Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis
Theatre Calgary was a non-profit performing arts organization in Calgary, Canada. In its 2002/03 season, it faced a financial crisis that nearly ended in bankruptcy. It survived the crisis and made many changes to its budgeting and control systems to solve some of the deficiencies that had led to the financial difficulties. As the president prepares for a board meeting, the board of directors want to know if the current budgeting and control systems will ensure long-term stability. This case details Theatre Calgary's budgeting system and paints an accurate picture of the organization, and provides students the opportunity to recommend changes to control systems.
Swot Analysis of "Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis" written by Mary Heisz, Tom Ewart includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Theatre Calgary facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Theatre Calgary, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Theatre Calgary 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Theatre Calgary
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 Theatre Calgary
Strengths Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Theatre Calgary in Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Theatre Calgary
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Theatre Calgary does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Theatre Calgary 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 Theatre Calgary in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Theatre Calgary has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Theatre Calgary to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Theatre Calgary 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Theatre Calgary has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Theatre Calgary 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Theatre Calgary is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Theatre Calgary 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 Mary Heisz, Tom Ewart 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Theatre Calgary 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Theatre Calgary is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Theatre Calgary is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Theatre Calgary 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Theatre Calgary is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Theatre Calgary to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Theatre Calgary to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Lack of clear differentiation of Theatre Calgary products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Theatre Calgary needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Theatre Calgary has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis, in the dynamic environment Theatre Calgary has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Theatre Calgary has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis 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 Theatre Calgary has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis, is just above the industry average. Theatre Calgary 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Theatre Calgary is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Theatre Calgary 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. Theatre Calgary 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Theatre Calgary 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Theatre Calgary 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 - Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Theatre Calgary 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.
Opportunities Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis | 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Theatre Calgary 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. Theatre Calgary 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.
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. Theatre Calgary can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Theatre Calgary 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Theatre Calgary 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Theatre Calgary can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Theatre Calgary operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Theatre Calgary has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Theatre Calgary to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis case study. Theatre Calgary can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Theatre Calgary to increase its market reach. Theatre Calgary 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Theatre Calgary 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Theatre Calgary 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 Theatre Calgary to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Theatre Calgary 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Theatre Calgary to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Theatre Calgary can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Theatre Calgary can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Theatre Calgary can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis 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.
Threats Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis are -
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. Theatre Calgary can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Theatre Calgary 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Theatre Calgary with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Theatre Calgary 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. Theatre Calgary can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Theatre Calgary 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Theatre Calgary needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
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. Theatre Calgary needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Theatre Calgary 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis .
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. Theatre Calgary 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Theatre Calgary is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Theatre Calgary business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis 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 Theatre Calgary: Control Systems in an Organization in Crisis 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 Theatre Calgary needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.