Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project
Set in early 1996, the case presents the background to, and identifies the different participants in, a large commercial real estate development in Hong Kong, i.e., the Hong Kong Station development project. Provides hints about the conflicting interests and objectives of the joint venture participants and highlights the risks inherent in the venture. Shows that some participants can profit at the expense of other participants. Written from the perspective of Henderson Land, the principal joint venture partner of the project, but in essence each partner is at risk and needs to consider safeguards to its position. The objectives of this case are twofold: 1) To illustrate how different participants in a multipartner development project may have conflicting objectives and still subscribe to the same goal, i.e., a successful and profitable development venture. 2) To design a project delivery vehicle from the perspective of any one joint venture participant. Also points to the difference in risk between the venture as a real estate development project and as a completed real estate investment.
Swot Analysis of "Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project" written by Frederik Pretorius, Mary Ho includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Participants Project facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Joint ventures, Project management, Risk management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Participants Project, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Participants Project 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Participants Project
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 Participants Project
Strengths Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Participants Project in Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Participants Project to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Participants Project to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project 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 Participants Project in the sector have low bargaining power. Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Participants Project to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Participants Project 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Participants Project in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Participants Project digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Participants Project 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.
Training and development
– Participants Project has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Participants Project 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Participants Project 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 Participants Project is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Participants Project 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.
Analytics focus
– Participants Project 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 Frederik Pretorius, Mary Ho 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.
High brand equity
– Participants Project has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Participants Project to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Participants Project is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Participants Project needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Participants Project 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project 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 Participants Project has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Participants Project is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Participants Project is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Participants Project 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 - Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Participants Project, firm in the HBR case study Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Participants Project 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. Participants Project 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 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 Participants Project supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Participants Project vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Participants Project 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project HBR case study mentions - Participants Project 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.
Opportunities Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project | 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Participants Project has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Participants Project to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project case study. Participants Project can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Participants Project can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Participants Project 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Participants Project 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Participants Project 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Participants Project 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Participants Project is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Participants Project to increase its market reach. Participants Project 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.
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. Participants Project 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. Participants Project 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Participants Project 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Participants Project to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Participants Project can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Participants Project 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, Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project, 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, Participants Project 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.
Threats Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project are -
Increasing wage structure of Participants Project
– 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 Participants Project.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Participants Project 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.
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 Participants Project in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Participants Project 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.
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. Participants Project needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Participants Project 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Participants Project with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Participants Project can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Participants Project 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Participants Project is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Participants Project 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Participants Project has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Participants Project 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project 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 Henderson Land: The Bid for the Hong Kong Station Development Project 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 Participants Project needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.