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Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital


Presents recommendations for hurdle rates of Marriott's divisions to select by discounting appropriate cash flows by the appropriate hurdle rate for each division.

Authors :: Richard S. Ruback

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Costs, Financial analysis, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital" written by Richard S. Ruback includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hurdle Marriott's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Costs, Financial analysis and Finance & Accounting.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hurdle Marriott's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hurdle Marriott's 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 Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hurdle Marriott's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Hurdle Marriott's




Strengths Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Hurdle Marriott's in Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital Harvard Business Review case study are -

Successful track record of launching new products

– Hurdle Marriott's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hurdle Marriott's 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Hurdle Marriott's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Analytics focus

– Hurdle Marriott's 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 Richard S. Ruback 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Hurdle Marriott's 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 Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Hurdle Marriott's 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 Finance & Accounting field

– Hurdle Marriott's 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 Hurdle Marriott's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry

– Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hurdle Marriott's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hurdle Marriott's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Hurdle Marriott's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Innovation driven organization

– Hurdle Marriott's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

High brand equity

– Hurdle Marriott's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hurdle Marriott's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Strong track record of project management

– Hurdle Marriott's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Organizational Resilience of Hurdle Marriott's

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hurdle Marriott's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.






Weaknesses Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital are -

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital HBR case study mentions - Hurdle Marriott's 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Hurdle Marriott's has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Hurdle Marriott's, firm in the HBR case study Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hurdle Marriott's needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital, it seems that the employees of Hurdle Marriott's 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 decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Hurdle Marriott's 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. Hurdle Marriott's 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital, is just above the industry average. Hurdle Marriott's 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Hurdle Marriott's products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hurdle Marriott's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hurdle Marriott's 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Hurdle Marriott's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.




Opportunities Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital | 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 Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital are -

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hurdle Marriott's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Hurdle Marriott's 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Hurdle Marriott's can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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 Hurdle Marriott's in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Hurdle Marriott's has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hurdle Marriott's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Manufacturing automation

– Hurdle Marriott's can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Hurdle Marriott's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hurdle Marriott's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital case study. Hurdle Marriott's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hurdle Marriott's 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Hurdle Marriott's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hurdle Marriott's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hurdle Marriott's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting 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 Hurdle Marriott's 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 Hurdle Marriott's to increase its market reach. Hurdle Marriott's 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Hurdle Marriott's 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 Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital are -

Regulatory challenges

– Hurdle Marriott's 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Hurdle Marriott's is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Hurdle Marriott's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital, Hurdle Marriott's may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .

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. Hurdle Marriott's 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hurdle Marriott's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hurdle Marriott's can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital .

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Hurdle Marriott's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hurdle Marriott's needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Hurdle Marriott's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hurdle Marriott's in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.

Increasing wage structure of Hurdle Marriott's

– 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 Hurdle Marriott's.

Capital market disruption

– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Hurdle Marriott's.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Hurdle Marriott's 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital 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 Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital 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 Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital 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 Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital 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 Marriott Corp.: The Cost of Capital 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 Hurdle Marriott's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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