Swot Analysis of "Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B)" written by Frances X. Frei, Matthew Perlberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Battier Morey facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Battier Morey, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Battier Morey 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 Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Battier Morey
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Battier Morey
Strengths Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Battier Morey in Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Battier Morey has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Battier Morey 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 Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Battier Morey has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Battier Morey 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Battier Morey is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Battier Morey is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Battier Morey is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Frances X. Frei, Matthew Perlberg can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Battier Morey in the sector have low bargaining power. Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Battier Morey to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Battier Morey 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Battier Morey 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
– Battier Morey has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Battier Morey to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Battier Morey has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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.
Weaknesses Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Battier Morey 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Battier Morey products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Battier Morey needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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 Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Battier Morey is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Battier Morey is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Battier Morey, firm in the HBR case study Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Battier Morey 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B), is just above the industry average. Battier Morey needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Frances X. Frei, Matthew Perlberg suggests that, Battier Morey 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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 Battier Morey 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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 Battier Morey has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Battier Morey 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.
Opportunities Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) | 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 Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) are -
Buying journey improvements
– Battier Morey can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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 Battier Morey 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 Technology & Operations segment.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Battier Morey 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Battier Morey 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, Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Battier Morey 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Battier Morey can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
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. Battier Morey 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 Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Battier Morey can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Battier Morey 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. Battier Morey 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Battier Morey can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Battier Morey 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Battier Morey can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Battier Morey operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Battier Morey 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 Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Battier Morey to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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. Battier Morey 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Battier Morey has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Battier Morey needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Battier Morey 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 Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) .
Regulatory challenges
– Battier Morey 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
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. Battier Morey needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Battier Morey.
Environmental challenges
– Battier Morey 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. Battier Morey can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Battier Morey business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Battier Morey 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Battier Morey with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Battier Morey can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Battier Morey 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 Battier Morey in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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 Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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 Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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 Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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 Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B) 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 Battier Morey needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B)
