News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Billionaire Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation, has purchased the Dow Jones & Company, which includes the Wall Street Journal, from the Bancroft family after many family discussions about the sale. At issue is whether Murdoch, known for his involved and hands-on management style, will impose his will on the editorial personnel and policies of the WSJ and risk destroying the very intellectual capital he has just acquired.
Authors :: L.J. Bourgeois, Divyaksh Kapur, Michael Mussio
Swot Analysis of "News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc." written by L.J. Bourgeois, Divyaksh Kapur, Michael Mussio includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Murdoch Dow facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. casestudy better are - – technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Murdoch Dow, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Murdoch Dow 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 News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Murdoch Dow
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 Murdoch Dow
Strengths News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Murdoch Dow in News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Murdoch Dow has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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.
Analytics focus
– Murdoch Dow is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by L.J. Bourgeois, Divyaksh Kapur, Michael Mussio can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Innovation driven organization
– Murdoch Dow is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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)
– Murdoch Dow 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 News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Murdoch Dow has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Murdoch Dow 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Murdoch Dow to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Murdoch Dow to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Murdoch Dow 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.
High brand equity
– Murdoch Dow has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Murdoch Dow to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Murdoch Dow 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 Murdoch Dow is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Murdoch Dow 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 Murdoch Dow in the sector have low bargaining power. News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Murdoch Dow to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Murdoch Dow is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Murdoch Dow needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Murdoch Dow to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc., it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, L.J. Bourgeois, Divyaksh Kapur, Michael Mussio suggests that, Murdoch Dow 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Murdoch Dow 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 - News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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 News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc., in the dynamic environment Murdoch Dow has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Murdoch Dow has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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 Murdoch Dow 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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 News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Murdoch Dow is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. HBR case study mentions - Murdoch Dow 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Murdoch Dow 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Murdoch Dow 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Murdoch Dow 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. Murdoch Dow 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 News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. | 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 News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. are -
Manufacturing automation
– Murdoch Dow 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Murdoch Dow 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Murdoch Dow 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 Murdoch Dow 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.
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. Murdoch Dow 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. Murdoch Dow 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Murdoch Dow can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Murdoch Dow in the consumer business. Now Murdoch Dow can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Murdoch Dow can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Murdoch Dow has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Murdoch Dow to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. case study. Murdoch Dow can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Murdoch Dow 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Murdoch Dow can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Murdoch Dow operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Murdoch Dow 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 Murdoch Dow 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 Murdoch Dow can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Murdoch Dow 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.
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. Murdoch Dow can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Murdoch Dow 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.
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. Murdoch Dow needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Murdoch Dow 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Murdoch Dow 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Murdoch Dow has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Murdoch Dow 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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc., Murdoch Dow 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 .
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 Murdoch Dow business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Murdoch Dow with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Murdoch Dow.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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 News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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 News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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 News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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 News Corporation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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 Murdoch Dow needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
