Case Study Description of Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC
This is part of the subset of Ivey cases and technical notes written for Introductory-Level courses.The manager of occupational health and safety services at the London Health Science Centre (LHSC) is a member of a team developing a plan to prepare LHSC to manage various issues in the event of an influenza pandemic, particularly in its hospitals. Such an event would place severe strain on LHSC's employees and on the organization's ability to provide health care to the public. The manager has to resolve several ethical concerns while ensuring compliance with the Ontario Health and Safety Act. She also has to recommend how best to communicate the plan to the LHSC staff.
Swot Analysis of "Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC" written by Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, David House includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lhsc Influenza facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, Operations management, Project management and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lhsc Influenza, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lhsc Influenza 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 Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lhsc Influenza
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 Lhsc Influenza
Strengths Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lhsc Influenza in Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lhsc Influenza in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Lhsc Influenza to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Lhsc Influenza to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Lhsc Influenza 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 Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Lhsc Influenza has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Lhsc Influenza is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Lhsc Influenza is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Lhsc Influenza 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Lhsc Influenza 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lhsc Influenza 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 Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Lhsc Influenza is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lhsc Influenza is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC 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.
Weaknesses Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Lhsc Influenza 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Lhsc Influenza products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Lhsc Influenza needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC, is just above the industry average. Lhsc Influenza 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Lhsc Influenza 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lhsc Influenza is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Lhsc Influenza needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lhsc Influenza to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Lhsc Influenza is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Lhsc Influenza 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Lhsc Influenza 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC, it seems that the employees of Lhsc Influenza 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Lhsc Influenza, firm in the HBR case study Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Lhsc Influenza supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Lhsc Influenza vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC | 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 Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Lhsc Influenza 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Lhsc Influenza 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, Lhsc Influenza is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC 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.
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. Lhsc Influenza can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Lhsc Influenza 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. Lhsc Influenza 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.
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 Lhsc Influenza 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 Lhsc Influenza 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 Lhsc Influenza to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Lhsc Influenza in the consumer business. Now Lhsc Influenza can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Lhsc Influenza 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Lhsc Influenza 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Lhsc Influenza 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 Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lhsc Influenza to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lhsc Influenza can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Lhsc Influenza 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.
Threats Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC are -
Increasing wage structure of Lhsc Influenza
– 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 Lhsc Influenza.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Lhsc Influenza 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.
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 Lhsc Influenza.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lhsc Influenza has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lhsc Influenza needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lhsc Influenza with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Lhsc Influenza 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. Lhsc Influenza can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Lhsc Influenza 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.
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 Lhsc Influenza in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lhsc Influenza 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Lhsc Influenza is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC, Lhsc Influenza 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 .
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. Lhsc Influenza 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC 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 Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC 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 Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC 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 Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC 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 Influenza Pandemic Planning at LHSC 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 Lhsc Influenza needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.