Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version
Taught in the second module of a course on Managing Service Operations, which addresses the design of sustainable service models (606-031).Describes the complex operations of the cruise industry. Positioned between luxury cruise lines and mass market lines, Celebrity struggles to find ways to create customer loyalty and increase profitability.
Authors :: Frances X. Frei, Corey Hajim, Christian Hemphell
Swot Analysis of "Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version" written by Frances X. Frei, Corey Hajim, Christian Hemphell includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cruise Celebrity facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Financial management, Operations management and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cruise Celebrity, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cruise Celebrity 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 Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cruise Celebrity
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 Cruise Celebrity
Strengths Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cruise Celebrity in Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cruise Celebrity to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cruise Celebrity to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cruise Celebrity 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cruise Celebrity in the sector have low bargaining power. Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cruise Celebrity to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Cruise Celebrity has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cruise Celebrity 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 Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Cruise Celebrity
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cruise Celebrity does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Cruise Celebrity in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cruise Celebrity is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Cruise Celebrity is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cruise Celebrity digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cruise Celebrity 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cruise Celebrity has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cruise Celebrity 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.
Weaknesses Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cruise Celebrity 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. Cruise Celebrity 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cruise Celebrity products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cruise Celebrity needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Cruise Celebrity 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version, is just above the industry average. Cruise Celebrity 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cruise Celebrity is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cruise Celebrity is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Cruise Celebrity needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cruise Celebrity to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Frances X. Frei, Corey Hajim, Christian Hemphell suggests that, Cruise Celebrity 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cruise Celebrity 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version, in the dynamic environment Cruise Celebrity has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cruise Celebrity has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cruise Celebrity, firm in the HBR case study Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version, it seems that the employees of Cruise Celebrity 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.
Opportunities Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese 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 Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cruise Celebrity is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese 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.
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. Cruise Celebrity can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cruise Celebrity 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cruise Celebrity has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cruise Celebrity to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version case study. Cruise Celebrity can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Cruise Celebrity 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. Cruise Celebrity 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.
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 Cruise Celebrity in the consumer business. Now Cruise Celebrity can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cruise Celebrity can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Cruise Celebrity 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cruise Celebrity can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cruise Celebrity can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cruise Celebrity operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cruise Celebrity 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 Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cruise Celebrity to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cruise Celebrity 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 Cruise Celebrity to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cruise Celebrity 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.
Threats Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cruise Celebrity 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cruise Celebrity 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 Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cruise Celebrity high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese Version, Cruise Celebrity 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 .
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 Cruise Celebrity business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Cruise Celebrity 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. Cruise Celebrity 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 Cruise Celebrity with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cruise Celebrity 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Cruise Celebrity 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.
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. Cruise Celebrity needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cruise Celebrity has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cruise Celebrity 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.
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 Cruise Celebrity.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese 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 Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese 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 Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese 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 Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese 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 Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury, Portuguese 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 Cruise Celebrity needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
