himanshu goel

10. Attention To Details- Event Logistics

2010-12-28T09:07:00.000-08:00

10. Attention To Details- Event Logistics
Most logistics theories concern the supply of products to customers. In the events industry, logistics include the efficient supply of customers to the festival product, and the supply of facilities and products to and from the event site. "In this sense, it has more in common with military logistics than modern business logistics". (McDonnell, I. et al. (1999), 210)
A careful attention to details is essential, because if part of the logistical requirements are overseen, it could have fatal consequences to the outcome of the festival. The ‘supply’ of festival visitors and sponsors is described closer in the above chapters.

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10.1 Facilities
10.1.1 Venue
The design of the venue and special safety requirements depend largely on the nature of the entertainment (also type of music from the author’s point of view), location, size and duration of the event, the existing geographical, topographical and environmental infrastructure as well as the outcome of the risk assessment. When assessing the site suitability a rough calculation of the available space for the audience, temporary structures, backstage facilities, parking space, camping areas and rendezvous points should be made. Factors that also should be considered before beginning a detailed site design are: (Cf. Health and Safety Executive, (1999), 12-13)
• Ground conditions (even and well-drained open sites are the most suitable);
• Traffic and pedestrian routes as well as emergency access and exits;
• Position and proximity of noise-sensitive buildings (to avoid complaints of neighbours while meeting bands’ sound level requirements);
• Geographical location (i.e. accessibility via public transportation, major roads, local services and facilities, distance to the next hospital etc.);
• Topography- natural features can be either a great advantage (e.g. reducing noise) or a disadvantage;
• Location and availability of services, especially water, sewage, gas, electricity and telephone cables.
After the above information is evaluated and conclusions from the risk assessment are made, all the special requirements, facilities and safety precautions for the festival can be determined, i.e. number and size of the stages, tents, barriers, sanitary facilities, first aid, concessions, entrances and exits, backstage areas, hospitality area, sight lines and viewing areas, delay towers, perimeter fencing, electricity, water supply as well as waste disposal requirements. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive, (1999), 13)

10.1.2 Temporary Structures, Barriers, Marquees And Large Tents
Temporary structures include performing stages, dance platforms, towers and masts, temporary stands and viewing platforms. "The failure of any temporary structure in a crowded, confined space could have devastating effects. It is therefore essential to plan, monitor, and erect structures using safe working practices." (Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 46)
There is a number of various regulations set by both the licensing and health and safety enforcing authorities regarding construction drawings for temporary structures, calculations, design loads, relevant test results, ground load bearing capacity and other. It is the event safety co-ordinator’s task to ensure that all activities relating to the construction of temporary structures follow safe working practices. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 46-55)
Marquees and large tents must be capable of withstanding strong winds and heavy rains. Furthermore, they should not be placed close to each other or to pedestrian and vehicle routes. Licensing authorities also require the material that tents and marquees are made from to be flame retardant, and that an adequate number of emergency exits, means for giving warning in case of fire, fire fighting equipment and emergency escape lights and signs are provided. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 57-59)
Barriers provide physical security for performers and event staff on one hand, and relieve or prevent the build up of crowd pressures on the other. The front of stage barrier, when constructed properly, enables first aid treatment from crowd pressure. The area between the front of stage barrier and the stage is called "pit" and is designed to support the work of stewards, first aiders, and paramedics. The main role of stewards in this area is to oversee the audience and to extract people of the audience who are in distress and to lift them into the "pit" area. Other types of barriers include side-stage barriers or fences, finger barriers, multiple barrier systems and other. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 40-44)

10.1.3 Production Infrastructure
The production infrastructure and the backstage requirements depend on the type, size and duration of the festival. The backstage area can include production offices, refreshment facilities, accommodation for workers and performers (that can also be distributed between backstage and main area), dressing rooms, sanitary facilities storage space, equipment, generators, first-aid posts. Usually there are separate areas for performers and for production purposes. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive, (1999), 17)
Media influences the image of a festival and its further development greatly. Thus, taking care of TV and radio crews, journalists, and photographers before, during and after the festival is of significant importance. Setting up a press office or press tent in the backstage hospitality area serves as an information and meeting point where interviews can be organised and details about the festival can be posted. Many of the media workers require close by parking facilities for their equipment. The number of media liaison workers depends again on the size, nature, duration, occupant capacity of the event as well as the expected amount of media. At music festivals with 50 000 people occupant capacity and duration of three days the minimum of media liaison workers should be ten. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive, (1999), 147-150)

10.1.4 Facilities For People With Special Needs
Facilities for wheelchair users, people who have difficulties with their walking, vision or hearing must be provided according to various regulations enforced by the concerned authorities. Such provisions include easy access and adequate means of escape, wheelchair spaces, legible signs, quality of lighting, and identified car parking. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 33-34)
Although festivals examined in this paper are not aimed at children, certain facilities must be provided for them in case they accompany adults. The fact that the festival is not suitable for children or the required age should be publicised in advance. However, temporary arrangements for the care of lost children, dedicated play areas and suitable activities for children should still be considered even if the festival is not aimed at this age group. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive, (1999), 140-141)

10.1.5 Electrical Systems, Special Effects And Pyrotechnics, Sound And Noise
If electrical installations are not installed and managed properly, serious injuries can occur through causing electric shocks and overloading of circuits that can also lead to a fire. Electrical connections and equipment need to be installed correctly according to general requirements of diverse legal regulations (e.g. in England: Electricity at Work Regulation 1989, The Institution of Electrical Engineers’ Wiring Regulations, British Standard 7671, HSE Guidance Note GS50 "Electrical Safety at places of entertainment" and other). The electrical requirements for the following need to be assessed: sited stage audio systems, stage and effect lighting, normal and emergency lighting circuits, power supply for hoists, portable tools, and other power supplies like back-up supplies for heaters, catering equipment, electric motors, incident control centre etc. Furthermore, access to diverse control systems needs to be provided i.e. to control switches and equipment, amplification equipment, special effects equipment, follow spots, and high voltage discharge lighting. The location of the main controls must be notified to the police and fire service. The compatibility of the equipment that performers from abroad use can be a problem if not considered. The event organiser should work closely with the safety co-ordinator and electrical contractor in those matters. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 61-63)
Special effects include laser displays, "strobe" lights, ultraviolet light, smoke and vapour effects, and pyrotechnics including explosive devices, fireworks and signal rockets. Some of those special effects can be harmful to the audience, performers and the event staff, which is why certain regulations need to be considered, e.g. British Standard (BS EN 60825, Radiation Safety of Laser Products, Equipment Classification, Requirements and User’s Guide). The British Standard requires, for example, that a laser safety officer should be appointed when a certain type of lasers are being used. Strobe lights can induce epilepsy, which means that if this effect is used at the festival, the audience must be warned in advance. The storage and the use of explosives are covered by different legislation and pyrotechnics should only be used at the event if the relevant licensing authority has approved them. Smoke and vapour as special effects can be produced by both solid carbon dioxide or liquid nitrogen fog machines (which is frequently being used) and fluid-based smoke machines. In high concentration, the carbon dioxide and nitrogen gasses can be dangerous, which is why tents, where those special effects are used, need to have good ventilation of the affected area. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 69-73)
At Glastonbury Festivals "to install and operate and then remove an installation of this size and complexity in the short time available, while meeting the very high standards of safety required, requires considerable planning and teamwork." (Templine Ltd., Electrical Services at Glastonbury Festival, Glastonbury Festival Resources)
Excessive sound levels are not only dangerous for the hearing of the audience and the event staff; they could also affect the integrity of structures when transmitted through the ground and staging. Sound levels must therefore be assessed, controlled and monitored. Certain areas should be marked as ear protection zones, and festival workers should be provided with information ad training as well as ear protectors. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 75-77)

10.1.6 Fire Equipment, Medical And First Aid, Information And Welfare, Sanitary Accommodations, Waste Disposal
The risk that people will become trapped by fire at a outdoor festival is low, but a fire warning system needs to be provided for temporary structures like tents and marquees. In general, portable or hand-held fire fighting equipment such as extinguishers, hose reels and fire blankets are required by any condition of licence. The provision of appropriate hand-held fire fighting equipment should be agreed at the planning stage, with the licensing authority and the fire authority. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 87-89)
The provision of adequate first aid arrangements, which needs to be approved by the licensing authority, is a key aspect considering that big crowds can cause all types of injuries, e.g. cuts, bruises, dehydration, sunstroke, hyperventilation, crushing injuries and unconsciousness. The local NHS Chief Ambulance Officer as well as first aid organisations should also be consulted regarding the ambulance and first aid requirements during the planning stage. The number of first aid staff that are required depends on the following factors: the nature of the venue and its facilities and procedures; the length of the festival; the number expected to attend; the anticipated nature of the audience, including age range and male-female ratio, behaviour, etc.; previous experience; and an approximate number of standing and seated people. The recommended number of first aiders for festivals where major audience problems are not likely to occur is 1:500 for the first 3000 attending and then 1:1000 for the remainder attending. The minimum number of first aid posts and ambulances is one post and ambulance for up to 5000 people, two posts and two ambulances for up to 10000, three posts and three ambulances for up to 20000, four posts and four ambulances for up to 60000 festival goers. Furthermore, a certain number of nurses and qualified medical practitioners are needed. At higher risk events paramedics will also be required in the pit area. Additionally, special containers for clinical waste, and a hot and cold water supply including drinking water should be provided. The main first aid post, if there is more than one post, should be connected with an external telephone line; all other posts should have an internal telephone or radio link to the main post. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 111-115)
Welfare facilities and information points vary depending on the size and type of event and can be determined by the festival risk assessment. Their contribution to the safety and well being of the audience should not be underestimated. Young or first-time festival-goers can be encountered with unknown effects of drugs which could require psychological help from competent welfare workers. These could be people who have experienced the negative effects of any kind of drug-addiction and want to share their experience in order to educate and warn younger potential users.
Research findings state that when people can not find the information or advise they are looking for, they may feel unsatisfied, discontented, or even become aggressive, which is another reason in favour of arranging adequate welfare and information points. Advance information about the site layout, advice on food and shelter, personal equipment, prohibited items, meeting-up arrangements, transport and parking are all points that can be included in a leaflet distributed at the point of sale of tickets. Additionally, site plans should be displayed at entrances, information points, car parks, first-aid points and in the event programme. Elements that should be included in site-plans are: camping areas, sanitary facilities, performance areas, exits and entrances, car parks, main roads, first-aid points, emergency services, fire points, welfare points, information points, police points, catering facilities, lost people’s meeting point, lost children’s facility, public telephones, children’s play areas, lost property, drinking water, emergency shelters, and property lock-ups. For smaller festivals a notice board can have the function of a meeting point. For larger events information and welfare points staffed with event workers should be placed near the main entrance inside the venue or at several locations depending on the size of the event. Placing lost property points next to welfare services is advantageous since people who become distressed when losing personal belongings can be helped from competent welfare workers. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 135-139)
Proper signage of the venue and the surrounding area is an invaluable factor contributing to a better orientation for festival visitors. Signs with black letters on yellow background (or white on blue) containing less than five words are supposed to be the best combination. When placing signs on traffic roads outside the venue, the local authority and highway representatives must be consulted and asked for permission.
Generally speaking, a number of aspects must be considered regarding the sanitary accommodation: number adequate to the audience size, location, access, construction and signage. In order to minimise queuing, they should not be concentrated in one place. The ratio of male-female also needs to be estimated. A recommended number of female conveniences is 1 WC per 100 females, and for males it is 1 WC for up to100 males, 2 WCs for up to 500 males, 3 WCs for up to 1000 males, and 1 WC for every additional 500 males. One wash-hand basin should be provided per 5 sanitary conveniences. Suitable sanitary accommodation must also be provided for people with disabilities. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 124-125) Glastonbury Festivals often get complaints about their sanitary accommodations, because they do not have enough water to have flush toilets. "It’s on a par with boy scout jamboree or girl scout camp… if (they)… can cope (with it) we can. It is difficult to improve without the water and mains sanitation." (Interview with Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival Resources) At the same time, WaterAid, one of their main benefiting charities, provided in 1998 African-style toe-tapping toilets to Glastonbury promoting their activities in developing countries.
Litter picking (3-4 weeks after the festival and during) at Glastonbury Festivals and waste disposal are time consuming tasks. They recycle glass, paper and tins. In 1996, the festival recovered 23 tonnes of waste for recycling despite the muddy weather, (Cf. Information pack, Glastonbury Festival Sources) which is an amazing fact considering that other festivals do not recycle at all.

10.2 Travel Arrangements
Transportation to the festival site is part of the event experience for festival goers on one hand, and it has a significant impact on road traffic and public transportation depending on the accessibility of the site and the size of the audience on the other hand. Thus, traffic marshalling, parking arrangements, sign-posting, public transportation and emergency access need to be planned carefully since they involve public safety and create the visitor’s and performer’s first and last impressions, which partly influence the quality of the festival experience.
The following aspects regarding traffic marshalling and sign-posting should be taken into consideration: working with the police and motoring organisations about signs of the routes to the festival site, the movement of the traffic and access of emergency services; contacting railway authorities and coach organisations regarding additional arrangements for shuttle services, remote car parks and train capacities; calculating a sufficient number of stewards for marshalling the traffic flows on site and directing the parking of vehicles. Furthermore, a system of entrance gate numbers and car park numbers, shuttle bus stops, emergency vehicles and motoring organization points, parking spots for taxis, telephones, and sanitary accommodation at parking areas should be set up. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 107-109)
The event organizer can encourage public transportation by agreeing special deals with coach and railway companies in order to reduce the car traffic, e.g. paying a lower rate for bus or train to and from the event with a valid festival ticket. If such agreements are made, details about the rates and valid festival tickets will have to be communicated to all concerned representatives of the transportation companies. Moreover, this kind of special deals need to be advertised well in advance, which would even support the ticket sales before the event and reduce the number of on site ticket sales.
National Express, for example, offers special coaches and fares direct to Glastonbury Festival from 46 locations around Britain for pre-paid festival entrance ticket holders. (Cf. National Express flyer, Information pack from Glastonbury Festivals)

10.3 Hospitality
Hospitality should be seen as a caring attitude towards guests ("customer care" from a marketing perspective) that helps identifying the special needs of every group of people involved in the festival, i.e. festival workers, festival goers and special guests coming from sponsors or other supporting individuals. On one hand, designing the hospitality arrangements separate for each target group could be a great advantage so the necessary attention to each group can be provided within a certain physical area that has special facilities and services for satisfying particular needs. On the other hand, this action could cause a feeling of discrimination if one target group is treated better than others. Thus, decisions about hospitality arrangements must be made with this issue in mind and should be assessed according to how they support the long-term objectives of the festival.
In business terms the hospitality industry is one of the world’s major industries, in the United States it is the second largest employer dominated mainly by chains, who operate in a highly competitive environment where aggressive marketing skills are needed to win guests. Individual companies have less chances of keeping up with this development, but they can still take over good practices and examples of the bigger co-operations, who have the money to provide comprehensive market research. Hospitality industry is made up of those businesses that either provide accommodation for the traveller, or prepare food and beverage services, or entertainment for the traveller. (Cf. Kotler et al. (1998), 773, 7-8) Since festivals provide all those services, they can also be seen as hospitality products that have a special accent on entertainment.

10.3.1 Accommodation
Camping is the main type of accommodation for members of the audience, performers, and festival workers at open-air festivals and is part of the festival experience contributing largely to a satisfying or dissatisfying event. Incorporated in the event planning it requires an adequate number of facilities and services, e.g. water supply, sanitary accommodation, catering facilities, telephones, recycling points, stewarding and medical facilities as well as fire equipment. Campsites should also have adequate lighting as well as secure accommodation where people can leave valuable articles since crime is a problem that can have a very negative impact on the festival experience. Stewards patrolling the campsite or using watchtowers to oversee the area could contribute to the prevention of uncontrolled fires and crime. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 116-117) Camping areas should be separated into sections for security reasons regarding performers as well as to ease the orientation for campers, to allow for the management of each area, to control the densities and to provide information to campers. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 113-114) Parking areas should not be too far away from camping areas and separated with appropriate fences. Providing entertainment facilities at camping areas can also influence crowd movement, e.g. a dancing tent open throughout the night will make some of the festival-goers attend the performances next day at a later point of the day.

10.3.2 Food And Beverage
Food and beverages are also part of the festival experience which is why their delivery, storage, preparation and sale need special consideration. This includes mobile catering units, catering stalls and marquees, crew catering outlets, hospitality catering, bars and other food or beverage vendors. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 76) Suppliers of food, beverage and other services and products that are chosen for the festival must offer products that meet and even exceed the needs and expectations of festival-goers.

10.3.2.1 Licenses And Permits
Food and beverages are sold in great quantities at festivals, both of which require licenses. The organiser should assure that traders deliver, store, prepare and sale all food following the appropriate laws. The sale of alcohol requires a separate licence from the licensing authority that might require certain conditions like types of containers to be used, selling hours, etc. According to the Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Pop Concerts and Similar Events, vehicles that are used for dispensing food, drinks and other products should not be moved during the actual event when people are present. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 121-122)

10.3.2.2 Water
The availability of water is a limiting factor on the audience size at all green-field events. Especially the logistics of moving big quantities of water needs to be planned carefully. Having independent water supply zones can prevent incidents with the water supply affecting the whole festival venue. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 165-166) Generally speaking, a sufficient number of drinking water outlets should be provided throughout the venue within easy reach (i.e. one outlet for every 3000 persons), especially at first aid points, and sanitary accommodations. Separate water outlets for food vendors are also essential. Additionally, free drinking water should be provided where the audience is crowded, i.e. in the front of the stage area, since people are very likely to get dehydrated even faint as a result, collapse and be trampled. Water "showers" pointed at the crowd in front of the stage area can be very refreshing and pleasant for the crowd during high temperatures and intensive crowd movements. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 121-122)
Glastonbury Festival being held on the outskirts of Pilton (which is a small village with adequate water supply for the village’s needs) requires 1 million gallons of water over a period of 5 days. Thus, additional water is being imported from a water authority reservoir by milk tankers, and a system of pipes is required in order to distribute the feed from various areas to the final delivery area. To ensure an adequate supply to all areas, the water is pumped around the system and its quality is being monitored continuously. For a week prior to the start of the festival and daily throughout the festival 20 samples a day are taken for bacteriological testing at a Certified Public Health Laboratory. The results are presented to the Environmental Health Officers who in turn resample several random points for their own testing purposes and comparison. (Cf. Hunt, R. (1995), Hunts Exhibitions Services, Glastonbury Festival Resources)

10.3.3 Four Stages Of Event Hospitality Success
The Ultimate Guide to Sport Event Management and Marketing suggests the following four stages of success regarding the event hospitality for VIPs, sponsor representatives, and other official guests. However, they can also be applied to other groups of individuals involved in the festival, i.e. the festival workers and visitors, in order to avoid the feeling of discrimination to arise. (Cf. Graham, S. et al. (1995), 83-99)
1.Stage: To identify the guests’ needs and expectations; to determine whether they are more active or passive, "Doers or Watchers," to understand their psychographic profile. The event organiser must be aware of the guests’ view of the festival in order to achieve a positive first and last impression of the event. The greatest impact on the guests is the last impression. For example an elaborate aerial firework and laser show, or special souvenirs that are handed to every departing guest can create lasting memories of the festival and induce positive word of mouth, which contributes to the event’s success, from the author’s point of view. Invitations can be considered as an expectation builder; thus, they need to be unique in their design in order to achieve a positive response from guests, but they should not promise services that are impossible to be provided.
2.Stage: Amenities are the extras that matter in order to exceed the guests’ expectations. Concierge-like assistance at separate entrances and in the venue, provision of programs and other material in order to make the guests feel well informed and important. Welcome signs in the train stations, hotels and streets, separate shuttle buses to the venue with extra service of refreshments and snacks will also contribute to a pleasant experience.
3.Stage: Observation and adjustment of a flexible hospitality program is necessary in order to ensure that the event satisfies the needs of the guests constantly, especially unexpected last minute needs. This can be achieved by observing the guests’ response to certain services, and directly asking if there are any problems. If a reception for the media is planned, the fact that journalists work long hours should be considered; food service should be made available for a longer period of time.
4.Stage: Evaluation and measurement of the event’s hospitality through directly asking the guests about suggestions for improvements, formal written evaluations, telephone interview and internal review with the event staff. The results of such surveys can be published and also send to prospective sponsors.
O’Tool concentrates on five aspects in his suggestion for a hospitality check list: (Cf. O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/hospitality.html, accessed 20/02/2000)
• Invitations: their design (that should be high quality and innovative), the method of delivery with time to reply (including hand delivery and email), invitation content including time, date, name of event, how to RSVP, directions, parking, and promotional material for the festival.
• Arrival of the guests: timing, parking arrangements, meeting and greeting (i.e. having someone to welcome the guests to the festival), reduce all waiting times (e.g. having a welcome cocktail while waiting to be booked into the accommodation).
• Amenities: have a separate area for guests (e.g. marquee or special hospitality tent), offer food and beverages with a special menu and personal service, separate, high quality viewing area of the performance with good views and facilities, special communication regarding signage and information desk.
• Gifts: tickets to the festival, souvenirs (e.g. programs, pins, T-shirts, CDs, posters), meeting the performers.
Departure: timing should not be at the same time as the audience.

10.3.4 Travel-Hospitality Packages
Special travel-hospitality packages, including travel arrangements and accommodation can be assembled by tour-operators and offered through travel agents or directly through the Internet. (Cf. Kotler et al. (1998), 9) Many tour-operators have already specialized catalogues with packages like this. Those packages need to be considered if special logistics requirements are necessary, for example additional hospitality tents, reserved camping for whole groups of people, etc. A suitable package for festivals cannot be exactly defined at this point, because it depends on all the specifications of the actual festival, its tourism infrastructure, and the attractiveness and image of the region or festival itself. A possible package would need to be assessed first for its feasibility and rentability from the tour-operators perspective with analysis of the advantages and disadvantages for festival organizers, which could easily blow up the frame of this paper. The focus of the paper is the organizational element of the festival, however the possibilities of extending its appeal through linking it with other tourism companies like tour-operators or travel agencies is given. Student travel agencies or tour-operators focused on students could be possible partners of festival organizers.

10.4 Suppliers
Subcontractors and suppliers of festivals provide food, beverages transportation, sanitary facilities, temporary structures, electrical systems, special effects and pyrotechnics, fire equipment, medical and first aid, waste disposal service. Contracting performers who provide the main component- the entertainment- are considered in the chapter ‘The Role of Event Management’.
To obtain the best terms from a supplier, several issues should be considered, e.g. the nature of the suppliers’ business, their equipment, typical payment terms within their business, etc. Furthermore, the calculation of extra charges, the deposit, close control of the purchase order, etc. also are important aspects that affect the cash flow of the event. (Cf. McDonnell, I. et al. (1999), 175) Specific conditions like date, time, and description of goods must be checked beforehand, in the planning stage. Subcontractors’ insurance regarding public liability, staff, etc. as well as specific health and safety regulations, correct council permits and payment schedules must all be checked. Logistic needs for suppliers at the event, as well as to and from the event must be determined in advance so that the facilities can be provided and arranged in a suitable set up. An overall supplier schedule avoiding clashes amongst suppliers and site on logistics must be provided with individual schedules given to suppliers showing arrival and exit times. A map of the venue should also be given to suppliers showing entrances, exits, loading docks and other facilities and specific site of interest. Additionally, a contact sheet must be given to suppliers showing communication for the day and emergency numbers. (O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/suppliers.html, accessed 20/02/2000) Suppliers of transportation for visitors, festival workers, and guests were mentioned in the previous sections of this chapter.
Glastonbury Festival receives in average 4000 applications for trading space every year, from which only less than one quarter can be given a stall. The organisers pay close attention to whether the applicants have a background of fair trading practices. Stall prices are determined by their function (e.g. fast food caterers are charged much more than craft stalls), the size of frontage, the location, the number of staff passes and the services they require. There are a number of problems that can arise after traders have arrived at the venue and their documents have been checked. For example, if traders bring different sized units than stated in their applications, having faulty electrical equipment causing circuits to short cut, traders who have underestimated the necessary number of staff. Each market has a management team to mark out and help the traders, gate staff, plain clothes security, and uniformed guards on duty at any time in the markets. To meet the needs of suppliers for grocery products, a wholesale market operates with articulated lorries delivering the supplies in the mornings. The supply of water and electricity is another big issue. Each market has several stand pipes and direct connections to caterers, eight massive 1250 kV generators which all boosts the expenses enormously. Additionally, cabling must be buried on site to link up the generators and the different requirements of 700 traders must also be met. The markets are arranged in circles, inside of which all the sanitary facilities, electrical and other services are stored. (Cf. Glastonbury Festival Markets, Glastonbury Festival Resources)

10.5 Security
10.5.1 Ticketing And Admission
Tickets for popular festivals are usually sold out well in advance. Therefore, security for ticketing with the purpose to ensure a safe collection, accounting, and deposit of funds would not be relevant for festivals that sell tickets in advance only from the authors’ point of view. However, forgery and scalping of tickets remain to be major concerns for event management officials. Thus, security workers for admissions need to be familiar with the ticket credentials and "...trained, supervised, and checked in and out of the operation to ensure fidelity... Some event mangers use a secret spectator system to catch dishonest ticketing and admissions workers committing a felonious act." (Graham, S. et al. (1995), 63-64)
According to Terry Cooksey, tickets must have at least the following data: relevant event information (e.g. name, location, time), price, seating information (which is not pertinent for most outdoor festivals), unique policies for this event (e.g. refunds, lost tickets, prohibited items), and relevant legal disclaimers (e.g. "The management reserves the right to substitute performers.") (Cf. Graham, S. et al. (1995), 128)
Many festivals, especially the ones which are over a longer period of time use plastic wrist bands for admission, which are placed on every individual’s wrist after checking the validity of tickets.

