final report ask columbus


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Acknowledgements

We at Ask Columbus Limited are grateful to Prof. AnjaniKoomar for having given us an opportunity to dream, and tooperationalize a dream, which each one of us had nurtured for a longtime. This dream project of ours that today has taken some shapewouldnt have been possible without the able guidance and support ofour respected professor.

.

Promoters, Ask ColumbusLimited

3

Harish

PRO

Durga

Hospitality

Manager


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Executive Summary

Ask Columbus Limited is an end to end tourism consultancycompany. It is a pioneer in the field of tourism solutions in India. Thecompany believes in providing the clients with an enriching andwholesome travel experience. The companys vision is to be the Global

leader by entering into the business of hospitality.Our Value proposition believes in an open door

communication and a system based on continuous feedback. Weare a service technology based organization with lowformalization, low specialization, a strong culture and well-defined goals. A broad competitive scope with differentiation basedon value added services is our basic strategy. Ask Columbus isinclined towards an Open System model, a Functional MatrixStructure and we thrive in a task environment.

An Organic structure, a Reciprocal type of workflowinterdependence and horizontal communication is imperative forthe attainment of our organizations objectives. We would also begetting into e- commerce by managing online operations through ourwebsite www.askcolumbus.com

Our Roll out Plan: We would follow a two-phase process. Phase Iwould start on 1st Jan 2006. We would start with one office in Delhi.Phase II starts from 1st Jan 2007 in which our main focus would bedeveloping more packages and consolidating into the tourism industry.At this point we would be recruiting and expanding. Our main focuswould be consolidation of existing businesses and foraying into thehospitality business. Further expansion in employee strength, would bedone in this phase. Overall we aim to become a MultinationalService Company. We will put all processes in place and apply forISO 9001 & ISO 9004 and CMM level 4 by the end of Phase II.

The viability of Ask Columbus is based on a detailed financialanalysis, which has been done. The total investment required for thecompany to commence operations is projected to be Rs. 8,200,000.The investment is mainly required in 4 major areas. The purchase ofcomputers, related softwares and databases, air conditioners, printers,furnishing of the office, initial advertising and promotion activities,company formation charges, telephone and internet deposits, printing,stationery and insurance charges would be our major areas forexpense. We foresee revenue of about Rs. 53,700,000 at the end offirst year.

At Ask Columbus the emphasis, of the human resourcedepartment is the optimization of resources through a process ofrecruitment, induction & placement, training, empowerment of roles,

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compensation, performance appraisal, team building and duerecognition to individuals and groups.Market demand variations and piracy are the major risks to thesurvival and progress of Ask Columbus. The teams dreams arerepresented in this document have a vision to become the Global

Leader in tourism, but in case we encounter a failure, we have acontingency of consolidating our position in the Indian market..

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Table of ContentsIntroduction .............................................................8

Business Proposition ........................................................................................................8Product Offering .............................................................................................................. 8Registration of the Company ........................................................................................... 9

Identity Kit .....................................................................................................................10Organizational Structure ........................................ 15

Phase I ........................................................................................................................... 15

Our Organizational Hierarchy .................................. 15.........................................................................20

Phase II ...........................................................................................................................23Phase III ......................................................................................................................... 23

.......................................................................... 24Design of our Organization ..................................... 24

External Environment .................................................................................................... 25

Environmental Uncertainty ............................................................................................31Structural dimensions of our organization .....................................................................32Porters Competitive Strategy: .......................................................................................34Miles and Snows Strategy Typology ............................................................................36Inter organizational relationships ...................................................................................38OPERATIONS PLAN ................................................................................................... 43

Technology and Process ......................................... 39Financial Plan ....................................................... 44Marketing Plan ...................................................... 48HR Plan ..................................................................50

HR Aim The People Strategy ..................................................................................... 50HR Functions ................................................................................................................. 53

Performance Appraisal ...............................................................................................53Compensation ............................................................................................................ 53Recruiting policy ........................................................................................................54Empowerment ............................................................................................................55

Team Building ........................................................................................................... 55Ethics and Innovation ................................................................................................... 56Strategy and Future Planning .........................................................................................59

SWOT Analysis ....................................................... 63

Strengths ........................................................................................................................63Weaknesses .................................................................................................................... 63Opportunities ..................................................................................................................63Threats ............................................................................................................................63

Appendix A .......................................................... 64Appendix B ............................................................65Appendix C .......................................................... 74

1. Focus Group Methodology ........................................................................................ 74

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1.2 Research Tools .........................................................................................................74Sample Selection ...........................................................................................................741.4 Moderators ............................................................................................................... 741.4 The Process .............................................................................................................. 74

Appendix D Final Appraisal.................................. 76

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Introduction

Business Proposition

Basic Aim of Ask Columbus Limited is to provide end to end customized solutions to

clients regarding their travel requirements. In a nut shell the company proposes to devisea business plan wherein a client approaches the company with a certain amount of moneyand time, having a wish to travel (destination might be decided or undecided) would beprovided with all kinds of probable and interesting locations and cost effects on theclient. In case the client is satisfied the company would provide with full travel itinerary,all sorts of facilities stay and total satisfied tour.

Product Offering

The packages being offered by our company would be multifarious. Broadly thepackages will have some of the indicative themes.

1) Mysterious India: For adventure loving people. Off beat places like Jatinga in Assam,tribal deeps in various parts of India having unique traditions

2) History and You: Journey to places of historical and academic importance likesarnath,dwarka(submerged city) etc. educational tours ( niche)

3) Health is Wealth: Kerala spas, Change over places like sea beaches and hill stations(typical recovery places)

4) You and Nature: Sunderbans, Jim Corbett park, Gir forest, Chilka lake etc.

5) Journey to Eternity: Holy places in India, like Varanasi, Kailash, Ajmer shariff etc.

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Registration of the Company

Companies enjoy freedom in the choice of location of their projects. Sothe infrastructure and incentives offered by states, in addition tomarket considerations, play a vital role in their decision making. States

are, therefore, competing with each other to offer an attractive policyenvironment. When a company is started, Memorandum of Association(MoA) and Articles Of Association (AoA) are signed. These documentsare required for registering a company with the Registrar of companies(RoC).The MoA typical consists of the objects of the company i.e. what acompany will do (functions - advisory, manufacturing, trade....; thedomains IT, biotech, automobiles). The MoA enlists the primary workthe company will do and a few other ancillary things. MoA also containsthe authorized capital raised and the shareholdings. Minimumauthorized capital is Rs. 1 lac. This can be further raised.

The AoA talks about how a company would function, the directors ofthe company, the powers of the board, transfer of share guidelines, theboard meetings guidelines, dividend guidelines, accounts, secrecy,indemnity etc.Ask Columbus Limited would complete the following regulatoryobligations for registration before commencement of our services.

Stamped and signed copies of Memorandum and Articles OfAssociation as per Table B, Schedule I, Indian CompaniesAct,1956

FORM NO. 1, 18 & 32 as per Companies Act, 1956.

All other agreements referred to in Memorandum and Articles OfAssociation

Certified True copy of Letter from Registrar of CompaniesIntimating Availability of Name

Power of Attorney in favor of any person for making corrections in Registrationdocuments

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Identity Kit

Our Mission

Ask Columbus will strive to provide best quality experience at

competitive price to our customers by continuous improvements ofperformance and strive for customer delight.Our team of highly motivated managers and staff are dedicated to

providing the best services available in the industry. Our strength isgenerated from our commitment and responsibility to our clients, ourindustry, our environment and ourselves.

Our Clients

Ask Columbus is committed to providing its clients high qualitytraveling experience while creating an enjoyable and productive

working environment. We are sensitive and responsive to our clientsneeds and devoted to their satisfaction. We strive to be fair, honest,courteous and professional in all our dealings. We endeavor to buildour client base through positive recommendations from our existingclients. In fact, our satisfied clients would be our best marketers.

