Descriptive Essay The Beach

The first thing I notice is the sky, a bright blue color without a single cloud in the sky. Then, the water which is as crystal clear and shimmering in the sun like a diamond. And the smell, it is nothing like you could ever imagine. The salty aroma fills the air and seeps into my nostrils producing shivers and chills throughout my body. I can hear the ocean waves crashing and sense the mass amounts of sunscreen floating through the air. Can hear children screaming and laughing and they run for their lives when the icy water touches their toes.Seeing girls laying out and taking in the heat waves which produces a dark sun kissed tan on their skin. I throw my hair up into a messy bun and off go sprinting in the burning hot sand, with my surf board tucked under my arm. I leap into the chilly ocean and instantly my heart skips a beat. Begin to paddle out and can feel the water droplets evaporating of my skin under the blistering sun. As I begin to stand up on my board, the wave's crash o ver my body pulling me into the water. Then continue this pattern until my legs are weak and my arms can paddle no more.It is just then hear my ether call my name, â€Å"Hannah time for lunch! † scramble out of the water and head up to the jeep. We down our lunch at a rapid pace and my little sister runs back to the edge of the water to build a sand castle. I listen to her play and giggle in the California heat. Her little hands constantly working to build her masterpiece. I decide it is time to relax, so I grab my favorite novel and lay out on my beach towel. With the waves crashing and the birds flying in the distance I am in my safe haven. My toes grasp the sand between them and a jolt of warmth travels through my entire body.It is at this moment all of my stresses seem to disappear and I am in a wonderland of warmth and happiness. During my tip to the beach time does not exist. Six hours could go by, but in my mind it seems as if it has been a short 30 minutes. It is not clear to me the time until I notice the sun slowly setting beyond the horizon and a cool breeze causing goose bumps on my sun kissed arms and legs. My father comes down from the jeep with a sweat shirt for both me and my sister. He hands me a cool glass of lemonade and the water droplets condensate on the outside of the bright red cup.All three of us sit on a blanket and watch the sun as it sets over the ocean. The beautiful colors of pink and orange are breathe taking. A brilliant ball of fire, millions of miles away, but so apparent and bright here on the sandy shore. The sky contains the most peaceful colors as it fades off on the horizon leaving the sky dark without its presence. At that moment I know what this means. The setting of the sun symbolizes my time here in my safe haven is over and I must depart from my happy place. Gather up my novel, surfboard, ND towel and make my way back to the jeep.My little sister complains and fusses about how she does not want to leave her ca stle. As her castle is washed away by the incoming tide, so is her innocence. My father carries her on his shoulders as she is passed out snoring. That scene causes me to go back in time just a few years past when was the same age and I can remember myself sleeping upon my father's muscular shoulders. As we drive away I think to myself†¦ So long until next year. And watch my safe haven slowly diminish the further and further we drive away.

Methods of Learning: Advantages and Disadvantages

To design a learning activity or a learning program, there is a variety of learning methods which can be implemented to facilitate the learning process. These methods are divided into two main categories , trainer centered and learner centered. In the below table, I have listed different learning methods with the advantages and disadvantages of each one.Method Advantage Disadvantage Presentations 1. Save the time of transferring knowledge. 2. Gives the learners to compare their knowledge with the presented one . 3. Gives the Learner a chance to ask and discuss with the trainer directly. 2. Does not give the learners enough chance to control their own learning because it is trainer centered methodDemonstration1. Expose the learners to the best practice . 2. Considered as the first step to build the skills. 3. Save the time of sharing knowledge . 1. Unprofessional demonstrators can be a result of poor performance. 2. Does not show the reality on the work site .Group Discussions, meetings and briefings1. A quick way of sharing knowledge and skills. 2. Minimize the resistance of change 3. Learners can lead the meetings providing their agendas which meet their needs. 1. Does not involve practical part. 2. Discussions might miss the main topics and waste more time. 3. A few learners might control the discussions while the others are only listenersRole Play1. Learners can practice w hat they learn and share knowledge. 2. Build the sense of team work within learners . 3. Provide a safe environment for doing mistakes . 1. Might be over simplified , so does not reflect the real work. 2. It  requires a feedback from the facilitator. 3. It improves skills only .E-learning1. Provide time flexibility for learners . 2. The learner lead the pace of the learning. 3. Can be accessed in different ways and from different places. 1. Minimize the sense of team work and sharing knowledge with others. 2. Requires anIT access and good network3. Boring for some learners styles such as the activists . On the job training 1. Expose the learners to the real work . 2. Gives the learners a chance to practice. 3. Give the learners to share knowledge with experienced employees. 1. Requires an experienced mentor . 2. Cannot be applied in organization where there is a shortage of manpowe . 3. Learners might feel demotivated with a busy mentor or staff.Blended Learning1. Variety of metho ds combined together. 2. It addresses all learning styles. 3. Improves the competencies through learning and practice. 1. Very costly in terms of money and time. 2. Requires availability of several learning resources and facilities .Coaching1. Addresses the exact needs of a learner 2. Maximize the learners satisfaction and self-esteem . 1. Very costly because it is one to one approach. 2. Requires an expert coach because it is applied for the management levels in most of the organization.Criteria of Choosing between learning Methods: 1. Learning Objectives : after analyzing the gaps between the current capabilities and the required capabilities, learning objectives will be generated to fulfill the learning needs.2. The learning budget: It plays a main role in selecting the methods which are most effective and efficient . Organizations with very limited budget usually use the internal resources and not interested on the methods which are costly.3. Timing : the work hours and the avai lability of manpower are very important criteria in selecting the suitable methods. Sometimes, e-learning is selected due to time restrictions within the organization or the function.4. Learning resources and materials: facilities, number of learners , learning aids and IT issues are put into consideration to select the suitable learning method.Learning Resources ,Facilities and Equipments and their Advantages and Disadvantages:Item Advantage Disadvantage Power Point 1. Easy to use. 2. Support the structure of learning activity 3. Display photos, charts and statistics. 1. Requires other equipment such as data projector and a computer. 2. Might be boring for some learners styles.Internet1. Easy to access anywhere any time. 2. Include lots of learning references and materials. 1. Requires good network otherwise the learners will not be able to learn properly. 2. Learners might not be focused to the main topic when using the internet.Videos1. Interesting for most of the learners . 2. I t is not costly and does not need more spaces. 1. Contain some cultural issues. 2. It is not applicable for special needs learners such as deaf or blind learners .A flipchart1. Very cheap. 2. Useful for learning activities and preparation. 3. Utilized to get the learners involved in the learning process. 1. Requires a space in the room to be stocked up. 2. Needs clear colors. 3. Not applicable for some learning methods such as e-learning.Books and  Handouts1. Authentic references for learners. 1. New technology interference . 2. Need space or room for storing.Smart Boards1. Integrated technology 2. Interested for learner 1. Needs special training for users. 2. Very costlyClassroom or training halls1. Traditional and useful for group learning . 1. Requires a suitable preparation. 2. Not applicable for e-learning or mobile learning.Criteria for selecting suitable resources , facilities and equipment for learning activities: 1. Learners factors and learners styles : This selection is a result of analyzing the learners factors and needs such as deaf, blind, activists, theorists..etc. 2. Budget: After considering the assigned budget the suitable resources and facilities will be easy to identified . 3. Legislation : There are some learning legislations and policies which should be into consideration such as safety and health . 4. Nature of the learning activities or the learning methods : For example, e-learning requires the availability of computers or smart phone or devices. 5. Number of learners : This is very important criteria to identify the size of the class or the training hall . In addition, it enable the learning and development practitioner to identify the learning method .

Principles of Banking and Finance

Principles of Banking and Finance: Single Cashflow 1. Present Value (PV) * the value on a given date of a payment or series of payments made at other times (past or future) * Discounting from the future * Value at t=0 on a given time line (â€Å"t† is the period, ranging from 0 to n where â€Å"n† being the last period). * Net Present Value (NPV): PV after deducting all the costs 2. Future Value (FV) * The amount to which a specific sum and /or series of payments will grow on a given date in the future * Compounding (interests upon interests) Value at t>0 on a given time line Single Cashflow: Formulas FV = PV(1 + i)t PV = FV / (1+i)t i = (FV / PV)1/t – 1 Effective Interest Rate * Effective (Annual) Interest Rate (EIR) * The interest rate expressed as if it were compounded once a year. * Used to compare two alternative investments with different compounding periods * Does not include any fees incurred as part of the loan package * Nominal or Quoted Annual Interest Rate (NIR) * (periodic rate) x (number of periods per year) The rate normally quoted in the loan agreement * All-in Rate * NIR that includes all the fees incurred as part of the loan package Formulas: Uneven Cashflow Even Cashflow * Annuity – series of equal payments (â€Å"PMT†) that occur at regular intervals for a period of time (â€Å"t†). * Payment is normally made at the end of the period. For payment occurs at the beginning of the period, it is Annuity Due. Perpetuity – infinite series of equal payments Formula: Annuities Formula: Perpetuities When n > ? , PV (Perpetuity) = PMT/i

