Historically, the integration of manufacturing methodologies into the office environment has proven to be problematic. Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that process workflows tend to be globally dispersed and thus rely heavily on information technology. But in complex service systems that contain a mix of employees, consultants, and technology, standardized protocols have been shown to reduce cycle time and transactional cost as well as improve quality. The successful application of Lean methodologies to improve process workflows is an efficient way to simplify operations and prevent mistakes. In Lean Six Sigma for the Office , Six Sigma guru James Martin presents proven modifications that can be deployed in offices, particularly those offices involved with global operations. Making use of Kaizen and Six Sigma concepts, along with Lean manufacturing principles, this book instructs managers on how they can improve operational efficiency and increase customer satisfaction. The author brings experience gleaned from his application of these methodologies in a myriad of industries to create a practical and hands-on reference for the office environment. Using a detailed sequence of activities, including over 140 figures and tables as well as checklists and evaluation tools, he demonstrates how to realize the rapid improvement of office operations, and how to eliminate unnecessary tasks through value stream mapping (VSM). The book also emphasizes the importance of strategic alignment of Kaizen events and the impact of organizational culture on process improvement activities. Latter chapters in the book discuss key elements of a change model in the context of transitional improvements as they relate to the process owner and local work team. By applying the proven principles found in this book, effective and sustainable organizational change can be accomplished, efficiency can be improved, and mistakes can be eliminated. This 2nd edition provides insight into the new tools and methods Lean Six Sigma process improvement professionals need to improve customer experience and increase productivity within high transaction processes across complex information technology ecosystems. It is one-stop self-contained reference for the application of Lean Six Sigma methods enhanced by powerful approaches for process improvement in highly complex service processes. Several new leading-edge topics are integrated into this new edition, such as: * The "voice of" customers, suppliers, employees and partners * Design Thinking Alignment * Ecosystems in Information Technology * Metadata Definition and Lineage * Information Quality Governance * Big Data Collection and Analytics * Mapping High Volume Transactions through Systems * Robotic Process Automation Applications * Automating for Solution Sustainability * Governing Organizations * Data Privacy (General Data Protection Regulation)

Tourism Reassessed: Blight or blessing? provides a balanced assessment of the effects of tourism on 20th century life and evaluates its significance in international relations. Inspired by Sir George Young's book, Tourism: Blessing or blight?, published 25 years ago, this book places tourism firmly within its wider context. Tourism Reassessed sees tourism as: * A factor of international relations * A facet of the global economic order It takes a new approach by examining the place of tourism in the global political economy, analysing both how far it is shaped by the political-economic system and its own role in shaping that system. Tourism Reassessed is ideal for educators and researchers in tourism and all those studying or interested in the subject. Policy makers in governments and international and national organizations in tourism and related fields will find this essential reading.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on tourist destinations in developing and developed countries. Though the entire globe was impacted, the short- and long-term implications for tourism as well as prospects for recovery vary across regions. This volume showcases research on the impact of COVID-19 on tourism from across the world. The book is divided into three parts, with the stage set by an introductory chapter that will provide a background and context. Part I contains chapters that explore the impact of COVID-19 on selected international tourist destinations. Part II showcases how various hotspots across the world adjusted to the new normal under pandemic conditions. Part III is a collection of chapters that address how various destinations are attempting to recover from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. The concluding chapter, written by the editors, seeks to synthesize the lessons offered in the book and provide policy and practical implementation for the tourism industry and other important tourism stakeholders.  

Despite the fact that the African tourism industry is prone to disturbances such as diseases, extreme weather events, civil unrest, wars, and other shocks, nothing could have prepared this destination for the devastating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the absence of government or international agency budget support, the pandemic challenged the African tourism market to its core. The focus of this book is to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the African tourism destination market as well as its prospects for recovery. A chapter written by the editorial team introduces the book. Following the introduction, the book offers chapters evaluating the pandemic's impact on African tourism. Chapters in the second part of the book discuss tourism recovery and how some destinations have survived the pandemic. The book concludes with a chapter providing policy recommendations and practical implementation advice. The book is part of a 3 volume series.

Tourism is a fast-growing and changing industry, which has become a driver of economic development in both developed and underdeveloped countries. While the tourism industry's potential for shared value creation and sustainable development is acknowledged, the concerns around the environmental and social pressures remain a challenge for businesses, organizations, and destinations. This is because sustainable tourism arguably conflicts with the predominant neoliberal structure of the economy and with the hierarchical, profit- and consumption-driven societies. The emphasis on competition, growth, and profitability may undermine economic viability itself by consuming unreproducible resources and by undermining the six essential elements-dignity, people, prosperity, social justice, planet, and partnership-that are conceptually linked to sustainable development. The crises recurrently challenging the global travel and tourism environment, including climate change, bushfires, extreme weather disasters, pandemics, and the financial crisis, show the weaknesses of neoliberal approaches and the collective economic dependency of countries on tourism that is vulnerable, if not completely unsustainable. This vulnerability asks for understanding that the collective future depends on developing entirely new approaches and interpretation of tourism to effectively respond to the human, societal, social, and climate challenges. This book offers a novel and original perspective entailing the application of a humanistic management approach to sustainable tourism, which is centered on the value of human life, the protection of human dignity and the promotion of well-being. Multiple theoretical approaches, methods, and practical cases, on an international scale, shed light on shared value creation and human dignity as a necessary condition for its achievement in different contexts. Implicitly and explicitly, they respond to the current urgency to implement strategies to recover from the worldwide impact of the pandemic crisis and to provide a vision of what tourism could and should be when it recovers. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, professionals, and postgraduates in the fields of management, sustainability, and tourism development.

