Mohammed Azizul Alom
1108889
BSS040-3
STRATEGY AND CREATIVITY
Marston Vale Trust
Assessment 1
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Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………….……….3
Roger Martin’s Cascade of Strategic Choices…………….………..3
Porter’s five forces………………………………………………………………4
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs……………………………………………..5
Competitor Map………………………………………………………………….5
Core promise?.........................................................................6
Summary of strategic issues………………………………….………….…6
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………6
References…….………………………………………………………………….…7
Appendix………………………………………………………..………………..….8
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Introduction
This report will set out to look at the various issues facing the charity organisation The
Forest of Marston Vale Trust through the use of various strategic frameworks. The Trust is
responsible for overseeing the financing, maintenance and expansion of the forest through
charitable donations, sponsorships and grants. In doing so, the aim is to find overlapping
problems with a strong focus on competitors and customer choices. These findings will be
aggregated at the end of the report.
Roger Martin’s Cascade of Strategic Choices
Roger Martin’s Cascade of Strategic Choices1 has been used to identify the overarching strategy of
The Forest and any strategic issues which may arise. It looks at a lot of structural factors which affect
strategy.
What is the winning aspiration?
Marston Vale’s Winning aspiration is highlighted in their mission statement, which is, “working in
partnership towards a long term vision of a varied countryside within a woodland framework of
everyone”. Their strategy is based on the Forest Plan (revised in 2000) and is to last until 20312. This
is a big-tent strategy, which tries to draw from a pool of as many customers as possible. The
statement conflates altruistic sustainability (which can be argued for the betterment for everyone)
with inclusive service, which means an undefined customer base. This strategy is based on the
When looking at the Charity’s objectives towards the public sphere, a clearer targeted aspiration
emerges. “The provision of public recreational and other facilities […] in the interests of education
and social welfare.”3 This is true to the Forest’s altruistic statement, but also clarifies the long-term
educational role of the Forest and its purpose use for leisure.
Where to play?
Geographically, Marston Vale is located on the fringes on the Bedfordshire towns of Bedford and
Kempston. Because the charity is restricted on the territory of the forest, it also restricts the
geographical market to which it can play its strategies. On a financial scale, the charity competes
with other free open-air attractions, this is because entrance to the park is free, with the exception
of small pockets such as Wetlands Nature Reserve. The park is also largely dependent on charitable
donations, volunteer staffing and sales of food and souvenirs from the Forest Centre, which is the
central node of the Forest organisation.
While aimed as a catch-all experience for a wide range of customers. It has been possible to identify
a key demographic which the park is aiming to attract – families4. This is evidenced by the wildlife
safari which is catered towards children and the activity sheets which are provided to customers.
Furthermore, the option to hire the venue for weddings and other occasions hints at a strategy to
attract groups of customers who already have some familiar bonds.
1
(Lafley and Martin, 2013)
(Marstonvale.org, 2016)
3
(Marstonvale.org, 2016)
4
(Marstonvale.org, 2016)
2
3
How will we win?
The lack of entry cost means Marston Vale has a competitive advantage over other open attractions
such as Whipsnade Zoo or Woburn Safari Park which average at around £60 for a family5. The
diversity of activities within the forest, which include the nature trail, picnic opportunities and
exploration of the forest itself allow the interest of the customer to be continually piqued.
Furthermore, the forest’s sheer size of 225 hectares means there is plenty of space for further
growth and diversification of the park6. Finally, the Forest Centre has the means of being able to be
renovated or expanded to provide indoor operations which may fulfil the educational criteria of the
business.
What capabilities must be in place?
The board of directors need to be able to direct funding in order for the Forest to create growth and
implement long term strategies, while a constant stream of investment would be needed to
maintain this. A centralised team would also need to manage the strategic implementation of the
Forest Plan. Finally, a system of checks and mechanisms would need to be in place which identify
strategic shortfalls and assess the success of what has been implemented.
Porter’s five forces
Supplier power
The supplier in the case of Marston Vale are the shareholders (trustees), sponsorships by big
business and the donations provided to the charity. The issue of supply power isn’t their ability to
drive up prices, but the volatility of being reliant on charitable donations. The lack of a range of
suppliers gives them huge bargaining powers (especially sponsors), which means autonomous
strategies which would favour the interests of the Forest would need to overlap with the interests of
the suppliers7. Furthermore, the ability to substitute the business model is rather limited as it is
reliant on selling the natural landscape of the forest.
Buyer Power
The forest relies on a range of customers and their donations. However, with the several buyers, it
reduces the buyer power of the customer of the Forest. In this instance, the buyer is similar to the
supplier because both investments and payments come largely from donations.
