Strategy Plan Assignment Sample

Strategy Plan Assignment Sample

Introduction- Strategy Plan Assignment Sample

This report is more of a short-term strategic plan of launching the MVP. It also tries to validate the product and procedure of implementing it in the organisation. It consists of mission, goals, objectives, tactics, and strategies used by the TUI UK. It also consists of a small discussion from case studies. Furthermore, it also explains the cost-benefit analysis of using the voice recognition devices. In addition to this, it also talks about long-term goals to iterate the voice recognition services. It also consists of a base plan to implement voice recognition devices in the tourism sector. Furthermore, the types of issues in implementing the voice recognition approaches are also mentioned. The report ends with some recommendation for the effective use of the technology in business operations.

Strategy

Short-term strategy to launch the MVP

Mission

The TUI UK aims at making the voice recognition technology an integral part of a business functioning, especially the communication process.

Vision

To provide quick and hassle-free access to organisation’s information and services to every stakeholder of the hotel firm.

Goals

• To carry out day-to-day tasks by making use of voice recognition.
• To improve the reliability in resolving the problems of the customers.
• To provide the organisation with a greater mobility.

Objectives

• Using the voice recognition like a virtual concierge service.
• Using the voice commands in requesting room service, reserving a table, or booking a room.

Case Study

According to Murphy, et.al, 2012, using various biometric methods like voice-recognition is the key to customer satisfaction. Many research works have shown that the satisfied customers lead to increase in the brand value, increases marketing through the word of mouth, and higher occupancy rates. Therefore, organisation should implement tech-savvy approaches in order to enhance customer satisfaction. Voice-activated hotel rooms save a lot of customer's time that they value so much. In the paper, it was determined that on an average, a customer spend 12 minutes adjusting to the room condition. This includes setting up the thermostat, figuring out the lights, etc. Having a voice-operated system can save a lot of time. In addition to this, these systems can also be used at the time of check-in and checkout. This can be time-saving and increases customer loyalty.

The paper also argues that voice-operating devices can assist in giving guests a more personalised experience. They can make them feel special and valued. They can feel more at home during their hotel stay. All of this can help the organisation to become exclusive and gain an edge over their competitors. This doubles the customer base of those guests who seek a luxury stay.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Cost-benefit analysis is a systematic way to estimate the weaknesses and strengths of options. There are two costs of implementing the voice recognition systems in the hospitality and tourism sector. First is a direct cost that incurred due to expenses of purchasing the license of the software, devices, installation cost, etc. Indirect costs refer to the opportunity cost which is the interest amount that TUI UK could have earned if it hadn’t invested in the voice-recognition devices (De Ascaniis, et.al, 2015).

Benefits can also be of two types i.e., social benefits and private benefit. Private benefits are increasing the customer base, generating revenue, increasing the occupancy rate, etc. Social benefits are indirect benefits i.e., increase in the tax return and local economy of the region. Since the benefits are higher than the cost (Ko, et.al, 2015). The project is economically feasible.

A long-term strategy to launch the MVP

Mission

The TUI UK aims at implementing the voice-operating devices in every business aspect in order to provide the best services to the patrons.

Vision

To provide fast and hassle-free services to the customer by making use of voice-recognized software and devices.

Goals

• To use voice recognition software in data analytics.
• To save customers' time during different stages of their stay at the hotel.
• To assist the guests in adjusting with in-room technology.
• To improve the reliability in resolving the problems of the customers.
• To provide the organisation with a greater mobility.

Objectives

• Use voice-operated software like Volara can be brought into use for data analytics.
• Save consumers' time through complete voice-recognizing automation.
• Creating a personalised greeting for guests at the time of arrival.

Case Study

According to Tsai, et.al, (2014), the use of biometric technology, especially the voice-recognising devices has increased the synergy between the hotel organisations and guests towards the change in technology. The benefits of using the voice recognising software and devices are many and the best part is that the guests are not reluctant to use it. They are curious and willing to adopt the technology while their stay at hotels. The paper also highlights that the implementation of voice-recognising devices in the hospitality sector is driven by the desire to enhance and refine their services for customers. In addition to this, it also improves revenue and operational efficiency and reduces overall cost.

