...competitive advantage 5. Enter: new growth opps. Assessing the current position: 1. Weaknesses of financial measures: do not give reliable indicators on whether current performance is creating long-term value a. Company-level: most measures fall short in providing an indicator of long-term performance. b. Unit-level: can be even more misleading because they encourage deceptive comparisons across business units 2. Strategic value drivers: those organizational capabilities that have the most significant impact on the firm’s ability to create SV. These drivers shape a company’s ability to create and retain competitive advantage. a. To measure whether value is being created in any one year management must: i. Identify those org variables that are critically affecting competitive advantage and long-term cash flow. ii. Set target level performance on these iii. Measure performance achieved and compare to targets 3. Identifying value drivers: a. Should be a current asset...
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...professional in the future make this study to give us a glimpse into the inside life of running a business and how accounting works in them. This study will focus on the accounting statements that will be presented on the next pages. The accounting statements will help us determine their distinct characteristics, use and other factors. II. DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY I will portray in this study is running a restaurant on my own namely, Pasta Queen restaurant. Since pasta is my specialty and I’m known for it, this is what I will name if I will have my own restaurant in the future. I would like to designate my first restaurant anywhere inside the Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City after 10 years of employment in a hotel/cruise/restaurant. This would be a great place for my starting business because I live near it and would like to test its first on the people living near here. Then, when the business becomes successful, the elite place like Makati is the next destination. Another reason why I want to start this business is what I want people to know me through my ideas in the restaurant and to enjoy a new dining experience. My usual customers here will be everybody who wishes to dine in because the restaurant setting is will...
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...Seven Seas Cruise Vacations Inc. Occupancy Management1 Pamela Homesworth, Director of Operations – Yield Management for Seven Seas Vacations looked across her desk and let out a sigh. She looked exhausted and not a little bit frustrated as she removed her glasses and started to speak. “It’s Tuesday, the worst management day of my week” she said. “Today is the day I have to decide what to do with our remaining occupancy for a week Saturday to ensure we sail with a full complement of passengers. When I first came into this business, you made your profit from the last twenty percent of travelers, now you try not to lose your shirt to keep the ship at capacity for each sailing. I blame the internet!” Seven Seas Cruise Vacations Pamela Homesworth, then a 31 year old businesswoman, had joined Seven Seas Cruise Lines Inc. directly from an MBA focused on electronic marketing and operations. She began work six years earlier as the internet came to be a strategic force for consumer businesses, starting in 1998. Pamela worked her way into increasingly important roles with the firm and with the start of the fall cruise season had taken over an experiment that Seven Seas was testing on integrated vacation planning and direct sales under the selling brand Seven Seas Cruise Vacation. Using one of their midsize ships, Seven Seas was sailing a dedicated week long circuit from Miami through the western Caribbean and back along the coast of Mexico while testing several new ideas...
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...Cruise Sales and Management I. COURSE TITLE: CRUISE SALES AND MANAGEMENT II. COURSE DESRIPTION: This course explores the travel industry by developing an understanding of the reference materials used to market cruise for domestic and international destinations. Course Credit: 3 units lecture Contact Hours: 3 hours lecture/week 54 hours of lecture/term III. COURSE RATIONALE Cruising has been considered a global phenomenon; statistic shows the growing popularity of the cruise industry. This course aims to study the essential feature of cruises and how it contributes to the Tourism Industry. IV. COURSE OBJECTIVES By the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. Analyze the past, present and future of the cruise industry; 2. Analyze the services of the cruise industry from a traveler’s perspective. Identify routes, schedules, fare specials, and vacation packages; 3. Reflect on the issues affecting the cruise line industry and explain the psychology of selling cruises to prospective clients; 4. Observe the importance of capitalizing in the sale of cruise vacation packages to a much wider audience; and 5. Exert effort in producing cruise brochures in relation to the travel. V. COURSE CONTENT UNIT 1. Contemporary Cruise Operations 3 hours – June 16-17, 2011 A. Specific Learning Objectives: At the end of the unit, the students should be able to: 1. Define elements of cruising. 2. Identify the history of cruising. ...
