Swot Analysis of "Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Matthew Bird includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Milwaukee B9 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Milwaukee B9, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Milwaukee B9 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 Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Milwaukee B9
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 Milwaukee B9
Strengths Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Milwaukee B9 in Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Milwaukee B9 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 Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Milwaukee B9 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Milwaukee B9 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Milwaukee B9 is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Milwaukee B9 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee 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.
Learning organization
- Milwaukee B9 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 Milwaukee B9 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Milwaukee B9 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Milwaukee B9 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.
Analytics focus
– Milwaukee B9 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 Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Matthew Bird 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Milwaukee B9 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Milwaukee B9 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Milwaukee B9 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Milwaukee B9 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Milwaukee B9 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee HBR case study mentions - Milwaukee B9 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee 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 Milwaukee B9 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee, is just above the industry average. Milwaukee B9 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Milwaukee B9 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. Milwaukee B9 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Milwaukee B9 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee 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 Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Milwaukee B9 is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee, 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee, in the dynamic environment Milwaukee B9 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Milwaukee B9 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Milwaukee B9 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Milwaukee B9 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Milwaukee B9 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.
Opportunities Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee | 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 Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Milwaukee B9 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.
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 Milwaukee B9 in the consumer business. Now Milwaukee B9 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Milwaukee B9 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Milwaukee B9 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.
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 Milwaukee B9 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Milwaukee B9 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Milwaukee B9 can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Milwaukee B9 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Milwaukee B9 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Milwaukee B9 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
– Milwaukee B9 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Milwaukee B9 to increase its market reach. Milwaukee B9 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Milwaukee B9 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.
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. Milwaukee B9 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee are -
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. Milwaukee B9 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Milwaukee B9 in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Milwaukee B9 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Milwaukee B9 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Milwaukee B9 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Milwaukee B9 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 Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Milwaukee B9 is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Milwaukee B9 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.
Environmental challenges
– Milwaukee B9 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. Milwaukee B9 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee, Milwaukee B9 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 .
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 Milwaukee B9.
Increasing wage structure of Milwaukee B9
– 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 Milwaukee B9.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee 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 Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee 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 Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee 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 Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee 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 Milwaukee (B9): Julia Taylor, President, Greater Milwaukee Committee 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 Milwaukee B9 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.