Dancescape Company Problems and Issues

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Table of Contents

Background Information
Statement of Problems or Issues
Situation Analysis
Constraints
Recommendations
References

Baby boomers are the people who were born and grew during the period between 1946 and 1965. This period is also known as post world war era, and was characterized by economic, social and political transformations.

A key feature of this period was a total departure from the old ways of thinking, in which countries of the world were guided by the old philosophy of competition in various spheres of live. This philosophy is believed to have precipitated the world wars due to the competition between the superpowers in trying to outwit each other as they fought for the supremacy in the world (Green, 2006).

After the world wars, Nations of the world so the need of embracing unity of purpose and cooperation instead of competition. This saw the formation of international organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and United Nations affiliated institutions which were aimed at ensuring that people of the world relate with each other as friends but not as enemies. This was to be achieved through the abolishment of trade tariffs and the laws which were inhibiting the movement of people from one country to the other (Light, 2002).

This cooperation between States and Nations of the world led to the emergence of a new generation of people who were more willing to coexist with each other irrespective of their cultural backgrounds. What followed was economic development in many Nations of the world thus creating a lot of wealth.

The people who were born and grew at this time are believed to be different from other cohorts in the world because they were born and brought up during times of affluence. They got the best education, training and were the most exposed to the different cultures of the world (Green, 2006).

They are also considered to have been different in terms of thinking. They actually disregarded the old idea of perceiving people from other countries as rivals by being open minded, which led to cross cultural intermarriages as well as dual citizenships. A good example to illustrate this is the United States, which is inhabited by people of various cultural backgrounds. Due to creation of massive wealth, the population of the world is also believed to have increased due to improved health care and education (Green, 2006).

Most of the people who were born during this time therefore have a lot of wealth and are as well among the most educated in the world. Taking the example of Canada, this group of people comprise one third of Canada’s total population and is believed to control over 55% of Canada’s disposable income.

Due to their massive wealth, the baby boomers have created many opportunities for doing business in various sectors like heath care, security and leisure. Many investors all over the world are now targeting ventures which provide services which are relevant to this category of people more than any other category (Green, 2006).

In Canada for example, two former North American dancing champions Beverly and Robert Tang have identified this opportunity and decided to establish a company known as Dancescape. These gentlemen are motivated by the presence of television shows which promote dancing.

One such show is the ‘dancing with the stars’. Their company is basically concerned with offering dancing lessons mostly to the baby boomers, which are believed to have a lot of disposable income. Their main target is women due to the fact that most women are the ones who control house hold expenditures (Green, 2006).

They have invested a total of $20 000 in making ‘learn how to dance’ videos so as to make their work easier and more effective. They are also planning to have in place three websites which would enable baby boomers to download dancing videos as well as share information about the dancing programs (Green, 2006).

Background Information

Dancescape is a company based in Canada and is owned by two former champions of dancing in North America. The company offers dancing lessons to baby boomers especially women. Those who are interested are enrolled in a class where they attend dancing sessions and pay for those sessions.

The company has also invested in making a video known as learn how to dance, which is already selling in the United States. They are also planning to use it in Canada as well as in Britain. The company is also in the process of investing in making three websites which will enable dancers to interact, shop and download the videos for them to get some dancing tips. They are in need of $1.4million and they approach Tim so as to woo him to help them with some money in form of credit.

The rationale behind investing in the leisure sector is that the baby boomers as explained above have a lot of disposable income and it is the believe of the owners of Dancsscape that their business will have many customers.

They also believe that dancing is a form of exercise which is very necessary for elderly people because it makes them not only to exercise and feel good but also feel a bit younger. They also believe that the use of the internet to market the company will also make as many baby boomers as possible access the learn how to dance videos, thus making the company become a global firm.

However, there is the challenge of funds for stabilizing, marketing and expanding their business beyond Canada and United States. They are also concerned that there may be a need to change the strategy they want to use in marketing because many baby boomers may not be technologically savvy, which can make most of them not access information about the company and its services.

