Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B)
This two-part case looks at the issues related to the Metropolitan Opera's decision to start transmitting its productions in high definition (HD) to movie theatres after the arrival of its new general manager, Peter Gelb, on August 1, 2006. Part A provides students with all the details needed to assess this decision. It outlines the Met's general and competitive position within the performing arts at the time Gelb took over management, explains the Met's business environment (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological (PEST) analysis, its direct and indirect competition in New York and from other major opera houses in the U.S. and around the world), and the facts needed to analyse the various distribution methods available to the Met. It allows students to determine the viability of Gelb's plan to take the Met into movie houses, considering its implications for the company and the changes it would require to the Met's traditional business model as well as its competitive environment. Part B introduces students to the factors underlying the Live in HD project implemented by Gelb and its commercial and financial success. It concludes with a discussion of the possible next steps in the wake of this technological innovation, given that some challenges remain (such as lowering the average age of Met audiences) and their implications from a competitive perspective.
Swot Analysis of "Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B)" written by Sebastien Boutonnet, Serge Poisson-de-Haro includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Met's Gelb facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Technology and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Met's Gelb, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Met's Gelb 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 Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Met's Gelb
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 Met's Gelb
Strengths Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Met's Gelb in Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Met's Gelb 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 Met's Gelb in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Met's Gelb 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Met's Gelb is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Met's Gelb in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Met's Gelb is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) 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
– Met's Gelb 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 Sebastien Boutonnet, Serge Poisson-de-Haro 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Met's Gelb is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Met's Gelb has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Met's Gelb is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Met's Gelb 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 Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Met's Gelb has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Met's Gelb to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Met's Gelb
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Met's Gelb does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Met's Gelb is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Met's Gelb needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Met's Gelb to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Met's Gelb has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B), 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Met's Gelb 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. Met's Gelb 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Met's Gelb 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B), is just above the industry average. Met's Gelb 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) 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 Met's Gelb 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Met's Gelb is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Met's Gelb products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Met's Gelb needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Met's Gelb supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Met's Gelb vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) 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 Met's Gelb has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) | 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 Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Met's Gelb 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, Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Met's Gelb 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Met's Gelb 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.
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. Met's Gelb can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Met's Gelb to increase its market reach. Met's Gelb 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.
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. Met's Gelb 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 Met's Gelb in the consumer business. Now Met's Gelb can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Met's Gelb 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Met's Gelb has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Met's Gelb to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) case study. Met's Gelb 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 Met's Gelb 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Met's Gelb 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 Met's Gelb 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. Met's Gelb 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. Met's Gelb 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Met's Gelb can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) 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.
Threats Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) are -
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. Met's Gelb 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Met's Gelb 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 Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B), Met's Gelb 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 .
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. Met's Gelb can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Met's Gelb 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.
Environmental challenges
– Met's Gelb 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. Met's Gelb can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Met's Gelb business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Met's Gelb.
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 Met's Gelb in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Met's Gelb 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.
Increasing wage structure of Met's Gelb
– 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 Met's Gelb.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Met's Gelb has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Met's Gelb 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) 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 Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) 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 Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) 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 Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) 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 Live from the Met: Opera in the 21st Century (B) 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 Met's Gelb needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.