IT Strategic Assessment Report



TITLE \* MERGEFORMAT IT Strategic Assessment Report DOCPROPERTY Author \* MERGEFORMAT April 12, 2017Revision HistoryDateVersionDescriptionAuthor3/14/171.0Rough DraftSarah Muss3/31/171.1Draft RevisedSarah Muss4/10/171.2Draft RevisedSarah Muss4/12/171.3Final DraftSarah MussTable of Contents TOC \o "1-3" 1.Executive Summary PAGEREF _Toc238290059 \h 42.History and Purpose PAGEREF _Toc238290060 \h 42.1History of the Louisville APA PAGEREF _Toc238290061 \h 42.2Purpose of the Louisville APA PAGEREF _Toc238290062 \h 53.Management and Business Processes PAGEREF _Toc238290063 \h 53.1League PAGEREF _Toc238290064 \h Error! Bookmark not defined.3.2League in Other Counties PAGEREF _Toc238290065 \h Error! Bookmark not defined.3.3Local Tournaments PAGEREF _Toc238290066 \h Error! Bookmark not defined.3.4State Tournaments PAGEREF _Toc238290067 \h Error! Bookmark not defined.3.5National Tournament PAGEREF _Toc238290068 \h Error! Bookmark not defined.4.Current IT Environment PAGEREF _Toc238290069 \h 64.1Hardware PAGEREF _Toc238290070 \h 64.2Software PAGEREF _Toc238290071 \h 64.3Staff IT Skills/Training PAGEREF _Toc238290072 \h 74.4IT Budgeting and Spending PAGEREF _Toc238290073 \h 85.Envisioned IT Capabilities PAGEREF _Toc238290074 \h 85.1Leadership’s Vision PAGEREF _Toc238290075 \h 85.2Top 10 Technology Issues PAGEREF _Toc238290076 \h 96.Closing the Gap PAGEREF _Toc238290077 \h 96.1Expand Social Media Reach PAGEREF _Toc238290078 \h Error! Bookmark not defined.6.2Update Website PAGEREF _Toc238290079 \h Error! Bookmark not defined.6.3Update Tournament Management Software PAGEREF _Toc238290080 \h Error! Bookmark not defined.6.4Create a Louisville APA App PAGEREF _Toc238290081 \h Error! Bookmark not defined.6.5Patches Raffle PAGEREF _Toc238290082 \h Error! Bookmark not defined.7.Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc238290083 \h 108.Appendices PAGEREF _Toc238290084 \h 108.1Basis of Analysis PAGEREF _Toc238290085 \h 108.2Technology Inventory PAGEREF _Toc238290086 \h 108.3Top 10 Technology Issues PAGEREF _Toc238290087 \h 108.4Strategic Planning/Visioning Documents PAGEREF _Toc238290088 \h 108.5IT Budget/Spending Documents PAGEREF _Toc238290089 \h 109. Work CitedExecutive SummaryThe American Poolplayers Association is a for profit business that caters to the billiards world. There is a national office and then there are braches in certain cities. The ones who run the leagues in those cities are called league operators. This one in specific is located in Louisville, KY however, it branches out to other parts of Kentucky such as Hardin County, Henry County, and Floyd County. Louisville American Poolplayers Association’s (Louisville APA) goal is to bring the billiards community closer together while keeping positive profit margins and continuing to deliver billiards to the largest city in Kentucky. They want to anyone and everyone interested in billiards to have the opportunity to play. History and PurposeHistory of the Louisville APAThe American Poolplayers Association was founded in 1979 by professional poolplayers Terry Bell and Larry Hubbart. The two men realized the growing interest and popularity of the sport and knew that, unlike, other sports; there was no existing recreational league system for billiards. Back then the league was called the National Pool League. The name was changed to American Poolplayers Association (APA) in 1981. Over the many years, the APA Pool League has gone by many names, including: The American Pool League, Busch Pool League, and Bud Light Pool League. Terry Bell maintains position on the APA’s Board of Directors, and strives to create continued interest and growth in the sport of pool. Renee Lyle has held the position of APA President since April of 1995. As president, she has total responsibility for overseeing the daily operations and future growth of the League. She was appointed to her position by former president Terry Bell; when he stepped down to assume a position on the Board of Directors. The APA actually reaches further than the United States. In Canada it’s known as the Canadian Poolplayers Association and in Japan it is known as the Japanese Poolplayer Association. Today, it has grown to more than 265,000 members and has more members than any other “national” leagues combined. The league is administered locally by a network of Franchise Operators, called League Operators, and is conducted weekly in variety of both 8-Ball and 9-Ball team formats. There are around 300 APA Leagues through the U.S., Canada, and Japan.Purpose of the Louisville APAThe purpose of the Louisville APA is to provide the community with a fun and affordable way to allow families to enjoy billiards. Louisville APA helps not only bring billiards to Louisville, it also helps out its billiards families in need. They want to bring the world of billiards to all cities in the United States along with as many countries as possible. The APA awards over $1.5 million in guaranteed prize money every year during the APA national championships in Las Vegas. In the APA, everyone can play and anyone can win. They want it to be competitive, yet fun for everyone.Management and Business Processes LeagueLouisville APA holds league on just about every night of the week; Monday, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The majority are team leagues. Which is a team of max eight people, playing a five match 8 ball and/or 9 ball format, against another team of max eight people. The team league winners will qualify to play in the qualifier that takes