Food and Beverage Management Course

|TABLE OF CONTENTS | | | |TABLE OF CONTENTS |I | | | | |Chapter One: An Introduction to Food and Beverage Management | | |1. |The Concept of Management |1-2 | |1. 2 |What Is Hospitality Management? |1-3 | |1. 3 |The Manager’s Role in the Hospitality Industry |1-6 | |1. 4 |Categories of Managers in the Hospitality Industry |1-9 | |1. |Management Levels |1-10 | |1. 6 |Food and Beverage Management Functions |1-11 | |1. 7 |Job Description of Food and Beverage Manager |1-14 | |1. |Responsibilities of Food and Beverage Management |1-17 | | | | | |Chapter Two: An Overview of the Foodservice Industry | | |2. 1 |Foodservice Definition |2-2 | |2. |Distinguishing Characteristics of Foodservice Operations |2-4 | |2. 3 |Basic Elements of Success in Foodservice Organisations |2-9 | | | | | |Chapter Three: Types of Foodservice Organisations | | |3. 1 |Types of Foodservice Organizations 3-2 | |3. 2 |Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) |3-9 | | |3. 2. 1 |QSR Definition |3-10 | | |3. 2. 2 |C haracteristics of QSRs |3-12 | | |3. 2. 3 |Main Sub-Systems in QSRs |3-24 | |3. |Transport Foodservice |3-28 | | | | | |Chapter Four: IT Systems in Food and Beverage Organisations | | |4. 1 |Computer-Based System Definition |4-2 | |4. |Computer-Based System Components for Restaurants |4-4 | |4. 3 |IT System Software Applications |4-14 | | |4. 3. 1 |Front-of-House Applications |4-15 | | |4. 3. 2 |Back-of-House Applications |4-29 | |4. |Benefits of IT Systems in Restaurants |4-46 | | | | | |Chapter Five: Managing Quality in Food and Beverage Operations |5-1 | | | | |Chapter Six: Food and Beverage Marketing |6-1 | |Chapter Seven: Food Cycle |7-1 | |References |Iv |

Jrd Tata Essay

Life is full of people who inspire , influence and leave some impression on, you – in sense good or bad, they change the way you look at things and that is whom, you consider your role model to be, however , it was crystal clear in my mind that the person would be no other but, JRD TATA. Having grown up reading his motivational stories, tales of success, inspirational examples and hearing references of his revolutionary thinking and conquest in varied fields, little doubt was left that it could be someone else. That’s precisely when i stumbled upon , The Last Blue Mountain written and crafted so well by R.M. LALA that the entire saga of JRD TATA had me beguiled and captured for a couple of days. What fascinated me, was not how he was so successful but how, he was generations ahead in his thinking and miles ahead of his any competitor. Exactly at the moment there was a stirring feeling of, how little we know of the man who has gone on to become a synonym for richness, Ac hievements and out of box thinking. The mind was clear, it had to be Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and no one else. Born in Paris, an Indian by nationality and â€Å"karma† JRD TATA went on to be the face of Industrialization in India. A man known for his ethics and principals took over in an era where the rules were more British friendly. Little is it known that JRD TATA was born to a French mother and that his first language was French. JRD TATA is credited to be the founder of TCS, Tata Motors, Titan Industries, Tata Communications, Tata tea, and Voltas but little is it known that he was the first Indian to be a licensed pilot as well. He went on to found India’s first commercial airline, Tata Airlines in 1932, which became Air India in 1946, now India’s national airline. JRD Tata was appointed as Chairman of Air India and a director on the Board of Indian Airlines – a position he retained for 25 years. Such were his success that he was bestowed with the title of Honorary Air Commodore of India. Bharat Ratna JRD Tata had a life which were full of achievements and recognition, yet people who have had the pleasure of interacting with him, were in love with not the industrialist inside him but for the person he was. As Sudha Murthy recalls – â€Å" I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of his employees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and magnificence.† (Sudha Murthy is a widely published writer and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation involved in a number of social development initiatives. Infosys chairman Narayana Murthy is her husband.) So i chose JRD Tata not only because he has stood up and shone in the field of business or went on to capture varied field and have the capability to see beyond the normal horizons and peek into what lay generations ahead but also because people remembered him to be a good human always. He is known for his kindness, simplicity and the care he took of people around. He goes on to teach everyone a lesson of humbleness and significance of â€Å"karma† in ones life. He personifies – simple living, high thinking and teaches us how to maintain a balanced personality. There is one quote of his, which reflects a great volume of him – â€Å"BE NICE TO PEOPLE ON YOUR WAY UP, FOR YOU NEVER KNOW, WHOM YOU WILL MEET, ON YOUR WAY DOWN† JRD Tata never let success deviate him from a path of being a human. The acknowledgment that one day what has been built with hard work, sweat and time may cease to exist, made him altogether more grounded and related to reality and people. The views which i would want to adopt in my life are the humbleness and kindness. For he makes me realize that it’s not a person’s bank account which makes people like him, it is the behaviour which he has. It’s about being a human. Yes, it will always be about hard work and dedication to succeed. To be able to take risks and trust your decisions but it will also be about the fact that after every failure you would have the courage to try again. Its about doing your work with sincerity and the rewards and acknowledgments shall follow without even looking for them. Its about learning the elementary of life – that loss is a reality and loving what you do is the best thing you can ask for. I have imbibed the fact, that if you wish to leave a mark behind, you have to be honest and truthful to your work but at the end of it all, being a good human is more essential than creating a good product for consumption. In the end nothing describes him better than his own words – â€Å"I never had any interest in making money. None of my decisions were influenced by whether it would bring me money or wealth, all I was concerned about was, sleep at night.† -JRD TATA.

Gabriela Mistral’s, “Tiny Feet” Analysis Essay

A child’s tiny feet, Blue, blue with cold, How can they see and not protect you? Oh, my God! (1-4) Tiny wounded feet, Bruised all over by pebbles, Abused by snow and soil! (5-7) Man, being blind, ignores that where you step, you leave A blossom of bright light, that where you have placed your bleeding little soles a redolent tuberose grows. (8-13) Since, however, you walk through the streets so straight, you are courageous, without fault.(14-16) Child’s tiny feet, Two suffering little gems, How can the people pass, unseeing. (17-19) The poem â€Å"Tiny Feet† (1945) by Gabriela Mistral is a heart breaking poem that describes to us the lives of poverty-stricken children and the need for society to help and protect them. Mistral’s poems resulted from a life of tragedies that she, herself endured. When she was 3 years old, her father left home and never returned, leaving her mother and half-sister to raise her. Mistral was falsely accused of wasting classroom materials in school, and was unable to defend herself. She was then victimized by her peers when they threw stones at her and she was sent home to be taught by her half-sister. This was the first instance of injustice and human cruelty that she encountered which left a profound impression on her as a poet. She was determined to speak for the defenseless, humble and the poor. In the poem, her views are expressed as to how society ignores child poverty. The tone is sad at the beginning of the poem. Within the first stanza, Mistral explains the scene of the poem perfectly. Mistral presents the description of the barefooted feet of a little child, whom has no shoes in the following lines, â€Å"A child’s tiny feet, Blue, blue with cold† (1-2). She lets the reader know that the child is suffering in the cold with his painful, wounded feet, yet no one cares if he has shoes or not. â€Å"How can they see and not protect you?† (3), here Mistral points out that no one stops to help or protect the child. They just walk by as if they don’t even notice. The author, who was a religious woman cries out, â€Å"Oh, my God!† (4) She calls out to God to help her to understand how the people could ignore the child and its needs. Mistral’s love for the child is expressed in this stanza with passion and wrath. This stanza leaves the reader to question how people could not see the issue of child poverty that is visual right in front of people passing by. The second stanza describes the harsh environments in which the child is living and the hardships it has to face every day. The lines â€Å"Tiny wounded feet, Bruised all over by pebbles, Abused by snow and soil!† (5-7) describe the image of the feet and that they are battered and torn from the elements. Mistral explains to the reader about the suffering and distress the child is enduring, not because his feet hurt, but that no one cares or tries to protect him from harm. Mistral employs the device of imagery to display this scene, as the reader can clearly visualize the child’s battered feet. The images directly connect the reader because we can easily feel the child’s pain. The third stanza speaks of the child’s innocence in the world. â€Å"Man, being blind, ignores that where you step you leave, a blossom of bright light† (8-10) depicts that for each step the child takes it could be towards progress but because the people are to blind to see them, they will never know their full potential or what they could become. â€Å"That where you have placed your bleeding little soles a redolent tuberose grows† (11-13), the author explains that is not the child’s fault that he has to endure these hardships. She expresses that society could help the child by giving him a chance at a better life and see what progress could be made, but still they  ignore him and the possibility. The fourth stanza explains the courage the child has while facing adversity. By reviewing the first two lines, â€Å"Since, however, you walk through the streets so straight,† (14-15) the reader can understand that the child is brave, and is not giving up hope, for one day he may have a better life. The last line of the fourth stanza states that â€Å"You are courageous, without fault† (16) and shows the reader that through adversity and hardships, the child seems to not give up and that it is no fault of his own that he currently has to live this life of poverty. Mistral criticizes society for not wanting to help the child. Two incomplete sentences and a question make up the fifth stanza. The incomplete sentences help the reader to understand the view of the author. In the lines â€Å"Child’s tiny feet, Two suffering little gems,† (17-18) the author addresses the agony the child is enduring and compares the child’s feet to gems, stating how children are a blessing, and should be protected as you would protect any precious gem. Mistral ends the poem with the following question, â€Å"How can the people pass, unseeing.† (19) The ‘unseeing’ people are those that take for granted the blessing of children, as having her own children is something she deeply desires. Mistral is concerned about the future of the child in a society that looked away from poverty stricken children who grew up poor knowing no other way of life. How could society continue to ignore child poverty and not intervene and protect them? The last stanza leads the reader to firmly believe that no one helped the child. Part II: Scansion and Analysis The central theme and meaning of the poem is children in poverty, and the neglect by society. Children are the innocence of the world and it is our responsibility as adults to help guide and protect them. The poem is written in free verse and it has no set meter. The only rhyme within the poem is an internal rhyme that is located within the line number 11, a â€Å"Blossom of bright light.† The tone of the poem begins as sad, and full of despair with the very idea of children living in poverty with no one to care for them. Though, by the middle of the poem, the tone changes when the  author shows hope is felt for the children because they are brave. The poem has five stanzas. The views and thoughts of the author are within all stanzas. Imagery is used throughout the poem. For instance, you can clearly imagine that because the child’s feet are so cold that they have turned blue. The reader can also visualize how the feet are bleeding from stepping on pebbles. The author uses a metaphor technique when comparing the child’s feet to precious gems as children are just as precious as gems and should be protected as such. The lines within the poem are sometimes difficult because of their harshness while reading, but the author uses this to promote an intended effect, giving the reader an emotional and uncomfortable uncertainty. The author also uses descriptive adjectives to bring deeper meaning to the poem. By using words that are not well known causes the reader to search for meanings to better understand the writing. I chose to view this poem through a thematic mode. I believe Mistral used the theme of the poem to bring awareness to society regarding childhood poverty. Her approach made it easy for the reader to understand the theme and the issue at hand. I also agree with Mistral that society as a whole turns the other way and does not want to help the neglected and poverty stricken individuals. The general message of the poem is to tell society to open its eyes to children in poverty and stop taking everything for granted. I feel that the poem is an expression of the children’s emotional and physical pain that is endured in poverty, as well as the pain the author feels by seeing the neglected children. Mistral expressed that children were the future, and in order for the future to look bright, there must be children that love the world in which they live. Works Cited Mistral, Gabriela. Poet Seers. n.d. 26 June 2014 .

