The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future
In 2015, the chief operating officer of the Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club had to consider short- and long-term options to maintain and increase the success of the organization. Given its strong community support, the Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club was in the enviable position of having an 800-person waiting list for season tickets; however, this scenario caused a perception that games were always sold out, which discouraged a new generation of fans from attending. Given the organization's nonprofit governance model, any plan the chief operating officer considered would have to be adopted by the players and staff, as well as ticket holders, fans, local municipalities, and community residents. Possible courses of action included building a larger stadium, leveraging new marketing opportunities, and bidding for control of stadium concessions. How could the Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club continue its success while attracting a new generation of fans? Karin Schnarr is affiliated with Wilfrid Laurier University. Chelsea Lee is affiliated with Wilfrid Laurier University.
Authors :: Karin Schnarr, Mathew Krizmanich, Chelsea Lee
Swot Analysis of "The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future" written by Karin Schnarr, Mathew Krizmanich, Chelsea Lee includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kitchener Rangers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kitchener Rangers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kitchener Rangers 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 The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kitchener Rangers
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 Kitchener Rangers
Strengths The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kitchener Rangers in The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Kitchener Rangers has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Kitchener Rangers is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Kitchener Rangers
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Kitchener Rangers 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 Kitchener Rangers in the sector have low bargaining power. The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kitchener Rangers to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Kitchener Rangers is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Kitchener Rangers is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kitchener Rangers is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future 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
– The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kitchener Rangers to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kitchener Rangers to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kitchener Rangers in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Kitchener Rangers has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kitchener Rangers 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Kitchener Rangers 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 The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future - 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 The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future HBR case study mentions - Kitchener Rangers 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 Kitchener Rangers 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 - The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future 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 Kitchener Rangers has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Kitchener Rangers has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Lack of clear differentiation of Kitchener Rangers products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Kitchener Rangers needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Karin Schnarr, Mathew Krizmanich, Chelsea Lee suggests that, Kitchener Rangers is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Kitchener Rangers 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kitchener Rangers 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future, 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Kitchener Rangers, firm in the HBR case study The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Kitchener Rangers supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kitchener Rangers vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future | 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 The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Kitchener Rangers can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Kitchener Rangers operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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 Kitchener Rangers 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Kitchener Rangers 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kitchener Rangers has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kitchener Rangers to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future case study. Kitchener Rangers can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kitchener Rangers 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kitchener Rangers to increase its market reach. Kitchener Rangers 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Kitchener Rangers 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Kitchener Rangers 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kitchener Rangers 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Kitchener Rangers 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 The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kitchener Rangers to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Kitchener Rangers in the consumer business. Now Kitchener Rangers can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Kitchener Rangers 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. Kitchener Rangers 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.
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. Kitchener Rangers can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future are -
Increasing wage structure of Kitchener Rangers
– 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 Kitchener Rangers.
Environmental challenges
– Kitchener Rangers 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. Kitchener Rangers can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Kitchener Rangers has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kitchener Rangers 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Kitchener Rangers 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 Kitchener Rangers in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kitchener Rangers demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
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.
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. Kitchener Rangers needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kitchener Rangers 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Kitchener Rangers 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kitchener Rangers with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future, Kitchener Rangers 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 The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future 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 The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future 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 The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future 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 The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future 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 The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club: Skating into the Future 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 Kitchener Rangers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.