酒店销售和营销个案研究individual case study

Task1

为了在旅游业和酒店业取得成功，我们采用了多种营销策略。现代市场竞争日趋激烈。在营销策略中，垂直整合起着至关重要的作用（Etgar，1978）。公司或企业的领导者应具有良好的知识，并采用垂直整合来扩大业务规模和领域，这将有助于公司的长远发展（arrow，1975）。酒店业和旅游业是两个以服务人类为中心的行业，必须始终考虑人们的感受和生活必需品。

在企业管理中，纵向一体化的含义是指公司的供应链由该公司所有。在一般情况下，供应链的每一个成员都将提供一种独特的产品或服务，并结合产品以满足共同的需求。横向积分与纵向积分形成对比。垂直整合也被认为是一种管理方式，它可以包含供应链的很大一部分，避免了拖延的问题。例如，19世纪，钢铁大亨安德鲁卡内基（Andrew Carnegie）就采用了这一策略，充分利用该系统改善财务状况，提高工作效率。In order to become successful in the travelling and hospitality industry, there are various marketing strategies which have been employed. The competitions in the modern market become fiercer. Among the marketing strategies, the vertical integration plays an essential role(Etgar, 1978). The leaders of companies or corporations should have a good knowledge and employ vertical integration to expand the size and areas of the business, which will contribute to the development of the company in the long run(Arrow, 1975). Hospitality and travelling are the two industries that focus on the service for human beings, which must consider the feelings and necessities of people all the time. 

In the business management, the meaning of vertical integration is that an arrangement where the company’s supply chain is owned by that corporation. In common cases, every member of the supplying chain will offer one distinct product or service, and the combine of the products to meet the common needs. Horizontal integration is contrasted with vertical integration. Vertical integration is also considered as a kind of management styles which can include great portions of the supply chain, avoiding the problem of hold-up. For instance, in the 19th century, steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie has employed this strategy to make full use of the system to improve the financial situation and promote the working efficiency. 

Vertical integration can be divided into 3 typical forms, which is considered as the degree to which a certain corporation owns the buyers in the downstream and the suppliers in the upstream. It is distinct from the horizontal integration which consolidates lots of corporations that deal with the same element of a producing process(Arrow, 1975). Vertical integration has the characteristic of one corporation engaged in various parts of the production, such as the providing the raw materials, producing, and marketing. The three types can be called the upstream vertical integration, downstream vertical integration and the balanced vertical integration. Every type of vertical integration has been employed in the business from the oil industry to the hospitality industry. There are many cases which have proved the benefits of the vertical integration. However, every coin has two sides. The aim of all the business is to make profits. With the competitions in the market becoming more and more fierce, it is necessary for a company to employ proper strategies to improve the businesses, but the managing strategy should be based on the specific situation of the corporation(Pickering, 1999).

The benefits and the losses of the vertical integration can be analyzed in the external and internal aspects. The benefits in the internal aspects include the lower cost in the transaction, and the balance of demand and supply in the products’ chain, and the uncertainty in the investment will also become lower(Etgar, 1978). The company can also employ the vertical integration to monopolize the industry by the market foreclosure, which can also promote the strategic independence of the corporation. On the other hand, the cost for coordination is much higher, and the cost in the monetary and organization aspects will also be higher(Dobson, 1996). The motivation for performing well at the very beginning of the supply chain will be weaker, for the sales of the products have been ensured, which may cause the shortcomings of the final products.

For the society, on the one hand, the reduced uncertainty can offer much better chances for the increase in investment(Martinez, 1997). The ability for the local corporations will be strengthened to deal with the competitions of the foreign companies. However, it can also lead to the monopolization in a certain market, and the organizational structure can be too rigid to promote the development of the economy.

One of the most important advantages of the strategy of vertical integration is that it can reduce lots of the price markups in every procedure of the products, which can decrease the cost and creates the economies of scale(Martinez, 1997). Most of the companies employed the vertical integration can also gain the efficiency in the cost by managing the quality in every procedure. Moreover, the vertically-integrated corporations do not have to bother to allocate the resources to price, contract, pay and coordinate with the third-party vendors. Finally, vertical integration can also create the obstacles for the potential competitors when the corporation controls all the access to a few or all of a resource that a certain production needs, which has raised the antitrust worries(Crew, 1971). 

A corporation should own its own expertise in every procedure of the production and the process of distribution to make full use of benefits of vertical integration(Williamson, 1971). For instance, X Corporation must know the methods to grow potatoes and the way to produce French fries as well. In order to stimulate a few aspects of the strategy of vertical integration in a more implicit way, corporations will hope to sign long-term contracts with some certain suppliers.  

The vertical expansion in modern economy become more and more common, which is considered as the growth of a corporation by acquiring other corporations which produce the intermediate commodities that is necessary for the business or useful for marketing and distributing its goods(Comanor, 1967). This kind of expansion can be desirable, for it can secure the supplies that are needed by the corporation to produce its goods. This can reduce the cost, and the business profits and efficiency will also be improved as well.

