Are stocks really less volatile Example

Essays on Are stocks really less volatile Research Proposal An Exploration into the Volatility of Equity Stocks in the Kuwait Economy Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Key words 3 Aims Background 3 Literature Review 4 Research Questions Methods 5 References 7 Key words Kuwait Stock Exchange, Statistical measures, Volatility, Exchange Traded Funds, futures, capitalization rate of Kuwait, X-stream trading system, SMARTS surveillance system, Coefficient technique, long-run predictive variance, multi-period risk and return variance. Aims Background The current study will be outlining whether stocks are least volatile in the Kuwait financial market than the other investment instruments. Main aim of the study is to measure dispersion involved in the equity investment options of Kuwait. Statistical measures will be used to outline the level security or risk associated in the market index (Favero Nucera, 2014). Volatility of the market options of the Kuwait Stock Exchange will be judged on the basis of Exchange Traded Funds and justification of futures and options in worldwide appearance. Moreover, the study will put a shed on the investment atmosphere of Kuwait and risks involved in it (Canarella, Miller Pollard, 2010). It has been observed that capitalization rate of the Kuwait Stock Exchange market is highest among the Middle Eastern countries. The equity market reported with the presence of almost two hundred companies, who are using their equity shares to raise funds. The stock exchange is having the market value of more than 28 billion KD or USD 100 billion (Arumugam, 2013). It offers high market capitalization rate in comparison to the GDP of the country. The ratio represents nearly 100% of the entire GDP of the Kuwait (Kse.com.kw, 2015). The system represents risk profile in highly informative manner. They came into a â€Å"partnership† contract with NASDAQ OMX, which is the leading the stock exchange set up in the world. The organization is providing highly efficient trading analysis, exchange or transaction technologies, information regarding various public limited companies (Kse.com.kw, 2015). It has been observed that the KSE has started to use â€Å"X-stream trading system† after the tie up of NASDAQ deal (Kse.com.kw, 2015). The collaboration has also offered the equity investors in promoting the set up with â€Å"SMARTS surveillance system† (Kse.com.kw, 2015). The new system offered investors and other stakeholders with high transfer of knowledge and analytical experience. NASDAQ OMX introduced huge number of financial experts who helped in gaining higher insights on the modern commercial markets of the Middle Eastern country. â€Å"The SMARTS surveillance system† started working from the year 2010 and X-stream used from 2012. Both the systems are helping the investors in meeting the fragile economic conditions (Kse.com.kw, 2015). Literature Review Volatility can be defined as the uncertainty or risk associated with investment made in equity stock (Favero Nucera, 2014). It refers to the level of risks allied with the change of investment volume, which will be measured with the help of the statistical technique like standard deviation and variance. Such numerical methods will calculate the difference between returns of the securities in distinct time or market index (Canarella, Miller Pollard, 2010). Henceforth, it can be said that the equity, debenture, preference shares, money market instruments, mutual funds, real estate, derivatives and non marketable securities expressing high volatility represents higher level of risk (Brandt Kang, 2002). In the financial investment market, option pricing formulas are gaining higher importance among stock exchanges. Return from any underlying asset outlines high fluctuation which is calculated with the help of option expiration evaluation (Gregoriou, 2009). Volatility is calculated with the help of coefficient percentage and option-pricing formulas. Mainly, unpredictability of the investments is higher in the daily trading policies. Coefficient technique is used in outlining the changes in the level of risk (HansooYoo, 2013). Volatility of stock returns is calculated on annual basis so that the contrast of stock markets can be outlined. Instability of the stock markets is higher in the shorter prospects whereas, it is lower in the longer investment horizons. Mean reversion is one of the highly used techniques for calculating return predictability in any type of market (HansooYoo, 2013). There are mainly five components that are used in judging the â€Å"long-run predictive variance† (Karunanayake, Valadkhani Obrien, 2010). They are i.i.d. uncertainty, mean reversion, uncertainty regarding the expected future returns, insecurity of existing predictable returns and risk estimation (Favero Nucera, 2014). In order to outline the unpredictability of the long-horizon discrepancy and parameter hesitation, different techniques are used. Mainly conditional variance and components of long-horizon variance techniques are used (Kassimatis, 2011). Empirical frameworks of the outlining stock risk levels are one of the predictive systems components which use predictive variance. Major stock exchanges are using the techniques like priors and posteriors techniques in order to predict multi-period risk and return variance. On the contrary, strength of the equity markets are calculated with the help of substitute samples, model of uncertainty and time varying volatility (Schwartz, Byrne Colaninno, 2011). It has been observed that the target-date funds are gaining popularity as investment assets. Debenture, preference shares, money market instruments, mutual funds, real estate, derivatives and non marketable securities are the major options for the investors (Kassimatis, 2011). Mainly, volatility can be checked with the statistical methods like measure of dispersion, standard deviation, variance analysis and co-efficient and correlation methods (Pastor Stambaugh, 2012). Research Questions Methods H0: Stocks are least volatile in the Kuwait stock market. H1: Stocks are highly volatile in the Kuwait financial investment market. The above mentioned hypothesis will be used in the study to prove that the volatility of the equity share is lower than the other investment options like, debenture, preference shares, money market instruments, mutual funds, real estate, derivatives and non marketable securities. The study will be outlining change of risk level which will be faced while investing in Kuwait Stock Exchange (Favero Nucera, 2014). The hypothesis will be testing the level of risk instability focused on KSE instruments. In order to justify the marketplace, different methods will be used. Mainly, the study will be outlining the volatility of stock of Kuwait in respect to the international standards (Schwartz, Byrne Colaninno, 2011). While conducting the research, the researcher will be having options of three different philosophies like positivism, interpretive and realism. In the current study, positivism philosophy will be used to analyse volatility of stocks (Canarella, Miller Pollard, 2010). Research approaches can be inductive or deductive. Deductive approach will be selected so that different financial risk related theories can be used and newly invented theories are used to investigate on the current topic. On the other hand, the researcher can use the exploratory, explanatory and descriptive research designs. In case of the current study, descriptive design will be selected to analyze Kuwait based stock volatility (Brandt Kang, 2002). Current topic requires information on the KSE risk volatility, which requires data collection from both primary and secondary sources. This study will be using the secondary data sources like the market snapshots, index chart and sartorial indices (Kse.com.kw, 2015). Such data collection techniques will help in contrasting the historical market data (Kse.com.kw, 2015). Quantitative data will be used to gain more insight on the Kuwait based financial and stock exchange market. In addition, collected data will be analyzed by using â€Å"measure of dispersion, standard deviation, variance analysis and co-efficient and correlation methods†. Microsoft excel software will be used for calculation and data analysis (Schwartz, Byrne Colaninno, 2011). Moreover, researcher needs to maintain the ethical issues like proper data application, benevolent involvement of respondents and maintaining anonymity among the data source. On the contrary, the research can face the complexity or limitations like authenticity, time issues and budget restrictions. References Brandt, M. Kang, Q. (2002). On the relationship between the conditional mean and volatility of stock returns. Cambridge, MA.: National Bureau of Economic Research. Canarella, G., Miller, S., Pollard, S. (2010). NAFTA stock markets. New York: Nova Science Publishers. Arumugam, D. (2013). Stock Market Seasonality- Time Varying Volatility In The Emerging Indian Stock Market. IOSR Journal Of Business And Management, 9(6), 87-103. Favero, C. Nucera, F. (2014). How Much Does the Stock Market Risk Decline with the Investment Horizon? A Cross-Country Comparison. Economic Notes, 43(1), 1-19. Gregoriou, G. (2009). Stock market volatility. Boca Raton: CRC Press. HansooYoo, C. (2013). The Lead-Lag Relationship between Stock Market Volatility and Housing Market Volatility in the U.S. International business education review, 10(3), 65-86. Kse.com.kw, (2015). About KSE - Who We Are? Retrieved 23 June 2015, from http://www.kse.com.kw/EN/AboutKSE/Pages/WhoWeAre.aspx Karunanayake, I., Valadkhani, A. Obrien, M. (2010). Financial Crises and International Stock Market Volatility Transmission. Australian Economic Papers, 49(3), 209-221. Kassimatis, K. (2011). Risk Aversion with Local Risk Seeking and Stock Returns: Evidence from the UK Market. Journal of Business Finance Accounting, 38(5-6), 713-739. Pastor, L., Stambaugh, R. (2012). Are Stocks Really Less Volatile in the Long Run? The Journal Of Finance, LXVII(2), 431-477. Schwartz, R., Byrne, J. Colaninno, A. (2011). Volatility. New York: Springer.

