Project Part 2: Organizational Overviews
Sugar Brush Resort was opened in 25th December the year 1958; the founder members were Damon and Sara Gadd in partnership with Jack Murphy. This era was referred as the Gadd Era which was between 1958-1977.The team was able to get influential people such as Kim Novak, Olleg Cassini and his brother Igor who was a gossip columnist; they became frequent customers of the resort contributing to its publicity. In 1977, the resort was sold to Roy Cohen, who managed it up to the year 1983.During the Cohen era, the resort was expanded, and Cohen was able to purchase the Glen Ellen Ski area the Sugar brush North was created on this area. From 1983-1984, the ARA services took over the ownership of the resort and, during this period the capacity of skiers increased from 450 skiers per hour to 1,500 skiers per hour. In 1984-1995, the resort was under the ownership of Chanel Enterprise, this changed afterwards and from the year 1995-2001 Les Otten purchased the resort and expanded it capacity to hold more skiers .
Les Often managed the resort up to the year 2001 and sold it to Summit Ventures NE .The vision and mission of the resort remain similar to what the pioneer investors of the resort had; the management of the resort have the vision of making Mad River the best place ever and also ensuring that visitors who visit them enjoy what they do. The main profit idea used by the resort is ensuring that customers do not just find a place where they can have fun, but also find to do what they love doing most. In the mid 1800’s, the Stowe Vermont developed into a famous summer resort. The region has got beautiful mountain scenery and has as well as good transport network; this favored it as a suitable resort .In 1921, the first ski jumping event was held the winter period, there were other activities such as skating that were held during that period. Downhill skiing started after the great depression; this was after the Civilian Conservation Corps established camps in the area and started clearing skiing rails on Mt.Mansfield.The resort has grown to be a thriving ski resort with visitors from all over the world. The Mission of the Stowe Vermont resort is to offer its customers a recreational center where there is integration of nature, nurture and knowledge. The resort has ensured that the Vermont traditions are adhered to, and all the natural resources in the area have been respected, this makes it the best place where visitor can interact with nature, it has proved to be the best strategy towards making Stowe a leading tourist destination. Whistler draws its history from fishing; the Rainbow Lodge was a popular tourist attraction site and was one of the most popular attraction sites west of Rocky Mountains.
In the winter of 1960, a team of Vancouver businessmen being led by Franz Wilhelsmen formed Garibaldi Lift Limited whose main aim was to develop and Alpine ski area on the London Mountains, they had a dream of hosting the 1960 Olympic Games. The London Mountain was later named Whistler Mountain and was officially opened to the public on February 1966.Over the years, it has grown, and the Olympic dream came true when the Whistler Valley hosted the 2010 Olympic Winter games. The Whistler Blackcomb has always had one mission of creating memories as the best mountain experience all times for all visitors who visit the beautiful destination the business strategy is to ensure that Whistler Blackcomb becomes the mountain resort in the world offering people the opportunity to work, play and invest. In the study, I will be able to connect with the top international skiers who have been able to enjoy the experience of skiing in all these three resorts.
Project Part 3: Strategic WHY and Diffusion
Whistler Blackcomb has over the years lived to its mission statement. The company has three core values which all the stakeholders are part of, these values include striving to be the best company in the industry, caring for its customers and keeping safety as a key priority. The company has for many years been able to offer the best services to its customers. It has also been engaged in environmental programs as part of its corporate social responsibility, holding the 2010 winter Olympics was a true testimony to its mission. It has also incorporated amazing engineering and is now working on a project of completing the longest continuous lift system in the world. The management of Sugarbush believes in making it the best resort where visitors can love what they do, this is the reason the resort has been in operation for many years. The mission has been there for more than 50 years and motivates the people to live the dream of its founders. Ever since 2001 the offers new adventure to its visitors .The focus has not only been on skiing; effort has been put on other activities such as golf with upgrading of the Trent Jones golf course.
There are also new lodges that are being constructed all in an effort to make Sugarbush the best resort globally. The Stowe resort works under the principle of respecting the diversity of its people, as well as the environment. It is focused on safety, security and disaster relief as some of its social responsibilities. The resort has been able to operate within its mission through provisional of recreation facilities as well as engaging in different environmental programs. The management of Stowe has been able to permanently protect over 2000 acres of wildlife habitat which includes 10 acres of the Spruce Peak. The diversification has ensured that the resort gains popularity and many tourists visit it annually. After sharing this information with an international skier, they admitted that the resort had gone beyond just being recreational facilities, and they had so much to offer.
Project Part 4: Industry Life Cycle and External Factors
The ski resort industry, mainly falls under the tourism sector, this industry has gone through numerous changes and is currently in its early maturity phase. It is businesses that many people especially tourists have not fully exploited, and many people have come to know more about it from skiing games. There is a lot that still needs to be learnt about this industry that faces stiff competition from other sectors in the tourism sector. Skiing can only be done within the winter season, but this has changes with competitors developing artificial skiing tracks which are used all year round. There are various external factors that affect the skiing industry. This business falls in the tourism sector which is affected by various political factors; there are many political debates which have been raised as a result of the environmental impacts that skiing have on the environment. Strict government policies in some nations have made it difficult to invest in the industry. Some nations are faced by political unrest that disrupts the tourism sector resulting to a low number of people touring the ski resorts. The government charges high taxes for those who operate in this business, and it is a challenge especially to those who operate on small scale basis, the taxations also applies on the equipment that are used in the resorts , high taxation result to high charges on the visitors.
