Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty of Four Season Hotel in China - Thesis Proposal Example

Proposal Summary: A research proposal to conduct a research study the relation between loyalty and service quality in Food and Beverages Department of Four Season Hotel, Guangzhou, China. About Four Seasons http://www.fourseasons.com/ Four Seasons hotel, Guangzhou is an icon of quality, claims the top third of the 103-storey Guangzhou IFC which is one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers. It is situated next to the Zaha Hadid-designed Guangzhou Opera House. As per website of Four Seasons Hotel, times change, but their dedication to perfecting the travel experience never will. Four Seasons Hotel is a Canadian based hotel. It was founded in 1960 by two professionals. Their highly personalized 24-hour service, combined with authentic, elegant surroundings of the highest quality, embodies a home away from home for those who know and appreciate the best. As the company has grown from a single hotel to 93 in 38 countries, their deeply instilled culture, personified by their employees, continues to get stronger. Over more than 50 years, they have built an unrivalled depth of reliability, trust and connection with their guests Four Seasons is committed to maintain highest ethical standards, including standards intended to prevent bribery and corruption. It is committed to understand the risks that may compromise these standards and using all efforts to ensure that those who provide services to them comprise on these ethical standards. Four Seasons Hotel is a highly customer centered hotel. Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is at the heart of Four Seasons Hotel’s policies. Food and Beverages services are of high standards. But there is room for improvement which can eventually take the hotel on new heights in a competitive market like China. Section 1: Name: Section 2: Programme name and code Section 3: Contact Info Section 4: Module name and code Section 5: Name of project supervisor Section 6: Title or topic area of proposed study: An analysis of the service quality that impact on customers loyalty of a case study of Four Season Hotel in Guangzhou, China. Here service quality can be defined as the ability of an hotel to provide same service as imagined by its customer. Customer loyalty can be defined as the positive reaction of customer towards the good service quality of an organization, by visiting the hotel again and again. Section 7: Aim and Objectives: need to be focused and manageable! Aim: To assess the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty in Food and Beverage department of Four Season Hotel in Guangzhou. Objectives: 1. To explain the theory of service quality and customer loyalty. 2. Establish the levels of service quality in food & beverages department in Four Season Hotel Guangzhou, China 3. To determine levels of customer loyalty related to service quality 4. Establish the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty in Four Season Hotel Guangzhou Section 8: Brief overview of relevant literature and rationale for the study! The aim behind this research is to study the relationship between service quality and customers loyalty. Service quality and customer loyalty are directly proportional to each other. The greater the quality of service, greater would be the loyalty of the customer to the brand. In this research study, the main focus is on the hidden rationales that affect the service quality and customer loyalty and their relation. This research would try to explain the theory of service quality and customer loyalty. Literature Survey In the past, many similar research studies have been conducted in hotel and hospitality industry. These studies also tried to unearth the hidden rationales behind the service quality. No study specific to food and beverages department of Four Seasons Hotel, Guangzhou, China. So, this research study is different than other research studies in many aspects. This study would shed light on the working of a American hotel chain in a highly competitive market like China. Following are some main points derived from literature review of similar research studies. To satisfy a customer is not an easy game. You have to consider the type of customers you are dealing with. Attributes of a customer, such as age, gender, nationality, income level and employer, are at the heart of customer satisfaction. We need to consider all attribute to satisfy and retain a customer. Better the service quality, better the customer satisfaction thereby making the customer loyal (Yi-Chin Liu ,2008). Service quality has been a vital element when it comes to satisfy and retain customer. Food and beverages departments are ambassadors of the hotel that represent hotel in front of customer. There is no denying of the fact that food and beverages staff makes or breaks a hotel. Tangibility ,Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy are the main factors that can beef up service quality which ultimately led to customer satisfaction and customer retention (Ala`a Nimer AbuKhalifeh, Ahmad Puad Mat Som, 2012). Customers can be retained by providing better food and beverages services. It comes with no surprise that food and beverages are directly linked with customer and directly affect customer. The sequence of food and beverages services is shown in the table below (Rajish Dharmarajan, 2013) Table 8.1: Food and Beverages Service Sequence Serial No. Food and Beverages Service Sequence 1 Preparation of service 2 Taking bookings 3 Greeting and seating/directing 4 Taking food and beverages orders 5 Service of food 6 Service of beverages 7 Clearing during service 8 Billing 9 Dealing with payments 10 Dish washing stewarding 11 Clearing following service All these services are core services and vital to win a customer for the years to come. Service quality effects customer satisfaction positively. Customer satisfaction positively effects customer loyalty. Service quality positively effects customer loyalty. Customer loyalty positively effect on brand image. Service quality has a positive effect on brand image. Customer satisfaction has a positive effect on brand image (Xiangyu Li, Jarinto Krit, 2012). Four Seasons Hotel should provide a complete range of hospitality services to its customers. It