Case Study Description of Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD
In response to the closure of California state psychiatric hospitals, Rubicon Programs was established in 1973 to provide social services for recently deinstitutionalized individuals suffering from mental illness. Located in Richmond, California, an area with great need and high unemployment, Rubicon quickly expanded to offer a wide range of programs and services addressing poverty and homelessness for people with barriers to employment. By 2003, Rubicon Programs had grown into a large nonprofit organization with an international reputation for its success as a social enterprise. Aside from its two core programs of Integrated Services and Rubicon Housing, Rubicon operated three revenue generating business units that employed clients of it social programs: Rubicon Landscaping, Rubicon Bakery, and Rubicon HomeCare Consortium. While the top management team agreed that Rubicon's individual units were successful, they wondered whether the social and economic value created by the whole was more than the sum of the parts. The videocase explores Rubicon's reflections and deliberations about to their corporate strategy. In addition, it focuses on a decision about how to deal with the struggling home healthcare division. SI-77v Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy is part of The Social Entrepreneurship Series. Professor Jim Phills developed The Social Entrepreneurship Series to help students appreciate mechanisms of change and theories of action as well as challenges in initiating and sustaining meaningful change in social sectors. Other video cases in this series include SI-14v The Evolution of Interplast, SI-25v Innermotion on the Move, SI-69v Circus Oz, and SI-72v Social Entrepreneurs: Correcting Market Failures.
Authors :: James Phills
Topics :: Strategy & Execution
Tags :: Social enterprise, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD" written by James Phills includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Rubicon Si facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise, Social responsibility and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rubicon Si, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rubicon Si 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 Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rubicon Si
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 Rubicon Si
Strengths Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Rubicon Si in Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Rubicon Si is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Rubicon Si 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 Rubicon Si is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Rubicon Si to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Rubicon Si to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Rubicon Si is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Rubicon Si has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Rubicon Si to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Rubicon Si is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Rubicon Si 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 Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Rubicon Si 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 Rubicon Si in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Rubicon Si 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Rubicon Si has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Rubicon Si 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 Rubicon Si in the sector have low bargaining power. Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Rubicon Si to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD HBR case study mentions - Rubicon Si 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Rubicon Si is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Rubicon Si 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, James Phills suggests that, Rubicon Si 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Rubicon Si, firm in the HBR case study Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD, it seems that the employees of Rubicon Si 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Rubicon Si products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Rubicon Si needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Rubicon Si 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. Rubicon Si 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD 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 Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Rubicon Si is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Rubicon Si 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Rubicon Si 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.
Opportunities Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD | 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 Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Rubicon Si 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.
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. Rubicon Si can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Rubicon Si 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.
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. Rubicon Si 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. Rubicon Si 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Rubicon Si 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Rubicon Si to increase its market reach. Rubicon Si 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.
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. Rubicon Si can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Rubicon Si 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 Rubicon Si has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Rubicon Si to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD case study. Rubicon Si can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Rubicon Si 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, Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Rubicon Si can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Rubicon Si 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 Rubicon Si to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Rubicon Si 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.
Threats Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD are -
Increasing wage structure of Rubicon Si
– 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 Rubicon Si.
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. Rubicon Si can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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. Rubicon Si 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Rubicon Si has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Rubicon Si 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Rubicon Si with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Rubicon Si business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Rubicon Si in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Rubicon Si.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Rubicon Si 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 Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Rubicon Si is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Rubicon Si 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Rubicon Si 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD 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 Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD 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 Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD 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 Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD 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 Rubicon Program's Corporate Strategy, (Video) DVD 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 Rubicon Si needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
