Plan For A Successful Farewell Party: Key Resources, Stakeholders, And Financial Planning Essay.

The Importance of Festivals and Events in Cultural Heritage and Entertainment

Question:

Discuss about the Festival And Event Management.

Festivals are an epitome of cultural heritage. These festivals and events cater to the entertainment needs of the people. In order to make the events a grand success, effective management styles are needed. Typical examples in this direction are arranging the required raw materials well in advanced; indulging in meetings among others (Getz & Page, 2016). Herein the interrelationship between the festivals and event management is projected. This assignment develops a plan for Farewell party. The main highlights of the action plan are the key resources needed and the key stakeholders. Along with this, the plan also provides an insight into the stakeholders to be involved in the planning for the financial aspect.

Trimester means the students are at the end of their courses. Throughout the year, the professors have toiled hard to prepare the students for their future life. Therefore, the farewell party would serve as a tribute towards the efforts put in by the professors for shaping the career of the students. On the contrary, it is also the ceasing of the outstanding performance exposed by the students in the university (Mair & Whitford, 2013). The second year students would bid farewell to their seniors, which can be considered as a new definition to their friendship. Every year, farewell parties are organized for the students of the third year. Consistency would be maintained in this year as well. The initial preparations have started in order to avert the emergencies at the time of the actual event. Viewing it from the other perspective, the farewell party would enhance the image and reputation of the university among the students and the other stakeholders (Smith et al., 2014).

Students enroll themselves in the university to attain higher education. It is such a stage in their lives, where they are expected to do quality studies for their academic establishment. In this process, the professors play a major role. In other words, the students, professors and other university staffs undergo drab monotony to excel in their respective profession. In order to provide recreation to the students from this drab monotony, the farewell party would be organized for the students of third year (Brunetti & Demetz, 2016). In view of this connotation, one of the purposes of the event is the recreation of the students beyond their studies.

The events such as farewell and cultural programs in it are also one of the essential means of expanding the scope and arena of the university. Inviting the foreign delegates in these events paves the way of foreign market penetration for the university. In response of these aspects, business expansion is one of the other purposes of the farewell party.

The Interrelationship Between Festivals and Event Management

Big events like the farewell events also serve the purpose of raising funds and charity. The main purpose of this farewell party is to collect funds for providing quality treatment to the patients suffering from leprosy (Müller, 2015).

Some events are very large and need an oriental approach from the planning till the closure. The same is applicable for this farewell party. In terms of the key resources needed the university personnel and the students giving the farewell need to indulge in meetings. At the initial stage, a rough list can be prepared, which can include the following items:

• Furniture
• Chairs
• Tables
• Stage
• Light and Sound
• Catering
• Electricity
• Music systems
• DJ
• Props for the cultural shows
• Recorders
• Volunteers
• Prizes
• First aid services
• Emergency fire extinguishers
• Venue decoration items
• Notice to the third years regarding the farewell

In the evaluation of the prepared list, the additional resources required would be brought to the forefront. For this, the planning needs to be done well in advanced, so that exigencies at the last moment can be handled in an efficient and effective manner (Jones, 2014).

Pondering upon the prepared list, fire extinguishers and first aid services are essential in terms of ensuring the safety and security of the university personnel and the students. In view of the purpose of charity collection for the leprosy patients, music systems and DJ can be opted out. Countering this, music systems can be kept provided they are operated in regulated levels. Regarding the decoration, it can be done as minimum as possible (Niekerk & Getz, 2016). However, to lure the foreign delegates, the auditorium can be decorated according to the identified and the specified purpose.

The award ceremony can be done with great pomp and show, as these awards would be a token of appreciation for the students for the marvelous performance exposed by them during the tenure of their course. Here an announcement can be made that the students, who are willing to extend support to the leprosy patients, would be awarded certificates of appreciation.

Furniture is an essential part of the event, without which the farewell party would not be possible. As a matter of specification, tables, chairs and stage need to be flexible enough, otherwise there is a tendency for the personnel and the students to fall, leading to various accidents (Brown et al., 2015). Here, the orders for the tables, chairs and stage need to be placed well in advance, so that the defective ones can be replaced before the actual event. Apart from this, flexible and strong tables and chairs can be hired on rent.

