Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, high atop a great many of the older, concrete-block buildings of lower-income parts of central Hong Kong and the neighborhoods of the Kowloon peninsula, informal metal-framed wooden structures were built to house thousands of the city's families in austere, though inexpensive, quarters. These "illegal rooftop structures" comprised what could be a called a shantytown of the air, one made up of structures which, though built illegally, were nonetheless bought, sold, and rented on the open market. Such structures, moreover, were just one example of the larger phenomenon of so-called unauthorized building works in Hong Kong. These UBWs, as they were known in the city's Buildings Department, included balconies added to windows-sometimes used for beds on which people slept high in the air-as well as hundreds of thousands of storefront street signs and canopy extensions to the ground floors of buildings in commercial districts, the latter used to create spaces rented to stores and restaurants. By 1999, it was estimated that UBWs of all kinds in Hong Kong totaled a staggering 800,000. By one estimate, if authorities continued enforcement as they had been doing, it would take more than 130 years to effect the removal of all such structures-assuming that new ones were not built in their place. This case raises the thorny question of the extent to which and methods by which Hong Kong should use the law to minimize or eliminate such unauthorized building works-in a city where some parts of the public care most about public safety, while others-often much poorer-care most about shelter. HKS Case Number 1631.0
Swot Analysis of "Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department" written by Howard Husock, Herman Leonard includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Structures Buildings facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Policy, Public relations, Regulation, Security & privacy, Strategic planning and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Structures Buildings, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Structures Buildings 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 Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Structures Buildings
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 Structures Buildings
Strengths Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Structures Buildings in Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Structures Buildings 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 Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Structures Buildings is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Structures Buildings 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 Structures Buildings in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department 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.
Organizational Resilience of Structures Buildings
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Structures Buildings does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Structures Buildings 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.
Training and development
– Structures Buildings has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Structures Buildings has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Structures Buildings 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Structures Buildings 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Structures Buildings digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Structures Buildings 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.
Learning organization
- Structures Buildings 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 Structures Buildings is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Structures Buildings 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 Howard Husock, Herman Leonard 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.
Weaknesses Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Structures Buildings 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Structures Buildings 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department, is just above the industry average. Structures Buildings 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department, in the dynamic environment Structures Buildings has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Structures Buildings has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department 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 Structures Buildings 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Structures Buildings products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Structures Buildings needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Structures Buildings is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Structures Buildings needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Structures Buildings to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Structures Buildings 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department 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 Structures Buildings has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Howard Husock, Herman Leonard suggests that, Structures Buildings 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Structures Buildings 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 - Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department | 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 Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Structures Buildings 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Structures Buildings to increase its market reach. Structures Buildings 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Structures Buildings 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Structures Buildings 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Structures Buildings 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.
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 Structures Buildings in the consumer business. Now Structures Buildings can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Structures Buildings 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. Structures Buildings 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Structures Buildings 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 Structures Buildings 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 Structures Buildings to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Structures Buildings 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Structures Buildings can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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, Structures Buildings is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Structures Buildings can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Structures Buildings operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Threats Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Structures Buildings has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Structures Buildings 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.
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 Structures Buildings in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Structures Buildings is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Structures Buildings 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. Structures Buildings can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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. Structures Buildings can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Structures Buildings.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Structures Buildings with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department, Structures Buildings may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Structures Buildings 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Structures Buildings 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 Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department .
Regulatory challenges
– Structures Buildings 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.
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. Structures Buildings 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Structures Buildings 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department 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 Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department 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 Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department 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 Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department 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 Law Enforcement and Unauthorized Building Works: Illegal Structures and the Hong Kong Buildings Department 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 Structures Buildings needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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