The Development and Management of Visitor Attractions Part 3

1. The Development and Management of Visitor AttractionsPart 3

2. Part Three: The Management of Visitor Attractions • The role of the manager and management styles • The marketing concept • Strategic marketing planning • The implementation of marketing strategies • Human resource management • Financial management • Operations management • Ethical challenges in attraction management • Managing quality • Managing change and planning for the future

3. The Role of the Manager and Management Styles Roles • Mintzberg (1973) • Three ideas: Managers • Action orientated, dislike reflective activity • Favor verbal communication, unending variety of brief unscheduled interchanges of information • Process much information, make most decisions on judgment, intuition • Crossley, Jamieson (1989) • Planning • Organizing • Staffing • Directing • Co-ordinating • Reporting • Budgeting

4. Management Styles • Attitudes influenced by: • Manager‘s personality • Manager‘s good, bad experiences with management styles • Manager‘s level of confidence • Manager‘s relationship with staff, superiors in management hierarchy, customers and external organizations → affect corporate culture and structure of organization

5. The Marketing Concept • Growing influence Definition „Social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and values with others“ (Kotler, 1994) • Helps organization to achieve objectives • Not just about selling and promotion • Should permeate the whole culture of an organization • Not just about money and profit • Customer focused • Continuous process • Exists at strategic and tactic level

6. Approaches to Marketing • Production approach • Customers will favor products that are available and highly affordable • Product approach • Customers will choose products with features that differentiate from other products • Selling approach • Customer will not buy enough of product unless oranization carries out substantial promotional and selling activity • Marketing approach and market-led approach

7. Marketing Visitor Attractions • Visitor attractions as services • Visitor attractions and tourism marketing • Temporary use rights • Customer has to travel to the product • Demand is seasonal • Key issues in visitor attraction marketing • Variety of marketing objectives • Marketed by other people as well as by themselves • Level of competition • High fixed costs • New developments in marketing • Relationship marketing • demarketing

8. Strategic Marketing Planning • Where are we now? • Where do we want to be in the future? • How are we going to get there? • How will we know when we get there? • Effective allocation of resources • Pinpointing organization‘s strengths, weaknesses • Clarify mission • Considering competitors • Identifying market threats and opportunities

9. Strategy Hierarchy • Organization-wide • Tussauds Group • Strategic business unit • Warwick Castle • Individual product strategies • Educational services

10. Where are We Now? • SWOT analysis • Boston Consulting Group matrix • Product life cycle • Segmentation • Product positioning

11. Strategy Development and Implementation Process • Define the business • Mission statement • Setting goals and objectives • Generating strategy options • Evaluating the strategic options • The marketing strategy covering the full plan period • Marketing plans • Resource statement • Evaluation and control • Current situation analysis

12. The Ansoff Matrix

13. The Implementation of Marketing Strategies Marketing Plan • What will be done? • When will it be done? • What will it cost? • Who will do it? • How will it be measured?

14. Marketing Mix • Product • Quality • Design • Service component • Price • Discounts • Method of payment • Value for money • Seven Ps (extra three) • People • Physical evidence • process • Promotion • Literature • Advertising • Press, PR • Sponsorship • Direct marketing • Sales promotions • Personal selling • Internet marketing • Place • Place of purchase

15. Evaluation and Control Mechanisms • Strategy • Evaluation - management information system • Control – tactical action • Impact on the existing strategy

16. Marketing Organization Functions • Planning and control • research • Execution and implementation • writing press releases • Co-ordination • Liaison with other departments

17. Constraints on Marketing • Budget available • Strengths, weaknesses of marketing staff • Corporate culture • Unforeseen changes in business environment • Legal framework • Ethical considerations • Actions of competitors

18. Role of Marketing Research • How visitors decide which attractions to visit • Factors influencing customer satisfaction • Reasons why people do not visit • Customer perceptions • Identifying, analysing competitors • Predicting important changes • Measuring effectiveness of marketing activities

