West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of West Point: The Cheating Incident (B)

A review of the activities following the expose of the cheating incident at West Point and leading up to the Secretary of the Army's decision on the situation.

Authors :: Leonard A. Schlesinger

Topics :: Organizational Development

Tags :: Decision making, Ethics, Leading teams, Research & development, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "West Point: The Cheating Incident (B)" written by Leonard A. Schlesinger includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cheating Incident facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Ethics, Leading teams, Research & development and Organizational Development.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of West Point: The Cheating Incident (B)

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cheating Incident, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cheating Incident 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 West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cheating Incident
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 Cheating Incident

---

Strengths West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Cheating Incident in West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Cheating Incident 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 West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) - 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 lead change in Organizational Development field

– Cheating Incident 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 Cheating Incident in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Training and development

– Cheating Incident has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Cheating Incident 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.

Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cheating Incident digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cheating Incident 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.

Learning organization

- Cheating Incident 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 Cheating Incident is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Organizational Resilience of Cheating Incident

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cheating Incident does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Cheating Incident is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry

– West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cheating Incident to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cheating Incident to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Cheating Incident has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cheating Incident 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Cheating Incident 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.

High brand equity

– Cheating Incident has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cheating Incident to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

---

---

Weaknesses West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) are -

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) 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 Cheating Incident has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Cheating Incident, firm in the HBR case study West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cheating Incident needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study West Point: The Cheating Incident (B), is just above the industry average. Cheating Incident 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study West Point: The Cheating Incident (B), it seems that the employees of Cheating Incident 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.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study West Point: The Cheating Incident (B), 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Cheating Incident 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 West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) 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 Cheating Incident 's lucrative customers.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Leonard A. Schlesinger suggests that, Cheating Incident 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Cheating Incident 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 - West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Need for greater diversity

– Cheating Incident 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.

---

Opportunities West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) | 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 West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) are -

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Cheating Incident has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cheating Incident to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) case study. Cheating Incident can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Cheating Incident 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Cheating Incident 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Cheating Incident 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 West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cheating Incident to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Manufacturing automation

– Cheating Incident 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cheating Incident 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 Cheating Incident to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cheating Incident to increase its market reach. Cheating Incident 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Cheating Incident can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

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. Cheating Incident can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Cheating Incident 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. Cheating Incident 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.

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. Cheating Incident can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cheating Incident 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Cheating Incident 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.

---

Threats West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) 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. Cheating Incident needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Cheating Incident.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Cheating Incident can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cheating Incident 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 West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) .

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cheating Incident 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 West Point: The Cheating Incident (B), Cheating Incident may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Cheating Incident 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Cheating Incident 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.

Increasing wage structure of Cheating Incident

– 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 Cheating Incident.

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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Cheating Incident 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.

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 Cheating Incident 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. Cheating Incident can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) 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 West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) 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 West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) 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 West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) 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 West Point: The Cheating Incident (B) 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 Cheating Incident needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

--- ---