Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance

The South Australian Water case study illustrates the management challenges in aligning Information Technology with business objectives in a publicly owned corporation. To achieve the alignment, the new CIO begins by refreshing the IT infrastructure to support the required business applications. When the Government establishes 'Improved water quality' as a major corporate goal, the CIO seeks to add value to the business by developing a quality reporting system that leverages the existing technology. At the same time, he demonstrates to the corporation the IT function's capability to deliver business value through the management of multiple outsourcing vendors.

Authors :: Alan Thorogood, Phillip Yetton, Anthony Vlasic, Joan Spiller

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Project management, Strategy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance" written by Alan Thorogood, Phillip Yetton, Anthony Vlasic, Joan Spiller includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Water Cio facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Project management, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Water Cio, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Water Cio 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 Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Water Cio
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 Water Cio

---

Strengths Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Water Cio in Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance Harvard Business Review case study are -

Training and development

– Water Cio has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance 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.

Organizational Resilience of Water Cio

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

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Water Cio 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 Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance - 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

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

Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field

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

Innovation driven organization

– Water Cio is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Water Cio 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 Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

High brand equity

– Water Cio has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Water Cio to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Water Cio has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment

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

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Water Cio in the sector have low bargaining power. Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Water Cio to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

---

---

Weaknesses Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance are -

Products dominated business model

– Even though Water Cio 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 - Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance 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, Water Cio 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Water Cio 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. Water Cio 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Water Cio 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Water Cio products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Water Cio needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance 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 Water Cio 's lucrative customers.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Alan Thorogood, Phillip Yetton, Anthony Vlasic, Joan Spiller suggests that, Water Cio 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Water Cio 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance, is just above the industry average. Water Cio 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Water Cio 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 existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Water Cio supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Water Cio vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

---

Opportunities Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance | 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 Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance are -

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Water Cio 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. Water Cio 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Water Cio 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 Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Water Cio to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

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. Water Cio can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Better consumer reach

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

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Water Cio 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

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

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Water Cio has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Water Cio to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance case study. Water Cio can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Water Cio can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

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

Developing new processes and practices

– Water Cio 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Water Cio can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Water Cio 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Water Cio 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, Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

---

Threats Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance are -

Consumer confidence and its impact on Water Cio 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 Water Cio 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.

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.

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 Water Cio business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Water Cio has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Water Cio 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Water Cio 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.

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. Water Cio can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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 Water Cio is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Water Cio.

Regulatory challenges

– Water Cio 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.

Environmental challenges

– Water Cio 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. Water Cio can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.

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 Water Cio in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance 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 Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance 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 Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance 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 Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance 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 Raise Your Glasses - The Water's Magic! Strategic IT At SA Water: A Case Study In Alignment, Outsourcing and Governance 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 Water Cio needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

--- ---