10.5.2 Access
"Venue access is a function of the design and location of transport and parking facilities and the design of access roads. Such facilities have to be able to cope with the peak demand as determined from the arrival profile." (Health and Safety Executive (1999), 16) If possible entrances and exits should be separate. The number of entrances depends on several aspects, some of which include: the directions from which people will come, the maximum number of people from each direction, the flow rate-which is determined by the design and width of entrances, as well as whether searching for harmful objects will be undertaken. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 16) The queuing time will have an impact on the festivals’ experience and on the audience’s safety, e.g. long waiting time will cause crowd surges. Thus queuing systems must be planned carefully.
Aspects which must also be considered regarding the access to the venue and to separated secure areas include: (Cf. Graham, S. et al. (1995), 129-131)
• credential procedures as well as production and distribution of passes for the various groups with different access privileges (i.e. event staff, performers, volunteers, media, audience, VIPs, sponsors),
• plan with the set up of both the various secure areas separated by fences and credentialing areas with enough space for waiting lines, security and equipment;
• credential area signage which should be both integrated with the credentialing process and inconspicuous in order to avoid attention;
• the number of security guards and event staff on each entrance; policy on scalping of tickets.
Simple credentialing procedures and clear design of passes and tickets can reduce the queuing time considerably. From the author’s point of view, the training of security guards should not only encompass the identification of credentials and steps of action in certain situations, but also polite manners of dealing with the public.
Protection of performers is provided partly by separated areas with fences and security guards on the entrances checking valid passes, as well as police officials. However, in most cases performers have their own security guards. Thus, the responsibilities of each group must be communicated clearly to the other before the event.

10.6 Summary
Logistics include the efficient supply of customers to the festival product, and the supply of facilities and products to and from the event site. Careful attention to details is essential, because if part of the logistical requirements are overseen, it could have fatal consequences to the outcome of the festival.
The design of the venue, temporary structures, electrical systems and special safety and security requirements depend largely on the nature of the entertainment, location, size and duration of the event, the existing geographical, topographical and environmental infrastructure as well as the outcome of the risk assessment.
Hospitality should be seen as a caring attitude towards guests that helps identifying the special needs of every group of people involved in the festival and providing the right facilities to cater for those needs, which includes accommodation, food and beverage, etc. Transportation to the festival site is part of the event experience for festival goers on one hand, and it has a significant impact on road traffic and public transportation depending on the accessibility of the site and the size of the audience on the other hand.
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Event Marketing

2010-12-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

Event Marketing
Definition
"Whereas marketing outside the voluntary sector generally involves clarifying customer needs and then satisfying them with appropriate products or services, arts marketing more usually involves finding the right audience for the product and bringing audience and product together. It is a matching process rather than one in which the public is simply given what it wants." (Fishel, D. (1994), 7-8) From the author’s point of view, this statement contradicts in itself, but unfortunately it is advocated by some representatives of the arts industry. Of course, there are major differences between marketing physical products and arts experience, some of which are described further in this chapter. However, the marketing process should still involve segmentation of the markets and targeting the potential groups on the basis of comprehensive market research, which serves as a source for a clear definition of their needs and motivation. Many examples in the music industry have shown that certain music styles have been created or changed in order to please the changed social needs of the audience, i.e. the "sweetening" or "softening" (Truly, D. (Spring Sem. 1999) of music genres in order to appeal to a bigger audience.
Michael Hall defines event marketing as "the function of event management that can keep in touch the event’s participants and visitors, read their needs and motivations, develop products that meet these needs, and build a communication programme which expresses the event’s purpose and objectives." (Watt, D.C. (1998), 61) The event’s objectives and purpose must be integrated in the event marketing strategy, which serves as a basis for the design of an effective marketing mix. Generally speaking, marketing is seen nowadays more as a philosophy or a way of thinking and not just as a company’s function or strategy. Creating customer value and satisfaction are the heart of marketing in the service industry. (Cf. Kotler et al. (1998), 3) Therefore, they are stressed in a separate chapter.
A further aspect which event marketing should consider is the specifications of events: they are intangible (customers feel the benefit and the enjoyment, but cannot touch it), perishable (the event experience is short-lived), inseparable (one event is associated with the next and is identified with the organiser’s reputation; the production and consumption of the arts is at the same time), consistent (customers demand consistency of the quality of services and facilities offered at the event), and finally events are not owned by anyone but they are temporarily enjoyed by many. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 61)
When using the words "event" and "marketing" together one must differ between two concepts with regard to their purpose. One concept is using an event as a marketing tool incorporated in the marketing mix of a destination in order to attract certain types of tourists and increase the name of recognition as well as the positive image of the destination. The other concept involves the design of an event-marketing mix necessary to market a festival. The latter will be stressed in this chapter. Prof. Dr. Dreyer states that the marketing actions which need to be undertaken in both cases are very alike and should focus or at least integrate the destination where the event takes place in the event’s marketing process. (Cf. Dreyer, A. (1997)) C.H.Weber says that despite the perishability of special events, effective event marketing has a great impact on the local tourism industry, which is why more and more tourist destinations use events in order to attract additional visitors. (Cf. Weber, C.H. (1996), 66)
Marketing process
According to Dreyer, the stages of the event marketing process, shown in the following figure, are analogous to the steps of the management process for the most part. The contents are slightly modified.

1. Event Marketing Process (Cf. Dreyer, A. (1997), 250)
1. Situational analysis
Internal analysis of the organisation
• Skills of the festival organisation (Strengths, Weaknesses)
• Lon-term objectives, policies and strategies of the organisation
Capabilities and willingness of other parties involved (e.g. local authorities) and administration.
Analysis of the target markets
• Market segmentation
• Competing festivals and their marketing activities
• Trends, especially changing demands and expectations
Suppliers
Environmental factors
Opportunities and Threats
• Socio-demographic trends
• Natural environment
• Technology, esp. Internet
• Government, politicians, and laws
Economy
2. Planing

a) Festival objectives and Identification of the target groups
b) Festival marketing strategy and objectives
c) Budgeting marketing expenses
d) Design of marketing-mix tools

Product Price Place Promotion
e) Organisational arrangements, action plans, time scales, etc.

3. Implementation of marketing-mix activities
e.g. press releases, design and distribution of promotional material, etc.
4. Evaluation
Reviewing marketing results using set objectives, market analysis, consumer research, promotion effectiveness studies, etc
Event marketing from an operational perspective focuses on the design of the marketing-mix. For each target group a different marketing-mix needs to be configured in order to appeal to it. Throughout the event marketing decision process information can be drawn from former experience, evaluation of the media coverage on the festival, as well as through visiting similar festivals and through market research. Market research can reduce uncertainty and therefore the risk of failure. It can also help determining an effective marketing strategy. It is vital in determining demographics and psychographics of the targeted audience, their expectations and trends, as well as price-sensitivity and promotions assessment. Moreover the likely behaviour of the audience can be determined which is important when planning for precaution against aggressive behaviour, if this kind of behaviour is expected.
The target groups for festivals can be quite varied, especially regarding their age, attitudes, profiles, awareness and perceptions. However, it must still be clearly identified in order to both approach them more effectively through appropriate messages and cater to specific needs and expectations. Target groups for a specific event may be potential performers, audience, sponsors, event staff, media, commercial sector, government agencies, and local authorities. All require differing marketing approach and positioning to obtain their support. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 65-66)
Research regarding market segmentation can be carried out using various techniques including focus groups, interviews, surveys, brainstorming and discussions, and information from trade associations. "This process must be undertaken with care, as this will be the basis of the processes that the organization will put into place. Not only can the organization confuse the wants, needs and perceptions of the various consumers, it can also influence how the customer thinks." (Ireland, T. (2000), 22) Customer expectations are also set by leading festival organisations who have implemented innovative ideas and approaches. (Cf. Ireland, T. (2000), 22)
Marketing-Mix
The marketing mix is the specific collection of actions employed by an organization to stimulate acceptance of its ideas, products, or services. (Cf. Dalrymple, D.J. et al. (1990), 5) The mix consists of functional marketing strategies regarding product/services, price, place/location, and promotion, the so called traditional 4 P’s of the marketing mix. For events there are a number of other aspects (other P’s) which should also be considered. The so-called new P’s of tourism marketing that are applicable for event marketing are as follows: (Cf. Freyer, W. (1997), 417)
• Participation and people,
• Physical evidence,
• Process,
• Packaging and programming,
• Positioning,
• Power and partnership, and
Public.
Traditional Elements (P's) Of The Marketing-Mix

Promotion
The promotion mix, a company’s total marketing communications program, includes advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and personal selling. (Kotler et al. (1998), 489)
"The risks involved in one off or first time events mean that the event manager has to be acutely aware of the tools of promotion. The audience does not have a reference point for the event other than that created by the promotion. With repeat events and festivals the audience and suppliers have at least an idea of the type of event, venue and scale. For special one off events, the promotion is strongly linked to the reputation of the organising company, sponsors and other stakeholders as well as the actual program or event content. As with all areas of event management, event promotion must be dynamic and able to respond to opportunities as they arise. Other areas of the event planning should also be able to respond to the unforeseen products of promotion." (O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/promotion.html, accessed 20/02/2000) O’Tool stresses advertising, public relations, direct marketing, word of mouth, and hospitality as the main promotional tools of event marketing.
According to David Watt the most important aspects for the promotion of an event are advertising, media relations, publicity, merchandising, pamphlets, posters, logo and displays. An appropriate logo can have a considerable impact on the public image and merchandising revenues. It should reflect the event, pass on what it is about, be attractive and eye-catching, portray an event image, give relevant messages, and be preferably colourful. A mascot is also related to image and can help to promote the event in various ways. "Well-targeted, cost-effective advertising can make the difference between success and failure." A successful advertising campaign has several key features: (Watt, D.C. (1998), 66-69)
• Promote awareness of the event,
• Pass on knowledge of relevant event details,
• Encourage the desire to participate in or attend the event,
• Promote the conviction that the event is worthwhile,
• Aim to establish attendance patterns in the long run for future events,
• Encourage the decision that turns the interest into attendance or participation,
• Promote the event image and logo,
• Be positive and interesting to attract attention.
Advertising includes give-aways (e.g. leaflets, posters, brochures), radio (e.g. commercial, community, or national radio), Internet (e.g. web sites, e-mail), television (e.g. cable, free to air, or satellite TV), and Press advertising (e.g. in newspapers, special magazines), non-media alternatives (e.g. outdoor advertising, street banners, aerial) and other innovative advertising techniques. The advertising campaign can be carried out by an appointed Advertising Agency depending on the scale of the festival. (Cf. O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/promotion.html, accessed 20/02/2000)
Product
The product is the end result, or the festival itself. It also involves "all the ancillary contributions like programmes, presentation, quality production and customer care." (Watt, D.C. (1998), 66) Further elements of the product mix are food and beverage, entertainment, accommodation, queuing time, decoration, theme, lighting, number of service staff, degree of training, uniforms, standard of service quality, (Cf. McDonnell, I. et al. (1999), 110) cleanliness and safety.
If the product is so well known that it is sold out through Word of Mouth, the promotion campaign’s importance decreases. This aspect is supported by the statement of Michael Eavis, the organiser of Glastonbury Festivals, given to the question of how the Festival is marketed, in terms of a promotional campaign and the image that is created. He says that "There is no need (for a huge promotion campaign, ed. by author), as the festival always runs to full capacity. Adverts are placed around the country, stating when the festival is on and giving the information about what is in it…" (Interview with Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival Resources) Some marketers would say that the festival has an established brand name, since many festival goers associate the name Glastonbury with the biggest European festival even though it is originally the name of the town near by.
Price
The price must be co-ordinated with product design, distribution, and promotion decisions to form a consistent and effective marketing program. There are several factors influencing pricing decisions. Internal factors include marketing objectives, marketing-mix and strategy, costs, pricing strategy, organisation for pricing, etc. External factors include the nature of the market and demand, competition, the economical situation of the region, resellers, government, and psychological factors. "While the costs set the lower limits of prices, the market and demand set the upper limit… like any other marketing decision, pricing decisions must be buyer oriented… Effective, buyer-oriented pricing involves understanding the value that consumers place on the benefits they receive from the product. Such benefits include both actual and perceived benefits." (Kotler et al. (1998), 403-412) Thus the price must be acceptable to festival-goers. The prices for sponsorships are discussed into further detail in the chapter ‘Sources of Capital’ of this site.
There are three main foundations of pricing strategies: costs, competition, and value to the customer. This value is seen as the difference between perceived benefits and perceived costs. The benefits can be divided into core benefit (e.g. a variety of entertainment), tangible elements (help deliver the core benefit, e.g. good sound quality and appropriate viewing areas), and augmented product (additional features, e.g. decoration, food and beverage, etc.). Additionally to the ticket price, customers also perceive other elements as costs, e.g.: time (the opportunity cost of the time spent consuming the event experience compared to another leisure activity), physical efforts (travel to the event), psychic costs (social interaction), and sensory costs (unpleasant climate, decoration). There are three main pricing strategies that are used by event organisers: an operations-oriented pricing strategy, which aims to balance supply and demand and can also include discounted prices at times of low demand; revenue-oriented strategy focuses on maximising the revenue from target audiences; target market strategy emphasises on different prices for different target markets. (Cf. McDonnell, I. et al. (1999), 125-126) Glastonbury, for examples lets children in for free.
Place
Place includes the venue, accommodation, emergency access, host town, region, county, environmental conditions, geographical location. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 66) Furthermore, the venue facilities, also seen as "place" in terms of marketing, should be attractive and clean to create a quality image. The locality should be easily accessible with appropriate maps, sign-posting, parking, to make the arrival of visitors a pleasurable experience and, thus, create a positive first impression.
Place in terms of marketing also includes distribution channels of tickets. Glastonbury Festivals sell tickets via national outlets, mainly record shops and their own ticket office. (Interview with Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival Resources)
New Elements (P's) Of The Marketing-Mix
Participation And People
There are three different meanings of participation and people. Firstly, festival goers are affected by other festival goers that is part of the festival experience- to meet other people with similar interests. Secondly, the event staff who is a crucial factor in delivering a good event, especially their creativity, contributions, and their excitement when in contact with festival goers ("customer care") and other guests. Their effective teamwork is another meaning of this marketing element. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 67) It means that internal marketing in terms of creating a common basis of long-term and flexible short-term objectives is important for creating the necessary excitement and commitment, which is necessary for keeping the festival experience alive. From the author’s point of view, training the event staff (especially volunteers and security guards) as to how to deal in a friendly and competent manner with festival goers is a very inefficient method of influencing this contact (the so called ‘Moment of Truth’ in the hospitality marketing circles), which is so important for the festival experience. It is linked to certain attitudes and experience that cannot be changed easily. It is more effective to combine the personal strengths and weaknesses of every individual involved in the creation of the festival. It is also more effective to choose the right people with fitting attitudes and give them the opportunity of both creating what they want themselves, and technical training instead of trying to change their attitudes. As Groenroos has said "I think the 4 P’s of services are people, people, people, people". (Freyer, W. (1997), 416)
The third meaning of people and participation is the contact between local people and festival goers. From the author’s point of view, the hospitality of local people or their rejection can influence the festival experience on one hand and the locals’ attitude towards the event on the other. This aspect cannot be examined further due to the limits of this paper.
Physical Evidence
Physical evidence concerns the geographic location, environmental conditions, climate, ambience of the festival, noise, physical appearance of the event staff (uniforms), sign-posting, host town and other venue conditions or facilities. David Watt defines physical evidence as "place" including the above in addition to accommodation, ancillary facilities, maps, car parking, catering location, transport, emergency access, region, and county. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 66)
Process
This element, in contrast to the marketing in producing industries, defines tourism marketing as being a dynamic process that requires all marketing instruments to be integrated in a specific tourism marketing model. (Cf. Freyer, W. (1997), 416) Thus, event marketing being close to tourism marketing must also be seen as a dynamic process that goes side by side to the planning cycle, continues during and after the event and finishes with the evaluation of the marketing functional strategies. The marketing process is described in the above sections of this chapter.
Packaging And Programming
Packaging describes the way events are presented in terms of marketing and programming that includes performers, other sub-events and services as part of the festival. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 67) An open-air concert could be part of a bands’ tour which would mean that the concert is part of a touring package and all marketing activities for the concerts in different venues should be integrated. From the author’s point of view, various festivals throughout Europe that attract audiences with common preferences and needs could also be promoted with joint-marketing efforts to travellers from overseas. This would also reduce the overall marketing costs for each festival organiser.
Special travel-hospitality packages, including travel arrangements and accommodation can be assembled by tour-operators and offered through travel agents or directly through the Internet. (Cf. Kotler et al. (1998), 9) Many tour-operators have already specialized their event-tourism catalogues with packages like this. A suitable package for a certain festival depends on all the specifications of the actual festival, its tourism infrastructure, its organization with good negotiation skills, and the attractiveness and image of the region or festival. A possible package would need to be assessed first for its feasibility and rentability, which could easily blow up the frame of this paper. The focus of the paper is the organizational element of the festival, however the possibilities of extending its appeal through linking it with other tourism companies like tour-operators or travel agencies is given. Student travel agencies or tour-operators focused on students could be possible partners of open-air music festival organizers if the target is young people.
Positioning
Positioning can also be seen as a separate marketing tool. It requires activities that combine the elements price, promotion, product quality and distribution. (Cf. Freyer, W. (1997), 418) It can also be seen as ‘reputation’ meaning where the event is to be positioned in terms of consumer demand. The prominence given to the name of the festival and what that name means to customers is called branding, (Cf. McDonnell, I. et al. (1999), 110) a mixture of intangible, but valuable associations and expectations. For each target group a different positioning strategy is required

Partnership
Partnership with sponsors and other organisations is crucial in terms of funding or other ways of support. Their marketing presence can be very beneficial when designing promotional activities. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 67) The level of involvement of government agencies, especially working together with licensing bodies will influence the way various health and safety regulations are interpreted and met. A good way of developing good partnerships is taking good customer care of them in terms of hospitality, which is seen as an important marketing tool. Moreover, the interests of the various parties involved in the festival should not be opposing to avoid controversy.
Regarding the obtaining of a licence for the Glastonbury Festival, "…the fact that the festival used to support CND caused problems as many councillors (of the Mendip District Council, ed. by author) did not agree with its principles. The fact that Greenpeace is being supported in its place is causing less controversy among the locals." (Interview with Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival Resources)
Selling franchises to local people at a reduced rate also contributes to a better public image and can be seen as an economical benefit for the local community. The Glastonbury Festival’s policy is to give as many trading opportunities as possible to charitable organisations even when it would be financially considerably more beneficial to offer the sites to commercial companies... Many charities and organisations also use the festival as a forum to launch their campaigns, e.g. Greenpeace, Oxfam, Water Aid, Amnesty International and many other smaller charity groups. (Glastonbury Festival Markets, Glastonbury Festival Resources)
Public
This element of the marketing mix places a special importance on public relations. Alongside the advertising campaign, a lot of attention should be given to the public relations campaign, which seems to be one of the most cost-effective publicity tools in media. It costs less than direct mail (excluding e-mail) and TV or press advertising. (Cf. Kotler et al. (1998), 571) "PR is different from advertising in that it is not self praise but carries the strength of disinterested credibility. It communicates a more complex message than advertising. It is free but the event manager looses control over the result that is largely influenced by the journalist’s attitude towards the festival or the interests of the media company that presents the event to the public. They can have a positive or negative impact on the festival’s reputation. To this end it is important that the event manager maintains control over as much of the public relations as possible. A thorough knowledge of the media's requirements and beneficial interaction with the media personnel are sensible methods. Although PR is mostly proactive, it is important for an event to have a reactive PR strategy as part of the event risk management." (O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/promotion.html, accessed 20/02/2000)
Public relations activities for festivals can include press releases, interviews, up-dates on the festival’s homepage, and sometimes press conferences. For an effective PR campaign both a media list of suitable targeted media and a contact list as well as a club list with interested people and opinion leaders (media talent who can be contacted to support the event by making suitable comments or actions) should be prepared. Ideas about stories for the media and a media kit should be designed in order to gain continuous exposure. The main contents of a media kit are press releases, press ready photos or video footage, event program, sponsor information, interview opportunities, times and contact details of performers and media talent, press gifts such as complimentary tickets, invitations or smart hooks. (Cf. O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/promotion.html, accessed 20/02/2000) Glastonbury Festivals, for example, used to offer free press tickets to those who have written about the festival in advance. They also give a free ticket to everybody of the village of Pilton, where the festival’s grounds are, which is seen by marketers as ‘internal marketing’ that stresses the importance of involving local people in the event. Glastonbury’s public image in the media improved after it started supporting Greenpeace and Oxfam instead of the trouble causing political associations with its `80s main partner- CND, which is looked at in the overview chapter of Glastonbury on this site.
Public as a factor and as an ingredient of the marketing mix is further examined under: ‘partnerships’, ‘participation and people’ (above in this chapter); and in the following chapters about ‘Internet’; ‘Customer Care’, and ‘Hospitality’.

Multi-level marketing

2010-12-28T08:49:00.000-08:00

Multi-level marketing (MLM), (also called network marketing, direct selling, referral marketing, and pyramid selling) is a term that describes a marketing structure used by some companies as part of their overall marketing strategy. The structure is designed to create a marketing and sales force by compensating promoters of company products not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of other promoters they introduce to the company, creating a down line of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation in the form of a pyramid.
The products and company are usually marketed directly to consumers and potential business partners by means of relationship referrals and word of mouth marketing.

