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case 6

Chestnut Ridge Country Club1

The Chestnut Ridge Country Club has long maintained a distinguished reputation as one of the outstanding country clubs in the Elma, Tennessee, area. The club’s golf facilities are said by some to be the finest in the state, and its dining and banquet facilities are highly regarded as well. This reputation is due in part to the commitment by the board of directors of Chestnut Ridge to offer the finest facilities of any club in the area. For example, several negative comments by club mem- bers regarding the dining facilities prompted the board to survey members to get their feelings and perceptions of the dining facilities and food offerings at the club. Based on the survey findings, the board of directors established a quality control committee to oversee the dining room, and a new club manager was hired.

Most recently, the board became concerned about the number of people seeking membership to Chestnut Ridge. Although no records are kept on the number of membership applications received each year, the board sensed that this figure was declining. They also believed that membership applications at the three competing country clubs in the area—namely, Alden, Chalet, and Lancaster—were not experiencing similar declines. Because Chestnut Ridge had other facilities, such as tennis courts and a pool, that were comparable to the facilities at these other clubs, the board was perplexed as to why mem- bership applications would be falling at Chestnut Ridge.

To gain insight into the matter, the board of direc- tors hired an outside research firm to conduct a study of the country clubs in Elma, Tennessee. The goals of the research were (1) to outline areas in which Chestnut Ridge fared poorly in relation to other clubs in the area;

(2) to determine people’s overall perception of Chestnut Ridge; and (3) to provide recommendations for ways to increase membership applications at the club.

Research Method

The researchers met with the board of directors and key personnel at Chestnut Ridge to gain a better understand- ing of the goals of the research and the types of services and facilities offered at a country club. A literature search of published research relating to country clubs uncov- ered no studies. Based solely on their contact with indi- viduals at Chestnut Ridge, therefore, the research team developed the survey contained in Exhibit 1. Because personal information regarding demographics and

attitudes would be asked of those contacted, the researchers decided to use a mail questionnaire.

The researchers thought it would be useful to survey members from Alden, Chalet, and Lancaster country clubs in addition to those from Chestnut Ridge for two reasons: (1) Members of these other clubs would be knowledgeable about the levels and types of services and facilities desired from a country club and (2) They had at one time represented potential members of Chestnut Ridge. Hence, their perceptions of Chestnut Ridge might reveal why they chose to belong to a different country club.

No public documents were available that contained a listing of each club’s members. Consequently, the researchers decided to contact each of the clubs person- ally to try to obtain a mailing list. Identifying themselves as being affiliated with an independent research firm conducting a study on country clubs in the Elma area, the researchers first spoke to the chairman of the board at Alden Country Club. The researchers told the chair- man that they could not reveal the organization sponsor- ing the study but that the results of their study would not be made public. The chairman was not willing to provide the researchers with the mailing list. The chair- man cited an obligation to respect the privacy of the club’s members as his primary reason for turning down the research team’s request.

The researchers then made the following proposal to the board chairman: In return for the mailing list, the researchers would provide the chairman a report on Alden members’ perceptions of Alden Country Club. In addition, the mailing list would be destroyed as soon as the surveys were sent. The proposal seemed to please the chairman, for he agreed to give the researchers a list- ing of the members and their addresses in exchange for the report. The researchers told the chairman they had to check with their sponsoring organization for approval of this arrangement.

The research team made similar proposals to the chairmen of the boards of directors of both the Chalet and Lancaster country clubs. In return for a mailing list of the club’s members, they promised each chairman a report outlining their members’ perceptions of their clubs, contingent on approval from the research team’s sponsoring organization. Both chairmen agreed to sup- ply the requested list of members. The researchers sub- sequently met with the Chestnut Ridge board of directors. In their meeting, the researchers outlined the situation and asked for the board’s approval to provide

each of the clubs with a report in return for the mailing

1The contributions of David M. Szymanski to the development of this case are gratefully acknowledged.

lists. The researchers emphasized that the report would

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		E x h i b i t 1		Questionnaire Used to Survey Alden, Chalet, and Lancaster
	Country Club Members

1. Of which club are you currently a member?

2. How long have you been a member of this club?

3. How familiar are you with each of the following country clubs?

Alden Country Club

very familiar (I am a member or I have visited the club as a guest)

somewhat familiar (I have heard of the club from others)

unfamiliar

Chalet Country Club

very familiar (I am a member or I have visited the club as a guest)

somewhat familiar (I have heard of the club from others)

unfamiliar

Chestnut Ridge Country Club

very familiar (I am a member or I have visited the club as a guest)

somewhat familiar (I have heard of the club from others)

unfamiliar

Lancaster Country Club

very familiar (I am a member or I have visited the club as a guest)

somewhat familiar (I have heard of the club from others)

unfamiliar

4. The following is a list of factors that may be inﬂuential in the decision to join a country club. Please rate the factors according to their im- portance to you in joining your country club. Circle the appropriate response, where 1 not at all important and 5 extremely important.

