Executive Summary

A situational or SWOT analysis is an essential tool employed in assessing the health and successes of non-profit organizations in the execution of their core missions. It focuses on the company’s strengths, the weaknesses, the available opportunities for business and threats (Stonehouse, 2018). It is conducted during the initial stages of the company’s process of strategic planning. Besides illustrating the status quo of an organization, it helps in the development of future objectives and goals that the organization can strive to achieve. The strengths and weaknesses are within the control of the organization as they are internal. At the same time, opportunities and threats cannot be directly influenced by the organization as they are in the external environment.

This report aims to undertake a strategic analysis of The Australian Ballet which will assist in achieving an understanding of the key strategic issues faced by an organization. Specifically this report highlights the external factors which are likely to influence the performance of the Australian supermarket industry. In order to successfully conduct a macro environment analysis a strategic tool known as “PESTEL” model were used in this report. Furthermore, “Porter’s 5 force model” was used to conduct a competitive analysis of The Australian Ballet . In contrast, this report also highlights the key resources and competencies of The Australian Ballet that are likely to provide a competitive advantage for the organisation. In order to carry out an internal analysis “Value chain” and “VRIO” (Valuable, rare, costly to imitate, organized to capture value) models were used.

This report is based on a review of current strategic management literature, web-based research of the Australian supermarket industry and also a web-based research of The Australian Ballet  operations. The major findings of this report are:

· Some of the Pestel factors which influence the Australian Ballet industry are Deregulation of trading hours, Appreciation of Australian dollars, online shopping, Barriers to entry and convenience.

· Porter’s 5 forces competitive analysis on the Australian supermarket industry indicates that the bargaining power of suppliers has decreased, however, the power of buyers is very high in the industry.

· The key resources and competencies of The Australian Ballet Company include knowledge, experience, open-mindedness, fresh thinking and passion on and off the stage. We know our customers and audiences and engage meaningfully at every touchpoint. We reflect the rich diversity of our country and respect the First Peoples of our nation.

Background

The Australian Ballet (TAB) is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and director Dame Peggy van Praagh as founding artistic director. Today, it is recognised as one of the world’s major international ballet companies and performs upwards of 150 performances (both in Australia and overseas) a year. Following the establishment of the Australia Council for the Arts in 1968, it ceased to be a funding body for opera and ballet in 1970.

In 1974, Geoffrey Wynter Armstrong bequeathed a sum of money to the Trust to establish a memorial fund to be known as the Geoffrey Wynter Armstrong and Elizabeth Mary Martin Scholarship. The annual award is currently administered by Music & Opera Singers Trust Limited.

Aim

External Environment analysis

PESTEL analysis of The Australian Ballet

According to Webster (2010, p.88) Pestle analysis is a technique which helps in scanning the external environment by analyzing the political, economic, socio cultural, environmental and legal environment. This section aims to present the PESTEL analysis of Australian Ballet.

Table of Contents

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………4 1.1 Back to Report…………………………………………………………………………………..….4 1.2 Aims……………………………………………………………………………………………………….4 2. Background of Ballet …………………………………………………………………..5 3. External Environment Analysis ……………………………………………………………………7 3.1 PESTEL Analysis of Australian Supermarket industry………………………………5 3.2 Conclusion based on Macro environment analysis…………………………….….7 3.3 Competitive analysis using Porter’s five forces model……………………………8 3.4 Conclusion based on Porter’s five forces analysis…………………………….….…9 4. Internal Environment analysis of Ballet………………………………………………………..10 4.1 Key resources and competencies of The Australian Ballet ……………………………………………10 4.2 Value Chain analysis of The Australian Ballet…………………………………………………………………11 4.3 VRIO Framework Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………13 5. Summary of external and internal analysis findings……………………………………………….14 5.1 External Analysis Findings………………………………………………………………………………….14 5.2 Internal Analysis Findings…………………………………………………………………………………..14 5.3 Key Issues that The Australian Ballet faces……………………………………………………………………..14 6. Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………………………….…15 6.1 Short-term…………………………………………………………………………………………………………15 6.2 Long-term……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…15 7. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15 8. Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….16 9. References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….21

Political factors

Negotiations between the Australian Ballet’s management and its employees have broken down and the dancers haven’t ruled out striking if a dispute over pay cannot be resolved.

