Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug
Describes negotiation impasse between Time Warner, Inc. and The Walt Disney Co. over the retransmission of the ABC Network over Time Warner's cable systems. More broadly, the case depicts the shifting balance of power between content creators and distributors in the broadband era.
Swot Analysis of "Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug" written by Michael D. Watkins, Cate Reavis includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Walt Warner facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Internet, Negotiations and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Walt Warner, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Walt Warner 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 Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Walt Warner
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 Walt Warner
Strengths Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Walt Warner in Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Walt Warner 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 Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Walt Warner is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Walt Warner has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug 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.
High brand equity
– Walt Warner has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Walt Warner to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Walt Warner 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Walt Warner has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Walt Warner 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 Walt Warner in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Walt Warner is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Walt Warner 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 Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Walt Warner 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 Michael D. Watkins, Cate Reavis 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Walt Warner in the sector have low bargaining power. Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Walt Warner to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug 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 Walt Warner has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Walt Warner 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug HBR case study mentions - Walt Warner 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Walt Warner products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Walt Warner needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Walt Warner 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 - Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Walt Warner 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Walt Warner is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Walt Warner needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Walt Warner to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Walt Warner supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Walt Warner vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Walt Warner is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Walt Warner 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug, 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.
Opportunities Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug | 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 Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug are -
Loyalty marketing
– Walt Warner 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Walt Warner 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.
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. Walt Warner can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Walt Warner can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Walt Warner 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Walt Warner to increase its market reach. Walt Warner 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Walt Warner 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.
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. Walt Warner 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. Walt Warner 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Walt Warner 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 Walt Warner to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Walt Warner 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Walt Warner 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Walt Warner can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Walt Warner operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Walt Warner is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug 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.
Threats Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Walt Warner with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Walt Warner is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Walt Warner 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.
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 Walt Warner business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug, Walt Warner 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 .
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 Walt Warner.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Walt Warner 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.
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. Walt Warner 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Walt Warner 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Walt Warner has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Walt Warner 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Walt Warner 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug 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 Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug 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 Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug 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 Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug 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 Time Warner vs. The Walt Disney Co. (A): Pulling the Plug 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 Walt Warner needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.