Explain a paragraph from Ciceros Invention Essay - 1

Explain a paragraph from Ciceros Invention - Essay Example In narration, the arguments to be developed in court are properly articulated through bring out the vulnerability of Sextus Roscius and how the court has the obligation to protect him from further abuse by the society. In confirming the case, Cicero indicates the importance of his arguments when he highlights the need of protecting innocent men fort the good of the society. In chapter 149 Cicero is able to use rhetorics to create relationship between emotions and justice. His rhetorics is morally grounded and incorporates the moral problems that emanate from society’s emotional manipulation (Cicero 126). As a lawyer, his choice of words is aimed at making and directing the audiences minds and emotions towards a certain conclusion. Ability to apply Sextus Roscius plight to the entire community indicates flexibility of the course of justice he wishes to pursue. The final sentiments in the chapter are emotional arouse sympathy and motivate the audience when he speaks of the harm the society would be exposed to if justice was to be taken into peoples

Marketing Strategy Analysis 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Strategy Analysis 2 - Assignment Example The firm’s online marketing strategy incorporates all features of online marketing, but through all the obvious techniques, it is their aggressiveness, which has stressed and widened their need to succeed and stay at the peak of the retail industry (Hayden et al., 2010). However, a hostile campaign inevitably harvests controversy, and through the years, the firm has been involved with a fair share of negative publicity mainly concerning their particular marketing technique (Bachfischer, 2012). Their bullying attitude has made many perceive them as unfair and unreasonable, but Wal-Mart still hinges at the top of the retail industry despite their negative attention. The firm’s marketing techniques comprises of overflowing the market with their presence (Hayden et al., 2010). This is startling for people who perceive Wal-Mart’s business endeavors startling. However, with such a huge quantity of retail stores, extremely competitive pricing, along with such a huge mar ket share, their marketing method has demanded an overall invasion of all the suitable markets (Bachfischer, 2012). Wal-Mart provides numerous types of products, with a fairly easy list of options (Hayden et al., 2010). The Sam’s Club of the chain store provides an alternative for those who prefer bulk, as well. And, with such a loyal customer base, the firm is capable of setting prices for what their clients pay for (Roth, 2012). If the product is below cost, then many clients can go for it. The truth is that Wal-Mart can give a firm a prime chance to get their goods to a majority of consumers even if they lose funds doing so. Their internet marketing has made them transparent in an effort to deter the controversy of their name (Bachfischer, 2012). A consumer can buy their whole collection of goods through the internet. A consumer can also go through reviews, get alternative deals for exceptional deals available only online and sign-up for a newsletter in order to be-on-the- know with the firm’s products (Hayden et al., 2010). In spite of this, such an organization depends strongly on their physical location, precisely why a store finder is situated at the peak in bright yellow (Roth, 2012). This competitive nature has made controversy thrive under their name. However, their marketing strategy has centered on quantity, as well as delivering a variety in one location (Gereffi & Christian, 2012). Their extending hands to McDonalds and the Subway for transport convenience further confirms this claim (Hayden et al., 2010). A normal shopper can get glasses prescription, their car oil changed and get a haircut under their building. A client can buy draperies on one side of the store and jewelry on the other. Shoppers can grab a new lawnmower and buy groceries, all while taking a haircut (Bachfischer, 2012). Wal-Mart’s recent union with SunTrust Bank has enhanced their presence in the Southeast. Their marketing strategy has always depended on var iety, which is how many things can a client buy in one location (Roth, 2012). Wal-Mart also uses Facebook along with other social media sites to drive their sales (Gereffi & Christian, 2012). The firm allows 22 million Facebook followers to vote on toys would like to see on temporary discounts, or on "rollbacks" (Bachfischer, 2012). The online marketing strategy of Wal-Mart provides convenience for the firm. Their internet

Solar Energy - West Village, New York Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Solar Energy - West Village, New York - Essay Example A sensible estimate for the number of institutions in the area would be around 50 maximum, and population expansion would suggest that, although this seems high compared to the knowledge above, this number should be exaggerated when trying to ascertain how much power is needed for the area. It is reported that there are 21567 housing units in the area. This means that this information does not need to be estimated. However, the number should be rounded up to allow for any mistakes to avoid power shortages. The number suggested here is 24000, an approximately 10% markup on the official data. The number of businesses in the area is harder to ascertain. Census data suggests that this there were 2276 businesses in the area in 2008, although this is likely to fluctuate. Again allowing for any mistakes made in other areas, it is suggested that this be rounded up. The suggested number here is 2500, an approximately 10% markup from the official data. The total of each of these areas is 26550 units. This is the number of areas that need to be catered for in calculating the necessary power. However, it is important not to assume that each type of place will use a similar amount of energy, and this needs to be factored into any equations. Official and accurate data for the availability of local fuel in the area was difficult to find directly. Various data suggests that fuel for the area is derived almost exclusively from coal and gas resources, and is distributed to the residents and businesses by various different companies. The price and type of fuel available to you is dependent upon which street you live in within the zipcode. There are very few outages according to the information given by NYISO, which suggests that the actual availability of fuel for the area is very high and unlikely to run out. However, it is important to note that coal and gas are finite resources so the situation relating to the availability of local fuel needs to be

BUS503 - Org. Change and Transformation Mod 5 SLP Essay

BUS503 - Org. Change and Transformation Mod 5 SLP - Essay Example Companies that attempt a change fail because of the unexpected barriers so it is important to understand them. Though these leaders are not effective, they have been there a long time and they are well known by everyone. There will certainly be some individual contribution to putting up barriers to this part of the change. There will be disbelief, anger, and reluctance on the part of the employees. The board will be to initiate this change right away. They will have to establish a sense of urgency, assuring that the plan is fully defined and skillfully present the plan to the hospital. They will have to be sure to include all of the benefits this transition will bring to the hospital employees. Publicize any success that is possible right away (Jick & Peiperl, 2007) and try to separate the change from the past. There are both individual and structural barriers here. There will be a sense of loss of power to that management group that is left which is essentially an individual barrier. The mid level directors for example. This fear of loss of power will also cause a barrier to the change with managers dragging their feet and even manipulating to cause problems with the change. This will need to be handled right away not allowed to sit so it will not get out of hand. Bringing this group in ahead of time and showing them what the change could mean for them and for their staff will be very important. It will be important here also to establish a sense of urgency in convincing the management staff of this change. Incentives are a good thing to use in this instance assuring that both formal and informal leaders are on the side of the change. Complacency cannot be tolerated during this process and it is essential to assure that everyone is on the side of the change (Kotter, 2007). The board will need to continue to bring about this part of the change. Once the management and senior management group are aligned and the plan is organized

Advanced Computer Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advanced Computer Engineering - Essay Example The information prompts execution of certain functions as defined by the code developers. The source code enables programmers to understand the functioning of various applications through the written text. These codes are commonly utilised in differentiating various computer applications, performing similar functions. These applications are differentiated through the various commands required to perform specified functions. This exercise seeks to develop a program simulating performance of an 8-bit CPU. The whole process can be divided into three major sections of defining instruction set, describing simulator algorithm and writing the code for implementation of the identified simulator. This project could be defined through the following steps Identifying required bits Selecting the necessary instructions for the code Defining the required simulation algorithm Selecting the programming language being utilised in designing the code. Designing a simulator capable of simulating functio nality of 8-bit CPU. Testing the developed simulator design for compliance and similarity with required CPU. Concluding the project. Proposed solution The proposed CPU design shall involve various design choices and decisions aimed at improving the previous designs. In this example, the requirement needs writing of a program which simulates the performance of 8-bit CPU. The process begins with definition of instruction sets, which can be utilised by the CPU. The defined instruction set shall become the basis for developing CPU simulator algorithm, implemented through the C programming language. The C programming language could be identified as one which allows lexical variable scope, which makes the program become completely independent (King, 2008). This method remains the most commonly utilised programming language which much software remain compatible with. This make coding through this language sufficient as the systems could be utilised in many operations without experiencing d ifficulties. The process begins with consideration of the available options for breaking down the various instruction fields, to make complete Opcode, Addressing Mode and Operand. A format satisfying the basic CPU purposes shall be adopted for the context of this exercise. Within this exercise, 3-bit 8 independent Opcode shall be developed with, another bit being utilised in selection of the addressing mode, while the last four bits can be applied for the Operand. This will have created an 8-bit CPU, which can be utilised in undertaking various operations. Design Within the designing section, identification of the instruction set becomes the basis for beginning the designing process. The process of the CPU shall include loading of instructions into the register, thus the first instruction set identified shall be named LOAD. This instruction shall be associated with the main register as desired. The function shall be represented by LDA within the CPU. Following loading of the instruc tion the CPU shall also be required to store the entered information within the system. This shall become the second instruction set within the CPU, represented by STA. For the purposes of integrating arithmetic values within the CPU, a third instruction shall be called ADD, becomes necessary. Subtraction can be implemented through inclusion of negative integers within the system. Repetitive subtraction and addition components shall be utilised in implementing multiplication and division qualities. Other instruction sets could also be included to enhance the functioning and increase the number of operations, which the CPU can perform. The number of bits utilised in developing this