Negotiations on a new EBA began last September and last week the dancers embarked on protected industrial action with a social media campaign through their union, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance.

The sticking point is management’s refusal to maintain a clause in the dancers’ contract that guarantees pay will keep pace with inflation, a guarantee that has been in place for more than 20 years, to recognise dancers’ comparatively short career span.

“We had to dip into our savings and now with inflation, the cost of living is going up so high and many of us have no savings left,” one dancer said.

“We’ve had dancers who’ve had to cancel their health insurance. We have dancers who can’t afford groceries, they’re living off tuna and rice … it’s not ideal in a profession where you use your body so much and you’re expected to perform at an elite level.”

When Covid hit in 2020, the Australian Ballet cut its dancers’ wages by 20% and then briefly by 50% to reflect a drastically reduced workload. The company drew on the federal government’s JobKeeper scheme to pay workers.

In 2021 the dancers returned to full pay, but agreed to a pay freeze for one year.

In February this year the dancers received a 4.3% “catch-up” pay rise to meet the obligations of the CPI clause, after receiving just 2.5% in 2022 when inflation peaked at over 7%.

An offer of a 1% pay rise for 2023 has been rejected by the dancers.

Economic factors

Financially, 2022 was an improvement on 2020 and 2021 though audience numbers continued to be impacted by the pandemic. Whilst the group’s consolidated result for 2022 was $8.6m (2021 deficit $0.5m), the underlying result for the year was a loss of $6.1m – this loss excludes the impact of $4.1m of non-recurring COVID-related Government grants, $3.3m of capital protected bequests and endowed gifts and $7.3m of special purpose restricted donations received for future productions and activities (including the development of new productions of Swan Lake, Don Quixote and Balanchine’s Jewels to be presented in 2023).

Despite the support from government, our donors and partners, over the past three years the Company has used circa $7m of its funds available for general purposes as well as drawn down $1.2m from a commercial loan facility established to support operations during the pandemic. This in addition to $10m of existing borrowings. Our sustainability and success as Australia’s national ballet company would not be possible without the invaluable support of our government funders. We gratefully acknowledge the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, the NSW Government and the Victorian Governments’ core funding support and are especially grateful for their various COVID related grants.

Socio cultural factors

Socio-cultural factors include consumers’ lifestyles, buying habits, education, religion, beliefs, values, demographics, social classes, sexuality and attitudes. These factors determine the suitability of an organisation’s products and services for its customers’ needs. Ballet traces its origins to the Italian Renaissance, when it was developed as a court entertainment. During the 15th and 16th centuries the dance technique became formalized. The epicentre of the art moved to France following the marriage of the Italian-born aristocrat Catherine de Médicis to Henry II of France. Dance has been an important part of Indigenous culture for thousands of years. It plays an important role in our ceremonies and celebrations and helps to maintain the culture of our people by passing down stories, songs and traditions from generation to generation.

Issues of racism and elitism that can be seen in the ballet industry are often a result of a lack of education and understanding. The conservative nature of ballet has not caught up with modern society and not enough policies and education have been implemented to diminish how insular the industry is. ‘Inclusive and culturally safe policies need to be implemented and acted upon across the private dance school/studio sector.’

Technological factors

Technological factors include production techniques, information and communication resources, production, logistics, marketing, and e-commerce technologies. These affect how an organisation operates, sells its products, interacts with, and gathers intelligence on customers, suppliers, and competitors.

Additionally, the mental wellbeing of our dancers is of critical importance.  This time during Covid-19 has been a unique experience for us all.  Even though we have been working remotely, there has been a very conscious effort to connect with the dancers and for the dancers to feel connected with each other.  Although a challenging environment, Teams has allowed the dancers to retain some sense of comradeship and shared energy.”

For David Cooper, Head of IT at The Australian Ballet, it’s a demonstration of how important technology is to every enterprise, and particularly during challenging times.