Apart from the political forces, there are also economic forces that affect the Ski resort business; the huge capital required to venture into this business makes it difficult for new firms to enter into the market competition. Inflation rate is also another factor which affects the ski resort industry since once number of tourists reduces making it difficult for a business to generate revenue .Many businesses are forced out of business since they cannot cope with the huge inflation rates. Currently, there are government policies that require the business to pay other expenses such as insurance policies to its employees, this increase the expenditure while the revenue does not change much. Operating some of the machines requires the continuous supply of power; this is quite expensive for those operating in this industry. It is very difficult for a business to control some of the economic challenges, which face it since most of them face the entire industry.
There are also social challenges that face the ski resort business, there are some societies where skiing is considered to be a very dangerous game, those who think of investing in such a business are forced to think of another idea since there will be very few people skiing. Parents do not encourage their children to enroll for skiing lessons since in the modern world people are more focused on academics and forget about other important activities. In the modern society, there are many challenges that face people and there is little time left to engage in activities such as skiing. The internet has also brought in new challenges in the business; people do need to physically visit the resort to know about the activities that they can engage in, they just search on the internet; they fail to get practical experience from the ski resorts. Marketing has also moved a notch higher and is now being done on online platforms, any company that does not have a well-established online strategy face many challenges in coping with market competition. It is now possible to make indoor ski; these skis operate throughout the year; this is challenging to the skis that only have to be operational during winter. There are many environmental challenges that face the business with a lot of pressure from environmental lobby groups. The world is focused on green energy, and this is being encouraged on the ski areas. Those in the industry have to carry our research on the best methods of powering the lifts and other machinery. Skis are operated on mountain regions; they have to ensure that they do not interfere with the ecosystem in their operations.
Project Part 5: Competitive Situation
Competitive Framework
Market competition is one of the key issues that existing firms have to deal with; this is a business which requires a lot of capital to establish, and this has made it possible for the existing firms to gain full control of the market. Firms that want to join the competition are usually faced with challenges due to discriminative policies that existing firms use to eliminate new competitors. Consumer loyalty is also another strategy that existing firms have invested on; there are ,members pay a membership fee that allows them to become fulltime members for a certain period of time, this is like a market barrier to incoming competitors who fail to get customers. Once a new company has been able to enter the, market competition, exiting is not an easy option due to the huge capital used in establishing it.
Project Part 6: Strategic Objectives and SWOT
In this section, the Whistler Blackcomb is the selected company.
SWOT ANALYSIS
The company has been able to host the 2010 winter Olympics games; this has given it a strong marketing base; it is now possible for the company to market its facilities based on how successful the Olympics games were. Another major strength is the ability to invest in engineering programs in its operations; innovative programs have enabled the company to be a key leader the ski resort industry. It has invited in renewable energy projects which have contributed towards saving the power cost. The 2010 Golden Eagle award was given to the company for its excellence in environmental issues; it has been a market leader in terms of environmental conservation in the skiing industry. There is some weakness that the organization faces one of them being the competition from rival companies; another key challenge is to ensure that the resort is an all year tourist destination and not only a winter destination. Many opportunities do exist for the company; it can venture in other areas of the tourism industry and also offer professional ski training in partnership with the sports organization. Market threat is a key challenge that the company has to cope with; the key threat is global warming which has affected the skiing industry, increased competition and also the seasonal aspect of the tourism industry.
The organization has focused on key objectives that will ensure that it will be the leading competitor in the skiing industry. It holds the longest skiing span of 3024 kilometers which is unsupported, it also in the process of completing the longest global lift system.
SWOT ANALYSIS MATRIX
Part 7: Organizational Strategic Advantage
Whistler Blackcomb has been able to be consistent in its business operations and objectives, this is a company that was focused on holding the Olympics which was a major goal when it was being established, and it made the dream a reality. The organization has been able to have a problem solving system effectively handles the challenges facing the skiing industry; it has incorporated research in coming up with solutions to some of the emerging challenges. Over the years there are many changes in terms of technology and business operations which have faced the skiing industry, the company has been able to move along with the changes. Climate change is one key issue that the company has been able to tackle effectively and emerge as a leading company. It is a center of innovation in the skiing industry offering its customers new and thrilling experience. The business strategies put in place by the organization have put it ahead in terms of market competition, innovations, environmental programs and revenue generation
Part 8: Value Chain and Classic Porter
Whistler Blackcomb has been able to incorporate key business strategies in its operations; it has been able to offer affordable packages to its customers who visit the resort, unlike other resorts it does not focus on the rich class only. It has offered diversified programs making it possible for people from different economic classes to afford its services. There is also high-level management that the management team uses in its operations and has focused on engineering programs that improve the quality of resort services. It has been able to focus on customer loyalty as a strategy of coping with market competition. Its services are unique, and it is not just an imitation of other companies. For a company that has been able to grow from a fishing resort to holding the 2010 winter Olympics, Whistler Blackcomb has proved that it is more of a business which applies strategies to remain on top of market competition.
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