Earnest Etinne Narjot - Painting, Drawing, Print Essay

Earnest Etinne Narjot - Painting, Drawing, Print - Essay Example The essay "Earnest Etinne Narjot - Painting, Drawing, Print" concerns the art of Earnest Etinne Narjot. In the hues (color) use of his oil painting, Narjot has used white, black, and brown. The brown color that is used on the curtain is moderately light, which may be considered as being orange. Such color is perceived as a warm color and certainly contributes to the comfort and warm atmosphere of this piece of work. This complements the content of the outlook of the painting. In addition to the warm color, the mother in the painting is in a black blouse while her child is putting a white cloth consequently bringing out a contrast of white and black as they are, at the center of the oil painting. The perceptions of Viewers are therefore more engrossed to the center of the image with the mother and her baby being the focus of the painting. In the values used, that is darkness or lightness, the painting depicts complementary interplay of both lightness and darkness utilized by the artis t in his work. To begin with, there is a shadow on both the mother and her child’s face which is a clear indication that at the center of the painting there is a grater intensity of light. Actually, the amount of light used by the artist is bright enough to permit the image viewers to observe the child’s blanket as well as the pattern on the blouse of the mother. This means that, the focus, illuminates, and the light of the painting seem s to be coming from ceiling (top) of the picture, as the rays of light. in the painting see

Payam - Strategic Information Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Payam - Strategic Information Managment - Essay Example Thus, information that goes into the system must be analysed at various levels, according to the task organisation requirements. Therefore, the discussion about the best information system (IS) to be included is critical in order to support the decision-making process (Lucey, 1997). This case study takes an in-depth look at Optical Filters Ltd. (OFL), a company that is attempting to improve its sales order process to better satisfy its customers. In an effort to improve its processes and increase market share, the company has decided to revisit their business objectives (i.e. the way they make decisions), to find new ways of communicating the important information in real-time. 2 Optical Filters and Business Model OFL is a world leader in the design and manufacture of EMI-shielded and contrast-enhancement windows. The company was established in 1988 in the United Kingdom (UK), and has remained a family-owned and operated business. Its proficiency lies in optical expertise and the dry film lamination of plastic and glass filters for displays and enclosures. OFL is based out of Thame, Oxfordshire and is registered to ISO9001:2000 for the design and manufacture of products to enhance displays. The company currently supplies its products to the aerospace, defence, and security industries. OFL employs approximately 40 employees in its UK facilities with a turnover of close to ?6 million per year (Optical Filters, 2010). 2.1 Business Model and Strategic View OFL has been a major supplier of heated glass to 3M and BAE Systems, which have been the company’s two largest customers. The company is involved in a high-variety, low-volume business (Naylor, 2002). Thus, due to the nature of production, OFL must always use skilful assembly operators and engineers to complete sales orders. There are three major objectives OFL focuses on when servicing its customers: Quality products with competitive price On-time delivery Short lead time Strategically, the business has r eported looking forward to increase its market share in both the UK and the United States (US). This goal is the primary reason for establishing effective customer interaction procedures. To make this a reality, the company realizes its image and performance must be changed. OFL must focus on the following two primary objectives of IS development: Improve the information flow across the organisation to create a visibility about sales orders, production capacity and materials management To improve OFL’s reputation, in term of deliveries, quality, and shorter order processing time These objectives are in line with the strategic decision and plans for the next fiscal year. The relationship between the above objectives and the strategy that must be followed in the IS design to support and add value to what they are attempting. 2.2 Business Environment In order for a business to be successful, it is important for the company to always be mindful of the surrounding environment that influences its business. As highlighted by Porter (2003),

Discussion and Participation Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion and Participation Questions - Essay Example Another factor to consider is the quantity of philanthropic work companies performed. In order to foster an ethical work environment companies should have a formal code of ethics and an employee manual. Ethics can be used as a factor to gain an advantage over the competition. Social responsibility is one of the hottest trends in the business industry. 2. A company that has achieved great success and incredible levels of growth is Starbucks Cafe. This company took the concept of a coffeehouse to brand new level by offering products of greater quality, great product variety, and excellent customer service. One of the practices that make this company very socially responsible is its use of fair trade coffee. Fair trade coffee is a practice that guarantees poor farmers across the world at least $1.26 per pound of coffee which is twice the global price of that commodity. This firm has used innovation such as being one of the first coffeehouse to offer Wi-Fi broadband internet free of char ge. The firm has taken advantage of technologies to sell downloadable I-tunes. The company offers a lot of value by providing its customers with a great experience in all its stores worldwide. 3. To me it is not out of the ordinary that customization has become as valuable as standardization was at the beginning of the 20th century. Business has change and companies now have to provide a higher level of customer service and satisfaction. If a customer desires a customized product companies cannot afford to say no because that client will be lost forever and the competition will provide the potential client the customized product or service the person needs. In the service industry customization has become more important than ever. For example consultants provide a specialized customized service to each client they serve. 4. Participation professor Corporate values are very important towards the success a manager can achieve. A few years ago I worked at a company that was lacking any type of corporate ethics. The manager of the company lied to workers about compensation, incentives, and production quotas among other matters. The employees were offered incentives and the company never honored them. The lies and corruption at this company were so deep that the firm began to steal hours from the workers and the paychecks were received two to three weeks late every pay cycle. The lack of corporate ethics did not allow some of the good supervisors to do their job well since the employees lost all respect they had for the administration. 5. Participation – Matt An environmental factor of great importance that you mentioned in your response is pollution. Pollution has become one of the most dangerous environmental factors humanity faces. The rising levels of CO2 are contributing to the global warming effect. Humanity is destroying our rainforest at an alarming rate. It is estimated humanity deforestation problem is so bad that at current rate of deforestation a ll our rainforest will be gone within 100 years. Our water supply is not sufficient to provide water for the entire population of earth. In places such as the Sub-Saharan desert people do not have accessible drinkable water. Our society is so depend on crude oil that within 40 years it is possible that we may dried up all our petroleum reserves. 6. Participation - Kershena In your response you mentioned the importance of free trade agreements. Free trade agreement

Child Birth Booth Camp Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Child Birth Booth Camp - Research Paper Example The class was headed by a rather experienced instructor in medical field and childbirth in particular. The instructor was a well-trained, long-term nurse and a catholic doula whose name was Rosemary Antunes. She was a mother of eight and a grandmother of six Rosemary was a graduate of St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing, and said that she has over thirty years of experience as a Registered Nurse. In addition, she said that she had served as the school Nurse at Christendom College. Apart from these, she has also served labor and delivery sector at Fauquier Hospital with extensive experience in variety of settings. She informed us that she first became interested in working as a delivery nurse because of her mother. From the experiences she gained from her mother’s deliveries, she told us that giving birth a great moment in a woman’s life especially first timer and is therefore very important to treat women with kindness and respect through the entire process of concep tion to birth. Her philosophy has been to promote life among mothers and their children by helping them give birth safely. She offers teachings on the same in two area hospitals. She has also worked as a certified doula, offering personalized support and encouragement to women in labor. The class started around 9 am and ended at 5 pm. In the class, topics relating to pregnancy and childbirth were taught. Discussions on the same were conducted with the aim of equipping first time expectant mothers and their partners with knowledge and information on how to handle childbirth. The class constituted various practices. Comfort was ensured to allow healthy stay and learning especially given the much time allocated for all the lessons. The majority of the learners were Caucasian couples with the exception of one African American couple in the classroom. During the introduction the male participants were asked to introduce their partners, many referred to them as their wives whereas others

Strategies for analyzing and entering foreign markets Essay

Strategies for analyzing and entering foreign markets - Essay Example onal franchising is the strategy that gives the opportunity to an independent entrepreneur to operate a business under the name of another established brand name. International franchising helps businesses to expand into foreign markets using a franchise agreement. When franchises are expanded internationally, it opens new opportunities to new markets that the business could not have reached. International Franchising also allows businesses to take advantage of favorable government regulations in various countries. This helps to save money through the paid taxes. There are cultural differences that exist in various countries that might go a long way in killing the business in these countries. There is also financial risks involved when trying to expand the business into other countries. In analyzing foreign markets, firms first critically need to choose well the foreign market in which it would want to venture in. This would involve the analysis of the potential success of the business products in that market (Adam, 2001). The firm then requires gathering enough information to use in the analysis process. The information may include the knowledge about domestic government agencies, private agencies in that country as well as other private sources. In the analysis, it is also important for the firm to assess the possible risks in the foreign market. Firms choose their modes of entry into a foreign market through identification of the market, collection of information about the market, risk assessment, securing capital and space to carry out the

Develop Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Develop Assignment - Research Paper Example Prospecting – it was seen that the major problem of the new advisors was lack of prospects to do presentation and it was seen that they need to be trained on this area to make them more productive agents This training program shall be an interactive so as to ensure participation of all and to meet the needs of as many as possible. In all sessions there will be a feedback and question and answer session. Also the more experienced sales managers will also be incorporated into the session to give real life practical situations. Mock reality sessions will also be used to help the participated to appreciate the trainings. This training program is mainly for financial advisor, sales managers and sales business support officers as these are the individuals that the interact with the company’s clients and drive the sales turnover the company and in turn affect the profitability of the company Assessment will include two papers on the last day one written and verbal presentation including mock presentations to evaluate to the extent to which the advisors achieve the expected learning outcomes. Immediate feedback and evaluation shall be given for further continuing