Our Employees

Ask Columbus is committed to hiring, developing and retaining thebest managers and staff in our industry. We are dedicated to providinga working environment which allows each and every employee to have

job satisfaction, at the same time meeting the desires of the companyto produce the best quality products available on a profitable basiswhile maintaining a high moral and ethical conduct. We wish todevelop employees known for their integrity, character, commitment,and confidence, and we recognize the importance of each individual inthe success of the entire company. Performance would be recognizedand rewarded at all levels in the organization. Ask Columbus maintainsan open-door policy at all times; encouraging the flow ofcommunication, the exchange of ideas, creativity and self-esteem inthe work place. We are committed to the overall development of theperson in personal and professional life.

Our Industry

Ask Columbus is committed to leading the tourism industry through itsintegrity, innovation, client satisfaction, and financial strength. We arededicated to raising the overall standards within the industry and aredevoted to maintaining an active profile within industry organizationsand associations. We are further committed to the development of

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strong ties with related industries, distributors as well as thegovernment, who greatly contribute to our success.

Our Communities

Ask Columbus acknowledges its responsibility to the communitieswhere it is located. By our leadership and active participation incommunity affairs, as well as our economic vitality and quality of ourproducts and services, we can greatly contribute to enhancing thecommunities in which we are a part. We are committed to keep ourenvironment free from pollution including hazardous e-waste. Weacknowledge the contribution of our communities to our success andendeavor to contribute positively to its development in return.Ask Columbus is committed to excellence in every way, in our workethic, in the products and services we provide, and in our relationshipswith our clients, employees, industries and communities.

Mission Statement for Ask Columbus Sales Department

The Ask Columbus sales and marketing department is committed toenhancing the financial condition of the company by the aggressive,informed and profitable selling of its quality products and services. TheAsk Columbus sales and marketing department is committed toeducating its employees regarding the creative and manufacturingprocesses of the company, specific product and service specifications,as well as assessing product description and differentiation. The salesand marketing department is also committed to meeting or exceeding

sales and marketing targets set and maintaining cordial and warmrelationships with our collaborators across the globe.

The sales and marketing department will take a lead or supporting rolein the following areas:

Service identificationTarget marketCost estimation and pricingOrder planning (sales and marketing forecasting and capacity

planning).Order generation

Order, receipt and entryPost-sales and marketing service

Ask Columbus sales and marketing department is committed to opencommunication with its clients so as to determine their needs anddesires and to, in turn, communicate to the development departmentand other departments who can help address client concerns. We arecommitted to quality service, which means a willingness to listen to

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persons with concerns or complaints, a willingness to immediately actupon same, as well as to effectuate any modifications to companyprocedures to help better develop customer relations. Ask Columbussales and marketing department is committed to customer follow-upand education.

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Employee Mission Statement

It is my responsibility as an employee of Ask Columbus to keep myselfhealthy, both in mind, body and spirit, so that I may bring as muchenergy and intelligence possible to my job every day. I am dedicated

to remaining educated regarding the products and services of AskColumbus, as well as our industry as a whole. I will be punctual andfocused while at work. I will keep personal interference with my jobfunctions to a minimum. I will constantly seek to improve the companyand myself. I will set goals and follow them as closely as possible. I willcommunicate openly with my superiors and co-workers. I will work withthe utmost integrity and respect, follow and implement the missionand ethics statements of the company and my department.

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Our Core Values

Everything we do is centered on mutual trust between employees,between employees and management, between other companies inour industry and between us and the society at large. In a knowledge-based industry such as ours, survival is impossible without the virtue ofconstant learning. And in todays global civilization with technology,which transcends geographical barriers, adaptability and a multi-cultural orientation could make all the difference. We have acommitment to our customers to provide innovative products, whichpromise them a enriching experience.

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Organizational Structure

The organization structure for the proposed business to start of withwill be fairly simplistic. It being a startup venture, initially there will bea lot of cross-functionality in the work done by each of the team

members. In spite of this we believe that it is very important thatresponsibilities are clearly spelled out. We therefore present ourorganization structure in three stages Phase IFor Phase I the work involved would be setting up the company,exploring and building customer base and complete establishment ofthe first office.

Our Organizational Hierarchy

Our organization is a tourism consultancy company. The organizational

structure is designed in such a way that it combines both functional aswell as divisional structure of organizational setup. The core function ofthe company is development of new software and thus divisionalstructure caters to the specific needs from the customers. Thefunctional structure backs the organization with the backbone havingthe departments like Marketing, Human Resource and Finance.

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negotiations with vendorsManage public relations

Seek opportunities for growth through increasing size and scopeof marketing programs as well finding new revenue opportunities

Pre/post sales support to vendor

Job description (Chief Finance Officer)

As Chief Finance Officer, I will be responsible for maintaining thecompany accounts on a day-to-day basis. I would be looking into theoptions for extra funding from the various available sources. I would beentrusted with the task of maintaining healthy and truthful financialstatements for only good financial performance would guaranteefuture venture capitalist funding or long-term debt from financialinstitutions. I would be responsible for guiding the top managementsfinancial strategies. I would also be responsible for controlling costs

across various departments.I would do budgetary allocations for the departments on a yearly

basis with quarterly reviews. I would also provide scheduled financialreviews of the company accounts every month and on special request.I would be responsible for maintaining compliance with Indian GAAPand tax requirements. I would be solely responsible for maintaininghigh ethical and moral standards in all financial aspects related to theorganization and solely liable if I fail in this.

I would also recommend the levels of pay increments, bonusand stock options to employees, which the company can afford.Keeping in view the dynamic, ever-changing nature of our business, I

would be responsible for evaluating various expansion and newproduct options and make financially sound recommendations. Myimmediate task however, is to learn the various software toolsavailable for accounting purposes so that I can devote more time tostrategic issues faced.

As we expand our operations to phase 2, I expect to delegate theaccounting tasks to my junior(s) and take up mentorship role. I wouldthen move full time into corporate financial strategy.

Job description (VP-Admin)

17

VP Administration

Exploration CellCustomer Relationship

ManagementTraining & Development


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VP Admin is going to function as multi responsibility role. He/she will be performingthe following tasks. VP Admin will be serving a multiple responsibilities. One whotakes care of R&D (exploration cell), training and development, CRM. Secondly VPAdmin is the Learning Co-coordinator for our organisation. VP- Admin will be thecentral point of contact in the organisation. Thirdly as we are adopting the HorizontalLinkage model he will serve as an Integrator between various departments. Hence wedecided for the title for the post. However if not suited it can be changed.

Training & Development should not be confused with the HR training as it encompasses

the training of guides and travel partners such as travel agents with whom organisationhas entered into alliance.

1. Managing Exploration Cell2. Customer Relationship Management3. Insuring Learning & Development4. Integrator between various departments

1. The Exploration Cell is responsible for spotting undeveloped locations which have thepotential to attract tourists. They will gain first hand knowledge of such opportunities byregularly traveling to different parts of the country. Upon spotting any such location theywill collect assess the opportunity by collecting first hand information on the connectivityof the location, availability of tourism infrastructure like hotels, cultural and ethnicbackground etc.

One new arena for our future new offerings is Educational Tourism:This is a new idea which is untapped as of now as none of our competitors are providingthis offering. With some of the brightest Indian universities like IIT s and IIM s Indiahas now have made a mark of respect in the Education arena. There are lot of foreignerswho are interested in Indias rich cultural heritage. For example in Calcutta every yearArts students from all parts of world come to learn music. Apart from this Architecturestudents view India as a very knowledgeable base of some of the finest buildings likeKhajuraho temples, Rajasthan Forts and Orissa's Renaissance Era temples(Sun temple,Konark). The full expansion strategy of this idea has not been decided as yet.

