UCB International Solutions revised

UCB INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS
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-285754667250-28575-114300Title: Research design of establishing UCB International Solutions in Hong Kong
Aim: This research aims to identify the key issues and factors facing UCB International Solutions as it establishes its presence in Hong Kong
-28575-19050Objectives
To examine the level of tourism demand in Hong Kong and their preference of restaurant facilities
To identify cross-cultural issues that will affect UCB International solutions and how such issues will be solved to achieve harmonious relations between all stakeholders
To identify the level of service quality in Hong Kong restaurant industry and anticipate the standards expected for UCB International Solutions
To identify the perception of local and foreign consumers and other stakeholders with regards to western restaurants
To find ways of managing income and utilizing other resources
To examine the available policies and regulation and identify favorable Hong Kong government incentives with regards to foreign companies
To specifically identify local policies and regulations in Hong Kong restaurant industry
-3810000Rationale
Globalization is making the world more connected as people travel and explore business, academic and other interests in different parts of the world. There has been an increase in western countries commercial interests in Asian countries. European and American firms have been either partnering with local Asian companies or venturing on their own to these part of the world in search of new markets for their goods and services.

The hospitality industry in the Asian markets is increasing as travelers and business people from Europe and America flock different Asian destinations. It’s against this background that UCB International Solutions is establishing itself Hong Kong. There is a big opportunity in Hong Kong for UCB International Solutions to provide accommodation service and restaurant facilities. Apart from travelers or tourists from Europe, Hong Kong residents are increasingly finding it interesting and fashionable to eat in foreign restaurants. Many people from Europe and other parts of the world traveling in search of business opportunities in Hong Kong need a place to hold meetings and events to pitch for their businesses. UCB International Solutions will also provide education and consultancy services for different corporations.
Hong Kong’s financial secretary while presenting 2017-18 Budget admitted that the hospitality and tourism industry was improving after it had experienced a 4.5% decline in tourists’ arrivals in 2016. The improvement is attributed to increasing number of tourists from Southeast Asia, the arrival of the cruise ship and visitors who frequent Hong Kong for exhibitions, meetings, and conventions. The largest source of visitors to Hong Kong is Mainland arrivals. Despite a decline of 6.7% of these arrivals in 2016, non-Mainland visitors increased significantly. Visitors from short-haul markets increased by 3.4% whereas visitors from long-haul markets increased by 2.3%. There are a lot of visitors to Hong Kong for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE). Cruise passengers are also increasing year in year out. In 2016 the top four visitor source market for Hong Kong were Mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea and USA (Khoo, 2017, 1). This reality will make it easy for UCB International solutions target of providing accommodation and restaurant facilities for up to 200 clients. It will also make it easier for UCBIS to get most clients for meeting and events together with different corporations or organizations looking for education and consultancy services. This will boost UCBIS’s financial health and enable it to fully fund its operations without depending on credit from financial institutions. Hong Kong has many colleges and universities whereby hospitality and marketing courses are offered. This will enable UCBIS to successful place some of the students in its business as interns and develop their professional skills as it boosts its human resources. The internship program will provide the much needed cross-cultural understanding between the UK employees and Hong Kong employees together with the clients. The program will also enhance service quality for the students from these colleges and universities around Hong Kong understand the taste and preferences of the local clients.
-9525-50526950-9525-149225Literature Review Summary
Most businesses are expanding to the Asian market; especially Hong Kong faces common problems irrespective of their industry affiliation. The problems faced by hospitality industry businesses are not very much different from those facing retail, manufacturing or technology firms. Communication is the biggest challenge for businesses setting shop in Asia. Most western and European countries have different cultures and this complicate business relationship. The cultural misunderstanding may lead to conflict or affect the quality of service, especially in hospitality industry. The hospitality industry requires adequate communication skills involving the use of both verbal and non-verbal cues. Human resource is another challenge that affects European firms venturing into the Asian market. It normally takes time for both Asian workers and their European or western counterparts to agree on how different responsibilities are carried out. Whereas most Asian workers prefer hierarchical structures, western and European employees are used to delegating or being delegated responsibilities (Aycan et al., 2000, 203). There can be a conflict since western and European managers expect all workers to take the initiative and be creative yet they do not understand that Asian workers are accustomed to following well laid out instructions or a routine job.
-19050-25806400-428625-2984500Theoretical Framework
9239254260850035909253594100035242587630Cross-cultural management studies
00Cross-cultural management studies
412432520955Yield management
00Yield management

2257425135890 UCBIS
00 UCBIS

666750488950033718504889500
4419600450215Service quality
00Service quality

-3048012012953. Hospitality consumer psychology
003. Hospitality consumer psychology

