in all its stores in the UK, the rest of the operation globally on the uptake has been slower. The firm has been criticized even for its operations in the US by Organic Consumers Association also dragging its feet in the Fair-trade launch (Michelli 2007).

Also, Gilbert (2008) points out the order by the US court on Starbucks to pay low wage staff more than $100million in California in a ruling that the workers improperly shared with their bosses some tips although was overturned subsequently after a successful appeal. The lawsuit against Starbucks was for using tactics that are anti-competitive to eliminate their competitors. The employees of Starbucks would give out their coffee rights as free samples outside the small shops of coffee in their neighborhoods, thereby gaining more profit and business for themselves. Furthermore, Bussing-Burks (2009) add that they sometimes even tried to buy out other shops of coffee near them. They would sometimes sign leases for almost 3 times the market price to make the landlords not rent it out to other sellers of coffee.

Marie et al (2009) add that Howard Schultz the chief executive officer earned a pay rise of 25% after a cost of $580 million slashed from the company in the year 2009.

By analyzing the actions of Starbucks, it is unethical because the stores of small coffee give much to the people in the towns they are located compared to what Starbucks does. The majority of people love small coffee shops with reasonable coffee prices in their surrounding towns. On the other hand, other people would be contented with Starbucks. However, Kachra (1997) explains that although you might love Starbucks, you would not like a coffee shop that has been in existence in your town for long being faced out of business.

According to Schultz et al (2007), the small coffee shops found in most towns give happiness to more people, unlike Starbucks which overcharges their coffee. It is very unethical for a firm like Starbucks to overprice its products since they know they are alone in the market after displacing other businesses therefore people will lack other options.

Moreover, they disregarded other small businesses by being selfish and negatively facing them off gaining all the clients and profits. Fellner (2008) observes that the company did not value people but considered them as sources of profits. Their technique of expansion does not have goodwill and they are also not motivated rightfully.

Simon (2009) observes that the company does not also comply with their set legislations. This is because Starbucks ‘ motto clearly elaborates they will treat their client’s dignity and respect. However, no dignity or respect is shown to their clients or even the communities. According to Olsen (1994), Starbucks rapidly expanded and opened many chains of stores and facing off other small businesses in the process, this was unethical.

Report on how Starbucks can improve ethics in its operations

Starbucks should establish codes of ethics. Furthermore, they should always aim to protect the brand and image of the company. Ferrell et al (2008) suggest that the firm should establish a program where the business and its partners comply with the business ethics that will support the firm’s mission and help in protecting their reputation by providing relevant resources to their partners to help them in making right decisions at their subsidiary outlets.

Cross et al (2009) further echo that such a program will assist in developing and distributing materials including the business conduct, facilitate ethics training and legal compliance, do investigations on sensitive issues such as the conflicting of interest, and provide more channels for her customers to report their concerns. Furthermore, Rhetoric Society of America et al (2004) suggests that their clients should also be encouraged to report all kinds of concerns and issues to the established program through their preferred communication channels that are provided by the company.

According to Schultz et al (2011), the firm should write a booklet on business conduct that should be distributed to all the subsidiary firms to help them during their work in the making of the appropriate decisions. These codes should just be brief statements on how the company conducts its businesses and of the company’s expectations that are consistent with the core values and the mission of the company.

Proposed ethical code for Starbucks

Starbucks Company needs to take a position on some ethical issues to support its business. This forms the basis of this proposed ethical code because of the belief that it is the responsibility of the company to advocate public and internal policies that support the business’ health, their employees or partners, and the communities the business serves.

These proposed ethical codes if applied can demonstrate the commitment of the company to being one of the responsible businesses. These proposed codes range from global ethical standards to the internal guidelines for conducting business. Furthermore, the codes are consistent with the Starbucks mission of inspiring and nurturing the human spirit.

