Camp Happy Valley

Case Study #1 – Camp Happy Valley

Meghan Lever (0341999)

Laurentian University

MGMT1006 EL-01

Tannys Laughren

October 18, 2016

Executive Summary

Camp Happy Valley is a summer day camp located in London, ON. Their objective is to maximize the camper’s experience through a multitude of activities in a safe, positive atmosphere. However, recently, things have not been going well. Due to concerns about lack of staff spirit, motivation, and positive leadership, Adam Cameron was hired as the new camp programmer. Complaints during the previous season from staff, campers, and parents, negatively affected camp operations. In February of 2001, Cameron was faced with the challenge of devising a plan to boost morale during the upcoming season. The lack of morale was caused by high turnover rates, a disorganized recruitment process, and poor training procedures. The first step in rectifying this situation should be making training sessions more effective. This includes more spirit activities and interpersonal relationship building, instead of a monotonous reading of the manual. His action plan should also include input from staff members for advice and fresh ideas. Team-building meetings also need to be planned to further enforce relationships and create a refreshing break from work, with positive incentives for those that attend. Finally, an administrative assistant should be added to the super staff on a trial basis in order to streamline the hiring process, assist the programmer with organizing training sessions and activities, and assume some of the administrative tasks currently over-burdening staff.

Problem Statement

        Adam Cameron, the programmer for Camp Happy Valley, needs to devise a plan in order to boost morale for the upcoming camping season. Last year’s staff were lacking spirit and motivation, and did not form close interpersonal relationships with their fellow staff members. This poor morale, in turn, was reflected onto the campers.

Constraints/Considerations

        Cameron’s reading week is the only dedicated time he set aside for the planning process, so his strategy must be developed rather quickly. Money is also an issue, as the camp is a non-profit organization with high overhead costs and a short season. This is why the camp is not required to pay its employees minimum wage. Therefore, when looking at any possible options, we need to be aware that there is a limited amount of money that can be dedicated to any particular action plan.

Problems/Sub-problems/Issues

        This case highlighted many sub-problems that contributed to the poor morale of the camp. Happy Valley had high turnover rates, with only 1 person out of 4 returning for the following year. The recruitment process was poor and disorganized, with super staff doing the hiring “whenever they had a chance.” References were also not being checked quickly and efficiently, losing them potential employees. By the time they got around to contacting the applicant, they had often found another source of employment. Overall, the super staff were overwhelmed with all of the administrative activities they needed to complete. Lastly, the training sessions were less than desirable. Cameron notes that last year’s training revolved around a large manual, with team-building exercises left to the end, when nobody was interested any longer. It was dull, and not spirit oriented.