Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program
This case describes Hewlett Packard Enteprise's "Dandelion Program," which has developed a new service offering for the company's clients by drawing on the special talents of people with autism. The company has deployed "pods" organized around 8 or 9 employees with autism, to function as high performance mini-ecosystems, which have turned out to be 30% more effective than average service teams (in some areas). The case centers around questions of how to adapt this successful model to new demands in a different service domain, specifically, cybersecurity and defense related areas. The case also explores how the company is innovating and refining its assessment and training processes in support of the program.
Swot Analysis of "Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program" written by Gary P. Pisano, Robert D. Austin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dandelion Autism facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Developing employees, Diversity, Leadership, Supply chain, Talent management, Technology and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dandelion Autism, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dandelion Autism 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dandelion Autism
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 Dandelion Autism
Strengths Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dandelion Autism in Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Dandelion Autism has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dandelion Autism to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Dandelion Autism is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Dandelion Autism 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Dandelion Autism 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Dandelion Autism 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dandelion Autism to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dandelion Autism to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Dandelion Autism 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 Gary P. Pisano, Robert D. Austin 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Dandelion Autism is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program 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.
Training and development
– Dandelion Autism has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program 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 Dandelion Autism digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Dandelion Autism 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Dandelion Autism in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program HBR case study mentions - Dandelion Autism 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program, it seems that the employees of Dandelion Autism don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Dandelion Autism 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Dandelion Autism 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Dandelion Autism 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Dandelion Autism 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dandelion Autism is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Dandelion Autism needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dandelion Autism to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Dandelion Autism 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 - Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Dandelion Autism, firm in the HBR case study Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Dandelion Autism supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Dandelion Autism vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Dandelion Autism 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.
Opportunities Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program | 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dandelion Autism is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Dandelion Autism 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, Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Dandelion Autism 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Dandelion Autism 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Dandelion Autism 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Dandelion Autism 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 Dandelion Autism to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Dandelion Autism 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Dandelion Autism to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Dandelion Autism 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 Dandelion Autism in the consumer business. Now Dandelion Autism can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Dandelion Autism 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. Dandelion Autism 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Dandelion Autism can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Dandelion Autism 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.
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. Dandelion Autism can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Dandelion Autism is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Dandelion Autism 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. Dandelion Autism can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Increasing wage structure of Dandelion Autism
– 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 Dandelion Autism.
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 Dandelion Autism.
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 Dandelion Autism in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Dandelion Autism 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, Dandelion Autism 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Dandelion Autism 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.
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. Dandelion Autism can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Dandelion Autism 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. Dandelion Autism 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.
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. Dandelion Autism needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program, Dandelion Autism 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program 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 Dandelion Autism needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.