• The guiding principle of Starbucks should be to provide a great working environment and respect others with dignity and respect. Furthermore, Michelli (2007) suggests that the company should embrace diversity in doing business and always strive to develop enthusiastic and satisfied customers at all times. Starbuck should positively contribute to the environment and communities in which it is situated in.
• Corporate social responsibility should also be further enhanced.
• They should also establish stringent codes measures to ensure the good conduct of their suppliers. Clear procurement decisions should be enacted to make their suppliers align themselves with their established values (Gilbert 2008).
• Ethical practices should be laid down in collaboration with the suppliers to ensure farmers protect the environment and produce quality seeds.
• Should allow its operations to be conducted and also employ the minority and women.
• Starbucks should also build strong relationships with the community by supporting educational programs
• Starbucks should ensure they keep it green in its operations.
• The company can also embrace giving health insurance to its employees, provide equal employment opportunities, and support human rights.

Bibliography

Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2008), Business ethics: ethical decision making and cases, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co.

Cross, F. B., Miller, R. L., & Cross, F. B. (2009), The legal environment of business: text and cases: ethical, regulatory, global, and e-commerce issues, Mason, OH, South-Western    Cengage Learning.

Rhetoric Society Of America, Hauser, G. A., & Grim, A. (2004), Rhetorical democracy discursive practices of civic engagement: selected papers from the 2002 conference of the Rhetoric Society of America, Mahwah, N.J., Lawrence Erlbaum. Retrieved on 14th   June 2013 from           http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&A    N=109906.

Schultz, H., & Gordon, J. (2011), Onward: How Starbucks fought for its life without losing its soul, New York, NY, Rodale.

Michelli, J. A. (2007), The Starbucks experience: 5 principles for turning ordinary into extraordinary, New York, McGraw-Hill.

Gilbert, S. (2008), The story of Starbucks, Mankato, MN, Creative Education.

Bussing-Burks, M. (2009), Starbucks. Santa Barbara, Calif, Greenwood Press. Retrieved on 14th June 2013 from

http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=494958.

Kachra, A. (1997), Starbucks. London, Ont, Richard Ivey School of Business, University of         Western Ontario.

Marie, Bussing-Burks. (2009), Starbucks. ABC-CLIO. Retrieved on 14th    June 2013 from

http://www.myilibrary.com?id=233755.

Schultz, H., & Yang, D. J. (1997), Pour your heart into it: how Starbucks built a company one cup at a time, New York, NY, Hyperion.

Fellner, K. (2008), Wrestling with Starbucks conscience, capital, cappuccino, New Brunswick,    NJ, Rutgers University Press. Retrieved on 14th June 2013 from

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&A            N=243103.

Simon, B. (2009), Everything but the coffee: learning about America from Starbucks, Berkeley,   University of California Press.

Olsen, D., Carroll, J. P., & Brody, L. (1994), Starbucks passion for coffee: a Starbucks coffee cookbook, Menlo Park, Calif, Sunset Books.

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.

Addressing a Health Behavior Issue through Program Proposal

by Herman Bailey | Mar 15, 2023 | Essays | 0 comments

The program aims to bring lifestyle change to the African American whose eating habit has subjected them to be prone to lifestyle diseases like Obesity, hypertension, cancer and other diseases related to eating an unhealthy diet. The vision of the program would be “to inspire a healthy eating lifestyle amongst the African American Community in America” and the mission would be “to enable African American Community to treasure healthy diet” The program will run with the slogan “Eat healthy live longer”. The program will be designed to guarantee a healthy community in the African American culture.

People Also Read

• Improving Employee Health and Fitness: Smart Aerobic Freelancers
• Comprehensive School-Based Program for Child Sexual Abuse and Mental Health
• Strategies for promoting health equity in mental health ARNP practice

According to Stephens (2005), lifestyle diseases like excess weight and obesity are substantial public health and clinical issue that occur majorly as a result of unhealthy eating and lack of physical exercise, but majorly on eating an unbalanced diet. Lemelle et al (2011), further states that deviations in fruit and vegetable intake amongst the African Americans, are associated to the environmental resources whereby access to grocery stores and vegetable market is limited and also the personal zeal to stick to healthy lifestyle faded making the community vulnerable.

