From Your Business to Our Business - Example

Marketing final University Student Id Course Executive summary The paper explains the proposed business idea of Academies Australasia to expand its operations by opening a new branch at Perth. The necessary environmental analysis has been conducted to assess the ability of the new project of the company to expand its operation. The primary objective of the expansion is to increase the market share hence assessing the education environment at Perth is crucial in determining whether the company will be in a position to achieve its objectives. Porters five theory and SWOT analysis have been used in the process of conducting the environmental analysis to assess the available opportunities and threats that are likely to affect the operations of Academies Australasia in Perth. The organizational structure and operational plan are explored to give an overview concerning the management of the company. Besides, the human resources strategies that will help Academies Australasia in achieving its objectives of expanding to Perth market are explored. The financial plan is provided to assess the performance of the company where expenses, the sources of finance and statements of income are provided to help in assessing the viability of the expansion of operations to the new environment. Lastly, recommendations are given that can help Academies Australasia in solving the possible challenges that it might face in the new market. Table of Contents Executive summary 2 Introduction 4 Products and services 4 Legal requirements 4 Industry analysis (macro environment) 5 Marketing Plan: 6 Porter’s Five Forces 6 Marketing factors 9 Internal environmental analysis: 9 SWOT analysis 9 Organizational structure and operational plan 10 Information management 10 Facilities and infrastructure 11 HR strategies & plan: 11 Financial plan: 11 Income statement 12 Projected Cash Flow 12 Conclusion and recommendations 13 Works cited 14 Introduction The business idea of Academies Australasia entails expanding its services and products to new market in Perth. However, the management of the company is seeking to understand the viability of opening a new branch in Perth. As a result, the education market in Perth need to be researched to establish the Academies Australasia is an education provider that has been competing well in the education sector. It operates in the education sector where it offers various services and products in the market. The proposed business idea is aiming at expanding the operations of Academies Australasia to Perth by opening a new branch hence it is exploring the viability of the business idea. The viability of the business is solely determined by the competitiveness of the products and services being launched in the new market (Changchien, 50). However, considering the capabilities of Academies Australasia in the education sector, it is likely to comet well in the new market but there is the need for market research to align the products with the market demand. Products and services Academies Australasia offers English language, diploma, senior high school, advanced diploma and courses for master and bachelor degree. Academies Australasia has managed to offer around 100 qualifications to more than 5,000 students in different campuses in Melbourne, Sydney, Gold coast, Brisbane, Singapore, and Dubbo. These are the services and products that Academies Australasia is planning to expand to the new market but the management can add some new products after assessing the market demand. Legal requirements There are some legal requirements that Academies Australasia has to meet before expanding its operations to Perth. First, the management has to ensure that it has the necessary license for operating in the new market. The licensing entails the courses that it intends to offer and the targeted customers where it has to comply with the education laws governing the quality of education. The fees paid by the students also need to be approved to ensure that the learners are not exploited as the government has the role in protecting its people from any form of exploitation (Kang, 370). There are also competition laws that provide the statutory framework to eliminate unfair competition which is mainly in terms of the fees charged. Academies Australasia is expected to adhere to all the legal requirements to ensure smooth operations in the new market at Perth. Industry analysis (macro environment) The education environment in Perth is very competitive due to the many institutions that have realized the opportunities in the industry. The new institution entering the market has to ensure proper differentiation of its services and products to survive in the competitive market. Besides, the education sector has actually been faced with various changes within the five years which have past. Some of these changes include the enrolment of students to the private schools have outpaced the enrolment of students to the government schools (Codd, 200). Moreover, the tutoring businesses have provided support to the expansion of the English language and also the education industry by providing new services in order to expand the market base. In addition, the online education is one of the main developments in the education division, whereby technology is utilized in permeating all the education areas. Besides, Perth is usually known for the provision of international education which is of high quality, whereby it attracts a large number of students from different parts of the world hence making Australia gain competitive advantage in the education industry. Furthermore, for the past several years, Australia has always been among the top five major providers of the international education services, whereby in every year it usually attracts many students from almost 200 countries in the global world (Tilbury, 110). Importantly, education is the second largest services which are provided in Australia, whereby it contributes almost $ 17.2 billion to the economy. In Perth, the number of branch campuses is increasing as there is ready market due to the large population looking for education