Case Study Description of The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan
A management consultant had a bad experience at a globally branded luxury hotel in Zurna City, Lazistan. After writing a candid online review of the hotel, the consultant found himself embroiled in an altercation when the hotel management lashed out and tried to discredit him by complaining to his organization. Dr. Yesim Elhan Kayalar (Jim) affiliated with Australian International School; University of Bradford; and University of Asia & Pacific.
Swot Analysis of "The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan" written by Jim Kayalar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lazistan Zurna facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational structure and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lazistan Zurna, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lazistan Zurna operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lazistan Zurna
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Lazistan Zurna
Strengths The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lazistan Zurna in The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Lazistan Zurna digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Lazistan Zurna 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lazistan Zurna has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan 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 Lazistan Zurna in the sector have low bargaining power. The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Lazistan Zurna to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan 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.
Organizational Resilience of Lazistan Zurna
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lazistan Zurna does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Lazistan Zurna 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Lazistan Zurna 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Lazistan Zurna is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Lazistan Zurna has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Lazistan Zurna to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lazistan Zurna in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Lazistan Zurna 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 Lazistan Zurna in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Lazistan Zurna to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Lazistan Zurna to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lazistan Zurna is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Lazistan Zurna needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lazistan Zurna to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan HBR case study mentions - Lazistan Zurna 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Lazistan Zurna is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Lazistan Zurna supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Lazistan Zurna vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan, in the dynamic environment Lazistan Zurna has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Lazistan Zurna has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Lazistan Zurna is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan 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 Lazistan Zurna 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Lazistan Zurna has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan, is just above the industry average. Lazistan Zurna 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Lazistan Zurna products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Lazistan Zurna needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan, it seems that the employees of Lazistan Zurna 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 The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Lazistan Zurna can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lazistan Zurna operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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 Lazistan Zurna 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lazistan Zurna 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, Lazistan Zurna is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan 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 Lazistan Zurna in the consumer business. Now Lazistan Zurna can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Lazistan Zurna has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Lazistan Zurna to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan case study. Lazistan Zurna can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Lazistan Zurna has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lazistan Zurna to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Lazistan Zurna can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Lazistan Zurna 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Lazistan Zurna can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Lazistan Zurna 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 Lazistan Zurna to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Lazistan Zurna 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Lazistan Zurna can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan are -
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.
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.
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. Lazistan Zurna needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Lazistan Zurna business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lazistan Zurna 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Lazistan Zurna can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Lazistan Zurna 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Lazistan Zurna 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.
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 Lazistan Zurna in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Lazistan Zurna can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan .
Increasing wage structure of Lazistan Zurna
– 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 Lazistan Zurna.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lazistan Zurna with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lazistan Zurna has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lazistan Zurna needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of The Zurna Lubb Hotel, Lazistan 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 Lazistan Zurna needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.