Global Operations Strategy Of Hard Rock Cafe Tourism Essay

Global Operations Strategy Of Hard Rock Cafe Tourism Essay Among the four global operations strategy, Hard Rock Cafà © falls under a multidomestic strategy as all of its restaurants share the same type of themes while still maintaining certain differences towards different locations. All restaurants of this brand adopts the mission of promoting rock spirit, combining a cafà © environment with live music and rock n roll memorabilia museum. They are operated under united management styles and processes which favor flexibility, emphasize the Hard Rock values and apply precise administration with close planning and forecasting. However, Hard Rock Cafà © makes careful response to the differences in culture and interest in each specific location. For example, an average menu from Hard Rock Cafà © includes classic American food like burgers and chicken meat or lobster, however their restaurant in Hawaii locations also specialize  in fresh fish with delicious meals like fish tacos or ahi tuna sandwich. Hard Rock Cafà ©s retail shops provide l ocation-specific merchandise that cannot be purchased at anywhere else, not even online. In London, fans can acquire t-shirts with the name London printed on them while in Prague, Czech Republic, limited-edition Prague  signature pins with exclusive design quality  are sold. In order to success with this global operation strategy, Hard Rock Cafà © has made good response to the ten operation management decisions. First, their design of goods and services has brought their restaurants a unique, charming appearance that differentiates them well with other brands. Hard Rock Cafà © introduces the concept of experience to its operations. As customers dine at a Hard Rock Cafà ©s restaurant, what they can gain is not only a custom meal from the menu but also an unforgettable event with unique visual pleasure from various rock memorabilia and exciting sound experience from a variety of music activities. This kind of design has brought Hard Rock Cafà © a sharp edge to its competitiveness as theres nothing like an originator (Hard Rocks marketing director, Steve Glum, 2003). Other brands may find aspiration in its special concept; however it has something that cannot be easily copied, music and its $30 million-worth of historically priceless rock paraphernalia (Matt Haig, 2004, p. 233). Their retail merchandises, which take up to 48% of their sales, also carry heavy rock characteristics like Hard Ro ck Monopoly, Hard Rock Calendar, guitar case and other rock items. To follow the experience concept, Hard Rock Cafà © doesnt focus its quality managing effort on only some dishes or services but the experience that its customers get as a whole. Food quality is important, but more important is the quality of visuality and auditory. Hard Rock Cafe attaches much importance to customers opinions in valuating quality as in their experience concept, maximum value is what perceived by the customers. Hard Rock gives out surveys on a regular basis with the scores rating from 1 to 7, and to maintain the restaurants reputation of high quality, if the score is not 7, the service is considered a failure (Jay Heizer Barry Render, p. 56). About process and capacity design, Hard Rock Cafà © provides continuing training to its staff so that they remain highly competent, skillful and passionate about the main theme rock n roll. The restaurants are decorated by buying and displaying musical objects which are sometimes expensive and require much effort in preservation. Hard Rock also holds music events in which the number of fans participating may exceed 100,000 people. The locations of Hard Rocks restaurants are carefully chosen. According to Oliver Munday, Hard Rocks vice president, they have to look at political risk, currency and social normsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ In general, most of these restaurants are located where tourism is developed and in places where each restaurant itself has a great rate of exposure. For example, the Hard Rock Cafà © in Atlanta separates from major hotels and downtown attractions like Georgia Aquarium, Centennial Olympic Parkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ for only a small walking distance. This location can be called a gold position as tourists can easily find and choose Hard Rock Cafà © as their dining destination easily without much effort. Another example, Hard Rocks newest restaurant in Japan is open at Universal CityWalk Osaka. These entertainment and retail districts are a part of the huge Universal Studios Japan theme park, a famous tourism destination that had welcomed 11 million visitors in its first year of operation and thus b ecome one of the most successful theme parks in history (Universal Studios Japan Welcomes 11 Millionth Visitor, PR Newswire, 2002). The restaurant is also situated in a gold position, at the Konohana park site, only 10 minutes by rail away from JR Osaka station. Thanks to this location, hungry tourists getting out of the station will be eager to stop at Hard Rock Cafà © for a little exciting experience before continuing on their tours. The layouts of Hard Rocks restaurants cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Each colorful layout is like a museum of musical history in the shell of a restaurant. The walls of the restaurants are decorated with memorabilia. Here and there, large television screens bombard the senses of guests with scenes from rock videos. There is quite a lot of space as a Hard Rock restaurant is usually large enough to hold a great number of seats and support live concerts and shows. All of these create a unique Hard Rock atmosphere that no other restaurant can possess. Not only that there are some differences between each location. In Florida, the lavish exterior features an old car driven through the building and