Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A)
New technology underlies a protracted dispute between West Coast longshoremen and their employers. Severe economic consequences lead to government intervention in the dispute.
Swot Analysis of "Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A)" written by Dina Witter, Kathleen L. McGinn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dispute Coast facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Labor, Negotiations and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dispute Coast, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dispute Coast 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 Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dispute Coast
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 Dispute Coast
Strengths Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dispute Coast in Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Dispute Coast has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dispute Coast to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Dispute Coast are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Dispute Coast 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 Dina Witter, Kathleen L. McGinn 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Dispute Coast 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 Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Dispute Coast has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) 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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Dispute Coast 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 Dispute Coast 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 Dispute Coast in the sector have low bargaining power. Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Dispute Coast to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dispute Coast to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dispute Coast to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Dispute Coast 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 Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Dispute Coast 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 Dispute Coast is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Dispute Coast is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Dispute Coast 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. Dispute Coast 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) HBR case study mentions - Dispute Coast 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Dispute Coast 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 - Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) 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 Dispute Coast 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) 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 Dispute Coast has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Dispute Coast 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A), is just above the industry average. Dispute Coast 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 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 Dispute Coast supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Dispute Coast vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A), in the dynamic environment Dispute Coast has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Dispute Coast has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Dispute Coast 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
– Dispute Coast 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 Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) | 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 Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Dispute Coast 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 Global Business segment.
Buying journey improvements
– Dispute Coast can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Dispute Coast 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, Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Dispute Coast has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Dispute Coast to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) case study. Dispute Coast can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Dispute Coast can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Dispute Coast can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Dispute Coast 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.
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 Dispute Coast 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Dispute Coast 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dispute Coast is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Dispute Coast 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 Dispute Coast to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Dispute Coast to increase its market reach. Dispute Coast 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, Dispute Coast can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Dispute Coast operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Threats Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) are -
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Dispute Coast 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. Dispute Coast can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Increasing wage structure of Dispute Coast
– 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 Dispute Coast.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Dispute Coast 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 Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Dispute Coast 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.
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 Dispute Coast.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Dispute Coast 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.
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 Dispute Coast in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline 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 Dispute Coast business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Dispute Coast can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A), Dispute Coast may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Dispute Coast has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Dispute Coast needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business 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 Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) 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 Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) 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 Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) 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 Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) 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 Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A) 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 Dispute Coast needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.