case study stage 1

will talk after the person look at the assignment about price

UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center Case Study

In 1980, the UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center was opened in a growing area of a bedroom community, by a UMUC Business Management graduate after he retired from the US Marine Corps. It has an exercise room with many different kinds of specialized equipment, rooms for various exercise and martial arts classes, and locker rooms with showers for men and women. In addition, there is a small snack area where members can buy bottled water, soda, fruit juices and snacks, with tables and chairs where people can relax. There are several part time staff members that man the counter where people check in; they also sell memberships and collect payments. There are trained exercise room attendants to assist members and a maintenance staff to ensure cleanliness of the facility and minor maintenance of the equipment. Recently you were hired by the owner and founder as the manager, and you are very excited about this opportunity!

UR UMUC Healthy is a for-profit Fitness Center and must cover its variable costs, fund future improvements and produce a reasonable profit for the owners. Unfortunately, business has been steadily declining over the last five years. Although your predecessor did a good job at the Center, it has become outdated. You recognize that some of the equipment really needs to be replaced, but you are not sure which equipment should be replaced first. The classes and exercise programs available have also become outdated. There is little known about the makeup of the membership (age, sex, goals, interests, problems, complaints, etc.). You don’t know if there are long waits for particular equipment. If you had more information in these areas you feel that you could increase membership and income. For instance, if you knew which equipment was most heavily used, perhaps you would opt to replace that first, or add more similar equipment. The Member and Non Member fee structure has not been reviewed in many years, and your contracts with outside firms that perform preventative and major maintenance, and those that provide cleaning supplies, vending machine services, and towels have not been reviewed in a number of years. Recently, there have been weeks when the Center has run out of clean towels and the vending machines were out of the most popular items. In addition, customers have been requesting Wi-Fi reception in the Center as well as cardio monitoring features on the cardio equipment.

The Center is open from 5 AM to 10 PM and is busy most of the day; however, the make-up of the people differs over the course of the day and each group has its own characteristics. The early group, 5 – 8 AM are the heavy workout members who speed through their exercises and head out for work or school. The next group, 8 AM -2 PM are older and take their time exercising and attending classes and spend a lot of time in social interaction; they are generally either retired or moms with their kids in school. The period from 2 – 4 PM is the least busy and is made up largely of high school students and others who like a less crowded environment. From 4 – 7 PM the group is made up of workers on their way home who want to get their workout in before dinner. The last group, 7 – 10 PM, is young single people who want show themselves off and attract the opposite sex, while exercising or taking classes.

One problem that you notice immediately is that you do not know which employees are scheduled to work each day, and there is no way to quickly get a substitute if one is needed. All employees require annual training and certifications in CPR, Safety, First Aid and the use of AED Defibrillators, while the contract trainers require various additional certifications periodically based on their specialty. All of the membership records, orders for towels and snack bar items, and financial and payroll accounts are kept on paper. The Center does not have a Web site, and uses very little marketing except word-of-mouth, and essentially still operates the same as it did in 1980.

Throughout this course you will manage the UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center, taking advantage of business practices discussed in the class, the Course Modules and the textbook to increase revenue, keep the business running, and bring the Center into the 21st century. You will identify one area that is in need of improvement and that can be improved through the use of technology. You are not expected to solve all of the problems identified or address all improvements that could be made at the UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center. Note: We’re looking for a technology solution. While installing a handball court may attract new customers, it is not a technology solution.

The following is an example of how you will identify a business need and a technology solution: Last year, the Fitness Center had no effective way to communicate with its members.  Notices were posted on the lobby bulletin board but many members ignored that, and of course those that hadn’t come to the Center recently had no way of receiving the information.  To address the business need of effectively communicating with members, a simple database was developed to capture customers’ email and cell phone information as well as their preferred method of receiving notifications.  

Note: As you approach these assignments, you will find it helpful to think about your own experiences with a fitness center or gym. Making a trip to a local fitness center may help you think about the processes, challenges, and opportunities.

Upon completion of these assignments you will have performed an array of activities to demonstrate your ability to apply the course content to a “real world situation” to:

· Analyze the business environment and identify a strategic area for improvement

 

(Stage 1)

· Propose an appropriate technology solution to improve a selected business process (Stage 2)

· Evaluate various IT considerations of the proposed technology solution (Stage 3)

· Communicate your solution and the IT considerations to stakeholders using a presentation format (Stage 4)

· Identify and explain the next steps in implementing the solution (Stage 5)

 

The case study and assignments address the Course Outcomes to enable you to:

· analyze business strategy to recognize how technology solutions enable strategic outcomes

· analyze internal and external business processes to identify information systems requirements

· identify and plan IT solutions that meet business objectives.

