Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version
Louise Murray, Vice-President of Tour Planning and Partnerships at Cirque du Soleil, has been informed that the company has received two unsolicited partnership proposals to present a show in Istanbul, Turkey. Both offers are serious and the projects are potentially interesting. The first offer comes from a government agency in partnership with the City of Istanbul, while the second was submitted by a leading Turkish media group. Louise Murray must now decide on the suitability of this destination and analyze the proposals themselves. She also has to assess the different scenarios for inserting this destination in Cirque's planning horizon and choose the best one. The choice of work and the type of partnership agreement to be negotiated with the potential promoter must also be decided. The tight deadlines imposed by the proposals are an opportunity for Louise to make a critical assessment of the flexibility of the planning process, which she has been working to standardize over the past few years. The case thus encourages a broader reflection on the delicate balance between flexibility and standardization in the context of an organization that still has a strong circus culture. As such, the case is an opportunity to reflect on the organization of the planning process and to propose improvements.
Swot Analysis of "Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version" written by Marie-Helene Jobin, Jean Talbot includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Louise Planning facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture, Project management and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Louise Planning, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Louise Planning 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 Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Louise Planning
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 Louise Planning
Strengths Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Louise Planning in Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Louise Planning is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Louise Planning is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Louise Planning 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 Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Louise Planning 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 Louise Planning is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Louise Planning
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Louise Planning does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version 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.
Analytics focus
– Louise Planning 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 Marie-Helene Jobin, Jean Talbot 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Louise Planning is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version 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
– Louise Planning is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Louise Planning has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Louise Planning in the sector have low bargaining power. Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Louise Planning to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Louise Planning in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version are -
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 Louise Planning supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Louise Planning vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Louise Planning, firm in the HBR case study Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Louise Planning 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Marie-Helene Jobin, Jean Talbot suggests that, Louise Planning 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version, in the dynamic environment Louise Planning has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Louise Planning has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version, it seems that the employees of Louise Planning 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Louise Planning products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Louise Planning needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Louise Planning has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Louise Planning 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Louise Planning 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 - Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version 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 Louise Planning 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version | 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 Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Louise Planning has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Louise Planning to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version case study. Louise Planning can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Louise Planning to increase its market reach. Louise Planning 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.
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. Louise Planning 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. Louise Planning 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.
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. Louise Planning can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Louise Planning 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.
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 Louise Planning in the consumer business. Now Louise Planning can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Louise Planning can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Louise Planning 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Louise Planning 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, Louise Planning 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, Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Louise Planning 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Louise Planning 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Louise Planning 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 Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version are -
Increasing wage structure of Louise Planning
– 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 Louise Planning.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Louise Planning 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Louise Planning 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.
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. Louise Planning 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.
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.
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 Louise Planning business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Louise Planning has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Louise Planning 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Louise Planning 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 Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version, Louise Planning 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Louise Planning 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
– Louise Planning 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.
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. Louise Planning can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Louise Planning 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. Louise Planning can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version 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 Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version 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 Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version 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 Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version 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 Tour Planning at Cirque du Soleil, Spanish Version 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 Louise Planning needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
