Case Study Description of Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling
With 24,000 staff and over 300 stores, Belk Inc. sought to replace its entirely manual labor scheduling system with an automated software solution from Reflexis. Belk hoped the upgrade would simplify scheduling, reduce time employees spent in non-customer-facing roles, and result in improved allocation of resources through the use of big data, thereby increasing sales productivity. Like many other retailers, Belk expected the benefits from automated scheduling software to be significant. But unlike other retailers who took an iron hand approach to push compliance, Belk's implementation permitted store managers "edit" the system to "fix" the "bugs" in the automated schedules-seeking not to replace labor but rather inform it. Belk commenced piloting the solution in May of 2013 and subsequently expanded the number of stores running the software to 50 over the course of 2013. Despite signs of initial success with the stores running the scheduling solution, Bass quickly began to notice a significant issue with the implementation: over 70% of shifts generated by the system were receiving manual overrides ("edits") by the store managers. Store managers believed the edits were necessary to remain responsive to local needs-and were, indeed, productive. Senior executives were skeptical, concerned that edits indicated resistance to productive change, and unsure of why Belk had spent so much time and money on an automated system only to have the stores override it. Having deliberately allowed store managers and lead schedulers to override the system, SVP Eric Bass (a retail store veteran who worked his way up to corporate) now needed to understand how and why they were doing so, and make sure that those edits were being made in a constructive manner. In a disagreement between human and machine, Belk allowed humans to win by design by giving them the right to edit the 'optimized' schedules. The case allows students to go deep into the question (qualitatively and quantitatively) and drive a detailed conversation about whether the result of Belk's flexible "edit" policy was a more or less effective implementation.
Authors :: Ethan S. Bernstein, Saravanan Kesavan, Bradley R. Staats, Luke Hassall
Topics :: Organizational Development
Tags :: Business processes, Change management, Corporate governance, Developing employees, Human resource management, Labor, Organizational culture, Performance measurement, Technology, Time management, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling" written by Ethan S. Bernstein, Saravanan Kesavan, Bradley R. Staats, Luke Hassall includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Belk Edits facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Business processes, Change management, Corporate governance, Developing employees, Human resource management, Labor, Organizational culture, Performance measurement, Technology, Time management and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions,
technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Belk Edits, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Belk Edits 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 Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Belk Edits
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 Belk Edits
Strengths Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Belk Edits in Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Belk Edits has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Belk Edits to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Belk Edits are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Belk Edits 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 Ethan S. Bernstein, Saravanan Kesavan, Bradley R. Staats, Luke Hassall 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Belk Edits to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Belk Edits to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Belk Edits 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.
Training and development
– Belk Edits has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Belk Edits is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Belk Edits 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 Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Belk Edits digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Belk Edits 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Belk Edits in the sector have low bargaining power. Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Belk Edits to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Belk Edits is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Belk Edits has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Belk Edits 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.
Weaknesses Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Belk Edits, firm in the HBR case study Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Belk Edits 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. Belk Edits 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling 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 Belk Edits has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Belk Edits 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Belk Edits is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Belk Edits needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Belk Edits to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling, 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling 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 Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Belk Edits is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling 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 Belk Edits 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Belk Edits 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Belk Edits 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling, is just above the industry average. Belk Edits 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.
Opportunities Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling | 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 Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Belk Edits 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Belk Edits 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, Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Belk Edits 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 Belk Edits to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Belk Edits can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Belk Edits 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.
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 Belk Edits 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Belk Edits is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling 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.
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 Belk Edits in the consumer business. Now Belk Edits can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Belk Edits to increase its market reach. Belk Edits 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Belk Edits 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Belk Edits has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Belk Edits to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling case study. Belk Edits can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Belk Edits 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Belk Edits can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Belk Edits operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Threats Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling are -
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 Belk Edits.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Belk Edits 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling, Belk Edits 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Belk Edits with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Belk Edits needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Belk Edits has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Belk Edits 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.
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 Belk Edits in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Belk Edits 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. Belk Edits can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Belk Edits 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 Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Belk Edits 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.
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 Belk Edits business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Belk Edits 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling 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 Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling 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 Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling 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 Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling 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 Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling 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 Belk Edits needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.