Research Korner: Executive Summary Samples

Research Report on Perception and Customer Satisfaction towards Hong Kong Disney Land

TABLE OF CONTENTS    TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u I.                       EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. PAGEREF _Toc224722899 \h 2 II.                      COMPANY BACKGROUND.. PAGEREF _Toc224722900 \h 3 III.                     research objectives and research problem.. PAGEREF _Toc224722901 \h 5 IV.                    Methodology. PAGEREF _Toc224722902 \h 5 V.                     Limitatons. PAGEREF _Toc224722903 \h 6 VI.                    RESEARCH PROCESS. PAGEREF _Toc224722909 \h 7 VII.                   Processing and Analyzing Data. PAGEREF _Toc224722910 \h 9 VIII.                  Major Findings. PAGEREF _Toc224722911 \h 9 IX.                    CONCLUSION. PAGEREF _Toc224722912 \h 12 X.                     Recommendations. PAGEREF _Toc224722913 \h 13               I.      EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Hong Kong Disney Land, one of the most visited theme park in Hong Kong. With its Motto, “The Place Where Dreams Come True”, the company is given people the chance of achieving their fantasies and making them real. The company is a joint venture of the Walt Disney and Hong Kong Government, sine the latter would want to enhance their tourism industry. However, the management have not been able to anticipate the problem because of its poor performance in terms of number of tourists visiting the theme park. Accordingly, the expectation of the investors have not been met as the number of visitors are still not increasing since its opening in September 2005.  One of the reasons why this is happening is because of the unpopularity of the mainlanders with Disney characters.  In order to solve such issue, the marketing department were appointed to determine and explore other reasons for this unpopularity.  In this study, a survey was conducted. This research study considered the use of both qualitative and quantitative research approach through the use of primary and secondary data. In this study, it has been found that the low popularity of the Disney characters among local residents was one of the reasons for its low profit. On the other hand, other reasons include the price of the ticket and restaurants in the theme park.  In order to solve such issues, recommendations of management approaches that can be used were provided.   II.    COMPANY BACKGROUND Founded in 1922, the Walt Disney Company has been known for its production of quality entertainment for children and adults alike. From its previous developments, the company is now able to operate at the global level, with thousands of employees and shareholders worldwide. The Walt Disney organization is a highly diversified company operating within four major business segments including Media Networks, Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts and Consumer Products. Walt Disney’s Media Networks is comprised of the organizations radio and television networks, international and cable/satellite broadcast operations, television program production and distribution as well as internet operations. The company’s Studio Entertainment business segment on the other hand, handles and creates the animated and live action motion pictures, musical recordings, live stage plays and television animation programs [1]. The Parks and Resorts segment operates the company’s four destination resorts within the United States, France and Japan. In late 2005 or early 2006, Hong Kong Disneyland is scheduled to open as Disney’s fifth resort. Finally, the Consumer Products business segment is in charge of license issuance of all the original character creations and intellectual properties to retailers, manufacturers, publishers and show promoters. Hong Kong Disneyland was opened on September 12, 2005 and is under control of Hong Kong International Theme Part.  This is a joint venture of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and Walt Disney with shares 57% and 43% respectively. It can be said that at present time, there are not other Disney Park which is owned partly by the government. The aim of Walt Disney is make Disneyland closer to people as part of the international expansion strategy.[2]  The opening of Hong Kong Disney Land has marked the first Disney theme park in Mainland China and laso the 11th Disney Theme Park in the world. It consists of four major parks which include the Main Street U.S.A., Fantasyland, Adventureland and Tomorrowland.    Although it is said to have a total area of 126 hectares, it is still considered as the smallest Disneyland compared to other Disneyland's in the worlds. The company aims on expanding with new ventures, along with its continuous innovation management and operation to meet the needs of their target market..[3]  The major target market of HK Disney are the local people of Hong Kong and Mainland China tourists. However, the company’s expectation of competitive advantage has not been met which is to have 5.6 million visitors for the first year of their operation. During its first year, the market has only recorded 5 million visitors.[4] Both the sales and attendance expectations have not been achieved. The management is worried that if these trends will not change, then their promised performance from investors and bank lended will then be pushed for refinancing the US$294 million (HK$2.29 million) in debt taken out for the theme park.[5] To solve this issue, a market research will be conducted through survey questionnaire approach to determine the reasons for the low popularity of the theme park and Disney characters among visitors.   III.   research objectives and research problem The main goal of this study is to determine the reasons why Hong Kong Disneyland on its opening has a low popularity as compared to the total number of 25.5 million visitors[6]. herein, the total number of mainland visitors arrivals recorded for the following years was 13.6 million, in which 51.9% of them have traveled under Individual Visit Scheme. The secondary data have shown that the visitors from the mainland are unfamiliar with Disney Cartoon characters which may explains the reasons for the low percentage of the visitors from mainland as compared to the total number of the arrivals of the visitors. In order to have some substantial evidences, a survey will be considered. In addition, this aims in exploring other possible cause for the low number of visitors than the expectations of the management.   