Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement
This case is accompanied by a Video Short that can be shown in class or included in a digital coursepack. Instructors should consider the timing of making the video available to students, as it may reveal key case details.Supplements Walt Disney's Dennis Hightower: Taking Charge & Dennis Hightower: Walt Disney's Transnational Manager.
Swot Analysis of "Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement" written by Ashish Nanda includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hightower Dennis facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Corporate governance, International business, Marketing and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption,
increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hightower Dennis, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hightower Dennis 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 Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hightower Dennis
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 Hightower Dennis
Strengths Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hightower Dennis in Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Hightower Dennis is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hightower Dennis is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Hightower Dennis has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hightower Dennis 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.
Learning organization
- Hightower Dennis 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 Hightower Dennis is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Hightower Dennis is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Hightower Dennis 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 Hightower Dennis in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hightower Dennis 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 Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hightower Dennis digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hightower Dennis 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.
Organizational Resilience of Hightower Dennis
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hightower Dennis does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hightower Dennis is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hightower Dennis has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hightower Dennis has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Weaknesses Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hightower Dennis 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Hightower Dennis 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Hightower Dennis has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Hightower Dennis even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Need for greater diversity
– Hightower Dennis has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hightower Dennis products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hightower Dennis needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Hightower Dennis, firm in the HBR case study Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hightower Dennis is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hightower Dennis is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Hightower Dennis needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hightower Dennis to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement 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 Hightower Dennis has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement 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 Hightower Dennis 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ashish Nanda suggests that, Hightower Dennis 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.
Opportunities Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement | 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 Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hightower Dennis 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hightower Dennis has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hightower Dennis to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement case study. Hightower Dennis can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Hightower Dennis 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Hightower Dennis 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hightower Dennis 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hightower Dennis can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hightower Dennis operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hightower Dennis has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hightower Dennis to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hightower Dennis 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Hightower Dennis can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement 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.
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 Hightower Dennis 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hightower Dennis is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement 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.
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 Hightower Dennis in the consumer business. Now Hightower Dennis can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hightower Dennis can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement 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 Hightower Dennis business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Hightower Dennis can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Hightower Dennis 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hightower Dennis with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement, Hightower Dennis 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 .
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. Hightower Dennis needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Hightower Dennis has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hightower Dennis 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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
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 Hightower Dennis.
Increasing wage structure of Hightower Dennis
– 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 Hightower Dennis.
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. Hightower Dennis 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.
Environmental challenges
– Hightower Dennis 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. Hightower Dennis can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement 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 Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement 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 Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement 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 Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement 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 Dennis Hightower in Conversation with MBA Students, November 21, 1994, Supplement 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 Hightower Dennis needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
