SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry
The SAS Institute is a large, growing software company headquartered in the Research Triangle in North Carolina. Founded more than 25 years ago, it has evolved a unique approach, given its industry, to developing and retaining talent including using no stock options or phantom stock and not paying its salespeople on commission. The CEO and Vice President of Human Resources must decide how well their current management practices will continue to serve them as the company gains greater visibility and faces an increasingly competitive labor market.
Swot Analysis of "SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry" written by Jeffrey Pfeffer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sas Phantom facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Human resource management, Motivating people, Organizational culture, Technology and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sas Phantom, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sas Phantom 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 SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sas Phantom
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 Sas Phantom
Strengths SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sas Phantom in SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Sas Phantom is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Sas Phantom has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sas Phantom to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Sas Phantom
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sas Phantom does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sas Phantom in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Sas Phantom 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 Jeffrey Pfeffer 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry 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
- Sas Phantom 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 Sas Phantom is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sas Phantom is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sas Phantom digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sas Phantom 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sas Phantom to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sas Phantom to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sas Phantom is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry 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
– Sas Phantom 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 Sas Phantom in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry, is just above the industry average. Sas Phantom 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Sas Phantom has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sas Phantom 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jeffrey Pfeffer suggests that, Sas Phantom 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sas Phantom is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Sas Phantom needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sas Phantom to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry 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 Sas Phantom has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Sas Phantom supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sas Phantom vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sas Phantom has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sas Phantom has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry HBR case study mentions - Sas Phantom 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.
Opportunities SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry | 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 SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry are -
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. Sas Phantom can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Sas Phantom 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sas Phantom 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.
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. Sas Phantom can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sas Phantom can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sas Phantom operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sas Phantom is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sas Phantom 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 SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sas Phantom to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sas Phantom 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sas Phantom 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 Sas Phantom to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Sas Phantom 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sas Phantom can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sas Phantom 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Sas Phantom can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry 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.
Threats SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry are -
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. Sas Phantom needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry, Sas Phantom 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 .
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. Sas Phantom 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 Sas Phantom in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sas Phantom is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sas Phantom 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sas Phantom with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sas Phantom has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sas Phantom 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sas Phantom 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sas Phantom 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.
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 Sas Phantom.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry 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 SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry 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 SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry 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 SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry 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 SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry 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 Sas Phantom needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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