The University of Zan has made a great stride in commissioning the construction of the new stadium facility. Such a move will certainly enhance sports activities in the institution as it will accord the students an opportunity to venture into various sporting fields and explore their sports talents. Among the types of sports that will benefit directly from the construction of the new stadium are track and field, hockey, as well as soccer. Such a move is poised to greatly enhance the capacity of the institution as far as its ability to effectively compete with other institutions in sports activities is concerned; what is more, the stadium facility will be devoid of an athletic training facility. This decision has been made due to the fact that the institution already had a satellite athletic training facility at its disposal. Therefore, there was no need for one to be incorporated within the stadium. I do believe that this decision is wrong because of some of the benefits that will be accrued by having the athletics training facility incorporated within the given stadium.
First and foremost, the current athletics training facility is located away from the proposed stadium, which will be the institution’s main sporting facility. This implies that for athletes to train conveniently, they will have to spend a considerable amount of time getting to it. Timing is an important aspect when it comes to sports training. If the athletes are forced to sacrifice their time in accessing the athletic training facility, this implies that they will have less time available for their training. Such a reduced training time will definitely affect their sports achievements and might also impact significantly their performance on the track (Pfeiffer & Mangus, 2010). In addition to reducing the amount of time available for training, a satellite athletic training facility located away from the stadium might interfere with the morale of the athletes and students who might wish to take up some types of sports. A lot of time wasted on accessing the athletics training facility and the other facilities might cause lack of motivation. Consequently, a lot of people might end up engaging in other sporting activities as opposed to athletics.
Another important aspect that illustrates the importance of integrating the athletics training facility in the main stadium is the promotion of cohesion among students. This will be promoted through sporting activities. In addition to promoting physical fitness and exposing students to various sports activities, the purpose of sports within the institution is to promote cohesion among the students. Student cohesion is an important requirement for the success of any institution since it promotes an atmosphere of collaboration and team work (Sawyer, 2009). Locating the athletics training facilities away from the other main sporting facilities will be counter-productive as far as the promotion of this cohesion is concerned and, as a result, it will deprive the institution of the benefits that might be brought about by this cohesion (Sawyer, 2009). Therefore, in order for the institution to realise the benefits of a cohesive environment such as enhanced collaboration and team work in handling team related activities, an integrated sporting facility is an important requirement. This is exactly what will be realised by means of including the athletics training facility in the main stadium facility.
References
Pfeiffer, R.P., & Mangus, B. (2010). Concepts of Athletic Training. Michigan: Jones & Bartlett.
Sawyer, T. (Ed.). (2009). Facilities planning for health, fitness, physical activity, recreation and sports (12th ed.). USA: Sagamore Publishing.
Leadership qualities for operationsimprovement within East End Athletic Club
Emphasis should be placed on qualities such as ability to communicate effectively, ability to relate freely with members and other employees and also training qualities. Touchstone should act as role model in providing dedicated service to customers of East End Athletic club.
She should ensure that her staff offers unrivaled attention to members so as to create sense of belonging amongst members of the club. Secondly, she has to clearly define various roles within specified sections so as to give employees easy time in associating themselves with areas where their talent and technical skills fit best. This will help in improving work efficiency within the club (Dubrin, 2010).
Thirdly, she should provide charismatic inspiration to all employees; this will ensure members appreciation on the kind of operation roles played by each employee.
Then the provision of motivational incentives should be initiated to the employees, this helps in creating good work environment since each employee feel that their contribution and efforts are actually appreciated by the club. Lastly, Touchstone should be result oriented. She should emphasize and direct every action towards activities where results most accrue (Fiedler, 1967).
Leadership roles to emphasize
Touchstone should ensure that there is progress in every section of the organization. She should emphasize the importance of teamwork and give proper attention to team members by providing appropriate advices on ways of improving the overall performance of the club. She should ensure that all the programs used are appropriate and up to the tasks.
Her leadership role should be reinforced through delegation of some duties to individuals; this ensures that all employees and members are actively involved in the running of the club.