the decorations make one think of an ancient ruin. In Prague, a 5-meter crystal guitar is hanging down from the ceiling, creating a rock n roll atmosphere attractive to all rock fans. These differences in design allow Hard Rocks customers to have truly unique visual experience as th ey visit its restaurants at many locations around the world. Up to 2010, Hard Rocks staff has reached 20,000 employees (http://www.hardrock.com). These employees play an indispensable part in keeping the experience economy concept alive. Hard Rocks restaurants have beautiful layouts, exciting music and unique memorabilia; however, what has truly close the bridge between these lifeless items and the customers is the staffs passionate attitude. Hard Rocks employees are not only skillful in their jobs but also quite knowledgeable about rock n roll. In Hard Rock Cafà ©, waiters and waitress pride themselves on being able to recognize every piece of musical paraphernalia, and the staff will enthusiastically engage in conversations with the guests to introduce the objects to them or encourage them to go around and find out the excitement by themselves. In order to ensure their staff to meet the above standard, Hard Rock Cafà © pays much attention to their human resource strategy. They have created a dynamic working culture that gives much ground t o personal development and individuality. Beside incentives like high pay rates and promotion opportunities, Hard Rock gives its staff continuing specific training and encourages them to be positive and self-motivated around the core Hard Rock Value. To minimize the input cost and to ensure the fresh state of its ingredients, Hard Rock Cafà © takes advantages of local supply whenever it can. For example, the restaurant in Honolulu purchases fresh fish from the fish auction near Honolulu Harbor. This action allows the restaurant to have a fresh, always available food source, and also help them to serve their special dish: fresh catch of the day (http://www.hawaiimagazine.com). Hard Rock Cafà ©s inventory consists of over 60,000 unique objects that once belonged to famous rock legends like Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ They range from lyric sheets and gold discs to even worn clothes and guitars. Packed with these items, each restaurant becomes a living museum of rock n roll history. In Hard Rock Cafà ©s restaurants, there are also many large flat screen televisions continuously play rock videos and concert footages. This type of inventory becomes one of the brands strength. Theyve got something people can connect to, music and memorabilia (Hard Rocks marketing director, Steve Glum, 2003). As Hard Rock Cafà © constantly grows all over the world with numerous rock concerts and events, its schedules are tightly managed both in long term and short term, large scale and individual scale. For a large event, a plan is made several months before the event day. The closer it gets to the event day, the tighter the schedule is managed. For example, the scheduling for the Rockfest event is done within a tight 9-month horizon, where it is updated monthly in the first 3 months, weekly in the next 6 months and twice a week in the last month (Jay Heizer Barry Render, p. 128). In order to pull off such a tight schedule, Hard Rock Cafà ©s managers must have good project management skills and good supportive software. The schedule of a staff is more flexible. Since 70% of its guests are tourists (Jay Heizer Barry Render, p. 82), Hard Rock Cafà © must have flexible schedules in their restaurant to answer the demands of tourism. For example, in Orlando, a famous tourist location, caf à © staff has schedule of 15-minute intervals to adapt to the seasonal and daily changes of this tourist environment (Jay Heizer Barry Render, p. 56). The special rock-theme of Hard Rock Cafà © requires it to make huge maintenance efforts. The collection of musical items are shared and rotated among restaurants from time to time (Matt Haig, 2004, p. 233). This type of maintenance is quite costly as moving these priceless musical items require not only transportation fee but also special protection and preservation. However, in doing so, the visual experience of a returning customer can remain unique as there are always new pieces of memorabilia to display. As of 2010, Hard Rock Cafà © has already opened a restaurant in Vietnam. This restaurant located at 39 Le Duan street, District 1,   Ho Chi Minh City. Hard Rock Cafà © still doesnt have any restaurant in Hanoi though. The opening of such restaurant will create both operations management opportunities and challenges for Hard Rock. In general view, Hanoi is a potential market in Vietnam. Even though she doesnt have as many entertainment site as Ho Chi Minh City, her cultural buildings, beautiful parks and traditional festivals can usually attract quite a few tourists. According to the statistics of Vietnam General Statistics Office, in the first 8 month of 2010, Hanoi has received about 6 625 000 tourism visits and expected to have a population of over 6 610 000 people. With these statistics, Hanoi will be a good choice for Hard Rock Cafà © to open a new restaurant here. The first challenge Hard Rock Cafà © will meet in opening a new restaurant in Hanoi might be how to find a good location. There may be many cultural sightseeing places all over the old city; however, both tourism activities and local entertainment activities are busiest in Hoan Kiem district, especially around Hoan Kiem Lake and the old quarters. This district has seen the appearance of many large restaurant brands. KFC has a restaurant at the most beautiful position available, beside Hoan Kiem Lake. BBQ has found a good location in the busy Trang Tien Street. Lotteria has a so-so but still good enough location right on the side of Hanoi Train Station. With Hard Rock Cafà ©s tradition of placing its restaurants