MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF COMMERCE

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Name. Chapanda Kudakwashe Gracious

Registration Number. R0645087
Level. 4.2 (PDP)
Programme. Business Management

BM403 Assignment
Question. Identify four locations in Gweru where you can start a preschool. Give the
variables that you would consider in determining the most two ideal out of four
locations where you would locate two of these preschools on the basis of your
evaluation criteria.

Due date. 15 March 2010

 Factors to consider when choosing a location of a crèche.
Hashmi (2010) stated that, some preschool may run for one hour to two hours some run
for half a day and others through out the day. Some are for children below two years and
some for children between two and five years. For the purpose of this research I have
been dealing with a preschool that run through out the day for example from 8am up to
4pm and the children are of ages between two and five.

i. Availability of customers
First of all one must make sure that the location being chosen for the business has
customers. The customers here are small children. A preschool cannot be located in areas
where there are no children for example single quarters where only unmarried people live
(Kinsella 2008). The area might have high population density but without customers. The
preschool should be located near the customers and the more the children in an area the
more attractive the area to open a crèche.

ii. Availability of water.

According to Hashmi (2010), water is a very important resource for health purposes in
the operation of a preschool. Water is needed for many reasons which consist some of the
following: toilets, bathing, washing, and cooking. Toilets must always be clean because
small children catch diseases easily. Children like to play with dirty most of their time
and even when the area is paved the time that the children spent at the crèche makes it a
necessity for them to bath.

Sometimes children mercy up their clothes or blankets they use for midday rest, that
means those clothes or blankets need to be washed. Even when nothing has happened the
blankets must be smart always. Children must eat fresh food for health reasons so it is
best to cook fresh food for the children rather than relying on food that the children are
being given by their parents in the morning. Water may also be required for washing
fruits, hands, drinking and for cleaning purposes. Water is a very critical resource for the
crèche so it must be available in abundance.
iii. Availability of electricity
Hossein (2007), considered electricity as another factor to consider when locating a
preschool. Modern day preschools are different from the earlier ones in many aspects.
One aspect being that today preschools are meant to take care as well as educate the
children. In educating the children facilities like computers, televisions, video games and
radios are to be taken into consideration. Many children today prefer video games and
modern toys and others prefer to watch cartoons on television. A preschool must be
designed to create an entertaining environment for the children. In addition many parents
prefer to enroll their children on a preschool where they can be happy. Electricity can be
used for warming the rooms during cold seasons. So electricity is also to be considered
when locating a preschool.

iv. Closeness to parents

Kinsella (2008), pointed out that, the preschool must be located close to the parents of the
children. For example it can not be located at the outskirts of the city. The reason for this
is that in case of emergence the parent of a child may be needed. For example when the
child get sick and is to be sent to hospital. Parents must also come at some fixed times
like lunch hours to see their children, bringing them extra food and the like. The child
must always feel that his or her parent is close.

v. Availability of infrastructure
Infrastructure may mean the roads buildings and so on. Kinsella added that, the area in
which to locate a preschool must have a network of access roads for easy reach. The
roads must be good and properly maintained. This is because some parents who are well
up use cars to come with their children. Even those who do not have cars will prefer a
preschool which can be easily accessed. Buildings to rent is also another issue to
consider. The location may be good but if there are no buildings that might create a
barrier. The rentals of the buildings are to be taken into account as well. In areas where
rentals are high, our operational costs will increase forcing us to charge higher prices for
our customers. As a result the preschool might loose customers to those offering lower
charges.
vi. Competition
According to Hashmi, whenever entering into business one must look at the competition
in that industry. High competition means a low market share and as a result the business
might not be so profitable. Locating a preschool in an area where there are so many
players requires the new entry to have a competitive advantage so as to gain the market
share.

Using the above factors to choose location

Using the above factors I have tried to come up with the best location of a preschool from
4 locations, that is Senga, Nehosho, City Centre and Lundi park.

Key for the scale

1- not favorable
2- favorable
3- very favorable
4- most favorable

Table (a) Ratings for City Center

Factors to consider Weight How favorable
1 2 3 4
Availability of customers 29% 
Availability of water 24% 
Availability of electricity 19% 
Closeness to parents 14% 
Availability of infrastructure 9% 
Competition 5% 

City centre is 91% favorable. Available of water, electricity and customers makes it more
favorable than the other locations. Though there is some competition, that limiting factor
is covered by the advantages of this location.