The Effects Of American Criminal Justice System Created By...

The Negative Effects of American Criminal Justice System Created by Public Perceptions Any Americans pretend that the days of racism are far behind; however it is clear that institutional racism still exists in this country. One way of viewing this institutional racism is looking at our nation’s prison system and how the incarceration rates are skewed towards African American men. The reasons for the incarceration rate disparity are argued and different between races, but history points out and starts to show the reason of why the disparity began. Families and children of the incarcerated are adversely affected due to the discrimination as well as the discrimination against African American students and their likelihood of going to prison compared to the white student. African American women are also affected by the discrimination in the incarceration rate. Many white Americans don’t see how racism affects incarceration rates, and that African Americans are more likely to face discrimination from the police as well as being falsely arrested. Many would ar gue that the reason why the incarceration rate for African Americans is sustainably higher compared to white American is because of economic situations, and because of past arrest patterns. While it is true that the economic opportunity someone has will affect their decisions, this argument doesn’t fully explain the real reason of why the rates are higher. To fully understand the reason why one must look back on America’sShow MoreRelatedThe Dignity Of Black Americans1701 Words   |  7 PagesBlack Americans is being taken away by the same people who are getting paid by American tax dollars, to protect and serve. Because of this rash of recent deaths, Black Americas have started an initiative to ban together to fight the racial injustice in this country. 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Mask Sorry by Natalia Nesterova Essay Example For Students

Mask Sorry by Natalia Nesterova Essay This semester for Art Appreciation we were asked to attend a museum and find a picture that catches our interest. I attended the Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick, New Jersey and while browsing the many different rooms and pictures the museum had to offer I came across one piece I really liked. The piece I came across is called Mask Sorry by Natalia Nesterova. I decided to choose this image because out of all the other pieces of art I saw I felt I had a connection with this picture. I feel that many people could have a connection with this piece of work because it seems dark, and everyone has a little of a darker side to them and this image shows that perfectly. Not only was this image on the darker side, but it was also very mysterious, and things that have a mystery are interesting to me. Natalia Nesterova was born in 1944 and she is considered a modern Russian artist. She graduated from Surikov institute in 1968 and immediately she made herself known for her unique style. Starting in 1991 she became a professor of the Russian academy of theatrical art. She often attends and participates in exhibitions, including youth exhibitions. Because she was a professor and enjoyed attending youth exhibitions makes me think that her artwork is to help a younger generation express their feelings in a unique and mysterious way. Mask Sorry specifically is a piece she did using oil on the canvas, and this piece is definitely unique. I think this image is more of a figurative piece, she want’s people to try and figure out what message she is giving. Over the years Nesterova’s paintings appeared to have a religious motive with a kind of mysterious disguise. Her large canvases are composed with a minimum of subject, expressive colors, metaphoric and mythological signs; everything remains mysterious, carefully hiding the true meaning with not a single answer. † This description of her artwork perfectly describes Mask Sorry from beginning to end. To me, Mask Sorry has a few meanings. This piece makes me feel like at this time in Nesterova’s life she could have been hidden and going threw something she may have not wanted other people to see. Or like I said earlier she could just be gearing her work to a younger group of people to show them they are not alone with feeling hidden. In Mask Sorry there is a mask of cards covering the face of which could be a man or woman. I say it could be either male or female because if you look at the picture close enough the fingers are very delicate, along with the slimness of his/her neck. It could also be a male because the width of the shoulders is very broad, and most men are built with broader shoulders. The cards covering the face makes me feel like this piece is talking about a gamble. Maybe there was a gambling problem involved, or maybe the cards are used to say life is a gamble. Usually anytime cards are involved in any game its always a gamble because you never know which card you’re going to get. In this case the gamble taken must have been a bad one because the image is very dark. The main focal point of the picture, which is the mask of cards, is even darkly shaded In many parts, along with the body being very dark and eerie. Many of the parts shaded on the face makes the sign of the cross. Like I mentioned earlier some believe that Nesterova has religious motive to her artwork, and I feel this is one of them. When priests give ashes or pray, they usually make a sign of the cross on your forehead, exactly like the shading in the cards show. Something else I noticed about the cards is that the face is split in two sides, the left side of the face is red cards and right side is black. This shows there are two sides to the story, Maybe the red cards could represent feeling like you’re actually living and having blood flow threw the body which you need in order to live. As where the black cards could mean that you are stuck in a tough situation and you’re left with darkness, or the unknown. .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 , .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 .postImageUrl , .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 , .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4:hover , .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4:visited , .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4:active { border:0!important; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4:active , .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4 .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ufe05b7e242ad2250c5d63d4ead0f47c4:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Leon Battista Albert - On Painting EssaySomething I noticed and found interesting is the fact that the eyes and mouth are painted in black. They say â€Å"eyes are the window to the soul† and clearly there is no soul in the eyes of Mask Sorry, along with having no thoughts to speak, but If you look closely at the mouth on the left side the mouth is tilted up a little higher then the right. The right side, which is the darker side of the image, has more of a frown. Same thing with the eyes, on the left the eye is placed higher which could show things are looking up and getting better, but the right side is placed lower, which could he/she is running out of hope. Although this is such a slight tilt in the eye and the mouth I do think that she did this purposely for the viewer to think about. The background of this image on the other hand is different from the rest of the image. This part of the picture very muted and neutral, this could mean that although he/she was delt a bad hand of cards there is still a chance to turn their life around. The viewer could also see that the hands in this image played a huge role because although it is not the main focal point of the painting, the hands are a lighter section that the eye is drawn too. Because the hands are jagged and painted with anger brings me to believe that the hands are near the neck for a reason. Maybe Mask Sorry is ready to call it quits and that’s why his hands are so close around his neck,or you could look at it from another perspective and guess that Mask Sorry has been forgiven for his sins, hence the cross on his forehead, and now its close to his time to pull his mask off and show his true identity. If I were to choose which it would be I would say he’s trying to get ready and pull the mask off and change his/her life for the better. While doing some research on Nesterova’s other pieces of art I came across a piece called Human Masks. This image is very similar to Mask Sorry except in this image there are seven men all wearing white and instead of their eyes and mouths being blacked out, they are pained in white. Also, they are playing a game of cards and three of the seven men have dolls in their hands, which are similar looking to Masks Sorry. You can tell the atmosphere here is much happier, I feel these men are holding dolls with masks that look similar to Mask Sorry is because their masks are now off and they are ready to start moving into a different direction. They are playing with what their life used to be and making moves towards a better experice. Although there are still cards in this picture which may again represent gambling, one of the men are looking at the card almost like he’s trying to choose which card he’s going to place down next, which shows he has a chance and a choice weather or not he would like to use that card. Not only did Human Masks look similar to Mask Sorry, I came across many other pieces of Nesterova’s, which even had the same mask as the one in Mask Sorry. She clearly enjoys people to think about her art when she uses this mask in many of her images. Each image that I saw looked similar each made me feel differently even if it was using the same exact face. I’m happy that I choose to attend the Zimmerli Museum and that I happened to come across this image while being there. Like I mentioned many times Natalia Nesterova Is a great artist, she makes people use their imagination as to what her images mean. When I first chose this image I thought this paper would be a lot harder for me to write. .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 , .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 .postImageUrl , .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 , .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590:hover , .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590:visited , .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590:active { border:0!important; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590:active , .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590 .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u329f64e9a578a96cd46304dbab5bf590:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: El Greco Biography EssayI didn’t see the picture for what it really was, I just saw an image I enjoyed and an image that I thought looked interesting enough to write about, but when I actually had to re draw, shade, and color the same image it gave me more of on insight on how dark the image really is. I had the chance to recreate this image and because of that my imagination of ideas of what this picture could have meant went wild. This was overall a great experience for me, and i’m happy I ended up enjoying this assignment more than dreading it.