in tourist locations with high exposure rate, the gold position is undoubtedly here. It will not be easy to find a place large enough to hold a Hard Rock restaurant here though, as this area has a high density of buildings where all business are packed together in a small sp ace. A lot negotiation will have to be made and quite a large amount of money will have to be invested as the price of land in this area is unfortunately highest in the country. There is of course the option of renting a large part or event a whole floor in a building like Highland Cafà © has done with Hanoi tower. However, with its noisy characteristic of rock music culture, this will not be very realistic. Choosing a location in more remote areas of Hanoi will be easier, but the forfeit of tourism attraction must be made up with lots of advertisement and promotion methods. For a Hard Rock Cafà © in Hanoi, there wont be the need to put too much effort in creating a specialized menu. Hard Rocks menu is often heavily affected by the local ingredients. Hanoi doesnt really have any special ingredients while her inhabitants are eager to have Western food as a change, and so its menu can safely stay with its traditional dishes of burgers and chickens. Local supply is plentiful with cheap prices because Hanoi has many satellite towns and provinces as her source of supply for chicken, pork and beef meats. However, this OM opportunity also comes with a challenge. The above source of supply may be cheap and easy to access, but it is also notorious for bad food hygiene and safety. Even though Hanoi government has issued a lot of food safety standards, administration and inspection activities are weak, which results in ingredients with bad quality floating on the market. In order to protect its high quality standards, Hard Rock Cafà © will have to explore the loc al environment to search for trustable suppliers for long-term partnership. Vietnams strength in attracting investment also lies in cheap labor forces. In Hanoi, Hard Rock Cafà © can find all kinds of labor with all kinds of education background. There are people with only high school education level eager to find jobs. There are also university students seeking for part time jobs to earn some money to support their own studying and living. This kind of labor force is cheap and easy to replace. These employees usually dont have much need and can agree easily to low incentives. As a side aspect, a little bonus may be enough to boost their morale hugely. Because of this, Hard Rock Cafà © will not have a hard time in hiring staff and maintaining them. However, the true hardship in human resource management is how to keep this type of staff true to the Hard Rock Cafà © value. In Vietnam, the education style is quite different from that of Eastern countries. Vietnamese students are taught in a passive environment where individuality doesnt have much important while the collective consciousness is highly encouraged. And in Hanoi, this passive characteristic is still very heavy. People in Ho Chi Minh City tend to be more dynamic and flexible with more open-minded thinking method. But because of its delicate but slow culture, Hanois townsmen tend to be more passive and rigid with more close-minded thinking method. The concept of self-motivated, individualistic and creative attitude may be quite unfamiliar to the employees that Hard Rock Cafà © can hire in Hanoi. As a consequence, even though the cost of labor may be low, the cost of training will be relatively high. In Hanoi, the maintenance efforts should not be only for Hard Rocks special collections of musical items but also for the staff itself. To maintain a high quality standard, the staff must also be maintained carefully. The quality of a Vietnamese staff in the restaurant field tends to deteriorate slowly if the managers dont pay enough attention. One of the most important reasons is that except cooks, not many people will consider a position in a restaurant to be the solid foundation of their careers. The case of Mega Star can be taken to view this matter more clearly. Even though Mega Star is a cinema brand, its cinema groups often come with large fast food stalls, and Hard Rock may as well pull one or two lessons from this brand in dealing with a Vietnamese staff. In their first months of operations, Mega Star quickly won over the heart of their customers with five-star services. Their employees were highly professional with positive attitudes, always ready to answer every question f rom customers. However as time go by, because of many reasons, the lack of adequate continuously training, the low incentives, the insufficient number of staff, the come-and-go nature of the labor force,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the quality of their staff falls, and in my opinion, falls terribly. Just a little surfing around the internet, we can find quite a lot of complaints from Mega Star customers. Many people, including me myself, miss the old days when we were greeted with smiles from the first steps into the cinema group and not being driven crazy with the attitude I-dont-know-but-somebody-may-know almost every time we sought for help. In Hard Rock Cafà ©s case, Hard Rock places a great deal of importance in their human resource strategy and their employees also play an indispensable role in applying the experience economy concept in reality. Extra efforts like more training, better bonusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ will not be unnecessary in order to maintain the high quality of the staff. In fact, according to the official website of Hard Rock Cafà ©, beside the restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City another Vietnam-based restaurant is planned to open in 2011 in Hanoi. Im looking forward to this new opening and cant wait to see how much successful will Hard Rock Cafà © be in Hanoi.

