Event Management: Many companies and individuals realize they do not have the expertise or time to devote to the

task of planning such special events and turn to professionals specializing in event planning.

Event management companies can ensure that any event, corporate or private, large or small, goes smoothly. Event management services can be tailored to the clients needs and budget. Event planning services can include:
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Creating a theme to be carried throughout invitations, decorations and promotional items Securing a location or venue Choosing entertainment Planning the menu and securing catering services Providing an event website with online registration or responses Marketing and promotions

Regardless of the type of event you are planning, an event manager can help you reach the goal of a flawless, memorable event with much less stress. Tasks: 1.1 Identify the different types of events and catering functions and describe the diversity in these sectors Events can be classified into four broad categories based on their purpose and objective: y Leisure events e.g. leisure sport, music, recreation.

Singapore youth Olympics 2010 is the best s for the sporting event in Singapore. This event established Singapore as one of the multicultural countries which also exposed many young talents. This Mega event was successfully organized by Kingsmen Creative Pte ltd with their effective event management skills and proper planning. The next famous type of leisure type event is the entertainment, art and musical events. The target audiences are sometimes very large and the event should be properly communicated with the audience

through proper marketing channels. Singapore is very famous for musical events from Mega concert to the minor events. Live concerts and visiting musical events in Singapore is one part of Singaporeans entertaining night life. Every weekend most of the night clubs organizes musical events. y Cultural events e.g. ceremonial, religious, art, heritage, and folklore.

Cultural events are also a mega event where the entire community of people will participate in the event. Especially Singapore's religious and ethnic diversity is reflected in the sheer number and variety of festivals and celebrations held during the year. The major religious and ethnic events and public holidays are Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, Hari Raya (which has two parts) and Deepavali. Cultural highlights include the Singapore Arts Festival, Singapore International Film Festival and Singapore Food Festival, while National Day the anniversary of the country's independence are the mega events organized by the government of Singapore. y Personal events e.g. weddings, birthdays, anniversaries. Personal events are the family events where the group of known people will gather together to celebrate their special occasion. It is very traditional in Asian culture from the olden days to organize an events for special occasions like wedding, birthday, anniversaries to share their joy and blessing with their families and friends.

Organizational events e.g. commercial, political, charitable, sales, product launch, expo. The event objective is business development and also for future business prospects. The event may be from minor VIP events to the mega expo and product launches. It is a way of building relationship with their stake holders and also for developing networks.

Event team relationship: The event manager and his supporting staffs as a group called as event team. The supporting staffs are the pillars of the event manager for all his plan execution. The team will grow exponential as the event nears. The team of 10 can grow to 100 within a short period of time. This is termed as pulsing organization by Alvin Toffler (1980). As an event manager of an event company should contract with the other manager of various departments to execute the event plan. These could be any of the following below y y Venue Manager Stage Manager

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Lighting, audio and Video Components Decorations and florist manager Entertainer Employment agencies Rental companies Public relation and marketing communications Security Companies Catering Companies Cleaning Companies Printers Ticketing Operations

Most of the events, the manager should co-ordinate with the government agencies at higher levels and also he has to build strong relationship with all levels of people for the smooth execution of the process For example Event manager should coordinate with catering manager about the catering timing and other plans related to the catering services for perfect execution of the plan.

Types of Catering: People love entertainment. As a caterer you can take advantage of this by offering everything from breakfast for two, intimate gourmet dinners for 20 or traditional wedding buffets for 500. Different events need different catering services depending upon the need of the target audience.

There are different types of catering available are Mobile catering, Event catering catering to serve most of the large events like

and Industrial

VIP Catering VIP Catering has been the premier all-service catering operation provides delicious, attractively served food in almost any setting from your board room to a picnic table in the park to a church hall to your own dining room. (http://www.fargo-viproom.com/vipcatering.html)

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Sponsor Catering Performer / Athlete catering Catering for athletes can be a challenging task as nutritional needs can vary from one athlete to another. Therefore, we offer an advisory service to team or club caterers, educating them about the specific needs of athlete. (http://www.pro-

activate.co.uk/athletes/services/catering/)

Staff Catering The catering service done by the catering staffs in fine dining tables with perfect menu selection or ala-carte

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Fixed Catering Mobile catering A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose. Mobile catering is common at outdoor events (such as concerts),workplaces, and downtown business districts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catering)

1. Dietary Requirements like vegetarians, diabetics and those with religious dietary constraints. These factors are pretty important because they can affect your entire plans, especially with the type of food we cater. 2. What type of event are we hosting? This will tell we what type of menu and theme we will have to go for. There may be certain types of food which the guests might expect and they will be disappointed if they don't find it. 3. What kind of budget are we looking at? Yes, money, probably the biggest constraint we will have to face with the catering services. 4. Number of guests we are planning for. Both with the budget and the number of guests we have, we can estimate the amount of food and refreshments we need. Depending on what type of event we are hosting, we should never try to skimp on the food. 5. Accessories: Does our caterer provide accessories (like napkins, decorations and so on)? If they don't, we need to provide it by our self. 6. Location: In most offices in Singapore, there is the usual problem of space constraints. So planning is very important.