Strategies for Marketers free essay sample

In Chapter 11 we focused in some detail upon Porters generic strategies and the nature and Buy this file from http://www. Download-it. Org/learning-resources. PH? Promoted===story=1321 sources of competitive advantage. This chapter takes the analysis a stage further by examining how the organizations position in the market, ranging from market leader through to market niche, influences strategy and planning. Finally, we turn our attention to the ways in which market and product life cycles need to be managed. 2. The influence of market position on strategy In discussing how best to formulate marketing strategy, we have focused so far on the models and approaches to planning that can help to tourmaline the analytical process. In making use of models such as these the strategist needs to pay explicit attention to a series of factors, including the organizations objectives and resources, managerial attitudes to risk, the structure of the market, competitors strategies and, very importan tly, the organizations position within the market. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategies for Marketers or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The significance of arrest position and its often very direct influence upon strategy has been discussed in detail by a wide variety of writers, most of whom suggest classifying competitive position along a spectrum from market leader to market niches: Market leader. In the majority of industries there is one firm that is generally recognized to be the leader. It typically has the largest market share and, by virtue of its pricing, advertising intensity, distribution coverage, technological advance and rate of new product introductions, it determines the nature, pace and bases of competition. It is this dominance that typically provides the benchmark for other companies in the industry. Market challengers and followers. Firms with a slightly smaller market share can adopt one of two positions. A case in point is Morgan, specializing in traditional sports cars. By concentrating their efforts in this way, market niches are able to build up specialist market knowledge and avoid expensive head-on fights with larger companies. This approach to classification has in turn led to a considerable discussion of the strategic alternatives for leaders, challengers and achier, with numerous analogies being drawn between business strategy and military strategy. The idea has been to show how the ideas of Buy this file from http:// www. Unload-it. Org/learning-resources. PH? Promoted===story=1321 military strategists, and in particular Von Classicist, Sun Thus and Lidded-Hart, might be applied to the alternatives open to a company intent on gaining or retaining a competitive advantage . This section therefore examines some to these ideas and shows how market leaders might defend their current position, how challengers eight attempt to seize share, and how followers and niches are affected by this. An overview of how this might be done appears in Figure 12. 1 . Figure 12. 1 Leaders, followers, challengers and market niches 521 12. 4 Strategies for market leaders Although a position of market leadership has undoubted attractions, in terms of both the scope that often exists to influence others and a possibly higher return on investment, leaders have all too often in the past proved to be vulnerable in the face of an attack from a challenger or when faced with the need for a major technological hanger. If, therefore, a market leader is to remain as the dominant company, it needs to defend its position constantly. In doing this, there are three major areas to which the marketing strategist needs to pay attention: 1 How best to expand the total market 2 How to protect the organizations current share of the market 3 How to increase market share. Buy this file from http://www. Download-it. Org/learning- resources. PH? P A summary of the ways in which leaders might do this appears in Figure 12. 2. Figure 12. 2 Strategies for market leaders

Inns and Resorts Essays

Customer Satisfaction in the Practices in the Hotels/Inns and Resorts Essays Customer Satisfaction in the Practices in the Hotels/Inns and Resorts Paper Customer Satisfaction in the Practices in the Hotels/Inns and Resorts Paper CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON THE PRACTICES OF THE HOTELS/INNS AND RESORTS IN THE FIRST DISTRICT OF ILOCOS SUR A Thesis Proposal Presented to The Faculty of Graduate School University of Northern Philippines Vigan City In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Business Administration By: VIVENCIO C. PERALTA JR. 2011-2012 CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM Introduction Throughout history, people have always travelled, whether it is to conquer worlds, discover new places, for business pleasure. This need of man has consequently led to the development of accommodation. Travelling is a significant part of the tourism industry worldwide and its employees play a key role in delivering the service product, its customers. All of the service businesses are trying their best to improve their service quality in order to make customers satisfied with their services, especially the hospitality industry. Inns are the outgrowth of man’s desire to travel for pleasure or for business. When man had to travel, he felt a great need for dining and lodging out of his own home and town (chauhan, 1981). Hotels/Inns and Resorts are provide room accommodation, food and beverages and recreational facilities. Hotels/Inns and Resorts have been established in the different parts of the country especially in cities and some major towns Today, in Ilocos Sur the potential growth and industrialization and its program to promote local and foreign tourism led to the growth of the hotels/inns and resorts that are serving the province. At present, they were continues the greater number of tourist due to the beautification of our natural resources that gives the real essence of life of the Ilocano’s and preserved the rich/cultural heritage like the ancestral house that depicts the historical landmark of the country, being a surviving colonial provinces during the Spanish regime. Locals and experts describe that the Ilocos Sur as a place like no other because of its uniqueness his in its historical townscape for which it is an architectural blend of Asian, European and Latin American influences. At present, Hotels/Inns and Resorts in Ilocos Sur have increased their competition and now instead of having only a nice room to draw customer in, they offer-high quality staff as an amenity as well. Guest satisfaction is the highest priority for the owners and managers competing with hundreds of others, and personal service is at the top of the travelers and list of the most important things when considering a hotels/inns and resorts to stay in (Wipoosattaya, 2001). In the hotels/inns and resorts, the personnel are ranging from the top management (i. e housekeeping, restaurant, front office and kitchen). The personnel are considered a supporting factor in determining customer satisfaction when deciding to return, to recommend the hotels/inns and resorts, or in demonstrating loyalty to a particular hotels/inn and resorts (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000). In addition, Watt (2007), stated that the important function of the hotels/inn and resorts is the front office because customer deals with it as a the center of the hotels/inns and resorts. They provide assistance to guest, fulfil their needs, and meet their wants. The study of Suwannakun and Siriteerajad (2002) emphasized that the aspects of practices regarding the level of customer satisfaction. As mention above, Service quality was determined as the subjective comparison that customer make between their expectation about the service and the perception of the way the service has been run. Parasuraman et. Al (1985) defined service quality as function of the differences between expectations and performance along ten major dimensions. In later research, Parasuraman et. Al (1988) revised and defined the service quality in terms of five dimension; Tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. For example, Min and Min (1997) presented the idea hat hotels/inns and resorts services have attributes that are considered most important particularly in forming the following impression of service quality such as; quality; tangibility; In the Mauritius Hotels (Juwaheer and Ross, 2003), assurance factors and such as security and safety of guest determined by the first , secondly; reliability factors and such as hotels perform task that have been promised to guest on reso lving problems encountered by the guests. Juwaheer and Ross found that by focusing on these factors, hotels in Mauritius would be able to achieve high levels of satisfaction. As Reisig and Chandek (2001) discussed the expectation is formed in order to identify the factors of service satisfaction, based on their knowledge of a product or service. This can be implied that a customer may estimate what the service performance will be or may think what the performance ought to be. If the service