License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong?
Investigates the government's decision-making process in revising Town Planning Amendment Bill 2003. Aimed at striking a balance between streamlining procedures and enhancing public participation in the town-planning process, the revision injects more variability into the plan-making and application process. The amendments, thus, increase uncertainty, given that special interests and public administrators have greater discretion over determining the type, pace, and pattern of development at the district level. Identifies the effect of increasing uncertainty and development delays. The findings provide a factual base for policy and business strategy discussions.
Authors :: Ka-Fu Wong, Alexandra Yiu, Carola Ramon-Berjano
Swot Analysis of "License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong?" written by Ka-Fu Wong, Alexandra Yiu, Carola Ramon-Berjano includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Town Planning facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Managing uncertainty, Policy, Regulation, Strategic planning and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Town Planning, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Town Planning 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 License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Town Planning
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Town Planning
Strengths License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Town Planning in License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Town Planning 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 Ka-Fu Wong, Alexandra Yiu, Carola Ramon-Berjano 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Town Planning is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Town Planning has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Town Planning 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.
Training and development
– Town Planning has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? 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.
Learning organization
- Town Planning 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 Town Planning is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Town Planning has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Town Planning to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Town Planning 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 License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Town Planning to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Town Planning to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Town Planning 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 Town Planning in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Town Planning in the sector have low bargaining power. License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Town Planning to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Town Planning is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Town Planning 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 License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Town Planning is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Town Planning needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Town Planning to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? 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 Town Planning has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong?, it seems that the employees of Town Planning 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Town Planning 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Town Planning products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Town Planning needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? 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 Town Planning 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Town Planning has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ka-Fu Wong, Alexandra Yiu, Carola Ramon-Berjano suggests that, Town Planning 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong?, in the dynamic environment Town Planning has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Town Planning has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Town Planning 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 Town Planning 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 - License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? | 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 License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Town Planning 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
– Town Planning can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Town Planning 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. Town Planning can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Buying journey improvements
– Town Planning can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Town Planning can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Town Planning 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 Town Planning to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Town Planning can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Town Planning has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Town Planning to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? case study. Town Planning can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Town Planning 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 License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Town Planning to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Town Planning 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, License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Town Planning to increase its market reach. Town Planning 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, Town Planning can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Town Planning operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
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. Town Planning can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Town Planning 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.
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. Town Planning needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Town Planning 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Town Planning can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Town Planning.
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 Town Planning business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Town Planning 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. Town Planning can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Town Planning 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
– Town Planning can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Town Planning 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.
Increasing wage structure of Town Planning
– 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 Town Planning.
Regulatory challenges
– Town Planning needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Global Business industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? 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 License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? 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 License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? 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 License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? 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 License to Build: Town Planning Legislation in Hong Kong? 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 Town Planning needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