Memorable Moments with My Sibling Essay

A relationship with a sibling is everlasting: last longer than the bond with a spouse, parent, or friend. Have you ever thought about the times you have spent with your siblings? Those are memorable moments that I would always cherish. The bond with my sibling taught me many lessons in life. My childhood relationship with my sibling has changed since I became an adult. The communication and the people we associate with had changed between us. During any oppression we had gone through, our love still remains the same. Since adolescence my younger sister, Genesis, and I were inseparable. We were like the cartoon characters Tom and Jerry. Genesis used to tell me everything; I was like her secret diary. For example, Genesis would come home to our two bedroom apartment from Attucks Middle school and used to tell me how wonderful or miserable her day went. When she had a delightful day coming home would be satisfying and a little annoying for me. She would tell me how stunning a boy was in her class and was disturbing for me. I didn’t want to hear about her Prince Charming. However, you could tell when she had a dreadful day, she would come home slamming the front door and leaving an echo in the vague hallway. She would run to our cluttered room and jump on her twin size bed. Walking towards her I could hear her calling my name â€Å"Eric†. I said â€Å"Genesis are you feeling ok, what’s wrong? † Genesis said â€Å"There is a boy in my math class calling me a nerd. † I would then comfort her by giving her a hug and tell her not  to worry. You know what they call nerds in the future? Boss! † I said. Genesis always felt safe around me I was there to protect her from any harm like a father figure. However, I joined the United States Army; our molded relationship became more distant. I would only see her physically when important events occurred. For instance, I saw her three months after I graduated from basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Communicating through Skype and the six hours difference between Germany and Florida makes it difficult to talk my sister. Our daily conversation about are experiences since we were younger became weekly or monthly as we matured. Overall, age and the distance between us had caused our connection to fade. When I was younger I used to consider Genesis annoying, because of her eager desire to hang out with my friends living around Coolidge Street, Florida. For example, when I got invited to house parties, Genesis assumed she was automatically invited. Of course she was wrong; a house full of 18 year old teenagers partying had no business interacting with a 14 year old girl. As I got older Genesis became a young adult; the age difference didn’t seem to matter anymore. Now that Genesis became mentally matured, she is acceptable to be in my group of friends. A couple of my friends spend time with my sister watching movies and taking her to different vicinities. My sister and friends took a trip to Rapids Water Park in West Palm Beach, Florida. They enjoyed having a blast in the refreshing pool and the water coasters. In brief, since my sister and I share common friends, we socialize more than the past. The love between my sister and I will remain the same. Even through any tribulation that had occurred toward us, we would always be there for each other. For example, my sister would try to hide the fact that she had a fear of crossing the road every morning to the bus stop; I had an intuition that she was, so every morning at 5 o’clock I would walk my sister five blocks and cross  the street with her to the bus stop, sacrificing two hours of my sleep to ensure that she would arrive safely and according to schedule. Genesis is currently nineteen years old, she had two car accidents and is going through some hardships because she is unemployed and her insurance bill went up. I manage to help her financially until she’s on her feet. Vice versa she also helps motivate me with her encouraging words and accomplishments. She graduated top ten percent of her graduating class and did early admissions while in high school. I was discouraged to enroll into University of Maryland University College while being in the military; by her achievements I was inspired to enroll into UMUC and take a writing 101s course. As you can see, during any discomfort Genesis and I will go through, we will always take care of each other. In conclusion, since childhood my relationship with my sister has changed, our communication had faded over time. Some of the friends we spend time with, are the same. When we had gone through any problems, we would help each other. Why is our bond so strong? We had been there for each other our whole life. Even the distance between us, would never break our love for one another.

