CASE STUDY

Slim Gyms
Background
SLIM GYMS owns and operates six health and leisure clubs in Manhattan. The clubs
appeal mainly to poem

mople aged 20-40. All the clubs have a gymnasium, with the latest equipment, an
aerobics studio, a swimming pool, sun decks, a café, bar and clubroom. Three of the
clubs are located in areas where large numbers of Spanish, Chinese and Italians live.
In recent months, Slim Gyms’ profits have fallen sharply. Many members have not
renewed their memberships and the club has been unable to attract a sufficient number
of new members. Slim Gyms recently advertised for a General Manager. His/her main
task is to boost sales at the clubs and increase profits.

General Manager required for our chain of Health and Leisure Clubs
- Salary negotiable
- Excellent benefits package
The job
- Developing a customer-oriented culture in the organization of the club.
- Increasing he revenue and profits of the company of the six clubs in
Manhattan.
- Exploiting new business opportunities
- Liaising with and motivating our team of managers and their staff
- Contributing to marketing plans and strategies
The person
- Dynamic, enthusiastic, flexible
- A strong interest in health and fitness
- A good track record in previous jobs
- The ability to work with people from different cultural backgrounds
- Outstanding communication skills
- A flair for new ideas and sound organizational skills

TASK
You are directors of Slim Gyms. Study the file cards on the four short-listed candidates
on the opposite page. Hold a meeting to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each
candidate for the job. Select the best candidate.
Name: Guido Passerelli Age: 52
Marital status: Married, with three children
Education: Bronx High School
Experience: Former American football player.
Ran a small business for several years finding
locations for film companies. Recently
organized ‘stunts’ for a major film company.
Outstanding achievement: ‘I was 5th in the
New York marathon when I was aged 34.’
Skills: Fluent Italian and Spanish. Speaks
English fairly well but with an Italian accent
and is sometimes hesitant.
Personality/appearance: Tall, handsome,
tanned. Very self-confident. Wore a designer
jacket and expensive designer tie at the
interview.
Comments: Many interesting ideas for
improving Slim Gyms’ profits. For example,
thinks members should get a 50% discount off
their subscription fee if they introduce a
friend. Wants Slim Gyms to aim at all age
groups. Believes his organizing ability is his
best quality. Expressed his points of view
forcefully, sometimes arguing heatedly with
the interviewer.
Name: Gloria Daniels Age: 36
Marital status: Married, with two children
Education: Diploma in Sports Management
(Massey Uni, New Zealand)
Experience: Worked for three years for a
chain of fitness centers. Joined Johnson
Associates, an organization promoting top
sports personalities. Has travelled all over the
world for the last ten years negotiating
Name: David Chen Age: 40
Marital status: Single
Education: Master’s degree in Business
Administration (Hong Kong Uni); Diploma in
Physical Education (New Uni of Hawaii)
Experience: Several jobs in various companies
before joining a large university as Sports
Administrator. Has organized many sports events
for the university.
Outstanding achievement: I have a black belt in
karate.’
Skills: Numerate, extensive knowledge of
computer programs. Fluent Chinese and English,
some Italian.
Personality/appearance: Dressed in a formal
dark suit but looked relaxed. Quiet, determined,
polite and diplomatic. Asked many questions
during the interview. Was rather shy if he didn’t
know the answer to a question.
Comments: Believes Slim Gyms should increase
its services, for example, offer classes in salsa
dancing, open a small boutique at each club
selling sports equipment, etc. It should
immediately cut cost by 10% in all areas of
business. Thinks his honesty is his best asset. Has
an interest in all Eastern contact sports: judo,
karate, aikido, etc.
Name: Martine Lemaire Age: 32
Marital Status: Divorced, with two children
Education: Degree in biology (Sorbonne, France);
Master degree in Dietetics (Yale Uni, US)
Experience: Worked for five years as a dietician
in a hospital. Had a year off work when her
health broke down because of stress. Join a
company selling health and skin care products.
For the last three years has been Assistant
contracts with sportspeople.
Outstanding achievement: ‘I negotiated a
successful deal with Hank Robbins, the
famous baseball player. We promote him
exclusively.
Skills: Has an elementary knowledge of
Spanish and Italian. Was good at all sports
when younger. Considered becoming a
professional tennis player.
Personality/appearance: Wore a very
expensive dress at the interview. Film star
looks. Charismatic, over-confident. ‘I like to
win at everything I do, and usually I success.
That’s why I’m so good at my present job.’
Comments: Thinks Slim Gyms should raise
more money by offering shares to wealthy
individuals. In her opinion, Slim Gyms should
immediately hire a firm of management
consultants to review all its activities. In the
interview she seemed to be very competitive.
Manager.
Outstanding achievement: ‘I am proud of raising
a family successfully while working full-time’
Skills: Fluent French, good Spanish. Speaks and
writes English fluently.
Personality/appearance: Well-dressed in
fashionable clothes. Dynamic and ambitious.
Sometimes assertive during the interview.
‘Nothing will stop me achieving my goals’
Comments: Her main idea for increasing profits:
spend a lot of money on multi-media advertising
and offer big discounts to new members.
Believes her strongest quality is her creativity. In
her leisure time, she runs a weekly aerobic class
and also manages a local baseball team at the
weekend.

Giang: As I see, everyone is present, so let’s get started. I have an

appoinment with a business partner in around 2 hours, so I’ll go straight to the
point. Well, detailed reports on the business performance of the six clubs as
well as the agenda of today's meeting were included in the meeting reminder
email, so I suppose that everyone has been well-informed of the situation.
SlimGym's profits have dropped precipitously in recent months. The reason
for this is that existing customers do not renew their memberships, and at the
same time we are unable to attract new members. Our facilities are
completely equipped with a wide range of functions and services, the
equipment is of the highest quality, and club location is not an issue, so the
key point here is management. To increase sales and profitability, we urgently
require a new General Manager for our club chain.
I'll go over the recruiting selection criteria briefly so that everyone is on the
same page, then you three will in turn introduce the applicants you found, and
we'll talk about how to pick the best one. Is it clear to you all?
The other 3: Yes
Giang: OK, as I previously stated, we need to fill the position of general
manager. This role comes with a lot of responsibilities, the most essential of
which is to increase revenue and profit for the organization as well as to open
up new business opportunities. Besides, the general manager must foster a
customer-focused culture within the club, communicate with and motivate our
team of managers and their staff, and contribute to marketing plans and
initiatives. To be considered for this role, the candidate must meet the
following criteria and possess the following traits. They must be energetic,
versatile, and have a passion for health and fitness, as well as creativity, good
organizational skills, and outstanding communication skills. Because three of
our six clubs are located in neighborhoods with a high concentration of
foreigners, especially Italian, Spanish, and Chinese, applicants must have
prior experience working with people from various cultural backgrounds. We'll
dig deeper into their records and the condition of their former positions to
assess the rest of their qualifications. The salary is negotiable, and we assure
that the benefits package will be quite appealing.
General Manager required for our chain of Health and Leisure Clubs
- Salary negotiable
- Excellent benefits package
The person
- Dynamic, enthusiastic, flexible
- A strong interest in health and fitness
- A good track record in previous jobs
- The ability to work with people from different cultural backgrounds
- Outstanding communication skills
- A flair for new ideas and sound organizational skills