Light needs to be perfect for making the audience understands what program is being staged. The microphones need to be tested, so that the sounds are audible to the spectators sitting on the last row of the auditorium.

Purpose and Highlights of Farewell Party Plan

Regarding the catering services, vegetarian and non-vegetarian preferences need to be taken from the audience. The preparation of the dishes would depend on these responses of the students and the university personnel (Litvin, 2013). To be on the safe side, preparing extra dishes would help the university personnel to tackle the instances of extra guests. Buffet service would be one of the effective options in terms of letting the guests eat as per their capacity. The waste generated here can be collected and distributed among the poor people. For the disposable waste, solid waste  management technique can be adopted. This technique would enhance the cleanliness of the university.

Stakeholders are the ones, who are affected by the profit and loss of the companies and organizations. Stakeholders can be divided into internal and external. The internal stakeholders of the farewell party are the students, professors and the other staffs. On the other hand, the external stakeholders are the suppliers, event planners, caterers among others, or the external shareholders (Warnick, Bojanic & Xu, 2015).

Arranging meetings regarding the event would enhance the clarity of both the internal and the external stakeholders regarding the steps taken by the university personnel about making the farewell of the third year students a grand success. Interactive sessions would be an effective means of clarifying the doubts of the personnel regarding the efficient execution of the allocated duties.

Using social media for sending the orders to the suppliers would be effective in terms of making the arrangements well in advanced. On the other hand, it would enhance the stability in the relationship between the university and the stakeholders. Moreover, social media would enhance the scope and arena of the university business (Miranda, 2016).

Countering this, the university personnel need to identify the stakeholders, who possesses flexibility to make large events, like farewell, a grand success. For this, market research is one of the best options. For example, to arrange for catering services, the university personnel need to search for the best companies providing quality food in such large events. Search engine optimization would directly take the personnel to their required search. The same is applicable for the electricity, furniture and other resources. Here, the need is to assess whether the hired stakeholder would be feasible enough to fulfill the identified and specified cause of the event (Deery & Muskat, 2014).

If it is found that the hired supplier lacks the capability to fulfill the allotted duties and responsibilities, immediate replacement needs to be thought about. For this, enough time needs to be kept at hand, so that the essential requirements at there at the time of the actual event.         

Key Resources Needed for Successful Farewell Party

Finance is one such parameter, which is the cornerstone for introducing lucrative schemes and offers for the stakeholders. Without the financial aid, the farewell party of the university would be meaningless. Financial inadequacy would compel the university personnel to do away with the event in a haphazard manner (Xie & Sinwald, 2016). Without adequate financial assistance, the university personnel would not be able to organize the farewell party, which would reflect the incapability towards providing a token of appreciation for the hard efforts put in by the students for their academic establishment. This would be a shameful act in terms of the reputation of the university.

In order to avert these instances, evaluation of the financial condition is crucial prior to the planning of such events, like the farewell party. In case of inadequate financial resources, the university needs to hire sponsorships for organizing the events. This would provide financial support to the university. Critically perceiving the financial inadequacy, the aspect of charity collection is effective (Ahmad et al., 2013). However, the collected charity would be given to the Leprosy Foundations, taking the plight of the university back to the stage of financial inadequacy.

Making concrete plans regarding the achievement of financial flexibility is a vital step for the university personnel for organizing a grand farewell party for the third year students. Within this, indulging in partnerships with the trade union members would be an important step in terms of averting the instances of encountering inflations and fluctuations in the prices of the raw materials among others. The issue of taxes would be an important point to consider in case of buying the essential requirements (Weidenfeld & Leask, 2013). Savings from beforehand would act assistance for the university personnel in times of this financial crisis.

Cultural programs would add value to the farewell party. Keeping songs, dances and dramas would entertain the audience largely. If these performances are from different countries, it would surely lure the attention of the spectators. However, for this, a large financial assistance is needed, which can be achieved from the bank accounts or through sponsorships. Mainly finance is needed for the props and costumes (Della, 2013). Along with this, the artists coming from abroad to perform in the farewell party needs to be paid well, for which the university needs to plan the financial parameter in an effective manner.