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MLM companies have been a frequent subject of controversy as well as the target of lawsuits. Criticisms have focused on their similarity to illegal pyramid schemes, price-fixing of products, high initial start-up costs, emphasis on recruitment of lower-tiered salespeople over actual sales, encouraging if not requiring salespeople to purchase and use the company's products, potential exploitation of personal relationships which are used as new sales and recruiting targets, complex and sometimes exaggerated compensation schemes, and cult-like techniques which some groups use to enhance their members enthusiasm and devotion. Not all MLM companies operate the same way, and MLM groups have persistently denied that their techniques are anything but legitimate business practices.
Setup
Independent, unsalaried salespeople of multi-level marketing, referred to as distributors (or associates, independent business owners, dealers, franchise owners, sales consultants, consultants, independent agents, etc.), represent the company that produces the products or provides the services they sell. They are awarded a commission based upon the volume of product sold through their own sales efforts as well as that of their downline organization.
Independent distributors develop their organizations by either building an active customer base, who buy direct from the company, or by recruiting a downline of independent distributors who also build a customer base, thereby expanding the overall organization. Additionally, distributors can also earn a profit by retailing products they purchased from the company at wholesale price.
This arrangement of distributors earning a commission based on the sales of their independent efforts as well as the leveraged sales efforts of their downline is similar to franchise arrangements where royalties are paid from the sales of individual franchise operations to the franchiser as well as to an area or regional manager. Commissions are paid to multi-level marketing distributors according to the company’s compensation plan. There can be individuals at multiple levels of the structure receiving royalties from a single person's sales.
Legality and Legitimacy
MLM businesses operate in the United States in all 50 states and in more than 100 other countries, and new businesses may use terms like "affiliate marketing" or "home-based business franchising". However, many pyramid schemes try to present themselves as legitimate MLM businesses.
The FTC states "Steer clear of multilevel marketing plans that pay commissions for recruiting new distributors. They're actually illegal pyramid schemes.
Why is pyramid dangerous?
Because plans that pay commissions for recruiting new distributors inevitably collapse when no new distributors can be recruited. And when a plan collapses, most people-except perhaps those at the very top of the pyramid-end up empty-handed.
In a 2004 United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Staff Advisory letter to the Direct Selling Association states:
Much has been made of the personal, or internal, consumption issue in recent years. In fact, the amount of internal consumption in any multi-level compensation business does not determine whether or not the FTC will consider the plan a pyramid scheme. The critical question for the FTC is whether the revenues that primarily support the commissions paid to all participants are generated from purchases of goods and services that are not simply incidental to the purchase of the right to participate in a money-making venture.
The FTC warns "Not all multilevel marketing plans are legitimate. Some are pyramid schemes. It’s best not to get involved in plans where the money you make is based primarily on the number of distributors you recruit and your sales to them, rather than on your sales to people outside the plan who intend to use the products."and states that research is your best tool and gives eight steps to follow:
• 1) Find — and study — the company’s track record.
• 2) Learn about the product
• 3) Ask questions
• 4) Understand any restrictions
• 5) Talk to other distributors (beware shills)
• 6) Consider using a friend or adviser as a neutral sounding board or for a gut check.
• 7) Take your time.
• 8) Think about whether this plan suits your talents and goals
However there are people who hold that all MLMs are nothing more than pyramid schemes even if they are legal rendering the whole issue of a particular MLM being legal moot.
Compensation plans
Companies have devised a variety of MLM compensation plans over the decades.
1. Unilevel plans This type of plan is often considered the simplest of compensation plans. As the name suggests, the plan allows a person to sponsor one line of distributors, called a "frontline." Every distributor the person sponsors is considered to be on that sponsor's frontline and there are no width limitations, meaning there is no limit to the amount of people one can sponsor in the frontline. The common goal of this plan is to recruit a large number of frontline distributors and then encourage them to do the same. This is due to the fact that commissions are normally paid out on a limited depth, which typically means sponsor can earn commissions on sales between 5 and 7 levels deep.
2. Stairstep breakaway plans This type of plan is characterized as having representatives who are responsible for both personal and group sales volumes. Volume is created by recruiting and by retailing product. Various discounts or rebates may be paid to group leaders and a group leader can be any representative with one or more downline recruits. Once predefined personal and/or group volumes are achieved, a representative moves up a commission level. This continues until the representative's sales volume reaches the top commission level and "breaks away" from their upline. From that point on, the new group is no longer considered part of his upline's group and the multi-level compensation aspect ceases. The original upline usually continues to be compensated through override commissions and other incentives.
3. Matrix plans This type of plan is similar to a Uni-Level plan, except there is also a limited number of representatives who can be placed on the first level. Recruits beyond the maximum number of first level positions allowed are automatically placed in other downline (lower level) positions. Matrix plans often have a maximum width and depth. When all positions in a representative's downline matrix are filled (maximum width and depth is reached for all participants in a matrix), a new matrix may be started. Like Uni-Level plans, representatives in a matrix earn unlimited commissions on limited levels of volume with minimal sales quotas.
4. Binary plan A binary plan is a multilevel marketing compensation plan which allows distributors to have only two front-line distributors. If a distributor sponsors more than two distributors, the excess are placed at levels below the sponsoring distributor's front-line. This "spillover" is one of the most attractive features to new distributors since they need only sponsor two distributors to participate in the compensation plan. The primary limitation is that distributors must "balance" their two downline legs to receive commissions. Balancing legs typically requires that the number of sales from one downline leg constitute no more than a specified percentage of the distributor's total sales.
5. Hybrid plan are compensation plans that are constructed using elements of more than one type of compensation plan.
Income levels
Several sources have commented on the income level of specific MLMs or MLMs in general:
• The Times: "The Government investigation claims to have revealed that just 10 per cent of Amway’s agents in Britain make any profit, with less than one in ten selling a single item of the group’s products.”
• Scheibeler, a high level "Emerald" Amway member: "UK Justice Norris found in 2008 that out of an IBO [Independent Business Owners] population of 33,000, 'only about 90 made sufficient incomes to cover the costs of actively building their business.' That's a 99.7 percent loss rate for investors."
• Newsweek: based on Mona Vie's own 2007 income disclosure statement "fewer than 1 percent qualified for commissions and of those, only 10 percent made more than $100 a week.”
• Business Students Focus on Ethics: "In the USA, the average annual income from MLM for 90% MLM members is no more than US $5,000, which is far from being a sufficient means of making a living (San Lian Life Weekly 1998)"
• USAToday: "While earning potential varies by company and sales ability, DSA says the median annual income for those in direct sales is $2,400.”
Criticism of MLM
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a decision, In re Amway Corp., in 1979 in which it indicated that multi-level marketing was not illegal per se in the United States. However, Amway was found guilty of price fixing (by requiring "independent" distributors to sell at the low price) and making exaggerated income claims.
The FTC advises that multi-level marketing organizations with greater incentives for recruitment than product sales are to be viewed skeptically. The FTC also warns that the practice of getting commissions from recruiting new members is outlawed in most states as "pyramiding".[30] In April 2006, it proposed a Business Opportunity Rule intended to require all sellers of business opportunities—including MLMs—to provide enough information to enable prospective buyers to make an informed decision about their probability of earning money. In March 2008, the FTC removed Network Marketing (MLM) companies from the proposed Business Opportunity Rule:
The revised proposal, however, would not reach multi-level marketing companies or certain companies that may have been swept inadvertently into scope of the April 2006 proposal.
Walter J. Carl stated in a 2004 Western Journal of Communication article that "MLM organizations have been described by some as cults (Butterfield, 1985), pyramid schemes (Fitzpatrick & Reynolds, 1997),[32] or organizations rife with misleading, deceptive, and unethical behavior (Carter, 1999), such as the questionable use of evangelical discourse to promote the business (Hopfl & Maddrell, 1996), and the exploitation of personal relationships for financial gain (Fitzpatrick & Reynolds, 1997).
Because of encouraging recruits to further recruit their competitors, some people have even gone so far as to say at best MLMs are nothing more than legalized pyramid schemes with one stating "Multi-level marketing companies have become an accepted and legally sanctioned form of pyramid scheme in the United States”
while another states "Multi-Level Marketing, a form of Pyramid Scheme, is not necessarily fraudulent."

List of multi-level marketing companies
• ACN Inc.
• Agel (MLM company)
• Alticor
• Amsoil
• Amway Global, also known as Quixtar
• Avon Products
• BioPerformance
• Cobra Group
• Deutsche Vermögensberatung
• Discovery Toys
• Dynamic Essentials (Company dissolved in 2003)
• Equinox International
• Excel Communications
• ENG
• Forever Living Products
• Freelife
• Fuel Freedom International
• Fund America, Inc.
• European Grouping of Marketing Professionals (GEPM) / CEDIPAC SA
• Herbalife
• Holiday Magic (Company dissolved in 1974)
• Juice Plus
• Kleeneze
• Melaleuca
• Mannatech
• Mary Kay
• Mini IQ
• MonaVie
• National Safety Associates
• Neways
• Nu Skin Enterprises
• Omegatrend
• Oriflame
• Pre-Paid Legal Services
• Primerica
• Quest International
• Sahara Care House
• Shaklee Corporation
• Stream Energy
• Success University
• Sunrider International
• Tahitian Noni International
• Telecom Plus
• The Pampered Chef
• The Southwestern Company
• United Sciences of America, Inc. (Company dissolved in 1987)
• USANA Health Sciences
• World Financial Group
• XanGo
• YourTravelBiz.com

Event marketing
"Whereas marketing outside the voluntary sector generally involves clarifying customer needs and then satisfying them with appropriate products or services, arts marketing more usually involves finding the right audience for the product and bringing audience and product together. It is a matching process rather than one in which the public is simply given what it wants." (Fishel, D. (1994), 7-8) From the author’s point of view, this statement contradicts in itself, but unfortunately it is advocated by some representatives of the arts industry. Of course, there are major differences between marketing physical products and arts experience, some of which are described further in this chapter. However, the marketing process should still involve segmentation of the markets and targeting the potential groups on the basis of comprehensive market research, which serves as a source for a clear definition of their needs and motivation. Many examples in the music industry have shown that certain music styles have been created or changed in order to please the changed social needs of the audience, i.e. the "sweetening" or "softening" (Truly, D. (Spring Sem. 1999) of music genres in order to appeal to a bigger audience.
Michael Hall defines event marketing as "the function of event management that can keep in touch the event’s participants and visitors, read their needs and motivations, develop products that meet these needs, and build a communication programme which expresses the event’s purpose and objectives." (Watt, D.C. (1998), 61) The event’s objectives and purpose must be integrated in the event marketing strategy, which serves as a basis for the design of an effective marketing mix. Generally speaking, marketing is seen nowadays more as a philosophy or a way of thinking and not just as a company’s function or strategy. Creating customer value and satisfaction are the heart of marketing in the service industry. (Cf. Kotler et al. (1998), 3) Therefore, they are stressed in a separate chapter.
A further aspect which event marketing should consider is the specifications of events: they are intangible (customers feel the benefit and the enjoyment, but cannot touch it), perishable (the event experience is short-lived), inseparable (one event is associated with the next and is identified with the organiser’s reputation; the production and consumption of the arts is at the same time), consistent (customers demand consistency of the quality of services and facilities offered at the event), and finally events are not owned by anyone but they are temporarily enjoyed by many. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 61)
When using the words "event" and "marketing" together one must differ between two concepts with regard to their purpose. One concept is using an event as a marketing tool incorporated in the marketing mix of a destination in order to attract certain types of tourists and increase the name of recognition as well as the positive image of the destination. The other concept involves the design of an event-marketing mix necessary to market a festival. The latter will be stressed in this chapter. Prof. Dr. Dreyer states that the marketing actions which need to be undertaken in both cases are very alike and should focus or at least integrate the destination where the event takes place in the event’s marketing process. (Cf. Dreyer, A. (1997)) C.H.Weber says that despite the perishability of special events, effective event marketing has a great impact on the local tourism industry, which is why more and more tourist destinations use events in order to attract additional visitors

Survey

2010-10-09T08:59:00.001-07:00

Survey

Meaning
A research technique in which information is gather from a sample of people by use of a questionnaire or interview, a method of data collection based on communication with a representative sample of individuals.
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Objectives of survey
To identify characteristics of a particular group.
To measure attitude.
To describe behavioural pattern.
To quantify certain factual information.
To provide casual explanation or to explore data.

Advantages of survey.
Survey provides quick accessing information about the population.
Survey provide inexpensive, accurate and efficient means of information.

Total error
The total error can be divided into two types. These are given below:

1. Random error
Difference between the result of a sample and the result of the census (whole population) conducted using identical procedure.

2. Systematic error
Error resulting from imperfect aspect of the research design that causes response error or from a mistakes in the execution of the research.

Systematic error can be divided into two parts.
1. Respondent error
2. Administrative error

1. Respondent error: - Surveys are based on asking for answers. If respondents cooperate and give truthful answers, a survey will likely accomplish its goal. Two problems that arise if these conditions are not meet are non-response error and response bias.

(a) Non-response error: - The statistical difference between a survey that includes only those who responded and a perfect survey that would also include those who failed to respond.
(b) Response bias: - A response bias occur when respondents tend to answer in a certain direction. Examples of response bias are acquiescence bias, extremity bias, interviewer bias, auspices bias, and social desirability bias.

Response bias can be classified in different parts. These are given below;
o Deliberate falsification
o Unconscious misrepresentation

Deliberate falsification
Occasionally some people deliberately give false answers. It is difficult to assess why people knowingly misrepresent answers. A response bias may occur when people misrepresent answers in order to appear intelligent, to conceal personal information, to avoid embarrassment, and so on.

Unconscious misrepresentation
Even when a respondent is consciously trying to be truthful and cooperative, response bias can arise from question format, question content, or some other stimulus.

There are five specific categories of response bias;
Acquiescence bias
Extremity bias
Interviewer bias
Auspices bias
Social desirability bias

Acquiescence bias
A category of response bias in which individuals have a tendency to agree with all questions or to indicate a positive connation to a new idea.
Extremity bias
A category of response bias that results because some individuals tend to use extremes when responding to questions.
Interviewer bias
Bias in the responses of subjects due to the influence of the interviewer.
Auspices bias
Bias in the responses of subjects caused by their being influenced by the organization conducting the study.
Social desirability bias
Bias in the responses of subjects caused by their desire, either conscious or unconscious, to gain prestige or to appear in a different social role.

Administrative error
An error caused by the improper administration or execution of a research task. These can be classified in different ways;
Data processing error
A category of administrative error that occurs because of incorrect entry, incorrect computer programming or other error during data analysis.
Sample selection error
An administrative error caused by improper selection of a sample.

Interviewer error
An administrative error caused by failure of an interviewer to record responses correctly.

Interviewer cheating
The practice of filling take answers of falsifying questionnaires while working as an interviewer.

problem definition

2010-10-09T08:58:00.001-07:00

Introduction
The adage “if you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there” suggests some good advice to managers and researchers. It is extremely important to define the business problem carefully because the definition determines the purpose of the research and ultimately, the research design.

Problem definition
It indicates a specific managerial decision area to be clarified or problem to be solved. It specifies research questions to be answered and the objectives of the research.
Defining a research problem involves several interrelated steps. As shown: -
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The process of problem definition

Ascertain the decision maker’s objective
Management theorist suggests that the decision maker should express his or her goals to the researcher in measurable terms. Both parties should attempt to have a clear understanding of the purpose for undertaking the research.

Understanding the background of the problem
The experienced managers know a great deal about a situation and can provide researcher with considerable background information about previous events and why those events occurred.
In the other situations, when information about what has happened previously is inadequate or when manager have trouble identifying the problem, a situation analysis in the logical first step in defining the problem.
A situation analysis involves preliminary investigation or information gathering of background information to familiarize researchers or managers with the decision area.

Isolate and identify the problem not the symptoms
Anticipating all of the decisions, of a problem is impossible for any researcher or executive. For instance, a firm may have a problem with its advertisement effectiveness. The possible cases of this problem may be low brand awareness, the wrong brand image, use of wrong media, or perhaps to a small budget. Management job is to isolate and identify the most likely cases. Certain occurrences that appear to be “the problem” may be only symptoms of a deeper problem.

Determine the unit of analysis
Defining the problem requires that the researcher determine the unit of analysis for study. The researcher must specify whether the level of investigation will focus on the collection of data about the entire organization, departments, work groups, individuals or objects. In studies of home buying, for example the husband wife dyad rather than individual typically is the unit of analysis, because the purchase decision is made jointly by husband and wife.

Determine the relevant variables
Another aspect of problem definition is identification of the key variables. The term variable is an important one in research.
A variable is defined as anything that may assume different numerical or categorical values. (Categorical variable means that has limited number of distinct values)
To address the specific problem, managers and researchers should be careful to identify all of the relevant variables that must be studied. Variables that are superfluous (not directly relevant to the problem) should not be included.
In case of casual research the term dependent variable and independent variable are frequently encountered. A DEPENDENT variable is a criterion or a variable that is to predicted or explained. INDEPENDENT variable is a variable that is expected to influence the dependent variable.

Ice berg principle
The idea that dangerous part of many business problems is neither visible or not understand by business managers.

Research proposal
A written statement of the research design that includes a statement explaining the purpose of the study and a dictated systematic outline of a particular research methodology.

Pilot study
A small scale exploratory research which uses sampling but do not apply regressed standard.

State the research questions and research objective
Both managers and researchers expect problem definitions effort to result in statements of research questions and research objectives. At the end of the problem definition stage of the research process, researchers should prepare a written statement that clarifies any ambiguity (lack of clearness) about what they hope the research will accomplish.

Research objective
The purpose of research expressed in measurable terms, the definition of what the research should accomplish.

Meaning of research

2010-10-09T08:57:00.001-07:00

Meaning of research
Research is common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. One can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation. The advance learner’s dictionary of current English lays down the meaning of research as

“a careful investigation or inquiry specially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge”.

Redman and mory define the research as a “systematized effort to gain new knowledge”.

Some people consider research as a movement, a movement from the known to the unknown.

Research is an academic activity and as such the term should be used in technical sense.
According to cifford woody research comprises defining and redefining the problem, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting, organizing, evaluating the data, making deductions and reaching conclusions and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis.

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Objective of the research
The main aim of the research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered yet.

o To gain familiarity with a phenomenon.
o To portray accurately the characteristics of the particular situation, individual or group.
o To test hypothesis of a casual relationship between variables.

Motivation in research

o Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential benefits.
o Desire to face a challenge in solving the unsolved problems.
o Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work.
o Desire to be of service to society.
o Desire to get respectability.

However, this is not an exhaustive list of factors motivating people to undertake research studies. Many more factors such as directives of government, employment conditions, curiosity about new things, desire to understand casual relationship, social thinking and awakening and the like may as motivate people to perform research operations.

Types of research

Descriptive research
Analytical research
Conceptual research
Qualitative research
Quantitative research
Empirical research
Applied research
Fundamental research
Exploratory research
Historical research
Conclusion oriented research
Decision oriented research

Criteria of good research
Sufficient detail
Purpose
Careful planned
Analysis of data
Report
Conclusions
Experienced researcher

Exploratory research

2010-10-09T08:56:00.001-07:00

Exploratory research

Introduction
Exploratory research provides qualitative data usually, Exploratory research provides greater understanding of a concept or crystallizes a problem rather than providing precise measurement. The focus of such qualitative research is not on numbers but on words on observations: - stories, visual portrayals, meaningful characterizations, interpretations and other expressive descriptions.
Exploratory research may be single research investigation or a series of informal studies intend to provide background information.

Meaning
An initial research conducted to clarify and define the nature of a problem.

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Why conduct exploratory research
There are three interrelated purposes of exploratory research.
1. Diagnosing a situation
2. Screening alternatives
3. Discovering new ideas.

Diagnosing a situation
Exploratory research diagnoses the dimensions of problems so that successive research project will be on target. It helps set priorities for research. In some cases exploratory research provides an orientation for management by gathering information on a topic with which management has little experience. Personnel research managers often conduct Exploratory research as a diagnostic tool to point out issues of employee concern or to generate possible explanations for motivational patterns.

Screening alternatives
Exploratory research may be used to determine the best alternatives because of this we need concept testing. Concept testing means is to test something that act as a proxy for a new or revised program, product or service. Typically test subjects are presented with some sort of stimulus or a description of an idea and asked if they would use it, if they like it, and so on. Concept testing means evaluating ideas by providing a “feel”. For the merits of an idea prior to the commitment of research and development, manufacturing or other company resources.

Discovering new ideas
Exploratory research is often used to generate new ideas. Perhaps factory workers have suggestions for increasing production or improving safety. Consumers may suggest new product ideas, or unthought-of problems might be identified. The Exploratory research might generate ideas that would never have occurred to the firms design staff.

Type exploratory research

 Experience surveys
 Secondary data analysis
 Case studies
 Pilot studies

Experience surveys
In attempting to understand the problems at hand, managers may discuss issues and ideas with top executives and knowledgeable managers who have had personal experience in the field. This constitutes an informal experience surveys.

Secondary data analysis
Preliminary review of data collected for another purpose to clarify issues in the early stages of a research effort.

Case studies
An exploratory research technique that intensively investigates one or a few situations similar to the researcher’s problem situation.

Pilot study
Any small scale exploratory research project that uses sampling but does not apply in regressed standard. A pilot study generates primary data, usually for qualitative analysis. This characteristic distinguish pilot studies from secondary data analysis, which gather background information. The primary data usually are collected from employees, consumers, voters etc.

The major categories of pilot studies include: -
 Focus group interviews
 Projective techniques
 Depth interviews

Focus group interviews
An unstructured, free-flowing interview with a small group of people. The primary advantages of focus group interviews are that they are relatively brief, easy to execute, quickly analyzed and inexpensive.

Projective technique
An indirect means of questioning that enables a respondent to “project” beliefs and feelings onto a third party, an inanimate object, or a task situation.
Respondents are not required to provide answers in a structured format. They are encourage to describe a situation in their own words, with little prompting by the interviewer. Individuals are expected to interpret the situation with in the context of their own experiences, attitudes, and personality and to express opinions and emotions that may be hidden from other and possible themselves. The most common projective technique in business research are words association, sentence completion, the third person technique and the thematic apperception test.

Depth interview
A relatively unstructured, extensive interview used in the primary stages of the research process.

Thematic apperception test (TAT)
A test consisting of a series of pictures shown to research subjects who are then asked to provide a description of the pictures. The researcher analyses the content of these descriptions in an effort to clarify research problem.

Words association test
In which the subject is presented with a list of words, one at a time, and asked to respond with the first word that comes to mind.

Research design

2010-10-09T08:55:00.001-07:00

Research design

Meaning of research design
A research design is the arrangement of the conditions for collections and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.

Research design is the conceptual structure with in which research is conducted;
It constitutes the blue print for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. As such the design includes an outline of what the researcher will do from writing the hypothesis is and its operational implications to the final analysis of data. The designing decisions happen to be in respect of;
o What is the study about?
o Why is the studying being made?
o Where will the study be carried out?
o What type of data is required?
o Where can the required data be found?
o What periods of time will the study include?
o What will be the sample design?
o What techniques of data collection will be used?
o How will the data be analysed?
o In what style will the report be prepared?

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Features of research design
o It is a plan that specifies the sources and type of information relevant to the research problem.
o It is a strategy specifies which approach will be used for gathering and analyzing the data.
o It also includes time and cost budgets. Since most studies are done under these two constraints.

Type of business research design
o Exploratory
o Descriptive
o Experimental

1. Exploratory research design
Initial research is conducting to clarify the nature of the problem. Why conduct exploratory research;
o Diagnose situation
o Screening alternatives
o Discovering new ideas

Diagnosing a situation
Exploratory research diagnoses the dimensions of problems so that successive research project will be on target. It helps set priorities for research. In some cases exploratory research provides an orientation for management by gathering information on a topic with which management has little experience. Personnel research managers often conduct Exploratory research as a diagnostic tool to point out issues of employee concern or to generate possible explanations for motivational patterns.

Screening alternatives
Exploratory research may be used to determine the best alternatives because of this we need concept testing. Concept testing means is to test something that act as a proxy for a new or revised program, product or service. Typically test subjects are presented with some sort of stimulus or a description of an idea and asked if they would use it, if they like it, and so on. Concept testing means evaluating ideas by providing a “feel”. For the merits of an idea prior to the commitment of research and development, manufacturing or other company resources.

Discovering new ideas
Exploratory research is often used to generate new ideas. Perhaps factory workers have suggestions for increasing production or improving safety. Consumers may suggest new product ideas, or unthought-of problems might be identified. The Exploratory research might generate ideas that would never have occurred to the firms design staff.

Type exploratory research

 Experience surveys
 Secondary data analysis
 Case studies
 Pilot studies

Experience surveys
In attempting to understand the problems at hand, managers may discuss issues and ideas with top executives and knowledgeable managers who have had personal experience in the field. This constitutes an informal experience surveys.

Secondary data analysis
Preliminary review of data collected for another purpose to clarify issues in the early stages of a research effort.

Case studies
An exploratory research technique that intensively investigates one or a few situations similar to the researcher’s problem situation.

Pilot study
Any small scale exploratory research project that uses sampling but does not apply in regressed standard. A pilot study generates primary data, usually for qualitative analysis. This characteristic distinguish pilot studies from secondary data analysis, which gather background information. The primary data usually are collected from employees, consumers, voters etc.

2. Descriptive research
Descriptive research studies are those studies which are concerned with describing the characteristics of particular or individual or of a group. The descriptive research design must make in a provision for protection against buyers and must maximize reliability.

Features
Less biasness
The research procedure must be carefully planned.

The descriptive research design in such studies must be rigid and not flexible and must focus attention on the following.
o Formulating the objective of the study.
o Designing the methods of data collection.
o Selecting the samples.
o Collecting the data.
o Processing and analysis.
o Report the findings.

Attitude

2010-10-09T08:54:00.001-07:00

Meaning
An enduring disposition to consistently respond in a given manner to various aspects of the world;
o Composed of affective
o Cognitive
o Behavioural

Cognitive
The component of attitude that represents one’s awareness and knowledge about an object.
Affective
The component of attitude that reflect one’s general feelings or emotions toward an object.
Behavioural component
The component of attitude that includes buying intentions and behavioural expectations; reflects a predisposition to action.

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Measuring scale
1. Nominal scale
A scale in which the numbers or letters assigned to objects serve as label for identification or classification. It is a measurement scale of the simplest type.

2. Ordinal scale
A scale that arrange objects or alternatives according to their magnitudes.

3. Interval scale
A scale that not only arranges objects or alternatives according to their magnitudes but also distinguish this ordered arrangement in unit of equal intervals.

4. Ratio scale
A scale having absolute rather than relative quantities and processing an absolute zero, where there is an absence of a given attitude.

Three criteria for good measurement

1. Reliability
The degree to which measures are free from error and therefore yield consistent results.

2. Validity
The ability of a scale or measuring instrument to measure what it is intended to measure. This section discuss the three basic approaches to dealing with the evaluation of validity.
(a) Face validity
Professional agreement that a scale logically appears to accurately measure what it is intend to measure.
(b) Criterion validity
The ability of some measure to correlate with other measure of the same construct.
(c) Construct validity
The ability of a measure to confirm a network of related hypothesis generated from a theory based on the concepts.

3. Sensitivity
A measurement instruments ability to accurately measure variability in stimuli or responses.
Techniques for measuring the attitude

1. Ranking
A measurement task that requires the respondents rank order a small number of activities, events or objects on the basis of overall preference or some characteristics of the stimulus.
2. Rating
A measurement task that requires the respondents to estimate the magnitude of a characteristics or quality that an object posses.
3. Sorting
A measurement technique that presents a respondent with several concepts printed on cards and requires the respondent to arrange the cards into a number of piles to classify the concept.
4. Choice
A measurement task that identifies preferences by requiring respondents to choose between two or more alternatives.

Attitude rating scale
Using rating scales to measure attitudes is perhaps the most common practice in business research. This section discuss many rating scales designed to enables respondents to report the intensity of their attitudes.

