Case Study Description of Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies
The case describes an entrepreneurial firm, CoCubes, which has instituted a paradigm change in the way campus recruitment is done in India. In a paradoxical environment of high availability of formally educated, yet not readily employable talent pool in a growing economy and a concomitant challenge faced by all recruiting firms in being able to identify and attract high quality talent, CoCubes offers unique value propositions to a dual set of customers (viz., the colleges and the companies that are recruiting from campuses), only one of which is a paying customer (colleges). Within such an environment, it is critical for CoCubes to effectively manage the engagement with the recruiting companies and try and change their mindset to recruit from non-established non-premier institutes. On the other hand, the colleges have conventionally never paid to get their students placed. Getting colleges to pay is critical for CoCubes to succeed and grow. This necessitates colleges to see value in CoCubes' offerings. In this context, one of the challenges for CoCubes is to find ways to increase the value of its offerings, especially given the emergence of significant competition that is attempting to mimic the CoCubes business model. CoCubes also partners with various companies in enhancing skills of the candidates. With these partners, CoCubes faces the additional challenge of managing partner relationships and developing new product offerings, in order to stay ahead of the competition. All this calls for continual innovation and flawless execution in order to maintain its initial lead over current and emerging competition. The case is ideal for elective courses on Business-to-business Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Product & Services Marketing.
Swot Analysis of "Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies" written by Debolina Dutta, D.V.R. Seshadri includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cocubes Colleges facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cocubes Colleges, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cocubes Colleges
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 Cocubes Colleges
Strengths Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cocubes Colleges in Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes Colleges is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Cocubes Colleges is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Cocubes Colleges
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes Colleges 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cocubes Colleges in the sector have low bargaining power. Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cocubes Colleges to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cocubes Colleges is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Cocubes Colleges is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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
– Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Cocubes Colleges 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 Debolina Dutta, D.V.R. Seshadri 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes Colleges in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cocubes Colleges 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. Cocubes Colleges 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cocubes Colleges is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 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 Cocubes Colleges supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cocubes Colleges vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Debolina Dutta, D.V.R. Seshadri suggests that, Cocubes Colleges 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cocubes Colleges 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cocubes Colleges products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cocubes Colleges needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cocubes Colleges 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cocubes Colleges, firm in the HBR case study Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes Colleges 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes Colleges has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies | 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies are -
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. Cocubes Colleges can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cocubes Colleges to increase its market reach. Cocubes Colleges 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.
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. Cocubes Colleges 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. Cocubes Colleges 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cocubes Colleges is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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. Cocubes Colleges can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cocubes Colleges can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Cocubes Colleges 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cocubes Colleges 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cocubes Colleges to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Cocubes Colleges in the consumer business. Now Cocubes Colleges can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cocubes Colleges can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cocubes Colleges operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cocubes Colleges 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cocubes Colleges in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies .
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. Cocubes Colleges 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cocubes Colleges 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 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. Cocubes Colleges needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Cocubes Colleges business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Cocubes Colleges can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Cocubes Colleges.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cocubes Colleges has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes Colleges in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Cocubes Colleges 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. Cocubes Colleges can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies, Cocubes Colleges 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Cocubes Colleges
– 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 Cocubes Colleges.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes Colleges needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
