Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution
Presents partial resolution of problem. Cites points still to be resolved in trade dispute between U.S. aircraft manufacturers and Airbus Industrie. To be used as a handout after discussion of the case.
Swot Analysis of "Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution" written by Malcolm S. Salter, Wendy Coleman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Airbus Dispute facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Conflict, International business, Policy and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Airbus Dispute, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Airbus Dispute 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 Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Airbus Dispute
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 Airbus Dispute
Strengths Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Airbus Dispute in Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Airbus Dispute 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Airbus Dispute in the sector have low bargaining power. Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Airbus Dispute to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Airbus Dispute has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Airbus Dispute 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
– Airbus Dispute has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Airbus Dispute 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Airbus Dispute 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 Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Airbus Dispute is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Airbus Dispute is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution 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
– Airbus Dispute 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 Malcolm S. Salter, Wendy Coleman 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Airbus Dispute 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 Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Airbus Dispute
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Airbus Dispute does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Airbus Dispute 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 Airbus Dispute is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Airbus Dispute 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution, in the dynamic environment Airbus Dispute has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Airbus Dispute has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution HBR case study mentions - Airbus Dispute 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Malcolm S. Salter, Wendy Coleman suggests that, Airbus Dispute 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Airbus Dispute 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. Airbus Dispute 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
– Airbus Dispute 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution, it seems that the employees of Airbus Dispute 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Airbus Dispute 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Airbus Dispute is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Airbus Dispute needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Airbus Dispute to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Airbus Dispute products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Airbus Dispute needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Airbus Dispute 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 - Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution | 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 Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Airbus Dispute can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Airbus Dispute 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, Airbus Dispute is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Airbus Dispute can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Airbus Dispute operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Airbus Dispute 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Airbus Dispute 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Airbus Dispute 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, Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Airbus Dispute 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Airbus Dispute has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Airbus Dispute to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution case study. Airbus Dispute can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Airbus Dispute can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Airbus Dispute can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Loyalty marketing
– Airbus Dispute 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Airbus Dispute 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.
Threats Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Airbus Dispute has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Airbus Dispute 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 Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution, Airbus Dispute 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 .
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 Airbus Dispute business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Airbus Dispute needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Airbus Dispute is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Airbus Dispute 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Airbus Dispute high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
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. Airbus Dispute can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Airbus Dispute 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 wage structure of Airbus Dispute
– 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 Airbus Dispute.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Airbus Dispute 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 Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Airbus Dispute 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.
Environmental challenges
– Airbus Dispute 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. Airbus Dispute can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution 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 Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution 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 Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution 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 Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution 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 Airbus vs. Boeing (C): Steps Toward Dispute Resolution 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 Airbus Dispute needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.