Here also planning is needed in terms of which song, dance or drama would be staged first. The event can be started off with a welcome song, followed by dances and drama can be staged at last, as it needs make up and dress change in between the scenes. Rehearsals need to be done to check whether the planned performances are in sequence (Weidenfeld & Leask, 2013).  There can be a stipulated time for the rehearsals, which would not hamper the studies of the students, who are performing in the event. Here, the anchors would play a major role in maintaining the sequence of the events.

Stakeholder Involvement and Planning for Financial Aspect

The students performing solo or chorus songs need to do stage rehearsals to see whether the standing arrangement is in synchronization with the space of the stage. This is also applicable for the students performing dance and drama. In case of the drama, the performers need to ensure that there is enough space for them to move about the stage for the entrance and exits. Many stage rehearsals are needed with the light as well as the cameraman to put the things in proper sequence before the actual event (Ahmad et al., 2013).

Large projectors can be placed at the back side of the stage as well as on the rear side of the auditorium. This would enable the audience on the last row to see the events, taking on the stage clearly. Installation of so many projectors needs huge financial assistance, which needs to be reviewed well in advance.

One of the other aspects here is the security. Skilled and qualified guards need to be posted at every entrance and exits. These guards would check the passes provided to the audience. Applying conscious attitude in this checking would mitigate the trespassers disturbing the integrity of the event (Xie & Sinwald, 2016). 

At the end of the cultural program, all the audience would be provided with coupons for the refreshments, which would be available in the dinner hall.

Plans possess flexibility to systematize the activities according to their priority. This is applicable for all kinds of activities including the farewell party planned. At the initial stage, a rough draft of the event needs to be planned by the personnel with the help of the second and the first year students and the professors. This draft needs to be sent to the managerial authorities for their approval. After receiving the approval, plans need to be made as to how to proceed with the event (Deery & Muskat, 2014).

Activities	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8
Preparing the rough draft and sending it to the higher authorities
Beginning the initial plans
First round evaluation
Consulting the suppliers, event planners and caterers
Preparing the budget
Second evaluation
Plans for cultural programs
Consulting the electricians, light and the cameraman
Final evaluation before the event

Table: Action plan for the farewell party

Meetings are one of the best ways in which plans for the farewell party can be made in response to the approaches of the personnel, professors and the students. Within this, one of the primary activities is to decide the date, time and venue of the farewell party (Miranda, 2016).

Notice We are very pleased to announce that there will be a farewell party for the third year students on 17th September 2017, that is, next Sunday, in the auditorium. The event would be enriched with cultural programs, followed by refreshments. The audiences are requested to take their seats by 3:00 PM sharp, as the program would start at 3:30 PM. We request your cooperation for making the event a grand success. RSVP ______________________

As a sequential step, notice needs to be put up, which would inform the third year students about the farewell party. After this notification, the university personnel needs to consult with the suppliers, event planners and trade union members regarding the key resources required for organizing the event. These plans would help in establishing the budget for the event. This budget, in turn would make the personnel aware of the additional resources needed for the event of farewell party (Warnick, Bojanic & Xu, 2015).

Financial Planning and Achieving Flexibility

After developing the budget and reviewing the present availability of the resources, the university personnel need to indulge in meetings with the suppliers, event planners and catering companies regarding the required things. This is a prolonged process; therefore a huge amount of time needs to be devoted to this activity.

Evaluation would be an important step in the plan, which would make the university personnel aware of the drawbacks. Spontaneity in modifying these drawbacks would enable the personnel to avert the instances of emergencies at the time of actual event (Litvin, 2013). On the contrary, lackadaisical attitude towards the drawbacks would compel the personnel to encounter chaotic situations, destroying the purpose of the event. Frequency needs to be maintained in the execution of evaluation, which would enhance the awareness of the personnel regarding the preparation of the event and making it a grand success.

Conclusion

This assignment emerges successful in developing a plan for the farewell party of the third year students of a university. The background of the event enhances the clarity of the readers regarding the need for such events. The purpose of the farewell party is an addition to the background, taking the readers directly to the plan. Financial planning justifies the key resources needed by the university personnel to make the farewell party a grand success. Cultural programs are a part of the event, which can be synchronized through the application of an oriental approach towards planning. Action plan is a summarization of the main attractions of the activities to be undertaken by the university personnel for organizing the farewell party.

References

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