Swot Analysis of "Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared?" written by Jacques Horovitz, Anne-Valerie Ohlsson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pharaohs Dubailand facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy execution and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pharaohs Dubailand, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pharaohs Dubailand 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 Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pharaohs Dubailand
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 Pharaohs Dubailand
Strengths Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pharaohs Dubailand in Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Pharaohs Dubailand 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 Pharaohs Dubailand in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Pharaohs Dubailand 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 Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Pharaohs Dubailand digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Pharaohs Dubailand 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 Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Pharaohs Dubailand to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Pharaohs Dubailand to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Pharaohs Dubailand has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Pharaohs Dubailand is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Pharaohs Dubailand in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Pharaohs Dubailand in the sector have low bargaining power. Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Pharaohs Dubailand to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
Organizational Resilience of Pharaohs Dubailand
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Pharaohs Dubailand does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? 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 Pharaohs Dubailand 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared?, is just above the industry average. Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Pharaohs Dubailand 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Pharaohs Dubailand has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Pharaohs Dubailand, firm in the HBR case study Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Pharaohs Dubailand is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared?, it seems that the employees of Pharaohs Dubailand 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 Pharaohs Dubailand products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Pharaohs Dubailand needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? 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 Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Pharaohs Dubailand is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Pharaohs Dubailand is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Pharaohs Dubailand needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Pharaohs Dubailand to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
Opportunities Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? | 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 Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Pharaohs Dubailand can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Pharaohs Dubailand 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. Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Pharaohs Dubailand 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, Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Pharaohs Dubailand can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Pharaohs Dubailand has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Pharaohs Dubailand to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? case study. Pharaohs Dubailand can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
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 Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Pharaohs Dubailand can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Pharaohs Dubailand operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Pharaohs Dubailand 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 Pharaohs Dubailand to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Pharaohs Dubailand 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 Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Pharaohs Dubailand to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Pharaohs Dubailand can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? are -
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.
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 Pharaohs Dubailand in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared?, Pharaohs Dubailand 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 .
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Pharaohs Dubailand 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 Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Pharaohs Dubailand is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Pharaohs Dubailand
– 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 Pharaohs Dubailand.
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. Pharaohs Dubailand needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Pharaohs Dubailand with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Pharaohs Dubailand 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
– Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Pharaohs Dubailand has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Pharaohs Dubailand 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? 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 Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? 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 Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? 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 Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? 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 Dubailand (A): Would the Pharaohs Have Dared? 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 Pharaohs Dubailand needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
