Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry
The chief executive officer of Mission Hills, a Chinese golf course operator, is reviewing a handful of expansion options. In August 2011, Mission Hills has three large land holdings in Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Haikou, 12,000 employees and 22 golf courses. In addition to golf courses, it owned two luxury hotels and sold houses built within its properties. Mission Hills occupies an average of 60 per cent of the land it currently owns, and Chu is trying to decide if growth should come by expanding to a third Chinese province or if it should continue building in its current land holdings. He wants to identify and mitigate some of the risks that come with running a high growth business.
Swot Analysis of "Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry" written by Mary M. Crossan, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hills Golf facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, IT, Strategic planning and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hills Golf, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hills Golf 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 Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hills Golf
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 Hills Golf
Strengths Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hills Golf in Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Hills Golf is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hills Golf digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hills Golf 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
– Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hills Golf to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hills Golf to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Hills Golf 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 Hills Golf in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hills Golf has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hills Golf 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hills Golf is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Hills Golf
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hills Golf does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Hills Golf in the sector have low bargaining power. Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hills Golf to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Hills Golf 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 Hills Golf is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Hills Golf is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Hills Golf has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hills Golf to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry 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 Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hills Golf is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry 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 Hills Golf has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Hills Golf 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 - Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Mary M. Crossan, Ken Mark suggests that, Hills Golf 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 Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry HBR case study mentions - Hills Golf 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hills Golf is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry 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 Hills Golf 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hills Golf has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Hills Golf 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry, in the dynamic environment Hills Golf has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hills Golf has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Hills Golf supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hills Golf vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry | 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 Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry are -
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 Hills Golf 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.
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. Hills Golf 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. Hills Golf can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hills Golf to increase its market reach. Hills Golf 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hills Golf 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 Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hills Golf to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hills Golf can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hills Golf operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hills Golf 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
– Hills Golf can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hills Golf 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 Hills Golf to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hills Golf is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Hills Golf 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.
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 Hills Golf in the consumer business. Now Hills Golf can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hills Golf 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 Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry are -
Regulatory challenges
– Hills Golf 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hills Golf with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hills Golf 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.
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 Hills Golf 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. Hills Golf 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.
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 Hills Golf business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Hills Golf needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hills Golf 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.
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 Hills Golf.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hills Golf is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Hills Golf can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hills Golf 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry 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 Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry 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 Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry 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 Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry 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 Mission Hills: Leading the China Golf Industry 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 Hills Golf needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
