Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport
Studies the allocation of airport slots. As airline traffic increases, slots become scarce. Well-established airlines have historically determined rights to these slots, which limits the possibilities for new entrants to the market. In addition, sometimes, the airlines do not make efficient use of their slots. It is often argued that this allocation system has to be revised to ensure economic efficiency. Several countries are considering this issue, which is often met with strong opposition from well-established airlines. Congestion in Hong Kong airport is increasing and the question whether Hong Kong should liberalize its allocation system is under debate.
Swot Analysis of "Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport" written by Ka-Fu Wong, Carola Ramon-Berjano includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Slots Allocation facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Regulation, Strategic planning and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Slots Allocation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Slots Allocation 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 Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Slots Allocation
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 Slots Allocation
Strengths Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Slots Allocation in Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Slots Allocation is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Slots Allocation has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Slots Allocation to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Slots Allocation 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 Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Slots Allocation is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Slots Allocation in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Slots Allocation 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Slots Allocation to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Slots Allocation to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Slots Allocation has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Slots Allocation 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Slots Allocation 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 Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport 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
– Slots Allocation 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 Slots Allocation in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Slots Allocation 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 Slots Allocation is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Slots Allocation 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. Slots Allocation 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 Slots Allocation supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Slots Allocation vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Slots Allocation, firm in the HBR case study Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport HBR case study mentions - Slots Allocation 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 Slots Allocation 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 - Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport, 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Slots Allocation is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Slots Allocation needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Slots Allocation to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ka-Fu Wong, Carola Ramon-Berjano suggests that, Slots Allocation 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport 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 Slots Allocation has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport, it seems that the employees of Slots Allocation don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Slots Allocation is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport | 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 Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport are -
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. Slots Allocation can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Slots Allocation 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.
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 Slots Allocation 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Slots Allocation 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, Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport, 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 Slots Allocation has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Slots Allocation to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport case study. Slots Allocation can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Slots Allocation 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Slots Allocation 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 Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Slots Allocation 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 Slots Allocation 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 Slots Allocation to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Slots Allocation can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Slots Allocation 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.
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. Slots Allocation can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Slots Allocation is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Slots Allocation 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.
Threats Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport 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.
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 Slots Allocation in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Slots Allocation is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Slots Allocation will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Slots Allocation 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 Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport .
Regulatory challenges
– Slots Allocation needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Global Business industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Slots Allocation with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Slots Allocation
– 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 Slots Allocation.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Slots Allocation 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.
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 Slots Allocation.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Slots Allocation 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
– Slots Allocation has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Slots Allocation 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport, Slots Allocation 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 Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport 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 Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport 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 Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport 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 Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport 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 Open Skies: Allocation of Landing Slots at Hong Kong Airport 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 Slots Allocation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
