Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld was a professor at Emory University's Goizueta Business School. He was a "star" at Emory and was extremely popular with the students. He was also extremely successful at raising funds for Emory's Center for Leadership and Career Studies. He had close relationships with some of the most powerful CEOs and business leaders in the country who regularly attended the center for conferences that he led. It was common knowledge that Sonnenfeld had conflicts with the dean of the business school and the dean of the entire university. Sonnenfeld was caught on video camera jumping up and down the business school hallways and potentially scraping the walls. The university fired him and interfered with his outstanding offer to head up Georgia Tech's business school. Sonnenfeld's reputation was ruined, and he was out of his current job. Furthermore, his career was potentially ruined.
Authors :: Jeffrey Pfeffer, Kimberly D Elsbach, Victoria Chang
Swot Analysis of "Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace" written by Jeffrey Pfeffer, Kimberly D Elsbach, Victoria Chang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sonnenfeld Ruined facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Human resource management, Influence, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sonnenfeld Ruined, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sonnenfeld Ruined
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 Sonnenfeld Ruined
Strengths Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sonnenfeld Ruined in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Learning organization
- Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Sonnenfeld Ruined is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sonnenfeld Ruined is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sonnenfeld Ruined has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 recruit top talent
– Sonnenfeld Ruined is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Sonnenfeld Ruined has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sonnenfeld Ruined in the sector have low bargaining power. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sonnenfeld Ruined to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Sonnenfeld Ruined
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sonnenfeld Ruined does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace 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
– Sonnenfeld Ruined is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sonnenfeld Ruined is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Sonnenfeld Ruined needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sonnenfeld Ruined to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace, 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace 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 Sonnenfeld Ruined has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace, is just above the industry average. Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Kimberly D Elsbach, Victoria Chang suggests that, Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
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 Sonnenfeld Ruined supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sonnenfeld Ruined vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 - Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sonnenfeld Ruined has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace, in the dynamic environment Sonnenfeld Ruined has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sonnenfeld Ruined has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace | 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sonnenfeld Ruined can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sonnenfeld Ruined operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
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 Sonnenfeld Ruined in the consumer business. Now Sonnenfeld Ruined can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sonnenfeld Ruined has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sonnenfeld Ruined to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace case study. Sonnenfeld Ruined can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Sonnenfeld Ruined can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sonnenfeld Ruined can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sonnenfeld Ruined 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, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sonnenfeld Ruined to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Sonnenfeld Ruined can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Threats Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace are -
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. Sonnenfeld Ruined needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace, Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
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.
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 Sonnenfeld Ruined business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sonnenfeld Ruined has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sonnenfeld Ruined with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Sonnenfeld Ruined 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. Sonnenfeld Ruined can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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. Sonnenfeld Ruined 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace 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 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (A): The Fall from Grace 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 Sonnenfeld Ruined needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