STAGED ASSIGNMENTS

The staged assignments are designed to follow the relevant course modules and chapters of the textbook in the class schedule, and are due on the dates shown in the Syllabus. 

Stage 1 Project: Business Environment Analysis (Word document with analysis)

Stage 2 Project:  Business Process Model and Technology-Supported Solution Proposal (Word document with proposed solution and process diagram)

Stage 3 Project:  Template for IT Considerations (Word table)

Stage 4 Project:  Executive Briefing Presentation (PowerPoint Presentation on proposed solution)

Stage 5 Project:  Outline of Next Steps (Word document outline with next steps)

The weight of the assignments is shown in the Course Syllabus. The due dates are shown in the Course Schedule.

Assignments for stages 1, 2 and 5 require external research, outside of the textbook.  The grading rubric is included with each assignment.

These assignments are designed to help you identify how to effectively analyze and interpret information to improve the business.  This is an opportunity for you to apply critical thinking skills and think like a business professional.  When you are writing a paper or developing a presentation, prepare it as if it is going to the Loan Committee at the local bank whom you want to impress with your knowledge, abilities and obtain the required financing.  Don’t just go through the mechanics of pulling together information — think about what you are doing, why you’re doing it, whether it make sense, whether the information seems realistic, and what the results show.  Support your recommendations with your research. It’s important that you identify relevant, timely resources that specifically support the points or information you provide in your assignment. You should read the source and assimilate the information first, and then put it into your own words and incorporate it into the flow of your writing (with an appropriate in-text APA citation and a list of Works Cited at the end of your paper). Direct quotes should be used very sparingly—only when the author’s own words uniquely present a concept that would be lost if paraphrased by you.

One of the prerequisites for this course is that you have a fundamental working knowledge of word processing and presentation software. Detailed instructions for each Staged Project, 1 through 5, are posted in the Case Materials Conference. You must prepare each assignment in the indicated format (i.e., table, outline, report, presentation or other specified format) and submit it as an attachment through your individual Assignments Folder in WebTycho.  No credit will be given for assignments submitted in file formats other than those stated in the assignment instructions. 

Because these assignments require you to use Microsoft Word and PowerPoint (as indicated in the instructions), you may need to “brush up” on your familiarity with these or use functions that perhaps are new to you.  Therefore, do not wait until the last minute to begin an activity.  You should read through all the assignments in advance to ensure you (1) understand what is expected, and (2) allow enough time to effectively create the information being requested. 

Additional Information 

There is a significant amount of information available to you to assist in developing your skills in using the Microsoft Office Products.  MS Word and PowerPoint are required for these exercises.  The textbook comes with access to the publisher’s website (

http://www.mhhe.com/baltzan)

where there are a number of resources, including Tech Plug-Ins for Office 2003, 2007 and 2010.  Don’t hesitate to use the on-line help and wizard tools built into the MS Office applications for help as you work with the software tools.  There are also other web sites, such as

www.eHow.com

, and

www.microsoft.com

that provide tips.  Even YouTube has some useful videos demonstrating various techniques.  

Case Study, Stage 1: Business Environment Analysis

Before you begin this assignment, be sure you have read the “UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center Case Study.”

Business Environment Analysis for UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center

The UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center has been in business since 1980 and has seen an increase in competition from small fitness centers, Cable TV and Internet Exercise channels and sites, WII and other TV Game Console, various exercise equipment infomercials and increasing supply of Exercise DVD’s . One of your fitness instructors told you that she saw a sign announcing the construction of Gold’s Gym (a well-known national fitness franchise) a few blocks away. Your staff is worried and is looking to you to provide reassurance that the competition will not affect the business. In addition, you have decided to develop your strategic direction for bringing the UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center into the 21st century.

You know that Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model is a useful tool for analyzing a business, understanding the importance of the five competitive forces and helping to develop its Generic Strategy. It is also used to aid organizations facing the challenging decisions of dealing with changes made by existing competitors, entering a new industry or industry segment or developing a strategy for dealing with new competition. The Five Forces Model helps determine the relative importance of the forces affecting competitive position that could affect the future success of a business and includes:

· Buyer Power

· Supplier power

· Threat of substitute products or services

· Threat of new entrants

· Rivalry among existing competitors

The Five Forces and the Generic Strategy are fully described and discussed in the textbook, and the Business Model and Competitive Advantage are covered in Module 1. In order to analyze the Fitness Center’s current competitive position and develop a Generic Strategic direction, you have decided to use the Five Forces Model to analyze your Fitness Center business.

