Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management
Leo Burnett Co. Ltd. is a global advertising agency. The company is working with one of its largest clients to launch a new line of hair care products into the Canadian and Taiwanese test markets in preparation for a global rollout. Normally, after a brand launching, the global brand center turns over the responsibility for the brand and future campaigns to the local market offices. In this case, however, the brand launch was not successful. Team communications and team dynamics broke down in recent months and the relationships are strained. Further complicating matters are a number of client and agency staffing changes that could jeopardize the stability of the team and the agency-client relationship. The global account director must decide whether to proceed with the expected decision to modify the global team structure to give one of the teams more autonomy or whether to maintain greater centralized control over the team. She must also recommend how to move forward with the brand and determine what changes in team structure or management are necessary.
Authors :: Joerg Dietz, Fernando Olivera, Elizabeth O'Neil
Swot Analysis of "Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management" written by Joerg Dietz, Fernando Olivera, Elizabeth O'Neil includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Team Burnett facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Cross-cultural management, Globalization, Leading teams and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management casestudy better are - – technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Team Burnett, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Team Burnett 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 Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Team Burnett
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 Team Burnett
Strengths Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Team Burnett in Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Team Burnett 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 Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Team Burnett in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Team Burnett digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Team Burnett 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.
Training and development
– Team Burnett has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Team Burnett is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Team Burnett 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 Team Burnett in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Team Burnett 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 Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Team Burnett is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Team Burnett to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Team Burnett to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Team Burnett in the sector have low bargaining power. Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Team Burnett to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Team Burnett 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.
Weaknesses Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management, 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, Joerg Dietz, Fernando Olivera, Elizabeth O'Neil suggests that, Team Burnett 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.
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 Team Burnett supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Team Burnett vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management, is just above the industry average. Team Burnett 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management 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 Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Team Burnett is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management HBR case study mentions - Team Burnett 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Team Burnett has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Lack of clear differentiation of Team Burnett products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Team Burnett needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management, it seems that the employees of Team Burnett 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management 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 Team Burnett has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management 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 Team Burnett 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management | 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 Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management are -
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 Team Burnett in the consumer business. Now Team Burnett can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Team Burnett can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Team Burnett 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.
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 Team Burnett 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 Team Burnett can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Organizational Development segment.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Team Burnett can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Team Burnett 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 Team Burnett 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 Team Burnett has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Team Burnett to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management case study. Team Burnett can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Team Burnett can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Team Burnett to increase its market reach. Team Burnett 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Team Burnett 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Team Burnett 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.
Threats Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Team Burnett with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Team Burnett needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Team Burnett is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Team Burnett 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 Team Burnett
– 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 Team Burnett.
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 Team Burnett in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Team Burnett business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Team Burnett 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. Team Burnett can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management, Team Burnett 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 .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Team Burnett has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Team Burnett 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.
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 Team Burnett.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Team Burnett 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management 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 Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management 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 Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management 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 Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management 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 Leo Burnett Co. Ltd.: Virtual Team Management 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 Team Burnett needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
