Eucharistic Practices of St. Augustine and John Wesley

Introduction The Eucharist is a Christian ordinance that dates back to the times of Jesus Christ on the earth over 2000 years ago. In the Bible, when Jesus was taking the last supper before crucifixion, He ordered His disciples to observe the Eucharist in remembrance of His life in this earth. Observation of the Eucharist entails taking of bread and wine symbolically as the body and blood of Jesus Christ.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Eucharistic Practices of St. Augustine and John Wesley specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More â€Å"Sharing in the Eucharist, like sharing in the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection, is at the heart of Christian life.†1 The Eucharist provides an opportunity for Christians to assert their allegiance to God and have assurance of eternal life. Although the practice has biblical basis, different Christian religions have attached different meanings and names to it. Depending on the Christian religion, Christians have named the Eucharist as the Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Altar, the Holy Mass, or Lord’s Supper.2 To some extent, these names indicate theological variations in the application of this doctrine. Mainstream Christian religions such as Protestantism and Catholicism have different interpretations of the Eucharist. In a bid to enhance understanding of the variation in the Eucharistic practices among Christians, this paper examines the Eucharistic practices of St. Augustine and John Wesley, and seeks to examine how they differ and compare in the Catholic Church and Methodism way of teaching the practice respectively. St. Augustine Eucharistic Practices St. Augustine believed in transubstantiation where the bread and the wine become the body and the blood of Jesus Christ respectively by the power of the Holy Ghost during consecration. â€Å"The Eucharist is an intimate sharing in the real presence of Christ in a way that is truly human and truly divine.†3 The Eucharist allows humans to interact with the divine in an intimate manner that is real and nourishing to the Christians. Since the bread and wine are symbols, St. Augustine asserted that signs and symbols are sacred things for the  become real when consecrated. According to his beliefs, â€Å"language about liturgy and sacraments was about signs and symbols – in all their reality, content, and liturgical fullness of expression.†4 Hence, according to St. Augustine, bread and wine are real body and blood of Jesus Christ respectively. St. Augustine also perceived the Eucharist as a sacrament of unity, which unites Jesus Christ and His Church. When Jesus Christ left this world, He instructed His disciples to observe Lord’s Supper whenever they are together, because the Eucharist stands for unity between Him and the church.Advertising Looking for research paper on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Ge t your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The use of symbols in the Eucharist has significant importance because â€Å"the Eucharist and church are gifts of God, and that our proper attitude to them is one of receptivity.†5 Disciples of Jesus Christ practiced and taught about the Eucharist as they preached the Gospel to the world. In this view, St. Augustine perceived the Eucharist as a central element in uniting God and His people. Thus, St. Augustine held that Christians should always take part in the Eucharist to rejuvenate their relationship with God. The Eucharist is also important in uniting Christians as the body of Jesus Christ. Essentially, â€Å"the church’s celebration of ritual meal launches a process of becoming the Eucharist, a process that is completed only when Christians recognize their own new identity as Christ’s body in the world.†6 Hence, through the Eucharist, St. Augustine believed that Christians and Jesus Christ unite as one body in the process of taking part in the Holy Communion. St. Augustine regarded the Eucharist as a sacrifice that Jesus made when He died on the cross. When Christians practice the Eucharist, it symbolizes the sacrifice that Jesus made at the cross when He shed His blood to cleanse the sins of the world. In viewing the Eucharist as sacrifice, St. Augustine did not imply that Jesus Christ should die every time during the Holy Communion, but perceived it as a continual memorial of sacrifice that Jesus Christ made at the cross. St. August presented the Eucharist â€Å"as a scramentum memoriae, a symbolical commemoration of the sacrificial death of Christ.†7 As Christians believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Eucharist reminds them that the agony of the cross is a sacrifice that saves humanity. Thus, frequent participation in the Eucharist in the church with other believers is imperative for the salvation of Christians. Salvation of Christians links wit h the ordinance of the Eucharist for Jesus instructed His disciples to preach and practice it as a remembrance of His love towards humanity. Therefore, Christians should practice the Eucharist for it signifies acceptance of the body and the blood of Jesus Christ as a holy sacrifice that saves humanity.