Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project
In February 2010, Germany's national railway broke ground on a project that had been under negotiation for more than 20 years-the Stuttgart segment of the European Magistrale, a 930-mile cross-Europe high-speed rail line that would one day extend from Paris through Munich and Vienna to Budapest and Bratislava. At long last, the German national railway, the state of Baden-WA¼rttemberg, and the city of Stuttgart had come to agreement on the routing and station design of the megaproject. Yet within the year, the project would spark the largest citizen demonstrations Germany had seen since the reunification of the country. The Stuttgart 21 opponents were diverse, and so were their concerns, but nearly all were united by one overriding contention: that political elites had conceived the plan without public input and had later refused to take citizen objections seriously. The case provides basic background and context for this controversy, then describes four kinds of public participation that took place in the course of developing the project: (1) a city-sponsored open-participation process in 1997 allowing citizens to weigh in on the neighborhood re-development portions of the project; (2) a petition drive by opponents to hold a city referendum on the project, later followed by mass demonstrations; (3) a state-sponsored mediation process between supporters and opponents of the project; and (4) a state election followed by a state referendum on the project.
Swot Analysis of "Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project" written by Quinton Mayne, Pamela Varley includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Stuttgart Project facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Policy and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Stuttgart Project, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Stuttgart 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Stuttgart Project
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 Stuttgart Project
Strengths Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Stuttgart Project in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Stuttgart 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Stuttgart Project in the sector have low bargaining power. Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Stuttgart Project to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Stuttgart 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Stuttgart Project 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 Stuttgart Project in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Stuttgart Project to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Stuttgart Project to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Stuttgart Project is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Stuttgart Project is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project 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.
Learning organization
- Stuttgart 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 Stuttgart Project is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Stuttgart Project in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Stuttgart 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.
Training and development
– Stuttgart Project has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail 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.
Organizational Resilience of Stuttgart Project
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Stuttgart Project does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Stuttgart Project is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Stuttgart Project needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Stuttgart Project to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project, is just above the industry average. Stuttgart Project 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Stuttgart Project is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Quinton Mayne, Pamela Varley suggests that, Stuttgart Project 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Stuttgart Project 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Stuttgart Project 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 Stuttgart Project, firm in the HBR case study Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Stuttgart Project 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Stuttgart 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Stuttgart 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 - Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Stuttgart Project products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Stuttgart Project needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project are -
Loyalty marketing
– Stuttgart 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Stuttgart Project can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Stuttgart Project 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.
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. Stuttgart Project can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Stuttgart 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 Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Stuttgart Project can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Stuttgart Project to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Stuttgart 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Stuttgart Project to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Stuttgart Project 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 Stuttgart Project to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Stuttgart 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. Stuttgart 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.
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. Stuttgart Project can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Stuttgart Project in the consumer business. Now Stuttgart Project can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Stuttgart Project 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.
Threats Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Stuttgart Project 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Stuttgart Project has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Stuttgart Project 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.
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. Stuttgart 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Stuttgart Project is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Stuttgart Project in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.
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. Stuttgart Project can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Stuttgart Project 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. Stuttgart Project can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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 Stuttgart Project business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Stuttgart 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 Stuttgart Project.
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. Stuttgart Project 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 Stuttgart 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail Project, Stuttgart Project 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail 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 Megaprojects & the Role of the Public: Germany's Embattled 'Stuttgart 21' Rail 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 Stuttgart Project needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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