Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld was a professor at Emory University's Goizueta Business School. He was a "star" at Emory and was extremely popular with the students. He was also extremely successful at raising funds for Emory's Center for Leadership and Career Studies. He had close relationships with some of the most powerful CEOs and business leaders in the country who regularly attended the center for conferences that he led. It was common knowledge that Sonnenfeld had conflicts with the dean of the business school and the dean of the entire university. Sonnenfeld was caught on video camera jumping up and down the business school hallways and potentially scraping the walls. The university fired him and interfered with his outstanding offer to head up Georgia Tech's business school. Sonnenfeld's reputation was ruined and he was out of his current job. Furthermore, his career was potentially ruined.
Authors :: Jeffrey Pfeffer, Kimberly D Elsbach, Victoria Chang
Swot Analysis of "Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption" written by Jeffrey Pfeffer, Kimberly D Elsbach, Victoria Chang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sonnenfeld Ruined facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Human resource management, Influence, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sonnenfeld Ruined, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sonnenfeld Ruined
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sonnenfeld Ruined
Strengths Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sonnenfeld Ruined in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Sonnenfeld Ruined is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Sonnenfeld Ruined is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Jeffrey Pfeffer, Kimberly D Elsbach, Victoria Chang can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption 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.
High brand equity
– Sonnenfeld Ruined has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sonnenfeld Ruined to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Sonnenfeld Ruined
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sonnenfeld Ruined does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Sonnenfeld Ruined has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption 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.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sonnenfeld Ruined digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Organizational Development field
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Sonnenfeld Ruined in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sonnenfeld Ruined in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Sonnenfeld Ruined is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sonnenfeld Ruined is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sonnenfeld Ruined is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sonnenfeld Ruined is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Sonnenfeld Ruined needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sonnenfeld Ruined to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption, it seems that the employees of Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption, is just above the industry average. Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sonnenfeld Ruined products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sonnenfeld Ruined needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Kimberly D Elsbach, Victoria Chang suggests that, Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sonnenfeld Ruined has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption | 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Organizational Development segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sonnenfeld Ruined to increase its market reach. Sonnenfeld Ruined 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
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
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 Sonnenfeld Ruined in the consumer business. Now Sonnenfeld Ruined can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Sonnenfeld Ruined to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sonnenfeld Ruined can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Buying journey improvements
– Sonnenfeld Ruined can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption 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
– Sonnenfeld Ruined can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development 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.
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. Sonnenfeld Ruined can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sonnenfeld Ruined can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sonnenfeld Ruined can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sonnenfeld Ruined has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sonnenfeld Ruined to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption case study. Sonnenfeld Ruined can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sonnenfeld Ruined is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption 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.
Threats Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption are -
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. Sonnenfeld Ruined needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption .
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.
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. Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
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 Sonnenfeld Ruined in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sonnenfeld Ruined in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
Environmental challenges
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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. Sonnenfeld Ruined can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sonnenfeld Ruined with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Sonnenfeld Ruined business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sonnenfeld Ruined can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Organizational Development industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (B): The Road to Redemption 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 Sonnenfeld Ruined needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
