Chessington World of Adventure - Case Study Example

Chessington World of Adventure Introduction Our world, since its ‘origination’ has been a place of continuous activity. Activity in the sense, humans has been showing activeness both mentally and physically, which have transformed our globe from a primitive one to an advanced one. While carrying out these activities, the humans’ physical and mental limits will reach the maximum threshold. That is, their physical body and mental mind will become stressed out, when they involve in activities continuously without any break and relaxation. In those times, humans will have different options to de-stress or relax themselves. And if they involve themselves in fun filled group activities, it will surely relax their mind and will bring down their stress levels to bare minimum. This is where the concept of amusement or theme parks comes into the picture. Even though, in amusement parks, there will be physical activities, it can be carried out in a relaxed and fun filled way. So, it will surely relax the physical and the mental part of the body. Because of this role, the amusements parks will be flocked by many people. Thus, it becomes an important duty of the amusement park administration or management to maintain the park optimally. That is, they should provide all the necessary facilities and features, with quality and safety inbuilt in it. So, this paper will analyze Chessington World of Adventure Background Chessington World of Adventure is a theme park located on the Surrey town of Chessington in United Kingdom. It is considered to be enjoyable place catering to the needs of people of all ages. Inside, Chessington World of Adventures and Zoo, there are ten different park areas, each with their own unique theme and rides as Beanoland, Chessington Zoo, forbidden kingdom, Land of the Dragons, Market Square, Mexicana, Mystic East, Pirate cove, Toytown and Transylvania. In recent years it has become increasing popular for an organisation to produce a mission statement and/or its ‘vision’ that sets out the purpose and general direction for the organisation (Mullins). The main mission of Chessington park is: ‘…create an unforgettable place of adventure for our guests and provide our customers a great day out …’ With this mission as its main plank, Chessington World has put into actions its different departments to run the company successfully. The different departments, which are aiding Chessington to actualize its mission, are marketing department, followed by Human Resources, Finance, Quality, Customer Service etc. Marketing Department’s role Among the many departments, which constitute an organization, the marketing department’s role is omnipresent and crucial. It can only, boost an organization by adopting various strategies. That is, with every organization wanting to expand their reach and make an imprint in various markets, there will be enough opportunities for it, to initiate that expansion drive. So, when the organization has enough opportunities, it can set targets and formulate various strategies to achieve those targets or end products. Every organization survival and success hinges on the success of its end product or the service it provides, like in the case of Chessington Park. And for the organization to reach its service effectively to the customer, the Marketing department has to play a crucial role. That is, it is the responsibility of the marketing department to ensure that the brand identity of the park is well promoted and maintained. They need to identify the features of the park, target the market, and then present it to the prospective customers in an enticing way. For Chessington Park the marketing group target are families with children. Every year the marketing department needs to produces a plan which covers the following areas. In the case of Chessington Park, the main features are the important rides and attractions it provides to the guests. To optimize the role of these features, it has to associate other features as well. That is, the Park authorities have to provide and market the places inside the Park where the food is provided, shops where cards and souvenirs featuring Chessington logo and attractions can be bought. So, in total Chessington Park management should market its place as the one which has every thing under one roof. That is, people would have already built an image for Chessington Park as the one which includes rides and other attractions, and now if it is marketed as one which also includes food, play areas for children, etc, it would surely entice more customers. So, the guests fully enjoy the day out and get real value for their money. The other aspect while marketing the Chessington Park to a wider customer base is its price issue. While fixing the price, the marketing department have to first consider or analyze the total cost of the product/service offered by the Park. Then, the marketing department had to consider the prices charged by the rival competitors and importantly what the costumers themselves will be able to pay. Then, after setting the price, the Marketing department had to review the prices every year or at regular intervals, in consultation with the finance department. This tactic will help the management of the Chessington Park to look at how the budgeted targets can be achieved through the pricing matrix, or how modifications can be brought in. The important component of marketing is Promotion. Promotion is a very important tool to entice the customers and run it optimally because it only makes the costumers aware of the current products/services on offer or the new products/services that will be introduced. Chessington Park can be promoted by carrying out visual, aural as well as print advertising through television, radio and newspapers. This will catch the ‘eyeballs’ and the ears, and thereby the minds of the customer and make a beeline at the gates of the Chessington Park. Human Resources Department After the recruitment and apportionment of employees is over; it is the duty of the organization particularly the human Resources Department to provide the