Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come?
In the summer of 2008, Nipissing University announced their intent to launch a men's varsity hockey team. Since that time, excitement had been mounting throughout the halls of Nipissing University and within the local community of North Bay, Ontario. It had been a long and at times, challenging journey to bring this team to fruition but with the help of a private group of investors, the Nipissing University Lakers men's varsity hockey team would finally hit the ice in September 2009 and kick-off a much anticipated inaugural season. In January 2009 the Lakers Hockey marketing committee gathered to discuss how best to promote this new team. The Lakers would be playing in North Bay's largest recreational facility - Memorial Gardens, which had a total building capacity of 4,048. Their objectives were clear - the coveted Lakers varsity hockey team would have to garner widespread support and maximize fan attendance. With approximately nine months until the opening game, the marketing team focused on developing the most effective marketing plan to realize these objectives. On March 2nd, they would present their recommendations to the Lakers ownership group for final approval and implementation.
Swot Analysis of "Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come?" written by Denyse Lafrance-Horning includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lakers Nipissing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lakers Nipissing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lakers Nipissing 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 Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lakers Nipissing
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Lakers Nipissing
Strengths Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lakers Nipissing in Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Lakers Nipissing has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lakers Nipissing 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 Lakers Nipissing
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lakers Nipissing does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lakers Nipissing 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 Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Lakers Nipissing 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.
Analytics focus
– Lakers Nipissing 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 Denyse Lafrance-Horning 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lakers Nipissing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lakers Nipissing in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Lakers Nipissing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Lakers Nipissing to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Lakers Nipissing to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Lakers Nipissing 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 Lakers Nipissing is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Lakers Nipissing has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Lakers Nipissing to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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.
Weaknesses Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Lakers Nipissing 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Lakers Nipissing 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. Lakers Nipissing 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Lakers Nipissing 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Lakers Nipissing 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Lakers Nipissing 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Lakers Nipissing 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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 Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Lakers Nipissing is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? HBR case study mentions - Lakers Nipissing 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Lakers Nipissing is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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 Lakers Nipissing 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lakers Nipissing is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Lakers Nipissing needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lakers Nipissing to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? | 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 Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Lakers Nipissing 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. Lakers Nipissing 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Lakers Nipissing 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, Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come?, 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
– Lakers Nipissing can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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.
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. Lakers Nipissing can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Lakers Nipissing 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 Sales & Marketing segment.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Lakers Nipissing can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lakers Nipissing operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
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 Lakers Nipissing in the consumer business. Now Lakers Nipissing can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Lakers Nipissing 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Lakers Nipissing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Lakers Nipissing 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 Lakers Nipissing to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Lakers Nipissing 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lakers Nipissing can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Lakers Nipissing 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.
Threats Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? are -
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. Lakers Nipissing needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Lakers Nipissing in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Lakers Nipissing.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lakers Nipissing 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 Lakers Nipissing is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lakers Nipissing with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Lakers Nipissing 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.
Environmental challenges
– Lakers Nipissing 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. Lakers Nipissing can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Lakers Nipissing 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 Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Lakers Nipissing can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Lakers Nipissing
– 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 Lakers Nipissing.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Lakers Nipissing 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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 Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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 Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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 Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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 Nipissing University Varsity Hockey - If We Build It, Will They Come? 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 Lakers Nipissing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