Paper also suggests that hospitality is the most appropriate industry to incorporate voice-recognition technology to enhance the existing business operations. Most of the customers look for convenience and voice-recognising is the most promising in the current time. As the price of installation of these devices has been reduced, the biometric technology is gaining the prominence. It allows guest to check-in/out and makes payments without any ado. To install the biometrics in the hotel premises, hotels have to spend a large amount of money. If in any case, the guests do not adopt the technology, the return on investments may not be as good as it was expected. This is the serious concern for most of the hotel organisation in today’s time.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

As already discussed in the previous section that the cost of devices, installation, and purchasing the software license comprises the direct cost, whereas the cost of foregone opportunities is the indirect cost. The direct and indirect cost both together compose the net cost of the voice-recognition devices (De Ascaniis, et.al, 2015).

Talking about the benefit, the direct benefits of implementing the technology is that the hotel's financial accounts can be managed. In the long-run, it saves a large number of funds. In addition to this, the organisations have to hire less staff for data analytics as software can do that efficiently. Hence the benefits outnumbered the cost.

Product/services roadmap and minimal viable product/services/process for “Voice Recognition”

Voice recognition is the biometric technology that has numerous practical application and can serve as the helping hand for both employees and guests in the hospitality and tourism sector. It can be used for attendance purposes and access information. These voice controlled devices can serve as a newfound opportunity for luxury hotel organisation like TUI UK. Voice recognition devices are comparatively easy to integrate and operate for hotels, especially for organisations that are already automated. These devices and services can have many benefits that are explained below:

• Increases Productivity: While recording the client data, dictating things can make the process easier and increase the speed of the work. The organisation can save a large fraction of time which can later be used in drafting, editing, and revising the information recorded (Brülle-Drews, et.al, 2018).
• Reduces chances of mistakes: These voice-commanded devices comes with an outstanding vocabulary and spell-check features. This reduces the spelling or writing errors. Many of these devices are up to 98% accurate in terms of word recognition. The best part is that these devices have an editable database. Therefore, one can edit and store information according to their needs.
• Provides higher mobility: These devices often comes with the feature of recording notes. Therefore, tourist can make their own records while visiting any historical place or museum. TUI UK can implement this feature while handling the customer care support center. Many a time it happens that customer's query remains unheard. But, with these devices, they can be handled with the utmost care (Evermann, et.al, 2016).
• Saves time: While seeking information, people have to type what they are looking for. But, dictating is 3 times faster than writing down the things. This saves a large amount of time and speeds up the processes in the organisation. Voicing the thoughts is quite useful when people are travelling on roads (Mardani, et.al, 2016).

These devices can be employed at four stages of the guest cycle:

• Pre-arrival: During the pre-arrival stage, voice-commanded software can be used in storing exchanging data and information, making financial information available to the service provider. This information can be stored in the hotel’s data management system until the arrival of the guest.
• Arrival: Once the guest arrives, the software or devices can be used in making the guest folios and assigning the guest rooms. Once this is done, the payment process can be initiated using these devices.
• Occupancy: During the occupancy stage, these devices can help guest in availing the hotel services and organisation in making them available to the guest.
• Departure: During this stage, the devices can be used in managing and settling the accounts.
  

Issues in Implementing the Voice Recognition Technology

In today’s day and age, the voice commanded devices are available in many forms, such as smartphones, Amazon Echo, Apple iPhone’s Siri, etc. Being internet-enabled, these devices are very vulnerable and unsafe as they can be hacked and controlled from a remote place. There are many issues with the implementation of these devices in the hospitality industry. They are discussed in this section:-

• The first issue is that these devices have a large number of commands. Remembering them is not everyone's cup of tea. Customers are also not aware of how to make use of such smart technologies (Wang, et.al, 2016).
• Another issue is with the privacy of the customer's data. TUI can implement them in data storing and analysing. Since all this data would be stored in cloud storage, thereby making the personal data vulnerable.
• Another issue is that implementing these technologies in the business operation is costly. An organisation has to train their employees, install new infrastructure on the premises, and update the software and organisational structure.
• Another issue is related to legalities related to anti-wiretapping laws. Using these voice-activated may lead to violating any laws. These devices may be used to record private talks. Therefore, installing them can be apparent to the hotel customers (Mardani, et.al, 2016).