The changes in the health behaviour of the African American society in Philadelphia play a major role in the increase of the lifestyle diseases like obesity and overweight condition as there lifestyle has subjected them to choose junk and processed meals which is equally risky(Dixon & Wilson, 1994). The earlier interventions for the change of the poor eating habits and prevention of lifestyle diseases as a result of it included a random trial of weight loss programs as well as interventions designed to improve dietary behaviour through an improved knowledge based on a recommendation for eating a balanced diet on every meal. Churches dominated by African American have also used motivation speakers to pass the information on good eating and recommendable diet.

Though started conducted by CDC shows the reduction in the death rate amongst African American by 25% for those aged seventeen years and above, the CDC discovered a trend of increase in chronic conditions like cancer and obesity which is associated to lifestyle change (Center for Disease Control., & Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 1994). The study also indicates that African American who are aged between 18-49 are twice more likely to perish from a cardiovascular disease as compared to the whites and also there is a 50% likelihood of African American aged between 35-64 to have the condition of high blood pressure in comparison to the whites (Vital, 2017). Gourdine (2011), observed that American heart association affirmed the evidence with the fact they provided stating that African Americans have a higher cardiovascular health issue as compared to other races they link to the unhealthy behaviours, cultural inclinations and attitudes and also lack of determination in changing their lifestyle.

The participants of the program will be of age between 18-75 African American race and they have to reside in the metropolitan area of Philadelphia. The recruitment process will be conducted through self-referrals from print media such as newspaper advert as well flyers that will be distributed in the community settings (Virgil, K. M., & IUPUI, 2013). The actual residence would be determined through zip code. The program will disqualify any candidate with the history of lifestyle diseases like cancer and cardiovascular. In addition to this, the participants with an eating disorder as well as those who participate in a weight loss program will be disqualified from the program.

The program will be community-based with a vital responsibility of tackling unhealthy eating behaviour by creating interventions that address the priorities of the African American community as well as resources together with the stakeholders. The program will use a consistent approach by taking the initial step of conducting a multilevel needs evaluation for the African American community in the residents that are located in Philadelphia, to find out about their views and concerns on the diseases associated to poor eating habit among the diseases like cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer , hypertension and diabetes (Belgrave, 1998). In addition to this, we will go further and inquire about their knowledge on balanced diet and how they are supposed to balance the meals in regards to the quantity and also the prevention bit of it through altering their eating lifestyle. Secondly, the program would use an integrated approach to provide education based on the risks associated with chronic diseases would be vital in addressing the priorities which might have emerged at the launch of the pilot phase of the program.

In accordance to Kerr, Weitkunat & Moretti (2005) guideline, To motivate the residence and encourage them to take place in the program, the program will introduce motivational interview which will be educative in nature and strategic in ensuring the African American community in Philadelphia to get anxious and motivated in participating in the program.

The integrated approach that the program will use will be based on the ecological model of health that would put emphasis in multiple types of factors that work at both communities on an individual level (Corcoran, 2007). The program will look at the conceptualized integration in regards to the disease concentrations to enable us to prioritize the concerns that would emerge from the target population in the needs evaluation stage (Hughes et al, 2017). Furthermore, the health care providers will be ready to deliver counselling and advice to the affected members in the target population as a ensure of intervention to curbing the health behaviour changes the interventions that are unified in regards to the concentration of the lifestyle disease due to unhealthy eating habits.

According to Gourdine (2011), an integrated approach will play a key role in ensuring the success of the program as it would be effective in increasing dietary behavior in relation to disease-specific approach, this is due to the fact that the education that is assimilated in regards to diseases concentration may tackle the challenges pertaining literacy and also provide help to the individuals in connecting the risk factors for the lifestyle diseases like cancer and cardiovascular diseases (Burbank & Riebe, 2002).

