IT Management Issues Report: Analyzing Mainland Safari Tours' IT

This report examines the IT management challenges and opportunities for Mainland Safari Tours, a company formed by the merger of Outback Safari Tours and Mainland Express. It analyzes the impact of technology on customer choice, brand loyalty, and continuous patronage, proposing solutions like workforce efficiency and self-service optimization. The report critiques management decisions, differentiates between Information Technology and Information Systems, and offers recommendations for service improvement, focusing on enhancing customer relationships, leveraging technology for online bookings, and maintaining brand loyalty. The analysis emphasizes the importance of IT management for reducing complexities and gaining a competitive advantage in the market, especially for a new entity like Mainland Safari Tours, and provides valuable insights for improving business operations and customer satisfaction.

Running head: IT MANAGEMENT ISSUES
IT Management Issues: Mainland Safari Tours
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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Executive Summary
The main objective of this report is to know about Mainland Safari Tours, which is a
combination of Outback Safari Tours and Mainland Express. Since, Mainland
Express do not incur high costs and hence it becomes quite easy for the customers
to afford these services. Outback Safari Tours, on the contrary, provides various
kinds of multiday tour and services. This report has provided details regarding
services of Mainland Safari Tours for making them more advances and effective. A
significant increase within the respective existing business models or business
process is one of the most important reason for improvement of business operations.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction...............................................................................................................3
2. Discussion................................................................................................................3
2.1 Critique for Every Management Decision for Case Study of Mainland Safari
Tours.........................................................................................................................3
2.2 Major Differences within Information Technology and Information System with
Two Technological Solutions....................................................................................4
2.3 Process of Technology majorly affecting Customer’s Choice, Brand Loyalty
and Continuous Patronages.....................................................................................6
3. Conclusion................................................................................................................8
4. Two Suitable Recommendations for Improvement of Services in Mainland Safari
Tours.............................................................................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................11

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1. Introduction
Mainland Express is a popular as well as low cost coach company, which is
responsible for providing some of the major and important services to clients.
Outback Safari Tour, on the other hand, a complete serviced coach company with
more than 20 offices is situated in Queensland, WA, New South Wales, NT and SA
(Schwalbe, 2015). The respective management of above mentioned two companies
has eventually undertaken the significant decision to conglomerate the two as one,
Mainland Safari Tours for enhancement of business efficiency majorly. The report
provides a proper discussion for the case scenario of Mainland Safari Tours. Some
of the major and the most important recommendations will be provided in this report.
2. Discussion
2.1 Critique for Every Management Decision for Case Study of Mainland Safari
Tours
Management of the two widespread coach businesses of Outback Safari Tour
as well as Mainland Express have undertaken the decisions of merging them to
eventually make Mainland Safari Tour as one so that maximum competitive
advantages are being gained by them (Bloom et al., 2014). The first decision of
management for Mainland Safari Tours is retaining of all previously existing
employees, coach, tour and destination. It is majorly referred to as both ethical and
moral in respect to work ethics since the employees would not have to find new job
locations and training of existing employees is much easier than new employees.
Additional expenses are also eradicated in an efficient manner. Due to
combination of latest advancements and traditional system, major changes would
take place in Mainland Safari Tours, hence allowing them to bring more efficacy. The

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second decision of management for Mainland Safari Tours is starting of a premium
service, which will provide all needed amenities of any individual in lower costs (Tafti,
Mithas & Krishnan, 2013). The third decision of management for t8he Mainland
Safari Tour is to allow the customers in making online bookings, thus saving up of IT
resources such as time and cost is possible to a high level. In spite of such beneficial
decisions, they would also incur an extra 15% charge when bookings are made
through agents, which could not satisfy customers completely. Inclusion of face to
face meetings is also needed for this purpose.
2.2 Major Differences within Information Technology and Information System
with Two Technological Solutions
IT is referred to the proper utilization of systems, so that any particular
organization has the core capability of completing some of the major activities like
transmission, manipulation as well as retrieval of business related confidential data
(Passey & Samways, 2016). The information system, on the contrary, is referred to
as a specific formal, organized and social or technological system that is being
effectively designed for collection, storage and dissemination of sensitive
information. These two technologies of information technology and information
system are evolving majorly to provide several advantages, although they comprises
of significant differences (Schwalbe, 2015). The first major difference would be that
an IS has the core responsibility to focus as well as analyse over the requirements of
every known system so that planning and conversion of system to subsequent forms
are analysed (Madon & Krishna, 2018). On the contrary, information technology
comprises of the core responsibility to focus over the various technologies and even
technical usages of consequences for analyses of information organizers and gain
technical advancements.

