Register No.
SNS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Kurumbapalayam(Po), Coimbatore – 641 107
Accredited by NAAC-UGC with ‘A’ Grade
Approved by AICTE & Affiliated to Anna University, Chennai
INTERNAL ASSESMENT EXAMINATIONS - III
COURSE: MBA
BA7013 – Services Marketing Q & A
Class: II MBA
Duration: 3 Hours
SECTION – A
Date: 02 November, 2015
Maximum: 100 Marks
10 x 2 = 20
Answer ALL questions
1.What is meant by “Value based pricing”?
The setting of a product or service's price, based on the benefits it provides to consumers. By
contrast, cost-plus pricing is based on the amount of money it takes to produce the product.
Companies that offer unique or highly valuable features or services are better positioned to take
advantage of value-based pricing, than companies whose products are services are relatively
indistinguishable from those of their competitors.
2.Define Franchising.
Franchising is the practice of the right to use a firm's business model and brand for a prescribed
period of time.
3.What is service recovery?
Service recovery is an umbrella term for systematic efforts by a company to correct a problem
following a service failure and retain a customer's goodwill
4.What is service delivery?
Service delivery is a component of business that defines the interaction between providers and clients
where the provider offers a service, whether that be information or a task, and the client either finds
value or loses value as a result.
5. What is meant by service market triangle?
Service marketing involves 3 types of marketing:
1. EXTERNAL MARKETING
2. INTERNAL MARKETING
3. INTERACTIVE MARKETING
1. External Marketing : "Setting the Promise"
* Marketing to END-USERS.
· Involves pricing strategy, promotional activities, and all communication with
customers.
· Performed to capture the attention of the market, and arouse interest in the service.
2. Internal Marketing : "Enabling the Promise"
· Marketing to EMPLOYEES.
· Involves training, motivational, and teamwork programs, and all communication with
employees.
· Performed to enable employees to perform the service effectively, and keep up the
promise made to the customer.
3. Interactive Marketing : (Moment of Truth, Service Encounter)
· This refers to the decisive moment of interaction between the front-office employees
and customers, i.e. delivery of service.
· This step is of utmost importance, because if the employee falters at this level, all prior
efforts made towards establishing a relationship with the customer, would be wasted.
6. What is meant by proactive services?
The organization acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes.
7. What is the impact of technology in delivering services?




Planning the rollout of software
Designing and implementing procedures for the distribution and installation of changes to IT systems
Effectively communicating and managing expectations of the customer during the planning and
rollout of new releases
Controlling the distribution and installation of changes to IT systems
8. List the recent trend in banking services?
Electronic Payment Services - E Cheques
Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS)
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
Electronic Clearing Service (ECS)
Automatic Teller Machine (ATM)
9. Highlight the nature of IT service.
10. What is meant by service channel?
PART –B
5 x 16 = 80
11.a. What are the factors to be considered while designing service delivery system? Explain. (OR)
1. Service Culture is built on elements of leadership principles, norms, work habits and vision, mission
and values. Culture is the set of overriding principles according to which management controls,
maintains and develops the social process that manifests itself as delivery of service and gives value
to customers. Once a superior service delivery system and a realistic service concept have been
established, there is no other component so fundamental to the long-term success of a service
organization as its culture.
2. Employee Engagement includes employee attitude activities, purpose driven leadership and HR
processes. Even the best designed processes and systems will only be effective if carried out by
people with higher engagement. Engagement is the moderator between the design and the execution
of the service excellence model.
3. Service Quality includes strategies, processes and performance management systems. The strategy
and process design is fundamental to the design of the overall service management model. Helping
the client fulfil their mission and supporting them in the pursuit of their organizational purpose, must
be the foundation of any service provider partnership.
4. Customer Experience includes elements of customer intelligence, account management and
continuous improvements. Perception is king and constantly evaluating how how both customer and
end-user perceive service delivery is important for continuous collaboration. Successful service
delivery works on the basis that the customer is a part of the creation and delivery of the service and
then designs processes built on that philosophy .
