Case Study Description of Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma
Spark Publishing and Printing House is a comprehensive case on relevant costs analysis for short run alternative choice decisions. It stresses the importance of future differential cash flow analysis and highlights the irrelevance of past and non differential costs for managerial decisions. SPPH is a reputed publishing and printing house. It has two departments: Publishing and Printing and Distribution. SPPH has received a proposal from Fine Printing Press to take up its printing and distribution work for initial period of one year. The managerial decision involved is whether to outsource or to maintain status quo. Relevant cost analysis is to be used to determine which alternative is cost effective.
Swot Analysis of "Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma" written by Shruti Dave includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Printing Publishing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Costs and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Printing Publishing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Printing Publishing 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 Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Printing Publishing
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Printing Publishing
Strengths Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Printing Publishing in Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Printing Publishing 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 Shruti Dave 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
– Printing Publishing 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 Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Printing Publishing in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Printing Publishing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Printing Publishing 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
– Printing Publishing has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Printing Publishing 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.
Organizational Resilience of Printing Publishing
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Printing Publishing does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Printing Publishing digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Printing Publishing 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Printing Publishing is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Printing Publishing 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 Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Printing Publishing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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 Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Printing Publishing 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Printing Publishing, firm in the HBR case study Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Printing Publishing is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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 Printing Publishing has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Printing Publishing 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma HBR case study mentions - Printing Publishing 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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 Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Printing Publishing is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Printing Publishing has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma, is just above the industry average. Printing Publishing 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Printing Publishing is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Printing Publishing needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Printing Publishing to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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 Printing Publishing 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma | 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 Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Printing Publishing has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Printing Publishing to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma case study. Printing Publishing 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 Printing Publishing to increase its market reach. Printing Publishing 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Printing Publishing 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 Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Printing Publishing to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Printing Publishing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Printing Publishing 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.
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 Printing Publishing 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Printing Publishing 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Printing Publishing has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Printing Publishing 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. Printing Publishing 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Printing Publishing in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Printing Publishing can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Printing Publishing in the consumer business. Now Printing Publishing can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Printing Publishing 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 Printing Publishing to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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 Printing Publishing in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Printing Publishing 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. Printing Publishing can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Printing Publishing 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 Printing Publishing with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Printing Publishing
– 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 Printing Publishing.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Printing Publishing can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Printing Publishing 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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Technology 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Printing Publishing in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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 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. Printing Publishing needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Printing Publishing 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Printing Publishing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Printing Publishing needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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 Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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 Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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 Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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 Spark Publishing and Printing House: Short-Run Managerial Decision Raises A 'Hamlet-Like' Dilemma 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 Printing Publishing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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