Management

Management

Andy Wilson as the entrepreneur

Question 1

Andy Wilson was motivated to start up the Boston Duck Tours company by his childhood dream. After leaving his job at Boston Company, Andy remembered the old times he had with his friends during their childhood at Memphis Duck Tour. Therefore, he wanted to establish something that would make Boston to become lively and informative, through a historical place that would display the city from both the land and the river. Andy got this idea from the Duck Tour experience he used to have with his friends. Therefore, he developed a positive attitude to accomplish his dreams despite the obstacles he encountered while trying to explain his idea to significant people who could help him achieve his dream.

He was also motivated by the power of Boston’s charm and history and the appeal of the amphibious World War II vehicles by the name of Ducks, a take off from their military acronym, DUKW. Thus, to some extent, it was not all about money but the motivation to fulfill his childhood dream. However, to a small extent, gaining money was a bonus to the venture.

Question 2

Andy had to involve different people such as the government, investors, and agencies in order to achieve his dream of starting up the Boston Duck Tours company. For instance, he involved the commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States Coast Guard within Boston city. Instances that led to Andy’s success include that when he involved the Americans with the Disability Act, which led to a design and a custom-made lift for the Ducks to be created. Another instance includes that which the Boston Duck Tours contained a huge number of wheelchair-bound passengers, which led to various exciting letters from families that had participated in the tour that was accompanied by disabled relatives.

Question 3

The first strategic partner in Andy’s start up was Manny Rodgers who owned a funeral parlor and military vehicle collector. Rodgers had a clear view of what Andy needed and thus invested about $90,000 to enable him buy a new vehicle for his company. Another strategic partner who played a big role in making a success of Andy’s start up was MacDowell. MacDowell helped in restoring Ducks on the side, which made Andy get the most required source of vehicles that facilitated significant specifications for Boston. It also enabled him to get better servicing as required by the vehicles.

Question 4

An offering document is an official document that demonstrates the goals, challenges or risks or the investment conditions encountered in a personal or private placement. Financial statements, biography management and business description are the major components of the offering document. An offering document has the main purpose of providing protection to the manufacturers from the liability related to selling securities that are not fully registered. It also provides the necessary information to the consumers.

Improvements suggested by Carrie McIndoe that made a difference in the success of the offering document involved creating a distinctive picture concerning Andy’s products. She suggested that Andy makes a dramatic picture of Boston from the Charles on the cover to help in attracting many investors in the business. Through this suggestion, Andy was able to pay back all his debts to the limited partners hence making the offering document a success.

Question 5

A limited partnership was chosen as the legal form of organization of the business to enable the company to be managed well and overcome the challenges it was facing before enlarging its partnership. Andy’s stake in the capitalized venture was somehow surprising because in many cases, few people would do what he did. The implied value of Andy’s stake at the time of formation of the partnership was 25% of the business.

Question 6

Andy personnel policies were based on the success of employee-oriented approaches. This policy focused on the view that the whole business was all about people in that if individuals are enthusiastic about the business, then it is most likely bound to succeed. Andy also moved away from the traditional interviewing techniques and encouraged his applicants to meet a theatrical coach for theatrical skill gain. Andy established his policies motivated a healthy team spirit among the workers and this was very important to the culture of the company especially as it was encountering many challenges that needed the cooperation of all the workers to provide suggestions and mange the challenges.

The policies are astute in respect to the nature of the business and its early challenges because they act as stepping-stone to the success of the company. Generally, these policies might be applicable to other business circumstances since are known to create understanding and cooperation among all the staff at the company hence better performance and production as a result.

Question 7

Andy’s approach to operation was strategic where maintenance and scheduling of vehicles was very necessary. There was high level of training of the response team especially in response to drills and in the mechanics of the vehicles. The coDUCKtors also went though a serious training in emergency recovery techniques. In terms of marketing, Andy did not give much attention to the formal advertisements; he left everything to the local media. Andy’s approach to community relations fit with the approach to operations and marketing. This is because by getting involved in community relation, he was advertising and marketing the company it to higher levels.

Question 8

Andy’s exit strategy was surprising because he had many options to carry out in order to expand the company more. For instance, he could have expanded the company outside Boston.

Cindy Brown

Question 1

The competition was because of buying New England Tours, a company that had been purchased by Cindy. Therefore, the competition greatly changed when it entered the Boston market.

Question 2

Cindy should respond to the challenges posed by Super Duck Tours by establishing better strategies that would enable it to out from the rest of the businesses. New approaches to marketing should be adapted as part of the competitive response. For instance, improve in the process of advertising by creating better advertising methods. This will promote the company in various ways and places hence its growth.

Extraneous (just for fun) question

Duck is not licensed for open water navigation, whereas the Hydra-Terra vehicles are because the Hydra-Terra vehicles have a higher profile than the Ducks and hence certified for open water operations while the Ducks are not. The Ducks had a low carrying capacity of about 32 passengers compared with 49 for the Hydra-Terra.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Hart, M. (1998).Boston Duck Tours, 1996: Has Boston gone quackers? Retrieved from:http://www.bostonducktours.com/