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...Master of Management in Food & Beverage BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY, Perugia, Italy BA in Tourism Business Management Specialization: Hotel and Restaurant Management Exchange program: Deusto Business School, Bilbao, Spain PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2011 - 2016 COSTA CRUISES S.P.A, Genoa, Italy Italian cruise company Bar Supervisor ▪ Managed multidisciplinary team of 110 bar staff of different cultures on board cruise ships with 4500 guest capacity ▪ Supervised operations of 20 Bars. Increased revenues by 15% through use of report analysis to promote higher margin products ▪ Directed 12 different mentor programs to provide training in sales procedures and public Health compliance to over 100 participants ▪ Minimized refund errors by 30% through enhancing staff competency in bills accounting and service recovery ▪ Reduced inventory cost by 20% of beverage department by evaluating trend of consumption and purchase behaviors ▪ Managed and forecast stock inventory for 99 days world tour itineraries. Ensured full availability of product range whilst minimizing excess stock Start-Up Costa Diadema, Fincantieri Shipyard Construction, October 2014: ▪ Supervised construction of 20 Bars and Lounges and introduced 4 new concepts to increase revenues by 20% 2008 - 2010 COSTA CRUISES S.P.A, Genoa, Italy Italian cruise company Onboard Tour Specialist & Port Lecturer ▪ Coordinated multi-channel press releases of 33 forthcoming ports of call to onboard cruise guests...
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...With the 2004 winter holiday season in full swing, the management team at Carnival Cruise Lines had much to celebrate. More than 3 million passengers would sail with Carnival this year, an all-time high (Exhibit 1 presents passenger numbers for Carnival and the industry). Before year’s end, Carnival was set to launch the 110,000-ton, 2,974-passenger Carnival Valor, the 20th ship in the fleet (Exhibit 2). When the Carnival Liberty joined the fleet in early 2005, Carnival’s cruise capacity would lead the industry (Exhibit 3 presents cruise capacity by brand). The fortunes of Carnival Corporation and PLC, the parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines, reflected the strength of its most visible brand. Carnival Corporation was having the best year in its history, due in part to a rebound in ticket prices following recent industrywide discounting. The company authorized a $1 billion stock buy- back in the fourth quarter of 2004 and a 20% quarterly dividend increase to $0.15 per share. It would easily beat Wall Street earnings forecasts, despite a still-sluggish North American economy, higher fuel prices, the war in Iraq, and a devastating hurricane season that had disrupted operations in the company’s main Caribbean cruising waters (see Exhibit 4 for Carnival Corporation and PLC financials). Indeed, there was much fun taking place at the Miami-based headquarters of the “Fun Ships.” Nevertheless, a seasoned team of senior managers (Exhibit 5), many of whom had been with the company since...
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...industry this analysis offers a strategic plan in which CCL could continue to grow its international opportunities through the purchase of another cruise line. A leader in entertainment, CCL remains vigilant for the future. Continuing to seek opportunities is one way to maintain leaderaship in this industry. Carnival Corporation and Carnival PLC Carnival Cruise Lines is an American Dream come true. Started by Ted Arison, the company began operation in 1972 with a single secondhand ship, the Mardi Gras, and barely enough fuel for a one way trip from Miami to San Juan. The level of enthusiasm, Arison relied on to get his vision sailing, was barely adequate to start building the company into a full-fledged cruise line; and in two years, Carnival was still struggling. Arison remained focused on his goal and in 1974, he purchased full ownership of Carnival for $1 in cash and he assumed a debt of $5 million. Arison spent the rest of his life investing in Carnival. He finally turned the $1 investment into the most popular and profitable cruise line in the world. With a single ship, which was a converted ocean liner, the Mardi Gras was instrumental in Carnival’s growth. Carnival Corporation & PLC a global cruise company (Carnival Corp.), is one of the largest vacation companies in the world. The corporation includes: Carnival Cruise...
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...Entry & Exit Barriers | Low | 4 | Substitutes | High | 5 | 1. The cruise line industry is effectively an oligopoly market, where several major cruise liners make up more than 90% of the market shares. Carnival is constantly engaged in marketing and pricing battles with these competitors, making internal rivalry central to the industry. Additionally, cruise lines have historically been subject to heavy M&A activity, and Carnival sometimes competes to acquire even more share. The cruise line industry has relatively high competitor diversity and a moderate level of product differentiation. Carnival and Royal Caribbean are each more than 3x the size of the next largest competitor. Smaller cruise lines tend to specialize in options for a particular demographic or geographic region. Carnival Corporation’s multiple brands create a competitive rivalry within the company; however, each brand caters toward a slightly different demographic or specializes in a particular market or geographic region. One additional factor increasing internal rivalry in cruising is the industry’s high exit barriers. It is difficult for a cruise liner to sell their assets and exit the industry. This increases competition within the industry somewhat, as there is inflexibility in capacity adjustment, meaning that companies will undercut their prices to boost sales when overall demand is low. Switching costs between competitors are effectivel...
