"Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549
On January 15, 2009, shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport, US Airways Flight 1549 struck a flock of Canada geese. The geese were then sucked into the plane's twin engines, causing total engine failure and the loss of power. Case A of this three-part series recounts how over the following four minutes, Flight 1549's Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles grappled with a variety of extreme challenges. Not only did they have to keep the plane under control, but they also had to quickly decide whether they could make an emergency landing at a nearby airport - or find another alternative to get the plane down safely in one of the most crowded regions in the country. Cases B and C then describe how, after the plane landed in the cold waters of the Hudson River, emergency responders from many agencies and private organizations - converging on the scene without a prior action plan for this type of emergency - scrambled to both rescue passengers and crew and stabilize the aircraft as it began to move downstream. Case Number 1966
Authors :: Jennifer Weeks, Arnold Howitt, Dutch Leonard
Swot Analysis of ""Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549" written by Jennifer Weeks, Arnold Howitt, Dutch Leonard includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 1549 Plane facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Leadership, Organizational culture, Risk management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 1549 Plane, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 1549 Plane operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 1549 Plane
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of 1549 Plane
Strengths "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 1549 Plane in "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– 1549 Plane has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– 1549 Plane has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the 1549 Plane are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– 1549 Plane has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. 1549 Plane has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– 1549 Plane is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled 1549 Plane in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For 1549 Plane digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. 1549 Plane has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Ability to recruit top talent
– 1549 Plane is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– 1549 Plane has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled 1549 Plane to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of 1549 Plane in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– 1549 Plane has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of 1549 Plane
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that 1549 Plane does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled 1549 Plane to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped 1549 Plane to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, 1549 Plane has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. 1549 Plane even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of 1549 Plane supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left 1549 Plane vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract 1549 Plane 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of 1549 Plane is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. 1549 Plane needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help 1549 Plane to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549, it seems that the employees of 1549 Plane don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, 1549 Plane has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549, is just above the industry average. 1549 Plane needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jennifer Weeks, Arnold Howitt, Dutch Leonard suggests that, 1549 Plane is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549, in the dynamic environment 1549 Plane has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. 1549 Plane has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at 1549 Plane has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Opportunities "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 are -
Developing new processes and practices
– 1549 Plane can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, 1549 Plane is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, 1549 Plane can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. 1549 Plane can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. 1549 Plane can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, 1549 Plane can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that 1549 Plane operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help 1549 Plane to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 1549 Plane in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at 1549 Plane can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help 1549 Plane to increase its market reach. 1549 Plane will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. 1549 Plane can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects 1549 Plane can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for 1549 Plane in the consumer business. Now 1549 Plane can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– 1549 Plane has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Threats "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 are -
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of 1549 Plane business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of 1549 Plane
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of 1549 Plane.
Consumer confidence and its impact on 1549 Plane demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– 1549 Plane high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. 1549 Plane can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549, 1549 Plane may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– 1549 Plane has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, 1549 Plane needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– 1549 Plane can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for 1549 Plane in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that 1549 Plane is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for 1549 Plane in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of "Miracle on the Hudson" (A): Landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that 1549 Plane needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