Marketing Report Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Report - Case Study Example The current revolution of information and communication technologies is changing our business environment drastically: new technologies influence the way we organize our work and the environment in which we compete, introducing new rules and new relative powers among incumbents, newcomers and even entire markets. This complex, evolving environments are referred to as new technology playgrounds This paper focuses on the case of Parker Pen Company. The first part of the paper provides an overview of the case and the nature of the marketing and communication techniques used by the company, the second part of the paper focuses on some of the miscalculations the company did, that cost them a fortune. The last part of the paper provides the conclusion and recommendation. The case Parker Pen Company focuses on a key player in the writing industry. It main activities include the manufacturing of writing instruments and are one of the world's best known companies in the domain. As a global company, its products are sold in 154 countries and the company considered itself number one in 'quality writing instruments'. ... The last part of the paper provides the conclusion and recommendation. 1.1Overview of the Parker Pen Company Case The case Parker Pen Company focuses on a key player in the writing industry. It main activities include the manufacturing of writing instruments and are one of the world's best known companies in the domain. As a global company, its products are sold in 154 countries and the company considered itself number one in 'quality writing instruments'. Things didn't work out and remain the way the company had thought and plan as its global marketing and communicating strategies designed and planed at the headquarters cost the company a fortune. The company failed and made huge marketing and product positioning mistakes, they neglected local values and cultures and in all management failed to recognize that, as other one size fit all brands like coca cola, Parker Pen Company with its quality writing instruments cannot be matched and placed in the same domain. Huge other errors and calculations were made and to make matter worst, practitioners and pioneer of the Parker Pen global marketing concepts were fired. A company that was once used as benchmarking models a super hero, and a world class in quality writing instrument became a laughing stock. In global marketing, if cultural and competitive differences are less important than their similarities, a single advertising approach can exploit these similarities to stimulate sales everywhere, and at far lower cost than if campaigns were developed for each. However, the situation of Parker Pen proofs the contrary. The company's marketing department would have acted with respect to different market, for the issue of standardization, one sound, one size as in the situation of coca cola

Impact of Generation Y on Management Effectiveness in Organizations Thesis

Impact of Generation Y on Management Effectiveness in Organizations - Thesis Example EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF GEENRATION Y Strategies used for Generation Y employee management Managerial Problems with Generation Y Strategies to improve performance CHAPTER 5. RESEARCH DESIGN Research Question/Problem Statement Research Approach Research Methodology Secondary Analysis of Data – Significance and Relevance to the Research Objective Basis for Data Analysis CHAPTER 6. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS Key findings of the study Interpretation and Analysis of Research Findings Discussion of Main Issue CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND AREAS REQUIRING FURTHER RESEARCH Research Summary Conclusion Recommendations and Suggestion Areas Requiring Further Research APPENDIX REFERENCE LIST DETAILED OUTLINE CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION The chapter presents a concise overview to the entire research study. It introduces the topic of the dissertation and the approach selected for exploring the mentioned topic. The chapter allows having quick look at the whereabouts of the research study by describing the background of the issues selected for the study. The chapter explaining the main motive behind the research, the research objectives, methodology and the research approach. In this chapter the background of the research study is explained to provide an understanding about the topic of the dissertation. Moreover the problem definition and the research objectives further explain the intentions of the research study. The scope and limitation of the research, the significance of its topic and the expected contribution of the research study are also describes to explain the importance and scope of the research study topics. Furthermore the key concepts and terms are defined at the end of the chapter so that the reader can have understanding of all the related issues and concepts before going through the other chapters of the dissertation Statement of the Problem The statement of problem concisely tells about the main issue going to be explored in the study. It introduce s the main objective and rationale of the research in single sentence to prove that the research work is well directed towards the attainment of a well defined objective. The statement of problem informs that the dissertation aims to have an insight over the issues and problems that the managers face in attaining satisfying level of employee performance due to increased dependency of generation Y upon the technological advancements. Purpose of the Study The section clearly states the main objectives of the research by listing out the specific purposes. It tells that the study aims to achieve three specific purposes including identification of the management problems in dealing with generation Y employees, identification of the alternatives that could resolve the issues and development of strategies for improving the performance of Generation Y employees. Research Design The section provides brief overview to the research design selected for conducting the study. It tells that resear ch study is based upon qualitative approach where the information and data has been collected from different resources and analyzed to have detailed understanding and explanation of the issue. Importance of the Study The

Servicescape Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Servicescape - Coursework Example ines the impact of servicescape on Las Iguanas restaurant in terms of the emotional, cognitive and physiological effect that the business environment has on customers and employees. Las Iguanas is a popular restaurant chain in the United Kingdom with major branches in London, Liverpool, Newcastle and other towns and cities. The company’s restaurants are located in different environments with each environment bringing its unique opportunities and challenges to the company’s marketing strategy. This study is based on the company’s branch in Liverpool. The study employed a stratified sampling technique to collect data through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews based on a sample size of five employees and five customers of the restaurant. After a detailed analysis, it was clear that the physical environment and ambience of the company had a huge impact on the organization’s operations. All the respondents admitted to having been influenced by the restaurant’s physical environment and ambience. From the findings, 90% of the respondents were positively influenced by the restaurant’s physical environment and ambience, 8% were negatively influenced, while the other 2% were unsure as to whether the business’ environment had a role to play in their association with the restaurant. This studys objective was to focus on assessing the impact of servicescape on customers and employees of Las Iguanas restaurant in Liverpool. Servicescape refers to an organizations ambience and physical environment. This study applies the servicescape model on one of the prominent restaurant businesses in the UK, the Las Iguanas Restaurant. This will assess the impact of Las Iguanas physical environment and ambience on its marketing activities in order to provide appropriate recommendations to the management team of the business for necessary improvements. The study is guided by the research question, what is the emotional, cognitive and physiological effect that Las

Case Study - Xerox Essay Example for Free

Case Study Xerox Essay This case describes the visioning process at Xerox Canada. The chairman, CEO and president of Xerox Canada have been meeting with her leadership team since eight oclock in the morning to craft the organizations new vision statement. Three and a half hours into the meeting the team hits a road block. With 30 minutes left in the session, the CEO must decide whether and how to proceed. First let us list what McGarry has done correctly prior to the visioning process meeting: 1. Understanding of the old vision/culture: Here we can say that McGarry has a good insight of the old culture prevailing within the Xerox Canada through her coast to coast traveling in order to meet and learn the concerns of the Xerox Canada employees, during the restructuring period. Her knowledge of the old culture has eased her task of educating the employees about the upcoming new system or culture. (Refer to Mc Garry’s arrival in Canada section) 2. Encourage innovative employees: During the restructuring period McGarry continued to encourage innovative employees and encourage them to impart their ideas to the other members of the group in order to bring out new ideas that would bring changes for the betterment of the Xerox Canada. (Refer to Employees-Inspired-Initiatives section last paragraph). 3. Properly identify the need to call for a visioning process at Xerox? McGarry’s careful evaluation of the situation and her coming to the conclusion that it was necessary to synthesize a vision statement (that would coordinate all of the concepts, initiatives and activities of Xerox Canada) was, I my opinion, a good call. (Refer to The Visioning Process section). 4. Understanding the value of the visioning process and not to impose unilaterally a new vision: McGarry understood the importance of not imposing a new vision. And she went on to gain a common consensus of the group (pre-visioning process meeting activities) before making any changes to the vision of the organization. (Refer to The Visioning Process section). Now let us talk about what, to my point of view McGarry, could have done differently: The half day session McGarry called on June 14, 1994 to craft the organization’s new mission statement, should have been panned over a two day session. In my opinion McGarry definitely under estimated the tasks ahead. As we all know the purpose of identifying the preferred future vision is to gather the strategic planners within the organization (here Mc Garry’s leadership team) around a collective future vision, some of whom (leadership team) will be the core collaborative group and some of whom will be additional stakeholders. The main objective of visioning activity and its process steps is to gather the strategic planning participants (leadership team) around a preferred future vision to help energize them, get their creative juices flowing, get them talking and interacting, and set the tone strategic plan development – a new vision. This was well done during the first three hours. However half a day is insufficient to complete such an activity which is about building a successfully bridge between Xerox’s current state and their preferred future. I strongly believe that this visioning process activity could have been broken into the following sub activities and carried out over the entire day. This activity should have been broken down into the following sequence i) Have participants worked individually or in small group to discuss the Current State of the organization and envisage the Ideal State of the organization. ii) Keeping in mind the first exercise they have completed, have these same groups brainstormed on their preferred future vision. iii) Regroup all teams in order to share the ideas the teams have separately produced during the brainstorming session. The second day should have been broken in the following steps: iv) Discuss with the participants (teams) their insights from what have been shared collectively the previous day. Record any implications for the upcoming vision statement on flip chart and keep these records visible and accessible to the participants as they continue their debriefing session. v) Allow participants, if necessary, to regroup in order to modify/re-align their ideas which resulted from the brainstorming session (previous day). vi) Regroup in order to share any new ideas from the re-alignment session. vii) Select as a team the final vision statement. Here, to my point of view, the key ingredient was time. McGarry should have not expected the visioning process to be completed in such a short time. The old culture is a set of strong beliefs and norms which cannot be altered quickly; McGarry had to be patient in order for the mindset change to take effect within the visioning process.

