SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility
Since 2006, SK Telecom has worked to develop strategic corporate social responsibility programs that are aligned with its business operations and corporate mission. The case tracks the original assessment process the company went through and successive organizational design efforts to align its CSR strategy and implementation architecture. In 2009, the company is going through reorganization, and the protagonist is considering how well the existing structure of SK Telecom's CSR efforts supports its strategy. The key dilemma he is faced with is whether to change the design of the CSR organization, or perhaps revise the CSR strategy to better match the existing organizational architecture.
Authors :: Christopher Marquis, Kwang Y. Ryu, Philip Mirvis, Bobbi Thomason
Topics :: Organizational Development
Tags :: Leadership, Organizational structure, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility" written by Christopher Marquis, Kwang Y. Ryu, Philip Mirvis, Bobbi Thomason includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sk Csr facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Organizational structure, Social enterprise, Social responsibility and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sk Csr, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sk Csr 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 SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sk Csr
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 Sk Csr
Strengths SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sk Csr in SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Sk Csr is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sk Csr has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sk Csr has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Training and development
– Sk Csr has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sk Csr 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 Sk Csr digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sk Csr 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sk Csr 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 SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sk Csr is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Sk Csr 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 Sk Csr is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Sk Csr has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sk Csr to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Sk Csr
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sk Csr does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sk Csr to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sk Csr to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Sk Csr 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 Sk Csr in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sk Csr 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility HBR case study mentions - Sk Csr 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sk Csr 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Sk Csr, firm in the HBR case study SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility 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 SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sk Csr is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sk Csr products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sk Csr needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility, in the dynamic environment Sk Csr has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sk Csr has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility, 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sk Csr 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. Sk Csr 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility 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 Sk Csr 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sk Csr 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 SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility | 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 SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sk Csr has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sk Csr to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility case study. Sk Csr can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Sk Csr 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. Sk Csr 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sk Csr to increase its market reach. Sk Csr 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sk Csr 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 Sk Csr 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, Sk Csr can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sk Csr operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sk Csr 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sk Csr can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Sk Csr in the consumer business. Now Sk Csr can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sk Csr 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.
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 Sk Csr 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sk Csr can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Sk Csr 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.
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. Sk Csr can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility are -
Environmental challenges
– Sk Csr 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. Sk Csr can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Sk Csr 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sk Csr has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sk Csr 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 Sk Csr 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 Sk Csr.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sk Csr 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 SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sk Csr is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Sk Csr
– 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 Sk Csr.
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 Sk Csr business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sk Csr 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.
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 Sk Csr in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sk Csr 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility 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 SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility 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 SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility 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 SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility 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 SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility 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 Sk Csr needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.