A. How would you implement your Ascendancy strategy? Review the Implementation scenario below for some details. Be sure to backup your judgement with reasons and textual evidence from at least two (2) outside information sources. Include citations for your information sources. Original post: 200-250 words Implementation scenario. You've determined the option set and chosen a reasonable option as your recommended strategy, now you want to build a roadmap for action in order to clearly communicate the feasibility of your strategy. For this it can be helpful to consider "what business activities need to be performed?" For instance, you might document the available resources that are most relevant to your recommended strategy, including particular (types of) employees, teams, and departments or units that would likely be involved. Then outline a clear picture of what the major steps or tasks that would be needed and align each task with those who would be responsible for achieving that particular task or group of tasks. Implementing strategy requires strong relationships and, and as a manager, for Instance, you could be in charge of communicating with colleagues about who's accountable for achieving what and when, as well as what to do when an unforeseen issue arises. "Yes, of course. Our lawyers say it's a ridiculous claim and will be thrown out of court. But it's all over the media. The client says we didn't provide an adequate warning of the danger or give enough safety instruction." "But we follow the exact same procedures in all our climbing gyms" -- after 10 years, Ascendandy had forty thriving operations in the United States, plus ten international locations -- "and we've never had a problem before." "I know. We're highlighting that fact with reporters and on social media. I called to get you to sign off on a media statement. But I'm worried that the San Jose operation will take a big hit. Maybe the San Francisco location too. Given how slow out of the gate those climbing gyms have been, we can't afford a PR crisis." Minh hesitated, and then spoke again. "Honestly, Alex, I'm starting to think maybe we came at opening up new locations too fast." "What do you mean?" Alex asked, "This is one incident." 1 wny i earur woun any reporter Umsat a gynrummer WIIU Te vecause ur Care deserves a media story? I don't understand this market." Alex had been worried about the Seattle location too. That's why it was so difficult to get any sleep on the plane: income statement review. "Let's focus on the problem at hand -- damage control," Alex said. "Send me the draft statement, and I'll review it ASAP. I'll also book a flight to San Jose. It sounds like I should be on the ground there. You too. We'll discuss the bigger picture then." Alex ended the call, feeling a bit sick, and it had nothing to do with jet lag. After all of Ascendancy's domestic success and the recent win in Singapore, had the leadership team grown overconfident about its ability to enter and win in new markets or was it something else? A HEATED DISAGREEMENT Alex was still in San Jose a week later. The gym climber had withdrawn the lawsuit following reports of a previous back injury in a nightclub brawl and had tried to sue on that occasion, too. But the climbing gym still wasn't attracting the crowds the team had counted on. Alex had called a meeting at the gym with Minh, who was also still on-site: JJ, the head of business development, who was Zooming in between visits to a potential location in Vancouver; and Jan, whom they'd hired to oversee Ascendancy San Jose. Alex turned to the local manager first. "Jan, you know this market best. What do you think is going on?" Sensing the manager's hesitation, the CEO gave encouragement. "Please speak firanki "Well, as we talked about when we started here, gym climbing is just catching on here, and currently classes are still at 50% capacity. My family and friends have been doing it for years, but most people my age do other sports or activities, and the fitness people are used to just treadmills and machines. We've got to educate them, right? Plus, it's the slow season; when it's dark by late afternoon, people don't get out as much as during the warmer seasons. Even the athletic ones settle down at home or just go out to pick up a meal. And I know the lawsuit is over, but I think it created a bit of a scare and maybe some worries that this big company was more interested in making more sales or opening a new location than providing a quality 2 experience. We get lots more questions from parents about safety now; and it's gotten even harder to fill the youth classes." Alex grimaced. Young adults, teenagers, kids -- they were Ascendancy's bread and butter. JJ jumped in. "We knew there would be challenges. But we picked San Jose precisely because climbing gyms are new there, because it's not saturated with competitors, because we could start and lead the trend just like we did in our other city locations." When the executive team had begun its expansion push, the criteria for site selection had been simple: The company looked for international markets with English as the primary or the dominant secondary language, and for both domestic and international markets with metropolitan area populations of more than 2 million and two or fewer existing climbing gyms; populations of more than 1 million and just one existing gym; or more than 400,000 people and no gyms. "That expansion plan is working in Singapore," JJ continued. "We can't open another gym there soon enough. I've also found two amazing sites in Vancouver as well Amsterdam. There's a huge advantage to being a first mover -- making sure people get to know climbing through our walls and equipment and classes. We just need to give San Jose more time." "Seattle