Leadership Essay A Good Leader

Leadership Essay A Good Leader The Qualities Of A Good Leader Introduction Leaders have an important role within an organisation related to its success, productivity and the performance of the employees. The fundamental task of a leader is to build and maintain a high performing team (Furnham, 2005, p.566). However, Yukl (2013, p.18) argues that there are numerous and diverse definitions concerning the concept of a leader as well as the term leadership, although a general consensus appears to suggest it involves a process of influencing and guiding relationships within an organisation . Guirdham (2002, p.15) emphasises the importance of leaders having good interpersonal and communication skills, which as Yukl suggest involves the ability to persuade others. Yukl (2013, p.18) further states there are additional factors that contribute to good leadership such as the situational context and the use of power. Another issue regarding the characteristics of leaders is that many theories and models have been based on Western perspectives (House and Aditya, 1997, p.409) and typically based on research with white males (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, CIPD, 2008, p.7). There is some cultural crossover in servant leadership, which according to Northouse (2013, p.219), was originally proposed by Greenleaf in the 1970s, and also has origins in ancient Eastern and Western philosophies; for example, it is deeply embedded in Arab-Islamic culture (Sarayrah, 2004, p.59). A further concern is raised by Mullins (2008, p.265) who states that determining who is a good leader is a subjective judgement and cannot be based, for example, on financial performance alone. The aim of the following essay is to investigate whether certain characteristics are related to good leadership and which can be identified in theories and models of leadership such as trait theory, transformational and charismatic leadership as well as authentic and servant leadership. Finally, there will be a brief discussion regarding interpersonal characteristics such as emotional intelligence and communication skills. Theories and Models of Leadership Trait Theories Trait theories of leadership proposed that successful leaders possessed distinctive traits or characteristics that differentiated them from unsuccessful leaders and subordinates. As Northouse (2013, p.7) mentions there are common phrases in use in society such as he was born to be a leader or she is a natural leader which suggest that people tend to think good leaders are born and not trained. The concept of leaders having certain characteristics dominated research prior to the Second World War. It was thought that individuals could be selected for leadership positions if they showed the appropriate characteristics or alternatively that traits could be taught to leaders (Furnham, 2005, p.571). Popular books, such as Stephen Coveys book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, propose that certain traits or characteristics can be learned. Covey (2004, p.46) states that our character, basically, is a composite of our habits. Covey continues saying that habits are consistent, can be learned or unlearned and express an individuals character and how effective or ineffective they are (Covey, 2004, p.46). Covey suggests that effective people are proactive, have a clarity regarding their life-goals, manage themselves, value and respect other people, are empathic and encourage positive teamwork (Covey, 2004, p.65). The seventh habit involves taking time to sharpen the saw which Covey translates as meaning time to refresh physical, spiritual, psychological and socio-emotional dimensions of a persons character (Covey, 2004, pp.287-288). A number of characteristics and traits related to good leaders have been identified; for example, Smith and Foti (1998, p.147) undertook a study investigating the characteristics of emergent leaders and found that the traits of dominance, intelligence and self-efficacy were significantly higher in emergent leaders than other individuals who were not classified as emergent leaders. According to Furnham (2005, p.572), good leaders usually possess characteristics such as persistence, innovation and a willingness to take responsibility for their actions. Yukl (2013, p.146) similarly identifies certain characteristics related to good leaders which include a high tolerance of stress, emotional maturity, personal integrity, motivation and self-confidence. However, Furnham (2005, p.574) suggests that although there are numerous traits, there appears to be little agreement regarding which characteristics contribute to a leader being effective. According to Zaccaro, (2007, p.6) trait theories are not able to explain how leaders characteristics adapt to different situations and contexts and thus a major criticism of trait theories is that they do not consider the wider context of culture, society or the interactions with the characteristics of subordinates (Zaccaro, 2007, p.7). Examining the characteristics of good leaders implies that leaders innately possess certain personality traits although it could be suggested that some good leaders can learn through experience (Bryman, Collinson, Grint, Jackson and Uhl-Bien, 2011, p.78). The notion that good leaders can learn skills through a dynamic learning experience is supported by other researchers; for example, Rodd (2006, p.13) proposes that practitioners within the Early Years profession can become leaders through demonstrating increasing competence and by developing the personal skills necessary to become a leader. Daly and Byers (2004, p.7) suggest that good leaders will also ensure that employees have the opportunity for training and professional development which in turn may help them to become good leaders. Kolb (1984, p.25) similarly supports the idea of learning leadership skills through experience and suggests that learning involves a constant change of ideas, perspectives and opinions which are not fixed and thoughts are formed and reformed through experience and continually modified by experience. The importance of having a flexible approach is emphasised by Daly and Byers (2004, p.187) ensuring that the leader is adaptable and can implement new ideas or procedures when necessary. Even early theorists such as Taylor (1911, p.7) argued that good leaders are not born and required systematic training instead of being reliant on some unusual or extraordinary man. It is further argued by Zaccaro (2007, p.10) that because being a good leader is complex there is probably an interaction of the leaders characteristics as well as an interaction with the variables present in different situations and contexts. Theories such as Fiedlers contingency theory (Fiedler 1967, cited in Northouse, 2013, pp.123-125) were developed primarily with leaders in the military and focused on how compatible the characteristics and style of the leader were with a specific situation. Thus, effective leadership is contingent on matching a leaders style to the right setting (Northouse, 2013, p.123). A problem with both trait theories and contingency theories is that they appear to focus on the characteristics of the leader and do not consider the characteristics of, the interactions with, or the role of, subordinates. Contingency theory does not explain why some leaders are better in certain situations than other leaders and also how organisations deal with a mismatch between leaders and certain situations (Northouse, 2013, p.129). Transactional and Transformational Leaders Furnham (2005, p.588) suggests that transactional leadership can be defined as a contract between the leader and a worker where the leader achieves what they want by offering some sort of reward which is desired by the employee. There is typically a limited relationship between the leader as in certain situations (for example in the military) transactional leadership is necessary as certain actions need to be undertaken without subordinates questioning or debating issues (Bass and Bass, 2008, p.41; Bryman et al. 2011, p.55). Transactional leadership does not appear to be concerned with the characteristics of leaders and is more concerned with creating structures and systems which allow the sharing of information (Bryman et al. 2011, p.61). Transactional leadership depends on contingency reinforcement which means the subordinate understands that a reward will be received when performance goals are achieved (Bass and Riggio, 2006, p.8). Transformational leadership developed from the foundations of transactional leadership with four further characteristics namely; charisma and idealised influence which indicates that the leader is admired, respected, and trusted; inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and consideration towards individual workers (Bass, Avolio, Jung and Berson, 2003, p.208; McKenna, 2005, p.411). By showing an interest in the personal development of followers there can be a subsequent increase in performance and productivity as well as creativity and innovation subordinates can often be creative which can then have an impact on the competitive advantage of the company (Bass, et al 2003,p.208). Bass and Bass (2006, p.41) also suggest that transformational leaders usually believe and support the goals of the organisation and are able to articulate the goals to subordinates and engage their support and commitment. Other characteristics identified in transformational leaders is that they show consistent behaviour and tend to have a strong focus on integrity, ethical principles and values together with being flexible and able to adapt to change (Judge and Piccolo, 2004, p.755). McKenna (2005, p.408) states that transformational leaders have characteristics such as vision and are able to motivate and inspire subordinates to share their vision. As Sir John Harvey-Jones, MBE, who was the chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries from 1982 to 1987 and has recently helped failing business shown in a BBC television programme called Troubleshooter states:- The vision is absolutely key to getting your troops together. It has to be qualitative, daring and grab the imagination. The test of it should be how quickly people will latch on to where you are going†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (cited in Mullins, 2008, p.261). The characteristics of transformational leaders are important in an organisation because they are viewed as a more effective leadership style than transactional leadership for example. Bass and Riggio (2008, p.10) suggest that many subordinates are very loyal to transformational leaders and are committed to the organisation so productivity increases and improves which Bass and Riggio (2008, p.10) suggest is one way of demonstrating the efficiency of the leader. The characteristics of transactional and transformational leaders are not mutually exclusive and there may be occasions when a leader has to show transactional characteristics as well as transformational characteristics. An example is cited by Bass and Bass (2008, p.51) which states that famous leaders such as John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln displayed characteristics of both transactional and transformational leaders. Transactional leadership, for example, has been found to be more effective in a well-ordered, stable environment whereas transformational leadership is suitable in organisations that are changing rapidly such as in times of financial upheaval (McKenna, 2006, p.418). Characteristics of Charismatic Leaders As discussed previously, one characteristic of transformational leaders is charisma (Bass, et al. 2003, p.216) although there are some leaders who are characterised as being so charismatic that they are referred to as charismatic leaders. Chio (2006, p.24) defines charismatic leaders as having three additional, core characteristics which are an ability to predict future trends and be visionary; being a creative thinker, and showing empathy and empowering colleagues. According to House, 1977, (cited in McKenna, 2006, p.411) charismatic leaders can motivate subordinates to perform effectively without having to invoke their position