is evident that Four Seasons Hotel grabs customers from all parts of the world. So it should provide all different types of services, shown in the table below, better serve its customer. Due to more personalized services, customer would definitely come again and again (Milan Bradic et al. 2013). Table 8.2: Types of Food and Beverages Services Serial No. Type of Food and Beverages Services 1 French Service 2 American Service 3 Russian Service 4 English or Silver Service We can also classify the types of the services to customer in the following way. Table 8.3: Types of Food and Beverages Services Serial No. Type of Food and Beverages Service 1 Table Service 2 Assisted Service 3 Shelf Service 4 Single Point Service 5 Specialized Service Customer retention revolves around the following main points, 1. Cultural attractive 2. Service quality 3. Tourist costs 4. Promotion strategy All these steps are way too much important to make loyal customers (Li et al. 2014). \ Section 9: Outline of the study design and methods! Methodology Based on the related studies, methodology is referred as the systematic and effective method to analyse a particular area of study or the theoretical ways to resolve the potential or current problem.This theory is further developed and vided into several parts,such as philosophy, paradigm,quantitative qualitativetechniques, methodologicalchoice andtimehorizon. It does not mean to supply solutions but provide the theoretical ways to be applied to a special situation. Design Design Quantitative Philosophy Realism Approach Inductive and Deductive Method Quantitative and Qualitative Strategy Case Study Data Collection Instrument Structured Questionnaires Time Horizon Cross sectional Sample Four Seasons Hotel Philosophy and Approach This researchwillanalyse therelationship between branding and customers’ loyalty by a combined approach, which includes inductive and deductive approaches. Inductive approach intends to analyse the data and examination of the practical problems within their own area instead of starting from a predetermined theoretical point. (Gabriel, 2013) This approach moves from the specific to the general. While, deductive approach is a method of social study, which is based on deductive reasoning. In general, it starts from the point of theories or generalizations and gradually narrows them down to hypotheses, and in the end proves the hypothesis. The combination of the two approaches could effectively seek out the potential relationship between branding and customers’ loyalty. As a result, realism will be the epistemology which intends to prove hypothesis to related theories based on collected and subjective evidence Time Horizon The study will be performed between October 2013 and January 2014. It intends to study the relationship between branding and customers’ loyalty in hotel industry in a given period of time, so it would be a cross sectional research. Sections 10: Research ethics are going to be the bedrock of this research study. I am committed to try my level best to follow research ethics of University of Derby. Sections 11: Research ethics! I intend to strictly follow the following research ethics defined by University of Derby, Ethical considerations aspects of a programme of research a. Consent Informed consent would be obtained for all participants before they take part in this research project. The form would clearly state what they will be doing, drawing attention to anything they could conceivably object to subsequently. It would be in language that the person signing it will understand. It would also state that they can withdraw from the study at any time and the measures I am taking to ensure the confidentiality of data. If children are recruited from schools I would take the permission, depending on the school, of the head teacher, and of parents. Children over 14 years would also sign an individual consent form themselves. If conducting research on children I would normally also require Criminal Records Bureau clearance. I would check with the school if they require me to obtain one of these. b. Deception or Deceptive Research No form of deception would be used in this research. Proper proof would be provided to justify if there is a need to use covert or deceptive approach. c. Debriefing Participants will be debriefed in written and oral where necessary. The written debrief or transcript for the oral debrief would be attached with the research report. Covert or deceptive research methods would be avoided. d. Withdrawal from the investigation Participants of this research study would be told explicitly that they are free to leave the study at any time without jeopardy. This will be explained to participants. Participants also have the right to withdraw their data in retrospect, after you have received it. It needs to be clarified to them how they will do this and at what point they will not be able to withdraw, i.e. after the data has been analysed and disseminated). e. Confidentiality Confidentiality would be maintained at every step of the research. No sensitive information would be leaked out. All information of subjects would solely be used to transform the findings of this research study. f. Protection of participants No, the participants are not at risk of physical, psychological or emotional harm greater than encountered ordinary life. g. Observation research [if applicable] Observational research is can be conducted if needed. Situations in which observations h. Giving advice I would not put myself in a position of authority from which to provide advice and should in all cases refer participants to suitably qualified and appropriate professionals. i. Research undertaken in public places [if applicable] I would pay particular attention to the implications of research undertaken in public places. The impact on the social environment will be a key issue. I must observe the laws of obscenity and public decency. I should also have due regard to religious and cultural sensitivities. j. Data protection or Confidentiality The Data Protection Act and the Universitys Good Scientific Practice would be used to ensure the data protection. The participants would be informed that for what purpose the research is being conducted, who has access to this information and how long it would be kept for future reference. Fair