Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version
Introduces issues of new service standards in an information-intensive world.
Swot Analysis of "Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version" written by F. Warren McFarlan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Alive Tale facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Alive Tale, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Alive Tale 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 Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Alive Tale
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 Alive Tale
Strengths Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Alive Tale in Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Alive Tale 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 F. Warren McFarlan 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Alive Tale 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 Alive Tale in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version 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
- Alive Tale 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 Alive Tale is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Alive Tale has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Alive Tale 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.
Training and development
– Alive Tale has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Alive Tale 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 Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Alive Tale in the sector have low bargaining power. Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Alive Tale to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Alive Tale
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Alive Tale does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Alive Tale digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Alive Tale 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Alive Tale 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 Alive Tale in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Alive Tale 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Alive Tale has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Alive Tale even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version HBR case study mentions - Alive Tale 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Alive Tale 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Alive Tale is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Alive Tale needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Alive Tale to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Alive Tale 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Alive Tale 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version, 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version 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 Alive Tale 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Alive Tale products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Alive Tale needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Alive Tale 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.
Opportunities Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version | 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 Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Alive Tale 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 Alive Tale to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Alive Tale can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Alive Tale is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Alive Tale 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Alive Tale 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. Alive Tale can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Alive Tale can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Alive Tale to increase its market reach. Alive Tale 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Alive Tale 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Alive Tale can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Alive Tale operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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. Alive Tale 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. Alive Tale 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Alive Tale 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, Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Alive Tale can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version 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.
Threats Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version are -
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 Alive Tale in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Alive Tale has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Alive Tale 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.
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. Alive Tale can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Alive Tale 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. Alive Tale can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Alive Tale with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Alive Tale 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 Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version .
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Alive Tale 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Alive Tale 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.
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 Alive Tale
– 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 Alive Tale.
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. Alive Tale 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Alive Tale 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version 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 Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version 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 Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version 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 Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version 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 Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well, Spanish Version 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 Alive Tale needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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