Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project?
Los Angeles' hottest series of avant garde "mind-engaging" events has been both growing and struggling for over five years, gaining national attention for their cutting-edge speakers, but just barely earning enough revenues to get by. How can the dynamic creator and his latest collection of volunteer executives turn this from a successful hobby into a real business?
Swot Analysis of "Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project?" written by Jeremy Dann, Jayson Gasper includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Garde L.a facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Organizational structure and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Garde L.a, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Garde L.a 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 Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Garde L.a
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 Garde L.a
Strengths Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Garde L.a in Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Garde L.a is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Garde L.a 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 Garde L.a in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Garde L.a 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 Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Garde L.a in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Garde L.a 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 Garde L.a is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Garde L.a 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 Jeremy Dann, Jayson Gasper 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
– Garde L.a has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? 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.
Organizational Resilience of Garde L.a
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Garde L.a does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Garde L.a in the sector have low bargaining power. Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Garde L.a to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Garde L.a is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Garde L.a 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 Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Garde L.a digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Garde L.a 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.
Weaknesses Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? 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 Garde L.a 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project?, in the dynamic environment Garde L.a has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Garde L.a has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? 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 Garde L.a has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Garde L.a, firm in the HBR case study Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Garde L.a 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. Garde L.a 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Garde L.a products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Garde L.a needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Garde L.a 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Garde L.a 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Garde L.a has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Garde L.a 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project?, is just above the industry average. Garde L.a 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.
Opportunities Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? | 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 Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? are -
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 Garde L.a in the consumer business. Now Garde L.a can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Garde L.a is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Garde L.a 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Garde L.a 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, Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Garde L.a 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Garde L.a 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 Garde L.a to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Garde L.a has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Garde L.a to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? case study. Garde L.a can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Garde L.a 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 Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Garde L.a to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Garde L.a can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Garde L.a operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Garde L.a can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Garde L.a can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Garde L.a 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.
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. Garde L.a can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? are -
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.
Increasing wage structure of Garde L.a
– 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 Garde L.a.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Garde L.a has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Garde L.a 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Garde L.a is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Garde L.a 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 Garde L.a.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Garde L.a 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.
Environmental challenges
– Garde L.a 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. Garde L.a can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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 Garde L.a 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. Garde L.a can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Garde L.a 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 Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? .
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. Garde L.a 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
– Garde L.a 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? 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 Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? 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 Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? 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 Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? 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 Mindshare L.A.: Is this a Business...Or is this a Project? 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 Garde L.a needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.