place after every session. On Saturday the junior league takes place. This league is specifically for younger kids who want to learn how to play billiards, but also it is about fun. Giving the kids a place to shoot where they can meet other kids who enjoy billiards as well. On Sunday the women’s league and regular team’s league takes place. The women’s league is a team of max 5 players, playing a 3 match 8 ball format. However, the women’s league only occurs every other Sunday. So when they do play, they usually play two weeks’ worth of matches in that single night, for a total of six matches per league day.League in Other CountiesLouisville APA has expanded into three counties surrounding Louisville. They have league one night a week in Hardin County, Henry County, and Floyd County. There is a degree of difficulty when trying to expand due to the majority of surrounding counties being dry. So for three counties to be in the mix is a great start in attempting to get the areas around these counties to join in.Local TournamentsLouisville APA has numerous local tournaments in Louisville. The winners usually get money, other times it is to go straight to Vegas to the national championships; lastly, it could be to go to the city tournament or regional singles tournament. They receive the entry fees per team or single player (depending on the tournament) and greens fees that cover the cost of the tables to play the tournament at that particular location. The 3v3 Tournament is a 3 player team with a max handicap of 16. You play with the regular three point scoring system and it is an 8 ball format. First team to 5 points wins the match. The Top Dawg Tournament is a singles tournament in 8 and 9 ball within your skill level. The top two people from each level will advance to the regional tournament. From there if they win regionals, they go to Las Vegas for the singles national tournament in which ever format they won in. There is also the Jack and Jill scotch doubles tournament. It is a max handicap of 10 and can only be a man and a woman on the team. You must alternate each shot and the stand alone winning team goes straight to Las Vegas for the national Jack and Jill tournament. There is also the regular scotch doubles straight to Vegas. The max handicap is 10 for this tournament and the winners of this go to play in the scotch doubles national tournament. The qualifier is the team tournament for the best teams in each league. Your team has to come in first in your league, win playoffs, or draw a wildcard to be included in this event. There is an 8 and 9 ball format. The teams play and there are ultimately 4 teams that come out of each qualifier that get a bid to go to the city tournament that is held in June. The qualifier takes place after each league session. There is a spring, summer, fall, and winter session. Winners get $1,000 per team to help towards Las Vegas expenses if they were to make to there.The city tournament takes place in June. This tournament is the ultimate local team tournament. The winning teams of this tournament go to Vegas for a shot at being national champions. This tournament is all of the winning teams from the four qualifiers playing against each other for a chance to test their luck in Las Vegas at the ultimate test, National Pool Championships. The winning teams are giving $5,000 per team to help with expenses to and from Vegas.State Tournaments Louisville APA partakes in both the Kentucky and Indiana StateTournaments. The Kentucky state tournament hasn’t been going as long as the Indiana one. So the Indiana State Tournament is significantly larger. There are the main events at the tournaments which must be registered and signed up for before the start of the tournament. These events include: scotch doubles, teams, and singles (8 and 9 ball). Then there are smaller mini tournaments that anyone can join. The format and cost are usually dependent upon the number of people who sign up. But they vary based on skill level and format. Louisville APA does get a portion of the event fees for these tournaments, all table fees go towards the cost of renting the tables for the three days necessary to have the event.National Tournament The World Pool Championships in Las Vegas is the biggest American Poolplayers Association event. You can obtain invites to this event by: winning the straight to Vegas scotch doubles, straight to Vegas Jack and Jill, Regionals for singles, ladies team regionals, or your team wins in the City Tournament. These are all opportunities to attend the world’s largest pool tournament. You win money for winning the qualifier and city tournaments which is supposed to be used to help pay for your trip to Las Vegas so you aren’t covering all expenses out of pocket.Current IT EnvironmentHardwareLouisville APA uses two laptops – one per owner (2). One is an ASUS, model number Q551L. It is a 64-bit running Windows 10 – Home operating system. It has an Intel i7 processor with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive. Louisville APA uses three printers in total. The first and presumably the best is a Hewlett Packard; model HP Officejet Pro X476dw MFP, product number CN461A. It has 768 Mb of memory capacity and they print an estimated 30,000 pages with it annually. This printer has the ability to print, scan (glass surface), scan (automatic document feeder), fax, 3 trays, and is wireless. It had the ability to print color or black and white at 55 pages per minute. The second printer that is utilized is an Epson with a memory