Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B)
Can a company base a major proposal on its good reputation, history with the client, and a perspective that differs from that client's own? Emphasizing both its engineering capability and 80 years' experience, Parsons Brinckerhoff spends one year and $1 million preparing a proposal to build a $17 billion subway line. Competition from four equally qualified firms is stiff, but PB is sure its history and top-level Metropolitan Transit Authority connections make it a shoe-in. Despite MTA's concerns about the finished line's functionality, PB believes the construction of the tunnel itself is the key to winning the bid. In the A case, the firm awaits the good news. The B and C cases reveal the result and the direction the company then chooses to take.
Swot Analysis of "Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B)" written by Ronald T Wilcox, Carlos Michael Santos includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Brinckerhoff Pb facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Brinckerhoff Pb, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Brinckerhoff Pb 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 Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Brinckerhoff Pb
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Brinckerhoff Pb
Strengths Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Brinckerhoff Pb in Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Brinckerhoff Pb is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Brinckerhoff Pb in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Brinckerhoff Pb 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 Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Brinckerhoff Pb 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 Ronald T Wilcox, Carlos Michael Santos 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Brinckerhoff Pb is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Brinckerhoff Pb is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Brinckerhoff Pb to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Brinckerhoff Pb to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Brinckerhoff Pb is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Brinckerhoff Pb has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (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 Sales & Marketing field
– Brinckerhoff Pb 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 Brinckerhoff Pb 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 Brinckerhoff Pb 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
- Brinckerhoff Pb 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 Brinckerhoff Pb is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Brinckerhoff Pb, firm in the HBR case study Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Brinckerhoff Pb has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Brinckerhoff Pb 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. Brinckerhoff Pb 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Brinckerhoff Pb has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Brinckerhoff Pb 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 - Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Brinckerhoff Pb 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) HBR case study mentions - Brinckerhoff Pb 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Brinckerhoff Pb 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B), it seems that the employees of Brinckerhoff Pb 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (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 Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Brinckerhoff Pb is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B), in the dynamic environment Brinckerhoff Pb has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Brinckerhoff Pb has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (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 Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Brinckerhoff Pb can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Brinckerhoff Pb operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Brinckerhoff Pb 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. Brinckerhoff Pb can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Brinckerhoff Pb 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 Sales & Marketing segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Brinckerhoff Pb to increase its market reach. Brinckerhoff Pb 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Brinckerhoff Pb 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Brinckerhoff Pb can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Brinckerhoff Pb 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
– Brinckerhoff Pb 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 Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Brinckerhoff Pb to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Brinckerhoff Pb 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, Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Brinckerhoff Pb can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Brinckerhoff Pb is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Brinckerhoff Pb has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Brinckerhoff Pb to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) case study. Brinckerhoff Pb can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B) are -
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 Brinckerhoff Pb.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Brinckerhoff Pb can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Brinckerhoff Pb 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
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 Brinckerhoff Pb in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Brinckerhoff Pb 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.
Environmental challenges
– Brinckerhoff Pb 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. Brinckerhoff Pb can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Brinckerhoff Pb is facing in Sales & Marketing 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 Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (B), Brinckerhoff Pb may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Brinckerhoff Pb 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Brinckerhoff Pb 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.
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 Brinckerhoff Pb business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Brinckerhoff Pb needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (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 Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (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 Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (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 Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (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 Parsons Brinckerhoff: The Second Avenue Subway (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 Brinckerhoff Pb needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
