Case Study Description of THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent
Accompanied by product #PON484.Two-party negotiation between agents for a basketball player and a shoe manufacturer over a possible sneaker endorsement deal. Theotis Wiley is a promising young basketball player with a checkered past. Erive is a small shoe manufacturing company about to launch a new line of basketball shoes. Erive's Vice-President of Business Development has asked to meet with Theotis' agent regarding the possibility of an endorsement deal. Neither party knows much about the other party's interests or alternatives. This is a role play case.
Swot Analysis of "THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent" written by Jake Erhard, Robert C. Bordone includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Theotis Basketball facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Negotiations and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing,
increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Theotis Basketball, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Theotis Basketball 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Theotis Basketball
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 Theotis Basketball
Strengths THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Theotis Basketball in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Theotis Basketball
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Theotis Basketball does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent 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.
Learning organization
- Theotis Basketball 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 Theotis Basketball is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Theotis Basketball is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent 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.
Analytics focus
– Theotis Basketball 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 Jake Erhard, Robert C. Bordone 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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Theotis Basketball digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Theotis Basketball 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Theotis Basketball 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Theotis Basketball to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Theotis Basketball to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Theotis Basketball in the sector have low bargaining power. THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Theotis Basketball to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Theotis Basketball is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Theotis Basketball is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Theotis Basketball has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Theotis Basketball to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Theotis Basketball 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Theotis Basketball 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent 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 Theotis Basketball has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Theotis Basketball is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Theotis Basketball needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Theotis Basketball to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Theotis Basketball, firm in the HBR case study THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jake Erhard, Robert C. Bordone suggests that, Theotis Basketball 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent, it seems that the employees of Theotis Basketball 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
– Theotis Basketball 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Theotis Basketball is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Theotis Basketball products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Theotis Basketball needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent | 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Theotis Basketball can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Theotis Basketball operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Theotis Basketball 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 Theotis Basketball to increase its market reach. Theotis Basketball 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Theotis Basketball 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, THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent, 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 Theotis Basketball 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 Theotis Basketball has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Theotis Basketball to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent case study. Theotis Basketball can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Theotis Basketball is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Theotis Basketball 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Theotis Basketball 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 Theotis Basketball to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Theotis Basketball can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Theotis Basketball can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.
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 Theotis Basketball in the consumer business. Now Theotis Basketball can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Theotis Basketball in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent are -
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 Theotis Basketball.
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 Theotis Basketball in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Theotis Basketball is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Theotis Basketball with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Theotis Basketball has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Theotis Basketball 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.
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. Theotis Basketball 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Theotis Basketball 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent, Theotis Basketball may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
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. Theotis Basketball needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Theotis Basketball in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.
Environmental challenges
– Theotis Basketball 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. Theotis Basketball can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Increasing wage structure of Theotis Basketball
– 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 Theotis Basketball.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent 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 Theotis Basketball needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
