The Front Office Manager: Key To Hotel Communications

The Front Office Manager: Key to Hotel Communications is a written study by Denney G. Rutherford, Department of Hotel and Restaurant Administration, College of Business and Economics at Washington State University. In it he initially observes, “Since the front office manager is usually viewed as the key to the efficient and orderly operation of a hotel, the author has researched the job and activities of this individual in an attempt to provide data about an area which he says was "intuitively known" but never "empirically explored." “Current literature implies that the activities of the front office are so important to the daily operations of the hotel that it occupies a preeminent position among other departments,” Rutherford says. He also references, Gray and Liguori, who describe the front office as: “the nerve center of the hote1,” echoing an early work by Heldenbrand indicating that it “becomes a sort of listening post for management.” The quotes are cited. The primary stage of the article relies on a seven-page, two-part questionnaire, which was used to collect data regarding the FOM – front office manager - position. Even though the position is considered a crucial one, it seems there is a significant lack of pragmatic data regarding it. Rutherford graphs the studies. Good communication skills are imperative. “Other recent research has suggested that the skills of effective communication are among the most vital a manager at any level can bring to his/her endeavors in the service industries,” Rutherford notes. He provides a detailed – front office communications model – to illustrate the functions. In, Table 4, for example - Office Manager as Facilitator – Rutherford provides Likert Rating Scale values for a comprehensive list of front office tasks. Rutherford informs you that the communicative skills of a front office manager flow across the board, encompassing variables from guest relation exchanges to all the disparate components of employee relations. Not withstanding and compared to technical knowledge, such as computer and fiscal skills, Rutherford suggests: “The most powerful message derived from analysis of the data on the FOM's job is that communication in its various forms is clearly central to the successful mission of the front office.”

The Nevada Gaming Debt Collection Experience

In the discussion - The Nevada Gaming Debt Collection Experience - by Larry D. Strate, Assistant Professor, College of Business and Economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Assistant Professor Strate initially outlines the article by saying: “Even though Nevada has had over a century of legalized gaming experience, the evolution of gaming debt collection has been a recent phenomenon. The author traces that history and discusses implications of the current law.” The discussion opens with a comparison between the gaming industries of New Jersey/Atlantic City, and Las Vegas, Nevada. This contrast serves to point out the disparities in debt handling between the two. “There are major differences in the development of legalized gaming for both Nevada and Atlantic City. Nevada has had over a century of legalized gambling; Atlantic City, New Jersey, has completed a decade of its operation,” Strate informs you. “Nevada's gaming industry has been its primary economic base for many years; Atlantic City's entry into gaming served as a possible solution to a social problem. Nevada's processes of legalized gaming, credit play, and the collection of gaming debts were developed over a period of 125 years; Atlantic City's new industry began with gaming, gaming credit, and gaming debt collection simultaneously in 1976 [via the New Jersey Casino Control Act] .” The irony here is that Atlantic City, being the younger venue, had or has a better system for handling debt collection than do the historic and traditional Las Vegas properties. Many of these properties were duplicated in New Jersey, so the dichotomy existed whereby New Jersey casinos could recoup debt while their Nevada counterparts could not. “It would seem logical that a "territory" which permitted gambling in the early 1800’s would have allowed the Nevada industry to collect its debts as any other legal enterprise. But it did not,” Strate says. Of course, this situation could not be allowed to continue and Strate outlines the evolution. New Jersey tactfully benefitted from Nevada’s experience. “The fundamental change in gaming debt collection came through the legislature as the judicial decisions had declared gaming debts uncollectable by either a patron or a casino,” Strate informs you. “Nevada enacted its gaming debt collection act in 1983, six years after New Jersey,” Strate points out. One of the most noteworthy paragraphs in the entire article is this: “The fundamental change in 1983, and probably the most significant change in the history of gaming in Nevada since the enactment of the Open Gaming Law of 1931, was to allow non-restricted gaming licensees* to recover gaming debts evidenced by a credit instrument. The new law incorporated previously litigated terms with a new one, credit instrument.” The term is legally definable and gives Nevada courts an avenue of due process.