7. Time: When the food should arrive? We must also take into consideration the time for the caterer to prepare the meals, setup the tables and so on. Since we want the food to be fresh. A good caterer can cost quite a sum, but the competition in Singapore is great, and there are ways to negotiate with a reputable catering company especially if you are hosting a big event. Thus the different type of catering services is required for different types of events depending upon the objectives and themes the catering services will vary with these diverse events.

1.3 Describe how the issues, such as marketing and sales, human resources, customer service or service quality, affect the decision-making in contract and event management. Marketing and Sales: As the term suggests, marketing and sales functions within a marketing framework which considerably affects the decision making of organizing an Event. Since Event marketing is an intangible product it is very difficult to market among the target audience as there is no physical evidence for the product. Hence the event should be entertaining as well as informative which makes the people to turn up for the event. The money spent on marketing and sales is huge and expected return is also very high from it. Traditionally Marketing and Sales is known as the promotional element of the four Ps of marketing (product, place, price, and promotion), the primary goal of marketing and sales is to reach a defined audience to affect its behavior by informing, persuading, and reminding. Marketing communication acquires new customers for brands by building awareness and encouraging them for trial. Marketing communication also maintains a brand's current customer base by reinforcing their purchase behavior by providing additional information about the brand's benefits. A secondary goal of marketing communication is building and reinforcing relationships with customers, prospects, and other important stakeholders. The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games were a major

international multi-sport event held from February 1228, 2010 in Canada which is one of the successful mega sporting events held last year. The marketing expense of this event is estimated as $487 million US dollars and mostly acquired through sponsorships. Since the marketing expense is very high and also it plays the major role in attracting the target audience, making right decision is very important for this issue for the better return of investment.

4Ps marketing: Product: Product - It is a tangible good or an intangible service that is mass produced or manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Intangible products are service based like IT industry and event organizers Promotion: Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. A certain amount of crossover occurs when promotion uses the four principal elements together, which is common in event management industry. Price: The price is the amount a customer pays for the product or services. The business may increase or decrease the price of product if other vendor offers the similar product or services. Place Place represents the location where a product or service can be purchased or received respectively. It is often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on the Internet. Importance of Sponsorship: Many events are substantially subsidized by sponsorship, with marketing plans closely linked to the sponsorship. The sponsor can have part or absolute control over the event and this will in turn influence marketing and operational planning. Sponsorship is one of the most common funding source for staging the event. The sponsors identifies with the event, mainly through the use of their name and logo, and expect a of their investment. After the event to ensure that the sponsorship has been successful and that the sponsorships wit the event will continue. Human Resource: The particular challenges provided by such events are varied. The size of the workforce explodes at the time of the event to include the event management team, many paid staff, hundreds of volunteers and

multiple contractors, such as food vendors and cleaning teams. Everyone working on the site comes into the scope of the event workforce. Little time is available for training and motivation plays a key role in retention and customer service. Decision making occurs on the run and the event is over before anyone can think about performance appraisal. The environment is further characterized by a fast pace, high stress levels and many workers are fatigued by the bump in period before the event audience pours through the gates to add yet another level of pressure. These features of the human resources environment are quite different to those of the traditional workforce. For Example: y Business Events - a vast sector including events people who manage conferences, exhibitions, incentive trips and individual business travel. y Sporting Events - this sector includes sporting events ranging from the Olympic Games, Rugby World Cup, Soccer World Cup, Tour de France, Grand Prix to many smaller, local sporting events. y Arts and Entertainment - the logistics, risk and financial issues facing entertainment events are leading to the development of more sophisticated operational skills for this sector. Music festivals are increasingly popular. y Public Events - civic ceremonies, parades, celebrations, festivals and protests all fall within the scope of public events. Planning, approval and risk management are increasingly on the agenda for all levels of government.

Customer Service or Service Quality Issue in Event Management: Customer service is very import part of event management and the quality of services we are delivering to the clients gives us the prolonged business. Time line and fulfilling the expectation of the customers will lead to a successful event. Human resource and IT plays a vital role in customer services because they are the one who directly in contact with the audience.

From the welcoming to the send off they are the one who is going to satisfy the audience. So it is very important for the event manager to make decision in selecting the trained people and introducing perfect technology to satisfy the requirement and expectation of customers for the successful event management

For Example: In Oscar award event, the celebrities are welcomed in red carpet in a grant style and they will guided by the professionals till the end of the event. It is a part of quality of customer services offered the event management company for the particular event.