services. There is a drastic growth of many universities in across the world, and which have started to establish its branch campuses in various parts of other countries. Moreover, the university system of Australia is much focused on providing more international student places. The current development which takes place in the international education sector is usually noted in three respects which are; the student mobility, the program mobility, and the institution mobility. The program mobility involves distance education which leads to the formation of the cross-border kind of education, thus creating new marketplaces for the education sector. In overall, the education services demand is high in Perth hence Academies Australasia can be successful if it opens a new branch in Perth but it has to be innovative to ensure it is competitive. Marketing Plan: Porter’s Five Forces Industry Rivalry The education market at Perth is very competitive hence there is a high level of rivalry due to the many competing institutions. As a result of the cost ratio of the higher education which is much fixed, the competitive rivalry of the education industry is usually high. However, the overall industry rivalry is always mitigated since the non-profit universities which are large have a high capacity for the enrolment of students (Van, 225). However, Academies Australasia will differentiate its services and products to be unique in the market hence achieving competitiveness. Barriers to entry The government controls the entry of new institutions in the market through imposing some requirements that have to be met before entering the market. Some of the barriers to the entry into the education industry include extensive state regulation, restrictive curriculum, extensive state regulation and also the fixed cost structure. Both public universities and other learning institutions are some of the big organizations which have administrative operations which are extensive. Moreover, the federal governments usually control the establishment of public schools which are based on the policy requirements or even budget constraints. Academies Australasia has to ensure that it meets the requirements and regulations needed to enter the market. The ease of substitution The availability of many learning institutions in the market makes it easy for the company products and services to be substituted. There are many institutions that are offering similar courses hence the learners have many options. The price points for the profit, public and the private education segments are usually very different. For instance, the profit universities in most cases price their degree programs between the private tuition schedule and the public tuition schedule. Moreover, since the price points for the profit tuitions are relatively high as compared to those of public universities, students are mostly price conditioned (Slotegraaf, 371). Therefore, the general assessment of the substitution threat is actually high even though it is not of great importance to the education industry. Academies Australasia needs to ensure that it is innovative enough to eliminate the possibility of substitution through adding new features to the services and products it offers. Buyer’s bargaining power The buyers who are the learners have a high bargaining power due to the many institutions that are available on the market. The learners have low switching costs hence they can easily switch to the services and products of the competitors. The buyers are usually scattered broadly across the marketplaces, whereby the students have little influence on the education industry. Moreover, both public universities and the private universities make use of the target market in order to sustain high consistent rates of graduation and also maintain high admission averages (Duke, 60). The high bargaining power affects the pricing strategy as charging high fees can make the company lose the customers. Academies Australasia will ensure that its services and products are competitive to increase the loyalty of learners to the services and products of the company. Suppliers' bargaining power The bargaining power of the suppliers in the market is low due to the availability of many suppliers who are offering similar products. As a result, a supplier cannot offer higher prices than the other due to the fact that the institutions in the market can easily switch to another supplier. When there are few suppliers in the education industry, then definitely the supplier power will be relatively high (Lewis, 25). In the education industry, there are a large number of suppliers for different products and also services such as the textbook suppliers hence the supplier power is low. Marketing factors The marketing factors that affect Academies Australasia include technology and competition factors. Many institutions in the Perth market are adopting technology in the process of marketing their products and services to survive the high competition. They are competing for market share through being innovative to achieve competitive advantages. Marketing strategy The marketing strategy that Academies Australasia will employ entails the use of social media in advertising its services and products in the market. The target market of the company is students in Perth where the company will employ market segmentation based on the education needs of the consumers. The management of Academies Australasia will use needs of the students to segment the market with the aim of ensuring that their diverse needs are met (Billett, 30). For instance, Academies Australasia will offer different courses that will be based on the education needs of the students. The promotional activities that Academies Australasia is likely to use include roadshows to make the students in Perth aware of the services and products offered by the company. Internal environmental analysis: SWOT analysis Strengths 1. In the education industry, there are both staff and programs which are of high quality. 2. There are resource centres which include the foreign language, writing and also science among the others. 