Swot Analysis of "Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C)" written by Jay W. Lorsch, Katharina Pick includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Quickturn Design facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Intellectual property, Organizational culture, Regulation and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Quickturn Design, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Quickturn Design 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Quickturn Design
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 Quickturn Design
Strengths Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Quickturn Design in Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Quickturn Design is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Quickturn Design 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Quickturn Design 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.
Learning organization
- Quickturn Design 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 Quickturn Design is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Quickturn Design has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Quickturn Design to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Quickturn Design is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Quickturn Design in the sector have low bargaining power. Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Quickturn Design to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Quickturn Design digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Quickturn Design 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Quickturn Design 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.
Organizational Resilience of Quickturn Design
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Quickturn Design does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Quickturn Design has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Quickturn Design is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Quickturn Design 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
– Quickturn Design 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C), in the dynamic environment Quickturn Design has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Quickturn Design has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Quickturn Design, firm in the HBR case study Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Quickturn Design is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C), is just above the industry average. Quickturn Design 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Quickturn Design 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 - Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Quickturn Design is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Quickturn Design 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jay W. Lorsch, Katharina Pick suggests that, Quickturn Design is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Lack of clear differentiation of Quickturn Design products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Quickturn Design needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) | 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Quickturn Design has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Quickturn Design to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) case study. Quickturn Design can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, Quickturn Design can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Quickturn Design operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Quickturn Design can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Quickturn Design 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Quickturn Design to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Quickturn Design 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, Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Quickturn Design 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Quickturn Design 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Quickturn Design 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 Quickturn Design to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Quickturn Design 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Quickturn Design 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Quickturn Design to increase its market reach. Quickturn Design 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.
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. Quickturn Design can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Quickturn Design 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. Quickturn Design 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.
Threats Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) are -
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 Quickturn Design in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Quickturn Design has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Quickturn Design 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Quickturn Design 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.
Environmental challenges
– Quickturn Design 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. Quickturn Design can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Quickturn Design is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C), Quickturn Design 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Quickturn Design 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Quickturn Design with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Quickturn Design 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Quickturn Design 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) .
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. Quickturn Design 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.
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. Quickturn Design needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) 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 Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (C) 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 Quickturn Design needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