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Eucharistic Practices of St. Augustine and John Wesley specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Eucharist has importance to Christians because it symbolizes the love that Jesus Christ gave to the church and the love that Christians should have for one another. During the Eucharist, Christians come together and express the love that Jesus Christ bestowed to them.8 Since the Church is a group of believers, the Eucharist enhances love among them. According to St. Augustine, the Eucharist practice plays a central role in enhancing love among Christians. â€Å"Therefore, just as yo u see that the bread, which was made, is one mass, so may you also be one body by loving one another, by having one faith, one hope, and an undivided charity.†9 Christians carry the responsibility of sharing their love among different members, since the body of Christ has many members. Through the Eucharist, Christians get an opportunity to share their love with others, thus building the body of Christ and strengthening faith among believers. John Wesley Eucharistic Practices John Wesley believed that the Eucharist (Holy Communion) is a sacrament of spirituality. Through the Eucharist, believers attain the grace of God. God bestows grace to all believers and through the Eucharist Christians achieve it. Hence, grace is a central aspect of the Eucharist for without grace, Christians cannot attain fellowship with God. â€Å"Wesley agreed with those Western traditions that believed the faithful communicant actually received grace through the Eucharist.†10 Without the Euchar ist, Christians would be unable to derive spiritual nourishment that God provides through the practice. According to John Wesley, â€Å"the term Holy Communion invites us to focus on the self-giving of the Holy God, which makes the sacrament an occasion of grace, and on the holiness of our communion with God and one another.†11 By practicing the Eucharist, Christians avail themselves to the matchless and boundless grace of God that has the power to save sinners. Therefore, Christians affirm the importance of the body and blood of Jesus Christ when they practice the Holy Communion.Advertising Looking for research paper on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More John Wesley also believed in the Eucharist as a holy sacrament that God gave to His Church. For the Church to coexist with Jesus Christ as one body, it must accept the sacrament of the Eucharist. In this view, John Wesley perceived the Eucharist as a form of worship through which Christians and the church can link up with God. In his teachings, John Wesley â€Å"exhorts the Methodists to avail themselves to the means of grace and remember that whatever power and mercy accompany the sacraments come from God and not the means†12 for the power of the Holy Ghost comes only through Jesus Christ. When Christians participate in the Holy Communion, they allow the power of the Holy Ghost to enter into their lives, and thus causing transformation, which strengthens their faith. Therefore, according to John Wesley, the Eucharist is a form of worship that Christians should exercise in their journey as Christians so that they can receive blessings from God. Taking part in the Holy Communi on enhances Christians to enjoy full fellowship with their God because Jesus Christ mediates the fellowship. Since Jesus Christ died on the cross to cleanse the sins of humanity, the Eucharist offers an opportunity for Christians to celebrate it. â€Å"The Eucharist is a celebration of the presence of the living Christ.†13 During the Holy Communion, Christians take bread and wine as a way of celebrating the life of their savior Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to ransom the world from sin. Before Jesus Christ died, He instructed His disciples to celebrate the Holy Communion in remembrance of his life and saving power through the Holy Ghost. In this view, Christians should participate in the Holy Communion for it reminds them about the life of Jesus Christ and His divine role in saving humanity from perishing in sins. John Wesley also believed that the Eucharist is important to Christians because it indicates acceptance of sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross. Jesu s Christ made eternal sacrifice on the cross because He abolished the practices that took place on earthly sanctuaries and initiated a heavenly sanctuary. Among Christians, the sacrifice that Jesus Christ gave was a holy sacrament that invites all into His kingdom. According to John Wesley, â€Å"the main intention of the Christ herein was not the bare remembrance of His passion, but over and above, to invite us to His sacrifice.†14 During the Holy Communion, Christians sing hymns, which recognize Jesus as the savior of Christians, who become His followers by accepting the eternal sacrifice made at the cross. Through the Eucharistic practices, Christians transform their faith and love leading to holiness in both heart and life. John Wesley regarded the Eucharist as an experience with Jesus Christ. Christians who take part in the Holy Communion experience great changes in their lives because they encounter their creator. The encounter and experience in the Holy Communion †Å"not only touches the five senses, but it can also radically affect the lives of those who experience it.