Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director
Ponce de Leon (POL) is a four-party negotiation exercise in which a film studio is trying to sign a major actress to star in an upcoming movie. The negotiation centers around the different extrinsic and intrinsic motivations underlying each of these party's approach to the movie, and therefore to the negotiation. The exercise allows exploration of the risks of "monetizing" different types of extrinsic (e.g. pay, awards, status) and intrinsic (e.g. love of the work, values) motivation.
Swot Analysis of "Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director" written by Ian I. Larkin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Leon Ponce facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Difficult conversations, Influence, Motivating people, Negotiations and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Leon Ponce, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Leon Ponce 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 Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Leon Ponce
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 Leon Ponce
Strengths Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Leon Ponce in Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Leon Ponce is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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.
Analytics focus
– Leon Ponce 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 Ian I. Larkin 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 Leon Ponce in the sector have low bargaining power. Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Leon Ponce to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Leon Ponce is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Leon Ponce digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Leon Ponce 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 lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Leon Ponce 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 Leon Ponce in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Leon Ponce is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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 Leon Ponce in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Leon Ponce has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Leon Ponce 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
– Leon Ponce has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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 Leon Ponce 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.
Weaknesses Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Leon Ponce has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Leon Ponce is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Leon Ponce 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. Leon Ponce 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ian I. Larkin suggests that, Leon Ponce is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Leon Ponce 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director, 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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 Leon Ponce 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director, it seems that the employees of Leon Ponce 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Leon Ponce 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director, in the dynamic environment Leon Ponce has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Leon Ponce has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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 Leon Ponce has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director | 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 Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Leon Ponce 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Leon Ponce is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Leon Ponce can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Leon Ponce 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 Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Leon Ponce to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Leon Ponce can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Leon Ponce 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Leon Ponce has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Leon Ponce to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director case study. Leon Ponce can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Leon Ponce 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Leon Ponce can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Leon Ponce operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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. Leon Ponce can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Leon Ponce 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 Leon Ponce in the consumer business. Now Leon Ponce can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Leon Ponce 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.
Threats Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director are -
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. Leon Ponce can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Leon Ponce is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Leon Ponce 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. Leon Ponce can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Leon Ponce in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Leon Ponce.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Leon Ponce with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Leon Ponce
– 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 Leon Ponce.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Leon Ponce 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 Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Leon Ponce has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Leon Ponce 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Leon Ponce 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.
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. Leon Ponce needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People 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 Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director, Leon Ponce 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Leon Ponce demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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 Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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 Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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 Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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 Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Poppie Santoni, Director 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 Leon Ponce needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
