Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise
In November 2006, Harry Sloan, chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (MGM) offers movie star Tom Cruise and his business partner Paula Wagner a chance to run United Artists (UA), a dormant studio within MGM's portfolio. Just over two months earlier, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone publicly complained about Cruise's controversial behavior and abruptly ended Cruise and Wagner's 14-year relationship with Viacom's movie studio, Paramount Pictures. Sloan's proposal gives Cruise a chance to strike back. Can Cruise, Wagner, and Sloan, who regards the deal as an "interesting experiment" aimed at aligning the incentives of studios and creative talent, make the partnership work?
Swot Analysis of "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise" written by Anita Elberse, Peter Stone includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cruise Goldwyn facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Growth strategy, Joint ventures, Product development, Talent management and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cruise Goldwyn, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cruise Goldwyn 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cruise Goldwyn
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 Cruise Goldwyn
Strengths Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cruise Goldwyn in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cruise Goldwyn 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cruise Goldwyn has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cruise Goldwyn 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
– Cruise Goldwyn has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise 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
– Cruise Goldwyn is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cruise Goldwyn digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cruise Goldwyn 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cruise Goldwyn 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
– Cruise Goldwyn 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 Anita Elberse, Peter Stone 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cruise Goldwyn to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cruise Goldwyn to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cruise Goldwyn 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cruise Goldwyn is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Cruise Goldwyn is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Cruise Goldwyn has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cruise Goldwyn to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise 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 Cruise Goldwyn has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise, it seems that the employees of Cruise Goldwyn 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise, in the dynamic environment Cruise Goldwyn has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cruise Goldwyn has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cruise Goldwyn is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cruise Goldwyn 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cruise Goldwyn is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cruise Goldwyn 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cruise Goldwyn 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
Cruise Goldwyn 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cruise Goldwyn is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Cruise Goldwyn needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cruise Goldwyn to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cruise Goldwyn products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cruise Goldwyn needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise | 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise are -
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 Cruise Goldwyn 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cruise Goldwyn in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cruise Goldwyn to increase its market reach. Cruise Goldwyn 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cruise Goldwyn 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cruise Goldwyn can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cruise Goldwyn 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.
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. Cruise Goldwyn can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cruise Goldwyn 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
– Cruise Goldwyn 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cruise Goldwyn to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cruise Goldwyn can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cruise Goldwyn 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 Cruise Goldwyn to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Cruise Goldwyn can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cruise Goldwyn 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.
Threats Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cruise Goldwyn 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Cruise Goldwyn 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.
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. Cruise Goldwyn 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise, Cruise Goldwyn may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Increasing wage structure of Cruise Goldwyn
– 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 Cruise Goldwyn.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cruise Goldwyn in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing 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.
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. Cruise Goldwyn can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cruise Goldwyn is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cruise Goldwyn 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cruise Goldwyn 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.
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. Cruise Goldwyn 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 Cruise Goldwyn in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise 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 Cruise Goldwyn needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.