Business Strategy Consultant from Ernst and Young LLP & Operation Upmarket Essay

I’m studying and need help with a Business question to help me learn.

Hi there,

Hi there, I’ve this assignment i need it to done, please follow the instructions carefully and take a look at the sample, your work should look like the sample, no copy, no plagiarism

For this writing task, you”ll need to respond to the following scenario:

Who are you?

You
are the vice president of operations at Exquisite Entertainment, an
entertainment company that owns and operates 19 seasonal and year-round
amusement parks (Worlds of Play) located throughout the U.S. You are
responsible for providing overall direction and guidance with regard to
the operational activities of the organization.

What”s the current situation?

The
company”s amusement parks have always been popular, but recently they
haven”t been very profitable. Operating costs have been rising, and
every dollar of extra revenue has been hard won. At the company”s
annual management offsite meeting held that morning at Worlds of
Play-Seattle, Alex Harrington, a business strategy consultant from Ernst
& Young LLP, unveiled “Operation Upmarket,” a business strategy
proposal aimed at addressing the issue of profitability for Worlds of
Play. This plan proposed that Worlds of Play offer its customers the
option of a “preferred guest” card. Cardholders would pay more, but they
would get first crack at the rides and would get seated immediately at
any of the park”s restaurants. According to Alex, the plan would help
Worlds of Play finances because it would target the “mass
affluents”–wealthy but time-pressed people who might visit the park
more often and spend more time while there, were it not for long lines
at the rides.

You think back to that morning’s meeting. You
respect Alex’s plan, but what about the initiatives you had implemented
to tap into that same segment? In fact, you have already had some
successes. Roughly 20% of Worlds of Play souvenir shops have been
upgraded to gift boutiques with more appealing displays and
higher-priced merchandise, and some snack concessions have been
converted to seated dining. The most upscale of the restaurants are
already earning almost double the profit per square foot of the other
food-service facilities.

Alex had done an impressive amount of
work developing the idea, commissioning surveys and focus groups, and
getting finance to run the numbers. Her presentation had been
persuasive, you admit. Her tactic had been to get people arguing the
details–should the pass cost $20 more than general admission or $30
more?–while ignoring the question of whether it was a good idea at all.
At first, this approach seemed to be working. But Grace Jones,
Exquisite Entertainment’s vice president of human resources said,
“Clearly, there’s revenue to be gained from offering these
differentiated service levels. But it just doesn’t seem like us. The
founder of Worlds of Play created a place where families could come
together for a day to forget about their cares.” Alex said, “Our history
is great, but if things don’t turn around fast, we are going to be
history. The company has to make changes quickly to avoid
cash-crunch-driven bankruptcy or a hostile takeover.”

It was no
secret to anyone in the meeting that theme parks have only three ways to
bring in more revenue: (1) increase visits per customer, (2) increase
average spending per visit, or (3) attract new customers. Alex argued
that the guest card would address the last two items by attracting a
different type of customer–time-starved, high-income professionals and
their families–who might otherwise avoid the whole experience.

Adam
Goodwin, the VP of marketing said, “It strikes me as a very
shortsighted strategy. I mean, sure we could make a lot of money on
those cards in the first couple of seasons. But just think about what it
does to the overall customer experience. The average Joe with his wife
and three kids is not going to shell out for five upgrades. So they are
going to be sweating through even longer lines and just steaming when
they see some yuppie waltz ahead of them. I don’t even think it’s a
great experience for the preferred guests. Who wants to feel all the
anger directed at them? The key to this business is that the customers
feel good while they are here. A couple of ugly glances, a nasty remark,
and the day is spoiled for everybody. Neither side’s coming back.”

“I
should have explained,” Alex said. “We would definitely separate the
lines so the preferred cardholders wouldn’t be in people’s faces and
we’d limit the percentage of special tickets issued on any given day.
But I don’t think you are giving your customers enough credit. People
have a lot more awareness and appreciation of the fact that time is
money. This program lets them choose which they want to save.”

What are you supposed to do?

You
have been charged by CEO Len Becker to summarize the merits of the
option presented at the meeting in his absence. Craft the body of a
document for Mr. Becker.

Develop a response that includes
examples and evidence to support your ideas, and which clearly
communicates the required message to your audience. Organize your
response in a clear and logical manner as appropriate for the genre of
writing. Use well-structured sentences, audience-appropriate language,
and correct conventions of standard American English.