Yemen Strikes May Target Top AL Qaeda Leaders Essay Example for Free

Yemen Strikes May Target Top AL Qaeda Leaders Essay Al Qaeda is a global militant Islamist organization founded by the late Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam among other Islamic. It dates back to around August 1988-1989 in Peshwar in Pakistan. Its origins were traced to the Soviet War in Afghanistan. It operated as a network that comprised of both multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim revolution. This movement called for global jihad and implemented a strict interpretation of the Sharia laws. It was branded a terrorist organization by major organizations and countries in the world such as the United Nation Security Council, the European Union, NATO, the United States, and the United Kingdom among many other countries.               Al Qaeda functioned both on its own and through some minor terrorist organizations. The organizations that operated under the al Qaeda included Ayman al-Wawahiri’s Egyptian Islamic Jihad which was also known as el Gamaa Islamia. There were also other Jihad groups in countries such as Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Pakistan, Croatia, Tunisia Lebanon, Albania, Philippines, Azerbaijan, Tajistan and the Hashmiri Region in India and Chechnyan in Russia. AL Qaeda kept cells and personnel in numerous countries to facilitate its operations including Kenya, Tanzania, the United States, Germany, United Kingdome, Malaysia and Canada. â€Å"Al Qaeda has no home base, but maintains cells in different countries in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia† (Zalman) Objectives                  One of the ultimate goals of Al Qaeda was to fight off the United States armed forces out of Saudi Arabian peninsula and Somalia. They issued rulings on Islamic laws indicating that such action was proper and essential. Bin Laden led the AL Qaeda to oppose the United States for various reasons. First, they perceived the United States to have no faith because its governance was not as per their interpretation of the Islamic laws. The second reason was that they regarded the United States as a provider of vital support to â€Å"other infidel† nations and institutions. They particularly branded the Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel and finally the United Nations, as enemies of the Islamists organization. Third, Osama Bin Laden greatly contended the participation of the United States armed force in the Gulf war and operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1991, 1992 and 1993 respectively. Above all, the presence of the American forces in the Saudi Arabian penins ula was with no doubt resented by the al Qaeda. Last but not least, the United States Government’s incredible resentment was owed to the arrest and conviction of the al Qaeda personnel or any member of their affiliate terrorists organizations. For these reasons, Osama Bin Laden led the al Qaeda to declare jihad, holy war, against the United States. He pursued this goal through all means possible. The al Qaeda made attacks on any nations or organizations allied to the United States.                Since 1988, when Al Qaeda was formed, â€Å"the organization has been credited with scores of terror attacks around the globe, which have resulted in the deaths of thousands of people† (National Geographic). Attacks in East Africa                   On 7th August 1998, well planned attacks were made on two American embassies in the East African countries of Kenya and Tanzania. In Tanzania, it is perceived by the authorities that a bomb was planted in a refrigeration truck which was later parked outside the United States embassy. It was unfortunate that these two embassies did not meet the recent strict measures that have been implemented. The attack on the Tanzanian embassy saw 11 people die and 86 more get injured. On the other hand the Kenyan bombing resulted in the deaths of 12 Americans, 213 Kenyan Citizens and had over 5000 casualties. One of AL Qaeda’s leaders, Al Libi, â€Å"was wanted for his alleged role in the deadly 1998 bombings of the two embassies in Africa† (CNN).               The aftermath of this attack was devastating and the United States in conjunction with the Tanzanian government sought to set up a new embassy. The United States impeached Osama Bin Laden as the core perpetrator of the bombing of these embassies. The united stated went ahead to offer a reward for five million dollars for his arrest and conviction.                   The United States government as devastated as it was plotted attacks on Sudan and Afghanistan. On 20th August 1998, the United States attacked Sudan and Afghanistan. It was alleged that the US targeted a chemical weapons producing plant, located in Sudan, with 13 cruise missiles. This only resulted to the deaths of the night guards. There has not been any substantial evidence that supports the attack and therefore it has come under extreme criticism. The attack on Afghanistan consisted of about 75 cruise missiles which targeted three separate terrorists’ camps and strongholds. This attack brought the deaths of 24 people but unfortunately failed in getting Osama Bin Laden. â€Å"The strikes were a response to an imminent threat to the U.S. posed by a terrorist network backed by Osama bin Laden† (CNN). Attacks in Yemen                   This is AL Qaeda’s first ever attack in its course. It is known as the Yemen Hotel Bombing of 1992. On the evening of the 29th of December 1992, a bomb went off at the Gold Mahur Hotel. This happened to be where the United States’ armed forces had been staying on their route to Somalia. Fortunately the troops had already evacuated the hotel at the time of the attack. Undeterred by any circumstances, the AL Qaeda went ahead to plot another attack. They targeted another hotel. They perceived that the American troops were staying in the Aden Movenpick. However, the bomb detonated in the hotel car park, ahead of time for their attack. The explosion led to the death of two Australian tourists. Osama Bin Laden and Mohamed Khan claimed responsibility for these attacks. Attacks in Jordan                In December 1999-2000, there was a plotted attack by the AL Qaeda to attack United States and Israelis tourists who had visited Jordan to celebrate the millennium. Conversely, authorities in Jordan disillusioned the plotted attacks and apprehended and convicted 28 suspects. This plot involved the bombing of the LAX but this was a complete failure for the AL Qaeda since the bomber, known as Ahmed Ressam was apprehended at the US- Canadian border with explosives in his car. The AL Qaeda did not stop at that. They planned an attack on the USS Sullivans on January the third in 2000. This failed because they put too much weight on a small boat that was to bomb the ship. Attack on MV Limburg                   The Limburg was loaded with 397,000 barrels, equated to 63,100 m3, of crude oil from Iran en route to Malaysia. It was attacked in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen where it was to collect another load of crude oil. The Limburg was registered under a French-flag. PETRONAS, a Malaysian petrol firm, had chartered the Limburg. At some distance offshore, a small boat loaded with explosives rammed the tanker on the starboard and detonated. The craft caught fire and estimated 90,000 barrels, equated to 140,000 m3 of crude oil spilled into the ocean. Yemeni authorities apparently claimed that the explosion was caused by an accident. However investigations showed traces of TNT on the wrecked vessel. In the incident one crew member was killed and 12 others were injured. According to BBC, Ahmed al-Darbi confessed to being responsible for this incident.                      The Battle of WanatOn July 13, 2008, AL Qaeda and Taliban guerilla fighters raged war on NATO troops. This occurred near Wanat, a village in Waygal district, in Afghanistan’ province of Nuristan. This battle has been branded â€Å"Black Hawk Down†. It was one of the bloodiest attacks in the war and one of the numerous attacks on remote outposts. In comparison to the preceding ambushes that were executed in a haphazard manner, this was well coordinated and executed. â€Å"American casualties included nine killed and 27 wounded, while four Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were wounded† (Terrorists groups). Attacks on the United States                  On Tuesday September 11, 2001 a coordinated series of 4 attacks were launched on the US in the metropolitan area of Washington DC and in New York by the Al-Qaeda, a terrorist group of Islamic religion.                19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners. The purpose of hijacking the planes was so that they could be used for suicide attacks.                  Two of the planes, the United Airline flight 175 and also the American Airliners flight II were crashed into the south and north towers of the world trade center complex in New York City respectively. In two hours the two towers collapsed. The debris from the buildings and the fires partly of completely caused the collapse of the buildings in the world trade center complex and also caused damage to another ten large surrounding structures. The Rise                  The affliction of AL Qaeda on global is seemingly a long standing affair. Its beginning goes back decades to the modern-day establishment and conversion of a non-state armed group that has made it its purpose to create exceptional regional and international changes based on unnecessary use of brutal force for political motives. Apart from prompting domestic and foreign crises, the AL Qaeda focused specifically in adapting and prospering open-endedly as it sought new approaches. All along, it is in this perspective that the growth of AL Qaeda was planned for. This was a preordained way for the group to ensure it growth regardless of any setbacks from the very beginning. This isolated it from preceding and successive Islamists groups. On the other hand, traditional Islamist factions started to institute themselves through religious preaching, political sermons and particularly through networks of domestic social amenities.                   The first incarnation of AL Qaeda was to act as a welfare provider originating in the reinter state, Arabian Gulf. On the other hand its purpose was to apparently fight the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Jihad. The superiority of this underlying principle did not translate to a sudden halt of an unsatisfied local aim but somewhat the domestic contention to spill out to the external parties. From the perspective of a failed Arab and Islamic nation building, this faction sprang forth as a project with the combination of religion and politics. I was built upon: Relocation of authority; Outwitting the state; And the belligerent empowerment of a non-state actor.                  If in the beginning the swift propagation of the five regional depictions of the Al Qaeda were questionable, an added suggestion of the organization’s inspiring global reach and its ability to function in multiple nations long after War on Terror had been declared against it, it progressively occurred that the regional affiliates were significantly at variance and their link to the mother Al Qaeda was in some way unsubstantiated.                   Although in its first fifteen years it had been able to develop globally against vital odds; for each tactical loss, the Al Qaeda earned a strategic gain. This was demonstrated by: Retreating in Afghanistan but advancing in Iraq; Restricted leadership but had proliferating contacts; Abridged physical mobility but had global impact; Additional enemies but expanding recruits. The fall                  In the period between 2006 and 2011, AL Qaeda’s leadership had changed into a self-commandment, in due course offering only political, religious and military commentary, and not operational orders. Taking everything into account, what can be interpreted as a regionalization strategy of the Al Qaeda mixed up the global representation of the organization. The required elasticity the group embraced, partially voluntarily, partially as a way to adjust to the impending international anti-terrorism campaign, brought about an ever-growing distance with the already liberated divisions.                  Osama Bin Laden’s vanishing from Al Qaeda and also the War on Terror scene, for that reason, signified the end of the reign of the original faction established in Afghanistan. This opened a new chapter in which the regional authorizations will further sanction their existing independence. In so doing they will bestow the conflict with a new arrangement by diminishing terrorism among nations. War on Terror                  Previous efforts to put an end to this menace were somehow unsuccessful until May 2, 2011. O this day, a team of U.S Navy Seals with the help of the United States intelligence located the AL Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. He was found in Abbottabad in Pakistan, 31 Miles from Islamabad where he met his demise. On June 16 the same year, Ayman al-Zawahiri succeeded Osama Bin Laden but the fight against terror continues.                The war against terror is a global war. There have been numerous efforts to curb the AL Qaeda menace. The United States has shown great dedication in trying to bring justice to the crimes committed by this faction, the Al Qaeda. These efforts have included several military actions by the United States armed forces and other allied nations and institutions like the UK and the United Nations. Presently, there are ongoing various military operations against this terrorist faction. This operation either targets the faction directly or the affiliates of this faction such as the Al Shabaab in Somalia. Many countries have joined the war against terrorism. For example, according to Fox News, the Iraqi Government has announced that it is offensive on AL Qaeda. Yemen is also said to be targeting top AL Qaeda leaders, as Stated by CNN reporters, Jamjoom and Smith, write.                   The United States government has greatly contributed the gradual fall that AL Qaeda is undergoing. Military action is seemingly the way to go since these terrorists seem not to the get the hang of diplomacy. Presently, â€Å"prompted in part by a recent video that showed Al Qaeda leaders in Yemen openly taunting the United States, the CIA launched lethal drone strikes†(Dilanian). According to ABC News, even after two years when the United States withdrew its troops from Iraq, the US is still aid the Iraqi government to fight off the AL Qaeda faction. References Al Qaeda. Answers, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. AL Qaeda Attacks: A Chronology. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. Battle of Wanat 2008. Terrorist Groups, 8 Apr. 2008. Web. 26 Apr. 2014 Fast facts: The embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. CNN, 6 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. Guantanamo prisoner al-Darbi admits MV Limburg Attack. BBC, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. Jamjoom, Mohammed and Smith, Matt. Yemen Strikes May Target Top AL Qaeda Leaders. CNN, 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. US Assisting Iraq in Fight Against Al Qaeda 2 Years After Troops Withdraw. ABC NEWS, 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.Zalman, Amy. Al Qaeda: Profile of Al Qaeda. About, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. Source document

