The contemporary child care industry is characterized by the stable development and the launch of child care business may be quite perspective, taking into consideration the current trends in the industry. Basically, it should be said that the child care industry should be viewed as the industry where the demand for services of companies providing child care services of a high quality remains high. In actuality, the US at large has the largest fertility rate among all developed countries. This means that potentially, the child care industry an count for a stable amount of clients seeking for a company providing child care services.
At the same time, it is obvious that the current situation does not really contributes to the growth of the number of highly qualified specialist working in child care services since this the professional training of educators, which though do not always meet the existing demands of companies as well as parents of children. In fact, the problem is that often educators do not always have sufficient experience of work with children and their professional level is quite low. For instance, educators working at public schools cannot always adapt to work in a company, which is entirely focused on the provision of child care services to clients representing the middle class.
Nevertheless, the existing education system still can provide specialists that could be employed by the company and used as trainers to develop child care services that would meet expectations and demands of parents as well as children. Also it should be pointed out that the contemporary child care industry is primarily focused on the preparation and training of children to the education and their adult life in the rapidly changing environment. In this regard, one of the major goals of the contemporary child care industry is to provide children with ample opportunities to fully realize their internal potential and implement their inherited inclinations in practice. At the same time, it is important to understand the fact that the contemporary education and companies working in the field of child care cannot provide children with a universal set of knowledge that they could use in their further life.
In contrast, nowadays, the child care industry should be primarily focused on the development of the unique individual traits and skills of children, while if a company deals with children of early age or pre-adolescent age, it is very important to focus on the creativity of children, their effective socialization and harmonious development of their personality.
On analyzing, the current situation in the child care industry, it is necessary to emphasize the fact that parents need to use services of companies operating in this industry and the demand steadily growth not only due to the growth of the number of children but also and basically due to the inability of many parents to maintain the high level of the family income, when only one parent is working. In such a situation, parents simply cannot spend sufficient amount of time with their children to take care of them, especially in regard to children of the preschool age. This is why such a situation creates favorable conditions for the emergence of the child care industry and stimulates the development of child care business.
However, while entering the child care industry, it is necessary to remember about the high moral and ethical responsibilities of the company since parents heavily rely on professionals that are employed in the child care industry and they cannot be deceived in their expectation. On the other hand, the creation of the positive public image of a company can contribute to the growth of the popularity of its brand and, therefore, it will increase the market value of the company consistently. What is more important is the perspective of the formation of the customer loyalty, which opens large opportunities for the development of child care business.
- a. Company profile
Nevertheless, it does not mean that entering the child care market will be an easy process. In stark contrast, the company that is going to enter the child care market should develop an effective strategic plan which should reflect the major directions of the development of the company and the ways in which the company can reach success in the industry. Speaking about the company, it should be primarily said that the company, called the Child Academy, is located in the Riverview, Fl, area. The company targets at the local customers as the major customer group, though potentially, in a long term perspective, it is possible to construct a boarding house where children from neighboring areas could reside, during the vocation of their parents or even longer period of time. The company basically targets at children at the age of three years to the age of twelve years. In general, all the children would be divided into three major age groups: under five, from five to ten, and from ten to twelve. The initial number of children is supposed to be fifteen, about five children in each group, but in the course of the development of the company it will be possible to enlarge the amount of children when the company acquires positive experience and parents’ confidence in the company’s reliability will grow stronger.
The personnel of the company will include the manager, the accountant, the head of each group, which should be an experienced educator who has been working for at least five years and has positive recommendations, preferably, these professional should have worked in similar companies. The three heads of each group could have an assistant, which could be students that have decided to become educators. Basically, their work in the company should be guided by more experienced professional and the major goal is the training of students to prepare them to independent work with children. In such a way, the company is focused on the training and improvement of the professional level of its employees through the system of sharing knowledge and experience between employees.