2. VP Admin will be responsible for maintaining and building customer relations. It willbe mandatory in the case of Corporate as customers where big companies maintain tie

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ups with their travel partner. Another function will be ensemble regularly customerfeedback, gauge the requirements and apply the improvements in the organization.

3. Training and development cell deals with queries regarding knowledge processes. Itwill conduct training programs for employees, guides and travel agents based on

customer feedback and external environment movement. The idea is to keep companyabreast of the latest information and facilitate change.

4. Continuous innovation is of critical importance for Ask Columbus because weaim to develop and offer niche tourism segments. For smooth flow of pertinentand required information Integrator between various departments is required. Atypical scenario of the task ofIntegrator is - The Exploration Cell will work outthe costs of developing the destinations on their radar, with the help of theCustomer Tracking Cell. The Market Research Group will keep the ExplorationCell updated with the changes in customer needs and the growing customer andbenefits segments.

One scenario is shown below -

Job Description (PRO)

19

VP Administration

Exploration CellCustomer Tracking

Cell

ChiefMarketing

Officer

Market ResearchGroup

Linkage

ENVIRONMENT

New

Locations

ENVIRONMEN

Customer

Needs


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Essential As Public Relations officer, the ability to communicate effectively is

very important.

Public relation Officers serve as advocates for their organization who build and

maintain positive relations with the public. They serve as an intermediary between

the organization and its customers and help them to adapt mutually to each other.

Various organizational functions such as media, community, consumer, industry,

and governmental relations; political campaigns; interest-group representation;

conflict mediation; or employee and investor relations. are taken care of by PRO.

Job Description (Liaison Manager)

co-operation with organizations

collaboration with organizations

maintaining customer relationship

dealings concerning franchises

Job Description (CIO)

deployment of technology

R&D,

internal applications and infrastructure, customer support

Job Description of Chief Hospitality

Creation of new services and segments

develops strategic accounts

continued delivery of innovation and excellence

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Top Management Role in Organization Direction, Design and Effectiveness

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ASK COLUMBUS:

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

Opportunities:

relatively nascent/ under-developed business arenaThreats:

Competition from established players like Thomas Cook

Uncertainty

A consultancy tourism would undoubtedly have goodwill asone of its greatest assets which would take a fair bit oftime to generate

CEO, Topmanage

mentteam

External

Environment

OpportunitiesThreats

UncertaintyResourcevailability

InternalSituation

StrengthsWeaknessesDistinctiveompetence

Leader stylePastperformance

StrategicDirection

DefineSelectmission,operationalofficialgoals,goals

competitive

strategies

OrganizationalDesign

Structural form-

learningvs. efficiency

Information andcontrol

systemsProductiontechnologyHuman resourcepolicies,

incentivesOrganizational

cultureInterorganizationallinkages

Effectivenss

Outcomes

ResourcesEfficiencyGoalattainmentCompetingvalues

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Resource availability

In terms of human resources, we are a rich organization

A consultancy business is not capital-intensive hence initialrequirement of funds needed would not be unmanageable

INTERNAL SITUATION

Strengths

large inter-organizational diversity (plus point in thetourism business)

Weaknesses

organizational culture undefined

Distinctive competence

Functional expertise

Leader style

Directive, nurturing

Past performance

Not applicable

Phase IIIn this phase we plan to expand our workforce and go into developingmore packages to decrease our reliance on a small offering ofpackages. We look to expand our reach in technology to mobile phonesand the Internet and geographical reach inside India. The initialfounding members would take on mentorship roles rather than beinginvolved in executive roles. We look to have a core team with around

200 associates and additional office staff. But the essential structure ofthe organization would remain the same with additional managerialresponsibilities of the seniors. In addition we would be expanding ourHR, Finance and marketing teams.

Phase IIIPhase III is the ultimate goal of the company where we look to moveforward along the lines of our inspiration Global exposure. At this

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stage we are a well-established company with many packages to ourcredit and we have had resounding success. Now, we look to make apermanent mark with our own services and get into operations likecruises. We also start approaching venture capitalists to fund ourvision of creating a Global tourism company. The organization

structure reflects the various functions that would be performed by theemployees. Since we would be looking at the global perspective themarketing team would be divided working on the basis of geographicalsegment.

Design of our Organization

24

Managing DirectorManaging Director

TeamAdmin

TeamOperations

TeamHR

TeamFinance

TeamMarketing


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External Environment

(a) Competitors, industry size and competitiveness, relatedissues

After setbacks of more than a decade India is again picking up as thehot tourism destination world-wide. It has got prominent location onthe world map of tourism. Along with, International tourism, domestictourism is also growing.

Tourism is the world's largest industry, with annual revenue of almost $500 billion. And

it is growing fast, with airline arrivals expected to double by 2010.

There are two distinct part of Tourism industry. One is international tourism and other

one is domestic tourism. Total number of tourists arrivals world-wide was 760 million in

year 2004. This figure was up by 10% from the previous years figure. No of international

tourists those visited India in last two years are 2384000 and 2786000. As of now Indias

international tourism expenditure is 2.3 bn USD. We see that total market share of India

(j)

International

Sector

(d)

Financial

Resources

Sector(e)

Market

Sector

(f)

Technolo

gy

Sector

(g)

Economic

Conditions

Sector

(a)

Industry

Sector

(h)

Government

Sector

(c)

Human

Resources

Sector

(b)

Raw

Materials

Sector

(i)

Sociocultu

ral

Sector

Ask Columbus

DOMAIN

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in terms of number of tourists in just around .5%. So there is huge potential for growth.

As per one report on international tourism following markets have been considered as the

emerging market.

China (ExclHong Kong and Macao)

Russian Federation

Middle East

Domestic tourist market is also showing sign of good progress. In

last 7 years (1997 to 2004) market has grown up almost by 100%.

Total number of domestic tourists visits in India was 159 millions in

year 1997. This figure rose to close to 300 millions in year ending

2004. In number of tourists visits, domestic tourism is 67 times the

foreign tourism but in terms of revenues it is just 3.65 time of the

same.

(b) Suppliers, manufacturers, real estate, services

There are two major industries those have high effect on tourism industries.

Airlines Industry - The opening up of the aviation industry in India bring exciting

opportunities for tourism, as they rely on airlines to transport 80 per cent of

international arrivals. Increased airline activity has stimulated demand and has helped

to improve India's troubled infrastructure. Increased competition will lead to the

development of new and improved services in tourism. On the international front, the

capacity and availability of destinations serving India continues to grow. For

example, recently, Malaysia Airlines announced its plans to add 18 new routes in

India within the next five years. Jet Airways and Air Sahara, two privately owned

airlines, have launched services to other South Asian destinations. Increasing

competition in the domestic airline industry will continue to drive the growth of

Indias domestic market. It is expected that the tumbling cost of travel will continue,

given the growing number of seats available.

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Hotel Industry Growth of these two industries, Hotel and Tourism, is very much

linked together. Recent times have seen growth in both of these industries. In

anticipation of further growth, hotel companies are keen to increase total occupancy

capacities.

Other industries those are linked with tourism are Car rental, Local Handicrafts,

Railways and road transport.

(c) Labor market, employment agencies, universities, trainingschools, employees in other companies, unionization

This is one domain which does not affect tourism industry very

much directly. Yet tourism education is gaining popularity in

country. This trend will definitely help in growth of tourism industry.

Presently, tourism education is faced with issues of integrated

curricula and it could be a long time before a consensus is

achieved. Considering that tourism should serve academic as wellas professional purposes, researchers have attempted to develop

broad frames of reference for tourism curriculum.

