Business : The Apollo Group - Case Study Example

? Business Case Study – The Apollo Group Table of Contents Introduction 2. Business Vision 3. Business Strategy 4. Financial Challenges 5. SWOT Analysis 6. Recommendations 7. Implications 8. Conclusion Introduction The Apollo Group was founded in 1973 and still it continues to be the top in providing adult education. It was the first group to realize that the number of young students has been dominated by those students who are adults and from those around 80% are those who work full time. They believe that the lifelong employment should be replaced by the lifelong learning and employment. Thus, for this there had to be an institution dedicated solely on the education of working adults. Today, a wholly owned subsidiary, The University of Phoenix is one of the largest education providers focusing on serving the needs of the working adults (Ruch, 2003). Apollo faces many of the problems while targeting to provide the leading range of services and products of standard quality, cost and effectiveness. However, according to their strategic planning, their management and the control of finance appeared to be questionable. They faced many of the problems because of the strategies that they applied. This study appears to give a clear picture of the strategies implemented by the Apollo Group, the challenges it faced, the strategic planning and the key elements of the business strategy. The strategic planning of a business greatly shows the structure of the business, mission, major objectives and policies that have been imposed (Pearce and Robinson, 2012). Business Vision Through the strategic management of the business, the key goals and long-term objectives of the business are determined. The business states its vision to be the urge to see America once again on the lead in higher education. The University of Phoenix provides the society a quality of higher education which is uniquely positioned at a low cost. However, the key strategy of the business is to be able to provide a platform to the adults who are working, so that they can continue their learning process with a variety of employment opportunities. The weak economy tends to make it rather necessary for the workers to obtain additional education for career changes, better opportunities, need of advancement and new experiences (Safko, 2010). However, the business strategic plans also vary due to the environmental developments which tend to formulate the business goals, aims, policies and structure. As the external environment keeps on changing, the business needs to call for new organizational strategies. Therefore, the business should adjust its organizational strategies according to the changing environmental conditions. The Apollo Group’s strategies can dramatically change according to the domestic and global environment. Domestic environment would greatly talk about the local economy. The weak economy would mean more demand in the education for the adults who are working. Thus, the business will have to plan the future investments, spending, improvement and educational packages according to the demand (Pearce and Robinson, 2012). As the business is in the educational sector, the global environment will also tend to affect the business strategies. The Apollo Group has to make sure that they are operating their strategies according to the higher education levels. The quality and standards will be maintained in regard to the international syllabus and the rapid technology changes. Apollo is a leader in providing online facilities thus the drastic global environment changes tend to impact the whole business strategy management and the policies (Hill, 2007). Business Strategy The business strategies greatly depend upon the customer needs and expectations. The Apollo Group has followed many of the strategies that are enforced to meet the customer needs. Since the customers are the adults who are working, there are many advantages provided to them. The Apollo Group has formed many of the institutes at many places that serve to these customers. Moreover, their programs are available online making it easier for the customers to reach to them and gain advantage from it. The organization has gained much of the value through the provision of quality services at low costs (Berg, 2005). Apollo Group Income Statement Evolution 2006-2014e. Source: Reuters, T. (2012) Furthermore, the business has strategized its approach to be able to reach to the high standard of teaching and learning models. Their approach has been to focus on the quality of teaching models that they provide in low cost. Their strategic structure and management has lead to a great amount of valuable programs available for the students. Whilst on the other hand, the provision of high quality education has leaded the Apollo Group to face many of the financial problems. Their business financial strategies have lead to their failure in acquiring their market position. Financial Challenges The Apollo Group has been facing many financial constraints as per their strategy to adapt funding for the students from the government which they are unable to return if the students tend to discontinue the studies. Their strategy is to make money, and due to the owing to the government, they are lacking in competition. They take the students who are less competitive in order to gain financial advantage. In this, their student counselors have also made efforts in attracting the students despite their competency level. This has affected the key feature of the business which was to provide a certain standard of education (Noe, 2007). Apollo suffered the constraints because of poor decision making. The board that operates Apollo is questionable for not taking the right decisions when they were needed. Thus the investors of Apollo felt insecure with their money and the board lacked proper decision making. The leading director of Apollo has been in the field for many years, and has a good experience with working in companies as a director, but he has never worked in the Education Sector. This is what gives way to poor decision making and failure of the business strategic planning. The organization does not