IV.  Methodology In order to achieve the objective of this research,  a survey will be conducted. For this market research, the main questions which are going to consider are the customers satisfaction and theme park expectations. As this research aims on finding out the reasons, the study will be best conducted before summer vacation. The management will assign staffs to handle the marketing research. Herein, the time frame for the research completion is 40 days and face to face interviews will also be considered out at the exit of HK Disneyland to capture fresh moments and experiences of the visitors. The marketing staffs will conduct approximately 33 questionnaires in a daily basis at the exit gate and will consider 3 sessions for the day which include early afternoon, afternoon and closing to have first hand information from the visitors.  To foster the willingness of the visitors to join the survey and interview, they will be given a token such as badge and others to show some appreciation. before having the formal questionnaire, the staffs will consider pre-testing stage by utilizing a small sub sample to note whether the research is feasible or suitable enough to minimize errors that might happen. After this, the questionnaire will be revised to make the final one (see Appendix 1). The interviewers will be well-oriented and trained to fully understand the aim of the study and the questionnaire to avoid systematic errors.   V.   Limitatons The target visitors of this research will include the visitors from China mainland and Hong Kong residents. These represents 58% and 32% of the total respondents, respectively.  These group comprises 90% of the total population. The remaining 10% of the visitors are from other nations which include Singapore, USA, Korea, Japan and other expatriates. Due to the limitation of staffs, time and budget, this market research will only focus on the two large groups (Hong Kong and Chinese people).  Although under these situations, the research could not analyze the reason from the answers of all visitors, it does represent the experience of the participants.  In this research, another excluded group of people are those who are under age of 15, whom the researched consider to not fully understand all the questions provided in the questionnaire.   VI.  RESEARCH PROCESS For this market research, the secondary data will be used to identify the general expectation of people for a theme park.  After which, primary data will be conducted through interviews and survey questionnaires. First, the researcher gathered all the secondary data and found that people from the mainland China are unfamiliar with Disney characters in China and they are lacking knowledge about the Disney Characters.[7] These are considered as influential factors that affects the expectation and likes of the visitors to come to Hong Kong Disneyland. A.         SECONDARY DATA Due to the limited timeframe and resources, secondary data will be utilized as the basis of the study. Herein, secondary data is collated and plausibly processed by other people excluding the research. Herein, the market situations will be considered. Accordingly, Hong Kong Disneyland was the 11th theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and it became one of the most famous tourist attractions in the country. In its first year of operation, the park has recorded only 5 million visitors in its first year of operation against its objective of 5.6 million visitors.[8] Since the launch of HK Disneyland in September 2005, the company has difficult time in casting spell over their local media and more essentially, the public with a communication directive that appears to talk up the good, while maintaining tightlipped about its bad Since the Hong Kong Disneyland launched in September 2005, it had a difficult time casting its spell over the local media and, more importantly, the public, with a communications directive which appears to talk up the good, while remaining tightlipped about the bad.[9]  Because of the bad reputation of the theme park to the public during its first year, the company ahs influenced the attraction and expectation of the customers to visit the park.     The major target market of the theme park is a mix of family and non-familial visitors which include married couples without children, young adults, and the elderly. About half of the family visitors came from China mainland. Accordingly, the visitors of Hong Kong Disneyland during the summer of 2006 have boomed and 50% of the total visitors came from China Mainland.[10]    B.              PRIMARY DATA After the face to face interviews had been accomplished, the set of primary data were collected which had been consolidated into a table file.  [appendix 2].        VII. Processing and Analyzing Data Before the data is inputted through a coding system, the editing will be done to correct defaults that happened during the interview. After which, a statistical analysis will be done to have the findings and an interpretation of the information will be reported. The conclusions and recommendations will be provided for managerial decisions. -      Total days taken for whole research process = 30 days -          Respondents rates = 98.5% è 985 questionnaires were fully completed Aforementioned, the total number of questionnaires received is 985 paces. These 985 questionnaires were validated and assess whether it provides adequate information for the research. To make sure that this research will have enough valid and completed survey questionnaires, all the interviewers/staffs had been well-trained. Although there are still some systematic errors noted in the completed questionnaires, hence, only 985 were considered. The summary of the result that covers all the questions are seen in Appendix 2. the major determinants for this research includes Q1, Q4, Q5, Q6,Q16 and Q17.   VIII.       Major Findings Based from the collated date from the 985 returned questionnaires out of 1,000 provided, and based on the secondary data collated, the following are the major findings of this study.             In Q1, the research has found that 83% of the total respondents have visited the park for the first time and 9.6% are second timer while 7% have visited the park many times.              