Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club, a non-profit gaming organization and social club founded in 1884, was unusual, for through its payment of taxes and donations to the community, it had over the years funded a sizeable portion of Hong Kong government expenses and charitable work. The newly hired director of the information technology department is concerned about inefficient operation. The IT division had been an established part of the club for many years, and throughout time, had been organized and reorganized to meet the changing needs of the club. A task force is put together and an external consultant is brought in to review the division's organization. Upon completion of the review, the director of the division learns that the person heading the review plans to resign and must decide what to do.
Swot Analysis of "Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club" written by Anne Marie Francesco, Bee-Leng Chua includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Club Jockey facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational structure and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Club Jockey, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Club Jockey 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 Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Club Jockey
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 Club Jockey
Strengths Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Club Jockey in Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Club Jockey 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 Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Club Jockey has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Club Jockey to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Club Jockey 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Club Jockey has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Club Jockey 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
– Club Jockey has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Club Jockey in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Club Jockey to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Club Jockey to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Club Jockey is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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.
Analytics focus
– Club Jockey 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 Anne Marie Francesco, Bee-Leng Chua 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.
Learning organization
- Club Jockey 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 Club Jockey is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Club Jockey in the sector have low bargaining power. Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Club Jockey to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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 Club Jockey has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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 Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Club Jockey 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, Club Jockey is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Club Jockey 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. Club Jockey 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Club Jockey 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Club Jockey 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Club Jockey 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Club Jockey 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 - Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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 Club Jockey, firm in the HBR case study Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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 Club Jockey 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club | 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 Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Club Jockey can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Club Jockey operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Club Jockey 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.
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. Club Jockey can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Club Jockey 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 Club Jockey 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Club Jockey 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 Club Jockey to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Club Jockey 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 Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Club Jockey to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Club Jockey 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. Club Jockey 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Club Jockey 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Club Jockey 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Club Jockey to increase its market reach. Club Jockey 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Club Jockey can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Club Jockey can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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.
Threats Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Club Jockey 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Club Jockey 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 Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Club Jockey 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.
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. Club Jockey needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Club Jockey
– 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 Club Jockey.
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.
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. Club Jockey 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.
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 Club Jockey in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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 Club Jockey.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Club Jockey 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Club Jockey with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Club Jockey is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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 Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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 Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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 Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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 Information Technology Division at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 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 Club Jockey needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
