Analysis of Health Club Market in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Analysis of Health Club Market in UK - Essay Example In the first part of the project, an industry analysis of the health club market in the United Kingdom will be done. In the next part, an opportunity and a threat analysis will be performed for the major players in the health club market of the United Kingdom. Finally, in the third part, the business strategies of these competitors will be described. There are a large number of health clubs operating in the United Kingdom. An industry analysis of the health club market will be done to understand the threat that these companies possess from one another. The industry analysis will be done using Porter’s Five Forces Model: Rivalry from Existing Firms - In an industry, there are a large number of competitors competing in order to achieve competitive advantage. The intensity of this competition is one of the major determinants of the industry analysis. The business strategies of a firm help it to distinguish from the competitors. The merger activities of the health clubs have increased the competition in the market. Whitbread Plc has acquired David Lloyd Leisure in the year 1995. Canon and First leisure have also merged their fitness and health clubs. The merger or acquisition of the companies helps in the market extension as well. Thus the threat from the competitors in the health and fitness industry is very high. A threat of New Entrants- If the existing market yields high return to the companies operating in the market, it attracts new entries. But the entry of the new firms results in the decrease in the profitability of all the firms operating there. If barriers are not provided to these new entrants, the profitability of the firms will show an abnormal decrease.  

STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING IN SAUDI ARABIA HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR IN Literature review

STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING IN SAUDI ARABIA HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR IN GLOBAL CONTEXT - Literature review Example University decision-making processes are influenced by political, economic, cultural as well as technological factors (Elyas, & Picard, 2013, p. 31-41). The factors affect literally all aspects of the operations of universities and are global in nature. They therefore influence on the environment within which the universities operate, the expectations of the public in services to be offered in the future as well as the structure and sources of funds necessary for their management and running. Decision making process involves making conscious choices among many alternatives and requires critical thinking as well as sound reasoning in order to choose on the most appropriate alternative among the many (Rugh, 2002, p. 45-50). Strategic decision making therefore entails a number of attributes, which include definition, and identification of a problem, identification as well as analysis of alternatives, choosing and implementing an option as well as evaluation on the outcomes from the choi ce made for possible corrections. Besides, it is noted that decision-making and management of higher education in Saudi Arabia is not free from government influence (Onsman, 2011, p. 519). The higher education sector in Saudi have undergone through great structural and ideological change especially after the 9/11 global policy shift feature. To substantiate this, Elyas and Picard carried a study in critique of the system of higher education sector in Saudi while in perspective with global context (2013, p. 31-41). In among other findings, the effect of western economies (neoleberalism) was shown to have greatly influenced the system. Both learners as well as top management teams have embraced the policy paradigm shift in globalization as well as neoliberalism. However, in a critical view, authors have argued that adoption of ‘localized’ neoliberalism would be more effective in shaping the environment of