Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers
The (D) case, fourth in a series of five, closes a major loop left open in the preceding (B) and (C) cases, which focused on changes in the editorial organization and operations of the Telegraph Media Group: making the change, which was seen as an imperative in the (A) case, worthwhile by transforming the commercial organization, whose responsibility it is to bring revenue from advertisers and to look for other ways to "monetize" the Telegraph's considerable investment in digitization.
Swot Analysis of "Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers" written by Anirudh Dhebar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Telegraph Loop facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Competition, Customers, Leadership, Technology and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Telegraph Loop, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Telegraph Loop 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 Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Telegraph Loop
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 Telegraph Loop
Strengths Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Telegraph Loop in Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Telegraph Loop is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Telegraph Loop has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Telegraph Loop 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Telegraph Loop is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Telegraph Loop
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Telegraph Loop does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Telegraph Loop has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Telegraph Loop to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Telegraph Loop in the sector have low bargaining power. Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Telegraph Loop to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Telegraph Loop to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Telegraph Loop to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Telegraph Loop 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.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Telegraph Loop digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Telegraph Loop 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Telegraph Loop 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 Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Telegraph Loop 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 Anirudh Dhebar 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Telegraph Loop 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 Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers HBR case study mentions - Telegraph Loop 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Telegraph Loop 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Telegraph Loop 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 - Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Telegraph Loop supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Telegraph Loop vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Telegraph Loop 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Telegraph Loop is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Telegraph Loop needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Telegraph Loop to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers 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 Telegraph Loop 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers, it seems that the employees of Telegraph Loop 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Telegraph Loop is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Telegraph Loop 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Telegraph Loop 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.
Opportunities Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers | 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 Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Telegraph Loop can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Telegraph Loop 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Telegraph Loop in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Telegraph Loop 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, Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Telegraph Loop 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Telegraph Loop 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Telegraph Loop 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 Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Telegraph Loop to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Telegraph Loop 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Telegraph Loop 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.
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. Telegraph Loop can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Telegraph Loop in the consumer business. Now Telegraph Loop can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Telegraph Loop can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Telegraph Loop operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Telegraph Loop 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.
Threats Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Telegraph Loop with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Telegraph Loop
– 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 Telegraph Loop.
Environmental challenges
– Telegraph Loop 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. Telegraph Loop can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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 Telegraph Loop business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Telegraph Loop needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Telegraph Loop.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Telegraph Loop 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, Telegraph Loop 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 Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Telegraph Loop 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Telegraph Loop has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Telegraph Loop 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.
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. Telegraph Loop 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Telegraph Loop is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers 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 Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers 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 Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers 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 Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers 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 Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers 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 Telegraph Loop needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of Telegraph Media Group: The Newspaper Is Dead, Long Live the... (D), Making It All Worthwhile: Closing the Loop with Advertisers
