Strengths

1.Perform the SWOT analysis of OzCo Boats.

2.Analyse the threats and opportunities you have discovered in the SWOT analysis.

3.Based on the Ansoff’s Matrix and identified threats and opportunities, suggest a strategical alternative that OzCo Boats should pursue in the future. Provide reasons for your answer and support your recommendations with credible sources of information.

In the present scenario of technological advancements, an organization is required to change its old methods of productions and should adopt new technologies to compete with its rivals. If the company does do so, it can lose its markets shares and profitability in long run. This report describes the same situation with the help of a case study of boat building company, ‘OzCo Boats’. The company is facing some difficulties due to its outdated procedures. The report describes the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats with the help of SWOT analyses and Ansoff’s Matrix. Further, it includes some recommendations on the basis of above analyses that can be applied by the organization to deal with such threats and weaknesses (Russell-Bennett, et al., 2010).

 Strengths:

• The company builds and designs high-quality boat based on traditional methods which are not possible by new technological advancements.
• The boat manufactured by the company is of luxurious in nature.
• The staff and workers of the organizations are highly skilled in using traditional methods of building boats.
• The goodwill of the organization is high in its home city and across the country.

Weaknesses:

• OzCo’s management does not have any experience of dealing in the overseas market across the countries.
• The company uses outdated technologies for manufacturing and designing the boats which are not preferred
• The models of the boats are also old and are not attractive in comparison to new technology-based models.
• The moral of the employees is decreasing due to market conditions and regulations of Australian Government. They are about to leave the organization(Ommani, 2011).

• The company has an opportunity in form of those customers who are passionate about traditional boats and luxurious things.
• Some Legislations of overseas government support the old models of the organization to be legal for some more years(Gurel & Tat, 2017).

Threats:

• The threat of imposing legislation by Australian government which may result in stopping the manufacturing and trading of some boats of traditional methods.
• The new entrants are continuously using new technologies in boat building and design which is directly affecting the sales of the company.
• There are so many substitutes available in the market which is also an increasing threat to the organization.
• New models and technological advancements used by the rivals creating a threat of shifting the customers towards them(Osita, et al., 2014).

From the above analyses, it is clear that the company has more weaknesses in comparison to strengths and similarly, it has more threats in comparison to opportunities. In such situation, it is not possible for the company to take advantages of its opportunities because existed threats can result in negative results. The weaknesses of the company include some major issues like backward technology and old models which requires a huge amount of money to solve. In this critical financial position, it is not possible for the company to invest a large amount in solving these issues.

One of the major opportunities OzCo Boats have is the passion of customers towards traditional manufactured boats that is not easy for any new technology-based companies. The company can use this opportunity to increase its sales and bring stability to its existence. The company can also utilize this opportunity to promote the company as a traditional manufacturer of boats. In this situation, there will be no need to diversify the business in terms of product or market. Another opportunity that the company can take advantage is the fewer restrictions by the government of other global countries and markets. It can be directly linked to the entering into new markets by the company. If company enter into new overseas markets with its unique capability of manufacturing traditional boats, chances of its growth will automatically increase. For this purpose, the management of the company to select a market has the potential for business with fewer government restrictions (Vaghely & Julien, 2010).

Weaknesses

Above analyses shows that company is in the position that it cannot take any decision on the basis of the only assumption because the stability of the company is in danger. Along with opportunities, it also has some major threats which can ruin the opportunities if are not considered. The legislation applied by Australian government may restrict the company to go global. Another threat that is existed in the external environment of the company is the availability of latest technologies. Technological advancements add a number of new features that attract customers. This threat is not able to handle because the company is not in the state to spend a large amount (Hashemi, et al., 2017).

Market Penetration:

This strategy is suitable for the organization as existing customers are always cheap than the new customers. This involves provide high-quality services to the existing customers and value them to continue business in long run.

Product Development:

This strategy includes introducing new products with development in the market. The main reason which justifies the need for this strategy includes the utilization of maximum production capacity, manage the new entrants, maintaining the reputation of the company as an innovator and to protect its market share (Al-Bostanji, 2015).

