Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation
Since 2000, China's Jiuzhai Valley National Park (Jiuzhai Valley) had been experiencing a sharp increase in the volume of tourists it received. The park contributed significantly to the surrounding area's economy: in 2015 and 2016, it contributed more than 60 per cent of the total admission income received from the four major scenic parks within the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province. However, pollution and noise due to the influx of visitors presented a constant threat to Jiuzhai Valley's ecosystem and environment. Despite Jiuzhai Valley's fairly advanced and disciplined approach to park management, there was no easy solution to the problem it faced in trying to balance its economic success and sustainable environmental initiatives. Attempts to manage information using digital and smart technologies and "big data" were still in their early stages, and had yet to yield the expected benefits. How could the park balance conservation and development to attain sustainability? H. Brian Hwarng is affiliated with National University of Singapore.
Swot Analysis of "Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation" written by H. Brian Hwarng, Jianhua Ran includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Jiuzhai Park facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Sustainability and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption,
there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Jiuzhai Park, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Jiuzhai Park 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 Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Jiuzhai Park
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 Jiuzhai Park
Strengths Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Jiuzhai Park in Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Jiuzhai Park 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.
Analytics focus
– Jiuzhai Park 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 H. Brian Hwarng, Jianhua Ran 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 Jiuzhai Park in the sector have low bargaining power. Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Jiuzhai Park to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Jiuzhai Park is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Jiuzhai Park in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Jiuzhai Park
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Jiuzhai Park 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 Jiuzhai Park 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Jiuzhai Park 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 Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Jiuzhai Park is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Jiuzhai Park is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Jiuzhai Park 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 Jiuzhai Park in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation 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.
Weaknesses Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation, it seems that the employees of Jiuzhai Park 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Jiuzhai Park 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Jiuzhai Park, firm in the HBR case study Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Jiuzhai Park 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Jiuzhai Park has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation 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 Jiuzhai Park 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Jiuzhai Park 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 - Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation, in the dynamic environment Jiuzhai Park has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Jiuzhai Park has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, H. Brian Hwarng, Jianhua Ran suggests that, Jiuzhai Park 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation, is just above the industry average. Jiuzhai Park 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation 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 Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Jiuzhai Park is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation | 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 Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation are -
Manufacturing automation
– Jiuzhai Park can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Jiuzhai Park can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Jiuzhai Park operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Jiuzhai Park 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.
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 Jiuzhai Park 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 Jiuzhai Park can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Jiuzhai Park has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Jiuzhai Park to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation case study. Jiuzhai Park can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Jiuzhai Park 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 Jiuzhai Park to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Jiuzhai Park to increase its market reach. Jiuzhai Park 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Jiuzhai Park 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, Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Jiuzhai Park in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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. Jiuzhai Park 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. Jiuzhai Park 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Jiuzhai Park 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.
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. Jiuzhai Park can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Jiuzhai Park 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 Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation .
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. Jiuzhai Park will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Regulatory challenges
– Jiuzhai Park 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.
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 Jiuzhai Park.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Jiuzhai Park is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Jiuzhai Park 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Jiuzhai Park has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Jiuzhai Park 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.
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 Jiuzhai Park business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Jiuzhai Park in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline 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. Jiuzhai Park needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Jiuzhai Park in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Jiuzhai Park 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation 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 Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation 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 Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation 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 Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation 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 Jiuzhai Valley National Park: Data-Driven Economic Growth and Ecological Preservation 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 Jiuzhai Park needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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