employees a perfect working environment, in which they will work effectively. Perfect working environment in the sense, the human Resources Department or HRD should play their part in arranging the needed resources, allocating the work load perfectly, motivating the workers while they were working, solving the problems that may arise and finally rewarding the workers when they achieve the intended targets. Among the different managers who form a part of this process, Human Resource Manager’s (HRM) contribution will be immense. People today have wider expectations of the quality of working life, including justice in treatment, democratic functioning of the organisation and opportunities for consultation and participation, training in new skills and technologies, effective HRM policies and practices, and provision of social and leisure facilities (Mullins). They will have a prominent role in the overall functioning of the organization, as they will only manage the important component of any organization, the workers. In the case of Chessington World Of Adventure, the recruitment cycle happens between March and October every year. So, every year new staff members are employed in the age group 16 to 18. The suitable candidates are selected through an optimal interview processes. Then the newly recruited staffs are given two days induction training, which include training regarding the Chessington park structure, Customer care, behavioural standards on the part of the employees, emergency procedures, uniforms and appearance, rules and regulations and role plays, admissions, catering, etc. Importantly, at the end of every year, it would be better if an all round review of workers’ performance is done. Based on this review, the staff’ performance can be improved and new training regimes might be considered for the next season. HR department function is vital because the staff members within the park are the company’s ‘face’ and they have to perform effectively to earn the good image for the company and bring in repeat customers. Finance Department The Financial department of any organization has to function in an effective, obstruction free manner for the organization to work successfully. The same is the case with Chessington World as it is dependent on its gate money to function and profit. That is, most of the money that fills the coffers of Chessington World of Adventure comes from the ticket sales. Apart from this source, the Park gets income from other avenues like merchandise that has Chessington World name and logo. For example, key rings, t-shirts, pens, cards, with Chessington World Name and logo can be sold to the visiting customers. The vending stores which vend these items are stationed all over the park. This inflowing income outgoes in the form of raising new structures, attractions, etc and importantly on maintaining the existing structures. Along with that spending, the coffers will be drained in the form of staff salaries and equipment purchases. To be correctly handle all these costs, the financial department at Chessington Park, has to consider the incomes and outcomes efficiently, and then present an optimal budget, which can balance both these factors Quality systems Organizations are ‘structures’ with a ‘collage’ of individuals doing their allocated work under the supervision of a leader, for the benefit of the organization as well as them. These employees will normally be apportioned into different departments for better arrangement and streamlining of work. The main function of the departments and the employees is to successfully accomplish those processes with quality. Quality is the key because any process completed without the expected quality will be abhorred by the intended customers, leading to problems for the organization. When organizations like Chessington Park offers services, they have to incorporate quality in it. Only if there is quality, it can succeed, otherwise it will be disliked by the customers. While trying to maintain that quality, the organizations will incorporate certain programs or practices as part of its Total Quality Management (TQM) and in its functioning to achieve excellence in quality. “From the original statistical ideas of Deming (1986) and Juran (1974), the rhetorical TQM has exploded into a broadly used, ambiguous term with unclear organizational implications - save that it presumably improves an organization” (Zbaracki, 1998). So, Total Quality Management (TQM) is the management function, which should be incorporated in all the processes that will happen in an organization. Furthermore, if quality management programs are incorporated into the organization functioning, then there will be optimal quality in all the processes, making organization’s every initiative a successful endeavour. Chessington World of Adventure being a big organisation has to have a good inbuilt quality control system. QM is an optimal quality management system and is totally committed to quality and so all the employees who work at Chessington World of Adventure can follow this system. By following that system, they can ensure that the service inside the campus of the Park is up to the highest standards. Another method in which Chessington World of Adventure could improve its quality systems is by using quality circles. A quality circle is a small group of people that work at Chessington World of Adventure and who meet regularly to examine workplace issues such as quality, productivity, wastage etc. The main aspect of these quality circles are all the employees do the same type of work and this may help to increase the knowledge and experience regarding the works the undertake. Then, when they walk or observe the Park environment by walking within the park, they will be able to recognise the problems that is affecting some part and then using their knowledge and experience can provide solutions. Recommendations In order to achieve its goals and objectives, and thereby improve its performance, Chessington World of Adventure can implement certain recommendations. Any organization, its leader and its employees should not stagnate and