Cola Wars Case Study

CASE STUDY ANALYIS- EAST COAST TRAIL

Key Issues/Analysis  

Randy Murphy, president of the East Coast Trail Association was concerned that the 540-kilometer coastal hiking trail was at stake due to numerous issues. The first issue was trail maintenance. For maintenance of trails, funds were available through numerous grants that later became more difficult to obtain, as competition increased amongst other organizations for this funding. The second key issue was Land obtainment. The coastal land was comprised of 15% private ownership that would be sold if  the ECTA could not make other arrangements. On top of this, some of this private land was difficult to obtain as owners had concerns regarding the potential safety risks associated with hikers on their property. Another key issue was a shortage of volunteers and an overall lack of commitment. As well, strong leadership is needed in an organization like this and it was lacking due to the fact that these leaders were also volunteers.  Lastly, there were issues with funding as the ECTA had been facing a declining trend in memberships and  donations and in order to secure funding from ACOA, guarantee of land was needed. There were also concerns surrounding the operational costs needed to continue with development.

Recommendation

From the above analysis, it is analyzed that East Coast Trail Association was facing crucial problems and to solve these problems there was a need to change the existing strategy and develop a new strategy that would ensure the availability of funds for the development of the coastal trail. Previously, the strategy surrounded the volunteers and relied on their active participation in the development of the coastal trail, with these volunteers later becoming board members. It is recommended that the East Coast Trail Association should move away from this as their primary focus and to adopt a new strategy that allows them to increase their income apart from the grants and donations. To increase their income, ECTA should allow companies to develop  mini shops on the path of the coastal trail so that they can sell their products. To generate income, ECTA could charge these companies a margin on each of their products sold. ECTA should also consider arranging different recreational events and charging participation fees for these events in the community. On top of this, Murphy appears to place a high value on keeping the coastal land accessible to the public. To do this, Murphy needs to work on obtaining partnerships with communities and key decision makers that are affected by the trail. He should continue to show them the report regarding the economic impact of having the trail and why it is beneficial to keep this land. To obtain volunteers, an incentive program could be put into place with benefits such as free access to these events mentioned above. Murphy could also consider hiring business Co-op students from MUN for a fresh perspective every four months. These work terms are often partially funded through the government and would be a relatively low cost investment and provide the ECTA with a consistent employee Monday-Friday from 9-5.  This student could take control of planning these community events and increasing marketing efforts, resulting in an overall increased awareness of the ECTA.