In Q2, it has found that 58% of the visitors came from mainland China while the other 32% are Hong Kong locals as indicated in the secondary data collated. The other 10% were visitors from other countries such as Singapore, Australia, USA, Africa and others. It has also been found in Q3 that 39% of the total respondents have been able to visit Disneyland parks from other countries and the remaining 61% have noted that they have never been into any Disney parks than in Hong Kong.             In line with Q4, 80% of the total respondents have noted that they are visiting with their families, 19% were visiting with their friends and only 5 respondents were visiting along while 7 are accompanying their business colleagues during their business trips in the country. In Q5, it has been proven that the secondary data is correct by showing that at least 50% of the total respondents came from mainland China were unfamiliar with Disneyland characters (55%) and 13% of them are unsure about the Disney Characters. Q6 focuses on exploring the expectations of the respondents. In this research, the findings have shown that most of the participants (634) are coming because of the interest of their children.  475 visitors from China Mainland are visiting as part of the tour package and 258 visitors are visiting because of the media promotion. In this, 129 visitors have came because of the brand name of the Walt Disney and only 102 visitors came because of the recommendations of their friends. From Q7 to Q10, the research have found that 18% of the total respondents thing that Hong Kong Disneyland is an attractive tourist destination. 14% of the total respondents have considered the theme park as the place where their dreams come true.  Majority of the respondents have enjoyed the show performances and parade (40%) and 35% have enjoyed the cartoon characters.  46% (457) out of 985 respondents have pointed out that the price ticket is too expensive and 30% (299) have least interests in the souvenir items of Disneyland. In Q11and Q12, it has been revealed that only around 17% of the total participants will be happy to suggest Disneyland to their relatives or friends or will be happy to visit the park again, while around 59% of the respondents will not recommend the park with their friends because the overall image of Hong Kong Disneyland is not as good as the Disneyland Parks in other nations. some respondents perceived that the park is too small and there is not much to see and enjoy. Some respondents also noted that environment is not clean because of most visitors are not well-disciplined. Most of the respondents have expressed their dissatisfaction on the park in Q14 because of the high price of the products and restaurants. 49% which comprises 486 of the total respondents are dissatisfied and 28% are very dissatisfied. 36% of the total respondents have neutral comments in the attitude of the employees while 29% are satisfied with the employers while 23% are dissatisfied. In Q16, the survey revealed that 46% of the visitors are dissatisfied while 16% are very dissatisfied as compared with only 15% satisfied and 5% very satisfied visitors. 18% have neutral perception. In line with the price value worthiness in Q17, only 7% out of 985 respondents were on the high and 3% have perceived that the price is very high. 18% of the total respondents find it to be average and 58% gives low or negative feedback. In terms of the demographic information, the research have found that most of the visitors (54%) considered as at the age of 26-40 years old, married female who became housewives in their secondary education, with a family income over HK$20,001 or above.   IX.  CONCLUSION   Based on the result of the survey conducted, this study have drawn into the following conclusions. In this, the major findings of the research shows that 817 visitors are first time visitors with only 168 people who came for the second or third time. This shows that the re-visit percentage for HK Disneyland is extremely low. Among the 1,000 visitors, more than half of them came from China. And the reasons for visiting is because the visit is pre-scheduled or tour package inclusive. Most of the respondents have no knowledge or even never heard names and the characters of Disneyland.             It has been revealed that the main reason why local residents wanted to visit the park is because of the interest of their children. The feedback on the questionnaire have shown that most visitors have noted that the ticket and the restaurant prices are too costly,  In terms of attractiveness, souvenirs, rides and environments and services, the overall rating from the visitors are negative, except on the show performance and parade. Most of the visitors have been hesitant in recommending the park to their friends, and are wondering if they will be visiting again in the future or rather visit other Disneyland in other nations.             From the demographic profile, most of the respondents are young adults whose age ranges from 26-40, married female, housewives in their secondary education with a monthly family income of  HK$20,000.  The visitors have noted that their main concerns in the theme park is to add more facilities which will give benefits to their kids.   X.   Recommendations   Based on the conclusion provided, it has been found that 80% of the respondents are visiting with their families. Such kind of date is very essential for the marketing department to have better strategies. Thus, the following marketing measures will be recommended to Senior Management for consideration:-       Since most of the people in Mainland China are unfamiliar with the Disney cartooned characters, the management should be able to actively educate these people by showing more Disney cartoons in terms of Media through television channels.  Further, the management can also consider the sponsorship of some Children program. This is to help Chinese people in recognizing Disney characters and enhance their interests to seem them live. In addition, more print ads, and visual media advertisements and promotions can also be considered.       For local Hong Kong residents, majority of the visitors have considered that the price of the ticket are too high, hence this should be considered to have some promotional approaches to provide discounted tickets for the Hong Kong people, like free visit for birthday boys and girls on their birth month excluding their family members. In this way, the revenue and sales can be boosted. IN addition, another discount can be given to birthday boys and girls if they choose to celebrate at all Disneyland restaurants.       On one hand, as shown in the result of the survey done by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Up to Q2 2007, there were 11, 320, 000 cards issued by Hong Kong.