Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B)
Outlines strategy for a change management scenario. Issues include subsidiary/headquarters relationships, multicultural groups, dynamic industry conditions, and culture and personality as driving forces in a corporate turnaround. Having grown as much as possible in its Scandinavian home markets, House of Prince aims to make its Prince cigarette brand as dominant a competitor in the emerging Baltic markets as it is in Denmark. The company sends Lars Kruse Thomsen to Warsaw as the newly appointed director of sales and marketing at House of Prince's Polish operation. What he finds upon his arrival--organizational inertia, a leadership vacuum, and unreliable sales and performance data--shocks him. Thomsen realizes that to reverse the company's precipitous decline, he must fix what is at the root of its malaise. Under his direction, the sales and marketing department will lead the way.
Swot Analysis of "Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B)" written by Joe Distefano, Colleen Lief includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Thomsen Kruse facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Cross-cultural management, Leadership, Marketing, Organizational culture, Reorganization, Sales, Strategy execution and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Thomsen Kruse, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Thomsen Kruse 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 Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Thomsen Kruse
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 Thomsen Kruse
Strengths Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Thomsen Kruse in Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Thomsen Kruse is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Thomsen Kruse 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Thomsen Kruse is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Thomsen Kruse 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 Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Thomsen Kruse has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Thomsen Kruse to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Thomsen Kruse
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Thomsen Kruse does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Thomsen Kruse 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 Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Thomsen Kruse is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Thomsen Kruse in the sector have low bargaining power. Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Thomsen Kruse to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Thomsen Kruse has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Thomsen Kruse 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Thomsen Kruse 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 Thomsen Kruse in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Thomsen Kruse to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Thomsen Kruse to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Thomsen Kruse 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Thomsen Kruse 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 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 Thomsen Kruse supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Thomsen Kruse vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) HBR case study mentions - Thomsen Kruse 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B), it seems that the employees of Thomsen Kruse 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Thomsen Kruse products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Thomsen Kruse needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Thomsen Kruse 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) 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 Thomsen Kruse has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B), in the dynamic environment Thomsen Kruse has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Thomsen Kruse has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Thomsen Kruse, firm in the HBR case study Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Thomsen Kruse 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.
Opportunities Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) | 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 Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Thomsen Kruse 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Thomsen Kruse 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.
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. Thomsen Kruse 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. Thomsen Kruse 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Thomsen Kruse 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.
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 Thomsen Kruse in the consumer business. Now Thomsen Kruse can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Thomsen Kruse can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Thomsen Kruse to increase its market reach. Thomsen Kruse 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Thomsen Kruse 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Thomsen Kruse 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Thomsen Kruse 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Thomsen Kruse has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Thomsen Kruse to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) case study. Thomsen Kruse can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, Thomsen Kruse can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Thomsen Kruse operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Thomsen Kruse 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 Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Thomsen Kruse to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) are -
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 Thomsen Kruse business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Thomsen Kruse with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Thomsen Kruse.
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. Thomsen Kruse needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Thomsen Kruse 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. Thomsen Kruse can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Thomsen Kruse 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 wage structure of Thomsen Kruse
– 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 Thomsen Kruse.
Regulatory challenges
– Thomsen Kruse 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Thomsen Kruse 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 Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Thomsen Kruse has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Thomsen Kruse 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Thomsen Kruse 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Thomsen Kruse 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 Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) 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 Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) 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 Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) 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 Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) 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 Dealing with Crisis: Lars Kruse Thomsen Moves to Solve Problems (B) 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 Thomsen Kruse needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
