Sports Company IT Project Plan

Sports Company IT Project Plan

• Executive Summary

The goal for Foxx Sporting Company is to become a leader in coaching of amateurs in tennis, golf, soccer, and basketball. To achieve this, the project plan develops an information technology plan that recognizes that business strategy that is multidimensional and situational depending on the market, firm, industry, competition, time, and place among others. The plan develops an operational strategy that incorporates management approaches, business, and organizational strategies, competitor and consumer dynamics and uses information systems. Big Data offers real-time application, which allows businesses to move information to analytics tools from various systems and sources. The ability for a business to analyze the behavior of a consumer based on experiences depends on the ability of their Database system to load, transform, analyze, and present data. Technology is finding wide application in organizations, creating opportunities for strategy formulation, implementation, assessment, and evaluation.

 

 

 

2.0 Introduction

2.1 General Organizational Characteristics

Foxx sporting company is structured as a coordinating entity for amateur tennis, golf, hockey, soccer, and basketball. The company’s foundation and structure at the hierarchy is an elected management or a team with the influence to formulate decisions. The business line for the company is mainly a commercial corporation owned by the entities making up the management committee. This is also tasked with the role of signing up and recruiting players, training sessions, and making and receiving payments. The company will also oversee various tennis, golf, hockey, basketball, and soccer sports education divisions, and bring together professional and amateur players from across America. The second goal for the company is to bring together schoolteachers and childhood psychologists in an environment they can encourage the development of early sports education in young children.

Vision, Mission, Goals, and Values

The mission of the company is “To develop and promote the growth of tennis, golf, hockey, basketball, and soccer among the youth of America.” The vision of the company is “For Foxx to be a national leader in high-performance tennis, golf, hockey, basketball, and soccer.” To meet the mission and vision, Foxx Sporting Company will use a system of highly trained, experienced, and professional experts with certification through SITA. The company will also encourage various national experts entailing experts and personalities from health, sports, and education sectors. This is to ensure that all the company’s tennis, golf, hockey, basketball, and soccer programs, certifications, facilities, and trainings are effective, safe, and valid. The main goal of the company is to offer sporting services to clients by creating the most valuable support, information, and assistance in a warm and nurturing manner.

The core values of Foxx Sporting Company are excellence, “to do the best it Foxx can, with available resources, and time to meet tasks assigned to us by clients.” Curiosity entails “the interest in knowing and not being content in new and innovative ways of improving sports in America.” Other values creating the foundational beliefs and code of ethics for the staff include integrity, honesty, trust, and creativity. To the managers of Foxx Sporting Company, the drive for employees, stakeholders, and clients is “motivation, experience, and inspiration.” To meet its goal, mission, and vision, the company identifies several key success factors that are incorporated in its strategic plans and business model. These are the recruitment and hiring of honest and trained employees, the reduction of waste, and selecting a sustainable site to attract a bigger market share. Other success factors are consistency, cleanliness, and quality of services.

Products and Services

The company’s main product is training in tennis, golf, hockey, basketball, and soccer. This makes up the core product of the company that comprises of the main wants and needs of the clients that are satisfied by suing the services and products. This is the essential benefit and need satisfaction that clients expect to receive from the company (Bojanic & Reid, 2009). This is through a sporting ground with tennis court and equipment, a hockey field, and basketball pitch, changing rooms, swimming pool, and refreshment and recreational center. Sporting activities like hockey and soccer are carried out using sport fields from the local public school. These make up the actual or formal products and services that have all the attributes and features needed for the sporting products to work (Bojanic & Reid, 2009). Other products are different sizes of tennis and basketballs for children of different ages, different sizes of hockey sticks, soccer balls, tennis racquets, training books for children, branded shorts, shirts, towels, and complementary children’s books. These products comprise of the augmented products that add extra attributes, related services, and benefits to the core product and to the expectations of the clients (Bojanic & Reid, 2009). These augmented products also entail free Wi-Fi internet in the company compound, satellite television, and bottled water. The company is using the augmented products to build a satisfactory product line beyond the expectation of the clients. This also acts as a strategy to create a competitive advantage of rival sporting companies and clubs in the town and state. The product line and services are accentuated by tennis, soccer, basketball, hockey, and golf training and teaching kits offered to groups of students and teachers using the company’s services.

