Chapter 22: Making Decisions about Program Services Flashcards
program life cycle
final step in the program development cycle
what will be done with the program?
disposition decision of the program life cycle
- operate the program with no changes
- modify the program
- terminate the program
program life cycle graph
program desing -> intro -> growth -> maturity -> decline
introduction
there is a considerable amount of effort needed to introduce and successfully launch a new program
3 factors lead to successful new services:
- thorough market research
- well planned implementation
- continual monitoring and ongoing support of the new service
customer decisions during introduction
must acquire knowledge about new program
must be persuaded to participate
makes decision about accepting program or rejecting program
decides whether they will continue or stop participating
during the growth phase
the number of patrons participating grows most rapidly
during growth how to deal with excess demand for a program can be
problematic
in growth, the agency must anticipate
potential demand and be prepared to meet it
during growth phase the major task programmers face it to
make certain that sufficient service is available to meet the demand
in growth phase for a public agency there is a
political pressure to meet all the demand
the inability to meet the demand of the growth phase can
erode the credibility of an agency in the eyes of its consumer public
maturation phase
program growth slow as does the rate of increases in new patrons
usually target stage for most programs
in maturation enrollment is almost
entirely repeat business
important to take care of existing clientele
decline phase
characterized by failing enrollments
once a program begins the decline stage, the programmer will need to
decide whether to try to revitalize the program or allow it to die
continuing weak programs is
very costly to the organization
during decline there are 4 strategies for maintaining enrollments:
- market leadership
- market challenge
- market follower
- market targeting
market leadership
take leadership in program innovation
try to maintain agency’s position as best provider of this service
market challenge
challenge the market leader through price discounts, program innovation, improved service or better distribution
market follower
duplicating the market leader
keep prices low and quality high
market targeting
identify a unique segment of the market that can be serviced without threatening the larger suppliers
