Happy Pawws Playground: SWOTT Analysis
BUS/475
June 18, 2012
Brad Bergman

Happy Pawws Playground: SWOTT Analysis
At Happy Pawws Playground they will cater to the family pet’s every whim, with safe and secure pet daycare, boarding, exercise class, and play time. At Happy Pawws Playground, pets will be treated like one of the family with their own room, bed, blanket, and toys. They can also play and socialize safely inside the kitty gym or outside on the secure playground. They will always be carefully monitored by the staff.
External Forces
Environmental
The Happy Pawws Playground is dedicated to the environment and the community (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). Living in the community where the business is located means that the company will be sure to be responsible in taking care of environmental issues in the area. Not only will they be environmentally friendly themselves, but also they will encourage their employees to do so as well. They will also donate time and money to several local environmental agencies in the Branson area.
Global
In the beginning, the Happy Pawws Playground will not be active in global business because they are a small local company. In time they hope to attract customers from all over the world to their establishment by advertising on their own web sites as well as on social media sites (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). They will also be seeking to open in other locations around the globe for their customers to leave their pets when they vacation nearby. The company will focus on areas that are popular to tourists, such as Paris, Cancun, and Australia.

Innovative Because this is a new company is a good way to be on the cutting edge of innovation. The company will focus on hiring both young and older employees to have a wide range of ideas and culture. The employees will always be encourages to speak their minds and share their ideas without retribution or ridicule. Happy Pawws Playground will have staff meetings every morning to discuss new and old business and to hear what each employee has to say. This will keep the ideas flowing and encourage new innovation continuously (Pearce & Robinson, 2009).
Economic
There will be times when the economy will be down and people will not be able to take a vacation, let alone take their pets with them (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). During these times Happy Pawws Playground plans to offer other types of services to the local community, such as dog and cat grooming, and even home pet care. The company has ties to the community veterinarians and local animal shelters to help them during these slow times with helping care for the animals in their facilities when and if it is needed.
Social
At the present time the trend seems to be that people like to take their pets with them everywhere. They can be seen in women’s purses in stores, in the car, and at the local parks. While some places encourage this, there are many establishments that do not allow pets to enter for safety or insurance reasons. While on vacation in Branson, Missouri, there are many local entertainment spots and water parks that pets are not allowed to go. This is why Happy Pawws Playground will advertise that our staff can take care of the family’s pets while their owners have fun without worry.

Internal Forces
Leadership
The owner of Happy Pawws Playground is a professional with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business with a management background. The company will encourage the staff to manage themselves after a period of time, and they will also allow the more experienced staff members to become team leaders and managers. Being a small company they will treat their staff as family and expect the same from them.
Resources
The owner of Happy Pawws Playground has already established working relationships with many hotels, motels, and businesses in the area to work with them in marketing. There will be special discounts at Happy Pawws Playground for those customers who visit the local businesses. They have also made a deal with a local Veterinarian Technician School in the area to let some of their students get work credits for volunteering there. The company will also work to find the competition’s weak points in their relationships with local businesses and suppliers and use them to their advantage (Pearce & Robinson, 2009).
Strategic Capabilities There are many other pet care businesses that are already established and doing well in Branson, Missouri, so Happy Pawws Playground will have to offer customers what they are not getting (Brown, 2007). By doing some research the owner has found that many of the customers of the local competition are discouraged by their prices and dirty work environment. This will work in the company’s advantage because they can offer those customers what they are looking for to attract them to Happy Pawws Playground.

Culture The culture of the company will be a family type environment that will appeal to prospective employees and customers. Guests will be encouraged to tour the facility and the grounds to see how things are done and to meet all of the staff. They will get to see the kitty condos and doggy dens that are the personal suites for the pets while they stay in luxury and safety. This will help to establish a good relationship with both customers and those looking for employment opportunities (Pearce & Robinson, 2009).
Economic Forces and Trends
The business world is characterized by many things such as a company’s competitors, business turbulence, and changes. Happy Pawws Playground must be able to transform themselves continually and their ability to adapt to any problem that comes up. These things may include revolving for their effectiveness, changing the company’s processing and streamlining functions that can assist with gaining a competitive advantage. The company’s aim will be to change and survive no matter what (Brown, 2007).
Regulatory Forces
First the company will have to check with the local chamber of commerce to register for a tax identification number and to see which other regulations will need to be followed. It is important to acquire all of the licenses and certifications required before opening Happy Pawws Playground for business. They will need to have legal documents drawn up for customers to sign when they leave their pets with Happy Pawws Playground. This will help protect against lawsuits should an accident occur. The company also needs to have the proper insurance to protect them against loss and litigation (Brown, 2007).

Supply Chain Operation
Happy Pawws Playground owner already has established working relationships with several businesses in the area to work with them to promote their company. By partnering with local motels, they will offer discounts to thier customers who use both Happy Pawws. The company will also have access to the graduate students from the local Veterinarian Technician School in the area working there as part of their school program. This will benefit both the student and Happy Pawws Playground. The veterinarian on staff at the Veterinarian Technician School will also provide medical services to them as a part of the deal. Also the owner of Happy Pawws Playground has established accounts with several animal grooming businesses in the Branson area that will not only advertise for them but will also be affiliated with them in servicing the animals. They will also be using the same vendors and suppliers as these grooming businesses for the animal supplies that are needed (Pearce & Robinson, 2009).
Research Questions
The major issues that Happy Pawws Playground will have to deal with will be global, economic, strategy, and strategic capabilities. These are all very important issues but the main ones that need to be addressed are the economic and strategic capabilities. The research questions for each question are as follows: 1. How will Happy Pawws Playground become a familiar name around the world? 2. How can Happy Pawws Playground stay in business when the economy is bad? 3. Is it possible for Happy Pawws Playground to devise a better strategy than their competition? 4. What can Happy Pawws Playground incorporate into its strategy to compete with the already established businesses in the area?
Hypotheses
The hypotheses for these research questions are as follows: 1. The company will have to utilize the social web sites for their marketing as well as having a customer-friendly web site of their own. 2. They will need to prepare for the dips in the economy by planning to work in customer’s homes, local shelters, and veterinarian offices. 3. Happy Pawws Playground can devise a good strategy to beat their competition by finding their weaknesses and giving the customers what they are missing. 4. By incorporating lower prices, partnerships with local shelters and grooming salons, and utilizing their affiliations with businesses for marketing they will be able to compete with any of the local competition.
Conclusion
The strategy of any business will determine how successful that company will be. Having a good SWOTT Analysis is a must for formulating that strategy (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). Happy Pawws Playground has a very strong strategy with impressive strengths and achievable short-term and long-term goals. The company will be very successful if their strategy is followed, and they should be able to survive through any changes by using the strengths and opportunities that they already have.

| Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats | Trends | EXTERNAL | Environmental | Global | Innovative | Economic | Social | INTERNAL | Leadership | Strategy | Innovation | Strategic Capabilities | Culture |
SWOTT Analysis 1

References

Brown, Steven Phillip. (2007). Forces and Trends in Business. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Forces-and-Trends-in-Business&id=708724 Pearce, J. A. II, and Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.