Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market
First case in a series of six cases that follow the experience of a cable television company as it adjusts to the rapid rise and precipitous decline of the stock market in the late 1980s. In this case Don Jones, the company's founder and owner, sees the rise in public cable television company values as an opportunity to consolidate a degree of personal wealth. Concludes with Jones considering a range of harvesting strategies.
Swot Analysis of "Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market" written by William A. Sahlman, Burton C. Hurlock includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Harvesting Jones facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Entrepreneurial finance, Financial markets, Reorganization and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Harvesting Jones, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Harvesting Jones 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 Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Harvesting Jones
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 Harvesting Jones
Strengths Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Harvesting Jones in Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Harvesting Jones 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 Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Harvesting Jones in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Harvesting Jones in the sector have low bargaining power. Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Harvesting Jones to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Harvesting Jones is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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
– Harvesting Jones is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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 Finance & Accounting field
– Harvesting Jones 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 Harvesting Jones in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Harvesting Jones has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Harvesting Jones has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Harvesting Jones is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Harvesting Jones 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Harvesting Jones to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Harvesting Jones to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Harvesting Jones 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.
Weaknesses Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Harvesting Jones 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 - Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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 Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Harvesting Jones is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Harvesting Jones 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market, it seems that the employees of Harvesting Jones 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Harvesting Jones 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, Harvesting Jones 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Harvesting Jones 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Harvesting Jones has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Harvesting Jones, firm in the HBR case study Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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 Harvesting Jones has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, William A. Sahlman, Burton C. Hurlock suggests that, Harvesting Jones 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.
Opportunities Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market | 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 Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Harvesting Jones is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Harvesting Jones has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Harvesting Jones to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market case study. Harvesting Jones can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Harvesting Jones can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Harvesting Jones operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Harvesting Jones 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 Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Harvesting Jones 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 Harvesting Jones 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Harvesting Jones 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 Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Harvesting Jones can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Harvesting Jones can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Harvesting Jones 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Harvesting Jones 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Harvesting Jones 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Harvesting Jones can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Harvesting Jones to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Threats Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Harvesting Jones 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 Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market .
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 Harvesting Jones business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Harvesting Jones 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
– Harvesting Jones 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. Harvesting Jones can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Harvesting Jones can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Harvesting Jones
– 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 Harvesting Jones.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Harvesting Jones has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Harvesting Jones 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Harvesting Jones 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.
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.
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. Harvesting Jones needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Harvesting Jones 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Harvesting Jones with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market, Harvesting Jones 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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 Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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 Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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 Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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 Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market 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 Harvesting Jones needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.