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Two distinctive an important technological solutions, which could be referred
to as the quite suitable for this particular tour coach company of Mainland Safari
Tours, with the major hope that they could easily decrease their previously existing
complexities in a distinctive manner that more efficiency and effectiveness are being
obtained, thus improvising service quality to a high level are as follows (Ancker et al.,
2013):
a) Effectiveness and Efficiency in Work Force: The first and the most
important and significant technological solution, which can bring higher advantages
to this organization of Mainland Safari Tour is higher effectiveness as well as
efficiency in the work force (Bai & Sarkis, 2013). All organizational employees must
be highly exhilarated for embracing or allowing fresh and innovative techniques or
methods with a distinctive hope that they would have the core capability to improve
treatments to customers. In this case, it is needed to maintain a proper customer
relationship management for customer retaining (Schwalbe, 2015). It can also occur
that employees would be collaboratively work for reducing the issues related to
customer’s complaints properly. Proper and effective training should also be
provided to the staff for eventually ensuring that all staff could gain more innovative
and creative ideas or ideologies about controlling of customers and fulfilment of all
valid demands of these customers (Melián-González & Bulchand-Gidumal, 2016).
Each of such distinctive services and work efficiency can also bring high competitive
advantages in the business.
b) Self Servicing Optimization: This next imperative and substantial
technological solution, which can give high advantages to this company called
Mainland Safari Tour. The specific management of the company must search for
highly innovative and creative methods to clients by interacting in their business. As,

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they did not include face to face meeting as well as communication and bookings
with their customers, these self servicing optimizations could be termed as extremely
operative in dealing with all kinds of complications for customers’ management
(Abdekhoda et al., 2014). It is also important for ensuring the true and significant
maintenance of their organizational brand loyalty or customers’ interactions.
2.3 Process of Technology majorly affecting Customer’s Choice, Brand Loyalty
and Continuous Patronages
2 important and significant technology based solutions are being provided to
the new tour coach company, Mainland Safari Tours. There are some major
functionalities required for enhancement of business processes and also ensuring
that each and every organizational information technology resource is providing all
kinds of competitive advantages to Mainland Safari Tours.
a) Customer’s Choice: The first as well as the most vital feature, which is
required to be properly analysed based on priority is customer’s choice. The
demands or choices of customers are considered as the most important for any
business and they should focus on customer satisfaction majorly (Rippen et
al.,2013). All the technological solutions undertaken by a business should align with
their business processes and also for reduction of complexities. This is even
observed that maximum customers of any organization are dependent on self
servicing technology and they want to use this technology for self servicing
optimization.
In spite of the fact that this particular tour coach company of Mainland Safari
Tour would be givign major choice regarding online tour booking, they have to
improvise the service in a distinctive manner so that all the business processes and

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operations to be enhanced in a high level (Strohmeier, 2013). Organizational
management of Mainland Safari Tours has eventually eliminated the major scope for
face to face meeting. However, it is also required to be analysed that every client
does not comprise of the ability to make their bookings online since they are not
comfortable in using Internet connection.
To gain this type of confidence and success in business, Mainland Safari
Tours should maintain a scope of face to face meetings and booking with the hope
that all the customers would have the ability to complete the booking process by not
involving any complexity or issue. However, in that case, they would have to involve
a third party and booking cannot be done independently (Luftman, Lyytinen & Zvi,
2017). This type of face to face meeting would even be extremely time consuming.
The customer service will be enhanced or increased majorly and thus the
organization could produce various services to their clients by efficient techniques
and methods. Such distinctive service transactions must be made completely hassle
free to make it more appropriate as well as convenient as compared to others.
Survey can also be termed as effective for understanding customer’s choice in a
better manner.
b) Effect on Brand Loyalty: Brand loyalty is a type of client tendency for
continuously purchasing same products or services from the same brand as well as
not changing brands under any circumstance as they are highly satisfied with
present brand (Tayeh, Al-Jarrah & Tarhini, 2015). This type of dedication towards
one product or service is responsible for bringing few competitive advantages within
the business and also for maintenance of market position after retaining of all
existing customers in an efficient manner. Since, Mainland Safari Tour will become a
merger company, which will be created after amalgamating two substantial