EasyJet Airline Company Limited Essay

EasyJet Airline Company Limited (easyJet) is a low-fare airline company based at London Luton Airport. easyJet is one of Europe’s largest low-fare airlines and operates domestic and international scheduled services. easyJet flies on 307 different routes to 80 different European cities. easyJet has a Type A Operating License from the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority allowing it to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. (Wikipedia, 2007) EasyJet’s business model and communication plan mimics that of the American based Southwest Airlines which has aided easyJet’s growth over the last ten years. asyJet was founded by Stelios Haji-loannou on October 18, 1995 and began operating on November 10, 1995 with two Boeing737-200 aircraft leased from the Independent Aviation Group Limited. In the beginning easyJet only flew from London Luton Airport to Glasgow and Edinburgh. In 1998, easyJet purchased a 40% stake in TEA Switzerland. By 1999, easyJet had over three million passengers and was traded on the London Stock Exchange in October 2000. In 2002, easyJet acquired Go Fly, a London based airline, and in December 2003 easyJet opened a new hub in Berlin, Germany at Schonefeld Airport. In May 2004 easyJet increased its service from two routes to eleven routes. In 2004, FL Group began purchasing stock in easyJet and a rumor of a takeover ensued. However, by 2006 FL Group sold its shares in easyJet and the takeover never occurred. In November 2005, easyJet CEO Ray Webster stepped down and was replaced by Andy Harrison. Under the leadership of Andy Harrison, easyJet expanded its fleet to 122 aircrafts, 262 routes, and 74 airports in 21 countries. In 2007, easyJet reported carrying over 37 million passengers. asyJet’s success can be attributed in large part due to its website and internet presence. Between 1995 and 1997 easyJet reservations could be made only via the telephone. Travel agents would not book easyJet reservations because they would not receive a commission. In 1997, easyJet developed a website in order to take reservations, and bookings skyrocketed by over 98% in 7 years. â€Å"Easy† Brand The communications culture of easyJet begins with the founder, Stelios Haji-loannou. easyJet and the â€Å"easy† brand are two separate entities. asyJet is owned by EasyJet Airline Company Limited whose largest shareholder is Haji-loannou. Haji-loannou is also the sole owner of the â€Å"easy. † Haji-loannou licenses his â€Å"easy† brand to his airline as well as to other easyGroup corporations. easyGroup corporations pay a fee to Haji-loannou for the use of the name. However, easyJet does not have to pay to use the â€Å"easy† brand name. This arrangement and communication style is important because if a company tries to initiate any type of hostile takeover, the â€Å"easy† brand would be protected. This arrangement displays the type of protection, culture, and loyalty Haji-loannou has in his company. Southwest Airlines easyJet has developed its culture of communication to mimic that of American based Southwest Airlines. Both easyJet and Southwest Airlines are low-fare airlines. Southwest Airlines is the largest airline in the United States and the second largest airline in the World by number of passengers carried (Wikipedia, 2007). Southwest began its operations in 1967 and flew to three cities. In the early 1970s, Southwest faced some financial turmoil. Similar to the issues faced by easyJet, Southwest was searching for a way for consumers to book low fare flights directly with the airline. In 1995, Southwest launched its website allowing consumers to book flights directly without the use of a travel agent. Southwest maintains its personal communications with its consumers by only allowing its tickets to be sold on its website and not through any sort of travel agent or travel site. Southwest also allows customers to change reservations without additional costs, however it does not allow passengers same day standby travel on a different flight without paying for an upgrade. While this may seem harsh to those passengers who need a standby ticket, it drastically reduces the number of passengers who lose their seats due to standby passengers. Another feature Southwest offers its passengers is to allow them to bring three pieces of luggage to check in instead of two like most airlines. Even though the aircrafts that Southwest operates are not as comfortable as other airlines, the additional amenities and low-fares have paid off. The United States Department of Transportation ranked Southwest Airlines as the number one passenger preferred airline for 2006. Chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher believes it’s as simple as seeking out exceptional employees, treating them with respect, and giving them the latitude and encouragement necessary to do their jobs better than anyone knew possible (Stodder, 1997). Excellent communication with customers starts at the executive level and from within the corporate culture. If communication is effective within a corporation that culture of communication can be handed down to the customer. Execution of a Communication Strategy  By following Southwest Airline’s example, easyJet has employed a solid communications strategy with its customers. The majority of businesses in the world today neglect The People Process (Bossidy and Charan 141). In their book, Execution, Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan discuss how to create a strategy of execution in order to create a successful business that focuses on the