British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (BSkyB) packaged television content into channels and distributed it via satellite to subscribers and to other distribution platforms. Sports programming and, in particular, live coverage of Premier League Football was one of BSkyB's main attractions for its customers and lay at the core of BSkyB's positioning. In 1996, BSkyB acquired a four-year license to the exclusive broadcasting rights of all Premier League football matches for (pounds) GBP670 million. The year was 1999 and, as the expiration of the Premier League license drew nearer, new strategies for the upcoming licensing round had to be formulated.
Swot Analysis of "British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC" written by Matthias Hild includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bskyb's Broadcasting facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bskyb's Broadcasting, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bskyb's Broadcasting 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 British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bskyb's Broadcasting
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 Bskyb's Broadcasting
Strengths British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bskyb's Broadcasting in British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Bskyb's Broadcasting 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 Matthias Hild 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.
Training and development
– Bskyb's Broadcasting has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC 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.
Organizational Resilience of Bskyb's Broadcasting
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bskyb's Broadcasting does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bskyb's Broadcasting 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 British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bskyb's Broadcasting digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bskyb's Broadcasting is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC 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
- Bskyb's Broadcasting 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 Bskyb's Broadcasting is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Bskyb's Broadcasting is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bskyb's Broadcasting is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bskyb's Broadcasting 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 brand equity
– Bskyb's Broadcasting has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bskyb's Broadcasting to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC, it seems that the employees of Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bskyb's Broadcasting has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC 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 Bskyb's Broadcasting 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bskyb's Broadcasting, firm in the HBR case study British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bskyb's Broadcasting is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Bskyb's Broadcasting needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bskyb's Broadcasting to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Matthias Hild suggests that, Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC HBR case study mentions - Bskyb's Broadcasting 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, Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Bskyb's Broadcasting products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bskyb's Broadcasting needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC | 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 British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC are -
Manufacturing automation
– Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bskyb's Broadcasting is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bskyb's Broadcasting can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bskyb's Broadcasting operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Bskyb's Broadcasting can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bskyb's Broadcasting to increase its market reach. Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Bskyb's Broadcasting 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, Bskyb's Broadcasting 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, British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bskyb's Broadcasting 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 British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
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. Bskyb's Broadcasting can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Bskyb's Broadcasting business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Bskyb's Broadcasting in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bskyb's Broadcasting with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Bskyb's Broadcasting will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
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. Bskyb's Broadcasting needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bskyb's Broadcasting 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.
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 Bskyb's Broadcasting.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bskyb's Broadcasting 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 British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC 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 British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC 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 British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC 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 British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC 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 British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC 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 Bskyb's Broadcasting needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
