Case Study Description of Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version
In 2002, a massive accounting fraud and corporate looting scandal involving the founding Rigas family made Adelphia the 11th largest bankruptcy case in history, and the third--after WorldCom and Enron--among those triggered by fraud. Set in 2005, when Adelphia is contemplating several options to emerge from bankruptcy, including a $17.6 billion cash-and-stock offer from Time Warner and Comcast, a $17.1 billion cash-only offer from Cablevision, and a $15 billion cash-only offer from KKR and Providence. The fact that both Comcast and Cablevision are themselves family-controlled and with a large wedge between the family's ownership and control rights further complicates the decision.
Swot Analysis of "Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version" written by Stuart C. Gilson, Belen Villalonga includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Adelphia Cablevision facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, Financial management, Reorganization and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Adelphia Cablevision, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Adelphia Cablevision 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 Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Adelphia Cablevision
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Adelphia Cablevision
Strengths Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Adelphia Cablevision in Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Adelphia Cablevision are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Adelphia Cablevision
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Adelphia Cablevision does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Adelphia Cablevision 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 Adelphia Cablevision in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Adelphia Cablevision digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Adelphia Cablevision 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Adelphia Cablevision has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Adelphia Cablevision 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.
Training and development
– Adelphia Cablevision has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Adelphia Cablevision 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 Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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.
Analytics focus
– Adelphia Cablevision 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 Stuart C. Gilson, Belen Villalonga 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Adelphia Cablevision is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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.
Learning organization
- Adelphia Cablevision 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 Adelphia Cablevision is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Adelphia Cablevision to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Adelphia Cablevision to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version are -
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Adelphia Cablevision supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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 Adelphia Cablevision vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version, it seems that the employees of Adelphia Cablevision 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Adelphia Cablevision 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 - Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Adelphia Cablevision 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Adelphia Cablevision, firm in the HBR case study Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Adelphia Cablevision 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Adelphia Cablevision 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Adelphia Cablevision 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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 Adelphia Cablevision has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Stuart C. Gilson, Belen Villalonga suggests that, Adelphia Cablevision is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Adelphia Cablevision 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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 Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Adelphia Cablevision can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Adelphia Cablevision 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, Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Adelphia Cablevision to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Adelphia Cablevision 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Adelphia Cablevision can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Adelphia Cablevision 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Adelphia Cablevision in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Adelphia Cablevision in the consumer business. Now Adelphia Cablevision can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Adelphia Cablevision can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Adelphia Cablevision operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Adelphia Cablevision 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.
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 Adelphia Cablevision 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Adelphia Cablevision can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Adelphia Cablevision is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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.
Threats Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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 Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version are -
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 Adelphia Cablevision.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Adelphia Cablevision is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Adelphia Cablevision in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Adelphia Cablevision 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. Adelphia Cablevision can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Increasing wage structure of Adelphia Cablevision
– 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 Adelphia Cablevision.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Adelphia Cablevision 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 Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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 Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, Spanish Version, Adelphia Cablevision may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Regulatory challenges
– Adelphia Cablevision 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Adelphia Cablevision with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Adelphia Cablevision 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 disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Adelphia Cablevision business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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 Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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 Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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 Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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 Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Bankruptcy, 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 Adelphia Cablevision needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.