Effects of computer self efficacy and positive mood in business -to -business service encounters

Attempts to improve the level of customer service delivered have resulted in an increased use of technology in the customer service environment. Customer-contact employees are expected to use computers to help them in providing better service encounters for customers. This research study done in a business-to-business environment explored the effects of customer-contact employees' computer self efficacy and positive mood on in-role customer service, extra-role customer service and organization citizenship. It also examined the relationship of customer service to customer satisfaction and customer delight. ^ Research questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. Results indicated that computer self efficacy had a greater impact on extra-role customer service than it did on in-role customer service. Positive mood had a positive moderating influence on extra-role customer service but not on in-role customer service. ^ There was a significant relationship between in-role customer service and customer satisfaction but not between extra-role customer service and customer satisfaction. There was no significant relationship between in-role customer service and customer delight nor between extra-role customer service and customer delight. There was a statistically greater positive relationship between joy experienced by clients and customer delight than between pleasant surprise and customer delight. ^ This study demonstrated the importance of facilitating customer-contact employee positive mood on the job in order to improve the level of extra-role customer service delivered. It also showed that increasing the level of customer service does not necessarily lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction. ^

The adoption of retail electronic commerce: an empirical investigation

The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate the adoption of retail electronic commerce (REC). REC is a business transaction which takes place over the Internet between a casual consumer and a firm. The consumer has no long-term relationship with the firm, orders a good or service, and pays with a credit card. To date, most REC applications have not been profitable. To build profitable REC applications a better understanding of the system's users is required. The research model hypothesizes that the level of REC buying is dependent upon the Buying Characteristics of Internet Use and Search Experience plus the Channel Characteristics of Beliefs About Internet Vendors and Beliefs About Internet Security. The effect of these factors is modified by Time. Additional research questions ask about the different types of REC buyers, the differences between these groups, and how these groups evolved over time. To answer these research questions I analyzed publically available data collected over a three-year period by the Georgia Institute of Technology Graphics and Visualization Unit over the Internet. Findings indicate the model best predicts Number of Purchases in a future period, and that Buyer Characteristics are most important to this determination. Further, this model is evolving over Time making Buyer Characteristics predict Number of Purchases better in more recent survey administrations. Buyers clustered into five groups based on level of buying and move through various levels and buy increasing Number of Purchases over time. This is the first large scale research project to investigate the evolution of REC. This implications are significant. Practitioners with casual consumer customers need to deploy a finely tuned REC strategy, understand their buyers, capitalize on the company reputation on the Internet, install an Internet-compatible infrastructure, and web-enable order-entry/inventory/fulfillment/ shipping applications. Researchers might wish to expand on the Buyer Characteristics of the model and/or explore alternative dependent variables. Further, alternative theories such as Population Ecology or Transaction Cost Economics might further illuminate this new I.S. research domain.

Vállalati értékteremtés vizsgálata az iparági teljesítmény tükrében

Az átfogó és összehasonlító teljesítménymérés szükséges bemeneti feltétele a vállalati értékteremtés vizsgálatának. A szerzők tanulmányukban célul tűzték ki, hogy egy általános keretrendszert állítanak fel a vállalati értékteremtés vizsgálatához, figyelembe véve a vállalati versenyképesség pénzügyi aspektusait. A megvalósításhoz releváns külföldi szakirodalmakat és a témára vonatkozó korábbi kutatásaikat használják fel. Bemutatnak egy elemzési keretet, amelynek alapjait a teljesítménymérés nemzetközileg elfogadott pénzügyi mutatószámai képezik. A módszertant a magyar élelmiszeripari feldolgozó ágazat egy speciális részterületén tesztelik a válság utáni időszak éves beszámolóit felhasználva. A mintát az iparági koncentráció alapján olyan vállalatok alkotják, amelyek magas árbevétellel és diverzifikált termékszerkezettel rendelkeznek. A komplex és összehasonlító teljesítményértékelésen túl a kiemelkedő versenyképességű társaság esetében vállalati szabad cash flow-alapú és reálopciós értékteremtés becslést is végeznek. Fő kutatási kérdésük, hogy a vizsgált iparági minta alapján a kiváló pénzügyi teljesítménnyel rendelkező vállalat esetén kimutatható-e vállalati értékteremtés is.

