Brady Training Program SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Brady Training Program
This case chronicles the events that prompt the recruits of one computer company's training program to aid one another on assignments and projects despite rules explicitly prohibiting such behavior. It emphasizes personal values and the choices made in different circumstances. It also raises questions about the responsibility of companies to design organizations that induce ethical behavior. Bill Flynn is a 23-year-old newcomer to the Brady Co. Information Systems Department. After having worked for one year in sales for a different computer manufacturer, Flynn joined the Brady Co. to develop his understanding of hardware and programming. Upon learning that the Brady training program is intensely rigorous and competitive--usually less than one-third of the recruits complete it--Flynn and other recruits begin to help one another, despite being forbidden at the outset from doing so. Flynn forms a study group with two classmates; catches two recruits photocopying former students' completed assignments and takes a copy to share with his own group; and reads the supervisors' secret files evaluating recruits' progress. After seeing comments in his own file that question his commitment to become part of the Information Systems Department, Flynn cultivates disingenuous friendships with his supervisors. When he survives the 12-month training program, Flynn is offered a formal position in the company; however, he already has secured two other job offers from competing companies. Upon hearing this news, the Brady management immediately makes a superior offer and encourages him to join the firm.
Swot Analysis of "Brady Training Program" written by Allan Cohen, William Duckett includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Flynn Brady facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Brady Training Program case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leading teams, Organizational structure and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Brady Training Program casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Brady Training Program
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Brady Training Program case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Flynn Brady, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Flynn Brady 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 Brady Training Program can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Brady Training Program case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Flynn Brady
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 Flynn Brady
Strengths Brady Training Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Flynn Brady in Brady Training Program Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Flynn Brady in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Flynn Brady has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Brady Training Program 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Flynn Brady is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Brady Training Program 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.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Flynn Brady digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Flynn Brady 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Flynn Brady in the sector have low bargaining power. Brady Training Program has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Flynn Brady to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Flynn Brady 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 Flynn Brady is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Brady Training Program Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Flynn Brady is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Flynn Brady 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Flynn Brady is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Brady Training Program Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Flynn Brady has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Flynn Brady to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Brady Training Program firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Flynn Brady to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Flynn Brady to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Flynn Brady 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.
Weaknesses Brady Training Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Brady Training Program are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Flynn Brady 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 - Brady Training Program should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Brady Training Program 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 Brady Training Program can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Flynn Brady is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Flynn Brady 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. Flynn Brady 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.
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 Flynn Brady supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Brady Training Program, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Flynn Brady vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Flynn Brady 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Brady Training Program 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 Flynn Brady 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Brady Training Program, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Brady Training Program, is just above the industry average. Flynn Brady 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, Flynn Brady 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, Flynn Brady 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 Flynn Brady products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Flynn Brady needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Brady Training Program | 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 Brady Training Program are -
Buying journey improvements
– Flynn Brady can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Brady Training Program 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Flynn Brady 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 Brady Training Program - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Flynn Brady to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Flynn Brady 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.
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. Flynn Brady can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Flynn Brady 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Flynn Brady can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Flynn Brady operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
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 Flynn Brady in the consumer business. Now Flynn Brady can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Flynn Brady to increase its market reach. Flynn Brady 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Flynn Brady has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Flynn Brady to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Brady Training Program case study. Flynn Brady can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Flynn Brady 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Flynn Brady 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 Flynn Brady to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Flynn Brady can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Flynn Brady can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Brady Training Program External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Brady Training Program are -
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Brady Training Program, Flynn Brady 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Flynn Brady 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Flynn Brady has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Flynn Brady 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Flynn Brady 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. Flynn Brady can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Flynn Brady 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.
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 Flynn Brady in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Flynn Brady 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 Flynn Brady 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.
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. Flynn Brady can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Flynn Brady needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Flynn Brady 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Brady Training Program 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 Brady Training Program 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 Brady Training Program 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 Brady Training Program 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 Brady Training Program 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 Flynn Brady needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
