Case Study Description of Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg
The large-scale abandonment of property in inner-city Johannesburg had brought waves of crime, illegal building occupation and general disinvestment. The founder of Olitzki Property Holdings (OPH) saw that an improvement at a precinct level, through carefully constructed partnerships with government, other property owners, tenants and illegal residents, was the key to building a sustainable, inclusive and socially grounded entrepreneurial business. OPH identified and bought derelict or illegally occupied buildings, then renovated and leased them to a combination of blue-chip and start-up businesses. While there was no doubt that OPH was profit focused, the ability to see the important role of development was a cornerstone of its success. Could the company - and the city - expand and maintain that success? Anthony Wilson-Prangley is affiliated with University of Pretoria. Jonathan Marks is affiliated with University of Pretoria. Margaret Sutherland is affiliated with Gordon Institute of Business Science.
Authors :: Anthony Wilson-Prangley, Jonathan Marks, Margaret Sutherland
Swot Analysis of "Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg" written by Anthony Wilson-Prangley, Jonathan Marks, Margaret Sutherland includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Oph Olitzki facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Policy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Oph Olitzki, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Oph Olitzki 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Oph Olitzki
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 Oph Olitzki
Strengths Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Oph Olitzki in Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Oph Olitzki has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Oph Olitzki to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Oph Olitzki is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Oph Olitzki is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Oph Olitzki 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 Oph Olitzki in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Oph Olitzki 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Oph Olitzki in the sector have low bargaining power. Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Oph Olitzki to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Oph Olitzki 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Oph Olitzki has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Oph Olitzki 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.
Analytics focus
– Oph Olitzki 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 Anthony Wilson-Prangley, Jonathan Marks, Margaret Sutherland 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Oph Olitzki is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Oph Olitzki has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Oph Olitzki 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.
Weaknesses Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Anthony Wilson-Prangley, Jonathan Marks, Margaret Sutherland suggests that, Oph Olitzki 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg, is just above the industry average. Oph Olitzki 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Oph Olitzki, firm in the HBR case study Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg HBR case study mentions - Oph Olitzki 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Oph Olitzki is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg 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 Oph Olitzki 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Oph Olitzki is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg, in the dynamic environment Oph Olitzki has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Oph Olitzki has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Oph Olitzki 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Oph Olitzki is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Oph Olitzki needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Oph Olitzki to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Oph Olitzki 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.
Opportunities Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg | 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Oph Olitzki can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Oph Olitzki 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Oph Olitzki 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Oph Olitzki can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Oph Olitzki 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Oph Olitzki is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Oph Olitzki 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Oph Olitzki to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Oph Olitzki 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Oph Olitzki 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Oph Olitzki 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Oph Olitzki 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 Oph Olitzki to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Oph Olitzki can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Oph Olitzki operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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. Oph Olitzki 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. Oph Olitzki 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.
Threats Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Oph Olitzki has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Oph Olitzki 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Oph Olitzki in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Regulatory challenges
– Oph Olitzki 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Oph Olitzki 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg, Oph Olitzki 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 Oph Olitzki.
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 Oph Olitzki business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Oph Olitzki
– 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 Oph Olitzki.
Environmental challenges
– Oph Olitzki 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. Oph Olitzki can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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. Oph Olitzki needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Oph Olitzki 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Oph Olitzki 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg 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 Olitzki Property Holdings Catalyzes Change in Johannesburg 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 Oph Olitzki needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.