Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus
An entrepreneur in Atlantic Canada believes he has a five to six year window to capitalize on the growth of his newest venture, Maritime Bus, a passenger transportation and parcel delivery service, before his retirement. Having turned around a business that lost $12 million over the previous eight years in less than six months, he believes he has the opportunity to continue this success. However, he is unsure what strategies to follow to achieve growth: expand the parcel service, partner with other transportation operators to attract more riders, increase marketing efforts or move into Newfoundland and Labrador. He is also unsure about the value of the business and how he can smoothly and profitably transfer his ownership shares to his partner, one or more of his children or an external investor. Any decision needs to be made in consultation with his family.
Authors :: Edward Gamble, Simon Parker, Peter Moroz, Parker Baglole
Swot Analysis of "Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus" written by Edward Gamble, Simon Parker, Peter Moroz, Parker Baglole includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Maritime Parcel facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Leadership, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Maritime Parcel, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Maritime Parcel 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 Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Maritime Parcel
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 Maritime Parcel
Strengths Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Maritime Parcel in Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Maritime Parcel 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 Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Maritime Parcel 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 Maritime Parcel is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Maritime Parcel 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 Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Maritime Parcel 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 Edward Gamble, Simon Parker, Peter Moroz, Parker Baglole 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Maritime Parcel 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Maritime Parcel digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Maritime Parcel 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.
Training and development
– Maritime Parcel has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Maritime Parcel in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Maritime Parcel has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Maritime Parcel to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Maritime Parcel are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Maritime Parcel 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 Maritime Parcel 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 Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus 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 Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus are -
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 Maritime Parcel supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Maritime Parcel vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Maritime Parcel is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Maritime Parcel 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 - Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus, is just above the industry average. Maritime Parcel 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Maritime Parcel, firm in the HBR case study Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Edward Gamble, Simon Parker, Peter Moroz, Parker Baglole suggests that, Maritime Parcel 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Maritime Parcel is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Maritime Parcel needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Maritime Parcel to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus 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 Maritime Parcel has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Maritime Parcel 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus, it seems that the employees of Maritime Parcel 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus 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 Maritime Parcel 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus | 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 Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus are -
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. Maritime Parcel can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Maritime Parcel in the consumer business. Now Maritime Parcel can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Maritime Parcel 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Maritime Parcel 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 Maritime Parcel to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Maritime Parcel 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. Maritime Parcel can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Maritime Parcel 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Maritime Parcel 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Maritime Parcel has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Maritime Parcel to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus case study. Maritime Parcel can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Maritime Parcel 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Maritime Parcel 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 Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Maritime Parcel to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Maritime Parcel can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Maritime Parcel can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Maritime Parcel 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, Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Maritime Parcel 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. Maritime Parcel can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Maritime Parcel.
Regulatory challenges
– Maritime Parcel 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.
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. Maritime Parcel 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus, Maritime Parcel 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 .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Maritime Parcel has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Maritime Parcel 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 Maritime Parcel 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 Maritime Parcel business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Maritime Parcel 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
– Maritime Parcel 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Maritime Parcel can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus 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 Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus 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 Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus 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 Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus 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 Entrepreneurial Leadership at Maritime Bus 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 Maritime Parcel needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.