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 - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, 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 -
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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lounge Entries is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge 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.
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.
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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Lounge Entries digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Lounge Entries 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Training and development
– Lounge Entries has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
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 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Lounge Entries 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Lounge Entries is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Lounge Entries 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. Lounge Entries 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Richard H. Mimick, Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Lindsay Brock suggests that, Lounge Entries 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.
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.
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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Lounge Entries 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.
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.
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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Lounge Entries 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 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 -
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. Lounge Entries can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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.
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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Lounge Entries is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge 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.
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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Lounge Entries 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 Lounge Entries to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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.
Manufacturing automation
– Lounge Entries 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.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Lounge Entries can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lounge Entries operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Lounge Entries 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, Forest City Tennis Club - Pro Shop and Bar Lounge, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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.
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.
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 -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Lounge Entries in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Lounge Entries 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lounge Entries with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
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.
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.
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 .
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lounge Entries has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lounge Entries 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.
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. Lounge Entries can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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.
