Swot Analysis of ""Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane" written by Jennifer Weeks, Arnold Howitt, Dutch Leonard includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hks713 Rescuing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Leadership, Organizational culture, Risk management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hks713 Rescuing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hks713 Rescuing 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 "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hks713 Rescuing
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 Hks713 Rescuing
Strengths "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hks713 Rescuing in "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Hks713 Rescuing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane 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.
High brand equity
– Hks713 Rescuing has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hks713 Rescuing to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Hks713 Rescuing 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 Jennifer Weeks, Arnold Howitt, Dutch Leonard 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Learning organization
- Hks713 Rescuing is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Hks713 Rescuing is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hks713 Rescuing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hks713 Rescuing digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hks713 Rescuing to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hks713 Rescuing to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Hks713 Rescuing is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Hks713 Rescuing in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hks713 Rescuing has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Weaknesses "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Hks713 Rescuing, firm in the HBR case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane HBR case study mentions - Hks713 Rescuing 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.
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 Hks713 Rescuing supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hks713 Rescuing vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane, it seems that the employees of Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hks713 Rescuing is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Hks713 Rescuing needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hks713 Rescuing to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hks713 Rescuing is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hks713 Rescuing products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hks713 Rescuing needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane, is just above the industry average. Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Opportunities "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane | 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 "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane are -
Manufacturing automation
– Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hks713 Rescuing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hks713 Rescuing can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hks713 Rescuing 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, Hks713 Rescuing 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, "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hks713 Rescuing can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hks713 Rescuing 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
– Hks713 Rescuing 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 "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hks713 Rescuing to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Hks713 Rescuing 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. Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hks713 Rescuing has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hks713 Rescuing to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane case study. Hks713 Rescuing 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 Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Threats "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane are -
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 Hks713 Rescuing in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hks713 Rescuing 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.
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 Hks713 Rescuing.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane, Hks713 Rescuing 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. Hks713 Rescuing can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Hks713 Rescuing 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.
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 Hks713 Rescuing business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Hks713 Rescuing 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Hks713 Rescuing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hks713 Rescuing 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hks713 Rescuing 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 "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane 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 "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane 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 "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane 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 "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane 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 "Miracle on the Hudson" (B): Rescuing Passengers and Raising the Plane 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 Hks713 Rescuing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.