'Successful Pubs and Inns plots a clear course towards successful innkeeping. It is ideal for those planning a career in the licensed trade, professionals already within the business and for students.

It is of particular value to those who are considering acquiring their own pub, be it freehold, leasehold or tenancy. It gives clear direction on the vitally important process of initial selection and evaluation, highlighting the many pitfalls that will be found along the way. It details the controls required to maximise profit and reduce the risk of financial failure.
This second edition of 'Successful Pubs and Inns':
* Down to earth, jargon-free guide to running a pub - and making a profit
* Provides an excellent overview of the legislation affecting all innkeepers
* Looks at the social responsibilities of licensees
* Puts into context the dramatic growth in themed and branded pubs
* Gives practical advice on the dangers of slack food hygiene practice
Michael Sargent after an early career in marketing, ran a successful inn before moving into managing groups of pubs, becoming a director of pub operating companies. He now concentrates on writing.
Tony Lyle has had considerable experience in senior roles in the licensed trade with responsibilities for large groups of pubs throughout the south of England. He now runs his own licensed trade consultancy specialising in leasing, appraisals, acquisitions and rent reviews.
Provides an excellent overview of the legislation affecting innkeepers
Puts into context the dramatic growth in themed and branded pubs and clarifies the confusion of multiple pub ownerships
Gives practical advice on the dangers ofslack food hygiene practices

By 2005, companies worldwide had created a $76-billion customer relationship management (CRM) software industry. These pioneers strove to streamline their customer transactions and maximize touchpoints over the lifecycle. On average, these dedicated, innovative firms spent the better part of a year implementing expensive CRM systems and renewing maintenance contracts. After all this devotion, investment, and IT integration, how could it be that up to 70% of CRM projects "fail to live up to expectations"? This book investigates the reason for relationship marketing's failure, and uncovers that this failure is not due solely to CRM IT implementation and strategy problems. The failure to establish long-term relationships with customers is because companies and research have ignored the emotional-relational component of developmental stages in human relationships. Relationship marketing is incomplete unless it models the stuff of real interpersonal relationships - developmental stages, trust, emotional mechanisms, and deeply felt commitment. This thesis is supported most strongly by the critical finding that emotions (rather than simply transactions or other success factors) are the primary drivers of stage progression. Therefore, traditional CRM software and, by implication, the relationship marketing vision of the firm is simply looking in the wrong place. The CRM technology itself tends to obfuscate the naked realization and raison d'etre, as James Autry profoundly mused, that "There is no business, there are only people." The research in this book empirically maps the customer's emotional-relational journey, so that marketing may be better able to connect on an emotional level to "where customers are" in the relationship stages to earn, not only commitment and profits, but also relational well-being.

This book discusses current trends, challenges, and opportunities in the fields of business, hospitality, and tourism, particularly in Eastern Europe. Featuring selected papers presented at the second annual Modern Trends in Business Hospitality and Tourism International Conference held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania in 2022, this book explores sustainable business (re)modelling in various fields including hospitality and tourism from managerial, marketing, financial, and information technology & communications (IT&C) points of view. Topics include changing dimensions of modern business and hospitality post-COVID; business challenges and opportunities during crises; modern customer experiences; human capital leadership & organizational behavior, and investment financing in post-COVID-19 recovery.

Tourism: How effective management makes the difference builds tourism's components and impacts into a total framework showing how it should be made subject to an overall planning and management process.
This is an essential guide which also explains effective management in relation to current trends in tourism. It incorporates extensive coverage of the characteristics of tourism, making it ideally suited for those studying tourism, travel and business studies. Individual managers and policy decision makers will also find that this book addresses vital management issues and provides practical help. It covers both public and private sectors and shows how they can be brought together as a cohesive whole. It examines the functions of management, from planning to the monitoring of performance and results. Coverage of the crucial aspects of tourism management also includes economics, politics and government action, the environment, cultural influences, marketing, physical planning, human resources development and public awareness.
Roger Doswell, formerly a lecturer and Kobler research fellow of University of Surrey, is a leading expert on tourism and has written or co-written ten books on the subject. During a long career he has travelled the world for many international organisations as a tourism development consultant.
Puts tourism development into an overall planning and management framework
Highly experienced international consultant and author
Comprehensive text for courses which focus on the planning and management of the tourism sector

