Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers
In recent years, the number of harassment claims filed with the EEOC has declined overall, but this fact masks a frightening reality: though claims involving some types of harassment have declined, claims for other types of harassment-especially nontraditional forms of harassment-have actually increased. Therefore it remains necessary for employers to maintain a current anti-harassment program, which should consist of the following elements: (1) a clear anti-harassment policy; (2) an explicit statement of prohibited behaviors that can be considered harassment; (3) a complaint procedure that encourages employees to come forward with harassment complaints; (4) protections for complainants and witnesses against retaliation; (5) an investigative strategy that protects privacy interests of both the alleged victim and the accused offender and ensures confidentiality to the extent possible; (6) periodic management training and employee awareness programs that continue to communicate the organization's position on this issue; and (7) measures and processes to ensure prompt corrective action to stop ongoing harassment, and appropriate remedial and disciplinary actions for offenders. In this article, we provide best practice recommendations concerning each of these elements.
Authors :: J. Bret Becton, J. Bruce Gilstrap, Maurice Forsyth
Swot Analysis of "Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers" written by J. Bret Becton, J. Bruce Gilstrap, Maurice Forsyth includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Harassment Claims facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Developing employees, Personnel policies, Workspaces and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Harassment Claims, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Harassment Claims 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 Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Harassment Claims
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 Harassment Claims
Strengths Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Harassment Claims in Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Harassment Claims digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Harassment Claims 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Harassment Claims in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Harassment Claims is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
High brand equity
– Harassment Claims has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Harassment Claims to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Harassment Claims 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 J. Bret Becton, J. Bruce Gilstrap, Maurice Forsyth 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 lead change in Organizational Development field
– Harassment Claims 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 Harassment Claims in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Harassment Claims in the sector have low bargaining power. Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Harassment Claims to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Harassment Claims to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Harassment Claims to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Harassment Claims 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.
Organizational Resilience of Harassment Claims
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Harassment Claims does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Harassment Claims 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.
Weaknesses Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Harassment Claims 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 Harassment Claims, firm in the HBR case study Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Harassment Claims is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Harassment Claims needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Harassment Claims to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Harassment Claims 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Harassment Claims is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers HBR case study mentions - Harassment Claims 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Harassment Claims products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Harassment Claims needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Harassment Claims 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 - Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Harassment Claims 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers 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 Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Harassment Claims is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers 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 Harassment Claims 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers | 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 Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers are -
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. Harassment Claims 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. Harassment Claims 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Harassment Claims 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 Harassment Claims has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Harassment Claims to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers case study. Harassment Claims can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Harassment Claims 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Harassment Claims can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Harassment Claims operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Harassment Claims 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Harassment Claims 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 Harassment Claims to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Harassment Claims can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Harassment Claims 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Harassment Claims 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.
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 Harassment Claims in the consumer business. Now Harassment Claims can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Harassment Claims can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Organizational Development segment.
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 Harassment Claims 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.
Threats Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Harassment Claims has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Harassment Claims 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Harassment Claims 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.
Environmental challenges
– Harassment Claims 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. Harassment Claims can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Harassment Claims 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Harassment Claims 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 Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers, Harassment Claims 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Harassment Claims 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 Harassment Claims
– 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 Harassment Claims.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Harassment Claims 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.
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. Harassment Claims can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Harassment Claims 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Harassment Claims with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers 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 Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers 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 Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers 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 Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers 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 Preventing and Correcting Workplace Harassment: Guidelines for Employers 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 Harassment Claims needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.