A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail
Calgary's city manager sought to build stronger relationships with the community to attract development and retain investment in the city. He knew that implementing the Proximity Initiative guidelines, a collaborative effort between the Railway Association of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, while intended to limit potential safety risks in the case of a derailment or volume release, would simultaneously limit urban development opportunities, particularly within the downtown. The guidelines did not consider the balance of public safety with economic diversification so specific to Calgary's context. The manager had to consider an appropriate solution for his city.
Swot Analysis of "A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail" written by Gerard Seijts, Thomas Watson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Calgary's Proximity facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Policy, Psychology, Strategy and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Calgary's Proximity, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Calgary's Proximity 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 A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Calgary's Proximity
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Calgary's Proximity
Strengths A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Calgary's Proximity in A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Calgary's Proximity
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Calgary's Proximity does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Calgary's Proximity has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Calgary's Proximity in the sector have low bargaining power. A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Calgary's Proximity to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Calgary's Proximity to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Calgary's Proximity to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Calgary's Proximity is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail 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
- Calgary's Proximity 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 Calgary's Proximity is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Calgary's Proximity 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Calgary's Proximity in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Calgary's Proximity is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Calgary's Proximity has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Calgary's Proximity 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 Organizational Development field
– Calgary's Proximity 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 Calgary's Proximity in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Calgary's Proximity 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 Gerard Seijts, Thomas Watson 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.
Weaknesses A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail 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 Calgary's Proximity has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Calgary's Proximity is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Calgary's Proximity needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Calgary's Proximity to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Calgary's Proximity 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.
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 Calgary's Proximity supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Calgary's Proximity vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Calgary's Proximity has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail 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 Calgary's Proximity 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail, in the dynamic environment Calgary's Proximity has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Calgary's Proximity 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 Calgary's Proximity, firm in the HBR case study A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail 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 A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Calgary's Proximity is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Calgary's Proximity 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 A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail | 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 A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Calgary's Proximity to increase its market reach. Calgary's Proximity 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.
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. Calgary's Proximity can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Calgary's Proximity can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Calgary's Proximity 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 Calgary's Proximity to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Calgary's Proximity can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Calgary's Proximity 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Calgary's Proximity can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Calgary's Proximity 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Calgary's Proximity 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.
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 Calgary's Proximity 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.
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 Calgary's Proximity in the consumer business. Now Calgary's Proximity can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Calgary's Proximity 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. Calgary's Proximity 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Calgary's Proximity can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Calgary's Proximity operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Threats A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Calgary's Proximity in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
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 Calgary's Proximity.
Environmental challenges
– Calgary's Proximity 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. Calgary's Proximity can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Calgary's Proximity can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Calgary's Proximity
– 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 Calgary's Proximity.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Calgary's Proximity is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Calgary's Proximity has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Calgary's Proximity needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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.
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. Calgary's Proximity 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.
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. Calgary's Proximity needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Calgary's Proximity 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Calgary's Proximity with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Calgary's Proximity 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 A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail 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 A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail 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 A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail 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 A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail 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 A Situation of Conflicting Interests: Proximity to Rail 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 Calgary's Proximity needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
