Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair?
The board and management of Swissair were challenged in a new way after the country decided in 1992 against joining the European Economic Area. Swissair had to remain globally competitive or run the risk of becoming an insignificant regional airline given that it no longer operated under the same conditions as airlines in the European aviation market. Describes the strategic decisions and developments until the collapse of the airline in 2001, with a focus on corporate governance issues.
Swot Analysis of "Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair?" written by Ulrich Steger, Helga Krapf includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Swissair Grounding facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Decision making and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Swissair Grounding, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Swissair Grounding 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 Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Swissair Grounding
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 Swissair Grounding
Strengths Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Swissair Grounding in Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Swissair Grounding has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Swissair Grounding 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Swissair Grounding in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Swissair Grounding 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.
Training and development
– Swissair Grounding has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? 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.
Analytics focus
– Swissair Grounding 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 Ulrich Steger, Helga Krapf 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Swissair Grounding is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Swissair Grounding is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Swissair Grounding is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Swissair Grounding is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Swissair Grounding digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Swissair Grounding 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Swissair Grounding is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Swissair Grounding in the sector have low bargaining power. Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Swissair Grounding to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Swissair Grounding
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Swissair Grounding does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair?, is just above the industry average. Swissair Grounding 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Swissair Grounding products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Swissair Grounding needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Swissair Grounding is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Swissair Grounding 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ulrich Steger, Helga Krapf suggests that, Swissair Grounding 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? HBR case study mentions - Swissair Grounding 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Swissair Grounding 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 - Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Swissair Grounding, firm in the HBR case study Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? 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 Swissair Grounding has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Swissair Grounding 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Swissair Grounding is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Swissair Grounding needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Swissair Grounding to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? | 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 Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Swissair Grounding 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 Swissair Grounding to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Swissair Grounding 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 Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Swissair Grounding to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Swissair Grounding 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, Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Swissair Grounding can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Swissair Grounding 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Swissair Grounding 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Swissair Grounding 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Swissair Grounding can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Swissair Grounding can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Swissair Grounding operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Swissair Grounding 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Swissair Grounding 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.
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. Swissair Grounding 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. Swissair Grounding 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Swissair Grounding has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Swissair Grounding to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? case study. Swissair Grounding can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Swissair Grounding 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 Swissair Grounding in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Swissair Grounding business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Swissair Grounding is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Swissair Grounding 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.
Environmental challenges
– Swissair Grounding 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. Swissair Grounding can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Swissair Grounding 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Swissair Grounding 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 Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? .
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Swissair Grounding has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Swissair Grounding 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Swissair Grounding with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Swissair Grounding can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? 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 Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? 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 Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? 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 Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? 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 Grounding: Did Corporate Governance Fail at Swissair? 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 Swissair Grounding needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.