Marketing Advertising in the Hotel Industry

Marketing Advertising in the Hotel Industry Until recently research on advertising appeals focused on either physical products or a comparison in relation to the way in which advertising appeals differed between products and services (predominantly professional services). With the continuing growth in the MICE and 5 star resort hotel market, the purpose of this paper is to look at the effectiveness of rational and emotional advertising appeals with respect to the MICE and 5 star resort hotel sector and provide a foundation for further study in this area. Introduction â€Å"Advertising appeals† are essentially the methods which advertisers employ to sell products and services. Some of the more common forms of advertising appeals include money (saving, making and/or retaining), well being, sex, health, fun, pleasure, love, fear, admiration, convenience, vanity, egotism and environmentalism. Different forms of advertising appeals are more effective for selling different types of products or services. Likewise, cultural factors play a large role in how well a particular advertising campaign is received by consumers. Within the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (â€Å"MICE†) and 5 star resort hotel industry, advertising appeals are generally classified according to whether they are rational or emotional appeals. The difference between how effective each of these is can only be ascertained when the customer’s preferences are taken into account. However, it should be remembered that the use of advertising appeals is not a precise science and that the difference between a campaign which is highly effective and one that is not can often be the matter of a few words or the use of the wrong colour. The most important factor with respect to the effectiveness of advertising appeals are the existing customer attitudes toward the product or service and the need or want that the customer is seeking to have the product or service fulfil. It is not therefore surprising that an advertising appeal which is effective in engaging business customers may not fare as well when appealing to leisure customers. The purpose of this paper is therefore to examine, both by secondary and primary research methods, the which type of advertising appeal (ie rational or emotional) is most effective when selling MICE and 5 star resort hotels to leisure and business clients. However, it should be noted that due to time and cost restraints the scope of this paper is limited in two important respects. There is no intention to examine customers who have never used a MICE and 5 star resort hotel before and the cultural aspects of advertising appeals is only briefly touched upon. 2. Aims and Objectives The aims and objectives of this paper are to determine the extent to which rational and emotional appeals apply to MICE and 5 star resort hotels. While the usefulness of various types of advertising appeals within the service sector generally has been researched quite extensively, this paper seeks to determine whether or not that general research can be applied equally to MICE and 5 star resort hotels. The peculiarity that is thrown up by MICE and 5 star resort hotels is that they have to appeal equally to both business and leisure consumers. Whereas most service businesses can focus on one sector of the market alone, MICE and 5 star resort hotels need to be able to attract both types of customers which can make creating an advertising campaign particularly treacherous as different appeals apply to each group. Furthermore, each type of customer group can be broken down into various further categories, for instance personal, family, tour groups, returning or first time clients, conference, by income, by age, etc. In light of the innumerable combinations and types of MICE and 5 star resort hotels, it is important to limit the extent of the research. As such, the focus of this paper is limited to MICE and 5 star resort hotels. These types of establishments only seek to attract the right type of clientele and as such are able to focus their marketing on certain sectors of the population and thereby limit the types of advertising appeals they need to rely upon. 3. Providing a rational for the work This work has both a theoretical and practical basis. From a practical point of view, the MICE and 5 star resort hotel sector is particularly competitive and the clientele is extremely discerning. There are always newer, more fashionable 5 star resort hotels or conference centres opening up and therefore it is extremely important that MICE and resort hotels understand how to market effectively to those sectors which are most likely to use their services. From a theoretical standpoint, research into the rational versus emotional dichotomy as it applies to the service industry is only now being touched upon. Even where it is being touched upon, the research often starts with the way in which emotional and rational appeals affect the marketing of physical products and then compares this to the way in which service advertising appeals are used. By focusing on a specific industry sector, MICE and 5 star resort hotels, this research is able to provide important feedback to the general theoretical position as to how well that research holds up in specific circumstances. By examining the most effective advertising appeals for the MICE and 5 star resort hotel sector, this paper aims to provide a solid foundation for both future academic research in this area and also to provide MICE and 5 star resort hotels with practical information which can be used to better tailor their advertising campaigns and most importantly, to avoid making mistakes the damage from which, particularly in a fast paced industry, can take years to undo. 4. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework In order to determine when it is most appropriate for MICE and 5 star resort hotels to use rational and emotional appeals it is first necessary to create a theoretical framework based on a critical review and synthesis of the relevant work in this area. With such a theoretical framework in place, it will then be possible to come to a conclusion as to the merits of both rational and emotional appeals as they apply to MICE and 5 star resort hotels. It is first important to clearly define the terms being referred to. An advertising appeal is defined by Wells, Burnett and Moriarty as, â€Å"something that makes the product particularly attractive or interesting to the consumer.† There are many types of advertising appeals that can be relied upon (sex, price, fear, etc), but as Albers-Miller note, most authors agree that overall all advertising appeals can be classified as either being rational appeals and emotional appeals. A rational appeal is, â€Å"a form of argument and motivation used in the promotion of products and services. Rational factors, including facts and figures, advantages and benefits, are used in an appeal to consumers’ intellects, rather than their emotions† , while an emotional appeal is where, â€Å"the basis of an advertising message having strong emotional character.† Some examples of rational appeals are; for products, the top speed of a car, the processing power of a computer and the memory size of an MP3 player; and for services, the leg room on a flight and the savings made when travelling on off peak public transport. Examples of emotional appeals include; for productions, the sex appeal of a new sports car and the popularity that comes from drinking certain alcoholic beverages; and for services, the possibilities which open up to a consumer once they obtain a certain credit card and the sex appeal of the latest, must-see Hollywood blockbuster which everyone is talking about. One of the main themes that comes through in the literature in this area is that there has been a lack of empirical research undertaken which focuses predominantly on the role of advertising appeals with respect to service industries. This is somewhat surprising when one considers that most Western economies are now service-based economies. As Mattila notes, this growth in the level of interest in services marketing has not corresponded in a similar level of interest in how service quality is communicated rather, most current research has focused on a comparison between service and goods advertising and even when focusing on services, has concentrated on professional as opposed to retail services. While the research may not have kept pace with the fundamental shift in the underlying economic foundations of Western economies, it is now quickly catching up with interest in this area increasing. While the level of general research in the area of advertising appeals and how they relate to service industries increases and the understanding of the differences between goods and services marketing increases, an opportunity exists for researchers to use this developing research base as a theoretical foundation from which to focus on more specific market segments. As such, the focus of this paper, while falling within the broad scope of the current research with respect to advertising appeals in service industries aims to focus in on a much more specific sub-set of this research area; that of the effectiveness of rational and emotional appeals in advertising MICE and 5 star resort hotels. At the same time as focusing in on a specific area of the advertising appeals in service industries research, it is important that this specific area be considered within the context of the marketing strategies of MICE and 5 star resort hotels as a whole. An organisation which wants to make the most effective use of advertising must have a clear understanding of the market segments that they are targeting and an overall marketing mix which allows them to focus their resources on communicating with that segment of the market. Advertising is only one part of the marketing mix and where the other parts are not working effectively, advertising will not provide the highest return on investment possible. Finally, it is important to take into account the environment (and in particular the external environment) in which MICE and 5 star hotels operate in when considering which advertising appeals are most likely to be effective. For instance, in times of rapid growth and high disposable income or when tax breaks are provided for entertaining, MICE and 5 star hotels would be wise to avoid focusing on appealing to the cost savings that can be made by staying with them. Rather, at these times, rational appeals are unlikely to be as necessary as emotional appeals as the necessity for a customer to substantiate a decision rationally is not as great. Before being able to consider the market segmentation that MICE and 5 star resort hotels target, it is important to define the market in which they operate. The market in which they operate can be defined broadly as, for instance, all hotels and resorts, all holidays, all business communication methods, etc; or specifically as all 5 star hotels, all hotels in a particular location, etc. Because of the diverse nature of MICE and 5 star resort hotels, it is almost impossible to come to a determination as to a market in which specific hotel operates as this will be influenced by cultural, geographic and other features. However, it is a little simpler to determine the market segments that MICE and 5 star resort hotels are interested in targeting. The market segments that all MICE and 5 star resort hotels are interested in targeting are business customers and wealthy individuals. As noted above, advertising is a sub-set of an organisation’s overall marketing mix. As such, before proceeding, it is important that the distinction between marketing and advertising is clearly set out. Marketing has been defined by the (British) Chartered Institute of Marketing as, â€Å"the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.† Advertising is defined by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising as, â€Å"advertising presents the most persuasive possible selling message to the right prospects for the product or service at the lowest possible cost.