11.b. Discuss the cost, competition, demand oriented methods of pricing .
Some of the methods of Price Determination for a product are as follows:
A. Cost Based Pricing Methods:
Costs establish the floor for the possible price range and there are two commonly used costs oriented pricing
methods to set the product prices.
These are:
(1) Cost plus pricing and
(2) Target returns pricing.
1. Cost plus Pricing Method:
Cost plus or target or mark-up pricing involves simply adding a percentage of the cost to arrive at the price.
There is slight difference between cost plus and mark-up pricing.
Mark-up pricing is an addition of profit calculated as a percentage of sales rather than as a percentage of
cost. In the final analysis, the amount of profit will be the same though the percentage of profit differs on
cost and on sales.
This is clarified by the following example:
2. Target return pricing:
It is another very popular cost oriented method followed by good many manufacturers. It is based on the
break even analysis. It sets the prices at a desired percentage return over and above the breakeven point.
Thus, the costs of producing and offering the goods for sale are determined and a target percentage return is
then added to these costs at a given standard output level.
Since, total revenue to be generated includes costs and profits, it is easier to find unit selling price by
dividing the total sales revenue by total output or input level.
If Kemp and Company has a standard output level of say. 80,000 tricycles and the total cost works out to be
Rs. 1,27,50,000 consisting of Rs. 42,50,000 fixed costs and Rs. 85,00,000 variables costs and it wants to
make 20 per cent on costs, the total revenue generated will be of Rs. 1,53,00,000.
Therefore, the unit selling price will be of Rs. 180 each. This data can be presented in the form of a graph
showing the cost, volume and profit relationship as given in Fig. 2.
Merits and Demerits of Cost Based Methods:
The cost based methods covered above have their own merits and demerits. The worth emphasizing
one are narrated below:
The Merits:
1. Simplicity:
Unlike demand approach, cost ascertainment is much easier as estimation would not pose any problem.
Moreover, it is internal to the firm.
2. Harmonious Competition:
There are lesser changes of price wars between the competitors as industry-wide costs mark-ups are
uniform. Cost-plus pricing thus provides competitive stability.
3. Socially Justifiable:
Relative to demand oriented and competition oriented approaches, cost-plus pricing is socially fair. It is
because, the rate or return remains the same even if the demand rises or falls.
4. It is Safer:
Cost based methods guarantee recovery of costs of production and distribution and do not allow the
management to play with seasonal and cyclical shifts in the business.
5. It Moves with New technology:
It is quite reasonable and dependable method to opt for cost based pricing whenever a company is
welcoming a new technology where the production problems and long-term cost conditions can hardly be
predicted with ease and certainty.
The Demerits:
1. Ignores Demand and Competition:
Perhaps, the greatest shortcoming of the cost oriented methods is that they ignore the impact of demand and
competition. Any pricing method that ignores these two strong external factors has hardly any practical
utility.
2. Arbitrary Cost Allocation:
The methods used for joint costs allocation are far from being precise and perfect as large degree of
arbitrariness prevails. Therefore, the prices based on such costs tend to be imperfect. This is a specific
problem of company with multiple product portfolios where joint cost allocation is a headache.
3. Cost Irrelevance:
Very often prices which are based on costs are not always relevant to the pricing situation. For instance,
there are situations where opportunity or incremental costs are more relevant than full costs; during inflation
future costs are more fitting than historic costs.
4. New Products:
Pricing new products is a problem as the firm is not having any past cost experience. Accurate unit cost can
be arrived at only if market is tested and sales volume is known.
5. No Penalty for Inefficiency:
Cost based pricing does not penalize the inefficiency that is creeping in. On the contrary, it gives a good
hideout. Say, if the product costs have shot-up by work stoppages, material wastage reduced output, all are
covered as a part of total cost.
B. Competition Based Methods:
Good many firms set prices largely in relation to the pricing of their competitors. Though, no firm can afford
to disregard cost and demand factors in pricing, it gives major attention to positioning its prices just relative
to the prices of its competitors. There are two such commonly used competition based pricing.