capacity of 256 Mb and they print an estimated 5,000 pages with it annually. This printer has the ability to print, scan (glass surface), fax, 2 trays, and is wireless. The third printer they utilize is a HP. They print an estimated 500 pages with it annually. It has the ability to print only and is wireless with 1 tray. SoftwareThe weekly database Louisville APA uses is called Nexus. Nexus is a web-based program that they use to input all the weekly score sheets, host-location information, weekly schedules, points/scoring, division review and player’s skill levels etc. are all managed within the Nexus software. This program is proprietary to American Poolplayers Association and development/updates are done in-house by American Poolplayers Association National Office Staff. Minor updates are pushed through weekly on Sunday evenings and take approximately 1-2 hours to complete. Major updates are schedule periodically as necessary and are typically scheduled around low usage times across the network.Tournament Management System (TMS) software is used for larger tournaments held by Louisville APA. It is a proprietary program developed in 1998 by the American Poolplayers Association. Development of new features for this software is kept to minimum and only done when absolutely necessary. A new tournament program is necessary and will be developed when other high-priority development tasks are completed.Quickbooks Online Program as well as the Quickbooks online desktop application. However, as of late, only the Quickbooks Online Program is stable enough to continue using. They store all of their files on Dropbox so they can collaborate more efficiently. This allows the files to be accessed from a computer or a smart phone. It also keeps the latest version readily available for the next modifications. They use Google Chrome as their go to internet platform. They use HP Scan & Capture Tool to manage scans of singles boards, tournament brackets, scoresheets, deposited checks, etc. They utilize Foxit Phantom PDF editing program to regularly sign documents, fill out forms, etc. and this program provides an easy and quick method for them to work with PDF documents. They did have the paid version of Adobe but due to its crashing and level of difficulty to use, they have moved to Foxit Phantom PDF exclusively. Another application used by Louisville APA is CompuSport. This is an external application used to manage tournament brackets and provide online viewing of brackets by players. They also use Team Viewer, which is used during travel to print remotely so someone else can get printed score sheets and envelopes to take to host locations. Screen Hunter 6.0 is a screen capturing application used to capture screen behavior (i.e. error messages) when collaborating with the IT team at the international office and it is also used to capture images for filers.Team Viewer is used during travel to print remotely so someone else can get printed scoresheets and envelopes to take to host locations. Louisville APA also uses Microsoft Outlook 2013 & 2016, Microsoft Word 2013 & 2016, Microsoft Excel 2013 & 2016, and Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 & 2016.Staff IT Skills/TrainingThe first owner Danielle Hecht has an Associate’s Degree in Finance and Accounting and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management & Leadership. Prior to her becoming a League Operator, she worked as a business analyst and project manager for just under eleven years for Unisys Corporation. During her time at Unisys Corporation, she was the liaison between the functional business units and the IT team. I worked with the end-users to determine business requirements for various programs including Microsoft SharePoint and Oracle ERP. Once she documented the business requirements, she would then write the technical requirements documentation for the developers. She was also responsible for preparing the test scripts and managing the test teams as well as preparing the training documentation and providing classroom training to the end users. While there, she developed experience in many different technical areas including minor coding, SQL queries, and iOS App development. Furthermore, she is very proficient in Microsoft Excel and has even written mini programs using Visual Basic/Macros. Finally she used PowerPoint heavily for presentations to upper management within the company as well as for training presentations to end users, new hires, etc.The second owner Jessie Hecht has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and also has a MBA. While he wasn’t directly involved in IT related positions, he was required to use many different CAD programs such as SolidWorks. He too, heavily utilized Microsoft Office programs such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. While in college, he managed all the networking and work groups for his fraternity. Both owners have a technical aptitude and are always willing to learn and utilize new technology.IT Budgeting and SpendingEnvisioned IT CapabilitiesLeadership’s VisionThe league operators (owners/2) of Louisville APA within the next 3-5 years would like to be in a place where both of them could run Louisville APA as their full time job. Currently one is working a job outside of Louisville APA. The other does it full-time. Currently, they have hundred and seventy teams that play within Louisville and surrounding areas. If they can get the league to two hundred and fifty teams, they would both be able to focus their full-time efforts