Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle
A middle manager at a large company is unable to get her engineering customers and corporate bosses to see eye to eye on a public relations decision, and now her corporate boss seems to have totally misinterpreted her intentions. Suitable for MBA or executive education classes, this field case is a composite of actual experiences and fabricated elements. The case addresses a scarcity of material on the unique dilemmas faced by middle managers.
Authors :: Lynn A. Isabella, Rachel Decker, Gerry Yemen
Swot Analysis of "Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle" written by Lynn A. Isabella, Rachel Decker, Gerry Yemen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Middle Eye facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Gender, Influence, Leadership, Organizational culture, Organizational structure and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Middle Eye, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Middle Eye 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 Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Middle Eye
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 Middle Eye
Strengths Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Middle Eye in Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Middle Eye 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
– Middle Eye is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Middle Eye is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Middle Eye in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Middle Eye 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Middle Eye 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 Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Middle Eye in the sector have low bargaining power. Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Middle Eye to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Middle Eye
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Middle Eye does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Middle Eye digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Middle Eye 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Middle Eye has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Middle Eye 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.
Training and development
– Middle Eye has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle 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.
Weaknesses Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Middle Eye products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Middle Eye 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, Middle Eye is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Middle Eye 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Middle Eye 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 Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle 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 Middle Eye has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Middle Eye is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Middle Eye needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Middle Eye to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle, is just above the industry average. Middle Eye 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle 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 Middle Eye 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Middle Eye 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 - Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle, in the dynamic environment Middle Eye has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Middle Eye has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Middle Eye 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. Middle Eye 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.
Opportunities Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle | 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 Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Middle Eye has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Middle Eye to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle case study. Middle Eye can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Middle Eye 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 Middle Eye to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Middle Eye can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Middle Eye to increase its market reach. Middle Eye 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Middle Eye 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, Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Middle Eye is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle 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.
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. Middle Eye 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. Middle Eye 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Middle Eye 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.
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 Middle Eye 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Middle Eye can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Middle Eye operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Middle Eye 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.
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. Middle Eye can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Middle Eye 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.
Threats Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Middle Eye 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. Middle Eye 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Middle Eye 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 Middle Eye
– 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 Middle Eye.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Middle Eye is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Middle Eye 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.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Middle Eye business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Middle Eye 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Middle Eye 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 Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle .
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.
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 Middle Eye in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Middle Eye 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.
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 Middle Eye.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle 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 Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle 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 Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle 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 Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle 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 Global Protection Corporation: Message from the Middle 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 Middle Eye needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