As bankers incorporate more and more complicated and precise calculations and models, a solely mathematical approach will fail to confirm the viability of their business. This book explains how to combine ALM concepts with the emotional intelligence of managers in order to maintain the financial health of a bank, and quickly react to external environment challenges and banks' microclimate changes. ALM embraces not only balance sheet targets setting, instruments and methodologies to achieve the targets, but also the correct and holistic understanding of processes that should be set up in a bank to prove its prudency and compliance with internal and external constraints, requirements and limitations and the ongoing continuity of its operations. Bank Asset Liability Management Best Practice delves into the philosophy of ALM, discusses the interrelation of processes inside the bank, and argues that every little change in one aspect of the bank processes has an impact on its other parts. The author discusses the changing role of ALM and its historical and current concepts, its strengths and weaknesses, and future threats and opportunities.

"A Literature Guide to the Hospitality Industry" is an annotated bibliography of materials with the common theme of hospitality. For the purposes of the "Literature Guide," the term hospitality includes the food service, travel, lodging, and tourism industries.

The bibliography is divided into sections by type of material: periodicals, indexes, reference books, statistical sources and databases. Researchers can use the book's chapters as bibliographies within themselves as well as using the indexes for reference to a specific title, author, or subject. The citations of the Literature Guide provide current information for each title, including author, title, place of publication, publisher, and date of publication. A short annotation is provided to give the researcher a quick review of the contents of the work. This volume is suitable for all public libraries, universities, and technical schools offering programs in hotel and restaurant administration or tourism.

In what promises to become an Omnivore's Dilemma for dog lovers-breed devotees and adoption advocates alike-The Dog Merchants is the first book to explain the complex and often surprisingly similar business practices that extend from the American Kennel Club to local shelters, from Westminster champions to dog auctions. Without judging dog lovers of any stripe, The Dog Merchants makes it clear that money spent among these dog merchants has real-world effects on people and canines. Kavin reveals how dog merchants create markets for dogs, often in defiance of the usual rules of supply and demand. She takes an investigative approach and meets breeders and rescuers at all levels, shedding much-needed light on an industry that most people don't even realize is an industry. Kavin's goal is to advance the conversation about how all dogs are treated, from puppy mills to high-kill shelters. She shows that a great deal can be improved by understanding the business practices behind selling dogs of all kinds. Instead of pitting rescue and purebred people against each other, The Dog Merchants shows how all dog lovers can come together with one voice as consumers, on behalf of all our beloved companions.

Most early social research into planned events had the effect of broadcasting narratives of dominant cultures and privileged groups. More recently, however, convergences of gender, sexualities, ethnicities, age, class, religion, and intersectional analyses and events studies have started to drive new critical understanding of the impacts of events on non-mainstream, non-majority communities around the globe. This timely book addresses current gaps in the literature surrounding issues of accessibility, inclusion, and diversity in various event landscapes. Structured into four parts covering the main types of events, the chapters present original topics using innovative methodological approaches. Each chapter employs a case study to illustrate the key intertwining issues in these various experiential realms. Further, the chapters are all cross- or interdisciplinary, drawing on gender, sexualities, cultural, race/ethnicity studies as well as multiple literatures that feed into critical events studies and exploring a variety of global examples. This significant book opens the path to further research on the role and importance of accessibility, inclusion, and diversity in events environments worldwide. It will be of interest to academics and researchers of critical event studies as well as a number of related social science disciplines.

From early 2020 for a period of two years at the end of which this book was written, air transport suffered unprecedented setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the pandemic may eventually fizzle out into another flu like occurrence, the restraint with which air transport services were offered would remain with us for a while with some practices being sustained, particularly those pertaining to public health. One of the main areas of air transport that was and will be affected significantly by the changed circumstances - is facilitation - a subject that is regulated by the Chicago Convention of 1944 and its Annex 9. This book looks in depth at the Annex as it will be applied in a post pandemic world, against its legal, socio-political, and economic impacts, addressing the Standards of the Annex on clearance of aircraft; entry and departure of passengers; and the carriage of cargo. It also discusses some critical aviation events in 2020 and 2021 that occurred as they relate to facilitation of air transport. Some of the key areas discussed are the role of ICAO; issues of public health as they relate to air transport; security of travel documents; smuggling of persons; digital technology and rights of the passenger; unruly passengers; carriage of disabled passengers; relief flights and repatriation flights; and facilities at airports.

Locating empirical information on specific service industry characteristics is not an easy task, even for an individual familiar with various sources of data. This book is a quick source of information on service industry statistics across many nations of the world. The reader is introduced to finding key sources of data, building analytical ratios from diverse sources, and understanding the advantages and disadvantages of data selection methods in the service sector. The global nature of the data compiled in this book, especially an extensive coverage of the United States, makes it an invaluable resource to active researchers and stakeholders in the service industry as well as those who seek to enter it.