She should lead by engaging the staff in open conversations and record every crucial matter that arises from the conversations. She should also be involved in teaching and guiding the team through various processes and showing them various ways of solving specific problems (Dubrin, 2010).
Touchstone should prioritize on both short term and long term needs for the club. In this way she will be providing leadership in terms of utilizing available resources on areas which require immediate attention in the quest for providing quality services to its members. She should be capable of selecting competent leaders capable of working towards achievement of the club’s long term objectives.
Leaders chosen in every department acts as her link points between the club and its members, this is done through playing supervisory on employees ensuring provision of quality services. Lastly, Touchstone should be capable of understanding the needs of both employees and members and act appropriately for the benefit of the club (Cogner, 1992).
Recommendations on leadership responsibility in improving operations at the club
She should focus on improving system level performance based on the mission of the club. Touch stone has to establish measures of system-level performance by keeping track of statistics concerning members visiting the club on daily, weekly and monthly basis.
This will act as means of measuring improvements results of which should be communicated to employees as a way of making them work hard towards achieving good results (James et al., 2005).
She should offer motivational incentives towards every slight improvement in performance. Touchstone should be specific and encourage rewards for good performance on the side of employees. This will prompt workers to work towards improving their services at the club, hence helping in building the club’s image.
Members will be left satisfied with services offered whereas workers will feel that their exemplary work is valued (James et al., 2005).
Touchstone should consider checking on whether all the required elements are aligned with stakeholder expectations. She should ensure that all actions leading towards risks are overturned appropriately; checking on program costs and implementing the right changes required should also be given consideration.
References
Conger, J. (1992). Learning to Lead: The Art of Transforming Managers into Leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Dubrin, A. J. (2010). Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, Skills. (6th Ed.). NY: Rochester Institute of Technology
Fiedler, F. E. (1967). A theory of Leadership Effectiveness. New York: McGraw-Hill.
James, L.R., Michael, D. P., & Maureen, B. (2005). Seven Leadership Leverage Points for Organization Level Improvement in Health Care. London: Cambridge.
Miami Sports Medicine is a business initiative that seeks to offer training services to the residents of Miami. The firm will be based within the city of Miami. It will target the locals and tourists who need physical training for various reasons. The targeted market is expanding rapidly because of the increasing population of the middle class within this city. The management has financed 65 percent of the project and is now seeking for the remaining 35 percent from the lending institutions so that it may start operation.
Company Description
Miami Sports Medicine is athletic training and sports rehab center that narrowly focuses on the members of the society who are not engaged in physical sports because of the nature of their work. This is a business venture that seeks to ensure that members of this society are able to get into the center, engage in physical exercise under the direction of a qualified athletic therapist, and maintain a healthy lifestyle despite their tight schedule at work. Miami is one of the cities in this country with very many people of the middle-class status.
The company seeks to offer a unique product that is designed to meet the needs of the middle class who are working under a tight schedule. This firm has a team of Certified Athletic Trainers who have medical backgrounds. These trainers will work closely with the clients to understand their individualistic needs before prescribing the nature of the training they will be taking.
We will look at our clients’ medical history to understand any complications relevant to our training, and the time availability so that we give them the best service. The firm will also offer specialized services to clients with specific instructions from their doctors.
Patients seeking rehab services because of their broken bones, obesity, or any other related problems can be attended to at this facility by a team of dedicated professionals in this field. Currently, the firm has already received a request for registration from 109 clients who stay within this community as soon as the news about our market entry became public.
The customer base is expected to expand very fast as society becomes conscious of their physical well-being. Some are coming to this facility because of the desire to maintain lean bodies, while others seek to fight lifestyle diseases.
The massive interest from the public and the limited number of similar facilities in this region offer the biggest opportunity that this firm will capitalize on as it expands its market share. With the right financial support, we believe that Miami Sports Medicine will become the largest athletic training and sports rehab center in this city. The figure below shows some of the equipment that will be used in the center.
Figure 1: The Equipment at the Training Center
Source (Bouchard and Blair 119)
Market Analysis
According to (Jackson 47), in order to understand this market, it is necessary to use a PESTEL Model.
