Areas of Improvement for Worksop Leisure Centre (WLC)

Areas of improvement for Worksop Leisure Centre (WLC):
Main areas of improvement for WLC are, the structure, operation and communication of the business as a whole. Having a structured and organised business is vital for a successful business and having this in place will make it far easier to communicate properly. According to Torkilsden (2005, pg 490):
“An organisation structure represents the way in which the work is organised and shared out and the manner in which an enterprise is managed.... used effectively the structure provides the framework through which the work operations proceed in an orderly manner towards achieving organisational objectives”.

There are 4 ways to structure an organisation:
1. By function – this is where the organisation is put together with regards to what each section or department does.
2. By product or activity – this is where the organisation is put together with regards to the different products made or different services offered.
3. By area – this is where the organisation is arranged due to its geographical location.
4. By customer – this is where the organisation is arranged due to customers having different needs and desires. (Collington, 2010).










Here is how Worksop Leisure Centre is structured:

























Debenham. R. (2010)
From the diagram above it is clear to see WLC has a functional structure. This structure has both advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages
 Specialisation – each department centres its attention on its own work.
 Accountability – it is clear to see who is responsible for each section.
 Clarity – it is clear to see yours and others roles in the organisation.

Disadvantages
 Communication – a lack of focus may occur due to the closed communication within the departments.
 Change – because of departments being tight knit, some may become unwilling to change.
 Co-ordination – Because of the wide span of control, co-ordinating the firm may take a considerable amount of time.
 Gap between top and bottom – as there is a gap between the top and bottom, information may take a long time to travel between departments and by the time it arrives the information may even be incorrect. (Collington, 2010).

Although this type of structure has its advantages, they seem to be heavily outweighed by their disadvantages. For example, communication is such a hugely important part of making a business successful, that it is not acceptable to be nothing other than excellent at it, if a business wants to be at its optimum level of functioning. Communicating is far more important than just transmitting a message, the way it is used can affect attitudes and performance of staff and the relationship that is acquired with customers. (Torkilsden, 2005).
Another reason as to why WLC has poor communication is the use of one-way communication. One way communication is quick and satisfying for the sender but more often than not frustrating for the receiver.
According to Torkilsden (2005, pg406),
“One way communication is fraught with difficulties, it is impossible to know if your message is getting through. Many problems of management, in industry and in leisure services, stem from the misunderstanding, misconception, mistrust and underlying feelings not being put clearly in the picture which arise from one-way communications”.
Furthermore, as well as good communication, evaluation and feedback of the communication process which is being currently implemented is also of paramount importance in relation to communication. According to Mullins (2010, pg 233),
“Feedback is a vital ingredient of the communication process. We may misjudge the receiver and regard our communication as unsuccessful, but unless we have some feedback from the other party we may never know whether what we have said or done was received in the way it was intended”.

Bibliography:
Trenberth.L and Hassan.D, (2012), Managing Sport Business An Introduction. Routledge: UK.

L.J.Mullins, (2010), Management & Organisational Behaviour, Prentice hall: England

Torkildsen (2005), Leisure and Recreation Management, Oxon, Routledge.

Collington (2010), organisational structures [lecture] chesterfield college clowne campus, 10th January 2012.

Trenberth.L and Hassan.D, (2012), Managing Sport Business An Introduction. Routledge: UK.