Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version
Anne Ewers, general director of Utah Opera, is awaiting the decision of the members of the board of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera about whether to merge Utah's top two arts organizations. If the vote favors the merger, Ewers will be asked to assume the helm of the newly created organization and take responsibility for integrating the two organizations. Challenges students to consider the merits of the merger and to develop an action plan for how Ewers would integrate the two organizations, including how to design the new firm, how to manage various constituents--many of whom are upset by the announcement--and how to create a new corporate culture. Students also need to specify what Ewers would do in the first few days if the vote were to favor merging the two organizations. Teaching Purpose: To explore the human capital issues related to mergers and acquisitions.
Swot Analysis of "Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version" written by Thomas J. DeLong, David L. Ager includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Utah Ewers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Cross-cultural management, Human resource management, Leadership, Mergers & acquisitions, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Utah Ewers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Utah Ewers 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Utah Ewers
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 Utah Ewers
Strengths Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Utah Ewers in Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Utah Ewers 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Utah Ewers is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Utah Ewers 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 Utah Ewers is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Utah Ewers 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version - 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 Organizational Development field
– Utah Ewers 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 Utah Ewers in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Utah Ewers is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Utah Ewers in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Utah Ewers has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Utah Ewers 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.
Organizational Resilience of Utah Ewers
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Utah Ewers does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Utah Ewers digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Utah Ewers 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Utah Ewers is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Utah Ewers 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Utah Ewers 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Utah Ewers 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Utah Ewers, firm in the HBR case study Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Utah Ewers 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version, in the dynamic environment Utah Ewers has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Utah Ewers 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, Utah Ewers 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. Utah Ewers 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version HBR case study mentions - Utah Ewers 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.
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 Utah Ewers supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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 Utah Ewers vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Utah Ewers 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Utah Ewers is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Utah Ewers is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version 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.
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 Utah Ewers in the consumer business. Now Utah Ewers can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Utah Ewers 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Utah Ewers 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Utah Ewers 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, Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Utah Ewers 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Utah Ewers 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Utah Ewers to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Utah Ewers has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Utah Ewers to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version case study. Utah Ewers can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Utah Ewers 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 Utah Ewers to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Utah Ewers can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Utah Ewers 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Utah Ewers can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Utah Ewers operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Utah Ewers 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.
Threats Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version, Utah Ewers 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Utah Ewers 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.
Environmental challenges
– Utah Ewers 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. Utah Ewers can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Utah Ewers 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version .
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 Utah Ewers in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Utah Ewers 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Utah Ewers 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Utah Ewers in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Utah Ewers with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Utah Ewers 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Utah Ewers is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Utah Ewers business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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 Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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 Utah Ewers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.