Purpose of this Assignment

This assignment gives you the opportunity to apply the concepts of the Porter Five Forces model to a specific business, and develop a strategic direction for your business. This assignment specifically addresses the following course outcomes to enable you to:

· analyze business strategy to recognize how technology solutions enable strategic outcomes

· analyze internal and external business processes to identify information systems requirements.

Assignment

Using the textbook and external resources, write a short paper 2-3 pages in length, not including References page and cover sheet, responding to the bulleted items below. Remember to use the APA formatting rules and correctly cite and reference your sources with APA format. Use the Grading Rubric to be sure you have covered everything. Submit your paper via your Assignment Folder as a Microsoft Word document
with your last name included in the filename.

Create a document that includes the following:

· Brief introduction providing the background of the case, why you are writing and what is to come in your paper. This should only be 3-5 sentences.

· Perform a Porter’s Five Forces analysis for your UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center, addressing each force in one or two sentences and defining the force, its impact ( Positive, Negative or Neutral) on the Fitness Center and whether it should affect your strategy (Yes/No).  (See Textbook, pp. 15-18 and Course Module 1.) Do not identify solutions or things that you are doing that would affect the factor. (The idea is to identify how the different forces affect the UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center and how much.) This provides you with a view of the business that will allow you to develop a Generic Strategy and a Strategic Business Area on which to focus your efforts.

· Determine which of Porter’s Three Generic Strategies (see textbook page 20) that you will use to improve your UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center for the 21st century and explain why you selected it and tie it into the significant forces that you have identified

· Using your analysis of the Fitness Center’s Business Model (based on what you learned in Module 1), identify an important Strategic Business Area (they correspond to direct variables) that needs to be improved so that we can implement our Generic Strategy and briefly explain your choice (Refer to the Walmart Case example).that needs to be improved. The Strategic Business Areas relate to the direct variables (explained in Module 1 and illustrated in the Walmart Example Case Study). Explain why you have selected that Strategic Business Area and how improving it will improve operation of the Center, including how it relates to the Generic Strategy you selected.

· Within the selected Strategic Business Area, identify and select a single daily process that is within and supports the Strategic Business Area that needs improvement. Note: A process is defined in your textbook as “a standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task, such as processing a customer’s order.” (Baltzan, 2012, p. 20) (In Stage 2 you will model the AS IS process and the TO BE Process, and propose a technology solution to improve the process you identify here, so select a process that is appropriate for a technology solution.)

· At the end of your report with your References enter the following headings and complete the information using one concise sentence for each. You will be starting each subsequent stage by including this information as a method to keep us focused on the objectives.

GENERIC STRATEGY:

STRATEGIC BUSINESS AREA:

PROCESS TO BE IMPROVED:

In determining which process you select for improvement, be sure to keep in mind the remaining projects within this Case Study. You should review Stages 2-5 to get an understanding of the future projects that build on this initial stage and to aid you in selecting a process (and later proposing a technology solution) that can support the requirements of the follow-on assignments.

Do not start on Stage 2 until you receive feedback on this Stage as the Process that you select is crucial and I may recommend that you change processes so that you can successfully complete the case. You MUST incorporate the recommended changes in all subsequent Stages.

The “right” and “wrong” answers have to do with whether or not you correctly incorporated the course concepts from the textbook and addressed all parts of the . You need to do some external research on at least one aspect of the assignment – your choice – and incorporate it and cite/reference it in APA format in your response. The specific strategic area you select for a technology solution is not as important as that it makes sense in light of the course content and the Case Study and is well supported with your application of the course concepts and your external research.   Use the Rubric below to be sure you have covered all aspects.

GRADING RUBRIC:

Attribute

Full Points

Partial Points

No points

Possible Points

Points Earned

Five Forces Analysis

Analysis covers all 5 forces, defining them and their impact on the Fitness Center t(Positive, Negative or Neutral) and whether it should affect your strategy (Yes/No), demonstrates understanding of course concepts, analysis and critical thinking.

Analysis covers 1-5 forces, and/or lacks definitions and/or affect on the Fitness Center or strategy (Positive, Negative or Neutral) (Yes/No); and may be lacking in demonstration of understanding of course concepts, analysis, and/or critical thinking.

