Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A)
Rockland Hospitals, a family-run entrepreneurial health care venture, had gone from a 90-bed capacity in 2004 to 808 beds in 2014. It had created an identity as an affordable, quality-driven health care provider in the National Capital Region of India. However, the managing director needed a growth plan that would achieve his goal of creating a medical corridor in the National Capital Region with a consortium of four super-specialty hospitals. Should he focus on capacity utilization and enhancing the efficiency of existing hospitals? Was attracting more medical tourists from foreign countries the answer? Or should he strive to create a health care network that reached the remotest corners of India? Neena Sondhi is affiliated with International Management Institute.
Swot Analysis of "Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A)" written by Neena Sondhi includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hospitals Rockland facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hospitals Rockland, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hospitals Rockland 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 Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hospitals Rockland
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 Hospitals Rockland
Strengths Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hospitals Rockland in Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Hospitals Rockland has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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.
Learning organization
- Hospitals Rockland 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 Hospitals Rockland is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hospitals Rockland 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hospitals Rockland is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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
– Hospitals Rockland has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hospitals Rockland 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hospitals Rockland to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hospitals Rockland to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hospitals Rockland 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.
High brand equity
– Hospitals Rockland has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hospitals Rockland to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Hospitals Rockland in the sector have low bargaining power. Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hospitals Rockland to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hospitals Rockland 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 Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Hospitals Rockland 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 Hospitals Rockland in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Hospitals Rockland 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 - Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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 Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hospitals Rockland is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Hospitals Rockland 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hospitals Rockland 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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 Hospitals Rockland has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Hospitals Rockland supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hospitals Rockland vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A), it seems that the employees of Hospitals Rockland 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hospitals Rockland 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A), in the dynamic environment Hospitals Rockland has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hospitals Rockland has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Hospitals Rockland 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hospitals Rockland is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) | 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 Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Hospitals Rockland 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 Hospitals Rockland has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hospitals Rockland to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) case study. Hospitals Rockland can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Hospitals Rockland can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Hospitals Rockland can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Buying journey improvements
– Hospitals Rockland can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Hospitals Rockland to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hospitals Rockland can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hospitals Rockland 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Hospitals Rockland 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.
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 Hospitals Rockland in the consumer business. Now Hospitals Rockland can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hospitals Rockland to increase its market reach. Hospitals Rockland 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hospitals Rockland 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.
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. Hospitals Rockland can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hospitals Rockland is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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.
Threats Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hospitals Rockland 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hospitals Rockland 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.
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 Hospitals Rockland.
Environmental challenges
– Hospitals Rockland 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. Hospitals Rockland can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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. Hospitals Rockland needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Hospitals Rockland can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Hospitals Rockland
– 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 Hospitals Rockland.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Hospitals Rockland 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Hospitals Rockland has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hospitals Rockland 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hospitals Rockland 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 Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) .
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 Hospitals Rockland business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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 Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A), Hospitals Rockland 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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 Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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 Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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 Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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 Rockland Hospitals: Innovating Health Care in India (A) 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 Hospitals Rockland needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.