Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization
Iz-Lynn Chan, assistant director of retail business group and service quality and vice president of Far East retail consultancy for Far East Organization, a private real estate developer group in Singapore, raises service standards in the company's hospitality portfolio, Far East Hospitality. Chan and her small team in the Service Quality and Standards Department (SQSD) for Far East Organization apply to the Singapore government for the National Customer Centric Initiative (CCI) for Far East Hospitality. After being awarded the CCI, Chan must make some tough decisions about how to carry out the CCI. Despite Far East Hospitality's leading market share in mid-tier hotels and serviced residences, there had been a number of new entrants into the market and competition is fierce in Singapore's hospitality industry.
Authors :: Linda A. Hill, Anthony J. Mayo, Dana M. Teppert
Swot Analysis of "Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization" written by Linda A. Hill, Anthony J. Mayo, Dana M. Teppert includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that East Chan facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Collaboration, Leadership, Marketing, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the East Chan, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which East Chan 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 Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of East Chan
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 East Chan
Strengths Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of East Chan in Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For East Chan digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. East Chan 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of East Chan in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– East Chan 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 Linda A. Hill, Anthony J. Mayo, Dana M. Teppert 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– East Chan has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. East Chan 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.
Strong track record of project management
– East Chan is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– East Chan is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– East Chan has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled East Chan to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the East Chan are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– East Chan 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 East Chan in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– East Chan is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of East Chan in the sector have low bargaining power. Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps East Chan to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– East Chan has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization 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.
Weaknesses Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at East Chan has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization, in the dynamic environment East Chan has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. East Chan has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization 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 East Chan 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization 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 East Chan has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization HBR case study mentions - East Chan 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, East Chan is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– East Chan 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization, it seems that the employees of East Chan 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though East Chan 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 - Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, East Chan 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, East Chan 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 Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization | 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 Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at East Chan 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.
Manufacturing automation
– East Chan 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.
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. East Chan 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 East Chan in the consumer business. Now East Chan can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, East Chan can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that East Chan operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, East Chan 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, Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– East Chan can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of East Chan has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help East Chan to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization case study. East Chan can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– East Chan 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, East Chan 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects East Chan can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. East Chan can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for East Chan 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.
Threats Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization are -
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. East Chan needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– East Chan has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, East Chan 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.
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. East Chan 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.
Regulatory challenges
– East Chan 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
– East Chan 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. East Chan can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing wage structure of East Chan
– 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 East Chan.
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 East Chan 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 East Chan 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– East Chan 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.
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. East Chan can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that East Chan 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 Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization, East Chan 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 Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization 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 Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization 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 Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization 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 Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization 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 Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization 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 East Chan needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
