Charles River Jazz Festival SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Charles River Jazz Festival
Charles River Jazz Festival must decide whether to press a compact disk (CD) of Friday's jazz performance for sale on Saturday and Sunday. The idea to press CDs is novel, so there is considerable uncertainty about how receptive customers will be. The festival must decide whether to press CDs only on Friday or pay for an option to press them on Friday and Saturday. A simulation is performed to help estimate Saturday and Sunday CD demand. One input of the simulation is a regression relating Saturday and Sunday attendance to Friday attendance and weekend weather conditions. The case illustrates how several different quantitative techniques--decision analysis, regression, and simulation--can be integrated in an analysis of a managerial decision problem. Provides practice in decision analysis; illustrates use of simulation and regression in obtaining probability estimates.
Swot Analysis of "Charles River Jazz Festival" written by George Wu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Saturday Jazz facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Charles River Jazz Festival case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Financial analysis and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Charles River Jazz Festival casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Charles River Jazz Festival
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Charles River Jazz Festival case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Saturday Jazz, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Saturday Jazz 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 Charles River Jazz Festival can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Charles River Jazz Festival case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Saturday Jazz
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 Saturday Jazz
Strengths Charles River Jazz Festival | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Saturday Jazz in Charles River Jazz Festival Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Saturday Jazz 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 George Wu 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Saturday Jazz digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Saturday Jazz 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Charles River Jazz Festival firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Saturday Jazz to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Saturday Jazz to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Saturday Jazz has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Saturday Jazz to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Saturday Jazz has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Charles River Jazz Festival 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 Charles River Jazz Festival 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.
Learning organization
- Saturday Jazz 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 Saturday Jazz is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Charles River Jazz Festival Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Saturday Jazz has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Saturday Jazz in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Saturday Jazz is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Charles River Jazz Festival 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
– Saturday Jazz is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Charles River Jazz Festival 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
– Saturday Jazz 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 Charles River Jazz Festival | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Charles River Jazz Festival are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Saturday Jazz 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Charles River Jazz Festival 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 Saturday Jazz 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Saturday Jazz products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Saturday Jazz needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Charles River Jazz Festival, is just above the industry average. Saturday Jazz 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Charles River Jazz Festival, it seems that the employees of Saturday Jazz don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, George Wu suggests that, Saturday Jazz 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.
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 Saturday Jazz supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Charles River Jazz Festival, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Saturday Jazz vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Saturday Jazz 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 - Charles River Jazz Festival should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Saturday Jazz 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 Charles River Jazz Festival, in the dynamic environment Saturday Jazz has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Saturday Jazz 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, Saturday Jazz 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.
Opportunities Charles River Jazz Festival | 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 Charles River Jazz Festival are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Saturday Jazz 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.
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. Saturday Jazz 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. Saturday Jazz 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Saturday Jazz 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Saturday Jazz to increase its market reach. Saturday Jazz 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Saturday Jazz 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Saturday Jazz 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 Charles River Jazz Festival - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Saturday Jazz to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Saturday Jazz 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Saturday Jazz is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Charles River Jazz Festival 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Saturday Jazz 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
– Saturday Jazz 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.
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. Saturday Jazz can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Saturday Jazz in the consumer business. Now Saturday Jazz can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Saturday Jazz can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Charles River Jazz Festival 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.
Threats Charles River Jazz Festival External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Charles River Jazz Festival 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. Saturday Jazz 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.
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 Saturday Jazz in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Saturday Jazz needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Charles River Jazz Festival, Saturday Jazz 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Saturday Jazz 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Saturday Jazz has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Saturday Jazz 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Saturday Jazz 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 Charles River Jazz Festival .
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 Saturday Jazz.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Saturday Jazz 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.
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 Saturday Jazz business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Saturday Jazz 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. Saturday Jazz can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Increasing wage structure of Saturday Jazz
– 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 Saturday Jazz.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Saturday Jazz 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 Charles River Jazz Festival 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 Charles River Jazz Festival 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 Charles River Jazz Festival 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 Charles River Jazz Festival 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 Charles River Jazz Festival 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 Saturday Jazz needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