He and his four-strong IT team provide the information systems needed by up to 350 users. While the delivery of online classes is a relatively novel addition, the Ballet has systems in place to manage its operations, support ticketing, as well as run an ERP, CRM and data warehouse.

The Ballet uses Office 365 extensively, a SharePoint instance called Peggy (named for Dame Peggy van Praagh the Ballet’s founding Artistic Director), Stream and Planner just to name a few. They try to leverage everything in the Office365 portfolio. It has around 60 virtual servers and backup and DR handled in Azure. According to Cooper; “Our model is to look at technology to help drive business outcomes. Gone are the days where the technology team is just a service provider in which you provide, and support, servers and infrastructure.”

That business focus ensured that when COVID-19 struck Cooper and his team was able to pivot the services toward supporting dancers who were no longer able to attend physical classes, but nevertheless needed to ensure they were engaged, connected to one another and performance-ready.

Environmental factors

Environmental factors, as related to genetics, refers to exposures to substances (such as pesticides or industrial waste) where we live or work, behaviours (such as smoking or poor diet) that can increase an individual’s risk of disease or stressful situations (such as racism).

Ballet’s issues with race have been highlighted over the years, with renowned African-American dancer Misty Copeland triggering a discussion about racism after posting a photo of dancers in blackface. Debate has also raged over the lack of diversity on stage and racist stereotypes in shows that are an integral part of the repertoire.

“Posting a black square was a lazy approach to express solidarity, and to support black lives matter,” he said. Ballet discipline filled itself with arduous professional training, which from a ballerina perspective became the basis of unbounded freedom of movement.

How to understand racism in ballet? Is it a behaviour that includes regular practices of not accepting or hiring black dancers in ballet institutions, requiring dancers to white-up with cosmetics to be onstage, or ruling out dancers from productions because their skin colour is not aesthetically acceptable? Or, is racism designating ideology? In affirmation or denial, how does ballet reproduce racism? Is it just a matter of visuality? These are the questions that I will explore in the following pages, but their broad scope encompasses a few limitations.

There has been some public commentary recently about dancers’ wages during and since the pandemic. In the interests of transparency and accuracy, we share the following facts:

In 2020, dancers received a 2.5% wage increase. The company was only able to perform 9 of 155 planned performances with box office revenue falling from $32 million to $1 million. Over the year, dancers were paid 82% of their salary.

In 2021, dancers agreed to forego a planned 2.5% wage increase and were paid 100% of their salary from February 2021. The company performed just 75 of 157 planned performances. During the course of the pandemic, The Australian Ballet lost over $50m in COVID related performance cancellations.

In February 2022, dancers received a 3.5% wage increase.

In February 2023, dancers received a 4.3% wage increase, with an additional 1% on offer should the new agreement be accepted – a total of 5.3% over what they were paid in 2022.

The offer for 2024 is a 3.5% wage increase plus a potential capped CPI increase, and for 2025 a 2.5% wage increase plus a potential capped CPI increase.

The dancers are sympathetic to the difficult balance the company needs to strike. “The dancers, the board, the management are all in the tough position of trying to balance the company’s financial security and stability with what we all collectively need,” as one dancer said. However, they argue that the company was supported by Jobkeeper during the pandemic and that solutions can be found, such as through the company’s successful philanthropic program.

In addition, as the largest dance company in Australia, the dancers feel they “have a responsibility to fight for the best conditions and set a precedent” for other Australian dancers.

The talk behind the scenes of a new staging of the ballet Romeo and Juliet in Paris is not of love but of bullying and sexual harassment.

No one has accused Dupont of sexual harassment, but dancers say she is indifferent to their suffering and 90 per cent say the company’s management is “not of a good quality”.

“The current director seems to have no management competence and no desire to acquire such a competence,” one respondent says. Another says: “It’s difficult to see her, she talks little, and in a cutting way, and we can’t understand what she wants or where she is going.” There has been several issues such as body image issues Why are dancers prone to struggling with body image? Dancers at all levels struggle with poor body image. In fact, research demonstrates that more than 75% of dancers feel pressure to lose weight with stress often originating from: Comparative mirror thoughts.