1. Simple attitude scale
Attitude scaling requires that an individual agree or disagree with a statement or respond to single question. Example: an individual might be asked to indicate whether he likes or dislikes labour unions.

2. Likert scale
A measure of attitudes designed to allow respondents to indicate how strongly they agree or disagree with carefully constructed statements that range from very positive to very negative toward an attitudinal object.

3. Semantic differential
An attitude measures consisting of a series of seven – point bipolar rating scales allowing response to a concept.
(a) Numerical
An attitude rating scale similar to a semantic differential expect that it uses numbers instead of verbal descriptions as response options to identify response positions.
(b) Constant sum scale
A measure of attitudes in which respondents are asked to divide a constant sum to indicate the relative importance of attributes.

(c) Staple scale
An attitude measures that place a single objective in the center of an even number of numerical values.

(d) Graphic rating scale
A measure of attitude consisting of a graphic continuum that allows respondents to rate an object by choosing any point on the continuum.

The planning process

2010-10-09T08:52:00.001-07:00

The planning process

1. Analysis organizational plan
2. Forecast demand for human resource
3. Forecasting supply of human resources
4. Estimating manpower gap
5. Action planning control and evaluation

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1. Analysis organizational plan
First of all, the objectives and strategic plans of the company are analyzed. Plans concerning technology, production, marketing, finance, expansion and diversification gave an idea about the volume of future work activity. It is also necessary to decide the time horizon for which human resource plans are to be prepared. The future organization structure and job design should be made clear and changes in the organization structure should be examined so as to anticipate its manpower requirements.

2. Forecasting demand for human resource
On the basis of corporate an functional plans and future activity levels, the future need of human resource in the organization are anticipated. The number of people and the skill levels needed in future depend on the production and sales budget in a manufacturing enterprise but the human resource requirements for a given level of operations vary depending upon the production technology, process, make or buy decision’s, job contents behaviour pattern’s and control system.

Techniques employed in man power forecasting are as follows: -

Managerial judgement
Under this method, enterprise managers estimate the man power requirements for their respective departments on the basis of their knowledge of expected future work load and employee efficiency. These departmental estimates are then aggregated and approved by top management.

Work study method
In this method time and motion study are used to analysis and measure the work being done with the help of such studies, standard time required per unit of work is decided. For example
Planned output for next year 50000
Standard hours per unit 2
Planned hours required 500002= 100000
Productive hours per worker in the year 2000
Number of worker required 100000/2000= 50

Span of control is 10, 5 (50/10) supervisor will be required.

Ratio trend analysis
Under this method, ratios are calculated on the basis of past data. Future ratios are calculated on the basis of time series analysis after making allowances for expected changes in organization methods and jobs. On the basis of established ratios, the demand for human resource is estimated. For example
Production level in 2006-07 50000
No of workers in 2006-07 50
Ratio 50:50000
No of supervisor in 2006-07 5
Ratio 5:50
Estimated production in 2008-09 60000 units
No of workers required 2008-09 600001/1000= 60
No of supervisor required in 2008-09 601/10= 6

Forecast supply of human resources
Every organization has two sources of supply of human resource internal and external. Internally, human resources can be obtained for certain posts through promotions and transfers as well as external is recruitment and selection etc.

Estimating manpower gaps
Net human resource requirement or manpower gaps can be identified by comparing demand forecast and supply forecast. Such comparison will reveal deficit or surplus of human resources in future. Deficit suggest the number of people to be recruited from outside whereas surplus implies redundant to redeployed or terminated. Gaps may be occurs in terms of knowledge and skills. It can be removed the training programme.

Action planning or control and evaluation
Once the manpower gaps are identified, plans are prepared to bridge these gaps. Plans to meet the surplus manpower may be redeployed in other departments and retrenchment. Deficit can be met through recruitment, selection, transfer’s and promotions.

Performance appraisal

2010-10-09T08:51:00.001-07:00

Performance appraisal
Introduction
Appraisal of performance is widely used in society. Parents evaluate their children, teachers evaluate their students and employers evaluate their employees.

Meaning
Performance appraisal is the process of assessing the performance and progress of an employee or of a group of employees on a given job and his potential for future development.
According to flippo “Performance appraisal is the systematic, periodic and impartial rating of an employee’s excellence in matters pertaining to his present job and his potential for a better job.”

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Features of performance appraisal
1. Performance appraisal is a process of consisting of a series of a steps.
2. It is the systematic examination of an employee’s strengths and weakness in terms of the job.
3. Performance appraisal is a scientific or objective study. Formal procedures are used in this study.
4. It is an ongoing or continuous process where in the evaluations are arrange periodically according to a definite plan.
5. The main purpose of Performance appraisal is to secure information necessary for making objective and correct decisions on employees.

Objectives
1. To provide feedback to employees so that they come to know where they stand and can improve their job performance.
2. To provide a valid database for personal decisions concerning placement, pay, promotion, transfer, punishment etc.
3. To diagnose strength and weakness of individuals so as to identify further training needs.
4. To provide coaching, counseling, career planning and motivation to subordinates.
5. To develop positive superior-subordinate relations and thereby reduce grievance.
6. To facilitate research in human resource planning.
7. To test the effectiveness of recruitment, selection, placement and induction programme.

Performance appraisal process (elements)

1. Establishing performance standards
The appraisal process begins with the setting up of criteria to be used for appraising the performance of employees. The criteria is specified with the help of job analysis which reveals the contents of a job. The criteria should be clear, objective and in writing. It should be discussed with the supervisors to ensure that all the relevant factors have been included. Where the output can be measured the criteria is clear. If work performance cannot be measured, the personal characteristics which contributes to employees performance must be determined. The characteristics include work quality, honesty and reliability, cooperation and teamwork, job knowledge, initiative, leadership, safety etc. these standards should be indicated on the appraisal form.

2. Communicating with the standards
The performance standards specified in the first step are communicated and explained to employees so that they come to know what is expected of them. The reaction of employees to the standards should be maintained. It necessary standards may be revised or modified in the light of feedback obtained from the employees and evaluators.

3. Measuring performance
Once the performance standards are specified and accepted, the next step is the measurement of actual performance. This requires choosing the right technique of measurement, identifying the internal and external factors influencing performance and collecting information on results achieved.

4. Comparing the actual with standards
Actual performance is compared with the predetermined performance standards. Such comparison will reveal the deviations which may be positive or negative. Positive deviations occur when the actual performance exceeds the standards. On the other hand, excess of standard performance over the actual performance represent negative.

5. Discussing the appraisal
The results of the appraisal are communicated to and discussed with the employees. Along with the deviations, the reason behind them are also analyzed discussed. Such discussion will enable an employee to know his weakness and strengths. Therefore, he will be motivated to improve himself.

6. Taking corrective actions
Through mutual discussion with employees, the steps required to improve performance are identified and initiated. Training, coaching, counseling etc. are examples of corrective actions that help to improve performance.

Problems (limitations) in performance appraisal

1. Lack of reliability
It implies stability and consistency in the measurement. Lack of consistency overtime and among different raters mat reduce the reliability of performance appraisal.

2. Incompetence
Raters may fail to evaluate performance accurated due to lack of knowledge and experience. Post appraisal interview is often handled inefficiently.

3. Negative approach
Performance appraisal loses most of its value when the focus of management is on punishment rather than on development of employees.

4. Multiple objectives
Raters may get confused due to two many objectives or unclear objectives of performace appraisal.

5. Resistance
Trade unions may resist performance appraisal on the ground that it involves discrimination among its members.

6. Lack of knowledge
The staff appraising performance of employees might not be trained and experienced enough to make correct appraisal.

Essential of good appraisal system
1. Easy to understand and administer.
2. Open and participative
3. Valid and reliable.
4. Built and incentive
5. Contain a follow-up mechanism for identifying employee’s growth needs.
6. Periodically reviewed and updated.

Models or techniques of performance appraisal

Modern techniques
1. Assessment centre
An assessment center is a group of employees drawn from different work units. Those employees work together on an assignment similar to the one they would be handling when promoted. Evaluators observe and rank the performance of all the participants. Experienced managers with proven ability serve as evaluators.
Purpose
To measure potential for first level supervision, sales and upper management positions and also for higher level of management for development purposes.
To determining individual training and development needs of employees.
To select recent college students for entry level positions.
To provide more accurate human resource planning information.
To make an early determination of potential.
To assist in implementing affirmative action goals.

Human resource accounting
Human resources are valuable asset of any organization. This asset can be valued in term of money. When competent, and well trained employees leave an organization the human asset is decreased. Under this method, performance is judged in terms of cost and contribution of employees. Cost of human resource consist of expenditure on human resource planning, recruitment, selection, induction, training and compensation etc. contribution of human resources is the money value of labour productivity or value added by human resources. Difference between cost and contribution will reflect the performance of employees.

Appraisal by results or MBO
The concept of MBO is developed by PETER DRUCKER in 1954. He called “management by objective and self control”. MBO has been defined as “a process where by the superior and subordinate managers on an organization. Jointly identify its common goals, define each individual’s major areas of responsibility in terms of result expected of him and use these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the contribution of each of its members.

360 degree appraisal technique
It involves evaluation a manager by everyone above, alongside and below him. Structured questionnaire are used to collect responses about a manager from his bosses, peers and subordinates. Several parameters relating to performance and behaviour are used in the questionnaires. The 360-degree appraisal has four integral components;
Self-appraisal
Superior appraisal
Subordinate’s appraisal
Peer appraisal

Traditional methods

Confidential reports
This is a traditional form of appraisal used in most government organization. A confidential report is a report prepared by the employee’s immediate superior. It covers the strength and weakness, main achievements and failure, personality and behaviour of the employee. It involves a lot of subjectivity because appraisal is based on impressions rather than on data.

Free from or essay method
Under this method, the evaluators writes a short essay on the employee’s performance on the basis of overall impression. The description are expected to be as factual and concrete as possible. An essay can provide a good deal of information about the employees.
Limitations
It involves bias as evaluation is not based on specific performance dimensions related to the job.
The quality of appraisal depends on the writing ability of the evaluator rather than on employee performance.
It is very time consuming method of appraisal.

Straight ranking method
In this technique, the evaluators assign relative ranks to all the employees in the same work unit doing the same job. Employees are ranked from the best to the poorest on the basis of overall performance.

Paired comparison
This is modified form of straight ranking herein, each employee is compared with all the others in pairs one at a time. The number of items an employee is judged better than the other determines his rank. Comparisons is made on the basis of overall performance.

Forced distribution
In this technique the rater is required to distribute his rating in the forms of a normal frequency distribution. The purpose is to eliminate the rater’s bias on central tendency. Here also ranking technique is used.
This method is highly simple to understand and easy to apply.
It helps to reduced bias involved in straight ranking and paired comparison.

Graphic rating scales
It is numerical scale indicating different degrees of a particular trait. The raters is given a printed form for each employee to be rated. The from contain several characteristics relating to the personality and performance of employees. Intelligence, quality of work, leadership skills, judgement etc. are some of those characteristics. The rater record his judgement on the employee’s trait on the scale. The numerical points given to an employee are added up to find out his overall performance a standing in the group.

Scales are two types
Continuous: - the degree of a trait are measured numbers ranging from 0 to 5
Whereas in a discrete or discontinuous scale appropriate boxes or squares are used.

7. Checklist
A checklist is a list of statements that describe the characteristics and performance of employees on the job. The rater checks to indicate if the behaviour of an employee is positive or negative to each statement. The performance of an employee is rated on the basis of number of positive checks. There are three type of checklist.
Simple: - where in equal importance is given to each statement.
Weighted: - in which weights are assigned to different statements to indicate their relative importance.
Forced choice: - where in five statements are given for each trait, two most descriptive statements, two least descriptive statements and one is neutral statement. The aim is to minimize the rater’s bias.

Critical incidents method
In this method, the supervisor keeps written record of critical events and how different employees behaved during such events. The rating on an employee depends on his positive or negative behaviour during these events.

Graphical appraisal method
Under this method, a group of evaluators assesses employees. The group determines the standards of performance for the job, measure actual performance of an employee, analyses the causes of poor performance and offer suggestions for improvements in future. Due to multiple evaluators personal bias is minimized but it is very time consuming.

Field review method
In this method a training officer from the human resource department interviews line supervisors to evaluate their respective subordinates. The interviewer prepares in advance the questions to be asked. By answering these questions a supervisor gives his opinions about the level of performance has subordinates.

Induction and socialization

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Induction and socialization

Introduction
Induction also called orientation, and it is design to provide a new employee with information which he or she needs to function’s comfortably and effectively in the organization.
When a new employee joins an organization, he is completely a stranger to the people, work place and the work environment. Therefore, he is likely to feel insecure, shy and nervous. In the absence of information and support there is likely to be anxiety and fear in his mind. He may undergo reality shock caused by a gap between his expectations and the real situation.

Meaning
Induction or orientation can help overcome these problems. Once an employee is selected and placed on an appropriate job, the process of familiarizing him with the job and organization begins. This process is called induction.

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Induction is “the process of receiving and welcoming an employee when he first join a company and giving him the basic information he needs to settle down quickly and happily and start work”.

The new employee is introduced to the job and the organization. The purpose of orientation is to make the new entrant feel at home and develop a sense of pride in the organization and commitment to the job. The new comer is explained his duties and responsibilities, company policies and rules, and other relevant information to get acquainted and accommodated with the organization.

“Induction is a planned introduction of employees to their jobs, their co-worker’s and the organization”.

Induction conveys three types of information: -
 General information about the daily work routine.
 A review of the organization’s history, founding further objectives, operations-product and employee contribution.
 A detailed presentation in broacher’s of the organization and policies, work rules and employee benefits.

Objectives of induction
o To help the new comer overcome his natural shyness and nervous in meeting new people in a new environment.
o The idea is to make the new people feel at home.
o Coordination will developed with co-workers.
o Make good relationship, good initial impression of a company, work supervision.
o To build up the new employee’s confidence in the organization and in himself so that he may become an efficient employee.
o To give the new comer necessary information such as location of cafeteria, toilets and locker room, rest periods and leave rules etc.

Advantages of formal induction
o Induction helps to build up a two-way channel of communication between management and workers.
o Proper induction facilities informal relations and teamwork among employees.
o Effective induction helps to integrate the new employee into the organization and to develop a sense of belonging.
o Induction is helpful in supplying information concerning the organization, the job and employee welfare facilities.
o A formal induction programme proves that the company is taking sincere interest is getting him off to a good start.

Contents of induction programme
1. Brief history and operations of the company.
2. Products and services of the company.
3. The company organization structure.
4. Location of department and employee facilities.
5. Policies and procedure of the company.
6. Rules, regulations and daily work routines.
7. Grievance procedure.
8. Safety measure.
9. Standing order and disciplinary procedure.
10. Terms and conditions of the service including wages, working hours, overtime holidays etc.
11. Suggestion schemes.
12. Benefits and services of employees.
13. Opportunities for training, promotion and transfer.

How to make induction effective
1. Make the new employee aware of the general company policies that apply to him as well as the specific work situation and requirements.
2. Determine how to present information.
3. Completion of paper work.
4. Answer any questions and clarify any doubt that the employee may have about the job and the organization.
5. Provide on-the-job instructions and counseling.
6. Keep in close touch with new employee to check back how he is doing and offer help if required.
7. Allow reasonable time to adopt to the new work environment and job demands.

Evaluation of induction programme
This programme will be evaluated from the feedback through questionnaire, follow-up interview, group discussion, that could help them to improve their performance.

Problems of orientation
An induction programme can go wrong for a number of reasons. The human resource department should try to avoid such error’s come of them there: -

1. Supervisor who is not trained.
2. Employee is overloaded with two much information in short time.
3. Employee’s mistakes can damage the company.
4. Employee may develop wrong perception’s because of short-time periods spent on each job.

Placement
After an employee has been hired and oriented, he or she must be placed in the right job. Placement is understood as the allocation of people to jobs. It is the assignment or reassignment of an employee to a new job. Placement include initial assignment of new employee promotion, transfer or demotion of present employees.

When a candidate has been selected it is logical that he or she is placed in the position that was advertised earlier.

Socialization

It is the process of adaptation. It is the process by which new employees attempt to learn and inculcate the norms and values of work roles in an organization. Learning and inculcating the norms and values of work group are necessary for proper adjustment and job performance.
1. Socialization is based on several assumptions
2. New employee suffer from anxiety and require adjustment.
3. socialization strongly affects employee programme and stability of organization.

Pre arrival stage
It recognizes that all the new recruits arrive in the organization with a set of values, norms, expectations and learning. This includes both the work to be done and the organization. For example in a business schools, student acquire certain idea’s regarding the nature of their future jobs, pay packages, and carrier progress. At the recruitment stage many organizations give job preview which helps the prospective employees to learn more about the job and the organization.

Encounter stage
When the new employees join the organization, he encounter the realities of the situation in term of his job, work culture, subordinates and peer’s. if the expectations of the individual are in the tune with the organizational realities, he adapt organization quickly. On the other hand, if there is a marked difference between expectations and realities, socialization is essential to replace his previous assumptions with realities. At the other extreme, the individual cannot recognize with the values and norms of the organization and quits the job.

Metamorphosis stage
In this stage, the new employee acquire the skills require to adjust with the values and norms of the organization. He brings necessary change in his attitude and role behaviour to suit the organization’s culture. Such changes make the employee self confident and he feels accepted by other member’s of the organization. The completion of socialization process is characterized by fellings.

Employee welfare

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Employee welfare

“Employee welfare or labour welfare means the efforts to make life worth living for workmen.”
“Labour welfare means anything done for the comfort and improvement, intellectual or social, of the employees over and above the wages paid which is not necessity of the industry”.
ARTHUR JAMES TODD.

“Workers welfare may be understood as including such services facilities and amenities which may be established in, or in the vicinity of undertakings to perform their work in healthy and congenial surroundings and to avail of facilities which improve their health and bring high morale.”

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International labour organization.
Employee welfare is in the interest of the employee, the employer and the society as a whole. Welfare measures help to counter act the negative effects of the factory system. These measures enables the employees and his family to lead a good life. Welfare facilities like housing, medical and children’s education, recreation, etc help to improve the family life of employees.

“such services, facilities and amenities as adequate canteen, rest and recreation facilities, sanitary and medical facilities, arrangements for travel to and from work and for accommodation of workers employed at a distance from their homes, and such other services, amenities and facilities, including social security measures as contribute to improve the conditions under which workers are employed.
Committee on labour welfare (1969)

Features of employee welfare
1. Comprehensive term.
2. Dynamic concept varying from country to country.
3. Legal provisions for regular wages and other economic benefits.
4. Welfare measures by government, trade unions and other agencies too.
5. Improves the working class.
6. Involves adjustment of an employee’s work life and family life to the community or social life.
7. Welfare measures may be both voluntary and statutory.
8. It ma be also known as fringe benefits and services.

Benefits or objectives of Employee welfare

1. Help to improve recruitment.
2. Improves the morale and loyalty of workers by making workforce.
3. Reduces labour turnover and absenteeism.
4. Helps to increase employee productivity of efficiency by improving their physical and mental health.
5. Improvement in material, intellectual and cultural conditions of life protects workers from social evils like drinking, gambling etc.
6. Help to improve industrial relations and industrial peace.
7. Help to improve the goodwill and public image of the enterprise.

Agencies of employee welfare

1. Central government
The central government has made elaborate provisions for the health, safety and welfare of workers under factories act, 1948, and mines act, 1952.
These acts provide for canteens, crèches, shelters, rest rooms, lunch rooms, washing facilities, etc. They also regulate the age of employment, hours of work and make provision for the appointment of labour welfare officers. The state government have been empowered to prescribe duties, qualifications and conditions of service of these welfare officers.

2. State government
Government in different states and union territories provide welfare facilities to workers. Many of them run health and family planning centers for education, vocational guidance, recreation and training of workers and other welfare centers.

3. Employers
Now a day’s employers take interest in welfare work both voluntarily and under statutory provisions. For example well equipped hospitals, schools, gymnasiums, clubs, canteens, crèches, and dispensaries, cooperative societies etc. are provided on a voluntary basis. In jute industry medical education and recreational facilities are provided by the Indian jute mills association.

4. Trade unions
In India, trade unions have done little for the welfare of the workers. But a few sound and strong unions have been the pioneers in this respect. They are Ahmedabad textile labour association and the mazdoor sabha kanpur. They provides: -

1. Dispensaries and maternity homes.
2. Schools, reading rooms, libraries, debating groups, study circles other educational measures.
3. Sports, recreation and cultural centers.
4. Cooperative stores and a cooperative bank.
5. Residential boarding house.

Other agencies
Some philanthropic, charitable and social service organizations like Bombay social service league, seva sadan society, the depressed classes mission society, the Y.M.C.E. etc. also provides educational and medical facilities.

Type of welfare services

Employee welfare services may be classified into two broad categories
INTRAMURAL
EXTRAMURAL

Statutory provisions concerning employee welfare
Employers are required to provide welfare facilities for workers under the following as follows:

THE FACTORIES ACT 1948

The welfare facilities provided under this act are as follows:
1. Adequate, suitable and clean washing facilities separately for male and female workers.
2. Facilities for storing and drying clothes.
3. Canteens, if more than 250 workers are employed.
4. Shelter, rest rooms and lunch rooms if there are more than 150 workers.
5. Welfare officer, whenever more than 500 workers are employed.

THE PLANTATION LABOUR ACT, 1951

The welfare facilities provided under this act are as follows:
1. A canteen wherever 150 or more than workers are employed.
2. A crèche, if employing 50 or more women workers.
3. Recreational facilities for the workers and their children.
4. Educational arrangements.
5. Housing facilities for every worker and his family residing in the plantation.
6. Medical aid to workers and their families.
7. Sickness allowance and maternity allowance.
8. Appointment of welfare officer in plantations employing 300 or more.

THE MINES ACT, 1952

The mines owners are required to make provisions for:
1. Crèches if 50 or more women are employed.
2. Shelters for taking food and rest, wherever 150 or more workers are employed.
3. First aid boxes for first aid room in mines employing more than 150 workers.
4. Pit head baths equipped with shower bath, sanitary and lockers etc.

THE MOTOR TRANSPORT WORKERS ACT, 1961

The welfare facilities provided under this act are as follows:
1. Canteens for prescribed standards.
2. Clean, ventilated, well lighted and comfortable rest rooms at every place where motor transport workers are required to halt at night.
3. Uniforms, raincoats to drivers, conductors and time checkers for protection against rain and cold.
4. Prescribed medical facilities.

THE CONTRACT LABOUR ACT, 1970

The welfare facilities provided under this act are as follows:
1. A canteen in every establishment employing 100 or more workers.
2. Rest rooms or other suitable alternatives accommodation where the contract labour is required.
3. Washing facilities.
4. First aid boxes.

Employee empowerment

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Employee empowerment

Empowering refers to passing an authority and responsibility. Empowerment occurs when power goes to employee who then experience a since of ownership and control over their jobs.
Empowered employees becomes “self-directed” and “self-control”. this is possible only when there is mutual trust between the superior and his subordinates. The superior has full faith that his subordinates will not do anything which is harmful to the organization. Similarly the subordinates has confidence in his superior that he will support his decisions and actions.

Definitions
“empowerment is simply gaining the power to your voice heart, to contribute to plans and decisions that affect you, to use your expertise at work to improve your performance and with it the performance of your whole organization”.

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Elements of empowerment

1. Sense of personal control over one’s immediate work situation.
2. Competence: - it means the feeling that one is capable of successfully perform a particular task. Employee will not accept responsibility for making decisions until they are confident of their abilities.
3. Meaning fullness: - it means the feeling that the task is valuable both to the organization and oneself. Employee know how their task fit into the larger scheme of things.
4. Impact: - it refers to the beliefs that one has an influence on decisions of the organization. Impact is felt when employees precise that their behaviour has caused important outcomes.

Approaches to empowerment
Helping employee achieve job mastery: - Giving training, coaching and guided experience that are required for initial success.
Allowing more control: - giving employees direction over job performance and making them accountable for the performance outcomes.
Providing successful role models: - allowing them to observe peer’s who are performing successfully on the job.
Using social reinforcement and persuasion: - giving promise, encouragement and verbal feedback to raise confidence.
Giving emotional support: - reduction of stress and anxiety through better role perception, task assistance and personal care.

Importance of empowerment

Knowledge workers
Knowledge employees are not prepared to accept the old command and control system. They want environment which provide them opportunities for exercising control over work related decision. Organization which fail to provide such opportunities continuously lose their best employees.

Cut throat competition
In order to survive and grow in competitive era, organizations must meet the needs of customers more effectively. For this purpose, cross functional working and close co-operations required. Empowerment can provide such cooperation when the customer demands rapid action it is easier to meet the demand through employee empowerment then through changes in process and technology.

Globalization
Economic liberalization and globalization one leading to downsizing and decentralization. In order to achieve coordination and control in the new economy, staff must exercise much greater responsibility.

Human resource development
Empowerment helps to reveal and utilize untapped potential of employees.

Speed and flexibility
Growing turbulence of environment requires quick response which is not possible under the old command and control model of organization functioning.
Empowerment encourages innovation and creativity on the part of staff. Empowered managers can focus more on external changes than internal problem solving.

