Creation of a New Branch of FitGeek Gymnasium near Birbeck University - Case Study Example

A Feasibility Study for Creation of a New Branch of FitGeek Gymnasium near Birbeck Russel Square FitGeek Gymnasiums, a company dealing in gym business wishes to start a new gym targeting the Birbek University community in Russel Square. This feasibility analysis provides analysis to a research that was carried out to establish the viability of the business in the area. The study utilized both primary and secondary research method with the main tools used to collect data being a survey (questionnaire) and collection of secondary data from the internet. Different data analysis tools including tables and charts have been used in the analysis of data. The analysis also involves means, modes, and quartiles. The findings indicate that the business is viable because there is a market for gym services in the area. The analysis reveals potential for good business particularly with many young adults attending gym. The findings also indicate that the application of technology can help to improve gym practices in the area and attract clients, most of whom are well educated. Table of Contents Abstract 2 1.0 Introduction 4 1.1 Research Methods 5 1.1.1 Primary Research 5 1.1.2 Secondary Research 6 1.2 Methodology and Sampling Frame 7 1.3 Survey Questionnaire 8 2.0 Findings and Data Analysis 9 2.1 Summary of Data 9 2.2 Data Analysis 11 2.3 Data Analysis using Measures of Dispersion 13 2.4 Quartiles, Percentiles, and the Correlation Coefficient 15 3.0 Info graphic Data Presentation 16 3.1 Graphs 16 3.2 Trend Lines 20 References 22 Appendices 23 1.0 Introduction FitGeek Gymnasiums is a company providing fitness services; the company has over a dozen gyms throughout the country strategically located near big institutions to attract customers from the communities around the institutions. The company has a capacity to create large enough gyms to accommodate over 100 users at any given time and provide them with sufficient facilities. One of the strong strengths of the gym is that it is able to differentiate its services so as to provide quality services to people of different age groups ranging from teenagers, young adults, middle age people, and senior citizens. FitGeek Gyms needs a feasibility analysis for a new business near Birbeck University, Russel Square. The company has made a strategic decision to open up a new branch neat the university so at to benefit from the rich market catchment around the university made up mainly of students, university staff, and other people associated with the institution. This feasibility study is commissioned for the company to gather important business strategy data. Some of the information the company seeks includes the age and gender proportions in the area so that it can plan sufficiently for the design and equipment of its new gym. The company also needs to know how active the community is, how often the members exercise and the proportion of people that prefer gym for exercises. This is critical for product positioning strategy as the company will be able to know its target clients and how to attract more people to use their services (Sundaram et al., 2010, p.31). Other information the company needs to know concerns value addition to the gym business by understanding the specific needs of clients. Thus the company wants to know if clients enjoy music while exercising, and whether they exercise for recreation or for health reasons like losing weight. Finally, the company wishes to understand the viability of technology use in their new gym by asking potential clients their communication technology use habits and whether they apply such technology to assist exercises. This is because technology plays a central role in contemporary business that should be used as an opportunity to boost business (Sundaram et al., 2010, p.33). For example the company would like to know the level of smart phone use in exercising for purposes of timing and monitoring fitness. 1.1 Research Methods 1.1.1 Primary Research The definition of research generally varies from one field to another but the basic concept of research remains the same. Primary research is largely based on principles of the scientific methodology of doing research based on theory development based o first hand collection of data and observation in the field(Creswell, 2008, p.12). Primary research basically involves development of research questions or hypotheses, collection of data that is measurable directly from the field or respondents, and analysis of the data to learn something new or confirm a phenomenon (Creswell, 2008, p.13). Various primary research methods are commonly used in research, four of them are discussed below; Observations This is observation and measurement of the phenomena