[11].  With the penetration of the credit cards in the country,  HK Disneyland can also consider partnership with banks and credit card users to redeem free tickets with their points on their credit card or they may buy tickets using this at a discounted rate.     XI. References Disney World Website (2009), “Walt Disney World” Available: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index. retrieved March 13, 2009. D’Agostino, D. (2003, December 1), Case Study: Walt Disney World Resorts and CRM Strategy, CIO Insight, Ziff Davis Media, Inc http://www.tarp.com/index.html http://www.justdisney.com/disneyland/history.html ProQuest : Paula M Miller. The China Business Review. Washington: Jan/Feb 2007. Vol. 34, Iss. 1; pg. 31, 3 pgs Business Daily News. London (UK): Apr 9, 2007. pg.1 ProQuest: Marketing Week. London: Sep 7, 2006.  pg. 7 http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1124114701&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientId=68428&RQT=309&VName=&cfc=1 http://www3.news.gov.hk/isd/ebulletin/en/category/businessandfinance/071227/html/071227en03002.htm http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=2&art_id=37951&sid=12132412&con_type=1&d_str=20070209 JUSTINE LAU. Financial Times. London (UK): Sep 5, 2006. pg. 27 - http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1122909991&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientId=68428&RQT=309&VName=PQD Paula M Miller. The China Business Review. Washington: Jan/Feb 2007. Vol. 34, Iss. 1; pg. 31, 3 pgs - http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=4&did=1260548581&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1210773582&clientId=68428 James Murphy. Media. Hong Kong: May 19, 2006. pg. 15, 1 pgs - http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=10&did=1062787541&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1210774405&clientId=68428 Paula M Miller. The China Business Review. Washington: Jan/Feb 2007. Vol. 34, Iss. 1; pg. 31, 3 pgs - http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=4&did=1260548581&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1210773582&clientId=68428 http://gia.info.gov.hk/general/200708/15/P200708150201_0201_30737.doc Wasko, J. (2001), Understanding Disney: The manufacture of Fantasy, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK.     XII. Appendix APPENDIX I Thank you for participating in this Survey. Your candid evaluation of Hong Kong Disneyland services is invaluable and much appreciated.  We are endeavoring to do everything possible to be “The Place Where Dreams come True”.   1.      Is this your first time visit to Hong Kong Disneyland?             □          Yes                 □          No, please specify(           )     2.      Where do you come from? □  Hong Kong        □  China          □  Other country, please specify(       )   3.      Have you been to other overseas Disney Parks? □  Yes                   □          No               4.      Who come with you?             □          Family                         □          Friends                                    □          Alone                          □          Others, please specify (       )   5.      Are you familiar with Walt Disney characters before your first time Hong Kong Disneyland visit?             □          Yes                             □  Not Sure                      □  No                                 6.      What is your reason(s) for visiting Hong Kong Disneyland? (multiple selection)             □          Recommended by friends                               □          Part of tour package                                        □          Media promotion                                                        □          For my children’s interests                              □          Walt Disney brand name                                □      Others, please specify (             )   7.      Do you think Hong Kong Disneyland is attractive?       □          Strongly agree                         □  Agree                                      □  Neutral                                                □  Disagree                                              □  Strongly disagree                      8.      Do you agree Hong Kong Disneyland is “the place where dreams come true”? □  Strongly agree                         □  Agree                                      □  Neutral                                                □  Disagree                                              □  Strongly disagree                      9.      Which of the following you think is/are the attractive points of Hong Kong Disneyland? (Multiple Selection) □      Cartoon Characters (E.g Mickey mouse, Minnie mouse, Donald Duck etc.) □      Rides □      Souvenirs □      Magical feelings of Disneyland □      Environment of Disneyland □      Services □      Ticket Price □      Others, please specify (        )                            10.  Which of the following is/are the unattractive points of Hong Kong Disneyland? (Multiple Selection)         □  Cartoon Characters are not attractive □  Rides are little and bored □  Souvenirs □  Environment of Disneyland □  Service □  Location □  Show performances                                                                                                    □  Others, please specify(           )              11.  Will you recommend Hong Kong Disneyland to your relatives or friends? □  Yes      □  Not Sure                      □  No       (Why?)   12.  Will you come again ?             □          Yes                                          □  Not Sure                                              □          No                                             13.  What facilities do you think the park to be added?     Please write down the facilities               i)                                                               ii)                                                              iii)                                                             iv)                                                             v)                                                   14.  How do you feel about the price of the restaurants at the Hong Kong Disneyland? □    Very satisfied                          □    Satisfied                                              □    Neutral                                                □    Dissatisfied                             □    Very dissatisfied                       15.  