Mystic Monk Coffee Argumentative

Father Daniel Mary, is a prior of the Carmelite Order of monks in Clark, Wyoming, has a vision that he could transfer the small brotherhood of 13 monks living in a small used as makeshift rectory into a 500 acre monastery that would include accommodations for 30 monks, a gothic church, a convent for the nuns, a retreat centre for visitors, and a hermitage presented a formidable challenge (Turnipseed, p.c-2, 2010). His vision could not come true unless he could afford a new place and have enough money for it. He saw a ranch for sale and knew that, that would be the perfect place where his vision would come true. The current listing of this ranch was 8.9 million. The only money they had was a 250,000 donation to the Carmelites, and 75,000 that the monastery has earned from their first year of their mystic monk coffee-roasting operations, and with that, they need to purchaser a larger roaster because the other roaster reached its capacity. The new roaster will cost the monks 35,000. External Analysis

Strengths- Internal
* They have the Mystic Monk Coffee business so that gives them money inflow. * They do have some money flow/ donations to start buying the ranch. * Each brother has their own sets of skills so they do work throughout the day. * More than 69 million Americans were members of the Catholic Church. Weaknesses- Internal

* They do not have enough money to fully buy the ranch.
* They do not have advertising.
* The expenses are high.
* The monks have a non-continuous work schedule because every now and again they have to stop work to pray. This will drive them away from making the money they need to buy the ranch and the new roaster for their Mystic Monk Coffee business. * The Mystic Monk Coffee does not have enough customers so they do not make a lot of money. * Limited marketing targets.

Opportunities- External
* They Carmelites could possibly get more donations or anyone from outside the monastery could donate. * The Cody Business owners set up a New Mount Carmel foundation to help the monks raise money towards the ranch. Threats- External

* Someone else could buy the ranch before Father Daniel Mary does. * Lose money from buying the new roaster that will cost them $35,000. * Other coffee businesses such as, Starbucks, Seattle’s best, and Great Mountain Coffee Roasters, are overpowering the Mystic Monk Coffee business because they are so far away from society.

The Fish Bone analysis

Low Income
Low Income

Time
* Work schedule is not continuous because they have to pray.
* Spend 8 hours a day praying

Time
* Work schedule is not continuous because they have to pray.
* Spend 8 hours a day praying

High Expenses
* High operating cost for the business
* Old roaster may not work up to standards
* Expense cost is high
* Revenue is low

High Expenses
* High operating cost for the business
* Old roaster may not work up to standards
* Expense cost is high
* Revenue is low

Marketing
* Advertising is poor
* Target markets are limited
* Isolated from society
* Tight schedule everyday
Marketing
* Advertising is poor
* Target markets are limited
* Isolated from society
* Tight schedule everyday

Capacity
* Old roaster exceeds capacity
* They have to buy another/new roaster

Capacity
* Old roaster exceeds capacity
* They have to buy another/new roaster

Internal Analysis
Financial Strengths
* The Mystic Monk Coffee has more than 69 million consumers of this particular type of coffee and those are just the people who are members of the “coffee club”. They have more people who are around their community who will buy their coffee also so it is not just the people who order online. This will help them because they do have a lot of consumers buying their product and they are making an income. The monks have already made $75,000 from selling their coffee. * Other financial strengths they have are the Cody business owners who have formed a foundation for the monks to help them raise money for the New Mount Carmel, which is an extravagant opportunity for the monks to raise enough money. Speaking of donations, they also have the money from the Carmelites because they got a donation of $250,000. Financial Weaknesses

* They do most if not all their advertising on their website, which is (www.mysticmonkcoffee.com), so this makes it hard to advertise to other people who do not know where this location is or have never heard of it. If they would advertise to other places in the world and make it more popular they could get more income in. One way the monks could get more customers would be to put on the website that there is an open house, and that all the members of the “coffee club” can come and for them to bring family members and friends. These customers can experience the coffee and see how the monks make their coffee with their own eyes instead of ordering it on their website. This way they will bring in more people which then equal’s more money for the monks which then equal’s more money towards the New Mount Carmel foundation. * Other financial weaknesses they have are the roasters. The old roaster is exceeding its capacity and not working to the full efficiency to make the best coffee, so this means they will have to buy a new one. The new roaster will cost them approximately $35,000.This will lower their chances of getting the ranch as soon as they hoped but in order to get the ranch they need money and buying the new roaster will be a good opportunity to make the coffee with a more rich- fresh taste to it. Alternatives

The distinct options they have are;
* They could do nothing.
* Father Daniel Mary could put on an open house for the public.
* Advertise to the public.
* Do a certain kind of fundraiser.

