XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision
In spring 2014, XiamenAir is the most profitable of the five largest airlines in China. With bases in Xiamen, Fuzhou and Hangzhou, its flight network covers major cities in China with international service to Macao, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other Southeast Asian countries. The company prides itself on its differentiation strategy: customer service, building a brand and reputation that its customers trust and providing a service for which its customers are willing to pay a premium price even when there are low cost/low price carriers available. Its management is contemplating buying six new Boeing Dreamliner wide-body aircraft that will allow the company to expand its market to Europe, Australia and western North America. Will this purchase enable Fujian Province to more quickly become established as the regional hub for Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and cross-strait transportation? Will it help speed China's push to internationalize its passenger airlines? In the face of growing competition from high-speed rail networks and both Chinese and international airlines, the management must decide how best to grow the company and maintain its profits.
Swot Analysis of "XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision" written by W. Glenn Rowe, Xiaomei Guo includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Xiamenair Dreamliner facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Xiamenair Dreamliner, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Xiamenair Dreamliner 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 XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Xiamenair Dreamliner
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 Xiamenair Dreamliner
Strengths XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Xiamenair Dreamliner in XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Xiamenair Dreamliner digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Xiamenair Dreamliner 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
– Xiamenair Dreamliner is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Xiamenair Dreamliner is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision 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 lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Xiamenair Dreamliner 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 Xiamenair Dreamliner in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Xiamenair Dreamliner 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
– Xiamenair Dreamliner has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Analytics focus
– Xiamenair Dreamliner 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 W. Glenn Rowe, Xiaomei Guo 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.
Training and development
– Xiamenair Dreamliner has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Xiamenair Dreamliner 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 XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Xiamenair Dreamliner in the sector have low bargaining power. XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Xiamenair Dreamliner to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision, is just above the industry average. Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision, 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Xiamenair Dreamliner 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, W. Glenn Rowe, Xiaomei Guo suggests that, Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Xiamenair Dreamliner 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 - XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Xiamenair Dreamliner products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Xiamenair Dreamliner needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision 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 Xiamenair Dreamliner 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Xiamenair Dreamliner 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. Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision, in the dynamic environment Xiamenair Dreamliner has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Xiamenair Dreamliner has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Xiamenair Dreamliner has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision 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 Xiamenair Dreamliner has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision | 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 XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision are -
Loyalty marketing
– Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Xiamenair Dreamliner can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Xiamenair Dreamliner 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 Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
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. Xiamenair Dreamliner can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Xiamenair Dreamliner can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Xiamenair Dreamliner 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 Xiamenair Dreamliner to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Xiamenair Dreamliner to increase its market reach. Xiamenair Dreamliner will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Threats XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Xiamenair Dreamliner 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.
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.
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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Xiamenair Dreamliner 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 XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Xiamenair Dreamliner is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Xiamenair Dreamliner business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Xiamenair Dreamliner with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Xiamenair Dreamliner 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 Xiamenair Dreamliner in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Xiamenair Dreamliner 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
– Xiamenair Dreamliner 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. Xiamenair Dreamliner can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision 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 XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision 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 XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision 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 XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision 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 XiamenAir in 2014: The Dreamliner Decision 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 Xiamenair Dreamliner needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.