Recommendations for Adventure Cycling Association – Global Cycling Program in Berlin

[Audio] Please welcome to my presentation. The presentation is on recommendations for Adventure Cycling Association. The organization aims to start a global cycling program. These recommendations were arrived at after a conducting a feasibility analysis for the project. The recommendations will help ACA enhance project success..

[Audio] The Adventure cycling association is a not-for-profit organization focusing on popularizing cycling. Its core activities include bicycle tours and education, and the association has stores that offer bikes, bike repairs, accessories, and educational materials. ACA has an extensive market share; however, there is room for expansion to include the global cycling community (Asan, 2022). The Global cycling program aims to increase awareness and create a global society. After analyzing the project's validity and practicality, this presentation provides recommendations and strategic actions for ACA. The strategies help the organization affect the global cycling program..

[Audio] The global cycling program focuses on creating a global community of cyclers; it joins together individuals through a common interest. Thus, stakeholders must create the appropriate vision and market communication to attract the desired crowd. First, ACA has to improve the program's vision to ensure that every potential individual that encounters the program or the organization can want to be part of the program. The vision is supported by a strong online presence and marketing strategy; online activity reaches the global community and has perpetual use. The internet can be the go-to place for information and engagement with the program. The marketing strategy communicates the program to high-value members. The program also needs to ensure it delivers its promises; having an extensive and reliable retail network ensures the organization can serve members in as many locations as possible. The network can establish local communities that form the global community. The program also needs a growth plan facilitated by mapping intended growth. Since the program focuses on creating a global community, it needs to start with identifying potential regions that encourage the formation of cycling groups, is cycling friendly, or support cycling tourists..

[Audio] ACA also needs to improve internal processes to ensure program success. The program structure indicates the need for extensive engagement and social networks. For instance, ACA in Berlin should be able to have a meaningful connection to ACA in other countries or cities; they can share cycling routes, education, and events. Thus, the program requires a data collection tool to identify organizational and market metrics that encourage the formation of networks and improve internal activities. ACA should create a research and development department to improve its education processes and service provision. The department can identify new routes, assess bicycle performance and uses, and develop bicycle technologies. ACA also has to engage the global community and existing members. Forming a global network requires legitimacy; online engagement or engagements through social events increase the association's popularity. Appropriate customer service retains clients and ensures that the organization meets the client's needs. The final recommendation is to improve its pricing; the ACA is a non-profit organization; thus, the pricing strategy should focus on organizational sustainability and affordability..

[Audio] According to Smith & McNary (2022), it is advisable to research demographics to identify the population's characteristics, social activities, and economic status. The information helps ACA understand the area's community and ways it can influence the people to support the global cycling program. However, the people and policies of the region pause significant challenges to ACA. The program's initial location is Berlin, Germany's Capital. The first issue is people's cycling preferences; this includes attitudes towards cycling and the cycling environment. An analysis of cyclists in Europe reveals that cyclists have different patterns, behaviors, and attitudes (Fraboni et al., 2022). Personal perceptions, cycling infrastructure, and safety concerns influence the patterns, attitudes, and behaviors. Personal perceptions include how the individual values cycling; some find it comfortable and pleasurable, and for some, it is just a convenient alternative. Those considering it a convenient alternative are less likely to be long-term cyclists. Others consider cycling unsafe or unsupported by necessary infrastructure like separate cycling lanes. Thus, people's perceptions and cycling policies will greatly influence ACA achievements in berlin. Another significant issue is local partnerships to increase the program's acceptability. ACA needs local partners to popularize the benefits of cycling, retailers, and cyclist groups to manage ACA stores and encourages forming an ACA cycling community in Berlin. ACA will also be affected by import policies because of its international nature. ACA has no presence in Germany; thus, it must import its preferred products from its normal suppliers. The association might locally source some products in Germany but will experience significant challenges for internationally sourced products..

[Audio] An appropriate management strategy for ACA is goal setting; goal setting allows the association to focus on a particular outcome and identify the resources that enable it to achieve the desired outcomes. A suitable way of goal setting is using a lean-based model. Cruz Villazón et al. (2020) indicate that a lean-based model involves identifying customer needs, organization strategies, measurement parameters, key performance indicators, specific data, or organizational goals. Thus, ACA can choose a specific category for goal setting based on customer needs, organization goals, or any measurable data easily retrieved by the company. Goal setting involves continuous management and extensive monitoring. Continuous management involves working closely with employees to meet short-term and long-term objectives. The supervisors or management help the employees address problems to meet the desired goals..