†15 Since the Holy Ghost mediates the relationship between Christians and God, the Eucharist provides means of achieving the experience of a Christian life. Through the Holy Communion, Christians experience the transformational power of the Holy Ghost, which connects believers with Jesus Christ and God. Thus, the Eucharist is a process that Christians undergo to experience an encounter with Jesus Christ. Differences and Contrasts of the Eucharist in Catholicism and Methodism Catholicism and Methodism differ in the way they interpret the Eucharist. One major difference that exists between the two denominations is the doctrine of transubstantiation. â€Å"The Catholic theologians emphasize the importance of affirming the real presence of Christ and the change of elements of bread and wine.†16 Hence, Christians experience real presence of Jesus Christ in the form of bo dy and blood. In contrast, Methodism does not believe in the doctrine of substantiation. Instead, Methodism holds that the bread and wine are just signs and symbols that Christians use in commemoration of the real body and blood of Jesus Christ, which He gave to humanity as a sacrifice to atone their sins. Methodism maintains, â€Å"The bread and wine acquire an additional significance as effectual signs of the body and the blood of Christ, but do not necessarily cease to be bread and wine.†17 The bread and wine are mere symbols of the body and blood rather than real substitutes. Hence, Catholicism and Methodism differ in the aspect of transubstantiation. Although Catholicism and Methodism perceive the Eucharist as a way of commemorating the life and sacrifice that Jesus Christ made at the cross, they differ in the manner they believe in the Eucharist. Catholicism believes that the Eucharist provides a means of reliving the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. This asserti on means that Christians relive the experience of the cross whenever they participate in the Eucharist. The Catholic Church maintains, â€Å"The sacrifice of the cross and that of the mass are specifically and numerically the same, only the manner of the offering is different.†18 Catholicism holds that the Eucharist is equal to the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross. In contrast, Methodism believes that the Eucharist is a mere representation of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made at the cross, but not the same as the sacrifice. According to Methodism, Jesus Christ made eternal sacrifice for the last time, and thus Christians do not have the ability to offer the same sacrifice through the Eucharist. Perpetuating Christ’s sacrifice in the form of the Eucharist implies that the sacrifice made at the cross lacked power to cleanse people from sins.19 In this view, Methodists are against the perpetuation of the cross sacrifice during mass. Another difference in t he Eucharist between Catholicism and Methodism is the role of priests in consecrating the bread and wine. â€Å"In Catholic theology, the consecration is the indisputable heart of the Eucharist, from which we have Christ’s real presence.†20 Priests take bread and wine and consecrate it into the real body and blood of Jesus Christ by invoking the power of the Holy Spirit, which implies that the priest has the power to offer sacrifice just as the high priests in the sanctuary did. In Methodism, the believers hold that the priests have no power to consecrate the bread and wine into blood and body respectively. The priest only enables the believers to take part in the Holy Communion as a symbolical practice of commemorating the life of Jesus Christ and thanking Him for His atoning sacrifice. Among Methodists, clergy and priests have a role of administering the Eucharist, because it is just a representation of the sacrifice made at the cross.21 Therefore, Catholic priests h ave the ability to consecrate the bread, while in Methodism they do not have such capacity. Methodism and Catholicism differ in the frequency of the Eucharist. Usually, Methodists schedule the Eucharist in a frequency of about once a month, but Catholics prefer taking the Eucharist every time they hold a Mass. â€Å"Frequency of Communion increased dramatically among those groups affected by Romanticism, but together with this was tendency toward the privatization of religious experience and excessive sentimentality in Eucharistic devotion.†22 Therefore, the frequency of the Eucharist is high in Catholic Church than in Methodism. Conclusion Comparative analysis of the Eucharistic practices of St. Augustine and John Wesley shows that the two have some fundamental differences although they share same biblical origin. The views of St. Augustine and John Wesley are evident in Catholicism and Methodism respectively. The major difference of the Eucharistic practices in the two Chri stian religions is the doctrine of transubstantiation. Moreover, while Catholics tend to perpetuate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Methodists just celebrate it symbolically. Other differences lie in the manner of performing sacrifices by the priests and the clergy, as well as frequency. Among Catholics, priests have a noble role of consecrating the bread and wine into the real body and blood of Jesus Christ, while Methodists do not believe in such consecration. Additionally, Catholics hold the Eucharist as many times a possible during their masses, but Methodists hold their Holy Communion within a frequency of about once a month. Bibliography Binz, Stephen. Eucharist. London: Twenty-Third Publications, 2005. Cantalamessa, Raniero, and Frances Villa. The Eucharist: Our Sanctification. London. Liturgical Press, 2008. Chilcote, Paul. â€Å"Eucharist among the means of the grace.