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Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations


This case comments on the responsibility of professional organizations to respond openly to public accusations of wrongdoing by its members. It briefly relates the circumstances of the sexual abuse scandal in the Boston archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' handling of concerns about auditor independence. The case suggests that professional associations can learn from these unsuccessful attempts to suppress public concerns about practitioners.

Authors :: Ashish Nanda

Topics :: Organizational Development

Tags :: Ethics, Managing people, Public relations, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations" written by Ashish Nanda includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Professional Archdiocese facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, Managing people, Public relations and Organizational Development.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Professional Archdiocese, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Professional Archdiocese 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 Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Professional Archdiocese
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 Professional Archdiocese




Strengths Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Professional Archdiocese in Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations Harvard Business Review case study are -

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Professional Archdiocese 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Professional Archdiocese is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Training and development

– Professional Archdiocese has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations 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.

Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Professional Archdiocese digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Professional Archdiocese 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.

Learning organization

- Professional Archdiocese 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 Professional Archdiocese is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Professional Archdiocese in the sector have low bargaining power. Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Professional Archdiocese to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Organizational Resilience of Professional Archdiocese

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Professional Archdiocese does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Analytics focus

– Professional Archdiocese 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 Ashish Nanda 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Professional Archdiocese 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 Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Professional Archdiocese 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry

– Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Professional Archdiocese to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Professional Archdiocese to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations 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 Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations are -

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations HBR case study mentions - Professional Archdiocese 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations 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 Professional Archdiocese 's lucrative customers.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations, 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Professional Archdiocese is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Professional Archdiocese 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. Professional Archdiocese 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Professional Archdiocese 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Professional Archdiocese 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 - Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Professional Archdiocese 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 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 Professional Archdiocese supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Professional Archdiocese vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations 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 Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Professional Archdiocese is planning to shift buying processes online.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Professional Archdiocese 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.




Opportunities Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations | 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 Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations are -

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. Professional Archdiocese 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. Professional Archdiocese 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.

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 Professional Archdiocese 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Professional Archdiocese has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Professional Archdiocese to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations case study. Professional Archdiocese can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Manufacturing automation

– Professional Archdiocese 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Professional Archdiocese 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 Professional Archdiocese to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Professional Archdiocese can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Professional Archdiocese operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Professional Archdiocese 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Professional Archdiocese can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Professional Archdiocese 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Professional Archdiocese is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Professional Archdiocese to increase its market reach. Professional Archdiocese 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.

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. Professional Archdiocese can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Developing new processes and practices

– Professional Archdiocese 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 Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations are -

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. Professional Archdiocese 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 Professional Archdiocese 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Professional Archdiocese 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.

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 Professional Archdiocese business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Professional Archdiocese 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.

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. Professional Archdiocese needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Professional Archdiocese 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Professional Archdiocese is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Professional Archdiocese 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.

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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Professional Archdiocese with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations, Professional Archdiocese 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 .




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations 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 Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations 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 Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations 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 Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations 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 Learning from Scandals: Responsibility of Professional Organizations 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 Professional Archdiocese needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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