Golf facilities	1	2	3	4	5
Tennis facilities	1	2	3	4	5
Pool facilities	1	2	3	4	5
Dining facilities	1	2	3	4	5
Social events	1	2	3	4	5
Family activities	1	2	3	4	5
Number of friends who are members	1	2	3	4	5
Cordiality of members	1	2	3	4	5
Prestige	1	2	3	4	5
Location	1	2	3	4	5

5. The following is a list of phrases pertaining to Alden Country Club. Please place an X in the space that best describes your impressions of Alden. The ends represent extremes; the center position is neutral. Do so even if you are only vaguely familiar with Alden.

Club landscape is attractive. : : : : : : : : Club landscape is unattractive. Clubhouse facilities are poor. : : : : : : : : Clubhouse facilities are excellent. Locker room facilities are excellent. : : : : : : : : Locker room facilities are poor.

Club management is ineffective. : : : : : : : : Club management is effective.

Dining room atmosphere is pleasant. : : : : : : : : Dining room atmosphere is unpleasant. Food prices are unreasonable. : : : : : : : : Food prices are reasonable.

Golf course is poorly maintained. : : : : : : : : Golf course is well maintained. Golf course is challenging. : : : : : : : : Golf course is not challenging. Membership rates are too high. : : : : : : : : Membership rates are too low.

6. The following is a list of phrases pertaining to Chalet Country Club. Please place an X in the space that best describes your impressions of Chalet. Do so even if you are only vaguely familiar with Chalet.

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		E x h i b i t 1		Questionnaire Used to Survey Alden, Chalet, and Lancaster
	Country Club Members (Continued)

Club management is effective. : : : : : : : : Club management is ineffective.

Dining room atmosphere is pleasant. : : : : : : : : Dining room atmosphere is unpleasant. Food prices are unreasonable. : : : : : : : : Food prices are reasonable.

Food quality is excellent. : : : : : : : : Food quality is poor.

Golf course is poorly maintained. : : : : : : : : Golf course is well maintained. Golf course is challenging. : : : : : : : : Golf course is not challenging. Tennis courts are in excellent condition. : : : : : : : : Tennis courts are in poor condition. There are too many tennis courts. : : : : : : : : There are too few tennis courts.

Membership rates are too high. : : : : : : : : Membership rates are too low.

7. The following is a list of phrases pertaining to Chestnut Ridge Country Club. Please place an X in the space that best describes your im- pressions of Chestnut Ridge. Do so even if you are only vaguely familiar with Chestnut Ridge.

Club management is ineffective. : : : : : : : : Club management is effective.

Dining room atmosphere is pleasant. : : : : : : : : Dining room atmosphere is unpleasant. Food prices are unreasonable. : : : : : : : : Food prices are reasonable.

Food quality is excellent. : : : : : : : : Food quality is poor.

Golf course is poorly maintained. : : : : : : : : Golf course is well maintained.

Tennis courts are in poor condition. : : : : : : : : Tennis courts are in excellent condition. There are too many tennis courts. : : : : : : : : There are too few tennis courts.

Swimming pool is in poor condition. : : : : : : : : Swimming pool is in excellent condition. Membership rates are too high. : : : : : : : : Membership rates are too low.

8. The following is a list of phrases pertaining to Lancaster Country Club. Please place an X in the space that best describes your impres- sions of Lancaster. Do so even if you are only vaguely familiar with Lancaster.

Club management is ineffective. : : : : : : : : Club management is effective.

Dining room atmosphere is pleasant. : : : : : : : : Dining room atmosphere is unpleasant. Food prices are unreasonable. : : : : : : : : Food prices are reasonable.

Food quality is excellent. : : : : : : : : Food quality is poor.

Golf course is poorly maintained. : : : : : : : : Golf course is well maintained.

Tennis courts are in poor condition. : : : : : : : : Tennis courts are in excellent condition. There are too many tennis courts. : : : : : : : : There are too few tennis courts.

Swimming pool is in poor condition. : : : : : : : : Swimming pool is in excellent condition. Membership rates are too high. : : : : : : : : Membership rates are too low.

9. Overall, how would you rate each of the country clubs? Circle the appropriate response, where 1 poor and 5 excellent.

Alden	1	2	3	4	5
Chalet	1	2	3	4	5
Chestnut Ridge	1	2	3	4	5
Lancaster	1	2	3	4	5

10. The following questions are designed to give a better understanding of the members of country clubs. Have you ever been a member of another club in the Elma area?

yes no

Approximately what is the distance of your residence from your club in miles?