people and having the right people in the right places. A robust people process does three things. It evaluates individuals accurately and in depth. It provides a framework for identifying and developing the leadership talent-at all levels and of all kinds-the organization will need to execute its strategies down the road. And it fills the leadership pipeline that’s the basis for a strong succession plan (Bossidy and Charan 141). In order to develop a successful communications strategy, a good leader needs to consider the people/employees who will have to execute this strategy. easyJet takes reservations directly from its consumers via its website. When hiring employees, easyJet must ensure that these employees have the skills necessary to work within this type of communication culture. Every easyJet employee needs to be aware of the communication culture and strategy maintained by the corporation in order to deliver that same style of communication to the customer. Rewards and Recognitions Due to easyJet’s communication culture and strategy it is one of the most frequently cited examples of a mainstream company which has exploited the shift from multi-layer distribution to direct business to consumer transactions. easyJet is a forward thinking corporation and as such launched its direct to consumer website prior to the mass adoption of the Internet. This marketing strategy catapulted easyJet into a top market position in its industry. In June 2006, easyJet’s website was awarded the Best Airline Website Award by TravelMole Web Awards beating out rivals including British Airways. The judges stated that the website was user-friendly and pleasing to the eye. Innovation and Future Growth Even though the airline industry has experienced a decline, low-fare airlines have created a new growth market. easyJet has an extensive opportunity to continue growing within this growth market. There are four main types of innovations for growth markets: Disruptive innovation, application innovation, product innovation, and platform innovation (Moore 74) In order for easyJet to maintain its market position, it must introduce one of these methods of innovation or it will fail to keep up with the rest of the industry. Disruptive Innovation correlates with the early market phase of the technology-adoption life cycle (Moore 74). The low-fare airline industry has been around for a long time, but new technologies and global affairs have paved the way for a new type of market within this industry. There are two types of disruptive innovations: one that favors complex-systems models and one that favors volume operations (Moore 75). Like its American mentor, Southwest Airlines, easyJet should focus on economizing on every process and function of running a successful airline. Southwest Airlines redesigned its corporation and gained market capitalization that is equal to the sum of all of its competitors combined (Moore 80). easyJet needs to analyze its employee compensation, pricing, reservation procedures, equipment, and airport selection to ensure that it can keep up with future changes and growth within its market. asyJet has already started the process of innovation by hiring Site Confidence to monitor its website. According to an article published by M2 Presswire in September 2006 The 24/7 monitoring service will ensure that easyJet customers can book tickets without the threat of downtime, outages or slow download speeds. This new system has produced results for easyJet. According to Airline Industry Information easyJet reported an 11. 2% increase in passenger numbers for November 2006 as compared to November 2005. Obstacles easyJet Has Had to Overcome asyJet faced an obstacle in 2006 by not abiding by EU-Law 261/2004 which states that passengers had the right to be reimbursed for the price of their tickets within one week due to airline cancellation. easyJet had difficulty refunding the tickets within the one week period. Effective communication by easyJet kept passengers at ease in the long run, and the passenger numbers continued to climb despite this obstacle. easyJet, although not the first low-fare airline or the first largest low-fare airline in Europe, paved the way for the boom in lo w-fare air travel at the turn of the century. Due to this high stake in market share, easyJet has been accused of contributing to global warming through the high carbon emissions of their aircrafts. The European Low Fares Airline Association has teamed with easyJet and other low fare airlines to argue that these airlines operate more fuel-efficient aircraft than most full service airlines, and that the point to point services offered by these low-fare airlines also use less fuel. However, the low-fares offered by these airlines have caused an increase in air traffic which has resulted in a negative effect on the environment. asyJet and other low-fare airlines have a policy of only operating new aircraft that produce lower emissions and are more environmentally friendly (with the exception of easyJet’s initial two aircraft). In order to overcome this obstacle, easyJet has been communicating with aircraft manufacturers to design more eco-friendly aircraft, and has even unveiled their own eco-friendly aircraft design. Future Eco-Friendly Aircrafts Across the globe nations are concerned with developing renewable energy sources that are more environmentally friendly. easyJet is no exception. As easyJet forges ahead into the new millennium, it will face having to replace or redesign its current fleet to be eco-friendly. According to Flight Daily News, Harrison is continuing