Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception
The chief public relations (PR) strategist for SG Media is using the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) as an example in her public relations training session. In 2011, the TTC has been in the news because of a combination of poorly managed fare hike announcements and the perception of lax service quality. Consumers have taken to publishing, on social media sites, images of TTC employees seemingly in violation of service standards. The strategist is thinking about an appropriate PR strategy that the TTC could rely on to rectify its image.
Swot Analysis of "Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception" written by Jana Seijts, Dino Pupulin, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ttc Pr facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social platforms and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ttc Pr, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ttc Pr 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 Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ttc Pr
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 Ttc Pr
Strengths Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ttc Pr in Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Ttc Pr 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 Jana Seijts, Dino Pupulin, Ken Mark 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ttc Pr is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Ttc Pr is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ttc Pr to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ttc Pr 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 Ttc Pr digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ttc Pr 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.
Learning organization
- Ttc Pr 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 Ttc Pr is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Ttc Pr 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 Ttc Pr in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ttc Pr is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Ttc Pr has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ttc Pr to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Ttc Pr has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ttc Pr 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 Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception HBR case study mentions - Ttc Pr 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ttc Pr 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 - Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ttc Pr is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception, in the dynamic environment Ttc Pr has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ttc Pr has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Ttc Pr supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ttc Pr vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception, 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ttc Pr 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception 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 Ttc Pr 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ttc Pr is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Ttc Pr needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ttc Pr to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ttc Pr 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. Ttc Pr 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ttc Pr 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.
Opportunities Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception | 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 Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ttc Pr 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ttc Pr is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ttc Pr 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ttc Pr has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ttc Pr to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception case study. Ttc Pr can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Ttc Pr 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ttc Pr 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, Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Ttc Pr in the consumer business. Now Ttc Pr can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Ttc Pr can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ttc Pr 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.
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 Ttc Pr 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ttc Pr 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.
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. Ttc Pr 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. Ttc Pr 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ttc Pr 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 Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ttc Pr to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception are -
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 Ttc Pr business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ttc Pr is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Ttc Pr can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Ttc Pr
– 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 Ttc Pr.
Regulatory challenges
– Ttc Pr 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ttc Pr with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ttc Pr 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.
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 Ttc Pr 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 Ttc Pr.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ttc Pr 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception, Ttc Pr 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception 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 Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception 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 Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception 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 Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception 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 Toronto Transit Commission: Service Quality and Customer Perception 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 Ttc Pr needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.