19. Future of Attraction Marketing • Nature of product • Market • Media • Law • Political factors • competition

20. Human Resource Management • Most important aspect of management of visitor attractions • Attitudes,abilities of staff have major impact on customers‘ perceptions of attraction • Labor costs are largest single item in revenue budget • Main Ideas • Maximize effective use of staff • Help staff develop themselves • Management, not administrative task

21. Problems of HR Management at Visitor Attractions Private Sector Public Sector Low turnover Inflexible working practices Fixed-wage rates Standardized recruitment procedures and disciplinary procedures • High turnover of staff • Seasonality of demand • Poor status of jobs ( difficult to attract, retain good staff) • Lack of career structures (little opportunities) • Unusually demanding jobs • Lack of management expertise • Lack of widely recognized qualifications and training schemes

22. HR Management at the Strategic Level • Management styles • Management structures and hierarchies • Staff planning • Change management • Quality

23. Human Resource Process • Recruitment process • Job design, description • Interviews • References • Selection • Retaining good staff • Motivation • Monitoring and improving performance • Appraisal • training • Handling HR problems • Termination of employment • Dismissal • retirement

24. Constraints on HR Management Internal External State of labor market Employment law Existing provision of training courses, educational qualifications Accepted ideas on what constitutes good practice among HR profession • Budgets • Corporate culture and history • Existing staff resources • Established personnel procedures and practices • Difficulties of predicting labor demand ( forecasting visitor numbers)

25. Importance of Good Practice in HR Management • Objective recruitment procedures • Good induction • Effective staff development schemes • Comprehensive, flexible training provision • Motivational management • Consistent and fair disciplinary and grievance procedures • Appropriate levels of remuneration • Sensitive support for people with problems

26. Financial Management • Financial planning • Financial control • Management accounting • Cost accounting • Financial reporting • Balance sheet • Profit and loss account

27. Budgeting • Main financial management framework • Covers a financial year • Types • Capital • Revenue • Functions (most important) • Guide everyday financial management • Provide basis for evaluating performance, taking decisions on corrective actions • To impress stakeholders

28. Budgetary Process • Evaluating existing budget • Discussions on changes that might be required • Testing the proposed budget • Approval of budget • Implementation through budgetary control • Monitoring of performance

29. Information Management Information Systems External Information Sources Changes in taxation policy Economic changes Technological developments Changes in accounting practice Changes in law (employee rights) • To make sensible decisions • Staff costs • Visitor numbers in total • Stock levels • Budget variances • →keeping of records

30. Revenue Generation • Attracting more visitors • Pricing • Increasing visitor expenditure • Obtaining revenue from other sources • Maximizing use of people, premises, financial resources • Mix of business • Credit control

31. Cost Control and Reduction • Staffing • Goods purchased • Costs of communication • Utilities • Energy conservation • Selling off unproductive assets • Leasing • Contracting out services • Rescheduling loan repayments • Reduced opening hours

32. Operations Management • Rogers, Slinn (1993) • „concerned with the design, operation and control o the system that matches the organization‘s resources to customer service needs“ • Day-to-day management of the site • Goal: smooth and efficient operation of the site • Objectives, functions vary depending from point of view of organization or its customer • →operation manager has to reconcile resources o organization with needs, desires of customers

33. Scope of Operations Management • Controllable • Staffing levels • Volume, quality of stock purchased • Systems (control, reservations) • Influencable • Staff motivation • Accidents which may or may not be unavoidable • Actitivities of franchisees • Uncontrollable • Customer attitudes, expectations • weather • Staff prejudices

34. Skills Involved in Operations Management • Thorough knowledge • Ability to see as a whole while paying attention to details • Communication skills • Ability to work under pressure • Good understanding of principles of mgmt control, financial management • Being tactful, but firm and decisive • Always self- critical • Seeing things from visitor‘s point of view

35. Problems at Attractions • Examples • Minor vandalism • Mechanical breakdowns • Staff not turning up for work due to sickness • Two types • Minor ones (individual members of staff can be empoweredto solve them) • Major ones (affect all/most of attraction; solutions require holtistic view)

