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INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIC MARKETING ANALYSIS AND PLAN
INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIC MARKETING ANALYSIS AND PLAN
(Author’s name)
(Institutional Affiliation)
Project Outline and Executive Summary
According to a study carried out by UNESCO, more than fifty percent of the international historical and cultural heritage is concentrated in Italy. Even if debates might ensue over the accuracy of this figure, Italy is without a doubt one of the richest nations in the world as far as history and culture goes. Numerous, ancient civilizations have touched the country as much as recent and modern cultural and artistic influences. History, art and culture are essential motives for a considerable percentage of the number of individuals visiting the country each year. In addition to this, they form a strong promotional feature for destinations, towards market segments that are less sensitive to heritage and culture. Not forgetting the fact that, the tourism industries and authorities until recently, have accomplished exceedingly little to render impressive stock of historic and cultural resources available. Even less has been achieved to further the accessibility of the modern Italian traditions and culture (Moller & Deckert, 2009). This then forms a basis for and explains why the traditional cultural and artistic commodities and their use by international and national tourists is the focus of the paper.
Through research of the market, the paper will examine the characteristics of both the supply and demand of cultural and heritage tourism commodities, to have a sound foundation through which to set a tourism marketing strategy is more scientific and with decreased risk. For instance, research estimates that today 55 percent of Italians go on holiday annually. In these cases, 15 percent usually purchase a package tour for a minimum of seven days. Research shows that more young people involved in these travels are between 30 and 20 years old, though individuals aged over 55 make up for a larger percentage of the 55% of tourists. As a result, of the exceedingly high demand for arts, historical and cultural tourism in Italy, the paper will propose a project to begin a new business supplying the demand for arts, historical and cultural tourism (Consulting & Promotion 2011).
Company Description
The company will deal with tourism in arts, history, culture and religious paths. When it comes to religious tourism, more than 3000 structures are available in Italy, more than 56 ancient and modern convents, 25 Euro house receptions, 30 Euro monasteries that are available to be exploited by this kind of tourism. The company will focus on these areas to supply religious tourism demands by targeting individuals between the ages of 70 and 40. The company will also deal with material culture. The key to excellence for culture tourism in Italy is in the ability to deliver and create an efficient diversification crossing the right artistic, historical and monumental traditions with food, crafts, folk territory and wine. Culture in a wide sense to harmonize the traditional view to protection with improvement of local identity in culture (Richards 1996).
The company will also exploit tourism in museums, as there are not enough visitations to museums. The company needs to breathe to the tourists in Italy that the emotions and atmosphere in museums offer a unique experience worth coming back for. The company will carry out an operation to communicate the new tourism features the company is offering within the country, that is involving the people of Italy in processes of systematic rediscovery of their own traditions (Richards 1996).
Goals of the Company
The main goal of the company is to supply the unsupplied tourism demands in Italy especially in the area of arts, history, religious paths and history. The company will exploit all the available and underutilized tourist features related to culture, traditions and religion.
Situation Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
Art, history and culture are essential motives for a significant number of tourists.
The considerable casual attitude of policy makers in relation to heritage is changing to the advantage of tourism companies as a response to the pressure of the competitive of Italian competitiveness as a destination for numerous tourists.
Not much has been done by the industry and authorities to render the impressive cultural and historic stock resources available.
Accessibility to cultural tourism stock is low.
Opening periods and times for cultural attractions are low and many are usually opened after a special request.
Demand for tourism is contracting.
Opportunities Threats
Given the huge presence of cultural heritage, the supply of accessible historic and cultural tourism products is marginal.
Although the number of traditional and cultural heritage institutions is increasing, it has not led to a corresponding increase in heritage- supply for use in tourism.
Interests in consumption of culture and traditions are growing.
Italy has a significant stock of culture and heritage.
Competition is low in the market. Rigid frameworks in legislature
Lack of control of finances
Inadequate and insufficient management
(Richards 1996).
Customer Analysis and Market- Target segmentation
To speak of cultural consumption in the country means that one has to speak of the number of tourists visiting the tree distinct cultural commodities possessed by the state namely monuments and galleries, museums and excavations. Research indicates that national heritage is popular in Italy with respect to regionally and locally owned resources, which stems from importance of national tradition and heritage and from the fact that not less than seven institutes out of ten do not charge for entrance fee. Recent research shows that within the time span of ten years from 1984 to 1994, periods of decline in art and cultural tourism in Italy were followed by renewed growth (Organization for economic Co- ope 2002).
