Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version
In 1969, Megalith centralized its financial and control functions. John Boyd, senior vice president for finance, hired four brilliant young managers to "bring the group out of the stone age." By 1975, this management team had created a near-perfect finance office of 630 employees. But two of the "young stars" have just quit, and Boyd is sure the constraints of salary ceilings are responsible. He talks with a compensation consultant (Hay Associates).
Authors :: John P. Kotter, Anne Harlan, John A. Seeger
Swot Analysis of "Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version" written by John P. Kotter, Anne Harlan, John A. Seeger includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Megalith Hay facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Motivating people and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Megalith Hay, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Megalith Hay 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 Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Megalith Hay
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 Megalith Hay
Strengths Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Megalith Hay in Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Megalith Hay has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Megalith Hay 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.
Learning organization
- Megalith Hay 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 Megalith Hay is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Megalith Hay
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Megalith Hay does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Megalith Hay is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Megalith Hay 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 Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Megalith Hay 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Megalith Hay 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 brand equity
– Megalith Hay has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Megalith Hay to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Megalith Hay has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Megalith Hay 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 Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Megalith Hay in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version 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.
Weaknesses Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Megalith Hay has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
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 Megalith Hay supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Megalith Hay vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, John P. Kotter, Anne Harlan, John A. Seeger suggests that, Megalith Hay 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 Megalith Hay products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Megalith Hay needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Megalith Hay 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Megalith Hay 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version HBR case study mentions - Megalith Hay 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Megalith Hay 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Megalith Hay 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Megalith Hay, firm in the HBR case study Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version 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 Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Megalith Hay is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version | 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 Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Megalith Hay has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Megalith Hay to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version case study. Megalith Hay 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 Megalith Hay 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 Megalith Hay 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 Megalith Hay can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Megalith Hay 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Megalith Hay is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version 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, Megalith Hay can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Megalith Hay operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Megalith Hay can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Buying journey improvements
– Megalith Hay can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version 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
– Megalith Hay 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 Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Megalith Hay to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Megalith Hay 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.
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. Megalith Hay can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Megalith Hay 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.
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 Megalith Hay in the consumer business. Now Megalith Hay can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Megalith Hay 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 Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version .
Environmental challenges
– Megalith Hay 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. Megalith Hay can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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. Megalith Hay 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. Megalith Hay needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Megalith Hay in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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 Megalith Hay.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Megalith Hay 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.
Increasing wage structure of Megalith Hay
– 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 Megalith Hay.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Megalith Hay 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 Megalith Hay with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Megalith Hay 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version 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 Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version 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 Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version 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 Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version 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 Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A), Spanish Version 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 Megalith Hay needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.