East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts
This is a Darden case study.This is a minicase, one of 10 in a set of short cases written to illustrate the business benefits companies realize through adopting sustainable business strategies. This minicase describes the creative and innovative ways sustainability goals were integrated into a development project called Northstar Tahoe, creating a model for real estate and ski resort design to protect community and environmental interests while contributing to the company's business success and brand recognition.
Swot Analysis of "East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts" written by Andrea Larson, Jeff York includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Minicase Ski facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Growth strategy, Innovation, Marketing, Sustainability, Technology and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Minicase Ski, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Minicase Ski 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 East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Minicase Ski
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 Minicase Ski
Strengths East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Minicase Ski in East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Minicase Ski has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Minicase Ski to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Minicase Ski is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Learning organization
- Minicase Ski 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 Minicase Ski is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Minicase Ski is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Minicase Ski is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Minicase Ski 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 Andrea Larson, Jeff York 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Minicase Ski in the sector have low bargaining power. East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Minicase Ski to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Minicase Ski to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Minicase Ski to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Minicase Ski digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Minicase Ski 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Minicase Ski 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 East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Minicase Ski 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 East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Minicase Ski has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Minicase Ski 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.
Weaknesses East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts, in the dynamic environment Minicase Ski has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Minicase Ski has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Minicase Ski 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Minicase Ski is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High 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 Minicase Ski supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Minicase Ski vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Minicase Ski 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts HBR case study mentions - Minicase Ski 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Minicase Ski 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Minicase Ski 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Minicase Ski 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Minicase Ski is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Minicase Ski needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Minicase Ski to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Minicase Ski 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 - East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts | 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 East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Minicase Ski has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Minicase Ski to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts case study. Minicase Ski can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Minicase Ski 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. Minicase Ski 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Minicase Ski to increase its market reach. Minicase Ski 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Minicase Ski is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Minicase Ski 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 East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Minicase Ski to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Minicase Ski in the consumer business. Now Minicase Ski can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Minicase Ski can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Minicase Ski 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Minicase Ski can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Minicase Ski 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 Minicase Ski to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Minicase Ski can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Minicase Ski 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Minicase Ski in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts 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.
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. Minicase Ski 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. Minicase Ski 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Minicase Ski with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Minicase Ski 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 Minicase Ski 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. Minicase Ski needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Minicase Ski 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 East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts .
Increasing wage structure of Minicase Ski
– 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 Minicase Ski.
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 Minicase Ski.
Regulatory challenges
– Minicase Ski 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Minicase Ski 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts 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 East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts 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 East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts 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 East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts 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 East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts 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 Minicase Ski needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
Feel free to connect with us if you need business research.
You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of East West Partners: Sustainability Strategy in Real Estate Development and Ski Resorts
