Case Study Description of Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals
Wendy Lull, President of the non-profit Seacoast Science Center (SSC), was considering a substantial increase in the admission fee for the SSC facility in early 2008. The SSC's mission, "To create connections to nature through personal experience," was carried out through educational programs and exhibits targeting all ages. A number of new exhibits brought the flora and fauna of the seacoast of New Hampshire vividly to life, and illustrated many aspects of humans' interactions with the sea. Lull reviewed the changes since the SSC had become independent in 2001. There had been two major expansions, the most recent being an interactive learning studio that had opened in November 2007. She felt that the fee increase would help to cover a persistent $50,000 deficit in operating income. However, a fee increase might reduce visitation, which was already growing slowly, at best. A more fundamental strategic question might be whether the SSC should seek to grow, and if so, how.
Swot Analysis of "Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals" written by Margaret J. Naumes, Wendy W. Lull includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ssc Seacoast facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Pricing, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ssc Seacoast, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ssc Seacoast 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 Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ssc Seacoast
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ssc Seacoast
Strengths Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ssc Seacoast in Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Ssc Seacoast is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Ssc Seacoast 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 Ssc Seacoast is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Ssc Seacoast is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals 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
– Ssc Seacoast is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Ssc Seacoast has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ssc Seacoast to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Ssc Seacoast
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ssc Seacoast does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ssc Seacoast to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ssc Seacoast to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ssc Seacoast 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 Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ssc Seacoast in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ssc Seacoast is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ssc Seacoast in the sector have low bargaining power. Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ssc Seacoast to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Margaret J. Naumes, Wendy W. Lull suggests that, Ssc Seacoast 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals, in the dynamic environment Ssc Seacoast has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ssc Seacoast has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals HBR case study mentions - Ssc Seacoast 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ssc Seacoast 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ssc Seacoast 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 - Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals, is just above the industry average. Ssc Seacoast 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ssc Seacoast is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ssc Seacoast is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Ssc Seacoast needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ssc Seacoast to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals 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 Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ssc Seacoast is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ssc Seacoast 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ssc Seacoast 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.
Opportunities Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals | 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 Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals are -
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 Ssc Seacoast in the consumer business. Now Ssc Seacoast 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, Ssc Seacoast can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ssc Seacoast operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ssc Seacoast 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 Ssc Seacoast to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ssc Seacoast in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ssc Seacoast 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ssc Seacoast can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ssc Seacoast 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ssc Seacoast has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ssc Seacoast to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals case study. Ssc Seacoast can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Ssc Seacoast 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.
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. Ssc Seacoast can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ssc Seacoast can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Ssc Seacoast 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. Ssc Seacoast 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ssc Seacoast is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals 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 Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals are -
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 Ssc Seacoast in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Ssc Seacoast 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ssc Seacoast 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.
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 Ssc Seacoast business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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. Ssc Seacoast 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ssc Seacoast is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Ssc Seacoast can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ssc Seacoast with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ssc Seacoast 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 Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals .
Increasing wage structure of Ssc Seacoast
– 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 Ssc Seacoast.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ssc Seacoast has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ssc Seacoast needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals 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 Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals 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 Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals 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 Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals 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 Seacoast Science Center: Sailing the Shoals 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 Ssc Seacoast needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.