Case Study 1: Oxford Sands Fish Farm (OSFF)
Oxford Sands Fish Farm is a new business enterprise near Tillsonberg, Ontario in Canada. The business
grows Tilapia fish for sale (fresh!) for consumers in the city of Toronto.
The business model (how it works) illustrates two of the six Big Ideas of the business management
course (Change and Innovation) AND it also provides a context for the idea of “value-added” processes
and “sectoral change”.
The Learning Outcomes (LO) for the first week of lessons:
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Define businesses as combining human, physical and financial resources to create goods and
services using Oxford Sands Fish Farm as a relevant example
Describe the various business functions (HR, finance and accounts, marketing and operations) as
they apply to OSFF
Explain the nature of business activity in different sectors: primary, secondary and tertiary and
explain which sector best describes the sector in which OSFF competes
Analyse the impact of sectoral change on business activity in the sector
Explain the concept of value-added and how entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs add value to
organizations
Explain the reasons for starting a business using OSFF as an example
What are the steps in the process of starting a business?
Identify problems that a new business might face.
Explain the elements of a business plan
Week 1 Tasks (Note that we will come back to look at businesses such as Oxford Sands Fish Farm
repeatedly as we move through the course content)
Watch the video and answer the following questions related to our first topic:
1. Identify and categorize the resources used by Oxford Fish Farms.
2. What roles would each of the following business functions perform for the firm: human
resources, finance and accounts, marketing and operations? (Explain what each would do for
the business).
3. What industry does OSFF work in? What industry does OFSS serve primarily? (Explain why you
think OFSS fits the industry)
4. Identify some changes that are occurring in OSFF’s industry.
5. Would you describe the owners as entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs? Can you see any evidence of
intrapreneurship (employees adding value by innovation)?
6. What was the owner’s motivation for starting OSFF? Why might the government have
contributed funding for this firm?
7. Is the business profitable? What might be keeping them from being profitable? (Explain two
problems they might be facing – some are mentioned but you can use your business intuition
too.
Case study (analysis and discussion of OSFF case)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AnLe36-Ftk
Extension activity.
The Asian Carp is a fish that has invaded many North American waterways. (Species invasion is a
problem associated with globalization.) Many fish farmers have discovered that the Asian Carp has a
pleasing taste and are making an effort to develop commercial markets for the species.
If you can’t beat it, cook it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHkM1LQosFs
How might a fish farmer use social media to go about the task of popularizing this fish?