3. In the education industry, there are broad programs. 4. The education industry is always perceived positively by the community. Weaknesses 1. There are few online learning resources as well as minimal chances too. 2. In the education sector, students are only supposed to undertake a particular career. 3. The registration process in the education system is quite cumbersome. 4. The education industry is always very slow in adapting to the market demands. Opportunities 1. The education industry is always attractive to the students. 2. In the education industry, there is high competency which is based on education. 3. High demand from the students in accessing education services. 4. The education system can align its programs according to the employment needs. Threats 1. The majority of the students are not prepared to learn. 2. Many students working while still in school. 3. High competition in the education sector. Organizational structure and operational plan The shareholders will be the key decision makers with the director given the mandate of managing the whole operations. Departments will be headed by heads of department who will be reporting to the director and they will have the responsibilities of monitoring the academic progress in their departments. Information management The information in Academies Australasia will be managed by the IT officer who will be responsible for designing database for managing the company information. Academies Australasia will employ the use of technology in the process of analyzing the information collected concerning the company. Facilities and infrastructure The facilities of Academies Australasia will include classrooms and offices for the departmental heads and the director. The entire infrastructure will ensure a good learning environment for the learners and the tutors. Academies Australasia will be innovative enough to come up with the necessary infrastructure that can attract the students. HR strategies & plan: The human resources manager will make use of the strategies that can help in improving the morale of the staff. For instance, the policies adopted by the human resources of Academies Australasia will ensure that better pay, performance appraisal and competitive compensation structure. In the process of making that the staff have the necessary morale to work towards achieving the set goals of the company, the human resources manager will ensure that they are motivated. Financial plan: The possible sources of financing can include share contributions. Academies Australasia will sell shares to the member of the public in the process of raising the necessary capital that will be used in the operations of the organization. The profits will be shared according to the share contribution where the director will be expected by the shareholders to work towards maximizing their wealth. The projected revenues for the business is £120,000 while the projected expenses are £100,000. The management will be working towards ensuring that the costs are minimized to realize an increase in revenues through embracing technology. Income statement Year 1 Sales £600,000 Cost of Sales £200,000 Other costs £30,000 Total Costs £230,000 Profit before expenses $370,000 Expenses salaries £100,000 Marketing expenses £20,000 Other expenses £30,000 Total £150,000 Profit before Taxes £220,000 Taxes Incurred £20,000 The net profit £200,000 Projected Cash Flow Year 1 Cash Received Cash Sales £600,000 Additional Cash Received New Current Borrowing £20,000 New Investment Received £10,000 Subtotals £630,000 The expenditures Cash Spending £100,000 Salaries £100,000 Subtotals £200,000 Additional Cash expenditure Dividends £10,000 Totals £410,000 Net Cash Flow £220,000 Projected balance sheet Year 1 Company Assets Current assets Liquid cash £40,000 Current Assets £1,000 The totals £41,000 Long-term Assets £10,000 The totals £51,000 Liabilities Current Liabilities Creditors £20,000 Other Current Liabilities £2,000 Totals £22,000 Long term liabilities £10,000 Total Liabilities £32,000 Retained Earnings (£5,000) Capital £10,000 Capital and liabilities £37,000 Conclusion and recommendations Academies Australasia should invest in market research with the aim to assess the trend taking place in the market. It is through the market research that the management of Academies Australasia will be in a better position to come up with the necessary knowledge that can help in differentiating the products and services. For instance, the market research can help the company realize the services and products that are offered by the competitors. As a result, the company can be in a position to come up with the necessary strategies that can help the company in achieving competitive advantages. Also, it is through the market research that company can ensure that it is relevant in the Perth market by offering services and products that are able to meet the expectations of the targeted customers (Davids, 22). For instance, Academies Australasia can be able to know the changes in preferences of the learners in the market. Therefore, Academies Australasia can be able to become competitive in the market by coming up with the necessary strategies that can feel the market gaps existing. Besides, Academies Australasia needs to invest in technology to develop unique product features that can enhance the competitiveness of the company products and services. It is through the investment in technology that Academies Australasia can survive the high competition in the market by being innovative by the way services and products are offered in the market. Considering the changes that have been taking place in the market, technology is important in keeping pace with changes as it enables the company develops products that are competitive. Besides, considering the high level of competition, technology can help in achieving costs advantages through automating most of the operations of the company hence achieving efficiency. Therefore, I recommend that Academies Australasia should invest heavily in technology and innovation to achieve competitive advantages. Works cited Billett*, Stephen. 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