of power; they have a vision and the ability to convince subordinates to support that vision. Further characteristics include determination, energy, self-confidence and ability; in addition they are not afraid to be unconventional (McKenna, 2006, p.411). Although charismatic leaders are unusual and exceptional in the business world, Hellriegel and Slocum (2007, p.240) use as an example Richard Branson who demonstrates the characteristic of both a transformational and a charismatic leader. Branson is characterised as someone who is prepared to follow his instincts and take risks, venturing into new territories (Boje and Smith, 2010, p.308). Branson has a flair for being slightly eccentric and is not afraid of being unconventional which Choi, as discussed previously, describes as a characteristic of charismatic leadership. Branson makes a clear statement about his company, Virgin, as being different, colourful, iconoclastic and fun-loving (Crainer and Dearlove, 2008, p.43). Bransons character appears to reflect the character of his company; for example, he appeared dressed as a Virgin bride and also abseiled down a skyscraper to promote his company (Business Pundit, 2011, n/p). The CIPD (2008, p.8) report that there is some dislike for the celebrity-like focus on so-called charismatic leaders. In the US a study investigated fifty-nine CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and investigated the link between charisma and performance over a ten year period and found there was no relationship (Tosi et al. 2004, cited in CIPD, 2008 p.8). A criticism made by Alvesson and Spicer (2010, p.9) claims that by endowing leaders with characteristics such as charisma, gives them a heroic and unselfish quality which enables them to persuade followers to pursue goals almost unquestioningly. Furthermore, Alvesson and Spicer (2010, p.64) maintain that some transformational leaders can be perceived as saint-like. Chio (2006, p.37) claims that frequently the positive aspects of charismatic leadership are emphasised and dysfunctional characteristics, such as the abuse of power, are often minimised. Chio (2006, p.36) reports that there can be very strong emotional bonds between a charismatic leader and their subordinates and in certain situations individuals may sacrifice themselves for the sake of the group to maintain harmonious relationships with others (Triandis, 1995, cited in Chio, 2006, p.36). Thus charismatic leaders can use their influence malignantly; for example, there have been reports of charismatic leaders of religious sects who are able to persuade followers to commit mass suicide. The CIPD (2008, p.8) also report on the dark-side of charisma and suggest that although some leaders may superficially appear charismatic they hide undesirable characteristics such as dishonesty and greed. By the time such characteristics are discovered the organisation and employees may have suffered irreparable harm. Research undertaken by Collins (2001, cited in CIPD, 2008, p.8) investigated common characteristics in US companies quoted on the Stock Exchange whose performance was outstanding. The findings indicated that common characteristics included an unshakable belief in their company and also a deep personal humility. These CEOs were not at all charismatic and appeared to be quite unassuming. Collins also noted that failing companies had a CEO with a gargantuan ego causing the company to fail (Collins 2001, cited in CIPD, 2008, p.8). Interpersonal Characteristics of Leaders. Characteristics of Authentic Leaders As discussed in the previous sections there have been concerns regarding unscrupulous leaders; for example, although they may appear to be charismatic they may in fact have exploitative motives (Bass and Riggio, 2008, p.5). Consequently there is a desire for leaders who are genuine and authentic (Bass and Riggio, 2008, p.xii). There appears to be some parallels between authentic leaders and servant leaders although currently there is limited research in this area according to Northouse (2013, p.235). Servant leadership focuses on the empathic characteristics of a leader towards subordinates and nurturing each employees talents and potential which is beneficial for the organisation (Northouse, 2013, p.233). Servant leadership proposes that leaders want to serve others and emphasises the altruistic characteristics of leaders who are focused on the needs of their subordinates (Greenleaf, 1977, cited in Northouse, 2013, p.219). The characteristic of the servant leader are numerous and the underlying principles involve the way in which the leader treats subordinates in terms of honesty and treating them fairly. A successful relationship between the servant leader and followers is a two-way process and followers must be accepting of the principles of empowerment and the opportunity to grow. A characteristic of leaders which seems to be related to good leadership is emotional intelligence. Goleman (1998, p.317) defines emotional intelligence as the capacity for recognising our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves and for managing emotions in ourselves and in our relationships. Emotional intelligence involves five key factors; self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills (Goleman, 1998, p.9). It is argued that emotional intelligence is of benefit to leaders as it contributes to an awareness of their own emotions and how to regulate them as well as recognising emotions in others and having the social skills necessary to deal with other peoples emotions (Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee, 2001, n/p). Guirdham (2002, p.545) suggests that there are certain qualities that followers look for in leaders and that a leader does not automatically gain the respect from subordinates. However, such qualities vary with different situations and the type of subordinates who are expected to follow. Gaining acceptance as a leader is also more difficult where there is prejudice concerning gender, race and ethnic group, and disability. Guirdham (2002, p.545) states that in general to be accepted by subordinates the characteristics of the leader need to include knowledge, competence, status, identification with the group, motivation, being proactive in promoting the groups goals and good communication skills. As Sir John Harvey says:- You only get a company going where you want it to by leadership by example and by honest and endless communication (cited in Mullins 2008, p.261). Communication appears to be a very important characteristic of a good leader together with interpersonal relationships which is also related to emotional intelligence as discussed previously. It has been found that directive, coherent and positive communication is an effective style for leaders (Guirdham, 2002, p.550). However, other characteristics are also necessary such as trust, the way in which leaders try to persuade or influence followers and the way in which subordinates are encouraged to participate in decision making. Conclusion It can be seen from the evidence presented that identifying the characteristics of a good manager is a complex task as there are many different traits or personality characteristics involved. Additionally characteristics cannot be identified in isolation and the situation or context must also be considered. Early research, for example trait theories, focused on the leader and did not consider the role or characteristics of the subordinates. This would appear to be relevant in contemporary society as employees are more empowered than they were in the past and are therefore less likely to blindly follow a leader. Transformational and charismatic theories of leadership identify many positive qualities in leaders; however, there is the issue identified by many researchers of deceitful leaders who can cause a company to collapse as in the case of Enron and other similar examples. The characteristics of a leader need to be genuine and authentic and the theoretical perspective of servant leadership emphasises the caring aspect of leaders towards their followers. Typically servant leaders are altruistic and are concerned about the well-being of others. There are a number of characteristics which appear to be more important than others although it is difficult to isolate only a few. However, one characteristic that does seem to be high on the list for good leaders is good communication and interpersonal skills (Guirdham, 2002, p.550). References Alvesson, M. and Spicer, A. (2010). Metaphors we Lead by: Understanding Leadership in the Real World. London: Routledge. Bass, B.M., Avolio, B.J., Jung, D.I. and Berson, Y. (2003). Predicting unit performance by assessing Transformational and Transactional leadership, Journal of Applied Psychology, 88 ,207-218. Bass, B.M. and Bass, R. (2008). The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial Applications (4th Ed) New York, NY: Free Press. Bass, B.M. and Riggio, R.E. (2006). Transformational Leadership (2nd Ed), Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., New Jersey. Boje, D. and Smith, R. (2010). Re-storying and visualising the changing entrepreneurial identities of Bill Gates and Richard Branson, Culture and Organisation,16(4), 307-331 Bono, J.E. and Judge, T.E. (2004). Personality and transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology 89(5) 901–910 Bryman,A., Collinson, D., Grint, K., Jackson, B. and Uhl-Bien, M. (2011). The Sage Handbook of Leadership. London: Sage. Business Pundit (2011). Retrieved on 10/10/2014 from: http://www.businesspundit.com/10-greatest-virgin-pr-stunts-of-all-time/ Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD, 2008). Engaging Leadership: Creating Organisations that Maximize the Potential of their People. London, CIPD. Choi, J. (2006) A Motivational Theory of Charismatic Leadership: EnvisioningEmpathy, and Empowerment, Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies, 13, 24-43. Covey, S.R. (2004). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc. Crainer, S. and Dearlove, D. (2008). The heart of leadership, Business Strategy Review, The London Business School, (Autumn), 41-45. Daly, M., Byers, E. and Taylor, W. (2004). Early Years Management in Practice: A Handbook for Early Years Managers. Oxford Heinmann Education. Furnham, A. (2005). The Psychology of Behaviour at Work. East Sussex UK: Psychology Press. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. and McKee, A. (2001). Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance. Harvard Business Review, 44-51 retrieved on 9/10/2014 from: http://hbr.org/2001/12/primal-leadership-the-hidden-driver-of-great-performance/ar/1 Goleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. Guirdham, M. (2002) Interactive Behaviour at Work (3rd Edition) Essex UK: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Hellriegel, D. and Slocum, J.W. (2007) Organisational Behaviour (11th edition) Thomson South-Western. House, R.J. and Aditya, R.N. (1997). The Social Scientific Study of Leadership: Quo Vadis? Journal of Management, 23(3), 409-473. Judge, T.A. and Piccolo, R.F. (2004) Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic test of their relative validity Journal of Applied Psychology 89(5) 755-768 Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. McKenna, E. (2006) Business Psychology and Organisational Behaviour, 4th edition New York: Psychology Press. Mullins, L.J. (2008). Essentials of Organisational Behaviour. (2nd edition). Essex, UK: Prentice Hall. Northouse, G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. London: Sage. Rodd, J. (2006). Leadership in Early Childhood, 3rd Edition. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Sarayrah, Y.K. (2004). Servant leadership in the Bedouin-Arab culture. Global Virtual Ethics Review, 5(3), 58-79. Smith, J.A. and Foti, R.J. (1998). A pattern approach to the study of leader emergence. The Leadership Quarterly, 9(2), 147-160 Taylor, F.W. (1911). Principles of Scientific Management. New York: Harper Brothers Publishers. Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations (8th edition). London: Pearson Education Zaccaro, S.J. (2007). Trait-based perspectives of leadership. American Psychologist, 62, 6-16.