on this company. However, Louisville is limited with most of the surrounding areas being dry areas. Oldham county did just go wet (allow alcohol), but this still brings the issue of how long if at all, will it be until they get a bar or somewhere with a pool table that leagues could be held at. They would also like to have at least one employee under their management. This is so they no longer have to do the everyday work but can focus more on the management and improvement side. Top 10 Technology IssuesOutdated WebsiteBy updating your site you can bring in new traffic and generate additional interest where the old site may have gotten stagnant. It also conveys an air of success and the view that your company is doing quite well even in an economic downturn. It will allow you to expand your business and possibly add new items to your site that could generate additional traffic and therefore additional revenue. You could re-focus your website to better suite your clients. During the redesigning process the goal is to analyze what was lacking in the older version and make sure to make your site as profitable as possible using analytics and user tracking. Your competitors will either be stagnant or scrambling to update themselves. Now is the perfect time to fly past them and absorb they’re market share with a fresh new look. By doing this, it will give you an entirely new online presence for which to market in social networks, media campaigns and print advertisements. Outdated Tournament Management SoftwareUpdating your software often is a good practice that will always ensure it works with the newest operating system. Louisville APA doesn’t have control over when this software is updated, although it desperately needs it.Lack of an Application for ScoringHaving a scoring app will greatly benefit Louisville APA. It would take away from paperwork needing to be filled out every week and having to ensure there is an extra teammate who is able to keep score. This would save time for the operators, since they are having to print out the paperwork each week and ensure it gets to the appropriate host location for players to receive. This would allow the players to just play, which is what everyone is there for in the first place.Lack of an APA ApplicationMobile apps are now an integral part of almost every business, irrespective of their size and industry. Several small industries too have profited from developing mobile apps. While a website is a vital tool for you to promote your products and services and acts as a one-stop shop for your users, the number of mobile users is ever-increasing. Most of these mobile users also access the Internet on their smartphones and other mobile devices. Today, everything including commerce, trading, and payment is handled on mobile. That being the case, mobile apps have proved to be the very future of computing. Developing a mobile app and promoting it among your users is extremely beneficial to further your business.Many small industries try to avoid developing apps for their business, as they fear that the costs of app development would far exceed their budget. While it is true mobile app development can turn out to be an expensive affair, it does not always need to be the case. Going in for a basic app, avoiding unnecessary extra frills will bring down your costs. You can also reduce your costs by planning your app well in advance of the actual process of development; designing your own logo, images, and app content. Once the groundwork is ready, you can hire a professional app developer to create your app. Once your app has been developed, you can think of making money on it by using the various app monetizing techniques available to you, such as in-app advertising and so on.Developing an app for your business helps you reach many more customers than with a traditional website. Mobile search has become very popular today, especially with the younger audience. While your current customers could spread the word by talking about you to their friends, new users could find you via a generic search. Additionally, integrating major social networks with your app features the scope and reach of your business.Lack of exposure on newer Social Media Platforms Currently, Louisville APA uses Facebook as their sole social media application, along with Constant Contact and Meet Up, which one is an email application and the other is an application to help strangers who have something in common (billiards), get together and find other friends who enjoy what they do. Now while some may not fully understand Instagram or Twitter, they could potentially bring in a new form of publicity, if not members, and the sites become a free advertisement platform for Louisville APA.Not Utilizing Search Engine Optimization Basics Basic search engine optimization (SEO) is fundamental and essential. SEO will help you position your website properly to be found at the most critical points in the buying process or when people need your site. Search engines are looking for content – is determines by the theme that is being given, the text on the page, and the titles and descriptions that are given, performance – how fast is your site, authority – does your site have good enough content to link to or do other alternative sites use your website as a reference or cite the information that is available, and user experience – how does the site look, is it easy to navigate around, and does it look safe.Lack of a Statistics ToolWith a business, it’s all about the numbers. How much traffic