The Lakeshore

Case overview:

The Lakeshore restaurant is located in a beautiful setting near the lake in the city of Elizabeth. A non-profit corporation called Youth Help set up the restaurant. Youth help was a non-profit agency, which was created to provide social, educational, recreational, and employment opportunities to youth people in Elizabeth. In 1978, The Youth Help decided to become involved in job-creation project; they provided casual employment opportunities to inner city youth. They succeeded with the Bike Work project, a bicycle rental business in 1984.

Due to native youth's difficult life; the high suicide rate, high violent, single parents, low education and high unemployment rate. There was a need for such a program. The restaurant program was successful in helping the native youth to reduce crime rates, teach and train them some life skills. However, since they are a non-profit corporation, the management of the business has had lots of problems, and their financial problems; this program need find a way to continue.

In 1988, there was a fire destroyed the kitchen of the Lakeshore restaurant. The Lakeshore had to halt their operation. Then the problem for the directors is whether they should reopen the restaurant or not.

1. Problem Statement

Despite the question of whether they will reopen the restaurant or not. The program was already had some problems.

One of the problems is the funding difficulty. Government was cutting the funding after time, and the funding from other organization also was declining.

Another problem is their management problem; there is a lack of communication within the inner board. Their record was not clear, the accounting system was a mass, lacked the internal checks and balances, and the high turnover rate.

2. Analysis (swot)

Strengths:

- A great program in terms of good idea with helping the native young people.

- Special program that is focus on native youth ability training and willing.

- This program has a good reputation to gain more

- The restaurant is located in beautiful park and good facilities with no competition.

Weakness:

- Has poor communication and reports to board

- Spending too much on teachers and supervisors

- There is a lot of debt that cannot be paid for out of operational revenues.

- Not enough funding benefits go directly to the students themselves.

Opportunities:

- The park is an attractive and desired site for many activities.

- Success will help foster even more programs

- External support has interested to this program.

- Changing social patterns and demographics of an ever-increasing native population.

Threats:

- Always a threat for losing funding from government sources.