† Salvation Army. http://salvationarmyusa.org/usn/Publications/WD_2006_May_2_Eucharist_Among_the_Means _of_Grace.pdf . Crockett, William. Eucharist: Symbol of transformation. London: Liturgical Press, 2007. Dimock, Giles. â€Å"The Eucharist sacrament and sacrifice.† Knights of Columbus Supreme Council. http://www.kofc.org/un/en/resources/cis/cis336.pdf . General Body of Discipleship. â€Å"This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion.† Gateway. http://gatewayumc.org/pdf/hcfinal2.pdf . Hamilton, Andrew. â€Å"Eucharist, Theology, and Discipleship.† Pacifica 12 (1999): 143-155. Irwin, Kevin. Models of the Eucharist. London: Paulist Press, 2005. Keefer, Luke. â€Å"John Wesley, The Methodists, and Social Reform in England.† Wesleyan  Theological Journal 25, no. 1 (1990): 1-157. Khoo, Lorna. Wesleyan Eucharistic Spirituality: Its nature, sources and future. New York: ATF Press, 2005. Kwatera, Michael. Ministry of communion. London: Liturgical Press, 2004. Mitchell, Nathan. Real presence: The work of Eucharist. Chicago: Liturgy Train ing Publications, 2001. Outler, Albert. â€Å"John Wesley and Eastern Orthodoxy: Influences, Convergences, and Differences.† Asbury Theological Journal 45, no. 2 (1990): 29-53. Puglisi, James, Horace Allen, and Teresa Berger. Liturgical renewal as a way to  Christian unity. London: Liturgical Press, 2005. Schaff, Philip. Nicene and Post Nicene Christianity: History of the Christian Church. New York: Kissinger Publishing, 2009. Smith, Gordon. The Lord’s Supper: Five Views. London: InterVarsity Press, 2008. Sours, Stephen. â€Å"Anthropology and transcendence: Wesley’s sacrificial Eucharistic theology in ecumenical context.† John Wesley Fellows. http://www.johnwesleyfellows.org/downloads/StephenSoursCCpaper.pdf . Stookey, Laurence. Eucharist: Christ’s feast with the church. Chicago: Abingdon Press, 2010. White, James. The sacraments in Protestant and faith. Chicago: Abingdon Press, 2010. White, Susan. Foundation of Christian worship. Louisville: We stminster John Knox Press, 2006. Footnotes 1Stephen Binz, Eucharist (London: Twenty-Third Publications, 2005), 110. 2 Luke Keefer, â€Å"John Wesley: The Methodists, and Social Reform in England,† Wesleyan Theological Journal 25 no. 1 (1990), 121. 3 Binz, 110. 4 Kevin Irwin, Models of the Eucharist (London: Paulist Press, 2005), 247. 5 Andrew Hamilton, â€Å"Eucharist, Theology, and Discipleship,† Pacifica 12 (1999), 148. 6 Nathan Mitchell. Real presence: The work of Eucharist (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2001), 105. 7 Philip Schaff. Nicene and Post Nicene Christianity: History of the Christian Church (New York: Kissinger Publishing, 2009), 251. 8 William Crockett, Eucharist: Symbol of transformation (London: Liturgical Press, 2007) 34. 9Michael Kwatera, Ministry of communion (London: Liturgical Press, 2004), 3. 10 Albert Outler, â€Å"John Wesley and Eastern Orthodoxy: Influences, Convergences, and Differences,† Asbury Theological Journal 45 no. 2 ( 1990), 40. 11 General Body of Discipleship, â€Å"This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion,† Gateway, http://gatewayumc.org/pdf/hcfinal2.pdf . 12 Stephen Sours, â€Å"Anthropology and transcendence: Wesley’s sacrificial Eucharistic theology in ecumenical context,† John Wesley Fellows, http://www.johnwesleyfellows.org/downloads/StephenSoursCCpaper.pdf . 13 Paul Chilcote, â€Å"Eucharist among the means of the grace,† Salvation Army, http://salvationarmyusa.org/usn/Publications/WD_2006_May_2_Eucharist_Among_the_Means_of_Grace.pdf . 14 Chilcote 15 Lorna Khoo, Wesleyan Eucharistic Spirituality: Its nature, sources and future (New York: ATF Press, 2005), 55. 16 Gordon Smith, The Lord’s Supper: Five Views (London: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 18. 17 James Puglisi, Horace Allen, and Teresa Berger, Liturgical renewal as a way to Christian unit (London: Liturgical Press, 2005), 44. 18 Giles Dimock, â€Å"The Eucharist sacrament a nd sacrifice,† Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, http://www.kofc.org/un/en/resources/cis/cis336.pdf . 19 James White, The sacraments in Protestant and faith (Chicago: Abingdon Press, 2010), 54. 20 Raniero Cantalamessa, and Frances Villa, The Eucharist: Our Sanctification (London. Liturgical Press, 2008), 80. 21Laurence Stookey, Eucharist: Christ’s feast with the church (Chicago: Abingdon Press, 2010), 76. 22 Susan White, Foundation of Christian worship (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 101. This research paper on Eucharistic Practices of St. Augustine and John Wesley was written and submitted by user Helen Lamb to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Bliss Travels Marketing Plan

Bliss Travels Marketing Plan Introduction The purpose of this report is to discuss the prospect of e-marketing strategy to increase the customer base and to increase profit level of Bliss Travels. However, this report will concentrate on the local competitors, the customer behaviour to select a travel agent, and related factors such as the influence of age, experience, price range and location.