Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor Agreement" written by Lynne B. Sagalyn, Fred Knapp includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Intercreditor Istithmar facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor Agreement casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor Agreement case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Intercreditor Istithmar, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Intercreditor Istithmar 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 Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor Agreement case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Intercreditor Istithmar
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 Intercreditor Istithmar
Strengths Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Intercreditor Istithmar in Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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 Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement 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
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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 Intercreditor 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.
Training and development
– Intercreditor Istithmar has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Intercreditor Istithmar to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Intercreditor Istithmar to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Intercreditor Istithmar
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Intercreditor Istithmar does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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 Intercreditor 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.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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 Intercreditor Istithmar in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Intercreditor Istithmar has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Intercreditor Istithmar to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Intercreditor Istithmar digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Weaknesses Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor Agreement are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement, in the dynamic environment Intercreditor Istithmar has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Intercreditor Istithmar has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Intercreditor Istithmar 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. Intercreditor Istithmar 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 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 Intercreditor Istithmar supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Intercreditor Istithmar vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement, it seems that the employees of Intercreditor Istithmar don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement HBR case study mentions - Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement 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 Intercreditor Istithmar 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Intercreditor Istithmar 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 Intercreditor Agreement should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor Agreement are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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 Intercreditor Agreement - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Intercreditor Istithmar to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Intercreditor Istithmar in the consumer business. Now Intercreditor Istithmar can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Intercreditor Istithmar 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 Intercreditor Istithmar to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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 Intercreditor 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Intercreditor Istithmar can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Intercreditor Istithmar can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Intercreditor Istithmar 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 Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Threats Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor Agreement are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor Agreement, Intercreditor Istithmar 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Intercreditor Istithmar 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 Intercreditor Agreement .
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 Intercreditor Istithmar.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Intercreditor Istithmar is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Intercreditor Istithmar can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Intercreditor Istithmar needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Intercreditor Istithmar has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
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 Intercreditor Istithmar in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Intercreditor Istithmar 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. Intercreditor Istithmar can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Increasing wage structure of Intercreditor Istithmar
– 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 Intercreditor Istithmar.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Intercreditor Istithmar 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Battling Over a New York Workout: the W Hotel Strategy Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor 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 Intercreditor Istithmar needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
