Strategic Management of the YMCA of the Shoals

History of the YMCA

The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in 1844 by George Williams. The YMCA was originally founded in London as a place for men to escape the hazards of everyday life. Thomas Valentine Sullivan sought to create a home away from home for people in the growing new United States. Sullivan went on to create the first YMCA in the new country in the winter of 1851 in Boston. The YMCA has continued to grow and grow in popularity and accessibility. There are currently just over 2,700 YMCA’s in operation with over 620,000 employees combined. In 1965, students from Coffee High School in Florence, Alabama decided that they wanted to help start a local YMCA branch. The branch wasn’t officially recognized until a year later. This new branch would stay in the same location until 1979 when it moved to its current location and became the E. Stanley Robbins branch of the YMCA.

Mission Statement/Vision/Goals of the YMCA

According to ymca.org, the mission statement of the Young Men’s Christian Association is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that help healthy mind, spirit, and body for all. Interestingly, the YMCA of the Shoals also offers a charity statement that claims that no one will ever be turned away from YMCA programs due to inability to pay a fee. The vision statement of the YMCA says “We build strong kids, strong families, strong communities” According to the website every branch seeks to keep itself up to date as to provide optimal results, encourage communities to be more active, provide a creative environment for younger members, and to improve the health and wellbeing of all members. The Y also explains that they have four core values: Caring, Respect, Honesty, and Responsibility. The YMCA website goes into detail on each of these core values to further explain what is meant. Caring: “be considerate of others, be helpful, thoughtful, compassionate, and kind”. Respect: “treat others as you would want them to treat you, value the worth of every person, including yourself.” Honesty: “be truthful, open and sincere; act with integrity in all that you do. Responsibility: “do what is right, what you ought to do; own the task at hand; be accountable for your actions and obligations. The YMCA also has four very clear and concise goals that it strives to achieve each and every day: Staff and volunteer development, program growth and capacity, population health management, and facility improvements.

Logo/Mascot/Catchphrase of the YMCA

The YMCA has had a total of seven different logos in their first one hundred and fifty years of existence. It appears as though the logo has gotten more colorful and increasingly simpler as the years have gone by. The current logo has been in use for several years now. This logo is an arrow and a triangle that form the letter “Y” and is usually presented in many different colors. The use of colors is said to show the diversity of those who come to the YMCA. The only mascot used by the YMCA has been literal giant letter costumes. These mascots sometimes make appearances at events that take place on the campus of the branch. The catchphrase or slogan of the Y is usually some combination of the core values and the goals.

Description of the Product/Service

The YMCA offers many different services in all of their branches. The most popular reason that individuals come to the YMCA is to workout. The Y offers many different ways for people to work out. There are many machines that people can use, and they are always being replaced for even new, up to date models. For those that are not as into machines for working out, there is also a very large area that offers a plethora for free weights to train with. The YMCA also offers personal trainers that will help anyone, it does not matter if the person is brand new to working out or if they are a veteran. There is also an area that has treadmills, stationary bicycles, and ellipticals for those who wise to work on cardio. The Y also offers many classes that are range from everything that one could need. At most YMCA branches, there are basketball courts used for both league games and pickup games. A large number of branches also offer swimming pools. Classes are offered in the pools, but they can also be used for free swimming. One huge service that the YMCA offers is childcare. Childcare services are offered year round. There are also different areas of childcare: child watch, kids zone, after school care, and summer camp. Child watch is meant for children that are younger and offers televisions and a vast array of toys to play with. Kids Zone is meant for children that are a little bit older and offers an indoor playground setting. After school care consists of picking children up from school and entertaining them until their parents can come pick them up. During after school care, children are fed snacks, play games in many areas of the branch and are offered help with homework. When children are out of school for the summer, they are invited to come to summer camp. Summer camp is a 12-hour daycare service where kids get to hang out with other children their age, swim, eat lunch, and just have fun.