Hotel Industry: Brand Image and Customer Loyalty

Hotel Industry: Brand Image and Customer Loyalty Hotel Brand Images: Exploring Customer Loyalty and Satisfaction Contents (Jump to) Introduction Rationale Aims and Objectives Hypothesis Statement Secondary Literature Review Primary Quantitative Research Literature Review Brand Identity and Image Brand Strategy and Customer Satisfaction Consumer Loyalty and Brand Image Hotel Brands and Consumers Conclusion and Implications Research Approach Survey Questionnaire Data Sampling H1: Consumer loyalty is not related to brand identity in hotels. H2: Consumer satisfaction is not related to brand image of hotels. Correlation Analysis Conclusion Introduction This research paper takes the position that branding and brand loyalty have become an important part of modern day business marketing. Accordingly, consumer perceptions, brand image, and market research are all important components of developing continuous brand image. The development of brand loyalty has a direct impact on today’s marketability and viability of a service or product in today’s competitive market. Brand loyalty has been considered to be the repetition of consumer purchase behaviour under the conditions of the consumer’s sensitivity to a product as on of the more prevailing trends in global hotel marketing (Kayaman and Arasli 2007). Other viewpoints describe brand loyalty as having an attitudinal measurement (Kayaman and Arasli 2007). Brand performance has several aspects: quality, price, credibility, value, trust, and consistency. Delgado-Ballester Munuera-Aleman (2001) suggested that core brand trust and brand image functions have a key role in developing consumer loyalty and is characterised by high involvement of the organisation in service quality. The ability of an organisation to hold onto a market position is highly based on its ability to gain new customers while retaining old customers. Gunter Heather (2007) showed that in the service industry, the ability of team members to complete a service to the customer is important in developing customer loyalty and increasing the customer’s perception of service quality. This research explores key performance indicators of brands as they impact consumer loyalty in the hotel industry. This is done by looking at the theories behind brand performance, which include market signalling theory as well as brand identity and brand image. The research examines the efficiency of internal operations of organisations as they impact brand consistency. These components are interrelated with evidence for consumer patronage and consumer loyalty, based on various factors that will be explored as being relative to building (or diminishing) consumer loyalty. The dissertation will utilise secondary research as a literature review to establish the components and relationships between brand identity, consumer loyalty, and brand strategy. The ultimate goal of this research is to describe how consumer’s build expectations and perceptions regarding a particular brand image and how consumer loyalty to a particular hotel can be managed through brand strategy. Rationale Dean (2001) made the conclusion that the hotel industry has suffered in stock value compared to other industries. In 2001, only the Hilton brand was present in the top 100 brand names, with a market value of 1.4 billion dollars (Dean 2001). This shows that there is a need to understand and describe customer loyalty in the hotel industry to further consumer patronage of hotels. The hotel industry, especially in the luxury sector, offers an experience of a product and service. Therefore, it stands to reason that the consistency the brand offers has a strong impact on the consumer’s perception. Kandampully Suhartanto (2000) showed that hotel consistency should revolve around the internal performance of housekeeping, reception, food and beverages, as well as price and value to be considered competitive and to maintain consumer loyalty. This research is rationalised by the idea that understanding customer loyalty based on satisfaction in these arenas impacts market value, and thus can assist hoteliers in world wide competition. Aims and Objectives The aim of this dissertation is based on the above rationale and is focused on consumer based perceptions of hotel brands. The goal is to explore and examine the factors of customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and hotel branding for the betterment of organisation’s operating in the hotel industry. Thus, the research aims to develop stronger market value through brand identity and brand image perceptions of the customer. The objectives to reach this aim are to first, describe the relationships between brand identity and customer loyalty through secondary literature review research. The next objective is to utilise primary quantitative survey methods to statistically evaluate the impact of the relationships between customer satisfaction and brand identity on customer loyalty. The end results should lead towards a description of the occurrence of customer loyalty perceptions in the hotel industry based on the factors of brand identity and customer satisfaction described in th e literature review. Hypothesis Statement Based on the aims and objectives of the research, the following hypotheses are to be explored through quantitative data: H1: Consumer loyalty is not related to brand identity in hotels. H1.0: Consumer loyalty is related to brand identity in hotels. H2: Consumer satisfaction is not related to brand image of hotels. H2.0: Consumer satisfaction is related to brand image of hotels. Secondary Literature Review The secondary literature review will be conducted to establish the variables and factors that develop the above hypothesis. In this, the research has chosen to utilise mainly scholarly journal databases, including Sage Journals Online, EbscoHost, and Thomspon-Gale. Each of these databases is peer-reviewed and scholarly, as well as international, which allows for a holistic focus on the issues of consumer loyalty from a global viewpoint. The point that each of these journal databases is international is important as this research focuses on the hotel industry as a whole, not on the hotel industry in any particular nation. The research was conducted using the Boolean search terms of ‘brand identity’ and ‘consumer loyalty;’ ‘brand identity’ and ‘consumer satisfaction’; ‘brand image’ and ‘consumer satisfaction’; ‘brand image’ and ‘consumer loyalty’; ‘consumer satisfaction’ and ‘consumer loyalty’; ‘brand identity’ and ‘brand image.’ Results were then sifted through based on date and current relevance to organisational branding, hotel branding, or market branding. This was important to do as some research findings were not related to the actual research, some findings that were unrelated and had to be removed included gender bias, cow procreation, and other unrelated terms. Future secondary literature review research will focus on stronger Boolean search terms to remove unwanted topics and prevent unnecessary time extensions. The secondary literature review is utilised to establish the questions in the quantitative survey as well as to establish relationships between each hypotheses statement. Primary Quantitative Research Primary quantitative research was chosen for this study as it allows for statistical and objective evidence to be presented and to accept or reject the stated hypotheses. The choice and rationale for the primary quantitative research is explored further in the methodology section. For this short introduction, quantitative research allows for specific information regarding the occurrences of customer loyalty and satisfaction, which can act as a precursor for further qualitative research later. Furthermore, the use of surveys allows the researcher to make specific and numerically succinct statements regarding the subjects at hand, from the customer’s perception. The research approach is deductive, meaning that it is theory testing rather than inductive, which is theory generating. In this manner the research proposes to accept or reject the hypothesis and establish the relationship between hotel brand identity-image and consumer loyalty-satisfaction. Branding is method of determining an organisation’s competitive position based on consumer perceptions, where the organisation’s position to competitors impacts consumer choices (Daffey and Abratt 2002). In corporations, branding has increased in recent importance, particularly in leisure and travel services, where increased attention has been placed on service branding in hotels, retail, and banking industries (Hatch and Schultz 2003). Research identified the need for branding as it pertains to the brand image and brand identity, which separates the brand based on the internal components of the industry or organisation as well as it is congruent with shared values and meanings identified by both the organisation and consumer perceptions (Hatch and Schultz 2003). Thus, the relationship between brand identity, brand image, and consumer perception for leisure services, such as hotels, has become imperative to describing the marketing needs of an organisation. Brand Identity and Image Brand identity is an antecedent to brand image, thus what the organisation puts forth as its brand identity impacts the consumer’s perception of brand image (Daffey and Abratt 2002). The focus can be placed on the interface within brand identity and consumer perception of brand image, which involved the corporate branding method and the manner in which it is perceived by the consumer, thus impacting the consumer’s identification with the brand and increasing or decreasing the consumer’s perceived brand value (Daffey and Abratt 2002). Conceptually, brand identity is the organisation’s marketing mission in regards to the brands vision and values (Kapferer 2004). Brand identity is thus fulfilled by the organisation’s competence towards its internal and external vision, aims, and values (Kapferer 2004). This means that brand identity is an articulation of the organisation’s ethos, which incorporates the individualistic image that a competitor pla ces on its products, where the goal is to differentiate the service or product definition from other brand identities (Kapferer 2004). The statement has been made that brand identity has three main goals (Albert and Whetten 2003). The first of these goals are to capture the organisation’s essential service or product paradigm (Albert and Whetten 2003). Secondly, the organisations brand identity should exhibit and define its meaning towards consumers; and thirdly this meaning allows the brand to be differentiated and exhibited with continuity in the consumer’s mindset (Albert and Whetten 2003). Bosch (2006) examined that the construction of brand identity is to involve the elemental intent of the organisation’s product or service, where the organisation’s reputation is relevant to the personality of the brand identity set forth by the marketing strategy (Bosch 2006). Thus, brand identity becomes an organisation’s operational strategy that allows it to enhance or integrate an internal vision to external customers, thereby shaping the customer’s purchase intentions and value-ad ded perceptions towards that brand. As noted, brand identity precedes brand image. Brand image is imperative to gaining consumer validation and retention. When an organisation sets forth an image that is favourable in the mindset of the consumers, it inherently builds a specific competitive advantage (Aaker 1997). Brand image is a construction of consumer perceptions of the brand, and therefore is based on the most recent mindset of beliefs that the consumer holds towards the brand itself (Nandan 2005). The consumer’s perceptions and feelings are based on the brand identity, as well as the consumer’s experiences and relationships with the organisation (Nandan 2005).Thus, brand image has a strong value for an organisation and is ascertained to create a distinctive and sustainable competitive advantage (Aaker 1997). It is therefore defined that brand image is the meaning of connection between the consumer and the organisation’s product or service, where the goal is to increase consumer loyalty in the net result of the marketing strategy (Aaker 1997). This net result is impacted by the consumer’s perception of the brand (Aaker 1997). This consumer perception is built by experiences with the brand and the impressions the brand leaves with the customer, thus altering the customer’s beliefs and feelings towards the product (Aaker 1997). This alteration of the consumer perception creates the consumer’s behaviour and attitude about a product or service (Aaker 1997). The link between brand identity and brand image has been noted to be largely based on the role of communication that forms consumer perceptions as they pertain to branding (Harris and de Chernatory 2001). However, some confusion as to the specific role of marketing brand identity and the formulation of brand image exists. While some researchers explore that consumer perception is built based on such marketing communications (Harris and de Chernatory 2001), others substantiate that brand image is not a result of brand identity marketing, but of the experiences of consumers with the product and service of the brand (Chun and Davies 2006). This means that the external communications of the organisation, noted in the above paragraphs to be centred on exposing the value, aims and intentions of the brand (Kapferer 2004) have less impact on the consumer’s mindset than the consumers actual experiences with the brand (Chun and Davies 2006). This is especially true in the service orient ed industries, such as hotels, where service context related firms are more likely to gain or lose brand image in the customer’s mindset based on consumer experiences with the service (O’Cass and Grace 2004). Consumer experiences such as word of mouth, poor service relationships, and negative service receipt are more likely to impact the perception of a brand image than the organisation’s marketing strategy of the brand’s identity (O’Cass and Grace 2004). In this relationship, the role of service employees and their relationship with the customer becomes an integral part of building a brand image, where the recognition of employees to the brand identity as well as towards delivering a positive customer service experience is more important to sustainable brand image than any other factor (Hardaker and Fill 2005). This is because the employee operating in a service context, such as a hotel, is the first point of contact the consumer has with the bran d (Hardaker and Fill 2005). Thus, the experience a consumer has with an employee of a service based industry has multiple interfaces as the employee’s value, the brand identity, and the consumer’s perception, all of which create the brand image (O’Cass and Grace 2004). Brand Strategy and Customer Satisfaction It stands to reason that if consumers create a perception of a brand image based on their level of satisfaction, then there is an inherent link between brand image and customer satisfaction. This was established as a positive image towards consumer satisfaction increases consumer loyalty, where it is postulated that the relationship also develops consumer loyalty (Chun and Davies 2006). In this relationship, there is a congruent development between brand identities, as it is externally presented by the organisation, and consumer satisfaction as it is internally perceived by the consumer (Chun and Davies 2006). The development is that a firm utilises brand strategy, as this has the ability to increase brand loyalty when it ensures that the relationship between brand identity and image is congruent and consistent, as it applies to influencing consumer loyalty (Nandan 2005). Thus, brand identity has an increased positive relationship that is established between the customer’s per ception of satisfaction, the development of