Management for Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park - Case Study Example

Management Plan for Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park s 3 March Table of Contents Management Plan for Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park 2 1.0 Overview 2 2.0 Key challenges facing Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park 3 3.0 Suggested recommendations to challenges facing Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park 4 3.1 Management model 4 3.2 Jobs design and descriptions 5 3.2.1 Positions that the management should consider creating 6 3.2.1.1 Financial officer 6 3.2.1.2 Human resource manager 6 3.2.1.3 Work station leaders 6 3.2.1.4 Personal Assistant (to the manager) 6 3.3 Staff motivation techniques 7 3.4 Setting of goals and business targets 7 4.0 A balanced scorecard for Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park 7 4.1 Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park’s Vision Statement 7 4.2 Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park’s Mission Statement 8 Management Plan for Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park 1.0 Overview Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park is a business operated by Carl, his uncle, John and his brother Joe. The three have various responsibilities in the business with Carl serving as the manager, John as the overseer and Joe trains the employees while also serving as a supervisor. The business started well and showed signs of a positive growth for the initial stages of development. However, all is not going well as at now with the business experiencing a tumultuous period that has been characterized by reduced revenue, complaints from customers regarding the management and questioning of the business management by the staff. It is evident that several areas especially as it regards to management are not being handled correctly. Using the P-O-L-C framework, this paper will attempt to unearth these problems that Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park might be experiencing. The discussion will then provide recommendations that Carl, John, and Joe may need to consider if they are to salvage their business from an imminent collapse. The paper will look at the areas of the core challenges at Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park. The discussion will then provide the suggested recommendations that will be of importance in reviving the failing business. The recommendations will include the suggested roles and responsibilities of various management positions and those of employees. A balanced scorecard will then summarize the discussion at the end of the paper. 2.0 Key challenges facing Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park A general analysis of the documented information on Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park gives a picture of disoriented, uncoordinated and impassionate management. This sums up the reasons and causes of all predicaments facing the business as it all boils down to poor management. To begin with, the three business owners do not seem to have planned well about the dynamics of this business. The business lacks direction and a clear plan with the most conspicuous component missing out on this aspect being the business mission and vision statement. Additionally, the business management team shows a bizarre method of organizing and managing its resources. This is mainly seen in the poor organization of the human resources for the responsibilities available. The management also seems to have miscalculated the need to recruit resourceful and qualified personnel who have the right capacity to provide the necessary management and leadership in the business. The business do not seem to have precise job descriptions and designs for management positions and the employees available. The management has not outlined the business target or any standards that may help the business realize how it is fairing or making returns. Finally, the management is careless and irresponsive to its customer reviews and concerns while also inattentive to the declining productivity and concerns raised by the staff concerning the unfavorable working conditions. This has led to the delay in the way the management handles the concerns and ultimately in taking actions that dictate the outcomes of the business. 3.0 Suggested recommendations to challenges facing Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park In this section, the paper will rely on various theoretical approaches to business management including a reference to the popular P-O-L-C framework. The paper will also suggest the right management model that Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park ought to employ in order to get back in its customer-satisfying ways. 3.1 Management model Typically, there are four common management models in the business world today; the classic hierarchy model, collaborative management, democratic hierarchy and collective management model (Dameron & Durand, 2012). Currently, Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park employs a more classic hierarchy management model where Carl, John, and Joe have the ultimate authority over the rest of the employees while the employees have a quite restricted space of initiative or contribution into the management of the premise. The staff seems confused and without direction when Carl does not come out to give the directions as expected of a manager in this model. However, the employment of this management has its shortcomings as depicted in the case of Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park. First, the employees are restricted in a very limited sphere and thus do not have the necessary authority to make contributions or take initiatives unless given orders from the top (management). This makes this model unfeasible especially where the workforce is low in number while spread in a large area of management (McGarvey & Hannon, 2004). Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park occupies an extensive area of about 5 acres while also encompassing numerous sections and activities that make it impossible to experience efficient management with only Joe and John available to provide leadership. Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park should instead consider employing the collaborative management model where everyone in the organization has a role to take part in the decision making process while also allowing enough room for fulfilment of responsibilities in the specified job capacity. In this model, employees feel more included in the management and ownership of an organization which is important for an increased productivity. Additionally, considering the vast area of operations for this business type, the employees need have a wider room for decision making in order to feel responsible enough for handling certain cases of management responsibilities as their representatives in their (staff) work stations. This would certainly relieve the management some of their duties through delegation and consequently help the management to concentrate on more vital responsibilities (Daniel, Barkaoui & Dustdar, 2012). 3.2 Jobs design and descriptions From the general outlook of the positions of management and staff responsibilities at Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park, it is evident that the organization’s management need to rethink about providing clear job descriptions for effective management of the various responsibilities available for performing. The core job positions that need to be allocated precise responsibilities include; Manager- The manager (Carl) should give directions to the heads of the workstations who then communicates them to their subordinate staff. The manager should also appoint all the workstation heads on the basis of their merit, experience, and education level. Human resource trainer (Joe) - the holder of this position provides training to the staff especially the head of the workstation. He should also monitor the work of the staff and evaluate their capability to serve in their positions. Overseer (John) – the Overseer has the responsibility of formulating the vision of the business. He should also provide the management with strategic information to help the organization to compete well with the other market players. 3.2.1 Positions that the management should consider creating 3.2.1.1 Financial officer This officer tracks all the finances flow in the organization. He/she should also be responsible for formulating the compensation (salaries) of all the staff and the management members. 3.2.1.2 Human resource manager This officer should evaluate all the staff to determine their ability to hold onto their positions. He/she should recruit new staff to provide the required leadership and management to revive the business from falling. 3.2.1.3 Work station leaders With the help of the HRM manager, various staff should be elevated to the heads of the various work stations in accordance with the respective number of activity fields. 3.2.1.4 Personal Assistant (to the manager) The holder of this position should help to manager to keep record and track of various activities and schedules in order to avoid repetition of incidences such as double booking that led to embarrassment of the business. 3.3 Staff motivation techniques Evidently, the staff and management alike at Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park seem deflated and deprived of their motivation to work. There are various methods of staff motivation such as organizing get-together meetings and other social gatherings in the workplace, allowing room for dialogue, giving feedback and provision of fair remuneration and rewards (Lauby, 2005). The management should consider these options as it seeks to get the best out of the work force available to them. 3.4 Setting of goals and business targets From the view of how the management handles the issue of the business downfall at Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park, there is certainly a lack of urgency in reacting to the same. The management does not seem to have specific standards that the business relies upon which allows room for lack of enthusiasm to react to the imminent fall. Therefore, the management should formulate a plan and set goals to which the business targets to hit in a given timeframe. With that, the business is better positioned to making progress and the management becoming more accountable to the outcomes of the organization. 4.0 A balanced scorecard for Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park Following an analysis of the challenges facing Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park, the following is a balanced scorecard for the business’s strategic move towards revival and improvement. 4.1 Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park’s Vision Statement To be the Community’s Paintball Park of Choice 4.2 Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park’s Mission Statement The organization is highly committed to providing the best environment for adventure in the community through the provision of excellent customer care service and environmental conservation. 4.3 The management identified several strategies that will facilitate the business to achieve its vision and mission Create a reward system for the loyal customers as well as the most dedicated environmental conservationists. Provide high-quality services and experiences to our customers. Motivate and provide favorable working environment for our staff. Increase revenue through a focus on a dedicated marketing campaign. Financial Perspective Increase revenue through a focus on a dedicated marketing campaign. Customer Perspective Create a reward system for the loyal customers as well as the most dedicated environmental conservationists. Internal Process Perspective Provide high-quality services and experiences to our customers. Learning and Growth Perspective Motivate and provide favorable working environment for our staff. References Dameron, S., & Durand, T. (2012). Redesigning Management Education and Research: Challenging Proposals from European Scholars. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub Daniel, F., Barkaoui, K., & Dustdar, S. (2012). Business process management workshops: BPM 2011 International Workshops, Clermont-Ferrand, France, August 29, 2011, Revised selected papers. Berlin: Springer. Lauby, S. J. (2005). Motivating employees. Alexandria, Va: ASTD Press. McGarvey, B., & Hannon, B. M. (2004). Dynamic modeling for business management: An introduction. New York: Springer. Read More