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 - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, 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 -
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.
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.
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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Theotis Basketball 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Theotis Basketball in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Theotis Basketball 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent 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
– Theotis Basketball has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Theotis Basketball 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Theotis Basketball 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 Theotis Basketball in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Theotis Basketball 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Theotis Basketball 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.
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 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 Theotis Basketball supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Theotis Basketball vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
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.
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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Theotis Basketball 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.
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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent HBR case study mentions - Theotis Basketball 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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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. Theotis Basketball can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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.
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 Theotis Basketball 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Theotis Basketball 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 THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Theotis Basketball to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Theotis Basketball can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. THEOTIS WILEY - Confidential Instructions For Theotis Wiley's Agent 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 Theotis Basketball 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Theotis Basketball 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Theotis Basketball 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.
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. Theotis Basketball 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 Theotis Basketball is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Theotis Basketball 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.
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 Theotis Basketball business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.