Analysis not included, or does not address any of the 5 forces.

30

COMMENTS:

Generic Strategy

Generic strategy identified, explained and tied to the 5 forces analysis; and demonstrates understanding of course concepts, analysis and critical thinking.

Generic strategy not identified and/or not defined; and or not tied to the 5 forces analysis, may be lacking in demonstration of understanding of course concepts, tie in to the 5 forces analysis and/or critical thinking.

Generic strategy not included.

15

COMMENTS:

Strategic Area for Improvement

Strategic Business area is selected based on the analysis of the Business Model and is adequately described demonstrating understanding of course concepts, analysis and critical thinking.

Strategic Business area does not come from analysis of the Business Model and/or is not adequately described and/or is lacking in demonstration of understanding of course concepts, analysis and/or critical thinking.

No identification and discussion of strategic area for improvement is provided.

20

COMMENTS:

Process for Improvement

Business Process identified is aligned with strategic business area above; process is applicable to the Case Study and is appropriate for a technology solution improvement.

Business Process identified is not aligned with strategic business area above and/or process is not applicable to the Case Study and/or is not appropriate for a technology solution improvement.

Process for improvement is not identified.

10

COMMENTS:

External Research

At least one source other than the textbook is incorporated, is substantive and used effectively. Source(s) used are relevant and timely.(not a definition of terms) and contribute to the analysis and support conclusions.

A source other than the textbook may be used, but is not properly incorporated, substantive or used and contribute to the analysis and support conclusions, and/or is not effective or appropriate and/or is not relevant or timely.

No external research is incorporated.

10

COMMENTS:

Report Format

Report reflects effective organization; correct sentence structure, grammar and spelling; presented in a professional format; references are appropriately incorporated and cited using APA style.

Report is not well organized, and/or contains grammar and/or spelling errors; and/or does not follow APA style for references and citations.

Report is extremely poorly written and does not convey the information.

15

COMMENTS:

TOTAL Points

100

100 points =10% of final course grade

Points Recorded
(total points x .10)

RECOMMENDATIONS:

STAGE 1: Business Environment Analysis

In 1952 in the great city of San Antonio, Texas my grandfather established The Hometown Deli. He ran his deli in such a way that kept very loyal clientele returning. For decades his deli was successful with just word of mouth from clients. Like most things, time changes everything and in this case it’s the same. His word of mouth technique just is not reaching enough clientele anymore or the younger generations. I enthusiastically accepted his invitation to take over the business and distinguished many of the strengths which made The Hometown Deli a success. However, I also discovered the business had been declining the last five years and numerous weaknesses needed to be addressed. In order to bring The Hometown Deli into the 21st century there are several changes that need to be implemented and I’m enthusiastic about its future.

We will utilize Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model for our business environment analysis, which includes the development of our strategic direction, improvement of our business model, and how we use technology solutions to enable strategic outcomes. In using Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model we should be able to transition The Hometown Deli into the 21st century smoothly and successfully.

Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model analyzes the competitive forces in which a company’s operating environment operates in order to assess the potential for profitability in an industry. Its purpose is to combat these competitive forces by identifying opportunities, competitive advantages, and competitive intelligence. If the forces are strong, they increase competition; if the forces are weak, they decrease competition (Baltzan, 2012). (p.15-16)

(1) Buyer Power- This is the ability of buyers to affect the price they must pay for an item. Buyer Power becomes high in this situation. As mentioned in the case study, there is a rumor that a new deli will be going in a few blocks away called the “Wall Street Deli”. Business has been declining, it is a great possibility that customers are going elsewhere beyond the neighborhood and this may be because they are not receiving services they necessarily want. This has caused less business, which has decreased revenues. There are a few strategies to keep customers coming back and to bring new customers in.

* Menu, marketing, and services will be altered to what our customers prefer and with what our new customers desire

* The customer population is aging and the younger generations have not been marketed to, we will start and continue marketing to the younger crowd as well as the current loyal clientele

* Create a website that will present who we are, where we are located, our menu, our hours, and our history, but we will create an interactive website for community recipes, coupons, referrals, and information that customers want from the surveys and feedback we regularly receive

* free Wi-Fi at the deli for all customers

* Create a loyalty program with a plastic membership card that is verifiable so that customers can receive free items from our Deli after so many points based on purchases. This allows us to option to send coupons, call the customer by their first name as the card is swiped with payment, and track marketing trends for ordering, marketing, and profitability

* Encourage customers for their feedback by giving them a 25-50% coupon off their next purchase

(2) Supplier Power- Suppliers have the ability to influence the prices they charge for supplies, which means profits can be driven down by suppliers. In this situation that would mean the Supplier Power is high. In the food retail business, food prices continue to rise. However, increased pricing to our customers and future customers would not work at this point. The objective at this point is to reclaim our position in the food market and grow our business. To obtain this we will use the following strategies:

* Create relationships with local vendors for best price and quality of goods

* Utilize MIS (Management Information Systems) to find alternative products (online food ordering, inventory, etc.)

