Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix
In early December 2016, the owner of the Asian Grill restaurant in Henderson, Nevada, noticed that the restaurant had busy nights where customers left due to long wait times, yet there were empty seats due to small groups occupying large tables. She had a proposed new table layout before her and had to evaluate whether this would allow the restaurant to seat more customers on her busiest nights (Thursday to Saturday), or whether a different table layout would be even better.
Swot Analysis of "Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix" written by Kyle Maclean, Srinivas Krishnamoorthy includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Table Nights facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Table Nights, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Table Nights 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 Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Table Nights
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 Table Nights
Strengths Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Table Nights in Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Table Nights in the sector have low bargaining power. Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Table Nights to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Table Nights has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Table Nights 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.
Organizational Resilience of Table Nights
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Table Nights does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Table Nights has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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.
Analytics focus
– Table Nights 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 Kyle Maclean, Srinivas Krishnamoorthy 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Table Nights is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Table Nights 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 Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Table Nights has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Table Nights to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Table Nights 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 Table Nights in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Table Nights in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Table Nights is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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
- Table Nights 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 Table Nights is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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 Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Table Nights is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Table Nights supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Table Nights vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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 Table Nights 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix, is just above the industry average. Table Nights 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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 Table Nights has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Table Nights 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix, it seems that the employees of Table Nights 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Table Nights 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 - Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix HBR case study mentions - Table Nights 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix, in the dynamic environment Table Nights has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Table Nights has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix | 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 Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix are -
Loyalty marketing
– Table Nights 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Table Nights can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Table Nights has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Table Nights to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix case study. Table Nights can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Table Nights 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, Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Table Nights 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.
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. Table Nights 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. Table Nights 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Table Nights is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Table Nights 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 Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Table Nights to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Table Nights 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Table Nights 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Table Nights 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 Table Nights to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Table Nights 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Table Nights can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Table Nights operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Threats Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Table Nights 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.
Increasing wage structure of Table Nights
– 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 Table Nights.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Table Nights 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Table Nights with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix, Table Nights 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 .
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 Table Nights in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Table Nights business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Table Nights.
Environmental challenges
– Table Nights 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. Table Nights can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Table Nights 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Table Nights 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 Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Table Nights 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 Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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 Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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 Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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 Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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 Asian Grill: Finding the Optimal Table Mix 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 Table Nights needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.