Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer
Judah Folkman, professor in the Division of Vascular Biology at Children's Hospital in Boston, is considering how best to advance the research in his lab in an era where biomedical research has gotten more interdisciplinary and collaborative. Specifically, Folkman has to consider how to foster collaborations even as lab members have to contend with various incentives that propel them toward demonstrating independence for their career advancement and, hence, sometimes resisting collaboration. Also highlights trends in the academic job market as well as in funding in the biomedical research field.
Authors :: Jonathan West, Mona Ashiya, Ambuj Sagar
Swot Analysis of "Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer" written by Jonathan West, Mona Ashiya, Ambuj Sagar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Folkman Judah facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Communication, Conflict, Leadership, Motivating people, Strategy and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Folkman Judah, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Folkman Judah 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 Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Folkman Judah
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 Folkman Judah
Strengths Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Folkman Judah in Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Folkman Judah to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Folkman Judah to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Folkman Judah 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.
Organizational Resilience of Folkman Judah
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Folkman Judah does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Folkman Judah 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 Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Folkman Judah is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Folkman Judah 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 Folkman Judah in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Folkman Judah 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.
Analytics focus
– Folkman Judah 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 Jonathan West, Mona Ashiya, Ambuj Sagar 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Folkman Judah in the sector have low bargaining power. Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Folkman Judah to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Folkman Judah digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Folkman Judah 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.
Training and development
– Folkman Judah has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer 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.
Weaknesses Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer 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 Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Folkman Judah is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Folkman Judah 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Folkman Judah, firm in the HBR case study Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer HBR case study mentions - Folkman Judah takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer, in the dynamic environment Folkman Judah has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Folkman Judah has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Folkman Judah products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Folkman Judah needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer 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 Folkman Judah 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer, 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer 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 Folkman Judah has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Folkman Judah is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Folkman Judah needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Folkman Judah to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jonathan West, Mona Ashiya, Ambuj Sagar suggests that, Folkman Judah is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Opportunities Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer | 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 Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Folkman Judah 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, Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Folkman Judah can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Folkman Judah is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Folkman Judah has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Folkman Judah to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer case study. Folkman Judah can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Folkman Judah 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.
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 Folkman Judah in the consumer business. Now Folkman Judah can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Folkman Judah 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Folkman Judah 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Folkman Judah 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Folkman Judah to increase its market reach. Folkman Judah 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Folkman Judah 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Folkman Judah 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 Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Folkman Judah 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, Folkman Judah can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Folkman Judah operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Threats Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer are -
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. Folkman Judah 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.
Environmental challenges
– Folkman Judah 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. Folkman Judah can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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 Folkman Judah.
Regulatory challenges
– Folkman Judah 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.
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. Folkman Judah can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Folkman Judah has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Folkman Judah 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer, Folkman Judah 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Folkman Judah 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 Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer .
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Folkman Judah 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Folkman Judah with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Folkman Judah in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Folkman Judah
– 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 Folkman Judah.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer 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 Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer 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 Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer 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 Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer 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 Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer 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 Folkman Judah needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.