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Cross-Cultural Management Studies: When businesses venture into other countries, there is always a problem arising from cultural differences between the countries involved. Cultural differences affect business operations since there is always a misconception that can lead to misunderstanding between employees and customers, management, and business partners among other stakeholders. Cross-cultural studies will enable companies or businesses to understand the cultural differences and take the necessary steps to bridge the differing cultures. Workplace value is the greatest aspect of cross-cultural studies. Power distance is a concept that deals with how different societies treat the question of inequality amongst different people (STAVROUDI, 2017, 27). Whereas the concept of hierarchy is normal and acceptable in other societies, it brings discomfort in other societies. UCB International solutions have to understand the views of Hong Kong people about power distance and put in place appropriate leadership style that reflects the Hong Kong culture. The issue of competitiveness vs. cooperation is another important element in cross-cultural studies. Where collectivism exists as a dominant cultural attribute, the company or business compensation structure will be such a way that employees are rewarded as a team (Hofstede, 2013, 35). This is because cooperation leads to better team performance. How societies cope with uncertainties will influence their creativity and innovation. Restrained societies are less creative whereas indulgent societies are creative and take risks. If UCB international solutions want its employees to be creative and risk takers, it has to understand how people in Hong Kong or Asia, in general, prioritizes tradition, innovation, and education. This will enable UCB International Solutions to creatively embed the concept of innovation and
-28575-381000 creativity in Hong Kong culture to gain the support of all its employees.
Yield Management: UCB International Solutions focus on selling a fixed resource which is limited by time. This resource, i.e., a hotel room is affected by several factors that call for strategic actions. Some of the factors that affect accommodation demand, for example, are events, trends, and various contingencies. A better yield management strategy will take advantage of these factors to maximize revenue. Hong Kong is a commercial hub and has several tourist attraction sites and events, and if UCBIS study the trends of tourists visiting the various sites or the frequency of several events happening in Hong Kong, it will get more clients for accommodation and different event packages. Some of the important factors that need to be well studied by UCBIS management are customer preferences, competitor’s pricing strategy, and effective budgeting. Having dynamic pricing will enable UCBIS to anticipate customer behavior and tweak room prices or rates to respond to the prevailing circumstances. Reputation is the most important thing in hospitality industry hence the correct forecasting will minimize pricing errors and create a favorable image. Effective segmentation is another important aspect of yield management. UCBIS offers different services ranging from accommodation, meetings, events and consulting services. It has to balance well these services and focus on what offers better margins at a given time.
Hospitality consumer psychology: Understanding consumer psychology is very important in the hospitality industry. UCBIS has to understand why or how consumers make accommodation choices or decide to have events or meetings in a particular hotel as compared to the other. Clients who decide to use the services of UCBIS will provide the most important feedback on what factors led them to make the choices they made and what can be improved to enable UCBIS to serve them better. In the hospitality industry, consumers rely on opinions of friends concerning particular facilities such as hotels and restaurants (Wright, 2006, 193). The feedback from clients will inform UCBIS marketing plan since it is a true picture of consumer behavior.
-190500-22872700-1905002911475 Service quality: The hospitality industry is becoming very competitive by the day. Service quality is the most important way to gaining competitive advantage. Hospitality clients cherish quality services. Consumers’ confidence increases with the increase in quality of the service of a particular. Service quality fills the gap between what is offered to the clients and what the clients expect from service providers. It is the impression that the clients get when they use the services of a particular facility such as the hotels and restaurants. Service quality encompasses three aspects which include materials, physical facilities, and staff. UCBIS needs to prioritize service quality to attract many clients as it penetrates the Hong Kong hospitality market.
Design of Data Collection Methods
Quantitative research methods will be used. Primary data will be collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire will be used to gather data related to popular meetings and events in Hong Kong, estimates of number of travellers visiting different historical sites and tourists attraction sites in Hong Kong, tourists taste and preferences with regards to accommodation, types of businesses in Hong Kong that normally seek consultancy services with regards to training, corporate strategy and contemporary marketing, policies and regulations governing hospitality industry in Hong Kong, national and local government incentives for foreign-owned businesses and the general hospitality industry issues such as availability of competent human resource. Questionnaires gives respondents adequate time to respond and gives reliable information
-200025-12261850-1428751496060Secondary data will be collected from sources such as the internet, local and national government publications, journals and online index. These sources will reveal information about macroenvironmetal factors, incentives, infrastructural issues, labor-related issues and perception about foreign-controlled enterprises.
Sampling
-1428752204085Purposeful sampling will be used whereby businesses offering the same service as UCBIS will be identified for the purpose of collecting data. The questionnaires will be distributed amongst senior level staff, employees, middle-level managers, and suppliers to these businesses. Business travelers and tourists will also be identified for the purpose of gathering data. Purposeful sampling allows identification of the right respondents with reliable information.
Data Analysis
With regards to closed questions, data will be collected using ‘list,’ ’rating,’ ‘category’ and ‘ranking’ questions. Data will be analyzed using pie charts to depict industry background of different respondents. Column charts will be used to analyze the respondent’s demographic information. Likert scale data will be summarized on a stacked column chart.
-33337595250References
Aycan, Z., Kanungo, R., Mendonca, M., Yu, K., Deller, J., Stahl, G. and Kurshid, A. (2000).
Impact of Culture on Human Resource Management Practices: A 10-Country Comparison. Applied Psychology, 49(1), pp.192-221.
Hofstede, G. (2013). Culture’s consequences. Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.]: Sage.
Khoo, J. (2017). INDUSTRY FOCUS: Hospitality & Tourism. [online] AmCham Hong-Kong.
Available at: http://www.amcham.org.hk/news/hospitality–tourism-an-industry-overview- [Accessed 15 Jan. 2018].
STAVROUDI, A. (2017). MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES CHALLENGES IN CHINESE
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY. [S.l.]: GRIN PUBLISHING.
Wright, R. (2006). Consumer behaviour. London: Thomson.