Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006
This case centers around a dispute between the owners and the players regarding the profitability of professional baseball teams in connection with the negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The case describes the financial statements of the baseball club Kansas City Zephyrs, and discusses several items whose accounting treatment is under dispute between owners and players. Students are asked to resolve these disagreements and determine the team's "true" profitability. The discussion reveals the tensions in performance measurement, and illustrates the fundamental issues in accrual accounting. The case is best used as an introductory case in a course on financial reporting or performance measurement.
Swot Analysis of "Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006" written by Krishna G. Palepu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Baseball Zephyrs facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Baseball Zephyrs, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Baseball Zephyrs 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 Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Baseball Zephyrs
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 Baseball Zephyrs
Strengths Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Baseball Zephyrs in Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Baseball Zephyrs is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Baseball Zephyrs is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Baseball Zephyrs is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Baseball Zephyrs 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.
High brand equity
– Baseball Zephyrs has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Baseball Zephyrs to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Baseball Zephyrs to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Baseball Zephyrs to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Baseball Zephyrs digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Baseball Zephyrs 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 Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Baseball Zephyrs in the sector have low bargaining power. Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Baseball Zephyrs to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Baseball Zephyrs in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 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.
Analytics focus
– Baseball Zephyrs 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 Krishna G. Palepu 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 Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 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 Baseball Zephyrs has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Baseball Zephyrs has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 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 Baseball Zephyrs 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Baseball Zephyrs is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Baseball Zephyrs needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Baseball Zephyrs to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Baseball Zephyrs is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Baseball Zephyrs has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Baseball Zephyrs even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Baseball Zephyrs, firm in the HBR case study Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Baseball Zephyrs 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 - Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Opportunities Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 | 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 Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 are -
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Baseball Zephyrs can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Baseball Zephyrs can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Baseball Zephyrs to increase its market reach. Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Baseball Zephyrs 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, Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Baseball Zephyrs 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 Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Baseball Zephyrs to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Baseball Zephyrs 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. Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Baseball Zephyrs 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 Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Baseball Zephyrs 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.
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 Baseball Zephyrs in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006, Baseball Zephyrs 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Baseball Zephyrs with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Baseball Zephyrs has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Baseball Zephyrs needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
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.
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. Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Baseball Zephyrs 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 Finance & Accounting 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. Baseball Zephyrs needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Baseball Zephyrs 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. Baseball Zephyrs can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Baseball Zephyrs 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 Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Baseball Zephyrs 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Baseball Zephyrs is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 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 Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 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 Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 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 Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 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 Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006 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 Baseball Zephyrs needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.