!Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community
!Xaus Lodge is a community owned tourism facility in the Kagaladi Transfrontier Park, built to settle post-apartheid claims related to land seizures. The revival of the facility by Transfrontier Parks Destinations, a for-profit firm that also seeks to create a positive social impact, is the focus of the case.
Authors :: Saifed Mohamad Fakhreddin, Stephen J. Mezias
Swot Analysis of "!Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community" written by Saifed Mohamad Fakhreddin, Stephen J. Mezias includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Transfrontier Xaus facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Transfrontier Xaus, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Transfrontier Xaus 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 !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Transfrontier Xaus
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 Transfrontier Xaus
Strengths !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Transfrontier Xaus in !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Transfrontier Xaus 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Transfrontier Xaus is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Transfrontier Xaus 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 Saifed Mohamad Fakhreddin, Stephen J. Mezias 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.
Organizational Resilience of Transfrontier Xaus
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Transfrontier Xaus does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Transfrontier Xaus 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 !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Transfrontier Xaus is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Transfrontier Xaus 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 !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Transfrontier Xaus has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community 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.
Learning organization
- Transfrontier Xaus 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 Transfrontier Xaus is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Transfrontier Xaus in the sector have low bargaining power. !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Transfrontier Xaus to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Transfrontier Xaus 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 Transfrontier Xaus in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Transfrontier Xaus digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Transfrontier Xaus 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.
Weaknesses !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community 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 !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Transfrontier Xaus is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community, is just above the industry average. Transfrontier Xaus 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.
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 Transfrontier Xaus supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Transfrontier Xaus vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Transfrontier Xaus 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community 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 Transfrontier Xaus has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Transfrontier Xaus 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Transfrontier Xaus 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Transfrontier Xaus is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Transfrontier Xaus 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Transfrontier Xaus 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.
Opportunities !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community | 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 !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community are -
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 Transfrontier Xaus in the consumer business. Now Transfrontier Xaus can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Transfrontier Xaus 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, Transfrontier Xaus 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, !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Transfrontier Xaus 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 Transfrontier Xaus to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Transfrontier Xaus can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Transfrontier Xaus 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.
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. Transfrontier Xaus can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Transfrontier Xaus 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Transfrontier Xaus is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community 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 Transfrontier Xaus 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Transfrontier Xaus can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Transfrontier Xaus has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Transfrontier Xaus to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community case study. Transfrontier Xaus 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Transfrontier Xaus can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Transfrontier Xaus 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.
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. Transfrontier Xaus needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community, Transfrontier Xaus 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Transfrontier Xaus is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Transfrontier Xaus in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Transfrontier Xaus 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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Transfrontier Xaus 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.
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. Transfrontier Xaus 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, Transfrontier Xaus 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 !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community .
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 Transfrontier Xaus.
Environmental challenges
– Transfrontier Xaus 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. Transfrontier Xaus can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community 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 !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community 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 !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community 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 !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community 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 !Xaus Lodge: From White Elephant to the Heart of the Community 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 Transfrontier Xaus needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.