Case Study Description of Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996
Describes the television advertising and presents examples of the comparable print ads, then documents new measurement tools and presents the results of key surveys that address audience awareness. Also includes other relevant activities to support Siemens USA's corporate identity. These include umbrella activities, such as a presence in Atlanta for the Summer Olympics, joint trade activities, work with colleagues in Munich to support major projects in China, and the introduction of a Web page.
Swot Analysis of "Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996" written by Stephen A. Greyser, Norman Klein includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Siemens Activities facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Public relations and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Siemens Activities, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Siemens Activities 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 Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Siemens Activities
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 Siemens Activities
Strengths Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Siemens Activities in Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Siemens Activities digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Siemens Activities 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.
Analytics focus
– Siemens Activities 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 Stephen A. Greyser, Norman Klein can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Siemens Activities 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 Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Siemens Activities has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Siemens Activities to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Siemens Activities is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Siemens Activities in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Siemens Activities 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.
Learning organization
- Siemens Activities 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 Siemens Activities is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Siemens Activities has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 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
– Siemens Activities is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Siemens Activities 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 Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 - 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
– Siemens Activities is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 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 Siemens Activities 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Stephen A. Greyser, Norman Klein suggests that, Siemens Activities 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996, it seems that the employees of Siemens Activities 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Siemens Activities 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Siemens Activities 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, Siemens Activities is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 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 Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Siemens Activities is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996, is just above the industry average. Siemens Activities 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Siemens Activities has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 HBR case study mentions - Siemens Activities 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Siemens Activities 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 - Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 | 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 Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Siemens Activities 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Siemens Activities 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 Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Siemens Activities to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Siemens Activities to increase its market reach. Siemens Activities 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Siemens Activities 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 Siemens Activities to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Siemens Activities is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Siemens Activities can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Siemens Activities has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Siemens Activities to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 case study. Siemens Activities can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Siemens Activities 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Siemens Activities 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, Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Siemens Activities 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. Siemens Activities 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Siemens Activities can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Siemens Activities 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Siemens Activities 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.
Threats Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 are -
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. Siemens Activities needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Siemens Activities 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.
Environmental challenges
– Siemens Activities 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. Siemens Activities can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Siemens Activities with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996, Siemens Activities 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 .
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 Siemens Activities in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Siemens Activities can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Siemens Activities 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.
Increasing wage structure of Siemens Activities
– 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 Siemens Activities.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Siemens Activities is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Siemens Activities 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.
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. Siemens Activities 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 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 Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 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 Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 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 Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 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 Siemens Corp. (B): Corporate Advertising for 1996 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 Siemens Activities needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.