Case Description and Identification of Main Problems

Sackville, strategically located in the south-eastern corner of New Brunswick, bordering Nova Scotia in
Canada, was inundated with massive marshlands that encouraged agriculture and provided a natural
habitat for bird species like Waterfowl and Ducks. Historically, the town has a couple of manufacturing
companies that helped its economy thrive. However, most of these companies eventually collapsed and
there was an opportunity to shift from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy,
tapping into the high potential of the land for sustaining and exploring ecotourism. (Fullerton, 1995).

In came, the initiative by the local government, in partnership with other relevant stakeholders to build
the Sackville Waterfowl Park, a 55-acre marshland that will eventually become host to an annual event
themed the Atlantic Waterfowl Celebration (AWC). This celebration was characterized by diverse events
such as arts, culture, environmental awareness, and various competitions. (Fullerton, 1995).

Having been incorporated as a non-profit organization, AWC will be governed by a board of directors
elected from various interest organizations in Sackville and several committees made up of volunteers to
cater to organizational aspects such as finance, marketing, sales, logistics, etc. (Fullerton, 1995).
However, organizing this annual event wouldn’t come without its challenges, as outlined in the next
paragraphs.

Over the years, funding for the AWC event had gradually become tough. The committees depended on
governmental donations and grants to be able to carry out advertising, logistics, etc. They also
diversified their funding activities, targeting corporate organizations. In 1994, however, this initiative
yielded unpromising results, and the budgeted funding was well below that of previous years. The
organization had also run into debt to the tune of around $31,000 in 1993. (Fullerton, 1995).

Another problem that led to the failure of the 1994 event can be attributed to committee-level planning.
It is observed from the case description that, most of the committees that were set up from the
beginning started crumbling, executive committee members/volunteers were resigning, and there was
hardly any consistent meeting between members of the few committees that were functioning.
(Fullerton, 1995).

Moreover, bad patronage for the 1994 event could also be traced to bad advertising. The quality of
posters that were printed as compared to the 1993 event was very low. The overall marketing program
was nothing to write home about, and the public had a negative view bout the credibility and reputation
of the AWC organization. (Fullerton, 1995)

The quest to increase revenue from the event, leading to a decision to hike ticket prices resulted in low
patronage, and failure to meet revenue goals in the long run. (Fullerton, 1995).

Most events and competitions for the 1994 AWCwere canceled at the last hour, even though tickets
were sold for the same. (Fullerton, 1995)

The future of AWC will further be ridiculed by the decision of the local council to reduce its funding,
against the backdrop of accumulated debts that were pending settlement. (Fullerton, 1995)

Diagnosing the Causes of the Problems

As a non-profit organization, AWC depended solely on donations, grants, etc for their funding. As a
common trait of non-profits, thriving without commercial activity to generate revenue can be
challenging (Ibrisevic, 2022), hence the attendant cash-flow and funding issues faced by the AWC
organization over the years. AWC was not permitted to register as a charity since its activities were
mainly in the tourist sector, which is an unrelated business activity as far as charitable organizations are
concerned (Government of Canada, n.d), and it could generate some revenue from activities such as
selling tickets and souvenirs. (Fullerton, 1995).

Organizations, including non-profits, should have a mission, which is properly communicated and
assimilated by all parties. When this is done, together with sharing of values, vision, and objectives, all
employees(committee members) will be in tune with the goals and will be motivated to get on
board(Ibrisevic, 2022). Thus, attrition rates will be low and a sense of belonging and commitment to the
project/mission will ensue among team members. AWC members began resigning possibly because the
shared vision/mission was not well articulated, especially as it is a non-profit organization.

Perhaps, if there was clear communication on the key responsibilities of each committee leader from
scratch (Jessen, 2010), leaders would not have been hesitant to organize frequent meetings to digress
issues with AWC. AWC should have been seen from a project management perspective.

Solutions, Strategies, Recommendations, and Actions

Looking at the organizational structure of AWC, executive committee members were drawn from
diverse interest groups specializing in diverse areas of tourism. This could have culminated in a
functional group of professionals and experts, with fewer volunteers to create a horizontal/flat
organization that would promote effective communication of vision, mission, strategies, and objectives
(Laegaard & Bindslev, 2006), to properly execute the AWC event.

References

Fullerton, G.L. (1995). Atlantic waterfowl celebration. Acadia Institute of Case Studies. Acadia
University. School of Business Administration.

Government of Canada(n.d). Checklists for Charities. Basic Guidelines. Retrieved from

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/charities-giving/charities/checklists-charities/
basic-guidelines.html

Ibrisevic, I. (2020, May 20). 7 Key Characteristics of Successful Nonprofit Organizations. Retrieved from
https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/characteristics-of-a-successful-nonprofit

Jessen, S.A. (2010). Project leadership -- Step by step: Part I. Bookboon.com

Laegaard, J. & Bindslev, M. (2006). Organizational Theory. Bookboon.com