Barriers to empowerment
Incongruent organizational culture
An authoritarian organizational culture works as an impediment to employee empowerment. In such a culture authority is centralized at the top and there is lack of meaningful sharing of authority. Most of decision’s are made at higher levels and there is lack of involvement of lower level staff. Unless this type of organizational culture empowerment cannot be effective.

Love for authority
Power hungry manager’s can not empower the staff. Such manager’s are autocratic. They want to make their importance felt in the organization. They expect their subordinates to come frequently to get their decisions approved. They maintain tight control over subordinates.

Fear of retribution by superior’s
A manager may not empower his employees if he is punished for each and every failure or mistake of his subordinates. One example is that firing a coach if the team fails to win a match.

Fear of a retribution by subordinates
Empowerment can not flourish when there is fear in the mind of subordinates that they will be punished for taking initiative.

Dependency of subordinates
Some subordinates always feel comfortable with command and control by boss. They may have external locus-of-control personality or may be under prolonged autocratic leadership. Empowerment will be difficult with such subordinates.

Making empowerment effective

(a) Impact: - When an employee feels that completion of task “will make a difference” such task has an impact on him.
(b) Competence: - when employee has the ability, skills and knowledge to perform a task, he feels the sense of competence.
(C) meaningfulness: - When an employee feels that completion of task assigned to him is worthwhile, he develops a sense of meaningfulness in the job.
(d) choice: - When an employee feels that he has freedom to make decisions and initiate actions, he experiences the sense of choice.

Corporate objective and human resource planning

2010-10-09T08:45:00.001-07:00

Corporate objective and human resource planning

Corporate objective does not mean that they only satisfy the organizational objectives as we know human resources, and organization will produce the products with the help of human resource. In order to satisfy the needs of the customers with the satisfaction of customer’s fund will be generated by which organizational objectives will be achieved.

So, we can say that for fulfilling their own objectives the company will also consider the main parties who are helpful in achieving the objectives. Thus organization have these objectives which are as follows: -
 Organizational
 Human resource
 Social objective

Organizational
o Establishing strategy
o Profit earning
o International strategic
o Organizational development

Human resource
o Working condition
o Fair wages
o Empowerment
o Industrial relation

Social objectives
o Satisfy consumers
o Offer right product
o Increase employment
o Environment management

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Human resource planning
The actual human resource process begun with estimation of the number and the type of people needed during the period. After this only people can be hired to fill the jobs. This all called human resource planning. This is the most crucial step in the overall human resource management process.

1. In simple word’s human resource planning is the process of
Forecasting an organization future demand of human resource.
From it will be supplied.
The right type of people in the right number.

2. after this human resource management department can initiate the process of recruitment and selection. Human resource planning is the sub-system in the total organization planning.

3. Organizational planning include managerial activities that sets the company objectives for the future and determine the appropriate mean’s for achieving those objectives.

4. Human resource planning facilitates the realization of the company objectives by providing the right type and the right number of personal.

5. Human resource planning is also compared to material planning that estimate the type and quality of materials and supplies need to facilitate the manufacturing activities of the organization.

6. Human resource planning variously called manpower planning, personal planning and employment planning.

Definition of human resource planning
1. Human resource planning includes the estimation of how many qualified people are necessary to carry out the assigned activities, how many people will be available, and what if anything must be done to ensure that personnel supply equal personnel demands at the appropriate point in the future.
2. Specifically human resource planning is the process by which an organization ensures that it has the right number and kind of people, at the right place, at the right time, capable of effectively and efficiently completing those tasks will help the organization achieve its over all objectives.

Human resource planning translates the organizations objectives and plan’s into the number of worker’s need to meet those objectives without a clear cut planning, estimation of an organization human resource need is replace to mere guess work.

Importance of human resource planning

Determine the future personal needs.
Creating highly talented personnel.
Protection of weaker section.
Increase investment in human resource.
Foundation of personnel function.
International strategy.

Objectives of human resource planning

To ensure optimum use of existing human resource.
To forecast future requirements for human resource.
To link human resource planning with organizational planning
To assess the surplus and shortage of human resource.
To determine the level of requirement of training.
To estimate the cost of human resource and housing needs of employee.
To provide a basis for management development programme.
To facilitate productivity bargaining.
To provide control measures to ensure that necessary human resource available as and when required.
To anticipate the impact of technology on jobs and human resources.

Factors affecting human resource planning
Type and strategy of organization.
Organizational growth cycle and planning.
Environmental uncertainties
Time horizons.
Type and quality of forecasting information.
Nature of job being filled.
Off-loading the work.

Type and strategy of organization
This factor effect the organization. Human resource planning will be influenced with the type of organization either it is manufacturing or rendering services. manufacturing concern will require more workers to complete the manufacturing activities. The strategy of organization will also effect acquisition, merger etc. will effect the human resource either need or termination of human resource. Human resource planning also effect by organization decisions like either they are proactive and reactive.

Organizational growth cycle and planning
The stage of an organization growth can have considerable influence on human resource planning. Small organization may not have personnel planning. Planning will be need when the organization enter the growth stage. A mature organization experiences less flexibility and variable, they need Human resource planning as the work force will become old so new young people be hired. At the decline stage Human resource planning takes will different focus like layoffs, retrenchment and retirement.

Environmental uncertainties
Human resource manager rarely have the privilege to operate in certain environment. All the external forces and the internal forces of the organization affect the human resource planning. Human resource manger have to deal with environmental uncertainties carefully and formulate their policy efficiently regarding recruitment, selection, training, retrenchment etc.

Time horizons
It also affect the personnel planning on one hand there are short term’s plane time spanning 6 months to 1 year and on other hand long term plan’s whose time span is 3 to 20 years.
The companies which are depend on short term plan’s- more uncertainty.
The companies depend on long term plan’s – certainty is there.

Type and quality of information
The human resource planning will be effected by type of information. It mean’s that planning about human resource. It is necessary for human resource manager to know about information which effect the planning like organization structure, product mix, budget, marketing etc. with these information human resource planning will be effected in these area’s like job analysis, retrenchment plan’s, turnover data, retrenchment sources, training and development programme etc.

Nature of jobs being filled
Personnel planners must consider the nature of jobs being filled in the organization. Job vacancies arise because of separation, promotion and the expansion strategies.
It is easy to employee shop-floor worker but managers require lot of sourcing for the requirement of managerial personnel.

Off-loading the work
Several organizations off-load part of their work to outside parties either in the firm of sub-contracting. Off-loading is a regular feature both in public as well as private sector. Most organizations have surplus labour and they do not want to the problem by hiring more people. Hence, the need of off-loading will be arises.

marketing

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What is marketing?

Marketing means profitable consumer relationships. The twofold goal of marketing is to attract new customers by promising superior value and to keep and grow the current customers by delivering satisfaction.
Wal mart has become the world largest retailer, and one of the world largest companies, by delivering on its promise, “always low price. Always”
Sound marketing is critical to the success of every organization. Large for-profit firms such as procter & gamble, Toyota, target, apple and marriott use marketing. But so do not- for-profit organizations such as colleges, hospitals, museums, symphony orchestras, and even churches.
You know a lot about marketing- it’s all around you. You see the results of the marketing in the abundance of the products in your nearby shopping mall. You see marketing in the advertisements that fill your TV screen, spice up your magazines, stuff your mailbox, or enliven your web pages. At home, at school, where you work, and where you play you see marketing in almost everything you do.

Marketing defined

Today, marketing must be understood not in the old sense of making a sale-“telling and selling”- but in the new sense of SATISFYING CUSTOMER NEEDS. If the marketer understood the customer need; develops products and services that provide superior customer value; and prices, distributes, and promotes them effectively, these product will sell easily,
In fact according to the management guru PETER DRUCKER, “the aim of marketing is to make selling unnecessary.”

Promotional mix

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Promotional mix
There are seven main aspects of a promotional mix.
These are:
• Advertising - Any paid presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Examples: Print ads, radio, television, billboard, direct mail, brochures and catalogs, signs, in-store displays, posters, motion pictures, Web pages, banner ads, and emails.
• Personal Selling - A process of helping and persuading one or more prospects to purchase a good or service or to act on any idea through the use of an oral presentation. Examples: Sales presentations, sales meetings, sales training and incentive programs for intermediary salespeople, samples, and telemarketing. Can be face-to-face or via telephone.
• Sales promotion - Media and non-media marketing communication are employed for a pre-determined, limited time to increase consumer demand, stimulate market demand or improve product availability. Examples: Coupons, sweepstakes, contests, product samples, rebates, tie-ins, self-liquidating premiums, trade shows, trade-ins, and exhibitions.
• Public relations - Paid intimate stimulation of supply for a product, service, or business unit by planting significant news about it or a favorable presentation of it in the media. Examples: Newspaper and magazine articles/reports, TVs and radio presentations, charitable contributions, speeches, issue advertising, and seminars.
• Corporate image - The Image of an organization is a crucial point in marketing. If the reputation of a company is bad, consumers are less willing to buy a product from this company as they would have been, if the company had a good image.
• Direct Marketing is often listed as a the fifth part of the marketing mix
• Exhibitions - are try-outs. You make your product, and let potential buyers try the product, this way, you know directly what people see in your product. The downside, your competitor can see exactly what you are doing.

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Steps in Developing the Promotion Mix
Because there are four distinct promotion mix components (advertising, personal selling, promotion, and publicity or public relations), each with its own unique strengths and weaknesses, developing an effective promotion mix is difficult. To facilitate this task, most companies follow a five-step decision process, which is discussed below.
1. SETTING THE PROMOTIONAL OBJECTIVES Changes in sales and market share are often used as promotional objectives, but they are a function of the entire marketing program—not just the promotional mix. An exception is where the promotion requires an immediate response, such as direct-mail advertising, coupons, and catalogues. Acceptable promotional objectives follow from the situation analysis and involve four key components: a statement defining the target audience, a statement of how some aspect(s) of the audience's perceptions, attitudes, or behavior should change, a statement of how fast such a change should occur, and a statement as to the degree of change desired. One possible promotion objective for the BMW 1994 promotion program would involve generating awareness of BMW's new models, their price, and the company's superb engineering among members of the target audiences.
2. DESIGNING THE MESSAGE Preparing a successful message is difficult—if only because of the countless ways in which it can be constructed. Yet the payouts from good messages are substantial. For example, simple changes in the wording of a print ad have been known to generate a substantial increase in sales for retail stores, mail-order houses, and direct-mail sellers. All marketing communications involve some degree of information and persuasion. Each message, for example, involves a sponsor or a brand name, which is basically informative. And each message directly or indirectly advo¬cates some change by the audience, which is basically persuasive.
3. SELECTING THE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS Channel selection is a three-step process. First, marketers decide which promotion components to use: advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, or publicity. Second, they choose the specific activities within each component. In advertising, this involves considering such media as TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, or billboards. A consumer sales promotion could consist of coupons, free samples, or premiums. Third, within each activity they must decide which specific vehicle to employ; for example, in advertising, this requires selecting a TV or radio program, while in sales promotion, they must decide about the coupon specifics—its value, size and color, message format, and how it will be delivered.
4. PREPARING THE PROMOTION BUDGET There are a number of ways to prepare the promotion budget, most of which work from the top down (i.e., managers first deter¬mine the total amount to be budgeted and then allocate various amounts to the different mix components). These budget-setting methods are discussed briefly below.
The percentage of sales method is the one most commonly used. The procedure consists of setting this year's budget as a percentage of this year's anticipated sales. Under this approach, sales determine the promotional activity versus planning to achieve some desired sales objective. Even though illogical, this method has some advantages. It is simple to calculate and is risk-adverse because spending is linked to sales.
The affordable method of budgeting is based on the premise that all necessary expenditures, such as production costs, personnel costs, and so forth, come first, and promotion receives what is left over. Thus, in good years, the firm would commit large amounts to promotion, while in bad years spend little or nothing. Of all methods considered here, the affordable method holds theleast potential for mak¬ing sound promotional decisions.
The competitive parity method sets the level of promotional spending equal to the firm's market share or larger if an attempt is being made to increase share. Thus, if the firm's market share is 20 percent, then its budget would be 20 percent of the total amount spent by the industry on promoting a given product-market entry. This method of budgeting tends to create stability in market shares among competitors and has the advantage of considering competition. Share-of-market budgeting is often used in connection with new products where the rule of thumb is to spend one and a half times the share objective at the end of the first or second year

Product life cycle

2010-10-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

Product life cycle

Contents
 Introduction
 Meaning of product life cycle
 Factors found in the concept of product life cycle
 Definitions of product life cycle
 Stages of product life cycle
 Strategies for the differing stages of the product life cycle
 Problems with product life cycle
 Factors affecting product life cycle
 Utility/ importance of product life cycle
 Conclusion

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Introduction
As a human life cycle is divided in babyhood, childhood, teenage, youth, adult, and the old age. The life of a product in the same fashion is divided in introduction, growth, maturity, and decline like the human life, no product is immortal. Every thing in this universe including each product is mortal like the human life and it comes in light with the flux of time with the passage of time. Each product vanishes from the market and is replaced by new products. For example, the lamp was replaced by lantern, electric bulb or tube. Similarly, transistor and television have taken the place of radio.

Due to life cycle each product has limited life and without bringing necessary changes that product cannot be sold indefinitely. The life cycle of a product begins when it enter the market for the ist time for sale. Gradually the demand for the product rises and reaches its climax. Slowly the demand falls it becomes obsolete in the market.

Meaning of product life cycle

product life cycle is based upon the biological life cycle. For example, a seed is planted (introduction) it begins to sprout (growth) it shoots out leaves and put down roots as it
becomes on adult (maturing) after a long period as an adult the plant begins to shrink and die out (decline).
In theory it’s the same for a product. The product life cycle gives through many phases, involves many professional disciplines, and requires many skill, tools and processes. Product life cycle has to do with the life of a product in the market with respect to business/ commercial costs and sales measures. Whereas product life cycle management has more to do with managing description and properties of a product through its development and useful life, mainly for a business/ engineering point of view.

Factors are found in the concept of product life cycle

There are some factors or point regarding product life cycle are given below:
1. Product has LIMITED LIFE CYCLE as that of man and animals.
2. life cycle of a PRODUCT BEGINS WITH THE ENTRY INTO THE MARKET and passes through the stages of market development and market maturity and ends by becoming obsolete.
3. The passing SPEED OF A PRODUCT is not the same in different stages of life cycle.
4. product sale passes through distinct stages, each passing different challenges, opportunities, and problems to the seller.
5. the beginning stage of a product increases the profit of commercial institution because the product is sold at a high price. After that due to competition price is reduced and profit decreases.
6. product requires different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing and human resource strategies in each life cycle stage.

Definitions of product life cycle

According to ARCH PATTON
“The life cycle of a product has many points of similarity with human life cycle; the product is born, grows, attain dynamic maturity then enters its declining year”.

According to Philip kotler
“The product life cycle is an attempt to recognize distinct stages in sales history of the product. The sales histories pass through four stages known as introduction, growth, maturity, and decline”.

According to lipson and darling
“product life cycle refers to those market offering in which the stages of market introduction, market growth, market saturation, market decline and market death are included”.

On the basis of above definitions it can be said that from the time of presentation of product to the time of becoming obsolete is called the life cycle of that product.

Stages of product life cycle
A new product progresses through a sequence of stages from introduction to growth, maturity and decline. This sequence is known as the product life cycle and is associated with changes in market situation, thus impacting the market strategy and the marketing mix.
The product revenue and profits can be plotted as a function of the life cycle stages as shown in the graph below:-

Introduction stage
The firm seeks to build product awareness and develop market for the product. When the product introduced, sales will be low until customers become aware of the product and its benefits. The impact on the marketing mix is as follows:

1. Product branding and quality level is established and intellectual property protection. Such as patents and trade marks are obtained.
2. pricing may be low penetration pricing to build market share rapidly, or high skim pricing to recover development costs.
3. distribution is selective until consumers show acceptance of the product.
4. promotion is aimed at innovators. As early adopters marketing communications seek to build product awareness and to educated potential consumers about the product.
5. cost high.
6. sales volume low.
7. no/ little competition- competitive manufactures
8. watch for acceptance/ segment growth losses.
9. demand has to be created.
10. customers have to prompted to try the product.
11. firms distribute its product is limited area and increases sales gradually.

Growth stage
In growth stage, the firms seek to build brand preference and increase market shares. This stage consist of following features:

1. product quality is maintained and additional features and support services may be added.
2. pricing is maintained as the firm enjoys.
3. increasing demand with little competition.
4. distribution channels are added as demand increases and customers accept the product.
5. promotion is aimed at a broader audience.
6. cost reduced due to economics of scale.
7. sales volume increases significantly.
8. profitability
9. competition begin to increase with a few new players in establishing market.
10. prices to maximize market share.
11. consumers start accepting the products due to sales promotion, advertisement etc. and sales get boost as a result of this process.
12. more attention to be paid on kind, quality, size and shape of the product.
13. efficiency in product marketing and distribution works should be increased so that the life cycle of the products increase gradually.

Maturity stage
At maturity stage, The strong growth in sales diminishes. Competition may appears with similar products. The primary objective at this point is to defined market share while maximizing profit. The stage consists of following features:

1. product features may be enhanced to differentiate the product from that of competitors.
2. pricing may be lower because of the new competition.
3. distribution becomes more intensive and incentives may be offered to encourage.
4. preference over competing products.
5. promotion emphasizes product differentiation.
6. costa are very low as you are well established in market and no need for publicity.
7. sales volume peaks.
8. increase in competitive offerings.
9. price tend to drop due to proliferation of competing products.
10. brand differentiation features diversification as each player seeks to differentiate from competition with how much product offered.
11. industrial profit goes down
12. supply for goods is more as compared to their demand.
13. competitive firms too start incurring more expenses on sales promotion.
14. advertisement expenses increase, but sales prices became less.

Decline stage
This is the last stage of the product life cycle. The sale of product becomes less at this stages because some new and advanced products make their appearance in the market. The stage consist of following features:

1. maintain the product, possibly rejuvenating it by adding new features and finding new uses.
2. harvest the product, reduce costs and continue to offer it, possibly to a loyal niche segment.
3. discontinue the product, liquidating remaining inventory or selling it to another firm that is willing to continue the product.
4. costs become counter- optimal.
5. sales volume decline or stabilize.
6. prices, profitability diminish.
7. profit become more a challenge of production/ distribution efficiency than increased sales.

The marketing mix decisions in the decline phase will depend on the selected strategy. For example the product may be changed if it is being rejuvenated, or or left unchanged. If it is being harvested or liquidated. The price may be maintain if the product is harvest, or reduced drastically if liquidated.

Strategies of product life cycle
The need for immediate profit is not a pressure. The product is promoted to create awareness. If the product has no or few competitors, a skimming pricing strategy is applied limited number of product are available in few channels of distribution.

Growth stage
Competitors are attracted into the market with very similar offering. Products become more profitable and companies from alliance, joint ventures and take each other over. Advertising spend is high and focuses upon building brand, market share tends to stabilize.

Maturity stage
Those products that survive the earlier stages tend to spend longest in this phase, sales grow at a decreasing rate and then stabilize, producers attempt to differentiate products and brands are key to this price war and intense competition occur. At this point the market reaches saturation, producers begins to leave the market due to poor margins. Promotion becomes more widespread and use a greater variety of media.

Decline stage
At this point there is downturn in the market. For example more innovative products are introduced or consumer tastes have changed. There is intensive price cutting and many more products are withdrawn from the market. Profits can be improved by reducing marketing spend and cost cutting.

Problems with product life cycle

In reality very few products follow such a prescriptive cycle. The length of each stage varies enormously. The decisions of marketers can change the stage. For example from maturity to decline by price cutting not all products go through each stage. Some go from introduction to decline and is not easy to tell which stage the product is in, remember that product life cycle like all other tools. Use it to inform your got feeling.

Rate of technical change
The life cycle of product will be long if technical changes are introduced slowly in the country while it will short if technical changes are introduced rapidly.

Rate of market acceptance
If the customers accept any product easily or fastly, the life cycle of such product shall short and it will longer if accepted slowly.

Easy of competitive entry
The life cycle of product will short if several new products are launched in the market rapidly. In the life cycle of the product shall be longer if they are launched after a long interval of time.

Rate of bearing capacity
The business undertaking having excess risk bearing capacity provide their products a longer life cycle while it is shorter in the reverse circumstances.

Economic and managerial forces
The business undertaking with strong economic and managerial powers provide their products longer life cycle and it is shorter in converse position.

Protection by patents
The spam of life cycle of the products is longer if their patent is registered and it is shorter if patent is unregistered.

Personnel strategy
Product life cycle is also affected by the personnel strategy used in marketing.

Business reputation
If the reputation is good in the market as producer of good quality products, its products will last long in the market as compared to the products of those enterprise whose goodwill is not good or which are not much known to the public.

Conclusion
Concept of product life cycle is important planning device and the firm or company can achieve expected profits by exploiting its marketing. Capacities and sources if this devices is properly utilized. It can earn profit by systematically adjustment of the rates.

A new product progress through a sequence of stages from introduction, growth, maturity and decline. This sequence is known as product life cycle and is associated with changes in the marketing situation, this impacting the market strategy and the marketing mix.

product development

2010-10-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

Introduction
Improving and updating product line is crucial for the success for any organization. Failure for an organization to change could result in a decline in sales and with competitors racing a head. The process of product development is crucial with in organization products go through the stages of their life cycle and will eventually have to be replaced.

Process of new product development

In business and engineering, new product development is the term used to describe the complete process of bringing new product or service to market. There are two parallel paths in the new product process;
 One involves the idea generation, product design and detail engineering.
 The other involves marketing research and marketing analysis.

Companies typically see new product development as the first stage in generating and commercializing new products within the overall strategic process of product life cycle. Management used to maintain or grow their market share.

The process

1. Idea generation
New product idea have to come from somewhere but where do organizations get their ideas for new product development.
Ideas for new products can be obtained from basic research using a SWOT analysis, market and consumer trends, companies research and development department, competitors, focus groups, employees, sales people, corporate spies, trade shows or ethnographic discovery method may also be used to get an sight into new product line or product features. Idea generation or brain storming of new product, service or store concepts- idea generation technique can begin when you have done OPPORUNITY ANALYSIS to support your ideas in the idea screening phase.

2. Idea screening
This process involves shifting through the idea generated above and selecting ones which are feasible and workable to develop pursing non feasible ideas can clearly be costly for the company.

The object is to eliminate unsound concepts.

The screeners must ask at least three questions;
 Will the consumer in target market benefit from the product?
 What is the size and growth forecasts of the market segments/ target market?
 What is the current or expected competitive pressure for the product idea?
 What are the industry sales and market trends the product idea is based on?
 Is it technically feasible to manufacture the product?
 Will the product be profitable when manufactured and delivered to the customer at the target price?

3. Concept development and testing
The organization may have come across what they believe to be a feasible idea, however, the idea needs to be taken to the target audience;
 What do they think about the idea?
 Will it be practical and feasible?
 Will it offers the benefit that organization hopes it?
 Will have they overlooked certain issues?
Note the idea and concept is taken to the target audience not a working prototype at this stage.

Develop the marketing and engineering details.

 Who is the target market and who is the decision maker in the purchasing process?
 What product features must be product incorporate?
 What benefits will the product provide?
 How will consumers react to the product?
 How will the product be produced most cost effectively?
 Prove feasibility through virtual computer aided rendering and rapid prototyping?
 What will it cost to produce it?

4. Business analysis
In business analysis following three types of estimate are made;
 Estimating future sales
 Estimating future costs
 Estimating future profits

Estimating future sales
For business analysis, first we estimate future sales of the product. Though, it is very difficult to forecast the sales of a product which have not yet been developed, but efforts are made to have an idea of these sales.

Estimating future costs
Different elements of the costs are analyzed. Estimating future costs of the product t o be developed provide a real base for measuring the profitability of a product.

Estimating future profits
After estimating future sales and costs of a product producer estimate future profits. It is also considered whether these profit will provide desired rate of return on capital invested or not. If not, the idea is dropped and if yes, it is finally selected.

5. Product development
Finally it is at stage that a prototype is finally produced. The prototype will clearly run through all the desired tests, and be presented to the target audience to see if changes need to be made.
Product stage development includes;
 Produce a physical prototype or mock-up.
 Test the product (and its packaging) in typical usage situations.
 Conduct focus grow customer interviews or introduce at trade show.
 Make adjustments where necessary.
 Produce an initial runoff the product and sell it in a test market area to determine customer acceptance.

6. Test marketing
It means testing the product with in a specific area. The product will be launched with in a particular region. So the marketing mix strategy can be monitored and if needed, be modified before national launch.

According to Philip kotler ” test marketing is the stage where the entire product and marketing programme is tried out for the first time in a small number of well chosen and authentic sales environments “

Reasons for testing
o To know the reaction of the consumers.
o To know the defect and alternatives.

7. Commercialization
If test marketing stage has been successful then the product will go for national launch. There are certain factors that need to be taken into consideration before a product is launched nationally. These are;
 Timing
 How the product will be launched?
 Where the product will be launched?
 Will there be a national roll out or will it be region by region?