performance meets or exceeds customers’ expectation, the customers are more likely to be dissatisfied. On the other hand, customers are more likely if the service performance is less than what they have expected. As mentioned earlier, a greater number of satisfied customers will make the hotels/inns and resorts business more successful and more profitable. Statement of the Problem This study will aim to determine the level of customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/ inns and resorts of the first district of Ilocos Sur. Specifically, it will seek to answer for the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the hotels/inns and resorts with the aforementioned business related factors in terms of the following variables; a. Type of ownership b. Number of rooms . Number of Employees d. Capital e. Years of existence f. Service offered 2. What is the level of customers satisfaction with the aforementioned practices of the hotels/inns and resorts in terms of the following: a. Tangibility b. Reliability c. Responsiveness d. Assurance e. Empathy 3. Is there a significant relationship between the profiles of the hotels/inns and resorts with the aforementioned business related factors an d the level of customer satisfaction with the aforementioned marketing practices of the hotels/inns and resorts? . What are the problems issues encountered by the hotels/inns and resorts? Scope and Delimitation The study focused on the Level of Customer Satisfaction on the Practices applied and adopted by the Hotels/Inns and Resorts on the first district of Ilocos Sur as perceived by the owners/managers. This practice was limited to the level of customer satisfaction in the aforementioned marketing practices of hotels/ inns and resorts on the first district of Ilocos Sur in terms of the following: tangibility, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, empathy. Twenty-Six (26) hotels/inns and resorts constituted in the study which 41 owners/managers were taken as respondents. Purposive sampling for the customer respondents was taken which consists of 318 customers to evaluate the level of customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels and resorts only the customers who checked-in in the hotels/inns and resorts during the data gathering period comprised the customers respondent. The data analysis was limited only to the use of the following statistical tools: frequency and percentages, mean and chi square. Theoretical Framework The researcher will be guided by the following concepts and studies that provided relevant ideas that will be in this study. On Customer Satisfaction In a business organization it is their primarily concerned in satisfying customers. The existence of one business establishment will also depend on how the costumers are satisfied with the products / services offered to them. To completely satisfy customers needs and wants the management should look the variety of their products, its quality, the ffordability and the benefits derived from the products / services offered. Most researcher agree that satisfaction is an attitude or evaluation that is formed by the customer comparing their pre-purchase expectation of what they would receive from the product to their subjective perceptions of the performance they actually did receive (Oliver, 1980). As Kotler (2,000, p. 36) defined that satisfaction is a person’s feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting fr om comparing a products perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectation. Additionally, Yi (1990) also stated that customer satisfaction is a collective outcome of perception, evaluation and psychological reactions to the consumption experience with a product / service. In conclusion, customer satisfaction is defined as a result of customer’s evaluation to the consumption experience with the services. However, the customers have different levels of satisfaction as they have different attitudes and perceived performance from the product / service. Customer satisfaction is an important topic for both researchers and managers, because a high level of customer satisfaction leads to an increase in repeat patronage among current customers and aids customer recruitment by enhancing an organization marker reputation. Being able to successfully judge customer’s satisfaction levels and to apply that knowledge are critical starting points to establishing and maintaining long term customer retention and long term competitiveness (Yuskel and Yuskel, 2002). Customer satisfaction brings many benefits. Satisfaction is an â€Å"overall customer attitude towards a service provider†, or an emotional reaction to the difference between what customers anticipate and what they receive ( Zineldrin, 2000), regarding the fulfilment of some need, goal or desire. Kano, Bentler and Li-tze (1984) developed a model to categorize the attributes of a product or service based on how well they are able to satisfy customer needs. Considering Kano’s Model, are sees how it may not be enough to merely satisfy customer by meeting only their basic and performance needs. Customer satisfaction refers to either a discrete, time-limited event or the entire time the service is experienced. Service-encounter satisfaction is how much a customer likes or dislikes an actual service encounter. Overall service satisfaction is the customers feeling of satisfaction/dissatisfaction based on all the customers experiences with the service organization. 1994) found the two satisfaction constructs differed from each other and from service quality. In a highly competitive marketplace, organizations needs to adopt strategies and to create product attributes targeted specifically at exciting customer’s and over – satisfying them ( Tan and Panitra, 2001). In real estate to excite or over satisfy customers, an agent would need to have a through and want knowledge of all listing in the local area. It is also the people in direct contact with customer who determine who the retained and satisfied customers are, and their experience determines how they treat the customers (Hansemark and Albinson, 2004), thus impacting on the service quality delivered. Lewis and Mitchell (1990) define service quality as they extent to which a service meets customer’s need and expectation. On Service Quality Service quality is the rivet of the comparison that customer’s make between their expectation about a service and their perception of the way the service has been performed (Germoso, 1984; Parasuraman et a1. 1980-1988. ) define it, as the difference between customer’s expectation of services and their perceived service. Benny, Parasuraman and Zeithaml (1985) write a service quality as perceived by consumers stems from a comparison of what they feel service firms should offer (i. e. from their expectations) with their perception of the performance of the firm providing the s ervice. If the expectation is greater than the service performance, perceived quality is less than satisfactory and hence, customer dissatisfaction occurs. Lewis and Mitchell (1990). Service quality refers to customers appraisals of the service core, the provider, or the entire service organization. According to and  (1985), perceived quality is a global judgment relating to the superiority of a product. However, defining service quality as a measure of excellence in terms of perceptions is not sufficient according to   (1988). He states that it is obvious that understanding customer expectations and meeting customer needs is the single most critical issue and determinant of service quality ( 1988). In addition,  (1989) and   (1983) defined both service quality and customer satisfaction as matching the expectation of the service with that which is actually experienced by the customer. Therefore, when customers experiences meet or exceed their expectations, the service is viewed as a quality service and the recipients are typically satisfied customers. On the other hand, when the service experienced by consumers is less than their expectations, the perception of service quality is diminished and customers are generally not satisfied. However, (1996b) in their book Services Marketing stated that the concept of service quality is different from the concept of customer satisfaction. According to, service quality is only one of the variables determining customer satisfaction. Besides service quality, there are other variables affecting the level of customer satisfaction, namely: price, situation, and personal factors. Dotchin and Oakland (1994), and Avubonteng et a1. (1996) define service quality and the extent to which a service meets customer’s need and expectation. On Customer Expectation In this part, the definition of Customer’s expectation and Discrimination theory are revealed. In addition, the significance of Customer’s expectation which has influenced customer’s satisfaction in discussed. Daviddon and Uttal (1989) proposed that customer’s expectation is formed by many uncontrollable factors which include previous experience with other companies, and their advertising, customer’s psychological condition at the same of service delivery, customer background and values and the images of the purchased