Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Little Office (TLO) is a proposed start-up that will enter the childcare industry as a provider of on-site day-care at office parks. The unique service offering that TLO will propose to the market is on-site day-care which will not only serve the employers in question, but also their employees. TLO offers organisations the opportunity to address employee productivity related to childcare, as well as to attract and retain skills, while being able to outsource the actual day-care function, which is unrelated to their core business. The service offering to the children and their parents will include a focus on educational, social, physical and emotional development.
Market trend analysis indicates an increase in demand for day-care. Combined with the fact that companies are ramping up efforts to attract and retain employees, this results in a situation where the market size and market trends indicate significant opportunities for TLO.
Competition is present but due to the size of the market and the core differences in the business model presented by TLO the threat of competition is not fierce.
The strategy has been developed around the market analysis and by taking into account the opportunities and threats that exist for TLO. TLO’s strategy therefore serves to differentiate it from the rest of the market in terms of location of centres as well as primary target customers. Coupled with the research evidence of positive outcomes on employee performance, this suggests the concept will be welcomed by new economy organisations. The marketing strategy will aim at large businesses, office parks and government institutions. TLO will present custom feasibility studies to identified customers to establish whether the business is feasible in terms of space, number of employees with children in the organisation, requirements by parents etc.
TLO’s strategy is to develop not only core service offerings but also distinctive competencies such as a lower child to carer ratio and high quality, cutting edge and innovative childcare. The various branches of TLO will be run by a central administrative hub, where most of the costs will initially be incurred. This centralised office will be run by the owner and would require administrative and qualified social worker staff. Each branch will require qualified educational staff in line with the number of children per branch.
Due to the regulatory requirements inherent in the childcare industry, TLO will base their business operations around achieving compliance excellence in their business. In addition, a continuous evaluation of childcare sciences and re-evaluation of TLO’s service offering will ensure that the latest developments in childcare are addressed and thus TLO remains competitive and progressive.
The business model is low risk and provides positive operating cash flow from year three. Through partnering with labour brokers and the use of intelligent placement strategies, TLO will ensure that they have the correct staff in the correct place. Combined with continual audits of performance, TLO will turn the human resources risk into a competitive advantage.
The main objectives for the first three years of operation are:
To open four branches averaging 20 children per branch within the first year;
To increase the number of clients served by 100% in Year 2 and again in Year 3; and
To develop a sustainable, profitable, start-up business.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/97290 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Van der Walt, Suanne |
| Contributors | Smith, J., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Graduate School of Business. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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