The case study The case time setting is the year 2007.

Sufficient internal and external data are provided to enable students to evaluate current strategies and recommend a three-year strategic plan for the church. The church is located in Hartsville, South Carolina. B. Vision Statement (proposed) Wesley is commuted to becoming the most popular church offering the best Christian message available in the Hartsville area. C. Mission Statement (actual) Wesley Church shall be a spiritual center for community life through Christian, social, health, and service ministries (proposed) Established in 1903, the mission of Wesley Church is to serve as a spiritual center for community life in downtown Hartsville (3) (7) (8). We strive to serve the people of Hartsville (1) by developing social, service, and educational ministries (2) that are technologically progressive (4) and in keeping with the ministries of the global United Methodist Church (6). The administration of Wesley Church also works to provide a positive and secure (5) atmosphere for employees and volunteers to serve Wesley Church and the Hartsville Community (9). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Customer Products or services Markets Technology Concern for survival, profitability, growth Philosophy Self-concept Concern for public image Concern for employees 144 Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall D. External Audit Opportunities Substantial increased development on 4th Street. 2. 53 percent of SC population has no affiliation with a church. 3. Hartsville population has an 11 percent annual turnover rate. 4. Hartsville population growing at approximately 1 percent a year. 5. United Methodist Church (UMC) advertising has created 27 percent increase in awareness of Methodism. 6. 28 percent of Americans over age 16 volunteer. 7. 55 percent of Americans have Internet access in their homes. 8. Success of neighboring St. Luke UMC & other UMCs. 9. Approximately 20 percent of downtown Hartsville residents at or near poverty level 10. Hartsville downtown development continues to increase. 1. Threats 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Non religious population growing at a rate near 10 percent annually. Hartsville Methodist population shrinking by approximately 1 percent a year. Methodist population nationally shrinking by 0.20 percent annually. Other denominations have stronger emphasis on evangelism. Large congregations in Hartsville area. Several Hartsville churches have private church school programs. Rate of charitable giving is increasing below rate of inflation Methodist apportionments increase cost to local UMCs. Christian population growing at the rate of population growth. CPM Competitive Profile Matrix Critical Success Factors Market Share Public Visibility Financial Position Children/Youth Programs Missions Total Weight 0.25 0.20 0.10 0.25 0.20 1.00 Wesley Rating Weighted Score 2 0.50 4 0.80 1 0.10 2 0.50 3 0.60 2.50 St. Luke Rating Weighted Score 3 0.75 1 0.20 4 0.40 4 1.00 2 0.40 2.75 External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix Key External Factors Opportunities 1. Substantial increased development on 4th Street. 2. 53 percent of SC population has no affiliation with a church. Weight 0.06 0.07 Rating 3 1 Weighted Score 0.18 0.07 145 Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3. Hartsville population has a 11 percent annual turnover rate. 4. Hartsville population growing at approximately 1 percent a year. 5. United Methodist Church (UMC) advertising has created 27 percent increase in awareness of Methodism. 6. 28 percent of Americans over age 16 volunteer. 7. 55 percent of Americans have

Internet access in their homes. 8. Success of neighboring St. Luke UMC & other UMCs. 9. Approximately 20 percent of downtown Hartsville residents at or near poverty level 10. Hartsville downtown development continues to increase. Threats a. Non religious population growing at a rate near 10 percent annually. 2. Hartsville Methodist population shrinking by approximately 1 percent a year. 3. Methodist population nationally shrinking by 0.20 percent annually. 4. Other denominations have stronger emphasis on evangelism. 5. Large congregations in Hartsville area. 6. Several Hartsville churches have private church school programs. 