Strategic Initiatives, Growth Strategies, and Revenue Goals

The strategic initiatives and revenue goals for the company in the first phase of establishment entail:

1. To double the number of members playing and using Foxx sports company’s services and products,
2. To generate $750,000 by 1^st December 2013 and raise the profit margin to 30% from the first quarter by the fourth quarter of the financial year 2013.
3. To raise the number of players in and outside the facilities using training services by 35% by the fourth quarter of the year 2013.
4. To raise the customer service rates to 5.0 by the end of 2013.

Sports Coaching Industry and Market

These strategic plans are necessary given that the sports business in America is lucrative and continually growing. This is because different people use sports for different reasons including recreation, gambling, fitness, or source of income. Moreover, sports in America are deeply engrained in every sector including education from elementary to higher levels of education. Sports have a huge effect on the entertainment industry as millions of fans follow sports events on a daily basis on the internet, printed media, television, radio and satellite television. Major leagues create $24 billion in revenues annually, with the total American sports market entailing $400-435 billion (Plunkett Research, 2013). The competition of the sporting market is in its products as seen with the different sporting goods, stadium fees, sporting facilities, collectibles, clubs, and management companies (Plunkett Research, 2013). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2011), there are 12,630 professional athletes, 193, 810 professional scouts and coaches, and more than 15,630 officials, referees, and umpires. Moreover, more than 489,200 professionals work in fitness centers, 68,300 in bowling centers, 39,700 in skiing facilities, and 342,300 in country clubs and courses (Plunkett Research, 2013). There are more than 300,000 sporting companies comprising of clubs, courses, fitness centers, training camps, and recreational centers across the U.S. According to Market Research (2012) the sports coaching market is increasing, as there are concerns for improved health across all age’s groups, especially the aging population. Sports coaching generate $6 billion annually with a 3.4% annual growth between 2007 and 2012. The sector employees 169,980 employees and has 85,746 businesses or companies. The main activities by these companies are team sports instruction and schools in volleyball, hockey, basketball, and soccer. Other activities offered by competitors are like gymnastics, cheerleading, martial arts, golf instruction, swimming instruction, in-line skate, snowboarding and skiing, extreme sports and tennis instruction (Market Research, 2012). The companies offer these services and products in instruction camps or schools.

2.2 Competitive Strategy  

To establish and compete in this market, Foxx Sporting Company will collaborate with sport education and childhood psychology teachers to reach young sports players. This will form the basis for the company from which it will grow from by attracting training and coaching for the elderly. This is because in the coaching sport industry, the fastest growing market segment is the aging population and the young players. Secondly, the company will offer augmented products along with the core products as compliments of the products and services. Thirdly, the trainers will also visit clients in the places of residence or schools for training sessions and talks with the aim of introducing the market to the company. This Foxx will achieve by participating in various career coaching and counseling sessions in the community, schools, and social centers.

2.3 Information Systems

To run the management and main operations in the company effectively, Foxx will make use of information systems. This is because information systems have the capability to develop, implement, and evaluate the business’s strategies and goals, and support the core business line of the company. The main information technology tools that will support administrative and management functions are internet, computers, printers, to support email, online marketing, wireless messaging. An information systems analysis was carried out to detail and specify the information system requirements for the business, and the expected accomplishments. The analysis identifies that Foxx Sports company will require a network of computers connected in a local area network and connected to the internet. This will mainly support administrative activities like financial planning, management, invoice and inventory, recruitment, personnel data, payroll, and membership among others. Secondly, the system will support an E-commerce system to connect the company’s consumers, suppliers, and stakeholders. This also allows the company to have a flow of information, capital flow, watch supply and demand activity, human resources, and competitor activity.