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companies for tour coach, it will be quite important for them to maintain the brand
loyalty for the core purpose of satisfying the customers similar to the two preceding
organizations. Marketing is yet another important aspect that would be useful for
Mainland Safari Tours to make its customers aware of the organisational services
and products (Theis & Wong, 2017). Providing discounts to the customers is the next
significant aspect that is effective for maintenance of brand loyalty.
c) Continuous Patronages: It is a kind of continuous support that is required
to deal and handle customers within a business and thus this is needed to effectively
placate the clients based on priorities. Customer satisfaction can be obtained by
simply providing patronages or thanksgiving messages, so that all of such clients
can feel special, hence enabling them in continuing to take on services from
Mainland Safari Tours (Cui et al., 2015). Since they are a new player in market, this
is quite vital for them to maintain effective relationship with clients to enhance CRM.
Mainland Safari Tour thus will be able to obtain popularity and competitive
advantages.
3. Conclusion
Hence, a proper conclusion could be drawn that the management for
information technologies is quite vital and substantial for efficiently reducing each
and every complexity, related to the technology services. Mainland Safari Tour is a
proper consolidation of the two distinctive organizations of coach of Outback Safari
Tour as well as Mainland Express. The particular company would be majorly
responsible to give few of the most significant and important benefits or service to
the customers. Since they are new within market, this is quite vital for them to
improvise their services with better management of information technology. The
above given report has efficiently depicted about all the new and innovative services

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and requirement that is needed to be completing the business operations or
processes within the organization of Mainland Safari Tour. Major services and
appropriate recommendations are also provided in this report so that this
organization have an ability to improvise their respective services.
4. Two Suitable Recommendations for Improvement of Services in Mainland
Safari Tours
A proper enhancement of all types of services would be quite vital and
noteworthy for any particular organization, with the core purpose of easily and
promptly obtaining subsequent profits and higher competitive benefits in the
business (Phichitchaisopa & Naenna, 2013). Moreover, the respective organization
will also obtain higher popularity amongst the customers and it is absolutely possible
only when every previously decided service or operation is getting improved to high
level. Mainland Safari Tour requires to improvise their business processes and
services and for this particular reason, two suitable and effective recommendations
are provided in the following paragraphs:
a) Providing Specific Discount Rate to Regular Customers: The first
effective and important recommendation for Mainland Safari Tour to improvise their
respective existing service in the most significant manner. The regular or existing
customers are known as the most important boons to the organization and thus it is
quite vital to maintain every existing or loyal customer to such an extent for ensuring
that their clients are absolutely happy and satisfied with services provided by them
(Hills, 2018). Since, they are completely new in the market of tour coach, it is
suggested for Mainland Safari Tours to organize any kind of additional advantage or
benefit for clients to make them satisfied in terms of services.

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Specified special discount would be quite effective to maintain a better
relation with the existing or loyal customers, so that they feel special and would be
interested in using the services further. However, there would be one condition that
the customer would have to use services of Mainland Safari Tours for at least three
times in one year. Moreover, the clients, who have undertaken these types of service
for minimum of four times, would eventually obtain an additional ten percent discount
as well as specialized patronage message for thanksgiving purposes.
b) Allowing Clients to pay off through Annual Instalments: The second
important and noteworthy suggestion that could be discussed to as quite efficient
and proper for this specific company of Mainland Safari Tours with the significant
purpose of capability for improvising their existing services (Ye & Wang, 2013).
Although the respective expenses and costs of the organizational services in
Mainland Safari Tours are extremely lower as compared to all other travel agency,
the tour coach organization would even enable its clients for paying off the needed or
even lesser amount of costs through annual instalments. It would allow the
customers in not paying the entire amount in one go and hence lowering the financial
burden majorly.
This would help in satisfying the customers and hence a higher chance
prevails that this particular organization may obtain few basic and important
competitive advantages in the business. Furthermore, this company of Mainland
Safari Tours would even comprises of the most significant capability to measure the
score for understanding customer effort by setting the appropriate KPI or key
performance indicators in the most efficient manner (Strohmeier, 2013). Mainland
Safari Tours would also be able to enhance their brand name by involvement of this
particular recommendation.

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