Swot Analysis of "Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization" written by Michael Beer, Gregory C. Rogers includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that A3 Rosa facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Organizational culture, Organizational structure and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the A3 Rosa, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which A3 Rosa 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 Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of A3 Rosa
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 A3 Rosa
Strengths Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of A3 Rosa in Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For A3 Rosa digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. A3 Rosa 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– A3 Rosa 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 A3 Rosa in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of A3 Rosa in the sector have low bargaining power. Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps A3 Rosa to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that A3 Rosa 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled A3 Rosa to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped A3 Rosa to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the A3 Rosa 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.
Innovation driven organization
– A3 Rosa is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– A3 Rosa has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled A3 Rosa to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- A3 Rosa 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 A3 Rosa is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of A3 Rosa
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that A3 Rosa does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– A3 Rosa is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– A3 Rosa has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization 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 Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, A3 Rosa 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.
Need for greater diversity
– A3 Rosa 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
A3 Rosa 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 A3 Rosa, firm in the HBR case study Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization 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 A3 Rosa has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization, is just above the industry average. A3 Rosa 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization, it seems that the employees of A3 Rosa 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, A3 Rosa 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization HBR case study mentions - A3 Rosa 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of A3 Rosa is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. A3 Rosa needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help A3 Rosa to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Michael Beer, Gregory C. Rogers suggests that, A3 Rosa 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.
Opportunities Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization | 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 Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, A3 Rosa 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for A3 Rosa 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 A3 Rosa to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 A3 Rosa in the consumer business. Now A3 Rosa can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help A3 Rosa to increase its market reach. A3 Rosa 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.
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 A3 Rosa 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at A3 Rosa 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects A3 Rosa can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, A3 Rosa can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that A3 Rosa operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– A3 Rosa 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 Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help A3 Rosa to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– A3 Rosa 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.
Manufacturing automation
– A3 Rosa 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for A3 Rosa 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– A3 Rosa 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.
Threats Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– A3 Rosa has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, A3 Rosa 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.
Increasing wage structure of A3 Rosa
– 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 A3 Rosa.
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 A3 Rosa business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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 A3 Rosa in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. A3 Rosa can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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. A3 Rosa needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– A3 Rosa 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization, A3 Rosa 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– A3 Rosa 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.
Environmental challenges
– A3 Rosa 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. A3 Rosa can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents A3 Rosa with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization 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 Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization 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 Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization 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 Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization 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 Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (A3): Effects of the Reorganization 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 A3 Rosa needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.