How do you feel about the attitude of our “employees”? □    Very satisfied                          □    Satisfied                                              □    Neutral                                                □    Dissatisfied                             □    Very dissatisfied                           16.  What is your overall rating for Hong Kong Disneyland? □    Very satisfied                          □    Satisfied                                              □    Neutral                                                □    Dissatisfied                             □    Very dissatisfied                       17.  Please rate your experience of Hong Kong Disneyland compared with price paid. □    Very high value                                   □    High value                                           □    Average                                                           □    Low value                                           □    Unacceptably low value                        Others Information   18.  What is your age group? □    15 – 25 years old                     □          26 – 40 years old         □    41 – 60 years old                     □          over 60 years old           19.  What is your sex?            □    Male                            □    Female                           20.  Are you married?             □          Yes                                                      □          No                                             21.  What is your occupation? □    Students          □          Professionals   □          Financial          □          Services □    Owners            □          Housewife       □          Others   22.  What is your educational level? □    Primary school            □          Secondary school        □          College □    University                   □          Master             □          Others (                  )       23.  What is your monthly income (equivalent to Hong Kong dollars)? □    Below $5000   □          $5,001 - $10,000         □          $10,001 - $15,000 □    $15,001 –$20,000       □          $20,001 and above          Name (optional)  :                           Email address (optional):                              	 		 		ALL 		THE ABOVE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDED WILL BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL. THANK YOU. 	       Appendix 2: See Excel Files. 	   	 		 		 		 		[1] 		Wasko, J. (2001), Understanding Disney: The manufacture of Fantasy, 		Polity Press, Cambridge, UK. 	 		 		 		 		[2] 		ProQuest : Paula M Miller. The China Business Review. Washington: 		Jan/Feb 2007. Vol. 34, Iss. 1; pg. 31, 3 pgs 	 		 		 		 		[3] 		ProQuest : SinoCast China Business Daily News. London (UK): Apr 9, 2007. 		pg.1 	 		 		 		 		[4] 		ProQuest: 		 		Marketing Week. London: Sep 		7, 2006.  pg. 7 - 		http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1124114701&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientId=68428&RQT=309&VName=&cfc=1 	 		 		 		 		[5]http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=2&art_id=37951&sid=12132412&con_type=1&d_str=20070209 		 	 		 		 		 		[6] 		http://www3.news.gov.hk/isd/ebulletin/en/category/businessandfinance/071227/html/071227en03002.htm 	 		 		 		 		[7] 		 		JUSTINE LAU. 		 		 		Financial Times. 		London (UK): 		 		Sep 5, 2006. 		pg. 27 - 		http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1122909991&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientId=68428&RQT=309&VName=PQD 	 		 		 		 		[8] 		 		Paula M Miller. 		 		 		The China Business 		Review. Washington: 		 		Jan/Feb 2007. 		Vol. 34, Iss. 1; pg. 31, 3 pgs - 		http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=4&did=1260548581&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1210773582&clientId=68428 	 		 		 		 		[9] 		 		James Murphy. 		 		 		Media. 		Hong Kong: 		 		May 19, 2006. 		pg. 15, 1 pgs - 		http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=10&did=1062787541&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1210774405&clientId=68428 	 		 		 		 		[10] 		Paula M Miller. The China Business Review. Washington: Jan/Feb 2007. 		Vol. 34, Iss. 1; pg. 31, 3 pgs - 		http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=4&did=1260548581&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1210773582&clientId=68428 	 		 		 		 		[11] 		http://gia.info.gov.hk/general/200708/15/P200708150201_0201_30737.doc

Research Report on Perception and Customer Satisfaction towards Hong Kong Disney Land

TABLE OF CONTENTS TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . PAGEREF _Toc224722899 \h 2 ...

Executive Summary and Thesis Chapter 1 on Factors Leading to the Organizational Commitment of Employees in Japanese Fast Food Chain in Hong Kong

Factors Leading to the Organizational Commitment of Employees in Japanese 	Fast Food Chain 	 	in 	Hong Kong 	 		 		 		Executive summary 	 	 	 	Within the 	 	fast food industry, there are international organizations that are 	competing each other to promote their brand, obtain the competitive 	advantages, and generally to have a positive profitability. However, the 	 	organizational commitment of the employees remains a puzzle in the 	 	Japanese fast food store. The method used in the study is the 	qualitative interview in a closed and fixed response interview form, the 	perception of the 15 participants - who are also working in the 	 	Japanese fast food – were identified. 	 	As a 	result on the pursuance of the study it determined that both training and 	development and motivational approaches are pertinent factors for the 	 	Japanese fast food chain employees to realize the organizational 	commitment. However, their willingness to learn and ability to compete with 	their colleagues enhances their ability to perform well. In the pursuance of 	the study to determine the factors towards organizational commitment, it 	discovers that aside from the 	 	training and development and 	 	motivation, there is also a need for influence coming from the 	 	organizational culture and job satisfaction. Furthermore, it proved that 	the cultural barriers are not considered as a major problem within the fast 	food but the lack of experience of the employees. 	 		 		 		 		