Ocean Park the Case Involving the Hometown

Ocean Park

The case involving the hometown favorite, Ocean Park in Hong Kong, going up against a new competitor, Disneyland, represents a trend that has revolutionized the business world in the last few decades. Many locations around the world have had their existing businesses in all industries be challenge by newly introduced multinational corporations. The trend is nearly universal a crossed all industries. McDonalds will enter an international market and challenge the local restaurants; Wal-Mart may open a new superstore and go up against local retail establishments. The Ritz Carlton may open a new luxury hotel that competes with establishments that over a century old. All these represent some of the challenges that are found in the modern business environment.

While the local company may have a long track record of operating success as well as decades of experience with the local culture, multinational companies have access to quantities of scale as well as the advantage of standardization of business practices developed from the best practices generated from global operations. While in many cases the introduction of competition elevates the levels of innovation by both firms and the customer is the beneficiary in the end. Furthermore, in other cases one competitor will end up destroying the other. But neither competitor's fate is sealed. Wal-Mart serves as a classic example of both cases. Wal-Mart has had great success in China but failed miserably in Germany. This case will examine Ocean Park's new threat as Disneyland enters the local market.

Ocean Park's Local Monopoly

Ocean Park was officially opened for business in January of 1977 by the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Murray MacLehose. The operation was originally funded from the profits earned from the Hong Kong Jockey Club on land that was donated to the entrepreneur from the local government. Although the park didn't have any competition, it still operated in a manner that allowed it to win several awards, including The World's Seventh Most Popular Amusement Park and 33rd Most Visited Tourist Attractions in the World by Forbes. The organizations mission was to be a leader in the industry through their dedication to their guests' experiences. In 1987, Ocean Park's ownership was transferred from the Jockey Club to a non-profit operation. It is somewhat ironic that that 2005 represented on of Ocean Park's best years since it is also the year that Disneyland as officially opened in the market. It 2005 Ocean Park's revenues grew by twelve percent with revenues of over six hundred and eighty million.

Ocean Park's Situation

In the last quarter of 2005, Disneyland was opened with global reputation which preceded them based on the famous movies that permeated nearly all cultures. Disney's admission fees were much higher compared to Ocean Park, however the price was lowest in the world compared to other Disneyland's and new thrill rides that they offered were already attracting a lot of public attention. Disney's market niche was based on a world of wonder and fantasy while Ocean Park was more grounded in education and wildlife. Not only would the parks compete in terms of their attractions, the surrounding accommodations and hotels, and merchandising potential were also points of competitive rivalry. Ocean Parks has already begun a response to the increased competition by introducing a new roller coaster as well as an aquarium. However, given the pressure exerted on them from their new competitor it is reasonable to believe that these additions will not be the only things needed to remain competitive into the future.

Recommendations

The main advantage that Ocean Park will have over Disney is the fact that their tickets are a fraction of the price of their competitors. However, they will undoubtedly have to increase the levels of service that they offer to compete with Disney's refined methods of servicing customers. To achieve higher levels of customer service it is recommended that Ocean Park introduce a new human resource management (HMR) program. This will include training the additional staff as well as recruiting new talent with the additional skills to improve customer service. It is also reasonable to suspect that this could foster a culture of innovation.