Up until 1991, the trend was worrying. Signs of tourism recovery were observed in 1993 with admissions to galleries and museums increasing. The number of free admissions has also declined leading to corresponding decrease in tourism. The percentage for paying tourists is lowest in excavations and monuments and highest in galleries. The museums are, therefore, between two extremes with 46 percent of visitors paying to enter. The issue of accessibility does not seem to be, as a result, of policies in pricing. Not only, does a larger number of guests pay, but tourists of culture are also assumed insensitive to price changes. Culture and art are presumed to be critical motives for visitors to choose Italy as a destination for holidays (Organization for economic Co- ope 2002).
Marketing Program Guidelines
To market tourism for the company, cultural events can be used as tools of marketing as in the case of Rovereto. Rovereto is a cultural city, and as such is more attractive to visitors if it has a bi- seasonal mountain for both winter and summer. A successful marketing strategy can also include the creation of a brand in which the company deals with. In addition to this, establishment of a strong relationship between the regional or central players and the public body can work as a marketing tool for the company (Consulting & Promotion 2011).
The company can market its tourism commodities by marketing existing cultural events to enhance its new ones. For instance, if the company wants to launch a new festival in the country to attract tourists it has to work on the events’ quality and create an adequate communication channel. Next, the company should launch the calendar of events. Identification of market orientation references and cities such as Vicenza and Brescia, cities in which to emphasize a specialist in communication are also essential. Launching of the planned events then should follow (Consulting & Promotion 2011).
Conclusion
Since Italy is a hot spot for tourism, the company should intend to launch tourism events and activities by following a marketing plan and strategy that intends to attract tourists from all over the region.
References
Consulting & Promotion 2011, ‘The importance of marketing in the tourism sector. New challenges for a growing market’. Viewed 27 February 2012 http://www.slideshare.net/enrico.castiglioni/the-importance-of-marketing-in-the-tourism-sector-english-version
Moller, A & Deckert, M 2009, ‘Project report. Market analyses. Crosscultuour. Viewed 27 February 2012, http://www.central2013.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/Downloads/outputlib/CrossCultour_Market_Analysis.pdf
Organization for economic Co- ope 2002, Siena, Italy, OECD publishing, Italy.
Richards, G 1996, Cultural tourism in Europe, Greg Richards, London.
Education standards in Finland
Name
Professor
Course
Date
Education standards in Finland
Introduction
At the end of the term, at a comprehensive school in Espoo in Helsinki, a long time teacher and also the principal of Kirkkojarvi Comprehensive School tried something drastic according to education standards in Finland. A sixth grade student of an Albanian boy was lagging behind in learning; efforts by the teachers did not bear fruits thus he deliberated, and resolved to hold the boy back a year something that had been faced out.
Education in Finland
Finland has made great strides in reading, mathematics, and literacy in science, in the last ten years, mostly because the teachers were given the freedom to decide the best way of changing the lives of the young children. The story of the child helped in time contributed tot Finnish education standards successes, an observable fact that has motivated, puzzled and at times annoyed most of the parents and education officials in the United States. Finnish education system came into the limelight in the year 2010 after a documented film waiting for superman which brought out the difference between the education system in Finland and the disturbed education system in the United States. A majority of Finland’s teachers estimated to be about 62,000 in about 3,500 schools are all professionals taken from the countries top ten graduates with masters’ degrees in issues of education the schools have manageable numbers of children that it is possible for teachers to know the weakness of every child and deliberate with the other teachers the best way to help a student when one method don’t work.
The turn around in the Finnish education did not happen instantly; it started as an idea to help the country’s economic recovery plan. The education officials had no idea that the education system was in fact, very successful until the year 2000 when the countries 15 year old showed that Finnish teens were the best readers in the world. Three years after that the country took the first position in mathematics by 2006 the country rated among the best in the world as it took position one among 57 countries, by the year 2009 Finland became second position in science, third position in reading, and sixth position in mathematics from an estimated 500,000 students from different parts of the world. The U.S government whose education system has remained on average has decided to inject money in the education system by initiating ideas from the private sector like vouchers, charter schools, which has led to the increase of numbers, an idea which cannot work in Finland which does not believe in statistics.
In Finland, standardized tests are not there, except for an exam at the end of senior high school. There is no competition as there are no ranking or comparisons not forgetting that schools in Finland are funded by the public, run by the government agencies whose officials are professionals in matters of education furthermore all schools have the same goals and have the teachers taken from the same institution of training which sees to it that no matter where the student is getting the education, the quality is not compromised .that is why over ninety percent of graduates in Finland graduate from vocational high schools which is 17.5 more than in the United States, of all the graduates 66 percent proceeds to higher education making it the highest in the whole of the European union, with Finland spending 30 percent less on each student. In Finland teachers spend more time to asses their students and less time in class. Children are given more time to play, homework is kept to a minimal and schooling is not mandatory until a child reaches the age of seven.
