Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia
Founded by Priscilla and Raymond Lee and headed by chief executive officer Stephen Miller, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines was perhaps the world's first long-haul, low-cost carrier. The airline received approval to fly to London, Cologne, Berlin, Milan, Oakland and Chicago in November 2005. It announced its acquisition of two Boeing 747-400s in March 2006 and planned to start its maiden service to London Gatwick in October 2006. Aspiring to bring the best features of both traditional and budget airlines together, the airline pioneered a business model that offered a world-class, long-haul product at an affordable price, but it was too early to tell if the airline would be successful.
Authors :: Andrew Lee, Gary Chan, Venkat Subramanian
Swot Analysis of "Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia" written by Andrew Lee, Gary Chan, Venkat Subramanian includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Haul Oasis facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Business models, Marketing and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Haul Oasis, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Haul Oasis 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 Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Haul Oasis
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 Haul Oasis
Strengths Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Haul Oasis in Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Haul Oasis 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 Andrew Lee, Gary Chan, Venkat Subramanian 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Haul Oasis 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.
Organizational Resilience of Haul Oasis
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Haul Oasis does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Haul Oasis 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 Haul Oasis in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Haul Oasis is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Haul Oasis is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Haul Oasis 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 Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Haul Oasis has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Haul Oasis 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Haul Oasis in the sector have low bargaining power. Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Haul Oasis to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Haul Oasis 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 Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Haul Oasis is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Haul Oasis 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia 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 Haul Oasis 's lucrative customers.
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 Haul Oasis supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Haul Oasis vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Haul Oasis 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia, in the dynamic environment Haul Oasis has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Haul Oasis has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Haul Oasis is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Haul Oasis needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Haul Oasis to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Haul Oasis 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 - Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Haul Oasis 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. Haul Oasis 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia HBR case study mentions - Haul Oasis takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia, 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Andrew Lee, Gary Chan, Venkat Subramanian suggests that, Haul Oasis 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.
Opportunities Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia | 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 Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Haul Oasis can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Haul Oasis operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Haul Oasis 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.
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 Haul Oasis 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Haul Oasis 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Haul Oasis 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Haul Oasis 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, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Haul Oasis is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia 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.
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. Haul Oasis can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Haul Oasis 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 Haul Oasis to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Haul Oasis can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Haul Oasis has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Haul Oasis to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia case study. Haul Oasis can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Haul Oasis 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 Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Haul Oasis to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Haul Oasis in the consumer business. Now Haul Oasis can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia are -
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 Haul Oasis.
Environmental challenges
– Haul Oasis 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. Haul Oasis can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Haul Oasis 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 Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Haul Oasis 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Haul Oasis is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Haul Oasis has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Haul Oasis 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Haul Oasis 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Haul Oasis with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Haul Oasis needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Haul Oasis
– 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 Haul Oasis.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Haul Oasis 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia 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 Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia 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 Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia 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 Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia 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 Oasis Hong Kong Airlines: The First Long-Haul, Low-Cost Carrier in Asia 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 Haul Oasis needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