Program challenges

Shortage of financial and material resource

Grembowski (2001), states that every program should anticipate financial constraints, like any other program we anticipate financial challenges mostly when it comes to acquiring resources for the program. The program will start with a fixed budget which is dangerous considering the economy has not fully recovered from the recession prices keeps on changing making it difficult to accurately budget and hence increase the chances of having a deficit in the budget.

To combat this challenge I will over budget and also set some money aside to deal with the deficit that might occur in the course of the running of the program.

Appropriate communication methods.

The target population ranges from 18 to 75 years of age. This poses a challenge as the target population is of different age group and therefore different messages will have to be designed in a way that is related to different age groups. In the process, the information may be distorted or interpreted in a different giving another meaning other than the desired one

Secondly, due to the stride made with the Technology multiple means through which information can be disseminated to a population. The availability of multiple communication channels may deter us from getting the single most appropriate communication method. To counter this, I will conduct an initial survey to understand the dynamics of the target population to get assess how the population receive information after which we can determine the most appropriate communication method to use (Corcoran, 2007).

Technological failures

This challenge is anticipated in the electronic and technological devices. Besides the devices malfunctioning during the process, some workers might not be well familiar with applications that will be deployed and due to minimal time, we might not be able to conduct sufficient training. According to Corcoran (2007), Some of the devices that will be used in the program would need software or firmware upgrade at some point which might be a challenge to the staff who are not technically oriented. The program would also involve different age group and the older generation of both the participant might find it hard to cope with the current technology.

To curb this we will ensure we have a backup of the manual process just in case technology brings an issue, we will also pair the staff and the participant on the age bracket and ensure they gain confidence in using the new devices and also in cases of upgrades needed in technological devices

Keeping the community motivated

The program success majorly relies on how cooperative the African American community in Philadelphia will be. The program will touch on their lifestyle in regards to eating habits, it’s not easy to accept an override of an individual eating habit and this may demoralize the participant making it hard to register them to the program. This might affect the recruitment process because if the community doesn’t feel motivated enough they will not want anything that deals with the program and therefore the program would be bound to fail.

Cultural and social challenges

The African American Social economic status cannot sustain a healthy lifestyle at the same time most of them do not receive social support, this is a challenge to the program as most of them will strain due to their socioeconomic status to keep up with the program and they are likely to slide back to their usual lifestyle. Some of the target population have a belief about a certain type of food due to the cultural issues, this plays a big role in encouraging the unhealthy diet which therefore makes them prone to lifestyle diseases.

Resources and sustainability

The program will focus on balance diet, for illustration purposes, it is expected that some of the resources that will be used in demonstration might be perishable therefore even with storage equipment that is available, it is not expected to last for long.

Human resource is another challenge, the program will need professional health care providers, in this case, the nutrition experts who will be key to identifying critical aspects of the participants as well as tracing their progress. Getting enough professional is a big challenge and the few that we will start with will definitely be overstretched.

This challenge will be countered by a partnership with other organization whose visions relate to ours and by this we will pull all the resources that the partnership has to curb the challenge.

Barriers to participation

This is the logistical challenge like long travel by which some of the staff members will have to make, and also the movement around the target area which is likely to make them fatigue and affect their judgment. To counter this, there will be policies that would ensure the rotation of the staff to give them enough rest to enhance their output.

Environmental challenges

This is challenges are usually unforeseen and are referred to as the acts of gods, it includes natural disasters like floods, hurricane, storm, lightening among others (Dziegielewski, 2013), One can never be ready enough for natural disaster, but just to be cautious about it we will be keeping tracks of the weather forecast and make the right decision before going to conduct the study.

Theoretical rationale

Health belief model

This program is relative to the health belief model. Health belief model was used by a scientist in predicting the behaviours regarding health. The model was initially developed in the 1950 and later on updated in the 1980s (Trepton-Adams, 1979). The theory behind the model is on the basis that an individual willingness to alter their behaviour in regards to health is primarily as a result of the following factors:

Perceived susceptibility

This factor is based on the fact that individuals only change their health behaviour when they believe they are at risks, for instance, an individual who thinks they are not at a risk of HIV during unprotected intercourse are the ones who are less likely to use protection (Trepton-Adams, 1979). This factor relates to the program in the sense that, as much as the African American community in Philadelphia feel that they are not at a risk of lifestyle diseases due to their eating habits will continue eating an unhealthy diet till the point where they will realize they are risking their lives.

