Swot Analysis of "Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A)" written by Nitin Nohria, Bharat N. Anand, Kyle Barnett includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lewis Gidding facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Mergers & acquisitions and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices,
geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lewis Gidding, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lewis Gidding 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 Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lewis Gidding
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 Lewis Gidding
Strengths Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lewis Gidding in Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lewis Gidding in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Lewis Gidding has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lewis Gidding 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.
Analytics focus
– Lewis Gidding is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Nitin Nohria, Bharat N. Anand, Kyle Barnett can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
High brand equity
– Lewis Gidding has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Lewis Gidding 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
– Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Lewis Gidding to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Lewis Gidding to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Lewis Gidding 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 Lewis Gidding in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Lewis Gidding is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Lewis Gidding
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lewis Gidding does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Lewis Gidding 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 Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lewis Gidding is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Lewis Gidding is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) HBR case study mentions - Lewis Gidding takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Lack of clear differentiation of Lewis Gidding products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Lewis Gidding needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Lewis Gidding 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lewis Gidding is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Lewis Gidding needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lewis Gidding to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Lewis Gidding, firm in the HBR case study Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Lewis Gidding 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 - Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Lewis Gidding 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Lewis Gidding 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. Lewis Gidding 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A), it seems that the employees of Lewis Gidding 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 Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A), 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Lewis Gidding 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.
Opportunities Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) | 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 Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Lewis Gidding is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Lewis Gidding can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lewis Gidding operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Lewis Gidding 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.
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. Lewis Gidding can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Lewis Gidding 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.
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 Lewis Gidding in the consumer business. Now Lewis Gidding can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Lewis Gidding 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Lewis Gidding can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Lewis Gidding to increase its market reach. Lewis Gidding 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Lewis Gidding 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Lewis Gidding can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Lewis Gidding 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Lewis Gidding in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) 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. Lewis Gidding 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 Lewis Gidding.
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 Lewis Gidding in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lewis Gidding 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A), Lewis Gidding 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
– Lewis Gidding 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lewis Gidding has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lewis Gidding 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Lewis Gidding is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Lewis Gidding 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Lewis Gidding 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.
Increasing wage structure of Lewis Gidding
– 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 Lewis Gidding.
Regulatory challenges
– Lewis Gidding 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) 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 Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) 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 Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) 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 Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) 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 Giddings & Lewis: In Search of the Cutting Edge (Consolidated) (A) 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 Lewis Gidding needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.