† The marketing mix refers to the â€Å"price/value proposition† and is, as expanded on by Kotler, often referred to as the four P’s; Product, Place, Price and Promotion. The Product refers to the good or service that the supplier wishes to sell and which the consumer wishes to buy; Place refers to the convenience of buying the goods or services; Price refers to the cost to the consumer of the goods or services; and Promotion refers to the ways in which the supplier and customer communicate with each other. Advertising comes within the ambit of the promotion function. When applying the marketing mix to MICE and resort hotels, one observes that in general the Product is appealing (this may not apply to such an extent in countries in which the idea of staying in hotels is a relatively new concept for a majority of the population); with respect to the Place, while requiring travel to reach and therefore not being entirely convenient to most people, most MICE and resort hotels are located close to either business districts or leisure areas (eg beaches) meaning that while the location may not be entirely convenient, the location is generally desirable; MICE and 5 star resort hotels are generally price prohibitive with a strong emphasis on catering for company functions and higher level clientele; finally, with respect to Promotion, MICE and resort hotels rely on strong business focused advertising and word of mouth. With respect to Porter’s generic strategies matrix, MICE and resort hotels clearly aim for the niche market which is distinguished by high differentiation and high relative costs. That said, while MICE and resort hotels aim to represent themselves as being highly differentiated, exclusive and expensive, they are in fact extremely similar and operate on a low cost principle. As such, it is important for MICE and resort hotels to maintain this faà §ade and to ensure that customers’ experiences of cognitive dissonance are kept at a minimum. This faà §ade that all â€Å"cathedrals of consumption† must maintain, this separation from the mundane events of everyday life, is particularly evident in MICE and 5 star resort hotels. These establishments must be able to offer an entire â€Å"package† not only satisfying a guests physical needs, but also satisfying their wish to be deceived, to believe that for the length of their stay they are deserving of the 5 star treatment that they are receiving even through the next day they their office-bound mundane life. Williamson summarises this â€Å"package† element which applies to all purchases best when he writes: â€Å"Advertisements are selling us something else beside consumer goods; in providing us with a structure in which we and those goods are interchangeable, they are selling us ourselves†¦ Ideology is the meaning made necessary by the condition of society while helping to perpetuate those conditions. We feel a need to belong, to have a social place; it can be hard to find. Instead we may be given an imaginary one.† A supplementary point which arises from Williamson’s statement is that of the language of consumption. Many potential consumers are put off purchasing new goods or services because they do not have experience in having used them previously. For instance, someone who normally eats dinner on the couch in front of the television will be extremely reticent to eat dinner in a 5 star restaurant in which a knowledge of dining etiquette is expected. While this reluctance to try new things increases with age, it can be bridged in several ways. Advertising is a particularly effective means of overcoming potential consumers’ fears of try something new. By using analogies which relate the new product with something that the customer has already used and feels comfortable with advertisers are able to provide new consumers with the consumption queues necessary to use the new good or service and feel more comfortable doing so. In general, such techniques are not often used by MICE and 5 star resort hotels in places in which their use is understood by consumers. In societies in which the role of these hotels is understood by consumers, the aim of their advertising, is to create demand within the specific market segment that they are targeting. As such, it is almost the opposite of teaching new consumers how to use the services. These establishments are more likely to assume that those they are targeting understand how to use their services and are more likely to try to limit the understanding of their services by the general population. This is usually done through language and by offering services which are extremely specialised (eg tens of different types of facials, massages, etc) which are intended to intimidate the average consumer. Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person’s expectations are not met meaning that their level of satisfaction is low. With respect to guests’ perceptions of hotels, Saleh and Ryan write that, â€Å"†¦it is imperative that guests’ expectations be realistic and possible for the firm to deliver, otherwise an obvious gap in service quality is created.† One advantage that MICE and 5 star resort hotels have over other hotels and resorts is that a large portion of their clientele are not required to pay for their own accommodation. In situations in which the accommodation costs are being met by a third party, it is unlikely that any potential feelings of cognitive dissonance will be as strong as those of someone who has booked and paid for a hotel or resort themselves. Furthermore, any such feelings by a guest who is staying at someone else’s expense are more likely to be directed at the payer, who should have chosen a better quality hotel or resort, rather than directed at the actual hotel or resort. In addition, for guests of MICE and 5 star resort hotels, the actual hotel is normally a background factor (ie to a conference, the beach, an event, etc). These guests have other matters to occupy them. This contrasts with individuals who stay at a resort hotel that they have paid for themselves and where actually being at a resort hotel is the focus of their trip. As noted above, Mattila focuses on what she believes to be a gap in the studies examining services advertising. She believes that most of these studies focus on tangibilizing the offering or â€Å"making the service more concrete† and as a result of this a gap exists with respect to knowledge about the role emotional advertising appeals play in services advertising. What is important to keep in mind when advertising either products or services is that the advertising appeal has to match the product or service type. Albers-Miller et al note that previous research on this point has found that, â€Å"a more emotional (value-expressive) appeal should be used for a value-expressive product and a more rational (utilitarian) appeal should be used for a utilitarian product.† The way in which advertisers determine the best combination of rational and emotional appeal is assisted by the level of involvement model developed by Vaughn and adapted by Foote, Cone and Belding. That model focuses on products but provides a useful tool for understanding the differences between rational (thinking) and emotional (feeling) appeals. The four options are, high involvement/thinking which relates to high importance purchases such as cars and houses and the message should be based on â€Å"long copy, informational demonstration, comparative†; low involvement/thinking which relates to routinely purchased products such as food and items for the house and the message should be based on â€Å"coupons and samples†; high involvement/feeling which relate to a customer’s self esteem such as make up, jewellery and clothes and the message should be based on â€Å"emotional and visual† triggers; and low involvement/feeling which relates to products which satisfy personal cravings such as alcohol, snack foods and cigarettes and the message should be â€Å"creativity and lifestyle† based. How well these levels of involvement transfer to the service sector is still open to debate. If one was to take the same levels of involvement and attempted to determine which group MICE and 5 star resort hotels fall into, one might have difficulty as they do not fit cleanly into any of the categories. In general, a large proportion of business-to-business type advertising relies on rational appeals due to the fact that buyers tend to be knowledgeable about the products or services that they are buying and are seeking supportable justification for their purchasing decisions. As Stafford and Albers-Miller note, â€Å"†¦rational informative advertising appeals may help reduce some of the uncertainty often associated with the purchase of services.† That said, in today’s marketplace, it is unlikely that rational advertising appeals would be made without consideration of the emotional aspects. As such, essentially what is being said when one refers to a rational appeal is not that the emotional aspects of the appeal are not present, but that they are used more subtly and as a backdrop to the advertising campaign. As Albers-Miller et al argue: â€Å"†¦there is no reason not to include an emotional appeal and service information and benefits. Indeed many advertising practitioners would argue that this juxtaposition is one of the aims of good advertising – informing the consumer and stimulating a response through appeals to emotional, right-brain influences. However, there still needs to be some guidance given as to where we lay the emphasis in this area or emotions and rationality. And this is especially true in diverse cultures.† The importance of emotional appeals is especially important today when product differentiation is becoming more and more difficult. With respect to the MICE and 5 star resort hotel market sector, while some of these hotels are able to differentiate themselves on the basis of location, facilities and other competitive advantages, the general level of such differentiation is not great. Most people using the facilities of a MICE and 5 star resort hotels expect that certain levels of service and facilities are available. As the, â€Å"USP (unique selling proposition) is fast disappearing, then what becomes correspondingly more important is the ESP – the emotional selling point.† With respect to the advertising that MICE and 5 star resort hotels engage in, it is important for them to ensure that they are using the most effective advertising appeals necessary to persuade the targeted market segment. Louise Ha argues that the study of advertising appeals with respect to the services market has been hampered by a failure to differentiate between service firms. She believes that the type of service firm should be taken into account when determining the appropriate advertising appeals to use and relies on Zeithaml’s classification of services into three categories which are; â€Å"high on search attributes (performance of the service can be known before consumption); high on experience attributes (attributes that can only be discerned after purchase or during consumption) such as haircut and restaurants. These services are non-professional services that can be substituted by self-service of the consumer; and high on credence attributes (attributes that consumers may still find them impossible to evaluate after consuming the service) such as medical services and repair services. These are professional services that require special training or license.† MICE and 5 star resort hotels can be classified as being high on experience attributes. It should also be noted that MICE and 5 star resort hotels operate in a global marketplace. Albers-Miller et al have studied the differences between rational and emotional appeals across cultures (and in particular, Brazil, Taiwan, Mexico and the USA). They conclude that, â€Å"culture appears to play a significant role in the use of emotional and rational advertisements for services, and anthropological measures of culture provide some insight into the differences in emotional appeals.† They also note that across cultures business customers, the main target segment for MICE and 5 star resort hotels, â€Å"tend to make decisions based on more rational criteria†¦ [and that] across cultures, cognition changes little, while emotions change considerably.† While the cultural aspects of rational and emotional advertising appeals with respect to MICE and 5 star resort hotels is beyond the scope of this paper, it does provide an interesting area of research for future studies. While the differentiation between rational and emotional appeals seems like a simple and logical distinction to make, the distinction is largely artificial as an advertising campaign which solely relies on rational or emotional appeals is unlikely, if not impossible. As such, the difference between the two in an advertising campaign is the level of emphasis that is given to one over the other. Both will be used, the decision is rather how best to combine the two for maximum effect. 