concerning the topic of interest. The process involves looking at people and other measurable events and recording what has been observed. Interviews Interviews involve asking respondents who are participating in the study questions in one-on-one situations or in small groups and recording their answers (Creswell, 2008, p.16). Surveys Surveys utilize questionnaires to collect information from participants of a study by asking them either open-ended or closed-ended questions about their opinions or behavior (Fink, 2008). Experiments Experiments are mainly used in scientific research and they involve carrying out measurements in controlled environments by altering some conditions while keeping some constant. In this study, survey was applied in collection of data. This was selected as the most relevant type of primary research because of its ability to collect data for specific questions which the researcher needed while at the same time being economical in times of time and money (Kemper et al., 2009, p. 274). 1.1.2 Secondary Research Secondary research utilizes the research findings from studies that have already been conducted by collecting the second-hand information from those studies (Bakker, 2004, p. 38). It is also described as examination of reports of research previously conducted by other researchers. The methods of secondary research are basically described according to the source of data being collected; Document Analysis: This involves analysis of data from documents collected from companies, individuals or any other source owning such documents. Literature Review: This involves review of literature from journals, books, papers, and other documents openly available from libraries or other sources. Collection of video documents: This involves collecting video files from secondary sources that captured the phenomenon of interest(Babbie, 2011, p.21). Internet research: This involves collection of secondary information about the topic of interest from the internet through search engines like Google. This study applied internet search of information to collect data about gym business in the Russel Square area where FitGeek intends to start a business. According to Leavitt (2004, p.44), internet is a rich source of secondary information that is cheap and easy to collect. This is one of the reasons that informed this choice of secondary research choice apart from the fact that it is also convenient and saves time. 1.2 Methodology and Sampling Frame The sampling frame of a study means the whole population from which a sample is selected for a study (Flick, 2008, p. 17). Because of resource and time limitation, and most critically research objectives, a study cannot involve a whole population when it is too large. A sample therefore has to be obtained from the population (sampling frame) for the study. There are various sampling techniques; Random Sampling Random sampling is applied when each of the sampling unit in a population that is clearly defined has an equal chance of appearing in the sample(Curtis et al. 2000, p. 1006). According to Curtis et al. (2000, p. 1007), this can be accomplished in several different ways including manually picking numbers or names from a lot to represent each member of the sample or using a computer program to do that. Stratified Sampling In this case the researcher divides the population into sub-groups or strata so that each unit falls within a particular stratum. According to Flick (2008, p.19), various strata can be used e.g. income (low income and high income), and gender (male and female). Systematic Sampling Systematic sampling involves selection of a member of the sampling frame based on a systematic criterion where an nth individual in the list is selected. For example, every 5th individual on the sampling frame list can be selected (Babbie, 2011, p. 19). Quota Sampling This occurs when sampling units are selected either randomly or systematically from segments of the sampling frame that the researcher has determined (Curtis et al., 2000, p.1012). These segments are referred to as quotas and the researcher can apply any desired procedure in creating the quotas, for example age or occupation. This study applied random sampling by determining the total target population and then coming up with an appropriate sample size which was then obtained by randomly selecting individuals from the community around Birbeck University. This method was preferred because it was simple, quick and effective for the type of data sought. A sample of 50 individuals was used for this study. 1.3 Survey Questionnaire A questionnaire consisting of 12 closed-ended questions was designed and used in this study. The questionnaire was developed with emphasis on short clear questions so as to be friendly and convenient to the respondents. According to Fink (2008, p. 51), a survey questionnaire is supposed to be short, precise, and clear so as to avoid respondent disillusionment and loss of desire to complete all questions correctly. The questionnaire for this study is presented in Appendix 1. 