Case Study Description of Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed)
The business products division has developed a business proposal asking for $50 million to fund the creation of a new telephone system for the small business market. The company's last entry into this marketplace lost $70 million. The new product would face 100 competitors in a market believed to be at zero growth rate. Should the investment proposal be accepted?
Swot Analysis of "Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed)" written by Robert J. Dolan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Proposal Greenwich facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Product development and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Proposal Greenwich, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Proposal Greenwich 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 Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Proposal Greenwich
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 Proposal Greenwich
Strengths Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Proposal Greenwich in Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Proposal Greenwich in the sector have low bargaining power. Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Proposal Greenwich to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Proposal Greenwich 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Proposal Greenwich has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Proposal Greenwich 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.
Learning organization
- Proposal Greenwich 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 Proposal Greenwich is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Proposal Greenwich to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Proposal Greenwich to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Proposal Greenwich digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Proposal Greenwich has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Strong track record of project management
– Proposal Greenwich is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Proposal Greenwich has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Proposal Greenwich 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 Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Proposal Greenwich has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Proposal Greenwich to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Proposal Greenwich is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Proposal Greenwich is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) 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.
Weaknesses Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Proposal Greenwich 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Proposal Greenwich is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Proposal Greenwich needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Proposal Greenwich to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed), is just above the industry average. Proposal Greenwich 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, Proposal Greenwich 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Proposal Greenwich 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 - Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert J. Dolan suggests that, Proposal Greenwich 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Proposal Greenwich, firm in the HBR case study Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) 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 Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Proposal Greenwich is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Proposal Greenwich 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. Proposal Greenwich 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) 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 Proposal Greenwich has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) HBR case study mentions - Proposal Greenwich 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.
Opportunities Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) | 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 Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Proposal Greenwich is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) 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.
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. Proposal Greenwich can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Proposal Greenwich 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, Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Proposal Greenwich has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Proposal Greenwich to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) case study. Proposal Greenwich can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Proposal Greenwich 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Proposal Greenwich 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Proposal Greenwich 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 Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Proposal Greenwich to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Proposal Greenwich can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Proposal Greenwich operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Proposal Greenwich can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Proposal Greenwich 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Proposal Greenwich 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Proposal Greenwich 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 Proposal Greenwich to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Proposal Greenwich can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Proposal Greenwich 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Proposal Greenwich 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 Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed), Proposal Greenwich 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 .
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 Proposal Greenwich 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Proposal Greenwich 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 Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Proposal Greenwich has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Proposal Greenwich 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.
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 Proposal Greenwich in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Proposal Greenwich.
Increasing wage structure of Proposal Greenwich
– 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 Proposal Greenwich.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Proposal Greenwich 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Proposal Greenwich 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Proposal Greenwich with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) 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 Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) 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 Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) 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 Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) 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 Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed) 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 Proposal Greenwich needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.