Established in the late 1960s, Interplast was the first international humanitarian organization to send American medical professionals overseas to provide free reconstructive surgery to children and adults in developing countries. Over the next 30 years, Interplast grew from an informal volunteer-led effort into a professional organization. By 2000, Interplast had over 2500 volunteers, had sponsored trips to 30 countries, and performed over 3000 surgeries each year. This case is intended to be used a background reading for the companion videocase, "The Evolution of Interplast," which details the organization's growth and the debates that arose as it began to shift its focus from direct service (sending surgeons and other medical professionals overseas provide reconstructive surgery) to education, (investing in training foreign doctors) and empowerment (providing resources and infrastructure) so that these local professionals could serve their own population. The videocase chronicles the debate over this shift as well as related policy decisions, raising issues of organizational evolution, strategic change, and nonprofit governance.
Swot Analysis of "Interplast's Dilemma" written by James A. Phills, Chip Heath includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Interplast Reconstructive facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Interplast's Dilemma case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Strategy and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Interplast's Dilemma casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Interplast's Dilemma
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Interplast's Dilemma case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Interplast Reconstructive, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Interplast Reconstructive 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 Interplast's Dilemma can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Interplast's Dilemma case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Interplast Reconstructive
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 Interplast Reconstructive
Strengths Interplast's Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Interplast Reconstructive in Interplast's Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Interplast Reconstructive 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 James A. Phills, Chip Heath 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Interplast Reconstructive is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Interplast's Dilemma 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Interplast Reconstructive 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 Interplast's Dilemma HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Interplast Reconstructive is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Interplast's Dilemma 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 Interplast Reconstructive
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Interplast Reconstructive does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Interplast Reconstructive is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Interplast's Dilemma 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
– Interplast Reconstructive has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Interplast Reconstructive 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Interplast Reconstructive in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Interplast Reconstructive has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Interplast's Dilemma 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.
Learning organization
- Interplast Reconstructive 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 Interplast Reconstructive is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Interplast's Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Interplast's Dilemma firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Interplast Reconstructive to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Interplast Reconstructive to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Interplast Reconstructive has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Interplast Reconstructive to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Interplast's Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Interplast's Dilemma are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Interplast Reconstructive 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 Interplast's Dilemma, it seems that the employees of Interplast Reconstructive 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Interplast's Dilemma 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 Interplast's Dilemma can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Interplast Reconstructive is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Interplast Reconstructive, firm in the HBR case study Interplast's Dilemma needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Interplast Reconstructive is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Interplast's Dilemma can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Interplast Reconstructive supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Interplast's Dilemma, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Interplast Reconstructive vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Interplast's Dilemma, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Lack of clear differentiation of Interplast Reconstructive products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Interplast Reconstructive needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Interplast's Dilemma, in the dynamic environment Interplast Reconstructive has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Interplast Reconstructive has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Interplast's Dilemma HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Interplast Reconstructive has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Interplast's Dilemma HBR case study mentions - Interplast Reconstructive 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.
Opportunities Interplast's Dilemma | 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 Interplast's Dilemma are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Interplast Reconstructive is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Interplast's Dilemma 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Interplast Reconstructive 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Interplast Reconstructive can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Interplast's Dilemma 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.
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 Interplast Reconstructive 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
– Interplast Reconstructive 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, Interplast Reconstructive can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Interplast Reconstructive operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Interplast Reconstructive 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 Interplast's Dilemma - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Interplast Reconstructive to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Interplast Reconstructive 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.
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. Interplast Reconstructive 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. Interplast Reconstructive 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Interplast Reconstructive 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 Interplast Reconstructive in the consumer business. Now Interplast Reconstructive can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Interplast Reconstructive 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Interplast Reconstructive has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Interplast Reconstructive to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Interplast's Dilemma case study. Interplast Reconstructive can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Interplast's Dilemma External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Interplast's Dilemma are -
Increasing wage structure of Interplast Reconstructive
– 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 Interplast Reconstructive.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Interplast Reconstructive 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 Interplast's Dilemma .
Environmental challenges
– Interplast Reconstructive 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. Interplast Reconstructive can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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 Interplast Reconstructive 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 Interplast Reconstructive.
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 Interplast Reconstructive business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Interplast Reconstructive is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Interplast Reconstructive 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Interplast's Dilemma, Interplast Reconstructive 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Interplast Reconstructive 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.
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.
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. Interplast Reconstructive 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Interplast Reconstructive has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Interplast Reconstructive 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Interplast's Dilemma 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 Interplast's Dilemma 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 Interplast's Dilemma 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 Interplast's Dilemma 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 Interplast's Dilemma 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 Interplast Reconstructive needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.