The hospitality and travelling industry both provide service to the customers, which can employ the vertical industry to help the customers to solve all the necessities in the hotel or during a trip, which aims to make the customers to feel more comfortable in certain situations(Hirsch, 1952).

The development of the products in the hospitality and travel industry also plays great role in the success of a company. In order to increase the sales amount of a product, the corporations should pay attention to the needs of the customers and to development new products based on the customers’ demands. Only in this way can the companies achieve success in the fierce competitions in the market. 

Task2

卡尔森公司（Carlson Companies Inc.）一直被称为卡尔森公司（Carlson），这是一家由美国人私人持有的公司，是一家国际性公司，在旅游和酒店行业享有盛名（Aust，1997）。总部设在明尼苏达州，其服务和品牌在150多个国家和地区雇用了17万多人。2012年卡尔森的销售额总计超过360亿美元。这家公司已成为美国最大的家族控股公司之一。

垂直整合作为一种有效的管理策略，已经被各企业用来控制某一产业的价值链。这种方法已经成为公司决定制定公司级战略时的主要考虑因素之一（Dobson，1996年）。企业战略中的关键问题是参与一项或多项市场活动的决策。例如，公司必须确定是只生产一种产品，还是也将参与市场营销和服务（Comanor，1967年）。

在采用垂直集成策略之前，应该考虑两个重要因素。Carlson Companies Inc. is always called Carlson, which is a corporation held by an American privately and is an international firm, being famous in the travel and hotel industries(Aust, 1997). The headquarter of it is in Minnetonka, whose services and brands have employed more than 170,000 human beings in more than 150 nations and territories. The sales of Carlson were totaled up to more than $36 billion in the year of 2012. This corporation has become one of the biggest family-held companies in America. 

Vertical integration, as a useful managing strategy, various corporations have employed to obtain control over some certain industry’s value chain. This method has become one of the main considerations when a company decides to develop the corporate level tactic(Dobson, 1996). The essential issue in corporate strategy is the decision on taking part in an activity or lots of activities in the markets. For instance, the corporation has to determine if it only produces one product or will also be involved in the marketing and services(Comanor, 1967). 

There are two important that should be considered before employing the vertical integration strategy. 

First, costs in the business matters great for the success of a company. A firm should take the measures to vertically integrate if the costs of manufacturing the product by the company itself are lower than the costs of purchasing that goods in the market. For Carlson, the hotel is the place where the customers can have rest and enjoy the hotel services in various aspects(Williamson, 1971). Most of the products can be produced by a company, so the Carlson has employed this characteristic to employ the vertical integration to acquire many firms to do the vertical expansion(Aust, 1997). The company was called the Carlson Companies Inc. in the year of 1973, for it has the business in the hospitality, travel industries and corporate incentive. For example, in the year of 1962, Carlson bought its first hotel named Radisson Hotel, and then bought T.G.I. Friday's and Country Kitchen International. The reason why the vertical integration can benefit the development of the Carlson Company is that it can lower the cost in the travel industry, for the travellers need to find the proper hotel to live during the journey, which will call for the service of helping the customers to contact with hotels(Bain, 1956). Therefore, by purchasing many hotels, it will be more convenient for people to travel around the world.    #p#分页标题#e#

Second, the scope of the corporation can also affect the determination of the company to move into new industries as well. New industries will add the difficulty to manage and control the business. It is well known that the bigger the company, the higher the investment uncertainty. This can be concluded as another reason for employing the vertical integration. As an international company, with the development of the globalizing trend, it is sensible for the Carlson to make use of the advantages of vertical integration to meet the needs of various customers, especially the foreign travellers. The outstanding service has created various famous brands. The famous brands can promote the profits of the Carlson Companies Inc. in the near future. 

By taking the two important aspects into consideration, it is right for the Carlson to employ the vertical integration to reduce the cost to a great degree and benefit the travellers to a large extent(Bain, 1956).  

Moreover, the consuming level of human beings also becomes higher and higher, which has promoted many people to travel around the world to broaden the horizons and to experience the distinct environment in different nations. Millions of customers and travellers of Carlson have enjoyed the experiences in their lives. This kind of vertical integration also has offered a large number of job and assist the employees to develop their own potential(Crew, 1971). The travelling resources have been collected by the Carlson to a great degree, which can meet the demands of diverse guests in the near future. 