3.0 Information Systems Structure

3.1 Information System Business Foundation

The key success factors, strategies, and goals that Foxx is seeking to attain to succeed in the first year of establishment entail the doubling of members and players by 35%, raising profit margin to 30%, and increase customer service to 5.0 rating. To achieve this, several IT tools are required to create an information system that will support the core business of Foxx. The information system is detailed as follows:

1. Local Area Network: This comprises of computers, wireless and wired routers and switches, and server. The components make up the hardware parts of the system, installed with software like Windows, Microsoft Office, Kaspersky Internet Security, and Skype. These are installed to run basic functions like document preparations, communication, messaging, data preparation and storage in excel. This system forms the foundation of the administrative duties on which basic management functions like letter writing and memos are done. In the LAN system, the company employees and managers can share information in form of files, videos, and audio messages.
2. Subsystem: This entails individual computers and software installed in individual offices like finance, human resources, customer relations and front desk, administration, inventory and store keeping, recreational center, security, and marketing. The subsystems collect, processes, and stores information from respective departments, and send it to the main database. The combination of these subsystems makes up the main information system for Foxx Sports Company.

The human resources subsystem will collect information on employees, their duties and role; prepare the payroll, paychecks, and compensation and benefits. This information is stored in the main database from which the finance department accesses to retrieve information that determines the amount of money required for the paychecks. This department will need a system that will help it manage employee data. This department will however require security as employee information is handled with strict privacy. The system is automated such that employees can swipe their employee cards to clock in. this will ensure that time is maintained as they run the projects and run the housing units. This model should track the job performance and career development of the employees.

 

The marketing and sales department gathers information from the coaching and sports industry on sales, customers, and inventory levels. The information gathered enables the marketing and sales department to design a marketing strategy that will increase the profit margin of the company by 30% and increase customer base by 35%. The information system is essential for it allows the marketing team to evaluate the progress of the strategic plans.

The information in the database from the marketing and sales department is accessible to the storekeeping and inventory desk. Through data sheets, and a custom-made inventory programme, the desk can stock and retrieve any sports equipment for the facility and customers. Form the inventory desk, new trainees can receive their introductory training kits, while the instructor’s can replenish their teaching kits. The inventory database will also assist management identify sporting equipment and utilities that require replacement.

The finance subsystem also comprises of a custom-made software and program to track revenues and expenditure. The finance subsystem calculates financial data from all sectors and allocates resources to sales, marketing, administration, projects, payroll, and computes bonuses and financial statements to reveal profit and losses.

3. Big Data Technology: Big Data offers real-time application, which allows businesses to move information to analytics tools from various systems and sources. Big Data is a technology that will allow Foxx to analyze the behavior of a consumer based on sales and marketing data (Hansen, 2012). The system loads, transforms, analyzes, and presents data for marketing, sales, financial, strategic planning, and management projections for the company. Big Data predicts consumer behavior since it uses enterprise data-unified tools, integrated platform and real-time analytics to correlate Big Data with a business’s existing enterprise data (Hansen, 2012). Big Data is selected since it creates opportunities for strategy formulation, implementation, assessment, and evaluation. Market analysis and integration of Big Data can cut across mixed application environs. For example, integration and analysis of consumer data found in CRM applications, web tracking systems and e-commerce systems.

 

4. Data mining techniques: These will provide a radical approach by allowing business to analyze data in accounting. Financial reports are easy to manage with data mining as businesses achieve greater standardization, consistency, and organization.
5. Cloud computing technology: This is an IT management system to shape business strategy and stimulate development. Cloud computing has been defined by Gartner as “the style of computing in which scalable IT-enabled capabilities are delivered as a service” to various consumers making use of internet technologies (CIO Magazine, 2008). This IS system is useful to Foxx Company since it is applicable in strategic management as it improves computing agility, innovation, and collaboration in the organization. It leads to efficient resource management as it increases IT productivity and reduces the amount of time and resources spent on IT, and causes the business to be agile, as it improved flexibility, cost management, and scalability.

