Case Study Description of Tempest Tech Incorporated
A sophisticated technology company located in Mississauga, Ontario, began operations on February 1, 2011. Initially, the company raised funds through the issuance of common stock. In mid-2011, new software development was put on hold due to increased concerns over patent protections. In June 2011, the company sought appropriate investment vehicles for its excess cash, which would provide investment income over a set period of time.
Swot Analysis of "Tempest Tech Incorporated" written by Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Karim Mashnuk includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 2011 Tempest facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tempest Tech Incorporated case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tempest Tech Incorporated casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tempest Tech Incorporated
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tempest Tech Incorporated case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 2011 Tempest, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 2011 Tempest 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tempest Tech Incorporated case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 2011 Tempest
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 2011 Tempest
Strengths Tempest Tech Incorporated | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 2011 Tempest in Tempest Tech Incorporated Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– 2011 Tempest has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Tempest Tech Incorporated 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated 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.
Innovation driven organization
– 2011 Tempest is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Tempest Tech Incorporated Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the 2011 Tempest 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.
High brand equity
– 2011 Tempest has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled 2011 Tempest to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– 2011 Tempest 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– 2011 Tempest 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– 2011 Tempest has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. 2011 Tempest 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of 2011 Tempest in the sector have low bargaining power. Tempest Tech Incorporated has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps 2011 Tempest to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– 2011 Tempest 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 2011 Tempest in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- 2011 Tempest 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 2011 Tempest is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Tempest Tech Incorporated Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of 2011 Tempest in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Tempest Tech Incorporated | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tempest Tech Incorporated are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Karim Mashnuk suggests that, 2011 Tempest 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Tempest Tech Incorporated 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as 2011 Tempest is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, 2011 Tempest 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Tempest Tech Incorporated, in the dynamic environment 2011 Tempest has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. 2011 Tempest has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Tempest Tech Incorporated 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 2011 Tempest has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, 2011 Tempest 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. 2011 Tempest 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 2011 Tempest 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 - Tempest Tech Incorporated 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, 2011 Tempest 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Tempest Tech Incorporated 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 2011 Tempest 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of 2011 Tempest, firm in the HBR case study Tempest Tech Incorporated needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of 2011 Tempest is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. 2011 Tempest needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help 2011 Tempest to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Tempest Tech Incorporated | 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated are -
Buying journey improvements
– 2011 Tempest can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Tempest Tech Incorporated 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at 2011 Tempest can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Finance & Accounting segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help 2011 Tempest to increase its market reach. 2011 Tempest 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, 2011 Tempest 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 2011 Tempest in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– 2011 Tempest 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help 2011 Tempest to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– 2011 Tempest 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, 2011 Tempest can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that 2011 Tempest operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects 2011 Tempest can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of 2011 Tempest has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help 2011 Tempest to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Tempest Tech Incorporated case study. 2011 Tempest can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. 2011 Tempest can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 2011 Tempest 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.
Loyalty marketing
– 2011 Tempest 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.
Threats Tempest Tech Incorporated External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tempest Tech Incorporated are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents 2011 Tempest with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– 2011 Tempest 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.
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 2011 Tempest.
Increasing wage structure of 2011 Tempest
– 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 2011 Tempest.
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 2011 Tempest business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Tempest Tech Incorporated, 2011 Tempest may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Regulatory challenges
– 2011 Tempest 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
– 2011 Tempest 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. 2011 Tempest can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. 2011 Tempest 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 2011 Tempest 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.
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.
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. 2011 Tempest needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, 2011 Tempest 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tempest Tech Incorporated 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated 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 Tempest Tech Incorporated 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 2011 Tempest needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
