Analysis of Strategic Plans for Changing Needs

Bounce Fitness is a Fitness business with branches in Brisbane, Cairns, Sydney, and Melbourne.  At present, each branch operates semi autonomously, making their own decisions and has resulted in a lack of standardization in how the business is run and managed. The business would like to register with Fitness Australia, but has to meet its stringent requirements on staff qualifications and continuous training. A budget of $ 20000 has been allocated for the purposes of managing the envisaged change. This report articulates the strategic plans for Bounce Fitness in order to identify gaps for change and justify the need for change. The report also evaluates the external environment and how it can potentially impact the business and demonstrates consultation with other managers to prioritize the change plans and implement the changes, taking into account training costs and doing a cost benefit analysis of undertaking the strategic change versus not undertaking the change at all.

Analysis of Strategic Plans, for Changing needs:

Objective 1: Have a centralized management structure and decision making process

Objective 2: Ensure trainers meet minimum certifications as per Fitness Australia guidelines

Objective 3: To evaluate external factors and how they can influence the business and thereby identify opportunities for change

Objective 4; Cost effectively manage the change process  

Objective 5; To cost effectively and efficiently manage the change management project using project management skills

Comparison of Policies against the new strategic Objectives:

Compare the existing policies and practices at Bounce Fitness against the strategic objectives to identify where changes are required. Document the comparison in a table. You can use the following template if you like:

Report on External Environment impact on the Achievement of new strategic Objectives.

Introduction of the carbon tax affects the fitness industry in terms of energy sources and equipment used that has resulted in reduced profits by between 4 and 7%. increased costs in installing energy efficient equipment and retro fitting existing equipment, including cooling requirements that increase costs (Morgan 2012). Complying with Fitness Australia Code of practice will lead to increased costs, though being registered with it as having met the requirements will result in higher quality of service and customer satisfaction that will likely increase revenues (Janis 2015)

Australian economy is on the rebound and people will invest more in their health and fitness; the industry is expected to continue growing as Bounce Fitness will benefit from a stable and growing economy (Stewart 2017)

Comparison of Policies against the New Strategic Objectives

Gym membership is growing in Australia as are job opportunities as the fitness craze continues to grow in Australia. There will be tighter regulations that will result in more qualified professional fitness trainers. Wearable technology is projected to continue growing and will have a significant impact on the fitness industry. Further, non-equipment fitness training with concepts such as Yoga will increase, as are traditional areas of strength training, weight loss,  circuit training, and medicine training will continue to grow, according to Berry (2017). More training centers will have to get their fitness instructors certified as per the Fitness Australia code of practice requirements

Minutes of the Meeting with Stakeholders for finding out the major change needs and discussion for training options and costs involved:

Wearable technology will be used more by fitness enthusiasts and so fitness regimes must be effective as wearable technology monitor progress in any fitness regime.  Non equipment training like body weight training and Yoga will attract more enthusiasts. There will be requirement for professional and experienced fitness instructors and these are necessary given exercise will be treated as medicine in the near future. There will be need for functional fitness by clients and growth in group and group personal training and outdoor fitness activities such as jogging, further reinforcing the need for experienced qualified fitness professionals. Modern equipment with low carbon footprint will be required for emerging fitness demands in circuit training, strength training, and older adults fitness programs. Wellness coaching will be in demand as will be workplace health promotions; these will require trained professionals and a new marketing model targeting corporates. With more graduates in sports science expected to be churned out, existing staff must have the highest competence levels in order to remain relevant. Fitness will continue being a lifestyle choice and so demand for fitness will increase (‘Fitness Australia’ 2017). Training will thus be very important; training can be part time, full time, or online as depicted in Appendix I with associated costs

Minutes of the meeting with other managers to discuss and prioritize the Change requirements:

Personnel manager proposed and was unanimously supported on the need to have all fitness instructors meet the Fitness Australia standards and have enhanced professional skills in line with the market trends

It was discussed and agreed unanimously that the change process be managed effectively for the best outcomes and for objectives to be met

All staff that lacked the minimum training certification (certificate III) had to undergo the training at the company’s expense; there was unanimous agreement on this

Report on External Environment Impact on the Achievement of New Strategic Objectives

