Canyon Ranch

Canyon Ranch

            Canyon Ranch is a reputed firm that specializes in the provision of health and fitness spa services. It has survived the business environment for more than three decades. However, the management is currently concerned about the waning performance characterized by low profitability. While the firm boasts of a large market share, there is little to show for its progress in adoption of the latest technology for efficiency in service provision.

            The stakeholders to Canyon ranch include regulatory authorities (the government), employees, and the business owners. Employees contribute to the inefficiency in service provision as they specialize in attending one customer per session. Besides, the profitability of the organization is greatly hampered because the healthcare professionals have an entitlement to higher commission and wages per client served. However, if IT is integrated into organizational operations, most of the tasks will be automated, thus, enabling the professionals to concentrate on the provision of high-quality services and to serve more customers at a time. In the long-run the organization will raise its competitive level and generate higher profits (Glaser 2014).

 Low performance of the organization affects the owners of the firm. Multiple problems threatening to cripple the firm's operations in the future emanates from the decisions made by the owners. Worth noting is that Canyon ranch still applies outdated business strategies to sustain the business operation. What the owners do fail to realize is that the tectonics are shifting beneath their feet. The business environment is evolving rapidly. A failure to adapt to the changing environment through appropriate decision making can yield a rippling effect in all the sectors of the corporation. On the other hand, the government is responsible for enacting regulatory policies that curb the business engagements of Canyon Ranch in the United States. In return, the organization remits taxes to the government. Poor performance results in low tax remittances. As such, the government can influence decision making and adoption of IT in the sector by enacting policies endorsing it. Besides, the government can offer subsidies to the organizations willing to automate their service provision for efficiency.

Symptoms and Root problems

            Some of the evident symptoms include performance stagnation, slow penetration to the international market, and tenuous synergy between the firm’s clubs and spars. Other symptoms are the mounting competition and customer dissatisfaction as evidenced by the low number of returning clients. Over the past decade, Canyon Ranch’s annual has experienced a sluggish performance, though the annual number of clients served high.  It is an implication that there is a need for the firm to review its strategies to minimize operation cost and maximize income. In addition, lack of cooperation between different the firm’s spars and clubs indicates a poor and decentralized organization structure. As a result, it is hard for Canyon Ranch’s management to monitor all the operations and determine the areas that need improvement.

            Despite the organization existing for decades, it is interesting to note that its services are yet to be expanded to a global market (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2015). The organization is losing a fortune by failing to tap into the developing world like China, Brazil and other Asian states. In such countries, the demand for spa and health services is on the rise because of a rapidly expanding middle class. Most of the Canyon Ranch’s competitors are already rushing to such melting pots before the market can attain the saturation levels. It is also clear that the majority of the clients are dissatisfied with the service provision thus the need for a review of customer care services.

Problems

            The surfacing problems include lack of utilization of technology in advertisement. Time has stood still for Canyon ranch in terms of advertisement because it employs affiliations and direct communications as the only forms of advertisements. Additionally, its website is currently static, making it harder for customers to seek an online advice or to ask questions from the organization’s professionals. Spa services are low-tech despite the presence of technologically advanced techniques as applied by rivaling firms. Such explains the rising levels of competition and the diminishing performance of Canyon Ranch.

Recommended Solutions

            To solve the rising problems, the organization should consider adopting IT in its operations. Such a move will ensure automation of multiple jobs and the ease in tracking the organizational activities. Besides, a regular upgrade of the software in use ensures the security of online data (Colomo-Palacios, 2013). The firm should set aside funds to recruit a new team of IT experts that will monitor the website operations to ensure a sustained interaction between the corporation’s experts and the clients. Adoption of online business strategies paves way for Canyon Ranch to evolve and reach out a new customer segment.

Alternative Solutions

            Some of the alternative strategies that can be utilized include a formal recognition and reward for the loyal customers. Canyon Ranch can do through an online platform, where the customers can be encouraged to register for membership. The organization should reward its loyal customers regularly through offering services at a discounted fee, free online newsletters and journals, and free consultancy services. Secondly, the IT system should be centralized for all the branches of the organization (Glaser, 2014). In this way, it is possible to utilize a single database that entails all the information on the organization, its staff, and the stakeholders. The employees from all the sectors and department will easily access information hence fostering transparency.

References

Colomo-Palacios, R. (2013). Enhancing the modern organization through information technology professionals: Research, studies, and techniques. Hershey, Pa: IGI Global (701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, USA. Print.

Fleisher, C. S., & Bensoussan, B. E. (2015). Business and Competitive Analysis: Effective Application of New and Classic Methods. Print.

Glaser, J. P. (2004). The Strategic Application of Information Technology in Health Care Organizations. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Print.