Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited
When a consultant recommends an overhaul of the HR compensation practices that the family business is known for and prizes, what should be the next steps?
Authors :: John L. Ward, Carol Adler Zsolnay, Sachin Waikar
Swot Analysis of "Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited" written by John L. Ward, Carol Adler Zsolnay, Sachin Waikar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Srf Compensation facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Srf Compensation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Srf Compensation 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 Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Srf Compensation
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 Srf Compensation
Strengths Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Srf Compensation in Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Srf Compensation 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 Srf Compensation is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Srf Compensation digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Srf Compensation 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 Srf Compensation
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Srf Compensation does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Srf Compensation to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Srf Compensation to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Srf Compensation in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Srf Compensation is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Srf Compensation in the sector have low bargaining power. Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Srf Compensation to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Srf Compensation 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 Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Srf Compensation is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Srf Compensation 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
– Srf Compensation 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 Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Srf Compensation 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Srf Compensation 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. Srf Compensation 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Srf Compensation products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Srf Compensation needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Srf Compensation is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Srf Compensation 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited 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 Srf Compensation has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Srf Compensation supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Srf Compensation vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Srf Compensation 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Srf Compensation has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited 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 Srf Compensation 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Srf Compensation 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.
Opportunities Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited | 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 Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Srf Compensation has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Srf Compensation to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited case study. Srf Compensation 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, Srf Compensation is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Srf Compensation 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 Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Srf Compensation to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Srf Compensation 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. Srf Compensation 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. Srf Compensation 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Srf Compensation 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Srf Compensation can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Srf Compensation 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Srf Compensation 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Srf Compensation can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Srf Compensation operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Srf Compensation can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Srf Compensation 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Srf Compensation 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.
Threats Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Srf Compensation with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Srf Compensation 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited, Srf Compensation 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Srf Compensation 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 Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited .
Increasing wage structure of Srf Compensation
– 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 Srf Compensation.
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. Srf Compensation can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Srf Compensation 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Srf Compensation 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Srf Compensation 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.
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 Srf Compensation.
Regulatory challenges
– Srf Compensation 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Srf Compensation is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Srf Compensation has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Srf Compensation 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited 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 Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited 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 Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited 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 Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited 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 Culture and Compensation: Considering Performance and Variable Pay at SRF Limited 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 Srf Compensation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
