SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Bluegreen Vacations (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Bluegreen Vacations is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bluegreen Vacations
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Bluegreen Vacations can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bluegreen Vacations, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bluegreen Vacations 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 Bluegreen Vacations can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Bluegreen Vacations
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bluegreen Vacations
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Hotels & Motels sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Bluegreen Vacations
Strengths of Bluegreen Vacations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bluegreen Vacations are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bluegreen Vacations in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Bluegreen Vacations has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bluegreen Vacations to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Bluegreen Vacations 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 Bluegreen Vacations is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Bluegreen Vacations emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Bluegreen Vacations has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bluegreen Vacations to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bluegreen Vacations has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Hotels & Motels industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Bluegreen Vacations have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Bluegreen Vacations
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Bluegreen Vacations does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bluegreen Vacations is one of the leading players in the Hotels & Motels industry in United States. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United States. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management in the Hotels & Motels industry
– Bluegreen Vacations is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Hotels & Motels industry
– Bluegreen Vacations has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bluegreen Vacations to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Hotels & Motels industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bluegreen Vacations to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Hotels & Motels industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bluegreen Vacations digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bluegreen Vacations 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.
Analytics focus
– Bluegreen Vacations 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 Hotels & Motels industry. The technology infrastructure of United States 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.
Ability to lead change in Hotels & Motels
– Bluegreen Vacations is one of the leading players in the Hotels & Motels industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Hotels & Motels industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Bluegreen Vacations in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Bluegreen Vacations has one of the best training and development program in Services industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Weaknesses of Bluegreen Vacations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bluegreen Vacations are -
Skills based hiring in Hotels & Motels industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bluegreen Vacations 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bluegreen Vacations is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Hotels & Motels industry, but Bluegreen Vacations needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bluegreen Vacations to focus more on services in the Hotels & Motels industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Bluegreen Vacations 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bluegreen Vacations has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Hotels & Motels industry over the last five years. Bluegreen Vacations 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 Bluegreen Vacations products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bluegreen Vacations needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Hotels & Motels industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Bluegreen Vacations 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 Hotels & Motels industry.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bluegreen Vacations 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 Hotels & Motels industry using digital technology.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bluegreen Vacations 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.
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 Bluegreen Vacations supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Bluegreen Vacations is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bluegreen Vacations vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Bluegreen Vacations needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Hotels & Motels industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Bluegreen Vacations can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bluegreen Vacations is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Bluegreen Vacations has high operating costs in the Hotels & Motels industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Bluegreen Vacations lucrative customers.
Bluegreen Vacations Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Bluegreen Vacations are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bluegreen Vacations 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bluegreen Vacations can develop new processes and procedures in Hotels & Motels 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bluegreen Vacations 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bluegreen Vacations in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Hotels & Motels industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Bluegreen Vacations can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Hotels & Motels 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Hotels & Motels industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Bluegreen Vacations in the Hotels & Motels industry. Now Bluegreen Vacations can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bluegreen Vacations has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Hotels & Motels sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Bluegreen Vacations to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bluegreen Vacations to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bluegreen Vacations 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 Hotels & Motels industry.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bluegreen Vacations can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Bluegreen Vacations 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 Bluegreen Vacations to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Bluegreen Vacations can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Bluegreen Vacations 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Hotels & Motels industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Bluegreen Vacations can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Bluegreen Vacations External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Bluegreen Vacations 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 Bluegreen Vacations in the Hotels & Motels sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bluegreen Vacations 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 Hotels & Motels industry and other sectors.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Hotels & Motels industry are lowering. It can presents Bluegreen Vacations with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Hotels & Motels sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Bluegreen Vacations 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 Hotels & Motels industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bluegreen Vacations has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Hotels & Motels industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bluegreen Vacations needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Hotels & Motels sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bluegreen Vacations 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.
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. Bluegreen Vacations 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.
Environmental challenges
– Bluegreen Vacations 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. Bluegreen Vacations can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Hotels & Motels industry.
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.
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.
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 Bluegreen Vacations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bluegreen Vacations 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 Hotels & Motels industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bluegreen Vacations is facing in Hotels & Motels sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bluegreen Vacations Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Bluegreen Vacations 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 Bluegreen Vacations 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 Bluegreen Vacations 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 Bluegreen Vacations 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 Bluegreen Vacations needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.