Optimal Reporting Systems With Investor Information Acquisition

This paper analyzes a manager's optimal ex-ante reporting system using a Bayesian persuasion approach (Kamenica and Gentzkow (2011)) in a setting where investors affect cash flows through their decision to finance the firm's investment opportunities, possibly assisted by the costly acquisition of additional information (inspection). I examine how the informativeness and the bias of the optimal system are determined by investors' inspection cost, the degree of incentive alignment between the manager and the investor, and the prior belief that the project is profitable. I find that a mis-aligned manager's system is informative

only when the market prior is pessimistic and is always positively biased; this bias decreases as investors' inspection cost decreases. In contrast, a well-aligned manager's system is fully revealing when investors' inspection cost is high, and is counter-cyclical to the market belief when the inspection cost is low: It is positively (negatively) biased when the market belief is pessimistic (optimistic). Furthermore, I explore the extent to which the results generalize to a case with managerial manipulation and discuss the implications for investment efficiency. Overall, the analysis describes the complex interactions among determinants of firm disclosures and governance, and offers explanations for the mixed empirical results in this area.

Educación superior y competencias para el empleo. El punto de vista de los empresarios

La relevancia del conocimiento como input del proceso productivo ha aumentado la complejidad de la contratación en el mercado de trabajo cualificado. Como consecuencia de ello, se ha generado un proceso de reflexión sobre la adecuación de la acreditación universitaria a las necesidades del mercado de trabajo. Académicos, gerentes y expertos en el mercado de trabajadores altamente cualificados han tenido parte en esta reflexión durante mucho tiempo. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo la identificación de las competencias profesionales con mayor relevancia en la empleabilidad de los graduados en Economía y Empresa. El análisis se basa en una investigación cualitativa que toma como fuentes de información las opiniones de los empleadores. La información para el estudio ha sido obtenida mediante entrevistas en profundidad y la realización de un grupo de discusión. En este proceso han participado empresarios, responsables del servicio de prácticas de la Universidad de Barcelona, expertos y responsables de empresa de colocación, representantes de organizaciones empresariales y profesores universitarios. La atención se centra en la percepción que los entrevistados tienen del requerimiento de conocimientos, habilidades y actitudes, en el grado en que los desarrollan y en los cambios que se necesitarían para lograr una mejor correspondencia entre las competencias adquiridas por los graduados y las requeridas por el mercado de trabajo. A partir de la clasificación de las competencias profesionales (proyecto Tuning), el estudio pone de relieve la importancia otorgada por los empleadores a de las competencias genéricas. No obstante, se observan diferencias valorativas según la tipología de empresas. Asimismo, se evidencian déficits en algunos aspectos relevantes, como la formación práctica y la capacidad de iniciativa, de análisis o de organización. Por último, de las opiniones recogidas también se constata la necesidad de aproximar la universidad al sistema productivo, al menos en el campo económico-empresarial.

Keynes’s "Treatise on Money" and the role of the State

Este artículo hace una reconstrucción crítica de la visión de Keynes sobre la relación entre gasto público, tipo de interés, salarios y desempleo, tal y como se formula en su Tratado sobre el Dinero. El trabajo defiende que el enfoque de Keynes lleva a propuestas de política económica que enfatizan la necesidad de intervención estatal directa en la provisión de bienes y servicios. Esta conclusión se deriva de una interpretación circuitista de su obra.

Sociodrama as a criative learnig strategy in business

Sociodrama is a learning process focused on solutions for human relationship problems. It offers the opportunity for groups to clarify values and review behaviors, practicing new spontaneous and creative attitudes. The objective of this work is to analyze and discuss how sociodrama can be used as a methodological strategy for cooperative education in business administration. More specifically, to show how sociodramatic sessions can be used in different organizational contexts and to discuss how sociodramatic interventions foster creativity and change in the learning process between the main facilitator and other actors involved. To reach those objectives, three experiences are presented in the paper. The situations here presented show that the same technique, used with different groups, is a creative way to intervene and work with groups. It can serve critical thinking and group bonding, can foster motivation or help a group clarify values and define priorities.