Also, a lot of students are going for course in Hotel Management.

In the global context, about 11 per cent of the global work force are employed in

tourism and transport. In India, it is in the range of 5 per cent. If the Government

adopts the proposed policy, we expect that in the next five years about 25 million new

jobs will become available in tourism. There are several upstream and downstream

activities, which contribute to tourism. Two main sources of employment in tourism

are the hospitality and the transport sectors.

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(d) Stock markets, banks, savings and loans, private investors

In India, there have been no IPOs in this sector and they are carried only through

private investing. We have initial funding through private equity and bank loan. For

our long term plans we plan to raise capital through IPOs funding from India and

abroad.

(e) Customers, clients, potential users of products and services

Emergence of strong high middle class income group augurs well for the growth of

tourism industry in India. This class has largest disposable income and they are ready

to spend it on tourism, which is relatively considered as luxury spending in India. One

estimate shows that currently Indians spend about 12.6 per annum on travel andtourism which is only 4.5 per cent of their personal expenditure. With the economic

growth, this will touch 5.77 per cent by 2011 and eventually to the world average of

10 per cent. The multiplier effect of the growth will also benefit several other sectors

of the economy.

India is gradually gathering popularity as a health tourist destination. It attracted

approximately 150,000 patients to the country in 2003. It has the potential to attract

one million health tourists every year and this will contribute up to $5 billion to the

economy.

The country needs to exploit the cost advantage it can offer to a health tourist, a CII

study has said.

A heart surgery in the US costs $30,000 as compared to $6,000 in India.

Similarly, a bone marrow transplant in the US costs $250,000 and $26,000 in

India. "With yoga, meditation, ayurveda, allopathy, and other systems of medicine, India

offers a unique basket of services to an individual that is difficult to match by

other countries," the CII study said.

Clinical outcomes in India are at par with the world's best centres, besides having

internationally qualified and experienced specialists.

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(f) Techniques of production, science, computers, informationtechnology

In order to make effective use of the resources for overseas publicity, the application of

information technology needs to be promoted in the sector. It may be advantageous to

close the Government of India Tourist Offices overseas and promote publicity through

the Internet and television. The Ministry of Tourism launched a web-site in January 1999.

The tourist offices abroad are likely to become redundant with the improvement of the

website.

To become a successful tourism company we need to keep ourselves updated with the

latest changes in the market. Some of these like offering more and more services online,Phone booking etc.

(g) Recession, unemployment rate, inflation rate, rate ofinvestment, economics, growth

Growth of this sector is directly linked with the growth of the GDP of the country

as this growth increases personal disposable income of consumers.

(h) City, state, federal laws and regulations, taxes, services,court system, political processes

A multiplicity of taxes exists in the tourism sector. The quantum of taxes also

varies from place to place. This creates hurdle in packaging of the tourism

product and is also irksome to the tourist; it makes the product expensive as well.

The taxes in the sector, therefore, need to be rationalized and reduced for end-

customer to make the destination competitive. Further, some uniformity in taxes

on tourist transport should be adopted to facilitate free flow of tourist traffic

across the State borders.

The tourism product in India is mostly controlled by state governments. This

covers all aspects of tourism such as local infrastructure, transport systems,

municipal taxation, sanitation, hygiene, leisure and recreation, law and order, the

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preservation of local monuments, and the general well-being of tourists.

Recognizing that these crucial issues fall within the domain of the states, WTTC

has determined that, when promoting tourism, it is as important to interact

actively with state authorities as it is to interact with the Indian government, in

order to create much closer co-operation between the public and private sectors.

(i) Age, values, beliefs, education, religion, work ethic,

consumer and green movements

As mentioned earlier growth of young upper middle class population is a good

sign for the growth of tourism industry in India.

(j) Competition from and acquisition by foreign firms, entryinto overseas markets, foreign customs, regulations,exchange rates

Some of our main competitors are as follows

State Tourism BoardsSOTCThomas CookCox & KingsUVI Holidays Limited

Local Travel Agencies

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Environmental Uncertainty

In order to understand our environmental uncertainty we analyze the

various components of our task environment on the basis of three

factors viz. change, complexity and need for resources

Since we will be interacting with a relatively large number of diverse

external elements we are in a complex environment.

In the market sector we need to target various income groups with

different needs and requirements. The hospitality sector and Air travel

sector is also showing rapid growth. Hence maximum diversity shall be

seen in the market and technology sectors.

Changes in socio-cultural environment and international markets will

also have a significant impact on us. Industry, Human Resource,

financial resources and economic conditions will not be simple.

Government sector and the raw materials market should hardly be a

problem

The changes in consumer tastes and choices can be abrupt. More

importantly this industry is highly influenced with political situation of

the company. Issues like terrorism, riots , instability have high negative

impact on the tourism, particularly on international tourism. Constant

promotion tourist destination through advertisements, Seminars and

Fairs is necessary. This sector is also influenced with the international

political scene. For example instability anywhere in South Asia will

create some negative effect on the number of tourists arrivals in India.

Hence it can be seen that we are part of an unstable environment

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Need for resources, on the other hand, is not very critical. Apart from

the investment in initial phase, we will not need the kind of resources

in the form of raw material, labor etc that a manufacturing

organization needs because our service offering primarily based on the

knowledge capital and networking.

As managers we need to understand that even though the organization

has few external elements those elements are hard to predict, and

their reaction to organizational initiatives cannot be expected or

estimated.

Structural dimensions of our organization

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A low level of formalization as indicated by very few written rules is thehall mark of our organization where the requirement for formalizationis low because of the need to be able to continuously and proactivelyrespond to the environment around. Low Specialization in ourorganization is conducive to providing customized services to our

clients keeping in mind the need for interdepartmental communicationand interaction.

Ask Columbus follows a flat hierarchy. This helps us give people thefreedom to make their decisions according to the demand of thesituation but the vertical element, though not tall, is significant for thepurpose of proper coordination and for maintaining a sense ofresponsibility.Our organization is completely service based and all our packagesmake us a technology centric organization. The environment isrelatively unstable because our customer base and the extent of the

spread of our services would be very highly influenced with all changesin the market conditions.

Ask Columbus is the hall mark of aspirations, dreams and capabilitiesof ten intellectually stimulated individuals and is based on a commonvision, culture, values and belief sets. We are based on a strong culturewhere a common belief, value and most importantly vision are sharedby all the people associated with the organization. Here it is importantto notice that the job requires a high level of professionalism but thelack of training that stands out for a few of us can be compensated bya strong interest in the field and the will to learn. And we are not also

completely handicapped because we have all had a decent exposureto the field.Ask Columbus has a well defined goal. It has a well charted path forthe future. We have clearly defined our organizational structure andalso our expansion plan as we progress and grow. Ours is a modernorganization where we are committed to constant improvement andgrowth. We believe in involving our clients in the process of developingproduct services for them, most suited to their needs.

Being small in size gives us the advantage of being nimble enough torespond to the changes of a knowledge based industry like ours. This

focus on knowledge and learning also requires us to be biological inour mindset to achieve our dreams.

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Porters Competitive Strategy:While deciding on the competitive strategy to be adopted by AskColumbus, we have evaluated both the internal resources andcapabilities, and its strengths and weaknesses with regards to theexisting industry players and conditions. The decision on whether the

firm should be organized in such a way as to respond to changesquickly and effectively or whether it has the ability to lead change fromwithin was determined by taking into consideration the currentstrength of our human and intellectual capital and whether we will beable to create and sustain competitive advantage.

Strategy, Organizational Design and Effectiveness

Porters Competitive Strategy

Following Porters Competitive Strategy framework, the analysis wasdone based on the following two factors:

Competitive emphasis:Ask Columbus, having a huge advantage in technical know-how and ahighly talented management team, will focus on providing a uniqueservice to the customer, with the creation of compelling new packagesand exploiting the opportunities available in new developments in thetourism industry.