Perceived Severity

This factor is based on the school of thought that an individual would change their behaviour based on the seriousness or the degree of the consequences of the individual behaviour. For example, when we consider young lovers, there is a higher probability that when they have the flu they will avoid kissing on the mouth, because of the consequences of spreading the flu, or for the case of Ebola where the couples would totally avoid each other because of the dire consequences of contracting the killer disease (Corcoran, 2007).

The link between this factor and the program is that. The majority of the target population in the Philadelphia are yet to figure the consequences of having an unhealthy lifestyle based on their eating habit (Trepton-Adams, 1979). Most of the African American in Philadelphia has embraced the poor diet without really considering the consequences and repercussion it has to their health. This might be due to lack of information or education in the areas of health and nutrition leading the majority of the African American society to dangerous lifestyle diseases.

Perceived benefit

According to Trepton-Adams (1979), this factor is based on the fact that it is cumbersome to make people change their behaviour unless they see themselves gaining something out of the change. For example, a smoker would only quit smoking when he is convinced that when he stops his life would improve tremendously. This would actually convince him because at the end of smoking he would eye for the improved life and he/she would be looking forward to it.

The program basically intends to use this factor and come up with workshops and roadshows as well as social media campaign to educate the African American community in Philadelphia on the cons of eating unhealthy. With this information, they would be linked to eating healthy with long life and a life free of diseases which is paramount and therefore they will embrace the program.

Perceived Barriers

One of the major reason why health behaviour change is proving to be hard is based on the fact that change is generally perceived in be hard. Health behaviour change does not entail physical change alone but also social and psychological (Trepton-Adams, 1979). One of the reasons why change is hard is because it requires resources such as time and money. This in itself is a big barrier as the majority of the African American are not well of as compared to other races, therefore, they may perceive the change as hard. Lifestyle change also does not come easy it’s like breaking a social norm which has existed for ages.

This health belief model is accurate, it acknowledges the fact that wanting to change a health behaviour of an individual depends on the individual will to change. Based on this it incorporates two elements one of them being cues which prompts towards an external push that makes one desire to change their eating habit

Transtheoretical model

This model also relates to the program. According to McDonald et al (2014), the model was developed in the 1970s by Diclemente and Prochaska. McDonald et al (2014) further indicate that the emphasis of the model is based individual’s decision making which can further be referred to as a model of deliberate change (Trepton, 1979). According to McDonald et al (2014), the Transtheoretical model functions on the assumption that individuals do not change behaviour hastily and decisively. Relatively, change in behaviour which is more of a habit occurs through a cyclical process which is usually continuous.

This model suggests that people move through six phases of change which are:

Precontemplation: according to (Trepton, 1979), this is the stage where there is no intention of taking action in a foreseeable future, the benefit of changing behaviour is usually underestimated and the cons are usually highlighted more than the pros.

• Contemplation: according to McDonald et al (2014), at this stage, the individual is weighing the options of changing the health behaviour. It is the point that marks realization where the individual starts realizing that their behaviour might somehow be problematic.
• Preparation: at this stage of the model, the action to be taken is known and there is a gradual move towards the action of behaviour change. In relation to the program, this is where participants make move and start eating fruits and vegetable as well as thrive to live a healthy lifestyle (Trepton, 1979).
• Action: this is a stage where the behaviour has been fully charged and there is a continuous effort towards sustaining the action. In relation to the program, this is a stage where the participant continuously eats healthy and they are keen on watching their diet as they ensure they eat a recommended balanced diet (Trepton, 1979).
• Maintenance: According to McDonald et al (2014), most of the programs stagnate at this stage, the change has been sustained and it’s at the optimum level, the individuals in this stage are determined to avoid relapse. Associating this with the program, this is a stage where the participant would have got rid of the poor eating habit in totality and they have a strong determination to continue following the program as they stay healthy and the chance of relapse is almost nil at this.
• Termination: According to Trepton (1979), this is the final stage and at this point, there is no chance the participants would go back to their previous behaviour. This stage is rarely achieved as majority stuck on the maintenance stage.

