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Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan


An investor is reviewing his investment in Air Canada to decide whether or not to sell his shares in the company. Recent weakness in the airline industry and a three-day strike by service staff has caused the investor to reevaluate Air Canada's long-term prospects. In particular, the investor wants to consider the company's pension plans in his analysis. A proposal to move new hires to defined contribution from defined benefit pension plans was a key point of contention between the company and striking workers. The investor knew the company's pension plans were underfunded and he wanted to assess what impact the underfunding would have on the company's future. Finally, the investor wanted to understand the impact that the change to International Financial Reporting Standards would have on Air Canada's pension accounting.

Authors :: Christine I. Wiedman, Darren Henderson, Pricilla Cheung

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Financial management, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan" written by Christine I. Wiedman, Darren Henderson, Pricilla Cheung includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pension Investor facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management and Finance & Accounting.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pension Investor, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pension Investor 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 Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pension Investor
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Pension Investor




Strengths Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Pension Investor in Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan Harvard Business Review case study are -

Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Pension Investor digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Pension Investor 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.

Training and development

– Pension Investor has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Pension Investor is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Pension Investor 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Pension Investor is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Learning organization

- Pension Investor 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 Pension Investor is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

High brand equity

– Pension Investor has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pension Investor to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Organizational Resilience of Pension Investor

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Pension Investor 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 Pension Investor 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Pension Investor 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 Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Pension Investor in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field

– Pension Investor 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 Pension Investor in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.






Weaknesses Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan are -

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan 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 Pension Investor 's lucrative customers.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Pension Investor 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 - Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Pension Investor 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan 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 Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Pension Investor is planning to shift buying processes online.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Pension Investor 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.

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 Pension Investor supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Pension Investor vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan, in the dynamic environment Pension Investor has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Pension Investor 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 Pension Investor, firm in the HBR case study Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Need for greater diversity

– Pension Investor 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan HBR case study mentions - Pension Investor 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 Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan | 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 Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan are -

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Pension Investor can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Pension Investor 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Pension Investor is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan 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

– Pension Investor can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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 Pension Investor in the consumer business. Now Pension Investor can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Developing new processes and practices

– Pension Investor can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Pension Investor 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Pension Investor 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 Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Pension Investor to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Pension Investor 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. Pension Investor 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Pension Investor 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Pension Investor can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Pension Investor can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Pension Investor operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Pension Investor in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.




Threats Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan are -

Instability in the European markets

– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Pension Investor 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Pension Investor is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Pension Investor 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.

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.

Environmental challenges

– Pension Investor 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. Pension Investor can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Pension Investor with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Pension Investor 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 Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan .

Increasing wage structure of Pension Investor

– 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 Pension Investor.

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. Pension Investor needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Pension Investor business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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 Pension Investor in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Pension Investor 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Pension Investor high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan 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 Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan 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 Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan 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 Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan 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 Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plan 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 Pension Investor needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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