These are outlined below:
1. Going Rate Pricing:
Going rate pricing is the method of setting the prices in relation to the prices of competitors. The firm bases
its prices largely on the competitors’ prices with less attention paid to its own costs or demand. Therefore,
the firm may charge the same, more or less than the major competitor or competitors. Generally, in
industries where oligopoly prevails such as steel, paper, fertilisers, aluminium, copper and the like, the firms
charge the same price as their competitors. It is natural that the firm charges the prices when the competitor
or competitors change not bothering about their costs and demand changes. Some firms may charge not
higher or lower prices than their competitors.
The following exhibit makes this concept very clear: Going Rate Price Fixing:
Price per ton:
Whether this method is appropriate or not, this depends on good many factors such as firm’s pricing
objectives, the structure of the industry, existence of spare capacity, costs of production administration and
selling of competitors and the customers’ perceptions of the products of the firm as compared to those of
competitors. This going rate pricing is popular where the costs are difficult to measure and competitive
response is uncertain. It reflects industry’s collective wisdom to the pricing that guarantees industrial
harmony and fair return.
2. Sealed Bid Pricing:
In all those business lines where the firms bid for jobs, competition based pricing is followed rather than its
costs and demand. The firm fixes its prices on how the competitors price their products. It means that if the
firm is to win a contract or a job, it should quote less than the competitors. With all this, the firm cannot set
its price below a certain level. This is, it cannot price below the cost. One the other hand, higher price above
its costs reduces the chances of winning the job. The net effect of the two opposite pulls can be well
described in terms of “expected profit” of a particular bid.
This can be explained with reference to the following exhibit:
Effect of Different Bids on Expected Profit:
In the exhibit, case one gives the lowest profit but the highest chances of getting the bid. With all that, profit
is rupees 85. On the contrary, case No. 5 gives the highest profit with least chance of getting the bid with a
profit of only rupees 21.Under these circumstance, the best bid would be one that gives maximum expected
profit and that is case No. 2, with a profit of rupees 180.
These competition based pricing methods are generally followed by the managers when:
1. They believe that strong competitors are better and able to select appropriate prices so they “follow the
leader.”
2. Retaliatory price changes are likely beyond given range, and price changes by competitors have a
substantial effect on company sales.
3. Costs, demand and other factors that affect sales and profit are stable enough to make it possible to rely on
following general industry pricing trends.
C. Demand Based Pricing Methods:
All those firms that set product prices based on costs or competition cannot afford to forget the relationship
between traditional mark-ups or competitors’ prices and market demand considerations. Demand for
products has its impact and, hence, demand schedules can be purposively incorporated into price setting
through different methods.
There are two important demand based methods namely:
(1) Demand modified break even analysis pricing and
(2) Perceived value pricing.
1. Demand Modified Break Even Analysis:
Demand modified break even pricing is that method which sets the prices to achieve highest profit (over the
break-even point) in consideration of the amount demanded at alternative prices.In other words, this method
requires estimates of market demand at each feasible price break even points and expected profit levels of
total sales revenue can then be calculated.
The following exhibit and graph Fig. 3 elucidate this concept very clearly.
Cost Volume Profit Relationship:
Total costs include fixed costs to the tune of Rs. 2, 00,000. As per the exhibit, the fixed costs are of Rs. 2,
00,000, unit variable cost Rs. 2.50 and the demand forecasts at prices Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 15 and Rs. 20 are
given correspondingly.It is quite evident that the price of Rs. 15 gives the highest profit amongst all the
alternatives figuring Rs. 3, 62,500. Hence, Rs. 15 is the price accepted. Though this method gives the clear
way, the basic challenge is one of getting accurate estimates of the price and the quantity demanded
relations.
In case of established products, the firm may employ time series analysis. Alternatively, the firm may
conduct direct customer interviews rating the likely response at different price levels. Here, much depends
on how the consumers actually respond.Instead, another approach is to use controlled store experiments.