To this end, Ask Columbus, will place a high premium on field researchand market study, and will advertise its new services extensively tobuild brand awareness. Due to its unique positioning, Ask Columbuswill be able to develop a set of loyal customers, who can alsocollaborate in improving the services through market researches whichwill help in identifying the most important value criteria to beincorporated in the companys products.

The employees will be encouraged to seek new avenues forimprovement and to bring forth innovative approaches. It will beexpected that the work force spends a substantial amount of their timein exploring new concepts and testing their viability. This will help thecompany sustain its competitive advantage in the market.

Competitive Scope:Ask Columbus will be looking at a niche competitive scope. The maintarget segment will be people in the age group 18-70. However, the

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Competitive Scope Competitive Emphasis Strategy

Broad Uniqueness Differentiation


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company does not mean to confine itself to just this group of potentialcustomers.

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Miles and Snows Strategy Typology

The Miles and Snows strategy typology speaks about four strategies:1) The Prospector,2) The Defender,3) The Analyzer &

4) The ReactorThe Prospector: This strategy is suitable in a dynamic and growing environment wherecreativity is very important. It involves innovation, risk taking and seeking opportunities forgrowth. For a startup organization like Ask Columbus operating in a dynamic and growingenvironment of tourism consultancy this type of strategy can prove to be very useful andaccordingly the offerings and product mix of Ask Columbus has been designed.

We at Ask Columbus plan to offer consultancy in innovative products like VILLAGE,WILDLIFE, TRIBAL, ECOTOURISM, HIMALAYAS, CRUISES, HERITAGE,EDUCATIONALFAIRS & FESTIVALS, UNDISCOVERED, MYSTERIOUS locations.Such a wide range of innovative products come along the ensuing risk .However Ask

Columbus is a new entrant in the market and hence have to take such risks for creatingopportunities and hence growth of the organization.

The Defender: It is quite opposite to that of the prospector strategy in the sense that insteadof creating new opportunities it concentrates on stability and internal efficiency. The primaryobjective is to hold on to the existing customers/business.

This strategy is not applicable for a startup organization like Ask Columbus as it has nomarket share/business/customers. So virtually nothing to defend as of now.

The Analyzer: This model suggest an in between strategy between the above two strategies.

It advocates of innovating in the periphery while adopting a stable /defensive policy in thecore business/ products. This model can be applicable to Ask Columbus if we want to playsafe and concentrate on the products that provide traditionally high returns so that we canhave some security. Apart from that innovative product can be tried in the unconventionalproducts as above.

This should be the best strategy as it would ensure some financial security. Simultaneously itwould ensure enough funds though conventional products through economies of scale andthis will help the company in providing the best of the innovative products.However the USP of the company would be to come up as one of the best providers of theinnovative products and carve a name for itself in this area. As the growth potential is high

and competition is lower compared to the conventional products where the market is toomuch crowded.

The Reactor: The organizations following this strategy just respond to the environmentalthreats and opportunity as and when they appear there no planning behind it. This cant be astrategy to be followed by any organization and certainly not for a start up organization likeours.

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So, overall it seems the choice is between going for either Prospector or Analyzer strategy (ifwe plan to play it safe initially). Else if the company is looking for high growth and isprepared to take along the associated risk in that scenario the prospector strategy appear to bethe best one.

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Inter organizational relationships

Today in this constantly changing environment where organizations

have a feeling of insecurity and uncertainty there is a significant

change in the way organizations interact with one another.

Earlier the emphasis was resource dependence most organizations

used to try to be as self sufficient as it can. But now forming a

collaborative network is an emerging alternative.

The earlier adversarial relationships are now being replaced by mutual

trust cooperation and faith.

Ask Columbus being a start up organization also plans to follow the

collaborative model to maximize its growth potential and also gain

from the expertise of the organization operating in the same area of

our organization and also with those operating in other areas.

Ask Columbus would try to enter into a collaborative network with

various organization and try to be of value to each other in the form of

idea generation, coordination, sharing information. All these will help

all organizations in the collaborative network to optimize their businesspotential.

Ask Columbus would extend its assistance beyond the existing

contract to the organizations in its collaborative network. This will build

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on the mutual trust and faith which will help in better cooperation and

coordination.

The already existing companies would also benefit from collaborating

with startup organizations like Ask Columbus in the sense that large

companies generally find it difficult to adjust to the continuously

environment. Hence they need to adjust by the variation, selection and

retention process. But many cant do that on their own and hence they

collaborate with new organizations who fill the niche left by the

established companies. More and more organizations are fast realizing

that hence Ask Columbus can hope to get into collaborative

partnership with established companies including those operating in

the similar business areas.

These inter-organizational relationships will give the Ask Columbus and

its products some recognition in the market which would be very

helpful to start with. This will help Ask Columbus withstand the

mimetic, coercive and normative forces and help it evolve culturally

,legally and morally in the eyes of the people.

An inter organizational relationships framework is illustrated under

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ORGANIZATION TYPE


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The two colored quadrants in the diagram above signify the two areas

in which our company can utilize opportunities to utilize interorganizational synergies to its advantage.The characteristics, processes, strategies and potential benefits to beaccrued through each of these two are analyzed as under

Population ecology Collaborative network

Characteristic Competition for similarcustomers and resources

Uncertain environment,risk sharing and commonadvantages.

Target firms Organizations competingwith rival touristpackages

Large travelmanagement companies

Process Variation-Selection-Retention processeswithin the population oforganizations

Wielding collectivesynergy for stable growthand challengeentrenched competitors.

Strategy Identify and target a Develop partnerships,

Resourcedependence

PopulationEcology

Collaborativenetwork

Institutionalism

Dissimilar Similar

Competitive

Cooperati

ve

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niche area of business. sharing benefits and risksof sales in an untestedand volatile market.

Potentialbenefits

First mover advantage ina new segment

Achieving visibility and aloyal customer base withhigh quality offerings.

Lower advertisementcosts, utilization of

established salesnetwork, faster customerfeedback and lowerobsolescence risks

Potentialpitfalls

Untested market area,may not offer returns atpar with tested tourismmarket areas.

Investment of time andenergy to develop anefficient network. Dilutionof profits.

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OPERATIONS PLANThe operations of Ask Columbus will branch out from the customer value chain. The

primary activities will be:

1. Consultancy

2. Ticketing

3. Hotel booking

4. Visa and custom

5. Car rental

6. Crisis management

7. Rotary Exchange visits

We plan to implement the full breadth and depth of our

services in 3 phases.

PHASE 1: We will operationalise the following 6 activities:

1. Network Setup2. Office Setup

3. Consultancy

4. Ticketing

5. Crisis management

6. Hotel booking

Our prime value proposition is to offer niche tourist

segments. Thus, we have decided to activate 22 tourist

destinations in the Undiscovered and North Eastern themes inthe 1st quarter. We have built up a comprehensive list of

tourist spots which we have segmented into themes according

to the type of tourism offered by the locations. The locations

are:

TOURIST DESTINATIONS PHASE 1

Agartala WarangalBodhgaya KufriCherrapunji Jhalwar

Chitrakoot ChanderiDeogarh KufriHampi Gangtok Kinnaur BodhgayaRatnagiri Gunupur Sunderbans Balighai BeachCorbyn's Cove Murud Janjira

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We have decided to set up offices in 3 cities: Mumbai, Delhi

and Banaglore. The selection has been done on the basis of

the tourist arrivals data collected from India Stat database.