Table (b) Ratings for Nehosho

 Factors to consider Weight How favorable
1 2 3 4
Availability of customers 29% 
Availability of water 24% 
Availability of electricity 19% 
Closeness to parents 14% 
Availability of infrastructure 9% 
Competition 5% 

Nehosho is 52% favorable. Most people in Nehosho are students who just come and go.
They don’t bring their children to school. Many people are building their houses in
Nehosho for business purpose and not to live there. The other limiting factor is water and
electricity problems in Nehosho.

Table (c) Ratings for Lundi Park

Factors to consider Weight How favorable
1 2 3 4
Availability of customers 29% 
Availability of water 24% 
Availability of electricity 19% 
Closeness to parents 14% 
Availability of infrastructure 9% 
Competition 5% 

Lundi Park is 78% favorable. Water and electricity problems are better in Lundi park as
compared to Senga and Nehosho. Most people in this area are permanent residents so the
customers are available. Competition is there but not so severe. It is better to locate a
preschool in Lundi park than in Senga and Nehosho.

Table (d) Ratings for Senga

Factors to consider Weight How favorable
1 2 3 4
Availability of customers 29% 
Availability of water 24% 
Availability of electricity 19% 
Closeness to parents 14% 
Availability of infrastructure 9% 
Competition 5% 

Senga is 51% favorable. Just like Nehosho, Senga area do not have many permanent
residents. For example if one is looking for a house to rent, he/she can not search in
Senga because the rentals are very high. This means most people in this area are students
who have no option as to accommodation.

Choice of location
From the above four locations I will choose City Centre as my first choice because it is
the most favorable location with a 95% favorable rate. What makes it the best location is
that:
i. There are no water problems in the city centre as compared to other locations like
Senga and Nehosho. Water, as stated by Hashmi (2010) is the most critical
resource needed for a crèche. Most areas in Senga and Nehosho are facing water
problems and people sometimes walk long distances looking for water
ii. Electricity as another important resource is also available in the city center. Senga
and Nehosho may receive electricity during the night and on weekends when the
children will be at home. Use of generators may increase the operational expenses
thereby resulting in charging of higher prices to customers.
iii. On the issue of customers I have based on the assumption that since nowadays
most women are working, they may come with the child to crèche as they will be
coming to work in town (to those who are working in town). This will also take
into account another factor of closeness to parents. Parents may visit their
children on lunch hours. This location will also mean that the parent will collect
his or her child as soon as he/she finishes work reducing the waiting time for the
children before collected.
iv. Customers are available from the working parents from different locations. There
are also people who live in town and those close to the city center such as railway
workers.
 v. Infrastructure is good in the City Center. No dust during dry season nor mud in
the wet season. Buildings that can be rented for this purpose are also available.

My next choice is Lundi Park. This is because the location do not have water nor
electricity problems which are major factors to be considered as stated by Kinsella when
locating a preschool. The area do have the necessary customers as compared to Senga
and Nehosho which are full of students. There are very few people in Senga and Nehosho
during the absence of students.

Justification for the selected locations

Opening a preschool is a business and not a non profit making organization. Every
business is done for some purposes that is the should be some objectives to enter into a
business. One of the main objectives of doing a business is to make profits. A preschool
as a business must be able to create profits for the owners. To make profits the business
must have a large market share and operate at lower costs. Its not all about reducing costs
but also providing quality services so as to attract more customers.

How can I operate at lower costs? The answer is one should be close to all the necessary
facilities. In the case of the preschool one need to be near electricity, water and
customers. My choice to locate in the City Center and Lundi park is also meant to reduce
costs of buying generators and drilling boreholes or buying water. On that issue there also
some buildings that one can rent instead of starting from scratch.

The second issue is quality. For an organization to produce quality goods or services it
must have all the required resources. Locating a preschool in area where there are water
problems means that the children will be at risk of diseases.

Reference
1. Hashmi K (2010), Nursery Facilities, retrieved from www.eicom.net
2. Hossein (2007), ST Johns Crèche, retrieved from www.stjohnsa.com
3. Kinsella J (2008), Preschools in City Centers, retrieved from www.kidsafe.com
4. www.nhmrc.gov.au
5. www.recsport.sa.gov.au