Figure 2: PESTEL Model of Market Analysis
Source (Burgess 39)
The political environment in Miami is very conducive for this business venture. The state government has been supportive of such business ventures. Given the fact that this facility will reduce the pressure at our medical laboratories, we expect support from the political leaders in this region. The state also has a good history where the political leaders avoid interfering with business operations as long as they follow the set regulations.
The economic environment in Miami is very promising. Since the end of the 2008 economic recession, the state has experienced economic prosperity (Moore 29). Tourism is booming in this region, and the rate of unemployment has gone down. This means that the purchasing power of the residents within the city has improved.
The social factors in this city are very favorable. Physical training is gaining popularity among the middle class as they seek to lead a healthy lifestyle and maintain an athletic body. Most of these people consider getting membership into sports clubs as a sign of their social class (Pulizzi 30). They want to be associated with some of the best clubs in town, and this is what Miami Sports Medicine seeks to be in this city.
Technological environment has been changing to the benefit of this industry. Instead of taking field trips, the clients can jog right within the training facility using some of the modern machines. Some of the equipment currently used in such centers is computerized. Although some of them are very costly, they will enable the firm to provide superior services to clients in a very safe environment. Environmental issues may not be of big concern to this business entity.
The government is carving into the pressure from non-governmental organizations to address the issue of environmental pollution, especially the emission of greenhouse gases (Milne and McDonald 115). The machines at this facility will be powered by electricity, and they have no emissions. The facility is very conscious of the need to protect the environment. It has put in place measures that will ensure that plastic wastes or any other used materials are properly disposed of.
The legal environment in this state seeks to ensure that there is a positive relationship between firms and their clients (Blick 81). The laws are meant to protect the business entities, consumers, and the government from fraud. The government stands to benefit from these laws.
Organization and Management
Miami Sports Medicine is yet to start its operations in the market. However, the management has put up an organizational structure that will define the operations of the firm once the operations begin. The structure below will define how this firm will be managed once it starts its operations.
Figure 3: Organizational Structure
Currently, the chief executive is the owner of the company. Once the firm gets operational, a legal advisor will be hired on a part-time basis to act as the secretary. He or she will be responsible for all the legal issues within the firm. The marketing officer will be responsible for all the activities involving publicizing the firm’s brand and its services to the target market. The medical officer will be in charge of handling any medical issues of the clients.
He or she will subject all the clients to medical checkups before they are registered to ensure that they have the capacity to engage in specific exercises that they are subscribing for at this firm. The head of the physical training will be in charge of the physical exercises within the firm. He or she will coordinate with the medical officer in order to know how the clients should be grouped.
Service or Product Line
According to Kaminsky (82), it is very important to define a product line for a new business venture before starting the operations. Not only does this make it possible to plan for the operational activities, but it also enables the marketing unit to conduct effective research (Lobo 127). At Miami Sports Medicine, we will offer physical training services to clients of varying needs.
The first group of clients will be people who want to maintain physical fitness specifically to stay away from lifestyle diseases. The next group will be those who are concerned about their physical image. The last group has people who are seeking physical exercises as per the direction given by medical doctors because of their medical backgrounds. The following chart shows the number of prospective clients in the groups who have already expressed their interests at this facility.
Figure 4: Prospective Clients
The number is expected to rise significantly once the facility gets operational. The product line may be expanded based on the requests from the clients. However, the expansion will be limited to athletic training sports.
Marketing and Sales
According to Jackson (57), marketing is one of the most important aspects of business units in the current society. The days when a business unit presented products to the market and expected customers to buy them are long gone (Sant 69). Competition is forcing firms to come up with unique ways of marketing their products in order to attract customers (Murray 117). At Miami Sports Medicine, the office of marketing officer has been created to facilitate promotional campaigns.
The primary target customers in the three segments described above will be the residents of this city. Currently, there are plans to hire billboards at strategic locations within the city to attract these targeted clients. We also have plans to form partnerships with some of the major healthcare centers within the entire state of Florida so that we can take care of their patients who live within this city.
The marketing manager will visit the management of these hospitals and explain to them the services we offer and their relevance to some of their clients. Such referrals are always very important in this industry (Ford and Pruitt 120).
