Cortlandt Town Center SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Cortlandt Town Center
CBL & Associates is trying to decide whether to go ahead with the development of a 790,000 square-foot power center with retailers such as Home Depot and Barnes & Noble. The costs are such that the developer needs to renegotiate its land acquisition price. Then the project must be presented to its board of directors for approval.
Swot Analysis of "Cortlandt Town Center" written by William J. Poorvu, Arthur I Segel includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 790,000 Cortlandt facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Cortlandt Town Center case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Cortlandt Town Center casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
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 Cortlandt Town Center
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Cortlandt Town Center case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 790,000 Cortlandt, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 790,000 Cortlandt 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 Cortlandt Town Center can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Cortlandt Town Center case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 790,000 Cortlandt
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 790,000 Cortlandt
Strengths Cortlandt Town Center | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 790,000 Cortlandt in Cortlandt Town Center Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the 790,000 Cortlandt 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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For 790,000 Cortlandt digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. 790,000 Cortlandt 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.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– 790,000 Cortlandt 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 790,000 Cortlandt in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– 790,000 Cortlandt has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled 790,000 Cortlandt to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– 790,000 Cortlandt is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– 790,000 Cortlandt has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. 790,000 Cortlandt 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 790,000 Cortlandt 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Cortlandt Town Center 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– 790,000 Cortlandt 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 Cortlandt Town Center HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– 790,000 Cortlandt 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 Cortlandt Town Center - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Cortlandt Town Center firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled 790,000 Cortlandt to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped 790,000 Cortlandt to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– 790,000 Cortlandt is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Cortlandt Town Center Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Cortlandt Town Center | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Cortlandt Town Center are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, William J. Poorvu, Arthur I Segel suggests that, 790,000 Cortlandt 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Cortlandt Town Center 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 Cortlandt Town Center can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as 790,000 Cortlandt is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, 790,000 Cortlandt is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Cortlandt Town Center can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Cortlandt Town Center 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 790,000 Cortlandt 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Cortlandt Town Center HBR case study mentions - 790,000 Cortlandt 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Cortlandt Town Center, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Products dominated business model
– Even though 790,000 Cortlandt 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 - Cortlandt Town Center should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of 790,000 Cortlandt, firm in the HBR case study Cortlandt Town Center needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, 790,000 Cortlandt 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of 790,000 Cortlandt is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. 790,000 Cortlandt needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help 790,000 Cortlandt to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, 790,000 Cortlandt 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 Cortlandt Town Center | 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 Cortlandt Town Center are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of 790,000 Cortlandt has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help 790,000 Cortlandt to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Cortlandt Town Center case study. 790,000 Cortlandt can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, 790,000 Cortlandt can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that 790,000 Cortlandt operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– 790,000 Cortlandt 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, 790,000 Cortlandt is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Cortlandt Town Center 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.
Loyalty marketing
– 790,000 Cortlandt 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.
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 790,000 Cortlandt in the consumer business. Now 790,000 Cortlandt can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. 790,000 Cortlandt can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, 790,000 Cortlandt 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, Cortlandt Town Center, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, 790,000 Cortlandt 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
– 790,000 Cortlandt can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 790,000 Cortlandt 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– 790,000 Cortlandt 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 Cortlandt Town Center - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help 790,000 Cortlandt to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– 790,000 Cortlandt 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.
Threats Cortlandt Town Center External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Cortlandt Town Center are -
Increasing wage structure of 790,000 Cortlandt
– 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 790,000 Cortlandt.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. 790,000 Cortlandt can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, 790,000 Cortlandt 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 Cortlandt Town Center .
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. 790,000 Cortlandt 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 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. 790,000 Cortlandt needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that 790,000 Cortlandt is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 790,000 Cortlandt business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents 790,000 Cortlandt with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 790,000 Cortlandt in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Environmental challenges
– 790,000 Cortlandt 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. 790,000 Cortlandt can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Cortlandt Town Center, 790,000 Cortlandt 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– 790,000 Cortlandt can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Cortlandt Town Center 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 Cortlandt Town Center 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 Cortlandt Town Center 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 Cortlandt Town Center 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 Cortlandt Town Center 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 790,000 Cortlandt needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.