2.0 Findings and Data Analysis 2.1 Summary of Data The following tables represent the findings for six different questions that were included in the questionnaire; Table 1: Age bracket of respondents Age of Respondents Age bracket (Years) Number 15 - 18 2 19 - 25 8 26 - 40 20 Above 40 10 Table 2: Frequency of visiting the Gym How often do you go to Gym? Frequency Number of Respondents Never 9 Once/Week 18 Twice/Week 7 5 times/Week 1 Once/Month 14 3 times/Month 1 Table 3: The place where respondents usually exercise Where do you always do exercises? Place Number of Respondents Gym 28 Outdoor 7 Both 15 Table 4: Reasons for respondents attending the Gym Why do you go to Gym? Reason Number of Respondents To Keep fit 28 To Lose Weight 20 To make friends 2 Table 5: Activities respondents prefer in the Gym What do you like to do exercise in a gym? Activity Number of Respondents Running 13 Cycling 6 Ball Game 8 Equipment 20 Other 3 Table 6: Type of music preferred by respondents in the Gym What kind of music do you generally listen to? Music Number of Respondents Classic 5 R&B 25 Rock 13 Other 7 2.2 Data Analysis The mean refers to the average of all the values of a variable added together and divided by the number of all sub-variables added together (Kemper et al., 2009, p. 276). The mode on the other hand refers to the middle value in the list of values representing a particular variable when they have been arranged in ascending or descending order (Kemper et al., 2009, p. 283). The tables below illustrate the mean and mode values for the responses in each of the six questions analyzed. For example, for the age of respondents, the mean number of respondents that fell within each of the four categories was 10. It was obtained by dividing the total number of respondents by the available categories. For the same question, the highest number of respondents that fell within one category was 20; this forms the mode in the question and it implies that most of the respondents were aged between 26 and 40 years. Similarly in the second question seeking to find out the frequency with which respondents visited the gym, the mean was 8.33 and the mode was 18 meaning that more people attended the gym once per week. For the question of where the respondents always exercised, the mean was 16.7 while the mode was 28 implying that most of the respondents preferred to carry out their exercises in the gym. (1) Age of Respondents (2) How often do you go to Gym? (3) Where do you always do exercises? Age bracket (Years) Number Frequency Number of Respondents Place Number of Respondents 15 - 18 2 Never 9 Gym 28 19 - 25 8 Once/Week 18 Outdoor 7 26 - 40 20 Twice/Week 7 Both 15 Above 40 10 5 times/Week 1 Once/Month 14 3 times/Month 1 Mean 10 Mean 8.3 Mean 16.7 Mode 20 Mode 18 Mode 28 The table belowillustratesthe mean and mode values for the findings of the remaining three questions. With regard to why respondents went to the gym, a mean of 16.7 respondents went to the gym for each of the three reasons given. On the other hand the mode was 28; this implies that most of the respondents went to the gym to keep fit. When asked what they liked to do in the gym, the highest number (mode) of the respondents indicated that they liked the equipment provided; in this case the mean was 10. With regard to the kind of music the respondents generally listened to in the gym, the mean was 12.5 while the mode was 25; this implies that most of the respondents liked to listen to R&B while exercising in the gym. (4) Why do you go to Gym? (5) What do you like to do exercise in a gym? (6) What kind of music do you generally listen to? Reason Number of Respondents Activity Number of Respondents Music Number of Respondents To Keep fit 28 Running 13 Classic 5 To Lose Weight 20 Cycling 6 R&B 25 To make friends 2 Ball Game 8 Rock 13 Equipment 20 Other 7 Other 3 Mean 16.7 Mean 10 Mean 12.5 Mode 28 Mode 20 Mode 25 Recommendations to FitGeek Gyms Most of the potential gym clients fall between the age of 26-40, this category is generally referred to as young adults. Most of the gym equipment and programs should therefore be planned with consideration of the needs of this group. Most people in the area attend gym once per week. This implies that the frequency of gym attendance is average in the target market and the company should come up with strategies to attract more people to attend gym more frequently. The greatest proportion of people in the target market like to exercise in the gym than in other places. This implies that there is a ready market for gym the area. The