Case Study Description of Coral Divers Resort (Revised)
The owner of a small scuba diving operation in the Bahamas is reassessing his strategic direction in the light of declining revenues. Among the changes being considered are shark diving, family diving, exit, and shifting operations to another Caribbean location. These options are not easily combined, nor are they subtle. The case is intended to provide a work-out on the relationship between strategy, organization and performance, and how changes in strategy will dramatically affect the organization. The case also highlights the importance of understanding demographic changes as part of an environmental analysis. (A nine-minute video can be purchased with this case, video 7B08M041.)
Authors :: Paul W. Beamish, Kent E. Neupert, Andreas Schotter
Swot Analysis of "Coral Divers Resort (Revised)" written by Paul W. Beamish, Kent E. Neupert, Andreas Schotter includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Diving 7b08m041 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Coral Divers Resort (Revised) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Coral Divers Resort (Revised) casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Coral Divers Resort (Revised)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Coral Divers Resort (Revised) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Diving 7b08m041, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Diving 7b08m041 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 Coral Divers Resort (Revised) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Coral Divers Resort (Revised) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Diving 7b08m041
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 Diving 7b08m041
Strengths Coral Divers Resort (Revised) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Diving 7b08m041 in Coral Divers Resort (Revised) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Coral Divers Resort (Revised) 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Diving 7b08m041 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Diving 7b08m041 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.
Organizational Resilience of Diving 7b08m041
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Diving 7b08m041 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Diving 7b08m041 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Coral Divers Resort (Revised) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Diving 7b08m041 in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Diving 7b08m041 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Diving 7b08m041 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 brand equity
– Diving 7b08m041 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Diving 7b08m041 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Diving 7b08m041 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Coral Divers Resort (Revised) 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Diving 7b08m041 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Coral Divers Resort (Revised) 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Diving 7b08m041 is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Coral Divers Resort (Revised) 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
– Diving 7b08m041 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Diving 7b08m041 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 Coral Divers Resort (Revised) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Coral Divers Resort (Revised) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Coral Divers Resort (Revised) are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Coral Divers Resort (Revised), in the dynamic environment Diving 7b08m041 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Diving 7b08m041 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Diving 7b08m041 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 Diving 7b08m041 is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Diving 7b08m041 needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Diving 7b08m041 to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Diving 7b08m041 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Diving 7b08m041 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. Diving 7b08m041 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Diving 7b08m041 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, Paul W. Beamish, Kent E. Neupert, Andreas Schotter suggests that, Diving 7b08m041 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Coral Divers Resort (Revised), 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Coral Divers Resort (Revised) 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 Diving 7b08m041 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Diving 7b08m041 has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Diving 7b08m041 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Coral Divers Resort (Revised), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Diving 7b08m041 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Coral Divers Resort (Revised) | 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 Coral Divers Resort (Revised) are -
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. Diving 7b08m041 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Diving 7b08m041 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Diving 7b08m041 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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 Diving 7b08m041 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, Diving 7b08m041 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Coral Divers Resort (Revised) 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Diving 7b08m041 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Diving 7b08m041 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Coral Divers Resort (Revised) case study. Diving 7b08m041 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Diving 7b08m041 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, Diving 7b08m041 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, Coral Divers Resort (Revised), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Diving 7b08m041 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 Coral Divers Resort (Revised) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Diving 7b08m041 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Diving 7b08m041 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.
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. Diving 7b08m041 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. Diving 7b08m041 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Diving 7b08m041 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.
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 Diving 7b08m041 in the consumer business. Now Diving 7b08m041 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Diving 7b08m041 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 Diving 7b08m041 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Coral Divers Resort (Revised) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Coral Divers Resort (Revised) are -
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. Diving 7b08m041 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.
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 Diving 7b08m041 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Diving 7b08m041 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Diving 7b08m041 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Diving 7b08m041 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Coral Divers Resort (Revised), Diving 7b08m041 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Diving 7b08m041 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Diving 7b08m041 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 wage structure of Diving 7b08m041
– 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 Diving 7b08m041.
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
– Diving 7b08m041 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. Diving 7b08m041 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Diving 7b08m041 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Coral Divers Resort (Revised) 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 Coral Divers Resort (Revised) 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 Coral Divers Resort (Revised) 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 Coral Divers Resort (Revised) 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 Coral Divers Resort (Revised) 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 Diving 7b08m041 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.