Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement
On October 11, 2006, Istithmar, a subsidiary of Dubai World, the flagship investment company of the government of Dubai, purchased the 270-room W Hotel in Union Square from Related Companies for $285 million. LEM Capital, a mid-sized private equity firm, subsequently became a junior player in the stack of funders for the property. When Istithmar defaulted on its loan to its primary lender in 2009, LEM's $20 million investment was at risk. This case asks students to review the actual loan and intercreditor agreements to determine what strategy might help LEM to preserve its investment.
Swot Analysis of "Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement" written by Lynne B. Sagalyn, Fred Knapp includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Istithmar Lem facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Recession, Strategy and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Istithmar Lem, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Istithmar Lem 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 Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Istithmar Lem
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 Istithmar Lem
Strengths Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Istithmar Lem in Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Istithmar Lem digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Istithmar Lem 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.
High brand equity
– Istithmar Lem has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Istithmar Lem to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Istithmar Lem is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Istithmar Lem is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Istithmar Lem 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 Istithmar Lem is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Istithmar Lem 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 Istithmar Lem in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Istithmar Lem 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 Lynne B. Sagalyn, Fred Knapp 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Istithmar Lem 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 Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Istithmar Lem has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Istithmar Lem 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Istithmar Lem 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Istithmar Lem to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Istithmar Lem to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Istithmar Lem in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Istithmar Lem 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Istithmar Lem 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement, 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Lynne B. Sagalyn, Fred Knapp suggests that, Istithmar Lem 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.
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 Istithmar Lem supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Istithmar Lem vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Istithmar Lem 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 - Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Istithmar Lem 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Istithmar Lem 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Istithmar Lem 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Istithmar Lem is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Istithmar Lem needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Istithmar Lem to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement 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 Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Istithmar Lem is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement | 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 Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Istithmar Lem can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Istithmar Lem can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement 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.
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 Istithmar Lem in the consumer business. Now Istithmar Lem can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Istithmar Lem to increase its market reach. Istithmar Lem 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Istithmar Lem 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 Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Istithmar Lem to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Istithmar Lem has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Istithmar Lem to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement case study. Istithmar Lem can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Istithmar Lem 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Istithmar Lem 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
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. Istithmar Lem can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Istithmar Lem 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Istithmar Lem 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Istithmar Lem 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Istithmar Lem can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement are -
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 Istithmar Lem.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Istithmar Lem can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Istithmar Lem 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.
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. Istithmar Lem needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Istithmar Lem 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Istithmar Lem 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Istithmar Lem 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Istithmar Lem 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 Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement .
Environmental challenges
– Istithmar Lem 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. Istithmar Lem can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Istithmar Lem 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.
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.
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 Istithmar Lem in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement 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 Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement 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 Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement 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 Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement 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 Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Guaranty Agreement 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 Istithmar Lem needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.