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Bliss Travels Marketing Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, this paper will focus on the advertising and strategic management system to prepare a guideline for the company to design different Web-based promotional and communication program. On the other hand, this report will estimate the web development costs, propose website ideas for this business, and assess the performance of programmers, Internet Web hosting providers to attain highest outcomes from them. However, this report will also identify the In ternal Strengths and Weaknesses, long-term objectives, Marketing Problems and Opportunities, Market Segments, Target Market, and strategies in order to prepare an Action plan for future development. Situational Analysis Hitt, Ireland Hoskisson (2001) pointed out that business organisations need to identify situational analysis in order to design future strategic plan or to restructure or develop product and service categories. Service line: Bliss Travels offers range of travel and tourism services to satisfy the customer such as ticketing and reservations, unique culinary and cultural adventures, meal in a private home, cruise holidays, package for new couples, global hotel reservations, special for holiday package, booking air tickets and so on (Bliss Travels, 2010). Competitive situation: OECD (2005) reported that there are too many large and medium size competitors exist in the market and most of the companies have long experience to operate business in this industry and the fol lowing figure give some information about local firmsAdvertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Figure 1: Number of operators in Australia.  Source: OECD (2005) Figure 2: Characteristics of the competitors.  Source: OECD (2005) Internal Strengths and Weaknesses of Bliss Travels Figure 3: Internal strengths and weaknesses of Bliss Travels.  Source: self generated Strengths The key strengths of Bliss Travels includes:Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Bliss Travels Marketing Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Brand image: Bliss Travels has already created a strong brand image in the industry though it is a family business; Human resource: According to the report of Bliss Travels (2010), it has many efficient employees to ensure quality service for the customers. In addition, experience, innovative idea, the communication skills of the employees and guide will encourage the travellers to longer their tour duration; Internal control: The top executives have strong control over the company, and they follow local laws where it provides. In addition, it has also follow the provision of memorandum and article of association; Organisation structure: It has maintained simple organisational chart to operate more efficiently; Experience: The owner of this company has long experience with strong educational background to enter the global market with its outstanding services (Bliss Travels, 2010); Customer base: Loyal customers are the main strength for the company; Quality: the owner of Bliss Travels is committed to ensure superior quality; Rapid Expansion: Rapid expansion in local and international market help the company to increase market share in global travel and ticketing industry; Other: However, it experiences many positive issues in case of implementation of the decision i n the company, supply chain management, customer relationship management, financial position, growth rate, economics of scale and other factors. Weaknesses Tthis company has many weaknesses besides strengths, such as: Operating cost: The operating expense increases gradually, which can adversely affect the net revenues; Staff turnover: High turnover of the employees is another problem from the company, because they leave the market; Investment: This Company need more investment in order to expand its operation all over the world, so unavailability of the fund from external sources is another problem for the company; Risk Management: The business segment of Bliss Travels demand to assess the risk to ensure risk management system, which will help the company to increase the confidence of the employees as well as the customers. Organisational Goals and Objectives The Bliss Travels in Moonee Ponds has various corporate objectives for the development of its business in the next three years in the existing markets as well as new markets. At present, this company considers few objectives, such as: Bliss Travels has target to boost its annual profit from Moonee Ponds market by 25% within next 3 years; It has aim to expand customer awareness about the Bliss Travels brand from 20% to 35% over the selected period; Doubling the budget within this fiscal year for promotional activities to enlarge loyal customer base of Bliss Travels; Fixing budget for RD in order to research on present market condition, customer’s behaviour and so on; Bliss Travels aims to apply a few more life endowment strategies in order to raise its annual sales by 30% over next 3 years. Marketing Problems and Opportunities Figure 4: External threats and opportunities of Bliss Travels.  