Glencoe Golf Glencoe Municipal Golf Course Glencoe, Illinois

Situation

Blue Monday was never bluer for Ken Quandt. After more than ten years as superintendent at Glencoe Golf Club, he thought he had weathered every adversity -- until now. It was in mid March. The start of the growing season was just weeks away. He had already contacted his four seasonal workers in Mexico to arrange for their resumption of employment by early April. He received assurance from Professor Branham that he would be getting a student for the summer from the University of Illinois' Turfgrass Program. New vehicles and equipment -- so necessary for efficient and reliable operation of the maintanance program -- were about to be ordered. Then, he got the bad news. His budget was going to be cut. Despite the fact that his fiscal year began January 1st, he always received his budget on March 1st; the first two months of operation were always "in the blind." This year, a letter followed explaining the town's dire financial situation and stating that he would have to reduce his $710,000 budget by a whopping $90,000!

Ken loved his work. He enjoyed being outdoors and working with nature to produce a beautiful setting. He was a good golfer and looked forward to the tournaments between his crew and those of the neighboring golf courses along the Chicago North Shore. He especially loved being out on the course where he continually explored opportunities for making things "even better." On the other hand, "paper work" was not high on his list of fun things to do. Now, he had lots of it and he wasn't happy. The City Manager wanted a revised budget in three days. He apologised to Ken for the inconvenience and thanked him in advance for his efforts on behalf of the City. As Ken surveyed the numbers, he wondered aloud "Where am I going to come up with $90,000?"

Study Materials:

Budgeting and Financial Management in Golf Course Operations

Assignment:

One group will be assigned the responsibility for making a presentation containing the following elements:

A brief synopsis of the case description
A detailed analysis of the facts presented in the case description
A list of the issues emerging from the analysis
A broadly stated strategy for addressing the issues
A detailed action plan for implementing this strategy
This group should also prepare a report using the format that follows and submit hard copies along with appropriate attachments to on the date shown in the course schedule.

Download Format for Preparing Your Case Report

Glencoe's Initial Operating Budget and Assumptions to explore opportunities for reducing the budget by the amount provided above; then, modify these documents (budget, assumptions and schedule) in preparation for submission.

Be sure to check the Vehicle and Equipment Inventory List and Replacement Schedule for a clear understanding of the consequences of delaying capital expenses.