Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First
The case follows the progress of a year-long multi-module 'Make a Difference' programme for all 70 employees of Best Western Italy, the European operations and reservations centre for Best Western International, a global hotel group. The programme is designed to help individuals explore their own personal and professional goals, and then to work together to redesign the mission and vision of their organization. The objective is to unlock organizational energy, and to enhance trust and communication across all hierarchical levels. The outcomes included a restructuring of the senior executive level to create a flatter organization with more distributed leadership; improvement in the Great Places to Work Institute Italia ranking; and six company-wide projects initiated by employees. The case describes not only the programme design, but the necessary precursors for successful implementation, including organizational readiness for change and the skills and experience required of the coaches. It poses the question: How can this level of organizational change and renewal be sustained over time? Please visit the dedicated case website http://cases.insead.edu/best-western-italy to access video interviews and other support material.
Authors :: Elizabeth Florent-Treacy, Massimiliano Saccarelli, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries
Swot Analysis of "Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First" written by Elizabeth Florent-Treacy, Massimiliano Saccarelli, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Programme Western facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Leadership development, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Programme Western, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Programme Western 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 Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Programme Western
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 Programme Western
Strengths Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Programme Western in Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Programme Western has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Programme Western to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Programme Western 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 Elizabeth Florent-Treacy, Massimiliano Saccarelli, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries 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 Programme Western in the sector have low bargaining power. Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Programme Western to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Programme Western 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 Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Programme Western is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Programme Western in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Programme Western has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Programme Western 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.
Training and development
– Programme Western has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Programme Western 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Programme Western is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First 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.
Organizational Resilience of Programme Western
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Programme Western does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First 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.
Weaknesses Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Programme Western 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 - Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Programme Western 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 Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First 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 Programme Western has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First, is just above the industry average. Programme Western 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Programme Western is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Programme Western 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Programme Western is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Programme Western needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Programme Western to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First HBR case study mentions - Programme Western takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First 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 Programme Western 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Programme Western 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.
Opportunities Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First | 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 Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Programme Western 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.
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. Programme Western can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Programme Western is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Programme Western has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Programme Western to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First case study. Programme Western can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Programme Western 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.
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 Programme Western 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Programme Western 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, Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Programme Western 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.
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 Programme Western in the consumer business. Now Programme Western 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, Programme Western 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.
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. Programme Western 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. Programme Western 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Programme Western can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Programme Western operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Programme Western to increase its market reach. Programme Western 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.
Threats Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First are -
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 Programme Western in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First, Programme Western 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 .
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. Programme Western 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Programme Western 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Programme Western can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Programme Western has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Programme Western 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Programme Western in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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 Programme Western business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Programme Western.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Programme Western with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Programme Western 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.
Increasing wage structure of Programme Western
– 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 Programme Western.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First 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 Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First 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 Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First 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 Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First 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 Best Western Italy (A): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First 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 Programme Western needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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