U.S. Highway 20 Corridor Development Study, 1992

This study examines the feasibility of making a major financial investment in the improvement of U.S. 20 between Sioux City and Fort Dodge, Iowa. This 119-mile (191-km) highway segment of U.S. 20 currently includes 97 miles (156 km) of 2-lane highway and 22 miles (35 km) of 4-lane highway (on the west end near Sioux City and a short section near Holstein). This 119-mile (191-km) segment is predominantly rural in nature, and serves a region of Iowa that has not been economically prospering. Local business leaders and residents have long desired major improvements to this highway segment, not only because of the safety and travel efficiency implications, but also because of the belief that the highway, as mainly a two-lane facility, is retarding the corridor area's economic growth and well being. The study was divided into five sequential tasks: (A) Evaluation of Existing U.S. 20; (B) Improvement Alternatives, Costs and Traffic; (C) Screening of Alternative Candidate Improvements; (D) Economic Feasibility Analysis; and (E) Interpretation and Comparisons.

ASSESSING QUALITY IN HIGH-UNCERTAINTY MARKETS: ONLINE REVIEWS OF CREDENCE SERVICES

In economics of information theory, credence products are those whose quality is difficult or impossible for consumers to assess, even after they have consumed the product (Darby & Karni, 1973). This dissertation is focused on the content, consumer perception, and power of online reviews for credence services. Economics of information theory has long assumed, without empirical confirmation, that consumers will discount the credibility of claims about credence quality attributes. The same theories predict that because credence services are by definition obscure to the consumer, reviews of credence services are incapable of signaling quality. Our research aims to question these assumptions. In the first essay we examine how the content and structure of online reviews of credence services systematically differ from the content and structure of reviews of experience services and how consumers judge these differences. We have found that online reviews of credence services have either less important or less credible content than reviews of experience services and that consumers do discount the credibility of credence claims. However, while consumers rationally discount the credibility of simple credence claims in a review, more complex argument structure and the inclusion of evidence attenuate this effect. In the second essay we ask, “Can online reviews predict the worst doctors?” We examine the power of online reviews to detect low quality, as measured by state medical board sanctions. We find that online reviews are somewhat predictive of a doctor’s suitability to practice medicine; however, not all the data are useful. Numerical or star ratings provide the strongest quality signal; user-submitted text provides some signal but is subsumed almost completely by ratings. Of the ratings variables in our dataset, we find that punctuality, rather than knowledge, is the strongest predictor of medical board sanctions. These results challenge the definition of credence products, which is a long-standing construct in economics of information theory. Our results also have implications for online review users, review platforms, and for the use of predictive modeling in the context of information systems research.

Essays in Corporate Finance

Prior research has been divided regarding how firms respond to bankruptcy risk, largely revolving around two competing forces. On the one hand, asset substitution encourages firms to increase the riskiness of assets to extract value from creditors. On the other, firms want to minimize bankruptcy risk, either by reducing cash flow risk or through increasing the size of the firm. I test these two theories using a natural experiment of chemicals used in production processes being newly identified as carcinogenic to explore how firms may respond to potential negative cash flow resulting from litigation risk. I use plantlevel chemical data to study firm exposure to risk. I examine how responses between firms of differing levels of chemical exposure may vary within the industry, how firm financial distress affects firm response and whether public and private firms respond differently. In general, my research provides support for the asset substitution theory. My first paper studies how investment response varies based on level of carcinogenic exposure. I find that firms with moderate levels of exposure make efforts to mitigate their cash flow risk and reduce their exposure. At the same time, firms with high levels of exposure increase their exposure and riskiness of future cash flows. These findings are consistent with asset substitution theory. My second paper analyzes the interaction of financial distress and risk exposure. I find that firms in a stronger financial position are more likely to limit their exposure by reducing the number of exposed facilities. On the other hand, not only do firms in weaker financial position not decrease their exposure, I find that, in some instances, they increase their exposure to carcinogens. This work again supports the theory of asset substitution. Finally, in my third paper, I explore if public firms respond differently to a potential negative cash flow shock than do private firms. I test whether existing public firms are more likely to attempt to minimize their cash flow risk and thus reduce their carcinogen exposure than are private firms. I do not find evidence that public firms respond differently to this shock than do private firms.

