RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM
This is an unusual turnaround case in that it involves a public sector institution, the British Museum (BM). The case study covers the period from around 1999 to 2010. It focuses more particularly on the arrival of Neil MacGregor, in August 2002, as the new director of the museum. When he took over, the BM was one year short of its 250th anniversary.It was also in debt and out of fashion. It had acquired a reputation as "one of the least user-friendly museums in the world." One senior figure from the museum was even quoted as saying that he didn't want children in there. Compared to rival venues, visiting the BM was like a "trip back in time" - but not in a favorable sense. In the space of nine years, MacGregor reversed its fortunes and restored its sense of pride and purpose. He raised its profile through engaging exhibitions, television shows and the Internet - but most surprisingly of all through the use of radio. He presided over a startling transformation in the image and fortunes of the BM, with net income quadrupling in nine years and donations and legacies growing eight-fold under his watch. Visitor numbers reached record highs and the BM has become a template for other museums. A cultural institution that was once in danger of becoming an embarrassing monument to British imperialism is now viewed with pride. As one commentator put it: "As an exercise in rebranding, it is surely up there with the best." The case considers the methods used by MacGregor to achieve these results and some of the key turning points, as well as the lessons for other organizations, including in the private sector. It also explores the possible complications of following a charismatic leader. Learning objectives: The case covers six key issues to do with leadership and organizational change: 1) The difficulties of changing an entrenched public sector culture, shaped by curatorial divisions and the weight of the BM's heritage. 2) The challenge of managing multiple stakeholders. 3) The various roles adopted by a leader - and changing the scope of the job. 4) The importance of finding a purpose that resonates with employees and visitors alike. 5) The process of institutional transformation and the challenge of building on MacGregor's legacy. 6) The benefits and drawbacks of charismatic leadership.
Swot Analysis of "RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM" written by Anand Narasimhan, Jean-Louis Barsoux includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bm Macgregor facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customer service, Influence, Leadership, Networking, Operations management, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bm Macgregor, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bm Macgregor 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 RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bm Macgregor
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 Bm Macgregor
Strengths RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bm Macgregor in RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bm Macgregor in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Bm Macgregor is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bm Macgregor in the sector have low bargaining power. RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bm Macgregor to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bm Macgregor is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM 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.
Organizational Resilience of Bm Macgregor
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bm Macgregor does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bm Macgregor has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Bm Macgregor is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Bm Macgregor 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 Bm Macgregor is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Bm Macgregor has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bm Macgregor to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Bm Macgregor 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 Bm Macgregor in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bm Macgregor digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bm Macgregor 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.
Weaknesses RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM, is just above the industry average. Bm Macgregor 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM, in the dynamic environment Bm Macgregor has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bm Macgregor has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bm Macgregor, firm in the HBR case study RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bm Macgregor 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Anand Narasimhan, Jean-Louis Barsoux suggests that, Bm Macgregor 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bm Macgregor is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bm Macgregor 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bm Macgregor 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bm Macgregor 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 RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM 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 Bm Macgregor 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM, it seems that the employees of Bm Macgregor don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Opportunities RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM | 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 RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM are -
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 Bm Macgregor 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Bm Macgregor 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 Bm Macgregor to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bm Macgregor 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Bm Macgregor can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bm Macgregor can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Bm Macgregor can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Bm Macgregor 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bm Macgregor is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bm Macgregor has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bm Macgregor to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM case study. Bm Macgregor can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bm Macgregor to increase its market reach. Bm Macgregor 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bm Macgregor 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.
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. Bm Macgregor 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. Bm Macgregor 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Bm Macgregor 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.
Threats RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM are -
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 Bm Macgregor.
Regulatory challenges
– Bm Macgregor 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bm Macgregor 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bm Macgregor with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bm Macgregor has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bm Macgregor 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.
Environmental challenges
– Bm Macgregor 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. Bm Macgregor can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing wage structure of Bm Macgregor
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Bm Macgregor.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bm Macgregor 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bm Macgregor 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 RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM, Bm Macgregor 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 .
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. Bm Macgregor 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.
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 Bm Macgregor business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Bm Macgregor in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM 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 RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM 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 RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM 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 RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM 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 RESTORING THE BRITISH MUSEUM 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 Bm Macgregor needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
