Case Study Description of Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling
Describes a strategic human resource management process applied at the business unit and corporate level. The purpose of the process is to provide a means for aligning human resource management policies and practices with strategy and to hold managers accountable for managing change and improvement.
Swot Analysis of "Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling" written by Michael Beer, Alistair D. Williamson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Resource Human facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Health, Human resource management, Strategic planning and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Resource Human, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Resource Human 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 Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Resource Human
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 Resource Human
Strengths Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Resource Human in Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Resource Human 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Resource Human 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 Resource Human in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Resource Human to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Resource Human to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Resource Human in the sector have low bargaining power. Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Resource Human to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling 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.
Learning organization
- Resource Human 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 Resource Human is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Resource Human 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 Michael Beer, Alistair D. Williamson 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Resource Human 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 Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling - 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
– Resource Human has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Resource Human 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Resource Human 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Resource Human 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 Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Resource Human is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Resource Human 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Resource Human is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Resource Human needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Resource Human to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Resource Human products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Resource Human needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Resource Human is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Resource Human supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Resource Human vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling, is just above the industry average. Resource Human needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling 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 Resource Human 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling 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 Resource Human has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Resource Human 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling, in the dynamic environment Resource Human has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Resource Human has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Resource Human 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.
Opportunities Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling | 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 Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling are -
Buying journey improvements
– Resource Human can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Resource Human 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 Resource Human to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Resource Human 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Resource Human 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Resource Human has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Resource Human to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling case study. Resource Human can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Resource Human to increase its market reach. Resource Human 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Resource Human 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.
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. Resource Human 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. Resource Human 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Resource Human is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling 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, Resource Human can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Resource Human operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
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. Resource Human can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Resource Human can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Resource Human 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.
Threats Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Resource Human high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Increasing wage structure of Resource Human
– 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 Resource Human.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Resource Human 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
– Resource Human has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Resource Human 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling, Resource Human 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Resource Human is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Resource Human can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Resource Human 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.
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 Resource Human 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.
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. Resource Human needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Resource Human 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 Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling .
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling 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 Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling 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 Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling 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 Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling 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 Becton Dickinson (D): Strategic Human Resource Management Profiling 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 Resource Human needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.