Source: self generated Problems Competition: Severe competition among the travel and ticketing companies is one of the major problems for Bliss Travels while competitors quickly copied the new strategies to promote their companies. Financial crisis: the purchasing power of the regular travellers has decreased due to the adverse impact of global financial crisis. Therefore, the outcomes of advertising campaign may not reach at expected level; Customer behaviour: It is really difficult for the marketers of Bliss Travels to understand customers’ behaviour and take measure accordingly, as their mind change frequently; Operating expense: The operating expense of the Bliss Travels is increasing due to many external and internal factors, such as, volatility of the service charge. In addition, the remuneration of the employees need to increase time-to-time to reduce staff turnover, which increase the operating expense; Weather: Bad weather condition or natural disaster can reduce the number of customers of Bliss Travels. However, this is the common problem of all companies in this industry; Environmental issues: Bliss Travels has corporate social responsibility to save the environ ment from pollution but many employees are not enough conscious in this issue; Legal: Bliss Travels is committed to follow local rules but it may have to face legal problems for several issues. Opportunities Growth: Bliss Travels has competence to perform strongly in existing market and enter new zone with outstanding service range; Joint venture: As a new potential company, Bliss Travels has the opportunity to joint venture with local companies or target to merge with multinational companies to get competitive advantages; Technology: Bliss Travels can increase number of new customers by using advance technology for promotional activities, for instance, building e-commerce website to sale the products and carry out integrated marketing communication programme create large customer base; Ownership: It has opportunity to enter the stock market to generate additional capital by changing the form of ownership from private to public. Target Market Travel and ticketing company Bliss Tr avels deal with many business segments, for instance, ticketing and reservations, offers holiday packagers and many other segments. As a result, the marketer of Bliss Travels targets different range of customer groups though it has a common customer base for different segments. However, the target customers of ticketing and reservations segments are mainly tourists, new couples, upper and middle class people, foreigners, high profile customers and businessperson. On the other hand, the marketer of Bliss Travels has target tourists because OECD (2005) reported that Australia experienced huge success from tourism sector and number of tourist is increasing per year. However, OECD (2005) further added that tourism industry contributes 4.2% of national GDP, and 5.7% of total employment; therefore, targeting tourists as main customer group would be prospective for Bliss Travels.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Market Segments Johnson, Seholes Whittington (2008) stated that segmentation is the process to separating a market into different groups of customers by considering different cultural background, personality, and behaviour of the customers, consequently, the marketer of this â€Å"Bliss Travels† conduct research to understand customer behaviour. Bliss Travels (2010) reported that it has design special offer for segmented customer because few customers are brand oriented, but significant parts are cautious group. Control and Review The organisational structure of Bliss Travels in Moonee Land area is simple like other small size companies in this industry. However, this report will suggest the person who will implement the strategy and action plan and the following table makes it clear that the owner of this business will take major decisions, as he is CEO of the company and maintain management team. However, Bliss Travels has memorandum, article of asocial and ethical codes t o control the company in accordance with local legislation, but this marketing plan recommends introducing efficient governance system to control the company and help its stakeholders, clients, and other workforce. Strategies of Bliss Travels E-commerce Model for Bliss Travels Anckar and Walden (2000) added that the travel agents are long familiar with computerized system for booking and reservation from seventies; online web technology has just facilitated them with a wider opportunity to perform all business function such as ticket and hotel booking and reservation tour operation, customer’s communication, payment and including employees’ management and accounts from a single website. To do so Bliss Travels has to integrate e-commerce software or it would be capable to develop a customized website, as it needed, but above all Bliss Travels needed to understand its business model that would be implemented in the website. Figure 5: Travel Agents E-commerce model.  S ource: Self generated from Anckar and Walden (2000) Dikenelli et al (2005) pointed out that for e-commerce strategy for tours travel agent has aligned with agent-mediated framework to develop the website, as the Bliss Travels needed to serve customer from any location, it will integrate paramount practice and trials in transport and tourism with agent for network security, IT service providing, engineering and software amalgamation capabilities. Web site of Bliss Travel Agent Liu (2005) has scrutinized with the nature of changing requirements of the consumers of tourism industry and added that they are gradually less loyal, most of them are taking regular vacation but for shorter period and spend minimum time to selecting their preferred tourism service. It is essential for Bliss Travels to understand how the proposed website would generate an accelerated value chain for as a new entry in the industry by satisfying the customer’s wants- Value extraction: Implication of suc h strategy would facilitate Bliss Travels to increase its operational efficiency by reducing associated costs, upgrading the total process automation including customer and service from airlines, hotels and tour operators; Value