too?" Minh chimed in. "The numbers there are just as bad." "They're not bad -- they're just not quite as good as we typically see," JJ replied. Alex frowned. "Not quite as good" was unlikely to satisfy the chain's private equity investors. "Continue to grow our store base across selected markets, drive same store sales growth system-wide, and develop new sources of revenue have been central to our strategic goals for a decade." "With the growth we're seeing in Singapore, and with the success of the new Providence and Nashville gyms -- and maybe Vancouver, Amsterdam, and Dublin next year we can make up for the slow start in California," JJ said, enthusiastically. "In fact," JJ added, I've negotiated a potential contract in Vancouver. Alex could visit the site next week, sign one this month, prep the site this winter, and we could start construction in the spring. I'm comfortable moving quickly." "That's not how we should operate," Minh said, bristling. "Each gym needs to recoup 20% of its initial capital investment within a year and cover its operating costs within two. We're not on pace to do that here." Minh gestured at the three-story expanse of undulating gray across from the table where the group sat. Only two climbers were on it, gripping Ascendancy's signature neon holds. I 3 "That's how we've done it in the past," JJ answered. "But we've gotten some bad press here. When you're working in new markets, different issues crop up. Maybe we need to be more flexible with our U.S. as well as overseas operations -- shift the financial goals and the entry model to another approach." "Or maybe we should hit pause on our expansion -- take a little more time to understand the markets we're entering," Minh replied, "Perhaps consider more factors than language, population, and competitors, and start way earlier on the education and outreach that Jan talked about. This is a $50 million company now. Why would we change the model that's gotten us to this point? It's grip. Hiex was orr one or the toughest ruutes at Ascendancy or and was almost to the wp.ir was a choice between climbing and lunch, this CEO always chose the former and grabbed a few energy bars for later. Suddenly there was cheering from below. It was the first day of San Francisco December school break, and Ascendancy SF's head of programming was leading a group of kids for an afternoon of climbing 4 "Just in time!" Alex shouted, grabbing the final hold and slapping the top of the bouldering wall in triumph. The kids continued cheering as the CEO rappelled down to the ground with high-fives all around. **Ascendancy's facilities offer primarily bouldering but also includes top rope and auto belay. Bouldering is a form of indoor climbing done on smaller walls and without the use of harnesses or ropes. Facilities can be built from the ground up or built from a retrofit. Locations can be either rented or owned. A. How would you implement your Ascendancy strategy? Review the Implementation scenario below for some details. Be sure to backup your judgement with reasons and textual evidence from at least two (2) outside information sources. Include citations for your information sources. Original post: 200-250 words Implementation scenario. You've determined the option set and chosen a reasonable option as your recommended strategy, now you want to build a roadmap for action in order to clearly communicate the feasibility of your strategy. For this it can be helpful to consider "what business activities need to be performed?" For instance, you might document the available resources that are most relevant to your recommended strategy, including particular (types of) employees, teams, and departments or units that would likely be involved. Then outline a clear picture of what the major steps or tasks that would be needed and align each task with those who would be responsible for achieving that particular task or group of tasks. Implementing strategy requires strong relationships and, and as a manager, for Instance, you could be in charge of communicating with colleagues about who's accountable for achieving what and when, as well as what to do when an unforeseen issue arises. "Yes, of course. Our lawyers say it's a ridiculous claim and will be thrown out of court. But it's all over the media. The client says we didn't provide an adequate warning of the danger or give enough safety instruction." "But we follow the exact same procedures in all our climbing gyms" -- after 10 years, Ascendandy had forty thriving operations in the United States, plus ten international locations -- "and we've never had a problem before." "I know. We're highlighting that fact with reporters and on social media. I called to get you to sign off on a media statement. But I'm worried that the San Jose operation will take a big hit. Maybe the San Francisco location too. Given how slow out of the gate those climbing gyms have been, we can't afford a PR crisis." Minh hesitated, and then spoke again. "Honestly, Alex, I'm starting to think maybe we came at opening up new locations too fast." "What do you mean?" Alex asked, "This is one incident." 