[Audio] Operations excellence increases process efficiency and ensures that the organization optimizes processes and resources. ACA's strategy for operations excellence is to integrate connectivity technologies to improve the creation of a global network. The organization needs to have a website as a true source of information and regional chapters informed by the international chapter. Thus, coordination of all regions will be improved through interconnected systems for human resource management, supply management, communications, and coordination procedures. The third management strategy is service diversification. ACA faces significant competition from other cycling organizations. Thus its service portfolio must exceed common service products. Effective ways include identifying ACA cycling routes in tourist or local areas; the association can map a popular or unique route, and the routes can have different difficulties or scenic provisions. Another way is to start ACA cycling traditions like annual or seasonal cycling events. Increasing the service portfolio is essential to increase market performance..

[Audio] Leadership strategies enable ACA to improve internal processes and effect high performance. Appropriate strategies for ACA include innovation and transformational leadership. Ehrnrooth et al. (2023) show that transformative leadership reduces emotional exhaustion. Transformational leadership encourages employee involvement and allows employees to manage work processes and adopt organizational objectives. Thus, the leadership strategy helps reduce job stress and encourage performance. Innovation leadership involves using innovative approaches to meet customer needs or organizational demands (Supriatna & Zulganef, 2023). The leadership strategy allows ACA to help employees develop innovative practices and focus on continuous innovations. The organization will be able to focus on efficient and novel processes..

[Audio] ACA should adopt Kotter's change model for change management. Kotter's model allows the organization to focus on three phases of change: desiring, making and living the change. The eight steps in the model provide a holistic blueprint that starts with communicating the need for change, eliciting the necessary support for change, and empowering employees to implement the change. The project requires extensive processes to ensure that employees become optimistic about the project's success..

[Audio] Living the change is a long-term process. The global cycling program is a life-long program. ACA hopes to start in berlin and have a global network. Thus, living the change will involve creating a presence and cycling network in Berlin and moving to another international city. Thus, ACA can develop a PDSA cycle to consolidate change. The PDSA cycle involves planning, implementing, studying, and acting to resolve challenges or improve actions. The process allows for a cyclical process of planning, acting, and reviewing the actions to ensure that the process achieves set objectives..

[Audio] ACA's ultimate objective is to create a global cyclist program; thus, its marketing tools should have a global reach. Website and social media marketing are less costly and provide ACA with a global audience. Further, social media and website marketing help the association reach individuals in other potential regions for expansion. Cycling communities in other regions can engage ACA to form meaningful bonds; ACA will have an easier time evaluating expansion regions because it will have social media and website data on the areas with extensive cycling markets..

[Audio] Kola-Bezka (2023) analyses the role of the local community in enabling energy transitions; the research shows that the local community is instrumental in enhancing citizen-led initiatives. ACA should adopt a similar structure to use the local community to popularize cycling or include cycling in local initiatives. ACA can find local cycling groups without organizational affiliation and support their cycling activities or events. ACA can identify community health providers that emphasize physical activity to help teach the benefits of cycling or encourage adult cycling programs. Also, ACA can find local tourist organizations and create cycling tours to ensure locals support its activities. The ACA will facilitate its global program by identifying local strategic partners that enhance its activities in specific regions..

[Audio] Sustainability is an important part of the association's business model. Cycling has health and environmental benefits; it helps individuals maintain physical fitness, have active lifestyles and reduce personal carbon footprints. Everyone who chooses cycling transportation lowers the population's carbon footprint. ACA will focus on continuous innovation to provide products that propagate environmental sustainability and educational interventions that popularize cycling for recreational purposes and as a transport alternative..

[Audio] ACA is a not-for-profit organization; its revenue strategies do not focus on profit maximization. However, the association can focus on breaking even to maintain stability. The organization receives funds from goodwill donations and sell of equipment and educational materials. While the global cycling program is expensive, global recognition will offset the cost. Successful expansion into Berlin will increase brand awareness and spread the brand name to other regions. Thus, increasing awareness will attract more donations and partners..

[Audio] There are three significant ethical considerations for ACA. The first is equal access to service. Since ACA does not maximize profit, its products and services might be relatively affordable. Therefore, the organization must ensure that employees do not discriminate against anyone. The second is the protection of customer information. ACA should ensure that personal information obtained through its daily operations in stores or online channels remains confidential. The third is safeguarding and child protection policies; this applies because ACA might work with children cyclists; the company has to create policies on engagement standards and how to protect the children from physical and emotional harm. The policy should also include guidelines on using children's pictures or information..

[Audio] ACA's global cycling program requires well-thought strategies to ensure program continuity. Creating a global cycling community will take time, and ACA has to be successful in Berlin to attract clients and members in other locations. Thus, the strategies should ensure they increase the organization's popularity on the global stage..

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