Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge
This is part of the subset of Ivey cases and technical notes written for Introductory-Level courses.After one year of operations, the new manager of a tennis pro shop and bar lounge must prepare, with the help of the company's accountant, financial statements from notes kept throughout the year. The case is intended to be an introductory exercise in accounting for simple transactions relating to assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Adjusting entries such as amortization and cost of goods sold are required. Students are asked to complete the accounting cycle by preparing closing entries and an income statement and balance sheet.
Authors :: Richard H. Mimick, Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Lindsay Brock
Swot Analysis of "Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge" written by Richard H. Mimick, Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Lindsay Brock includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lounge Entries facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Financial management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lounge Entries, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lounge Entries 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 Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lounge Entries
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 Lounge Entries
Strengths Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lounge Entries in Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Lounge Entries to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Lounge Entries to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Lounge Entries has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lounge Entries 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 lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Lounge Entries 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 Lounge Entries in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lounge Entries 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 Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Lounge Entries in the sector have low bargaining power. Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Lounge Entries to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Lounge Entries is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Lounge Entries has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Lounge Entries to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Lounge Entries 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 Richard H. Mimick, Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Lindsay Brock 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Lounge Entries is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lounge Entries in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Lounge Entries 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 Lounge Entries is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge are -
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 Lounge Entries supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Lounge Entries vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Lounge Entries 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 - Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Lounge Entries 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge, 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 Lounge Entries products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Lounge Entries needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Lounge Entries, firm in the HBR case study Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge HBR case study mentions - Lounge Entries 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge, it seems that the employees of Lounge Entries 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge, is just above the industry average. Lounge Entries 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Lounge Entries 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Lounge Entries 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.
Opportunities Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge | 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 Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Lounge Entries 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Lounge Entries 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Lounge Entries has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lounge Entries can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Lounge Entries in the consumer business. Now Lounge Entries can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Lounge Entries to increase its market reach. Lounge Entries 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.
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 Lounge Entries 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Lounge Entries has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Lounge Entries to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge case study. Lounge Entries can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Lounge Entries 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Lounge Entries can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Lounge Entries 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 Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lounge Entries 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 Lounge Entries 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Lounge Entries 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.
Threats Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge are -
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 Lounge Entries business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge, Lounge Entries 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Lounge Entries demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Lounge Entries in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Lounge Entries 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lounge Entries 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.
Increasing wage structure of Lounge Entries
– 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 Lounge Entries.
Environmental challenges
– Lounge Entries 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. Lounge Entries can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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 Lounge Entries.
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.
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. Lounge Entries 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.
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. Lounge Entries needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge 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 Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge 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 Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge 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 Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge 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 Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge 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 Lounge Entries needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.