LIVE-Fab – CNC-Programmierung und Montageplanung in einer virtuellen Lernfabrik. Konzepte, Grundlagen, Technik, Anwendung

Am Institut für Arbeitswissenschaft und Betriebsorganisation (ifab) Universität Karlsruhe wird zurzeit das Projekt LIVE-Fab (Lernen in der virtuellen Fabrik) gemeinsam mit der Fachhochschule Landshut, Fachbereich Maschinenbau, durchgeführt. Dieses Projekt wird vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) im Rahmen des Programms „Neue Medien in der Bildung“ gefördert. Das Ziel des Projektes ist die Entwicklung eines anschaulichen Lehr- und Lernmodells für eine Fabrik als funktionierendes Ganzes. Dazu soll im Rechner eine Modellfabrik mit den Bereichen Wareneingang, Fertigung, Montage und Qualitätssicherung abgebildet werden. Die Fabrik mit ihren Anlagen (Maschinen, Transportsysteme etc.) und Materialflüsse soll in einem 3D-Modell visuell erfassbar sein. Die Grundlagen zur Schaffung einer virtuell funktionierenden Produktion einschließlich Anlagenplanung, Arbeitsvorbereitung, die Mechanismen, Kundenbestellungen und Qualitätsmanagement sollen in einzelnen Fallstudien den Studierenden vermittelt werden. Den Studierenden aus den Fachbereichen Maschinenbau, Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen, Elektrotechnik und Betriebswirtschaft mit technischer Ausrichtung soll mit der virtuellen Fabrik ein Werkzeug an die Hand gegeben werden, mit dem sie die komplexen, ineinander verzahnten Vorgänge eines Produktionsprozesses besser verstehen lernen. Dies bedeutet, dass in der virtuellen Fabrik die inhaltlichen Aspekte mehrerer vorgelagerter Vorlesungen kombiniert werden und dadurch ein Verbund zum Verständnis der Produktionsprozesse geschaffen wird.(DIPF/Orig.)

SME Policy and Competitiveness in Hungary

Small and medium-sized (SMEs) enterprises in Hungary account for 99.9% of all enterprises and for more than two thirds of employment. Since transformation started in 1989 they have been the only net makers of employment. In spite of such remarkable importance, results have been modest compared to the amount of Hungarian and foreign, mostly EU resources poured into the sector. Less than a sixth of SMEs are fast-growing and only a tiny minority of SMEs make use of bank credit. According to various indicators and in spite of bright spots, the SMEs context is problematic and SMEs features are often unfavourable and hardly competitive. In recent years the goal of upgrading SMEs and strengthening their contribution to the economy has acquired central position among policy goals and activity. Although progress has been made, the results are weak and in some cases drawbacks have happened. The paper starts from analysing the SMEs situation, reviews the main features of the recently implemented policy strategies, assesses whether these strategies are appropriate to address the situation, including the effects of the domestic and international crises, and considers whether the targets pursued are realistic and important, and the instruments considered in line with the targets

La confianza en las decisiones de presupuesto de capital: la TIR del comportamiento

En el presente artículo se desarrolla una investigación teórica que permite establecer un modelo matemático para cuantificar la influencia de la confianza de los gerentes en el proceso de presupuesto de capital, en particular sobre la Tasa Interna de Retorno. El Modelo permite concluir que el exceso de confianza es un factor que tiende a elevar esta tasa que esperan recibir los inversionistas tras invertir en determinados proyectos, generando así, en ciertas ocasiones, una toma de decisiones al interior de las empresas basada en cifras sesgadas, comprometiendo así los recursos de la misma.