Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc.
Changes came hard at Stein, Bodello, & Associates, Inc., a consulting civil engineering firm employing 100 people in four branch offices. Following a move to a new location and an upgrade of the business and project management functions, some unhappiness developed in the ranks of middle management. Concerns leadership and change but from a bottoms-up perspective: through the eyes of subordinates. Focuses on the need to learn how to manage the boss.
Swot Analysis of "Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc." written by Allan R. Cohen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bodello Stein facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Human resource management, Leadership, Managing up, Supply chain and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization,
technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bodello Stein, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bodello Stein 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 Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bodello Stein
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 Bodello Stein
Strengths Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bodello Stein in Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bodello Stein 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bodello Stein to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bodello Stein to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bodello Stein is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bodello Stein in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bodello Stein 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 Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Bodello Stein is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Bodello Stein 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 Allan R. Cohen 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
– Bodello Stein is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. 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.
Learning organization
- Bodello Stein 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 Bodello Stein is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bodello Stein has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bodello Stein 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bodello Stein 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 Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. 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 Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bodello Stein 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 - Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bodello Stein is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Bodello Stein needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bodello Stein to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. 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 Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bodello Stein is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc., it seems that the employees of Bodello Stein 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bodello Stein has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
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 Bodello Stein supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bodello Stein vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bodello Stein, firm in the HBR case study Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. HBR case study mentions - Bodello Stein 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. 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 Bodello Stein has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bodello Stein is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc., 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.
Opportunities Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. | 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 Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. are -
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. Bodello Stein can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bodello Stein 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bodello Stein 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, Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Bodello Stein in the consumer business. Now Bodello Stein can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Bodello Stein 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. Bodello Stein 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
– Bodello Stein 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bodello Stein can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bodello Stein operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Bodello Stein 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 Bodello Stein to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Bodello Stein 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
– Bodello Stein 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bodello Stein can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bodello Stein 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bodello Stein has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bodello Stein to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. case study. Bodello Stein can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. are -
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 Bodello Stein.
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 Bodello Stein business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bodello Stein is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Bodello Stein 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bodello Stein in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Bodello Stein needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bodello Stein with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bodello Stein 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bodello Stein 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 Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bodello Stein 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bodello Stein 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.
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 Bodello Stein in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. 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 Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. 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 Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. 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 Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. 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 Growth at Stein, Bodello & Associates, Inc. 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 Bodello Stein needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.