Also, the company will need a trainer that could provide some physical training to different age groups of children and who could take of their physical development. Preferably, this specialist should have a professional education and have some experience in sport. In such a way, it would be possible to combine the quality and knowledge of educator with those of a professional sportsperson. Finally, it will be necessary to employ a cook and a healthcare professional that could provide healthy nutrition of children and take care of their health. It is important to conduct regular medical examination of children and inform parents about the development of their children giving some recommendations if necessary or recommending consulting other health care professionals to improve the development of children or minimize possible threats to their health.
The facilities of the company should include at least three separate rooms where each group of student could study and spend their time, a playground, a restroom, a diner, and staff rooms. It is important that each group of children could essential equipment and learning materials which could be used to their education and development. Though it does not mean that the children are supposed to spend all their while learning. In fact, the company is primarily focused on the harmonious development of children and, taking into consideration the age peculiarities of target groups of children, it will be focused on the development of their intellectual and physical skills. Such a development, does not necessarily involve learning, instead, it is possible to use play as the form of the acquisition of new knowledge, development of new skills, formation of some useful habits, etc. At the age from two to twelve such a form of work will be highly effective and, what is important, children will enjoy and learn simultaneously.
Furthermore, the company, namely the manager of the company, heads of the groups, the health care professional should regularly organize meetings with parents. It is important to develop effective communication process involving parents into the educational program developed within the company since this will increase consistently the effectiveness of children’s teaching and training. At the same time, the contacts with parents of children will strengthen the position of the company in the community and will increase the confidence of the local community in the reliability and effectiveness of the Child Academy. In this regard, it is possible to organize special annual meetings or parties where parents and their children could freely communicate with each other and with all professionals working within the company.
- b. Competitors
In spite of the good perspectives of the development of the child care industry, it is still necessary to remember about the existence of substantial entering barriers which are determined not only by the necessity of the licensing and employment of licensed specialists, but it is also very important to overcome the resistance of competitors and, what is more, it will be necessary to convince the parents that the services of the Child Academy are consistently more effective and of a higher quality compared to its major competitors.
On analyzing the competitive environment in the Riverview, Fl, it should be pointed out that the general situation is quite favorable for the company, though it may face certain difficulties in overcoming the existing biases and stereotypes as well as possible distrust of parents in relation to the new company. Speaking about major competitors of the company in the area, it should primarily indicate to family child care homes. In fact, these are individuals that offer parents childcare services in their homes. At first glance, these individuals could be serious competitors to the company, especially if they have a significant experience of such work and parents are confident in them. Also, the cost of their services will be lower for parents compared to the cost of services provided by the Child Academy. On the other hand, the company have substantial advantageous compared to family child care homes. Unlike these individuals, the company will offer really professional services to the customers since it will employ a professional and responsible staff that has an experience of work with children. What is even more important, the company will offer a wide range of services which include not only education and entertainment of children, but also their moral, ethical, aesthetical, intellectual, and physical development, while family child care homes could hardly provide the same range of services. At any rate, the quality of their services would be more doubtful compared to services offered by professional educators. Though, it is also necessary to take into consideration the fact that children that get used to stay with such individuals have already accustomed to them and the change of the environment may be quite difficult for them, but the presence of other children will definitely smooth the transitional period of the change of their environment.
Furthermore, the community also has church child care facilities, these are religious organizations that offer child care services in their community. In all probability, it will be hardly possible to attract parents that are using services of these organizations to change their mind and use the services of the Child Academy. The major problem is the religious background of such organizations. Often parents using church child care facilities are adepts of certain religion and the religious education may be very important for them. However, certainly there are parents who use these organizations simply because they do not have any effective or reliable alternative and who do not pay much attention to religious education of their children. For these parents, the Child Academy will be apparently the best choice because the company lays emphasis on civic, non-religious, but tolerant education. It is important to underline that the company will avoid any sort of intolerance in regard to religious views and other beliefs of children and their parents.
