Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001
Brookfield Properties is a publicly held, North American commercial real estate company focused on the ownership, management, and development of premier office properties located in the downtown core of selected North American markets. Most of Brookfield's assets are in the United States, with headquarters in New York and an executive office in Toronto. Four of the properties that Brookfield owns are adjacent to the World Trade Center site and on September 11, 2001, the terrorist attacks had an immediate impact on Brookfield employees, tenants, and physical property. With little reliable information and in the face of chaos and human tragedy, the president and CEO must develop an action plan that will ensure the safety of all employees and tenants, deal with grief and suffering, assess the damage, enable the company to return to business as usual, and reassure investors and the media of the company's commitment to restore Brookfield's position of market strength.
Authors :: Kathleen E. Slaughter, Elizabeth O'Neil
Swot Analysis of "Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001" written by Kathleen E. Slaughter, Elizabeth O'Neil includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Brookfield Properties facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Leadership, Organizational culture, Strategy execution and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Brookfield Properties, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Brookfield Properties 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 Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Brookfield Properties
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 Brookfield Properties
Strengths Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Brookfield Properties in Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Brookfield Properties digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Brookfield Properties 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
– Brookfield Properties is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Brookfield Properties in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Brookfield Properties 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 Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Brookfield Properties
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Brookfield Properties does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Brookfield Properties 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Brookfield Properties has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Brookfield Properties 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Brookfield Properties in the sector have low bargaining power. Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Brookfield Properties to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Brookfield Properties has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Brookfield Properties 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Brookfield Properties is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Brookfield Properties has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Brookfield Properties to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Brookfield Properties 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, Brookfield Properties 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 Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001, it seems that the employees of Brookfield Properties 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 Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 HBR case study mentions - Brookfield Properties 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Brookfield Properties, firm in the HBR case study Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Brookfield Properties is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Brookfield Properties needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Brookfield Properties to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Brookfield Properties 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Brookfield Properties 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Brookfield Properties products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Brookfield Properties needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Brookfield Properties 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001, is just above the industry average. Brookfield Properties needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Opportunities Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 | 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 Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 are -
Loyalty marketing
– Brookfield Properties 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Brookfield Properties can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Brookfield Properties can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Brookfield Properties operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Brookfield Properties 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, Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Brookfield Properties can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Brookfield Properties 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Brookfield Properties 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Brookfield Properties can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Brookfield Properties can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
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 Brookfield Properties 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Brookfield Properties 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 Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Brookfield Properties to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Brookfield Properties can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 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 Brookfield Properties 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Brookfield Properties 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.
Threats Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Brookfield Properties 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 Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001, Brookfield Properties 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Brookfield Properties is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Brookfield Properties 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Brookfield Properties 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.
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. Brookfield Properties 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 Brookfield Properties business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Brookfield Properties
– 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 Brookfield Properties.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Brookfield Properties has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Brookfield Properties needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
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 Brookfield Properties in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline 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. Brookfield Properties needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Brookfield Properties 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 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 Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 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 Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 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 Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 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 Brookfield Properties: Crisis Leadership Following September 11th, 2001 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 Brookfield Properties needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.