Administrative manager proposed and was unanimously supported on then need for streamlining management and decision making and using information systems in management

It was agreed unanimously that all effort be placed in meeting Fitness Australia standards to gain registration

New opportunities exists in Yoga, group personal training, outdoor training, use of technology in training and social media to market the business and interact wit customers

• Streamline and centralize management structure and decision making process
• Implement an effective change management strategy by involving all staff, explaining the rationale for the changes and getting their views with the aim of having them take ownership of the change process
• Get all staff qualified as per Fitness Australia requirements by helping them choose the most convenient training regime for minimum and continuous training
• Identify and take advantage of existing opportunities and leverage technology 

Communication Plan:

To adopt a company wide streamlined and unified management structure that makes use of management accounting in decision making

Have he best qualified and experienced staff as fitness trainers

Take advantage of opportunities in the environment and interact more with customers through social media 

Change the management and decision making structure

Have all fitness staff trained and adopt continuous training

Increase customer base and revenues as well as profitability

Use information systems for streamlined management and decision making and manage the change effectively

Sensitize fitness staff that are not yet qualified on the need for them to get certified and continuously improve their skills

Adopt social media as a marketing and customer service platform to ensure customer satisfaction and market the business  

Management structure and style

Staff training and staff skills

Customer interaction and how to identify opportunities in the market 

Work Breakdown Structure including schedules, milestones, roles and budget  

Possible barriers:

Procurement schedule – human resources, finance:

Communication strategy: 

Be done using a stakeholder management plan where stakeholder are identified, their influence level, and method of communication identified.  

Monitoring and evaluation will be done using the WBS and project plan where milestones are evaluated and tasks evaluated for being completed on time and within budget. These to be reported weekly to CEO and identified stakeholders (Cameron & green 2015).   

Initiating change: manager agree unanimously agreed that the changes were necessary and advised that CEO support is crucial for its success

It was agreed that the intended change and new vision be communicated to all staff and stakeholders during a retreat and views obtained from them. The reasons for the changes have to be explained and have staff take ownership of the change process

The managers advised that the process of implementing the changes be made smooth and follow the WBS

The managers advised that monitoring and evaluation of progress be done and reports sent to all stakeholders, including the managers  

Part C – Implement change management strategy You are now half way through your change management project. You have activated strategies for implementing change and conducted regular evaluation and review and several things are occurring: It is as you thought: the five long-term trainers do not think that they need to do any training or get a qualification and have been expressing anger at having to do it. A number of new exercise professionals who have just been hired also want to undertake the supported training. This is great but you have not budgeted for this.

You identified the need to introduce a mandatory safety training module for each Centre as part of meeting the Code of Practice. This has commenced but many States have not yet got around to organizing and delivering it, saying they are too busy and there are more important things to do.  

Document this in a brief report. 

Budget for training the exercise professional newly hired

Develop a budget for training the exercise professionals.

Safety training program: 

The staff input when initiating change management will be extended by another week to obtain input from staff in all branches

References

‘Australian Institute of Fitness’ (2017). Certificate 3 in Fitness, Fitness Instructor Courses – Australian Institute of Fitness. [online] Australian Institute of Fitness. Available at: https://fitness.edu.au/course/fitness-instructor/ [Accessed 25 Nov. 2017].

Berry, S. (2017). Top fitness trends 2017: the digital age and exercise collide. [online] The Age. Available at: https://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/fitness/top-fitness-trends-2017-the-digital-age-and-exercise-collide-20161103-gsh75j.html [Accessed 25 Nov. 2017].

Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. London, Kogan Page.

Janis (2015). Fitness Industry Regulation. [online] Fitness.org.au. Available at: https://fitness.org.au/articles/latest-industry-news/fitness-industry-regulation/45/464/184 [Accessed 25 Nov. 2017].

Morgan, D. (2012). How will the carbon tax affect your fitness business?. [online] Australian Fitness network. Available at: https://www.fitnessnetwork.com.au/resources-library/how-will-the-carbon-tax-affect-your-fitness-business [Accessed 25 Nov. 2017].

Stewart, B. (2017). Sport is more than just a fringe player in Australia’s economy. [online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/sport-is-more-than-just-a-fringe-player-in-australias-economy-71212 [Accessed 25 Nov. 2017]