Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
The case study describes the work of Deborah Cullinan during her tenure as executive director of Intersection for the Arts and in her new role as executive director of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA). The case begins as Cullinan is conducting a strategic refresh of YBCA, and deciding how to navigate an array of opportunities and challenges. Some of the challenges include staff fatigue resulting from a constant push for innovation under her predecessor; skepticism that the focus on the community will diminish artistic excellence; questions about Cullinan's ability to manage a large institution; changes to the Yerba Buena Gardens complex that may affect YBCA's tenancy and 14 percent of its revenue; a fraught environment in which artists and community members are being priced out of San Francisco by the influx of tech companies and their highly-paid workers, potentially altering the character of the city forever.
Authors :: Laura Callanan, Jane Wei-Skillern, Amy O'Callaghan
Topics :: Leadership & Managing People
Tags :: Growth strategy, Leadership, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts" written by Laura Callanan, Jane Wei-Skillern, Amy O'Callaghan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Buena Cullinan facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Leadership, Social enterprise, Social responsibility and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Buena Cullinan, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Buena Cullinan 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 Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Buena Cullinan
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Buena Cullinan
Strengths Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Buena Cullinan in Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Buena Cullinan 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 Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts - 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
– Buena Cullinan is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Buena Cullinan 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
– Buena Cullinan is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Buena Cullinan to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Buena Cullinan to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Buena Cullinan digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Buena Cullinan 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Buena Cullinan is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Buena Cullinan has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Buena Cullinan 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Buena Cullinan in the sector have low bargaining power. Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Buena Cullinan to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Analytics focus
– Buena Cullinan 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 Laura Callanan, Jane Wei-Skillern, Amy O'Callaghan 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Buena Cullinan 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 Buena Cullinan in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Buena Cullinan 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Buena Cullinan 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Buena Cullinan products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Buena Cullinan needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Buena Cullinan 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 - Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, in the dynamic environment Buena Cullinan has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Buena Cullinan 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 Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts HBR case study mentions - Buena Cullinan 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Buena Cullinan 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. Buena Cullinan 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, it seems that the employees of Buena Cullinan 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, Buena Cullinan 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 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 Buena Cullinan 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Buena Cullinan is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts | 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 Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Buena Cullinan can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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 Buena Cullinan can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Buena Cullinan 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Buena Cullinan can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Buena Cullinan 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Buena Cullinan in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Buena Cullinan 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, Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Buena Cullinan 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 Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Buena Cullinan to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Buena Cullinan 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. Buena Cullinan 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.
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 Buena Cullinan 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Buena Cullinan can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Buena Cullinan 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Buena Cullinan 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.
Threats Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Buena Cullinan is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Buena Cullinan 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Buena Cullinan has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Buena Cullinan needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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.
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. Buena Cullinan 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 Buena Cullinan with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Buena Cullinan business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Buena Cullinan can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Buena Cullinan 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Buena Cullinan may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
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 Buena Cullinan in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Buena Cullinan
– 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 Buena Cullinan.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 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 Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 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 Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 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 Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 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 Deborah Cullinan and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 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 Buena Cullinan needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
