The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective

In 2002, Wendy Lane had been a member of the board of directors at Tyco International a little more than a year when the company's CEO, Dennis Kozlowski, and other top executives were accused of fraud, which ultimately led to resignations, imprisonments, lawsuits, and SEC filings. In a short period of time Tyco lost two-thirds of its market value. Many outside the company questioned the board's leadership and diligence. Lane, who had a successful career in investment banking before becoming a professional director, was caught in the firestorm. The case discusses the events that led to the crisis, her reflections on managing the crisis both personally and professionally, the reputational risk she encountered, and the lessons she learned as a director.

Authors :: Suraj Srinivasan, Aldo Sesia

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Boards, Business law, Collaboration, Crisis management, Financial management, Leadership, Leading teams, Marketing, Public relations, Risk management, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective" written by Suraj Srinivasan, Aldo Sesia includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Tyco Lane facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Boards, Business law, Collaboration, Crisis management, Financial management, Leadership, Leading teams, Marketing, Public relations, Risk management and Finance & Accounting.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Tyco Lane, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Tyco Lane 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Tyco Lane
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 Tyco Lane

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Strengths The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Tyco Lane in The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective Harvard Business Review case study are -

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Tyco Lane in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Organizational Resilience of Tyco Lane

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Tyco Lane does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Analytics focus

– Tyco Lane 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 Suraj Srinivasan, Aldo Sesia 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.

Training and development

– Tyco Lane has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective 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)

– Tyco Lane 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 The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Tyco Lane in the sector have low bargaining power. The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Tyco Lane to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Tyco Lane digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Tyco Lane 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.

Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field

– Tyco Lane 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 Tyco Lane in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Tyco Lane has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Tyco Lane 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Tyco Lane is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry

– The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Tyco Lane to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Tyco Lane to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

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Weaknesses The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective are -

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Tyco Lane has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Tyco Lane is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Tyco Lane, firm in the HBR case study The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Need for greater diversity

– Tyco Lane 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 The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective 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 Tyco Lane has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective 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 Tyco Lane 's lucrative customers.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Tyco Lane 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. Tyco Lane 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Tyco Lane has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Tyco Lane needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective, in the dynamic environment Tyco Lane has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Tyco Lane has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective 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 The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Tyco Lane is planning to shift buying processes online.

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Opportunities The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective | 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 The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective are -

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. Tyco Lane can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Tyco Lane 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 The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Tyco Lane 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, Tyco Lane is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective 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, Tyco Lane 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Tyco Lane 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 Tyco Lane to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Manufacturing automation

– Tyco Lane 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Tyco Lane can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Tyco Lane operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Tyco Lane to increase its market reach. Tyco Lane 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Tyco Lane to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Tyco Lane has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Tyco Lane to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective case study. Tyco Lane can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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 Tyco Lane in the consumer business. Now Tyco Lane can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Tyco Lane can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Tyco Lane 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.

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Threats The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective are -

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.

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. Tyco Lane 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Tyco Lane is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Tyco Lane business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Tyco Lane 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.

Increasing wage structure of Tyco Lane

– 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 Tyco Lane.

Regulatory challenges

– Tyco Lane 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.

Environmental challenges

– Tyco Lane 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. Tyco Lane can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Tyco Lane has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Tyco Lane 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Tyco Lane with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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 Tyco Lane in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Tyco Lane 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.

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. Tyco Lane needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective 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 The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective 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 The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective 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 The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective 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 The Crisis at Tyco-A Director's Perspective 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 Tyco Lane needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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