7. Rate of charitable giving is increasing below rate of inflation 8. Methodist apportionments increase cost to local UMCs. 9. Christian population growing at the rate of population growth. TOTAL 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.08 0.05 0.04 0.07 0.03 0.05 0.07 0.06 0.05 1.00 2 2 1 2 1 2 3 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 1 0.10 0.08 0.05 0.08 0.06 0.08 0.15 0.12 0.08 0.05 0.04 0.14 0.06 0.10 0.21 0.18 0.05 1.88 E. Internal Audit Strengths 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Staff consists mostly of college graduates. Work well with the Hartsville Soup Kitchen mission. Community leaders are members of the congregation. Culturally diverse congregation. Extensive activities and events for seniors Extensive activities and events for children/youth. Issue a detailed weekly newsletter. Visibility and central location of physical structures. 9. Physical structures are visually appealing. Weaknesses Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 146 1. Limited activities for families and young adults. 2. Employees and volunteers lack knowledge of organizational structure. 3. Questionable financial position. 4. Aging congregation. 5. Lack the variety and worship times that competing churches offer. 6. Poor advertising, marketing and public relations. 7. Limited parking. 8. Limited ethnic diversity. 9. Communication failures between church leadership & congregation. 10. Physical location of church buildings in non residential area. Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix Key Internal Factors Strengths 1. Staff consists mostly of college graduates. 2. Work well with the Hartsville Soup Kitchen mission. 3. Community leaders are members of the congregation. 4. Culturally diverse congregation. 5. Extensive activities and events for seniors 6. Extensive activities and events for children/youth. 7. Issue a detailed weekly newsletter. 8. Visibility and central location of physical structures. 9. Physical structures are visually appealing. Weaknesses 1. Limited activities for families and young adults. 2. Employees and volunteers lack knowledge of organizational structure. 3. Questionable financial position. 4. Aging congregation. 5. Lack the variety and worship times that competing churches offer. 6. Poor advertising, and marketing public relations. 7. Limited parking. 8. Limited ethnic diversity. 9. Communication failures between church leadership & congregation. 10. Physical location of church buildings in non residential area. TOTAL Weight Rating Weighted Score 0.24 0.32 0.12 0.09 0.24 0.27 0.12 0.20 0.16 0.18 0.06 0.06 0.08 0.06 0.05 0.06 0.08 0.05 0.06 2.50 0.06 0.08 0.04 0.03 0.06 0.09 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.09 0.06 0.06 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.06 0.04 0.05 0.03 1.00 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 4 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 F. SWOT Strategies 147 Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall SO Strategies 1. Publish weekly newsletter via email and website (S7, O3, O4, O5, O7). 2. Improve signs on 4th Street side of building and update regularly. (S8, S9, O1) 3. Place sign on Sunday school building, association mission with Wesley (S2, O1, O9) 4. Advertise Sunday school need for volunteers

and donations (S2, O3, O4, O6, O9) 5. Publish member profiles in newsletter (S4, O3, O4, O7) 6. Form joint education and mission ventures with St. Luke and other UMCs (S1, S6, O8) 7. Formulate educational ministries geared toward Sunday school members (S1, S2, O8, O9) 8. Offer use of facilities to outside organizations for meeting space (S8, S9, O1, O2, O3, O4, O10) WO Strategies 1. Increase advertising of church activities (W5, O1, O2, O3, O4, O7) 2. Rent facilities to outside organizations for meeting space (W3, O1, O10) 3. Form joint ventures with other UMCs to build activities for age groups where Wesley is less affective. (W1, O8). 4. Target Sunday school customers with educational service ministries (W8, O9, O2) 5. Formulate programs for families, young adults that take place outside traditional Sunday morning worship service. (W1, W5, W8, O1, O2, O3, O5, O9) 6. Remove old youth wing from Sunday school building, utilize space for parking. (W7, O10) ST Strategies 1. Increase non Sunday morning education ministries. (S1, T1) 2. Advertise activities for seniors, children, and youth. (S4, S5, T1, T2, T4, T5, T6, T9) WT Strategies 1. Start a for profit daycare/childcare program (W3, W4, W8, T1, T6, T7, T8, T9) G. SPACE Matrix 148 Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Conservative FS 6 5 4 3 2 1 Aggressive CA -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 1 2 3 4 5 6 IS Defensive ES Competitive FS = 2 CA = -4 ES = -4 IS = 5 x-axis: 4.0 + 5.0 = 1.0 yaxis: 2.0 + -4.0 = -2.0 H. Grand Strategy Matrix 149 Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Rapid Market Growth Quadrant II Quadrant I Weak Competitive Position Strong Competitive Position Quadrant III Slow Market Growth Quadrant IV I. The Internal-External (IE) Matrix 150 Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall The IFE Total Weighted Score Strong 3.0 to 4.0 I Average 2.0 to 2.99 II Weak 1.0 to 1.99 III High 3.0 to 3.99 Medium The EFE Total 2.0 to 2.99 Weighted Score IV V VI Low 1.0 to 1.99 VII VIII IX Wesley Harvest and Divest J. QSPM Improve Internal/ External Communications AS TAS 3 0.18 4 2 2 3 3 0.32 0.08 0.06 0.18 0.27 Operate Facilities On a For-Profit Basis AS TAS 1 0.06 1 3 1 2 2 151 0.08 0.12 0.03 0.12 0.18 Strategic Alternatives Key Internal Factors Strengths 1. Staff consists mostly of college graduates. 2. Work well with the Hartsville Soup Kitchen mission. 3. Community leaders are members of the congregation. 4. Culturally diverse congregation. 5. Extensive activities and events for seniors 6. Extensive activities and events for children/youth. Weight 0.06 0.08 0.04 0.03 0.06 0.09 Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7. 8. Issue a detailed weekly newsletter. Visibility and central location of physical structures. 9. Physical structures are visually appealing. Weaknesses 1. Limited activities for families and young adults. 2. Employees and volunteers lack knowledge of organizational structure. 3. Questionable financial position. 4. Aging congregation. 5. Lack the variety and worship times that competing churches offer. 6. Poor advertising, marketing and public relations. 7. Limited parking. 8. Limited ethnic diversity. 9. Communication failures between church leadership & congregation. 10. Physical location of church buildings in non residential area. SUBTOTAL 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.09 0.06 0.06 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.06 0.04 0.05 0.03 1.00 3 1 1 2 4 2 ----4 --2 4 1 0.12 0.05 0.04 0.18 0.24 0.12 ----0.20 --0.08 0.20 0.03 2.35 2 4 4 1 1 4 ----2 --1 1 4 0.08 0.20 0.16 0.09 0.06 0.24 ----0.10 --0.04 0.05 0.12 1.73 Key External Factors Opportunities 1. Substantial increased development on 4th Street. 2. 53 percent of SC population

has no affiliation with a church. 3. Hartsville population has a 11 percent annual turnover rate. 4. Hartsville population growing at approximately 1 percent a year. 5. United Methodist Church (UMC) advertising has created 27 percent increase in awareness of Methodism. 6. 28 percent of Americans over age 16 volunteer. 7. 55 percent of Americans have Internet access in their homes. 8. Success of neighboring St. Luke UMC & other UMCs. 9. Approximately 20 percent of downtown Hartsville residents at or near poverty level 10. Hartsville downtown development continues to increase. Threats a. Non religious population growing at a rate near 10 percent annually. 2. Hartsville Methodist population shrinking by approximately 1 percent a year. 3. Methodist population nationally shrinking by 0.20 percent annually. 4. Other denominations have stronger emphasis on evangelism. 5. Large congregations in Hartsville area. Weight 0.06 0.07 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.08 0.05 0.04 0.07 0.03 Improve Internal/ External Communications AS TAS 1 0.06 4 4 4 4 4 4 --3 2 3 4 2 4 3 0.28 0.20 0.16 0.20 0.16 0.24 --0.15 0.08 0.24 0.20 0.08 0.28 0.09 Operate Facilities On a For-Profit Basis AS TAS 3 0.18 1 2 2 2 1 1 --1 4 1 1 1 1 1 152 0.07 0.10 0.08 0.10 0.04 0.06 --0.05 0.16 0.08 0.05 0.04 0.07 0.03 Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 6. Several Hartsville churches have private church school programs. 7. Rate of charitable giving is increasing below rate of inflation 8. Methodist apportionments increase cost to local UMCs. 9. Christian population growing at the rate of population growth. SUBTOTAL SUM TOTAL ATTRACTIVENESS SCORE 0.05 0.07 0.06 0.05 1 2 2 3 0.05 0.14 0.12 0.15 2.88 5.23 4 4 4 4 0.20 0.28 0.24 0.20 2.03 3.76 K. Recommendations The QSPM strategies assessed improving communications compared to offering a for-profit daycare and other facilities. It is recommended that Wesley improve communications including advertising to get their name and service out to the surrounding areas. Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 153