does your website generate? Where does the majority of traffic come from? What are some key demographics of your target audience? All of these questions play a major role in the success of a business, and tracking them is not easy. However, that is where Google Analytics comes into play. Playing off their reputation for innovation and easy to use services, Google’s statistics tool is no exception. Users can view the countries their site has been seen in, the percentage differences in traffic drivers, and their key numbers, broken out by the day, week, month, or year. Best of all, Google Analytics uses clearly marked charts and graphs so that even the least tech savvy individual can feel confident with understanding their information.Lack of Information Security One of the most important aspects of information security is protecting critical information. Confidentiality, integrity and availability are the three predominant principles of information protection. Compromising these principles leaves systems and critical information in jeopardy. Developing a holistic, agile approach to information security to create a secure network, develop security policies, and reduce institutional exposure to information security threats are of the upmost importance. Without this prevention, you could find yourself in a large loss of data due to the lack of protection against your system.Lack of IT Policy and ProceduresAccording to a Ponemon Institute study in 2012, “Negligent insiders are the top cause of data breaches.” Internal negligence accounts for 39% of data breaches. Probably most of those people involved in breaches were horrified at what happened, but human error was still at the heart of it. There are many ways human error can happen: Not controlling system administrator access when roles change or people leave; employees losing laptops or having them stolen; easily cracked user passwords. Too often a breach sends a business into a crisis tailspin. It may lead to financial losses, public relations repercussions and legal problems.Lack of IT Funding ModelsBy developing IT funding models that sustain core services, support innovation, and facilitate growth we can improve the business. By creating a funding model and allowing for innovation, this would open windows to various forms of growth. An example would be that you could then purchase your one of a kind Louisville APA application – if all goes well, it could be pitched to the national office for possible implementation in all branches.Closing the GapCreate an App for ScoringHaving a scoring app will greatly benefit Louisville APA. It would take away from paperwork needing to be filled out every week and having to ensure there is an extra teammate who is able to keep score. This would save time for the operators, since they are having to print out the paperwork each week and ensure it gets to the appropriate host location for players to receive. This would allow the players to just play, which is what everyone is there for in the first place.Update WebsiteThe current website used and ran by Louisville APA is outdated. It is a good source of information but the layout isn’t exactly welcoming or inviting. From speaking with the owner’s it seems the layout doesn’t really accommodate changes. By creating a new website with a modern outlook that catches the eye of the onlooker it would attract more views and possibly players. Not to mention, it would give them the ability to link their social media profiles on there and even set up a gallery for the purposes of getting the pictures and videos of tournaments and league spreading around various social media sites. This has the potential to bring in new players and get Louisville APA’s name out amongst the population.Should Utilize Search Engine Optimization BasicsBasic search engine optimization (SEO) is fundamental and essential. SEO will help you position your website properly to be found at the most critical points in the buying process or when people need your site. Search engines are looking for content – is determines by the theme that is being given, the text on the page, and the titles and descriptions that are given, performance – how fast is your site, authority – does your site have good enough content to link to or do other alternative sites use your website as a reference or cite the information that is available, and user experience – how does the site look, is it easy to navigate around, and does it look safe.Create a Louisville APA AppMobile apps are now an integral part of almost every business, irrespective of their size and industry. Several small industries too have profited from developing mobile apps. While a website is a vital tool for you to promote your products and services and acts as a one-stop shop for your users, the number of mobile users is ever-increasing. Most of these mobile users also access the Internet on their smartphones and other mobile devices. Today, everything including commerce, trading, and payment is handled on mobile. That being the case, mobile apps have proved to be the very future of computing. Developing a mobile app and promoting it among your users is extremely beneficial to further your business.Many small industries try to avoid developing apps for their business, as they fear that the costs of app development would far exceed their budget. While it is true mobile app development can turn out to be an expensive affair, it does not always need to be the case. Going in for a basic app, avoiding unnecessary extra frills will bring