Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water
This is a four-player negotiation simulation in which a newly-privatized British water utility must deal with contentious unions and national collective-bargaining agreements. Explores the question of coalitions and multi-lateral negotiations, and the value of interlocking guarantees. This case contains the confidential information for one of the four roles.
Swot Analysis of "Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water" written by Robert J. Robinson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Welsh Water facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Labor, Negotiations and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Welsh Water, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Welsh Water 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 Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Welsh Water
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Welsh Water
Strengths Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Welsh Water in Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Welsh Water is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Strong track record of project management
– Welsh Water is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Welsh Water 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 Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Welsh Water in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Welsh Water has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Welsh Water to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Welsh Water to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Welsh Water to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Welsh Water is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Welsh Water has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Welsh Water 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Welsh Water is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Welsh Water digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Welsh Water 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
– Welsh Water 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 Robert J. Robinson 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.
Weaknesses Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water 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 Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Welsh Water is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Welsh Water 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water, in the dynamic environment Welsh Water has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Welsh Water has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Welsh Water, firm in the HBR case study Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Welsh Water 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Welsh Water 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 - Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water, it seems that the employees of Welsh Water 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Welsh Water is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water HBR case study mentions - Welsh Water 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Welsh Water 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. Welsh Water 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Welsh Water is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Welsh Water needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Welsh Water to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water | 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 Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Welsh Water can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
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 Welsh Water 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Welsh Water 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 Welsh Water to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Welsh Water 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. Welsh Water can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Welsh Water 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 Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Welsh Water to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Welsh Water can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water 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 Welsh Water 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Welsh Water in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Welsh Water can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Welsh Water is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water 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, Welsh Water 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Welsh Water has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Welsh Water to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water case study. Welsh Water can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water, Welsh Water may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Welsh Water with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Welsh Water
– 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 Welsh Water.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Welsh Water 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. Welsh Water can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Welsh Water business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Welsh Water is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Welsh Water has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Welsh Water needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Welsh Water 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Welsh Water in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Welsh Water 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Welsh Water can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Welsh Water 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water 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 Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water 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 Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water 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 Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water 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 Welsh Water (B): General Information and Confidential Instructions for M. Harrington, Lead Negotiator for Welsh Water 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 Welsh Water needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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