to push Airbus and Boeing to produce eco-friendly aircrafts. easyJet has unveiled its own design for an eco-friendly aircraft that utilizes existing technologies that could halve carbon dioxide emissions and produce 75% less NOx by 2015. Biofuel technology has been proposed as a current solution, but Harrison expressed his doubts about the use of biofuel technology at the World Low Cost Airlines Congress (Kaminski-Morrow, 2007). The Alternative Fuels And Biofuels for Aircraft Development (Alfa-bird) project will investigate the economical performance and industrial consequences of switching from today’s kerosene-based fuels to biofuels and other alternatives. Based on the results a strategy for these fuels will be defined along with an implementation plan. Due to issues with biomass supply for biofuels, synthetic fuels are probably a better solution, the consortium’s proposal papers state. Current jet engine fuel efficiency is viewed as â€Å"near-optimal†, while air traffic is increasing at a rate of 4% a year, leading to any future efficiency-related fuel savings being consumed by the growth, the consortium says (Coppinger, 2007). Harrison agrees that biofuels are not an optimal alternative at this point, but did state that he is not against biofuel technology (Kaminski-Morrow, 2007). Developing eco-friendly aircrafts will be an obstacle that easyJet will have to overcome, as well as trying to replace their current fleet. EasyJet needs to work in conjunction with Alfa-bird in order to develop these new technologies and maintain their market position in the future. However, during this initial phase of development, easyJet and Harrison need to remember to utilize the communication style they utilize with their customers, be available and simple to understand and use. Dismissing any sort of proper communication while developing new technologies can change a corporation’s communication culture very quickly, even though it does not directly relate to communications with the customer. Developing a Communications Strategy In order to develop a communications strategy that can be integrated into the strategic planning process for the corporation, easyJet must decide what type of strategy to use. There are ten different types of strategy development (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, Lampel, 1998): 1) The Design School; 2) The Planning School; 3) The Positioning School; 4) The Entrepreneurial School; 5) The Cognitive School; 6) The Learning School; 7) The Power School; 8) The Cultural School; 9) The Environmental School; and 10) The Configuration School. asyJet needs build on its current communications strategy by applying principles from the Design School, the Planning School, and the Configuration School. The Design School utilizes a step by step model for strategic communications planning. To begin the communications planning process, easyJet must do an internal and external appraisal in the form of a SWOT Analysis. A SWOT Analysis lists the internal strengths and weaknesses, and the external opportunities and threats of a corporation. Based on the SWOT Analysis, easyJet can determine the corporation’s distinctive competencies and key success factors. This information is used to formulate the communication strategy. The sole architect for the strategic plan, according to the Design School, is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Harrison must approve the final communication strategy, but should receive input from the strategic planning team. By developing the communication strategy as a team, easyJet will also use aspects of the Planning School. The Planning School adopts the majority of the premises from the Design School. The Planning School uses an internal and external audit stage, which consists of a SWOT Analysis. The CEO gives the final approval for the communications strategy; however, he is not the sole architect. The Planning School provides for a team of strategists to develop the communications strategy. According to the Design School, in order to evaluate and choose the most effective and efficient communications strategy, the following framework should be used. This framework was developed by Dr. Richard Rumelt, DBA from the Harvard General Management group and professor at UCLA School of Management. The evaluation process, according to Rumelt, consists of a series of tests (explained in the form of questions). Is the communications strategy consistent with the goals and policies of the corporation? Does the communications strategy adapt to the external environment? Does the communications strategy provide for a competitive advantage? Does the communications strategy overuse available resources or create unsolvable problems? The last step in the communications strategy planning process, within the Design School, is to implement the plan. Implementation of the communications strategy will include educating the managers involved as well as the employees of the plan’s details. The plan should be simple and informal, just like the process of developing it. Managers and employees should be given a step by step guide on how to implement the strategy. The Planning School differs from the Design School in that it implements a formal step by step process for executing the plan. easyJet following the Planning School model should schedule each step of implementation by a specific date. In order to develop a communications strategy that can adapt to the global economy easyJet should also incorporate the six main premises of the Configuration School. The key ingredient is for the corporation to