FUNCTIONAL AREA	FUNCTIONS
Finance Department	·        Employee Salaries ·        Keep record of expenditure and income (donor funding) ·        Disbursements ·        Making financial statement ·        Payroll ·        Budgetary and resource allocation
Front Desk and Management offices	·        Client records; ·        Prepare order for items; ·        Education, training, instruction, & amp programs; ·        Provide reports on projects to executive committee; ·        Manage facilities, clubs and camps; ·        Provide financial statements;
Administration offices	·        Manage staff; ·        Run projects; ·        Provide training kits to clients; ·        Create training and instruction programs; ·        Provide reports on projects; ·        Give financial statements;
Human Resource Department	·        Staff requirements ·        Communicating with the staff ·        Provide training ·        staff records ·        Punishments, Retirement, Pension ·        Record of volunteers, inters and fellowships; ·        Manage regional, area staff;
IT and MIS Department	·        Comparing performance concerning function, time, IT and department. ·        Submitting   routine reports ·        Provide hardware technical support; ·        Keep the service records;

 

Key Success Factors (KSFs) and Key Performance Issues (KPIs) for the information system to meet the mission, vision, and goals of the company:

1. Adopt technology-driven strategies to evolve evolution the strategic context of the business by investment in IT, to improve the nature of business processes.
2. To use technology to drive growth and formulate organizational strategies successfully,
3. To use Technology-driven strategies to gain a competitive advantage over traditional business strategies, since they allow businesses to participate in strategy prototyping, which allows for the testing of strategies prior to implementation.
4. Technology-driven strategies will focus on exploration of new unprecedented products and services, new markets segments, and new operational capabilities. These will offer the business a competitive edge as compared to the traditional strategies that emphasis on known suppliers, competition, and targeted markets (Berman & Hagan, 2006).

The information system has proposed for the following reasons: –

1. The systems from the various departments can be connected together via their inputs and outputs either through wire or through wireless means.
2. The level of the dependence of the sub-systems is the degree of coupling. The systems in this organization will be highly coupled.
3. To protect the system it is vital that the sub-systems are joined by a system. (French and Powell, 2000)

The system will require that data be fed in regularly. Since information will be recorded by the various departments depending on their use. The system will follow the general system for data;

1. The manager or staff will need to save data.
2. They enter the training and instruction nature of the sport or the type of the information (Administration, finance, staffing, human resources, e.t.c).
3. They then enter the training and instruction details (contract ID, Name, date agreed, start and end dates, the type of funds, contact details and other information), proposed scheduled payments, deliverables for the training sessions.) Information details (type of information, department, figures, number of staff, purchases, cost of materials e.t.c.)
4. They specify other staff involved in the training and instruction sessions or Information.

The system then saves the information and stores it in the central database (Richard, 2005).

Technology to support the Information system:

1. Personal computers, local area network, spreadsheets to support finance and business planning.
2. Ethernet or LAN technology to assist organizations to improve communication, transmission of reports and messages across the organizational structure, internet and wireless modes of communication.
   • Electronic Business and E-Commerce System

Networking through Ethernet, internet, or other communications networks has assisted businesses to target and focus marketing and business approaches that build a firm base (Zaffane, 1994). For Foxx Company, this is seen with the one-on-one marketing strategies that use communication networks like telemarketing and direct mail. The company will use Web-based technology to creating an e-commerce. This also supports a business leadership platform as a competitive strategy. The e-commerce platform will use technology entailing the web 1.0 and the web 2.0 versions, where web 2.0 technologies include social media service like MySpace and Facebook (Lee et al., 2010). Web 1.0 technology creates the interactive company website that gives the mission, vision, values, and goals of the business. The website details the sports facilities, training and instruction courses, their rates, and session times. Clients browsing through the website can register online, and make payments for sessions according to their needs and availability. The website has a panel for employees and managers to access company news, events and activities. The technologies will assist the business to learn application building, innovative marketing, and interpersonal skills for effective management of virtual staff. These technologies are driving strategic leadership under critical success factors like complementarities, innovation ability, efficiency, connectivity, and positive network (Lee et al., 2010).