In such a way, it is possible to presuppose that, taking into account the drawbacks of the current competitors, the Child Academy can have good perspectives to launch a successful business in the area.
- c. External factors
At the same time, it is also necessary to remember about the external factors that may affect the functioning and performance of the company in the area. First of all, it should be said that the development of the business in the Riverview, Fl area will, to a significant extent, depend on the demographic situation in the area. At the present moment, it is possible to estimate that the situation in the area is quite favorable and specialists () forecast the growth of the local population at the level of 2% per year, within next 3-5 years. Obviously, such trends in the demographic development of the area are quite positive and this is why it is possible to develop short- and mid-term plans of the development of the company taking into consideration the possible growth of the number of potential clients that will use the services of the Child Academy.
Also, it is important to pay attention to the socio-economic situation in the area. Basically, the company will target at the middle class families that could afford the education of their children. In this regard, it should be said that the local community, being not very numerous, still is constituted mainly by representatives of the middle class which constitute about 70% of the local population (), though the share of upper-middle class in the area is insignificant. In such a way, it is possible to presuppose that the company can have a stable amount of customers and even increase their number on the condition of wise strategy, which should combine the high quality of services and moderate price.
On the other hand, the position of the company may be not ideal because the probability of the appearance of competitors in the area is high. In fact, the current situation in the local community and basic trends in the child care industry stimulate many companies to develop their business in such communities as the Riverview, Fl area.
Nevertheless, the Child Academy can benefit from its leadership in the area because, at the moment, there are no competitors which market position is consistently stronger than that of the company.
Finally, it should be pointed out that in the course of time the demands of customers may change and it will be necessary to change the specialization of the company and its major strategy. For instance, customers may need to focus on educative potential of the Child Academy and parents may want to continue the education of their children after the age of twelve. Naturally, in such a situation the company should react respectively to the changing environment and new demands of the local community and customers.
Goals
Basically, speaking about goals of the company, it is necessary to distinguish business and educational goals of the company, though, in case of the Child Academy they are closely interlinked because the quality and achievement of educational goals will naturally contribute to the achievement of business goals, and vice versa, the failure to achieve business goals may lead to the lack of financial support of the company and, therefore, the failure of its education goals.
In such a context, it is very important to focus on both educational and business goals. As for educational goals of the company, it should be pointed out that the company should provide a wide range of educational services and parents should be conscious of the fact that the company is able to provide their children with the high quality of education and personal development. To put it more precisely, it is important to concentrate on the development of the creative potential of children. As it has been already mentioned above, creativity plays a very important role in the contemporary life and it is very important to provide children with an opportunity to develop their creative skills.
However, before their development, it is necessary to clearly identify their internal inclinations and their abilities.
After that it is possible to focus on the individual work with children since the use of individual approach to each child is one of the strategic goals of the company.
At the same time, the company should also maintain contact with the parents and local community. In fact, the formation of the positive image of the company in the local community is another strategic goal of the Child Academy. In fact, the positive image will contribute to the growing popularity of the company and parents’ confidence in its reliability. In addition, the development of contacts with the local community can facilitate the functioning of the company since the local community can support the Child Academy as an important educational establishment. Also, such a contact will involve parents in the education process and, therefore, it will increase the effectiveness of the company’s performance.
As for the business goals of the company, it is important to provide the steady growth and development of the company. Taking into consideration the current situation in the local market, it is possible to forecast on the substantial growth within the next three years since the first enrollment of fifteen students should be just a beginning while their number should increase within the years to follow. At the same time, the revenues of the company should also grow respectively. Potentially, the company can gradually gain a larger share of the local market and become one of the leaders of the local child care market or even the major supplier of child care services in the area.
Furthermore, it is important to provide the professional development of the personnel of the company. This means that it will be necessary to organize training courses within the company. In such a way, the personnel could share their knowledge and experience. And, also, it will be necessary to organize training of the leading specialists in order to continue their professional growth. The improvement of the professional level of the personnel is a very important goal because it will influence directly the quality of services provided by company to customers and their satisfaction.
