Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Executives are often baffled when they can't implement perfectly sound strategies. The root causes, according to a Harvard Business School professor and a senior organizational fellow at McKinsey & Co., are six deep-seated barriers to strategy implementation and organizational learning. The first barrier is a top-down or laissez-faire senior management style. Without transforming that barrier into a capability, none of the other barriers can be turned into capabilities either. The five others are: unclear strategy and conflicting priorities; an ineffective senior team; poor vertical communication; poor coordination across functions, businesses, or borders; and inadequate down-the-line leadership skills and development. According to the authors, the first three barriers together undermine an organization's quality of direction; a lack of vertical communication interacts with the other barriers to block quality of learning; and the last two barriers cause poor quality of implementation. The authors' own process, Organizational Fitness Profiling, has helped managers overcome the root causes of blocked strategy implementation and has led to individual and organizational learning. Not all organizations are up to the challenge, however.
Swot Analysis of "Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning" written by Michael Beer, Russell A. Eisenstat includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Barriers Learning facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Managing people, Organizational culture, Strategy execution and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Barriers Learning, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Barriers Learning 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 Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Barriers Learning
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 Barriers Learning
Strengths Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Barriers Learning in Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Barriers Learning 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 Barriers Learning in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Barriers Learning digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Barriers Learning has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Strong track record of project management
– Barriers Learning is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Barriers Learning is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Barriers Learning 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 Barriers Learning is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Barriers Learning 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 Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Barriers Learning has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Barriers Learning is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Barriers Learning in the sector have low bargaining power. Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Barriers Learning to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Barriers Learning has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Barriers Learning 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.
Analytics focus
– Barriers Learning 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 Michael Beer, Russell A. Eisenstat 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.
Weaknesses Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Barriers Learning is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Barriers Learning needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Barriers Learning to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Barriers Learning 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Barriers Learning 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Barriers Learning 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 - Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning, it seems that the employees of Barriers Learning 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning, is just above the industry average. Barriers Learning 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.
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 Barriers Learning supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Barriers Learning vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning, 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Barriers Learning 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Barriers Learning, firm in the HBR case study Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Barriers Learning products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Barriers Learning needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning | 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 Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning are -
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 Barriers Learning 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Barriers Learning 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Barriers Learning 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.
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 Barriers Learning in the consumer business. Now Barriers Learning can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Barriers Learning 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, Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Barriers Learning 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Barriers Learning can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning 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.
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. Barriers Learning can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Barriers Learning can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Barriers Learning can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Barriers Learning 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Barriers Learning 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Barriers Learning 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 Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Barriers Learning to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Barriers Learning 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 Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning, Barriers Learning 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Barriers Learning 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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Barriers Learning 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
– Barriers Learning 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. Barriers Learning can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Barriers Learning has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Barriers Learning 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.
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 Barriers Learning business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Barriers Learning 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 wage structure of Barriers Learning
– 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 Barriers Learning.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Barriers Learning 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.
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 Barriers Learning in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning 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 Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning 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 Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning 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 Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning 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 Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning 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 Barriers Learning needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