Conclusion
In Finland, it is almost obsolete for a child to go hungry or remain homeless as Finland government gives a three year maternity leave to parents, apart from offering cheap day care services and free preschool to all kids under the age of five the State also pays the parents about 150 Euros each month for each kid until they attain the age of 17, about Ninety seven percent of kids at the age of six also goes to public schools, which provide them with food and free medical care. Every year the schools receive about 47,000 Euros to pay special teachers who are paid a little more than other normal classroom teachers because the work is demanding. Schools in Finland were not always marvelous not until late into the 1960 when the Finns were trying to free themselves from Soviet influence .Many children vacated public schools for private schools, which were only a privilege to a few. All that changed when Finland decided to put the past behind and move forward as one unified nation, which was once divided between two power rivals with the west belonging to Swedish monarchy and the east to the Russian czar. The Finns took pride in their roots, and unique language which only they could pronounce correctly, the western part of the country was later taken over by the Russians who were later overturned by the Bolsheviks in the year 1917 when Finland gained its independence.
Individual Reflective Review
Individual Reflective Review
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Individual Reflective Review
In my learning journey throughout this course, individual reflections have been indispensable learning tools because they have allowed me to express my experiences, perspectives, and thoughts in developing various topics and concepts covered throughout the entire unit. In essence, reflective reviews have been illuminations of intense learning experiences expressed as thoughtful and informative accounts of learning accomplishments, lessons learned, improvements made through the learning process, and perhaps some unresolved issues. The impetus of the current reflective review is the critical reflection on two specific items relating to my project. The first is the effectiveness and suitability of the tools I used in planning my project while the second is the examination of teamwork and the performance of my teammates.
Reflection on Project Planning Tools
Tools Used in Project Planning
I used four tools in planning my project, all of which are discussed in the PMBOK Guide by Project Management Institute (2013) and Snyder (2017). These tools include a Gantt chart, a network diagram, a project charter, and a milestone chart. I used the Gantt chart as a tool for planning and representing my project’s schedule graphically. I remember that using the Gantt chart assisted me in planning for all upcoming project stages, tracking progress in ongoing project tasks, identifying dependencies between project activities, and identifying possible schedule delays that could affect the timely delivery of my project. I used the network diagram as a visual tool for detailing the sequence of my project work. Utilising this tool in planning my project was valuable because it facilitated the scheduling and control of key project activities by allowing me to analyse several scheduling alternatives, thereby choosing the most suitable scheduling option. I used the milestone chart as a tool for planning significant project-related events scheduled to take place at specific times in my project. This tool helped me to determine differences in planned dates and estimated dates of achieving particular project milestones at each project-related reporting period. Also, the tool enabled me to track the steps of my project on its timeline, visualise progress towards realising these steps, and comprehend significant risk events associated with my project. I used the project charter as my last project planning tool to set project expectations and communicate my project’s description, goals, purpose, scope boundaries, success measurement criteria, and key deliverables. The project charter was a valuable tool for my project because it provided all the information needed for its commencement.
Tools I Found Most Useful
Of the four tools that I used in project planning, I found the Gantt chart and network diagram as the most useful ones and would use them again in future project planning. One reason I found the Gantt chart most useful was that it simplified the planning, coordination, and tracking of specific project tasks. Also, it indicated the completion of these tasks on projected finish dates. Another reason was that the Gantt chart helped me to visualise the possible project duration, the project resource needs, and articulate dependencies between and among project tasks.
The first reason I found the network diagram most useful is that it provided me with an essential analytical approach to managing my project schedule and resources throughout the project life. The second reason was that it allowed me to compute the earliest time for completing my project, which was not possible with my Gantt chart, a fact that Snyder (2017) and Wysocki (2014) subscribe.
Reflection on Teamwork
Aspects That Went Well
In our project initiatives, teamwork was essential to addressing new challenges collaboratively, performing project tasks strategically, and sharing ideas, information, and responsibilities innovatively towards achieving project goals. Teamwork was also an indispensable part of my learning journey because it allowed me to gain specific skills that I need later in my professional practice. Such skills include collective effort, constructive compromise, sound communication, and the ability to assess teamwork effectiveness. Looking back to what we accomplished as a team, I can attest that five aspects of teamwork went well, which allowed us to function as a high-performance team in project accomplishments.