Social media has become one of the most popular marketing platforms in the current society (Larsen 49). Young adults, who form a significant percentage of the targeted customers, are very active on sites such as Facebook, Tweeter, and YouTube (Zarrella 34). The marketing team will use these sites to reach out to the targeted audience with the message about the brand and products offered by this firm.
The social media will act as a perfect platform to inform our clients about the changes in the product offering so that they may appreciate the effort made by the firm to ensure that the products offered are of very high quality (Finch 94). Miami is a tourists’ hub. Some of the tourists may also be interested in our services for the duration they will be staying in the city. We intend to use tourists’ agencies to reach out to the tourists who may be interested in our services.
Funding Request
The biggest challenge that Miami Sports Medicine is currently facing is the limited funds to finance some of the activities and expensive items needed for the business. The stock of equipment needed for this facility is not complete. We need $ 69,500 to help in various areas so that we may start the operation immediately. The following are the specific areas where this money will be spent.
Figure 5: Planned Expenses that Needs Extra Funding
Area of Expenditure
Amount ($)
Purchase of Equipment
52,000
Promotional Campaigns
12,000
Employees Training
5,000
Legal Fee
500
Total
69,500
The management of this firm has been able to finance over 65 percent of the total costs needed in this project. We are now seeking for an additional 35 percent, which is remaining in order to complete the project. We want a loan, which will be cleared within a period of one year.
The management believes that the firm has the capacity to pay back this loan within the first four months. However, some eventualities may occur that may slow the rate of income for the firm within these four months. It is because of this that the management is going for a loan that is payable within one year. The terms of the loan should be friendly given the fact that Miami Sports Medicine is a new firm that is just starting its operation. The management is confident that the loan shall be repaid within the first eight months of operation.
Financial Projections
Miami Sports Medicine is getting into an industry that is yet to be saturated. In this region, the firm is not facing serious competition, and the management of this firm expects to capitalize on this advantage. At first, the firm will be reinvesting most of the profits earned from the operations soon after clearing the loan. However, the firm expects to experience a massive financial projection, especially after the first year of the operation. The following graph shows the financial projections for the first eight years of operation.
Figure 6: Estimated Profits
As shown in the figure above, it is expected that this business entity will make a profit of about 95,500 dollars in its first year of operation. That is why the management believes that the debt can be cleared within the first year. In the fifth year, we expect to make a profit of over 310,000 dollars from our services.
Works Cited
Blick, Dee. The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Book. Surrey: Filament Publishing, 2011. Print.
Bouchard, Claude, and Steven Blair. Physical Activity and Health. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2006. Print.
Burgess, Ernest. Physical Fitness: A Guide for Individuals with Lower Limb Loss. New York: Diane Publishers Company, 2007. Print.
Finch, Brian. How to Write a Business Plan. London: Kogan Page, 2013. Print.
Ford, Brian, and Patrick Pruitt. The Ernst & Young Business Plan Guide. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print.
Jackson, Allen. Physical Activity for Health and Fitness. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2004. Print.
Jackson, Allen. Physical Activity for Health and Fitness: Lab Manual. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2010. Print.
Larsen, Michael. How to Write a Book Proposal. Cincinnati: Writer’s DIgest Books, 2011. Print.
Lobo, Alexandrina. Physical Activity and Health in the Elderly. New York: Bentham Science Publishers, 2011. Print.
Milne, George, and Mark McDonald. Sport Marketing: Managing the Exchange Process. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett, 2009. Print.
Moore, Geoffrey. Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers. New York: Collins Business Essentials, 2006. Print.
Murray, Jean. The Complete Guide to Writing Effective and Award Winning Business Proposals: Step-by-step Instructions. Ocala: Atlantic Publishing Group, 2008. Print.
Pulizzi, Joe. Epic Content Marketing: How to Tell a Different Story, Break Through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less. New York: Cengage, 2014. Print.
Sant, Tom. Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts. New York: American Management Association, 2012. Print.
Zarrella, Dan. The Social Media Marketing Book. Beijing: O’Reilly, 2010. Print.
