Students’ Society Growth Strategy Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

[Students’ Society Growth Strategy]
Word Count:1757
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Table of Contents
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Table of Contents  PAGEREF _Toc354432565 \h
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Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc354432566 \h
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Discussion  PAGEREF _Toc354432567 \h
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Current state of affairs within the student society  PAGEREF _Toc354432568 \h
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Identification of Growth Potential  PAGEREF _Toc354432569 \h
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Reasons for Growth  PAGEREF _Toc354432570 \h
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Identification of the Resources  PAGEREF _Toc354432571 \h
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Identification of the Team Required to Achieve Growth  PAGEREF _Toc354432572 \h
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Series of Smart Targets for Growth  PAGEREF _Toc354432573 \h
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Summary and Recommendations  PAGEREF _Toc354432574 \h
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References  PAGEREF _Toc354432575 \h
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Introduction
A growth strategy refers to the procedures taken by any institution with the aim of expanding in the entire endeavors (Ansoff, n.d). These strategies include market development, diversification, market penetration, and product development. On the other hand, a student union refers to an organization, which is operated by students, and is entirely aimed at promoting the common interests of students. These are usually dedicated to activities, academic support and social matters related to the interests of the students. Basing on this background, the paper will give a strategy for the growth of a student’s society.
Discussion
Current state of affairs within the student society
Several issues give a clear picture of the state of affairs of the students’ body. Case in point is the need to include a Special Consideration Unit in the body to help international students learn the local languages faster as well as aid them financially. Students with disabilities also do not have a meaningful support. The need to have a food court and retail, run by students at very friendly rates, which would also serve as a source of employment to students who need the extra income is of the essence. The current information center is not fully functional and as such students need more state of art equipment, which if operated by students would help them maintain the same and grow. The running of a bar, as well as the provision of catering facilities and services for any of the students who may have an event that needs the services and pays for these, however, more funds is needed to be able to pay the students that work and reach out to more people (Johnston, 2005). The organization of concerts is also another issue in the students union that needs more trained participants, to attract more people since they need to buy tickets to get to the event. The running of clubs that support student activities like debating clubs as well as supporting other campus initiatives like the campus newspaper needs more funding. The need to open shops that deal with gift cards or books, which employ students who sell these items at more friendly rates, need to accommodate more students. A gym, that is used by students at a fair price and is run by students, who take part in related courses, but may or may not accommodate outsiders, needs to be thoroughly equipped. Other services that the student union offers include copy services, Message Board, ID and Passport centers, locker rental, as well as lost and found. These need to be expanded to accommodate all the students. More student recreational centers such as the bowling center, aquatic center and sports club are run by the union but cater for the staff members, students and the community members may purchase a day use pass or membership. Going the extra mile the student union has to look into the health of the students through personal training and nutrition counseling.
Identification of Growth Potential
Most of the activities being carried out by the members of the student union, like the bars, gym need to adopt a "for profit" mindset so that the income generated is more to enable the full running of the union as well as meeting obligations to the needy students and other issues the union deals with on a daily basis. The union needs to accept that in as much as it is more charitable than profit, the profit is essential for survival. Cases in point, most of the areas pointed out as being used by students, need to be expanded and made in a way that can accommodate the rest of the community even if it means being taxed a little, this will be negligible compared to the expected returns (Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, 2009). Another aspect is the identification of the businesses run by the union that entail buying items at low prices and selling them at higher prices. Such business like the gift cards or books, in as much as these are sold at student friendly prices, they can be purchased at places that offer the lowest prices so that they can be sold at a price that would make the profit margin augment. The activities that the union runs which have high operation and maintenance costs need to be monitored as well as the transactions fees that are attracted by some of the activities, then it can be determined whether the need to be shut down to give more resources and time to the businesses that make more profits. This is more significant in the recreational centers like the bowling center, aquatic center and sports club (Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, 2009). The activities that entail basic services and consumer products and niches like the food courts need to be expanded to accommodate the entire neighborhood and not be limited to students, since this is a potential growth area. Other than being confined to the university grounds, businesses like outside catering and the running of concerts, need to be equally focused one, this is because they deal more with new and different markets on a daily basis.
Reasons for Growth
The reasons why the students unions as well as the businesses run by student union needs to grow are numerous. Case in point is the technology related centers that need to be up to date. These need to expand, to be better placed to serve the students as it was intended, because if such centers have obsolete equipment, they lose meaning and relevance. Thus, it is only through the growth of such businesses that they would be in a place to generate enough money to be a breast with the ever-changing techno-world (Forest & Kinser, 2002). Another reason for growth of student union initiated businesses is the need to be able to fulfill the financial needs of the students who need these jobs so that they can meet their daily requirements and needs. If these businesses do not grow, they may stall and later not generate enough money to pay the students who run them (Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, 2009). The long-term profits of the businesses by the students unions can be deployed to other activities that need to be carried out by the union, yet they do not generate income. These include the Special Consideration Unit, which caters for special needs, the counseling, and nutrition education, all of which need experts who are paid with the excess proceeds from the other businesses.
Identification of the Resources
The resources needed for the expansion of the union as well as its related activities take several forms, which include labour, and finances. Information is also an important resource with respect to the growth of the student union and its businesses. This is bent on the information regarding the needs of the students, what they spend most of their finances on and the manner in which these can be used for the growth of the student union (Ellis, 2011). The students, who belong to the union, are equally an important resource for growth because when the union grows, as well as its income generating activities; it needs more labour and thus the students come in handy. Financial resources are also essential, and these mainly stem from the many programs, which are put in place by the learning institutions to help the activities by the students union succeed through offering of repayable loans. The other source of funding is the saved up funds, or the membership fees charged. The learning institutions have programs that help new student union businesses grow, via aiding...