Commercialization mainly include;
 Launch the product.
 Produce and place advertisement and other promotions.
 Fill the distribution pipelines with product.
 Critical path analysis is most useful at this stage.

Conclusion
Product development includes the technical activities of the product research, engineering and design. Product development is the process of finding out the possibilities of producing a product keeping in view the customers needs and wants. It includes the decision as to whether it would be feasible or not to produce the product and whether it would be profitable or not for the enterprise to do so. Product development also includes modification of existing products and elimination of unprofitable products.

New product is a product that is new to the manufacturer producing it even though it may have been made in same form by others.

Network and Event Marketing

2010-10-09T08:38:00.001-07:00

Event Marketing

2010-10-09T08:36:00.001-07:00

Event Marketing
Definition
"Whereas marketing outside the voluntary sector generally involves clarifying customer needs and then satisfying them with appropriate products or services, arts marketing more usually involves finding the right audience for the product and bringing audience and product together. It is a matching process rather than one in which the public is simply given what it wants." (Fishel, D. (1994), 7-8) From the author’s point of view, this statement contradicts in itself, but unfortunately it is advocated by some representatives of the arts industry. Of course, there are major differences between marketing physical products and arts experience, some of which are described further in this chapter. However, the marketing process should still involve segmentation of the markets and targeting the potential groups on the basis of comprehensive market research, which serves as a source for a clear definition of their needs and motivation. Many examples in the music industry have shown that certain music styles have been created or changed in order to please the changed social needs of the audience, i.e. the "sweetening" or "softening" (Truly, D. (Spring Sem. 1999) of music genres in order to appeal to a bigger audience.

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Michael Hall defines event marketing as "the function of event management that can keep in touch the event’s participants and visitors, read their needs and motivations, develop products that meet these needs, and build a communication programme which expresses the event’s purpose and objectives." (Watt, D.C. (1998), 61) The event’s objectives and purpose must be integrated in the event marketing strategy, which serves as a basis for the design of an effective marketing mix. Generally speaking, marketing is seen nowadays more as a philosophy or a way of thinking and not just as a company’s function or strategy. Creating customer value and satisfaction are the heart of marketing in the service industry. (Cf. Kotler et al. (1998), 3) Therefore, they are stressed in a separate chapter.
A further aspect which event marketing should consider is the specifications of events: they are intangible (customers feel the benefit and the enjoyment, but cannot touch it), perishable (the event experience is short-lived), inseparable (one event is associated with the next and is identified with the organiser’s reputation; the production and consumption of the arts is at the same time), consistent (customers demand consistency of the quality of services and facilities offered at the event), and finally events are not owned by anyone but they are temporarily enjoyed by many. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 61)
When using the words "event" and "marketing" together one must differ between two concepts with regard to their purpose. One concept is using an event as a marketing tool incorporated in the marketing mix of a destination in order to attract certain types of tourists and increase the name of recognition as well as the positive image of the destination. The other concept involves the design of an event-marketing mix necessary to market a festival. The latter will be stressed in this chapter. Prof. Dr. Dreyer states that the marketing actions which need to be undertaken in both cases are very alike and should focus or at least integrate the destination where the event takes place in the event’s marketing process. (Cf. Dreyer, A. (1997)) C.H.Weber says that despite the perishability of special events, effective event marketing has a great impact on the local tourism industry, which is why more and more tourist destinations use events in order to attract additional visitors. (Cf. Weber, C.H. (1996), 66)
Marketing process
According to Dreyer, the stages of the event marketing process, shown in the following figure, are analogous to the steps of the management process for the most part. The contents are slightly modified.
1. Event Marketing Process (Cf. Dreyer, A. (1997), 250)
1. Situational analysis
Internal analysis of the organisation
• Skills of the festival organisation (Strengths, Weaknesses)
• Lon-term objectives, policies and strategies of the organisation
Capabilities and willingness of other parties involved (e.g. local authorities) and administration.
Analysis of the target markets
• Market segmentation
• Competing festivals and their marketing activities
• Trends, especially changing demands and expectations
Suppliers
Environmental factors
Opportunities and Threats
• Socio-demographic trends
• Natural environment
• Technology, esp. Internet
• Government, politicians, and laws
Economy
2. Planing

a) Festival objectives and Identification of the target groups
b) Festival marketing strategy and objectives
c) Budgeting marketing expenses
d) Design of marketing-mix tools

Product Price Place Promotion
e) Organisational arrangements, action plans, time scales, etc.

3. Implementation of marketing-mix activities
e.g. press releases, design and distribution of promotional material, etc.
4. Evaluation
Reviewing marketing results using set objectives, market analysis, consumer research, promotion effectiveness studies, etc
Event marketing from an operational perspective focuses on the design of the marketing-mix. For each target group a different marketing-mix needs to be configured in order to appeal to it. Throughout the event marketing decision process information can be drawn from former experience, evaluation of the media coverage on the festival, as well as through visiting similar festivals and through market research. Market research can reduce uncertainty and therefore the risk of failure. It can also help determining an effective marketing strategy. It is vital in determining demographics and psychographics of the targeted audience, their expectations and trends, as well as price-sensitivity and promotions assessment. Moreover the likely behaviour of the audience can be determined which is important when planning for precaution against aggressive behaviour, if this kind of behaviour is expected.
The target groups for festivals can be quite varied, especially regarding their age, attitudes, profiles, awareness and perceptions. However, it must still be clearly identified in order to both approach them more effectively through appropriate messages and cater to specific needs and expectations. Target groups for a specific event may be potential performers, audience, sponsors, event staff, media, commercial sector, government agencies, and local authorities. All require differing marketing approach and positioning to obtain their support. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 65-66)
Research regarding market segmentation can be carried out using various techniques including focus groups, interviews, surveys, brainstorming and discussions, and information from trade associations. "This process must be undertaken with care, as this will be the basis of the processes that the organization will put into place. Not only can the organization confuse the wants, needs and perceptions of the various consumers, it can also influence how the customer thinks." (Ireland, T. (2000), 22) Customer expectations are also set by leading festival organisations who have implemented innovative ideas and approaches. (Cf. Ireland, T. (2000), 22)
Marketing-Mix
The marketing mix is the specific collection of actions employed by an organization to stimulate acceptance of its ideas, products, or services. (Cf. Dalrymple, D.J. et al. (1990), 5) The mix consists of functional marketing strategies regarding product/services, price, place/location, and promotion, the so called traditional 4 P’s of the marketing mix. For events there are a number of other aspects (other P’s) which should also be considered. The so-called new P’s of tourism marketing that are applicable for event marketing are as follows: (Cf. Freyer, W. (1997), 417)
• Participation and people,
• Physical evidence,
• Process,
• Packaging and programming,
• Positioning,
• Power and partnership, and
Public.
Traditional Elements (P's) Of The Marketing-Mix

Promotion
The promotion mix, a company’s total marketing communications program, includes advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and personal selling. (Kotler et al. (1998), 489)
"The risks involved in one off or first time events mean that the event manager has to be acutely aware of the tools of promotion. The audience does not have a reference point for the event other than that created by the promotion. With repeat events and festivals the audience and suppliers have at least an idea of the type of event, venue and scale. For special one off events, the promotion is strongly linked to the reputation of the organising company, sponsors and other stakeholders as well as the actual program or event content. As with all areas of event management, event promotion must be dynamic and able to respond to opportunities as they arise. Other areas of the event planning should also be able to respond to the unforeseen products of promotion." (O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/promotion.html, accessed 20/02/2000) O’Tool stresses advertising, public relations, direct marketing, word of mouth, and hospitality as the main promotional tools of event marketing.
According to David Watt the most important aspects for the promotion of an event are advertising, media relations, publicity, merchandising, pamphlets, posters, logo and displays. An appropriate logo can have a considerable impact on the public image and merchandising revenues. It should reflect the event, pass on what it is about, be attractive and eye-catching, portray an event image, give relevant messages, and be preferably colourful. A mascot is also related to image and can help to promote the event in various ways. "Well-targeted, cost-effective advertising can make the difference between success and failure." A successful advertising campaign has several key features: (Watt, D.C. (1998), 66-69)
• Promote awareness of the event,
• Pass on knowledge of relevant event details,
• Encourage the desire to participate in or attend the event,
• Promote the conviction that the event is worthwhile,
• Aim to establish attendance patterns in the long run for future events,
• Encourage the decision that turns the interest into attendance or participation,
• Promote the event image and logo,
• Be positive and interesting to attract attention.
Advertising includes give-aways (e.g. leaflets, posters, brochures), radio (e.g. commercial, community, or national radio), Internet (e.g. web sites, e-mail), television (e.g. cable, free to air, or satellite TV), and Press advertising (e.g. in newspapers, special magazines), non-media alternatives (e.g. outdoor advertising, street banners, aerial) and other innovative advertising techniques. The advertising campaign can be carried out by an appointed Advertising Agency depending on the scale of the festival. (Cf. O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/promotion.html, accessed 20/02/2000)
Product
The product is the end result, or the festival itself. It also involves "all the ancillary contributions like programmes, presentation, quality production and customer care." (Watt, D.C. (1998), 66) Further elements of the product mix are food and beverage, entertainment, accommodation, queuing time, decoration, theme, lighting, number of service staff, degree of training, uniforms, standard of service quality, (Cf. McDonnell, I. et al. (1999), 110) cleanliness and safety.
If the product is so well known that it is sold out through Word of Mouth, the promotion campaign’s importance decreases. This aspect is supported by the statement of Michael Eavis, the organiser of Glastonbury Festivals, given to the question of how the Festival is marketed, in terms of a promotional campaign and the image that is created. He says that "There is no need (for a huge promotion campaign, ed. by author), as the festival always runs to full capacity. Adverts are placed around the country, stating when the festival is on and giving the information about what is in it…" (Interview with Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival Resources) Some marketers would say that the festival has an established brand name, since many festival goers associate the name Glastonbury with the biggest European festival even though it is originally the name of the town near by.
Price
The price must be co-ordinated with product design, distribution, and promotion decisions to form a consistent and effective marketing program. There are several factors influencing pricing decisions. Internal factors include marketing objectives, marketing-mix and strategy, costs, pricing strategy, organisation for pricing, etc. External factors include the nature of the market and demand, competition, the economical situation of the region, resellers, government, and psychological factors. "While the costs set the lower limits of prices, the market and demand set the upper limit… like any other marketing decision, pricing decisions must be buyer oriented… Effective, buyer-oriented pricing involves understanding the value that consumers place on the benefits they receive from the product. Such benefits include both actual and perceived benefits." (Kotler et al. (1998), 403-412) Thus the price must be acceptable to festival-goers. The prices for sponsorships are discussed into further detail in the chapter ‘Sources of Capital’ of this site.
There are three main foundations of pricing strategies: costs, competition, and value to the customer. This value is seen as the difference between perceived benefits and perceived costs. The benefits can be divided into core benefit (e.g. a variety of entertainment), tangible elements (help deliver the core benefit, e.g. good sound quality and appropriate viewing areas), and augmented product (additional features, e.g. decoration, food and beverage, etc.). Additionally to the ticket price, customers also perceive other elements as costs, e.g.: time (the opportunity cost of the time spent consuming the event experience compared to another leisure activity), physical efforts (travel to the event), psychic costs (social interaction), and sensory costs (unpleasant climate, decoration). There are three main pricing strategies that are used by event organisers: an operations-oriented pricing strategy, which aims to balance supply and demand and can also include discounted prices at times of low demand; revenue-oriented strategy focuses on maximising the revenue from target audiences; target market strategy emphasises on different prices for different target markets. (Cf. McDonnell, I. et al. (1999), 125-126) Glastonbury, for examples lets children in for free.
Place
Place includes the venue, accommodation, emergency access, host town, region, county, environmental conditions, geographical location. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 66) Furthermore, the venue facilities, also seen as "place" in terms of marketing, should be attractive and clean to create a quality image. The locality should be easily accessible with appropriate maps, sign-posting, parking, to make the arrival of visitors a pleasurable experience and, thus, create a positive first impression.
Place in terms of marketing also includes distribution channels of tickets. Glastonbury Festivals sell tickets via national outlets, mainly record shops and their own ticket office. (Interview with Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival Resources)
New Elements (P's) Of The Marketing-Mix
Participation And People
There are three different meanings of participation and people. Firstly, festival goers are affected by other festival goers that is part of the festival experience- to meet other people with similar interests. Secondly, the event staff who is a crucial factor in delivering a good event, especially their creativity, contributions, and their excitement when in contact with festival goers ("customer care") and other guests. Their effective teamwork is another meaning of this marketing element. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 67) It means that internal marketing in terms of creating a common basis of long-term and flexible short-term objectives is important for creating the necessary excitement and commitment, which is necessary for keeping the festival experience alive. From the author’s point of view, training the event staff (especially volunteers and security guards) as to how to deal in a friendly and competent manner with festival goers is a very inefficient method of influencing this contact (the so called ‘Moment of Truth’ in the hospitality marketing circles), which is so important for the festival experience. It is linked to certain attitudes and experience that cannot be changed easily. It is more effective to combine the personal strengths and weaknesses of every individual involved in the creation of the festival. It is also more effective to choose the right people with fitting attitudes and give them the opportunity of both creating what they want themselves, and technical training instead of trying to change their attitudes. As Groenroos has said "I think the 4 P’s of services are people, people, people, people". (Freyer, W. (1997), 416)
The third meaning of people and participation is the contact between local people and festival goers. From the author’s point of view, the hospitality of local people or their rejection can influence the festival experience on one hand and the locals’ attitude towards the event on the other. This aspect cannot be examined further due to the limits of this paper.
Physical Evidence
Physical evidence concerns the geographic location, environmental conditions, climate, ambience of the festival, noise, physical appearance of the event staff (uniforms), sign-posting, host town and other venue conditions or facilities. David Watt defines physical evidence as "place" including the above in addition to accommodation, ancillary facilities, maps, car parking, catering location, transport, emergency access, region, and county. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 66)
Process
This element, in contrast to the marketing in producing industries, defines tourism marketing as being a dynamic process that requires all marketing instruments to be integrated in a specific tourism marketing model. (Cf. Freyer, W. (1997), 416) Thus, event marketing being close to tourism marketing must also be seen as a dynamic process that goes side by side to the planning cycle, continues during and after the event and finishes with the evaluation of the marketing functional strategies. The marketing process is described in the above sections of this chapter.
Packaging And Programming
Packaging describes the way events are presented in terms of marketing and programming that includes performers, other sub-events and services as part of the festival. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 67) An open-air concert could be part of a bands’ tour which would mean that the concert is part of a touring package and all marketing activities for the concerts in different venues should be integrated. From the author’s point of view, various festivals throughout Europe that attract audiences with common preferences and needs could also be promoted with joint-marketing efforts to travellers from overseas. This would also reduce the overall marketing costs for each festival organiser.
Special travel-hospitality packages, including travel arrangements and accommodation can be assembled by tour-operators and offered through travel agents or directly through the Internet. (Cf. Kotler et al. (1998), 9) Many tour-operators have already specialized their event-tourism catalogues with packages like this. A suitable package for a certain festival depends on all the specifications of the actual festival, its tourism infrastructure, its organization with good negotiation skills, and the attractiveness and image of the region or festival. A possible package would need to be assessed first for its feasibility and rentability, which could easily blow up the frame of this paper. The focus of the paper is the organizational element of the festival, however the possibilities of extending its appeal through linking it with other tourism companies like tour-operators or travel agencies is given. Student travel agencies or tour-operators focused on students could be possible partners of open-air music festival organizers if the target is young people.
Positioning
Positioning can also be seen as a separate marketing tool. It requires activities that combine the elements price, promotion, product quality and distribution. (Cf. Freyer, W. (1997), 418) It can also be seen as ‘reputation’ meaning where the event is to be positioned in terms of consumer demand. The prominence given to the name of the festival and what that name means to customers is called branding, (Cf. McDonnell, I. et al. (1999), 110) a mixture of intangible, but valuable associations and expectations. For each target group a different positioning strategy is required

Partnership
Partnership with sponsors and other organisations is crucial in terms of funding or other ways of support. Their marketing presence can be very beneficial when designing promotional activities. (Cf. Watt, D.C. (1998), 67) The level of involvement of government agencies, especially working together with licensing bodies will influence the way various health and safety regulations are interpreted and met. A good way of developing good partnerships is taking good customer care of them in terms of hospitality, which is seen as an important marketing tool. Moreover, the interests of the various parties involved in the festival should not be opposing to avoid controversy.
Regarding the obtaining of a licence for the Glastonbury Festival, "…the fact that the festival used to support CND caused problems as many councillors (of the Mendip District Council, ed. by author) did not agree with its principles. The fact that Greenpeace is being supported in its place is causing less controversy among the locals." (Interview with Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival Resources)
Selling franchises to local people at a reduced rate also contributes to a better public image and can be seen as an economical benefit for the local community. The Glastonbury Festival’s policy is to give as many trading opportunities as possible to charitable organisations even when it would be financially considerably more beneficial to offer the sites to commercial companies... Many charities and organisations also use the festival as a forum to launch their campaigns, e.g. Greenpeace, Oxfam, Water Aid, Amnesty International and many other smaller charity groups. (Glastonbury Festival Markets, Glastonbury Festival Resources)
Public
This element of the marketing mix places a special importance on public relations. Alongside the advertising campaign, a lot of attention should be given to the public relations campaign, which seems to be one of the most cost-effective publicity tools in media. It costs less than direct mail (excluding e-mail) and TV or press advertising. (Cf. Kotler et al. (1998), 571) "PR is different from advertising in that it is not self praise but carries the strength of disinterested credibility. It communicates a more complex message than advertising. It is free but the event manager looses control over the result that is largely influenced by the journalist’s attitude towards the festival or the interests of the media company that presents the event to the public. They can have a positive or negative impact on the festival’s reputation. To this end it is important that the event manager maintains control over as much of the public relations as possible. A thorough knowledge of the media's requirements and beneficial interaction with the media personnel are sensible methods. Although PR is mostly proactive, it is important for an event to have a reactive PR strategy as part of the event risk management." (O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/promotion.html, accessed 20/02/2000)
Public relations activities for festivals can include press releases, interviews, up-dates on the festival’s homepage, and sometimes press conferences. For an effective PR campaign both a media list of suitable targeted media and a contact list as well as a club list with interested people and opinion leaders (media talent who can be contacted to support the event by making suitable comments or actions) should be prepared. Ideas about stories for the media and a media kit should be designed in order to gain continuous exposure. The main contents of a media kit are press releases, press ready photos or video footage, event program, sponsor information, interview opportunities, times and contact details of performers and media talent, press gifts such as complimentary tickets, invitations or smart hooks. (Cf. O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/promotion.html, accessed 20/02/2000) Glastonbury Festivals, for example, used to offer free press tickets to those who have written about the festival in advance. They also give a free ticket to everybody of the village of Pilton, where the festival’s grounds are, which is seen by marketers as ‘internal marketing’ that stresses the importance of involving local people in the event. Glastonbury’s public image in the media improved after it started supporting Greenpeace and Oxfam instead of the trouble causing political associations with its `80s main partner- CND, which is looked at in the overview chapter of Glastonbury on this site.
Public as a factor and as an ingredient of the marketing mix is further examined under: ‘partnerships’, ‘participation and people’ (above in this chapter); and in the following chapters about ‘Internet’; ‘Customer Care’, and ‘Hospitality’.

Event Logistics

2010-10-09T08:33:00.003-07:00

Event Logistics
Most logistics theories concern the supply of products to customers. In the events industry, logistics include the efficient supply of customers to the festival product, and the supply of facilities and products to and from the event site. "In this sense, it has more in common with military logistics than modern business logistics". (McDonnell, I. et al. (1999), 210)
A careful attention to details is essential, because if part of the logistical requirements are overseen, it could have fatal consequences to the outcome of the festival. The ‘supply’ of festival visitors and sponsors is described closer in the above chapters.

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10.1 Facilities
10.1.1 Venue
The design of the venue and special safety requirements depend largely on the nature of the entertainment (also type of music from the author’s point of view), location, size and duration of the event, the existing geographical, topographical and environmental infrastructure as well as the outcome of the risk assessment. When assessing the site suitability a rough calculation of the available space for the audience, temporary structures, backstage facilities, parking space, camping areas and rendezvous points should be made. Factors that also should be considered before beginning a detailed site design are: (Cf. Health and Safety Executive, (1999), 12-13)
• Ground conditions (even and well-drained open sites are the most suitable);
• Traffic and pedestrian routes as well as emergency access and exits;
• Position and proximity of noise-sensitive buildings (to avoid complaints of neighbours while meeting bands’ sound level requirements);
• Geographical location (i.e. accessibility via public transportation, major roads, local services and facilities, distance to the next hospital etc.);
• Topography- natural features can be either a great advantage (e.g. reducing noise) or a disadvantage;
• Location and availability of services, especially water, sewage, gas, electricity and telephone cables.
After the above information is evaluated and conclusions from the risk assessment are made, all the special requirements, facilities and safety precautions for the festival can be determined, i.e. number and size of the stages, tents, barriers, sanitary facilities, first aid, concessions, entrances and exits, backstage areas, hospitality area, sight lines and viewing areas, delay towers, perimeter fencing, electricity, water supply as well as waste disposal requirements. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive, (1999), 13)

10.1.2 Temporary Structures, Barriers, Marquees And Large Tents
Temporary structures include performing stages, dance platforms, towers and masts, temporary stands and viewing platforms. "The failure of any temporary structure in a crowded, confined space could have devastating effects. It is therefore essential to plan, monitor, and erect structures using safe working practices." (Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 46)
There is a number of various regulations set by both the licensing and health and safety enforcing authorities regarding construction drawings for temporary structures, calculations, design loads, relevant test results, ground load bearing capacity and other. It is the event safety co-ordinator’s task to ensure that all activities relating to the construction of temporary structures follow safe working practices. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 46-55)
Marquees and large tents must be capable of withstanding strong winds and heavy rains. Furthermore, they should not be placed close to each other or to pedestrian and vehicle routes. Licensing authorities also require the material that tents and marquees are made from to be flame retardant, and that an adequate number of emergency exits, means for giving warning in case of fire, fire fighting equipment and emergency escape lights and signs are provided. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 57-59)
Barriers provide physical security for performers and event staff on one hand, and relieve or prevent the build up of crowd pressures on the other. The front of stage barrier, when constructed properly, enables first aid treatment from crowd pressure. The area between the front of stage barrier and the stage is called "pit" and is designed to support the work of stewards, first aiders, and paramedics. The main role of stewards in this area is to oversee the audience and to extract people of the audience who are in distress and to lift them into the "pit" area. Other types of barriers include side-stage barriers or fences, finger barriers, multiple barrier systems and other. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 40-44)

10.1.3 Production Infrastructure
The production infrastructure and the backstage requirements depend on the type, size and duration of the festival. The backstage area can include production offices, refreshment facilities, accommodation for workers and performers (that can also be distributed between backstage and main area), dressing rooms, sanitary facilities storage space, equipment, generators, first-aid posts. Usually there are separate areas for performers and for production purposes. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive, (1999), 17)
Media influences the image of a festival and its further development greatly. Thus, taking care of TV and radio crews, journalists, and photographers before, during and after the festival is of significant importance. Setting up a press office or press tent in the backstage hospitality area serves as an information and meeting point where interviews can be organised and details about the festival can be posted. Many of the media workers require close by parking facilities for their equipment. The number of media liaison workers depends again on the size, nature, duration, occupant capacity of the event as well as the expected amount of media. At music festivals with 50 000 people occupant capacity and duration of three days the minimum of media liaison workers should be ten. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive, (1999), 147-150)

10.1.4 Facilities For People With Special Needs
Facilities for wheelchair users, people who have difficulties with their walking, vision or hearing must be provided according to various regulations enforced by the concerned authorities. Such provisions include easy access and adequate means of escape, wheelchair spaces, legible signs, quality of lighting, and identified car parking. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 33-34)
Although festivals examined in this paper are not aimed at children, certain facilities must be provided for them in case they accompany adults. The fact that the festival is not suitable for children or the required age should be publicised in advance. However, temporary arrangements for the care of lost children, dedicated play areas and suitable activities for children should still be considered even if the festival is not aimed at this age group. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive, (1999), 140-141)

