Case Study Description of Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division
This case deals with the termination of a sales representative, Dick Hobart, who claims that he was unfairly terminated and sues both the company and the man that fired him. The case raises issues related to the criteria for discharge, probationary practices, termination policies, discharge techniques, and the legal implications of firing someone. Students should take away from a good discussion of this case an improved understanding of good termination procedures and of the techniques and timing involved in such action. Although the case is a classic example of how not to do it, the situation is sufficiently ambiguous to provoke a rich discussion of the key issues involved in terminating an unsatisfactory employee.
Swot Analysis of "Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division" written by Derek A. Newton includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Termination Discharge facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Termination Discharge, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Termination Discharge 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 Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Termination Discharge
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 Termination Discharge
Strengths Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Termination Discharge in Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Termination Discharge 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Termination Discharge is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Termination Discharge has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Termination Discharge to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Termination Discharge 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Termination Discharge is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division 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 Termination Discharge in the sector have low bargaining power. Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Termination Discharge to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Termination Discharge is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Termination Discharge 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 Derek A. Newton 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Termination Discharge 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 Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Termination Discharge to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Termination Discharge to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Termination Discharge 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 Termination Discharge is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division 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 Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Termination Discharge is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Termination Discharge needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division, is just above the industry average. Termination Discharge 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 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 Termination Discharge supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Termination Discharge vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Termination Discharge, firm in the HBR case study Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division HBR case study mentions - Termination Discharge 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Derek A. Newton suggests that, Termination Discharge 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Termination Discharge 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. Termination Discharge 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Termination Discharge is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Termination Discharge 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 - Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division | 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 Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Termination Discharge 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Termination Discharge can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
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 Termination Discharge in the consumer business. Now Termination Discharge can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Termination Discharge 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Termination Discharge 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 Termination Discharge to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Termination Discharge 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Termination Discharge has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Termination Discharge to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division case study. Termination Discharge can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Termination Discharge to increase its market reach. Termination Discharge 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 Termination Discharge 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.
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. Termination Discharge can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Termination Discharge can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Termination Discharge 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 Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Termination Discharge to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Termination Discharge in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division are -
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 Termination Discharge in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Termination Discharge has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Termination Discharge needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Termination Discharge in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Termination Discharge 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Termination Discharge 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.
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 Termination Discharge.
Environmental challenges
– Termination Discharge 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. Termination Discharge can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Termination Discharge with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Termination Discharge 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.
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. Termination Discharge 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.
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.
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. Termination Discharge needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division 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 Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division 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 Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division 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 Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division 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 Westchester Industries: Medical Therapy Division 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 Termination Discharge needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