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...position and condition? What is its mission and vision, its strategic objective, source of sustainable competitive advantage? Royal Caribbean Cruise Line was founded in 1969 by Arne Wilhelmsen and Edwin Stephan. Arne and Edwin both thought it would be a great idea to start a cruise line that would provide relaxation and travel to the Caribbean for wealthy men and women that resided in Florida. Royal Caribbean’s first ship was the Song of Norway that launched in 1970 with the ability to carry 700 passengers and included a lounge area to have a drink. Later, in 1971, Royal Caribbean added two more cruise line ships called Nordic Prince and Sun Viking. In 1978 they began renovations on the Song of Norway that added an extra 164 rooms. In the 1980s Royal Caribbean added two more ships called the Song of America and Sovereign of the Seas. Sovereign of the Seas was considered to be the largest cruise liner in the world during that time, because it had the ability to carry over 2200 people and weighed in at 73,000 tons. Royal Caribbean began adding other destinations for passengers to choose from such as: Mexico, Europe, and Alaska. It also was the first cruise line to utilize the ability to book cruises on-line to make it easier and faster to find deals instead of having to call in to a call center. Royal Caribbean added several more new cruise ships named the Monarch of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Legend of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, and Splendor of the Seas, in the 1990s. In...
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...Sciortino Deepa Sethi Executive Summary Carnival Corporation is the leading cruise line company in the international cruising industry, with 11 major cruise line brands and is clearly a winning company. It controls almost 50% of the cruise line market and is a broad line provider. The company does not face any considerable challenges within its industry and has adequately responded to all threats. Although 2008 was a challenging year due to the economic crisis, Carnival posted net income for 2008 of $2.3 billion (15.9% of sales). Carnival’s strategy is to be a broad line provider with a wide scope on a large scale. Carnival maintains this strategy by focusing on cost leadership in the contemporary and bargain lines, and then differentiating in the premium and luxury lines of their product mix. Industry & Competition The cruise line industry is a moderately attractive, 3-star industry that is characterized by top incumbents capturing a majority of the economic value in the industry, high fixed costs, cost savings achieved from economies of scale, and a high degree of rivalry between the top two industry incumbents. The cruise line industry has reached the growth stage after the inflection point. It is predicted that the growth stage will be longer in the cruise line industry due to frequent product upgrades and niche enhancements that forestall movement into maturity. The cruise industry has developed into a duopoly. While Carnival has 47% of the market,...
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...Alicia Trezza Zak Jones Carnival Cruise Lines 1. Conduct a SWOT analysis for Carnival: what are its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? In doing so, please evaluate its major competitors. Strengths - Carnival has 75 ships in its fleet and is continuing to brand the company as the “fun ships” - There are large barriers of entry into the cruise businesses. Ships are extremely costly and time consuming to build. - Carnival cruises provide a vacation that includes all activities, food, beverages and transportation to multiple destinations in one low price, appealing the budget friendly cruisers. - Carnival builds it ships specifically for entertainment and fun, the most important factors people are looking for when booking a vacation. - Carnival markets to all travel agents. With a variety of cruise ship offerings, Carnival has vacations that appeal to a variety of demographics, budgets and niches. - Carnival has ample opportunity during each cruise for ancillary revenues. Even through the cruises are “all-inclusive”, Carnival charges for short off boat excursions, casino play, and alcohol. - Ships almost always sailed full and satisfaction rates were extremely high. Weaknesses - Past issues, such as one ship hitting a sandbar on the first voyage leave lingering impressions on vacationers. - Customer loyalty is low. It appears customers are only willing to take 1-2 cruise vacations in a few year spans, despite Carnival’s high satisfaction ratings. -...