Statement of Problems or Issues

Presence of large population of baby boomers who have a lot of disposable income
Lack of companies which offer relevant leisure activities to the baby boomers
The owners of the company are former champions of dancing in North America and thus have passion in dancing
Many baby boomers are in need of doing exercise given that most of them are aged 45 years and above.
The owners of Dancscape company are using a lot of time giving instructions to their customers on how to dance
They have invested in making a learn how to dance video which is selling in United States and plans are underway to distribute it in Canada and Britain
They also want to make the company become global and thus are in need of over $ 1.4 million, which they plan to use in marketing, by putting in place three websites where baby boomers can download the learn how to dance videos, interact and share information about how to dance
In a bid to secure the badly needed capital for the expansion of the business, they approach Mr. Tim Draper, a renowned capitalist who is believed to have made millions by investing in the Hotmail
Their presentation(sales pitch ) is however poorly prepared and this embarrasses Mr. Tim Draper, who does not come out clear on whether he will support the owners of Dancescape or not
Many baby boomers may not be technologically savvy and they may not be able to benefit from the company’s’ information which it intends to put on its three websites

Situation Analysis

Strengths (internal)

Passion of owners of the company in dancing, a great motivation in deed
High levels of commitment in instructing baby boomers on how to dance
The learn how to dance videos which are selling in the United States thus generating income to the company
Possession of good networks like with people such as Tim Draper

Weaknesses (Internal)

Lack of financial capital for expansion
Lack of staff to work as instructors
Lack of popularity
Spending too much time in instructing dancers at the expense of sourcing for capital for expansion
Lack of diversity in the ownership of the company in that the owners are only knowledgeable in dancing but not in other disciplines like management, accounting and so forth;
Very small number of shareholders(only two in number);
The owners of the company are too ambitious in thinking of making the company a global one despite the fact that some baby boomers in other parts of the world may not be interested in dancing as a form of doing exercise

Opportunities (External)

Presence of large population of baby boomers
Presence of large quantities of disposable income by the baby boomers
Presence of the internet, which can be used for marketing the company
Presence of financial institutions which can give credit to the company for its expansion
The desire for many baby boomers to do exercise especially in form of dancing
The presence of television shows which promote dancing programs like the ‘dancing with the stars’
Presence of young people who can assist the baby boomers who are not technologically savvy in accessing and downloading the learn how to dance videos
Presence of many people who are educated and thus able to be employed to work as instructors for the dancers
Good diet, health care and access to information technology, which are making the baby boomers to have long lifespans

Threats (External)

Presence of other forms of leisure which may not require dancing
Presence of many other companies in the hospitality industry
Some of the baby boomers may not be technologically savvy and therefore may be unable to access the services offered online by the company
Lack of social networks outside Canada
Emergence of new dancing styles every now and then
Change of preferences in terms of leisure activities and interests among the baby boomers
Diminishing demand as a result of Lack of replacement for the baby boomers in that most of them are elderly and once they die, there would be few or no customers of their type

Criteria

To establish three websites for baby boomers to socialize and down load the learn how to dance videos
Market the company and make it a global firm
Mobilize funds from well-wishers or financial institutions to strengthen and expand the business
Carry out media campaigns to promote dancing as a form of exercise among the baby boomers

Constraints

Internal Constraints

Financial constraints- lack of enough financial resources for expansion of the company
Time management- the owners are not good in time management and that is why they were not able to prepare their sale pitch properly so as to woo Mr. Tim Draper for financial support. The owners are overly interested in instructing their dancers
The mixture of passion and business may not work very well for the company because they may not be aggressive enough to operate the company as a business but rather operate it as a way of quenching their passion in dancing

External Constraints

Some baby boomers may not be technologically savvy
Baby boomers are aging and dyeing but they are not being replaced
Digital divide, which may make some baby boomers not able to access the services due to lack of internet facilities

Alternatives

To integrate other programs with the dancing program
Come up with programs which are customized to various cohorts both within the baby boomers and among the other populations as well
Look for support from other institutions which provide hospitality services
Merge with other like-minded partners so as to make the number of shareholders bigger

Recommendations

I would recommend that the Dancescape company integrates other programs with their learn how to dance program. This will make their company become widely known due to a variety of programs. The company should consider having in place programs which attract the youth like sports, indoor games, provision of other services like mentorship and behavior change communication.

The reason for doing this is that the company would be sure of sustainability, especially in terms of their customers. The other recommendation is for the company to recruit professionals to work as instructors, managers, accountants, research professionals and ICT personnel, lawyers and social workers to do an evaluation of the program and redesign it so that it may be marketable in all parts of the world not just in Canada and the United States.

References

Green, B. (2006).Marketing to leading-edge baby boomers: perceptions, principles, practices, predictions. (2^nd Ed.). Ithaca, NY: Paramount Market Publishing.

Light, P.C.(2002).Baby Boomers. San Diego, CA: Replica Books.

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