Task 1
One of the most important challenges that an organisation faces is managing a business in the changing environment. According to Drafke and Murtaugh (2009), the speed at which business environment evolves and changes pose serious threat to an organisation. The purpose of this report is to analyse the management approaches that are conducted in PureGym. It is a health club in the UK that allows people to remain fit and healthy. The report analyses the organisational structure and uses one management approach that is used by the organisation. Apart from this strategic management objective adopted by PureGym is also analysed.
PureGym is a fitness club that is situated in the United Kingdom. The club is one of the no-frills fitness clubs that is situated in Leeds. The club has its reputation spread all across the country and ensures that the people living in the United Kingdom remain fit and healthy. The chain in which the club belongs is considered as the largest gym chain in the country. Currently, the club chain has over 450,000 members and plans to open 300 gyms in the country within 2020. In 2015, the club acquired all the gyms from the rival chain LA Fitness and increased the number of gyms to 141 (Puregym.com 2017).
The gym operates in the health clubs industry. The purpose of this type of industry is to help people to maintain a healthy life. The fitness of the people is checked and adequate support is provided in order to help the people to avoid any physical diseases. Exercises concerning the cardio, limbs and reduction of weights are provided by the centres involved in this type of industry. PureGym offers such facilities along with exercise classes that help people to remain fit and relive them from being stressed.
PureGym was founded in 2009 by Peter Roberts. The gym is located in Merrion centre in Leeds. The gym is privately owned by CCMP Capital and in 2014 was approached as a part of a takeover attempt by The Gym Group. Recently, Humphrey Cobbold took over from the founder, Peter Roberts. Roberts is currently the Executive Chairman of the club. PureGym has seen a steady growth in the health club industry since its inception. Currently, the number of gyms that are owned by the cub is more than 180. It also has a personal website from which people can get information about the club (Puregym.com 2017).
Task 2
According to Mullins and Christy (2013), the organisational structure of a company is an important factor to determine the success of that company. A proper organisational structure can help in maintaining communication between the employees and employers. The manner in which the hierarchy exists needs to be communicated properly with the employees. In the case of PureGym, the organisational structure of the club is simple and consists of the CEO as the head of the club.
The CEO is reported by the chief financial officer and the chief operating officer. They, in turn, receive reports about the activities of the company from the Non-executive directors. The club also consists of a marketing head that analyses the ICT activities of PureGym and helps in gaining members from the country. The club also has trainers that help in guiding the people towards attaining fitness. The trainers consist of an individual trainer as well as common trainer depending upon the exercises that are undertaken by the people. This hierarchical system helps people and employees to communicate with the management and ensure that proper discipline is maintained at the club. Robbins and Judge (2014) stated that the composed organisational structure is one of the reasons behind the current success of the club.
Figure: Organisational structure of PureGym
(Source: Puregym.com 2017)
From the diagram, it is seen that the hierarchical flow of information and communication helps in establishing a stable workforce of the club. It is the duty of the financial officer to analyse reports from the marketing head and the trainers in matters that relate to any damage to property or advertising. This simple nature of the structure is one of the most effective factors that help PureGym to acquire the business of rival clubs. This is because any strategic decision taken by the CEO reaches the lower level without delay.
Every organisation needs to maintain a perfect approach towards managing the departments and activities of the organisation. According to Armstrong and Taylor (2014), three types of management approach can be taken into consideration in order to ensure proper stability in an organisation. This includes situational approach, contingent approach and systems approach. The three approaches are unique from one another and offer unique experiences to the management system.
Task 3
Situational approach: According to Goetsch and Davis (2014), this approach refers to managing an organisation based on the situations it encounters. The solution and the approach undertaken by the manager depend upon the resources, capabilities and factors that determine the working of the particular organisation. This proves to be a huge challenge for the managers as adjustment needs to be made with the rapidly changing environment.
Contingent approach: This states that there are no fixed policies or objectives that an organisation can maintain due to the changing nature of the business environment. Every organisation faces different types of challenges from different sources and as a result, it is the duty of the managers to identify the alternate course of strategies required for adapting to the business (Vandeveer and Menefee 2010).
System approach: This states the interdependence of the consideration of both internal as well as external factors of an organisation. As stated by Hill, Jones and Schilling (2014) this approach is used to evaluate the marketing elements that are necessary for the profitability of the business.
In the case of PureGym, the club can use contingent approach. This is because this approach can help in formulating alternate strategies in case of a change in the functioning of the industry. However, it is to be kept in mind that developing several contingent approaches may have a negative impact as PureGym will have to decide about the right strategy to be used in the given situation. Strategies such as providing proper conditions for spa can help PureGym to gain a competitive advantage in the club industry.
Strategic management refers to forming and implementing goals and initiatives decisions of which are taken at the top level of an organisation. According to Weiss (2014), strategies include a plan of action that is designed in order to achieve the long-term goals of an organisation. The role of managers in this regard is to identify the manner in which the goals can be formulated keeping in mind the resources and capabilities of an organisation. This also includes analysing the external environment that is important to the success of a business.
The target market of PureGym includes the people willing to maintain a healthy and fit life. However, the age restriction for attaining the membership of the club is not below 15 years of age. Hence, the target market of the club is to help people above the age of 15 years to maintain a fit body and ensure that health issues related to the internal organs of the human body do not occur. The company also targets sports people that are interested in maintaining regular fitness apart from taking activities in sports (Tan, Yuan and Yoong 2015).
The two strategic objectives of PureGym include:
- To help the common people to maintain the level of fitness
- To expand the business by introducing innovative fitness ideas at the club
In this regard, a SWOT analysis of the club can be considered in order to analyse the internal capabilities.
|
Strength · Leader in the market of UK · Proper location · Cheap |
Weakness · Busy during peak times · Cost for parking · Lack of equipment |
|
Opportunity · Increase health conscious among people · Huge area · Quick acquisition of clubs |
Threat · Presence of other clubs · Lack of induction · Less changing rooms |
Table: SWOT analysis of PureGym
(Source: Created by author)
After the analysis of the SWOT, it can be seen that PureGym is the leading health club in the UK. With a convenient location and cheap membership cost, the club attracts a large number of people with the aim to stay fit. However high parking cost and lack of space and equipment during the peak season proves to be a major weakness for the club. Despite this, the club expands to a huge area that helps in the quick acquisition of other clubs. However, there still remains a threat from other health clubs that aim at a takeover of the PureGym (Puregym.com 2017).
Conclusion
Hence, it can be concluded that in order to cope up with the changing nature of a business, the manager of PureGym needs to make adopt the contingency managerial approach. This can help to formulate plans and imply it based on the situations that the club faces. The simple organisational structure can be an advantage for the club as the communication can flow in an easy manner. The SWOT analysis also focuses on the internal capabilities of the organisation. In this regard, a recommendation can be suggested that states that the club needs to purchase the latest equipment in order to remain competitive and help customers to have a better time at the club.
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