1 wny i earur woun any reporter Umsat a gynrummer WIIU Te vecause ur Care deserves a media story? I don't understand this market." Alex had been worried about the Seattle location too. That's why it was so difficult to get any sleep on the plane: income statement review. "Let's focus on the problem at hand -- damage control," Alex said. "Send me the draft statement, and I'll review it ASAP. I'll also book a flight to San Jose. It sounds like I should be on the ground there. You too. We'll discuss the bigger picture then." Alex ended the call, feeling a bit sick, and it had nothing to do with jet lag. After all of Ascendancy's domestic success and the recent win in Singapore, had the leadership team grown overconfident about its ability to enter and win in new markets or was it something else? A HEATED DISAGREEMENT Alex was still in San Jose a week later. The gym climber had withdrawn the lawsuit following reports of a previous back injury in a nightclub brawl and had tried to sue on that occasion, too. But the climbing gym still wasn't attracting the crowds the team had counted on. Alex had called a meeting at the gym with Minh, who was also still on-site: JJ, the head of business development, who was Zooming in between visits to a potential location in Vancouver; and Jan, whom they'd hired to oversee Ascendancy San Jose. Alex turned to the local manager first. "Jan, you know this market best. What do you think is going on?" Sensing the manager's hesitation, the CEO gave encouragement. "Please speak firanki "Well, as we talked about when we started here, gym climbing is just catching on here, and currently classes are still at 50% capacity. My family and friends have been doing it for years, but most people my age do other sports or activities, and the fitness people are used to just treadmills and machines. We've got to educate them, right? Plus, it's the slow season; when it's dark by late afternoon, people don't get out as much as during the warmer seasons. Even the athletic ones settle down at home or just go out to pick up a meal. And I know the lawsuit is over, but I think it created a bit of a scare and maybe some worries that this big company was more interested in making more sales or opening a new location than providing a quality 2 experience. We get lots more questions from parents about safety now; and it's gotten even harder to fill the youth classes." Alex grimaced. Young adults, teenagers, kids -- they were Ascendancy's bread and butter. JJ jumped in. "We knew there would be challenges. But we picked San Jose precisely because climbing gyms are new there, because it's not saturated with competitors, because we could start and lead the trend just like we did in our other city locations." When the executive team had begun its expansion push, the criteria for site selection had been simple: The company looked for international markets with English as the primary or the dominant secondary language, and for both domestic and international markets with metropolitan area populations of more than 2 million and two or fewer existing climbing gyms; populations of more than 1 million and just one existing gym; or more than 400,000 people and no gyms. "That expansion plan is working in Singapore," JJ continued. "We can't open another gym there soon enough. I've also found two amazing sites in Vancouver as well Amsterdam. There's a huge advantage to being a first mover -- making sure people get to know climbing through our walls and equipment and classes. We just need to give San Jose more time." "Seattle too?" Minh chimed in. "The numbers there are just as bad." "They're not bad -- they're just not quite as good as we typically see," JJ replied. Alex frowned. "Not quite as good" was unlikely to satisfy the chain's private equity investors. "Continue to grow our store base across selected markets, drive same store sales growth system-wide, and develop new sources of revenue have been central to our strategic goals for a decade." "With the growth we're seeing in Singapore, and with the success of the new Providence and Nashville gyms -- and maybe Vancouver, Amsterdam, and Dublin next year we can make up for the slow start in California," JJ said, enthusiastically. "In fact," JJ added, I've negotiated a potential contract in Vancouver. Alex could visit the site next week, sign one this month, prep the site this winter, and we could start construction in the spring. I'm comfortable moving quickly." "That's not how we should operate," Minh said, bristling. "Each gym needs to recoup 20% of its initial capital investment within a year and cover its operating costs within two. We're not on pace to do that here." Minh gestured at the three-story expanse of undulating gray across from the table where the group sat. Only two climbers were on it, gripping Ascendancy's signature neon holds. I 3 "That's how we've done it in the past," JJ answered. "But we've gotten some bad press here. When you're working in new markets, different issues crop up. Maybe we need to be more flexible with our U.S. as well as overseas operations -- shift the financial goals and the entry model to another approach." "Or maybe we should hit pause on our expansion -- take a little more time to understand the markets we're entering," Minh replied, "Perhaps consider more factors than language, population, and competitors, and start way earlier on the education and outreach that Jan talked about. This is a $50 million company now. Why would we change the model that's gotten us to this point? It's grip. Hiex was orr one or the toughest ruutes at Ascendancy or and was almost to the wp.ir was a choice between climbing and lunch, this CEO always chose the former and grabbed a few energy bars for later. Suddenly there was cheering from below. It was the first day of San Francisco December school break, and Ascendancy SF's head of programming was leading a group of kids for an afternoon of climbing 4 "Just in time!" Alex shouted, grabbing the final hold and slapping the top of the bouldering wall in triumph. The kids continued cheering as the CEO rappelled down to the ground with high-fives all around. **Ascendancy's facilities offer primarily bouldering but also includes top rope and auto belay. Bouldering is a form of indoor climbing done on smaller walls and without the use of harnesses or ropes. Facilities can be built from the ground up or built from a retrofit. Locations can be either rented or owned