THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development
Accompanied by product #PON485.Two-party negotiation between agents for a basketball player and a shoe manufacturer over a possible sneaker endorsement deal. Theotis Wiley is a promising young basketball player with a checkered past. Erive is a small shoe manufacturing company about to launch a new line of basketball shoes. Erive's Vice-President of Business Development has asked to meet with Theotis' agent regarding the possibility of an endorsement deal. Neither party knows much about the other party's interests or alternatives. This is a role play case.
Swot Analysis of "THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development" written by Jake Erhard, Robert C. Bordone includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Theotis Basketball facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Negotiations and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Theotis Basketball, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Theotis Basketball 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Theotis Basketball
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 Theotis Basketball
Strengths THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Theotis Basketball in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Theotis Basketball is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Theotis Basketball 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 Jake Erhard, Robert C. Bordone 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 Strategy & Execution industry
– THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Theotis Basketball to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Theotis Basketball to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Theotis Basketball in the sector have low bargaining power. THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Theotis Basketball to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Theotis Basketball is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Theotis Basketball 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Theotis Basketball 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Theotis Basketball 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 Theotis Basketball in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Theotis Basketball 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 Theotis Basketball is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Theotis Basketball digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Theotis Basketball 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Theotis Basketball 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Theotis Basketball 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Theotis Basketball is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Theotis Basketball 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Theotis Basketball, firm in the HBR case study THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Theotis Basketball 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jake Erhard, Robert C. Bordone suggests that, Theotis Basketball 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development, is just above the industry average. Theotis Basketball 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development, in the dynamic environment Theotis Basketball has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Theotis Basketball has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Theotis Basketball 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development HBR case study mentions - Theotis Basketball 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.
Opportunities THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development | 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Theotis Basketball 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Theotis Basketball 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, THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Theotis Basketball can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Theotis Basketball 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.
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. Theotis Basketball 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. Theotis Basketball 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.
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 Theotis Basketball 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Theotis Basketball can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Theotis Basketball operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Theotis Basketball 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Theotis Basketball 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 Theotis Basketball to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Theotis Basketball 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Theotis Basketball 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Theotis Basketball to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Theotis Basketball to increase its market reach. Theotis Basketball 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Theotis Basketball 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.
Threats THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development are -
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. Theotis Basketball can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Theotis Basketball 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. Theotis Basketball can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Theotis Basketball 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 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. Theotis Basketball needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Theotis Basketball 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development, Theotis Basketball 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 .
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 Theotis Basketball.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Theotis Basketball has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Theotis Basketball 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Theotis Basketball 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Theotis Basketball 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development .
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 Theotis Basketball business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions for Erive's Vice-President of Business Development 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 Theotis Basketball needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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