Presents profiles written by six members of the HBS Class of 1976 from the 10th and 20th reunions. The six alumni represent a cross section of the class of 1976 and provide a snapshot of life at the time of the reunions.
Swot Analysis of "Linda Fay Harris" written by Leslie A. Perlow, Thomas J. DeLong includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Reunions 1976 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Linda Fay Harris case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Organizational structure, Work-life balance and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Linda Fay Harris casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Linda Fay Harris case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Reunions 1976, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Reunions 1976 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 Linda Fay Harris can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Linda Fay Harris case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Reunions 1976
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 Reunions 1976
Strengths Linda Fay Harris | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Reunions 1976 in Linda Fay Harris Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Reunions 1976 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 Reunions 1976 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Reunions 1976 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 Linda Fay Harris - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Reunions 1976 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Reunions 1976 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Reunions 1976 in the sector have low bargaining power. Linda Fay Harris has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Reunions 1976 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Reunions 1976 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 Leslie A. Perlow, Thomas J. DeLong 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.
Training and development
– Reunions 1976 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Linda Fay Harris 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Linda Fay Harris firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Reunions 1976 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Reunions 1976 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Reunions 1976 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Linda Fay Harris 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Reunions 1976 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Linda Fay Harris Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Reunions 1976
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Reunions 1976 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Reunions 1976 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 Linda Fay Harris HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Linda Fay Harris | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Linda Fay Harris are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Reunions 1976 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Reunions 1976 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Linda Fay Harris 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 Reunions 1976 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Linda Fay Harris, is just above the industry average. Reunions 1976 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Reunions 1976 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Reunions 1976 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Reunions 1976 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Linda Fay Harris, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Reunions 1976 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Linda Fay Harris, in the dynamic environment Reunions 1976 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Reunions 1976 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Linda Fay Harris 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 Linda Fay Harris can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Reunions 1976 is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Reunions 1976 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Linda Fay Harris can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Reunions 1976 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Reunions 1976 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 Linda Fay Harris | 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 Linda Fay Harris are -
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. Reunions 1976 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Reunions 1976 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Reunions 1976 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 Reunions 1976 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Reunions 1976 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Linda Fay Harris case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Reunions 1976 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, Linda Fay Harris, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Reunions 1976 to increase its market reach. Reunions 1976 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Reunions 1976 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Reunions 1976 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Reunions 1976 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Reunions 1976 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.
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 Reunions 1976 in the consumer business. Now Reunions 1976 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Reunions 1976 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 Linda Fay Harris - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Reunions 1976 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Reunions 1976 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. Reunions 1976 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Reunions 1976 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Reunions 1976 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Linda Fay Harris case study. Reunions 1976 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Linda Fay Harris External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Linda Fay Harris are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Reunions 1976 has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Reunions 1976 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.
Increasing wage structure of Reunions 1976
– 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 Reunions 1976.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Reunions 1976 is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Reunions 1976 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.
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. Reunions 1976 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Reunions 1976 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.
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 Reunions 1976.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Linda Fay Harris, Reunions 1976 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 .
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.
Environmental challenges
– Reunions 1976 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. Reunions 1976 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Reunions 1976 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.
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 Reunions 1976 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Linda Fay Harris 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 Linda Fay Harris 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 Linda Fay Harris 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 Linda Fay Harris 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 Linda Fay Harris 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 Reunions 1976 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.