Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu
The Bird Flu virus was first detected in Hong Kong in early 1997. This strain of virus had been previously known to infect only birds but had now crossed the species barrier and infected humans. By the end of 1997, the confirmed number of cases had reached 17, resulting in 6 deaths. The implications for Hong Kong were enormous. Bird Flu not only threatened the health and welfare of the people of Hong Kong, but also affected Hong Kong's economy and reputation in terms of international tourism and trade. The Hong Kong government must develop a communication strategy.
Authors :: Gilbert Wong, Nina Hansen, Vanessa N. Clark
Swot Analysis of "Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu" written by Gilbert Wong, Nina Hansen, Vanessa N. Clark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Flu Bird facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Government, Health, Risk management and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Flu Bird, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Flu Bird 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 Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Flu Bird
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 Flu Bird
Strengths Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Flu Bird in Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Flu Bird 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 Gilbert Wong, Nina Hansen, Vanessa N. Clark 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
– Flu Bird has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Flu Bird to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Flu Bird has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Flu Bird 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 recruit top talent
– Flu Bird is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Flu Bird 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 Flu Bird is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Flu Bird has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu 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 Flu Bird 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Flu Bird 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Flu Bird is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Flu Bird digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Flu Bird 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Flu Bird is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Flu Bird in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu 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 Flu Bird 's lucrative customers.
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 Flu Bird supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Flu Bird vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu, it seems that the employees of Flu Bird 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Flu Bird, firm in the HBR case study Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Flu Bird 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Flu Bird 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. Flu Bird 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Gilbert Wong, Nina Hansen, Vanessa N. Clark suggests that, Flu Bird 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu 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 Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Flu Bird is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu 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 Flu Bird has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Flu Bird is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Flu Bird needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Flu Bird to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Flu Bird 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 Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu | 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 Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Flu Bird 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Flu Bird has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Flu Bird to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu case study. Flu Bird can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Flu Bird to increase its market reach. Flu Bird 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Flu Bird is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu 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.
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 Flu Bird in the consumer business. Now Flu Bird can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Flu Bird 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
– Flu Bird 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Flu Bird 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Flu Bird 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
– Flu Bird 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Flu Bird can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Flu Bird can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Flu Bird can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Threats Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Flu Bird 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.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Flu Bird 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 Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu, Flu Bird 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 .
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 Flu Bird in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Flu Bird in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Flu Bird is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Flu Bird needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Flu Bird can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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 Flu Bird business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Flu Bird with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
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. Flu Bird needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Flu Bird
– 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 Flu Bird.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu 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 Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu 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 Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu 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 Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu 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 Crisis Communication: The Asian Bird Flu 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 Flu Bird needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