Delhi and Mumbai attract the highest number of tourist

inflows among the 4 metros. We will set up the offices in

prime commercial location in the 3 cities to position

ourshelves as an upmarket consultancy. Easy accessibility is

another reason for the choice.

Network Setup: We will place visit the 22 tourist locations to

recruit our nodal representatives. The nodal representatives

will also act as the guides in Phase 1. We will equip all our

representatives with mobile phones to facilitate fast

information flow.

Manpower Estimate:

Resource Estimated Requirement

Travel Consultants 3

Receptionists 3

Administrative staff 3

Guides 22

TOTAL 31

We will launch our advertisement campaign upon the

completion of the office setup activity. We have set a target

of 450 customers for Phase 1. We have estimated the number

based upon the tourist inflows data for the 3 cities and the

estimated effect of the advertisement campaign. We have

employed the Advertisements expense to sales proportion for

leading travel management companies like India Travel

House and Thomas Cook to validate the figure.

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Phase 2 will begin once we achieve our target of 450

customers, which we hope to reach by the end of the first

quarter.

Ticketing & Hotel Booking: We will offer ticket and hotel

bookings as an optional service for our customers. We

interacted with officials from UP Tours & Travels Pvt. Ltd.

to gain insight into the process. We will collaborate with the

leading airlines for air tickets. We will secure the approval of

Indian Railways to act as travel agents. The usual 5 %

commission on ticket bookings will act as a source of Other

Income for us.

We plan to collaborate with State Tourism Boards in Phase

1 for hotel bookings. State Tourism Boards have an extensive

chain of infrastructure across the breadth of the country. We

will add hotels as our partners as we start gaining customers.

This strategy will allow help us in avoiding large up front

investments in the 1st phase.

Car rentals: The car rental industry in India is largely

fragmented, though organized private players like Hertz and

Avis have entered the market recently. Upon interacting with

Avis officials (through email), we found that neither of the 2

players have a presence in the 22 tourist nodes that we are

targeting in the 1st phase. Thus, we will collaborate with the

respective State Tourism Boards for car rentals. We rejected

the option of hiring private taxis in the different cities as there

are doubts upon the insurance status and the quality of the

cars. We plan to tie-up with Avis and Hertz in Phase 2.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

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Efficient handling of crises will be of paramount importance.

We will set up an Incident Command System. This system

will be activated in case of events of the following nature:

1. Accident involving any of our customers.

2. If any customer falls seriously ill.

3. Criminal assault, kidnapping of our customer.

4. If any customer group loses its way while

exploring an offbeat location.

The Chief Operating Officer will act as the Incident

Commander. All our employees in tourist locations will be

equipped with mobiles. We also plan to build a collaborative

network with a courier service to enable the flow of messages

from remotely located nodes. The usual lines of command

will be loosened until the crisis is resolved.

Incident Command System

FAILURE MODE EFFECTS ANALYSIS

TAGE

#

POTENTIAL

FAILURE

MODE

POTENTIAL

CAUSESSEVERITY

POTENTIAL

EFFECTS

RECOMMENDED

ACTIONRESPONSIBIL

CHIEF OPERATINGOFFICER

Nodal representative oftroubled node

Nodal representativesof neighboring nodes

Public RelationsOfficer

Human Resources

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2 Tourist groupmeets withaccident

Accidentprone hillyroads

1 Negativepublicity

1. Guide informsIncidentCommander2. Guide takescomplete care of

group3. Guides fromother nodes reachthe node4. Cash sent to thenode5. Insurancecompany notified

Incident CommaGuide

2Customer falls

seriously illNone 2

Bad experience

for customer

1. Guide informsIncident Commander2. Guide takesCustomer to nearest

hospital3. Incidentcommander informsfamily

Incident Comman

Guide

2CriminalAssault

/kidnapping

Bad security innodal region

1Negativepublicity

1. Guide informsIncident Commander2. Guide reports tothe police3. Top Managementlobbies withgovernment for fastaction4. Customer's family

informed

Top ManagemeIncident Comman

Guide

2Customer

Group loses itsway

None 1Negativepublicity

1. Guide informsIncident Commander2. Guides of othernodes help the guidetrace the C3. Guide informspolice4. IncidentCommander informsfamily

Incident CommanConsultant

PHASE 2: We plan to implement the following additional

activities in the 2nd phase.

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1. Rotary Exchange Visits: Rotary Club has an exciting,

though, underutilized cross cultural exchange program, in

which Rotarians from different countries stay at the houses of

Rotarians in the visited country. We interacted with the

Rotary Club to explore the possibility of partnership with

Ask Columbus for marketing the program on a wider stage.

The Rotary Club of Lucknow liked the idea and expresses

their interest for tieing up with us.

2. Visa & Custom: We plan to extend Visa services for our

foreign customers. Visa clearance is a cumbersome process

and tourists from abroad normally hire the services of an

agency to handle it. By providing them the facility to leave

the job with us, we will move colder to our aim of delighting

the customer.

We have compiled a database of more than 250 tourist spots

in India. We plan to progressively set up our offices at the

spots, taking cue from the customer traffic.

E-commerce: We plan to set up a website to augment our

sales and also as a measure of legitimacy. We are trying to

contact software vendors like Aditi to explore the cost of

developing a travel management application for us.

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SERVICE BLUEPRINT

38

Customercontacts forappointment

CustomerTracking Cell

Customer arrives inreception

Reception CellGreets Customer

Reception cell feedsinformation

Customer specifiespreferences to

consultant

Does Clike

destination?

Gather more info& get back to C

No

Yes

Prepare costestimate &itinerary

C approvesplan

C waits

Informs CTracking Cell

Informsdestination

node

D. Nodebooks hotel

& cars

Schedulesappointment

InformsTicketing Cell

Books Tickets

Is visarequired

?

Informs VisaCell

Gets Visa &Clearance

YesAre all

deliverablesready? Yes

C getsdocuments

C arrives atD Node

Guide receivesCustomer

C taken to hotel

Guide leads C tospots

C gifted asouvenir

Does C wantany change in

schedule

Guide sees offCustomer

No

C

C Tracking Cellcontacts C for

feedbackLINE OF VISIBILITY STAGE1 ST2


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Technology and ProcessCore technology of our organization is going to be service technology.Main features are

1. Intangible output, there is no way to measure customer delight2. Production and consumption simultaneously

3. Knowledge intensive, we must be absolutely aware of the current trends and thelatest places to visit and the charges.

4. High amount of customer interaction5. Human element is very important, its seen that even if the service is moderate

quality but the human beings i.e. employees are showing empathy to customer thecustomer delight will happen.

6. Quality is perceived not measured, there is no way to measure if we are on qualitypath or not.

DEPARTMENT DESIGN

Formalization:Routine tasks are determined by standardization and division of labor into small tasksgoverned by formal rules and procedures.We are in a business where most of the tasks are non routine.Since we are mainly in tourism consulting business we are not going to have routinetasks, thus the level of formalization is going to be low.

Decentralization

In non routine tasks most of the decisions are taken by people handling the task and notby the top management. We follow a relaxed hierarchy in which each person will take hisdecision. This is due to the nature of problem we are going to face; most of them will not

have any precedence and no time to solve.

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Worker skill level

This is going to be high, most of the task are going to be non routine as well aschallenging. A huge amount of resources are going to be spending on training.

For a normal travel company which arranges tours the worker tasks are congruent andrepetitive, thats not the case with us. Thus high skill levels.

Span of control

We plan to have moderate to narrow span. Due the application of IT the number ofemployees required has reduced drastically. Since the tasks are non routine despiteemployee training we need high level of interaction with the superiors.Thus this system of span control.

Communication and coordination

Our organization is going to be a hybrid one with mainly horizontal communications.

Challenging problem require a huge number of people from diverse background comingand contributing to solving it.Thus a huge and reciprocal communication is going to happen in the organization.

