The Goal of the report is to provide help to the top management is to expand the business and services being offered by The Newcastle Australian Theatre. In order to successfully achieve the growth goal, this report intends to help her expand the business by analyzing the market. With the recent boom in the entertainment industry, new market segments are opening up providing The Newcastle Australian Theatre with a number of opportunities to expand their business. In this regard, an untouched segment of this business market is the rural folks. This report is for the launch of new shows that attract rural folks. The Newcastle Australian Theatre will play safe; the theatre is on a small scale, thus being a small income earner.
The Newcastle Australian Theatre will be promoted through phased-out advertisements on TV, which is the most-watched medium for the people. Phasing out the communication process will make the message more cost-effective. Moreover, it will help in eliminating any direct and indirect competition by many theatres which have started having similar services.
The Newcastle Australian Theatre is an entertainment theatre with a bar and restaurant, combining an assorted atmosphere with excellent and interesting gastro-molecular food. The mission of The Newcastle Australian Theatre is not only great entertainment but also superior and efficient-consumer satisfaction is our paramount objective. The Newcastle Australian Theatre will be the lounge of choice for all couples, singles, crowd, male or female, young and old of the rural folks.
Introduction
The Newcastle Australian Theatre is confronted with an opportunity to change its services. The impetus for change may come from two sources (Bomhoff 1994). Firstly, it may come from within the organization itself. These internal changes may take the form of new organizational structures and processes, formulated and implemented as a means of achieving better outcomes for the business such as increased profitability or the better delivery of services. These changes are usually planned, organized, led and controlled by the owners, management and possibly the employees of the business or organization, and are therefore predictable (Gorton and Metrick 2009).
The second source of change comes from external conditions where these are outside the direct management control of the business or organization. What is significant is that these types of changes may be either totally unforeseen or, if they are anticipated, it is their rate and duration that causes concern to a business or organization. Consequently, it presents owners and managers with a dilemma in terms of when the change is coming, its size and its effects (Kindleberger 1989).
Given the inevitability of change, it is essential there is a means for dealing with and managing change. For this to take place a change model needs to be adopted. A model is a simplified version of reality and is likened to a ‘road map’ or blueprint for how management should go about implementing change (Dessein 2002).
The success of a change model will depend on a number of factors. One factor is the culture of the organization. This relates to how the business does things and includes the values, feelings and beliefs held by the stakeholders of the business. These may be expressed as the way management communicates to its employees, the level of staff involvement in the decision-making process and the observation of ethical and legal behavior practiced inside the business (Attah‐Mensah and Greg 2001). An organization with a culture resistant to change will cause major problems for the change process. The organization’s owners, management and employees should have the intellectual, functional, emotional and social skills and competencies to deal with the change process.
External sources of change from outside the business and are therefore out of the direct control of the owners and managers. Many businesses are unable to handle changes that take place due to uncertainty. This change at times leads many businesses to collapse or make huge losses. Planning for unforeseen circumstances requires an understanding of external sources of change. The best example is the development of an international market where outsourcing is involved (Hill and Gareth, 2007).
There are a number of internal sources of change, which are usually the outcome of owners and managers responding to developments in the external environment. In recent years, internal changes have been introduced in response to globalization, increased competition, deregulation and privatization. But the centerpiece of such change has been in response to the technological revolution that has taken place. In particular, micro-electronic technologies have revolutionized the way business operates. For instance, computerization and the use of the internet have changed the way businesses market their goods and services and source their resources, and has replaced the role of labor as the primary means of producing goods and services (Taylor 2009).
In particular, the internal outcomes of accelerating technology include:
- The development of e-commerce.
- New systems and procedures.
- New business cultures (Tushman and Moore 2004).
E-commerce is one significant outcome of using new technologies. It is the means of buying and selling goods and services using the internet as the medium of communication. The development of e-commerce has given businesses a new set of strategies to market their goods and allowed the sourcing of inputs or resources needed in the manufacturing process. In response to such technological change, managers and owners have introduced new workplace practices and procedures. These include the establishment of IT departments, the use of the internet and intranet as the primary means of communicating with fellow employees and those outside the organization, and the use of technology.
Technology has also sponsored the emergence of new business cultures. Because of the immediacy of technology, business owners and employees must have the intellectual capacity and be motivated to understand what is happening. This requires that owners, managers and employees be educated and have the skills to recognize, introduce and implement change.
Market Segmentation
The Newcastle Australian Theatre’s fantastic four caters to an extended customer base. At The Newcastle Australian Theatre, every client feels at home. They’ve, therefore, come up with the following targeted segments that contributed to The Newcastle Australian theatre’s growth projections: tourists, rural folks, high-end singles, couples and the corporate. These groups consist of a large market segment of theatre lovers and they frequent regularly. The main aim is they are urbanized with a lot of work and at times they relaxation to remove stress (Tourism Research Australia, 2010).
Management
For successful management, The Newcastle Australian Theatre should employ a team of accomplished professionals who are experts in the different disciplines. The theatre should specialized staff in each section to improve professionalism in the day-to-day operations (Wee Chow, 2001). All the managers will be under the general manager. Apart from the day-to-day running of the theatre, the managers will be in charge of; portioning, pricing, show development, and control of actors which include approval of the financial undertakings of the theatre. They will also plan, develop, and create client service policies, and write, explain, and enforce the employee’s manual for policies related to employees.