Finally, in a long-term perspective, it will be necessary to enlarge and improve the facilities of the company since the number of students will increase as well as quality of services that will naturally imply the increased need in new facilities for new students and for new services that could be provided by the company.
Marketing strategy
- a. Target market
Basically, the company targets at the middle class families in which both parents are working. In fact, this group of customers is the most preferable since, on the one hand, these customers can afford the services of the company, while, on the other hand, they need to use the services of the company because they cannot take care of their children all the day round. At the same, it is possible to presuppose that some single-parents family could also afford the services of the company, though, the probability that they will use the services of the Child Academy, instead of family child care homes, for instance, is lower compared to the two-parent family.
Furthermore, it should be said that the target customer groups will highly depend on the demographic situation. To put it more precisely, it is only families with children at the age from two to twelve that could use the services of the company, while other customers will not have access to the services of the company, at least, at the beginning of its development, i.e. first three ”“ five years, when the company is supposed to shape its target customer group, gain the recognition of the local customers and will able to enlarge the business, including new age categories for which the Child Academy’s services could be available.
At the same time, the policy of the company should not be excluding and it is very important to motivate the refusal and collect the information about the local market. To put it more precisely, it is possible to register all customers that are willing to use the services of the company. If they do not meet the standards of the company, i.e. if the children do not meet the age limit, it is necessary to identify how many children and at what age are willing to use the services of the company. Probably, if the demand is very high, it would be possible to organize additional groups, for instance for younger children or, in contrast, elder children. However, such a change should be introduced very carefully because it will inevitably involve considerable changes in the business plan since it will be necessary to enlarge the facilities of the company, employ new specialists, etc.
- b. Original marketing research
Naturally, the development of the marketing strategy that could be effectively implemented by the Child Academy should be based on the profound marketing research. This research is very important because it will reveal the major challenges and possible problems the company may face in the process of the realization of its marketing strategy, as well as it will help identify basic advantages and strength of the company in the current market environment.
On analyzing the local market, it is primarily necessary to point out that the demographic situation is favorable and the number of children is sufficient to launch the child care business in the area. It should be pointed out that the local area is inhabited by approximately 900 families. Potentially, these families may be customers of the company, but it is important to identify the target customer group, i.e. representative of the middle class, family in which there are two working parents who need the company to take care of their child or children. In this respect, it should be said that the middle class families constitute about 70% of the local community that means that there are about 630 middle class families. At the same time, it should be said that the divorce rate in the local community constitutes nearly 40%, which, in all probability, will excluded from the target customer group of the Child Academy. As a result, there rest about 380 middle class families that can be potential customers of the company. However, the actual of potential customers will be even lower since not all of these families have children or both parents working. On excluding these families from the list of potential customers, it is possible to estimate that the actual number of customers that may need the services of the company vary from 150 to 200 families. Naturally, not all of these families will chose the Child Academy as a child care organization for their children since a part of parents will prefer to use the services of family child care homes or church child care facilities. Nevertheless, the number of the potential customers of the company should not be lower than 80-90 customers taking into consideration the competitive position of the company and the quality of the services it will provide for its customers.
In this respect, it is necessary to carefully analyze the competitive environment of the market. Obviously, the major competitors of the company at the moment are family child care homes and church child care facilities. In all probability, they would hardly be able to afford the competition with the Child Academy, on the condition the company could be able to create a positive public image and convince parents in its reliability. At the same time, it is important to prove the high quality of services the company can offer to its customers. This may play the determinant role in the customers’ choice in favor of the Child Academy.
On the other hand, the first enrolment is supposed to be only fifteen students. Consequently, the chances that the company will attract fifteen customers are high since the local community really needs such an organization as the Child Academy. In actuality, the only problem that may prevent the company from the successful enrolment of first three groups of students may be the ineffective promotional campaign, but, as soon as the company starts working, it will be possible to form the positive image of the company through the customer satisfaction and high quality of services. In fact, the positive experience of parents that would chose the company for the first time will stimulate other parents to use the services of the Child Academy.