WORKFLOW INTERDEPENDENCE AMONGST DEPARTMENTS

We have chosen it to be ofReciprocal formbecause ofthe type of consulting job we aredoing

Horizontal Communication: Very HighCoordination type: Mutual adjustment, cross departmental meeting, teamwork

DEPARTMENT I DEPARTMENT IIDEPARTMENT III

CUSTOMER

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IT infrastructure ofASK COLUMBUS:

In the initial phase since the scale is small the customer support will be provided byemployees only; if we scale up we will open up a 24*7 call center.Currently IT application will be focused in the following areas:

1. Customer support:2. Employee database

Details

ForCustomer support we plan to deliver following facilitiesa) Online search of location to travel, itinerary, our charges, facilities provided by us

and total expenditure in lump sum.b) If the customer is not willing to go by a standard option we can have a

questionnaire in which he can fill up his budget, preferences, locations traveled,family size, purpose etc. Our Consultants will reach to him in 24 Hrs withoptions.

c) Booking of tickets and tracking will be online.d) We will have an extensive database of all locations and the highlights of the

location.e) We will also make the travel more memorable by providing space on our website

in which they can store videos and pictures. These people will also have a scrapbook in which they can put in some memorable stuff about the tour.

We shall have a distributed database for our site so that backup is available 24*7. Forservers we will have a backup.

ForEmployee database we plan the followinga) IT will help HR and employees to make the appraisal system more interactive.

b) Employee will be able to manage their competencies and apply for internal jobpostings.

c) It will be easy to trace the employee efficiency; number of customers dealt andeffectiveness; how happy the customers are. Since all this will be recorded.

d) The employees will access Intranet and thus will know various items like leaves,salary, online directory, email, search, customer tracking etc.

Thus our IT architecture will look like

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After application of IT the whole process flow will change

Traditional Organization ASK Columbus

Partners(Hotels, airlines) Very slow movement ofinformation

Usage of mail, telephonefor contacting peopleProcess of ordering i.e.paper work take a lot oftime.

Very fast movement ofinformation

Usage of e mail, internetfor contacting peopleProcess of ordering is doneon the basis of requirementswhich are updated on a real-time basis i.e. no paperwork saving a lot of time.

Customer Limited communicationInformation mainly givenby pamphlets, advertising innewspapers

Its difficult to suggest himabout all the options as theprocess will take a lot oftimeA huge department forproviding information to thecustomer

Maximum communicationInformation mainly givenby website.For a customer all he has to

do is search the site and hewill get a huge number ofoptions for his travel.Practically no department isneeded for providinginformation to the customerHowever we will have avery few number of people

CENTRALDATABASE

Sales

Human Resources

Data about travelingand tourism

Financial accounting

Purchases and paymentmade to airlines, hotelsetc

Distribution

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whose main task will be torespond to specific mailsand requests from thecustomer

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Financial Plan

Financial Analysis

These calculations are based on the following assumptions:

1. In the first quarter well be able to attract 350 tourist groups. This amounts toaround .5% of current tourism market

2. On average one tourist group will be willing to spend Rs. 35,000. Out of this30,000 will be operational expenses. Our margin will be Rs. 5000.

3. One tourist group will consist of 4 members4. For the first year our customer base will grow at the rate of 5% per quarter.

Looking at our aggressive advertising this growth rate is quite achievable.

Initial Funding Required

Assumptions : Number of Tourist Groups in 1st Quarter 350

Average number of Tourists in one Group 4

Average Spending per group 35,000

Booking Charges 30,000

Consultancy Fee 5,000

Initial Funding required

Salaries & Wages (3 Months) 2,100,000

Operational Expenses (1 months) Hotel Bookings, Tickets, Carrental etc 3500000

Office Cost (3 months) 855000Computer Cost 260000

Network Setup Cost 154,000

Sales and Marketing Expenses (3 months) 1817500

8,686,500

Office Cost (One Month)

OFFICE COST

RENT & FURNITURE 65000

PHONE BILLS 20000

OTHER EXPENSES 10000

95000

(For 3 Offices) 285000

COMPUTER PURCHASE 260000

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545000

Salaries & Wages (per month)

SALARIES & WAGES3 Main Offices

Consultant30,000 (permonth)

Receptionist10,000 (permonth)

AdministrationStaff

10,000 (permonth)

50,000

(For 3 offices) 150,000

NODAL OFFICES(22)

Guide 500(per day)

350 350000tourist groups

CORE MANAGEMENT GROUP 20,000x10

200000

700,000

Initial Network Set Up CostNETWORK SETUP COST

Recruitment of Guides (22 Locations) 44,000

Mobile Connection to guides ( Rs. 5000 per guide) 110000

154,000

Sales and Marketing ExpensesSALES & MARKETING EXPENSES

Advertisement ExpensesInternet Ads (Rate Rs 15 per Click,

Conversion rate 1%) * 400000

Radio 33750

TV Commercials(2 months) 1350000

Print Media** 33750

1817500

* Sites identified for internet advertising are Rediff.com, NDtv, Google, Indiatimes andYahoo!!** Print media will include advertisement in India Today, Outlook Travels, Tours andtravels magazines and Airline magazines.

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Profit and Loss account, Ask Columbus, for quarter ending 31st March, 2006

ASK COLUMBUSProfit & Loss Statement for the quarter ending 30th March 2006

INCOME

Consultancy Fee 1750000

Tickets, Hotel Bookings& Other arrangements 10500000

Other Income

Commission from Bookings(2%) 210000

12460000

EXPENDITURE

OFFICE COST

RENT & FURNITURE 195000

PHONE BILLS 60000


285000



1115000

SALARIES & WAGES 2,100,000OPEARATIONAL EXPENSES 10500000

NETWORK SETUP COST 154,000

SALES & MARKETING EXPENSES 2300000

16169000

Profit Before Interest and Taxes (3709000)

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Projected Profit and Loss Account for first Years of Operations

ASK COLUMBUSProjected Profit & Loss Statement for first year of operations

INCOME Projection for Total yearConsultancy Fee

Tickets, Hotel Bookings& Other arrangements

Other Income 7542718.75

45256312.5

905126.25

EXPENDITURE 53704157.5

OFFICE COST

RENT & FURNITURE

PHONE BILLS


240000



3420000

260000

SALARIES & WAGES 3680000

OPEARATIONAL EXPENSES

NETWORK SETUP COST 8400000

SALES & MARKETING EXPENSES 42000000

154,000

9200000

59754000

Profit Before Interest and Taxes (6049842.5)

Procurement of Initial Funding

From SBIs site

Professionals and Self-employed Persons include medical practitioners, chartered

accountants, lawyers, management consultants, and anybody trained in any other

art or craft with a degree or diploma or who in the opinion of the Bank aretechnically qualified or possess skills in their respective fields.

The Bank extends financial assistance up to Rs 5 lakh for which working capital is

limited to Rs 1 lakh

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This will help us in raising a capital of 50 Lakhs (for 10 MBAs). Rest of the amountcan be procured on loan from other similar schemes of other banks.

Marketing Plan

Marketing Objective

We Aim to Become the Most Sought After Luxury Holiday Company in India

Target Markets

Our target segment is people who didn't want to organize all of their holidays, but who

disliked the regimentation of package tours.

Our holidays have a comprehensive range of accommodation but more importantly we

have some excellent offers in up-market and luxury hotel chains in many tourist

destinations all over India. Therefore for those who prefer these properties we would

definitely recommend anAsk Columbus Holiday.

Ask Columbus also has the advantage of having on offer a number of concept getaways

Adventure Holidays, Driving Holidays, White Water Rafting Options, Caving Holidays,

Safari Park Holidays, Theme Park vacations and special Honeymoon Packages.

