Case Study Description of Tom Tierney's Reflections
The case writers began taking notes on Thomas (Tom) Tierney's life experiences and the lessons that he has derived from them based on his presentations at several Harvard Business School MBA and executive education seminars during 2000 through 2002. This was followed by a series of interviews with Tierney. This case presents a compilation of Tom Tierney's reflections.
Swot Analysis of "Tom Tierney's Reflections" written by Ashish Nanda, Kelley Morrell, Monica Mullick includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Tierney's Tom facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tom Tierney's Reflections case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Managing people and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tom Tierney's Reflections casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tom Tierney's Reflections
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tom Tierney's Reflections case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Tierney's Tom, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Tierney's Tom 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 Tom Tierney's Reflections can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tom Tierney's Reflections case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Tierney's Tom
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 Tierney's Tom
Strengths Tom Tierney's Reflections | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Tierney's Tom in Tom Tierney's Reflections Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Tierney's Tom has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Tom Tierney's Reflections 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Tierney's Tom is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Tom Tierney's Reflections firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Tierney's Tom to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Tierney's Tom to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Tierney's Tom is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Tom Tierney's Reflections 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
– Tierney's Tom 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 Tierney's Tom in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Tierney's Tom in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Tierney's Tom 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, Kelley Morrell, Monica Mullick 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
– Tierney's Tom 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 Tom Tierney's Reflections 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 Tom Tierney's Reflections 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Tierney's Tom is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Tom Tierney's Reflections are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Tierney's Tom
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Tierney's Tom does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Tierney's Tom digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Tierney's Tom 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.
Weaknesses Tom Tierney's Reflections | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tom Tierney's Reflections are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Tierney's Tom 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 - Tom Tierney's Reflections should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Tierney's Tom, firm in the HBR case study Tom Tierney's Reflections needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Tom Tierney's Reflections 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 Tierney's Tom 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Tom Tierney's Reflections, in the dynamic environment Tierney's Tom has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Tierney's Tom has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Tierney's Tom products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Tierney's Tom needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Tom Tierney's Reflections 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 Tierney's Tom has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Tierney's Tom is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Tierney's Tom needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Tierney's Tom to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Tierney's Tom 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ashish Nanda, Kelley Morrell, Monica Mullick suggests that, Tierney's Tom 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Tom Tierney's Reflections 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 Tom Tierney's Reflections can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Tierney's Tom is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Tierney's Tom 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. Tierney's Tom 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 Tom Tierney's Reflections | 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 Tom Tierney's Reflections are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Tierney's Tom has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Tierney's Tom to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Tom Tierney's Reflections case study. Tierney's Tom 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 Tierney's Tom 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Tierney's Tom can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Tom Tierney's Reflections 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Tierney's Tom can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Tierney's Tom operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Tierney's Tom 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 Tierney's Tom 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.
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 Tierney's Tom in the consumer business. Now Tierney's Tom can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Tierney's Tom 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Tierney's Tom has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Tom Tierney's Reflections - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Tierney's Tom to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Tierney's Tom can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Tierney's Tom 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Tierney's Tom can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Tom Tierney's Reflections, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Tierney's Tom can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Tom Tierney's Reflections External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tom Tierney's Reflections are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Tierney's Tom 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.
Environmental challenges
– Tierney's Tom 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. Tierney's Tom can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Tierney's Tom has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Tierney's Tom 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Tierney's Tom 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Tierney's Tom 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 Tom Tierney's Reflections .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Tom Tierney's Reflections, Tierney's Tom 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 .
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. Tierney's Tom needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Tierney's Tom 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Tierney's Tom needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Organizational Development industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Tierney's Tom 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. Tierney's Tom can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Tierney's Tom in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tom Tierney's Reflections 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 Tom Tierney's Reflections 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 Tom Tierney's Reflections 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 Tom Tierney's Reflections 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 Tom Tierney's Reflections 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 Tierney's Tom needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.