Scenario

Lawrence is a member of a small sailing club in his area. This year he has assumed responsibility for the club’s summer sailing instruction program, which provides the Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) Certification. The club believes the program is a good way to attract potential new members, whether adults who have purchased boats and want to learn to sail, or children who take up sailing and may potentially become members or encourage their parents to become members.

The sailing instruction program has always operated for 8 weeks during July and August.

Lawrence thinks that expanding the time frame to include shorter introduction sessions in third and fourth week of June would attract locals. Schools will allow students to attend for 2 or 3 days as a special end of year activity. These introductory sessions would also stimulate the interest of students in the community in the summer programs. Now Lawrence must hire instructors for 10 weeks of the summer. He has learned that instructor certification has varying levels. The club provides 8 weeks of summer instruction from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for participants age 8-19 years. Youth instruction is provided in 4 different two-week sessions for introductory levels of certification. The ratio of instructors to participants is 1:8. The club has enough equipment and classroom space to permit a maximum registration of 16 participants.

More senior instruction and higher certification is available in 2 month-long sessions. At this level instructor to participant ratios are 1:6. A maximum registration of 12 participants can be accommodated in terms of equipment and space. Instructors in this program must have the highest level of CYA Instructor certification.

Adult instruction is provided Monday evenings from 7:00p.m. –10:00 p.m. on Saturday mornings from 9:00 a.m. –12.00 p.m. Noon. For a 4-week period one instructor is required for a maximum of 10 participants.

Insurance provisions require the presence of someone on site who is in the capacity to supervise and monitor instructors and participants. It was decided that a Head Instructor should be appointed. It is up to Lawrence to make decisions about the format of these programs, which are so important to the viability of his sailing club financially, and to the attraction of new participants to the sport of sailing. He must decide how to organize this program to achieve these objectives for the organization, and how to plan the necessary equipment, space and human resources required.