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Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes


An aftermarket brake component manufacturer, VC Brakes, is bought out by a global automotive parts corporation after the 2008 financial crisis. Unlike its previous parent company, the new owner attempts to change VC Brakes' autocratic management style and finger-pointing culture with a Total Quality Management (TQM) program. Andrew Ryan is a senior manager at VC Brakes. With the guidance of a strong mentor and a reputation as a successful change agent, he is selected as a TQM site instructor. His initial excitement turns to concern when organizational challenges cause the quality initiative to falter. A subsequent restructuring puts Ryan on the wrong side of politics, and he must decide whether to leave VC Brakes or stay with the losing initiative.

Authors :: Frank V. Cespedes, Sunru Yong

Topics :: Organizational Development

Tags :: Crisis management, Human resource management, Organizational culture, Product development, Reorganization, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes" written by Frank V. Cespedes, Sunru Yong includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Brakes Vc facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Human resource management, Organizational culture, Product development, Reorganization and Organizational Development.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Brakes Vc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Brakes Vc 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 Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Brakes Vc
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 Brakes Vc




Strengths Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Brakes Vc in Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes Harvard Business Review case study are -

Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Brakes Vc digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Brakes Vc 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.

High brand equity

– Brakes Vc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Brakes Vc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Learning organization

- Brakes Vc 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 Brakes Vc is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Brakes Vc has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Brakes Vc in the sector have low bargaining power. Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Brakes Vc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field

– Brakes Vc 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 Brakes Vc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry

– Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Brakes Vc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Brakes Vc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Brakes Vc is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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

– Brakes Vc 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 Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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 Brakes Vc 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Brakes Vc is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Organizational Resilience of Brakes Vc

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Brakes Vc does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.






Weaknesses Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes are -

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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 Brakes Vc 's lucrative customers.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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 Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Brakes Vc is planning to shift buying processes online.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Brakes Vc 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 - Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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 Brakes Vc, firm in the HBR case study Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Frank V. Cespedes, Sunru Yong suggests that, Brakes Vc 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Brakes Vc has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes, it seems that the employees of Brakes Vc 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes HBR case study mentions - Brakes Vc 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.

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 Brakes Vc supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Brakes Vc vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Brakes Vc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Brakes Vc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Brakes Vc 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 Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes, in the dynamic environment Brakes Vc has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Brakes Vc has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.




Opportunities Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes | 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 Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes are -

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Brakes Vc is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Brakes Vc 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 Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Brakes Vc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Brakes Vc to increase its market reach. Brakes Vc 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Brakes Vc 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Brakes Vc 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.

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. Brakes Vc can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Brakes Vc 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Brakes Vc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Brakes Vc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Brakes Vc 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 Brakes Vc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Buying journey improvements

– Brakes Vc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Brakes Vc 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Brakes Vc 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Brakes Vc can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.




Threats Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes are -

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Brakes Vc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Brakes Vc 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.

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 Brakes Vc in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline 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 Brakes Vc.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Brakes Vc 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Brakes Vc 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 Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes .

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. Brakes Vc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Brakes Vc 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.

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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes, Brakes Vc 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 .

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 Brakes Vc business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Environmental challenges

– Brakes Vc 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. Brakes Vc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.

Increasing wage structure of Brakes Vc

– 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 Brakes Vc.

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. Brakes Vc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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 Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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 Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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 Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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 Andrew Ryan at VC Brakes 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 Brakes Vc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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