County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response
The anthrax attacks of 2001 exposed serious inadequacies in the response of the U.S. public health system to meet such grave threats. The public health infrastructure required rebuilding to respond to any type of large-scale health emergency. The Public Health Department at Penville County had been charged with implementing an emergency preparedness and response system for the county. Federal funds were provided to the county to develop an emergency preparedness infrastructure that met the requirements specified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. County public officials had to coordinate their efforts to ensure seamless communication, coordination, and information exchange between various divisions within the public health department, external entities, and the state public health agency. Focuses on the director of Public Health Department and the challenges he faced. Explores issues related to structure, organization, culture, and technology infrastructure.
Authors :: Lynda M. Applegate, Ajay Vinze, Minu Ipe
Swot Analysis of "County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response" written by Lynda M. Applegate, Ajay Vinze, Minu Ipe includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that County Health facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Communication, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, International business, IT, Leadership, Organizational structure, Risk management, Strategic planning and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the County Health, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which County Health 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 County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of County Health
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 County Health
Strengths County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of County Health in County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of County Health in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– County Health has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled County Health to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– County Health 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 Lynda M. Applegate, Ajay Vinze, Minu Ipe 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
– County Health is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– County Health has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. County Health 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled County Health to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped County Health to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– County Health 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 County Health in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– County Health 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 County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that County Health 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
– County Health has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response 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.
Organizational Resilience of County Health
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that County Health does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Weaknesses County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of County Health is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. County Health needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help County Health to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, County Health has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. County Health even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response 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 County Health 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at County Health 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.
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 County Health supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left County Health vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, County Health 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response, in the dynamic environment County Health has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. County Health has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, County Health is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response, is just above the industry average. County Health needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response 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 County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as County Health is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though County Health 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 - County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response | 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 County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at County Health 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
– County Health can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of County Health has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help County Health to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response case study. County Health can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. County Health 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. County Health 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, County Health 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, County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, County Health can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that County Health operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
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. County Health can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help County Health to increase its market reach. County Health 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.
Manufacturing automation
– County Health 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. County Health can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for County Health 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 County Health to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for County Health 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.
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 County Health in the consumer business. Now County Health can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response are -
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 County Health in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents County Health with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. County Health can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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 County Health.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– County Health 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.
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. County Health 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on County Health 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– County Health has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, County Health 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that County Health 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 County Health 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– County Health 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.
Environmental challenges
– County Health 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. County Health can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response 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 County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response 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 County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response 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 County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response 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 County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response 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 County Health needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
Feel free to connect with us if you need business research.
You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of County Department of Public Health: Organizing for Emergency Preparedness and Response