Orchid Preservation Study:How the company can strategize and organize better?
Format MLA
Volume of 1 page (275 words)
Assignment type : Other types
Description
Current strategy- It’s the mission of Orchid Species Preservation Foundation to preserve endangered orchids by creating awareness and fundraising initiatives but they want to expand their reach and plan to do so by building an new facility, which could be used for scientific, commercial or educational purposes. This hub must generate enough profits to sustain the Foundation’s current strategy while providing funds for future growth. By using the diamond framework, we’re able to understand the foundation’s resources and how they could be beneficial, what kind of competition they have and should look out for as well the gaps that need to be bridged in order to implement the new strategy. These factors are needed in order to formulate their next steps and whether their current strategy is viable.
ENVIRO_ TIME HORIZON
When testing the environment strategy linkage, it is important to focus the analysis onto the relevant time horizon and industry sector.
The relative environment is dependant on which opportunity OSFP decides to pursue, and whether that is commercial, educational, or scientific.
In order to focus this analysis, we will examine OSFP as a firm within the specialized orchid market. When comparing OSFP with the competition, we will also take into account the educational, commercial and scientific sectors.
After taking a broad look at the market, competition and industry of orchid production, science and education, it seems to be a relatively small community around the world. Because of this, the pace of change is fairly slow, and the OSFP has the option to keep on doing what they are doing, as the competition is not fierce. It is not a hugely dynamic, shifting industry so the pace of change is rather slow.
Finally, the time required to implement the choice of building a new facility would be a several year time horizon, as it would take time both to secure the funds, and several years to build (as OSFP has projectected that they will build in distinct stages).
Ultimately, urgent change is not needed. It is a relatively slow/small market with no predictable upstarts or new developments that would require OSFP immediate action. Because building a highly specialized new facility is a highly inflexible commitment, they should seriously consider if they have the capacity and if it would be valuable before they act.
ENVIRO_ TESTING THE LINKAGE
Demand
There seems to be several opportunities when it comes to demand, as orchid growers, labs and alike want orchids at different
– Relatively large industry worldwide
– As well, orchids are excellent environmental indicators, and can be used to reclaim land after use for tar sands.
Would it hinder/help?
Supply
– Many orchids are at risk for extinction around the globe, including 17 that are or may be at risk in Canada.
– Demanding the supply of rare orchids for its collection could mean that species are taken out of the environment in non-environmentally sustainable ways. OSFP needs to ensure it is following proper legislation and does its due diligence when it comes to researching the supplier when it comes to sourcing orchids.
– Other than that, there it would appear that the supply would not hinder the strategy of a new facility.
Govt
– Potentially constrained by legal restrictions and requirements, because the government restricts the sales and requires specialized licensing of orchids.
Would it hinder/help?
Competition
– Many like-minded organizations including the Muttart, the John Janzen nature centre. This could be seen as competition, on the other hand, it could also be seen as an opportunity, as one of the goals of the centre is to partner with organizations and increase its community engagement.
– When it comes to orchid sales, there is global competition, and Canada is not a major player
Would it hinder/help?
The ultimate questions is this: can the proposed strategy anticipate and respond to these areas of the relevant environment?
Resource linkage- We have to know what kind of resources the Foundation has in order to give recommendations on improvement. The Foundation’s resources consist of 6 factors: hr, marketing, operations, development, and financials which all depend on the corporation’s reputation within and outside of the company. OSPF does not know the market very well but they have an incredible variety of orchids. They can use variety to their advantage as a means of connecting with the customer and showing exactly why they should choose to shop at the new facility instead of purchasing from another company. The Foundation can become one of the largest growers within North America once the new center is built and by making use of local partnerships, they can generate awareness of the brand which will increase charitable donations, generating additional income(marketing). Due to the rare nature of most orchids grown and the extent to which care must be given, each grown plant could be costly to produce but with the help of volunteers and selling price per plant which could be as high as $40, revenue projections look promising. Shipping costs must also be considered and with its prime location here in Edmonton, the Foundation has easy access to major highways across Canada while keeping global opportunities in mind(operations). If this new center is to be built, adequate funding is required. And based on past experiences of Board Members gaining capital through grants and donations for the greenhouse at the Muttart Conservatory, they have skills to create awareness but not necessarily within operations, especially if the new center is to be profitable. They have mainly used the Muttart as a base and depended on its reputation to bring foot traffic but now that their vision is changing, additional skills are needed which means the Foundation can make use of specialty skills many of the volunteers have(development). By looking at current finances, we can see that total revenues have decreased in 2014 due to 2 main factors: ‘in kind’ donations and profits from initiatives through casinos have been deferred. One method of increasing donations is by reaching out to local communities and showcasing products as well as what they stand for as an organization to show they are worthy of receiving donations. Overall, income from casino nights have increased threefold while there was also an increase in plat sales which is a promising alternative to donations. Historically, they’ve placed emphasis on acquiring orchids, spending about $27,000 just in the past two years, but their collection is rounding out nicely which means a greater emphasis on growth(financials). A part of helping revenue increase is making use of volunteers. Most are here to gain hands-on experience by growing orchids themselves. This fosters passion but the Foundation does not utilize their volunteers to full extent. Many have skills the organization could use in operations and marketing and if this project is to move ahead, even more volunteers will be required to keep up with distribution, demand and maintenance. Because this will be their own facility, OSPF will not have to worry about unions or stepping on the toes of other employees as is now the case at the Muttart(hr). As the case indicates, OSPF and the Muttart are in the middle of negotiating an operating agreement which likely means downsizing the orchid display and restricting further access to the facility. Volunteers have to be supervised, making them feel untrustworthy and creating a negative environment. The Foundation greatly depends on its good reputation of being inclusive and providing a friendly environment to work in but its current facility hinders in this aspect. Yes, the Mutttart brings with it a wonderful facility and foot traffic but without its volunteers, OSPF cannot survive(reputation).
VRIO- The directors bring valuable experience and commitment to OSPF but there are aspects within operations that they don’t and they are not rare within the industry and can therefore be imitated. Orchids are absolutely required for the organization to exist, especially since most of them are endangered, creating competitive advantage. However, competitors are able to obtain the same species, though it will take some time, and by making use of current facilities, they can generate seeds, seedlings, and mature orchids.
Rhehan- To begin with Orchard Species Preservation Foundation (OSPF) is a non-profit entity based in Edmonton, Alberta. The body ensures that people understand the different varieties of orchid species so that they can support their survival. OSPF holds shows in Canada to ensure that people gain knowledge about the plants. Notably, Orchids consist of large families of flowering plants that have over 30,000 known species. Botanists have made efforts to name them so that they can enhance their uniqueness. The blending of strategy and organization is guaranteed to ensure that OSPF expands. Since OSPF has experienced several challenges in expanding its operations, there are several solutions to these challenges. One of the solutions is consideration of human labor. This requires the organization to embrace stakeholders more than shareholders because stakeholders come with new ideas regarding the best methods of expanding the entity. The second solution is proper organization. It is vital to understand that in the modern world, resources and position are not guaranteed to uplift an entity. The contemporary world has new phenomena as far as technology is concerned. Therefore, team organization is crucial to expanding an improving an institution.
The third and last solution is specific undertakings. First, the body ought to see to it that productivity is closely monitored. The company ought to make sure that results are maximized based on the resources it contains. The management of OSPF ought to ensure that speed is incorporated in the daily processes of the entity (OSPF). Speed could guarantee that the institution leads in many dimensions like in the technological sector. In a nutshell I believe utilizing the above three solutions will help the organization expand its operations to other beneficial avenues.