On the other hand, it is obvious that in order to achieve the major strategic goals and gain the competitive advantage in the area, the Child Academy will need well-qualified personnel that could successfully implement the strategic plan of the development of the company, at least in a short-term perspective. This is why it is important to employ qualified and experienced professionals and provide a large range of services to the customers of the company.
Naturally, it would be hardly possible to avoid certain difficulties and errors in the work of the personnel, especially from the part of students that should work as assistants of head of groups, but these employees are important for the further development of the company. To put it more precisely, the further development of the company will need the enlargement of the personnel working at the company and the students can acquire essential experience while working as assistant. Later they can start working independently. Such a policy may be viewed as a strong point in the development of the company because, in such a way, the Child Academy forms its own personnel and, what is more important, the training of the personnel occurs within the company while sharing knowledge and experience increase the effectiveness of work and professional level of all employees, while effective methodology and developments remain within the company and there is no brain drain. Moreover, such a policy minimizes the risk of the personnel turnover, which is quite high in other companies operating in the child care industry. As students start their professional career as assistants within the company and making a substantial professional progress, they will naturally be more loyal to the company than employees invited to the company without any training or experience of work within the Child Academy. At the same time, it is possible to speak about the formation of the particular family atmosphere and the development of the positive organizational culture within the company in the result of the low turnover and large experience of work of professionals in the team.
Obviously, such human resource strategy will increase the quality of services of the company and, therefore, this will lead to the growing customer satisfaction and to the growth of the number of customers in the future.
- c. Product
In fact, the product of the company should not be limited by educational boundaries only. In actuality, the child care should be perceived as a broad concept that incorporates multiple goals and functions. In this respect, it should be said that the child care services should naturally involve educational services. What is meant here is the fact that children that attend the Child Academy should not just waste their time playing and entertaining with the help of educators. In stark contrast, the major goal and major product of the company is the development of children in broader sense of this term. To put it more precisely, the specialists working within the company should primarily take care of children that attend the Child Academy.
First of all, they should schedule their day. In other words, the time children spend in the Child Academy should carefully planned, taking into consideration the specific age needs of children, their interests and preferences as well as preferences of their parents. In such a context, the Child Academy should develop a clear and effective curriculum that will target at the academic learning of children that will be naturally integrated in the entertainment process.
This means that children should learn in the process of play and this is the priority of the Child Academy. The effectiveness of such an approach proves to be beyond a doubt since play is the natural activity for children while its educative orientation makes this natural process very useful for children and, what is even important, the learning process becomes interesting for children because they perceive it as a play and not as the learning process.
Furthermore, it is also very important to focus on the physical development of children. It is not a secret that contemporary children lead a sedative lifestyle () that means that the physical activities of children are insufficient that is particularly important at the early stage of their development, i.e. from two to twelve. In this regard, the Child Academy should fill this gap and provide children with physical training which will harden not only their bodies but their spirit as well. Consequently, it is possible to estimate that the physical development is one of the main services offered by the company to its customers.
However, the development of learning skills and physical abilities of children could distinguish the Child Academy from other companies operating in the child care industry. This is why it is necessary to offer really unique and original services. In this respect, it is necessary to introduce the program of the development of creativity of children.
However, the realization of this program will naturally involve the identification of internal inclination of children that may be done by means of series of tests, communication with parents of children, etc. On identifying inclinations of children and their talents, it is necessary to fully develop them. The latter is possible only on the condition of the individual approach to each student. This means that educators working with students should carefully study their students and get as much information about their skills, inclinations, problems, and interests in order to help them overcome their problems and maximize their successes in areas where they are particularly interested in.