down your costs. You can also reduce your costs by planning your app well in advance of the actual process of development; designing your own logo, images, and app content. Once the groundwork is ready, you can hire a professional app developer to create your app. Once your app has been developed, you can think of making money on it by using the various app monetizing techniques available to you, such as in-app advertising and so on.Developing an app for your business helps you reach many more customers than with a traditional website. Mobile search has become very popular today, especially with the younger audience. While your current customers could spread the word by talking about you to their friends, new users could find you via a generic search. Additionally, integrating major social networks with your app features the scope and reach of your business.Lack of Exposure with Newer Social Media PlatformsBy utilizing social media platforms beyond Facebook you could expand your reach. Twitters strongest characteristic lies in its 140-character tweet limit. The updates posted here are short and clear. While Twitter does offer visual content options, text-based posts are more dominant and often include links to external sites. If you’re trying to reach a broad audience that’s receptive to marketing messages, Twitter might be the best bet for you. Twitter current boasts around 650 million users worldwide, and their updates amount to 58 million new tweets per day. Twitter users are more likely to be active on their mobile device than on their PC, so think of it as a real “on the go” network.LinkedIn is another option. It rose to fame as a social platform for people in professional occupations, connecting businesses with potential partners and employees, but it also provides a hub for professional networking in many industries. Because LinkedIn targets a professional user base, this network appeals to an older, well-educated and established audience. While it boasts an impressive number of users for a “niche” network (about 280 million), about 75% of them spend 4 hours or less per week surfing the site.More than any other social network, Instagram has become synonymous with “generation app”. The mobile-based network allows smartphone users to share their photos instantly with their contacts. It’s a visual representation of your daily life, spiked by image filters that make it look more beautiful. Brands that use Instagram often draw major engagement by posting original and creative images. Instagram now has 150 million users, 70% of whom use the app on a daily basis. It’s a predominantly young network, with over 90% of users under the age of 35. YouTube is also a good way to get the videos that are recorded at tournaments out into the social media world. By uploading a video to your YouTube account, you could then link it and post it through your other various social media accounts. This would create a massive amount of exposure, especially once people start subscribing to your channel on YouTube. You’re video could be seen from various parts of the country and world without you doing anything but posting it.ConclusionsLouisville APA was started in 1979 with a simple goal of creating a recreational league system for billiard players around the world. Over the course of 38 years it has changed from the National Pool League (1979) to American Poolplayers Association (APA) in 1981. They have over 265,000 players worldwide. Looking into the future, Louisville APA is in need of an update to their website which will allow them to add new options to the site and have it more eye catching. By updating the website and creating an application for Louisville APA they can reach beyond their regular targeted audience. With the limitations of the majority of surrounding areas being dry, this will allow them to reach the audience they have never tried or been able to reach in previous years. This should aide in getting them to their 250 team goal within the next 3 to 5 years.AppendicesBasis of AnalysisThe basis of my analysis for this strategic assessment came from the many theories and models that were illustrated during class this semester. The most used model in the class was the Cash model illustrated below:In the Cash model, each block reflects a key part of the organization; Environment, organizational structure, IT architecture, jobs, and people. An organization is defined by each of these aspects. If a change is made in one node, it is reflected in all the following nodes. When designing and implementing a solution for an IT problem, each block must be analyzed.Another key model used in my analysis of Louisville APA is Porter’s 5 forces. This model gives a good idea of the health of an organization based on the outside powers working on it.8.1.1Porters 5 Forces8.1.1.1 Threat of New EntrantsThe threat of new entrants is low due to the already four different billiards organizations working in Louisville. 