Culture differences in business relations (report based on case study) Essay

Culture differences in business relations (report based on case study) - Essay Example Both Africa and China can be categorized as collectivist cultures and hence they tend to depend on groups for decision making. However as compared to China, African culture is highly masculine in terms of behavior. They display typical male attributes such as independence, and values inherent in males such as aggressive goal behavior, material possessions, and assertiveness are given precedence over feminine traits such as social relevance and welfare of others. China on the other hand, has a medium feminity culture and value relationships more, which is perceived by the Africans as a sign of weakness. Both Africa and China differ greatly in terms of their attitudes towards management of conflicts within organizations. Since China is a more feminine cultural attributes, more emphasis is given on relationships and almost all business decisions are centered on maintaining and sustaining cordial business relations. China tends to avoid conflicts and use authority and indirect influence in dealing with conflicts. They tend to avoid bringing problems out in the open and strive to resolve them privately. Africans on the other hand implement a direct approach to resolve conflicts, by using rational methods and communication to arrive at a common consensus or agreement. The various challenges encountered by people from different cultural backgrounds include communication problems, problems in amicable resolution of conflicts, problems in achieving a common consensus due to differences in risk taking abilities and attitudes, etc. These cultural differences inherent in people prevent them from understanding others and at times lead to misinterpretation of the thoughts or ideas being communicated (BÃ ¼hrig and Thije, 2006; Gudykunst, 2003). Furthermore the cultural difference in attitudes plays a key role in the manner in which a given task is executed and determines the success / failure of the

Most Effective Promotional Tools to Attract Customers Essay

Most Effective Promotional Tools to Attract Customers - Essay Example The systematic way of communicating marketing function to the target audience in order to influence their behavior towards a product and taking competitive advantage is known as promotion (Koekemoer 2004). The promotional tools are very important in industries where competition is tough and these tools helps the organizations to maintain their market share by increasing the sales volume (Perreault 2000). In leisure industry, it is very important to determine appropriate promotional tool that can help the organization to increase the customer satisfaction and increase its revenue therefore, this paper will evaluate the promotional tools that are most effective for Virgin holidays. Company Profile â€Å"Virgin holidays† is part of virgin group and this leisure company is one of the largest tour operator companies of UK, established since 1985 (Virgin 2012). Apart from USA and Caribbean, it offers holidays to different parts of the world including Middle East, South Africa, Canad a, Australia, Mauritius, and Far East. On average, the company runs 16 marketing campaigns per year in which different promotions are performed in summer, fall, and winter seasons (Virgin 2012). There are also monthly marketing campaigns in which the company, for increasing the overall revenue targets different segments (Virgin 2012). The promotional tools that Virgin Holidays is using to attract customers are Sales promotion, Advertising and Publicity. Research Objective The purpose of this research is to determine the promotional tool that is most effective to attract customers of Virgin Holiday. Research questions Q1. What types of promotional tools are most effective for attracting customers of Virgin Holidays? Q2. What is the importance of determining appropriate promotional tool for leisure industry? Significance of the Proposed Research Work The proposed research work is significantly important for the organizations of UK because this research will enable organizations to und erstand effectiveness of promotional tools in increasing their overall profitability. In this way, organizations will be able to implement appropriate promotional tools in their marketing strategy, which not only help to improve their profits, but increasing consumer loyalty for the product. In addition to the context of UK organizations, there is lack of research work for the effective of promotional tools in leisure industry. Therefore, this research will serve as important studies towards understanding the effectiveness of promotional tools. Scope of the Proposed Study The scope of this research will be limited to exploring the promotional tools used by Virgin Holidays for marketing, and their effectiveness for the company. No other factors will be explored or tested apart from these in the studies and it is important to mention here that the analysis and discussion in light of the proposed research aim will be limited to the skills and ability of the researcher. Structure of the Report This research report is divided into five chapters, which are as follows: Chapter – 01: Introduction The starting chapter of this report will discuss the background related to the topic and problems that are responsible for conducting this research. Apart from this, the chapter presents the aim, objectives and questions that will be addressed in this