product. In addition Zeithaml et al. (1990) stated that customer service expectation related to different levels of satisfaction. It may based on previous product experiences, learning from advertisement and Word-of-Mouth Communications. Moreover, these expectations are likely to be based, in total or in part, on past relevant experiences, including those gathered vicariously (1989). (1990) identify some specific factors which can influence the consumers expectations. These are: word of mouth communications (what consumers hear from other consumers); personal needs (determined by individual characteristics and circumstances); past experience of a service (or a related service); external communications from the service provider (for example, printed advertisements, television commercials, brochures, and oral promises from service provider employees); and price. Customer expectation is what the customer wish to receive from the diversity f expectation definition can be concluded that expectation is uncontrollable factors which including past experiences, advertising, customers perception at the time or purchase, background, attitude and product image. Furthermore, the influence of customer’s expectation is pre-purchase belief, word of mouth, communications, individual needs, customer experiences, and other personal attitudes. Different customers have different expectations based on the customer’s knowledge by a product service. The Ser vqual Approach The Servqual approach has been applied in service and retailing organizations (Parasuraman et al. 1988; Parasuraman et. al. , 1991). Service quality is a function of pre-purchase customer’s expectation, perceived process quality, and perceived output quality. Parasuraman et. al (1988) define service quality as the gap between customer’s expectation of service and their perception of the service experience. Based on Parasuraman et al. (1988) conceptualization of service quality, the original servqual instrument included 22 items. The data on the 22 attributes were grouped into five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Numerous studies have attempt to apply the SERVQUAL. This is because it has generic service applications and is a practical approach to the area. This instrument has been made to measure service quality in a variety of services such as hospitals (Babalure and Glymn 1992), hotels(Salen and Rylan 1991), travel and tourism(Fick and Ritchies 1991), a telephone Company, two insurance companies and two researcher uses SERVQUAL approach as an instrument to explore customer’s expectations and perception levels of service quality towards the hotel and resorts. The Servqual Dimension Previously, Parasuraman et al. (1985) identify ten determinants for measuring service quality which are tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, communication, access, competence, courtesy, credibility, security and understanding knowledge of customers. Later these ten dimensions were further purified and developed into five dimensions i. e. Tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy to measure service quality, servqual (Parasuraman et al. 1988). These five dimension identified as follows: 1. Tangibility – the physical evidence of the Hotel/Inns and Resorts staff is including a personality and appearance of personnel, tools, and equipment used to provide the service. For example, some hotel chains (e. g Hilton, Mandarin, Sheraton, and Hyatt) consciously ensure that their properties are conformed to global standards of facilities wherever they are located (Nankervis, 1995). However, the researcher, in this study, is forming on how well-dresses the Hotel/Inns and Resorts personnel are. 2. Reliability – the ability involves to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. It includes â€Å"Doing it right the first time,† which is one of the most important service components for customers. Reliability also extends to provide services when promised and maintain error 1: The staffs perform tasks that have been promised to guest and resolve problems encountered by guests. Example 2: The Customers are sensitive to issue such as the telephone being packed-up within five rings and their reservation being correct. 3. Responsiveness – the Hotels/Inns and Resorts are willing to help customers and provide prompt service to customers such as quick service, professionalism in handling and recovering from mistakes. It has been said that â€Å"Today luxury is time†. Consequently, service providers’ ability to provide services in timely manner is a critical component of service quality for many guests. The examples of responsiveness are as follows: Example 1: The staff is asking for customers, name, address, post code and Telephone number during the telephone booking. Example 2: The customers are asked to guarantee their booking, the different rates that they are offered and which ones they accept. Example 3: The customers are offered alternative accommodation at a sister hotel and how efficiently that is arranged and reservation cards being ready to sign upon arrival. 4. Assurance refers to the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence including competence, courtesy, credibility and security. A. Competence means possession of the required skills and knowledge to perform the services. It involves knowledge and skill of the contact personnel, knowledge and skill of operational support personnel, research capability of the organization. B. Courtesy involves politeness, respect, consideration, and friendliness of contact personnel. C. Credibility involves trust worthiness, believability, honesty; it involves having the customer’s best interest at heart. Contributing to credibility is company reputations, personal characteristics of the contact personnel. The degree of hard sell involved in interaction with the customer. D. Security refers to the freedom from danger, risk or doubt. It involves physical safety, financial security and confidentiality. Below are some examples: Example 1: The guests expect to feel safe during their stay at hotel from the staff. Example 2: The staff can handle effectively complaints and problems from the guests. 5. Empathy refers to the provision of caring and individualized attention to customers including access, communication and understanding the customers. A. Access involves approach, ability and ease of contact. It means the service is easily accessible by telephone, waiting time to receive service is not extensive, hours of operation are convenient and location of service facility is convenient. B. Communication means keeping customers informed in language they can understand. It means listening to customers, adjusting its language for different consumers and speaking simply and plainly with a novice. It also involves explaining the service itself, explaining how much the service will cost, and assuring the customer that a problem will be handled. C. Understanding the customers means making the effort to understand the customer’s need. It includes learning the customer’s specific requirements, providing individualized attention, recognizing the regular custom. For example: Example 1: The staff acknowledge the presence of customers at the reception and with a verbal greeting. Example 2: The staff are keeping eye contact, using customers, names and asking customers to return their key upon departure. It is clear from the above results that customers like to be given enough individualized attention and treated with care. It thus allows the customers to easily approach and spell out their needs regarding the service being provided. The importance of empathy may be the root of the statement, . If one looks at who is winning, it tends to be companies that see the guest as an individual1. Due to guests, desires that staff see things from their point of view, the hotel staff are piloting an empathy training program intended to help employees relate to their guests in a more empathic manner. In conclusion, SERVQUAL instrument is an invaluable tool for organizations to better understand what customers’ value and how well their current organizations are meeting the needs and expectations of customers. SERVQUAL provides a benchmark based on customer opinions of an excellent company, on your company, on the importance ranking of key attributes, and on a comparison to what your employees believe customers feel. The SERVQUAL instrument can also be applied to the front office staff of a hotel, and in this case, other major gaps could be closed in the service quality gaps model. Disconfirmation Theory In marketing literature (Churchill and Surprenant, 1982; Oliver,1980) as well as in recent information system studies (McKinney et al. , 2002), the disconfirmation theory emerges as the primary foundation for satisfaction models. According to this theory, satisfaction is determined by the discrepancy between perceived performance and cognitive standards such as expectation and desires (Khalifa and Liu, 2003). Customers expectation can be defined as customers’ partial beliefs about a product (McKinney, Yoon and Zahedi, 2002). Expectations are viewed as predictions made by consumers about what is likely to happen during impending transaction or exchange (Zeithmal and Berry,1988). Perceived performance is defined as customers’ perception of how product performance fulfills their needs, wants and desire (Cadotte et al. 1987). Perceived quality is the consumers’ judgment about an entities overall excellence or superiority (Zeithmal, 1988). Disconfirmation is defined as consumer subjective judgments resulting from comparing their expectations and their perceptions of performance received (McKinney et al. , 2002, Spreng et al. , 1996). Disconfirmation theory was declared that satisfaction is mai nly defined by the gap between perceived performance, expectations and desires which is a promising approach to explain satisfaction. This theory was proposed that satisfaction is affected by the intensity (or size) and direction (positive or negative) of the gap (disconfirmation) between expectations and perceived performance (Figure 2) Figure 2 Expectation disconfirmation theory Khalifa and Liu (2003) Expectation disconfirmation occurs in three forms: 1) Positive disconfirmation: occurs when perceived performance exceeds expectations. 