Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A)
In July 2012, a gunman entered a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado and opened fire, killing 12 people, injuring 58 others, and traumatizing a community. This case briefly describes the shooting and emergency response but focuses primarily on the recovery process in the year that followed. In particular, it highlights the work of the Aurora Public Schools, which under the leadership of Superintendent John L. Barry, drew on years of emergency management training to play a substantial role in the response and then unveiled an expansive recovery plan. This included hiring a full-time disaster recovery coordinator, partnering with an array of community organizations, and holding mental health workshops and other events to support APS community members. The case also details the range of reactions that staff and community members had to APS' efforts, broader community-wide recovery efforts, and stakeholders' perspectives on the effectiveness of the recovery. HKS Case Number 2024.0.
Swot Analysis of "Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A)" written by Arnold M. Howitt, David L. Tannenwald includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Recovery Aurora facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Risk management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Recovery Aurora, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Recovery Aurora 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 Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Recovery Aurora
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 Recovery Aurora
Strengths Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Recovery Aurora in Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Recovery Aurora has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Recovery Aurora to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Recovery Aurora 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 Recovery Aurora
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Recovery Aurora does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Recovery Aurora 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 Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Recovery Aurora 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 Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Recovery Aurora in the sector have low bargaining power. Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Recovery Aurora to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Recovery Aurora has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Recovery Aurora 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Recovery Aurora in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Recovery Aurora is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Recovery Aurora digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Recovery Aurora 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Recovery Aurora 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.
Analytics focus
– Recovery Aurora 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 Arnold M. Howitt, David L. Tannenwald 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.
Weaknesses Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Recovery Aurora 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A), in the dynamic environment Recovery Aurora has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Recovery Aurora has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Recovery Aurora 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.
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 Recovery Aurora supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Recovery Aurora vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Recovery Aurora 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. Recovery Aurora 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Recovery Aurora products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Recovery Aurora needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) HBR case study mentions - Recovery Aurora 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A), it seems that the employees of Recovery Aurora 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 Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) 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 Recovery Aurora 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A), is just above the industry average. Recovery Aurora 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 Recovery Aurora, firm in the HBR case study Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) | 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 Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) are -
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 Recovery Aurora in the consumer business. Now Recovery Aurora can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Recovery Aurora has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Recovery Aurora to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) case study. Recovery Aurora 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
– Recovery Aurora 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 Recovery Aurora to increase its market reach. Recovery Aurora 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Recovery Aurora 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Recovery Aurora 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Recovery Aurora 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, Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Recovery Aurora 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Recovery Aurora 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 Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Recovery Aurora to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Recovery Aurora is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Recovery Aurora 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 Recovery Aurora to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Recovery Aurora can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Recovery Aurora 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.
Threats Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) are -
Increasing wage structure of Recovery Aurora
– 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 Recovery Aurora.
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 Recovery Aurora business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Recovery Aurora 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.
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. Recovery Aurora 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Recovery Aurora 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.
Environmental challenges
– Recovery Aurora 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. Recovery Aurora can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Recovery Aurora 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.
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 Recovery Aurora in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Recovery Aurora.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Recovery Aurora with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Recovery Aurora 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Recovery Aurora is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) 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 Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) 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 Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) 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 Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) 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 Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A) 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 Recovery Aurora needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
Feel free to connect with us if you need business research.
You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (A)