* Revise the menu to incorporate what the customer desires along with food price to receive the most profits

(3) Threat of Substitute Products or Services- The threat is high when there are many alternatives for products or services and low when there are few alternatives. There is a strong possibility that customers can be stolen by competitors. The rumor is that the “Wall Street Deli” might be going in a few blocks away, which creates a high threat for our Deli. We have already been losing business for five years which means the customers are going elsewhere and we need to prevent this. A strategy for this is listed as follows:

* Marketing The Hometown Deli thoroughly; best choice from pricing, nutritional eating, customer menu driven selection; rewards loyalty program; community involvement; addressing each customer by name as they pay for their food items; hard to resist offers that bring customers back yet brings a profit; Catering at a minimum order amount; and customer relations training for all staff to improve relations

(4) Threats of New Entrants- The threat is high when the capital investment to enter a market is low and low when the investment is high. The investment is high to open up a new deli in this area considering there’s no other deli’s around except for the rumor of the “Wall Street Deli.” Investment capital can be stolen by new market entrants and our goal is to prevent this and stay competitive. Our strategy is to:

* Assess and find out if the rumor is true about “Wall Street Deli” and to analyze what they will be offering if they do open. Continuous assessing will be necessary when they open for pricing, menu, offerings, marketing, and their capabilities.

(5) Rivalry among Existing Competitors- This is high when competition is fierce in a market and low when competitors are more complacent. Because customers can always choose other substitute products I would say our rivalry is high. This is obvious in the last 5 years because clientele have been going elsewhere. Our strategy is:

* Not only address what The Hometown Deli is about (quality, excellent customer service, pricing, healthy food, specials, and an atmosphere our customers desire), but to stay vigilant of what our customers want us to give them.

* We provide a happy median in pricing (not too low or high) – our focus will be quality, customer service, and an environment where people want to come and share with fellow friends (Five Forces Definition, Baltzan, Paige, page 15-18, Business Driven Information Systems).

Porter’s Generic Business Strategies

Using Porter’s Generic Business Strategies, the best strategy to rebuilding The Hometown Deli would be the “Focused” strategy. At this point the goal of the Deli is to reach a narrow market with lower costs and this was chosen so that we can be a deli of differentiation. The idea is to have lower prices on services with the best possible quality and services. We want an atmosphere where people want to meet and do business, and refer others. We want the customers to leave feeling completely satisfied with smiles on their faces.

Strategic Area for Business Improvement

To figure out where to strategically start to improve a business it’s good to understand what business strategy is and what strategy is. The definition of business strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal or set of goals or objectives. Strategy is management’s game plan for strengthening the performance of the enterprise (Stewart, Syd, 2008, website). With this being said, my overall strategic area will be to ultimately re-establish the The Hometown Deli focusing primarily on Customer Satisfaction. Customer Satisfaction incorporates many areas within the business. I believe the customer satisfaction has declined in the last several years due to the deli not being able to adapt and progress with the current demands of the customers. We will engage the customers the minute they enter the doors to the completion of their services and they walk out the doors. Not only will we engage them within the store but we will implement programs and marketing that will engage potential customers outside the business as well.

To do all of this we will need to utilize technology to see success in our strategic area. Our strategy, through the use of technology will affect our suppliers, deli staff, customers, and The Hometown Deli corporate, which include:

* Software that affects Payroll, Inventory, Purchasing, Customer transactions, Recipes, Training, Marketing, Coupons, Menu’s, Advertising, Referrals, Track Customer Traffic and Menu Items (for staffing purposes and menu items), and Accounting

* Our interactive website for driven customers

* Track Loyalty reward program

* Deli Wi-Fi

We can improve this process by using IT/MIS and by using IT/MIS we can create value. IT/MIS creates value by implementing processes known as customer-facing and business-facing. Customer-facing results in a product or service that is received by an organization’s external customer. This includes areas such as fulfilling orders, communicating with customers, and marketing information. Business-facing is invisible to the customer but essential to the effective management of the business. This includes areas such as goal setting, day-to-day planning, giving performance feedback and rewards, and allocating resources. When we incorporate all these programs and strategies The Hometown Deli will be well on its way to continuous success in the 21st century.

