Swot Analysis of "Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B)" written by C. Roland Christensen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Macomber Graham facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Collaboration, Conflict, Psychology and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Macomber Graham, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Macomber Graham 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 Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Macomber Graham
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 Macomber Graham
Strengths Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Macomber Graham in Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Macomber Graham to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Macomber Graham to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Macomber Graham has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Macomber Graham to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Macomber Graham is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Macomber Graham in the sector have low bargaining power. Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Macomber Graham to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) 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.
Learning organization
- Macomber Graham 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 Macomber Graham is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Macomber Graham in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Macomber Graham 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Macomber Graham is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Macomber Graham has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Macomber Graham 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.
Training and development
– Macomber Graham has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Macomber Graham 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 Macomber Graham in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B), it seems that the employees of Macomber Graham don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B), in the dynamic environment Macomber Graham has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Macomber Graham has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Macomber Graham 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. Macomber Graham 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Macomber Graham 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 - Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) 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 Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Macomber Graham is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, C. Roland Christensen suggests that, Macomber Graham 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B), is just above the industry average. Macomber Graham 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Macomber Graham 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Macomber Graham 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) 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 Macomber Graham has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Macomber Graham supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Macomber Graham vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) | 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 Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Macomber Graham 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Macomber Graham 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Macomber Graham has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Macomber Graham to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) case study. Macomber Graham can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Macomber Graham can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Macomber Graham is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Macomber Graham can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Macomber Graham operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Macomber Graham 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, Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Macomber Graham 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 Macomber Graham 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 Macomber Graham to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Macomber Graham 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Macomber Graham to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
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. Macomber Graham 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. Macomber Graham 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Macomber Graham 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.
Threats Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) are -
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.
Increasing wage structure of Macomber Graham
– 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 Macomber Graham.
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. Macomber Graham needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Macomber Graham business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Macomber Graham 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 Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Macomber Graham has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Macomber Graham 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Macomber Graham 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Macomber Graham 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Macomber Graham 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Macomber Graham is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B), Macomber Graham 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Macomber Graham 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 Macomber Graham in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) 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 Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) 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 Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) 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 Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) 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 Assistant Professor Graham and Ms. Macomber (B) 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 Macomber Graham needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.