The managers of the Carlson are qualified with the ability to follow the global trend and take proper measures to become much stronger in the business. There are also some other reasons that can explain the reasons why Carlson can become so successful in the hotel and travel industry. In the first place, the Carlson has gradually expanded its scale and developed many well-performed employees. The vertical integration can be considered as the most useful strategy to realize the aim to promote the products. The procedure of employing the vertical integration is gradual, which can benefit the people who live around the subsidiaries of the Carlson. For instance, Carlson bought 50 various businesses in the early 1980s, and most of the businesses are not large, which can be managed much easier. Second, the hospitality and travel industry is always enjoyed by people who have no need to worry about the daily life(Williamson, 1971). The more comfortable the hotel is, the more guests will be attracted by the hotels. The travelling experience will consume the energy of the travellers and then the travellers will need a place to live in. It is reasonable to combine the hospitality industry with the travel industry, for the two aspects have intimate relationship with each other. Thirdly, the vertical integration has provided lots of working chances for people in the local place, which can make people more active to compete with the other similar companies in the industry. Third, the development of the products in the hospitality and travel business is also important for the success of the Carlson Companies. It is sensible to develop new products to meet the needs of the consumers, which can increase the sales amount and make more profits for the company(Crew, 1971). 

Task3

The Carlson companies can take various measures to maintain a competitive advantage based on “product development”. First, the history of Carlson is long enough, so it has developed a comparatively mature managing system to protect the normal development of the hospitality and travel industry. The products of Carlson have been benefited from the new technology in modern times, which has made the service in the hospitality and travel industry more convenient and satisfying. Second, the managers of the Carlson have the ability to manage the procedures of the business in a stable condition(Etgar, 1978). The financial foundation of the Carlson is quite strong, which can ensure the quick development of the products in the hospitality and travel industry. It is necessary to follow the needs of consumers to improve the products, which can promote the sales amount and the fast development of the company in the long run. The end aim of a corporation is to make profit, and the main way to make profits is to sell more goods to customers. Third, the travel industry calls for more high-tech products, such as the products to climb a mountain or ski. The Carlson companies have the advantage to know the needs of the customers more deeply, for the scale of it is quite large in various countries and places, which is convenient to get the information of the local customers through the purchasing needs. There are also many other advantages for Carlson to maintain a competitive advantage based on “product development”, such as the culture and the rules in the company(Martinez, 1997). 

For other companies, maybe it is not so proper to maintain a competitive advantage based on “product development”. For example, if a company has been built up for one year, the finance and personnel resources can not meet the needs to develop new products. The strategy to maintain a competitive advantage is more suitable for the companies with a large scale(Crew, 1971).   

Task4

The vertical integration is a kind of merger of corporations at distinct stages of producing or distributing in one industry. When a corporation buys the input supplier of it is seen as backward integration. When it buys corporations in the distributing chain of the industry, it is seen as the forward integration(Etgar, 1978). Vertical integration can be divided into 3 typical forms, which is considered as the degree to which a certain corporation owns the buyers in the downstream and the suppliers in the upstream. There are various benefits of employing the strategy of vertical integration. Although there are also some bad effects, the advantages of employing the vertical integration weigh more than the disadvantages. The main intention of a company is to make more profits, and vertical integration has assisted many corporations achieve success. If the vertical integration has been employed properly, the outcome will be prosperous. The vertical integration can also make a contribution to the sound and quick development of the whole economy and the society. 

The Carlson Companies Inc. is powerful enough to employ the vertical integration to develop the business. During the 21st century, Carlson Companies have developed quickly in the hospitality and travel industry. Although there are some problems in the local companies, the whole business is running smoothly with the mature managing system. It is sensible for the Carlson Companies Inc. to use the vertical integration to develop the business in the long run, which has contributed to the prosperity of it in the hospitality and travel industry. 

 

Reference

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Aust, P. (1997). An Institutional Analysis of Vertical Coordination versus VerticalIntegration: The Case of the US Broiler Industry. Michigan State University StaffPaper 97-24.

Bain, J. S. (1956). Barriers to New Competition: Their Character and Consequences inManufacturing Industries. Harvard University Press. Cambridge.

Comanor, W. S. (1967). Vertical Mergers, Market Powers and the Antitrust Laws,American Economic Review, 57, 2, 254-265.

Crew, M.A. (1971), X-Theory versus ManagementDiscretion Theory, Southern Economic Journal, 38,2,173-184.

Dobson, P. W. (1996). Vertical Restraints and Competition Policy.Research Paper 12.Office of Fair Trading, UK.

Etgar, M. (1978). The Effects of Forward Vertical Integration on Service Performanceof a Distributive Industry, Journal of Industrial Economics, 26, 3, 249-255.

Hirsch, W. Z. (1952). Giant Grocery Retailing and Antitrust Laws,Journal of Business of the University of Chicago, 25, 1, 1-17.

Martinez, S. W. (1997). Changing Pork Business and Affects Pork Pricesand Quality, Food Review, 20, 2. 17-22.

Pickering, J.F. (1999). Competition Policy and Vertical Relationship: The Approach ofthe UK Monopolies and Mergers Commissions. European Competition Law Review,20, 4, 225-239.

Williamson, O. E. (1971). The Vertical Integration of Production: Market FailureConsiderations, American Economic Review, 61, 2, 112-123.