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Sugar Bowl Case Solution

Solution Id Length Case Author Case Publisher
2487 2098 Words (8 Pages) Richard G. Hamermesh, Alisa Zalosh Harvard Business School : 913537
This solution includes: A Word File A Word File

To summarize the case, we could see that Shelby had been facing tremendous issues in terms of the operational tasks, but the decisions she had taken did try to improve the position of the company. Especially, after focusing on league bowling and how the dating experience could be improved for the customers. Although, she might still need to assess the prevalent industry trends which could be done by carrying out very extensive marketing research and careful assessment of the essential data. Shelby needs to understand that a motivated workforce means a successful organization and she should go out of the way to make sure the staff are resolute and inspired always, as these workers are the ones who are in reality running the organization. Shelby should always try to indulge her mentor, who had been very influential to help Shelby identify the root causes of the predominant issues in her company. 

Following questions are answered in this case study solution

  1. What challenges does Shelby Givens face: 

    a. During Phase I (Preparing for the Transformation)

    b. During Phase II (Renovation and Grand Opening)

    c. During Phase III (2011/2012 Operations)

  2. By the end of the case, what has Givens done to address the challenges outlined at each stage listed in Question (1) above? 

  3. Which of the actions executed by Givens were most successful in resolving the challenges? Which were least successful? What other options might Givens have pursued?

  4. Is Sugar Bowl a viable business? Which forces have the most positive, or negative, impact on the business's profitability?

  5. Givens considers two paths for Wednesday night entertainment: league bowling and exclusive band rights.

    a. Which option will generate more revenue in the short term? Long term? 

    b. Is revenue how success should be measured? Which path do you think is best for Sugar Bowl, and why? 

  6. Once Sugar Bowl's financials are more stable, what changes could Givens make to build a stronger organization and culture? Activate Windows

Case Analysis for Sugar Bowl

1. What challenges does Shelby Givens face?

a. During Phase I (Preparing for the Transformation)

Several challenges were faced by Shelby, during this phase, the problem was with engaged employees, she wanted to get rid of Smith and Sinclair, however, was not willing to get new employees to join the company. Secondly, there were also issues in terms of setup, as there was some financial crunch and resultantly, she had to opt for bank loans, moreover, she also did not have sufficient funds to operate the full menu that was designed recently.

b. During Phase II (Renovation and Grand Opening)

During this phase, the main issue which had risen was a delay of almost six weeks, which negatively impacted the opening and the renovation. Secondly, the contractors that were hired were also very unprofessional and highly uncompetitive and this further worsened her situation and delayed the process of the renovation. She also had to issue a loan of $700,000 as there were problems in terms of cash in the company. The employees were also not satisfied with the working environment and the wages that were being offered to them and many had quit the company, including Smith. Due to a lack of vision and planning, Shelby also ended up surpassing her costs by almost $36,000. Some operational problems needed to be in a place like machines not properly functioning, one of the water pipelines getting burst, etc.

c. During Phase III (2011/2012 Operations)

Firstly, the company opened very late by almost 7 weeks, which hampered the planning and the strategic goals that were in line. Secondly, there were some days where there were a lot of customers and consequently, on some days there were no customers at all, this had a poor impact on the organization, especially the workers who were already very demotivated to work here. This also meant that the revenue stream was quite unstable, and the company could have faced cash flow problems. Due, to the problems with cash, Shelby was even considering getting funds from the private investors to smoothly run all the operations involved.

2. By the end of the case, what has Givens done to address the challenges outlined at each stage listed in Question (1) above?

Firstly, her mentor Michael Burke helped her to become motivated and gave her thoughtful insights into how the challenges could be overcome, and that aided her to revamp the operations and start doing things in an improved manner. The mentorship had been quite successful and Shelby needed someone to inspire and influence her. Secondly, she saved more than $90,000 in terms of designing, because she contacted young professionals who helped free of cost and in return were offered academic credits. Moreover, the usage of services of an outsourced caterer helped her to save costs, instead of revamping the whole kitchen. Moreover, she got rid of an employee who was not very helpful to her and kept the worker who was very loyal and worked with whole determination.

Furthermore, there were several surveys and researches carried out in the market to better understand and capture the tastes that potential customers desire and want, and accordingly, the menus could be designed and the tastes could be developed by the chefs. Further, she had corporate partnerships with a few dating services, that helped the company to promote the brand amongst the target audience and create a brand image in the market.

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