SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Mahindra Holidays (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Mahindra Holidays is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mahindra Holidays
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Mahindra Holidays can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mahindra Holidays, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mahindra Holidays 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 Mahindra Holidays can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Mahindra Holidays
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mahindra Holidays
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Recreational Activities sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Mahindra Holidays
Strengths of Mahindra Holidays | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mahindra Holidays are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mahindra Holidays 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Recreational Activities industry
– Mahindra Holidays has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mahindra Holidays to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Recreational Activities industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mahindra Holidays to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Mahindra Holidays comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Recreational Activities 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mahindra Holidays is one of the leading players in the Recreational Activities industry in India. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in India. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Mahindra Holidays is one of the most innovative firm in Recreational Activities sector.
Analytics focus
– Mahindra Holidays 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 Recreational Activities industry. The technology infrastructure of India is also helping 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
– Mahindra Holidays has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mahindra Holidays 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.
Learning organization
- Mahindra Holidays 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 Mahindra Holidays is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Mahindra Holidays emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mahindra Holidays has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Recreational Activities industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Mahindra Holidays have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mahindra Holidays has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Strong track record of project management in the Recreational Activities industry
– Mahindra Holidays is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mahindra Holidays has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Mahindra Holidays staying ahead in the Recreational Activities industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses of Mahindra Holidays | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mahindra Holidays are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Mahindra Holidays is one of the leading players in the Recreational Activities industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Recreational Activities industry in last five years.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mahindra Holidays is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Recreational Activities industry, but Mahindra Holidays needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mahindra Holidays to focus more on services in the Recreational Activities industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mahindra Holidays has some of the most successful models in the Recreational Activities industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Mahindra Holidays should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Mahindra Holidays, in the dynamic environment of Recreational Activities industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mahindra Holidays has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mahindra Holidays is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Mahindra Holidays to provide better information regarding Recreational Activities products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Mahindra Holidays is just above the Recreational Activities industry average. It 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Mahindra Holidays strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Mahindra Holidays 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mahindra Holidays 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 Recreational Activities industry using digital technology.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Mahindra Holidays needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Recreational Activities industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Mahindra Holidays can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Mahindra Holidays is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Mahindra Holidays supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Mahindra Holidays is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mahindra Holidays vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Recreational Activities industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in India, Mahindra Holidays 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 Recreational Activities industry.
Mahindra Holidays Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Mahindra Holidays are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mahindra Holidays 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Recreational Activities industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Mahindra Holidays 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. Mahindra Holidays 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mahindra Holidays 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. Mahindra Holidays can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Mahindra Holidays can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Recreational Activities sector. 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 Mahindra Holidays 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 Recreational Activities industry.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mahindra Holidays is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Mahindra Holidays can utilize new technology in the field of Recreational Activities industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mahindra Holidays has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Recreational Activities sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Mahindra Holidays to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mahindra Holidays to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Mahindra Holidays can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Recreational Activities industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mahindra Holidays can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mahindra Holidays operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Recreational Activities sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mahindra Holidays can develop new processes and procedures in Recreational Activities 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mahindra Holidays has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Recreational Activities industry. This can help Mahindra Holidays to build a more holistic ecosystem for Mahindra Holidays products in the Recreational Activities industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mahindra Holidays 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 Mahindra Holidays to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Mahindra Holidays External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Mahindra Holidays are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Mahindra Holidays may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Recreational Activities sector.
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 Mahindra Holidays business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Recreational Activities industry are lowering. It can presents Mahindra Holidays with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Recreational Activities sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mahindra Holidays is facing in Recreational Activities sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mahindra Holidays 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 Recreational Activities industry.
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.
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. Mahindra Holidays needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Recreational Activities industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Mahindra Holidays 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mahindra Holidays in Recreational Activities industry. The Recreational Activities industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Increasing wage structure of Mahindra Holidays
– 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 Mahindra Holidays.
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 Mahindra Holidays in the Recreational Activities sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mahindra Holidays 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 Recreational Activities industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– Mahindra Holidays 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 Recreational Activities industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mahindra Holidays Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Mahindra Holidays 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 Mahindra Holidays 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 Mahindra Holidays 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 Mahindra Holidays 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 Mahindra Holidays needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