processing statement would be a part of feedback form or other research tool. The information would be used for the purpose agreed with the participant. Audio or video recording would be obtained only if the participant allows us to do so. Identifiable personal information would be provided within the framework of the act and with the participants permission. All data containing the consent of participant, whether in electronic form or hard copy form, would be kept in intensive security. Only data which can support this research would be taken. No extra data would be collected for some other purpose. Data would only be kept for indefinite period, if it is still needed. The data would not be used to take a decision about a living person The data would not be used to harm someone or something in any way. Participant’s anonymity would be protected unless he or she has allows us to disclose his or her name. The data would be returned to respective participants or it would be destroyed if consent is not given after the fact, or if a participant withdraws. k. Animal Rights [if applicable] If research involves the study of animals, it is not likely to involve intrusive or invasive procedures. I would avoid animal suffering of any kind and would ensure that ethical animal practices are followed. I would show respect for animals as fellow sentient beings. l. Environmental protection [complete if applicable] The negative impacts of my research on the natural environment and animal welfare would be minimised and would be compliant to current legislation. My research would appropriately weigh longer-term research benefit against short-term environmental harm needed to achieve research goals. Section 12: Sample! Issues of the population and the sampling in your research Explain how your planned methods of sampling are to be managed in the attempt to achieve your aim and objectives and justify this planned approach to sampling. Detailed description of identity of your research population, you will need to identify a suitable study sample, showing how you selected the sample(s) with use of which selection criteria, and how you selected a suitable sample size Section 13: Payments, incentives and rewards! To ensure the better and envisaged outcomes, I am ready to spend funds on participants of the study. It is difficult to indulge the VIP customers of a 5 star hotel like Four Seasons. Also, it is difficult to engage the staff of the hotel as they have tight schedules and they do not want to share information about their customers. So in an uncertain situation like this, I would have to move forward with my research in a strategic way. A rewards and incentive program can be devised to achieve the desired goals. Section 14: What study materials will you use?! I again want to remind the readers of this proposal about planned data collection methods, outline of study design and methods. a copy of my draft data collection method are attached as appendix This research would be based on surveys, interviews, observation, content-analysis, examination of secondary data or a combination of methods. But this research study is not limited to these methods and techniques. Many other mechanisms can be employed as per the needs of the research study Section 15: What resources will you require?! Here is the list of the resources I require Explanation, why I require them and how I intend to use them to assist my research process. Section 16: Ethical approval from any other body/organization?! I intend to obtain ethical or any other kind of approval to any government and private body or organization. So far, nothing like this came in my knowledge. However, Section 17: Declaration of data contents of the proposal to be fair and accurate! I hereby solemnly declare that all details of my proposal are accurate to best of my knowledge. I recognize my obligations as the researcher and the rights of my research participants. I also recognize my responsibility and commitment to act in accordance with the University of Derby code of practice on research ethics. References: Li et al. (2014), An analysis of the influencing factors of customer retention in tourism resort industry: a case study of lingnan impression park, Guangzhou, China, Eurasian Journal of Business and Management http://eurasianpublications.com/Eurasian-Journal-of-Business-and-Management/EJBM-1.pdf Milan Bradic et al. (2013), Business Guests Satisfaction in the Hotel Industry: A Case Study of North American Hotel Chains, TURIZAM http://www.dgt.uns.ac.rs/turizam/arhiva/vol_1702_2.pdf Sean Hardingham (2012), Why China? A study of why foreign hotel companies are rushing to develop new luxury hotels in China, Nevada, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2365&context=thesesdissertations Alireza et al. (2013), How Does Service Quality Lead to Loyalty in the Hotel Industry in Iran, Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Maxwell Scientific Organizaiton http://maxwellsci.com/print/rjaset/v5-374-379.pdf JENET MANYI AGBOR (2011), The Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality: a study of three Service sectors in Umeå Unversity, http://umu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:448657/FULLTEXT02.pdf Yi-Chin Liu (2008), An analysis of service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, ProQuest LLC Adam R. Barringer (2008), Customer Loyalty: An exploration of the relationship between service quality and customer intent to return and willingness to recommend in the restaurant industry, Capella Unversity, ProQuest LLC. Rajish Dharmarajan (2013), F and B Services Department, www.slideshare.net http://www.slideshare.net/rajishrajan1/fb-service?related=2 Ala`a Nimer AbuKhalifeh, Ahmad Puad Mat Som (2012), Service Quality Management in Hotel Industry: A Conceptual Framework for Food and Beverage Departments, International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education http://www.researchgate.net/publication/232237295_Service_Quality_Management_in_Hotel_Industry_A_Conceptual_Framework_for_Food_and_Beverage_Departments/links/09e41507a484f3e107000000 Xiangyu Li, Jarinto Krit (2012), Service Is Power: Exploring Service Quality in Hotel’s Business Yunnan, China, International Business Research, http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ibr/article/download/16648/11099 Read More