saturate. Likewise, Chessington should also keep on developing by incorporating more positive changes to its environment and also to its workforce. Unison of humans with an urge to usher an organization into a leading ‘utopia’ will be a successful endeavour, if the organization, leader and employees show undaunted, unabated and effective conduct. . “Every business needs to have a strategy and this strategy must be related to changing environmental conditions. In order to survive and maintain growth and expansion top management must be ready to take maximum advantage of the challenges and opportunities presented” (Mullins). Chessington and its employees can exhibit this conduct by adopting certain changes in its functioning. Firstly, the recruitment process had to be optimized further. That is, there should be improvement in the selection of employees and this can be done by advertising details about the job vacancy within the park, particularly publishing the offer of reasonable and appropriate salaries and the flexible work time to the prospective candidates. It is necessary that the management must ensure a constant availability of sufficient number of efficient employees from managers, executives, technical persons to labourers, for the efficient functioning of the Park. Then, as part of the staffing process, appropriate and well considered training programmes should be implemented for optimizing the performance of the employees. Then apt and highly efficient outside suppliers and contractors have to be arranged or assembled for the effective services and maintenance. That is, Chessington Park management can also arrange outside and at the same time qualified and equipped suppliers and contractors to minimize the hassles that come with recruiting and training new employees. Suitable suppliers can be arranged to handle the details or services of ice cream, ponchos, umbrellas, fast food etc. Likewise apt contactors need to be arranged to maintain the grass and bushes throughout the park, as the grasses and bushes are the main enticing point of well maintained park. Budget has to be formulated by concentrating on garnering more profits, than focusing minimizing revenues. For that, the management at Chessington has to focus on the sales revenue with target of increasing the ‘yields’ per head. So, at the end of the report, it is clear that even though Chessington World of Adventure is showing positive outlook and results, there exist some real challenges for the managers and the other employees. So, if Chessington’s management, the leader, the managers and importantly employees formulate and implement all the strategies or recommendations mentioned here, the organization would have a successful and ubiquitous presence not only in United Kingdom, but all over the world. Bibliography Mullins, L. J. (2005). Management and Organisational Behaviour. Seventh edition. Financial Times Press Zbaracki, M. J. (1998). The rhetoric and reality of total quality management, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 43 pp.602-636 The Paper is revised as a form of Separate sheet below Health and Safety: Only if all the ‘parts’ of an organization, which include the workers and the departments, conduct in an optimal and effective way, they can be fully utilized to have ubiquitous presence all over the world. So, it is similar, to how all the body parts or organs function in unison to help a human survive, study, search, succeed etc. But, ironically when the body parts of the customers gets affected and disturbed including the physical body and importantly the mental part, due to the events that take places inside customer centric organizations like theme parks, then the concept of unison will be unfulfilled. So, the health and safety of all the visitors, who visit Chessington World of Adventure has to be taken care optimally, and it is the responsibility of the staffs to make optimally sure that the park is safe for the visitors every day. As a first step to make the park a safe place, the management at the Chessington World of Adventure has to thoroughly follow as well as implement the various legislations, passed by the UK Parliament. Among the various legislations that can be followed are: Fairgrounds and Amusement Parks – Guidance on Safe Practice HSG 1975 Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 Manual Handling Regulations 1992 Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 All these legislations can be successfully followed inside Chessington, if they are implemented in specific areas, where there are health and safety risks. For Example All of the rides that are open to the customers have to be inbuilt with necessary safety features. Firstly, information boards or banners displaying written information and instructions on how the costumers can safely use the ride should be put in place by the Park management. Along with that information, instructions regarding how the customers should act in case of any emergencies should also be prominently displayed. Secondly, the staffs for their part should be instructed to carry out safety checks on the various equipments, which are part of the rides, daily or regularly. If they find any discrepancies, they should correct it as soon as possible, requisitioning technical person’s help. We are living in the times in which public places are commonly becoming the target of attack for the terror groups. That is, terrorists or other miscreants always target places, where people converge to wreak maximum damage by using bombs, other explosives, etc. So, the staffs should be trained on the emergency procedures such how to handle or even diffuse live bombs, douse fires, evacuate people without damages, etc, etc. Also, there should be a permanent medical centre inside the park premises to attend to customers who may get hurt or injured. Also to continually monitor any dubious activities inside the park premises, CCTV cameras and other surveillance equipments should be installed at all the vantage points. I recommend that these measures are implemented optimally to take care of all the health and safety related aspects of the park. Read More