Best Western Italy (C): 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 (C): 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 (C): 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 (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Leadership development and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Best Western Italy (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Best Western Italy (C): 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 (C): 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 (C): 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 (C): 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 (C): 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 (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Best Western Italy (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Programme Western to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Programme Western to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Programme Western is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Best Western Italy (C): 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.
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 (C): 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Best Western Italy (C): 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.
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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Programme Western is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Best Western Italy (C): 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.
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 (C): 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Programme Western 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
– Programme Western is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Best Western Italy (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Programme Western 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 Programme Western is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Best Western Italy (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Programme Western 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 Best Western Italy (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Best Western Italy (C): 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 (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First are -
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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Best Western Italy (C): 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 (C): 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.
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.
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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Programme Western 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. Programme Western 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Best Western Italy (C): 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Best Western Italy (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First, in the dynamic environment Programme Western has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Programme Western has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Programme Western, firm in the HBR case study Best Western Italy (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Programme Western 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Programme Western products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Programme Western needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Best Western Italy (C): 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 (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First are -
Buying journey improvements
– Programme Western can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Best Western Italy (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First 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.
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.
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.
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. Programme Western can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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.
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.
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 (C): 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Programme Western 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.
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 (C): 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Programme Western 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 Programme Western to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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.
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.
Threats Best Western Italy (C): 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 (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First are -
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.
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. Programme Western needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Programme Western 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. Programme Western can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Programme Western 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.
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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Programme Western 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 Best Western Italy (C): Creating an Authentizotic Organization by Putting People First .
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.
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.
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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Best Western Italy (C): 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 (C): 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 (C): 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 (C): 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 (C): 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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