capture: The proposed website would smoothly progress the data mining that predict to the management of Bliss Travels how many customers are have visited the site and looking for further information those could be contacted in future for marketing purpose by capturing data; Value addition: This strategy that engrosses Bliss Travels with a linear amalgamation of tourism products to generate more affluent tourism product packages, for instance time worthy mobile SMS services from the website regarding the passengers flight schedule would provide enhanced satisfaction for the customers; Value creation: With this strategic focus, the website would provide an opportunity for Bliss Travels to generate an effectual network connecting service providers, customers , agents, payment processors in a single platform where customers would be capable to take service without visiting Bliss Travels office. Integration of such strategy with an e-commerce website would shift the existing business process of Bliss Travels while it would be capable to make different product and service offering to the huge customers with a single click from the website expanding the assortment of options for the customers. The website will provide further opportunities to utilize the contents optimization to appear easy search result of online payment and account maintenance without any additional cost. Implementation of the website For Bliss Travels to build a website enabled for e-commerce, the necessary elements and stepping are as follows: 1. Managing the Domain Names: It is necessary for Bliss Travels to select the domain name with a unique identity of in the online community, which may not be used by any other company and typing this domain name in the address b ar of web browser all customers can visit Bliss Travels and can purchase any travel product or service. There are lots of companies offer domain name with dot com, dot net dot org, for Bliss Travels it would be wise to take a domain name similar to its company name with dot com or dot biz, the cost for domain registration would be US$ 35 to US$ 60 per annual. Bliss Travels would register for at l lest 3 to 5 years at a time. 2. Website Design: For website design Bliss Travels would prepare a project clarification document its describing its business model and necessary tools that it intend to get in the website and the website developer could understand the requirements and details specification from this document. It is necessary to be the description in easy language for better understanding of the developers. There are huge website developers available in online and in the Bliss Travels would choice to select outsourcing the website developers from Bangladesh, India or China for cost effective solution and the approximate cost would be US$ 750 to US$ 1000. 3. Utility software: Bliss Travels may need different software for accounting and CRM purpose, which would be integrated with the website, in this context the cost would be around US$ 1500 to 2000 and would purchased online. 4. Merchant Account for Online Payment: For online payment system, Bliss Travels needed to integrate Merchant account API for which the company may not to have any upfront fees but have to pay 1 to 3.5 % for each transaction; 5. Website Site Content: It is very important aspect for Bliss Travels to secure the contents of the website to protect copy and paste by any other similar companies, as content need to write with appropriate measure of keyword with the aim to optimizing for web browsers. Thus, Bliss Travels would appoint a content writer where the cost would be US$ 20 to US$ 30 per page. 6. Security measure: For an e-commerce enabled website of Bliss Travels, security measu res are the major issue to emphasis customer’s and employees individual password integration, SSL certification, VeriSigns Authentication and so on. For the user’s password and captcha generation, it would be website developers responsibility and other security measures would be integrated with website hosting package. 7. Hosting and Trail Run: Bliss Travels would select suitable hosting company with high bandwidth to host its website with unlimited web space and the associated cost would be US$ 50 to US$ 75 per year depending on the bandwidth. After competition of the website, Bliss Travels will first upload it to the hosting server for trail run with the objective to remove errors and then go for commercial use. Action Plan of Bliss Travels Phase 1: Web designing and hosting It has already included that the owner will take the advantage of e-marketing to attract new customers, so, it should need design a web designing and hosting in order to step forward in next act ivity. Phase 2: IMC Campaign Bliss Travels notes the importance of â€Å"building close relationships with customer†; therefore, it will conduct the IMC campaign in order to aware people about the importance of visit in a new place, and the contribution of this company to make the journey more interesting way. The owner of Bliss Travels should appoint two new employees to co-ordinate the IMC campaign and to complete initial activities, such as, they will make promotional video, select target audience, and prepare suitable slogan, write web content and so on. Phase 3: Reducing Service Charge and operating costs This marketing plan recommend the owner of Bliss Travels to conduct research on the market situation, external business environment, the position of the