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 - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, 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 -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Utah Ewers to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Utah Ewers to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Utah Ewers in the sector have low bargaining power. Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Utah Ewers to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
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.
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.
High brand equity
– Utah Ewers has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Utah Ewers to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Utah Ewers is planning to shift buying processes online.
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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, 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 Utah Ewers has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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.
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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Utah Ewers 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.
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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Utah Ewers products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Utah Ewers needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Utah Ewers 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 - Utah Symphony and Utah Opera: A Merger Proposal, Spanish Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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.
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 -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Utah Ewers 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Utah Ewers 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.
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.
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.
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. Utah Ewers can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Utah Ewers to increase its market reach. Utah Ewers 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Utah Ewers 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.
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. Utah Ewers can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 -
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.
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.
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. Utah Ewers 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.
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. Utah Ewers can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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 .
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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. Utah Ewers needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Utah Ewers has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Utah Ewers 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.
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.
