Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office
Motorola, a leader in semiconductors and telecommunications, embarked on an ambitious program of renewal beginning in the early 1980s, leading to dramatic improvements in the company's quality, cycle time, and growth. Much of this progress was attributed to a major investment in workers' skills and in mechanisms that encouraged teams of employees to work on continuous improvement projects. In 1994 top management considered whether to promote a corporate-wide empowerment initiative that would encourage an unprecedented downward delegation of responsibilities. With very ambitious global growth goals, Motorola aspired to be "the finest corporation in the world," with an organization that was both more flexible and participative and dedicated to continuous improvement. The case focuses on the role of the CEO office in promoting corporate initiatives while preserving the $17 billion corporation's decentralized structure.
Authors :: Janis L. Gogan, Shoshana Zuboff, Gloria Schuck
Swot Analysis of "Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office" written by Janis L. Gogan, Shoshana Zuboff, Gloria Schuck includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Motorola Continuous facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Leadership, Leading teams, Product development, Technology and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office casestudy better are - – technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Motorola Continuous, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Motorola Continuous 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 Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Motorola Continuous
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 Motorola Continuous
Strengths Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Motorola Continuous in Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Motorola Continuous 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 Motorola Continuous in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Motorola Continuous has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Motorola Continuous to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Motorola Continuous in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Motorola Continuous
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Motorola Continuous does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Motorola Continuous 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 Janis L. Gogan, Shoshana Zuboff, Gloria Schuck 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.
Training and development
– Motorola Continuous has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Motorola Continuous digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Motorola Continuous 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Motorola Continuous 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 Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Motorola Continuous 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 Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Motorola Continuous in the sector have low bargaining power. Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Motorola Continuous to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Motorola Continuous has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Motorola Continuous to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Motorola Continuous to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Motorola Continuous 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 - Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office 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 Motorola Continuous 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office, 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Motorola Continuous 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office, in the dynamic environment Motorola Continuous has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Motorola Continuous has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office 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 Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Motorola Continuous is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office, is just above the industry average. Motorola Continuous 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Motorola Continuous is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Motorola Continuous needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Motorola Continuous to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Motorola Continuous 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.
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 Motorola Continuous supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Motorola Continuous vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Motorola Continuous has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Opportunities Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office | 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 Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office are -
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 Motorola Continuous 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Motorola Continuous can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Motorola Continuous 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.
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 Motorola Continuous in the consumer business. Now Motorola Continuous can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Motorola Continuous 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Motorola Continuous 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 Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Motorola Continuous to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Motorola Continuous to increase its market reach. Motorola Continuous 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Motorola Continuous has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Motorola Continuous to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office case study. Motorola Continuous can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Motorola Continuous 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Motorola Continuous 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, Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Motorola Continuous 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Motorola Continuous can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Motorola Continuous 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 Motorola Continuous 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.
Threats Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Motorola Continuous can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Motorola Continuous has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Motorola Continuous 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
– Motorola Continuous 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.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Motorola Continuous will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Increasing wage structure of Motorola Continuous
– 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 Motorola Continuous.
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 Motorola Continuous business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Motorola Continuous 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 Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office, Motorola Continuous 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 .
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.
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. Motorola Continuous needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Motorola Continuous 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Motorola Continuous 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Motorola Continuous 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office 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 Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office 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 Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office 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 Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office 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 Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office 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 Motorola Continuous needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
