The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry

The case is designed to generate a discussion concerning the motivations and risks of initiating policies of corporate ethics and social responsibility and the potential advantages and disadvantages of embracing these policies. It describes a situation in which an international giant in the tourist and hospitality industry must make a choice between profit maximization and the risk that a new venture has potential for contributing to sex trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. As such, it looks at the role of the travel and tourism industry in the sexual exploitation of children, including the ways in which airlines and hotels transport pedophiles to countries where children are available for exploitation. It also discusses national and international law and remedies regarding the sexual exploitation of children. By focusing on the Chief Executive's commitment to children and to combating child sex trafficking, the case encourages undergraduate and graduate-level students of business ethics, corporate social responsibility and leadership studies to consider the competing demands of business opportunity and social responsibility and the obligations business leaders must assume toward resolving moral issues. The case calls attention to the challenges of corporate social responsibility in a complex world

Authors :: Robyn Linde, H. Richard Eisenbeis

Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Tags :: Gender, Generational issues, International business, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry" written by Robyn Linde, H. Richard Eisenbeis includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Children Exploitation facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Gender, Generational issues, International business, Social responsibility and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Children Exploitation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Children Exploitation 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 The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Children Exploitation
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Children Exploitation

---

Strengths The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Children Exploitation in The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -

Innovation driven organization

– Children Exploitation is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Children Exploitation digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Children Exploitation has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Children Exploitation 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Children Exploitation is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Strong track record of project management

– Children Exploitation is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Children Exploitation 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 The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

High brand equity

– Children Exploitation has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Children Exploitation to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry

– The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Children Exploitation to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Children Exploitation to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field

– Children Exploitation 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 Children Exploitation in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Learning organization

- Children Exploitation 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 Children Exploitation is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Training and development

– Children Exploitation has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry 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.

Analytics focus

– Children Exploitation 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 Robyn Linde, H. Richard Eisenbeis 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.

---

---

Weaknesses The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry are -

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Children Exploitation 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Children Exploitation 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 - The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry, is just above the industry average. Children Exploitation 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Children Exploitation 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.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robyn Linde, H. Richard Eisenbeis suggests that, Children Exploitation 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry, in the dynamic environment Children Exploitation has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Children Exploitation has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Need for greater diversity

– Children Exploitation 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry 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 The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Children Exploitation is planning to shift buying processes online.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Children Exploitation 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.

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 Children Exploitation supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Children Exploitation vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Children Exploitation 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. Children Exploitation 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.

---

Opportunities The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry | 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 The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry are -

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Children Exploitation 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, The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Developing new processes and practices

– Children Exploitation can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Children Exploitation can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Children Exploitation 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Children Exploitation can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Children Exploitation can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

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 Children Exploitation in the consumer business. Now Children Exploitation can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

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. Children Exploitation can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Loyalty marketing

– Children Exploitation 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Children Exploitation is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry 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.

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 Children Exploitation 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Children Exploitation 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 Children Exploitation to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Children Exploitation has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Children Exploitation to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry case study. Children Exploitation can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

---

Threats The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry 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.

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. Children Exploitation needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Children Exploitation in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

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 Children Exploitation business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Increasing wage structure of Children Exploitation

– 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 Children Exploitation.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Children Exploitation has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Children Exploitation needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Children Exploitation with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Children Exploitation 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 The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry .

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Children Exploitation is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry, Children Exploitation may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .

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.

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 Children Exploitation in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Children Exploitation can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry 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 The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry 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 The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry 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 The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry 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 The Carlson Company and Global Corporate Citizenship: The Protection of Children in the Travel and Tourism Industry 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 Children Exploitation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

--- ---