8.1.1.2 Threat of SubstitutesThe threat of substitutes is high due to there being other pool leagues in Louisville. There is BCA, LAP, and NAPA, all of which offer a unique perspective on billiards and the rules they use.8.1.1.3 Intra-Industry CompetitionThe intra-industry competition for Louisville APA is high due to there being three other billiards organizations that operate within Louisville.8.1.1.4 Bargaining Power of CustomersThe bargaining power of customers for Louisville APA is high due to there being other options for customers should they choose to quit and find another league to join.8.1.1.5 Bargaining Power of SuppliersThe bargaining power of suppliers for Louisville APA is high. For tournaments, they must rent a large number of billiards tables and the company could up the price and there isn’t much that can be done about it due to the lack of large amounts of billiards tables.Next we examine the generic strategy of Louisville APA. Louisville APA’s generic strategy is differentiation. Their costs are already at an acceptable rate. They attempt to differentiate themselves by offering different products and opportunities. They are the only ones with the opportunity to go to the Vegas championship. They attempt to offer a different process then the other billiards organizations. Winners receive plaques and money for winning certain levels of tournaments and league. They offer the junior and women’s league, along with the team leagues and many chances for singles as well.When we look at the organizational structure of Louisville APA we can see that they do not follow an organizational structure. However, if you look at all of the American Poolplayers Association, they use a divisional structure. Each branch works as its own separate entity. They are expanded into 3 different countries which is an extremely wide geographic area. The needs of each division can be met more rapidly and more specifically. However, communication isn’t going to be the greatest or easiest from the national office to all of the branches.A key model used during my analysis of Louisville APA was the internet enabled business model. We can break the internet enabled business model down into 10 parts; profit site, customer value, scope, pricing, revenue, connected activities, implementation, build capabilities, sustainability, and cost structure.The profit site determined based on an organizations standing with Porters 5 forces which we analyzed previously. It also focuses on what Louisville APA does better than its competitors which would be offering the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas for the national world pool championships. Customer value is determined by how well an organization meets a customer’s needs. In terms of Louisville APA, they do all they can to help billiards players in need. They do benefit tournaments and raffles to collect money for the family or individual in question to help them with their situation.The scope of an organizations business model is usually bounded geographically. Louisville APA is limited to Louisville and three surrounding (Hardin, Henry, Floyd) counties but are hopeful they can find new ways to expand into the other surrounding areas.The pricing aspect of the internet enabled business model for Louisville APA is determined by the national office. The membership fee is $25 every year. It is $7 per match to play in one of the leagues. This money is used as prize money and as Louisville APA’s profit.The revenue sources of Louisville APA are reliant on yearly dues, league dues (weekly), and tournament fees. There are also raffles done at tournaments which can bring in a good amount of side money. Then there are table fees which go to the host location so Louisville APA doesn’t pay out of pocket for the tables.When we look at the connected activities of an organization like Louisville APA we see some areas of improvement. Louisville APA needs an IT update in some of their business processes.Implementation of a new system for Louisville APA isn’t currently an option due to restrictions from the national organization. But it would be ideal, and is currently on the list of “to-dos”. The build capabilities for Louisville APA are fairly low. They are very limited in what new systems they can put out if any due to restrictions from the national organization.There are three ways to sustain an internet enabled business model: run, team up, or block. A sustainability strategy is chosen based on an organizations imitability and complementary assets. In the case of Louisville APA, the imitability is low meaning it is not easy to imitate. It is difficult to imitate due to it being a national organization. They are in the United States, Canada, and Japan. The complimentary assets held by Louisville APA are the national office that backs them. The proprietary software belongs to American Poolplayers Association and without, Louisville APA would have had to create their or pay someone to. Louisville APA should choose a block sustainability strategy. With the size of their organization compared to their competitors, they should block anything in their way.Technology InventoryASUS LaptopLaptop 2DesktopHewlett Packard PrinterEpson PrinterHP PrinterNexusTournament Management SystemWorks CitedAfuah, Allan, and Christopher L. Tucci. Internet Business Models and Strategies: Text and Cases. 2nd ed. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2001. Print. Cash, J. (1994). Building the information-age organization: Structure, control, and information technologies (3rd ed.). Burr Ridge, Ill.: Irwin. Goldratt, Eliyahu M., and Jeff Cox. The Goal. N.p.: Gower, 1989. Print. Kalakota, Ravi, Marcia Robinson, and Ravi Kalakota. E-business 2.0: Roadmap for Success. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley, 2001. Print. Morgan, Gareth. Images of Organization. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1986. Print. Zwass, Vladimir. "Electronic Commerce: Structures and Issues." International Journal of Electronic Commerce Fall 1.1 (1996): 3-23. Print. ................
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