10.1.5 Electrical Systems, Special Effects And Pyrotechnics, Sound And Noise
If electrical installations are not installed and managed properly, serious injuries can occur through causing electric shocks and overloading of circuits that can also lead to a fire. Electrical connections and equipment need to be installed correctly according to general requirements of diverse legal regulations (e.g. in England: Electricity at Work Regulation 1989, The Institution of Electrical Engineers’ Wiring Regulations, British Standard 7671, HSE Guidance Note GS50 "Electrical Safety at places of entertainment" and other). The electrical requirements for the following need to be assessed: sited stage audio systems, stage and effect lighting, normal and emergency lighting circuits, power supply for hoists, portable tools, and other power supplies like back-up supplies for heaters, catering equipment, electric motors, incident control centre etc. Furthermore, access to diverse control systems needs to be provided i.e. to control switches and equipment, amplification equipment, special effects equipment, follow spots, and high voltage discharge lighting. The location of the main controls must be notified to the police and fire service. The compatibility of the equipment that performers from abroad use can be a problem if not considered. The event organiser should work closely with the safety co-ordinator and electrical contractor in those matters. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 61-63)
Special effects include laser displays, "strobe" lights, ultraviolet light, smoke and vapour effects, and pyrotechnics including explosive devices, fireworks and signal rockets. Some of those special effects can be harmful to the audience, performers and the event staff, which is why certain regulations need to be considered, e.g. British Standard (BS EN 60825, Radiation Safety of Laser Products, Equipment Classification, Requirements and User’s Guide). The British Standard requires, for example, that a laser safety officer should be appointed when a certain type of lasers are being used. Strobe lights can induce epilepsy, which means that if this effect is used at the festival, the audience must be warned in advance. The storage and the use of explosives are covered by different legislation and pyrotechnics should only be used at the event if the relevant licensing authority has approved them. Smoke and vapour as special effects can be produced by both solid carbon dioxide or liquid nitrogen fog machines (which is frequently being used) and fluid-based smoke machines. In high concentration, the carbon dioxide and nitrogen gasses can be dangerous, which is why tents, where those special effects are used, need to have good ventilation of the affected area. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 69-73)
At Glastonbury Festivals "to install and operate and then remove an installation of this size and complexity in the short time available, while meeting the very high standards of safety required, requires considerable planning and teamwork." (Templine Ltd., Electrical Services at Glastonbury Festival, Glastonbury Festival Resources)
Excessive sound levels are not only dangerous for the hearing of the audience and the event staff; they could also affect the integrity of structures when transmitted through the ground and staging. Sound levels must therefore be assessed, controlled and monitored. Certain areas should be marked as ear protection zones, and festival workers should be provided with information ad training as well as ear protectors. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 75-77)

10.1.6 Fire Equipment, Medical And First Aid, Information And Welfare, Sanitary Accommodations, Waste Disposal
The risk that people will become trapped by fire at a outdoor festival is low, but a fire warning system needs to be provided for temporary structures like tents and marquees. In general, portable or hand-held fire fighting equipment such as extinguishers, hose reels and fire blankets are required by any condition of licence. The provision of appropriate hand-held fire fighting equipment should be agreed at the planning stage, with the licensing authority and the fire authority. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 87-89)
The provision of adequate first aid arrangements, which needs to be approved by the licensing authority, is a key aspect considering that big crowds can cause all types of injuries, e.g. cuts, bruises, dehydration, sunstroke, hyperventilation, crushing injuries and unconsciousness. The local NHS Chief Ambulance Officer as well as first aid organisations should also be consulted regarding the ambulance and first aid requirements during the planning stage. The number of first aid staff that are required depends on the following factors: the nature of the venue and its facilities and procedures; the length of the festival; the number expected to attend; the anticipated nature of the audience, including age range and male-female ratio, behaviour, etc.; previous experience; and an approximate number of standing and seated people. The recommended number of first aiders for festivals where major audience problems are not likely to occur is 1:500 for the first 3000 attending and then 1:1000 for the remainder attending. The minimum number of first aid posts and ambulances is one post and ambulance for up to 5000 people, two posts and two ambulances for up to 10000, three posts and three ambulances for up to 20000, four posts and four ambulances for up to 60000 festival goers. Furthermore, a certain number of nurses and qualified medical practitioners are needed. At higher risk events paramedics will also be required in the pit area. Additionally, special containers for clinical waste, and a hot and cold water supply including drinking water should be provided. The main first aid post, if there is more than one post, should be connected with an external telephone line; all other posts should have an internal telephone or radio link to the main post. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 111-115)
Welfare facilities and information points vary depending on the size and type of event and can be determined by the festival risk assessment. Their contribution to the safety and well being of the audience should not be underestimated. Young or first-time festival-goers can be encountered with unknown effects of drugs which could require psychological help from competent welfare workers. These could be people who have experienced the negative effects of any kind of drug-addiction and want to share their experience in order to educate and warn younger potential users.
Research findings state that when people can not find the information or advise they are looking for, they may feel unsatisfied, discontented, or even become aggressive, which is another reason in favour of arranging adequate welfare and information points. Advance information about the site layout, advice on food and shelter, personal equipment, prohibited items, meeting-up arrangements, transport and parking are all points that can be included in a leaflet distributed at the point of sale of tickets. Additionally, site plans should be displayed at entrances, information points, car parks, first-aid points and in the event programme. Elements that should be included in site-plans are: camping areas, sanitary facilities, performance areas, exits and entrances, car parks, main roads, first-aid points, emergency services, fire points, welfare points, information points, police points, catering facilities, lost people’s meeting point, lost children’s facility, public telephones, children’s play areas, lost property, drinking water, emergency shelters, and property lock-ups. For smaller festivals a notice board can have the function of a meeting point. For larger events information and welfare points staffed with event workers should be placed near the main entrance inside the venue or at several locations depending on the size of the event. Placing lost property points next to welfare services is advantageous since people who become distressed when losing personal belongings can be helped from competent welfare workers. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 135-139)
Proper signage of the venue and the surrounding area is an invaluable factor contributing to a better orientation for festival visitors. Signs with black letters on yellow background (or white on blue) containing less than five words are supposed to be the best combination. When placing signs on traffic roads outside the venue, the local authority and highway representatives must be consulted and asked for permission.
Generally speaking, a number of aspects must be considered regarding the sanitary accommodation: number adequate to the audience size, location, access, construction and signage. In order to minimise queuing, they should not be concentrated in one place. The ratio of male-female also needs to be estimated. A recommended number of female conveniences is 1 WC per 100 females, and for males it is 1 WC for up to100 males, 2 WCs for up to 500 males, 3 WCs for up to 1000 males, and 1 WC for every additional 500 males. One wash-hand basin should be provided per 5 sanitary conveniences. Suitable sanitary accommodation must also be provided for people with disabilities. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 124-125) Glastonbury Festivals often get complaints about their sanitary accommodations, because they do not have enough water to have flush toilets. "It’s on a par with boy scout jamboree or girl scout camp… if (they)… can cope (with it) we can. It is difficult to improve without the water and mains sanitation." (Interview with Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival Resources) At the same time, WaterAid, one of their main benefiting charities, provided in 1998 African-style toe-tapping toilets to Glastonbury promoting their activities in developing countries.
Litter picking (3-4 weeks after the festival and during) at Glastonbury Festivals and waste disposal are time consuming tasks. They recycle glass, paper and tins. In 1996, the festival recovered 23 tonnes of waste for recycling despite the muddy weather, (Cf. Information pack, Glastonbury Festival Sources) which is an amazing fact considering that other festivals do not recycle at all.

10.2 Travel Arrangements
Transportation to the festival site is part of the event experience for festival goers on one hand, and it has a significant impact on road traffic and public transportation depending on the accessibility of the site and the size of the audience on the other hand. Thus, traffic marshalling, parking arrangements, sign-posting, public transportation and emergency access need to be planned carefully since they involve public safety and create the visitor’s and performer’s first and last impressions, which partly influence the quality of the festival experience.
The following aspects regarding traffic marshalling and sign-posting should be taken into consideration: working with the police and motoring organisations about signs of the routes to the festival site, the movement of the traffic and access of emergency services; contacting railway authorities and coach organisations regarding additional arrangements for shuttle services, remote car parks and train capacities; calculating a sufficient number of stewards for marshalling the traffic flows on site and directing the parking of vehicles. Furthermore, a system of entrance gate numbers and car park numbers, shuttle bus stops, emergency vehicles and motoring organization points, parking spots for taxis, telephones, and sanitary accommodation at parking areas should be set up. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission, (1993), 107-109)
The event organizer can encourage public transportation by agreeing special deals with coach and railway companies in order to reduce the car traffic, e.g. paying a lower rate for bus or train to and from the event with a valid festival ticket. If such agreements are made, details about the rates and valid festival tickets will have to be communicated to all concerned representatives of the transportation companies. Moreover, this kind of special deals need to be advertised well in advance, which would even support the ticket sales before the event and reduce the number of on site ticket sales.
National Express, for example, offers special coaches and fares direct to Glastonbury Festival from 46 locations around Britain for pre-paid festival entrance ticket holders. (Cf. National Express flyer, Information pack from Glastonbury Festivals)

10.3 Hospitality
Hospitality should be seen as a caring attitude towards guests ("customer care" from a marketing perspective) that helps identifying the special needs of every group of people involved in the festival, i.e. festival workers, festival goers and special guests coming from sponsors or other supporting individuals. On one hand, designing the hospitality arrangements separate for each target group could be a great advantage so the necessary attention to each group can be provided within a certain physical area that has special facilities and services for satisfying particular needs. On the other hand, this action could cause a feeling of discrimination if one target group is treated better than others. Thus, decisions about hospitality arrangements must be made with this issue in mind and should be assessed according to how they support the long-term objectives of the festival.
In business terms the hospitality industry is one of the world’s major industries, in the United States it is the second largest employer dominated mainly by chains, who operate in a highly competitive environment where aggressive marketing skills are needed to win guests. Individual companies have less chances of keeping up with this development, but they can still take over good practices and examples of the bigger co-operations, who have the money to provide comprehensive market research. Hospitality industry is made up of those businesses that either provide accommodation for the traveller, or prepare food and beverage services, or entertainment for the traveller. (Cf. Kotler et al. (1998), 773, 7-8) Since festivals provide all those services, they can also be seen as hospitality products that have a special accent on entertainment.

10.3.1 Accommodation
Camping is the main type of accommodation for members of the audience, performers, and festival workers at open-air festivals and is part of the festival experience contributing largely to a satisfying or dissatisfying event. Incorporated in the event planning it requires an adequate number of facilities and services, e.g. water supply, sanitary accommodation, catering facilities, telephones, recycling points, stewarding and medical facilities as well as fire equipment. Campsites should also have adequate lighting as well as secure accommodation where people can leave valuable articles since crime is a problem that can have a very negative impact on the festival experience. Stewards patrolling the campsite or using watchtowers to oversee the area could contribute to the prevention of uncontrolled fires and crime. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 116-117) Camping areas should be separated into sections for security reasons regarding performers as well as to ease the orientation for campers, to allow for the management of each area, to control the densities and to provide information to campers. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 113-114) Parking areas should not be too far away from camping areas and separated with appropriate fences. Providing entertainment facilities at camping areas can also influence crowd movement, e.g. a dancing tent open throughout the night will make some of the festival-goers attend the performances next day at a later point of the day.

10.3.2 Food And Beverage
Food and beverages are also part of the festival experience which is why their delivery, storage, preparation and sale need special consideration. This includes mobile catering units, catering stalls and marquees, crew catering outlets, hospitality catering, bars and other food or beverage vendors. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 76) Suppliers of food, beverage and other services and products that are chosen for the festival must offer products that meet and even exceed the needs and expectations of festival-goers.

10.3.2.1 Licenses And Permits
Food and beverages are sold in great quantities at festivals, both of which require licenses. The organiser should assure that traders deliver, store, prepare and sale all food following the appropriate laws. The sale of alcohol requires a separate licence from the licensing authority that might require certain conditions like types of containers to be used, selling hours, etc. According to the Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Pop Concerts and Similar Events, vehicles that are used for dispensing food, drinks and other products should not be moved during the actual event when people are present. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 121-122)

10.3.2.2 Water
The availability of water is a limiting factor on the audience size at all green-field events. Especially the logistics of moving big quantities of water needs to be planned carefully. Having independent water supply zones can prevent incidents with the water supply affecting the whole festival venue. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 165-166) Generally speaking, a sufficient number of drinking water outlets should be provided throughout the venue within easy reach (i.e. one outlet for every 3000 persons), especially at first aid points, and sanitary accommodations. Separate water outlets for food vendors are also essential. Additionally, free drinking water should be provided where the audience is crowded, i.e. in the front of the stage area, since people are very likely to get dehydrated even faint as a result, collapse and be trampled. Water "showers" pointed at the crowd in front of the stage area can be very refreshing and pleasant for the crowd during high temperatures and intensive crowd movements. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 121-122)
Glastonbury Festival being held on the outskirts of Pilton (which is a small village with adequate water supply for the village’s needs) requires 1 million gallons of water over a period of 5 days. Thus, additional water is being imported from a water authority reservoir by milk tankers, and a system of pipes is required in order to distribute the feed from various areas to the final delivery area. To ensure an adequate supply to all areas, the water is pumped around the system and its quality is being monitored continuously. For a week prior to the start of the festival and daily throughout the festival 20 samples a day are taken for bacteriological testing at a Certified Public Health Laboratory. The results are presented to the Environmental Health Officers who in turn resample several random points for their own testing purposes and comparison. (Cf. Hunt, R. (1995), Hunts Exhibitions Services, Glastonbury Festival Resources)

10.3.3 Four Stages Of Event Hospitality Success
The Ultimate Guide to Sport Event Management and Marketing suggests the following four stages of success regarding the event hospitality for VIPs, sponsor representatives, and other official guests. However, they can also be applied to other groups of individuals involved in the festival, i.e. the festival workers and visitors, in order to avoid the feeling of discrimination to arise. (Cf. Graham, S. et al. (1995), 83-99)
1.Stage: To identify the guests’ needs and expectations; to determine whether they are more active or passive, "Doers or Watchers," to understand their psychographic profile. The event organiser must be aware of the guests’ view of the festival in order to achieve a positive first and last impression of the event. The greatest impact on the guests is the last impression. For example an elaborate aerial firework and laser show, or special souvenirs that are handed to every departing guest can create lasting memories of the festival and induce positive word of mouth, which contributes to the event’s success, from the author’s point of view. Invitations can be considered as an expectation builder; thus, they need to be unique in their design in order to achieve a positive response from guests, but they should not promise services that are impossible to be provided.
2.Stage: Amenities are the extras that matter in order to exceed the guests’ expectations. Concierge-like assistance at separate entrances and in the venue, provision of programs and other material in order to make the guests feel well informed and important. Welcome signs in the train stations, hotels and streets, separate shuttle buses to the venue with extra service of refreshments and snacks will also contribute to a pleasant experience.
3.Stage: Observation and adjustment of a flexible hospitality program is necessary in order to ensure that the event satisfies the needs of the guests constantly, especially unexpected last minute needs. This can be achieved by observing the guests’ response to certain services, and directly asking if there are any problems. If a reception for the media is planned, the fact that journalists work long hours should be considered; food service should be made available for a longer period of time.
4.Stage: Evaluation and measurement of the event’s hospitality through directly asking the guests about suggestions for improvements, formal written evaluations, telephone interview and internal review with the event staff. The results of such surveys can be published and also send to prospective sponsors.
O’Tool concentrates on five aspects in his suggestion for a hospitality check list: (Cf. O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/hospitality.html, accessed 20/02/2000)
• Invitations: their design (that should be high quality and innovative), the method of delivery with time to reply (including hand delivery and email), invitation content including time, date, name of event, how to RSVP, directions, parking, and promotional material for the festival.
• Arrival of the guests: timing, parking arrangements, meeting and greeting (i.e. having someone to welcome the guests to the festival), reduce all waiting times (e.g. having a welcome cocktail while waiting to be booked into the accommodation).
• Amenities: have a separate area for guests (e.g. marquee or special hospitality tent), offer food and beverages with a special menu and personal service, separate, high quality viewing area of the performance with good views and facilities, special communication regarding signage and information desk.
• Gifts: tickets to the festival, souvenirs (e.g. programs, pins, T-shirts, CDs, posters), meeting the performers.
Departure: timing should not be at the same time as the audience.

10.3.4 Travel-Hospitality Packages
Special travel-hospitality packages, including travel arrangements and accommodation can be assembled by tour-operators and offered through travel agents or directly through the Internet. (Cf. Kotler et al. (1998), 9) Many tour-operators have already specialized catalogues with packages like this. Those packages need to be considered if special logistics requirements are necessary, for example additional hospitality tents, reserved camping for whole groups of people, etc. A suitable package for festivals cannot be exactly defined at this point, because it depends on all the specifications of the actual festival, its tourism infrastructure, and the attractiveness and image of the region or festival itself. A possible package would need to be assessed first for its feasibility and rentability from the tour-operators perspective with analysis of the advantages and disadvantages for festival organizers, which could easily blow up the frame of this paper. The focus of the paper is the organizational element of the festival, however the possibilities of extending its appeal through linking it with other tourism companies like tour-operators or travel agencies is given. Student travel agencies or tour-operators focused on students could be possible partners of festival organizers.

10.4 Suppliers
Subcontractors and suppliers of festivals provide food, beverages transportation, sanitary facilities, temporary structures, electrical systems, special effects and pyrotechnics, fire equipment, medical and first aid, waste disposal service. Contracting performers who provide the main component- the entertainment- are considered in the chapter ‘The Role of Event Management’.
To obtain the best terms from a supplier, several issues should be considered, e.g. the nature of the suppliers’ business, their equipment, typical payment terms within their business, etc. Furthermore, the calculation of extra charges, the deposit, close control of the purchase order, etc. also are important aspects that affect the cash flow of the event. (Cf. McDonnell, I. et al. (1999), 175) Specific conditions like date, time, and description of goods must be checked beforehand, in the planning stage. Subcontractors’ insurance regarding public liability, staff, etc. as well as specific health and safety regulations, correct council permits and payment schedules must all be checked. Logistic needs for suppliers at the event, as well as to and from the event must be determined in advance so that the facilities can be provided and arranged in a suitable set up. An overall supplier schedule avoiding clashes amongst suppliers and site on logistics must be provided with individual schedules given to suppliers showing arrival and exit times. A map of the venue should also be given to suppliers showing entrances, exits, loading docks and other facilities and specific site of interest. Additionally, a contact sheet must be given to suppliers showing communication for the day and emergency numbers. (O’Tool, W. http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/events/suppliers.html, accessed 20/02/2000) Suppliers of transportation for visitors, festival workers, and guests were mentioned in the previous sections of this chapter.
Glastonbury Festival receives in average 4000 applications for trading space every year, from which only less than one quarter can be given a stall. The organisers pay close attention to whether the applicants have a background of fair trading practices. Stall prices are determined by their function (e.g. fast food caterers are charged much more than craft stalls), the size of frontage, the location, the number of staff passes and the services they require. There are a number of problems that can arise after traders have arrived at the venue and their documents have been checked. For example, if traders bring different sized units than stated in their applications, having faulty electrical equipment causing circuits to short cut, traders who have underestimated the necessary number of staff. Each market has a management team to mark out and help the traders, gate staff, plain clothes security, and uniformed guards on duty at any time in the markets. To meet the needs of suppliers for grocery products, a wholesale market operates with articulated lorries delivering the supplies in the mornings. The supply of water and electricity is another big issue. Each market has several stand pipes and direct connections to caterers, eight massive 1250 kV generators which all boosts the expenses enormously. Additionally, cabling must be buried on site to link up the generators and the different requirements of 700 traders must also be met. The markets are arranged in circles, inside of which all the sanitary facilities, electrical and other services are stored. (Cf. Glastonbury Festival Markets, Glastonbury Festival Resources)

10.5 Security
10.5.1 Ticketing And Admission
Tickets for popular festivals are usually sold out well in advance. Therefore, security for ticketing with the purpose to ensure a safe collection, accounting, and deposit of funds would not be relevant for festivals that sell tickets in advance only from the authors’ point of view. However, forgery and scalping of tickets remain to be major concerns for event management officials. Thus, security workers for admissions need to be familiar with the ticket credentials and "...trained, supervised, and checked in and out of the operation to ensure fidelity... Some event mangers use a secret spectator system to catch dishonest ticketing and admissions workers committing a felonious act." (Graham, S. et al. (1995), 63-64)
According to Terry Cooksey, tickets must have at least the following data: relevant event information (e.g. name, location, time), price, seating information (which is not pertinent for most outdoor festivals), unique policies for this event (e.g. refunds, lost tickets, prohibited items), and relevant legal disclaimers (e.g. "The management reserves the right to substitute performers.") (Cf. Graham, S. et al. (1995), 128)
Many festivals, especially the ones which are over a longer period of time use plastic wrist bands for admission, which are placed on every individual’s wrist after checking the validity of tickets.

10.5.2 Access
"Venue access is a function of the design and location of transport and parking facilities and the design of access roads. Such facilities have to be able to cope with the peak demand as determined from the arrival profile." (Health and Safety Executive (1999), 16) If possible entrances and exits should be separate. The number of entrances depends on several aspects, some of which include: the directions from which people will come, the maximum number of people from each direction, the flow rate-which is determined by the design and width of entrances, as well as whether searching for harmful objects will be undertaken. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 16) The queuing time will have an impact on the festivals’ experience and on the audience’s safety, e.g. long waiting time will cause crowd surges. Thus queuing systems must be planned carefully.
Aspects which must also be considered regarding the access to the venue and to separated secure areas include: (Cf. Graham, S. et al. (1995), 129-131)
• credential procedures as well as production and distribution of passes for the various groups with different access privileges (i.e. event staff, performers, volunteers, media, audience, VIPs, sponsors),
• plan with the set up of both the various secure areas separated by fences and credentialing areas with enough space for waiting lines, security and equipment;
• credential area signage which should be both integrated with the credentialing process and inconspicuous in order to avoid attention;
• the number of security guards and event staff on each entrance; policy on scalping of tickets.
Simple credentialing procedures and clear design of passes and tickets can reduce the queuing time considerably. From the author’s point of view, the training of security guards should not only encompass the identification of credentials and steps of action in certain situations, but also polite manners of dealing with the public.
Protection of performers is provided partly by separated areas with fences and security guards on the entrances checking valid passes, as well as police officials. However, in most cases performers have their own security guards. Thus, the responsibilities of each group must be communicated clearly to the other before the event.

10.6 Summary
Logistics include the efficient supply of customers to the festival product, and the supply of facilities and products to and from the event site. Careful attention to details is essential, because if part of the logistical requirements are overseen, it could have fatal consequences to the outcome of the festival.
The design of the venue, temporary structures, electrical systems and special safety and security requirements depend largely on the nature of the entertainment, location, size and duration of the event, the existing geographical, topographical and environmental infrastructure as well as the outcome of the risk assessment.
Hospitality should be seen as a caring attitude towards guests that helps identifying the special needs of every group of people involved in the festival and providing the right facilities to cater for those needs, which includes accommodation, food and beverage, etc. Transportation to the festival site is part of the event experience for festival goers on one hand, and it has a significant impact on road traffic and public transportation depending on the accessibility of the site and the size of the audience on the other hand.
Next

Customer Care

2010-10-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

Customer Care
11.1 Definition
Customer care is probably the most important factor contributing to the success of music festivals, concluded by the author after comparing opinions of tourism professionals and interviewing festival organisers regarding their definition of success. Often were the statements of the latter linked with seeing the audience enjoying the event, having no injuries or incidents and getting visitors back for the next festival, all of which are results of effective customer care. Roger Tomlinso, consultant in management, marketing and training, states "Good customer care involves the simple concept of thinking about things from the customer’s point of view…What are they seeing? What are they hearing? What are they reading and, perhaps, most importantly, what are they feeling? (What are they missing? ed. by the author)…The most appropriate response is usually to treat the customer as you would like to be treated yourself… The best type of customer care means exceeding the customer’s expectations." (Tomlinson, R. (1994), 39-47) From the author’s point of view, putting oneself in the visitor’s shoes does not necessarily provide reliable information. Asking festival-goers instead about their opinion and expectations through surveys or group discussions would provide the festival organiser with valuable primary data, which should be considered in the planning of the next festival aiming to exceed visitor’s expectations.

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Gerri Morris, marketing consultant and trainer in the arts sector, defines customer care as being "the manifestation of a marketing focused organisation,… rooted in the corporate purpose of the .. organisation." (Morris, G. (1994), 60) Thus, customer care must also be somehow included in the long-term objectives of the organisation who are set to defend its purpose. Generally speaking customer care of festival visitors, guests, and workers, does not only include aspects of crowd safety, provision of quality services and products in order to delight the audience, but it also encompasses the attitudes of festival workers towards customers and the way they interact with them in certain "Moments of Truth", a term defined closer in the next section.

11.2 Moments Of Truth
Originally, the term "Moments of Truth" was coined by Jan Carlzon, president of Scandinavian Airlines System. For him, ‘moments of truths’ are the interactions between a customer and employees of the company at a specific moment in time, in which the company shows whether they are ‘good or bad’. Karl Albrecht and Ron Zemke forged this concept extending it to "any episode in which the customer comes into contact with any aspect of the organisation and gets an impression of the quality of its service." (Woods, R.H. et al. (1996), 99) Moments of truth for a festival organisation could be for example: telephone or e-mail enquiries about the festival, Internet presentation, promotional brochures, arrival at the parking area of the festival venue, entering the actual venue site where the performance takes place, asking a steward or volunteer for directions or complaining, etc.
Festival workers, whether paid or volunteers, contribute substantially to the image of a festival organization and to the customers’ impression of how they are being taken care of. Training festival workers for being customer friendly is not sufficient and is often perceived offensive by workers. Thus, the starting point of effective customer care should be internal service quality or creating a friendly working environment for the employees and excitement. Factors contributing to internal service quality are: motivation of the people involved in running the event, their equipment, physical setting and facilities, services offered, accommodation and meals, the number of event workers and their hours of work, training and briefing regarding safety and communication procedures, involvement in the planning process of the festival, empowerment, payment, and other benefits for volunteers. Similar to the moments of truth that form a "continuous chain of events and build a perception of value for customers", there are "Internal Moments of Truth" in the activities of running a festival that "build a perception of value for mangers, supervisors, and employees". (Woods, R.H. et al. (1996), 111) Therefore, meeting the needs of festival workers is important for customer satisfaction and must be considered as a priority number one. Performers are also festival workers to a certain degree and special guests at the same time as well as subcontractors, who also need special attention since their satisfaction of needs also influences the quality of the audience’s festival experience.