Recommendations

• Despite having numerous benefits, the voice command or recognition features are still not widely used. These devices have a large number of commands, thereby making them tricky to handle. Therefore, TUI UK should provide a channel guide to the customers and guide them to make use of it.
• Placement of the communication device should be at a very convenient and easy-to-access location. The best way of doing this is to establish concierge stations in the hotel premises (Evermann, et.al, 2016).
• Building a safe and reliable network infrastructure as this smart technology depends on the Internet in order to send commands to the cloud database. For this reason, it requires a backup.

Conclusion

The basic idea behind developing this report was to give a short-term strategic plan of launching the MVP. The report tried to validate the product and procedure of implementing it in the organisation. It elaborated aspects such as mission, goals, objectives, tactics, and strategies used by the TUI UK. It also contained a small discussion from case studies. Furthermore, it explained the cost-benefit analysis of using the voice recognition devices. In addition to this, it talked about long-term goals to iterate the voice recognition services. It also comprised a roadmap to voice recognition devices in the travel and tourism sector. In addition to this, different issues in integrating the voice recognition approaches were also enlisted. The report ended with some recommendation for the effective use of the technology in business operations.

References

• Brülle-Drews, C., Harman/Becker Automotive Systems GmbH, 2018.  Navigation system with a voice-controlled presentation of secondary information. U.S. Patent 7,472,020.
• De Ascaniis, S., Borrè, A., Marchiori, E. and Cantoni, L., 2015. Listen to your customers! How hotels manage online travel reviews. The case of Hotels in Lugano. In  Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2015(pp. 59-72). Springer, Cham.
• Evermann, G., Roth, D.L., Gillick, L.S. and Coughlin, J., Voice Signal Technologies Inc, 2016.  Local storage and use of search results for voice-enabled mobile communications devices. U.S. Patent Application 11/673,997.
• Geilhufe, M., MacMillan, D., Barel, A., Brown, A., Bootsma, K.L., Gaddy, L.K. and Pyo, P.P., Winbond Electronics Corp, 2013.  Method and apparatus for controlling voice controlled devices. U.S. Patent 6,584,439.
• Junqua, J.C. and Contolini, M., Panasonic Corp, 2001.  Automated hotel attendant using speech recognition. U.S. Patent 6,314,165.
• Ko, C.H., Tsai, Y.H., Chen, S.L. and Wang, L.H., 2014. Exploring Biometric Technology Adopted in the Hotel Processes.  Biotechnology,  13(4), pp.165-170.
• Mardani, A., Zavadskas, E.K., Streimikiene, D., Jusoh, A., Nor, K.M. and Khoshnoudi, M., 2016. Using fuzzy multiple criteria decision making approaches for evaluating energy-saving technologies and solutions in five-star hotels: A new hierarchical framework. Energy,  117, pp.131-148.
• Murphy, H.C. and Rottet, D., 2012. An exploration of the key hotel processes implicated in biometric adoption.  International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,  21(2), pp.201-212.
• Strauss, J. and Frost, R.D., 2016.  E-marketing: Instructor's Review Copy. Routledge.
• Tzirkel-Hancock, E. and Tsimhoni, O., GM Global Technology Operations LLC, 2016.  Method and system for using sound related vehicle information to enhance speech recognition. U.S. Patent 9,263,040.
• Wang, Y.S., Li, H.T., Li, C.R. and Zhang, D.Z., 2016. Factors affecting hotels' adoption of mobile reservation systems: A technology-organization-environment framework.  Tourism Management,  53, pp.163-172.

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