This approach can be used both in case of existing and the new products and it guarantees greater validity
than time series analysis.
2. Perceived Value Pricing:
Of late, good many firms are setting their product prices on the basis of perceived value of a product. It is
the buyer’s perception of value and not the seller’s cost which is the key to the product pricing.The prices
setter use non-price variables in marketing-mix to build up perceived value in the buyer’s minds and price is
set to capture the perceived value. This approach fits well within the thinking of product positioning. For
instance, people have their own perception value for say Zodiac ties, Double bull shirts, Leo toys, Bata
shoes, Fiat car, Vespa scooter, HMT tractors, Tata trucks, Bajaj tempos and so on.
This pricing strategy is though psychological, underscores the behavioural foundation underlying price
elasticity. The people are readily willing to pay a premium price. The willingness of customers to pay a
higher price depends on their perception of the fairness of the price, of the quality they get for the price they
pay. If a competitor is selling his tractors at Rs. say Rs. 80,000 and you are selling at Rs. 90,000 you must
convince your customer as to why he should pay more to the extent of Rs. 10,000.
12.a. Describe the sales process for financial services. What are the alternative methods of sales utilized by
financial services? (OR)
Business Challenge:
Business strategy and cost saving efforts drove the effort to enhance robust Sales & Operations Planning
(S&OP) process for greater visibility
Operational data was scattered in different places making a comprehensive view of the business more
difficult
New product introductions may not be coordinated across functions so that customer service is prepared to
handle incoming inquiries or complaints.
Consultant Role:
Develop a higher level of communication and trust between product managers, sales and operations and
processing centers.
Regularly discuss and resolve cross functional issues.
Create policies that guide day-to-day operations in an objective manner, periodically reviewed and clearly
communicated.
Quantifiable Results:
Set service and supply policies. Get everyone on the same page with frequent, scheduled communication.
Tighten forecasts. Create the revenue predictions that others can believe in.
Develop analytical models.. Communicate across func-tions. Track metrics. Establish the feedback
mechanism to bring effective accountability to the organization.
12.b.What are the issues to be considered for channel selection? Explain.
The selection of channel is not an easy job. Let me give certain points that you have to considered before selection of the channel
1.
Nature of Product: The is the first and most important consideration. Product features, size, shape, color, durability,
perishability, Value of product etc are the factors that constitute the product characteristics. Perishable items needs strong
packaging and shorter channel whereas items with long life can have longer channels. Size and handling also affects the channel.
Odd sizes, difficult handling are often found to have shorter channel. Industrial machinery, that requires particular customer
preference are often sold through direct channels.
2.
Customer Characteristics: If the product has got huge customer base and are geographically dispersed, buying product in
small quantities requires longer channels. This is because producers needs to have wide network of retailers and wholesalers to
make the product easily accessible in the local market. For eg product like Pepsi needs a longer channel. Unlike above, industrial
products, where customers have preferences regarding the technology and the functions to be incorporated needs shorter channel,
because the product is needed to be adjusted according to customer preference.
3.
Nature of Market: The location and the coverage of the market also determines the channel selection. If the market is
dense, spread across in length and breath, requires longer channel. Whereas if the product has niche market, the channel can be
short.
4.
Cost Consideration: The cost of maintaining the channel is also a key consideration. Every producer would like to have
shorted channel, may be direct channel, but its cost. Now this cost has to be compared with the benefits derived. Longer channel,
with high number of middleman also tend to raise the price of the product, because every middleman, looks for his share and
wants a larger share.
5.
Time: Time taken by the channel to make the product available to the consumer, is one other factor. Longer channel are
often found to take shorter time. This is because the middleman are well versed with the market and are efficient in distribution of
product. Keeping a channel short means that the customers have to first look for distributor and place his orders.
13.a. What are the strategies for effective service delivery through intermediaries? (OR)
Control Strategies
Alignment of goals
Consultation and cooperation
Help the intermediary develop customer-based service processes
Provide needed support
Develop the intermediary to deliver service quality
Change to a cooperative management structure
Empowerment Strategies
Partnering Strategies
13.b. Elaborate on the marketing strategies you would recommended for effective growth of tourism
industry in India.
