An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl
Supplement case for UV5830.The principal's B case describes Landahl's first year at Greer-he seemed to be running from one trouble spot to another, and several problems just kept resurfacing. Student offenses against teachers and each other had decreased, but disorderly and disruptive incidents had increased. Teachers who disagreed with Landahl's approach undermined his leadership. Greer students had failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) benchmarks for 2007-08; the likelihood of achieving some of his goals and strategy objectives now seemed remote. Yet he was determined that the upcoming school year was going to better and that he would turn the situation around. He had secured some funds from the superintendent to take his staff on a retreat on Monday-three days after he learned about the AYP scores. How was He going to tell the teaching team about the scores and work out a roadmap for the following year? What would it look like? He also had something else to think about. The superintendent wanted Landahl to choose from the state-mandated options. He could decide to continue offering supplemental educational services or present parents with the choice of sending their children to another school. What should he do? This case has been taught in an executive education school turnaround program for district administrators and principals. It could also be used in a first-year MBA leadership and organizational behavior course as an introduction on creating value through people-management and design.
Swot Analysis of "An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl" written by Gerry Yemen, Ryan W. Quinn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ayp Greer facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Human resource management, Leadership and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization,
wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ayp Greer, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ayp Greer 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 An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ayp Greer
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 Ayp Greer
Strengths An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ayp Greer in An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ayp Greer 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 An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Ayp Greer
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ayp Greer 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 Ayp Greer 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
– Ayp Greer has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Ayp Greer 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 Ayp Greer in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ayp Greer digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ayp Greer 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ayp Greer 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 An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ayp Greer 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ayp Greer has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ayp Greer 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Ayp Greer is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ayp Greer is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ayp Greer in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl 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 Ayp Greer 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ayp Greer 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Gerry Yemen, Ryan W. Quinn suggests that, Ayp Greer 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ayp Greer 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 - An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ayp Greer is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ayp Greer 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 Ayp Greer, firm in the HBR case study An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ayp Greer 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.
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 Ayp Greer supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ayp Greer vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ayp Greer 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl, it seems that the employees of Ayp Greer 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.
Opportunities An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl | 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 An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ayp Greer 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ayp Greer to increase its market reach. Ayp Greer 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Ayp Greer 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.
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. Ayp Greer 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. Ayp Greer 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.
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 Ayp Greer 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.
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. Ayp Greer can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ayp Greer 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ayp Greer 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, An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ayp Greer 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ayp Greer can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ayp Greer 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ayp Greer is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ayp Greer can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl 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.
Threats An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ayp Greer 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 An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ayp Greer with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ayp Greer 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.
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. Ayp Greer needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Ayp Greer 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. Ayp Greer can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ayp Greer is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Ayp Greer business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Ayp Greer in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ayp Greer 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ayp Greer high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ayp Greer has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ayp Greer 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Ayp Greer 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl 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 An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl 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 An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl 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 An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl 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 An Entrepreneur in the Educational World (B):Principal Matthew Landahl 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 Ayp Greer needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