0–2 miles 3–5 miles 6–10 miles 10+ miles

Age: Sex:

21–30

male

31–40

female

41–50

51–60 61 or over

Marital status: married single widowed divorced Number of dependents including yourself:

2 or less 3–4

5 or more

(Continued)

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contain no information regarding Chestnut Ridge nor information by which each of the other clubs could com- pare itself to any of the other clubs in the area, in con- trast to the information to be provided to the Chestnut Ridge board of directors. The report would only contain a small portion of the overall study’s results. After care- fully considering the research team’s arguments, the board of directors agreed to the proposal.

Total family income:

Less than $20,000

$20,000–$29,999

$30,000–$49,999

$50,000–$99,999

$100,000 or more

Do not know/Refuse to answer

Thank you for your cooperation!

Membership Surveys

A review of the lists subsequently provided by each club showed that Alden had 114 members, Chalet had 98 members, and Lancaster had 132 members. The researchers believed that 69 to 70 responses from each membership group would be adequate. Anticipating a 70 to 75% response rate because of the unusually high involvement and familiarity of each group with the sub- ject matter, the research team decided to mail 85 to 90 surveys to each group; a simple random sample of mem- bers was chosen from each list. In all, 87 members from each country club were mailed a questionnaire (348 sur- veys in total). Sixty-three usable surveys were returned from each group (252 in total) for a response rate of 72%. Summary results of the survey are presented in the exhibits. Exhibit 2 gives members’ overall ratings of the

Average Overall Ratings of Each Club by Club Membership of the Respondent

Membership

country clubs, and Exhibit 3 shows their ratings of the various clubs on an array of dimensions. Exhibit 4 is a breakdown of attitudes toward Chestnut Ridge by the three different membership groups: Alden, Chalet, and Lancaster. The data are average ratings of respondents. Exhibit 2 scores are based on a five-point scale, where ‘‘1’’ is poor and ‘‘5’’ is excellent. The last two are based on seven-point scales in which ‘‘1’’ represents an extremely negative rating and ‘‘7’’ an extremely positive rating.

Questions

1. What kind of research design is being used? Is it a good choice?

2. Overall, how does Chestnut Ridge compare to the other three country clubs (Alden, Chalet, and Lancaster)?

3. In what areas might Chestnut Ridge consider making improvements to attract additional members?

E x h i b i t 1

Questionnaire Used to Survey Alden, Chalet, and Lancaster

Country Club Members (Continued)

E x

	Club Rated	Alden	Chalet	Lancaster	Composite Ratings Across All Members
	Alden	4.57	3.64	3.34	3.85
	Chalet	2.87	3.63	2.67	3.07
	Chestnut Ridge	4.40	4.44	4.20	4.35
	Lancaster	3.60	3.91	4.36	3.95
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Average Ratings of the Respective Country Clubs across Dimensions
	Country Club
Dimension	Alden	Chalet	Chestnut Ridge	Lancaster
Club landscape	6.28	4.65	6.48	5.97
Clubhouse facilities	5.37	4.67	6.03	5.51
Locker room facilities	4.99	4.79	5.36	4.14
Club management	5.38	4.35	5.00	5.23
Dining room atmosphere	5.91	4.10	5.66	5.48
Food prices Food quality Golf course maintenance	5.42 a 6.17	4.78 4.12 5.01	4.46 5.48 6.43	4.79 4.79 5.89

5.10	4.52	5.08
4.14	4.00	3.89
b	4.66	5.35
3.97	5.00	4.91

aQuestion not asked

Golf course challenge Condition of tennis courts Number of tennis courts Swimming pool

Membership rates

5.14

5.01

4.77

4.49

E x h i b i t 3

bNot applicable

Attitudes toward Chestnut Ridge by Members of the Other Country Clubs

E x h i b i t 4

Dimension	Alden	Chalet	Lancaster
Club landscape	6.54	6.54	6.36
Clubhouse facilities	6.08	6.03	5.98
Locker room facilities	5.66	5.35	5.07
Club management	4.97	5.15	4.78
Dining room atmosphere	5.86	5.70	5.41
Food prices	4.26	4.48	4.63
Food quality	5.52	5.75	5.18
Golf course maintenance	6.47	6.59	6.22
Condition of tennis courts	4.55	4.46	4.55
Number of tennis courts	4.00	4.02	3.98
Swimming pool	5.08	4.69	4.26
Membership rates	5.09	5.64	4.24

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