The government plans to change its overseas marketing strategy and seek the help of private companies for
the first time to attract more foreign tourists to India. The tourism ministry plans to assess the effectiveness
of its offices overseas, said a top official, who declined to be identified. Tourism offices may be opened in
new locations as well.
After the assessment, some tourist offices may be expanded or relocated, according to a report prepared by a
working group on tourism for the 12th Five-Year plan that starts 1April.India currently has 14 such offices
in cities such as Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, Sydney, Dubai, Paris, London, New York and Los Angeles.
“The tourism offices overseas are not accountable right now,” said Iqbal Mulla, president, Travel Agents
Association of India, an industry lobby. “They need to be made accountable in terms of growth in tourism
from the respective markets.”The ministry is also considering a plan to appoint marketing representatives to
expand its presence.
“Involving private parties to do marketing was a suggestion of the finance ministry,” said the official at the
tourism ministry. “Appointment of such market representatives rather than opening offices would reduce
cost, enable us to overcome the problems such as language and cultural barriers and create our presence
globally.”
The ministry had last month invited “expressions of interest” from public relations and advertising
companies for marketing and promotion of India’s tourism in 16 potential and emerging markets including
countries such as Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea. “If there are
private parties involved, their work will be actively recorded,” said Mulla. “For existing offices, they should
also involve private parties for marketing, because government officials are administrators and not
marketing executives.”The move will help in meeting the government’s goal to attract 20 million tourists by
2020 from 6.2 million now, he said. India had a 0.6% share of global tourists in 2011. The ministry aims to
increase that to 1% by 2017.
14.a. Discuss the impact of globalization in tourism industry in India.(OR)
Tourism industry in India has several positive and negative impacts on the economy and society. These impacts are
highlighted below.
POSITIVE IMPACTS
1. Generating Income and Employment: Tourism in India has emerged as an instrument of income and
employment generation, poverty alleviation and sustainable human development. It contributes 6.23% to the
national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment in India. Almost 20 million people are now working in the
India’s tourism industry.
3. Source of Foreign Exchange Earnings: Tourism is an important source of foreign exchange earnings in
India. This has favourable impact on the balance of payment of the country. The tourism industry in India
generated about US$100 billion in 2008 and that is expected to increase to US$275.5 billion by 2018 at a
9.4% annual growth rate.
4. Preservation of National Heritage and Environment: Tourism helps preserve several places which are
of historical importance by declaring them as heritage sites. For instance, the Taj Mahal, the Qutab Minar,
Ajanta and Ellora temples, etc, would have been decayed and destroyed had it not been for the efforts taken
by Tourism Department to preserve them. Likewise, tourism also helps in conserving the natural habitats of
many endangered species.
5. Developing Infrastructure: Tourism tends to encourage the development of multiple-use infrastructure
that benefits the host community, including various means of transports, health care facilities, and sports
centers, in addition to the hotels and high-end restaurants that cater to foreign visitors. The development of
infrastructure has in turn induced the development of other directly productive activities.
6. Promoting Peace and Stability: Honey and Gilpin (2009) suggests that the tourism industry can also
help promote peace and stability in developing country like India by providing jobs, generating income,
diversifying the economy, protecting the environment, and promoting cross-cultural awareness. However,
key challenges like adoption of regulatory frameworks, mechanisms to reduce crime and corruption, etc,
must be addressed if peace-enhancing benefits from this industry are to be realized.
NEGATIVE IMPACTS
1. Undesirable Social and Cultural Change: Tourism sometimes led to the destruction of the social fabric
of a community. The more tourists coming into a place, the more the perceived risk of that place losing its
identity. A good example is Goa. From the late 60's to the early 80's when the Hippy culture was at its
height, Goa was a haven for such hippies. Here they came in thousands and changed the whole culture of the
state leading to a rise in the use of drugs, prostitution and human trafficking. This had a ripple effect on the
country.