competitors, the influence of global economic downturn, market demand, and buyer attitude to redesigning the pricing of its services. In addition, Bliss Travels has experienced intense competition to operate business in Moonee Ponds area, which affects the integrated market share of the company; consequently, reform of pricing structure is one of the most crucial criteria to sustain in competitive market while all local competitors setting price considering customers’ financial capability. However, it is important to mention that the marketers of Bliss Travels would like to reduce its operating cost by 15% within the fiscal year 2013 because Kotler Keller (2006) and David (2008) stated that cost control is an effective strategy for the company. Table 1: Action Plan of Bliss Travels Action Tasks Functions Start Date Duration Costs Phase One Web designing and hosting Initially it should require to find out the web designers or programmers to design a dynamic Website with e-commerce facilities Integration of the software for maintaining the customer relationship management Search Engine Optimization (SEO), advertisement through social networking sites, website development, blogs, e-mail, online advertising in different areas) and an aggregate development of IT processes to deliver simple IT operations 01 July 2011 2 Months The approximate cost would be US$ 750 to US$ 1000 if Bliss Travels uses low cost web designers otherwise, it should require up to US$ 5000 Web content costs US$ 25 per page It should require US$ 100 to $250 Phase Two IMC Campaign It should require to select target audience, prepare a strategic plan and other tactical plan in order to conduct the program smoothly Recruit two managers for co-ordination and 10 employees to help the managers The target customers are the target audience for the IMC campaign and it should require to make video for the campaign It should have many volunteers. Therefore, it should require mainly advertising in various media (including television, print media, direct mails) to aware the target audience 15 November 2011 6 months Salary $750 per Promotional activities $1000 Advertising costs $10000 Phase Three Reducing Service Charge and operating costs Redesigning pricing strategy by conducting market research and reduce the operating costs by developing the efficiency level of the employees and managing the company more efficient way Reduce unnecessary costs 01 October 2011 6 months Reference List Anckar, B Walden, P. (2000) Becoming Your Own Travel Agent: A Web of Potentials and Pitfalls. [pdf] Available from: http://csdl2.computer.org/comp/proceedings/hicss/2000/0493/07/04937023.pdf Bliss Travels (2010) About Us. [Online] Available from: blisstravels.com/aboutus.html Bliss Travels (2010) Special Offer. [Online] Available from: blisstravels.com/alacarte.html Bliss Travels (2010) Travel Services. [Online] Available from: blisstravels.com/alacarte.html David, F. (2008) Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. 12th ed. London: Prentice Hall. Dikenelli, O. Topaloglu, Y. N. Erdur, C. ÃÅ"nalir, O. (2005) An Agent-Mediated E-Commerce Framework For Tourism Domain. [pdf] Available from: srdc. metu.edu.tr/webpage/projects/hermesProject/documents/AGENT-TOURISM.PDF Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., Hoskisson, R. E. (2001) Strategic Management. 4th ed. South-Western Thomson Learning. Johnson, G. Seholes, K. Whittington, R. (2008) Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text Cases. 8th ed. London: FT Prentrice Hall. Kotler, P. Keller, K. L. (2006) Marketing Management. 11th ed. Prentice Hall. Liu, S. (2005) A Theoretic Discussion of Tourism E-commerce. [pdf] Available from: icec06.net/icec06sample.pdf OECD (2005) Tourism Industry in Australia. [pdf] Available from: oecd.org/dataoecd/61/33/34609098.pdf

The Paintings of Rococo, Neoclassicism, and Romanticism Essay

The Paintings of Rococo, Neoclassicism, and Romanticism - Essay Example The essay "The Paintings of Rococo, Neoclassicism, and Romanticism" explores the Rococo, Neoclassicism, and Romanticism art. The subjects are well mannered, smartly attired, and joining in lighthearted conversation. "Pilgrimage by Cythera" draws the viewer into the scene with its non-threatening use of composition. Rococo paintings would often use a touch of nudity and coy scenes to elicit a feeling of naughtiness. The end of the 18th century witnessed a return to a more formal style of painting known as Neoclassicism. More serious subjects replaced the gaiety of Rococo and color became more dark and brooding. The "Oath of the Horatii", commissioned in 1784, was painted by Jacques-Louis David (Jacques-Louis David). It is a sharply contrasted painting with sharp edges and depicting conflict. The painting uses abrupt angles to capture a cold and rigid feeling. In David's painting we see the intricate attention to detail that is displayed in the architecture and the metal swords reflect the sharpness of the tone. The women are sullen as if saddened by an upcoming loss or introspecting on their subservient position that was common of the period. The period of 1800-1850 saw the introduction of Romanticism in art. The paintings were often directed toward nationalism and regularly used to portray historical events. In Eugà ¨ne Delacroix's "Massacre at Chios" we see Greeks waiting their impending slaughter by the Turks. The human form is more detailed and more serious. The colors are more realistic and haunting.