Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights
Competition is present, explicitly or implicitly, in many business negotiations. Rarely in buyer-seller negotiations are the bargainers stuck with each other, usually they have an alternative trading partner to whom they can turn. The terms of agreement that are negotiated are shaped by the fact that the alternatives exist. The ability to exploit competition among potential trading partners is a major source of bargaining power. Competition within a negotiation works much like competition in a formal auction. The case describes the bidding for television rights.
Swot Analysis of "Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights" written by John McMillan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Competition Bidding facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, International business, Negotiations and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Competition Bidding, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Competition Bidding 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 Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Competition Bidding
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 Competition Bidding
Strengths Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Competition Bidding in Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Competition Bidding 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.
High brand equity
– Competition Bidding has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Competition Bidding to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Competition Bidding is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Competition Bidding is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Competition Bidding 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
– Competition Bidding has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Competition Bidding 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Competition Bidding to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Competition Bidding to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Competition Bidding 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 Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Competition Bidding is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights 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
– Competition Bidding 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 Competition Bidding in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Competition Bidding
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Competition Bidding does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Competition Bidding 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.
Weaknesses Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights, it seems that the employees of Competition Bidding 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Competition Bidding has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Competition Bidding 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Competition Bidding 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights, in the dynamic environment Competition Bidding has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Competition Bidding has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights 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 Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Competition Bidding is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Competition Bidding 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Competition Bidding products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Competition Bidding needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Competition Bidding 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 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 Competition Bidding supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Competition Bidding vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights 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 Competition Bidding has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights | 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 Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights 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 Competition Bidding 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Competition Bidding to increase its market reach. Competition Bidding 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Competition Bidding can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Competition Bidding operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Competition Bidding 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Competition Bidding 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 Competition Bidding to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Competition Bidding 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Competition Bidding can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Competition Bidding has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Competition Bidding to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights case study. Competition Bidding can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Competition Bidding 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Competition Bidding 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Competition Bidding 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 Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Competition Bidding 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 Competition Bidding 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Competition Bidding can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights are -
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 Competition Bidding business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Competition Bidding 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
– Competition Bidding 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. Competition Bidding can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Competition Bidding in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Competition Bidding 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 Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights .
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 Competition Bidding.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Competition Bidding 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 Competition Bidding is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Competition Bidding in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Competition Bidding
– 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 Competition Bidding.
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. Competition Bidding needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Competition Bidding has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Competition Bidding 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights 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 Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights 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 Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights 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 Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights 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 Olympian Competition: Bidding for Olympic Television Rights 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 Competition Bidding needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
