case study stage 1
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ur_umuc_healthy_fitness_center_case_study.docxUR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center Case Study
In 1980, the UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center was opened in a growing area of a bedroom community, by a UMUC Business Management graduate after he retired from the US Marine Corps. It has an exercise room with many different kinds of specialized equipment, rooms for various exercise and martial arts classes, and locker rooms with showers for men and women. In addition, there is a small snack area where members can buy bottled water, soda, fruit juices and snacks, with tables and chairs where people can relax. There are several part time staff members that man the counter where people check in; they also sell memberships and collect payments. There are trained exercise room attendants to assist members and a maintenance staff to ensure cleanliness of the facility and minor maintenance of the equipment. Recently you were hired by the owner and founder as the manager, and you are very excited about this opportunity!
UR UMUC Healthy is a for-profit Fitness Center and must cover its variable costs, fund future improvements and produce a reasonable profit for the owners. Unfortunately, business has been steadily declining over the last five years. Although your predecessor did a good job at the Center, it has become outdated. You recognize that some of the equipment really needs to be replaced, but you are not sure which equipment should be replaced first. The classes and exercise programs available have also become outdated. There is little known about the makeup of the membership (age, sex, goals, interests, problems, complaints, etc.). You don’t know if there are long waits for particular equipment. If you had more information in these areas you feel that you could increase membership and income. For instance, if you knew which equipment was most heavily used, perhaps you would opt to replace that first, or add more similar equipment. The Member and Non Member fee structure has not been reviewed in many years, and your contracts with outside firms that perform preventative and major maintenance, and those that provide cleaning supplies, vending machine services, and towels have not been reviewed in a number of years. Recently, there have been weeks when the Center has run out of clean towels and the vending machines were out of the most popular items. In addition, customers have been requesting Wi-Fi reception in the Center as well as cardio monitoring features on the cardio equipment.
The Center is open from 5 AM to 10 PM and is busy most of the day; however, the make-up of the people differs over the course of the day and each group has its own characteristics. The early group, 5 – 8 AM are the heavy workout members who speed through their exercises and head out for work or school. The next group, 8 AM -2 PM are older and take their time exercising and attending classes and spend a lot of time in social interaction; they are generally either retired or moms with their kids in school. The period from 2 – 4 PM is the least busy and is made up largely of high school students and others who like a less crowded environment. From 4 - 7 PM the group is made up of workers on their way home who want to get their workout in before dinner. The last group, 7 – 10 PM, is young single people who want show themselves off and attract the opposite sex, while exercising or taking classes.
One problem that you notice immediately is that you do not know which employees are scheduled to work each day, and there is no way to quickly get a substitute if one is needed. All employees require annual training and certifications in CPR, Safety, First Aid and the use of AED Defibrillators, while the contract trainers require various additional certifications periodically based on their specialty. All of the membership records, orders for towels and snack bar items, and financial and payroll accounts are kept on paper. The Center does not have a Web site, and uses very little marketing except word-of-mouth, and essentially still operates the same as it did in 1980.
The following is an example of how you will identify a business need and a technology solution: Last year, the Fitness Center had no effective way to communicate with its members. Notices were posted on the lobby bulletin board but many members ignored that, and of course those that hadn't come to the Center recently had no way of receiving the information. To address the business need of effectively communicating with members, a simple database was developed to capture customers' email and cell phone information as well as their preferred method of receiving notifications.
Note: As you approach these assignments, you will find it helpful to think about your own experiences with a fitness center or gym. Making a trip to a local fitness center may help you think about the processes, challenges, and opportunities.
Upon completion of these assignments you will have performed an array of activities to demonstrate your ability to apply the course content to a “real world situation” to:
· Analyze the business environment and identify a strategic area for improvement (Stage 1)
· Propose an appropriate technology solution to improve a selected business process (Stage 2)
· Evaluate various IT considerations of the proposed technology solution (Stage 3)
· Communicate your solution and the IT considerations to stakeholders using a presentation format (Stage 4)
· Identify and explain the next steps in implementing the solution (Stage 5)
The case study and assignments address the Course Outcomes to enable you to:
· analyze business strategy to recognize how technology solutions enable strategic outcomes
· analyze internal and external business processes to identify information systems requirements
· identify and plan IT solutions that meet business objectives.
STAGED ASSIGNMENTS
The staged assignments are designed to follow the relevant course modules and chapters of the textbook in the class schedule, and are due on the dates shown in the Syllabus.
Stage 1 Project: Business Environment Analysis (Word document with analysis)
Stage 2 Project: Business Process Model and Technology-Supported Solution Proposal (Word document with proposed solution and process diagram)
Stage 3 Project: Template for IT Considerations (Word table)
Stage 4 Project: Executive Briefing Presentation (PowerPoint Presentation on proposed solution)
Stage 5 Project: Outline of Next Steps (Word document outline with next steps)
The weight of the assignments is shown in the Course Syllabus. The due dates are shown in the Course Schedule.
Assignments for stages 1, 2 and 5 require external research, outside of the textbook. The grading rubric is included with each assignment.
These assignments are designed to help you identify how to effectively analyze and interpret information to improve the business. This is an opportunity for you to apply critical thinking skills and think like a business professional. When you are writing a paper or developing a presentation, prepare it as if it is going to the Loan Committee at the local bank whom you want to impress with your knowledge, abilities and obtain the required financing. Don't just go through the mechanics of pulling together information -- think about what you are doing, why you're doing it, whether it make sense, whether the information seems realistic, and what the results show. Support your recommendations with your research. It’s important that you identify relevant, timely resources that specifically support the points or information you provide in your assignment. You should read the source and assimilate the information first, and then put it into your own words and incorporate it into the flow of your writing (with an appropriate in-text APA citation and a list of Works Cited at the end of your paper). Direct quotes should be used very sparingly—only when the author’s own words uniquely present a concept that would be lost if paraphrased by you.
One of the prerequisites for this course is that you have a fundamental working knowledge of word processing and presentation software. Detailed instructions for each Staged Project, 1 through 5, are posted in the Case Materials Conference. You must prepare each assignment in the indicated format (i.e., table, outline, report, presentation or other specified format) and submit it as an attachment through your individual Assignments Folder in WebTycho. No credit will be given for assignments submitted in file formats other than those stated in the assignment instructions.
Because these assignments require you to use Microsoft Word and PowerPoint (as indicated in the instructions), you may need to "brush up" on your familiarity with these or use functions that perhaps are new to you. Therefore, do not wait until the last minute to begin an activity. You should read through all the assignments in advance to ensure you (1) understand what is expected, and (2) allow enough time to effectively create the information being requested.
Additional Information
There is a significant amount of information available to you to assist in developing your skills in using the Microsoft Office Products. MS Word and PowerPoint are required for these exercises. The textbook comes with access to the publisher’s website ( http://www.mhhe.com/baltzan) where there are a number of resources, including Tech Plug-Ins for Office 2003, 2007 and 2010. Don't hesitate to use the on-line help and wizard tools built into the MS Office applications for help as you work with the software tools. There are also other web sites, such as www.eHow.com , and www.microsoft.com that provide tips. Even YouTube has some useful videos demonstrating various techniques.