Chapter 1 – Introduction 	 	 	 	Within the fast food industry, there are international organizations that 	are competing each other to promote their 	 	brand, obtain the competitive advantages, and generally to have a 	 	positive profitability. However, the trend within the fast-food industry 	seems rooted on the idea of expansion. As the firm continuous to grow and 	meet the expectations, the step in dominating the 	 	foreign countries is closer. Actually, based on the personal 	observation, the fast food industry is getting more popular year after year 	and that is because of the obviousness that along the 	 	streets where there is a recognizable lines or chains of fast food 	establishment. Talking about the appeal of the fast food business, there is 	no doubt that fast food chains, as compared to the restaurants, have a 	service and 	 	food quality that can satisfy their customers. Aside from that, the 	prices are cheaper and at least the 	 	cleanliness is maintained. Because of this factor, it appears that the 	 	restaurants are affected which forced them to stepped into the same 	level as the fast food establishments. 	 	Most 	of the early restaurants are influenced by the 	 	Western Culture undoubtedly because of the worldwide domination of 	 	McDonalds or their 	 	McDonaldization (Ritzer, 1995). With regards to its significant 	influence the most common franchised fast food products are ranging from 	sandwiches, hamburgers, pizza, fried chicken, fish and chips, to ice cream, 	and 	 	frozen yoghurt. They also manage to serve coffee or hot chocolate and 	soft drinks as their beverages to the customers. Increasingly, the 	familiarity of these products grown worldwide that it slowly changed the 	views on the 	 	“fine dining”, 	 	“home cooking”, and even crossed the borders of different cultures. 	However, due to this very same influence, the Asian foods (e.g. Chinese, 	Korean, and Japanese foods) also offered their kind of 	 	delicacies through their 	 	small restaurants and street stalls. 	 	Many 	related researches that applied either quantitative or 	 	qualitative methodologies somehow managed to recognize the various 	strategies and business techniques that are present within the fast food 	industry (Myers, 2008). In addition, there is a clear description that the 	business’ practices and 	 	management are established through the specified theories and 	 	traditional strategies in aiming for a quality product and services. 	However, it was identified that fast food establishments should not over 	emphasize their philosophical view regarding the expansion and 	 	franchising. It is true that the 	 	best strategy that a business can set in the arena of competition is to 	place a competitive advantage among the other competitors. But too much use 	of that particular advantage may lead to failure if not properly monitored; 	instead they must focus on serving the market well. Furthermore, the 	organizational commitment of the 	 	employees towards the fast food establishment remains undetermined. 	 	 		 		 		 		1.1 Background of the Study 	 	 	In 	the world where people are expecting the more convenient type of services, 	the word “fast” has been applied and attributable in many of the merchandise 	and 	 	servicing outlets. Literally, the word “fast” is the representation of 	the 	 	speed and bearing this idea, people are learning more on how will the 	application of this concept can affect their entire lives. 	 	Fast-foods can be the most inevitable 	 	inventions ever appeared in the continuous progress of the 	 	economy. It is clearly ideal for the people that does not have the time 	to do the traditional cooking, or the people that are in tight 	 	budget, or just want to try experimenting. The 	 	growth of the fast-food can be observed along the road or inside the 	vicinity of the shopping malls. Various names are competing for the same 	market and this very same reason allows the 	 	competitors to pour extra juice of effort. A typical 	 	consumer can actually feel the existence of the fast-food chains but 	still, only one name emerged in the midst of competition. 	 	 	Fast-food industry changed the traditional restaurants and continuously 	growing. In some countries, the subways and street sides are considered as 	the areas that moves the fast-food industry (Stewart, 2004). Among the fast 	movers and growing businesses in the industry is McDonalds. McDonalds 	eventually emerged as a superior firm among the group of fast-food and 	restaurant competitors. The success of McDonalds in the fast food industry 	became another challenge for the businessmen and inspiration of the leaders. 	Aside from the competency and technologies involved, the organizational 	commitment of the employees is identified to be one of the factors towards 	the success of the business. 	 	 	McDonalds, as one of the most recognized leaders in International business 	and in the nature of fast-food industry gets the attention of the business 	leaders in gaining the success. The recognition only verified the action of 	the organization in the continuous expansion and building international 	market. The competency of the organization from the mother country affects 	the other participating countries, and their strategies such as procedures 	have been passed right to other sister companies and franchises. The flow of 	knowledge and direct power of the mother company on its branches can be 	effectively promotes the relationship and presence of organizational 	culture. Aside from that, there are other applications of knowledge that 	continuously redesigning the face and appeal of the companies. Part of the 	international organizations should be centered on meeting local demands and 	doing business the locals’ way. With this, multinational corporations should 	consider certain significant factors. In general, global companies should 	give due priority in learning the culture of the country where they intend 	to operate. Specifically, the language, education, religion, attitudes and 	values of a specific country should be learned by any international company. 	This local knowledge should serve as the basis of their major marketing 	approaches. 	 	Hong 	Kong is considered to have an affluent economy and a free market with almost 	zero import tariffs (with four category exceptions, including an 80% tariff 	on wine). It is a net food importer, and a market opportunity for high value 	food and beverages (Chung, 2007). In addition, Hong Kong is also a gateway 	for greater China’s food market, and a good test market for other parts of 	Asia. Within the food industry of Hong Kong, it is identified that the key 	driving forces of the society’s food trends are food safety, increasing 	health consciousness, changing demographics and busy lifestyles – which is 	at some point, might be difficult for the food service businesses to target. 	