If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices
One of the most effective avenues toward improvement is the process of internal benchmarking--identifying, sharing, and using the knowledge and "best practices" inside one's organization. But the process can be tricky and time consuming because of obstacles such as ignorance about resources or others' needs, a culture that values personal expertise more than knowledge sharing, and a lack of resources for implementation of best practices. This article explores how organizations conduct successful internal benchmarking, relating details ranging from requirements for successful transfer to lessons learned.
Swot Analysis of "If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices" written by Carla O'Dell, C. Jackson Grayson Jr. includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Benchmarking Internal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Benchmarking Internal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Benchmarking Internal 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 If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Benchmarking Internal
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 Benchmarking Internal
Strengths If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Benchmarking Internal in If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Benchmarking Internal has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Benchmarking Internal to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Benchmarking Internal is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Benchmarking Internal is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices 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.
Training and development
– Benchmarking Internal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Benchmarking Internal 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 If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Benchmarking Internal has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Benchmarking Internal 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
– Benchmarking Internal 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 Benchmarking Internal in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Benchmarking Internal 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
– If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Benchmarking Internal to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Benchmarking Internal to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Benchmarking Internal 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Benchmarking Internal in the sector have low bargaining power. If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Benchmarking Internal to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Benchmarking Internal 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 Carla O'Dell, C. Jackson Grayson Jr. 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 If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Benchmarking Internal has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Benchmarking Internal even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Benchmarking Internal is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Benchmarking Internal needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Benchmarking Internal to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices 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 Benchmarking Internal has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Benchmarking Internal 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Benchmarking Internal 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 - If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Benchmarking Internal supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Benchmarking Internal vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Benchmarking Internal 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Benchmarking Internal is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices, is just above the industry average. Benchmarking Internal 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Benchmarking Internal, firm in the HBR case study If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Benchmarking Internal 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.
Opportunities If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices | 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 If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Benchmarking Internal 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 Benchmarking Internal to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Benchmarking Internal in the consumer business. Now Benchmarking Internal can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Benchmarking Internal 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.
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. Benchmarking Internal can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Benchmarking Internal 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Benchmarking Internal is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Benchmarking Internal to increase its market reach. Benchmarking Internal 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Benchmarking Internal 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.
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. Benchmarking Internal can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Benchmarking Internal 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 If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Benchmarking Internal to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Benchmarking Internal 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.
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. Benchmarking Internal 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. Benchmarking Internal can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Benchmarking Internal 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, If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices are -
Increasing wage structure of Benchmarking Internal
– 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 Benchmarking Internal.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Benchmarking Internal 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.
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 Benchmarking Internal business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Benchmarking Internal can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Benchmarking Internal 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.
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 Benchmarking Internal.
Regulatory challenges
– Benchmarking Internal 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.
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. Benchmarking Internal needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Benchmarking Internal 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices, Benchmarking Internal 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 .
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Benchmarking Internal is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Benchmarking Internal has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Benchmarking Internal 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices 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 If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices 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 If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices 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 If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices 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 If Only We Knew What We Know: Identification and Transfer of Internal Best Practices 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 Benchmarking Internal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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