Market Development:

This strategy includes entering into new potential markets with the existing products. When existing products have the capacity to generate revenue in new markets, an organization can use this strategy to increase its market in overseas areas. This strategy is useful for ‘OzCo Boats’ because the overseas legislations are not prohibiting the use of old models of the company (AJ, 2015).

Diversification:

This strategy is different from others as it includes moves out from its current markets and products to the new one. Diversification may be done in related or unrelated areas. Related diversification may be in the form of horizontal, backward or forward integration (Navarra & Scaini, 2016).

After analyzing weaknesses, strengths, threats, and opportunities by using SWOT analysis and studying the strategies by Ansoff’s Matrix, it can strongly recommend that the company should use market development strategy mentioned in Ansoff’s Matrix. According to this strategy, the company enters into new markets with its existing product. For such purpose, the company may face difficulties regarding the experience of doing business in the overseas market but it can be minimized through proper training and development (Lu, 2010). The company can enjoy the benefits of legislation of overseas government. It can create new customer base with its unique traditional technology and luxurious products. This strategy can eliminate the threats of new entrants in existing market because the company itself is going to work in a new market and it may enjoy the privileges of its goodwill and brand value which it has created in its home country. Once the company and its products are being accepted by the new market, then it further may go for adopting new and innovative strategies like product development, market penetration etc (Kipley, et al., 2010).

Opportunities

If the company does not want to enter the new market then it is recommended that the company should follow market penetration strategy. Although it would not be easy for the company to operate successfully in comparison to its previous profitability and performance. But it can save its business and stability without making much investment only through this strategy. In this strategy, the company can adopt some technical changes in its manufacturing process so that the products can be more attractive and meet the requirements of the modern customers.

Conclusion:

On the basis of above report, it can be concluded that in order to deal with organizational threats and weaknesses and to take the advantage of opportunities, an organization should carefully analyze all strengths and opportunities related to the business. Above analysis shows that ‘OzCo Sports’ is having threats more than opportunities in its environment but it also have some unique strengths that can be used to take advantages of presented opportunities

References

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Al-Bostanji, G. M., 2015. Impact of Applying of Ansoff Model on Marketing Performance for Saudi Foodstuff Companies. Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research, Volume 15, pp. 71-81.

Gurel, E. & Tat, M., 2017. SWOT ANALYSIS: A THEORETICAL REVIEW. The Journal of International Social Research, 10(51), pp. 994-1006.

Hashemi, S. M., Samani, F. S. & Shahbazi , V., 2017. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis and Strategic Planning for Iranian Language Institutions Development. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 4(2), pp. 139-149.

Kipley, D., Lewis, A. O. & Jeng, J.-L., 2010. Extending Ansoff’s Strategic Diagnosis Model: Defining the Optimal Strategic Performance Positioning Matrix. SAGE Open, 2(1), pp. 1-14.

Lu, W., 2010. Improved SWOT approach for conducting strategic planning in the construction industry. Journal Of Construction Engineering And Management, 136(12), pp. 1317-1328.

Navarra, D. & Scaini, L., 2016. European Scientific Journal. Improvements In The Strategic Use Of The Marketing Matrices Applying Dynamics Parameters Based On Time: A Better Analysis Of Prospect, 12(10), pp. 1-20.

Ommani, A. R., 2011. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis for farming system businesses management: Case of wheat farmers of Shadervan District, Shoushtar Township, Iran. African Journal of Business Management, 5(22), pp. 9448-9454.

Osita, I. C., R., I. O. & Justina, N., 2014. Organization’s stability and productivity: the role of SWOT analysis an acronym for strength, weakness, opportunities and threat. International Journal of Innovative and Applied Research, 2(9), pp. 23-32.

Russell-Bennett, R., Rundle-Thiele, S. R. & Kuhn, K.-A., 2010. Engaging Marketing Students: Student Operated Businesses in a Simulated World. Journal of Marketing Education, 32(3), pp. 253-263.

Vaghely, I. P. & Julien, P. A., 2010. Are opportunities recognized or constructed? An information perspective on entrepreneurial opportunity identification. Journal of Business Venturing, Volume 25, pp. 73-86