â€Å"sustain stability or at least adaptable strategic change most of the time, but periodically recognize the need for transformation and be able to manage that disruptive process without destroying the organization. † easyJet must be cautious not to incorporate the Power School into its communications strategy so much so that it allows a political agenda to override the main goals and vision of the corporation. Harrison must not allow the communications strategy planning process to become a process of bargaining and compromise among conflicting political groups and individuals. Utilizing this school of thought in planning a communications strategy can alienate customers and bring about undesired conflict. easyJet must remain cognoscente of the environmental concerns its customers may have regarding its aircraft. However, pushing an unwanted political agenda can drive customers away. Recommendations and Conclusions easyJet started off in the airline industry slow, but by adopting Southwest Airline’s model of communication, easyJet was able to become the market leader in low cost air fare in Europe. In order to keep up with technology, easyJet developed a website allowing customers to book reservations directly from the company without having to use a travel agent or pay a commission to a travel agent. To maintain that website easyJet hired European based Site Confidence to provide 24/7 support which resulted in an 11. 2% gain in passenger numbers a month later. Each of these strategies has allowed easyJet to forge ahead and stay one step in front of their competition. In order to remain a front runner in the market, easyJet must continue to utilize its communication style with customers, employees, suppliers, and political leaders. When developing a communications strategy for the future, easyJet must complete and internal and external appraisal in order to tailor the plan to the current trends and the desires of its customers. easyJet should develop a strategic planning team to develop a communications strategy and implement an employee educational program. If easyJet’s employees are unaware of its communication strategy and culture, its customers will also be unaware of its communications strategy and culture. asyJet should continue to invest in research and development for new eco-friendly technologies as well as encourage its aircraft suppliers to follow suit. However, Harrison must remember to utilize the communication culture of the corporation at all times as a representative of easyJet and not let the Power School of planning dictate easyJet’s communications strategy. If easyJet can maintain and improve its current communications strategy then passengers will continue to want to â€Å"com e fly with us. †

Copyright And Designs And Patents Act 1988 - 2253 Words

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as it has been interpreted by the courts, does not adequately implement the moral rights contained in Article 6bis of the Berne Convention. IRAC Method †¢ Issues †¢ Rules †¢ Application †¢ Conclusion Copyright Law 1988 automatically applies whenever an individual undertakes any following work such as: Dramatic, Artistic, Sound Recording, Musical or Film. In order for the law to apply, the work requires to be an original and not copied or adapted from any existing work. Usually the individual or joint authors who have created the work will exclusively own the work and would be referred to as the â€Å"first owner of copyright†. However, if the work has been produced as part of service then the first†¦show more content†¦Duration will always run from January 1st of the year following the event indicated. In all cases, individual national laws can, and often will, allow additional protection over and above the terms of the Convention. For example, in the UK most work is protected for the life of the author plus 70 years. There are also exceptions allowed for countries bound by the Rome Act. When the term of copyright protection has expired, the work falls into the public domain. This means that the work, has effectively become public property and may be used freely. This is how so many companies can publish works by William Shakespeare, classical composers etc. The full title is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. It was first adopted in 1886 as an agreement to honour the rights of all authors who are nationals of countries that are party to the convention. The current version of the convention is the Paris Act of 1971. The convention is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization, (WIPO). The member countries form a Union, and the Act provides protection for the work of authorsShow MoreRelatedThe Data Protection Act 19981412 Words   |  6 PagesProtection Act 1998 Purpose The Data Protection Act came into force on the 1st March 2000. It was designed to guard individual’s personal data which is stored on computers or in an organised paper filing system. It is an act of parliament from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and also Northern Ireland. The Act states the UK law on the processing of data of living people. The Data Protection Act is the key piece of legislation that runs the protection of personal data in the UK. The Act itself offersRead MoreCopyright Holders And The Copyright1280 Words   |  6 PagesINTRODUCTION Copyright holders are given a property right to their work according to section 1 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). Thus the right holders are given an exclusive right to their work. 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