Competitive rivals
The park’s competitors offer similar natural trails and exploration of the outdoors. However, the
number of competitors are low, largely being restricted by the size and resources required to
provide a similar service.
Threat of substitution
The threat of substation is high because what the Forest offers is available in any natural or local
park. Having a natural trail slightly reduces this threat, but the lack of a significant USP strategy
greatly hinders any competitive advantage the business may have.
5
(Zoological Society of London (ZSL), 2016)
(Marstonvale.org, 2016)
7
(McMillan, 2010)
6
4
Threat of new entry
It decades decades-long strategy plans and millions of pounds in investment to start up an open
attraction like Marston Vale. Such a high barrier-to-entry significantly reduces the threat of new
entrants into the strategic market.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Marston Vale Forest attempts to be an all-encompassing service and seeks to fulfil a various range of
needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has been used to identify which ones are fulfilled8.
Basic needs
The Forest centre provides a retreat to eat, take shelter and relaxation from any strenuous activities.
The centre is also wheelchair accessible, providing ease of access for a greater variety of people.
There is a focus on outdoor activities which not only leaves the Forests donation revenue at the
whims of seasonal changes and weather patterns, but during periods of bad weather, means basic
needs of shelter may not be fulfilled.
Belongingness
The Forest encourages family bonding through the various activities hosted by the Centre.
Furthermore, the venue hire option for weddings and other occasions provides an opportunity for
socialisation of customers should they purchase that service. Marston Vale encourages a sense of
wonderment and exploration which has the potential to fulfil this need. The exploratory aspect of
the forest gives the customer a sense of achievement of understanding regarding nature and the
challenges which come with it.
Self-actualisation
This is a rather subjective need and requires a push into proactivity on the side of the customers.
The wood lacks a variety of creative activities which would be a precursor to fulfilling this need.
Because the Forest is focused on exploration, it makes the customer experience passive and reliant
on nature to fulfil them, making it rather arbitrary.
Competitor Map
A competitor map (Appendix A) was used to identify the standing of the Forest with other regional
attractions. Marston Vale fared well on both the low cost and range of activities axes compared to
other competitors. The forest has been able to find the right balance between the two factors.
Core promise?
Before going on to solutions, one needs to assess the core promise of the business towards
customers, which is educating and providing social welfare to the general public9. It can be argued
8
(Gawel, 1997)
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that this promise is fulfilled to an extent, but there is a shortfall in proactive educational measures
which could enhance the strategy of the parks.
Summary of strategic issues
Customer needs are currently met on the first “foundations” of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
However, for self-actualisation, which requires the stimulation of creativity, there is a clear lack of
needs for adults. Furthermore, the Forest itself is much centred around outdoor based activities
which are reliant on weather patterns and seasonal changes. The threat of substitution is also very
high because there is little differentiation between the outdoor part of the forest and other green
spaces. These are pressing strategic issues which need to be solved.
Furthermore, the financial aspect of the organisation would need to be reviewed and being overly
dependent on donations leads to unwanted buyer and supplier power. Furthermore, in order to stay
true to the core promise and ideology of the Forest, an education mechanism would need to be put
into place. This may have the dual function of both fulfilling the promise and diversification of the
forest to attract more customers.
Conclusion
While the list of strategic issues is not authoritative, it gives an insight into the problems which The
Marston Vale Forest Trust. However, while it can be considered that the decades-long Forest Plan is
a feat in itself, the Trust cannot rest on its laurels. In order to remain competitive and ensure a
constant revenue stream, it is extremely important that the different problems outlined are
attended to. If anything, further reviews would also need to be made even if changes are
implemented.
9
(Marstonvale.org, 2016)
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References
Gawel, J. (1997). Herzberg's Theory of Motivation and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.Eric/Ae
Digest. 1st ed. ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation.
Lafley, A. and Martin, R. (2013). Playing to win. 1st ed.
Marstonvale.org. (2016). The Forest of Marston Vale | The Forest of Marston Vale. [online]
Available at: http://marstonvale.org/ [Accessed 17 Nov. 2016].
Marstonvale.org. (2016). The Forest of Marston Vale | The Forest of Marston Vale. [online]
Available at: http://marstonvale.org/ [Accessed 17 Nov. 2016].
McMillan, C. (2010). Five competitive forces of effective leadership and innovation. Journal
of Business Strategy, 31(1), pp.11-22.
Zoological Society of London (ZSL). (2016). Entry costs. [online] Available at:
https://www.zsl.org/zsl-whipsnade-zoo/visitor-information/entry-costs [Accessed 17 Nov.
2016].
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Appendix
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