5. Methodology When considering the type of methodology to employ the choice is between primary or secondary research methods. Primary research methods refer to those that generally require replies from and interaction with service users such as questionnaires, focus-groups and interviews (ie fieldwork). On the other hand, secondary research methods rely on reviewing books, articles, statistical data, etc (ie deskwork). While primary research is generally viewed as being superior to secondary research, this is not always the case. Primary research is almost always hampered by cost considerations, the sample size used, the manner in which the sample population has been decided upon, researcher bias, etc. In light of cost considerations, it is almost always more cost effective to ask yourself whether or not someone else has already done this research and if so to begin at that point and then use primary research to fill in any gaps or specific areas which have not been addressed in the depth required. Secondary research also has its own problems which include such factors as the fact that it is reliant on someone else’s primary research with all the inherent problems that presents as set out above, the researcher is limited to the questions raised in the secondary materials, etc. As such, it is important that in secondary research, the sources of the information to be used are reliable (ie government sources, peer reviewed journals, text books written by qualified authors, etc). In light of the above considerations, it is important that any market research conducted uses a balance of primary and secondary research methods. In the case of this paper, it was found that there was an array of literature (secondary sources) on advertising and the service sector. However, there was less to be found when one looked at the area of MICE and resort hotels specifically. As such, while secondary research could take us to a point, from that point it was necessary to use primary research methods. The most common primary research methods are interviews, questionnaires, surveys, focus groups and secret visits. As the objective of this paper is to determine the most effective methods of advertising appeals with respect to MICE and resort hotels, some of the primary methods referred to above will not be appropriate. MICA and resort hotels cover a large cross-section of the market and large distances. As such, secret visits to the hotels would not only be cost prohibitive, but would be unlikely to provide the necessary data required. On the other hand, as most of the users of these services are UK-based, a focus group may be more appropriate for personal holiday makers. In light of the practical issues of setting up a focus group of business users, questionnaires may be more appropriate for that sector of the market. A decision was finally made to make use of a questionnaire and a focus group. Both would target people who had already used MICE and 5 star resort hotels on the basis that this was the segment of the market that these hotels were targeting. It was decided that an attempt to include customers who had never stayed in a MICE and 5 star resort hotel would be too much for a paper of this length however, it would remain a potential area for future research. With respect to the design of the questionnaire, it was decided that while quantitative responses are the easiest to compile and analyse, they do not give the depth of information that can be gleaned from qualitative answers. Furthermore, in order to be statistically valid, a quantitative questionnaire would need to involve a large, randomly selected sample base. Due to cost and time limitations, this was not considered feasible and as such, it was thought most appropriate to concentrate on a smaller, specifically selected sample of the market segment being targeted and an analysis of their qualitative responses with a clear statement as to the understood limitations of proceeding in this way. 6. Findings, analyses and evaluation The purpose of this dissertation is to determine the extent to which rational and emotional appeals apply to MICE and 5 star resort hotels. A review of secondary sources and current research on the topic showed that this is an area which has suffered from a lack of research interest to date. While Mattila’s work provides a strong overview of advertising appeals as they relate solely to the service sector (as opposed to dealing with them solely in comparison with products), her work is quite broad and as such, while it is used as a starting point for this paper, it was necessary to supplement the secondary research and theoretical framework with primary research which consisted of a questionnaire and focus group. Further primary research was deemed not feasible due to cost and time constraints. In total, 150 questionnaires were posted or handed out. Due to the small sample size, the participants were targeted (eg businesses which book MICE and 5 star resort hotels for conferences, people leaving MICE and 5 star resort hotels, etc). Of the 150 questionnaires posted or handed out, thirty were returned. This was considered to be a reasonable level of returns in light of the type of person being asked to complete them (ie busy individuals who work long hours). A summary of the questionnaire replies are set out in Appendix 2. Due to the qualitative nature of the replies, statistical analysis of the responses is not feasible. However, they do provide an interesting insight into the way in which advertising appeals are able to influence guests of MICE and 5 star resort hotels. Along with the questionnaire, a focus group was used to try to determine in a more direct fashion people’s attitudes to MICE and 5 star resort hotels and more particularly, what effect advertising appeals had on their purchasing behaviour. As with the questionnaire, the group chosen was not chosen randomly, but rather was selected from people who had already used MICE and 5 star resort hotels in the past. Participants were shown various advertisements (not only limited to MICE and 5 star resort hotels) and asked to discuss various propositions put to them. Once again, the results were qualitative and as such not appropriate for statistical analysis. While the response to the questionnaire was not particularly high, those individuals that did respond provided some particularly interesting replies. Predictably perhaps, most responses were from middle aged, well educated men. This group is the market segment that most MICE and 5 star resort hotels seek to target with their advertising. However, the strong response by women suggests that those MICE and 5 star resort hotels that are spending most of their advertising budgets targeting men may be missing out on a large segment of the market which may still Marketing Advertising in the Hotel Industry Marketing Advertising in the Hotel Industry Until recently research on advertising appeals focused on either physical products or a comparison in relation to the way in which advertising appeals differed between products and services (predominantly professional services). With the continuing growth in the MICE and 5 star resort hotel market, the purpose of this paper is to look at the effectiveness of rational and emotional advertising appeals with respect to the MICE and 5 star resort hotel sector and provide a foundation for further study in this area. Introduction â€Å"Advertising appeals† are essentially the methods which advertisers employ to sell products and services. Some of the more common forms of advertising appeals include money (saving, making and/or retaining), well being, sex, health, fun, pleasure, love, fear, admiration, convenience, vanity, egotism and environmentalism. Different forms of advertising appeals are more effective for selling different types of products or services. Likewise, cultural factors play a large role in how well a particular advertising campaign is received by consumers. Within the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (â€Å"MICE†) and 5 star resort hotel industry, advertising appeals are generally classified according to whether they are rational or emotional appeals. The difference between how effective each of these is can only be ascertained when the customer’s preferences are taken into account. However, it should be remembered that the use of advertising appeals is not a precise science and that the difference between a campaign which is highly effective and one that is not can often be the matter of a few words or the use of the wrong colour. The most important factor with respect to the effectiveness of advertising appeals are the existing customer attitudes toward the product or service and the need or want that the customer is seeking to have the product or service fulfil. It is not therefore surprising that an advertising appeal which is effective in engaging business customers may not fare as well when appealing to leisure customers. The purpose of this paper is therefore to examine, both by secondary and primary research methods, the which type of advertising appeal (ie rational or emotional) is most effective when selling MICE and 5 star resort hotels to leisure and business clients. However, it should be noted that due to time and cost restraints the scope of this paper is limited in two important respects. There is no intention to examine customers who have never used a MICE and 5 star resort hotel before and the cultural aspects of advertising appeals is only briefly touched upon. 2. Aims and Objectives The aims and objectives of this paper are to determine the extent to which rational and emotional appeals apply to MICE and 5 star resort hotels. While the usefulness of various types of advertising appeals within the service sector generally has been researched quite extensively, this paper seeks to determine whether or not that general research can be applied equally to MICE and 5 star resort hotels. The peculiarity that is thrown up by MICE and 5 star resort hotels is that they have to appeal equally to both business and leisure consumers. Whereas most service businesses can focus on one sector of the market alone, MICE and 5 star resort hotels need to be able to attract both types of customers which can make creating an advertising campaign particularly treacherous as different appeals apply to each group. Furthermore, each type of customer group can be broken down into various further categories, for instance personal, family, tour groups, returning or first time clients, conference, by income, by age, etc. In light of the innumerable combinations and types of MICE and 5 star resort hotels, it is important to limit the extent of the research. As such, the focus of this paper is limited to MICE and 5 star resort hotels. These types of establishments only seek to attract the right type of clientele and as such are able to focus their marketing on certain sectors of the population and thereby limit the types of advertising appeals they need to rely upon. 3. Providing a rational for the work This work has both a theoretical and practical basis. From a practical point of view, the MICE and 5 star resort hotel sector is particularly competitive and the clientele is extremely discerning. There are always newer, more fashionable 5 star resort hotels or conference centres opening up and therefore it is extremely important that MICE and resort hotels understand how to market effectively to those sectors which are most likely to use their services. From a theoretical standpoint, research into the rational versus emotional dichotomy as it applies to the service industry is only now being touched upon. Even where it is being touched upon, the research often starts with the way in which emotional and rational appeals affect the marketing of physical products and then compares this to the way in which service advertising appeals are used. By focusing on a specific industry sector, MICE and 5 star resort hotels, this research is able to provide important feedback to the general theoretical position as to how well that research holds up in specific circumstances. By examining the most effective advertising appeals for the MICE and 5 star resort hotel sector, this paper aims to provide a solid foundation for both future academic research in this area and also to provide MICE and 5 star resort hotels with practical information which can be used to better tailor their advertising campaigns and most importantly, to avoid making mistakes the damage from which, particularly in a fast paced industry, can take years to undo. 4. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework In order to determine when it is most appropriate for MICE and 5 star resort hotels to use rational and emotional appeals it is first necessary to create a theoretical framework based on a critical review and synthesis of the relevant work in this area. With such a theoretical framework in place, it will then be possible to come to a conclusion as to the merits of both rational and emotional appeals as they apply to MICE and 5 star resort hotels. It is first important to clearly define the terms being referred to. An advertising appeal is defined by Wells, Burnett and Moriarty as, â€Å"something that makes the product particularly attractive or interesting to the consumer.