Also, it should be said that the health of children should be one of the primary concerns of children and they should be regularly examined by a healthcare professional in order to control their development and consult parent concerning health issues of their children.
- d. Price
Speaking about the price of the services of the company, it should be said that they are quite moderate, taking into consideration the wide range of services and their quality. At the same time, the price of the services should be based on the actual opportunities of customers. At the beginning it is possible to establish the average price at the level of three hundred dollars per month, though the price may vary depending on the age of students. For instance, the first group from the age of two to five may offer services at lower price compared to elder children.
However, it is important to underline that the first year can hardly bring any profits to the company, but it is important to establish the affordable price for the services of the company, otherwise customers will hardly refer to the Child Academy.
- e. Place
In such a situation, the location of the company may be very important. Obviously, the company will fail if it is located in the poverty stricken neighborhood. As it has been already mentioned above, the company will be focused on the middle class customers. This is why the choice of the place should defined by this criterion. Consequently, Riverview, Fl seems to be a suitable location for the launch of the child care business.
It should be said that this area is populated by mainly middle class families, which constitute about 70% of the local population, while the relatively small number of people living in the community may be viewed as an advantage the Child Academy can benefit from. In fact, in such a small community it will be easier to promote the services of the company and convince customers in the reliability and the high quality of services of the Child Academy.
On the other hand, such a location of the company may naturally lead to certain difficulties since small communities are often very conservative and customers may prefer to use services of the organizations and individuals they get used to, instead of the new company, even though it has obvious advantages compared to the local competitors.
- f. Promotion
Obviously, promotion may play the determinant role in the commercial success of the company. Taking into account the fact that the Child Academy is a new company that is entering the child care industry in the small community, it is quite logical to presuppose that the local customers may have some apprehensions in regard to the new company, which provides services of child care. On the other hand, the small of the community may play a positive role in the promotion of the company because the information about the company will be spread faster than in a large community, where, in addition, the competition will be stronger.
In such a way, the company may either succeed or fail depending on the effect of the promotional campaign. This is why the promotional campaign should carefully organized and its major goal should be the formation of the positive image of the company. Thus, the promotional campaign should lay emphasis on the professional and reliable personnel employed within the company. Ideally, it is possible to invite some of the local educators or health care professional, or any other employee who is highly respected in the local community and who could increase the confidence of the local population in the reliability of the company.
Also, it is possible to involve parents in the functioning of the company by means of the establishment of the special council comprising the representatives of the company, for instance a manager, accountant and some of educators, and representatives of parents, for instance, a few highly respected citizens of the local community or even a representative of the local authority. This council may focus on the treatment of children by the company, its educational programs, etc. though without the interference in financial performance of the company, though it is highly recommended to make the budget of the organization available to parents in order to convince them that their money are used to improve the services delivered to their children.
Furthermore, it is necessary to organize a kind of presentation of the company. For this purpose, it is possible to inform the local population about the company and invite them on the meeting with the management of the company and the most qualified professionals employed by the company. In this respect, it should be said that one of the major problem of this promotional step may be the delivery of information. It is very important to use the most effective media to convey the company’s message to all customers. Taking into consideration a relatively small size of the community it is possible to spread leaflets informing potential customers about the meeting with the management of the new company that provides child care services of the highest quality. These leaflets may contain the ample information about the structure, services and the personnel of the company and its plans for the future.
Naturally, it is possible to use other traditional media such as print media, Internet, or television, though the latter does not seem to be really effective. At any rate, the effects of the promotion via television can hardly outweigh its costs, while the use of Internet seems to be consistently more effective since the target customers are people that get used to Internet as a valuable source of information and communication and the use of this medium does require substantial investments.
Customer relations plan
The development of customer relations is very important and may play a very significant role in the recognition of the company by the local community as a reliable and trustworthy company. At the same time, it is necessary to be very careful in the development of relations with customers. In general, the customer relations plan includes several stages that mark the transition from the acquaintance to the formation of the positive customer experience and customer loyalty to the company’s services.