2. Increase Tension and Hostility: Tourism can increase tension, hostility, and suspicion between the
tourists and the local communities when there is no respect and understanding for each other’s culture and
way of life. This may further lead to violence and other crimes committed against the tourists. The recent
crime committed against Russian tourist in Goa is a case in point.
3. Creating a Sense of Antipathy: Tourism brought little benefit to the local community. In most allinclusive package tours more than 80% of travelers’ fees go to the airlines, hotels and other international
companies, not to local businessmen and workers. Moreover, large hotel chain restaurants often import food
to satisfy foreign visitors and rarely employ local staff for senior management positions, preventing local
farmers and workers from reaping the benefit of their presence. This has often created a sense of antipathy
towards the tourists and the government.
4. Adverse Effects on Environment and Ecology: One of the most important adverse effects of tourism on
the environment is increased pressure on the carrying capacity of the ecosystem in each tourist locality.
Increased transport and construction activities led to large scale deforestation and destabilisation of natural
landforms, while increased tourist flow led to increase in solid waste dumping as well as depletion of water
and fuel resources. Flow of tourists to ecologically sensitive areas resulted in destruction of rare and
endangered species due to trampling, killing, disturbance of breeding habitats. Noise pollution from vehicles
and public address systems, water pollution, vehicular emissions, untreated sewage, etc. also have direct
effects on bio-diversity, ambient environment and general profile of tourist spots.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF TOURISM IN INDIA
The tourism industry in India can have several positive and negative impact on the environment which are
discuss below.
POSITIVE IMPACTS
1.
Direct
Financial
Contributions
Tourism can contribute directly to the conservation of sensitive areas and habitat. Revenue from parkentrance fees and similar sources can be allocated specifically to pay for the protection and management of
environmentally sensitive areas. Special fees for park operations or conservation activities can be collected
from tourists or tour operators.
2.
Contributions
to
Government
Revenues
The Indian government through the tourism department also collect money in more far-reaching and indirect
ways that are not linked to specific parks or conservation areas. User fees, income taxes, taxes on sales or
rental of recreation equipment, and license fees for activities such as rafting and fishing can provide
governments with the funds needed to manage natural resources. Such funds can be used for overall
conservation programs and activities, such as park ranger salaries and park maintenance.
3. Improved Environmental Management and Planning
Sound environmental management of tourism facilities and especially hotels can increase the benefits to
natural environment. By planning early for tourism development, damaging and expensive mistakes can be
prevented, avoiding the gradual deterioration of environmental assets significant to tourism. The
development of tourism has moved the Indian government towards this direction leading to improved
environmental management.
4. Raising Environmental Awareness
Tourism has the potential to increase public appreciation of the environment and to spread awareness of
environmental problems when it brings people into closer contact with nature and the environment. This
confrontation heightens awareness of the value of nature among the community and lead to environmentally
conscious behavior and activities to preserve the environment.
5. Protection and Preservation of Environment
Tourism can significantly contribute to environmental protection, conservation and restoration of biological
diversity and sustainable use of natural resources. Because of their attractiveness, pristine sites and natural
areas are identified as valuable and the need to keep the attraction alive can lead to creation of national parks
and wildlife parks.
In India, new laws and regulations have been enacted to preserve the forest and to protect native species.
The coral reefs around the coastal areas and the marine life that depend on them for survival are also
protected.
Negative Impacts
1. Depletion of Natural Resources: Tourism development can put pressure on natural resources when it
increases consumption in areas where resources are already scarce.
(i) Water resources: Water, especially fresh water, is one of the most critical natural resources. The tourism
industry generally overuses water resources for hotels, swimming pools, golf courses and personal use of
water by tourists. This can result in water shortages and degradation of water supplies, as well as generating
a greater volume of waste water. (www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/envi/index.html). In dryer regions like
Rajasthan, the issue of water scarcity is of particular concern.
