The tsunami of December 2004 caused widespread devastation in the southern part of Thailand. After the tragedy, the Yaowawit School Kapong was founded with the aims to provide education and living support to needy children. This public welfare boarding school has been completely funded by partners and donors from all over the world via the Children's World Academy Foundation. However, a major question looms: For how long can the school continue to financially rely on charitable help? Because of this challenge, from the beginning the school's projects have been created to offer a practical education for the children and also generate income to cover the costs of running the school. One of these projects is the Yaowawit Lodge, which was developed to serve as the essential income-generating unit and to provide children with practical training in the hospitality business, the most promising job opportunity in this part of Thailand. Because of its unique character as a for-profit unit within a non-profit organization, Yaowawit Lodge must find ways to target niche customers, position itself in the market, and deliver marketing strategies accordingly. Additional challenges it faces include the location, which is far from the popular tourist areas; market perceptions concerning the combination of a primary school and a hotel; and the child labor issue.
Swot Analysis of "Yaowawit School Kapong" written by Krittinee Nuttavuthisit includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Yaowawit School facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Yaowawit School Kapong case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Policy, Social responsibility, Strategic planning, Sustainability and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Yaowawit School Kapong casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Yaowawit School Kapong
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Yaowawit School Kapong case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Yaowawit School, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Yaowawit School 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 Yaowawit School Kapong can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Yaowawit School Kapong case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Yaowawit School
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 Yaowawit School
Strengths Yaowawit School Kapong | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Yaowawit School in Yaowawit School Kapong Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Yaowawit School is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Yaowawit School Kapong are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Yaowawit School has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Yaowawit School to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Yaowawit School Kapong 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Yaowawit School in the sector have low bargaining power. Yaowawit School Kapong has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Yaowawit School to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Yaowawit School 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
– Yaowawit School has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Yaowawit School 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Yaowawit School 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Yaowawit School is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Yaowawit School Kapong firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Yaowawit School to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Yaowawit School to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Yaowawit School has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Yaowawit School Kapong 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Yaowawit School is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Yaowawit School Kapong Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Yaowawit School 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 Yaowawit School is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Yaowawit School Kapong Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Yaowawit School Kapong | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Yaowawit School Kapong are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Yaowawit School Kapong 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 Yaowawit School 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Yaowawit School 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 Yaowawit School Kapong, in the dynamic environment Yaowawit School has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Yaowawit School has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Yaowawit School, firm in the HBR case study Yaowawit School Kapong needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Yaowawit School supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Yaowawit School Kapong, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Yaowawit School 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 Yaowawit School Kapong 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 Yaowawit School has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Krittinee Nuttavuthisit suggests that, Yaowawit School 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Yaowawit School Kapong, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Yaowawit School 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Yaowawit School is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Yaowawit School Kapong can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Yaowawit School Kapong HBR case study mentions - Yaowawit School 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.
Opportunities Yaowawit School Kapong | 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 Yaowawit School Kapong are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Yaowawit School has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Yaowawit School to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Yaowawit School Kapong case study. Yaowawit School can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Yaowawit School 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Yaowawit School 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Yaowawit School 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 Yaowawit School to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Yaowawit School can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Yaowawit School 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Yaowawit School 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, Yaowawit School Kapong, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Yaowawit School can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Yaowawit School can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Yaowawit School operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Yaowawit School can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Yaowawit School Kapong 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Yaowawit School 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Yaowawit School 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Yaowawit School to increase its market reach. Yaowawit School 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.
Threats Yaowawit School Kapong External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Yaowawit School Kapong are -
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. Yaowawit School can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Yaowawit School is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Yaowawit School 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Yaowawit School Kapong, Yaowawit School 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 .
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 Yaowawit School 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. Yaowawit School needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Yaowawit School 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. Yaowawit School can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Yaowawit School.
Increasing wage structure of Yaowawit School
– 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 Yaowawit School.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Yaowawit School 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Yaowawit School 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Yaowawit School Kapong 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 Yaowawit School Kapong 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 Yaowawit School Kapong 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 Yaowawit School Kapong 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 Yaowawit School Kapong 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 Yaowawit School needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