Discussion of the alternatives
The first alternative I had was that they could do nothing. I put that down as an option because the monks can just keep on doing what their everyday tasks are and make the money that way. This particular option would be a longer much slower process of making that extra money for the New Mount Carmel but it would be there daily routine, what they like to do and basically what the know. The second alternative I had was putting on an open house. As you have read in the paragraph under financial weaknesses, I have talked about how they should put on an open house to the public and people who are around in their community. This will help in the long run because when the over 69 million people, who are already members of the “coffee club”, see that they are advertising an open house they will bring their friends and family and soon enough there will be billions of people there. They will be able to see how the monks live, what their lifestyle is and more importantly they will see what they went there for, and that’s the coffee. The consumers of this product will be able to see how the monks of Mystic Monk Coffee make their coffee. When buying products online the customers do not see what the place is all about all they care about is the coffee and ordering it online.

I do know that this option does have some negative affects because most people may not go the distance to just see them make the coffee or in a negative term, some people just will not care that much. It really all comes down to the people. I think it will be a half and half ratio but if the 69 million people cared enough to become a member of the “coffee club” than maybe they want to know what goes on behind the scenes or to just see a different culture and how they live and what they do. I believe this would be a great opportunity in many ways and not just for the monks, for the outsiders coming in to see what their culture does and how they work. The third alternative that I thought of was advertisement. The monks or even Father Daniel Mary should advertise more on their website to the public, like I have mentioned above about the open house.

I think that would be a great opportunity to promote the New Mount Carmel and tell the people that if they want to they can put a small donation into this fund so they can get the dream land they all want. On this advertisement they should tell the public a descriptive idea of what their vision is on the land and win the public’s heart over. They need to promote this everywhere like on the website, in their shop, in other communities around them and just everywhere they can find. If someone wants something so bad they will do whatever they can to get it and advertising is a start to get their dream ranch. Another alternative I thought of that would benefit them in the financial part would be to do different fundraisers. This would be a great idea but I am not familiar with their culture so I do not know what or how they could fundraise. Recommendation

I believe that the one alternative that would benefit the Monastery most would be option 2, the open house. This will value them most in the financial area because the customers will actually be at the Mystic Monk Coffee and they will see how the production works. Some investors may come across and see that they need money to buy this dream ranch and they may think it would be a good idea to invest into their company. I am not sure if the monks would agree to that but that could benefit them greatly. Many people from around the world would come and see this place and maybe they could get more customers coming in and buying their coffee which would help them gain more financial needs. When they do this open house they could tell the public of their situation and that’s where the investors may come in or just the people that went to the open house would be generous and give a small or large donation depending on the person. This would really benefit them in many areas and get them to their goal, of owning that piece of land that exceeds their vision perfectly, faster with efficiency and effectiveness.

Action Plan
The first thing they should do is with their money they got from donations and the money they already have from the coffee store, they should buy a new roaster. I think that is the most important thing to get right away because it is something they need to further their business. The coffee will also be much better and fresher because they will have the new roaster. Then, for a couple weeks to a month they should keep doing their daily routine and see how the coffee business is doing and just wait and see if they all have gathered a bit more money for the ranch plus anymore donations or anything like that. I think they should wait and see if they get more money donations etc., just to make a substantial amount of money of their own before they go to the next stage. If the business is not doing well or they are not making any more money or if it is the exact opposite and they are making money and the business is doing well, if either of these happen then they should definitely move on to the next step.

After they have waited, then they should start looking at what are the different ways we can raise money? I am not entirely sure what monks could do to fundraise the money but if they do than they could make a large amount of money just by fundraising. I believe they should fundraise for a month or a month and a half. That way Father Daniel Mary can raise a lot more money for his ranch. Then after this month or so they should consider and open house. This will guarantee more customers, more people who are not members of the” coffee club” and they can also raise money at this event. Many people from around the world may come to this open house and drink their coffee and there will be events or the visitors could just see how different their culture is to theirs. After the open house is done, because it will just be a one day thing, they should see where they are in the money department and then go from there onto either buying the dream ranch or working some more and trying different things to get more money.

Conclusion
I conclude that the Mystic Monk Coffee case study has a couple of problems but the one that stood out to me was Father Daniel Mary not having enough money to buy his vision of getting a ranch that is a 500 acre monastery that would include accommodations for 30 monks, a gothic church, a convent for the nuns, a retreat centre for visitors, and a hermitage presented a formidable challenge (Turnipseed, p.c-2, 2010). I think if Father Daniel Mary would try different ways to produce more money he would be able to raise enough to get his New Mont Carmel. A couple alternatives I have thought of that would benefit them would be to put on an open house so that way people from around the world can come and the monks could raise money that way very effectively. Another alternative would be to fundraise the money. These options are just 2 ideas I thought of out of many ways they can make money. The only way they can and will get there dream ranch is to do anything they can to make money, and that’s why an open house and fundraising stood out to me because they are excellent ways to raise money for new projects such as the New Mount Carmel.

References

Thompson, A. A., Peteraf, M. A., Gamble, J. E., & 3, A. S. (2010). Crafting and Executing Strategy: the quest for competitive advantage. United States of America: McGraw-Hill/ Irwin.