References

Baltzan, Paige (2012). Business Driven Information Systems, Third Edition. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Steward, Syd (February 02, 2012). A Definition of Business Strategy. Rapid Business Intelligence Success. http://www.rapid-business-intelligence-success.com/definition-of-business strategy.html.

Running Head: THE UR UMUC HEALTHY FITNESS CENTER CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
1

THE UR UMUC HEALTHY FITNESS CENTER CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
2

The UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center case study analysis

Name

Tutor

College

Course

Date

The UR UMUC Healthy fitness centre is a centre that has been operating since 1980 as a centre for exercise and martial art classes. For more than twenty years since it was started, the fitness centre has been operating on the same way and nothing much has changed since its inception. Being on the 21st century, there is a great need of the management of the company to device new system of operation if it is to continue delivering its services to the public in the future. This paper gives an analysis of the situation at UR UMUC Healthy fitness center and devices on the strategies that I would employ being a newly employed manager at the centre.

Analyzing porter`s five forces, it will be easier to redefine the competitive position of UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Centre. Based on the information that has been provided for the fitness centre, analysis of Porter`s five forces will help in creating a competitive advantage of the firm over new entrants in the market.

Buyer’s power- This is the ability of the buyers to continue enjoying particular services or goods based on their preferences for the seller. In the health fitness centre, buyers power is at stake and this will mean that if the buyer`s power is to reduce, then it will negatively affect the performance of the centre. This force is not likely to affect my strategy as I will be dealing with other forces that will automatically increase the buyer`s power.

Supplier`s power- the ability of the supplier to continue providing the center with their required equipment. The suppliers` power has a neutral impact to the centre since the operations of the centre determine the willingness of the suppliers to keep on supplying the centre with their materials. This force is also not likely to affect my strategy as it is dependent on the success of the operations in the centre. Threat of substitute services is a force that defines the effect that there would be if new but related services within the locality. This force is likely to create a negative impact and will be featured in my strategy of improving the centre.

Threat from new entrants- The fourth force that defines the effect that would be realized from new provider of similar service. New entrants in the business will create a negative impact on the business and will also affect my strategy on developing the centre. A new fitness centre is underway and this will mean that I will have to employ certain strategies that will elevate customer satisfaction in our centre to prevent customers from preferring the new fitness centre more than the existing one.

Rivalry among existing competitors- this is the fifth force is the rivalry among the existing competitors and defines the threat posed by businesses that provide a similar service within the locality. This force has a negative impact on the fitness centre and is likely to affect my strategy for the business. I will have to provide a unique and quality service to all customers in order to ensure that we gain a competitive advantage over similar businesses.

Given a chance to choose the Porter`s generic strategies, I would choose the focus strategy on developing the fitness centre. The situation of the fitness centre at the moment is the reason as to why I choose this strategy. Currently, the fitness centre seems to be a monopoly and creating focus for the particular market will be an added advantage to the centre. Using the focus strategy, the business will become more specific in its diverse operations and focus more on customer satisfaction so that the business may win the loyalty of the customers. With the loyalty of the customers, we will have outdone new entrants and the providers of substitute fitness services.

The strategic business area that is to be improved in the center is the technological sector. Since the business was set up in 1980, no major technological change has been embraced and the business continues business as usual in its daily operations. Technological changes will include the replacement of the obsolete equipment. Improved technology will increase the customer satisfaction and improve the business operations and the earnings from the centre.

Narrowing down to the specific process that needs to be improved, I will improve the customer care desk. The customer care desk will be receiving the highest technological boost. To be more precise, a website will be formed that will enhance customer relations. Through this process, customers will be in a position to express their queries and areas that they feel the center should improve. With a more close relation to the customers, I may not have to become keener in observing what needs to be replaced within the fitness centre.

GENERIC STRATEGY: Focus strategy is the effective strategy that will focus on developing particular areas for customer satisfaction.

STRATEGIC BUSINESS AREA: technological sector is the strategic business area that will improve customer satisfaction within the centre.

PROCESS TO BE IMPROVED: development of a website for the customer care desk will be the most effective process that will improve the customer relations.

References

Baltzan, P. (2012). Business driven information systems. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

QuickMBA, (2013). Porter`s Generic Strategies. Retrieved from

http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/generic.shtml