36. Crisis Management • Concerned with dangers that could lead to loss of life or bring attraction to attention of people outside attraction • Examples • Outbreak of fire • Bomb explosion • Major accident • Food poisoning at attraction‘s food outlet • Actions • Action to tackle the crisis (evacuation, closing certain operations) • Handling the media

37. Risk Management • Nilson, Edginton (1982) • Four Types • Low risk, low severity (visitors offended by attraction) • Moderate risk, low severity (minor vandalism) • Moderate risk, high severity (fire) • High risk, high severity (park ride not maintained properly)

38. Operations Management Impact on Visitor‘s Experience Competitive Advantage Improve reputation Concerned about environment Recognize needs of disabled visitors Emphasize concern with safety, security Focus on commitment of staff and quality of service • How queues are managed • Handling complaints • Solving problems quickly • Managing attraction‘s environment (well kept) • Managing attraction concerning saety and security

39. Constraints on Operations Management • Operations manager‘s abilities, experience, attitudes • Traditions, culture of attraction organization • Resources, skills, attitudes of staff • Availabilty of financial resources • Legislation, regulations • Social acceptability

40. Ethcial Challenges in Attraction Management Two groups • Affect all types of attractions • Environmental issues • sustainability • Exist within particula types of attraction • Heritage attractions • Wildlife attractions

41. Sustainability Through: • Development of attractions • Management of attractions • More sustainable operations management • More sustainable human resource management • More sustainable financial management • More sustainable marketing • Visitor management at attractions

42. Constraints to Making Attractions more Sustainable • Manager‘s own lack of expertise • Stakeholders do not not believe in it • Staff does not want to change attitudes • Lack of capital funding • Greening the process of attraction development may raise cost to an unaccpetable level

43. Ethics and Heritage Attractions Challenges • Idea of authenticity and commodification where heritage my be exaggerated, censored, or packaged in ways which are not authentic, but increase market appeal • Choice of stories and interpretation media made by professionals rather than wider communities • History is selectively viewed or censored to avoid controversial subjects • Enormous effects to make attractions more entertaining and attractive to non-specialists; danger: visitors remember interpretative technology, not story

44. Concept of Ethical Business and Corporate Citizenship Issues • High profile political and business scandals • Environment: energy conservation • Image → to persuade government that they do not need to introduce regulations to improve corporate ethical standards Opportunities • Corporate Cititzenship • Ethical Marketing

45. Concept of Ethical Business and Corporate Citizenship Con‘d Corporate Citizenship Ethical Marketing Organization focuses on making its product, price, promotion, and distribution, fairer and more honest Uses this to attract new market segments, retain existing customers • Attraction gives attention to its social and environmental impacts • Recognizes its duties towards wider society • Fashionable method in order to be seen as ‚good guys‘ • Will become major competitive advantage

46. Managing Quality • „totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs“ (ISO) • Fitness for purpose (needs of customer) • Offering a product of the right grade for the chosen market(s), at the appropriate price • Can mean different things to different people • Product-led concept that focuses on features and attributes of product • Customer-focused

47. Historical Development • Manufacturing industries • to reduce wastage • Quality management part of few people‘s job ≠ japanese: quality mgmt is responsibility of all staff • Now: quality is essential part of marketing strategy to achieve competitive advantage • Quality has become very important, especially in service industries

48. Quality Management Approaches • Quality control • Monitoring product • Problem-solving • Quality assurance • Prevention of quality problems in first place • Total quality control • Might influence final product • Total quality management (TQM) • Achieve constant , continuous improvement to meet objectives and customers‘ needs

49. Difficulties with Quality Management Service Industry Tourism Industry Shared use rights to tourism products (package holidays): other customers influence the experience Different prices Unrealistically high expectations Quality from time to time • No standardized product • Intangibility • Perishability • Many complex products • High degree of interdependenceand inseperability of elements of the product

50. Quality and Visitor Attractions • Physical environment • Price • Service offered • Reliability of product • Safety • Number of complaints • HR management policies • Corporate culture, style of management • Marketing function • Purchasing policies • Procedures for responding to changes in business environment