The first of these elements was communication. I believe that team communication went well because we managed to maintain open lines of communication throughout the project work. We knew that for us to operate as an effective, high-performance team, we needed to embrace honest communication to ensure sufficient flow amongst ourselves. The team members performed excellently as regards maintaining open, honest, and ongoing communication, which stimulated mutual understanding, cultivated a sense of supportiveness and enhanced progress in a productive direction. Such communication also enabled us to freely share information and inventive ideas while allowing each member to comprehend their roles. This was valuable to realising time economy when completing our project initiatives.
The second teamwork aspect that went well was trust and commitment. Following the openness of and honesty in communication, we managed to establish strong bonds and relationships. Consequently, these bonds and relationships were fundamental building blocks of enhancing trust among team members. In turn, this trust made each of them express full commitment to attaining the project goals. By trusting each other, we devoted our energy and time to advance our project purpose and objectives and balance our workloads, which made us deliver exceptional project outcomes. We were fully aware of the fact that distrust could lead to a lack of commitment to project initiatives, besides provoking unnecessary team conflicts that often damage team performance by creating needless gaps between members’ output.
The third teamwork feature that went well was the application of cultural diversity. My team was multicultural, which means that cultural diversity was an influential component of the team. Studying the PMBOK Guide provided by the Project Management Institute (2013) enabled me to learn the need to capitalise on the cultural diversity of team members realised to make the best out of the team. The cultural diversity of the team manifested in the form of diversity in creativity, industry-specific experience, and norms. Throughout the project lifecycle, we appreciated and respected our cultural difference. This, together with blending our culturally diverse skills, talents, and technical competencies, facilitated an interdependent functioning among team members in a team atmosphere of mutual trust.
The four teamwork aspect that I believe went well was the concept of change adaptability. In our team, we were highly adaptable and flexible to changing situations under which we were working. My colleagues and I knew that change when handling project matters is inevitable. Thus, as an effective and high-impact team, we had to adapt to changes arising in our strategies, tasks, workflows, and the ways we were working together. Accordingly, we designed and implemented tactics that enabled us to rally together, address team challenges head-on, and balance our ideological differences without resisting change.
The last aspect of the team that went well was the establishment of team creativity and confidence. There was adequate creative freedom in my team, which allowed us to try new things without the fear of failure. Working on our creativity freely enabled us to blend elements of effective teamwork, trust, change adaptability, open communication, and this enhanced our confidence in our project work. As I reflect on our achievements, I must state that team confidence was essential to our optimal functioning as a group because it cultivated our collective efficacy, defined our intrinsic drive, and impelled our performance.
Aspect That Failed and What Will Be Done Different
Despite these successful team aspects, two things did not go so well with my team. The first was talent differences. While the diversity of talents was crucial to skill enhancement, creativity, and supporting efficacy in our interdependent functioning, differences in talents influenced imbalances of members’ contributions to the team. Some members contributed more to the team than others, and the lack of balance of contribution affected the overall team productivity. I feel that this was not only frustrating for members who felt that they were high-performers but also triggered a few conflicts were experienced. The conflicts we had to deal with as a consequence of talent differences include personality clashes, conflicts over project accomplishment strategies, and opinion differences.
The second aspect that did not go so well was the concept of self-awareness. A few team members demonstrated traits that reveal low self-awareness. These included a know-it-all attitude, resistance to feedback, and unproductive criticisms. Low self-awareness affected the team by triggering low engagement in some instances, but we later solved this problem by encouraging positive team attitudes to ensure high engagement. What I could have done differently as a team member to avoid issues stemming from talent differences is to set project goals based on team members’ capabilities and skills. To overcome problems arising from low self-awareness, what I would have done differently would entail leveraging team feedback to identify cues to traits that indicate low self-awareness in team members.
Summary
This reflective review has highlighted the tools that I adopted in planning for my project. It has also allowed for a critical assessment of the elements that defined the effectiveness and appropriateness of teamwork as we engaged in the project processes. Completing it has been indispensable in expressing my understanding of team dynamics and their impact on successful teamwork in project work. Also, my completion of this reflective review has been valuable to ‘jogging my memory’ of the tools of project planning that I need to include in my project management toolkit in my future professional practice. Going forward, I will take into consideration the teamwork areas I identified as having not done so well to devise some strategies for addressing these areas and making improvements to team functioning.
References
Project Management Institute. (2013). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (5 Ed.). Newtown Square, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc.
Snyder, C. S. (2017). A project manager’s book of forms: A companion to the PMBOK guide (3 Ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey. John Wiley & Sons.
Wysocki, R. K. (2014). Effective project management: Traditional, agile, extreme (7 Ed.). Indianapolis, IN. John Wiley & Sons.