need to depend on one person; rather it should be a formation of the efforts of experienced people. Apollo Group Balance Sheet Analysis 2006-2014e. Source: Reuters, T. (2012) SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis of the business will show the true picture of the strategic structure that has been applied to the business. The Apollo Group has used many of the business strategies on the University of Phoenix. The strengths of the University of Phoenix are that they provide the students with a great variety of courses from which they can choose. They have online programs which makes it easier for the working adults. All their teachers are professionals and perfect in their field. The University gives credit to the previous courses of the student as well as the life credit is given. However, the weaknesses of the University of Phoenix are the lack of technology use. The business needs to put in more use of advanced technology in order to compete with the rest of the institutions. The number of rivals is increasing which provide their programs online and attract students through various offers. Thus, they should spend more on the technological advancements to compete with the rivals and keep them down. There are also chances that the University of Phoenix faces the controversies regarding the higher educational universities. There are many opportunities that the Apollo Group can implement to the University of Phoenix to keep it running in the market. The university has great chances to lead the online educational sector for a long time. They can further increase their programs in variety and in number to reach to more and more students. Enhancing every program according to the international standards will attract more students. Most importantly, it is necessary to stand on the same business strategy that has made it successful and reach the global market as well (Pearce and Robinson, 2012). The threats that the university faces is the ongoing battle to force the university to continue to meet accreditation. The online competitors keep trying to overtake the market with newer marketing techniques, and thus the business can be threatened by these competitors. Moreover, the concept of attracting the adults is changing to lure the students who are completing their high school as a part of the potential market share (Plunkett, 2007). Recommendations Hence, there are many business management techniques that can be applied in order to solve the problems associated with the Apollo Group. Keeping in mind that the technology usage should be the main priority of the UOP, it should be implemented and designed in a way that benefits the students. The SWOT analysis unveiled some core issues having direct and strong impacts upon the performance and productivity of the group in short and long term and it is imperative that Apollo group much undertake some strategic actions to combat the rising challenges. On the basis of the analysis of the business case, it is recommended to the group management that the financial sector should be given proper attention where the business manages the resources and the finances of the business by improving their strategies to attract customers and retaining high standard services. Further it is also assessed that the management of resources will provide a better performance of the business. The fact that there is a lack of funding shows that the business should necessarily mobilize financial resources, and in addition manage the available funds. Resource mobilization is an activity that constantly complements strategic planning. Implications The technology that the UOP should invest in will be the services that are available online, so that the students find it easier to carry on their studies along with work. Books and notes on internet should be provided to the students. These facilities and technologies will provide the students a customer-friendly environment and will thus attract more customers. The UOP will invest in the technology and yet be cost-effectiveness which will address their willingness to work for the betterment of the students rather than gaining profits. The resources including the teaching staff, the online availability, and the management of student timing, the location and the accessibility to the courses should be managed and this way the business will be able to attract more students. The functions should be carried out more systematically as the cost incurred now may bring out some low figures of profit, but will definitely pay off in the long run. Conclusion In conclusion, it has been assessed that the business has seen immense growth by following their business strategies; however the financial management is important to improve further performance and be able to improve the financial constraints that are coming the way of growth, and for that the business has to undergo the recommended actions. Thus, high performance of the universities should be pushed in regard of the increasing competitive environment of the universities. Effective business management, resource mobilization, management of financial resources and increasing efficiency will solve the business issues and help the business prosper. These recommendations when implemented to the business strategy will create way for the business to grow in the future. References Berg, G. (2005). Lessons from the Edge: For-Profit and Non Traditional Higher Education In America. Texas: Greenwood Publishing Group. Hill, C. (2007). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. London: Cengage Learning. Noe, P. (2007). Human Resource Management. India: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Plunkett, J. (2007). The Almanac of American Employers. Detroit: Plunkett Research. Pearce, J.A., Robinson, R. B. (2012) Strategic Management (13th Ed). London: McGraw-Hill Ruch, R. (2003). Higher Ed, Inc.: The Rise of the For-Profit University. NY: JHU Press. Reuters, T. (2012). APOLLO GROUP INC (APOL). Retrieved online from http://www.4-traders.com/APOLLO-GROUP-INC-4848/financials/ Safko, L. (2010). The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools and Strategies for Business Success. NY: John Wiley & Sons. Read More