Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Eldorado Resorts LLC is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Eldorado Resorts LLC
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Eldorado Resorts LLC can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Eldorado Resorts LLC, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Eldorado Resorts LLC can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Eldorado Resorts LLC
2. Improving business portfolio management of Eldorado Resorts LLC
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Casinos & Gaming sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Eldorado Resorts LLC
Strengths of Eldorado Resorts LLC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Eldorado Resorts LLC are -
Organizational Resilience of Eldorado Resorts LLC
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Eldorado Resorts LLC does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Eldorado Resorts LLC in Casinos & Gaming industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Eldorado Resorts LLC has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Eldorado Resorts LLC staying ahead in the Casinos & Gaming industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Eldorado Resorts LLC comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Casinos & Gaming 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 Eldorado Resorts LLC 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.
Training and development
– Eldorado Resorts LLC 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.
High brand equity
– Eldorado Resorts LLC has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Eldorado Resorts LLC to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Eldorado Resorts LLC is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Eldorado Resorts LLC emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Eldorado Resorts LLC has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Eldorado Resorts LLC 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Casinos & Gaming industry
– Eldorado Resorts LLC has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Eldorado Resorts LLC to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Casinos & Gaming industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Eldorado Resorts LLC to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Casinos & Gaming
– Eldorado Resorts LLC is one of the leading players in the Casinos & Gaming industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Casinos & Gaming industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Eldorado Resorts LLC in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Casinos & Gaming 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.
Weaknesses of Eldorado Resorts LLC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Eldorado Resorts LLC are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Eldorado Resorts LLC 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Eldorado Resorts LLC needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Eldorado Resorts LLC is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Casinos & Gaming industry, but Eldorado Resorts LLC needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Eldorado Resorts LLC to focus more on services in the Casinos & Gaming industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Eldorado Resorts LLC has high operating costs in the Casinos & Gaming industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Eldorado Resorts LLC lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Eldorado Resorts LLC products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Eldorado Resorts LLC needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Eldorado Resorts LLC 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, Eldorado Resorts LLC has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Casinos & Gaming industry over the last five years. Eldorado Resorts LLC 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.
High dependence on Eldorado Resorts LLC ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Eldorado Resorts LLC still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Casinos & Gaming industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Eldorado Resorts LLC has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Casinos & Gaming industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Casinos & Gaming industry.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Eldorado Resorts LLC has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Casinos & Gaming industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Eldorado Resorts LLC is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Eldorado Resorts LLC to provide better information regarding Casinos & Gaming products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Eldorado Resorts LLC Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Eldorado Resorts LLC are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Eldorado Resorts LLC to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Eldorado Resorts LLC can develop new processes and procedures in Casinos & Gaming 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.
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 Eldorado Resorts LLC 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Eldorado Resorts LLC 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Eldorado Resorts LLC can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Eldorado Resorts LLC operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Casinos & Gaming sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Eldorado Resorts LLC has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Casinos & Gaming sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Eldorado Resorts LLC to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Eldorado Resorts LLC to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Eldorado Resorts LLC can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Casinos & Gaming 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Eldorado Resorts LLC in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Casinos & Gaming industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Casinos & Gaming industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Eldorado Resorts LLC in the Casinos & Gaming industry. Now Eldorado Resorts LLC can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Eldorado Resorts LLC to increase its market reach. Eldorado Resorts LLC will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Casinos & Gaming industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Eldorado Resorts LLC 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. Eldorado Resorts LLC 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.
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. Eldorado Resorts LLC can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Eldorado Resorts LLC External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Eldorado Resorts LLC are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Eldorado Resorts LLC 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Casinos & Gaming industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Casinos & Gaming industry and other sectors.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Eldorado Resorts LLC has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Casinos & Gaming industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Eldorado Resorts LLC needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Casinos & Gaming 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Eldorado Resorts LLC in Casinos & Gaming industry. The Casinos & Gaming 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.
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 Eldorado Resorts LLC.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Eldorado Resorts LLC may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Casinos & Gaming sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Casinos & Gaming industry.
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 Eldorado Resorts LLC business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Eldorado Resorts LLC needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Casinos & Gaming industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Eldorado Resorts LLC can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate Eldorado Resorts LLC prominent markets.
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 Eldorado Resorts LLC in the Casinos & Gaming sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Eldorado Resorts LLC Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Eldorado Resorts LLC 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 Eldorado Resorts LLC needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.