External Environment

Even though the Young Men’s Christian Association has been a part of this countries culture for close to 150 years, there is always threats that can create competition, but there is also room for opportunities. One of the biggest threats of the YMCA would be the threat of new entry. There are always new gyms popping up all over the country that could eventually gain the recognition of people and make them stray away from the YMCA. Some of these gyms might offer lower monthly fees or have more up to date equipment. These factors would definitely draw people away from the YMCA. In the past few years there has also be a rising number of substitutes for traditional gyms such as the Y. Some such substitutes are that of home gym facilities that are shown on the television. These are more accessible to customers than traveling to an actual gym. Also, weight loss medication such as Hydroxicut have become a substitute and convinced more and more people that they do not need to attend a gym when they could lose weight just by taking a pill. A brand new threat is that of Pokemon Go. This new app has heavily increased the amount of cardio that the average person is doing because it requires them to walk but rewards them for it. There are also many opportunities for the YMCA to expand. By having such a rich history, many different companies would be willing to pair with a single branch (if not the organization as a whole) to gain popularity. Also, with the amount of income that the Y brings in, they have the opportunity to create many new branches throughout the nation.

Internal Environment

The strengths of an organization as old and respected as the YMCA are almost endless. One thing that the Y has consistently been known for is the helpfulness and friendliness of their staff. This is a strength that will surely draw people back in. There also appears to be high levels of collaboration between members and employees. The Y also strives to always have the most up to date equipment which isn’t very hard for them because of their income. A strength of the YMCA is that they are family based and all members of a family would have an area of the branch that would be optimal to them. Another strength is that they are so very well known in the community. Many branches have several connections with local schools, hospitals, and many other places. The Y also offers many different departments so that everyone is satisfied with their experience. Although the YMCA has many strengths, they are also bound to have weaknesses. For example, the childcare department has to turn away a large amount of applicants because they do not always have the staff to handle that many children. Another weakness could be that some employees are limited in their knowledge of other departments. There is always the threat of accidents happening with a place as large as the YMCA. With so many different areas at each campus, there is possibilities that someone could get injured because of lack of supervision. Another major weakness is the lack of training that some staff members receive. Lack of communication between the departments could be a foreseeable threat.

Strategy Formation

The YMCA of the United States has put together an entire pamphlet for their strategic plan for the next three years. The strategic imperatives that were listed are elevate membership and improve program efficacy to deepen the impact of the Y cause, build organizational capacity necessary to effectively fulfill the Y cause, and to generate the awareness and financial resources needed to sustain the Y cause. The YMCA website offered countless strategies for each of these imperatives to try to achieve these goals. The Y is going to attempt to expand some of their programs that involve social issues such as Diabetes Prevention Program, Achievement Gap Programs, and Togetherhood Program. Another strategy discussed by the Y is to let members get more out of their membership by helping grow more relationships. There is also a focus on upgrading different areas such as aquatics and child care. The YMCA is also striving to increase diversity in all areas of the branch including membership, leadership, and communications.

Critique

From looking at the strategic management plan of the Young Man’s Christians Association, I can tell that they will continue to succeed. They have clearly mapped out the next several years and looked at it from every perspective. They will continue to draw in new members with their ongoing attempts to reach out to those affected by the social issues in our world today. They are attempting to help with hunger and poverty in our country. The YMCA will have to rely on their many strengths to execute these plans while also taking chance with some of the opportunities that present themselves.

Sources

http://www.ymca.net/history/founding.html

http://www.ymcashoals.org/about/history/

http://wcfymca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=37

http://www.ymcaauckland.org.nz/about-ymca/Pages/values.aspx

http://www.ymca.net/sites/default/files/pdf/y-logo-history.pdf

http://saginawymca.org/be-our-mascot/

http://www.ymca.net/sites/default/files/organizational-profile/Delivering-Our-Cause-Strategic-Plan-Online.pdf