(ii) Local resources: Tourism can create great pressure on local resources like energy, food, and other raw
materials that may already be in short supply. Greater extraction and transport of these resources exacerbates
the physical impacts associated with their exploitation. Because of the seasonal character of the industry,
many destinations have ten times more inhabitants in the high season as in the low season. A high demand is
placed upon these resources to meet the high expectations tourists often have (proper heating, hot water,
etc.).
(iii) Land degradation: Important land resources include minerals, fossil fuels, fertile soil, forests, wetland
and wildlife. Increased construction of tourism and recreational facilities has increased the pressure on these
resources and on scenic landscapes. Direct impact on natural resources, both renewable and nonrenewable,
in the provision of tourist facilities is caused by the use of land for accommodation and other infrastructure
provision, and the use of building materials (www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/envi/index.html)
Forests often suffer negative impacts of tourism in the form of deforestation caused by fuel wood collection
and land clearing e.g. the trekking in the Himalayan region, Sikkim and Assam.
2. Pollution
Tourism can cause the same forms of pollution as any other industry: air emissions, noise, solid waste and
littering, releases of sewage, oil and chemicals, even architectural/visual pollution (www.gdrc.org/uem/ecotour/envi/index.html).
(i) Air and Noise Pollution: Transport by air, road, and rail is continuously increasing in response to the
rising number of tourist activities in India. Transport emissions and emissions from energy production and
use are linked to acid rain, global warming and photochemical pollution. Air pollution from tourist
transportation has impacts on the global level, especially from carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions related to
transportation energy use. And it can contribute to severe local air pollution. Some of these impacts are quite
specific to tourist activities where the sites are in remote areas like Ajanta and Ellora temples. For example,
tour buses often leave their motors running for hours while the tourists go out for an excursion because they
want to return to a comfortably air-conditioned bus.
Noise pollution from airplanes, cars, and buses, as well as recreational vehicles is an ever-growing problem
of modern life. In addition to causing annoyance, stress, and even hearing loss for humans, it causes distress
to wildlife, especially in sensitive areas (www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/envi/index.html).
(ii) Solid waste and littering: In areas with high concentrations of tourist activities and appealing natural
attractions, waste disposal is a serious problem and improper disposal can be a major despoiler of the natural
environment - rivers, scenic areas, and roadsides.
In mountain areas of the Himalayas and Darjeeling, trekking tourists generate a great deal of waste. Tourists
on expedition leave behind their garbage, oxygen cylinders and even camping equipment. Such practices
degrade the environment particularly in remote areas because they have few garbage collection or disposal
facilities (www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/envi/index.html).
(iii) Sewage: Construction of hotels, recreation and other facilities often leads to increased sewage pollution.
Wastewater has polluted seas and lakes surrounding tourist attractions, damaging the flora and fauna.
Sewage runoff causes serious damage to coral reefs because it stimulates the growth of algae, which cover
the filter-feeding corals, hindering their ability to survive. Changes in salinity and siltation can have wideranging impacts on coastal environments. And sewage pollution can threaten the health of humans and
animals. Examples of such pollution can be seen in the coastal states of Goa, Kerela, Maharashtra, Tamil
Nadu, etc.
3. Destruction and Alteration of Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a geographic area including all the living organisms (people, plants, animals, and microorganisms), their physical surroundings (such as soil, water, and air), and the natural cycles that sustain
them. Attractive landscape sites, such as sandy beaches in Goa, Maharashtra, Kerela, Tamil Nadu; lakes,
riversides, and mountain tops and slopes, are often transitional zones, characterized by species-rich
ecosystems. The threats to and pressures on these ecosystems are often severe because such places are very
attractive to both tourists and developers. Examples may be cited from Krushedei Island near Rameswaram.
What was once called paradise for marine biologists has been abandoned due to massive destruction of coral
and other marine life. Another area of concern which emerged at Jaisalmer is regarding the deterioration of
the desert ecology due to increased tourist activities in the desert.
Moreover, habitat can be degraded by tourism leisure activities. For example, wildlife viewing can bring
about stress for the animals and alter their natural behavior when tourists come too close. Safaris and
wildlife watching activities have a degrading effect on habitat as they often are accompanied by the noise
and commotion created by tourists.