study also reveals that most people come to the gym to keep fit as compared to those who come to lose weight or make friends. The company should therefore come up with strategies to encourage more people to come to the gym to lose weight, interact and make friends as well as other reasons. This would include creating conducive environment and creating special programs for customers who wish to lose weight. Most of the respondents like gym because of the equipment. The company should therefore try to create a gym with diverse equipment to attract more customers. Most of the customers like listening to R&B alongside exercises. The company should provide this for them. 2.3 Data Analysis using Measures of Dispersion Measures of dispersion are data analysis parameters that are used to express the degree of variation or dispersion in the sample being used for study (Bakker and Gravemeijer, 2004, p. 152). These include range, standard deviation, average deviation, and interquartile range. Calculating Range Range is defined as the difference between the largest and the smallest observation in a set of data (Flick, 2008, p. 23). Taking one of the questions in this study, “What do you like to do exercise in a gym?” Using Excel the maximum and minimum values in the sample are calculated. The range is calculated by getting the difference between the two as shown below. What do you like to do exercise in a gym? Activity Number of Respondents Running 13 Cycling 6 Ball Game 8 Equipment 20 Other 3 MAX= 20 MIN= 3 Range = Max-Min = 20-3 = 17. While the main advantage of range is that it is easy to calculate, the main disadvantage associated with it is that it often leaves out outliers. This makes it better to provide the maximum and minimum values because they give a much more accurate picture than the range (). Calculating Dispersion Using Excel to calculate dispersal, the value of dispersion was found to be 44.5. However, a more robust measure of dispersion is calculating the difference between the first quartile and the third quartile. This one of applied when the data contains outliers and does not fit the normal curve. In this case; Dispersion= Third Quartile – First Quartile = 13- 6 = 7 The advantage of dispersion is that it enables the researcher to understand how far wide the findings are representative of the views of the population. Its disadvantage is that unlike measures of central tendency, it does not provide the researcher with a narrow aspect or finding on which to base conclusions or build strategy (Fink, 2008, p. 53). 2.4 Quartiles, Percentiles, and the Correlation Coefficient Quartiles This refer to each of the four groups that a population or sample can be divided into according to how the values of a particular variable are distributed. A quartile can also be described as each of the three values that divide the sample into four quarters. The second quartile is usually the median. For example in our case, arranging the data from lowest to highest values; What do you like to do exercise in a gym? Activity Number of Respondents Other 3 Cycling 6 1st Quartile Ball Game 8 2nd Quartile (Median) Running 13 3rd Quartile Equipment 20 One advantage of the quartiles is that they are applied in calculating dispersion when the data contains outliers and does not fit the normal curve. Percentiles The percentile refers to each of the 100 equal parts into which a sample or population can be divided into according to how values of a particular variable are distributed. For example in the data used in the example above, 20 respondents out of a possible 50 responded that they go to the gym because of the equipment provided. This represents 40%. All the other responses scored less than this and are therefore this value is known as the percentile. Its advantage in this case is that it shows that the most important aspect of the gym business is the equipment provided. Correlation Analysis Correlation is refers to how strong the relationship between two variables is. Correlation analysis therefore refers to the process of establishing the strength of relationship between variables. Generally, a high correlation means a strong relationship between the two while a lower correlation means a weak correlation. Correlation Coefficient Correlation coefficient, denoted by r is also known as the linear correlation coefficient and it measures the strength and direction of the relationship between the variables. A positive value of r implies a positive correlation while a negative value of r refers to a negative correlation. 