11.3 Customers' Motives And Expectations
Identifying the various target groups (e.g. festival visitors, festival workers, sponsors, contractors and other individuals involved in the event), their needs, and expectations are important for providing appropriate customer care. The experience customers have gained from attending other festivals, attitudes, motives, lifestyle, etc. influence their expectations.
The basic needs of consumers can be divided into physical, social, esteem, and personal needs, all of which result in specific wants and motives for going to a festival. Physical needs for accommodation, food, beverage, and motives such as to relax, to search for security, to find sexual gratification, etc. should be considered first. Social and interpersonal needs are spending time with the family and friends, romance, searching for links to cultural and ethnic roots, etc. Esteem needs could be pursuing recognition for accomplishments and gaining prestige from attending an event. Personal needs and motives could include quest for knowledge, seeking new experiences, innovative ideas, fulfilment of ambitions, etc. (Cf. McDonnell, I. et al. (1999), 115)
At the time of writing this paper a research of the motives of festival goers, specifically visitors to Glastonbury and Reading Festivals, was being conducted. The results are not published yet. Questions included in the survey reveal some of the possible motives of festival goers, i.e. to have a change from the daily routine, curiosity, to see the headline bands on the main stage, to see other bands/artists on other stages, to experience other entertainment/performances, the festival’s uniqueness, to do something together with the family, to have a good time, to be with my friends, to explore a different way of life, to see and do a variety of things, to enjoy a festival crowd, to consume excesses of alcohol, to enjoy the music, to observe others attending the festival, to be with people who enjoy the same things, it is stimulating and exciting. (Cf. Aggas, A. http://members.tripod.co.uk/Festivals/Questionnaire.htm accessed 24/03/ 2000)

11.4 Service Quality
Exceeding customers’ expectations is also part of a wide range of service quality philosophies. Tony Ireland states that "quality processes are promoted as being able to address issues of supplying the customer with the correct product or service first time every time and therefore could provide a suitable remedy for providing management strategies for quality services in special events… It is the factor of conforming to the requirements of the customer that is vital in the process of making quality management work in a service environment." (Ireland, T. (2000), 1-3) He further thinks that statistical quality control and statistical process control are both part of the quality control process, including a "wide range of techniques from very simple to very complex, for the diagnosis, identification, elimination and control of process related problems. Inspection alone is not Quality Control although it is part of that quality control process… Quality Control has been integrated into Quality Assurance, which in turn lead to Quality Management Systems. In turn Quality Management Systems became the foundation of Total Quality Management." (Ireland, T. (2000), 5) Moreover, he stresses the importance of people involved in organising the event. "The Human Factor provides the theme that runs throughout the philosophy of quality. From the interface with the external customer, customer’s perceptions, looking at the internal customer/ supplier links in the service chain, training staff to carry out procedures, incorporating quality as a belief of the management, quality circles, communications and service quality, it is the human element that can make the difference" (Cf. Ireland, T. (2000), 26) Tony Ireland supports the view that total quality begins and ends with education but in addition believes that quality starts, finishes and evolves due to the human factor. (Ireland, T. (2000), 26) From the author’s point of view, quality organisation is a balanced combination of everybody’s strengths, weaknesses and current opportunities, which makes them interact in the most efficient way that satisfies every party involved.

11.5 Crowd Safety
Crowd safety generally involves health safety, fire safety, first aid, and crowd management, which all are part of the risk management as well. As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, many of the festival organizers, interviewed by the author, associated successful music festivals partially with having no injuries or other incidents affecting the safety of the audience. Furthermore, festival visitors and workers expect the organizer to have taken care of any safety issues. Some of the aspects of crowd safety are included in the chapters about risk management and event logistics.

11.5.1 Health And Safety Management
According to The Event Safety Guide the key elements of successful health and safety management include: (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 4)
• Creating a health and safety policy;
• Planning to ensure the policy is put into practice;
• Organising an effective management structure and arrangements for delivery of the policy;
• Monitoring health and safety performance;
• Auditing and reviewing performance.
The safety policy is a document that shows the festival organiser’s commitment to health and safety. It should contain details concerning how the policy will be put into practice and who is responsible for provision of information, training and monitoring. In the United Kingdom it is a legal requirement for employers employing five or more people to produce a written health and safety policy. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 4)
The safety planning and actions that need to be undertaken differ for the different stages of the festival production cycle, i.e. for the ‘build-up’, ‘load in’, ‘show’, ‘load out’, and ‘breakdown’ stages. For the ‘build-up’ planning will involve the venue design, selection of competent safety workers, safe construction of the stages, marquees, and fencing; providing health and safety policies from contractors and subcontractors, and drawing up a set of site safety rules. The ‘load in’ comprises of planning for the safe delivery and installation of performers’ equipment, lighting, public address systems (PA), and equipment to be used in the bar areas. The ‘show’ involves planning effective crowd management strategies, transport management strategies, welfare arrangements, procedures for dealing with fire, first aid plan, and other emergencies. An event safety management team that should include representatives from the local authority and emergency services could co-ordinate the planning of the show itself. For the ‘load out’ safe removal of the equipment and temporary structures also need to be planned. The ‘breakdown’ requires planning for waste collection and disposal. Effective management for safety means ensuring that: everybody involved in the festival’s production is competent ("has the necessary training, experience, expertise and other qualities to carry out the work safely"), contractors and subcontractors know how health and safety will be controlled and monitored on site, everybody involved in the event understands the importance of health and safety matters and co-operates with each other in order to be able to control identified safety risks by effective communication. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 5-9)

11.5.2 Crowd Management
Crowd management is an important factor contributing to the safety and enjoyment of people especially at festivals that attract large numbers and overcrowded areas are more the rule than the exception. The audience profile-especially the behavior, psychological state of the audience, motives and circumstances that cause certain types of actions as well as crowd dynamics, must all be considered in crowd management. Some of the factors affecting the crowd dynamics are: (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 46-47)
• The character of the performers, e.g. diving into the audience and encouraging body surfing, throwing items into the audience and performing in the audience area, inviting members of the audience on stage, etc;
• The audience profile, e.g. male/female split, age, heavy consumption of alcohol or other drugs, physical behavior like body surfing, slam dancing, crowd sway or surges, moshing, stage diving, etc.
Crowd management also depends largely on audience size, design of entrances and exits, means of communication with the audience, number of event workers, the arrangements for the front of stage area and the viewing areas, perimeter fencing, and design of "pass out" systems. The audience size is also known as the "occupant capacity" and is generally determined by the licensing authority that takes advice from the fire authority. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 20) "The occupant capacity is the maximum number of people which can be safely accommodated at the venue". (Health and Safety Commission (1993), 82) Roughly calculated, it is the total area available to the public (in square meters) divided by 0.5. Through limiting the number of people attending the festival, the occupant capacity reduces crowd densities to a safe level on one hand, and helps to identify other facilities like adequate means of escape, first aid, stewards, and sanitary conveniences. The best way of controlling the audience size is setting up the admission to be by ticket only.
The entry and exit points can be used as means for supervising, marshalling, directing the audience to the event, escape routes, and access for the emergency services during the festival. The number of entrances must be adequate for the occupant capacity and should be clearly indicated and operate efficiently. Usually large numbers of people seek to gain admission at the same time, which threatens their safety. Reducing the crowd pressure at the entrances can be achieved by: (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 20-21)
• opening the entry points well before the start of the event, providing early supporting acts or other activities that all need to be publicized;
• placing concessions, ticket sales and pick-up points, and other mobile facilities well clear of entry points and paths;
• arranging queuing areas away from entrances in a system of free flow (e.g. considering a multiple number of entry lanes with individual checkpoints for valid tickets, and for prohibited items) with adequate and sufficient number of barriers, fences, gates, and turnstiles; and
• providing a sufficient number of competent stewards with a short-range public address system or megaphones at the entrances.
Arrangements for the front of stage area and the viewing areas, perimeter fencing, crowd sway or surges, and "pass out" systems are additional aspects of crowd management to be considered. The front of the stage area needs to be stewarded because the audience tends to rush towards the stage when the gates are first opened. For this reason the entrances should not directly lead to this area. A stable perimeter fencing, which is able to withstand a crowd loading of at least 2kN/m (tested at usually between 1.1 meters and 1.5 meters) and is at least 3 meters high, prevents trespassing and supports the safe management of the audience. The crowd density in viewing areas during the actual performance of bands can be reduced by placing video or projection screens further away from the stage, which can also be used for announcing safety arrangements, facilities on site and emergencies during the breaks in between bands. Crowd sways and surges, which appear to be a great threat to the audience’s safety, can be monitored by closed circuit television so stewards and security guards can take immediate action in the case of incidents or dangerous situations. The efficiency of "Pass out" systems, aimed at people who want to leave the venue temporarily, depends largely on the security system being used. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 23-25)
Stewarding and communication with the audience, which are described in the next section, are important tools of crowd management contributing to the safety of the audience and customer care.

11.5.3 Stewarding And Communication With The Audience
Stewards are mainly responsible for an effective crowd control in the "pit" area, entrances or exits, ticket areas, barriers, mixer desk and delay towers, vehicle parking and marshalling traffic, reducing the risk or fire, helping the police and other emergency services when needed. The approximate number of stewards can be identified by previous experience in addition to conducting a detailed risk assessment on both key points of the venue and publicly unsafe circumstances, which could arise with the need for stewarding. The organization of the stewards must have an established chain of command with a chief steward who liaises with the event manager and safety coordinator. A number of supervisors who are usually in charge of six to ten stewards will report to senior supervisors who, in turn report directly to the chief steward. Each steward should receive a written statement of their duties and a plan showing both the layout of the site as well as the arrangements, special duties and coded messages in the case of an emergency. Stewards should be given training depending on the function they perform and a record of this should be kept. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 27-29) The roles of stewards and security workers are closely inter-linked and effective communication between those groups will contribute to a more effective crowd management. (Cf. Health and Safety Executive (1999), 51)
From the author’s point of view, communicating with the audience is of major importance for both preventing overcrowding with injuries as well as giving the audience both the feeling that they are being taken care of and that they are safe. The better festival-goers and others taking part in the event are informed, the less frustrated and impatient they will be. At some festivals, information together with some rules and restrictions including the reasons for restrictions are communicated in advance on promotional material (leaflets, posters, brochures, etc.) that also reduces irritation, dissatisfaction and frustration.
Public address announcements made by the management, stewards, performers, compere or DJ, video screens, signs, hailers, and information points are effective ways of communication with the spectators. Accurate, clear and timely information is essential in the case of a major incident, since a main reason for occurring panic is delayed communication when people feel that they do not have the time to escape. The key points of emergency announcements are included in the chapter ‘Risk Management’ of this paper. There also needs to be a clear and efficient communication between the management team, stewards, the local authority, police, fire crew, medical team and other organisations involved in the event. This can partly be achieved through written agreements about the responsibilities and communication procedures of each organisation before, during and after the festival. (Cf. Health and Safety Commission (1993), 37-38)
Creating an enjoyable and safe environment for the audience and others involved in the festival is not sufficient if it is not communicated to the targeted groups through promotional and informational material as well as through stewards and other festival workers. Even uniform clothing of security guards and stewards communicates a sense of safety to the audience on one hand, and on the other it contributes to a common sense of purpose and commitment among festival workers.

11.6 Summary
Customer care is probably the most important factor contributing to the success of music festivals. Generally speaking, customer care of festival visitors, guests, and workers, does not only include aspects of crowd safety, provision of quality services and products in order to delight the audience, but it also encompasses the attitudes of festival workers towards visitors and guests and the way they interact with them in certain situations.
Identifying the various target groups their needs and expectations are important for providing appropriate customer care. The experience customers have gained from attending other festivals, attitudes, motives, lifestyle, etc. influence their expectations.
Communicating with the audience is of major importance for both preventing overcrowding with injuries as well as giving the audience both the feeling that they are being taken care of and that they are safe.
Next

Brand equity

2010-10-09T08:26:00.001-07:00

Brand equity can be defined in many different ways. I have developed a simple, yet powerful, definition of brand equity. For a brand to be strong it must accomplish two things over time: retain current customers and attract new ones. To the extent a brand does these things well, it grows stronger versus competition, and delivers more profits to its owners.
Breaking down the definition of "brand equity" into its two components, we can more easily determine a reliable way to measure brand equity, and to track changes in brand equity over time. The components of brand equity, retention and attraction of customers, stem from people's experiences with and perceptions of a brand.

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1. The ability to retain customers is largely experiential. High equity brands exhibit stronger levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. History has shown that consumers will continue to buy a brand that offers them "their money's worth."
2. The ability to attract new customers is largely perceptual. Because customers do not have actual brand experience, they must go by what they hear, see and believe about a brand. The two primary ways the market receives this information is through messages controlled by marketing, such as advertising and PR efforts, as well as uncontrolled messages such as press stories and "word of mouth."
Family branding is a marketing strategy that involves selling several related products under one brand name. Family branding is also known as umbrella branding. It contrasts with individual product branding, in which each product in a portfolio is given a unique brand name and identity.
Family branding imposes on the brand owner a greater burden to maintain consistent quality. If the quality of one product in the brand family is compromised, it could impact on the reputation of all the others. For this reason family branding is generally limited to product lines that consist of products of similar quality.
Individual branding, also called individual product branding or multibranding, is the marketing strategy of giving each product in a portfolio its own unique brand name. This contrasts with family branding, corporate branding, and umbrella branding in which the products in a product line are given a single overarching brand name. The advantage of individual branding is that each product has an image and identity that is unique. This facilitates the positioning of each product, by allowing a firm to position its brands differently.
Examples of individual product branding include Procter & Gamble, which markets multiple brands such as Pampers, and Unilever, which markets individual brands such as Dove.
Q6.
Brand equity refers to the marketing effects or outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name And, at the root of these marketing effects is consumers' knowledge. In other words, consumers' knowledge about a brand makes manufacturers/advertisers respond differently or adopt appropriately adept measures for the marketing of the brand The study of brand equity is increasingly popular as some marketing researchers have concluded that brands are one of the most valuable assets that a company has. Brand equity is one of the factors which can increase the financial value of a brand to the brand owner, although not the only one.
Some measurements approaches are at the firm level, some at the product level, and still others are at the consumer level.
Firm Level: Firm level approaches measure the brand as a financial asset. In short, a calculation is made regarding how much the brand is worth as an intangible asset. For example, if you were to take the value of the firm, as derived by its market capitalization - and then subtract tangible assets and "measurable" intangible assets- the residual would be the brand equity. One high profile firm level approach is by the consulting firm Interbrand. To do its calculation, Interbrand estimates brand value on the basis of projected profits discounted to a present value. The discount rate is a subjective rate determined by Interbrand and Wall Street equity specialists and reflects the risk profile, market leadership, stability and global reach of the brand.
Product Level: The classic product level brand measurement example is to compare the price of a no-name or private label product to an "equivalent" branded product. The difference in price, assuming all things equal, is due to the brand. More recently a revenue premium approach has been advocated.
Consumer Level: This approach seeks to map the mind of the consumer to find out what associations with the brand that the consumer has. This approach seeks to measure the awareness (recall and recognition) and brand image (the overall associations that the brand has). Free association tests and projective techniques are commonly used to uncover the tangible and intangible attributes, attitudes, and intentions about a brand. Brands with high levels of awareness and strong, favorable and unique associations are high equity brands.
All of these calculations are, at best, approximations. A more complete understanding of the brand can occur if multiple measures are used.
Measuring Sources of Brand Equity
Qualitative Research Techniques
There are many different ways to uncover and characterize the types of associations linked to the brand. Qualitative research techniques are often employed to identify possible brand associations and sources of brand equity. Qualitative research techniques are relatively unstructured measurement approaches whereby a range of possible consumer responses are permitted. Because of the freedom afforded both researchers in their probes and consumers in their responses, qualitative research can often be a useful "first step" in exploring consumer brand and product perceptions. Consider the following three qualitative research techniques that can be employed to identify sources of brand equity.
Free Association
The simplest and often most powerful way to profile brand associations involves free
association tasks whereby subjects are asked what comes to mind when they think of the brand
without any more specific probe or cue than perhaps the associated product category (e.g., "What
does the Rolex name mean to you?" or "Tell me what comes to mind when you think of Rolex
watches."). To better understand the positivity of brand associations, consumers can be asked followup questions as to the favorability of associations they listed or, more generally, what they like best about the brand. Similarly, consumers can also be asked direct follow-up questions as to the uniqueness of associations they listed or, more generally, what they find unique about the brand.
Projective Techniques
Uncovering the sources of brand equity requires that consumers' brand knowledge structures be profiled as accurately and completely as possible. Unfortunately, under certain situations, consumers may feel that it would be socially unacceptable or undesirable to express their true feelings. As a result, they may find it easier to fall back on stereotypical, "pat" answers that they believe would be acceptable or perhaps even expected by the interviewer. For example, it may be difficult for consumers to admit that a certain brand name product has prestige and enhances their self-image. As a result, consumers may instead refer to some particular product feature as the reason why they like or dislike the brand. Alternatively, it may just be that consumers find it difficult to identify and express their true feelings when asked directly even if they attempt to do so. For either of these reasons, an accurate portrayal of brand knowledge structures may be impossible without some rather unconventional research methods
Brand Personality and Relationships
Another useful set of measures to assemble the brand profile is brand personality. Brand
personality is the human characteristics or traits that can be attributed to a brand . Brand personality also can be assessed more quantitatively through adjective check-lists
or ratings. Aaker offers a five factor scale of brand personality: 1) Sincerity (e.g., downto-
earth, honest, wholesome, and cheerful), 2) Excitement (e.g., daring, spirited, imaginative,
and up-to-date), 3) Competence (e.g., reliable, intelligent, and successful), 4) Sophistication
9
(e.g., upper class and charming), and 5) Ruggedness (e.g., outdoorsy and tough).
Ethnographic and Observational ApproachesEthnographic and Observational Approaches
Fresh data can be gathered by directly observing relevant actors and settings .Consumers can be
unobtrusively observed as they shop or as they consume products to capture every nuance of
their behavior. Marketers such as Procter & Gamble seek consumers’ permission to spend time
with them in their homes to see how they actually use and experience products.
Critique
Qualitative research techniques are a creative means of ascertaining consumer perceptions that may otherwise be difficult to uncover. The range of possible qualitative research techniques is only limited by the creativity of the marketing researcher. There are also drawbacks to ualitative research. The in-depth insights that emerge have to be tempered by the fact that the samples involved are often very small and may not necessarily generalize to broader
populations. Moreover, given the qualitative nature of the data, there may also be questions of
interpretation. Different researchers examining the same results from a qualitative research
study may draw very different conclusions.
Quantitative Research Techniques
Although qualitative measures are useful to identify and characterize the range of possible associations to a brand, a more quantitative portrait of the brand often is also desirable to permit more confident and defensible strategic and tactical recommendations. Whereas qualitative research typically elicits some type of verbal responses from consumers, quantitative research typically employs various types of scale questions so that numerical representations and summaries can be made. Quantitative measures are often the primary ingredient in tracking studies that monitor brand knowledge structures of consumers over time.
Awareness
Brand awareness is related to the strength of the brand in memory, as reflected by consumers' ability to identify various brand elements (i.e., the brand name, logo, symbol, character, packaging, and slogan) under different conditions. Brand awareness relates to the likelihood that a brand will come to mind and the ease with which it does so given different type of cues.
Recognition
In the abstract, recognition processes require that consumers be able to discriminate a stimulus -- a word, object, image, etc. -- as something they have previously seen. Brand recognition relates to consumers' ability to identify the brand under a variety of circumstances and can involve identification of any of the brand elements. The most basic type of recognition procedures gives consumers a set of single items visually or orally and asks them if they thought that they had previously seen or heard these items. To provide a more sensitive test, it is often useful to include decoys or lures -- items which consumers could not have possibly seen. In addition to "yes" or "no" responses, consumers also can be asked to rate how confident they are in their recognition of an item.
Recall
Brand recall relates to consumers' ability to identify the brand under a variety of circumstances. With brand recall, consumers must retrieve the actual brand element from memory when given some related probe or cue. Thus, brand recall is a more demanding memory task than brand recognition because consumers are not just given a brand element and asked to identify or discriminate it as one they had or had not already seen.
Image
Brand awareness is an important first step in building brand equity, but usually not sufficient. For most customers in most situations, other considerations, such as the meaning or image of the brand, also come into play. One vitally important aspect of the brand is its image, as reflected by the associations that consumers hold toward the brand. Brand associations come in many different forms and can be classified along many different dimensions.
Brand Performance
Brand performance relates to the ways in which the product or service attempts to meet customers' more functional needs. Thus, brand performance refers to the intrinsic properties of
the brand in terms of inherent product or service characteristics. How well does the brand rate
on objective assessments of quality? To what extent does the brand satisfy utilitarian, aesthetic,
and economic customer needs and wants in the product or service category?
Q5.
Branding is more than just a business buzzword. It has become the crux of selling in the new economy. If the old marketing mantra was," Nothing happens until somebody sells something," the new philosophy could be" Nothing happens until somebody brands something."
In its simplest form, a brand is a noun. It is the name attached to a product or service. However, upon close inspection, a brand represents many more intangible aspects of a product or service: a collection of feelings and perceptions about quality, image, lifestyle and status. It creates in the mind of customers and prospects the perception that there is no product or service on the market that is quite like yours. In short, a brand offers the customer a guarantee and then delivers on it.
You might infer, then, that if you build a powerful brand, you will in turn be able to create a powerful marketing program. However, if you can't convince customers that your product is worthy of purchasing, no amount of advertising dollars, fancy packaging or public relations will help you achieve your sales goals. Therefore, successful branding programs begin with superior products and services, backed by excellent customer service that permeates an entire organization.
Types of Brands
A brand cannot be all things to all people. By definition, no one brand is going to appeal to all customers. On the contrary, branding is based on the concept of singularity — targeting individuals in a personal manner— and therefore precludes the concept of universal appeal. This is why many brands broaden and widen their appeal by creating tertiary brands or line extenders.
Although most industries and products or services can benefit from a brand, not every product needs its own stand-alone brand. Brands can be separated into three categories: primary, secondary and tertiary.
Primary Brands - This is a company's core brand or umbrella brand. Primary brands typically garner a large percentage of a company's revenue potential and therefore need to be given priority and have a sufficient amount of advertising in order to root them firmly.

Secondary Brands - These are often line extenders, or "flankers," for a core brand. Secondary brands don't need to have their own name; usually a modifier to the brand name will suffice and strengthen the core brand. Take, for instance, a toothbrush called the Crest Deep Sweep. Crest is the core brand, and Deep Sweep is the secondary brand. Line extenders are characterized by having a descriptive term that allows the base brand to be the true selling proposition and the flanker to really designate to the audience what that particular product's key feature or benefits are.

Tertiary brands - These brands typically have insignificant revenue potentials or expectations, but they contribute to the company's overall image in some way. Therefore, they sometimes don't sport registered brand names, but just descriptors. For example, a garbage bag manufacturer may make a generic-brand bag in addition to its flagship brand. The generic line may bring in minimal revenue for the company, but it fills a need within a niche market so the company continues to manufacture it under the unregistered name Household Trash Bags. Therefore, the generic line is considered a tertiary brand for this company.

Tele script agent language

2010-10-09T08:25:00.001-07:00

Tele script agent language
Tele script is generally oriented toward creating a common language for wireless.
To reduce the time needed for interactivity between client and server, telescript bundles into an intelligent program that travels to a distance computer retriever’s answer’s to all the queries and then return with the answers. Thus results in two trips across the network a big saving in time, bandwidth and money. himanshu143goel@gmail.com
In telescript agent is a program the user creates and send across a network a big saving in time, bandwidth and money. In telescript agent is a programme the user creates and send across a network. An agent carries out transactions on a telescript aware himanshu143goel@gmail.com network in places. Places are the locations on the network. An electronic shopping center or a directory of services that correspond to telescript engine. Agent can travel from local places to remote place.

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Working
Telescript is a interpreted language. The idea is using an interpreted language to transfer data. Telescript aims to bring the same interoperability to the networked would. Like postscript, it is an interpreted language.
himanshu143goel@gmail.com
Telescript comes in two types.
High telescript
Low telescript

1. High telescript
for users and programmers
high telescript has a computer language syntax and is compiled to low telescript just like normal computer languages.

2. low telescript
For computer processing.
Is like assembly language used in normal computers and is harder for humans read but much easier for computers to work with.

When generated, high telescript is sent to the local telescript engine which consists of a converter and the telescript interpreter. The converter translate high telescript to low telescript to the micro level language, which is the understandable format for the computer hardware. himanshu143goel@gmail.com