14.b. Critically examine the formulation of service marketing strategies for logistics industry. (OR)
Logistics companies are responsible for transporting goods from point A to point B and are often tasked
with managing the flow of a product from the time it leaves a manufacturing site, until it reaches the
consumer. To accomplish this task efficiently, logistics companies use technology to dispatch and track
packages throughout their journeys. Development of a marketing plan for a logistics company is fairly
straightforward.
Step 1
Define what services your company provides. Do you deliver raw materials to factories, or finished products
to consumers? Do you transport goods by ship to overseas locations, or focus on goods that are shipped
within the country by truck? Do customers use online tools to ship products themselves, or work with your
staff to book passage by phone? By clearly defining your services, you can develop tactics to market your
offerings..
Step 2
Articulate your target market. Perhaps you focus on shipping goods for the electronics industry, packages
for online retailers or refrigerated food items for supermarkets. Do you seek a small number of large
customers or many smaller organizations? Try to define who your primary market is, as well as any
secondary markets.
Step 3
Identify your competition. Who offers similar services or targets similar clients? Be sure to cast a wide net
when considering your competition. You may find that when it comes to a group like online retailers, your
competition is not another logistics company, but rather the postal service. Other prospects may use their
own shipping department or a commercial courier. Identifying your competition will help you develop
tactics to position your company to compete with them.
Step 4
Identify your competitive advantage. Why would customers come to you instead of your competition?
Perhaps you offer lower prices, newer trucks, better service or high tech tracking tools. Outline what makes
you a better logistics choice than your competitors for your target market.
Step 5
Set a marketing budget. How much money will you allocate towards marketing your business? Some
companies will allocate a fixed amount of money for a year, while others allocate a percentage of revenue
that is calculated each quarter. Will marketing dollars be allocated to specific target markets or directed to
certain offerings or will budget dollars be spent promoting the company as a whole? You need to know how
much money you have to invest before you can consider specific tactics.
Step 6
Using your marketing budget as a guide, determine how you will communicate your differences to your
target market. Consider where you will advertise, what trade shows you will attend, or what industry groups
you will join to get your message across. Also consider how your competitors are delivering their message
and whether you want to try similar media or try a different approach.
15.a. Consider the various elements of a higher education course. Identify the core service and secondary
service elements. (OR)
Education can be broken down into numerous areas of functionality:





Content and curriculum
Teaching and learning
Accreditation and assessment
Research and dissemination
Administration and leadership
These five areas are all being impacted by a constellation of change pressures that are unprecedented. In
short, the functionality of higher education is fragmenting.
15.b. What are the key considerations that you would need to examine while designing promotional efforts
for a logistics service?
Another strength of our logistics services is represented by the promotional activities carried out by companies and
agencies specialized in this field.
In this regard, we provide our customers a wide range of integrated services that allow complete outsourcing of the
following activities:
• Warehouse receiving of promotional material from suppliers with contingent
non-EU country customs clearance service;
• Quality control of incoming materials;
• Location IT management;
• Purchase/order receiving IT system from the customer’s management system
(SAP, AS400, etc.). We can also receive any order by phone, mail, or fax;
• Order receiving from managers and/or private clients through a call center;
• Dedicated customer service phone number;
• Picking of materials and purchase order entry;
• Deduct from the stock according to the order content with out of stock pre-alert
to customers and/or manufacturing facilities;
• Issuance of shipping paperwork;
• International and domestic distribution to managers and/or private clients through
GPS anti-theft tracking system equipped vehicles;
• P.O.S. assembly and display according to customer specifications;
• Returned goods management;
• Monthly purchase/receiving history report.
These solutions ensure space and time savings while reducing operational costs, thereby allowing optimal
management of all activities that are not part of the core business.
Finally, we own a proprietary IT system customized to efficiently manage all our logistics processes,
organization of transport, and other logistics-related promotional activities. We are also able to interface
with and integrate our customers’ information system.