A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance
In market-leading firms, software development was often undertaken by an in-house team to address specific IS needs - in part because nothing that fit these specific needs was commercially available. These projects often ended up taking longer than planned and exceeding ever-growing budgets. In this case, in-house software development was finally nearing completion (over budget and behind schedule) and the beta testing phase, along with some initial 'train-the-trainer' sessions, had begun. Not all the first impressions were positive, so when the director became aware of a recently introduced commercial offering that seemed like a very attractive alternative he faced a dilemma: should he abandon the developed project, which amounted to five years of work and over $1 million for a system that may be a better option? The protagonist in the case had done a preliminary functional comparison of the in-house information system and the commercial offering; he recognized that the new alternative might have held some significant advantages for the firm. The potential negative implications for his career and the careers of the people he worked alongside during the development project caused him to think about whether or not he should be informing others within the firm about the commercial alternative and, if he did, what position he should take.
Authors :: Glenn Brophey, Cristobal Sanchez-Rodriguez, Derek Stacey, David Hemsworth
Swot Analysis of "A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance" written by Glenn Brophey, Cristobal Sanchez-Rodriguez, Derek Stacey, David Hemsworth includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that House Alternative facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Balanced scorecard, IT, Project management, Strategic planning and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the House Alternative, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which House Alternative 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 A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of House Alternative
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 House Alternative
Strengths A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of House Alternative in A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– House Alternative 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 Glenn Brophey, Cristobal Sanchez-Rodriguez, Derek Stacey, David Hemsworth 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.
Organizational Resilience of House Alternative
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that House Alternative does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– House Alternative has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. House Alternative 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.
Innovation driven organization
– House Alternative is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– House Alternative 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 House Alternative in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that House Alternative 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.
Strong track record of project management
– House Alternative is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of House Alternative in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– House Alternative is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled House Alternative to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped House Alternative to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- House Alternative 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 House Alternative is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– House Alternative 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 A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, House Alternative 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance HBR case study mentions - House Alternative 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
House Alternative 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.
Need for greater diversity
– House Alternative 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 House Alternative supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left House Alternative vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of House Alternative is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. House Alternative needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help House Alternative to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, House Alternative 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. House Alternative 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, House Alternative 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance, it seems that the employees of House Alternative 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, House Alternative 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.
Opportunities A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance | 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 A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help House Alternative to increase its market reach. House Alternative 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.
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 House Alternative 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for House Alternative 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, House Alternative 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, House Alternative is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at House Alternative 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, House Alternative can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that House Alternative operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Manufacturing automation
– House Alternative 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.
Loyalty marketing
– House Alternative 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects House Alternative can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. House Alternative can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. House Alternative can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, House Alternative 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, A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance, 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 A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, House Alternative 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 A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance .
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 House Alternative business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– House Alternative 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.
Increasing wage structure of House Alternative
– 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 House Alternative.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents House Alternative with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. House Alternative 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.
Regulatory challenges
– House Alternative 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on House Alternative 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.
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.
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 House Alternative in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for House Alternative 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– House Alternative 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.
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. House Alternative needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance 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 A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance 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 A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance 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 A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance 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 A Project Dilemma at Canadian Shield Insurance 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 House Alternative needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.