Essay Sample on Marine Theme Park in Hong Kong: Adapting to Surroundings

Introduction

In Hong Kong (HK), there is a town called Marine theme park that was initially founded by the Hong Kong government. The fundamental strategy was to adapt to a series of encounters in its surroundings. The marine park was first suggested in 1957 by J.D. Bromhall, who was the Executive of Agriculture and Fisheries in Hong Kong by then (Aw, Chan, & Cheung, 2015). He hoped to provide an amenity where people could view aquatic creatures existing in significant open environments that could give them a perception of a planetary expert at home. The park was declared the Centre of education, conservation provider, and entertainment. This study aims at accessing the effectiveness of leadership, the basis of the company's competitive advantage, and the strategies that the company may pursue to ensure proper growth.

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Effectiveness of the Company's Leadership

The chairman is chosen by the regime whose board of directors consists of Ocean Park's high-ranking administration staff, representatives from the government, scholars, and trade specialists. A statute has stipulated the purpose of the park as 'public recreation and Education Park' and a 'provider of learning and amusement at reasonable prices' (Bolton, 2002). The estate can use its revenue for teaching and study purposes. The management of the park focused on its daily maintenance and operation without long term planned vision.

When the first annual report was forwarded to the legislative council, the chairman of the park stated that the financial viability was not the primary aim, but that it was a means to attain the broader cooperate goals (Lanteigne, 2015). Darrell Metzger, who was the principal executive of the estate, presented more commercial know-how and the misplaced flair which was needed to manage the park (Aw, Chan, & Cheung, 2015). Its management had the expectations of watching fish and the sea lions that exhibited the pseudo-habitats while being amused by dolphins and whales in the displays. Visitors would, therefore, learn more about nature, thus discharging its duties.

Metzger assumed a five-year expansion strategy to fulfill the mission in a precise manner (Aw, Chan, & Cheung, 2015). He influenced the park's contribution to the oceanic research through hosting the international conference, offering animal study equipment to the students, strengthening links with global research organizations, launching research projects and breeding a range of animals artificially and naturally (Lanteigne, 2015).

In place of the education part, a workshop on aquatic creatures and preservation for tutors was established, and the outreach programs for conservatory children began. Consequently, this made the annual school visitor numbers to rise (Lanteigne, 2015). On the entertainment, rides and animal shows remained the significant attractions. Metzger took an aggressive style to the market by forming strategic coalitions (Aw, Chan, & Cheung, 2015). New enterprises were hurled to expose the estate as a location for exhibitions, conferences, meetings, motivations, and weddings. The introduction of the first loyalty club took place since, initially, the residents used to mix freely.

The high stability lasted for two years, which was followed by external threats. The first external threat was the avian influenza epidemic, which was later followed by the Asian financial crisis (Yahuda, 2018). These two events did not only result in the deficit but also lead to a severe respiratory system that nearly wiped out the entire tourist population in Hong Kong. The park's business became devastated, and therefore, the cost control trials remained in place by streamlining workers' retirement fund benefits. These crises resulted in the park abandoning the capital intensive schemes opting less expensive and imaginative attractions.

An annual design of entertainment attraction was formed, which subsequently became the critical income driver. The administration of China agreed to contrivance the singular visit scheme, which allowed the populations to travel in Hong Kong spontaneously. Finally, this resulted in the flow of tourists to Hong Kong making the parks business bounce back (McDonogh & Wong, 2005). Therefore, it is evident that the company's leadership was effective. It is due to its strong leadership that Ocean Park managed to grow and expand, and even overcome a series of problems and threats that were being faced. If the leadership was incapable of making strategic decisions, then the company would have failed in its initial stages.

Competitive Advantage and the Potential Challenges

The government of Hong Kong made a move of building a Disneyland theme park. That could be the fifth worldwide and the third of its kind in the United States of America. The big size, together with the overwhelming success of Disney in the brand influence and the resulting capitals, dwarfed Ocean Park. These overwhelming concerns broke the news that a homemade estate may not persist alongside this massive (Yahuda, 2018).

The Disneyland theme park was opened with good access to the airport. The newly established theme park had traditional entertainment facilities in resort hotels entertainment complex and dining. The annual report by the administration displayed an unexpected modification from its traditional field to a better and proactive individual (Lanteigne, 2015). The administration focused more on forestalling the users' needs, exceeding prospects, living with vagueness, restructuring and stretching imaginations, and responding to the shifts in the market (McDonogh & Wong, 2005).

Rather than relying on the available facilities to attract the customers, a superior marketing approach was born to reach active people through various multiple channels of marketing to create demand. The park was full of doubt. Zeman was, therefore, appointed as the chairman of the park (Aw, Chan, & Cheung, 2015). The new management focused on the possibilities of closing down the park. Ocean Park was benchmarked against several theme parks, and the conclusion was that it had a distinctive rationale, and it had to go on.

At this time, most of the focus was on Disney which had gained significant attention as it was still new and it had a series of activities that were not present in Ocean Park. Therefore, all the attention of the target market had shifted. However, when comparing these two attraction sites, it is clear that they offer distinct attractions. Ocean Park focuses more on its environment and the wildlife, while Disney is more of a playground. Therefore, with the right strategy and considerations, there still remained a chance of improvement.

The newly elected chairman needed a person who had perfect knowledge in theme park business. Tom Mehrmann was then employed in the theme park occupying the senior positions (Aw, Chan, & Cheung, 2015). His new duties were to change a determined strategy and give the estate a new life. He advocated for a caring corporate culture and indicated that he would not remove anyone at the onset. To strengthen his message and bring in place the organizational values, ice-breaking channels of communication were instituted, and staff communication was made easier so that they could express their views. These ideas prospered on the construction of a spirited group.

The Growth Strategies

The formation procedure began sometime back when the development unit came up with a deliberate long-term proposal for the whole Hong-Kong called "Hong Kong 2030". This objective was aimed at mapping long-term development actions (McDonogh & Wong, 2005). The great impression was to progress an Aberdeen harbor as a tourist node. Consultants were hired to research on transforming Aberdeen and confirm the importance of the estate as a facilitator for the town regeneration project.

Designers from the whole of the creation fashioned a thorough blueprint outlining the renewal vision and designing concepts for new attractions. The group also forwarded the redevelopment plan to the commission for deliberation about the briefings. The legislative council was formed later. The management also planned to build a long-term accommodation so that guests could prolong their stay, thus increase their spending.

Conclusion

For the country to benefit from the theme parks, proper strategies need to be structured. These strategies need to be built and implemented for the proper growth of the grasses. When these parks grow, tourist will be attracted, and this will contribute positively to the country's economy. So far, the effective leadership is what has kept Ocean Park standing despite the strong market competition and other internal and external threats. Being able to think strategically and consider the best moves for the organization enabled it to bounce back up when many had already given up on the venture. Even when competition was still from other institutions, this park was able to pull through. It managed to regain its competitive advantage by looking at various ways of promoting customer interests. Operation costs were also cut to ensure that investments were only considered in factors that would trigger profits.

References

Aw, T. Y. C., Chan, C. Y., & Cheung, Y. M. (2015). Ocean Park: the risen dead miracle of Hong Kong. Retrieved from http://lbms03.cityu.edu.hk/award/is2015-001.pdf

Bolton, K. (2002). Hong Kong English: autonomy and creativity (Vol. 1). Hong Kong University Press.

Lanteigne, M. (2015). Chinese Foreign Policy: An Introduction. Routledge.

McDonogh, G. W., & Wong, C. H. (2005). Global Hong Kong. New York: Routledge.

Yahuda, M. (2018). Hong Kong: China's Challenge. Routledge.