Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend?
A Canadian couple whose daughter owned Metta Rest Spa, a flotation spa that opened in September 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia, had invested almost CA$1.2 million in the business. Their daughter had recently asked for another $60,000 to keep the business afloat, and in early 2016 the couple needed to decide whether to invest more money in the business. The business had a net loss in 2015 and needed cash to continue to operate. What other information should they be asking for? They needed to know if the business would be able to sustain itself without requiring their retirement funds. Lindsay Clayton is affiliated with Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Swot Analysis of "Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend?" written by Lindsay Clayton includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Metta Spa facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Manufacturing and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Metta Spa, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Metta Spa 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 Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Metta Spa
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Metta Spa
Strengths Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Metta Spa in Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Metta Spa 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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Metta Spa digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Metta Spa 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.
Organizational Resilience of Metta Spa
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Metta Spa does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Metta Spa 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Metta Spa is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
High brand equity
– Metta Spa has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Metta Spa to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? 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)
– Metta Spa 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 Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Metta Spa 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 Lindsay Clayton 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Metta Spa in the sector have low bargaining power. Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Metta Spa to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Metta Spa in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Metta Spa has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? 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.
Weaknesses Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Metta Spa 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend?, in the dynamic environment Metta Spa has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Metta Spa has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? 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 Metta Spa 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Metta Spa 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? 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 Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Metta Spa is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend?, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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 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 Metta Spa supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Metta Spa vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Metta Spa 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 - Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Metta Spa is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Metta Spa needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Metta Spa to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Metta Spa needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend?, it seems that the employees of Metta Spa 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 Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? | 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 Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Metta Spa 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. Metta Spa 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, Metta Spa 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, Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Metta Spa can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Metta Spa can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Metta Spa in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Metta Spa to increase its market reach. Metta Spa 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Metta Spa 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Metta Spa 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Metta Spa 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Metta Spa 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 Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Metta Spa to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Metta Spa 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Metta Spa is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? 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.
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 Metta Spa in the consumer business. Now Metta Spa can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? are -
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.
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.
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 Metta Spa.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Metta Spa 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 Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Metta Spa 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Metta Spa with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Metta Spa
– 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 Metta Spa.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Metta Spa has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Metta Spa needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Metta Spa 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.
Environmental challenges
– Metta Spa 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. Metta Spa can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend?, Metta Spa may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Regulatory challenges
– Metta Spa 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
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. Metta Spa 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? 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 Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? 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 Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? 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 Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? 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 Metta Rest Spa: Should the Stricklands Lend? 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 Metta Spa needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.