2) Confirmation: occurs when perceived performance meets expectations. 3) Negative disconfirmation: occurs when perceived performance does not meet and is less than the expectations. It is more probable for customers to be satisfied if the service performance meets (confirmation) or exceeds (positive disconfirmation) their expectations. On the contrary, customers are more likely to be dissatisfied if the service performance is less than what they expected (negative disconfirmation). Khalifa Liu (2003) discussed that taking expectation disconfirmation as the only determinant of satisfaction; this theory does not cause the fact that if high expectations are confirmed, it would much more lead to satisfaction than confirmation of low expectations. To resolve this drawback perceived performance is included as an additional determinant of satisfaction. In other words the only way to ensure satisfaction is to empirically create disconfirmation by manipulating expectations and performance. Related Studies Many previous researchers have studied customer satisfaction towards service quality in service businesses such as spa, tourism, and hotel. Kitisuda (2006) studied a survey of customer satisfaction with spa services at Sivalai Spa. Both first-time and repeated customers were satisfied with the spa services on a high level. They were satisfied with the following service dimensions: responsiveness, empathy, reliability, assurance, and tangibility of the service quality at Sivalai Spa. Most customers agreed that the location of the spa was the most important factor for the spa. They suggested that the food and beverage facilities should be improved. Moreover, the study showed that there were four demographic factors that influenced the service quality at Sivalai Spa which were gender, age, nationality, and Income. Markovic (2004) studied service quality measurement in the Croatian Hotel Industry. She showed that a SERVQUAL instrument is a useful and reliable method to measure service quality of Croations hotels, for managers to identify differences in terms of expectations and perceptions. This method will lead to a better allocation of resources and a more effective design of marketing strategies, such as communications mix and pricing components, to ensure a proper level of service quality in hotels. Phenphun (2003) studied International tourist, satisfaction with the quality of service in accommodation in Thailand and the factors related to satisfaction, problems and the requirements of international tourists. The research revealed the satisfaction of international tourists towards quality of service was at a high level. However, the most common problems were lack of employees’ knowledge and English skill, therefore, tourists suggested language and convenient facility improvement. Therefore, Government Policy suggests that the TAT and related organizations should create and develop a curriculum and training. Accordingly, they also have to focus on language skills. In the 2001 study tour of Taiwan, Yu (2001) indicated that it might be possible to create service quality evaluations that are more accurate instruments for measuring the quality of service in the various service sectors, as Crompton et al. ,(1991) suggested. For the best indicators of service quality in the tourism sector, the tourist’s experience might be the key indicator for evaluating tourism quality because the tourism industry is essential people serving people. Therefore, Otto and Ritchie (1996) stated that future studies of tourism quality should evaluate the tourist’s experience, instead of the five dimensions used in previous evaluation tools. All of these previous studies used the SERVQUAL approach to measure service quality in hotel and other service industries. This study will explore customers, expectation and perception levels towards service quality which is focusing on the front office staff at the hotel. Conceptual Framework The paradigm presents the research problem in a more comprehensible manner. It is conceptualized that the dependent variables which is the level of customer satisfaction practices that can affected by independent variables which is the profiles of the hotels/inns and resorts of the first district of Ilocos Sur. This study therefore, is guided by the research paradigm shown in the figured 1. Independent VariablesDependent Variables Figure 1. Research Paradigm In the figure 1. It is hypothesizes that the level of customer satisfaction practices along tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy dependent on the type of ownership, capital, number of employees, years of existence, number of rooms. Meanwhile, the problem encountered by the hotels/inns and resorts Operational Definition of Terms Customer satisfaction. is the result of customers evaluation to the consumption experience with the services. Service quality. means the difference between the customer’s expectation of service and their perceived service. Tangibility. The physical evidence of the hotels/inns and resorts staff including a personality and appearance of personnel’s, tools and equipment use to provide the service. Reliability. The ability involves performing the promised service dependably and accurately. It includes â€Å"Doing it right the first time,† which is one of the most important services components for customers. Responsiveness. The Hotels/Inns and Resorts are willing to help customers and provide prompt service to customers such as quick service, professionalism in handling and recovering from mistakes. It has been said that â€Å"Today luxury is time†. Assurance. Refers to the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence including competence, courtesy, credibility and security Empathy. Refers to the provision of caring and individualized attention to customers including access, communication and understanding the customers. Business Related Factors. It is a term used to show the business related factors such as: type of ownership, capital, number of employees, number of rooms and year of existence. Type of ownership. His refers on the type of organizational set-up of the business such as single proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. Capital. This refers to the total amount of money invested before and after the operation process. Years of existence. This refers to the total number of years from the time of the establishment open for business up to present years. Number of employees. This refer to the total number of people working for an organizational establishment which include front desk agent, reservation officer, guest relation officer, chef, room attendant and bell boy. Number of rooms. The total number of rooms available in hotels/inns and resorts similar businesses to accommodate visitors to a particular place. Hotels/Inns. A business establishment that provides paid for accommodation food and beverage for the short term period of time. Resorts. A place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company. Assumptions It will be assumed in this study that: 1. The Hotels/Inns and Resorts owner/manager apply the customer satisfaction on the practices functions improving on their business operation. 2. The respondents will answer the questionnaires designed for this study sincerely and truthfully. 