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...Table of Contents Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3 Situation Analysis 4 Market Summary 4 Pet Industry Analysis 3 Pet Market Trend 5-5 Market Trends 5-6 Demographics 6-7 Market Psychographics 7-8 Market Needs: Cruise Travel and Pets 8 The Competitive Environment - SWOT analysis 9 Strengths 9-10 Weaknesses 10 Opportunities 11-11 Threats 12-12 Competition 12-13 Service Offering 13 Keys to Success 14 Marketing Strategy 15 Mission 16 Marketing Objectives……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16-17 Financial Objectives…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......17 Target Market………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….18-19 Financial…..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………19-27 Controls………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..27 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………28-29 References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..29-30 Executive Summary Furry Pet Spa & Resort is a Private Limited Company that aims to provide a world class spa for pets while owners travel with them. Since people are engaged in more travel, there is an excellent opportunity for some travelers to take their pets with them on vacations. Research now suggest that pet owners in many instances would prefer taking their pets with them, but the travel industry has been reluctant to allow pets to accompany their owners on some modes of transportation and lodging facilities...
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...Memorandum To: Vice President (Instructor) From: Operations SBU Team A Date: Sunday, March 30th, 2014 Subject: Company Strategic Goals and a Project Portfolio Management Process EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The 2014 Cruise Industry report indicates that the cruise line industry will continue its global presences and with the economy in an ongoing recovery mode, the Oasis Cruise Line & Travel Company is anticipating a positive year of growth and expansion. Our organization, Oasis Cruise Line & Travel Company is fortunate enough to have a viable Strategic Business Unit (SBU) team that can analyze and develop our company’s organizational strategy aimed at generating future business and/or revenue. Our SBU Operations team supports the company’s key business objectives in the Project Portfolio Evaluation and Selection process by conducting the following: * Clarifying the various projects and missions of the company * Defining the best business approach for each project * Surveying the landscape and the environment for future growth and development * An internal and external appraisal of the projects * Setting the corporate objectives with each project * Assisting in the formulation of the corporate strategy * Finally, monitoring the project strategy for corporate success In order for our company to stay competitive and be successful we must embrace the PPM business practices that can generate more value with our project selection to make better, more...
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...CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES Questions on Strategy 1. What strategy has Carnival adopted in the past to build the cruise line into the dominant player in the industry? Was this a wise approach? Carnival cruise lines was the dominant player in the cruise industry over the last 30 years because of a strong and highly visible brand, a tight control over costs and a clear vision about the industry. Carnival’s corporate strategy was to see them as a vacation business, not a cruise business putting them in direct competition with other vacation companies. The strategy was to convert land vacationers to cruisers. The company saw the huge untapped potential that the North American vacation market offered; only 16% of the country ever cruised. This was a very successful strategy. Carnival’s success and profitability grew, increasing their percentage of market share in the industry each and every year. Carnival managed costs much more aggressively than its competitors. They scrutinized capital purchases and whether there was true value with the asset. Competitors were paying 25-30% to buy a ship per bed more than Carnival. The parent company utilized economies of scale in purchasing. When 9-11 hit, Carnival cruise lines was in position to capitalize on new market segments, operate in new ports (Galveston, TX) and become the new low cost leader. Many of the smaller cruise lines were forced into bankruptcy. This strategy has proven very successful for Carnival. They...
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...Abstract: Acme is a travel agency, which specializes in selling cruise holidays. Although the organization started out as a bricks and mortar business, today 60% of the business is obtained online, and with 40% of the trade coming through the traditional routes. The organization has been highly successful, and business is growing, but the company is facing some challenges. Although service levels are high, increasing levels of competition have impacted on the organization, and the repeat purchase rate was reduced from 50% to 19%. Furthermore, the cost of new customer acquisition has increased significantly, to $78 per customer. The organization wishes to increase repeat sales in order to support better profit levels, and reduce the challenges and costs associated with new customer acquisition. The implementation of a customer relationship management program (CRM) has been advocated as a way of covering, analyzing, and facilitating utilizing of information about customers to improve the customer relationships, and marketing knowledge. The expected duration of implementation is approximately four months; and if it is able to increase repeat purchases by only 10%, it would increase the revenues for the company in excess of $4 million in the first year. Brief Company Background; Acme is a local travel agency firm. Established in 1978, the firm started out selling only through the shop, attracting new customers with the use of local advertising, including newspapers...
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