British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course
The case evaluates the approach of BC Ferry Services Inc. (BC Ferries), a public marine transportation organization, to health, safety and environmental protection (HSE). With 35 vessels that provide year-round passenger and vehicle services to 47 West Coast terminals, BC Ferries is based in Victoria, British Columbia. On March 22, 2006, one of BC Ferries' vessels, the Queen of the North, struck Gil Island, killing two passengers and causing irreversible damage to sensitive coastal marine areas. On May 13, 2013, the navigation officer of the Queen of the North, Karl Lilgert, was charged with criminal negligence and sentenced to four years in prison. Even with the ending of the trial and years of investigations, questions still remain unanswered about what happened on the tragic night of the ship's sinking.
Swot Analysis of "British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course" written by Catherine Fitzgerald, Jean Helms Mills includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bc Ferries facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Personnel policies and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bc Ferries, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bc Ferries 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 British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bc Ferries
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 Bc Ferries
Strengths British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bc Ferries in British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bc Ferries is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bc Ferries to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bc Ferries to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bc Ferries has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bc Ferries 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bc Ferries digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bc Ferries 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bc Ferries 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 British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Bc Ferries is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course 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 lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Bc Ferries 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 Bc Ferries in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Bc Ferries
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bc Ferries does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bc Ferries in the sector have low bargaining power. British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bc Ferries to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bc Ferries 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bc Ferries 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 British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course, is just above the industry average. Bc Ferries 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bc Ferries is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Bc Ferries needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bc Ferries to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bc Ferries, firm in the HBR case study British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course, in the dynamic environment Bc Ferries has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bc Ferries 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 Bc Ferries supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bc Ferries vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bc Ferries 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bc Ferries 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. Bc Ferries 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bc Ferries is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bc Ferries 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bc Ferries 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 - British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bc Ferries 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 British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course | 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 British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bc Ferries 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, British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bc Ferries 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.
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. Bc Ferries 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. Bc Ferries can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bc Ferries is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Bc Ferries 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.
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 Bc Ferries 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Bc Ferries 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 Bc Ferries to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bc Ferries has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bc Ferries to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course case study. Bc Ferries can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bc Ferries can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bc Ferries operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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. Bc Ferries 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. Bc Ferries 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bc Ferries to increase its market reach. Bc Ferries 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Bc Ferries 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.
Threats British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bc Ferries is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course, Bc Ferries 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bc Ferries 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.
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. Bc Ferries 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.
Environmental challenges
– Bc Ferries 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. Bc Ferries 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 Bc Ferries in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bc Ferries 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 British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course .
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 Bc Ferries business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bc Ferries has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bc Ferries 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.
Increasing wage structure of Bc Ferries
– 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 Bc Ferries.
Regulatory challenges
– Bc Ferries 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. Bc Ferries needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bc Ferries 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course 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 British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course 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 British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course 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 British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course 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 British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.: Charting a Safe Course 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 Bc Ferries needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
