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Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism


Regional governance, by contrast to municipal or state control, is the best level of government to tackle certain public functions-or at least, so it seems to most urban planners. Yet in many parts of the United States, it is all but impossible to build the political will to shift from local to regional governance. This decision-forcing case (which includes a video supplement, HKS Case 2093.0) places students in Detroit during the city's financial crisis and bankruptcy, events that set the stage for the controversial 2013-2014 negotiation to create a regional water system in greater Detroit. Set after an initial round of negotiations has collapsed, and a second effort is about to begin, the case challenges students to step into the shoes of the negotiating team, including the City of Detroit, three suburban counties, and the state of Michigan. It describes how Detroit's 2014 financial crisis and bankruptcy created an opportunity for regional governance, and also created conditions that made regionalization difficult. The case explores the history of distrust in city-suburban relationships, tensions over Detroit's management of the water department, the role of an outside emergency manager in setting negotiations in motion, and the reasons the first round of negotiations collapsed acrimoniously. A video supplement provides critical background on the reasons for Detroit's evolution as a majority-black city and the deterioration of its relationships with its majority-white suburbs, including racial discrimination, white flight, economic disinvestment and the controversial mayoralty of Coleman Young in the 1970s and 1980s. Case number 2114.0

Authors :: Pamela Varley, Quinton Mayne

Topics :: Global Business

Tags :: International business, Negotiations, Policy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism" written by Pamela Varley, Quinton Mayne includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Detroit's Detroit facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Negotiations, Policy and Global Business.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Detroit's Detroit, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Detroit's Detroit 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 Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Detroit's Detroit
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Detroit's Detroit




Strengths Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Detroit's Detroit in Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism Harvard Business Review case study are -

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Detroit's Detroit is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry

– Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Detroit's Detroit to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Detroit's Detroit to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Detroit's Detroit has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Detroit's Detroit 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.

Organizational Resilience of Detroit's Detroit

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Detroit's Detroit 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 Detroit's Detroit 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.

Ability to lead change in Global Business field

– Detroit's Detroit 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 Detroit's Detroit in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Digital Transformation in Global Business segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Detroit's Detroit digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Detroit's Detroit 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Detroit's Detroit is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Detroit's Detroit in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Detroit's Detroit 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Detroit's Detroit is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.






Weaknesses Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism are -

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Detroit's Detroit, firm in the HBR case study Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism 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 Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Detroit's Detroit is planning to shift buying processes online.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Detroit's Detroit 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Detroit's Detroit products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Detroit's Detroit needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Need for greater diversity

– Detroit's Detroit 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Detroit's Detroit is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Detroit's Detroit 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 dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism 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 Detroit's Detroit has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

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 Detroit's Detroit supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Detroit's Detroit vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Detroit's Detroit has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Detroit's Detroit even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism HBR case study mentions - Detroit's Detroit 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.




Opportunities Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism | 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 Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism are -

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. Detroit's Detroit can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Detroit's Detroit can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

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 Detroit's Detroit in the consumer business. Now Detroit's Detroit can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Manufacturing automation

– Detroit's Detroit can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business 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 Detroit's Detroit 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 Detroit's Detroit to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Developing new processes and practices

– Detroit's Detroit can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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 Detroit's Detroit in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Detroit's Detroit 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, Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Detroit's Detroit 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 Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Detroit's Detroit to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Detroit's Detroit 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 Global Business segment.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Detroit's Detroit 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. Detroit's Detroit 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Detroit's Detroit can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Detroit's Detroit is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism 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.




Threats Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism are -

Consumer confidence and its impact on Detroit's Detroit demand

– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.

Regulatory challenges

– Detroit's Detroit 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 Global Business industry regulations.

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Detroit's Detroit needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism, Detroit's Detroit may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Detroit's Detroit 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 Detroit's Detroit

– 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 Detroit's Detroit.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Detroit's Detroit 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.

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 Detroit's Detroit in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Detroit's Detroit has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Detroit's Detroit needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Detroit's Detroit 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.

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. Detroit's Detroit 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.

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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism 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 Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism 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 Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism 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 Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism 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 Detroit's Troubled Waters: Race, Politics, Bankruptcy & Regionalism 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 Detroit's Detroit needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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