Swot Analysis of "Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith" written by Scott A. Snook, Jeremy Schneider, Robert Kaderavek includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hank Smith facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Communication, Leadership, Leading teams, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hank Smith, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hank Smith 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 Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hank Smith
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Hank Smith
Strengths Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hank Smith in Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Hank Smith is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hank Smith to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hank Smith to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Hank Smith has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hank Smith to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Hank Smith is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Hank Smith in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Hank Smith
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hank Smith does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hank Smith digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hank Smith 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Hank Smith is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Hank Smith in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hank Smith has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hank Smith is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hank Smith 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hank Smith are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Weaknesses Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Hank Smith 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 industry using digital technology.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Hank Smith has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Hank Smith 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hank Smith 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith, in the dynamic environment Hank Smith has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hank Smith has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith, is just above the industry average. Hank Smith needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hank Smith is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Scott A. Snook, Jeremy Schneider, Robert Kaderavek suggests that, Hank Smith 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 industry.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Hank Smith has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Hank Smith supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hank Smith vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith are -
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. Hank Smith can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hank Smith 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.
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 Hank Smith 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Hank Smith 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. Hank Smith 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hank Smith in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Hank Smith in the consumer business. Now Hank Smith can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Hank Smith can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith suggest that firm 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Hank Smith can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hank Smith 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hank Smith is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hank Smith to increase its market reach. Hank Smith 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Hank Smith has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hank Smith 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Threats Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith are -
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 Hank Smith business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Hank Smith 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hank Smith in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hank Smith 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 the industry and other sectors.
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 Hank Smith in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith, Hank Smith may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hank Smith 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 prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Hank Smith has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hank Smith needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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 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. Hank Smith needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hank Smith with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hank Smith is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Hank Smith 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. Hank Smith can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Hank Smith 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith 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 the case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith 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 the Harvard case study Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith 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 Major Steckleson at the National Training Center (B): Role for 2LT Hank Smith is 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 Hank Smith needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
