GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project
In September 2003, Jeff Immelt challenged the business leaders at GE to come up with "Imagination Breakthroughs," innovative new projects that would serve as the centerpiece of GE's organic growth initiative. Follows the company as these changes are driven through the business units, focusing on GE Transportation as it launches a series of groundbreaking, green products--from the Evolution Locomotive to the Hybrid Locomotive. The growth process transforms the culture within GE Transportation, leading to a redefinition of the marketing role, the implementation of a "growth leader" profile and new decision-making processes to encourage innovation and risk. Finally, presents a critical decision point, as Transportation executives must decide whether or not to support the high-risk Hybrid Locomotive project.
Authors :: Christopher A. Bartlett, Brian J. Hall, Nicole Bennett
Swot Analysis of "GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project" written by Christopher A. Bartlett, Brian J. Hall, Nicole Bennett includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Locomotive Ge facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Innovation, International business, Leadership development, Marketing, Risk management and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Locomotive Ge, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Locomotive Ge 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 GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Locomotive Ge
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 Locomotive Ge
Strengths GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Locomotive Ge in GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Locomotive Ge 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 GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Locomotive Ge 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 Locomotive Ge is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Locomotive Ge is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Locomotive Ge in the sector have low bargaining power. GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Locomotive Ge to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Locomotive Ge in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Locomotive Ge
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Locomotive Ge does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project 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.
Training and development
– Locomotive Ge has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project 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 Locomotive Ge digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Locomotive Ge 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.
Analytics focus
– Locomotive Ge 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 Christopher A. Bartlett, Brian J. Hall, Nicole Bennett 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Locomotive Ge is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Locomotive Ge to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Locomotive Ge to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Locomotive Ge 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.
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 Locomotive Ge supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Locomotive Ge vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Locomotive Ge 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project 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 Locomotive Ge has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Locomotive Ge 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Locomotive Ge is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Locomotive Ge needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Locomotive Ge to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project, in the dynamic environment Locomotive Ge has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Locomotive Ge has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Locomotive Ge is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project, 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, Locomotive Ge 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Christopher A. Bartlett, Brian J. Hall, Nicole Bennett suggests that, Locomotive Ge 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.
Opportunities GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project | 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 GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Locomotive Ge 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Locomotive Ge 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.
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. Locomotive Ge can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Locomotive Ge to increase its market reach. Locomotive Ge 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Locomotive Ge 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
– Locomotive Ge can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Locomotive Ge can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Locomotive Ge 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, GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project, 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
– Locomotive Ge 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.
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. Locomotive Ge can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Locomotive Ge has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Locomotive Ge to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project case study. Locomotive Ge can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Locomotive Ge in the consumer business. Now Locomotive Ge 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 Locomotive Ge 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 GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project 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. Locomotive Ge needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Locomotive Ge
– 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 Locomotive Ge.
Regulatory challenges
– Locomotive Ge 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.
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. Locomotive Ge 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.
Environmental challenges
– Locomotive Ge 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. Locomotive Ge can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Locomotive Ge with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project, Locomotive Ge may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
Technology 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.
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 Locomotive Ge.
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. Locomotive Ge can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Locomotive Ge 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Locomotive Ge has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Locomotive Ge 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Locomotive Ge 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 GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project 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 GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project 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 GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project 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 GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project 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 GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project 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 Locomotive Ge needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.