• Decision Support Systems Components

The client/server personal computer networks with technologies to support:

1. Data management: This component will store and maintain information that the support system will use. The decision support system will come from organizational information, personal and external information. The organizational information entails data from departments like human resource, finance, IT, sales and marketing, store keeping and inventory, and recreational. The decision support system retrieves information from the company’s data warehouse and database. Companies like PriceWaterHouseCoopers, Bureau of Statistics, Research and Markets on the sporting industry and market, will also offer data from external information like research. The data management system will also receive data from the company’s personnel and management on experience, knowledge, and insight from day-to-day activities.
2. User interface management component: This entails the technologies like computers, LAN, and telephones that will allow the personnel to share information in the database.
3. Database management: This will use Big Data since at its core it solves problems linked to bulk data replication, movement, synchronization, data quality, transformation, and services (Hansen, 2012). Big Data’s key technological component is the movement of data between business analytics, data warehousing, master data management, custom applications, and enterprise applications. The company will use Oracle tools for Big Data and business analytics like Oracle Golden Gate, which is a real-time business analytic tool for real-time data capture and replication, Oracle Business Analytics and Oracle Data Integrator for structured data (Hansen, 2012).
   • Developing Business and IT Solutions

Technology-driven strategy approach follows a parallel development for the following steps, strategy, plan, prototype, design, build, launch, and operate. The information system and electronic business is developed as follows:

1. System integration: In this level, the company will determine the business priorities and opportunities, carry out a feasibility study, and develop and project management plan.
2. System analysis: In this step, the company carries out a functional requirement assessment by analyzing the information requirements of customers, employees, and stakeholders. The IT analysts creates technology functional requirements for an IS to meet the priorities and needs of the business.
3. System design: This is the specification of the system for the hardware, people, software, network, and data sources.
4. System implementation: This entails the acquisition of software and hardware components, testing of the system, and the training of personnel to use and operate.
5. System maintenance: This entails the improvement of the system using post-implementation processes like evaluation, monitoring, assessment, and modification of the system.

This process is seen in the diagram below:

• Security and Ethical Challenges

1. The challenge of creating a system with Big Data technology is information overload on users, which posses the risk of accidents and tragedies, and limits the development of efficient business strategies. However, this can be overcome by not being overloaded with information through the picking of what is necessary, and entails the split of duties during strategy formulation and implementation.
2. The challenge with Big Data and an integrated information system is security and privacy of information. This is overcome by installing security software that limits access to information depending on level of security of the user. Users with different clearance levels are given keys to access information only valid to them.
3. The public can only access basic information like background of the company, sporting and training activities, sessions, and rates. Restriction through use of encrypted keys, security gates, and firewalls will protect personnel and clients’ personal information.

 

 

Reference

Berman, S.J. & Hagan, J. (2006). How Technology-Driven Business Strategy can Spur Innovation and Growth. Strategy & Leadership, 34(2), 28-34.

Broadbent, M., Don St C. and Weill, P. (1999). The Implications of Information Technology Infrastructure for Business Process Redesign. MIS Quarterly, 23(2), 159-182.

CIO Magazine, (2008). Cloud Computing: Marketing Hype or Sound Business Strategy? White Paper. CIO Magazine, retrieved 10^th Feb 2913 from http://www.verizonbusiness.com/resources/whitepapers/itsolutions/wp_cloud-computing_en_xg.pdf.

French, J.C. and Powell, A.L. (2000). Metrics for Evaluating Database Selection Techniques. World Wide Web, 3(3), 2000.

Hansen, D. (2012). Bridging the Big Data Divide with Data Integration. Database Trends and Applications, 26(3), 30-32.

Ismail, Z., Klopper, H.B., Berndt, A., Chipp, K., Roberts-Lombard, M., Subramani, D., Wakeham, M., Petzer, D., Hern, L., Saunders, S., and Myers-Smith, P. (2006). Fresh Perspectives: Marketing. Cape Town, South Africa: Maskew Miller Longman.

Lee, M.S., Lee, B., Taewan, K., and Yonghwi, N. (2010). Success Factors of Platform Leadership in web 2.0. Service Business, 4(2), 89-103.

Market Research (2012, Aug). Sports Coaching in the U.S.: Market Research Report. IBIS World, retrieved 10 Feb 2013 from http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/default.aspx?indid=1542.

Plunkett Research (2013). Sports Industry Market Research. Plunkett Research, Market Research, Industry Statistics, Trends, and In-depth Analysis of Top Companies. Retrieved 10 Feb 2013 from http://www.plunkettresearch.com/sports-recreation-leisure-market-research/industry-and-business-data.

Richard, D. (2005). Succeeding with Use Cases: Working Smart to Deliver Quality. Addison-Wesley Professional.