Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics
This is the second of a three-case series. Richard finally decides to return to Sydney to manage the company' Sydney Olympics program and experiences challenges of readjusting back home, both from a personal and a professional perspective. With the company changing its focus from the European to the Asian market and the Olympics program drawing to an end, Richard once again faces an uncertain future.
Swot Analysis of "Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics" written by Sebastian Reiche includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sydney Olympics facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Personnel policies and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption,
increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sydney Olympics, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sydney Olympics 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 Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sydney Olympics
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sydney Olympics
Strengths Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sydney Olympics in Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Sydney Olympics 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 Sebastian Reiche 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.
High brand equity
– Sydney Olympics has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sydney Olympics to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sydney Olympics in the sector have low bargaining power. Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sydney Olympics to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Sydney Olympics is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sydney Olympics has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Training and development
– Sydney Olympics has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sydney Olympics is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics 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.
Learning organization
- Sydney Olympics 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 Sydney Olympics is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sydney Olympics has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sydney Olympics 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Sydney Olympics is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sydney Olympics 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 Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sydney Olympics 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics 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 Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sydney Olympics is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sydney Olympics 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics, in the dynamic environment Sydney Olympics has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sydney Olympics has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sydney Olympics is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Sydney Olympics needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sydney Olympics to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics HBR case study mentions - Sydney Olympics 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sydney Olympics has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics, is just above the industry average. Sydney Olympics 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics, it seems that the employees of Sydney Olympics 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sydney Olympics has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Opportunities Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics | 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 Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sydney Olympics 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 Organizational Development segment.
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 Sydney Olympics in the consumer business. Now Sydney Olympics can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sydney Olympics can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sydney Olympics to increase its market reach. Sydney Olympics 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.
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 Sydney Olympics 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sydney Olympics can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sydney Olympics is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sydney Olympics to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Sydney Olympics to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sydney Olympics can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sydney Olympics operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sydney Olympics in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sydney Olympics 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sydney Olympics can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Sydney Olympics can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development 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.
Threats Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sydney Olympics 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sydney Olympics with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sydney Olympics 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.
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. Sydney Olympics needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sydney Olympics is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics, Sydney Olympics may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
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 Sydney Olympics business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sydney Olympics 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Sydney Olympics 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 Organizational Development industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sydney Olympics has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sydney Olympics needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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.
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 Sydney Olympics.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics 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 Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics 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 Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics 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 Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics 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 Richard Debenham in Vienna (B): Between Velvet Divorce and the Sydney Olympics 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 Sydney Olympics needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