loyalty, and the brand’s image (Nandan 2005). Consumer promotions are one method that organisations use to increase brand awareness, and thus establish brand identity. Consumer promotions include coupons and sweepstakes, but increasingly include loyalty programs such as points for repurchases. These types of sales promotions are have the targeted goal of increasing repurchase intentions of final purchases (Kotler and Armstrong 2002). Consumer sales promotions are just as various as brands themselves, existing as incentives for purchasing or repurchasing, while others attempt to communicate the nature of the organisation (Kotler and Armstrong 2002). Some promotions will be based on pricing discounts, while others are non-priced based, such as additional products or special services (Kotler and Armstrong 2002). Consumer promotion is a traditional brand strategy that is thought to enhance consumer loyalty by offering special rewards for repurchasing a service or product (Kotler and Armstrong 2002). Thus, it is supposed that consume r promotions influence the consumer by enhancing how the customer cognitively perceives the value of a service or product (Kotler and Armstrong 2002). Value, as the difference between price and received goods, is the object that creates price perception. Price perception, in turn, establishes how a customer values the brand’s overall image, and thus if the consumer is willing to purchase the brand (Schiffman and Kanuk 2004). Price perceptions can be both positive and negative. In luxury instances, higher prices for higher levels of services are considers attributes to the consumer’s success, and therefore the repurchase intentions may be based on the intrinsic value the consumer places on the actual service receipt, rather than the cost of the service (Moore et al 2003). Price and customer loyalty therefore become complex, as in some cases very low prices for a luxury brand, or over-promotion of the brand, lead to devaluation of the brand, where the consumer finds less value for the same service offered at a lower price (Moore et al 2003). This leads towards product quality perceptions, where the superiority of a service is approached by the consumer based on the consumer’s expectations of the service (Moore et al 2003). Consumers may place a judgement upon the quality of a service based on the information they have received through brand identity strategies regarding the service, when this information is not congruent with the customer’s received service, there is a negative gap in customer satisfaction (Schiffman and Kanuk 2004). Consumer judgements are created by intrinsic and extrinsic information (Schiffman and Kanuk 2004). The concern is that there is a gap between brand identities put forth by the organisation and brand images received, or perceived, by the consumers (Hatch and Schultz 2003). This gap exists when the internal identities of the organisation, as they relate to the values and ideals of the organisation, are not externally perceived by the consumer (Hatch and Schultz 2003; Chun and Davies 2006). Thus, the need for a brand strategy that bridges this gap for increased customer perceptions becomes a managerial goal to narrow the gap (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). This need for gap reduction is stated to be a holistic need, where brand strategy is centred on the ability of the organisation to ensure that all employees are able to breach the gaps and have the same values and aims that the organisations places external brand marketing importance upon (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). Emphatically, this means that strategy towards the brand image is highly reliant upon the internal brand identi ty of the organisation and the external brand image the customer forms (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). Thus, there is an increased need in brand development and strategy for organisations to match the consumer’s needs and perceptions with the brand’s identity, which in turn will increase consumer loyalty but not necessarily consumer satisfaction (Chun and Davies 2006). Consumer Loyalty and Brand Image Conceptualizing the link between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty has several dimensions (Oliver 1999). In this, satisfaction has the asymmetric consequence towards the development of consumer loyalty, yet consumer loyalty does not impact consumer satisfaction in the same manner (Oliver 1999). A consumer that has been traditionally loyal to a particular brand will not simply choose the brand after a dissatisfactory service experience simply because they have formed a habit of being loyal to that brand (Oliver 1999). Chun and Davies (2006) examined that a brand’s image can impact consumer loyalty based on the experiences of a customer in regards to the brand service delivery by employees. This means that employees are frequently the heart of a service brands image, and the front line of the ability of a brand to build consumer loyalty. Furthermore, employees are the most frequent determination of a consumer’s mindset towards a brand, which in turn impacts the consumers perception and frequency of loyalty towards the brand (O’Cass and Grace 2004). Thus, it is implied that employees are the foundation of building service brand images, and the employee of the service brand has the strongest impact of brand identity communication in the customer’s mindset (O’Cass and Grace 2004). Thus, what occurs is a service brand dimension where the employee, rather than the organisation, becomes the forefront for brand image formulation, which establishes that employees are the ambassador’s of a brand image (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). For the leisure and travel sectors, employees act as the interface between the consumer’s service needs and the brand image formation (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). Therefore, the consumer’s internal perceptions of a brand are enhanced or diminished by the service experience and communications of employees, which in turn results in future commitments to brand loyalty when these experiences and communications are positively perceived by the customer (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). Consumer satisfaction and loyalty are dependent on the consumers perceived value of a brand image. In early work regarding the subject, Oliver (1997) showed that consumer satisfaction is the ability of a service to fulfil the consumer’s need, thus it is based upon the response of the organisation towards fulfilling what the consumer believes, or perceives, to be important and of value. The ability of the consumer to develop a perception regarding the service of a brand is based upon a consumer’s judgement regarding the provisions of services and products and the pleasure that the customer receives, intrinsically, from the consumption of the product or service (Oliver 1997). Oliver’s (1999) later work established that consumer loyalty is a strong commitment of the consumer to repurchase the product or service in a consistent manner, based on the previous judgements that the consumer held, which are further enabled by both the customer’s and the organisation’s behaviours and attitudes towards the brand’s identity and image (Oliver 1999). Consumer attitudes have several components. First, the cognitive component establishes the rational appeal of a product or service, where the consumer makes a decision based on characteristics the consumer determines to be imperative to filling a consumer need (Rowley and Dawes 1999). The affective component is established as the emotional connections a consumer develops with the service, such as fulfilling a social or status need by purchasing a particular brand (Rowley and Dawes 1999). Lastly, the cognitive components of consumer attitudes are those that are relative to the consumers’ behavioural patterns (Rowley and Dawes 1999). Cognitive components are based on the consumer’s previously formed behaviour patterns, for example the difference between a hedonic and utilitarian purchaser. A hedonic behaviour pattern is where a consumer purchases a product based on the ability to receive a particular emotional need, such as societal satisfaction (Rowley and Dawes 1999). A utilitarian purchaser focuses on the physical needs of a product’s ability to fulfil a gap in the customer’s necessary purchase intentions (Rowley and Dawes 1999). This is further established by Chun and Davies (2006), where consumer loyalty as a behavioural and attitudinal aspect contains strong intrinsic characteristics built by the needs of the consumer and compared to the ability of the organisation to deliver towards these needs, which in turn develops the consumer’s attitudes and behaviours towards a brand. Yet consumer perception and brand loyalty is not only direc ted by behaviours and attitudes, it is also built by cognition of the brand and its associative value (Jones and Taylor 2007). In this, while attitudes and behaviours are important, the customer also may be inclined to cognitively assess the price that has been paid against the service or product received, which is the basic foundation of consumer’s perceived value (Jones and Taylor 2007). Hotel Brands and Consumers Consumers of hotel services seek consistently reliable service with fair to high quality and an affordable price within their perception of affordability (Dube and Reneghan 2000). Hoteliers place strong significance towards consumer satisfaction as this impacts the hotel’s perceived brand image (Dube and Reneghan 2000). What occurs is the brand hotel begins to operate based on its quality of service by delivering service value information to the customer before the customer views or uses the service product (Bruicks, Zeithaml and Naylor 2000). This means that as consumers seek out a particular amount of service quality to fulfil the gap between their needs and the service receipt, hoteliers are simultaneously awarding service quality based statements towards their internal brand identity and external brand image (Bruicks, Zeithaml and Naylor 2000). Effectively, brand images are built with multiple brand scopes achieved, where larger hotel chains offer several brand images with their end consumer’s perception of value and quality in mind (Dube and Reneghan 2000). Thus the hotel’s brand strategy is to develop brand value based on service awareness, rather than service receipt, as well as the quality of perception in the consumer’s mind, leading towards consumer satisfaction (Aaker 1991). As brand strategy leads towards the sight unseen ideal of gaining customer satisfaction, researchers have explored that hotels with higher consumer satisfaction for a perceived high value or high quality service are less conscientious about price and promotions, but more consciences in regards to service receipt and the quality of service (Dube and Reneghan 2000). Brand strategy of hoteliers focuses on increasing operational success of their overall brand measurements, where the ideal strategic viewpoint is to gain market share from the brand strategy (Ekinci 2002). However, the hotel industry has mixed results from brand strategies and brand images (Ekinci 2002). These mixed results are due to consumer’s perceptions of the brand image and brand quality (Ekinci 2002). The divergence exists when brand growth and consumer quality perceptions create a gap between the consumer’s expected service quality from the brand identity and the consumer’s receipt of service qu ality (Ekinci 2002). Pricing and promotion models also create a gap in expectations and perceptions (Ekinci 2002). This occurs because of the market signalling theory, which explains that consumers may expect higher quality from organisations with higher market shares, which increases the demand for future business and services (Helloffs Jacobson, 1999). In the hospitality industry, as market share leaders become more visible to consumers through brand identity and brand marketing strategy, advertising messages become aligned with the high market share and high quality perceptions (Helloffs Jacobson 1999). Size of the hotel chain, amenities, desirable locations, and similar services at various locations all become part of hoteliers brand marketing strategies as they gain market share. However, there is the concern that strategic brand management may cause a negative relationship between brand image, market share, and consumer’s perceived expectations of quality (Helloffs J acobson 1999). Some studies examine that consumer’s expectations of quality increase as market share increases, yet the consumer’s satisfaction with a service decreases almost simultaneously (Helloffs Jacobson 1999). Therefore, market signalling theory, as it applies to a hospitality organisation’s externally presented brand identity, may not be the precursor to adequate consumer satisfaction and the consumer’s internal perception of the brand’s image. Hoteliers are very aware of the needs for strong consumer focus, yet multiple hospitality organisations have differing perspectives regarding the customer’s needs and perceptions. For example, hoteliers may focus on strong franchise development, based on tourism locations, and typically focus on the customer needs of service continuity, as offering the same services at each tourism franchise location (Linder 2001). However, another line of thought is that corporate development and managerial strategy, rather than the franchise consumer, is more important in building brand identity to customer awareness (Linder 2001). Thus, there is a divergence in hotelier’s management strategy between the continuity of service franchises and the value of service towards the customer. There is some evidence that hoteliers have a brand identity need to respond to the customer’s concerns of cost and quality, but also to decide the level of service continuity within the franchiseâ⠂¬â„¢s, or in the lack of franchising, to respond to the needs of quality in the consumer’s service receipt (Michael 2000). One interesting component of this relationship is that franchising actually has a negative impact on quality, but service continuity has a positive impact (Michael 2000). Thus, the consumer may expect the same service quality at each hotel location, but is not likely to receive the same level of quality at each franchise location (Michael 2000). However, when the customer’s level of perceived quality does not have a gap in service continuity between franchise or hotel locations, then there is a strong positive relationship (Michael 2000). There is a negative relationship when service quality of a particular brand image that the customer has a created a specific internal perceptions are not equivocal, leaving a gap between what the customer believed would occur in values and quality, and what the customer believed they received in value and Bertolt Brecht: Using Comedy As Political Device Bertolt Brecht: Using Comedy As Political Device Bertolt Brecht, born in Augsberg Germany 1898, was a highly influential playwright, director and innovative performance theorist, making a major contribution to dramaturgy and theatrical production that continues to be portrayed within theatres and on stage to this date. His ideas and theories regarding political theatre reject the naturalistic system put forward many years before by Konstantin Stanislavski and attempted to persuade an audience to want to make a difference in society. In his early twenties, Brecht began to have an aversion to the capitalist society he was brought up in and sought after a more equal approach to the world and people around him. This was when he began his exploration into Marxism: a political philosophy, often referred to as a form of socialism, which emphasises the importance of the class struggle in society and maintains the belief that everyone is equal. This is a viewpoint that Brecht remained loyal to throughout the rest of his life and career with