3.0 Info graphic Data Presentation 3.1 Graphs The first graph represents the proportion of people who go to the gym for the purpose of losing weight. The cart shows that a huge proportion of the population go to the gym for the purpose of losing weight and therefore the company should make strategies to take advantage of this demographic by targeting them with good programs and facilities. The second chart illustrates the proportion of people that own smart phones among the population of study. The chart illustrates that the greatest proportion of the respondents (78%) own smart phones. This should be considered by the company as an opportunity that can be used to strategize for technology in gym business as a value addition tool. The third chart illustrates the proportion of people who utilize smart phones to monitor their fitness levels. According to the chart, about 56% of the respondents do not utilize smart phones to monitor their fitness; this implies that the company can come up with strategies to incorporate technology in their gym programs and attract more people. The fourth chart is illustrates the responses of the population with regard to improvement of the gym experience for clients in the area. Most respondents require good equipment in their gyms so as to attract clients to the new gym. Finally, the fifth chart illustrates the average educational level of the respondents. The chart indicates that most respondents are at the degree level while the largest proportion of the remaining potential clients is either at the masters or PHD level. This implies that the gym should put up strategies to target this population through incentives that can attract people of high education levels. 3.2 Trend Lines Trend line is a line on a trend chart that illustrates the general pattern that data forms over a period of time (Sundaram et al, 2010, p. 34). In this case a trend line can be used to illustrate the average number of people who have been attending gym in the Russel Square area of study in the past five years. The trend line below illustrates the average number of people that have been attending gym in the target area over the past 5 years. The trend line indicates that this proportion has been increasing steadily in this period meaning that there is great potential for gym business in the area. References Babbie, E., 2011.The Practice of Social Research.10th edition. London: Wadsworth Publishing. Bakker, A., 2004. Design Research in Statistics Education: On Symbolizing and Computer Tools. Utrecht: Beta Press. Bakker, A., and Gravemeijer, K.P., 2004. Learning to reason about distribution, in D. Ben-Zvi and J. Garfield (eds.), The Challenge of Developing Statistical Literacy, Reasoning, and Thinking. Dordrecht: Kluwer, pp. 147–168. Creswell, J., 2008. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage publications. Curtis, S., Gesler, W., Smith, G., and Washburn, S., 2000. Approaches to sampling and case selection in qualitative research: Examples in the geography of health. Social Science and Medicine, 50(2), pp. 1001-1014. Fink, A., 2008. How to Conduct Surveys: A Step-by-Step Guide. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Flick, U., 2008.An introduction to qualitative research. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Kemper, E., Stringfield. S., and Teddlie, C., 2009.Mixed methods sampling strategies in social science research. In A. Tashakkori& C. Teddlie (Eds.), Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research (pp. 273-296). Thousand Oaks: Sage. Leavitt, F., 2004.Evaluating Scientific Research: Separating Fact from Fiction. Long Grove: Waveland Press. Sundaram, K.R., Dwivedi, S.N., Sreenivas, V., 2010. Business statistics principles and methods. 1sted. New Delhi: B.I Publications Pvt Ltd. Appendices Appendix 1: Questionnaire 1. Are you (Please circle) A. Male 30 B. Female 20 2. How old are you? (Please circle) A. 15-18 2 B. 18-25 18 C. 25-40 20 D. 40 and above 10 3. Education level：degree(35) Master （10）PHD（2）other（3） 3. How often do you go to Gym? Never（9），once a week (18），once a month (14), twice a week(7) 3times a month( 1), 5 times a week (1 ) 4. How often do you go to Gym ? 10-15years (9), 1-5years (28), never(13) 5. Where do you always do exercises? (Please circle) A. Gym 28 B. outdoor 7 C.Both 15 6. Why do you go to Gym ? (Please circle) A. Keep fit28 B. Lose weight 20 C. Make friends 2 D. Other o 7. What do you like to do exercise in a gym? (Please circle) A. Running 13 B. Cycling 6 C. Ball Game 8 D. Equipment 20 E.other 3 8. Do you like listening to some music while you are exercising? Yes 47 no 3 9. What can you think of ways to improve the experience when doing exercises? Service 7 environment 12 equipment 18music 6 other 7 9. What kind of music do you generally listen to? (Please circle) A. classic 5 B. R&B 25 C. Rock 13 D. Other 7 10. Do you go to the gym to lose weight? (Please circle) A. Yes 40 B. No 10 11. Do your own a smart phone? (Please circle) A. Yes 39 B. No 11 12. Do you use your smart phone to monitor your fitness level? Yes( 22) No(28) Read More