Due to the attempt to gain more competitiveness and enable to meet the 	challenges in the food industry, there are some significant emerging food 	consumption trends which include organic food; functional food; chilled and 	frozen meat; convenience food; snack food; and food for gifts. Opportunities 	for Victorian food exports are predicted to develop around safe, healthy, 	nutritional and convenient food. The food service sector in Hong Kong 	includes hotels, restaurants and institutions (airlines and hospitals). Due 	to the growth of tourism, demand for quality food is expected to increase at 	five star hotels and high end restaurants. There is also a trend for 	non-Chinese restaurants emerging, including Japanese food, fast food, coffee 	and snacks, and casual dining restaurants. Further research is required to 	analyze the potential of the airline and hospital sectors in Hong Kong. 	 	 	Non-Chinese restaurants including Japanese food, fast food, coffee and 	snacks, and casual dining are currently a growing sub sector in Hong Kong. 	Fast food is the fastest growing sector, including the popular chains of 	Maxims, Café de Coral, Fairwood, McDonalds, Kentucky and Pizza Hut. Another 	significant trend is the increasingly competitive coffee shop sector around 	the city, where the two largest coffee shop chains are Starbucks (64) and 	Pacific Coffee. It is also worth noting a growing trend for fresh fruit 	juice and dessert bars, with the Hui Lau Shan chains a good example. On the 	other hand, there is a growing trend towards the health consciousness. And 	as consumers become more health conscious, restaurant menus have changed to 	accommodate this trend. For example fast food chains have provided healthier 	food options on their menus such as salads and fruit juice (Chung, 2007). 	 	As 	verified by literatures, barriers to successful international marketing are 	centered on cultural differences. Thus, the success of fast food 	establishments in the western culture may have a lesser impact on Asian 	consumers who typically prefer meals made from scratch. In addition, 	countries’ where people are very particular with time and speed, such as in 	the American culture, may find fast food services very appealing. 	Nonetheless, this marketing approach may not work on cultures where speed is 	not that significant. In addition, some cultures prefer to eat on places 	where they can talk and relax – a significant contradiction to cultures that 	prefer meals to go (Sherman & Levine, 2004). 	 	 	Accordingly, there had been a number of companies that have succeeded 	through effective international marketing strategies in the fast food 	industry. Effective promotions and advertising were also integrated into the 	company’s international strategy. One of these tactics include the company’s 	promotional offers of various items like Internet cards, concert tickets, 	CDs, T-shirts, caps and international trips. This promo had been done as the 	company collaborated with other organizations including Coca-cola, Sony, MTV 	and General Motors. Painting contests for children were also conducted by 	McDonald’s. This served not only as a promotional activity but also an 	effective fund-raising effort to help less fortunate children in need of 	corrective surgeries. Furthermore, the advertising strategies of McDonald’s 	had been focused on building an image of family comfort. Rather than just 	being an ordinary fast food that serves quality meals, McDonald’s intends to 	appeal to the market by building a fast food image where families can get 	together, enjoy and relax (Singh et al., 2001). 	 	 	However, on part in cornering the roles of the motivation and organizational 	commitment within the organization, the Japanese fast foods (and probably 	other type of fast food chains) must emphasize these factors towards the 	employees’ organizational commitment (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Part of the basic 	psychological process is the motivation and from the past studies, an 	analysis concluded that the competitiveness problems in an organization 	appear to be part of the motivational nature. Motivation is a very important 	element of behavior but it can’t alone explain the behavior of an individual 	(Wright, 2001). The process of learning, the interaction on different 	personalities and attitudes influences the management of the motivation. 	Both motivation and motivating process deals with the consciousness of human 	behavior such as the reflex actions and learned habits. On the other hand, 	the organizational commitment focuses on the attitudes of the employees 	towards the entire organization. Commitment can be described as a strong 	desire to remain a member of a particular organization; there is an 	employee’s willingness to exert high levels of efforts on behalf of the 	organization; and the belief and acceptability of the values and goals in 	the organization (Tella, Ayeni, and Popoola, 2007; Meyer, Becker, and 	Vandenberghe, 2004). 	 		 		 		 		1.2 		Statement of the problems 	 	 	In 	the practice of human resource management, attitudes of the employees are 	prioritized in the exploration within the idea of job satisfaction. Through 	the organizational behavior, the support on commitment in an organization 	causes the satisfaction. Part of the commitment is the contribution of the 	motivation and motivational factors that, together, produce a quality of 	output as being part of the modern organizations.  According to the study of 	Shafer (2009), the idea of conflict between organizational and professional 	values has a long history in both the sociology and business literature. 	Therefore, gaining the knowledge from the background of the study, there are 	identified two relative problems. 	 	·         	 	How 	can the identified factors contribute towards the organizational commitment 	among the Japanese fast foods? 	 	·         	 	What 	is the effectiveness of organizational commitment in achieving the 	organizational success? 	 		 		 		 		1.3 		Research Aim and objectives 	 	 	The 	main aim of the study is to investigate the factors that might contribute 	towards the organizational commitment particularly among the Japanese fast 	foods. Most of the Japanese fast food chains are mingled with other fast 	food businesses. However, the entrepreneurs manage to cope in the 	competition and manage to stay in the Hong Kong market. Apparently, most of 	the employees under the Japanese fast food business are Chinese people which 	provide both advantages like establishment of good CSR and disadvantages 	like the language barrier and culture differences.  