SWOT Analysis
The Newcastle Australian Theatre has valuable strengths that will help it to be successful. These strengths include well-informed and friendly employees, state of art in theatre halls, a clear vision of the market need, their brand strength, effective progress in new markets and good results from the theatre operation. They will get funding from the government and other donors. This will provide an opportunity for the wealthy and educated people to attend the shows. It is also important to realize weaknesses which include: the cost factor associated with keeping this state of the art in theatre halls, reliance on 12 actors, relying on other external financiers and the saturation of the market in Australia.
The strengths will assist to capitalize on the rising opportunity. These opportunities include but are not limited to, a growing population that is interested in entertainment, participating within a gradually growing trade, the ability to reduce the constant costs as a fraction of theatre revenue as quantity increases, launching of new shows and an attractive trademark to the tourist. The theater should also be aware of some of the threats towards it. This includes strong competition within the industry, a drop in the economy which minimizes unrestricted spending and the perception that there is no difference in quality between the entertainments (Baker, 2003).
Benefits and costs
There are many benefits associated with The Newcastle Australian Theatre changing strategies of doing business. One of the benefits will include improvement of booking of shows by customers, easier advertisement, reaching many customers, increasing the market share, improved efficiency in management and improved profitability.
To implement these strategies The Newcastle Australian Theatre will need to have to incur some costs. The costs incurred will include the investment in the internet system that will put the booking system online, retrain their staff to increase employee empowerment, purchase of a new van for mobile shows and increase the theatre size.
Strategy and Implementation
SMART objectives
Looking at the marketing problem facing The Newcastle Australian Theatre, they need a strategic plan with an appropriate and well-designed marketing plan based on the SMART framework (Nash, 2009). This framework of the SMART marketing plan involves the use of specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timed marketing objectives, strategies, and action plans (Nash, 2009)
The Newcastle Australian Theatre need to increase their market share by targeting rural and corporate clients
The Newcastle Australian Theatre should implement strategies that include the marketing strategies of pricing, promotion and placing. The price should be avoidable to the target market. They should consider using price discrimination when it comes to corporate and individual clients. The Newcastle Australian Theatre should consider mobile theatre to capture rural forks. The theatre should be promoted via viable media channels such as TV, print, radio and new media channels such as the Internet and mobile phone connectivity.
Implementation
The best strategy is giving a blend of excellent and interesting shows in an atmosphere that appeals to a varied clientele. The atmosphere should be of an exciting and eclectic theatre that will get the town talking. The focus should be on establishing a strong identity which is crucial in creating a marketing component through word of mouth. Maintenance of standards cannot be overemphasized if a theatre is to keep its clientele in a tough, competitive environment. To maintain a competitive edge, delivery of the best shows at the best price, and highest service level is important. The marketing strategy should be to promote your unique services and exciting concepts to draw repeat customers. This can be done through signage, advertising and promotions, theme nights, and the printing of brochures. The Newcastle Australian Theater’s sales strategy relies mostly on the high quality of shows and the ambiance. These must be maintained at all times (Kim and Mauborgne, 2005).
Risk assessment
Identifying and Managing Risk in the theatre
There are various risks that a business organization has to identify and prepare for if possible in order to remain competitive. Since there are no single methods that can possibly illustrate all of it, it is natural that we use a combination of techniques that will illustrate this aspect. We need to match the risk with the type of method that clearly illustrates it to the top management. There are generally, risks that can be explained in numbers and there are those that can only be explained by abstract thinking. The risk should be identified as soon as possible and as far into the future as possible. The reason is that the company will stand a better chance of surviving and profiting from opportunities along the way if the risk is identified and mitigated. There are various tools used to measure risk depending on the type of risk being measured in the first place (Hill, C. & Gareth J., 2007).
The risk assessment aspect of the company is within the domain of management accounting because management accounting is intended for use for internal users. The knowledge regarding the company’s future resides within the management’s hands. It is the reason why management accounting provides these data (Bruner 1998). The type of insight provided by management accounting is not intended for external users or other third parties. Since not all of the situations a business firm encounters can be perfectly predicted, the amount of uncertainty is the one being calculated by management accounting disciplines. The exact details of accounting information that management accounting provides will always vary depending on the type and needs of the company that uses it. As a rule, there will be trends that are unique to a certain industry that is why it is important for any analyst to identify common patterns and then compare them with the current situation to determine whether they are encountering something ordinary or not (Belk, 1984).
Since the chances are usually unknown before it is about to happen, there is simply no way to quantify such unknown possibilities. All the company can do best is to react immediately to the change in the situation in order to survive the competition successfully. It is for this reason that pure quantitative methods or anything that relies on math alone are not enough (Wee 2001). The risk measurement tools of the company have to involve some kind of qualitative or abstract analysis of the environment because the business landscape is composed of such and many other varied elements. It is only natural that the company should use a variety of methods as much as possible to ensure they are using the right tool for the right job (Karami, 2007).
It is akin to having extra sensitive eyes and ears that can detect danger or spot opportunities to feed for a predator. Just like the example in the real world, this information is crucial for the survival of the entity whether it be an animal or a business organization. Information at the right time is the key to the success of its survival. All in all, we have seen that it is important for the risk assessment method to match the type of risk that it is trying to explain. The accuracy of the base data, as well as the timeliness, is also extremely important as it can mean the difference between effective management and a management disaster for the company (Dess, Lumpkin and Taylor, 2005).
Risk Assessment plan
Risk Assessment plan involves a plan that will assess the risk then come up with mitigating factors. The mitigating factors will take into consideration the chances of occurring of risk and the best course of action.
Risk Plan
Project Schedule
The activities that are to be presented herein are among the most important issues that should be carefully given particular attention to during the entire project period:
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