3. The questionnaire to be used in conducting the study is valid and reliable Hypotheses Based on the problems of the study, it was hypothesized that: There is a significant relationship between the customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/inns and resorts of the First District of Ilocos Sur and the aforementioned business related factors. Methodology This portion presents a description of the method of research, population and sample, data gathering instrument, data gathering procedure, and statistical treatment of data. Research Design. This study was made to use of the descriptive method of research. This method was determined the profile of the hotels/inns and resorts business of the first district in Ilocos Sur together with the level of customer satisfaction with the aforementioned marketing practices. The correalational method, was to find out whether the profile of the hotels/inns and resorts with the aforementioned business related factors have to do something with the level of customer satisfaction with the aforementioned marketing practices and whether the problems, issues and comments regarding the operation of the hotels/inns and resorts is dependent on the level on the level of customer satisfaction with the aforementioned marketing practices. Population and Sample. The respondent of the study were the owners/managers and customers of the 26 hotels/inns and resorts located at the first district in Ilocos Sur is considered s a served on the study. Therefore, this selection of this service business was based on the service offered. Purposive sampling was utilized to gather data from the customers. There were 318 customers who check-in in the hotels/inns and resorts during the gathering period. Table 1 shows the respondents from the hotels/inns and resorts involve with the study. Table 1. Distribution of the Population Hotels/Inns and Resorts |Owners/Managers |  Customers |  Totals |  % | |Hotels/Inns | | | | | |  Cordillera Inn |1 |  15 |16   |4. 45 | |Cordillera Family Inn |1 |  10 |11   |  3. 06 | |Hotel Salcedo |16 |20   |36   |  10. 2 | |  Vigan Plaza Hotel |  1 |  15 |16   |4. 45 | |  Grandpas Inn |  1 |  15 |  16 |4. 45   | |Luzon Inn |1 |4 | 5 |1. 39 | |  Gordion Hotel |  1 |  20 |21   |5. 5    | |  Vigan Heritage Mansion |  1 |  15 |  16 |4. 45   | |  Rf Aniceto Mansion |  1 |  14 |15   |4. 18   | |  Villa Angela Pension House |  1 |  15 |  16 |4. 45   | |  Green R Hotel |  1 |  10 |  11 |3. 06   | |  Jaja Hotel |  1 1 |  14 |  15 |4. 8   | |  Mel Sol’s Tourist Inn |1   |  10 |  11 |  3. 06 | |  Mom’s Courtyard |  1 |  8 |   9 |  2. 51 | |Casa Teofila Lodge |  1 |  10 |  11 |3. 06   | |  El Juliana Hotel |  1 |12 |  13 |3. 2   | |Resorts | | | | | |Heritage Resort of Caoayan |1 |12 |13 |3. 62 | |Aplaya Mindoro Beach Resort |  1 |12 |  13 |  3. 62 | |Paraiso ni Don Juan Beach Resort |1 |12 |13 |3. 2 | |  Ponce Del Mar Beach Resorts |  1 |  10 |11   |3. 06   | |  Cabugao Beach Resort |  1 |  8 |  9 |  2. 51 | |Taj Resort |1 |12 |13 |3. 62 | |Ovemar Hotel and Resorts |1 |10 |11 |3. 6 | |  Teppeng Cove Beach Resort |  1 |  12 |13   |3. 62à ‚   | |Katib Beach Resort |1 |11 |12 |3. 34 | |Dayvee Hotel and Resorts |1 |12 |13 |3. 62 | |Totals |41 |318 |359 | | |Frequency (%) |11. 2 |88. 58 | |100 | Data Gathering Instruments The study will use a questionnaire to gather the necessary data. It consists of the following parts: Part I. This part will elicit information on the profile of the hotels/inns and resorts of the First District of Ilocos Sur. Part II. Provided the Level of Customer Satisfaction in the aforementioned marketing practices of the hotels/inns and resorts on the first district of Ilocos Sur. This items included in the questionnaires were adopted from the used by parasuraman et. Al (1998). However, to determined the customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/inns and resorts, a questionnaires was constructed and validated. In addition, the translation of level ranking was analyzed follow the criteria of customer’s satisfaction designed by Best (1977:174) The following norm for interpretation will be used to describe the following: On the Level of Customer Satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/inns and resorts Statistical RangeItem Descriptive Rating Overall Descriptive Rating 4. 2-5. 00Very much satisfiedVery High 3. 42-4. 21Much satisfiedHigh [H] 2. 62-3. 41SatisfiedFair [F] 1. 81-2. 61Moderately satisfiedLow (L) 1. 00-1. 80Not satisfiedVery Low [VL] Part III. Chi- Square will be test the significant relationship between the level of customer satisfaction with the aforementioned marketing practices and the profiles of the hotels/inns and resorts associated with the aforementioned business related factors. Part IV. It will include are the problems, issues comments regarding the operation of the hotels/inns and resorts. Data Gathering Procedure The following activities will be done for the conduct of the study: Prior to the survey, the questionnaire was piloted with the owners/managers, personnel and customers of the hotels/inns and resorts of the first district of ilocos sur to examined the first draft of the questionnaire and any misunderstanding over term and questions. The results of the piloted test showed that some sentences in the question were unclear and ambiguous. To realize the objectives of the study, the researcher will seek the assistance of the different experts for the validation of the questionnaire. After the validation, the researcher will ask permission from the different owners/ managers of the hotels/inns and resorts of first district of Ilocos Sur to conduct the study and for the endorsement of the study to the management. The management also suggested that the researcher should give an example in each questions in order to make the questions easy to understand. The results of the pilot study provided the correct information and the suitable design of questionnaire Upon approval of the management, the researcher will personally distribute and retrieved questionnaires to/from the respondents. The researcher will also look into documents for verification and acquisition of more data. Statistical Treatment of Data In the analysis and interpretation of the data, the following statistical tools will be utilized: 1. Frequency count, percentages will be used to determine the profile of the hotels/inns and resorts. 2. Mean will be applied to describe the level of customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/inns and resorts on the first district of Ilocos Sur. 3. Chi- Square will be utilized to determined the level of customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/inns and resorts associated with the aforementioned business related factors. Dummy Tables Table 2. Profiles of the Hotels/Inns and Resorts in terms of the some selected variables |Variables |f | % | |Type of Ownership | | | |Single proprietorship | | | | Partnership | | | | Corporation | | | |Totals | | | |Capital |f |% | |less than P2,000,000 | | |2,000,001 less than 5,000,000 | | | |5,000,001 less than 8,000,000 | | | |8,000,000 less than 10,000,000 | | | |10,000,001 and above | | | |Totals | | | |Number of Employees |f |% | | less than10 | | | |11 less than 14 | | | |15 less than 18 | | | |19 less than 21 | | | |Above 22 | | | |Totals | | | |Years of Existence |f |% | |1 4 Years | | | |5 8 Year | | | |9 12 Years | | | |13- 16 Years | | | |17 above | | | |Totals | | | |Number of Rooms | |% | |Less than 10 rooms | | |11-15 rooms | | | | 16- 20 rooms | | | |21-24 rooms | | | | 25- 29 rooms | | | | 30 and above | | | |Totals | | | |Services offered | |% | |Sleeping Accomodation | | | |Car rental/Service | | | |Food and Beverages | | | |Special offer for tour guidin g | | | |Recreational Facilities | | | |Cottage | | | |Firing Range | | | |Other forms of service offered | | | |Totals | | | Table 3. Level of Customer Satisfaction in the aforementioned Marketing Practices of the Hotels/Inns and Resorts on the First District of Ilocos Sur |Customer satisfaction |Mean |Dr | |Tangibility | | |The service personnel are suitably dressed and are professional in appearance. | | | |The make-up quality of hotel rooms is sufficiently clean. | | | |Visually appealing materials associated with the service. | | | |The hotels/inns and resorts provides sufficient dining facilities and services. | | | |Convenient hotels/inns and resorts business hours. | | | |The hotels/inns and resorts have a modern equipment. | | |Overall mean score | | | |Reliability | | | | The service personnel can correctly provide service | | | | The service personnel completed services in the time | | | | The service personnel is capable of resolving customer service | | | |The servi ce personnel can quickly provide required of the guest | | | |Overall mean score | | | |Responsiveness | | | |Fast treatment of customer complaint issues in the hotels/inns and resorts | | | |Stay operational speed in providing services | | | | You are not concerned about hotel payment methods | | | Hotel provides stated services | | | |Overall mean score | | | |Assurance | | | |You feel safe regarding the hardware and | | | |software of the hotel | | | |The staff have product knowledge of the hotels/inns and resorts e. g. describing all rooms type and | | | |the restaurants. | | | |Hotel service personnel are professional | | | |The service personnel provides individual services based on your needs. | | |The service personnel actively provide services and polite | | | |The behaviour of employees instill confidence in customers | | | |Customers feel safe in their transactions with the employees | | | |Employees are polite to customers | | | |Employees have knowledge to answer cu stomers’ questions. | | |Overall mean score | | | |Empathy | | | |The hotel/inns and resorts has sufficient leisure facilities | | | |The hotel/inns and resorts provides sufficient leisure activities (such as events in the evenings) | | | |Grocery stores give customers individual attention. | | | |Operating of the