In order to facilitate 	the collection of ideas, there are four objectives that need to be 	considered. First is to demonstrate the influence of organizational 	commitment in various types of businesses. Second is to seek or review the 	previous studies regarding the factors that might contribute to the 	organizational commitment. Third is to recognize the perceptions of the 	employees in the organization, particularly in the Japanese fast food 	industries. And fourth is to analyze the gathered information and create a 	comprehensive link on the factors and discuss the ways to improve the 	organizational commitment in the organization. 	 		 		 		 		1.4 		Rationale and significance of the study 	 	 	The 	study is meant to follow the investigative research regarding the 	organizational commitment and the various factors that might attract it. 	Various business analysts already explored the importance of the job 	satisfaction which may lead to the organizational commitment. As part of the 	foundation of this study, the principle is that to draw an idea on how a 	particular fast food chain operates in a foreign country like in Hong Kong. 	Although both are Asian countries, there are still fine lines of difference 	especially when we are tackling about the culture and the different 	personalities or characteristics of an individual. Hence, the study will 	face the various scenarios like in solving the workplace conflict or 	increasing the motivational approaches even though there is an obvious 	difference when it comes in food, societal culture, and organizational 	culture. 	 		 		 		 		1.5 		Scope and Limitations 	 	 	The 	scope of the study falls in considering the framework associated in 	satisfying the objectives identified. The study will include some theories, 	concepts or models that might assist the study to determine the important 	factors that might lead to organizational commitment. In order to clarify 	some gaps in the literature, the study will use variables that are related 	in the problems and therefore, discuss the relationship of each variable in 	order to gain a full understanding regarding the topic of the study. Since 	the study recognizes the freedom bestowed and enjoyed by the people towards 	the food industry, the methods involved in the study will include the 	participation of the 15 people (10 employees and 5 managers or supervisors). 	The age of the group is estimated to be around 20-40 years old which may be 	ideal for the age bracket of the working group. With this focus, the study 	can have a clear picture on employees’ behavior towards the organizational 	commitment. To reduce the complexities involved in the investigation of the 	paper, the supplied methods are both driven by qualitative data collection. 	Both can be helpful in addressing the components of employees’ attitudes not 	only in terms of organizational commitment but as well as their 	performance.      	 	On 	the other hand, the study recognizes the frontiers that the researcher/s 	might experience while pursuing its aim. Part of the limitation is going an 	in-depth approach in the strategies and/or the flow of information through 	using the limited sources. The main reason is the fact that the study is 	primarily concern of the attitude or behavior of the employees particularly 	those who experienced low morale in the workplace and even the participation 	of ineffective leadership. Another limitation that the study might encounter 	is demonstrating the number or percentage that an online or telephone 	ordering system as compared to the day-to-day operation. This is because to 	the diversified visitors, they tend to choose various options to their 	convenience and wherein the study might lose its momentum in studying the 	employees’ commitment. Another is the inability of the study to present the 	employees’ nature on performance because of various ethical issues that the 	study might encounter.   	 		 		 		 		1.6 		Structure of Related Chapters 	 	 	This 	study is divided into five chapters in order to provide clarity and 	coherence on determining the organizational commitment of the employees in 	the fast food industries particularly the Japanese fast foods. The first 	part of the dissertation will be discussing the problem uncovered by the 	researcher and provide ample background of the topic. The chapter shall 	constitute an introduction to the whole dissertation, and the statement of 	the problem in order to present the basis of the study. Moreover, the 	chapter shall also have a discussion on the scope of its study as well as 	the significance of the study to society in general. 	 	The 	second chapter shall be discussing the relevance of the study in the 	existing literature. It shall provide studies on the fast food industries 	and the limited organizational commitment of the employees to their 	employers are shown in the labour market.  This research is to determine 	whether the working environment (i.e. training, communication and work 	schedule) can elicit any impacts on the organizational commitment.  Academic 	issue such as Motivation, Performance Management and Management technique 	will be addressed as well as its advantages and disadvantages in the 	organization. After the presentation of the existing related literature, the 	researcher shall provide a synthesis of the whole chapter in relation to the 	study. 	 	The 	third part of the study shall be discussing the methods and procedures used 	in the study. The chapter shall comprise of the presentation of the utilized 	techniques for data collection and research methodology. Similarly, it shall 	also contain a discussion on the used techniques in data analysis as well as 	the tools used to acquire the said data. 	 	The 	fourth chapter shall be an analysis on the contents gathered through 	secondary research and qualitative research approach. This part will discuss 	the answers based on analysis, to the questions provided in Chapter 1. 	 	 	The 	last chapter shall comprise of three sections, the summary of the findings, 	the conclusions of the study, and the recommendations. With the three 	portions, the chapter shall be able to address the problem stated in the 	initial chapters of the study.

Executive Summary and Thesis Chapter 1 on Factors Leading to the Organizational Commitment of Employees in Japanese Fast Food Chain in Hong Kong

Factors Leading to the Organizational Commitment of Employees in Japanese Fast Food Chain in Hong Kong Executive ...