International Business and Economics Assignment

International Business and Economics - Assignment Example Franchising is very similar to licensing except in the degree of control by the licensor in that a franchise has to adhere strictly to a set of standards such as in marketing strategy and in its sales promotions (Welch, Benito, and Petersen, 2007, p. 53). Example of licensing would be a Mickey Mouse logo licensed to a kids shoe manufacturer while franchising is a McDonald's. Turnkey operations are a type of business entry mode in which one company contracts with another company to build, construct and complete ready-to-use facilities (Paul, 1966, p. 162). Most turnkey projects are usually in the construction and industrial-equipment sectors which require big capital and specialized expertise (Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan, 2008, p. 45). Management contracts pertain to agreements between investor groups of a big project and the management company hired for their expertise to manage, coordinate and oversee the project. The company is hired provides its management, administrative and organizational talents in return for a management fee such as those quite common in global hotel chains like Hilton. A direct investment is an investment made with a view to acquiring a lasting or long-term part or interest in an existing operational business enterprise in order to have an effective voice in the management of the said enterprise. In practice, this translates to buying the equity of 10% or more in the foreign firm as a form of market entry when other modes are not very assured of success. In this regard, foreign direct investment (FDI) is a way for capital to move from the low-return environment to a higher-profit market (Moosa, 2002, p. 24). Portfolio investment is an investment in stocks and securities for profits only and is called â€Å"hot money.† Attitudes to Foreign Cultures – the managers and employees of multinational firms try to adapt to foreign cultures sometimes based on their home culture. In most instances, the managers who are very democ ratic in their attitudes at their home country also extend these same traits of democratic practices such as sharing of vital information with the employees in a foreign country where they operate in (Toyne, 1980, p. 135). In some situations, the contrast of country managers is very vast such as imposing their home country's practices, beliefs and values on the host country's employees (Hofstede, 2003, p. 440) as a frame of reference while others take a more tolerant attitude and try to learn more and understand the foreign culture in a much better and deeper way (Ajami et al., 2006, p. 215). The success of a manager in the foreign country depends to a big extent on his or her cultural intelligence quotient (CQ) level similar to intelligence quotient (IQ) or emotional quotient (EQ) by being able to sufficiently read and analyze individual behaviors, attitudes, group dynamics and the unique situations in the context of the foreign culture (Kreitner, 2006, p. 97) beyond just learning the language. Key Means of Economic Transition – a command economy is an economy that is being managed centrally by the government bureaucrats. In other words, the demand and also the supply of certain products, goods, and services are determined by government planners. It is these people who decide which goods and services are to be produced, how they are priced and how these are to be distributed instead of allowing free market forces to do so.

Students to demonstrate an understanding of public relations in travel Essay

Students to demonstrate an understanding of public relations in travel and tourism - Essay Example In order to attract tourists in the highly competitive market, the management uses marketing and management tools that should be taken into consideration (Mill and Morrisson, 2002). The most important marketing tool is Public Relations (PR) as it plays a key role in advertising the locations, activities and identities. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role and importance of PR in the tourism and travel industry. PR in travel and tourism has a very important role to play as it is used in strategic marketing activities and is integrated with marketing communications. The tourism industry is divided into many sectors including travel, tourist destinations, establishments, hotels lodgings and restaurants. The different sectors have their specific audience, public relation tools and convey different messages. The important role of PR is to create favourable perceptions about the tourist destination because success of the industry relies on the different sectors as explained by Deuschl (2006). The sectors need effective PR to gain popularity among the tourists. The PR department creates a positive impression in all the sectors in the travel and tourism industry. The role of PR involves attracting customers and keeping them entertained after they arrive at the destination to their time of departure. The primary purpose of PR is to effectively support other marketing and sales activities attempting to build a positive image of a company, its services and products (Deuschl, 2006). PR help the organization to save money by enhancing relations with the public that constrain or enhance the ability of the entity to meet its obligations. PR is different from other marketing tools, most importantly advertising since it creates the launch of a brand and it has greater credibility. PR promotes improved understanding between the operators and customers. There has been increased competition in the tourism sector among the operators to create