Case Study Description of Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged)
The pharmaceutical division of a diversified company has been asked to develop a Balanced Scorecard. Research and development projects take about ten years to bring a new product to the marketplace and the division depends on good relations and active feedback from its customers for continued success. But currently, the division is evaluated by meeting monthly financial objectives. This case describes an early and less-than-successful attempt to develop a Balanced Scorecard encompassing financial, customer, internal process, and innovation perspectives.
Swot Analysis of "Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged)" written by Robert S. Kaplan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Scorecard Balanced facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Assessing performance, Balanced scorecard, Branding, Costs, Customers, Financial analysis, Product development, Social responsibility and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Scorecard Balanced, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Scorecard Balanced 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 Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Scorecard Balanced
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 Scorecard Balanced
Strengths Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Scorecard Balanced in Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Scorecard Balanced has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Scorecard Balanced 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
- Scorecard Balanced 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 Scorecard Balanced is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Scorecard Balanced in the sector have low bargaining power. Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Scorecard Balanced to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Scorecard Balanced
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Scorecard Balanced does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Scorecard Balanced 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.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Scorecard Balanced digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Scorecard Balanced 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Scorecard Balanced is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Scorecard Balanced is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Scorecard Balanced is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Scorecard Balanced is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Scorecard Balanced 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 Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Scorecard Balanced 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.
Weaknesses Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Scorecard Balanced is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Scorecard Balanced 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) 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 Scorecard Balanced has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) 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 Scorecard Balanced 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) HBR case study mentions - Scorecard Balanced 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Scorecard Balanced is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Scorecard Balanced needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Scorecard Balanced to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged), it seems that the employees of Scorecard Balanced 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Scorecard Balanced, firm in the HBR case study Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Scorecard Balanced 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Scorecard Balanced products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Scorecard Balanced needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) | 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 Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Scorecard Balanced 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 Scorecard Balanced to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Scorecard Balanced is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) 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. Scorecard Balanced can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Scorecard Balanced 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Scorecard Balanced can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Scorecard Balanced operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Scorecard Balanced 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Scorecard Balanced 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, Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged), 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 Scorecard Balanced has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Scorecard Balanced to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) case study. Scorecard Balanced can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Scorecard Balanced 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Scorecard Balanced 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Scorecard Balanced 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Manufacturing automation
– Scorecard Balanced can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Scorecard Balanced can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Threats Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Scorecard Balanced 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. Scorecard Balanced 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.
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 Scorecard Balanced business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Scorecard Balanced.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Scorecard Balanced 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Scorecard Balanced 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 Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) .
Regulatory challenges
– Scorecard Balanced 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged), Scorecard Balanced may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Scorecard Balanced can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Scorecard Balanced needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Scorecard Balanced has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Scorecard Balanced 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 Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) 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 Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) 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 Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) 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 Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) 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 Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged) 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 Scorecard Balanced needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.