CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES
Well aware of your experience and keen intuition, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of XYZ Airlines, James Sanchez, is asking for your help. The airline is loss-making, has a record of poor customer service, and is the result of an undigested merger several years ago. Sanchez took over as chief executive of XYZ Airlines a month ago. Well-known for his almost single-minded focus on customer service, he wants to create a service culture in the airline while continuing to cut costs. He is asking for your help to decide what he should do to create this culture change and to estimate how long it will take to succeed. Learning objectives: Participants are challenged to think about the critical success factors for changing the culture of an organization.
Swot Analysis of "CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES" written by John Weeks includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Xyz Sanchez facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Xyz Sanchez, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Xyz Sanchez 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 CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Xyz Sanchez
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 Xyz Sanchez
Strengths CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Xyz Sanchez in CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Xyz Sanchez 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 CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Xyz Sanchez is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Xyz Sanchez is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Xyz Sanchez 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 CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Xyz Sanchez in the sector have low bargaining power. CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Xyz Sanchez to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Xyz Sanchez has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES 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.
Analytics focus
– Xyz Sanchez is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by John Weeks can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Innovation driven organization
– Xyz Sanchez is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Xyz Sanchez to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Xyz Sanchez to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Xyz Sanchez is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Xyz Sanchez 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Xyz Sanchez 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 Xyz Sanchez in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Xyz Sanchez is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES, it seems that the employees of Xyz Sanchez 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES HBR case study mentions - Xyz Sanchez takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Lack of clear differentiation of Xyz Sanchez products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Xyz Sanchez needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Xyz Sanchez is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Xyz Sanchez 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. Xyz Sanchez 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES 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 Xyz Sanchez 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Xyz Sanchez 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Xyz Sanchez is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Xyz Sanchez has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Xyz Sanchez is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Xyz Sanchez needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Xyz Sanchez to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, John Weeks suggests that, Xyz Sanchez 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.
Opportunities CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES | 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 CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES are -
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 Xyz Sanchez 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Xyz Sanchez to increase its market reach. Xyz Sanchez 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Xyz Sanchez has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Xyz Sanchez to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES case study. Xyz Sanchez can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Xyz Sanchez 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Xyz Sanchez 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Xyz Sanchez can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Xyz Sanchez can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
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. Xyz Sanchez can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Xyz Sanchez can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
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 Xyz Sanchez in the consumer business. Now Xyz Sanchez can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Xyz Sanchez 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Xyz Sanchez to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Xyz Sanchez can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES are -
Increasing wage structure of Xyz Sanchez
– 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 Xyz Sanchez.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Xyz Sanchez 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.
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 Xyz Sanchez in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Xyz Sanchez 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Xyz Sanchez with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Xyz Sanchez needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Xyz Sanchez is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Xyz Sanchez 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.
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. Xyz Sanchez can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Xyz Sanchez has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Xyz Sanchez 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Xyz Sanchez 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.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Xyz Sanchez will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES 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 CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES 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 CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES 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 CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES 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 CHANGING THE CULTURE AT XYZ AIRLINES 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 Xyz Sanchez needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.