† There are many types of advertising appeals that can be relied upon (sex, price, fear, etc), but as Albers-Miller note, most authors agree that overall all advertising appeals can be classified as either being rational appeals and emotional appeals. A rational appeal is, â€Å"a form of argument and motivation used in the promotion of products and services. Rational factors, including facts and figures, advantages and benefits, are used in an appeal to consumers’ intellects, rather than their emotions† , while an emotional appeal is where, â€Å"the basis of an advertising message having strong emotional character.† Some examples of rational appeals are; for products, the top speed of a car, the processing power of a computer and the memory size of an MP3 player; and for services, the leg room on a flight and the savings made when travelling on off peak public transport. Examples of emotional appeals include; for productions, the sex appeal of a new sports car and the popularity that comes from drinking certain alcoholic beverages; and for services, the possibilities which open up to a consumer once they obtain a certain credit card and the sex appeal of the latest, must-see Hollywood blockbuster which everyone is talking about. One of the main themes that comes through in the literature in this area is that there has been a lack of empirical research undertaken which focuses predominantly on the role of advertising appeals with respect to service industries. This is somewhat surprising when one considers that most Western economies are now service-based economies. As Mattila notes, this growth in the level of interest in services marketing has not corresponded in a similar level of interest in how service quality is communicated rather, most current research has focused on a comparison between service and goods advertising and even when focusing on services, has concentrated on professional as opposed to retail services. While the research may not have kept pace with the fundamental shift in the underlying economic foundations of Western economies, it is now quickly catching up with interest in this area increasing. While the level of general research in the area of advertising appeals and how they relate to service industries increases and the understanding of the differences between goods and services marketing increases, an opportunity exists for researchers to use this developing research base as a theoretical foundation from which to focus on more specific market segments. As such, the focus of this paper, while falling within the broad scope of the current research with respect to advertising appeals in service industries aims to focus in on a much more specific sub-set of this research area; that of the effectiveness of rational and emotional appeals in advertising MICE and 5 star resort hotels. At the same time as focusing in on a specific area of the advertising appeals in service industries research, it is important that this specific area be considered within the context of the marketing strategies of MICE and 5 star resort hotels as a whole. An organisation which wants to make the most effective use of advertising must have a clear understanding of the market segments that they are targeting and an overall marketing mix which allows them to focus their resources on communicating with that segment of the market. Advertising is only one part of the marketing mix and where the other parts are not working effectively, advertising will not provide the highest return on investment possible. Finally, it is important to take into account the environment (and in particular the external environment) in which MICE and 5 star hotels operate in when considering which advertising appeals are most likely to be effective. For instance, in times of rapid growth and high disposable income or when tax breaks are provided for entertaining, MICE and 5 star hotels would be wise to avoid focusing on appealing to the cost savings that can be made by staying with them. Rather, at these times, rational appeals are unlikely to be as necessary as emotional appeals as the necessity for a customer to substantiate a decision rationally is not as great. Before being able to consider the market segmentation that MICE and 5 star resort hotels target, it is important to define the market in which they operate. The market in which they operate can be defined broadly as, for instance, all hotels and resorts, all holidays, all business communication methods, etc; or specifically as all 5 star hotels, all hotels in a particular location, etc. Because of the diverse nature of MICE and 5 star resort hotels, it is almost impossible to come to a determination as to a market in which specific hotel operates as this will be influenced by cultural, geographic and other features. However, it is a little simpler to determine the market segments that MICE and 5 star resort hotels are interested in targeting. The market segments that all MICE and 5 star resort hotels are interested in targeting are business customers and wealthy individuals. As noted above, advertising is a sub-set of an organisation’s overall marketing mix. As such, before proceeding, it is important that the distinction between marketing and advertising is clearly set out. Marketing has been defined by the (British) Chartered Institute of Marketing as, â€Å"the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.† Advertising is defined by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising as, â€Å"advertising presents the most persuasive possible selling message to the right prospects for the product or service at the lowest possible cost.† The marketing mix refers to the â€Å"price/value proposition† and is, as expanded on by Kotler, often referred to as the four P’s; Product, Place, Price and Promotion. The Product refers to the good or service that the supplier wishes to sell and which the consumer wishes to buy; Place refers to the convenience of buying the goods or services; Price refers to the cost to the consumer of the goods or services; and Promotion refers to the ways in which the supplier and customer communicate with each other. Advertising comes within the ambit of the promotion function. When applying the marketing mix to MICE and resort hotels, one observes that in general the Product is appealing (this may not apply to such an extent in countries in which the idea of staying in hotels is a relatively new concept for a majority of the population); with respect to the Place, while requiring travel to reach and therefore not being entirely convenient to most people, most MICE and resort hotels are located close to either business districts or leisure areas (eg beaches) meaning that while the location may not be entirely convenient, the location is generally desirable; MICE and 5 star resort hotels are generally price prohibitive with a strong emphasis on catering for company functions and higher level clientele; finally, with respect to Promotion, MICE and resort hotels rely on strong business focused advertising and word of mouth. With respect to Porter’s generic strategies matrix, MICE and resort hotels clearly aim for the niche market which is distinguished by high differentiation and high relative costs. That said, while MICE and resort hotels aim to represent themselves as being highly differentiated, exclusive and expensive, they are in fact extremely similar and operate on a low cost principle. As such, it is important for MICE and resort hotels to maintain this faà §ade and to ensure that customers’ experiences of cognitive dissonance are kept at a minimum. This faà §ade that all â€Å"cathedrals of consumption† must maintain, this separation from the mundane events of everyday life, is particularly evident in MICE and 5 star resort hotels. These establishments must be able to offer an entire â€Å"package† not only satisfying a guests physical needs, but also satisfying their wish to be deceived, to believe that for the length of their stay they are deserving of the 5 star treatment that they are receiving even through the next day they their office-bound mundane life. Williamson summarises this â€Å"package† element which applies to all purchases best when he writes: â€Å"Advertisements are selling us something else beside consumer goods; in providing us with a structure in which we and those goods are interchangeable, they are selling us ourselves†¦ Ideology is the meaning made necessary by the condition of society while helping to perpetuate those conditions. We feel a need to belong, to have a social place; it can be hard to find. Instead we may be given an imaginary one.† A supplementary point which arises from Williamson’s statement is that of the language of consumption. Many potential consumers are put off purchasing new goods or services because they do not have experience in having used them previously. For instance, someone who normally eats dinner on the couch in front of the television will be extremely reticent to eat dinner in a 5 star restaurant in which a knowledge of dining etiquette is expected. While this reluctance to try new things increases with age, it can be bridged in several ways. Advertising is a particularly effective means of overcoming potential consumers’ fears of try something new. By using analogies which relate the new product with something that the customer has already used and feels comfortable with advertisers are able to provide new consumers with the consumption queues necessary to use the new good or service and feel more comfortable doing so. In general, such techniques are not often used by MICE and 5 star resort hotels in places in which their use is understood by consumers. In societies in which the role of these hotels is understood by consumers, the aim of their advertising, is to create demand within the specific market segment that they are targeting. As such, it is almost the opposite of teaching new consumers how to use the services. These establishments are more likely to assume that those they are targeting understand how to use their services and are more likely to try to limit the understanding of their services by the general population. This is usually done through language and by offering services which are extremely specialised (eg tens of different types of facials, massages, etc) which are intended to intimidate the average consumer. Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person’s expectations are not met meaning that their level of satisfaction is low. With respect to guests’ perceptions of hotels, Saleh and Ryan write that, â€Å"†¦it is imperative that guests’ expectations be realistic and possible for the firm to deliver, otherwise an obvious gap in service quality is created.† One advantage that MICE and 5 star resort hotels have over other hotels and resorts is that a large portion of their clientele are not required to pay for their own accommodation. In situations in which the accommodation costs are being met by a third party, it is unlikely that any potential feelings of cognitive dissonance will be as strong as those of someone who has booked and paid for a hotel or resort themselves. Furthermore, any such feelings by a guest who is staying at someone else’s expense are more likely to be directed at the payer, who should have chosen a better quality hotel or resort, rather than directed at the actual hotel or resort. In addition, for guests of MICE and 5 star resort hotels, the actual hotel is normally a background factor (ie to a conference, the beach, an event, etc). These guests have other matters to occupy them. This contrasts with individuals who stay at a resort hotel that they have paid for themselves and where actually being at a resort hotel is the focus of their trip. As noted above, Mattila focuses on what she believes to be a gap in the studies examining services advertising. She believes that most of these studies focus on tangibilizing the offering or â€Å"making the service more concrete† and as a result of this a gap exists with respect to knowledge about the role emotional advertising appeals play in services advertising. What is important to keep in mind when advertising either products or services is that the advertising appeal has to match the product or service type. Albers-Miller et al note that previous research on this point has found that, â€Å"a more emotional (value-expressive) appeal should be used for a value-expressive product and a more rational (utilitarian) appeal should be used for a utilitarian product.