Sidethrusters Case Study
...nces. They are brought in to simply oversee the current process of the business and suggest alternative options that fit the Sidethrusters business that have been found to be constructive to other businesses. If the company does have the financial ability to hire many people, however, another possibility is to form a full fledged hierarchy of management. This would allow for many opportunities that the company is currently not taking advantage of. For example, not only would the benefits of customer service and extended help be of use but a simple structure for the business which produces organization as well as a standard process, would be huge for a company of this nature. Starting with the basics it would be beneficial to develop a sales team who would research trends in the boating industry as well as past purchasers and their reasons for buying. This is vital information that any company who is serious about increasing sales should be aware of. Also, simply adding managers for various levels gives the company structure and stability. For example, there needs to be a person to oversee the ordering process and make sure that the right number and type of materials are in stock, so that delivery and installation processes are guaranteed to be smooth. Also, there needs to be a manger who takes care of deliveries as well as another manager to supervise installation and so on. In addition to the lack of management from the vice president, other minor problems were also present further up the ladder, which leads only to the president himself. Michael Bardlow worked previous in the boating industry as a CPA as well as for an investment advisor firm by the name of Controller of Hayden Street Research and Management Company. He knew he wanted to start a business, but found his way to Sidethrusters simply because the concept was a “neat idea,” not because he had an absolute wisdom of what the project would endure. Although there was the possibility for him to possess some management skills, which is a strong characteristic for an entrepreneur, he still lacked knowledge of the boating industry, which eventually presented major problems. For any entrepreneur, particularly one who plans on handling the management aspect of the business, a thorough knowledge of the industry is crucial. The only link to the boating world he possessed at the time came from the 25-foot sailboat he owned and some knowledge of the generally marine industry. Granted he took the correct steps when attempting to affirm his original idea as he took the time to inquire and conduct research from US data as well as personal and technical expertise from boat builders and naval architects. However, once the idea was deemed worthy and continuing on throughout the past two years, he has chosen not to seek help regarding upcoming issues and events that require more knowledge than a simple boat-owner can give. Most solutions to the problem regarding a lack of knowledge can generally be fixed through various methods of research. One possibility, assuming a solid management system is in place, would be for Bardlow himself to research and learn as much as possible about the particular industry he is involved in. Considering he has invested a lot into his business, he would ideally be a prime candidate for the most knowledgeable employee. The time and finances he has poured into the company simply ensures that not only for short term purposes he will be the least likely to leave, but also for long term purposes he is the most likely to care and desire that the company succeed. In order for him to gain this knowledge, he would need to be willing to invest even more time and money to the cause in order to acquire the information he has previously been lacking, whether it is from a liable source such as a professional, a factual source via text references and other quantitative or qualitative data or a historical source such as records from where the industry has been as well as forecasts of where the industry is headed. Another possibility, once again depending on the financial position of the company during the time of alteration, would be to hire a professional to take over the aspects of the business where Bardlow has formerly been unable to handle. To ensure the reliability of this person, it would be important that the professional have a strong link to the company and a desire, if not obligation, to stay long term. For example, it would be disastrous to the company if the professional were to stay for a few months to learn the business only to mysteriously leave and begin his own comparable business where he has a head start of free information of not only what works, but almost more importantly, areas where the business is currently weak. A third possibility, although probably the least desired, would simply be to sell the company. Bardlow could sell the entire company to a knowledgeable party who can hopefully turn the company into a profit maker. With this option, Bardlow could still maintain an active share in the business itself and be able to focus his efforts in other areas where he is more knowledgeable. At this point the company has appreciated since its start, even though it is currently not making a profit. Therefore, Bardlow has an opportunity to come out with more money than he put in. Another minor problem facing management relates to how Sidethrusters have chosen to position themselves in the market. Starting out, they chose to target sailboat builders where Sidethrusters could be installed during the initial production of the boats. Soon after, they discovered they would need to capture a larger market in order to see a considerable profit. Therefore, they decided to change the marketing strategy suggesting they then capture the aftermarket business of the powerboats. Although there was found to be an adequately large amount of demand for this area of the market, numerous problems soon followed. First, by making themselves known as a post-buy option in a segmented market, Sidethrusters were simply handcuffing themselves making it hard to venture into other positions in the market down the road should the demand for a post-option component change. For example, there is the ever-present threat that boat builders will eventually catch onto the market and begin to produce boats with comparable “Sidethrusters” as a standard unit. One option, therefore, would be to recognize this threat early and take action to possibly form a partnership with various boat builders to make the product standard on all models. Another problem with this decision was the lack of knowledge regarding powerboat designs. Throughout the process it was eventually recognized that no two boats in the entire market were alike, thereby making a standard process for Sidethrusters installation virtually impossible. Crews were unable to arrive for a project with an idea of the parts necessary for the job or even a simple schedule of the installation process, which only takes time that Sidethrusters could not afford to lose. Once again, this is another reason why a partnership would be effective considering Sidethrusters cannot possibly keep up with the dynamic designs in the boat building industry therefore they should become apart of it. Another possible solution to the overall problem would be to go back, once again, to the additio...