The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai
The strategic and tactical problems of managing the operations function in a service environment can be examined through the context of the Walt Disney Company (DIS) opening Shanghai Disneyland. The company and its investors were excited about the Shanghai opening for a good reason: demographics. The resort would be located in the Pudong district of Shanghai, easily the wealthiest of all of China's districts. A massive 330 million people lived with a three-hour driving radius of the resort site, compared with 19.6 million who lived within the same radius at DIS's most profitable park, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Still, risks remained. Construction complications had delayed the opening almost a year longer than expected and cost overruns and alterations had increased the final price tag of the project. The Chinese economy had also hit a rough patch following the Chinese stock market slump in the summer of 2015. With the world watching, could the classic Disney theme park experience be delivered with the right cultural balance to appeal to its largely Chinese customers? Could DIS get it right?
Authors :: Elliott N. Weiss, Gerry Yemen, Stephen E. Maiden
Swot Analysis of "The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai" written by Elliott N. Weiss, Gerry Yemen, Stephen E. Maiden includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Disney Shanghai facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Operations management, Sales, Strategy and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, 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, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Disney Shanghai, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Disney Shanghai 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 The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Disney Shanghai
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 Disney Shanghai
Strengths The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Disney Shanghai in The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Disney Shanghai in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Disney Shanghai
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Disney Shanghai does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Disney Shanghai is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Disney Shanghai 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 Disney Shanghai is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Disney Shanghai has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Disney Shanghai has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Disney Shanghai 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
– Disney Shanghai 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 Disney Shanghai in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Disney Shanghai 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 Elliott N. Weiss, Gerry Yemen, Stephen E. Maiden 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Disney Shanghai 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 The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Disney Shanghai is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai 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)
– Disney Shanghai 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 The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai - 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 Disney Shanghai digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Disney Shanghai 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.
Weaknesses The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Disney Shanghai 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai 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 Disney Shanghai 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Elliott N. Weiss, Gerry Yemen, Stephen E. Maiden suggests that, Disney Shanghai 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Disney Shanghai products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Disney Shanghai needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Disney Shanghai 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 - The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Disney Shanghai 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Disney Shanghai 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai 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 The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Disney Shanghai is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Disney Shanghai, firm in the HBR case study The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Disney Shanghai supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Disney Shanghai vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai 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 Disney Shanghai has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai | 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 The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai 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 Disney Shanghai in the consumer business. Now Disney Shanghai can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Disney Shanghai 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Disney Shanghai 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Disney Shanghai 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Disney Shanghai to increase its market reach. Disney Shanghai 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Disney Shanghai 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 The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Disney Shanghai to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Disney Shanghai 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. Disney Shanghai 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Disney Shanghai 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Disney Shanghai has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Disney Shanghai to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai case study. Disney Shanghai can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Disney Shanghai can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Disney Shanghai 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.
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. Disney Shanghai can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Disney Shanghai 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, The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Disney Shanghai 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.
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. Disney Shanghai 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Disney Shanghai 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 The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai .
Regulatory challenges
– Disney Shanghai 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Disney Shanghai 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 Disney Shanghai with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Disney Shanghai 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 Disney Shanghai.
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.
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. Disney Shanghai 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 Disney Shanghai 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Disney Shanghai is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Disney Shanghai has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Disney Shanghai 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai 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 The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai 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 The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai 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 The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai 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 The Walt Disney Company: Mickey Mouse Visits Shanghai 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 Disney Shanghai needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.