† The way in which advertisers determine the best combination of rational and emotional appeal is assisted by the level of involvement model developed by Vaughn and adapted by Foote, Cone and Belding. That model focuses on products but provides a useful tool for understanding the differences between rational (thinking) and emotional (feeling) appeals. The four options are, high involvement/thinking which relates to high importance purchases such as cars and houses and the message should be based on â€Å"long copy, informational demonstration, comparative†; low involvement/thinking which relates to routinely purchased products such as food and items for the house and the message should be based on â€Å"coupons and samples†; high involvement/feeling which relate to a customer’s self esteem such as make up, jewellery and clothes and the message should be based on â€Å"emotional and visual† triggers; and low involvement/feeling which relates to products which satisfy personal cravings such as alcohol, snack foods and cigarettes and the message should be â€Å"creativity and lifestyle† based. How well these levels of involvement transfer to the service sector is still open to debate. If one was to take the same levels of involvement and attempted to determine which group MICE and 5 star resort hotels fall into, one might have difficulty as they do not fit cleanly into any of the categories. In general, a large proportion of business-to-business type advertising relies on rational appeals due to the fact that buyers tend to be knowledgeable about the products or services that they are buying and are seeking supportable justification for their purchasing decisions. As Stafford and Albers-Miller note, â€Å"†¦rational informative advertising appeals may help reduce some of the uncertainty often associated with the purchase of services.† That said, in today’s marketplace, it is unlikely that rational advertising appeals would be made without consideration of the emotional aspects. As such, essentially what is being said when one refers to a rational appeal is not that the emotional aspects of the appeal are not present, but that they are used more subtly and as a backdrop to the advertising campaign. As Albers-Miller et al argue: â€Å"†¦there is no reason not to include an emotional appeal and service information and benefits. Indeed many advertising practitioners would argue that this juxtaposition is one of the aims of good advertising – informing the consumer and stimulating a response through appeals to emotional, right-brain influences. However, there still needs to be some guidance given as to where we lay the emphasis in this area or emotions and rationality. And this is especially true in diverse cultures.† The importance of emotional appeals is especially important today when product differentiation is becoming more and more difficult. With respect to the MICE and 5 star resort hotel market sector, while some of these hotels are able to differentiate themselves on the basis of location, facilities and other competitive advantages, the general level of such differentiation is not great. Most people using the facilities of a MICE and 5 star resort hotels expect that certain levels of service and facilities are available. As the, â€Å"USP (unique selling proposition) is fast disappearing, then what becomes correspondingly more important is the ESP – the emotional selling point.† With respect to the advertising that MICE and 5 star resort hotels engage in, it is important for them to ensure that they are using the most effective advertising appeals necessary to persuade the targeted market segment. Louise Ha argues that the study of advertising appeals with respect to the services market has been hampered by a failure to differentiate between service firms. She believes that the type of service firm should be taken into account when determining the appropriate advertising appeals to use and relies on Zeithaml’s classification of services into three categories which are; â€Å"high on search attributes (performance of the service can be known before consumption); high on experience attributes (attributes that can only be discerned after purchase or during consumption) such as haircut and restaurants. These services are non-professional services that can be substituted by self-service of the consumer; and high on credence attributes (attributes that consumers may still find them impossible to evaluate after consuming the service) such as medical services and repair services. These are professional services that require special training or license.† MICE and 5 star resort hotels can be classified as being high on experience attributes. It should also be noted that MICE and 5 star resort hotels operate in a global marketplace. Albers-Miller et al have studied the differences between rational and emotional appeals across cultures (and in particular, Brazil, Taiwan, Mexico and the USA). They conclude that, â€Å"culture appears to play a significant role in the use of emotional and rational advertisements for services, and anthropological measures of culture provide some insight into the differences in emotional appeals.† They also note that across cultures business customers, the main target segment for MICE and 5 star resort hotels, â€Å"tend to make decisions based on more rational criteria†¦ [and that] across cultures, cognition changes little, while emotions change considerably.† While the cultural aspects of rational and emotional advertising appeals with respect to MICE and 5 star resort hotels is beyond the scope of this paper, it does provide an interesting area of research for future studies. While the differentiation between rational and emotional appeals seems like a simple and logical distinction to make, the distinction is largely artificial as an advertising campaign which solely relies on rational or emotional appeals is unlikely, if not impossible. As such, the difference between the two in an advertising campaign is the level of emphasis that is given to one over the other. Both will be used, the decision is rather how best to combine the two for maximum effect. 5. Methodology When considering the type of methodology to employ the choice is between primary or secondary research methods. Primary research methods refer to those that generally require replies from and interaction with service users such as questionnaires, focus-groups and interviews (ie fieldwork). On the other hand, secondary research methods rely on reviewing books, articles, statistical data, etc (ie deskwork). While primary research is generally viewed as being superior to secondary research, this is not always the case. Primary research is almost always hampered by cost considerations, the sample size used, the manner in which the sample population has been decided upon, researcher bias, etc. In light of cost considerations, it is almost always more cost effective to ask yourself whether or not someone else has already done this research and if so to begin at that point and then use primary research to fill in any gaps or specific areas which have not been addressed in the depth required. Secondary research also has its own problems which include such factors as the fact that it is reliant on someone else’s primary research with all the inherent problems that presents as set out above, the researcher is limited to the questions raised in the secondary materials, etc. As such, it is important that in secondary research, the sources of the information to be used are reliable (ie government sources, peer reviewed journals, text books written by qualified authors, etc). In light of the above considerations, it is important that any market research conducted uses a balance of primary and secondary research methods. In the case of this paper, it was found that there was an array of literature (secondary sources) on advertising and the service sector. However, there was less to be found when one looked at the area of MICE and resort hotels specifically. As such, while secondary research could take us to a point, from that point it was necessary to use primary research methods. The most common primary research methods are interviews, questionnaires, surveys, focus groups and secret visits. As the objective of this paper is to determine the most effective methods of advertising appeals with respect to MICE and resort hotels, some of the primary methods referred to above will not be appropriate. MICA and resort hotels cover a large cross-section of the market and large distances. As such, secret visits to the hotels would not only be cost prohibitive, but would be unlikely to provide the necessary data required. On the other hand, as most of the users of these services are UK-based, a focus group may be more appropriate for personal holiday makers. In light of the practical issues of setting up a focus group of business users, questionnaires may be more appropriate for that sector of the market. A decision was finally made to make use of a questionnaire and a focus group. Both would target people who had already used MICE and 5 star resort hotels on the basis that this was the segment of the market that these hotels were targeting. It was decided that an attempt to include customers who had never stayed in a MICE and 5 star resort hotel would be too much for a paper of this length however, it would remain a potential area for future research. With respect to the design of the questionnaire, it was decided that while quantitative responses are the easiest to compile and analyse, they do not give the depth of information that can be gleaned from qualitative answers. Furthermore, in order to be statistically valid, a quantitative questionnaire would need to involve a large, randomly selected sample base. Due to cost and time limitations, this was not considered feasible and as such, it was thought most appropriate to concentrate on a smaller, specifically selected sample of the market segment being targeted and an analysis of their qualitative responses with a clear statement as to the understood limitations of proceeding in this way. 6. Findings, analyses and evaluation The purpose of this dissertation is to determine the extent to which rational and emotional appeals apply to MICE and 5 star resort hotels. A review of secondary sources and current research on the topic showed that this is an area which has suffered from a lack of research interest to date. While Mattila’s work provides a strong overview of advertising appeals as they relate solely to the service sector (as opposed to dealing with them solely in comparison with products), her work is quite broad and as such, while it is used as a starting point for this paper, it was necessary to supplement the secondary research and theoretical framework with primary research which consisted of a questionnaire and focus group. Further primary research was deemed not feasible due to cost and time constraints. In total, 150 questionnaires were posted or handed out. Due to the small sample size, the participants were targeted (eg businesses which book MICE and 5 star resort hotels for conferences, people leaving MICE and 5 star resort hotels, etc). Of the 150 questionnaires posted or handed out, thirty were returned. This was considered to be a reasonable level of returns in light of the type of person being asked to complete them (ie busy individuals who work long hours). A summary of the questionnaire replies are set out in Appendix 2. Due to the qualitative nature of the replies, statistical analysis of the responses is not feasible. However, they do provide an interesting insight into the way in which advertising appeals are able to influence guests of MICE and 5 star resort hotels. Along with the questionnaire, a focus group was used to try to determine in a more direct fashion people’s attitudes to MICE and 5 star resort hotels and more particularly, what effect advertising appeals had on their purchasing behaviour. As with the questionnaire, the group chosen was not chosen randomly, but rather was selected from people who had already used MICE and 5 star resort hotels in the past. Participants were shown various advertisements (not only limited to MICE and 5 star resort hotels) and asked to discuss various propositions put to them. Once again, the results were qualitative and as such not appropriate for statistical analysis. While the response to the questionnaire was not particularly high, those individuals that did respond provided some particularly interesting replies. Predictably perhaps, most responses were from middle aged, well educated men. This group is the market segment that most MICE and 5 star resort hotels seek to target with their advertising. However, the strong response by women suggests that those MICE and 5 star resort hotels that are spending most of their advertising budgets targeting men may be missing out on a large segment of the market which may still