First of all, it is necessary to start with the acquaintance of customers with the company. In this respect, the meeting organized in terms of the promotional campaign may be viewed as the first stage of the development of the company-customers relations. After that, the manager of the company should communicate with all parents as well as children willing to attend the Child Academy. Therefore, it is necessary to appoint a definite time during which the manager could receive parents and their children. Parents should have an opportunity to get acquainted with the curriculum and plans of the company, communicate with educators and personnel if they want. It is possible to show children and their parents facilities of the company, etc.
Furthermore, as children start to attend the Child Academy, it is necessary to constantly maintain contact with parents. The manager and head of groups should be in contact with parents, who should have an opportunity to call them or visit personally to get information they would like to know about their children and the company.
It is important to organize regular meetings of parents and the personnel of the company, especially educators. Such meetings could take place monthly with educators and once a year, it is possible to organize the general meeting of all parents from all groups and all the personnel of the company, where they could discuss problems that disturb parents and the personnel and find possible ways of their solution or after consultation introduce some improvements in the functioning of the Child Academy.
Finally, in order to improve the public image of the company and form the positive customer experience, it is possible to organize a kind of the open-doors-day, when all parents that think of the possibility to use services of the company could attend the Child Academy and observe the regular working day of the company. In such a way, parents will grow more confident in the reliability of the company and in the quality of its services.
Management plan
The management of the company is also very important. In fact, the personnel of the company cannot be numerous at the beginning since the financial resources will be scarce, at least, during the first year. This is why the manager of the company should focus on the performance and functioning of the company, while accountant should concentrate on the financial performance of the Child Academy. As for the educators, they should be able to work independently and it is highly recommendable to give them a large autonomy. This will help them better realize their creative ideas and, what is more important, find the individual approach to each children, while the interference of the manager in the work of professional educators can provoke internal conflicts and misunderstanding within the team. Nevertheless, the manager should be able to control the performance of each educator. It should be said that during the first year of the functioning of the Child Academy, it should be necessary to limit the education personnel by three heads of groups and a physical training educator in order to save costs. Each day should start with the meeting of the personnel during which they should solve the current problems and work out the steps to the realization of the strategic plan of the development of the company.
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Financial information
In fact, it is hardly possible to expect high profits at the beginning of the functioning of the company. In such a situation, it is necessary to concentrate on the start-up (see Table 1). In this respect, it should be said that the development of the Child Academy during the first year of its existence should be focused on the promotion of the company and creation of the comfortable atmosphere for both the personnel and children. At the same time, it is important to develop the facilities of the company.
Evaluation and control
As for the evaluation and control, it is necessary to establish the control over the performance of the personnel from the part of the manager and involve parents in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the work of the company. To put it more precisely, during the annual meeting it is possible to sum up the major achievements of educators, while parents can express their opinion about the quality of services, inform the administration of the company about existing problems, and work out recommendations concerning possible improvements. At the same time, the manager should control the work of the personnel and the functioning of the company daily, define existing problems and set goals during the daily meetings with the personnel of the Child Academy.
Executive summary
The child care industry is a very perspective field where the company, the Child Academy, can achieve considerable success in case of the successful implementation of its basic educational and business goals. The company basically targets at the middle class customer group, especially families with two working parents who could not provide child care themselves and need external support. In spite of the existing competition in the Riverview, Fl the Child Academy can succeed in the area since it can provide educational and child care services of the highest quality. To put it more precisely, the company targets at the customer satisfaction through the intellectual, moral, aesthetical and physical development of children, using individual approach to each student. The growing customer satisfaction will contribute to the creation of the positive image of the company in the local community, which, being relatively small, will more likely to prefer services of the Child Academy as a reliable company since the quality of its services outweigh those of its current competitors in the area. At the same time, the commercial success of the company should be based on the high quality of services, positive organizational culture and relations with customers.