Another environmental factor is the expense, the fees, tuition, ballet shoes/equipment, uniform accommodation, physiotherapy is paid by the dancer on fewer cases does the company pay, nutritionist and the expense to show case a performance then as a customer the outfit to the performance, the ‘certain’ seat, ticket, accommodation, travel expenses. There are several levels of ‘snobbery’ found within the company both historically to present examples are shown by

Legal factors:

The Australian Ballet School is committed to Child Safety based on the eleven Child Safe Standards that align with the Victorian Child Safe Standards and related child protection laws. The School is committed to the protection of all children from all forms of child abuse and demonstrates this commitment through the implementation of stringent recruitment and induction processes alongside child protection policies designed to keep children safe. 

To support and further develop the School’s communications channels with families of full-time students, the School’s Family Support Programme (FSP) uses the School’s Social Media platforms to provide additional resource information and activities, this includes target initiatives for the graduate level and management of a ‘parent page’ on the School’s Facebook site. Related Policies: This policy is to be read in conjunction with the Code of Conduct (1.2), Marketing and Communications Policy (3.1), Records and Archives Management Policy (4.1.1) (pending), Intellectual Property and Copyright Policy (4.2), Appropriate Use of Technology Policy (4.3), ICT and Cyber Security Policy (4.3.3), Duty of Care (6.1) and Child Safe Standards (6.4). Students and parents/carers are also directed to the ‘Social Media’ section in the School’s Handbook for Students and Parents. When engaging in group platforms or exercises, consideration of others and their opinions is required. Certain behaviours can adversely affect the job performance /learning experience of the individual or others using these sites. While healthy debate is encouraged in places where the sharing of information and ideas is relevant, it must also be a welcoming experience for everyone. Behaviours online, such as bullying, harassment, discrimination or disregard for the Confidentiality of others or the School in general can have a negative effect on individuals and the overall work/learning environment. The School has zero tolerance for such conduct and expects the values in the Code of Conduct (1.2) to be upheld. While at work, any personal use of the ICT facilities of the School must be kept to a minimum and must not impede and affect a Staff Member’s work performance. Staff Members must not Follow, ‘friend’ or otherwise connect with current students or any former students who are under 18 years of age, in the first six months following graduation or their earlier departure from the School. Staff Members who depart the School must not, for a period of six months, ‘friend’ or otherwise connect with students or former students.

Conclusion based on macro analysis

Assumptions and Constraints Providing stakeholders an educated understanding regarding the prospective outcomes of this project, requires its various assumptions and constraints to be acknowledged. There are several logistical problems associated with this construction, primarily:

● The local community pool must be demolished to provide a stadium with increased seating and parking capacities, with more facilities. However, there might be a backlash from the community members unless the pool is reallocated in the near future rather than 4 delaying the locals from having a pool.

● The swimming pool needs to be reallocated to an area that’s potentially less used by the community members but cannot be too far from the original location for convenience purposes. Considering all this and the fact that there are important infrastructures surrounding the stadium area, it’ll be a difficult task to perform.

● Choosing to rebuild on the same area as the pre-existing stadium causes there to be only a slight increase in seating capacity even with the demolition of the swimming pool. The Western Sydney stadium may still find it difficult to compete with other existing stadiums, namely Stadium Australia which has a capacity of over 80,000. This will restrict the stage of games being hosted in the stadium as well, whereby games with more following i.e. the finals may be hosted in Stadium Australia for example as opposed to Western Sydney.

Weakness

the Australian Ballet, are taking protected industrial action in a bid to ensure future pay is not eroded by rising living costs.

In a recent protected action ballot overseen by the Fair Work Commission, 91 per cent of dancers voted in favour of taking industrial action following a breakdown of negotiations between their union, MEAA, and the Ballet’s management for the company’s next enterprise bargaining agreement.

financial sacrifices dancers made to support the company during the COVID pandemic in 2020-21.

 management has offered a pay rise of just 1% for the rest of this year.

The cost-of-living clause in the Australian Ballet EBA acts as a financial safety net by protecting future pay rises from being eroded by CPI increases. It ensures that as a bare minimum, dancers’ pay will rise each year by the annual CPI.

pay cuts and wage freezes during COVID to ensure the company’s survival.

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