This model gives the procedure for how the program should be implemented the stages are important to follow as they are traceable and it will be easy to know the progress of the participants. The model also enhances the sustainability of the program which is core to the success of the program (McDonald et al, 2014).

Marketing

Concerning social marketing, the program will use the community sponsored program, like seminars and medical camps to appeal to the target population. This social programs will enhance interaction between the staff and community which is needed for the smooth running of the program (Burbank & Riebe, 2002). The interaction will also provide further insights into the target population to iron out any issues that might be assumed.

According to Kerr, Weitkunat, & Moretti (2005), for the program to be effective, the best marketing strategy should be employed. In this case, due to the technological era, I will put more focus on social media marketing. The program would be advertised on popular sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google, the social media advertisement would target mostly the youths and young adults (McDonald et al, 2014). Social media will enable the information to be disseminated at a faster rate as it would easily find people on WhatsApp due to the digital nature of it.

The door to door strategy which will be effective for the elderly and those that are not prone to accessing social media (Hughes et al, 2017). Roadshows will also be used where the target population is a bit dense and vast. We will also advertise the program in a popular local radio station by sponsoring a program on the radio that is popular to the target population. We will also use the local newspaper and popular magazines to inform the population about the program.

Evaluation and measurement

The basic outcome will be based on a balanced diet with the bias on fruit and vegetable intake, this is because the African American tend to avoid food rich in vitamins which is key to fighting diseases which they are prone to. There would be an evaluation of integrated risk education versus disease-specific education on changes in the percentage of the target population who achieved the threshold for each of these behaviours. The program will use health information trend survey items in the evaluation of fruit and vegetable. Participants will be precisely asked the number of cups of fruits and vegetable they take daily (don’t know 0,1=none, 3=more than four cups). The qualified participants that meet guidelines for the category of every variable would be the one that recorded at least taking 2-3 cups.

To make the program traceable we will eliminate the participants who engage in physical activity and still eat an unhealthy diet and those who have started engaging in a physical activity in a span of one month. This will be done to ensure the program focusses on eating habit and any other factor which might compromise the program has to be eliminated.

In this program, impact evaluation method would be the best as it would assess the effects that the program has had on the minority community as well as it will prove traceable information on changes in behaviour which is key to the program (Grembowski, 2001).

The program outcome would be evaluated in one month after implementation. There would be a follow up for the participant who would not have completed all the four sessions. The reason to do the evaluation in a month time is that of the interest of the program to determine if integrated risk education and disease-specific education had an impact in making an initial attempt to impact changes in chronic illness related lifestyle behaviours (Grembowski, 2001).

Resources

The following resources would be needed for the success of the program:

• Human resource: This entails the staff that is needed, the staff will perform the various function in ensuring the program runs efficiently. The program would require healthcare providers like nutritionist, nurses and specialist, physical Activity specialist among others. Majority of the staff will be required for marketing and data collection as well as for data analysis and finally for the administrative duties (Grembowski, 2001). The program will also need the subordinate staff to ensure regular cleaning of the offices and equipment and also prepare snacks for the other staff.
• Equipment: The program will require different equipment, from weighing machine, equipment for physical exercise, laptops, stationeries, data collection devices among other devices (Corcoran, 2007).
• Logistics: this category would involve the transport, there would be a vehicle needed to transport the staff and carry equipment from the office to different location (Grembowski, 2001).
• Partnership: partnership both in private and public sector. The partners would supplement the financial and human resource on activities of the program that is considered critical. The partnership would be core to ensuring the sustainability of the program because of the partners would work towards the same goal as the program and there would be an enabling environment, for instance, laws that support or protect the program can be easily enacted via a partnership with political class (Grembowski, 2001).
• Space: the program will need offices to run, the head office will be close to the target population and will host the administrative staff. The program would also require a storeroom where bulky things that are needed in the program can be kept after work hours (Grembowski, 2001).