a certain level of Marxist influence being noticeably present in each of his plays and productions. Marxists believe in a socialist society that does not distinguish between classes of people. Marxists tend to be working class people or the proletariat and these fellow Marxists, i.e. the proletariat, were the people Brecht intended his plays for. He wanted to use his talent within the theatre to connect with the working class people in order to change the capitalist oppression under which he lived. His plays rejected the naturalistic stage style and portrayed the world at the time in a way that would enable each spectator to adopt a critical awareness of the action they saw on stage. Brecht laid down a system of performance and production techniques in order to create an atmosphere within the theatre that would prevent the audience from hanging their brains up with their hats in the cloakroom (Anon; www.delamere-arts.com.) The use of these techniques within theatre production is now formally known as Epic Theatre. Brecht intended his theatre to be both didactical (though not dull or boring) and dialectical, and believed that in order to make an audience pay attention to what they are seeing and hearing from the stage they must be distanced from the action (i.e. the audience see the stage as a stage and the actors as actors.) Epic theatre aims to create this production of thought in the spectators, creating a distance between them and the action through the use of a technique known as verfremdungseffekt or V-effekt. Roughly translated as the making strange effect, the V-effekt is a technique which solely intends to make the audience aware they are in a theatre at all times, enabling them to adopt an attitude of inquiry and criticism in their approach to the action. The audience must at no time during an epic play be seen to be in a trance or take what they see on stage for granted. Richard Schechner (2006) claims that the best way to think of the V-effekt is as a way to drive a wedge between th e actor, the character, the staging (including blocking, design, music and any other production element) so that each is able to bounce off, and comment upon, the others. In this an actor may pay a complete disregard for the fourth wall (a naturalistic staging and acting technique) directly addressing the audience in speeches, there may also be the use of a narrator (such as the Street Singer in The Threepenny Opera), songs and explanatory placards to interrupt the action and thus distance the audience from what they are watching. Other techniques Brecht introduced to the stage included the use of Gestus, or Gestureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ with attitude (Mumford, 2008, p.54) which sees the actors conveying the intentions of a performance through tableaux, a single gesture or voice inflection. An example of this was portrayed in the National Theatres production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Holmes; 2007) which saw the governors wife, Natella smoking over the babys pram. This showed her complete lack of love and care for her child. This, in itself, maintains a distance between audience and action in that a spectator is able to see the difference between actor and character, with an actor offering personal opinion through their actions and their use of such gestures. This distancing effect can also be created, as stated by Richard Schechner (2006) previously, by other production elements including the use of harsh, bright lighting, multi-role acting, visible set changes completed by the actors themselves, the use of half -curtains and also music and songs that clash with the action, providing further comment on the action about the themes and ideas. Brecht wanted his spectators to enjoy themselves and feel comfortable within the theatre, comparing his audiences to those at a boxing match or in a public house (smoking, chatting leisurely.) Brecht insisted that, maintaining these techniques and ideas, plays should be fun and playful (Lyon Breuer, 1992, p. 95.) He believed that the use of Spass, the German word for fun, adds to the effectiveness and overall power of the political and social messages each and every one of his play emits. Research into Brechts beliefs (Eddershaw, 1996) show that criticism through fun (spass) is a vital element in Brechts notion of effective theatreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to encourage a working class audience. Brecht believed that a theatre that cannot be laughed in is a theatre to be laughed at. Humourless people are ridiculous (Brecht as cited by Bradby McCormick, 1978, p.112). He found influential examples of spass in arts such as cabaret and silent films (Brecht is said to be a big fan of silent actor C harlie Chaplin.) Comedy, as Brecht believed, is a historically bound phenomenon (Wright, 1989, p.49) that is intended for political purpose. With this in mind, Brecht used comedy as a political device within most, if not all of his plays. His dialectical theatre focuses on what would have been categorised as comedy at the time at which a play was written but has since become an anachronism (Willett Manheim, 1985, p.2). Brecht believed that: Comedy quotes what has never been natural. It is laughter at the not natural which provides the leverage to escape the ideological determinations of society. Brecht finds the source of comedy in the nature of society rather than in the nature of an individual. (Wright, 1989, p.49/50) Many believe that because of this approach to the theatre, Brechts plays (especially the use of comedy as a political device) no longer have the same affect on contemporary culture as they would have done on an audience of Brechts time. Characters he created to mock society, highlighting the class struggle and the capitalist oppression of his time appear satirical and stereotypical within modern day culture. Although, many critics maintain the belief that this use of satirical humour within the characters in his plays enhances the dialecticism of his work many others believe that without background knowledge of Brechts intentions within his theatre and instead of distancing the audience, such comedy brings them together in laughter. However, in saying this and at the time of writing his plays, Brecht was ingenious in his implementation of comedy within his plays. He did not force comedy at or onto an audience but instead used two contrasting acting styles at the side of one another, cleverly placing a down-to-earth, normal character alongside an embellished character. Both characters make political statements while one is also able to show the other character up. A good example of this can be found in The Caucasian Chalk Circle with the characters of the governors wife, Natella, drunken judge, Azdak and the peasant maid, Grusha within the scene of The Chalk Circle. Grusha maintains a sophisticated characterisation while the characters of both Natella and Azdak appear to mock the upper classes within society. This scene suggests that although Natella might have more money and be better dressed, Grusha still proves to be the better mother after all. This emphasises a strong socio-political message that materialism i.e. how much money a person has or how they look does not mean everything or even anything, it is what is inside a person that counts. As well as this, the scene also adds to the dialecticism of this particular play in that it appears to create a debate within the audience as a whole and also in the mind of the individual spectator as to who should, could and/or would be the better mother. It became well-known as Brecht delivered more and more plays and productions that he brought in comedy with a constant element of surprise, both because all was not always as it seemed on stage but also several different styles of acting were able to sit alongside each other and exist together (as shown above.) This technique acts as both a political device in showing the hierarchy within a capitalist society but also distances the audience with comedy. By using comedy, or spass, as a distancing technique whilst also highlighting the political and social messages of the play, Brecht was able to successfully achieve his aim of enabling an audience to adopt a critical awareness of what they saw on stage. This meant that the audience were more likely to leave the theatre wanting to make a change to the capitalist society that they were part of. Brechtian techniques, including his specific techniques involving comedy, are widely and very commonly used in contemporary cultural practice. However many claim that, nowadays, this is more than likely for an aesthetic value rather than to provide a political message and/or to add dialecticism to a performance or production. For example, TV crime drama programme, Hustle follows a small group of long-con artists during their everyday lives and through their work e.g. as they con other members of society out of money or possession. There is a constant hint of Brechtian influence throughout each episode with the use of Gestus (gestures such as hand movements and voice inflections that remind the viewer that they are watching con artists whilst they are at work), v-effekt (including direct address to camera and the con artists stepping out of character (i.e. the character adopted for the con) from time to time to explain their tricks to the audience) and also the use of spass within the characterisation of the victims of the cons (For example, a rich but clumsy, married businessman easily falling for and being seduced by the female of the con artists who is playing the part of another female within society). This use of spass within the piece is essential to enable the socio-political messages of each episod e to be conveyed to the audience. The con artists prove themselves to be different to what a stereotypical con artist is perceived to be in that they only con people of a higher class than themselves who are greedy, cheats and/or liars. They are portrayed as normal, down-to-earth human beings of a range of race, age, sex and colour. The characterisations of the victims of the cons they trick are generally stereotypical with each and every one of them being of a higher class (e.g. using queens English or Received Pronunciation, wearing business suits etc.) This conveys a sort of Robin Hood effect in that they are stealing from the rich but in order to teach them the lesson that they shouldnt cheat, lie etc. As described above, it is easy to see how this programme may be perceived as a contemporary example of the Brechtian use of comedy as a political device. This programme uses the general idea of spass by sending up the bad guys i.e. the members of a higher class, inviting the audie nce to laugh at these characters and also condemning what they stand for. However, as the programme is not strictly Brechtian in that the con artists are actually actors playing con artists (spectators are only made aware of this during the titles of the programme) it is questionable as to whether such Brechtian techniques were used in order to present a specific socio-political message or whether it was just for aesthetic purposes. It is also hard to tell whether the director intended to assist (Brechtian technique) or just plainly create the gaze of his/her audience Within Brechts plays and productions it is plain to see his attempt to assist the thought production or gaze within an audience i.e. how and what they interpret from the action they see on stage. Using a dialectical approach, Brechtian plays provide options and provoke debate, encouraging an audience member to create their own judgement and opinion regarding the action that they see on stage and so also critiquing how they see society around them and gaining their own understanding of it. In The Caucasian Chalk Circle, for example, a director may choose to provide the audience with other options e.g. the option for Grusha to leave baby Michael behind rather than to flee with him. This gaze between the spectator and the stage is essential and very important to Brechtian epic theatre, in order to get across any social or political message, a play is trying to convey, to the target audience i.e. a working class audience. A good contemporary stage example of this idea would be the work o f Mark Ravenhill. A very controversial playwright of the current time, Ravenhill is well-known for being highly influenced by Brecht. In his first play, Shopping and Fucking, Ravenhill set out to shock this audience to make them step back and question what they saw on stage, comparing this to the society they live in making them question that also. The play opens with a young man and woman, Robbie and Lulu, attempting to feed another young man, Mark, who is suffering or going cold turkey after attempting to quite heroin. This protagonist within the narrative also vomits on the stage. In most productions of this play the spectators are able to see the possibility of different outcomes for different characters. Using the names of a very well-known boy band called Take That as the character names within the place, this creates comedy within the piece to convey political messages as the audience will be very aware of any comparisons or contrasts that may be made between the characters o n stage and the members of the boy band. The play explores the breakdown of self value within people in society and the effect on the people since the announcement by Margaret Thatcher (1987) that there is no such thing as society. Although there is only a glimpse of Brechtian influence within the play, there is a clear socio-political message being portrayed and conveyed to the audience throughout the play. But, in saying this, we must always bear in mind that Brechtian signs and language was and is always intended to be read more than once e.g. the play (and so the socio-political message) is first read and interpreted by the actor before it is conveyed to the spectator, on stage, by the actor: what Brecht gives us to read is, by a kind of disengagement, the readers gaze, not directly the object of his reading; for this object reaches us only by the act of intellection (an alienated act) of a first reader who is already on the stage. (Barthes, 1986, p.219). However, with this being said, any interpretation of a Brechtian play made within contemporary cultural practice may prove unsuccessful in achieving Brechts official intentions due to the advance and change in society and societal values. In every play he wrote and directed, Brechts main aim was to make a change. He wanted his idea of theatre and the plays he wrote to encourage an audience to commit to social change, making them leave the theatre wanting to change the way they, and other around them, live their lives. Comedy within the theatre, to Brecht, was essential in order for him to connect with this target audience of the proletariat or working-class members of society. He found that criticism through spass was the easiest way to convey his socio-political messages in that it enabled a v-effekt, or distancing effect, between the action on stage and the audience. This gaze between the action and spectator is highly important in that, although Brecht would assist this gaze by providing the action and different options etc, he essentially wanted his spectators to make their own minds up and make their own decisions regarding what they saw on stage. However, due to the advance and change within society and societal values since Brecht wrote his plays, theories and techniques, the comedy Brecht used within his plays, has since been translated in contemporary cultural practice into a highly satirical manner, in which members of a higher class of society are mocked and stereotyped. In a modern theatre and within contemporary cultural practice, this would be more likely to bring an audience together in comedy rather than assisting the individual to adopt a critical awareness of the world that they live in. 2846