Boyne Mt. Video Case Study

Running head: VIDEO CASE STUDY 3.4

Boyne Mt. Video Case Study

Christopher T. Wilson

A Paper

Submitted to ERAU Worldwide

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the class of

MGMT 665

Abstract

Boyne USA has expanded over the last 5 decades to become the largest 4 season resort in the U.S.  Starting with Everett Kircher as founder and president, the organization has grown from a small vertical structure to a vast division matrix structured organization that specializes in 4 season resort entertainment to include real state, golf, Ski, and water park amusement to name but a few.  Their ability to be flexible and adaptable as an organization to the rapidly changing environment has been crucial to current and future success.

Boyne Mt. Video Case Study

Boyne USA is a leading resort with an East and West division, each specializing in their own unique mix of resort type amenities.  Starting 1947, the organization operated under a very mechanistic design, with a vertical structure and a top down control system.  All decision where made by the owner / operator.  As the company quickly grew, strategic decision making authority was delegated down to the General Manager level, making the organization more decentralized and adaptable to the changing environment.  As the company grew in the early 90’s, a divisional construct was adopted to allow the two geographic business sectors to operate more independently and therefore become more specialized to their customers. Then in 2004, the company organization evolved yet again to a matrix organization that brought General Managers and Vice Presidents together within each of the two business sectors (East and West).  Boyne USA’s ability to adapt to the changing environment enabled them to increase revenue from $40 Million in 1990 to over $200 Million in 2005, making them the largest privately owned four season resort in the U.S. (RMI, 2007).

Impact Climate Has on Boyne USA's Organizational Structure

Boyne has had to adapt its organizational structure over the year’s based on growth and environmental changes.  Due to uncertain climate and snow fall, Boyne East operations has had to adopt alternate strategies that allowed for managers to adopt plans on short notice and to enable the increase of revenue.  This was made possible by incorporating the “Mayor” concept that brought together the General Managers and the Vice Presidents enabling each specialty market to be competitive in its own business category.  This helped them to become a leader in cutting edge snow making technology and to incorporate the addition of Avalanche bay (an indoor water park that has increased sales revenue for the year round market) into the divisions business (RMI, 2007).

Boyne USA's Organization Structure Over the Years

Boyne USA started as Boyne Mountain in 1947 by Everett Kircher. With a small ski area and only one primary focus, the company had a very vertical organizational structure.  With all top down direction coming from the top (centralized command), Mr. Kircher was the owner, president, and operator.  All decision came from his direction and control of the company.  As the organization grew, authority was moved to lower levels to General Managers through a decentralization of the organization.  As the 1990’s brought even faster growth, the company had to become even more decentralized with the establishment of two major divisions in 1992 (Boyne East and Boyne West). Each division operates as its own business, focusing on its own specialty market (RMI, 2007).