Conclusion

In brief, the program highlights the health behaviour changes that have led to an increase in the lifestyle diseases like cancer, diabetes and obesity specifically as a result of the unhealthy eating habit of the African American. The proposal provides a program that focuses on encouraging the community to take a healthy balanced diet mostly fruits and vegetable to reduce the rate of chronic illness in African American Community in Philadelphia.

In conclusion, socio-economic status is a major drive towards getting the lifestyle diseases. Besides the healthy food being a little bit expensive than the junk, it is not easily accessible and therefore this obstacles has played a key role in ensuring the African American continue eating an unhealthy diet as healthy food, therefore, it increases their chances of getting the lifestyle diseases.

The program offers the best solution as it is interactive and also it provides enough information that everyone would associate with. The program is feasible considering most of the resources are locally available and many organization are ready to partner with the program to ensure its success. Many people are also ready to volunteer both as participant and as staff.

References

Belgrave, F. Z. (1998). Psychosocial aspects of chronic illness and disability among African Americans. Westport, Conn: Auburn House.

Burbank, P. M., & Riebe, D. (2002). Promoting exercise and behaviour change in older adults: Interventions with the transtheoretical model. New York, NY: Springer.

Center for Disease Control., & Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (U.S.). (1994). Chronic disease in minority populations: African-Americans, American Indians and Alaska native, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Hispanic Americans. Atlanta, Ga.: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Corcoran, N. (2007). Communicating health: Strategies for health promotion. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Dixon, B. M., & Wilson, J. (1994). Good health for African Americans: Introducing the 24-week Sankofa Program–for nutritional and lifestyle transformation. New York: Crown.

Dziegielewski, S. F. (2013). The Changing Face of Health Care Social Work: Opportunities and Challenges for Professional Practice. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Grembowski, D. (2001). The practice of health program evaluation. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.

Gourdine, M. A. (2011). Reclaiming our health: A guide to African American wellness. New Haven: Yale University Press.

H., Hughes, C., B., S., B., V., . . . Weathers. (2017, March 18). Comparative effectiveness education trial for lifestyle health behaviour change in African Americans | Health Education Research | Oxford Academic. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/her/article/32/3/207/3074647

Kerr, J., Weitkunat, R., & Moretti, M. (2005). ABC of behaviour change: A guide to successful disease prevention and health promotion. Edinburgh: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone.

Lemelle, A. J., Reed, W. L., & Taylor, S. E. (2011). Handbook of African American health: Social and behavioural interventions. New York: Springer.

McDonald, J. A., Indiana University, Bloomington., & Indiana University, Bloomington, (2014). Application of Health Belief Model constructs as related to college students’ indoor and outdoor tanning. (Dissertation Abstracts International, 75-12.)

Virgil, K. M., & IUPUI ScholarWorks. (2013). Community-based exercise program attendance and exercise self-efficacy in African American women.

Stephens, Q. (2005). Effect of exercise training on total peripheral resistance, heart rate variability, and prehypertension in apparently healthy African American women.

Vital Signs. (2017, July 03). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/aahealth/index.html

Trepton-Adams, R. (1979). Health belief model assessment tool and guide.

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.

Why Microsoft’s Motivational Practices and Rewards Program Stand Out

by Herman Bailey | Mar 14, 2023 | Essays | 0 comments

1)  Why I would like to work in Microsoft Company as a programmer

With much certainty, I would like to work in Microsoft Corporation as a programmer. First and foremost, Microsoft Company is a multinational company that has many employees estimated to be 48,000 people. This shows that the company has the capability to motivate, maintain and appreciate its workers. For instance, the company regards the workers as special, smart, and change-makers to the world. Moreover, it rewards them well.