business in the hotels/inns and resorts are convenient to customers. | | | |Employees of hotel/inns and resorts give customers personal service. | | | |Employees in the hotels/inns and resorts have their customers’ interest at heart. | | |Employees of hotels/inns and resorts understand the specific needs of their customers. | | | |Overall mean score | | | |General Mean | | | Table 4. Chi Square test showing the significant relationship between the level of customer satisfaction and the profiles of the hotels/inns and resorts in the aforementioned business related factors. Business Related factors |Level of Customer Satisfaction | | |Tangibility |Reliabilit y |Responsiveness |Assurance |Empathy |   | |Type of ownership |  x2 |  x2crit | |The hotels/inns and resorts is difficult to get in on his room accommodation | | | |Complaints about the staff or not satisfied on their service performance | | | |Complaints about the food | | | |There are few guests | | | |Guests are bored | | | Theft | | | |Many things are broken such as: ambiance/facilities | | | |Customers | | | |No booking on arrival | | | |Unhelpful staff | | | |Next to a lift shaft | | | |Noisy room | | | |Overcharged | | | |Poor room service | | | |Cancellation costs | | | |Others | | | A. Bibliography Asubonteng, P. Mccleary, K. J. , Swan, J. E. (1996). SERVQUAL revisited: a critical review of service quality, The Journal of Services Marketing 10 (6), 62-81. Bardi, James A. (2003). Hotel Front Office Management. 3rd ed. Printed in the United States of America. Best, J. W. (1977). Research in Education. 3rded. Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. Binham, Phil ip. , Ritta Lampola. James Murray. (1982). Hotel English. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Blackwell, D. Roger, Miniard, W. Paul Engel, F. James. (2001). Consumer behavior. 9th ed. New York: Harcourt College Publishers. Braham, Bruce. (1985). Hotel Front Office. Great Britain : Hutchinson Co. (Publishers) Ltd. Brown, S. W. Bond, E. U. III (1995). The internal/external framework and service quality: Towardtheory in services marketing, Journal of Marketing Management, February, pp. 25-39. Cadotte, E. R. , Woodruff, R. B. Jenkins, R. L. (1987). Expectations and norms in models of consumer satisfaction. Journal of Marketing Research. 24 (3) 305-314. Charoenpong, P. (2003). 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J. , Crompton, J. L. (1990). Measuring the quality of recreation services. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration. 8 (3):47-56. Markovic, Suzana (2004). Measuring Service Quality in the Croatian Hotel Industry :A Multivariate Statistical Analysis. Retrieved April 16, 2008, from www. ng-epf. si/Arhiv2004/NG2004_12-Markovic. pd McKinney,V. ,Yoon,K. , F. M. (2002). The Measurement of Web-Customer Satisfaction: An expectation and Disconfirmation Approach. Information System Research, Vol. 13, No. 3, September, pp. 296-315. Min, H. K. , Min, H. S. (1997). Benchmarking the quality of hotel services: Managerial perspectives. International Journal of Quality Reliability Management, 14(6), 582-597. Morrison, Alastair M. (1989). Hospitality and Travel Marketing. USA: Delmar Publishers Inc. : 210-213. Nigell, H. , Brierley, J. MacDougall R. (1999). How to measure customer satisfaction. (2nd ed. ) Gower Publishing Limited. Oliver, R. L. (1980). 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Currency Exchange Rates, Management, and Speculation

Currency Exchange Rates, Management, and Speculation Read about the ways government and investors can manage and speculate on the value of their currencies. Currency exchange rates have become a global issue in the past year, particularly for developing economies which are generally performing better than the economies of the US, Europe, and Japan – the three sources of the â€Å"reference currencies† that essentially determine the value of the rest of the world’s money. This article is a short primer on the basics of currency exchange. It explains the ways in which governments and private investors can manage and speculate on the value of their currencies. Fixed vs. Floating Exchange Rates The value of the currency is always relative to something else, whether some commodity (gold has historically served as a reference) or other currencies. A fixed exchange rate also called a peg is a value that is determined by a government’s central bank, which must engage in the market trade of its currency for the reference currency in order to maintain the peg value. The main requirement for a fixed exchange rate scheme is that the central bank holds a large reserve of the reference currency. In a scheme in which the currency is pegged to a single reference currency, maintaining the peg is relatively straightforward. The value of the local currency is a simple function of the amount of the reference currency in the financial system, and changes in the currency value are reflected as price inflation or deflation; in order to exercise control over the local currency, the central bank sells the reference currency to move the value of the local currency higher, or purchases the reference currency to reduce the value of the local currency. 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The opposite end of the spectrum from a fixed exchange rate is a floating exchange rate, in which market forces determine the value of the currency. The currency in a floating exchange rate system is treated as a commodity, and its value is determined by supply and demand.   There is no country that uses a fully floating exchange rate scheme, but some of the effects of what it can do to a local currency can be seen in emerging markets where large inflows of foreign investment money have driven the value of the local currency higher. The Philippines, which currently has the best-performing stocks in the world, is a good example. The high inflow of foreign money into the local stock market represents high demand for the Philippine peso – the investors are trading their dollars, euros, yen, and other currencies for equity, valued in pesos, in Philippine companies. Thus the value of the peso is growing, meaning that fewer pesos can be exchanged for one unit of a foreign currency. This is good for the economy in one respect because it makes imports cheaper, but it increases the cost of exports and tends to dampen demand for local labor and goods. Dirty Floats and Currency Hedges In order to find a â€Å"happy medium† between imposing strict control over the currency value and allowing it to seek an efficient value through market effects, most governments practice what is called a managed float, sometimes also referred to as a â€Å"dirty float†. Instead of setting a fixed exchange rate for its currency, the central bank will set a target range. Rather than fix the currency at 5 clams = $1, the central bank of Examplestan might instead choose to let the value of the clam fluctuate, so long as it does not fall outside a range of 4.50 to 5.50 clams per dollar. There is a number of advantages to maintaining a dirty float. Allowing the currency to fluctuate within a controllable range reduces the number of foreign reserves the central bank must hold, which frees up financial resources and permits the central bank to speculate on the future value of the currency to a degree by issuing bonds denominated in either the local or foreign currencies. This is a form of hedging, because the bonds lock in a future value, in the sense that the amount of a bond issue represents a known release of either the local or foreign currency in the future when the bonds reach their maturity. This is similar to the forms of hedging and speculation that private investors can engage in by treating currency as a commodity, including options contracts, forward contracts, currency swaps, and futures contracts. In the private sector, currency hedging and speculation are particularly useful for companies whose trade involves a large amount of foreign currency. For example, the trader in Examplestan may wish to purchase an option to swap a certain number of clams for US dollars at a fixed rate lower than the present exchange rate, say 5.10 clams to the dollar, if he suspects that when he completes a future purchase of US imports, the rate will be even lower than that. If when the time comes, the actual exchange rate is 5.12 clams to the dollar, he exercises the option and lowers his purchase cost by 0.1% not a lot, but for companies whose transactions are in the millions of dollars (or clams), the difference can be very significant. Naturally, foreign currency exchange rates is far more complex theme than what is described in this brief article, but to help understand its intricacies, just remember the basic point that the value of a currency is determined by its amount in a financial system compared to other currencies in the system, and that managing the values of those is really only a matter of managing quantities.

Marketing plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

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Development of Curleys wife throughout the novel Essay Example for Free

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