Positioning

Ask Columbus is positioned as a wholesale tourism consultant catering to the upper end

of the holiday market.

Marketing Strategy

Ask Columbus marketing strategy will seek to create customer awareness regarding the

service that we offer, develop the customer base, and work toward building customer

loyalty and referrals.

India is a very big market and the sheer diversity across the length and breadth of the

country gives any organization tremendous scope to grow its business. The immediate

plan is to establish offices in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. The next logical step would

be to open some more nodal offices to service the rest of the country. We are also looking

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at technology to play a very important part in our future plans and hope to have our

interactive online product being available to all registered travel agents.

Distribution Strategy

We will be distributing Ask Columbus through the retail network of travel agents, tour

operators and business travel companies. The next few months will see travel trade road

shows conducted in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. We plan to reach out to more cities

across the country and inform agents on the product.

We already have a trade campaign on that is creating awareness of the convenience of

booking anAsk Columbus. At the same time our consumer advertisement campaign has

already begun. Apart form the above we also will be very aggressive in promoting Ask

Columbus online and use a mix of direct mailers to reach out to our target audience.

Promotional strategy:

To create customer awareness regarding Ask Columbus, well place advertisements in

regional and national newspapers with teaser ads before the launch of the company and

continue thereafter. The advertisements will be placed mostly in the section catering to

the business news.

The advertisements shall also be placed in Travel and tourism magazines. This will

attracts a populace which is more inclined to travel and hence can result in becoming our

future customers.

Advertising will also be placed in selected print and electronic media to influence the

identified domestic target markets. This advertising will aim to generate year round brand

awareness and interest.

To develop the customer base and increase customer loyalty and referrals, we will invest

in prospective customers by giving them gift vouchers and discount coupons

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***The following two Ansoffs matrix diagrams needs to be incorporated as a part ofappendix and not in the final report as it is for internal report generation only.***

Ansoffs Product-Market

Grid

Existing Products New products

Existing Market 1. Market-penetration

strategy

3. Product-development

strategy

New Market 2. Market-development

strategy

4. Diversification strategy

Figure.1

HR Plan

HR Aim The People Strategy

1. To be an employer of choice

What this means: We will aim to be an organisation that peopleaspire to work for by:

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Creating flexible employment, development and rewardpackages that employees highly value

Creating a challenging and exciting working environment

Being a good employer and looking after our people

2. To be a developer of people

What this means: We will develop the organisation through itspeople by:

Developing strong leaders

Promoting and assisting career development through coaching,mentoring, shadowing and secondment schemes

Developing a culture of learning through practice

Developing structured professional qualification strategies andpersonal development opportunities based on our DevelopmentCharter and organisational objectives

Ensuring that employees take responsibility for their owncontinuous development and lifelong learning

3. Making Connections

What this means: We will enable all the elements of this strategyto be delivered by embracing new information and communicationtechnologies. People practices in the organisation will become moreeffective and more efficient by:

Making access to personnel services much easier for all ourcustomers and partners

Communicating with people within and outside the organisationmore effectively through a variety of communication andtechnology portals

Providing effective and timely management information onpeople related issues

4. Influencing organisational change

What this means: We will continuously influence the success of

organisational change by: Involving and empowering employees to contribute to innovation

and change within their services

Developing a performance culture

Recognising the importance of engaging employees inorganisational change at the earliest opportunity to ensureeffective culture change

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Developing more effective partnerships with our trade unionsand employees

Developing flexible employment packages that reflect the newparadigm of work

5. Value Diversity

What this means: We will value and embrace the creativity anduniqueness of all employees by:

Harnessing the diversity of our employees to improve servicedelivery

Enhancing Ask Columbuss reputation inside and outside theorganisation by our actions not just our words

Ensuring the fair and consistent treatment of all our employees

Monitoring personnel practice and workforce profiles and takingpositive action to redress nay imbalances found

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HR FunctionsAt Ask Columbus Limited, the Human Resources Department shall

perform the following functions.

Performance Appraisal

Ask Columbus shall follow the system of conducting half yearlyperformance appraisal for all its employees. The parameters forappraisal will broadly fall under the following heads:

1. Technical Skills2. Communication Skills3. Interpersonal Skills.

The sub-factors that shall be considered under each of these heads will

be decided by the employees immediate supervisor and will form partof the template used for assessment.

The weight age for the three groups of parameters will differ based onthe job band of the employee. Development staff will have a break-upof 70% weightage for technical skills, 20% for interpersonal skills and10% for communication skills. Middle level management will have abreak up of 30% technical skills, 40% interpersonal skills and 30%communication skills.

Both the employee and the reviewer will independently rate the

performance of the employee on the given parameters and thenconduct an interactive session to resolve any disparities in ranking.Once both the employee and the reviewer have accepted and agreedupon the ranking, the employee will be grouped into the following fourcategories in his/her job band:

A. Exceeds All ExpectationsB. Exceeds Some ExpectationsC. Meets All ExpectationsD. Meets Some Expectation

The yearly compensation review of the employee will take both theperformance band and the job band into consideration and shalldepend on the incentive policies identified during that year.Compensation

Salary Incentive ProgramNet salary=

Fixed Pay+ Variable Pay (performance of the company)

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+ Group Pay (Performance of group)+ Individual Pay (Individual performance)

Fixed PayThis payment is less than the market salary. But with addition of othercompensations it easily surpasses the market salary.

Variable PayThis payment is dependent on the performance of the company. If thecompany makes profit, a part of it will be distributed to the employee.The exact amount of the compensation will be decided by themanagement.Group PayThis part of the payment will depend on the performance of the group,i.e. suppose a group is doing consultancy for a certain customer, thenperformance of the group will be measured by the effectiveness oftheir advice and the feedback of the customer.Individual Pay

The individual payment will depend on the performance appraisal

Recruiting policy

Since our development team will be our most important resource it isimportant that we hire the people who suit the culture of ourorganization and possess the qualities that will be required forapplication design and development.

We need to hire people who have the requisite experience in the fieldof tourism. During this period we will also start hiring fresh graduates

from various backgrounds based on certain testing procedures. Thesewill involve tests to measure the spatial and visualization abilities,lateral thinking, creativity along with other aspects like team spirit,honesty, positive and fun loving attitude, learning ability, andadaptability. The focus will be on identifying the right people andgrooming them for a long term career in the organization. The testswill have selected questions from various IQ and EQ tests. We willsubcontract the test preparation to professional organizationsconducting such tests. After the tests there will be rounds of personalinterviews conducted by VP HR (to test the personality fit) and by theassociates from the management team (to test the intrinsic qualities).

We will not be discriminating against graduates from any backgroundnor will there be any emphasis on academic excellence. It is ourprerogative to search for the best people among the vast and diversepopulation of India and to choose the best that fit our requirements.

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Empowerment

The work orientation of our organization would emphasize on theempowerment of individual roles. This outlook of the organizationwould help foster a culture which is receptive to not only new ideas

and innovations but also the needs of its employees.

The stratagem of empowerment would help give each employee a sayin how he can best perform his individual role and improve thingsaround him, shaping a whole new outlook on the part of the workforce.Employees would no longer be a passive part of the system but ratherplay an active part in being the indispensable cogs of the wheels thatkeep the organization ticking. In a creative organization like ours,discipline, loyalty and work ethics are gained not with drudgery ofdefined rules but the freedom that comes with delegatedresponsibility.

Team Building

Effort of a team is greater than sum of individual effort of people inthat team is a feature of a group that is working well together - butthere are some groups whose collective performance falls short ofwhat you might expect given the quality of individuals. The ApolloSyndrome is a good example of this - where a team composed ofhighly intelligent people often performs worse than teams made of up'les

final report ask columbus

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