People Also Read

• Understanding the RMO CSMS Marketing Subsystem Diagram
• The Crucial Role of Hotel Operations Management in Running a Successful Hotel
• An Analysis of Intermediary/Portal Solutions in the Tourism Industry

2) (I) from the case study, what comes out as one of the motivational factors is the remunerations of the employees. This can be related to the incentive theory of motivation (Beck, 1978). The company has a lucrative program where it rewards and appreciates the employees well. Moreover, it created more millionaire employees of about 10,000 in the early 1990s in the history of America.

1. ii) Most employees work for long hours. Furthermore, a program manager confesses that in his first five years, he was a Microsoft stereotype. This can be linked to the drive theory of motivation. The theory explains that a person will be motivated to take some actions to reduce tension caused by needs not met (Beck, 1978).

3) Modification of the management practices

I think Microsoft Company has applied most of the motivational theories to reach its current level. However, the flat growth rate experiences call for modification of her motivational practices. The company should get to know its competitive advantage. Gilbert (1991) indicated that the managers encouraging employees better such as what excites them, their career aspirations, this will make it know the employee’s values. The competitive advantage. It revolves around being hardworking and putting the customer first. employees should also know what is expected of them and the company’s vision. The company should also establish achievable and relevant goals for individual employees and get regular feedback on their performance.

PART B

1)         The expectancy theory elaborates that a person will decide to act or behave in a certain manner because of the motivation derived to choose a specific behavior due to the expected result. Therefore, the motivating factor in the selection is determined by how pleasing the outcome will be (Witkowski, 1997). I like going shopping, reading novels and swimming because of the pleasant nature of the activities, I get to explore, socialize with people and learn new things and ideas. On the other hand, I dislike doing house chores, taking medication, and staying on a restricted diet because it’s tedious, always cautious full time on anything you take and the medications make me disoriented and sometimes affect the normal functioning of my body.

2) Steps for designing a reward program

According to Cummins (2011), a reward program is better than incentives and makes the employees work optimally. The steps include:

• Clear expectations development-this must be done by the senior management to know the expectations of the employees and articulate them through well-defined goals which sure broken down per division or department.
• Clear sight creation– so the employees can see that their efforts are impacting what the management desires.
• The setting of achievable goals-rewards that are performance-based must be connected to either group or individual goals. That have a have achievement chance. The goals should not be so stretched because the employees will be discouraged. Similarly, easy goals are a waste of the incentives for the goals could have been achieved even without the motivation.
• Establishment of a credible system of measurement– this is for measuring the quantitative results. This can be done using the objectives
• Employees’ empowerment-employees should believe they are capable of achieving the organization’s goals. This can be done through adequate training, empowering them to make their own decisions, information is supplied on a timely basis.
• Making reward meaningful- the incentive should be about 15-20% of the basic pay for it to be effective
• Making immediate payouts-this will make the employees feel quickly the impact of the efforts.

3)         Job analysis is a systematic collection and judging process of all job related important information. It is a procedure by which duties, the nature of jobs, and the people to be hired are determined. The information can be used in the writing of job descriptions and specifications to be used in recruitment and performance appraisal (Pearn et al, 1988).

Job analysis is done in staffing, training and development, compensation and benefits, safety and health, employee to labor relations, legal considerations, and job analysis for teams.

According to Pearn et al (1988), the process of job analysis is done by first identifying how the information will be utilized. Relevant background information is then reviewed. Representative positions are then selected to analyze the job. Finally, the job analysis information is reviewed and verified before developing job specifications and descriptions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BECK, R. C. (1978). Motivation: theories and principles. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall.

WITKOWSKI, C. M. (1997). Schemes for learning and behavior: a new expectancy model.       London, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, Dept. of Computer      Science.

CUMMINS, A. (2011). The Reward Management Toolkit. Kogan Page.

PEARN, M., & KANDOLA, R. S. (1988). Job analysis. Institute of Personnel Management.

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.